Homeward Bound (from Japan)

Our flight from Tokyo leaves at 7:30 tonight, but to be on time we have to leave the hotel at 1:30 pm.  We booked seats on the bus, and checked out at 10 am.  Sue and I discovered a place called "Aux Bacchanales" near the hotel actually does a very good imitation of a french brasserie, complete with nice coffee and croissants, etc.  We breakfasted there, then had a wander around the area.  The pachinko parlours look fascinating - a tremendous roar of noise emanates from within, and there is one beside the station where a lucky employee dances non-stop outside, seemingly all day and all night.

The bus ride was 90 minutes, taking us to Narita airport out to the NE of Tokyo.  We lunched at a rather basic sushi-train place we found.  Spent our last Japanese change on four neck pillows for the trip.

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Meiji Palace garden

We are slowing down now, with no tour leader to drive us on each day.  Today we went to a large green area in the city which surrounds the shrine to the emperor  (who died in 1912)  and empress Meiji.  Tourists are not allowed inside, but you can explore the gardens, where it is hard to remember you are in the centre of a huge city.

Another big torii gate

Meiji Jingu Garden

Sake barrels wrapped in straw (donations)

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Tokyo Beach

After breakfast of pancakes we set out for Odaiba, which is a newly-developed area on an island in the bay.  The subway took us to Shimbashi station where we transferred to the Yukiramome driver-less train which runs out to and around Odaiba.  The "Venus Fort" shopping centre was strangely deserted, except for lonely desperate looking shop owners, but we later found another centre nearer the beach was crowded.  We had a ride on the giant ferris wheel (115 metres up, 16 minutes to go round once), then took advantage of our day passes to ride to the end of the (driverless) train track and back again.

The giant wheel

We spent some time in the Miraikan museum ( of "emerging science and innovation" ) which was quite interesting.  It is manned by middle aged Japanese men (volunteers) who speak good english and are interesting to talk to.  We left when it was closing time and walked on towards "Tokyo Beach", which is an artificial one created on Odaiba island.  On the way we passed the giant robot and the (scaled down) replica of the Statue of Liberty.

Giant robot

Dog clothing store

Dogs must be kept INSIDE the bag

Museum of innovation

Inside the museum is a large suspended globe covered in (10,000) LCD displays, displaying a Google Earth-like animated view of Earth.  There are couches below to lie back on and watch it from, and its quite hypnotic.  At least one person was fast asleep (not me).  It displays real satellite photos, day and night views, tsunami waves, and all sorts of other geographical data.  (Here's a link to a video.. youtube )

We sat on the edge of the boardwalk and dined on traditional Japanese takeaways (MacDonalds) and waited for the sun to go down.  The bridge there (The Rainbow Bridge) is illuminated in colours after dark.  We waited and waited...

Eventually Sue searched online using her phone, and discovered that the coloured lighting has been discontinued as a power-saving measure!  Since the big earthquake all nuclear power stations have been shut down, and it is now necessary to conserve power as much as possible.  Still, it was very pleasant sitting on the beach as the sun went down.

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A Day of Rest

Tuesday - The G-Adventures tour is over, and we are on our own in Tokyo.  Today is sunny again, so will be hot.  We got up a bit late, and found an eatery near the hotel which provided bacon and eggs and toast, and coffee, for 680 yen.  After another rest in our rooms (did some washing in the bath) set out for the famous "nerd" area of Akihabara, home of "Electric City" and Tokyo Anime Center.  It was sunny and very hot in the streets there, so we kept to the shade as much as possible.  There are shops of all sizes selling every type of electronic product and component, including rows of tiny shops (down to about 2 square metres each?) selling every possible component or cable or piece of equipment.  It would be a tremendous facility to have just down the road in Thorndon!

Computer shop

Nice shop

"Maids" touting for business

There are also the bizarrely dressed young women the area is famous for, touting for "maid" cafes and probably more dubious establishments, and shops full of action figures and anime books and comics.  We did find some shops we liked and bought a few cheapish shirts for me, and some Janglese T-shirts for James, and Lisa and Sue bought some trinkets in a large (cool) department store.  Walked to the Manseibashi Bridge, which marks the spot of one of the old-time gates to the city, but it was a bit ordinary looking and overshadowed by the tall buildings all around.

