Japan

We have just returned from Japan. Here is what we got up to.

The journey there
This does require a mention as it my worst flight experience ever! Not a fault of the airline, but because I had the most dreadful cold, felt so unwell, and worst of all could not stop sneezing. The Japanese woman sitting next to me felt compelled to keep her face mask on for the entire journey!

Our itinerary
P arrives on Sunday 12 Feb, but is there for work. I arrive on Friday 16 Feb. We are staying at the Palace hotel, which is opposite the Imperial Palace and near Tokyo station, so very convenient.

Saturday 17 Feb - we sleep in then head off on a half day orientation bus tour of Tokyo which took us to Asakusa Kannon Buddhist temple, and a drive through Kappabashi and Ueno and Akihabara. We got off at Akiharbara to explore at night, before heading back to the hotel for dinner.

Sunday

We head to Ueno park in central Tokyo to see the museum. You can see the several museums and theatres here, along with the zoo and general parklands. We were very fortunate that there were some of the beautiful cherry blossoms out. They are not all out usually until Spring.

The Japanese were excited about the cherry blossoms too, and you can see them here taking photos!

It was also in this park that we discovered the cats! There were about a dozen cats, obviously residents of the park that like to get a bit of attention as you walk past. They were not afraid at all and would roll over and get you to pat their bellies! The locals seemed to treat them very kindly and feed them too.














The museum was excellent, there were four separate buildings. Sadly to say we only got around one of the buildings as I was still feeling a bit delicate. But we saw some great things, including this helmet with the benefit of adding a good 3 feet in height to the wearer!











Monday
P was back at work, so I went off to explore on my own. Firstly I needed a copy of the Tokyo Subway Map. It is quite daunting when you first look at it as there are so many stations and the whole thing is much bigger than London. However, once you get the hang of things, it is quite easy to get around as they have this excellent process of numbering the stations so you don't have to remember the Japanese names. Unfortunately not all of the stations have English signs when you are buying your tickets so we had to guess the fare a couple of times. But the worst that can happen at the other end is that you go to the fare adjustment machine and do a 'top up'.

The other thing I realised is that the streets in Tokyo aren't full of people, because they are all underground or in buildings! The subway network is massive and when you change stations you can walk underground up to 500m to get from one line to another. There is also a very sophisiticated exit system that takes you underground from the station to most of the buildings in the radius of the station. Some of the exits can be over 500m from the station too! When you get off the train, you consult a map to check which exit you need or you could end up miles away from where you want to be!


This day I went out on foot. I had read in the guide book that the Nihombashi bridge was close by. This bridge was supposed to be historically significant, and it showed old woodblock paintings of this bridge from the Edo period alongside the description. But as you can see from this photo, it is no longer a quaint wooden bridge, and an expressway has been built over the top of it!












Other interesting architecture I came across was the Tokyo International Forum.











Most of the day was spent checking out Ginza, and a massive long street, lined with department stores on either side.










Tuesday
I am back in Ginza. I hadn't bought a light jumper with me, and I was lucky to find one at Uni Qlo - cashmere for only £7 - bargain!

He is another picture of Ginza, it is spectactular at night.









Wednesday

We found a one-day itinerary for Tokyo that looked pretty jam packed. I decided to do a portion of the tour today and went off to visit the Meji Jingu Shrine. This Shinto shrine is in central Tokyo. I was interested to learn that the Emperor Meiji embraced 'modernisation' and actually cut off his topknot, dressed in western clothes and encouraged people to drink wine with their meals.









At the shrine, you can leave messages that the Priests will offer up the following morning.











Now I am virtually across the road from the Shrine, in Takeshita Dori. Here it is a fairly young area, with lots of interesting fashions. Check out the fashions they have for dogs though! What you see here are dog prams, dog mannequins and dog outfits. And yes, we saw plenty of dogs dressed in clothes AND in handbags...











I also went along a bit further to the Ometsando tree-lined boulevard. This was a bit similar to Ginza in that it had all the expensive stores. Chanel, Gucci, etc etc. It just goes on for miles. I got exhausted from walking at one point and stopped for a coffee. Appears I stopped at the equivalent of the Champ Elysees for coffee and they charged me 1000 yen (approx £4-50 or $A10). I thought it was such a ridiculous amount to pay for a coffee in a place that didn't seem that great to me, so I decided to even the balance a bit by pinching their unusual teaspoon as a souvenir!



