At last, the time has come to bid quiet Takayama a fond farewell. Ramona rose early, in search of a Western breakfast. Karl squeezed in one last soak in the onsen, before heading down to breakfast. After the wonderful meals we had an enjoyed, this would be the last in ryokan.
As further proof of the excellent hospitality we'd come to expect, our hostess presented us with a gift as we checked out. She also gave us a printed
Morning seemed to come earlier in the small town of Takayama, faster than it did even in Miyajima. As early as 4AM, there were trucks on the road and the sound of shopkeepers cleaning their storefronts for the busy day ahead. Ramona got an early start and headed out for coffee and breakfast, while Karl stayed at the ryokan for the traditional Japanese breakfast. This one included soup, rice, vegetables, yogurt and a warm miso paste. After breakfast, we met up in our room and headed out for another day's adventure. What's interesting about Japan, is that most shops and many stores don't open until 10AM. That makes for quite a gap between the morning meal and going shopping!
Our ryokan rents bikes, so it seemed like it would be a good way to get around town. We started out, pedaling around the quiet town seeing where the streets would go. After a little reconnaissance, we opted to try and find the Takayama Folk Village, a restored town from feudal Japan. It took quite a bit of meandering to find the right road. Many roads in Japan actually lack street signs. You simply have to know which street is which, or be ready to ask a lot of questions. Fortunately, a few kind souls pointed us in the right direction. As we got closer to the right location, we encountered an underpass tunnel that pedestrians would use to cross a major four-lane road. In the underpass, instead of being decorated with art or advertisements, we found the tunnel decorated with completed jigsaw puzzles. We think someone took all the finished puzzles they had at home, and put them up on the walls. There was a puzzle of kittens, Dragon Ball Z, a mountain range, puppies and a gondola.
After a time, we finally found the road that led up to the village on a steep incline. We road the bikes halfway, then opted to walk the remainder. At the top, the folk village lay inside a reconstruction of its original wooden walls. Inside the gates, we found a large pond at the center, with a series of buildings. Each building was a reconstruction of a family's home, with each family providing different skills for the village (there was a woodcarver, a fisherman, a farmer and a home used by a provincial agent). Before we entered the first home, there was a series of displays of children's games that would have been popular in the 1600s, such as a spinning top, a cup-and-ball toss game, a bamboo-reed water pistol, and stilts. The displays were certainly interested, but it mostly reminded us that we're very thankful to live in the 21st century.
Leaving the village, we chose to find a good lunch spot to beat the day's heat. A nearby hotel had a warm foot bath out front, so we stopped in the shade and relaxed our feed. Karl inquired with the hotel staff for a good restaurant, but was unsuccessful. We rode into town, circling the streets until we happened upon a restaurant serving beef. We opted to dine here, choosing the hamburg steak for Ramona (sort of like a Salisbury steak) and a beef pasta bowl for Ramona.
After an excellent lunch, we continued to wander through Takayama. We happened upon a 💈 shop, so Karl chose to have a hot towel shave. The 💈 was very jovial and gave a very good shave. Karl mentioned that Ramona was a teacher, and indicated he was a teacher as well. He pointed out his photo on a calendar on the wall, and several photos of his students, one of which had since become an accomplished comedian. We took a picture with Washimi-san and said our goodbyes. We continued to criss-cross the streets, shopping for sourvenirs. When we'd finally run out of steam, we sat by the river and just enjoyed a moment's respite with one another.
Riding back to our hotel, we returned our bikes and took advantage of another hot soak in the tub! It's truly marvelous, the way a warm tub relaxes every part of your body! Well-rested, we headed down for a delicious meal before packing for our return trip to Tokyo.
And so our adventures in Osaka wound down. Getting ourselves ready for the day, we packed our belongings and headed down for breakfast. We needed to be in Take Yama by the evening, but had most of the morning to kill in Osaka. After breakfast, we walked a little further south into the shopping district we'd been in yesterday. One of the most famous sights in Osaka, the Glico Man advertisement, was on the agenda. We navigated a few streets over and found the famous billboard. Snapping a few pictures, we noticed we were very close to Don Quixote, a large shopping franchise. They're famous for selling every manner of consumer good.
