Category: Japan

We arrived at Okinawa aboard the Cunard QE, after a 12 day cruise which also stopped in Rabaul on the way.

I woke early and looked out the balcony door, to see the city lights of Okinawa. The ship made a slow progression into Naha Harbour, berthing gently without a bump. Amazing manoeuvrability for such a large ship. Everybody had to disembark and get their passports stamped and visas sorted here and those going on shore excursions went to their allotted buses. What a difference to Rabaul.

We had big, air-conditioned coaches and no crowding. Our tour guide, Eriko, was one of only three Okinawans acting as guides, with the remainder being made up of Japanese who travelled down from the main island of Honshu. She was brilliant, regaling us with folk songs whilst playing on the Sanshin 3 string instrument and the Sanba ‘castanets’.

She also played on a Tsuchibue, which is a small potato shaped flute made from a variety of materials such as bamboo, clay, a hollowed out gourd and many others. At one stage she had Beryl accompany her on the ‘castanets’.
Our first stop was the Zuisen Brewery. If you enjoy wine tasting, you’ll enjoy awamori tasting even more. After the tasting, they will let you tour around the place and show you a documentary on how it is made. They also have a little museum that you can check out. Alcohol content is 49% that was aged up to 21 years. Aged up drinks are expensive but worth the price, apparently. The wine is made from special Thai rice grains and is reputedly the best in the world. I must admit it wasn’t to my taste. I asked Eriko about the plum wine, which I did like, and she said – yes the ladies wine. It is also good. I must be getting in touch with my sensitive side. I like ‘ladies drinks’.
Our second stop was Okinawa (Shurijo)Castle was built between 1429 and 1879. It was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, before becoming largely neglected. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed. After the war, the castle was re-purposed as a university campus. Beginning in 1992, the central citadel and walls were largely reconstructed on the original site based on historical records, photographs, and memory. Although Japanese, Okinawa has much Chinese based architecture and beliefs. It is located with the East China Sea on the western side and the Pacific Ocean on the east. The southern end of the island consists of uplifted coral reef, whereas the northern half has proportionally more igneous rock. The easily eroded limestone of the south has many caves, the most famous of which is Gyokusendo in Nanjo. An 850 m-long stretch is open to tourists.
Our third stop was to Okinawa World, where we were entertained by a Taiko Drum group singing traditional songs and belting out impressive sounds on some very large drums, one of which must have been 3 metres in diameter. I was flabbergasted to hear one of our Aussie tourists say to her friend that the basic performance was what you would expect from a third world country. I wanted to turn around and ask her to compare our technology to theirs, but Beryl wouldn’t let me. A great performance. We walked next door and had a buffet style lunch, before heading off on another short stroll, to the 5Km long Gyokusendo Cave, which was discovered in 1967.

Although the Gyokusendo Cave totals an underground maze of over 5km, the accessible walkway only runs for about 890 meters. Walking this 890 meter pathway will still take more than one hour especially if you stop and take time to observe all of the amazing features along the way. Limestone can be damaged by the oils on a person’s skin and I was yet annoyed again, to see people grabbing onto stalactites. The signs of massive damage can be easily seen, where new growth has started where tips have been snapped off. Beryl got a bit aggro and using sign language, forcefully told someone not to touch. That’s my girl.

As we boarded the bus, Eriko excused herself and ran off to the souvenir shop and bought everyone some traditional biscuits and a small jar of Okinawan coral sand. What a sweet lady. She told us that the visit of the Cunard Queen Elizabeth was a big deal for Okinawa and that the news helicopters and reporters would be there to capture the departure of this big ship. A group of Taiko drummers were also there to play as we left the dock on the 13th May and there in the background, was   Eriko.

We decided on a reasonably early start to go and see the Fushimi Inari Shrine before it was innundated by the crowds. We did get there later than we wanted, about 8.30am, but it wasn’t too bad.

The vermillion colour of the Torii gates stand out as beacons and the vast number of them is awesome. We decided to walk to the very top of the mountain, as most people turned back after the first terrace, which overlooked Kyoto and offered a terrific panorama. It was quite a tiring hike but the atmosphere and history has a profound effect when imagining the time and labour involved in building these places, thousands of years ago.

On the way back down, Michelle messaged us and said a friend had told her about a nice coffee shop at the bottom of the mountain, so we found the Vermillion Cafe and had one of the best coffees to date, in Japan. The guy working there was an Aussie, who grew up in Cronulla, which is the area where I also grew up, so it was fun to reminisce with him.

