Japan-2023

  Japan Observations & Sentiments Japan is fascinating.  To sum up the Japanese culture in one word - I would say, for me, it would be: respect. That equates to all things, including people. What I learned from our tour guide, Sho, was that Shintoism was born in Japan and is the belief that all ‘things’ have a ‘soul.’ That includes everything in nature (e.g., rocks, trees, fish, etc.), and people. This seems to directly translate to how the Japanese relate to people and their environment. That is why everything is clean and why everyone is made to feel accepted and in need of being taken care of… General observations from our trip:   Abundant vending machines sell most anything including food, sake, beer, and hot and cold coffee (from the same machine). Escalators go up, down, and level on the same escalator. Only saw one out of order and it was being worked on… Public restrooms (in train stations, parks, airports, temples) were exceptionally clean (as were elevators...

Well, our last full day in Japan and a bit of a wash out. Rain all day today and expected tomorrow. We hunkered in most of the morning and then decided we needed to go out. We ended up spending quite a bit of time just exploring the underground terrain under the hotel and in the subway system. It is absolutely amazing how many shops and swarming people are bustling under the Tokyo streets. Then we came back to the hotel and decided to enjoy the indoor swimming pool. Nan typically poo, poos indoor pools, but this one was heated and very nice! Back to the room for game time before our last evening in Tokyo. It has been a wonderful adventure…

We think today is our last day in Tokyo with good weather (we had a very faint view of Mt Fuji from the hotel). With Typhoon Mawar in the area, we expect rain for the rest of the time we are here. So, we made sure we were out and about today. We first headed to one of the best Japanese gadget stores. It is called Hands and there are many stores, but we headed to one of the larger ones. It is six floors (although, each floor seemed to have at least an A and B level, so let’s just say 12 floors. Each floor had a theme. The themes range from pets, to hardware, to crafts, to kitchenware, to umbrellas, to travel bags, to office supplies, to laundry supplies, to you name it! Of course, I managed to find a little something, but we didn’t go crazy. After the miles we walked in the store, we were in need of a rest and some liquid refreshment. We managed to find one of the few cafes with outdoor seating (on the second level) to have a beer! That reinvigorated us to head to the Tokyo National Mus...

We are back in Tokyo for our last hurrah in Japan! We took a limited express train and a bullet train to get here - around 5 hours from where we were. It is very enjoyable to ride the trains and not hard to figure out how it all works.We were actually spoiled because we were met at our train car in Tokyo by our next hotel to escort us to the hotel - nice service! So, we arrived in style and we were upgraded to a room with a view of the Imperial Palace. We actually strolled around the Palace the first time we were in Tokyo. However, the perspective is completely different from here - the Palace looks huge and the gardens are also quite expansive. For being an overcast day, our room was bathed in sunlight and very welcoming. We got a few games in before our dinner in the 16-seat Japanese restaurant in the hotel. It is only open tonight of the days we will be here, so we feel lucky that we were able to get in. And, as it turned out, one of the best meals we’ve had in Japan! It was an Omak...

This is our last day by Ago Bay! While it was lovely on our walk to breakfast, by the time we were done and headed back to our room, there was already a chill to the air. Then, although not in the forecast, the rains arrived. It is still beautiful to see water falling from the sky! Plus, that gave us an excuse for another down day of puzzles, reading, and games. We did force ourselves to go out for a walk after the rains let up. We explored more around the property where we hadn’t been yet. We realize that it is a lot of work to keep the vegetation (a.k.a., jungle) at bay. By then, it was time for our afternoon excursion to the Thermal Springs - one of the highlights here! Then, back to our room for our Cribbage match (J finally won tonight!) before out last dinner, which has been another highlight here - assorted sashimi and Matsusaka Wygu beef with a splurge tonight of ice cream for dessert - wonderful!! The only thing new I can offer is a crab from our walk today…

There is a reason why all of the vegetation here is so lush - it rains a lot! Not a wash out, but a nice gentle rain throughout the morning. So, we had some good downtime with puzzles, reading, and playing Mah Jongg. Then the rain let up and we went out to explore some more. Today, we went to the Marina and to Sunset Hill. A very nice setting on the bluff where we could see a different vantage point of the Bay. Unlike yesterday, where I forgot to mention Nan had a close encounter with a muskrat, no animal sightings today, just the ever elusive bird calls. Back home in time for our afternoon appointment at the lovely Thermal Springs. Today, we wore our Yukata (like a minimalistic kimono/robe) to the spa with our swimsuits underneath. There were two other people in the springs when we arrived, but they left about 20 minutes after we got there. And, the springs have two very large areas where two people can easily make their own space. Actually, each area could probably easily accommodate...