Wandering the floors of Don Quixote, we saw just about everything imaginable. All manner of music and videos, as well as household goods, candies, gift boxes and even costumes were there for the purchasing. When we started this trip, we checked only one suitcase each. As we'd started collecting souvenirs and momentos, we found ourselves in need of more luggage. The luggage rack at Don Quixotic did not disappoint. We found an acceptable suitcase, then continued to shop. Along the way, we encountered candies, coffee and other snacks for our train rides. Loading up on goodies, we passed through the checkout with our belongings.
Back at the hotel, we transfered belongings between the new suitcase and our other bag, then forwarded the suitcase to our last stop - Tokyo. This way, we'd have one less bag to manage on the trains. As Karl mentioned before, luggage forwarding is extrememly cost-effective, forwarding large bags for less than $10!
With our luggage fowarded, we made our way to the subway. We quickly arrived at our subway station, then transfered to the JR rail line for the Shinkansen bullet train station. The JR attendant quickly booked seats on our train to Nagoya, where we would transfer to another rail line for Takayama. With a few minutes to spare, Ramona grabbed snacks for the train ride - a cup of Hagen-Daas, a waffle-covered, chocolate-covered ice cream sandwich, salad and onigiri.
Our train sped from the station and raced across the countryside. You really can't feel the speed, but you can certainly watch the landscape change quickly. One moment, we're surrounded by buildings. Minutes later, it's all rice fields. Another moment, and it's a tunnel then you're racing along a mountainside. It's truly astonishing.
Arriving at Nagayo, we now switched trains for Takayama, in the Japanese Alps. We had just 15 minutes between trains, but the other train was on a nearby track and only took a few minutes to reach. With extra minutes to spare, Ramona bought a lunch set (a box containing multiple items) and Karl bought extra water. The lunch set included fried chicken (as indicated by the mighty chicken on the box cover), rice and vegetables. The train for Takayama was a railcar not too dissimilar from the JR lines we had taken before, except this train included a washroom at the junction between cars. This train ride was scheduled for 2.5 hours, so it would certainly come in handy. Right on schedule, the train eased out of the station, much slower than the Shinkansen, but certainly with purpose. As we crossed the countryside, we ate our lunch and watched the world go by. Ramona even had enough time to get caught up on The Good Wife!
As the train arrived in Takayama, we collected our belongings and exited. Right away, we could sense we were in a much smaller city than we'd been in before. The exit turnstile was manned by a pair of JR attendants and the familiar digital turnstiles were gone. Before catching a cab to our ryokan, we stopped for water at a nearby Family Mart, the only convenience store as common as Seven-11 (in the cities we'd visited so far). Even half way across the country, convenience stores in Japan continue to be just that: convenient!
Our taxi dropped us off in front of our ryokan. The proprietors greeted us warmly and showed us to our room. Our meals would consist of breakfast and dinner, served in a dining room downstairs. Coffee service would be available early, so Ramona could coffee as soon as she was ready. The onsen was available pretty late in the evening, so we would be able to use it almost whenever we liked. With that, she left us to our own devices.
We soon left the ryokan and walked around the town. Like other resort towns, this one seemed to close up at 5PM. We found many, many store fronts were dark and shopkeepers were pulling down the shutters for the evening. We continued to criss-cross the streets, taking in the quiet atmosphere. We also found the Takayama Fine Art museum, which housed displays on the city and its history as a former castle town and center of trade for the region.
We wandered back to our ryokan, just in time for dinner. In the dining room, we were served several courses of great foods, including sashimi, clear soup, rice, fried fish, tempura and something akin to a pot pie. Fully stuffed, we headed off for a quick dip in the onsen before bed.
Osaka is a very Japanese city, but it is a very different city than Tokyo. It, too, is a large metropolis, teaming with millions of people living and working in the immediate metro area. However, Osakans are said to be considerably more laid back than those in Tokyo. Today, we would have a chance to see that first hand.
We start our morning in the small Cafe at our Best Western Hotel. We enjoyed a mix of Western and Japanese breakfast; this time we were also graced with cooked vegetables - something we had not seen at breakfast.
