Day 21: Return to Tokyo

After another leisurely breakfast, we checked out of Zen and set off to Tokyo.

Arriving in Tokyo in the Shinjuku District (think Piccadilly Circus meets the red light district meets Roger Rabbit Toon Town) it was evident immediately that all Zen had been hopelessly lost. It’s a visually busy, bustling area and a far cry from our Osaka castle in the sky.

After checking in to our hotel (which is famous for the giant Godzilla statue which towers over it’s rooftop bar) we ditched the bags and zipped North across Tokyo to Asakusa. We arrived at the Sensoji Temple with 4 minutes to spare before closing!! Cutting it a little too fine, we were both quite stressed and exhausted but we did manage to grab a few snaps before it closed for the night.

What better way to relax then to hire another local to take us on an evening rickshaw tour around the area. Our guide Daichi didn’t quite have the same amazing calves as Gucci (owing to the lack of hills on the Asakusa tour) but he was equally insightful.

We visited Racoon alley, saw a statue of Rat Boy (the Japanese equivalent to Robin Hood), visited the oldest temple in Tokyo, the Geisha district, entertainment district and the oldest theme park in the world - but there was no way on earth we’d consider going on those rusty old theme park rides - eeek!

After the rickshaw we wondered around the area which was lit by prettty paper lanterns, grabed a quick Starbucks and headed back to Shinjuku for a nightcap.

We are now packed and ready to come home. Let’s hope Godzilla doesn’t spring to life in the night and eat the hotel!!!

- Hippie -

p.s. pictures will follow tomorrow.

Day 20: Becoming truly Zen

Well, I must say, we are enjoying this Zen pace of life.

Today we had a leisurely breakfast, navigated the Osaka train system in order to change our return tickets to Tokyo (to an earlier train) and made our way to Osaka Castle Museum. The Castle has been completely renovated, not in the same way previous castles may have burnt down a few times, this one had seen the lot - floored by earthquakes, fire and war then rebuilt several times over…not a single pice of the original interior, or exterior, remains. You could almost say that the gods really didn’t want this castle to survive! However, it is a very pretty recreation and it has a lift, to the 8th floor!

[This blog post is being interrupted…]

Whilst walking up to the castle we had a revelation. All the way though the trip we’d been told that the design of all castle walls was so that it was hard for the enemy to climb up. If that was the case why weren’t they vertical? Instead they were angled down in a fan shape, shallow at the bottom and steep at the top… Didn’t make sense to us. But whilst walking up to the castle it dawned on us. It had nothing at all to do with climbing the walls! All of the castles had clever little openings on the inside so that they could drop stones onto any intruders trying to gain access. The walls needed to be angled so that when the stones dropped they fell outwards - smashing the intruders! Clearly the Japanese historians guessed why the walls were not vertical and came up with their own idea - ignoring simple physics!

[Returning to your usual service…]

The exhibits tell the story of Hideyoshi Toyotomi and they helped tie together the places we’d visited all over Japan. It was however the hottest day we’ve had and, despite stopping for ice cream, our desire to be out and about wained after a few hours. Fearful this expedition was beginning to effect our state of Zen we returned to the hotel. Luckily, that was around 3pm and just in time for the free afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea consisted of little ham and mustard sub-rolls, green salad, cheese and biscuits, cakes galore (including, chocolate cups, macaroons, matcha sponge and cream roll and pink madeleines) tea and coffee. After eating our fill we retired to the room for a rest and found that the hotel staff had left us a honeymoon towel swan presentation - very thoughtful.

Now we are back in the Executive lounge for happy hour, free drinks, Sushi and dumplings! Our Zen state has been restored - truly we have transcended.

- Hippie -

Day 19: Minimalism.

Today we were supposed to be learning the Buddhist way and to have minimal possessions. Instead we’re checked into a gorgeous 5 star minimalistic hotel.. This makes me content and zen like. I have no stresses.

We took the bullet train from Hiroshima to Ōsaka and got to our hotel before our room was ready. Rather than look after our bags and tell us to come back, they showed us to the executive lounge on the 39th floor and gave us free drinks and snacks. See - no stress. After a couple of coffees they told us our room was ready and gave us the key. Our room was a corner room on the 35th floor. As soon as the door opened, the curtains automatically opened to reveal floor to ceiling windows overlooking Ōsaka. It was stunning. Still no stress.

After discovering I could control the lights, air-con and curtains from the interactive control panel next to the bed, stress free, we headed down to grab some lunch, in the stunning lounge.

Pondering our afternoon activities we decided to hit the subway to the America-mura district. Coincidentally it was about 200m from the Apple store in Ōsaka. After some quick work (server connectivity issue - fortunately I was not in a Buddhist monastery cut off from the outside world so I could resolve it - that would’ve been stressful!) we wandered back through the America-mura district to the underground.

The America-mura district was very interesting, full of trendy small shops selling trainers, hats, t-shirts. Carol-Ann likened it to Camden Market. It was also the only place we’ve seen any graffiti, or litter!

Back at the hotel we went for a swim in the beautiful 40m swimming pool, on the 37th floor. I don’t think I could’ve been any more chilled. After half an hour or so we decided to head back. On leaving the changing rooms we were met by the gym/swimming staff giving us free shampoo and conditioner! He then disappeared back towards the pool. We walked along the corridor from the changing rooms, around the corner towards the lift and the gym/pool attendant was there! He was either a ninja or had discovered such zen-like abilities he could walk through walls!

