Japan was a good, albeit expensive, break from Hong Kong and we more or less managed to grasp what the country holds in regard to tourism. We have finally managed to experience Tokyo, a city that has always captured our imaginations but alas did not quite live up to expectations, visited a number of other regions including Mount Fuji which unfortunately on that day was veiled by a thick mass of clouds, explored an abundance of spectacular Temples, Shrines and Castles that we found hidden amidst the high rises of Japan’s modern cities or scattered about Japan’s more remote and rural countryside. Half way through we took a two day break at the shimmering white sands (imported from Australia) of Shirahama beach before heading further south across the world’s largest suspension bridge to the island of Shikoku and Iya Valley, an area where one can admire pristine rivers cascading through deep, almost vertical, gorges.
It has been another great experience but not an easy one. Very few people in Japan speak any (and I do mean any) English though thankfully, at the train station ticket offices and tourist information counters that are based in most major stations, there was someone who spoke enough to help direct us and guide us to the correct platforms, praise the Lord! Also, for any vegetarians thinking of holidaying in Japan, the country proved to be the most difficult one we have visited and Sarah had a particularly tough time getting something to eat outside of Tokyo, especially as she doesn’t eat fish.
Anyhow, our holiday started in Tokyo where we visited Senso-Ji- the red temple below, the national museum, a tower higher than the Eiffel- great views of the city, the famous shopping district of Gion as well as having a spin on the world’s largest Ferris wheel being the major highlights. We had a night in Roppongi and had a Thai meal and ended up chatting in Thai
with the restaurant owner. The next morning we activated our Japan Rail Passes (a must for anyone visiting Japan) and headed north to Nikko where just outside the village, perched among forests of incredibly tall pines lies one of Japans most famous Temple and Shrine Complexes dating back over 1000 years. We only stayed the one night here, got up early the next day to visit a mountain lake and large waterfall, Kegon-no-Taki. It was a far cry from Tokyo and by 9pm most places were shut- very quiet!! From Nikko we then headed south to Mount Fuji and some disappointing low cloud. However, when we left Tokyo to fly back to HK our flight took us virtually right over the top of it. Again it was surrounded in cloud but from above we could clearly see the top third of it poking out from a swirl of clouds.
Next stop was Kyoto, a far more interesting city than Tokyo with masses of Heritage sites, places of interest and worthwhile daytrips on offer. It’s an easy city to move around, you can even do it by bike if you wish. We stayed in a traditional ryokan where you sleep on mattresses upon tatami matted floors. It was a very clean and friendly place, as was everyone who we met. Children were keen to smile, wave and say hello as were the older folks we met on our strolls about town.
It was also very noticeable that everywhere we went was incredibly clean, a fact made more astounding by the fact that rubbish bins were very few and far between. It seems the Japanese make a big effort to keep their country clean, and it works. What was also funny was the fact that when one thinks of Japan one thinks of Sumo, which we watched nightly from the comfort of our very small bedroom, there aren’t many fat people in Japan- obviously the sushi diet is a healthy one, I also very rarely found chicken on any menu, bit like pork in Indonesia!!
Japan is a great country for walking in and we did a number of pleasant walks down valleys, over hills and through many national parks. We even found a place where tables were perched on stilts inches above a river which created a rather sublime and unique dining environment.
A small number of Japanese still wear their kimonos when they go out at night (along with wooden sandals- not sure how comfy they are) and whilst we were strolling around Gion and its lantern-lit streets that were dotted with 400year old tea houses, apparently frequented only by Kyoto’s rich businessmen and their geisha girls, we met these two young ladies who were on their way to one such appointment.
Our next stop was the beach, after 10days walking we were virtually templed out. From Kyoto we headed southwest into the Kansai region to a small town called Shirahama, apparently Japan’s premier beach destination. Here we stayed in a Minshuku (Japanese version of an English B&B.) The owner, a very friendly guy, collected us from the station and also took us back when it was time to leave. Our room, the largest one by far we had stayed in, unfortunately didn’t have a private bathroom but what it did have was its own “onsen,” in the shower room. Now an onsen is basically mineral hot spring spa/bath/pool/pools where the water comes out of the ground hot. In a proper onsen the sexes are obviously segregated as bathing naked is the norm, apparently they’re great levelers of the classes, something else Asia is famous for!!
There is a great deal of social etiquette to such establishments but I chose to cheat as ours was only a small one- I locked the door and went about it all in my own unique way, Sarah only managed to get her toe in the water as it was sooooo hot!
At Shirahama we had a much needed day on the beach followed by an early morning bike ride (courtesy of the landlord lending us his, and his wife’s, bike) along the coast which reminded us very much of Australia.
From here we headed further safe and based ourselves at Okayama, a distinctly Japanese city where fellow tourists were very thin on the ground. We did a number of day trips including one out to Shikoku and the Iya Valley, a very scenic area of Japan. Sarah braved the rope-bridge which was quite an amusing experience. On our last full day in Japan we decided to visit Hiroshima and Peace Park, an area where poignant reminders remain as a testament to the shocking devastation of “The A-bomb.” It’s a busy place where activists passionately lobby and gruesome photos and memoirs inform the parks visitors of what really happened that day. The bomb exploded 600metres above ground and its effects were felt 12kms away. The building which stood directly beneath it at the time has been left as a permanent reminder and is now a Unesco World Heritage Site.
It’s also a place where teachers bring children to practice their English via questionnaires. We were only too happy to oblige but were a little shocked when I spelt out my name, R-o-g-e-r, and discovered that the majority of the small group of 9year olds didn’t know the letter sounds.
Our last stop was the nearby island of Miyajima and one of Japan’s three most photographed sites, when the tides in. It’s a small island that houses a 1000year old shrine and a floating tori (see picture) that commoners had to pass through before setting foot on the island. It’s a strange place where the tame deer roam the streets freely and sometimes even pop into the shops to pinch food as we witnessed. It was quite funny watching the frantic shopkeeper trying to pull a bag of seaweed from its mouth. There’s also an impressive cable car that took us to the top of Misen, a large pointed hill, where great views of the nieghbouring islands and coast can be seen.
All in all it was a good holiday, though the traveling wasn’t easy. The best way to do it is by train, and a JR pass is a must to purchase before you come. On the last leg of our holiday, we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) back to Tokyo. They reach speeds of up to 300kms an hour but there’s virtually no noise and very little vibration to be felt. Armed with my chopsticks I tucked into a boxed sushi meal, as traditional in Japan as say strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, meat pies at AFL, turkey at Christmas or hotdogs at the Super-bowl. Virtually everyone in the carriage was doing likewise, well all but one.
“God that stuff stinks,” she said.
Can you guess who?