Today was just about a perfect day. We woke up to a cacophony of birds bringing in the new day. Then we had a nice breakfast - N with Western fare and J with Eastern fare. Afterwards, we took a walk to explore our surroundings and the National Park. We walked past the front gate where the guard politely asked us for our room number. He was tickled when Nan could tell him in Japanese! There are a few resorts in this area, so we ended up walking by some tennis courts for another resort and looked for their Garden Pool. It seems that not all amenities have been returned to their pre-Covid state. The pool was closed as were the nearby Aquatic Gardens and the Bask in the Sun Beach. However, we kept walking and we ended up at Sunset Beach. When we checked in, our hotel manager mentioned that this was not a ‘beach’ and it was only for looking at the water. So, we were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. He was correct in that it was not what we would traditional describe as a ‘beach’ but...

We are now at our next hotel. It is situated in the Ise-Shima National Park on the coast of Ago Bay which is East of Kyoto. We took an early train from Kyoto and traveled through some beautiful country. We continue to be struck by the countless rice fields and the various states of maturity the rice is from one field to the next.  From what we’ve learned, families have a parcel of land and farm it to survive. This is a dying tradition because many of the younger generation do not want to farm a plot of land. So, we see many people out in the fields that should be relaxing at home with their grandchildren at their feet listening to all of their stories.  The other thing that strikes me is the variety of trees and their density. It is hard to describe. Outside of the big cities, every valley floor seems to have a little village and then there is just forest and greenery until the next valley. Just beautiful… Here is the view from our room out Ago Bay - what you don’t hear is the...

Today was a relax day because we move on tomorrow. We woke up to a leisurely, large, breakfast, did some email work with future hotels, played some Mah Jongg (2023 card!) against each other, and then went for a tour of the property. Usually we do a tour of the property much earlier in our stay, but we wanted to get some touring in yesterday and there was a chance of rain today. Luckily the rain held off, so we managed a nice time around the grounds today. It is very hilly, lush, and buggy - two out of three weren’t bad.  I’ll just leave you with a few vignettes from our surroundings…

Big day without even knowing it. We had a wonderful Western breakfast at the hotel and then collected ourselves to figure out what we were going to do. We decided to reserve an ‘onsen’ experience at the public (although really private) hot springs bath at 4:30 because we had already booked dinner reservations at the Japanese restaurant on property at 6:00. Then we called the concierge to try and get us reservations at the Kyoto Imperial Palace because the website said you needed advanced reservation. The concierge let us know that the Palace was closed for the next several days. So, we decided to go to the Bamboo Grove in a section of Kyoto called Arashiyama. We walked to catch a bus which took us to the train station where we caught the train to Arashiyama and walked to the grove. It was actually quite spectacular and we stumbled upon a pond with amazing loud bull frogs that entertained us for quite a while. We also walked through the town of Arashiyama and it was bustling! We forgot ...

We are now back in Kyoto after a full day of Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and Buses! We think of it as a little adventure when we can figure out the local transportation to get where we are going. We get to see the scenery (today’s highlights included a McDonalds that delivers - McDelivery!) and ride immersed with the locals as they converse and go about their daily business. Today was especially transportation centric because, since we were in the main Kyoto train station, we also bought all of our train tickets for between the hotels for the rest of our trip. We finally arrived at our next hotel - Aman Kyoto.   In the early Edo period, Kyoto’s Takagamine area was the site of Hon'ami Koetsu, a Japanese craftsman and calligrapher. Throughout his lifetime (1558 – 1637) Koetsu’s work established the area as a major base for arts and culture, leading to the creation of an Art Village in Takagamine in 1615. Today, it is the site of  Aman Kyoto ’s secret gardens, which trace t...

What a beautiful day after the storms! We decided to do some wash today because we think it may be our last self wash of the trip. So, we got a late start on our relax time and decided to go the beach instead of the pool. We were only two of the few people that were at the beach today. It was a nice setup with loungers in the sun or in the shade and some loungers had hammocks right next to them. The day flew by with people and nature watching. A few groups went out for snorkeling excursions and a few folks went into the water. Afterwards, we came back for game night and decided to go to the bar for a light dinner since we have been indulging quite a bit lately. I got to experience  Awamori,   an  alcoholic beverage  indigenous and unique to  Okinawa . It is made from long grain  indica rice ,  and is not a direct product of  brewing  (like  sake ) but of  distillation  (like  shōchū ).  Okinawa has been very welcoming...

Today was a general rainout. We woke up to tropical rains and thunderstorms. High 70’s which means lots of humidity. Had breakfast at the traditional Japanese restaurant which featured Western and Japanese cuisine. House specialty was a soufflé pancakes with hazelnut sauce. Pancakes are not usually my thing, but these were light and excellent. Then we did cycles of puzzles, reading and games for most of the day. Once the rains had a clearing, we went to the China Sea for Nan to stick her toes in. We think the water was warmer than the pool water!! Back to our room for a game of cribbage before dinner at the kaseiki Japanese restaurant. We sat next to a young couple at the sushi bar who are from Okinawa. They love this hotel and restaurant so they come and stay periodically. The husband has worked at Tokyo Disney and spent a year at Disneyland in California. His wife is an engineer and has spent some time in San Jose with her father who is also an engineer.  While we really enjoyed ...

Well, after the whirlwind of the tour, we are so excited to have a little downtime! Today, we slept in (as much as we could with the sun starting to peak into the room sometime after 5:00am ish). Then we went to one of the most extensive buffet breakfasts that we’ve seen. There were smoothies of the day along with four other options, other breakfast options included both western and Japanese. There were at least 10 stations and a lot of Okinawa specialties. In addition, the pastry chef walked around during our meal and offered special bread with a purple topping that was surprisingly good. After breakfast, we had to wait for our nearby pool to open at 10am. All the other pools opened at 9am. We thought it wouldn’t be a big deal but there were several parties clamoring to get in at 10am. We realized that we were the real dedicated pool people watching the birds swoop in to take a drink, and watching all of the other activities such as parasailing and snorkeling.  After spending the ...

We have now transitioned to the last part of our journey. The rest of our friends are flying home today and tomorrow. For the next two weeks, Nan and I are just making our last rounds of Japan. We are now in Okinawa. This is where Nan’s parents lived during their time in Japan during the occupation after the war. Her parents loved Japan and that is why she has always wanted to come to this country. Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972, although there has continued to be a military presence because of Okinawa’s strategic location. It does has a different feel from mainland Japan - very lush and tropical. It is almost 7pm and we are sitting our balcony (after a wonderful dinner) in 75 degree weather with no wind and listening to the diverse bird calls as we watch the sun set - live is good! Bonus phot of Mt Fuji from the Andersons on their flight from Osaka to Tokyo this afternoon: View from our hotel room in Okinawa:

So, our Trilogy contingency - post tour - ended up in Osaka. This is basically a suburb of Kyoto and much closer to the bay.  We all had a grand time going to the Housing and Development Museum (a suggestion from a fellow urinal partner of John’s). Then, we went on to the Cup Noodles Museum where we could make our own flavorings of cup ‘o’ noodles! A grand time!! Of course, we had to finish with a traditional Osakan treat of ‘jiggly cheescake’ So, probable not what you would expect. More eggy than cheesy, but definitely jiggly!

 Ok, officially day 12 of the tour, but not really. This was just the wind down day. Some are headed home, some have a day or two to transition, and some are staying for longer. Nipomo contingency has moved on to Osaka. But, not before doing laundry in our Kyoto hotel. Have I mentioned that one of the cultural differences is that each of our Japan hotels has provided us with pajamas! Some are night shirts and some have been two piece pants and shirts. But, that means no need to break out our own pajamas and have to worry about washing them at some point. Such an efficient thing if you knew about it before packing two sets of pajamas… It is a whole different travel experience when you don’t have a guide to tell you which subway line to go to, which platform on the subway, which train to get on to, which station to get off of, and which  exit (with the escalators for luggage) to go to. But, we managed with the help of Google maps and just a couple of U turns.  Rainy day, so...

Today is our last activities for our tour.  Our guide, Sho, has been great. He is a fountain of information, is well organized, and has a mellow temperament. We had two National Geographic Exclusive activities today. One was a Kendo sword experience where we dressed in kimono and learned the basic movements of the Japanese swordsmanship. We at least looked good in our dress, our sword skills left something to be desired. Afterwards, we went to a Zen Buddhist temple and practiced Zen meditation. One of the memorable aspects was that the master would come and beat you with a stick if you felt you needed to move and wanted a distraction. It was definitely a distraction and was not pain free. Afterwards, we practiced some calligraphy, experienced one of the oldest Zen gardens in Japan, and had Matcha tea. Then we headed to the Golden Pavilion. The second and third floors and the interior are covered in gold leaf. This happened to be gold from the same craftsman that taught us to paint ...

Today was the the day of 1,000s+. We started off going to the Inari Temple. This is an   important Shinto shrine  in southern Kyoto . It is famous for its thousands (5,000+) of vermilion torrii gates .  Inari represents the Shinto gods   of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Then, on to Nara, a former (before Kyoto) capital of Japan. In Nara, we were in search of the shrine with lanterns - over 3,000 to be explicit. We found it at Kasugataisha Shrine - another UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site .  Have I mentioned the deer?   They live in the city where the local people have developed healthy deer crackers for the visitors to buy and provide to the deer. The deer have become so accustomed to feeding off of the deer crackers and mimicking the Japanese, that the deer will bow to receive more crackers. It is quite an adaptation! Then we moved on to the Todaiji Temple where the largest sit...

Travel day to Kyoto. Along the way, we stopped at another UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site - The Himeji Castle.  The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of a typical Japanese castle. It is comprised of a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period . While it was designed to withstand any onslaught from enemies, it never needed to rely upon its defenses. Consequently, we are able to enjoy all of the original structures of the castle.  We arrived in Kyoto and took a walking tour of another amazing market and also of the Gion District which has traditionally been, and continues to be, the Geisha District. It is actually quite amazing that the Geisha tradition is still thriving. The area itself is a stereotypical traditional Japanese set of streets with wooden buildings and paper lanterns. There are still schools that teach the traditional Geisha skills and we saw novice Geisha walking down the street in all of their regalia. It was...

Today we traveled by streetcar to the train station, took the train to the ferry station, and took the ferry to Miyajima Island. This island is famous for its ‘floating’ torii gate. A torii  gate is most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine , where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. This particular torii gate is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site and is considered one of the top 3 most scenic sites in Japan. At high tide, it is ‘floating’ in the sea and at low tide, you can walk out to it. The island also has shops, restaurants,  its own local brewery, a beautiful garden, and overly friendly deer! There is also a tram or ropeway that takes you to the mountain top for incredible views back to the mainland. 

Today, we were awakened by our first earthquake in Japan. A 4.9 quake about 60 miles from where we were staying. Only some in our group felt it. Our guide didn’t feel it and was not phased by it - it is a normal occurrence for those that live here. After our wake up call, we were ready early for our travel day to Hiroshima. After checking into our hotel, we headed to the Peace Memorial Park. There are preserved building remnants, a flame of peace, many memorial sculptures, and a museum. They have done a nice job honoring those that were affected by the bomb and trying to educate the public, however it is a difficult place to experience - similar to the 9-11 memorial.  But, to end on a happy note, the whole group went to a great dinner at a local Okinomyaki restaurant. A little bit similar to teppanyaki because it is cooked on a large stainless griddle in front of you. However, the food is more like a giant open faced, upside down omelette with whatever ingredients you want to add, ...

We spent the whole day in Kanazawa today. The city has a long history and is a mix of modern and ancient Japan. It was once the seat of a powerful feudal lord who lived in a castle in the center of the city and was surrounded by housing for the samurai warriors and everywhere are both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. This morning, there were still a few sprinkles, but not too bad. We first took the local bus to Myoryuji Temple, which is nicknamed the Ninjya Temple. From the outside, it looks like a two story temple. But, on the inside there are seven levels and many hidden staircases and traps to deceive and trick the enemy. (Think Winchester Mystery House, but older and cooler!) Then we we went to another outdoor, covered market place with what seemed like hundreds of stalls with fish merchants, florists, restaurants and the like. Nan had a gigantic rock oyster while I had wasabi ice cream - we were both happy! From there, we went to a gold leaf craft house practicing the UNESCO r...

Travel day! We headed West on the trains today to the western coast of Japan. On our way to Kanazawa (where there was just a 6.3 earthquake two days ago!!). A good travel day because a steady rain was falling all day long. Again, we all had lots of fun shopping for different things at the train stations today. In Kanazawa, there is a high ranking Samurai’s house that we were able to tour. It is beautiful and gave us a sense of what a house would be like for someone who is well established in the Japanese society.

Travel day! We left Tokyo early this morning. We took the Japan Rail, to the Bullet Train station, and then an express train to a local train before getting on a bus to go to our hotel. One of the many joys of riding the trains in Japan is the train stations. Some are quite large with several types of trains utilizing them. Consequently, there are shops galore! Convenience stores, dessert shops, bakeries, bento (lunch) box shops, coffee shops, vending machines with hot and cold beverages and snacks, vending machines with hankies, etc. We caught a glimpse of Mt. Fuji on our travels today, but, as our guide says, she is a shy mountain and does not show herself often. So, we feel very fortunate that we have seen her so much on our trip. On average, Mt. Fuji is visible 100 days out of the year. So, our destination today was the Hanaya Ryokan in Tsumago, Japan. We traveled through many cities and many lush forests today. One forest was interspersed with yellow trees that looked like caulifl...