That pretty much sums up the day, we’re now back in the executive lounge having free bar drinks and canapés and you know what? I’m not stressed. I’m totally zen..

Day 18: Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside...

Today we went to the seaside (YAY!) and there were wild deer there too (YAY, YAY, YAY!).

We took the train to the seaside and the ferry boat to Miyajima Island. Turns out the Island is twinned with Mont Saint Michel and for good reason, they both have that long hill and tourist trap feel about them. First we visited the famous floating O-Torii Gate, one of the most photographed sites in Japan. As the tide was out, we were able to walk right up to it and touch it.

Skipping the temple (because we’ve seen enough of those), we took the Miyajima Ropeway (aka cable car system) to the first view point. From there you are supposed to hike to the summit of the mountain for a 360 degree panoramic view but sadly, that was beyond me so we just hung out at the first view point. It was a bit hazy and the photos don’t really do the scenery justice. It was very pretty to see the little Islands popping up out of the see all green and unspoilt. The topography here is stunning, a bit like the Saint Lucia in the Caribbean but without the heat. We admired the view for a long time before making our way back down on the Ropeway in search of lunch.

At the bottom, we stopped for fried chicken on a stick (I am sure it’s got a Japanese name but I don’t know it) and ice cream… mmmm… before returning to the ferry terminal for the trip back home to Hiroshima.

It was lovely to be beside the seaside today. It makes me a little homesick but I’ve found that a good cure for that is the novelty of patting wild deer.

- Hippie -

Day 17: Hiroshima, tragedy and beauty

Today (after a good night’s sleep on a real bed with fluffy pillows) we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Peace Memorial Park and Atomic Bomb Dome. All three sites are situated within the same area so even I could stroll between them. The museum was very interesting and very sad. I don’t think you can visit the exhibits there without feeling moved by the atrocities. I would say that the museum has a strong agenda, namely, to show the reality of nuclear warfare and to press upon its visitors the need to eliminate all nuclear weapons to ensure there is never a repeat of what happen at 8:15am on 6 August 1945.

The museum is split into three exhibits over three floors, starting at the top. The top floor is dedicated to the the history of the development of the weapon, what happened when it hit and in the moments afterwards. Everything is in English and Japanese so you can fully immerse in the educational experience, listen to eyewitness accounts and physically touch roof tiles and glass bottles that had blistered/disfigured by the heat of the blast. The middle floor deals with what happened afterwards and describes the various illnesses/injuries which the blast survivors contracted in the days, weeks and years following that day (including severe burns, radiation sickness, atomic cataracts, leukaemia and other cancers). The ground floor is, in my opinion, the most moving. This shows personal effects of those who had died, donated by their surviving relatives. The image which will stay with me is the little boy’s tricycle - my heart breaks to think about it.

After the museum we took a walk through the Peace Memorial Park to the Atomic Bomb Dome. The interesting part about the explosion was that, scientifically speaking, it was not a success - the bomb detonated 600m above ground level. Directly below the point of detonation was what is now known as the Atomic Bomb Dome, back then it was an Exhibition Hall. As a result of the bomb detonating directly above the dome, it managed to retain its shape.

The park was a wide open riverside space, bright, beautiful and full of life. A complete contrast to the images we had just seen. We stopped at a little park side cafe and enjoyed some Italian food (and Gavi) in the sunshine.

After lunch we went to visit the Shukkeien gardens (I think Phil felt a bit sorry for me as I missed out on seeing the Himeji gardens yesterday due to injury and weather). The gardens were great. We saw little turtles and giant carp (which apparently jump out the water - who knew!?). We wondered around the little paths and over the little bridges in what can only be described as a miniature landscape complete with little mountains, valleys, islands and beaches. I loved it. Phil apparently also enjoyed himself… mostly by taking pictures of the flying carp.

- Hippie -

Day 16: Do you have commandos here? I have much much better, I have Ninjas.

Who knows where we are…? That’s right - Himeji Castle. What’s that got to do with commandos you say? Really? I’m disappointed. Go and watch “You Only Live Twice”. Then come back and read the rest.

Thats right. Where Bond asks Tiger if he has commandos, Tiger responded that he has ninjas and this is his top secret training camp - Himeji castle.

Himeji was a stop over point for us leaving Kyoto for Hiroshima. It was a horrible day, non-stop rain. Fortunate the majority of the walk from the station to the castle was under cover through a shopping street, but we had to buy umbrellas as the last 400 metres or so weren’t covered.

Built in 1333, the particularly interesting fact about it is that it’s almost completely original. It was built to withstand great sieges, but never saw any. That’s why it’s survived, it hasn’t even caught fire! This makes it pretty unique in Japanese castles. During the Second World War it came it’s closest to destruction when, even though it was disguised with black paint to hide it, a firebomb dropped on it. But failed to explode.

Walking up through the grounds to the main keep naturally all I had in my head was the soundtrack to You Only Live Twice, which sometimes escaped my inside voice and managed to firmly seat itself in Carol’s head, much to her annoyance! Despite looking like it has 5 floors, it actually has 7, as the top floor is actually 2 floors and it has a basement . As you enter into the basement you can see the 2 main pillars. The east pillar was made from a single fir and apart from some minor restoration at the bottom is original. The west pillar has been restored and is made from 2 trees joined together on the third floor. We managed to get to the top and the views were impressive, you can see why no-one bothered to attack it, there could be no element of surprise at all.