Today's adventures included a full-day cycling tour of Osaka, giving us the best chance to see many of the highlights of the city, and to get some much-needed excercise! Like Toyko, Osaka enjoys a robust subway system. We were able to easily navigate from the local subway line, to the JR line, to the subway station where our guide would meet us. The subway was so efficient that we arrived more than 30 minutes early. That was enough time to stop next door to the station and check out Mr. Donut. A few 100yen pastries later, we met our guide from Cycle Osaka, Maeko, in front of the station. We introduced ourselves and began to get to know our guide, while waiting to meet the other tourists who would join our trip.
Maeko was a native Osakan, born and raised in the area (we would later ride past her high school neighborhood). A few minutes later, we were joined by Archie, a New Zealander on holiday. Finally, we met Andrew, a Singapore native on vacation in Japan. Our group walked a few short blocks to the meeting point. Cycle Osaka rents space from an eclectic pub, filled with tie-died art, colorful wall paintings, and clothing. After a brief introduction to the route, our stops and the bikes, we were soon on our way!
In just a few minutes, we rode a few blocks to reach an island at the center of Osaka. As we rode along the waterway, Maeko pointed out several buildings and their cultural significance. She also pointed out an obscure, two-story tea house, sandwiched between skyscrapers. Japan is a mix of old-and-new, and this contrast reinforced that notion - in spades! Later on, we stopped at our first of two rose gardens. The air was heavy with the scent of roses, and the park was full of people enjoying them! As we neared the end of the island, we found a small pond and garden behind the facade of the original Japanese mint.
As lunch time neared, we stopped at a park for ice cream (Andrew had yakisoba noodles). We pushed onward toward our lunch destination, which was to be the Korean town area of Osaka. Nestled between the subway lines and elevated surface streets, a maze of shops crisscrossed in an unrecognizable pattern. As we walked along the shops they sold everything from toys to clothing to fabric. At the end of one of the aisles, row upon row of Korean restaurants offered traditional Korean fare. Maeko took us to a small food stand, where the proprietor let us take up a small table. We had a mix of small sushi rolls and a variety of spicy Korean dishes, shared amongst our small group.
Now that we had a bit of food, we continued onward across Osaka. One stop included a shrine with an interesting pagoda. What was so interesting about the pagoda, was that it was in plain view of the tallest building in Japan. Again, another great juxtaposition of old and new architecture! In a short while, we reached the second rose garden on our trip. This one featured different rose varieties than the garden we saw this morning. Our next stop was another pitstop to refill our bellies. This was a Japanese sushi restaurant, where we enjoyed sushi rolls and sashimi. Rain was expected this afternoon and evening, so we hurried along to our last few destinations. The rain met us before we finished, but with the help of rain ponchos, we were able to finish up without difficulty.
Back at the cycle shop, we had a relaxing time, enjoying a few beers and reflecting on the day. We thanked Maeko for the tour, and left her and Archie to enjoy their beers. Andrew was staying at a hotel near us, so he hung out with us for dinner. Tonight's special: Yakiniku! This delightful dish is a Korean barbecue - enjoyed at one's table. Yakiniku shops feature small charcoal or gas grills, installed in the tables of the restaurant. Servers bring plates of uncooked slices of pork and beef, and diners cook them themselves on the small grills. In a short while, we managed to eat ourselves through plate after plate of delicious food. When we left the restaurant, the servers sprayed us with air freshner, to mask the smell of cooked meats!
After wandering the mall a bit, we stopped for dessert at Tully's Coffee, before boarding a subway train for home. Saying goodbye to Andrew on the rainy streets, we walked back to our hotel room and turned in for the night.
With a heavy heart, we prepare to say farewell to the peaceful Island of Miyajima. After sleeping in a bit, we headed down for breakfast. As with yesterday, we were treated to a multi-course breakfast. It began with grapefruit and coffee, followed by yogurt, corn soup, marvelously-thick golden toast, prosciutto and scrambled eggs. What a meal! We later repacked our luggage, and headed to the front desk to check out. Our hostess, Tomoko, bid us farewell at the door. As she had been so kind to us, we gave her a WMU notepad with a small tip inside it.
Cultural Note
Tipping in Japan is not common and is generally reserved for special circumstances. The giving of a personal gift, such as a momento from your home country or business, is highly preferable.