When we got back to the station, it was very difficult to get back to the platform, due to the huge numbers of visitors getting off the train. There were six or more attendants in uniform trying to funnel the hordes into some form of line, to enable some sort of movement. Glad that we got there early, as it was now 11.30am. We did mange to squeeze past and get onto our platform, which was also packed, and get the train back towards Kyoto. I would have hated to try and return on that train after lunch

It was a bit cold and windy, but we only had the one night booked and were due to head off to Kyoto the following morning.
Nara park is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer. Considered in Shinto to be messengers of the gods, Nara’s nearly 1200 deer have become a symbol of the city and have even been designated as a natural treasure. Nara’s deer are surprisingly tame, although they can be aggressive if they think you will feed them. Deer crackers are for sale around the park, and some deer have learned to bow to visitors to ask to be fed. The crowds were pretty impressive as well. It had been raining, so a lot of the area was a bit muddy and the deer didn’t help matters. None the less, it was a pretty parkland and worthy of more time to explore.

Along the approach to Todaiji stands the Nandaimon Gate, a large wooden gate watched over by two fierce looking statues. Representing the Nio Guardian Kings, the statues are designated national treasures together with the gate itself.

Magome’s main street is lined with wood and plaster Edo-style buildings, most of which date from the 20th century as the originals fell into disrepair or were burnt down in the frequent fires that affected both towns. A wooden watch tower guards the entrance to Magome and there is a reproduction of a Tokugawa shogunate notice board (kosatsuba), which lays down the law for approaching visitors. Among the rules and regulations posted on kosatsuba by the Tokugawa authorities were prohibitions against Christianity and rewards for turning in practicing Christians. I’m glad that is no longer the case. The death penalty was enforced for cutting down any of the area’s cypress (hinoki) trees which were used for building the regime’s castles and are still used for rebuilding the Ise shrine every 20 years. The slog up the first slope is quite taxing, but hordes of tourists make the effort and are rewarded with views over the valleys and township.

Most turn back at this stage, but we continued on towards the historic town of Tsumago along the old Nakasendo trail, which linked Kyoto to Tokyo during Japan’s feudal period. It is about 7.8 km from Magome to Tsumago and about 3 hours of leisurely hiking. The trail passes through forest and farmland as well as on the road connecting Magome to Tsumago.

We stopped at a 250 year old tea house along the way and had a nice chat with the old gentleman who was there to offer us sour plums and green tea. He also gave Michelle a fertility token so that she would produce many children. We all had a good laugh at that.

We arrived at the Hanaya Ryokan, but were a little early for check in, so walked into town for some sight seeing and a cup of coffee. Tsumago feels the more authentic of the two post towns as it suffered less from fire and began to be protected by the Japanese government in the mid-1970’s after restoration efforts by the town’s citizens in the 1960s, becoming a model for later preservation schemes in other areas of Japan.

The delightful main street, which is closed to traffic, contains a variety of wooden and plaster Edo-style inns, houses, temples and shrines, with the surrounding, forested mountains as a spectacular back-drop. We caught the bus back up the hill to the inn and freshened up for a wonderful dinner. We got changed into traditional clothing and survived the unfamiliar seating on the floor. Our old western bones and joints are not accustomed to eastern customs, but we managed the chopsticks ok. Breakfast in the morning was just as nice and the food presentation is like artwork. If visiting Japan, it is a must to immerse yourself in the culture, at least part of the time. It was over too soon and we packed bags to catch the bus to the station and then on to the next stop, Nara.

Well, we couldn’t even find the bus stop – thanks Mr Google Maps. There should be an instruction booklet, Google Maps for Dummies. We had been walking for around 30 minutes and a friendly Japanese guy asked if he could help us. We told him where we had walked from and he promptly informed us we should have been walking in the opposite direction. Not to worry, he walked us to a bus stop and told us which bus to catch and where to get off. The ride took another 40 or so minutes, but we got there in the end. We didn’t go up to the Temple, as the crowds were too daunting. Mostly Chinese tourists, apparently, so we decided to do the Tetsugaku-no-michi (Philosophers Walk) to the Nanzen-ji Temple.

The trail was quite pretty and peaceful and is a narrow street that runs along a small canal surrounded by cherry trees and is about 1 km and a half long. Its name comes from the Japanese philosopher who taught for several years at the University of Kyoto and it is said he used to walk along this street during his moments of reflection. Making small detours along the way, you can also visit various temples and shrines. The Nanzen-ji is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temples in Japan, it covers a large area with beautiful gardens.

You can have free access to the temple, while the entrance to some buildings has an entrance fee, in particular to the entrance gate (Sanmon, 500 YEN) and to the main building (Hojo, 500 YEN). There are also several small temples, also with admission fee: the Nanzenin Temple (300 YEN), the Konchiin Temple (400 YEN), the Tenjuan Temple (400 YEN). There is within this temple a portion of a red brick aqueduct, part of a system constructed in 1890 to carry water from the nearby Lake Biwa to Kyoto, which is still used today and to which belongs the channel that runs along the Philosopher’s Walk. It is very curious to see a building like this in Japan, it looks like a Roman aqueduct of those found in many Italian cities.