Eventually we came back down and decided to have some lunch, we found a beef bar and had Kobe beef, which was some of the best beef I’ve had in Japan.

A stroll back to the train station and we waited for 45 minutes or so for our next bullet train to Hiroshima. Our next hotel, the Sheraton, was fortunately at the train station so we were in and settled in no time. And we have actual proper beds And chairs with legs! Anyone who says that futons are comfortable to sleep on hasn’t slept on one for 6 nights straight…

Day 15: We employed a native..

Today we went to the Bamboo Groves of Arashiyama. To get there we had to endure a local train, which was rammed. You know in those online videos that show guards squeezing people into trains? Yeah that happens. It’s crazy. But we got there eventually, although Carol-Ann’s hip was really sore by the time we got there. We slowly walked from the station following the signs for the Bamboo Forrest. Along the way we nearly got run over. By a rickshaw. Hmmm.. Once we got to the bamboo groves, we saw the rickshaws for hire. Always keen to help the natives we agreed to the lucrative amount they wanted for the hour and a half tour around the area.

Turns out that was one of my best ideas of the trip. Our native for the tour was a guy called Taguchi - He told us to call him Gucci. Now, being a mountain biker I’ve seen some pretty strong legs - but this guy had calfs that most people would be proud to call thighs!

[This post is being interrupted…]

Whilst it would be lovely to allow Phil to tell you all about Gucci’s calfs, I think I might cut in here and tell you about the tour. Gucci was a fantastic guide and amateur iPhone photographer (see pictures below). First stop was the thick of the bamboo groves. It’s magical in there, you feel ant-sized, stood in super tall grass, surrounded by weird green light. Gucci took a few snaps of us in the rickshaw with Phil’s iPhone.

Next we went to Seiryoji Temple and got a few more pictures outside, then Hokyoin Temple (we didn’t go in to any of these temples because: (a) we had done enough temples; and (b) I really couldn’t walk). Then he took us up and up and up the hill towards the mountains to show us the historic old town where the Emperor once built his second home because of the beautiful view. Bless Gucci, it really was a long climb to the top and, despite all the effort, he still was able to take a few breaths every now and then to point out something interesting about the area. At the top is a temple to the “god of fire prevention”. As you can guess, the god of fire prevention has kept this area safe for hundreds of years and so many of the old thatched roof homes are still standing.

Passing another few temples we headed back down the hill to the Rakushisha area, which is a rural area, pausing briefly to take in the different landscape and to admire the colourful mountain backdrop, then on to the riverside. At the riverside we visited a Buddhist graveyard where there were little sculptures of all the monks who are berried there, all slightly different. We also saw the Togetsukyo Bridge but I have forgotten why the bridge is famous. In an hour and a half we saw way more than I could have every hoped to have seen walking. I was so pleased. I can’t thank Gucci enough (and Phil because it was his crazy idea). We will definitely be doing another rickshaw tour, if possible.

After a Ramen lunch we went back to the hotel and, as this is our last night in Kyoto, we decided to go for Pizza one last time.

We are both looking forward to moving on to Hiroshima tomorrow. Kyoto has been an experience but we are both done with living on the floor. After 6 nights my body is broken and therefore we have made the decision to change the last part of our trip. So, instead of staying in a simple Buddhist monastery in Mt. Koya for two nights, we are going to stay in a 5* luxury hotel in Osaka (apparently the foodie capital of Japan). I hope the irony is not lost on you.

Phil is very pleased he doesn’t have to end our honeymoon eating vegan food, with monks and sleeping on the floor. I am simply ecstatic about the prospect of chairs with legs and western style beds.

- Hippie -

Day 14: Eeeeeek

Eeeeek. That’s the sound the lesser spotted Carol-Ann makes when excited. In this particular instance, the cause of the excitement were small deer. Eating biscuits out of her hands. These were in Nara. But first I’ve got to tell you about Inari (or Fushimi-Inari as its properly known as).

Inari was a 15 minute train ride from Kyoto. It’s home to 10,000 Torii gates that kind of form a tunnel up to a fox shrine at the top of a mountain. Its very impressive, however, the day we went it was also particularly warm and busy. Like really busy. It made getting good photos (ie without hundreds of other tourists in) pretty hard, but I think we managed a couple including some from some pretty impressive view points on the way up.

Our next stop was to be Nara national park. This was an hour further along the same train line. The next train was in 20 odd minutes so we grabbed some street food from outside the station whilst we waited. Once the train arrived we discovered it was a local train, rather than a rapid. Local trains stop at almost every stop, whereas the rapids only stop at the major stations. The local trains also have very limited seating - kind of like a subway.

Once we got to Nara, we grabbed a taxi from the station to the national park. As we drove along the roads it became clear how tame and friendly the deer were - they were everywhere. I doubt it’d be long before they started living in houses and working normal jobs!

When the taxi got to the national park (which also had a few shrines in) we got out and headed straight to one of the little feed stands - this was usually a little old lady who just sat there giving tourists special biscuits to feed to the deer for 150 Yen at a time. We bought 2 packs and Carol immediately was surrounded by 4 or 5 deer. That is when it happened. The eeeeeek moment. Even through the scarf, hat and sunglasses (it had cooled down now) you could see she was just a great big grin. Needless to say she went through her biscuits in a matter of seconds, the deer wanted more though and thought they’d sample some Jersey Carol - for some reason it wasn’t to their liking. Luckily for Carol, I still had my stash so I opened the packet and the deer turned their attention my way. After giving out all of the biscuits you were supposed to raise your hands with your palms open to show the deer you had no more - it worked and the wandered off.