We starte d today by heading out on the subway to explore the Tsukiji Outer Market (f.k.a., Tsukiji Wholesale Fish Market). This market opened in 1935  and flourished both as a popular tourist destination and an internationally recognized brand before the core fish merchants were moved into  a new state-of-the-art facility known as the Toyosu Market  in 2018. While the core fish merchants were moved, the ‘outer’ market has remained a vibrant hub for locals and tourists alike.   Tsukiji Outer Market is Japan’s “Food Town,” where you may come across  all kinds of traditional Japanese foods. A mixture of wholesale and retail shops, along with numerous restaurants, line the streets.   Again, due to the holiday, it was extremely busy. Long lines for eateries even first thing in the morning. A whole variety of shops selling various seafood, Japanese style omelets, kitchen knives, strawberries, shaved ice, etc. From there, we traveled by subway again to a ‘Nationa...

Since we are staying in the Times Square of Tokyo (Shinjuku), our complementary breakfast was a jammed pack affair with loud hip hop music and people trying to fill their trays with all of the ‘free’ food. But, they did have some nice Japanese offerings that made a good start for my day.  Tour started at 9am with our guide (Sho) handing out our day passes for the subway. Then, off to a Buddhist temple where we learned about the history of the introduction of Buddhism to Japan (fishermen ‘caught’ a small, gold statue of Buddha in their nets) and how to properly pray at the temple (bow, pray, bow).  This happens to be Golden Week in Japan where there are 4 national holidays (Showa Day - for the Showa emperor, Constitution Day, Greenery Day - to promote the emperor’s appreciation of nature, and Children’s Day). So, many places are either closed, or have geared up for the celebrations and are extremely busy. We thought the Buddhist temple was a sea of humanity, but it was one of t...

Arrival day for our organized tour with G Adventures in collaboration with National Geographic. So, that means not much with the tour until 6pm when we had our welcome meeting. We ended up having a traditional Japanese breakfast at our last hotel and then proceeded to take the subway to our new hotel arranged by the tour. We are feeling a little prideful in that we are getting more accustomed to the very extensive train network in Japan. There are the local subway lines, the more traditional commuter rails (JR trains), and then the bullet trains (Shinkansen). We have ridden them all on multiple occasions. The hardest part is navigating the various train stations themselves, but Google maps has been invaluable. And, we are just getting more accustomed to how the stations let you know about the platforms, train car numbers, and exit locations. Most people are reading their smart phones on the train and very quiet. If there are toddlers on the train, most parents will take the children’s ...

Can anyone say ‘Snow Monkeys?’ OK, Snow Monkeys without the snow, but still…I thought we might be lucky to see one or two monkeys, but, who knew they are EVERYWHERE! We took the bullet train to Nagano today with the main purpose to see snow monkeys. These monkeys are more at home in the tropics, but somehow they have found a home in the mountains around Nagano. Nagano is north of Tokyo and about 1.5 hours away on the bullet train. There is a Snow Monkey Park dedicated to the monkeys. It is much cooler in this region and during the winters, it is a struggle to survive. But, these monkeys have found a special oasis with natural hot springs to endure the brutal cold…Since this is basically Spring, there were many baby monkeys roaming around and learning their environment. What a treat to see! After the highlight of the monkeys, we went to a nearby town to have lunch and a little sake tasting to boot. Then  on to a temple to view the ‘Phoenix with 8 Eyes’ - a 12 wooden paneled painting...

Busy day of wandering today. It started out a little overcast, but turned into a lovely day. We first visited the train station to take care of some ticket management for our travels tomorrow and then headed off to the Megura River Cherry Blossoms Promenade. I had hopes that there might be a few blossoms left to see, but we have missed them. Ho hum - so we just moved on. And then, quite by accident, we stumbled on a Japanese version of Putt Putt Golf. It almost seemed like a cross between croquet and golf.  Elderly Japanese people hitting a large ball off of a tee with a mallet towards a metal cage with a tee flag. Very entertaining. We pulled ourselves away to head to the Shibuya Scramble Crossing - Tokyo's busiest intersection. Then it was off to the Imperial Palace gardens. The National Garden is full of life-size bonsai trees! Since my phone was running out of juice, we decided to call it a day while we could still find our way home…