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On to Tokyo

Had a good nights sleep in Hakone-Yumoto in the ryokan, on a futon on the floor.  Breakfast was Japanese-style sitting on the floor, but with the low tables you can furtively stretch your legs out under to ease the pain in your knees.  A mix of Japanese and Western offerings - scrambled egg, fresh tomatoes, buns, coffee, and little sausages.  There are little burners sitting on the tables, and the Japanese diners used these to cook a small fish each, at their table.

Shinkansen decor

A 9 am departure gave us a little more time to relax.  James got lost in the maze of corridors on his way to the foyer, and arrived some minutes late.  Caught the local bus at the stop across the road for the short ride to the station; local train to Oragawa to catch the fast train.  During our 30 min standing on the platform about four Shinkansen trains went past - the first at fairly high speed.  They pass on separate line away from the platform, which is probably essential.  I am struck by the great length of each train (400 metres).

Our last Shinkansen ride took just 30 minutes, delivering us to Shinagawa in Tokyo.  Our "Shinagawa Prince Hotel" is just across a busy road, and boasts movie theatres, swimming pools, a dolphin aquarium (and show), a bowling alley, and an indoor golf driving range!  We parked our bags (too early for check-in)  and rode one quarter of the way around the local loop line to Shinjuku.  The attraction there was the (free) view fom 45F of the ... building.  Back on the train for a ride to Harajuku, a trendy little shopping street crowded with fashion shops for young japanese, and with people.  We lunched on sandwiches and waffles in a lunch bar place, and watched the weird and wonderful people walking past.  The 100 yen shop looked interesting, but we didn't actually buy anything.  I tried on a 1200 yen shirt - looking for one for dinner tonight since all my clothes are dirty - had to remove my shoes before I could enter the changing booth.

James and I waited in the baking sun by Harajuku station (under a tree actually) while Sue supported Lisa's more leisurely progress back up the street.  She came away with a nice little dress.



We made it back to the hotel about 4, and checked in.  Were able to upgrade our next 3 nights for just 6000 yen, which saves us having to move in the morning.  Blobbed out until it was time to meet in the lobby at 6:30.

Tokyo's "Times Square"

Minji took us to Shibuya, the Times Square of Tokyo.  It was rush hour on the train so our most crowded ride - but still not too bad.  We watched the crowds and huge screens around the square for a while, posed for photographs, then went to an "all you can drink" restaurant for dinner.  Ordered everything off a portable touch-screen at our tables, and had some beer.  We had a nice big ceasar salad with egg, and chicken wings and grilled chicken on skewers.  Sue learned that "hot melt cheese cake" does not mean cheesecake - it means cake with melted cheese on top!  Ugh.

Dinner scene

The party then moved a short distance to a small club (so small we filled it ourselves) where there was very loud music and expensive drinks, and everyone had a good time.  Us old folks said goodbye to the younger stayers at 11:30, and with James found our way back though crowded streets to the station, and onto the right train to take us home.  Even at that time of night the stations were still crowded, and there seemed to be quite a few city workers still on their way home.

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Mt Fuji

Onto Shinkansen at 8:30, now speeding toward Mt Fuji for busy day of train, ferry, bus and cable car travel.  We may even get cold apparently!  The sun was shining in blue sky as we passed Nagoya, raising our hopes of actually seeing Mount Fuji, but then it closed in again.  Only lucky tourists actually see the mountain.

We had a day involving many forms of transport.  We rode the high speed train to Odawara, then a local train to Hakone-Yumoto; a taxi to our new accommodation; and a half-hour bus ride up the mountain to the Lake Ashi (a second bus to the ferry terminal).  We bought lunch at a busy cafeteria there, then boarded a PIRATE SHIP(!) for the trip across the lake to the aerial ropeway; and up the mountain to the hot springs.  There we walked a couple of hundred metres up to the pools (altitude 1050 m), and ate our traditional black eggs (hard boiled in the sulphurous water) to add seven years to our lives.  A special small flying fox whirred past overhead carrying the eggs to and fro overhead.  It was quite hot and sunny, but Mount Fuji remained hidden in the clouds to the north west.  A different ropeway then carried us down the other side, followed by a cable car, then another train.  This was probably the steepest train line I've seen, and the train ground slowly down the twisting track at about 30 kph with it's brakes protesting all the way.  We went through several switchbacks, changing direction at stations, and were finally delivered back to Hakone-Yumoto Station.  After some free time in the main street a bus took us back to the ryokan.

Pirate ships!