We made our way back to the ferry, meandering through the rows of booths that lined the avenue between the small town and the ferry station. We picked up a few items for our house, such as a wind-chime, made by local artisans and a box of momiji-manjuu, the leaf-shaped sweets made in this area. Along the water's edge, we paused for a few photos. After a short ferry ride, we found ourselves back on the mainland at our train station. The train from Miyajima Port to Hiroshima was packed, even for a Sunday. Many riders were dressed in baseball jerseys of the local Hiroshima baseball team, The Carp.
At Hiroshima station, we stopped at the JR rail counter and exchanged our reserved seats on the Shinkansen bullet train to Osaka. We soon boarded our train and left the station. Just as the train began to accelerate, we looked out the window and the saw the Hiroshima baseball stadium, packed with sports fans. In moments, the stadium was gone and we settled back for a speedy trip to our next destination.
A few stops later, the Shinkansen arrived at the station in Osaka. As we exited the car, we could tell: we were in a busy station, compared to all of the other Shinkansen stops. The volume of people moving around in the station was unbelievable. Working our way down from the bullet train tracks, we had to navigate to the local 🚉 system, to reach our hotel. On our way past the JR rail counter, Ramona suggested we "fix" our Manaca IC cards, the cards we used on the Tokyo subway. They had stopped working when we moved from the Tokyo rail system to Kyoto, even though a balance of few thousand 💴 (about $10) remained on each card.
The JR attendant checked the cards, made a change, then indicated they would function again. We thanked him and hurried on our way to to the subway. With a working IC card, we could now tap-and-pay for our 🚉 trips again! Taking the subway in Tokyo indoctrinated us to the Japanese 🚉 system. You can get anywhere you need to, so long as you know the following things: 1) what station you're at, 2) what station you're trying to reach and 3) what direction you need to go on each line. We'd repeated this information gathering process in other cities, and it worked just as well here! In no time at all, we found ourselves exiting the first train we took and transferring to another line to get us to our hotel. In just a few minutes, we exited at the right station.
Our hotel was just around the corner from the subway. After depositing our luggage in our rooms, we were off to try and see the sights of downtown Osaka. Ramona had heard of Sankaku Koen (Sankaku Park), a place where the young hipsters hang out - a place to see and be seen. As we walked in the right direction, we passed a Toyku Hands store, an eighth-story department store, selling every manner of goods to make your life convenient. Imagine Target with the flair of IKEA, full of many products and high-functional living wear. "You can find ideas and hints that can make your life more comfortable and enjoyable", or so says the web site. We browsed for quite a while and picked up a few odds and ends, before resuming our quest.
Between us and the park lay an intricate network of shopping streets. Many, many brand name retailers like Guccci, Nike, Puma and others filled several adjacent streets. Between them, smaller food vendor and speciality shops stretched out from every nook and cranny of every building. The way the shop fronts overlapped, it was often difficult to tell where one store ended and the next began.
Ducking out of the maze of shops, we soon found ourselves at the park. It was filled with trendy, hip youth, sporting an impressive array of stylish fashions. After an unknown span of time spent gawking, we paused a moment to try a local delicacy, called takoyaki - small, puffy balls of 🐙 meat in a creamy batter, baked to a golden brown. Heading to another food vendor, Ramona purchased fried chicken, seasoned in the local style.
After a time, we began to make our way back to our hotel. We stopped at a local Tourist Information stand; we learned from previous adventures that the tourist stands could tell us what we'd be interested in seeing and how to do it most efficiently. We took an elevator up to the Tourist Information office and made our enquiries. An English-speaking agent from Sri Lanka was happy to point out a few sites to see, and directed us to an grocery store. As we'd been eating a fair amount of fried snacks, a little vegetable and fresh fruit would do us good.
After visiting a grocery store in the basement of a major department store, we headed for home. We stopped by a local 7-11 to replenish our water supply, and buy an ice cream cone. On the way out the door, we met a young couple from Michigan, by way of Guam, also sightseeing in Osaka.
Back in our hotel room, we entered into our usual routine: Karl uploading pictures from the camera, editing the blog, and Ramona checking our plan of attack for the next day. Efficiency at it's best!