We met up with Michelle and Cae here, before once again parting ways as they continued their explorations by bike. We were both pretty worn out and my back was killing me, so off to Karasuma Starbucks again to impose on their soft armchairs. We walked up the long hill to Keage station and caught the train back. We thought it would be packed, but amazingly, we got a seat. The kids took us out to a vegan restaurant they were fond of, near Nishiki Market, where we all enjoyed a nice meal. It was a fair wait in line to get a table though and it was just about last orders before we got to sit down.

Today Beryl and I caught a bus to Gojo-zaka, where we had 20 minute walk up a hill, to see the Kiyomizu-dera Temple, one of Kyoto’s must-see attractions.

Presiding over the Southern Higashiyama Sightseeing district, with a brilliant view across the entire city, Kiyomizu-dera Temple is just about everything a temple shouldn’t be. It’s noisy, crowded and gaudy, but it somehow manages to transcend all of this to become one of Kyoto’s most worthwhile temples to visit. Start by climbing Chawan-zaka or Kiyomizu-michi to get there and you’ll soon see the brightly painted entrance gate and pagoda. The main hall of Kiyomizu-dera is presently being renovated. Construction is slated to finish in March 2020. During renovation, you can still visit the temple and even enter the main hall, but the exterior might be covered with scaffolding. Kiyomizu-dera is composed of several Buddhist temples. Kiyomizu temple was founded in 798 AD and it is named for a waterfall on the grounds, ‘Kiyoi mizu’ which means pure water. As you climb the stairs to the entrance on your left is the Uma-todome, a set of wooden horse stalls from the Edo Period that was used by visiting samurai. Kiyomizu Temple is entered through the Nio-mon Gate, a two-story structure guarded by two Deva statues or Nio and two koma-inu (Lion dogs). The next gate is the Sai-mon with a cypress-bark roof held up by eight pillars. The gate is decorated with carved elephant heads. The original Kiyomizu Temple dates from the eighth century A.D. when the Shishinden Hall of the Imperial Palace at Nagaoka was moved here. The present buildings were re-erected in 1633 on the orders of the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu. A two-storey gate to the west serves as the main entrance, with statues of Kongo-Rikishi standing in niches on both sides. The main image of the Shishinden is an 11-headed statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, believed to have been carved by the priest Enchin in the 7th century. The image called a Juichimen-Senju-Sengen-Kannon, is only displayed every 33 years. Close by is a belfry (Shoro) with the bell cast in 1478 and a fine three-storey pagoda, Sanju-no-to, dating from 1633, while to the east are the Scripture Hall and the Founder’s Hall. Asakurado or Asakura Hall was built by Sadakage Asakura (1473-1512), a Buddhist devout and son of the emperor Temmu. As well as being a World Heritage Site, Kiyomizu was recently submitted as a candidate as a New Seven Wonders of the World.

After visiting the temple, we wandered around Sannenzaka shopping street and had lunch on a first floor restaurant. We then followed this road as it wound its way down past Nene no Michi, Kodaiji to Gion – the traditional pleasure and geisha quarter of the city.

On the way is Yasaka Gojonoto, a five-story pagoda. We slogged on until we reached the Kyoto Museum of Traditional Arts, but found it was being used today for a graduation ceremony for 8,000 students at a time. It was packed as they just filed out of both entrances for about 30 minutes. We managed to get in and have a look around, but it will be set down for another visit next time. As we left, the streets were filling up with thousands more coming in for the next ceremony. I was not looking forward to getting the train from Higashiyama Station (which translates as East Mountain, as a young female student informed me) because a continuous line of students were heading to the same station, but it wasn’t too bad. A long day and a tiring one.

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Today was a national holiday in Japan and we headed off again to the Nanzenji Temple, whose spacious grounds are located at the base of Kyoto’s forested Higashiyama mountains. This is one of the most important Zen temples in all of Japan. It is the head temple of one of the schools within the Rinzai sect of Japanese Zen Buddhism and includes multiple sub-temples, that make the already large complex of temple buildings even larger. We walked to most of the main buildings and then found a narrow track which led up the mountain to several small and very old shrines. Only saw a couple of other people there, which was a pleasant change from the hordes, lower down the slopes.

We arrived home around 5pm and went in to our favourite watering hole, Starbucks, where they had very comfortable leather lounge chairs looking out onto a very pretty temple and a colourful city skyline. Much better than sitting on the floor of our BnB and watching the clock tick away. I think we spent several hours each day in those soft chairs, whilst we stayed in Kyoto.

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Today was Michelle and Cae’s last day with us in Kyoto, as they had to return to work. We went to Arashiyama, a district in the western outskirts of Kyoto. The area has been a popular destination since the Heian Period 794-1185, when nobles would enjoy its natural setting. Arashiyama is particularly popular during the cherry blossom and autumn color seasons.

The Togetsukyo Bridge is Arashiyama’s well known, central landmark. Many small shops, restaurants and other attractions are found nearby, including Tenryuji Temple, Arashiyama’s famous bamboo groves and pleasure boats that are available for rent on the river. We caught the train to Karasuma Oike station and then changed for Arashiyama, where we walked to the bamboo forest and then to the Nison-in temple. We also checked out the Togetsukyo bridge.