The first ropeway

At the top

Eating my black egg

Where Mt Fuji should be

Dinner at the ryokan was a special multi-course Japanese seafood dinner, designed to be a bit of a special occasion, but unfortunately most of us were having trouble staying awake and it seemed to drag on for a long time.  It initially didn't look like much and Nouhi was murmuring that he would be going into town for a proper meal afterwards, but there was more than we could eat in the end.

Traditional dinner

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Saturday

Our second day in Kyoto included trips to two more temples, and Nijo Castle.  There are thousands of temples or shrines in Japan, and we are starting to feel a little "temple fatigue".  Each may have its own special features, but they also have quite a bit in common.  At the first we encountered many Japanese school children also visiting.  They all had lists of what they had to do, which apparently included spotting foreign tourists and asking them questions, to exercise their English language skills.  We were all accosted by groups of children, and asked to answer simple questionnaires and to pose for group photos.

Golden Palace

The second stop was the Golden Temple (Kinkakuji), a gold leaf-covered pavilion which was built about 1400 by a rich statesman, and later converted into a Zen temple.  It was burnt down in 1950 by a novice monk, so this one is a reconstructed replica.

Our last official stop was "Nijo Castle", which I think would be better described as a palace.  It does have a moat, but the fortifications are nothing like those at Osaka Castle.  This one is a single level building where the Shogun operated, famous for its "bird call" floors - the floors of the halls are specially designed to make a clear chirping sound when walked upon, so that no one could creep about undetected.

Kyoto dinner

No group dinner tonight - we selected one of the japanese restaurants in the malls under Kyoto Station.  You write your name on the waiting list and sit outside until a table comes free.  Lisa signed us in as "Lisa" in Kanji, impressing the Japanese gent who came along next.  He asked where we were from and chatted to us about NZ.  The meal was immaculately presented, and included several strange items we have yet to identify!

To complete our Japan experience we had to go to a karaoke place that night.  Not exactly my cup of tea, but I found beer made it more enjoyable.

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Kyoto

Left our Hiroshima hotel at 7:45 and clattered down to the station, and are now speeding back to Osaka at (up to) 300 kph.  There we change for a 15 min last leg to Kyoto.  Shinkansen are great!

(later..) We are now in the Hotel Keihan Kyoto, beside the main Kyoto Railway Station Complex.  Today we have to park our bags in the lobby and spend the day out, before checking in later.

 A local train took us to the Fushimi Inari Shinto Shrine, notable for the more than 10,000 torii gates erected by financial supporters.  These form an almost solid archway along hundreds of metres of pathway climbing up the mountain.  There are also many fine fox statues (messengers for that particular god).  It was very hot and raining, and we were climbing up that mountain, and on that afternoon I was unable to raise the energy required to get out my camera to take pictures.  Fortunately the others were still clicking away.


After lunch we took a bus and walked to near the more traditional Gion district for "maiko", at a studio called Maica, where Lisa and others were made into Maikos (apprentice geishas) or samurai for a couple of hours.  That was a startlng transformation, and everyone enjoyed laughing at each other and posing for (or taking) photos.

Minji introduced us to the local sport of geisha-spotting.  There is area of little streets and traditional tea-houses where the real geishas work, and tourists go there and loiter on corners with their cameras ready, hoping to spot a real geisha.  Sure enough sooner or later one will suddenly emerge from a building, walk a short distance down the street (at speed) chased by photographers, and disappear again.  Minji told us these appearances are understood to be one of their duties as a geisha, to support local tourism!

We wandered up and down and old shopping street in the Gion district, then for dinner Minji took us to a "Japanese hot pot" restaurant.  We were all seated along a bar counter, with a gas cooker for every two people on which was placed a ceramic bowl of watery stock of some sort.  We took the meat and greens we had ordered and cooked them ourselves in this hot pot, making a sauce from the cooking liquid, a spicy paste, and the juice of a lime.  This was made in the bowl we ate the cooked food from.  Very tasty (but hot work!).

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Hiroshima

Today Minji then took us all to the "Peace Park", which is the area commemorating the day the atomic bomb was dropped.  It poured with rain throughout most of the morning.  The remains of one building have been retained - the "atomic dome" - and a large public park containing a memorial and a museum.  Most of the area flattened by the bomb has been rebuilt, and the marker at the centre of the blast is in the middle of a built-up area.  Minji (who is Korean) told us that the anniversary of the atomic bomb, a sad day in Japan, is a national holiday in Korea, celebrating the end of Japanese oppression!