It's hard to believe that our vacation is more than half over. The wonderful memories we've been making in Japan will stick with us, like a bad joke from poorly-translated sign! :-)
The ryokan we're staying at on Miyajima Island is called Auberge Mizuhaso. Last night's incredible, multi-course dinner was certainly a feast for us. Little did we know that breakfast would not disappoint, either! They treated us to an assortment of foods with their "Western-style breakfast" menu. First up, we had fresh fruit - oranges, strawberries and kiwi, all cut up and beautiful arranged. Next, we had a croissant, a roll, vegetable soup and sausage. In a small cooking pot, we were next served bacon and an egg. Once the cook pot heated up, it quickly cooked the bacon and egg. Finally, we were served yogurt and corn flakes. What a breakfast!
Shortly after breakfast, we were greeted by our guide for the day, Ms. Etsuko. As a resident of Hiroshima, she was eager to show us her hometown. Our itinerary today would include tours on both Miyajima and in Hiroshima. We walked through Miyajima, on our way to the ferry back to Hiroshima. We first stopped at the Itsukushima Shrine. Like the Itsukushima Torii gate in the bay, the shrine was built on short pillars, making the shrine appear to float atop the water at high tide. From there, we passed the five-story pagoda near the water front.
As we left the shrine area, we reached the long row of shops in Miyajima's shopping area. The shops stretched from the end of town, all the way to the ferry dock itself. We meandered along the streets, looking at the various wares for sale. Etsuko-san told us that Miyajima was famous for its ironwork, as we examined some cute windchimes. We also saw iron tea kettles that were also made on the island. Hiroshima is famous for a locally made sweet, known as a momiji-manjyu. "Momiji" means maple leaf (as in the Japanese Maples that dot this region) and "manjyu" is the name of a Japanese confection. In this area, these momiji-manjyu are maple leaf-shaped sponge bread sweets, filled with a sweet filling. We saw manjyu filled with sweet cream, cream cheese, chocolate, green tea, and a host of other flavors. Not wanting to miss out, we sampled a cream cheese manjyu and a chocolate manjyu. YUM!
Further along the shopping area, we reached a stand selling bacon-wrapped fish cakes with short stalks of asparagus. We ordered one, and the vendor dipped the cake into frying oil. In a few seconds, he pulled it out and we enjoyed the extremely tasty snack. At this moment, it seemed obvious the foods of Japan would be what we would miss most...
At the end of shops, we found a path that lead to a shrine high atop the mountain. We took a shuttle bus that drove us to a cable car ropeway. This would carry us to the very top of Mt. Misen, the highest point on the island. The cable car was separated into two lines, with a midpoint station between the foot of the mountain and summit. When the car reached the peak, we were able to see all of the Seto inland sea, a sheltered bay that hosts many small islands. With the morning's fog just starting to clear, we could see all of Hiroshima and most of the small islands nearby. With our sightseeing on the island complete, we would now head to Hiroshima for more sightseeing with Ms. Etsuko.
The ferry took us across to Hiroshima, moving smoothly across the quiet waves. Now back on the mainland, we headed into town to explore with our guide. From the ferry station, we took the JR rail line back towards Hiroshima central station. Along the way, we encountered a young couple from America on their honeymoon. We had our first lengthy conversation with other Americans in Japan - it was an enjoyable way to spend the trip!
The train arrived at Hiroshima station in enough time to catch the same sightseeing tour bus we caught yesterday. This bus would take us downtown to a restaurant where we could sample a variant of okonomiyaki native to Hiroshima. Unlike the batter-filled okonomiyaki we had in Kyoto, this one featured cooked noodles and bacon. It was quite tasty!
After recovering from lunch, we headed to a small, but beautiful garden. The garden included many lush trees and flowering bushes. A central lake in the garden had many small islands that were connected with small bridges. The tranquil waters in the park attracted many guests, including large carp that were more-than-eager to devour the fish food we tossed to them.
Our day with Ms. Etsuko eventually drew to a close. We said our goodbyes and took a taxi back to the train station. While waiting for our train, we treated ourselves to McDonald's ice cream (yes, that McDonald's) and had a delicious apple cake from a nearby store.