We decided to wonder around and have a look at a couple of the shrines. We found the main one which was the largest wooden structure in Japan and housed a huge Buddha in it. Like massive. The repercussions if it decided to stand up and walk around would make Godzilla look like a telly tubby. Fortunately it didn’t.

Afterwards we decided it was time to head home, but not before buying another pack of biscuits for the deer. We split the pack into 2 and again Carol went through hers like it was.. well biscuits. I tried to pick out a tiny deer that clearly looked attention deprived and managed to sneak it a couple before the other bigger deer took over the show. Biscuited out, we headed home.

Day 13: Starbucks and Ninjas

This morning we discovered we kind of had a free day. Having been templed out we didn’t feel the need to visit any more… So after a very slow start, we jumped into a taxi and went to the Manga Museum, which to be honest was more of a library than a museum. Not a huge amount to see other than lots of manga magazines in Japanese. There was an option to have a manga style caricature made of us, but that would’ve meant sitting for 30 minutes for the artist - neither of us felt we could manage that! Deciding it was time for a coffee, we looked for the cafe - which (typically) was closed. Not the end of the world - there was a Starbucks down the road.

Over coffee we started to formulate a plan for the rest of the day. Having seen that the Ninja museum wasn’t that far away, we decided to head over.

The museum didn’t really look like a museum, and cost around £17 each (which seemed pretty steep) but we were committed so what the hell! We joined a group for a guided tour and demonstration with Ninja weapons! First up we watched a samurai demonstration from a sensai trained in samurai. After that we got to play with the weapons. We were shown the throwing stars - normally these were made out of metal, fortunately these were just hard plastic. We were lined up in front of a foam target wall and were shown various throwing techniques. I think Carol-Ann managed to get 1 in out of 4 attempts (in 1 of her attempts she mistakenly lobbed it at the guide!). I managed to get all of mine in (clearly I am ninja!). Next we were shown the blowpipe. Carol-Ann excelled at this, managing to get a bullseye on her first attempt. I clearly had a faulty dart as none of my attempts would stick into the target (clearly faulty equipment!).

After playing with the weapons we had a detailed tour of the rest of the museum which provided a really good insight into the Ninja and Samurai history.

After the museum we wandered down the pedestrianised area and looked at some shops. Carol-Ann found a Lush and bought some bath bombs (which made her happy!), whilst I had a look in an airsoft shop and was not allowed to buy some guns (which mane me sad). All this was thirsty work so we decided to get another drink… we found another Starbucks - but the queue was enormous! By this point Carol-Ann had set her heart on a Strawberry Frappuccino, so I looked on the map for another Starbucks - there was one around the corner so we headed there. After a coffee boost we grabbed a taxi back to the Ryoken.

We’ll venture out soon for dinner - we’ve decided on Pizza.

Day 12: The good, the bad and the very tired...

We’ve achieved a lot. We have been ticking Japanese experiences off our list in record time. It’s quite remarkable. Today, it’s raining. Not just a light drizzle but the kind of rain that soaks you through and doesn’t stop once it’s achieved total saturation. And, it’s cold. And, I hurt.

On this day of rain, cold and tiredness we thought we’d try the Manga museum... but when we arrived there, it was closed. And then we were wet, cold, tired and grumpy. Needing to find some shelter, we headed to Nishiki Market and Teramachi Kyogoku Shopping Arcade. It was (understandably) very busy so after mooching around for 20 minutes or so we headed to Starbucks to warm up. After a hot cup of coffee and a cake we hatched a new plan and headed back to the hotel to put on more jumpers and extra socks.

Fully layered up and braced for the cold, we headed off to Ginkakuji Temple (Silver Pavilion). The temple was fine. As you can guess, the rain didn’t exactly enrich our experience of the Japanese gardens. I think, if I am honest, we were feeling “temple saturation” (as well as physical saturation). From here, we took a walk down Philosopher’s Walk (Tetsuaku-no-michi) before heading back to the cute little shopping district around Hokanji Temple we had visited yesterday. It turns out that Japan is pretty much closed on Wednesdays… and when it rains… and after 2pm. So we hid in a little coffee house and drank tea. Which brings me to the title of this post.

The Good:

Kyoto has…

• amazing temples and lots of them;

• beautiful, thought provoking Zen gardens; and

• immersive experiences (tea ceremony).

The Bad:

However…

• there is no easily accessible transport system in Kyoto, you can either rely on buses (which take forever) or take taxis;

• there is no rhyme or reason as to when things open or close (some sites close on Tuesdays, others on Wednesdays, some restaurants are open until 12pm, some until 3pm and some tell you they are open when in-fact they are closed);

• its impossible to find the good restaurants without a recommendation - you can’t just wonder along and look in the window as there are little curtains across the door blocking your view… so you can’t see inside until you walk in (and then your heart sinks when you realise it’s a bit grubby);

• the area we are staying in (don’t get me wrong, our hotel is lovely but it’s just in the wrong location), has no real amenities in the vicinity - restaurants, shops, etc.

The Ugly:

• Pain! We are walking an average of 6.2 miles per day and, despite all the medication I am taking, I am in bits. Phil is aching too (but he says that’s from sleeping on the floor not the walking). Also, the lack of tables and chairs is now becoming hard work. This Ryoken style of living does start to tire and we are both looking forward to the Sheraton hotel in Hiroshima.