Next I am in Shibuya, a place that claims to have the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. But I have to admit that after braving Oxford St, London on Saturday this seemed tame to me!









Thursday Went to the Kappabashi Street which is an 800m long street lined up with more than 170 stores containing all sorts of tableware and cooking items. Including the plastic food models that all the restaurants seem to put out the front. I did see some good bargains there, but too bulky to bring home unfortunately.

On the way there, I met an English woman who had been teaching in Japan for the last 13 years. She said she had finally had enough of Japan and was about to head off to teach in Egypt. I asked her if it is hard to learn the language and she commented that although you can learn the words, the grammar is very different so this makes it difficult. Also the chinese characters take years to learn. I also bought some lovely art from one of the locals in a back street on the way to Kappabashi. I am sure it will cost more to get it framed than I paid for his painting, but it is beautiful.


Walking from the station to the zoo, I went through Ueno park. There is a large parkland here with a big lake. People were hiring boats and sailing on the lake or just sitting around enjoying the peace and quiet in the middle of the city.







Here is a cat watching the giant carp at Ueno park. Seconds later the cat reached down with his paw and poked one of the fish! I wish I had been able to catch that one on film..











I am at Ueno zoo now, on a mission to see pandas. I did find one, but I wasn't the only one - there were crowds of photographers around his cage!

I thought you might enjoy to see the red panda. He obviously isn't as popular as there was no-one at his cage except me. But I thought he was just as cute. Not a great photo though, sorry. He was pacing around in this small pen and doing laps!





Friday During the day, I was back at Ginza, and located the 3 Floor Muji and the 7 Floor sony centre. But a I didn't traipse around too much today, as we had an exciting evening ahead with dinner at the Grand Hyatt hotel.



Here we are dressed up for the evening at the New York Grill bar, on the 52nd level of the Grand Hyatt. When the lift doors open you see the view, and our jaws literally dropped. It really was THE most spectacular view from a restaurant I have ever seen... as far as they eye can see in every direction are the city lights. We were lucky to get a table, it was the fact that P's employer does alot of business with them that did it. It was worth lugging a pair of high heels and an evening dress half way across the world for this..










I just had to take a photo of our meal at this place (the Japanese don't mind this, they are into photos). Here we have steak which cost the equivalent of £40 for $A100. It was extra for the mashed potato!






Saturday

We caught a bullet train (Shinkansen) to Kyoto. This takes about 3 hours. You can't really see from this photo, but the trains are incredibly long. P had to jog for ages to get to the front to take this photo. They are the most comfortable trains, so smooth you don't realise you are going so fast.










By the time we got there it was late, so we went for a walk and found the 5 storey wooden pagoda, apparently the tallest wooden structure in Japan. P took this excellent photo using a tripod.






Sunday
We are up early and caught a train to Arashima, north west of Tokyo. We found a bike hire place and hired some bikes for the day. It was really cheap and made all the difference as we could cover alot of ground around see alot of the area. We got a bit lost and didn't quite see all the things we planned, but as always when you get lost, you discover some things you hadn't planned to see. A cycling pit-stop in the Bamboo Forest.




P tries some traditional japanese food at a restaurant we found along the river.
















And the best part of the day - monkeys! We had a steep walk up a mountain to see them, but it was worth it. For 100 yen (about 40p or $A1) you can get some peanuts or fruit to feed them. Although you must feed them through the wire of an enclosure (humans are enclosed) as they can be quite nasty when it comes to food! But if you are not feeding them, you can walk around outside as they run around on the mountain.








Seconds later this innocent-looking fellow was shooed away from the keeper, who claimed 'he is agressive monkey'. There are lots of signs around the place saying 'don't stare at the monkeys'. I wonder what happens if you do!







We went on a walking tour this evening and we have to thank the 0n-line guidebook at Wikipedia for this excellent tip - we found a yummy Thai restaurant. But we did walk for miles before we found it. Walking along the streets I was interested to see that people would have potted plants out the front of their house. In London I imagine these would have been stolen!




Monday



We had to get the Shinkansen back at 2pm so we didn't have a full day. But we worked out we could do a quick trip to the Inari shrine, a couple of stops on the train from Kyoto central. This is an Inari shrine and dedicated to the Japanese Fox Goddess. There were lots of fox colours and ornaments everywhere!









Behind the shrine, and extending up into the hills was this amazing pathway (torii). Each of these red pillars was made out of wood and the pathway and seemed to lead up into the mountain and go on for miles. We walked part of it and could have easily have spent all day there exploring the pathway.















These little cats are for sale all over Japan, and there were lots of them outside this shrine in particular. P can't stand them and neither could I at first. But then I learnt that they are like good luck charms. A raised right paw invites money, a left paw invites friends. I had to buy one as a souvenir. Can you guess which paw I chose?








Next, back in Kyoto, we had time to go to the Kyoto Tower, and see the views across Kyoto before boarding the Shikansen. At the train station I spotted another westerner... it was then that I realised that we had hardly seen any other westerners in Kyoto!

At Tokyo we checked into the 'Tokyo Green Hotel'. Obviously, P's work were no longer paying so we have gone for a budget version, that got good reviews on a TripAdvisor. The hotel was alot more geared for Japanese and was tiny! It made our last hotel in Tokyo, the 'Palace Hotel' really seem like a Palace in comparison. But it was cheap and cheerful and P was very happy he was close to Ikehabar (or geek city) with all the electronic shops!



The sega centre in Akihabara. Participants climb into these pod things and to play the computer games. It looked very popular - all the people sitting in the centre were waiting their turn to play.












Tuesday
Up early and off to Tsjuki fish market. Apparently 1/6 of the fish of the world's fish is handled in this market every day. We really should have been there at 5am to see the tuna sale, but the best we could manage was 7am (and there was enough grumbling from P and me about that!)








When we finally found it, we didn't know how to enter the market. I had read that you could get a sushi breakfast there, and I was expecting it to be reasonably organised with stall etc. But no, there were these little tractor things whizzing around, people around, large knives - all in all a health and safety nightmare! You can see some of the tuna in this photo, towards the back. There was every type of fish imaginable. I was also interested to see that they have wholesale vegetables here too - so all the food for Tokyo seems to arrive at this place every morning (except the meat!)


Next we are at the Edo Tokyo museum and were surprised to find that they offer guided tours in English. Our guide, Yamamoto Ichiro, patiently took P and I around the whole museum for 2 hours and explained the history of Japan from the Edo period to present day Tokyo. It was absolutely fascinating, and I learnt so much. They have real life replicas of kabuki theatres and georgian style 'western' mansions inside this multi-storey museum. Yamamoto said that America was very important to Japan as people were starving after the war and they helped out. That is why Japan really respects USA now and aspires to western things. This is something I am still trying to get my head around. If the US drop a bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and kill more than 100 million people in the process, I just don't understand how they can be friends. It has made me realise I need to learn alot more about America's influence in Japan..

While we were in Japan, US Vice-President Dick Cheney visited and received a warm welcome. The Japanese Defence Minister had in the past made some comments and he was barred from meeting with him, so keen were they to maintain relations. I was amused to see the contrast when Dick Cheney arrived in Australia as he was met by protesters against the war!

After the museum, we caught a train over the Rainbow Bridge. This is a private trainline, and is basically built high in the sky, between buildings and takes you from central Tokyo over to the east to the docks area. This was a truly spectactular trainride, and the buildings seem very futuristic.







We then arrived at a Japense Onsen spa, and spent hours there. This is one of my favourite experiences of the whole holiday. It is an Edo (old style Japanese) themed bathhouse. When you arrive you put all your stuff into a locker and change into a yukata (summer cotton kimono) and they give you a key which you can charge items onto. In the complex they have restaurants, fortune tellers, shops, and areas to sit around and relax and drink green tea. P found the Doctor Fish which are small fish that will nibble the loose flakes of skin off your hands. He made me try it too and it was the most bizarre experience. Of course there is also the indoor and outdoor onsen spa itself which is alot of fun. You have to wash yourself thoroughly with soap and water (and rinse) before entering the onsen. No swimming costumes are allowed, and the only thing you have for modesty is a small towel (there are separate male and female onsens). The water is around 40 degrees and contains lots of minerals that are supposed to be good for the skin. There are also steam rooms and saunas there and I indulged by having a full body seaweed scrub and a shiatsu massage! Ah, bliss. We were there for hours all up before heading for dinner in Rappongi. Rappongi is a more westernised area of Tokyo as there are lots of embassys in the area. There are also more girly bars around this area, geared up for foreign men. We found a good indian restaurant in the area.

Wednesday


We tried to go and see Kabuki at the National Theatre but unfortunately the season had finished. Here we are now at the Imperial Palace Gardens, right in the centre of Tokyo. From the planting that goes on, it looks like this garden would be very colourful in the spring and summer.







In the afternoon, P went camera shopping in Ikehabara and I went back to Ginza to visit Muji and do some pearl shopping. By the way, pearls are not cheap. The most exclusive brand appears to be Mikimoto, and their pearls start at about £750 ($A1600) for a single strand. I did manage to find some for P to buy me for my birthday, but they were from a department store and while genuine, were nowhere near that expensive...!

Thursday

We decided to give up on the self-navigation and take a guided tour on our last full-day in Japan. We are off to Mt Fuji and Hakone.

The tour took us to the second level on the mountain, this is the highest level you can go to during the winter due to the snow. There are two months in summer when you can climb to the top and guide tells us that about 170,000 people do this every year. It is not particulary steep but quite arduous as you have to climb for hours. The experienced climbers leave 3rd level at 1am and then they are at the top for sunrise. Less experienced climbers walk part of the way, then stay at a hotel overnight, then leave at 3am to walk to the summit. The funniest thing is that apparently there is even a coke vending machine on top of Mt Fuji. It costs 500 yen to buy a coke there (about £2 or $A5)

Here is P at 'second level'. The other thing the guide mentioned in the past it was only climbed for spiritual reasons. The notion of climbing a mountain as a sport or for 'fun' was unheard of!







A ride in the cable car over the hot springs. Apparently in high season you have to queue for ages to get on this, but being winter we were able to walk straight on!











Hakone is a resort area and nearly all the hotels in the area have their own onsen spas. The water is syphoned off from the area you can see in this picture. There are hundreds of little pipes to carry the water off.









While there you are also encouraged to purchase these boiled eggs which have been boiled in the springs. They turn black from a reaction with the sulphur in the spring. And they are HOT to hold! The legend has it that eating one egg is supposed to extend your life for 7 years. I ate one and a half so that is an extra 10 and a half years for me!











A long drive back to Tokyo, then dinner at one of the few vegetarian restaurants in London finishes our last day in Japan.

p.s. on the flight home I was lucky enough to be treated to P's business class flight. When the cabin crew on Air France realised that he wanted to swap his Business Class flight for my economy, they said 'He is a gentleman, no?' I couldn't have agreed more! And the flight home almost made up for my horrendous journey there.




Other surprising things we found about Japan


'Western-style' toilets that have a recorded flushing noise and more buttons than you could know what to do with!












Face masks. People wonder why they wear them. Is it for pollution? No, it is actually because they have a cold and they don't want to spread germs. Germs are a big deal in Japan, and the culture seems very geared up to combat it. The woman on the plane actually offered me a face mask to wear when I was sneezing. But how can you wear a face mask when you have torrents of exploding stuff coming out of your nose and you constantly need to blow I ask? They must do alot of sniffing! When I was googling for a picture of the face masks for you I came across a radio interview with my old lecturer David Bromwich at Griffith University who says they don't really do much!


Vending machines that serve hot cans Phil got a fright when he picked up his first can of 'iced coffee'.... it is really really hot! The trick is, we later worked out is that anything that is in the red section is hot, blue for cold. Not really that hard once you know... These vending machines are EVERYWHERE.














Pachinko These places are like the pokie machines in Australia but even more noisy. And there are lots of them.







Begetarian? 'You wouldn't want to be fish in Japan' says P. Or a cow for that matter. In this once vegetarian nation it is now extremely difficult to find a meal without meat or fish. This made things pretty difficult for P as even things that appear vegetarian like miso soup can have fish broth in it. Even I, as a meat eater find some of the cuts and the raw fish unfathomable. We ended up asking the conceirge at the hotel to find us a begetarian (their work for vegetarian) restaurant and they did find us a good one, close by. There are also Italian, Indian and even the odd Thai restaurant around that helped us get by. Most of the japanese restaurants have menus only in Japanese. Harder once outside Tokyo though.