Our train took us back to the ferry, and we were soon back in Miyajima. Our ryokan had another wonderful meal in store for us. However, unlike last night, we were no long the sole guests. A nearby table now included a French-speaking couple. The tables behind us were arranged for a large party of 12. Our hostess, whom we learned was named Tomoko, again served us an eleven-course. Tonight's fare started with a generous helping of appetizers - an aperitif of local sake, bamboo shoots, beans and salmon sushi. Next up, more sushi, followed by a steamed Japanese potato. In a cook pot on our tables, water was set to a rapid boil. We were given lettuce, bamboo shoots and thin slices of pork: a delightful dish know as shabu-shabu! As if that weren't enough, we had peanut-crusted tempura shrimp. Next, we continued our meal with salad and thin slices of Kobe beef. We tasted cooked eel (a local delicacy) with sushi rolls, accompanied by Japanese soup (not miso) and tea. Finally, we finished our meal with a delightful butter cream cake and strawberry gelato. We're not sure we'll ever eat like this again, once we leave Japan....
With the evening cooling down, we took a walk along the waterfront. A few other couples wandered the dark streets, but we were largely by ourselves - and the local deer. Karl took a few pictures of the floating shrine, then called it a night. After a quick dip in our tub (and an update to our blog!), it was time to call it a day!
Today would be our last day in Kyoto. After a grand breakfast in the hotel dining room, we took a taxi to Kyoto station. Today, we would ride a Shinkansen bullet train to Shin-Osaka then change trains for another bullet train to Hiroshima. After boarding our train in Kyoto, we were whisked 49km in just under 12 minutes to Shin-Osaka. Changing trains there, we boarded another train to Hiroshima. Our next train was smooth and quiet, quickly transporting us to our end destination.
At Hiroshima, we were well-accustomed to the sights and sounds of busy Japanese rail stations. As before, our plan for visiting each new city was: 1) find the nearest Tourist Information Center and 2) get advice on transportation and attractions! The information booth was just beyond the JR rail exit. Our attend spoke excellent English and suggested we take the Sightseeing bus, operated by JR Railways. This bus is free for JR pass holders, like us, and let us hop on and hop off as needed. She also marked several attractions on our map and steered us just where we needed to go.
We deposited our larger bags in a coin locker, freeing us up to move about more quickly. We boarded the sightseeing bus just outside of the station, then rode to the A-Bomb Dome, a memorial at the sight of the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima. After taking pictures of the solemn sight, we headed toward the Peace Park Museum. Outside the memorial, many groups of middle school students, presumably on field trips, surrounded the grounds. Along the way to the museum, we encountered a group of middle school students. Like the ones we encountered in Kyoto, they too had questions for us in English. After Ramona fielded their questions, we took a picture with them. She also gave them a business card as well. Some day, I hope one of these students is able to come to EMU or WMU!
After leaving the museum, we waited (and waited and waited) for the Sightseeing bus to return us to the train station. We needed to check into our ryokan by 5PM, to make our dinner plans. Our transportation to the ryokan was pretty complicated: we needed to take a JR train from Hiroshima to Miyami-guchi. From there, we change to a ferry that takes us over to the island itself. From the ferry dock, we then take a taxi to our ryokan.
We arrived in time to make our dinner plans for 6:30PM. That meant we had enough time for a shower and a hot bath in the ryokan's tubs. Fortunately for us, we had a private bath, so we could luxuriate in our tub. Later, we would also learn we were the only guests in the ryokan, for this night anyway. By tomorrow, many more guests would arrive and the ryokan would be full for the weekend.
After our invigorating bath, we headed down for dinner. And what a dinner! We were treated to an six-course meal of Japanese favorites and local delicacies. Our hostess merely popped up out of nowhere and just kept showing up with more food. After stuffing ourselves silly, she suggested we talk a walk and see the temple gate in the harbor. At night, it was well illuminated.
We stepped into the silent city street and rounded the corner to see the gates. Sure enough, they were clearly visible. However, just as we reached the water's edge, the rain set it. We quickly retreated to our room and got ourselves ready for our next day.
Today's adventures started near our hotel in Kobe. After packing up our luggage to forward to our next destination, we headed out for the International Manga Musuem. The museum was just a few blocks from the hotel, which we reached in minutes. The museum was once an elementary school in Kyoto, donated by the city to the organization that funded the creation of the museum.
The International Manga museum was like a lending library and art musuem, all rolled into one. The central exhibit on the second floor described the history of Manga in Japan, some of its styles, techniques and affectations, and tied it all into comics in other countries. Scattered throughout the building were bookshelves lined with classic Manga from the 60 and 70s, as well as current titles from this year. Visitors can stroll up to a shelf, pull out a Manga and immerse themselves for hours on end. Karl spotted a few titles he recognized, but sadly for Western visitors, all of the Manga on the lending floors are in Japanese. Still, it's a good excuse to get one to brush up on their Kanji!
After a few hours at the museum, we were off to our next stop: Kobe. While not a scheduled stop on our tour, we were pretty close and Mona found several things we could see and do. From Kyoto, we took the JR rail line to Sannomiya, about an hour away. From this station, we could visit the Earthquake Memorial, dedicated to the remembrance of the devastating earthquake that leveled much of the city in 1995. The rain began during our train ride, so once we arrived, our first task was to find a 100-yen store, to purchase a pair of cheap umbrellas. The Information booth at the train station had a very friendly English-speaking guide, who told us where to find the 100-yen store, grab a bite of eat, and provided a few maps of the Kobe area. With umbrellas in hand, we ate a quick lunch at the bus stop (sitting locations for eating in public places is strange very hard to come by in Japan)! After walking in the wrong direction for a few blocks, a convenience store clerk pointed us in the right direction, but indicated were far southwest of our goal. A taxi driver got us to our destination quickly, which kept us out of the rain. Located near the east part of downtown, the simple Memorial featured a single, burning candle and placard. Later on, we'd figured out that there was a separate museum dedicated to the earthquake, but was located far from the memorial site.
We walked back towards the direction of the train station, now off to see the local Chinatown. Kobe hosts one of the few Chinatown areas in all of Japan, so this would certainly be unique! The Chinatown area connected to a long row of other Japanese shops, letting customers easily shift from Japanese to Chinese influences with ease. We passed vendor after vendor, selling all manner of Chinese foods: steamed buns, treats and other delicacies.
From there, our next stop was Harborland, a shopping and entertainment district located on the waterfront. Like Odaiba, Harborland also features a large Ferris wheel, but it's also home to the Anpan Man Children's Museum, a hands-on museum themed after a long-running children's TV show. Harborland featured so many shops in its malls, we never seemed to find the end of them!
After having our fill of shops, we set our sights on our hotel and headed back. We wrapped up the day packing our luggage, readying ourselves for our train ride to Hiroshima.
Thanks to the overnight rain, our next day in Kyoto would be blessed with excellent weather. Our accommodations included a lavish continental breakfast spread, a mix of western and eastern breakfast foods. After enjoying a hearty breakfast, we met our guide for the day, Mr. Takeshi Suzuki. As the day went on, we learned Mr. Suzuki was a former English teacher and had many years of experience under his belt. After discussing the various places we wanted to see today, we hailed a cab and set out on our adventures.
The first stop of the day: the Imperial Palace grounds in downtown Kyoto. Upon arrival, we had to apply for a permit, as only the first 100 guests can attend one of the few daily tours of the grounds. As we met up with our tour group, we wandered throughout the southern part of the grounds, and got to see much of the restored archictecture, as some of the older buildings had been destroyed by fire and rebuild (other buildings had been actually removed from the grounds).
Next up, we would grab a taxi to Nijo Castle. This castle was a residence used by the Shogun in feudal Japan, both as living quarters and as a place to meet guests to conduct business. The exterior gate was being renovated, and is expected to be completed in a few years.
From Nijo Castle, we would walk to the Golden Temple, a Buddhist temple built by the Shogun. We learned quite a few interesting details about the grounds and what would transpire there.
In very short order, it was time for lunch. We walked a few blocks from the temple and found a good noodle shop. While awaiting our order, we were seated next to a group of middle school students. They seemed unusually excited to be seated next to foreigners, and in a few moments we learned why. Apparently, they had an assignment to practice their English and ask foreigners some questions. We were only too happy to oblige them! In return, Ramona also asked them a few questions and introduced herself in Japanese (with some timely corrections from Mr. Suzuki!). To end our time with our excited students, Ramona gave them her business card. They genuinely seemed to treasure the card as they thanked us as they left.
With a good lunch behind us, we were once again on our walk. This time, we would cut through the grounds of Ritsumekan University, a private university in Kyoto. We hadn't seen much of the college system in Japan and this was a good opportunity for us. The buildings didn't seem very different from the college campuses we were familiar with, right down to the comically messy professor's office we peeked into.