A local train took us out to the ferry to Miyajima Island, just a short distance from the mainland.  It had pretty much dried up by then, and the sea was calm.  It was a nice ride across in the ferry.  A huge orange "torii" gate stands in the bay, accessible at low tide, paying homage to the sea gods.  There are oyster farms in all directions.

Torii gate on Miyajima Island

This photo shows the whole group, except for our leader Minji (Click to enlarge) and Nouhi.  Us on the left, then Kyle (SAU), Aiden (Canada), Melissa (USA), Kathryn (USA) and Bill (USA) at the back, and Sasja (Denmark), Swetha (Australia), Suni (Australia), and Anne (USA) in front.  Nouhi (sounds like "Newey") is from England, of Moroccan descent.

The temples on the island attract tourists from far and wide.  Everyone was amused by all the little deer casually wandering or sitting about, not worried at all by the people.  We were warned that they eat any paper they can sink their teeth into.

A path up the hill to one of the main shrines is lined with hundreds of little bhudda statues, every one different.

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The Shinkansen - to Hiroshima

We're now whistling along in the fast train,  passing south through Kobe on our way to Hiroshima.  This train travels at almost 300 kph, and is 400 metres long!  Inside the ride is smoother than an airliner.  Miles of low-rise housing stretches out to the west.  The ocean is out of sight to the east.  Many larger lots have their own rice paddies.  All the flat land is built on or cultivated.  When a hill comes so does a tunnel.

After our train ride the relentless pace of our tour continued.  No time for a nap!  Our hotel is beside the railway station, and the major sights were within walking distance, so we walked in the rain to the historic Shukkei-en garden.  It dates from 1620, but was obliterated in 1945 so has been meticulously re-created.

Also took in Hiroshima Castle, before returning to the hotel to check in and collapse onto our beds.

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Back down the mountain

We took up the invitation to observe the monks in their daily morning prayers at 6:30 am, followed by the "fire ceremony" at 7:00 am.  Then is was time for breakfast, again at floor level.  In recognition of the pain levels in some of the older knees in the room, the monks produced a couple of low chairs for those that needed them!    The menu was a bit alien to us, and included pickled vegetables, tofu, beans, rice, dried seaweed, and soup. The monasteries are strictly vegetarian.

We are on the train coming back down the mountain from Koyasan.  I feel very trendy because I am able to post to this blog even while we are travelling on this train!  One and a half hours to get back to Osaka, where we will transfer to the high speed Shinkazen.  The brakes are squealing all the way, because of the slope.  The sun has come out and its very pleasant out there.

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Up Mount Koya - "Koyasan"

Japanese houses

We left the Osaka hotel at 9 am and followed Mingi along the street and down into the subway.  After the subway we changed to a suburban train, then again to one which took us out of the city and up into the mountains to a height of about 400 metres.  A cable car then took over and hauled us up a steep grade to about 800 metres altitude, and a slow bus took us the last leg into the little town.  It rained most of the morning, but the mountain scenery was quite spectacular.  Not alpine, but very steep mountains and narrow valleys, clad in lush green forests and bamboo.  It was interesting observing the styles of Japanese houses flashing by, and we notices that many had small rice paddies as well as more familiar vegetable gardens.

Stupa

We walked to our new accommodation, the "Ekoin" (Eco-Inn?) monastery, run by monks (obviously!).  The town is a very popular Japanese tourism and religious destination as it is the world seat of the Japanese Shingon branch of Bhuddism, and the monks run many of these traditional accommodation houses.  Now we know about toilet slippers, and Japanese-style toilets, and communal bathing rules.  Had lunch together at a local eatery, then toured the temples and stupas in the town.  Stupas are the wooden shrines (of all sizes) which are found all over Japan, but especially in Koyasan.  The most spectacular is a huge orange one.  Towards dusk we explored the famous graveyard, the largest in Japan with thousands of tombs.

Okunoin graveyard

Back at the Ekoin Sue took the plunge and had a hot bath - the only one to do so as it turned out.  Dinner was a Japanese vegetarian meal provided by the monks, which we all attended in our traditional robes (left-over-right, not right-over-left).  Our limbs struggled to cope with eating Japanese-style, seated on the floor (at least for us more senior members of the group).