So we are feeling a little sorry for ourselves this evening despite, overall, having an incredible time.

- Hippie -

Day 11: Tea and temples.

Today was a day of two parts.  

We met our first guide, the lovely Kayuko, and she took us by taxi to a private home near to the Imperial Palace for our tea ceremony experience. Now this was right up my street... we were welcomed in and proceeded to spend a good hour playing dress up. I chose a beautiful baby blue silk kimono with a gold crain obi. My hair was platted and pinned up with beautiful jewel encrusted hair pins and flowers. It took me a good 30 minutes to be dressed. Phil chose a black kimono with brown and black striped hakoma - it probably took him 10 minutes to be dressed. 

I didn’t catch the name of the lady whose house we were in so let’s just call her ‘the tea lady’ (she was just as lovely as Kayuko). The tea lady didn’t speak much English so Kayuko had to translate for us. Once we were dressed we were taught how to purify ourselves ready for the ceremony. This involved washing your right hand, then left, then both hands in a symbolic set of gestures with a bamboo ladle. Next, the ceremony started. We were allowed to sit in chairs rather than kneel, which was just as well given my general lack of mobility and a tight kimono... I had pretty much had no hope of getting back up gracefully. 

The ceremony was lovely. It was as formal and ritualized as you’d expect it to be. The little sweets and matcha frothy green tea were yummy! Phil was happy with the little sweets (especially the baked cinnamon cookie) but it turns out he doesn’t care for matcha tea. He still drank his politely though. 

After some photos, we were taken back to the hotel and departed ways with Kayuko.  

In the afternoon we were collected by Aioke [this blog post has been interrupted by Phil]… 

Prior to becoming a guide for the travel company in Japan, Aioke worked for the CIA gathering intel for the Americans in Japan. We came to this conclusion due to the following: Aioke has been the only guide to make a point of showing us his ID. His knowledge of Japan and its history was ridiculous. He had an American accent to his English, insisted on calling Carol-Ann “Ma’am” and commonly used the phrase “Let’s get outta here”. When we asked him if he’d learnt English in America, he immediately responded that he’d never been to America.. Hmmm ok! He was let into every monument for free just by flashing his ID, which he did with a very spy-like manner. He also initially appeared to be a very quiet mild mannered man, however I’m convinced he could be lethal if cornered. 

 [normal service will now resume]…

So, where was I?  

First stop by taxi was Sanjusangendo (or Rengeo-in) where we saw a statue of the 1000-armed Kannon (he was 7 meters tall) flanked on each side by 500 human sized 1000-armed Kannon standing in 10 rows. With this, seeing is believing and I can honestly say we were both wowed by the line after line of gold statues, each a little different. You are not allowed to take pictures in the temple so I bought a book of post cards. 

Next we went to Kodaiji temple. It has beautiful landscapes gardens, a rock garden, water garden, tea house and bamboo grove. Then we walked on to Hokanji temple but we didn’t go in as it was closed today. We still managed to grab a few photos of the impressive five story pagoda. We loved the area around the temple, the Higashiyama District, as it’s full of little shops, cafes and restaurants. We’ll definitely be heading back there in a few days.

Walking down the hill we headed through the Maruyama Park to Yasaka Shrine for a brief stop before heading on to the Goin (the Gaisha district). Unfortunately, we were a little too early for Gaishia spotting but it was a beautiful area. 

If that wasn’t enough we then headed to Heian Jingu Shrine (this time by taxi as my hip had given up on me). We arrived as the sun was sinking and enjoyed the last of the afternoon heat, walking around the gardens taking pictures of the cherry blossom. We stopped for a while on a bridge to admire the reflection of the cherry blossoms in the water and to catch our breath.

Finally, we said goodbye to Aioke and headed off for dinner. Totally exhausted! 

- Hippie -  

Day 10: Arrival in Kyoto, temples and zen

Today we took the Thunderbird Express train to Kyoto. It was, well…disappointing. We had both imagined it would be a super fast bullet train (like the one we took from Tokyo to the mountains) but it wasn’t. It was just a regular JR express train and, it was 20 minutes late. My thinking is that Thunderbirds was an awesome TV show in the 60s - perhaps the train is just a relic of that era? Anyway, we got to Kyoto eventually and that’s what matters.

We also found an English style coffee house within 10 minutes of our Ryoken, which made Phil happy (but didn’t quite make up for the disappointing journey on the not-so-express, Thunderbird express). After a quick pit stop for some lunch we headed off in search of some tourist sites. Kyoto is not a pretty city. It’s a sprawling metropolis built on a grid system. The city has burnt down, flooded and been flattened by earthquakes many times over the centuries and, as such, it’s a bit of a hotchpotch of architectural styles. not very pleasing on the eye. Still, it’s home to most of Japan’s significant temples and tourist sites.

First stop, the Golden Pavilion (Rokuon-ji Temple) which is a Buddhist hall built in the grounds of what was originally a shogun villa. Now, you have to understand, the Golden Pavillion is one of the reasons why I wanted to travel to Japan. I wanted to see it, first hand, and I wasn’t disappointed. Ignoring the hoards of tourists, I found it breathtaking. It was a shining beacon of tranquility on a smooth lake, surrounded by a perfectly manicured Japanese garden. The colours were amazing. I could have watched it for hours, from every angle. Phil was a bit disappointed (compounding his disappointment from earlier) because the guide book says the relics of Buddha are inside but you are not allowed to go in. I pacified him with ice cream.