The streets and attractions in this area was by far the most crowded ones we had encountered and at times you just couldn’t move along the paths and roadways. There was also car and rickshaw traffic which had to contend with the huge volumes of humanity.

Wow. We said our goodbyes to the kids and went back to the Bnb, ready to head out on our own the following day and hoping not to get lost.

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Today was a shopping day, where we spent a lot of time running around trying to get a few items which were on our list. First up, we travelled by train to Kitano and walked several klms, to a street market. I think that they are the same, world over.

Back on the train to Karasuma-Oike, where we went to various stores, including the Aritsugu Nishiki Market, to get a hand made Japanese kitchen knife, but the large variety, crowds of people and cost had me walking out scratching my head.

 

Caught several trains and finally found the Figure Eight fishing store in Kuinabashi, where I bought some line, which cannot be obtained in Australia.

What a massive store. Three stories and a huge floor area, where I needed a whole day rather than 30 minutes, to explore. Beryl had other ideas though and we were back on the train to find more important stores, like the Misuyabari Needle shop and the Namura tailor shop.

It was almost dark when we arrived back to the unit and we searched around to find a place to eat. Found an Itarian Pizza place (correct spelling) and had a meal there. The menu was fun to read, as the descriptions of the various pizzas had me chuckling. The letter ‘L’ was transposed as an ‘R’ and the ‘A hen loosens and it is a pizza of terriyaki sauce and mayonnaise about the body and a welsh onion’ had me not wanting to experience that unusual variety. Pizzas were ok though. Back to the lounge at Starbucks, to unwind before turning in for the night.

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Kyoto, once the capital of Japan, is a city on the island of Honshu. It is famous for its numerous classical Buddhist temples, as well as gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines and traditional wooden houses. It’s also known for formal traditions such as kaiseki dining, consisting of multiple courses of precise dishes, and geisha, female entertainers often found in the Gion district. It is one of our favourite destinations and there is always something new to see.

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Got up early this morning in order to make it in time for our reserved seat Bullet train leaving from Tokyo station. The station is massive and the subterranean precincts just go on and on. Lucky for us that Michelle knows her way around, although I noticed she had her google maps out. As it was, we had to ask which shinkansen platform our train was leaving from, because the signs were a little confusing. Wall to wall people, even at this early hour, were starting to annoy me already. Good thing I am such a mild mannered, placid person. We were soon on our way to Kyoto some 2.75 hours away by bullet train.

Our Air BnB was in a suburb so we hopped onto a subway train for the three stops to Karasuma-oike station and found a locker for our luggage, as we couldn’t check in until 3pm.

Michelle and Cae went off to hire a couple of bicycles, while Beryl and I did some sightseeing around the area. We kind of remembered the layout of this part of Kyoto from our last visit, so didn’t really get lost.

The cherry blossoms were starting to end here, having bloomed earlier than expected, but there were still plenty of flower laden trees. We found a big food hall on the top floors of a shopping complex and had an Okonomiyaki, which is a grilled, savoury type of pancake with the main ingredient being either cabbage or noodles. They are quite tasty and filling.

We continued our walk along the river, which was immensely crowded, and came across a ceremony, either Buddhist or Shinto, with much chanting and drumming. They were leaving a shrine area and hoisting palanquins onto their shoulders for the procession along the streets. It must have been an important procession, as streets were closed off as they approached and transited their way along, amongst the melee of crowds.

The first five palanquins each had a young girl in them, dressed in traditional clothing and made up (to my way of thinking) as a Maiko or Geisha. Very ornate and beautiful. Wish we could find what the ceremony signified. At the tail end of the procession, the porters hefted a very heavy looking shrine and followed the leading palanquins down the roads, chanting ‘Hoitto, Hoitto’ to the beat of a drum as they toil along. It was really quite impressive.

We walked back to the Kyoto Karasuma Rokkaku Starbucks, which looks onto the lovely Rokkakudo Buddhist Temple, to enjoy sitting in the leather armchairs with a hot coffee and free Wi-Fi, whilst waiting for ‘the kids’ to finish their bike rides so that we could check in to the apartment.

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Michelle and Cae still had their bikes for the day, so Beryl and I decided to catch a bus to Ginkaku-ji  (The Temple of the Silver Pavilion) from Karasuma.

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Leaving today for Tsumago, to overnight in a traditional Japanese Ryokan. Out at 7.45am and on the train to Tsurumai, then a change for another 70 minute train ride to Nakatsugawa Station and transfer to the Kitaena Bus for an arrival at Magome around 10.10am.

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We walked to our accommodation from Nara station, to find a most spacious, beautifully appointed Japanese home, at our disposal. The place was spotless and magnificent, unlike some of the other BnB’s we had stayed in.

After unpacking and having something to eat, we headed off for about a 30 minute walk to Nara Park.

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Fushimi Inari Shrine is a must see venue so be sure to get there early, before it was innundated by the crowds. We did get there later than we wanted, about 8.30am, but it wasn’t too bad.
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Hiroshima was largely destroyed by an atomic bomb during World War II.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park commemorates the 1945 event. In the park are the ruins of Genbaku Dome, one of the few buildings that was left standing near ground zero. Other prominent sites include Shukkei-en, a formal Japanese garden, and Hiroshima Castle, a fortress surrounded by a moat and a park.

We headed back to Kyoto from Shinjuku and then boarded the bullet train down to Hiroshima, where we were booked into the Prince Hotel for our next leg of the journey. We had asked for non smoking rooms and ours reeked of cigarettes, so they upgraded us to a bigger, better room with wonderful views of the harbour and surrounds. Michelle and Cae came to visit, and also complained of cigarette smell, so got an upgrade as well. Their room wasn’t as nice as ours, so we swapped them. In hindsight, I thought that the smoke smell may have filtered through the air conditioning ducts.
The Japanese seem to be heavy smokers and there is no issue with smoking in dining areas. We had to ask to be seated in non smoking areas, but they were only divided by a few feet and an open patterned screen so it only helped a little bit.
We had dinner in the hotel dining room that night and planned the next day’s outing to Miyajima Island.

Chris, Alison, Beryl and I decided to get up early to catch the private ferry from the Hotel jetty to the island, as it got there a couple of hours earlier than the JR Line one and saved us a shuttle ride to the train station, a train to the ferry terminal and then the ferry to the island. We walked out of the terminal and headed off towards the Torii Gate, along with the multitudes.
There are lots of Sika deer on the island and they have become over friendly with tourists, to the point of being annoying. I saw one bump an ice cream cone out of a kids hand, gulp it down and then try to get the fathers one as well. Another deer had a tug of war with a lady over a magazine or similar. She got it back, chewed over, and put it behind her back only to have a second deer grab it as she was squealing at the first one. Looked funny, but they do warn tourists not to have any paper or loose items in pockets or hands. Michelle had eaten some corn off a cob later on and was wondering where to put the rubbish, when a deer snatched it out of her hand. Problem solved.

We walked past the centuries old five story Pagoda, which is an imposing site, as is the vermillion coloured Torii Gate, sitting out in the water. The O-Torii (Grand Torii Gate), which stands in the sea about 16.8 meters in height, is among the most well known structures of Itsukushima Shrine. The current torii, which is the eighth, was erected in 1875. Torii gates are said to be the gateway between the human and spirit worlds.

We kept walking up towards the ropeway, where a gondola ride takes you up to Mt Misen. The autumn colours as we walked through the virgin forests were truly spectacular and inspiring. If you could walk through before the crowds arrived, it would be doubly so. They really packed the cable cars to maximum, so catching the view was almost impossible. The view from the top was fantastic, only being spoiled by the haze on the day.

We headed back down and prepared to travel back to Hiroshima on the JR Line ferry. We met Michelle, Cae and the rest of the family as they came out of the terminal. They had just arrived, several hours after we did, and wow, did they have a crowd to contend with. Beryl and I were talking to them for a couple of minutes and noticed Chris and Alison were not there. We headed off to the ferry, only to see them waving goodbye as it left the dock. Another ferry left 10 minutes later, so we caught them up as they waited for us at the other end.

From there, we wanted to go to the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, so caught the train to Miyajima-guchi Station and then the tram to the A-Park stop. The A-Bomb Dome is the skeletal ruins of the former Industrial Promotion Hall. It was the building closest to the hypocentre of the nuclear bomb and the only one which remained at least partially standing. It was left in the condition it was after the bombing, as a memorial of the casualties.

The Children’s Peace Monument nearby is dedicated to the many children destroyed by the bomb and welled up deep emotion in me. I was reduced to tears when I saw an old man sweeping away leaves from the foot of the memorial and then step into the bushes to weep. I couldn’t stay there, as many Asian tourists were laughing and joking, not necessarily at the incident but the atmosphere didn’t hit them as it did me.
From there we walked through the large parklands to the museum, where pictures and artifacts of the horror were displayed. Again, I couldn’t stay in the museum as it was unbelievable crammed with humanity and was hot and stifling. I had to get out and wait outside for the others.

Caught the tram back to Hiroshima station and then the shuttle bus back to the hotel. It was a long day, so we were happy to finally get back to the Prince Hotel and relax a bit before dinner.

We caught the Odakyu Romance Car train from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto station. Hopped onto a bus, which was packed within minutes and climbed up the steep mountain road to Hakone. A warning came across the speaker, to keep luggage secure as we were going up a meandering road. Well, it was hairpin after hairpin on a narrow and slippery road. The rear wheels of the bus were spinning on each left hand, off cambered turn and sliding across the road. Maybe our driver was a drift car racer in his spare time. We spent a few days in the Hakone/Lake Ashi area to explore this historic area. Booked in and spent one night in the Hakone Hotel, which is right on the lake and only a hundred metres or so from the ferry wharf. The big window of our room, opened up the view of the lake and Mt Fuji, and in the bathroom there were big barn door shutters that you could swing open, to give you the same view as you lay back in a steaming bath.

We got rugged up and walked to the ferry wharf only a hundred metres away and took the cruise on the ‘Pirate Ship’. It was bitterly cold on the lake but the scenery was spectacular. An old Japanese man sat next to me on the top deck and asked if he could practise his English. He was a nice polite man who was on a school reunion. I gave him a chocolate Oreo biscuit and he pulled out a gift wrapped box of chocolates and insisted on opening it and giving me a few. His history of his life and experiences during his 80 odd years, was fascinating.

The following morning we got up and packed our luggage, leaving it at the hotel for storage until we returned from site seeing later that afternoon. We took the 30 minute walk along a part of the Old Tokaido road, through the cedar forest down to Moto-Hakone on the shoreline of Lake Ashi.

Had ‘breakfast’ at the 7eleven store and then caught a bus to the Amasake Chaya teahouse. It is run by Satoshi Yamamoto and has been in his family for 350 years. The building is not totally original but the thatched roof and atmosphere can transport you back to 1603, when this Edo period Inn was first opened. We had a cup of hot Amazake, which is a thick drink made from fermenting rice and some sour plums.

We caught the bus to get us around the mountain, so hopped on the next one to check out the Kanazashi woodcraft shop. Amazing and precise workmanship. We continued on to the Hakone Yumoto station to change buses for Kiga-Saskashita and then another bus change to Gora Station. We had a walk around the hilly town, climbing up steep roadways that seemed to offer no exertion for the elderly Japanese residents, but had us puffing.

The Gora gardens were lovely and overlooked the town and surrounding countryside. The town had sulphur mining in the vicinity and the strong smell rose out of the water drains in clouds of steam. The entire area is volcanic and unstable to some degree. We lined up with the multitudes, to catch the cable car to Sounzan and then the gondola, or Ropeway as it is called, over ‘Hell Valley’ and finally down to Togendai and the Pirate Ship for the ride back to the hotel. Hell Valley is a desolate looking area where sulphur is mined and hot, gassy steam rises out of fissures and bubbling springs. At one of the stops, they sell ‘black eggs’ which are boiled in the hot water of one of the many springs. The water turns the shell black and it is said that every black egg you eat will add 7 years to your life. Alas, we all got relegated to our allotted lifespan, as the line to buy eggs was hundreds of metres long and we had to get back.

We left our luxurious hotel and headed off to our next accommodation. There are a number of airbnb rentals available in the region and we had booked one named ‘The Ritz House’, but the reality of the name was lost in the translation. None the less, we settled in to the spartan shack for a couple of nights. It looked a bit dreary and overcast and sure enough it got windy and then the rain came down. We caught a bus to Moto Hakone and it was very cold, with the wind whipping off Lake Ashinoko, but we walked the short distance to the Tori Gate, only to find a busload of Chinese tourists queueing up for photos. We stood in line and waited to get a photo. Sure enough, lining up the shot and some oblivious person stands in front of you to take their own photo. We walked back to the ferry terminal, got something to eat from the convenience store and stood in line to catch the last ferry across the lake to Togendai and then a bus to near our accommodation. We found the $200/night ‘Ritz House’ to be less than luxurious. Maybe it was named after the cracker rather than the famous hotel. It was a very basic two room ‘house’ with two rooms, double bed in one and thin futons for the sofas, which turned out to be very uncomfortable.

After showering, there was nowhere to put clothes or towels in the wet room, so I had to get dried off and dressed in the ‘kitchen’. Lucky the rooms had doors which could be closed. It rained all night and was still raining in the morning as we headed off to the bus stop about 1klm away and caught it to Gora Station, where we then hopped on the Hakone-Tozan (zig zag) train to Hakone-Yumoto. The train travels on Japan’s oldest mountain railway. The small trains wind themselves through a narrow, densely wooded valley over many bridges and tunnels, stopping at small stations along the way and changing directions at three switchbacks. The 35 minute train ride from Gora to Hakone-Yumoto is especially beautiful in June and July when thousands of hydrangea (ajisai) are in bloom along the tracks and are illuminated during the evenings.

We had a light lunch at the Yumoto Fujiya Hotel. Beryl and I shared a Club sandwich, I had a waffle and ice cream and she had a slice of apple pie and cream plus coffees all for a cost of $Aud95. Hmmm, expensive? After lunch we walked alongside the Hayakawa River and took the usual photos from the Ajisai-bashi bridge and walked up to the Tamadare Falls. All very pretty – and busy.

Caught the bus ‘home’ and it was turning very cold and foggy. Nothing around the area where we were, as far as dining out, so we had convenience store food again. A hot cup of noodles for Beryl and me, before turning in for the night. Early the next morning, I was awoken by a rumbling noise and the house shook. This happened about three more times during the next hour and Beryl looked out of the window and excitedly told me to look. It was white and heavy with snow outside and still coming down strongly. Michelle was awake and I asked about the rumbling and shaking of the house, to which she explained that there was an active volcano only a couple of klms away and it always rumbles. Great. Just then there was another tremor, so I opened the front door and had a look outside. A ton of snow slid off a roof a couple of doors away and that was the rumbling sound I had heard. As it hit the ground, the house trembled, so that explained it. I would hate to be standing just outside the roof line when that lot came down. The snow was the lightest, fluffiest, squeakiest that I had ever seen and it showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

the buses had been cancelled due to the conditions. The owners of the house were contacted and we were told that it was booked for that night and we had to leave. How? Michelle got a return call an hour later and was told that someone would pick us up and take us to the station at Odawara, about a two hour trip.

There was no way a car could get down the laneway and back out, due to the snow, so when there was a knock on the door, we all piled out under umbrellas and had to walk to the convenience store where he had parked his little van. As we left, there was a bit of sliding but we took off with no chains on the tyres and started off downhill. We came across cars which had slid off the side of the road, stopped in the middle of the road and with people pushing their cars as the wheels were just spinning as they slid off the road. Our driver couldn’t afford to stop, so just weaved past the cars. We passed only a couple of cars driving up the mountain and none appeared to have chains. There was about 1 metre of snow off to the sides of the road. It all looked really postcard pretty, with the pine trees white and a carpet of snow without any sign of footprints. When we finally got off the mountain an hour later, we hit a freeway which had a lot of slow moving traffic and big trucks travelling on it. Several times we appeared to drift very close to trucks and the roads were mushy black snow, but obviously icy. Finally we got to the station and wanted to pay our driver for his time, tolls and fuel but he wouldn’t hear of it. He spoke no English at all and we felt sorry for him having to drive all the way back up the mountain. Hope he made it. We booked our reserved Romance Car tickets and had a couple of hours to kill, so walked around the shopping precinct. Beryl and I had put plastic bags over our socks before putting our shoes on and walking in the snow and hers were poking out and squeaking as she walked, so they were removed as soon as she could as people were probably thinking, ‘what the heck are these tourists wearing’. It continued to rain but the temperature was 2C, so no more snow this far down the mountain. We hopped on the train and found we had a private saloon booth, so that was good. After a couple of train changes, we finally arrived back at Shinjuku about 6pm. A great adventure for us.

Today we caught the train for the 2.5hr trip to Mount Yoshino (Yoshinoyama) in Nara Prefecture.  This has been Japan’s most famous cherry blossom viewing spot for many centuries. There were the usual crowds at the station but were soon cleared as buses were filled for the run up the mountain. Michelle and Cae decided to do the walking trail and we finally met near our bus stop, about 2 hrs later.

The roadway up the mountain is long and steep so most tourists opted to take the mini buses which were constantly streaming up the back road. We all decided to walk as far as we wanted and then turn around and come back

It is said that the first trees were planted along the slopes more than 1300 years ago, and today the mountain is covered by approximately 30,000 cherry trees of many different varieties, especially of the Yamazakura variety. Rather than a free standing mountain, Yoshinoyama is a north-facing mountain slope. It is divided into four areas: the Shimo Senbon (lower 1000 trees) at the base of the mountain, Naka Senbon (middle 1000 trees), Kami Senbon (upper 1000 trees) and Oku Senbon (inner 1000 trees) at the top of the mountain. Visitors can enjoy the cherry trees as they ascend the mountain, passing Yoshino’s touristy town with its various temples and shrines, and enjoying hanami in the parks and viewpoints along the way. All the trees were in bloom and looked spectacular.

Showers of petals covered us with every errant breeze, so we were fortunate with our timing as they would all be gone in a matter of weeks. Yoshino Mikumari Shrine is a small Shinto shrine in the upper Kami Senbon area of Yoshinoyama. This serene shrine is dedicated to Ameno Mikumari, a female deity of water and safe childbirth who is believed to bestow fertility on those that pray to her. The shrine displays several ancient portable shrines (mikoshi) and artifacts and is one of four important mikumari shrines in Japan. We stopped here and saw a ceremony taking place, which looked interesting. The shrine’s current main hall was built in 1604 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s son Hideyori and features a unique architectural style of the Momoyama Period. The hall’s beautiful, layered bark roof was renovated in 2011, and the structure has been designated part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004.

This marked the return portion of our trek and we made our way back down to the bus stop. Beryl and I opted to go the rest of the way to the station on the bus and the kids rolled up about half an hour later. Booked our seats for the train and made our way back to Kyoto. 

We arrived in Osaka Tempozan harbour about 6am on the 16th May on board the Cunard Lines Queen Elizabeth and 900 passengers got off the ship, filing through customs in groups. We were going to get the subway train to our hotel, but decided to catch a cab instead. Poor driver got lost and did not speak English. We sat on the side of the road for a while, as he tried to get directions via his mobile phone, but did eventually turn off his meter. We eventually found the Alexander Hotel Namba, where we were staying for the next two nights and booked in. We went for a walk in the many shopping arcades around Namba and promptly got lost. Found our way back to the hotel and also located a spot to have dinner. Got back to the hotel and crashed.

It was raining, cold and very windy the following morning, but we sorted out where to catch the train from and where to change trains to arrive near Osaka Castle. I had to buy an umbrella, which was promptly blown inside out as soon as I stepped outside, but it held together.

We didn’t get in the line to catch the elevator up to the 8th floor, intending rather to catch it back down. Big mistake – it didn’t take passengers on the downward trip, so we walked 16 floors. Had lunch in a cafe in a separate building on the grounds and then walked around to the plum garden, which was in flower. Luckily the rain had stopped. As we were walking out of the grove, a voice called out ‘what are you doing here’. It was Margaret, one of our new friends from the Q.E. Paul was a little way off, sitting down because his feet hurt. They had also bumped into Peter, another Q.E. friend from our dinner table, earlier on. We left the castle and headed back to the hotel for our last night in Osaka

Osaka Castle (Osaka-jo) was built by the hegemon Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who ruled Japan in the latter half of the 16th century, on the site of a temple called Ishiyama Hongan-ji. The construction work began in 1583 and most buildings such as the castle tower were completed in 1585. Its gross area is over 3,300,000 sq m and tens of thousands of people were daily mobilized in its construction. The donjon is five-tiered and nine-storied, and has large golden sea creature ornaments shining on the rooftop. It is claimed that pure gold chasings were set in the corridors. One of the charms of this castle is the beauty of its stone wall. Reportedly, there are 40,000 rocks in the wall. Legend has it that powerful daimyo from all parts of Japan competed in carrying the large rocks to display their loyalty to the Toyotomi hegemon. Toyotomi Hideyoshi intended the castle to become the center of a new, unified Japan under Toyotomi rule. It was the largest castle at the time. However, a few years after Hideyoshi’s death, Tokugawa troops attacked and destroyed the castle and terminated the Toyotomi lineage in 1615. Osaka Castle was rebuilt by Tokugawa Hidetada in the 1620s, but its main castle tower was struck by lightning in 1665 and burnt down.

It is the symbol of Osaka. It was not until 1931 that the present ferro-concrete reconstruction of the castle tower was built. During the war it miraculously survived the city wide air raids. Major repair works gave the castle new glamor in 1997. The castle tower is now entirely modern on the inside and even features an elevator for easier accessibility. It houses an informative museum about the castle’s history. It has five tiers and is approximately 40 m high. The castle tower is surrounded by secondary citadels, gates, turrets, impressive stone walls and moats. The Nishinomaru Garden, encompassing the former ‘western citadel’, is a lawn garden with 600 cherry trees, a tea house, the former Osaka Guest House and nice views of the castle tower from below. Unlike most of the rest of the castle grounds, the garden requires an admission fee. The entire Osaka Castle Park covers about two square kilometers with lots of green space, sport facilities, a multi-purpose arena (Osakajo Hall) and a shrine dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The park is one of Osaka’s most popular hanami (cherry blossom viewing)spot during the cherry blossom season, which usually takes place in early April.

We checked out of our hotel and were fortunate enough to be able to leave our bags in storage there, until we returned in the late afternoon. The plan was to catch a train to Namaze station and then begin the easy hike along the Mukogawa Gorge and the now abandoned JR Fukuchiyama rail line.

The trains that used to thunder along the tracks are now rolling down other lines so the old track has become an interesting hiking trail. You can start the hike either from Namaze or Takedao, both are connected to the JR line and have trains to Osaka.

The track is well maintained and has amazing scenery and you can catch a train at either end of it. The hike takes about 3 hours but being an old railway line means that the whole thing is pretty level, albeit bumpy, so basically anyone who can walk shouldn’t have too much trouble. It doesn’t take long before you come to the first of several tunnels that you have to walk through, some of which are pretty long and pitch black so make sure your phone is charged for the flashlight or alternatively bring an actual torch.

As you walk through the darkest tunnels, you can hear the squeaking and chittering of roosting bats. It is extraordinary how many people just walk through and are oblivious of the wildlife in areas. I guesstimated the distance and manually set the camera to snap a few pictures. Actually captured a few bats on ‘film’.

About halfway along the hike, you come to a bridge over the river in between two tunnels that has great views of the gorge. The walk takes about 3 hours at a leisurely pace, so bring along snacks and drinks and remember to take your rubbish back with you. For me, this was one of many highlights on this trip and I would do it again, taking a lot longer and exploring.

Caught the train at Takedao station to Osaka and then on to Kyoto, where we picked up our bags and got our reserved Shinkansen back to Tokyo and then the train back to Higashi-nakano.