Exiting campus, we continued on our way to another nearby shrine. This was another Buddhist temple, famous for its zen rock garden. After discarding our shoes at the door, we walked to the perimeter of the garden. The stones were arranged in a particular pattern of significance to the Buddhist faith. To us, the challenge was to view all 15 stones in the garden at once. Unfortunately, one stone was always obscured by another. Suzuki-san indicated the lesson was "to strive for perfection, but know that perfection was unobtainable".
From the temple, we caught a train to the West of Kyoto and headed for the Bamboo grove. This was an area adjacent to temple, set aside for growing Bamboo. And grow it did! The Bamboo stalks here grew well over 15m high. Suzuki-san told us that new Bamboo grow to over 12 feet in less than six months! At the end of the grove, we circled back to an outdoor shopping mall strip, across from the train station. We ended our day with Mr. Suzuki, getting a few details for the locations we would visit tomorrow.
Through the wonders of Facebook, Karl had stayed in touch with friends from his Japanese class at Eastern Michigan University. One of his friends, Danielle Alexander, had moved to Japan after college, and was teaching at a school between Kyoto and Osaka. As luck would have it, she finished her work day early and was available to meet us! We took the train back to Kyoto Station, looking to meet Dani in the central atrium. Sure enough, we met her soon after reaching the atrium.
We chatted and caught up on things as we exited the station. Across the street, the Kyoto Tower and it's 360-degree view of Kyoto beckoned. Atop the tower, we talked as Dani pointed out many of the sights of downtown Kyoto. In the clear light of the evening, we could see all the way to the mountain ranges and snapped pictures of many of the sights we wouldn't have time to see.
After leaving the tower, we crisscrossed the adjacent streets, in search of dinner. We happened across a restaurant with a large grill for cooking okonomiyaki, a savory Japanese pancake/omelette, filled with all kinds of awesome things. Grabbing a seat at the grill, Dani quickly ordered for us in Japanese. After living here for nearly a decade, her Japanese was more than up to the task. Dani filled us in her upcoming wedding plans, the house she and her fiance had bought, and many details about her upcoming trips. As the last of the okonomiyaki was eaten, it was time to find a place for dessert!
Heading back to Kyoto Station, we knew the fashionable food merchants in the basement would have awesome desserts for us. Karl chose a strawberry shortcake and Dani chose a Japanese green tea cake. As we had discovered consistenly across Japan, finding a place to sit nearby was next to impossible. Dani suggested we try the roof. Sure enough, we found a place there to sit and enjoy our desserts.
The hours seem to fly by. Before too long, it was time to share our goodbyes and put Dani on a train for home. Unlike us, she had to actually work in the morning! As she disappeared through the subway gates for her train, we set our sights on our hotel - and bed.
In early 2014, Ramona used the miles we'd accrued on Delta Airlines to purchase two round-trip ticket to Japan. Over the course of the year, Ramona investigate several travel companies, before deciding on Inside Japan Tours. They assembled a personalized travel package for us, mixing private guided tours with group-led tours to some of the most interesting locations in Japan.
To start our trip, we would fly from Detroit to Atlanta, then on to Seoul, Korea, before landing in Japan, a little over 20 hours of flight and layover. We spent "Day 0" of our trip driving from Kalamazoo to Ann Arbor (stopping off at IKEA of Canton!) before spending the night near Detroit Metro.
However, when our plane pushed back from the gate, mechanical issues brought it back to the gate. Knowing our trip depended on two connections, we asked Delta to get us reassigned to another flight. Not only were they able to accommodate us, they got us on a flight that would arrive six hours earlier!
As a consequence of the earlier flight, however, our checked bags were "trapped" on the later flight, and would not be able to reach us until the next day in Japan. On the plus side, the shortened flight got us to Japan earlier enough to see a little bit more of the country, as it would have been late in the evening when we arrived on our original itinierary. Once we found the right subway train to take us from the airport to our hotel, we arrived in plenty of time to settle into our room and tour the local area.
We wandered around a bit and eventually settled down to a small establishment to order dinner. With a quick meal under our belts, it was lights out - our first full day in Japan was going to be extrememly busy!
Steps for the day: 9872