Next, we went to Ryoan-ji Temple to see the famous Rock Garden. The rock garden is a rectangular Zen garden (25 meters from east to west) built in the 1500’s by a Buddhist monk. It looks like a large version of one of those executive desk toys (the white sand pit with the rake and pebbles). 15 rocks are placed in the white gravel garden but only 14 are visible. The theory is that if you stare at it for long enough you will reach enlightenment. My personal experience is that if you stare at it for too long you will have to stop your husband from attempting to search for/dig up the 15th rock! The Rock Garden is part of a much larger Japanese garden and temple complex with a large lake in the middle. It was beautiful to be there as the sun was going down, watching the breeze stirring the cherry blossom around like confetti. I felt very Zen. Phil felt like he needed another coffee.

- Hippie -

Day 9.. Ninjya.. and Gold and Castles!

So today we went to the Ninjya (that’s the correct spelling) Temple, but I can’t tell you much about it because Ninjya.

But first we met out guide for this morning - Tomako (not Tomahawk as I kept wanting to say!). First stop was the Geisha district (well, one of three in Kanazawa) where we were shown around by Tomaka (who was really really knowledgable about it.. Although apparently its standard as they’re a national treasure). They were particularly keen to point out that they were not prostitutes, but high quality entertainers with multiple talents..

Afterwards we were offered gold leaf ice cream, but being only 10am that was too early even for me! So instead we headed over to the Gold Leaf Museum where we were allowed to decorate with gold leaf something from a selection of items - we both chose chopsticks. Carol-Ann immediately got to show off her design skills by going for some kind of crazy leaf/third eye design that even had the staff impressed.. I was left scrabbling for ideas, went through a few before deciding on the Jersey flag.. I was going to do one with the Jersey flag and the other with the Japanese flag, but as the Japanese flag is basically a single circle and Carol was designing a masterpiece I felt that would’ve been too much of a “cop-out” so instead I ended up with writing Mojo in block text… Actually it turned out pretty well - there are pics below.

Having built up a thirst for gold, we went and had gold ice cream. Really. Check out the photos.

After the gold ice cream we went to the Ninjya Temple.. Hmm.. suppose I could tell you due to a technicality - which like us you’ll find out at the end.. So, when it was built there was a building restriction that allowed for only 3 stories, but they wanted more so they made secret rooms and floors. The whole temple was littered with traps and clever designs to protect the fuedal lord when they came to pray. There were hidden rooms for Samurai to hide in, pit traps on the inside of the front door and special stairs that would cast shadows into the inside if anyone tried to sneak in. In total they were actually 7 floors - talk about sneaky! It was all actually very impressive interior designing, but apparently I’m not allowed to start redesigning our home. So why have I decided to tell you about the Ninjya temple..? Well it wasn’t actually a Ninjya temple at all - its just developed that nickname because of all the traps! I know how you’re feeling now - I felt a bit conned a well, but it was still impressive. (Side note - Ninjya’s were actually Samurai, but rather than running around stabbing people, they were like the CIA, out doing sneaky stuff..)

After the Ninjya temple we jumped into a (mental) taxi to grab some lunch from a ramen restaurant. As we approached Tomahawk told the taxi driver that here was good (in Japanese) and he then stopped the meter.. but he kept driving. Tomahawk told him to stop and so he then did. She gave him a 1000 Yen to pay (it was around 750) and whilst sorting the change he opened the door (all taxi’s in Japan can open the passenger door from the drivers seat via a clever lever). Tomahawk started to get out then the taxi driver decided to drive on a bit - she nearly fell out! Then he stopped again. Carried on sorting out change. Then drove on a bit more.. We have absolutely no idea why, but it was slightly concerning as they were as close to shouting to each other in Japanese as is possible over here..

After this, our time with Tomahawk was at an end. We went into the restaurant for our lunch. Nothing really exciting to report here…

After lunch we headed over to the Japanese Gardens, which being a Sunday and Cherry blossom week, meant it was packed. Still managed to get a few photos without loads of people in them, again a selection of them are below. From the garden we headed over to the Castle. Now, one of the key points of Kanazawa is that it wasn’t ever really a fighting area, they were all too arty for that, so no-one really ever bothered attacking them, like ever, not even in WW2.. So it has a lot of very old original features and buildings. As we approached the castle it looked massively impressive - possibly the most impressive I have ever seen. We went  over a bridge over a moat, up a big wide ramp, through some massive gates turned a corner and saw a huge building in front of us. At the side was another huge gate which we went though up another ramp around another corner and.. nothing. Just a big wide open space. Confused as to the location of this castle I looked at all of the maps I could find and eventually spotted a plaque that said that the huge great big outer wall that looked like it held a castle on the other side, was just a storeroom. Turns out they’re hoping for UNESCO World Heritage site, but as it was rebuilt from plans I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the reason it doesn’t already have it.. So the Japanese made all of their buildings out of wood and paper. To keep warm they made clever little fire pits in the house in sandboxes. Unsurprisingly one common story I’ve read is that there was always a “Great Fire of XXXX” - not really surprising really. We can only assume that the once amazing castle that was never attacked, accidentally burnt down. The only other theory I had was that it was a sneaky Ninjya ploy and the feudal lord actually hid in the temple, but had a massive castle with walls built as a decoy.. See - sneaky.