Dinner

Aaah

Back in our rooms we found futons and pillows had appeared.  A very welcome sight given my aching back!  We slept on the floor like this just two nights in Japan - every other night was in standard hotel accommodation.  It was quite comfortable, and the floor mats are clean because no-one ever walks on them in their shoes (well, almost no-one).

The inn is one of the few places we will encounter with free wi-fi.  Updated our blogs, and read online about about the magnitude 7 earthquake near Wellington!

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Meeting the Team

Back home after our castle visit.  At 6:00 pm we turned up in the hotel lobby to meet our tour manager and fellow travelers.  Our leader is a young Korean woman named "Mingi", and there are 13 in the group (the 14th did not turn up).  They are mostly Americans, plus a Candian, two Australians, a Moroccan and a Dane.  James is the youngest, and there is one American couple older than us (Bill and Anne).  The rest are mostly in their twenties.

Minji had arranged a group dinner, and led us down Dotonbori Street and across the river we have already explored, to a Japanese restaurant upstairs.  We would never have found a place like that.  We all took off our shoes, and sat at tables that appear to be just off the floor, but actually have a (Westerner-friendly) foot well beneath.

Two large gas burners were set into each table, and we ordered various raw meats and food which we then grilled ourselves over the burners.  It became very hot in there!

Lisa cooking!

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Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle outer moat

For day two we selected Osaka Castle, a couple of short train rides away from our hotel.  The weather was very hot and mostly dry again.  Osaka Castle has huge grounds, including two moats one inside the other, bordered by great stone walls, and the castle rises high above the trees.  Apparently a besieging army once filled in the outer moat, which was later then dug out again.  The white building in this photo is one of the lookout towers dotted around the walls.

James and castle

Like many historic buildings we visited, the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times, due to wars.  This one looks like the original, but inside is a relatively modern building housing a museum.  It still sits on the original stone footings built from huge blocks.

In the moats we saw more little turtles, and outside the castle a man out for a walk with his two budgies sitting on his hat.

Click on the photos for a larger view!

Osaka Castle

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Day One in Osaka

The Namba Washington Hotel Plaza is better than we expected, although we did arrive with modest expectations. The rooms are small, but big enough. The beds come with small hard pillows (filled with beans or similar!) but there are also soft ones in the wardrobe. We arrived very hot and sticky but once the air conditioning in the room started we did cool down.

Today we started with buffet breakfast in the hotel, in the "China Table" restaurant. At 4800 yen ($80) for four it was expensive but easy. The food on offer included soup, tofu, pickled vegetables, salmon, scrambled egg, croissants, and tea and coffee and juice, so we found enough to keep us happy. We are close to the Dotonbori River which runs through the city here in a canal. There are shops and restaurants down each side, and it is strung with paper lanterns. We went for an exploratory walk though the Dotonbori area beside the river (where we saw a turtle), then turned up a covered street called "Ebisubashi-suji Shopping Street" which runs for kilometers and was crowded with people.
We saw hardly any Europeans, although there do seem to be plenty of Asian tourists. Many of the shops opened at 11:00 and close at 11:00 pm. We stopped at a bookshop, and found an English novel for James and a bilingual map of Japan for me. Later we went into a large department store looking for a cafe where we might recharge our caffeine levels. Sure enough they provided good coffee and some delicious desserts at shocking prices. On the way out we found a food floor, selling perfectly presented food of every type, where we bought some little sushi packs for our lunch, and some (perfect) kiwifruit and mandarins.

Namba Park

We ate back in our rooms, then dozed for a while before setting off for Namba Park, which is a huge shopping centre beside the main Namba Station. It is just a 15 minute walk away.  Namba Park is a huge multilevel complex designed to resemble a natural rock canyon, containing shops, eateries, cinemas and gardens.  We wandered through that for quite a while and took many photos.  On the way back we stopped for a cold drink in the electronics shopping district, and had a quick look in some of the shops. They have everything for sale, but nothing we actually needed.


For dinner we returned to the Doutonbori Street area to find a suitable eatery. We selected one based on the appetising pictures of meals displayed at the door, and went in. Once we started reading the english captions on the dishes we found it was an offal restaurant. The mixed chicken dish included neck, skin, heart, liver, etc, and other dishes offered boiled guts, and horse shashimi.

We walked home via the river, where the paper lanterns were now illuminated. In a cramped multifloor department store we searched for a particular thermos flask Jacqui (Gale) had requested, but they had so many we didn't know which to buy.

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