By this point it was gone 4:30pm and Japan had shut. No really - I’m not even joking. We decided to walk back to the hotel, drink coffee/champage/cocktails whilst I type this up. :)

Day 8: A day of museums and trains

We started today in Tsumago, had breakfast at a more reasonable 8am and headed out to have a final look around the village. We gave Fujioto San some Jersey fudge to thank him for such a memorable stay so he took us to the Japanese doll exhibit and made me dress in a Japanese wedding dress (yes, there are pictures)!

We visited the local museum, where the museum guide showed us around. It was interesting to learn about the internal architecture of a traditional Japanese Shogun home. Apparently, the Emperor even stayed at the property which is now the museum (i can’t remember in which period though).

We then travelled by train to Kanazawa. There isn’t really much to report about that other than the mountain scenery was lovely and I was never bored long enough to read my book. I even bought some Ekiben (train bento) to munch along the way. All good intentions but after the first two hours, it descended into munching Haribo, Mikado (called Pocky here) and waffles.

We arrived in Kanazawa late afternoon. Our hotel is very grand and lovely. It’s nice to have a hotel bar (or, in Phil’s case, a hotel Coffee shop), western style chairs (whooop!) and beds. We went to the Samurai house museum this afternoon, it only opens for one week per year and (you guessed it!), it’s open this week. Having had such a good museum guide in Tsumago we were able to easily navigate the Samurai museum. The gardens were out of this world. I have taken many, many pictures. I think Phil liked the sword display the best (he took many, many pictures).

It’s good to be “back on the grid” hopefully we can now upload some pictures!!

- Hippie -

Day 6 & 7: Experience the rough to appreciate the smooth

So, we are sitting here in our cotton kimonos, sipping green tea, looking out over a small Japanese style garden and cute little wooden properties with traditional grey slate roof tiles, framed by a forrest of mature pine trees to the left and right, decorating the valley walls. It’s a warm evening with a cool mountain breeze. It’s bliss…but how did we get here?

Day 5:

Yesterday we travelled by bullet train and bus to reach Magome, a quaint little mountain village. It’s lovely, with cobbled streets (it reminded me a little bit of Dinan or Eze) and traditional wooden buildings. We arrived just after lunch and sadly all the restaurants and cafes were closed so we had nothing to do until dinner time at 6pm. Given the choice of napping outside the tourist information centre or in our Ryoknan, we chose the shelter from the cold. Unfortunately, you might describe our lodgings that evening as the Japanese equivalent to a youth hostel. The bathroom was shared which is fine but it also ran out of towels. And you had to make up your own futon bed from scratch (which was actually quite fun as I had to look up how to do it on YouTube). The room was lit by a single florescent tube and heated by one of those combiheater/aircon thingies that dry out your eyes. We certainly felt a far cry from the 34th Floor “Mount Fuji view” of our Tokyo hotel. In fact, by this point, we were feeling a bit cold and woeful. The situation was made better by the food, which was absolutely lovely.

Day 6:

Today, we had no option but to have breakfast at 7:30am. After breakfast there was nothing to do but forward our travel bags to Tsumago and start our trek (and I mean, nothing…nothing at all…).

The walk was 6.64 miles on mountain trails, undulating up and down through the valley…mostly up at the start and then lots of down after about a quarter of the distance. Phil started talking about “lines” and mentioning things like “loamy”, “gap jumps” and “only with a full-face on”. It was beautiful. We had to have lots of little stops because of my hip but that was fine because we got to appreciate the scenery. We even stopped for a picnic of apple (it was the size of a coconut!), raisins and chocolate near the river.

We arrived in Tsumago around lunch time. It’s picture-post-card perfect here. We spent some time just sitting (we’d done enough walking!), people watching and eating ice cream. The local speciality is chestnut ice cream and I felt it was my duty to to try at least two different sellers (just to make sure the quality was consistent).

Our Ryoken is lovely and we enjoyed a lovely soak in a traditional Japanese wooden bath before dinner. Although the bathrooms here are also shared, you can have privacy by locking the door, so you can make full use of the little wooden tub heated by a hot spring - mmmmm - lush!

Our room is large, simple (in that Japanese minimalist kind of way) and the futons are already made up for us (so, no honing of my new found skills this evening).

Dinner was AMAZING. We even tried bee larvae (it’s not as bad as it sounds and you only get a very small amount). The host was so endearing, he explained all the dishes and made us feel very welcome The food was excellent quality throughout. Just what we needed after our trek.

After dinner we wondered through the little lantern lit streets in full kimono, experiencing what Japan would have been like in the days of Edo. Such a very special experience and one to treasure.

- Hippie -

Day 5: Just how much can we cram in...?

First stop Studio Ghibli Museum in West Tokyo:  Eeeeeeeek!!!!! The museum is such a tiny little place on the edge of a park in a laid back residential suburb. You are not allowed to take photos inside the museum (which encourages you to buy the souvenir guide book…. like I wasn’t going to anyway?!).  The house is so sweet, it has little hiding holes to duck into and wooden bridges running off between balconies, like a fairy house or a dream. On the roof is the Laputa robot and a roof garden featuring the stone of knowledge (eeek!). On the third floor there is a giant soft cat bus for the kids to play in. There were susuwatari (soot sprites), kodama (tree sprites) and totoros (trolls) everywhere. We even watched an animated short film (in Japanese) about a lost puppy.

If you are a fan of the films (like me) it’s worth a visit. We spent a good couple of hours looking at the original sketches, story boards and paintings covering the walls in the exhibition spaces. If you are not a fan or have never seen the films, you might find it a bit crazy.

Second stop the Meiji Jingu temple and park: This was a lovely forest temple in the middle of a mature park. You get a sense of being in the middle of a forest even though you are still only a short walk from the hipster shopping streets of Shibuya. We had a look around, observed the monks at prayers and then headed to the cafe for lunch.

After lunch we decided to do a little retail therapy in Shibuya. All the outdoor pursuits shops are based here (North Face, Patagonia, Volcom, etc.) which was perfect as Phil didn’t pack a coat. We are heading off to the Alps tomorrow and I wouldn’t want him to be chilly.

Fourth stop, rest and recuperation.  Sadly, by the time we’d finished a little shopping detour my hip had given up on me and time was matching on so we had to forego visiting Asakusa temple. I was (understandably a bit gutted). We took a taxi back to the hotel for a rest.

In the evening we decided to follow Tim Stone’s recommendation and head over to Yodobashi-Akiba (some sort of super sized electrical store thingamajig). I mention this only to make Tim smile. We do have photos for you.

Rather than head back to the hotel we took a detour to Ueno Park hoping to see the cherry blossom illuminated at night. Unfortunately, we arrived a little too late and they’d turned the lanterns off already. What we ended up seeing was a lot of drunk people in the dark. In search of the cherry blossom we stumbled upon a street food festival outside a temple (which we now know was Bentendo Temple). We stopped for dinner there before heading home, exhausted. It was the complete randomness of this little detour which I will treasure.

- Hippie -

Day 4: Today we saw rally cars!!! (Oh and a garden or something.)

So.. Today I saw lots of rally cars and a few awesome retro cars at the Toyota MegaWeb. Carol-Ann made me wander around a garden for a bit first - she kept saying things like contemplating and juxtaposition.. Sounded like Japanese to me anyway. Then we went to the Toyota MegaWeb!

First we saw some of their current lineup, including a Police spec Toyota GT86. Then we managed to find the History building where there were lots of classics, including an Isetta which Carol wanted as “it was really cute”. She did want one as her next car until I asked where the kite kit and paddle boards were going to go…

Then I found the Motorsport exhibition! Initially I was a little upset as I could only find references and models of the WRC Corolla, the ST165 and ST205 rally cars.. Then I spotted in the corner.. 2 ST185 GT-Fours! One in gravel spec and the other in Safari spec. Turns out they were none other than Juha Kannunnen’s winning 1993 Australian WRC and Arne Hertz’ 1995 Safari WRC! What made it even better was that a member of staff was talking to a Japanese visitor and then opened the bonnet on Juha’s 185!

Eventually Carol-Ann convinced me to leave and we headed back along the monorail to the Hotel.

After a bit of a rest we decided to find the Shibuya Crossing. This is the one you’ll see on any tourist photos of Tokyo, or in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, where its rumoured to be one of the busiest junctions in the world! We decided to go for a wander down the streets, before heading home along the Metro train lines.

Day 3: A New Imperial Era is announced (Reiwa)

Today was our first day in Tokyo. We met out guide Rube in reception and she helped us understand our itinerary, how to use the subway and activated our PASMO and JR cards. Rube was so lovely (she even gave us a little gift). After the orientation briefing was completed she asked us whether we would like to go exploring on our own or with her. When we said we’d like her to come along, she did a little jump for joy.

We visited the Imperial Palace. We were very lucky today because the Sakashita-mon Gate was open to the public (it is only open twice a year in Cherry Blossom season and in the autumn, for one week). We were also lucky because it just so happens that the reigning Emperor is abdicating in favour of the Crown Prince this month and today the New Imperial Era of “Reiwa” was announced. As you can imagine, the Palace was full of visitors (both foreign and Japanese) who had travelled to be there on this special day and to view the blossom. We wondered around the grounds, taking pictures of the cherry blossom and admiring the grounds.

Following a farewell to Rube, we had a leisurely lunch then headed to the Tokyo Sky Tree. Phil is now a master of the Tokyo subway system - we managed to get there by ourselves without getting lost. If you are afraid of heights the Sky Tree experience is definitely not for you. The elevators were the best part, the view was a little underwhelming due to the cloud but that couldn’t be helped.

I’m pretty pleased with our first day in Japan. The cherry blossom was everything I had hoped it would be. Now it’s time for a little nap before heading out for dinner.

- Hippie -

Carols being mean.

I’m being told off for not bringing an appropriate coat. 

The adventure begins...

We got married on 7 October 2017 at St Saviour’s Parish Church and had the reception at St Brelade’s Bay Hotel and Spa. Rather than a traditional gift registry, many of our friends and family contributed to our “Japan 2019 honeymoon fund” so we are writing this Blog to thank them and to share our adventure with them.

We officially started planning this holiday in April 2017 but, in reality, I have been planning it since I was 12. Both Phil and I were brought up on Japanese Manga (everything from mainstream Studio Ghibli and Manga Entertainment to obscure cartoons like Initial-D, Ulusses 31 and The Adventures of Unico). I fell in love with the rich history, culture, art and theatre. Phil - he’s a man, so, I guess it had something to do with cars, Samurai and tech! There is just something fascinating about Japan.

I’ve got to be honest though, when we booked it we didn’t for a second think it would coincide with Brexit! I hate airports enough as it is, having mistakenly missed two flights in my lifetime (due to my own incompetence), I now get really anxious about being at the gate at least three hours before and international flight. Add those Brexit queues into the mix…eeeeek!

Anyway, just in case you missed the wedding, here are a few pictures from the day: