The flight was a bit late getting into Tokyo but the Japanese meal was quite nice. At the airport I had to pick up my pocket Wi-Fi and change my voucher for my JR rail pass. The JR pass is an extraordinary deal, unlimited train travel for 3 weeks for $559. I got two. Changing the pass required standing in line for over an hour but there were many interesting people in line, all carping about the inefficiency of the process. They gave me a ticket on the Narita express in 40 minutes but the earlier train hadn’t left yet so I just got on. Tokyo Station was a madhouse as usual. I was going to take a taxi, but I had a subway card so I figured out which line to take (thank you Google maps) and saved some yen.
Tokyo
It turned out to be a 10 minute walk to the Remm Hibiya hotel ($140 a night). The hotel was new, and just across the street from the Imperial Hotel (high rent). After cleaning up a bit, I went looking for dinner. There were some restaurants under the train tracks. I followed a small alley down past several and finally settled on nice looking yakatori place. I was thirsty so started with a beer. I finished up 5 small plates and 3 beers for $40.
The breakfast buffet was $13 but I didn’t want that much food, so I went to the coffee shop next door. Ham and egg muffin, small salad, and tea $5. I walked down to the tourist office and it was one of the most helpful ever. They gave me some good ideas for later in the trip as well as maps of Tokyo. I wasn’t feeling very ambitious so I wandered thru the Imperial Palace gardens for a bit, as well as down some of the high end shopping streets. I wanted to find a ramen shop for lunch and looked for one under the tracks that was highly rated on Trip Advisor, but it was not where Google took me. Eventually I ducked into a small dive which had a large bowl of sesame noodles and 6 goyza for $7.50. I had my steps for the day so I took a nap. When I woke up it was 5 o’clock and I did something really stupid, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Not surprisingly I was wide awake at midnight.
Friday morning I headed out to Nikko , a popular day trip. I took the Shinkansan (bullet train 180MPH) and changed to a local. I figured out the bus to the shrine. Nikko is home to Toshogu, Japan’s most elaborate shrine and mausoleum built in the early 17th century. I climbed the 200 very steep stone steps to the tomb which was quite plain but very serene. Most of the shrines in the park had you walk on the left, but the main one had you walk on the right? It was a quite beautiful area but a lot of uphill trekking. I stopped at a nice ramen shop for lunch before taking the train back.
I got back to the hotel just before 6 and was beat. I was to meet Lisa, a friend of Jocelyn’s, for dinner and sake. She took me to a tiny place, which I could never find again. She has lived in Japan for 32 years and speaks and reads Japanese fluently. She ordered many wonderful things. The chicken dish was still stuck in my memory several days later. We tried 3 different sakes, the last being the one Abe (Japanese PM) served to Obama at the latest summit. Everything was delish.
The next day was forecast as rain so I went to the National museum. I figured out that I could take a JR train instead of the subway and save a few yen. The museum is an absolute tour de force of Japanese history. It is one of my favorite museums and it is set in a beautiful park with several other interesting museums. There was a great outdoor display of Rodin sculptures. Unfortunately I felt a cold coming on so I cut the afternoon short. Dinner was a big bowl of ramen with pork $8.
Aomori
Sunday was raining and I slogged to the station dragging my luggage. The station was a zoo as all the trains were running late. I picked up a bento box and a can of iced coffee for the trip. The Shinkasen is amazing. It looks like a space ship, is very fast, quiet and no rocking or vibration. I hadn’t made a seat reservation and got kicked out of my seat a couple of times, but that is part of the drill. In 3 hours we went 450 miles, with stops, and then I changed to the local train to get downtown. I stayed at the AAP Aomorieki hotel $114 a night. I wandered down to the seawall where there was some kind of festival going on. The first stage had girls in polka dot skirts and petty coats singing and dancing like 1950’s USA. Another stage had people dancing in animae syfy costumes. Lots of booths selling fried food. Like festivals everywhere.
I wandered down to the Hodakku Maru, a former marine train ferry. Until 1988 the only connection from Honshu to Hokkaido was by ferry. Admission was $6 and I love climbing around old ships. This exhibit was very well done. It even explained the wrecks that pushed the government to build the tunnel. For dinner I went to a place under a department store. It had live Japanese music, a kimono clad woman playing a strange sounding three stringed instrument, which was intriguing. A large combination sushi plate and some good sake was a bit over $30.
The reason I went to Aomori was to take the boat tour of the northern side of the Shimokita peninsula. I had checked the times at the tourist office and showed up bright and early. Unfortunately the winds were too high and the tour was canceled for the day. Plan B was to go to Hirosaki and see the castle. The train ride was slow but short and the bus to the park was $1. For some reason admission was free that day (yea). The 17th century castle was mostly just the perimeter, but there was a great tower from the early 19th century. There was an interesting time lapse video of them moving this 3 story stone tower from its original location. The grounds are supposed to be one of the top cherry blossom viewing spots in all Japan. There was another festival and I stopped to have some sausages and hard cider and listen to the music. A nice Japanese man came over to chat, I think to practice his English. He had lived in Washington state for a while but his granddaughter soon dragged him away. I decided to go out a different gate but took a wrong turn and missed the bus stop so I walked back to the train station. Dinner was at a high volume sushi place. The sushi was already sliced so they just had to put it together. The scallops were the best I ever ate.
Hakodate
The shinkansen to Hokkaido goes thru the world’s longest under water tunnel 54km. Then there is a short shuttle from the shinkasen station to downtown. Hakodate is the Port which Commodore Perry sailed into in 1854, thereby opening Japan to the world for trade. There are still many 19th century western style buildings. They have a great old time tram system that runs thru town $6 for a one day pass. I went to the museum of northern peoples to learn about the natives who predated the Japanese on Hokkaido, mostly the Ainu. As in the Nordic countries, the Americas, and everywhere else, the early people were persecuted by the new comers until recently. The museum $3, was very informative. I then wandered thru the old docks and warehouse district, now tourist shops. As the rain clouds gathered, I skipped the gondola up the mountain to the lookout point. My hotel, the Ekimae $60 a night, was right across from the train station, tiny but perfectly acceptable and a real bargain. For dinner I went to a restaurant that specialized in Uni (sea urchin). They had it raw, cooked, and mixed into various dishes. A bowl of uni, a good sized grilled squid, salad and some sake was $40. The Japanese actually make some great salads. They are usually eaten at the end of the meal, like in France.
Hakodate is famous for its morning market. They had some vegetables, lots crabs and squid, as well as other seafood and meat. The cantaloupes were in season and for $2 a slice you could have some right there, super sweet. There were also many vendors and restaurants serving the fresh stuff right there. One stand was dressing live squids and people were scarfing it up. I stopped for a large bowl of snow crab, king crab and uni over rice, with tea and miso for just under $20.
Sapporo
The express train to Sapporo was a lot slower than the shinkansen, which ends at Hakodate for now. It took almost 4 hours. Google maps took me to the wrong hotel, but the right one was just around the block. When I booked the JR Inn I thought I got a deal at $130 a night but that was just the first night. It turned out to average $160 a night but was the best hotel so far. The room was large, with 2 beds. They had a great public bath in the basement, breakfast was included, and they had a nice lounge to work on this blog. Unfortunately I could not open my suitcase. I emailed the manufacturer and they said to pry it open and get it fixed when I got back. A few blocks away was a terrific yakitori place. I had 7 different skewers, salad, miso and 2 beers for $22.
In the morning I started with the tourist office and then went to the old government office building. A nice red brick building set in a delightful park. The building had a great local museum, $6. From there I went to the clock tower, now dwarfed by high rises. It has an American gravity clock that has kept good time for 130 years. My last stop was the Sapporo beer museum. This was the first brewery in Japan. The tour, $5, was interesting and ended with a couple of beers. For dinner I tried a place that had all businessmen. Their only English was “no choice” when I wanted to change the sushi combination. I settled on a sashimi combo of scallop, conch, and clam.
Friday I took the train to Otaru, which used to be a major seaport. It is now more a tourist town, but mostly Japanese tourists. I walked down to the canal, which is where they load barges to shuttle goods out to the big ships before they built the quay. The canal was lined with very nice, late 19th century stone warehouses. One housed the Otaru museum, $3, which had a lot of English signage and told the story of the city. The morning market was quite tiny and not worth the walk. The tourist center was walking down Sakaimachi street, referred to as the wall street of the north in the 1920’s. The old stone buildings were nice and it was all aimed at Japanese tourists. I stopped at a wine tasting shop in an old bank building and should have done the deluxe tastings as the regular weren’t that good. The resiling was world class but the other two, meh! At the end of the street was the music box museum. More shop than museum, there was even a workshop where you could make your own music box. The 100 note dual drum, $3500, boxes sounded ethereal.
Back in Sapporo, I made train reservations for the Gono line, bought a strap for my suitcase we pried open and looked for dinner. The crab place recommended in the guide books was full so I picked a place at random. The bar wrapped around a charcoal pit where they were grilling everything. I had a giant scallop, whole squid, asparagus, salad, two sakes and some other tidbits $50.
Abashiri
I had some trepidation about driving in Japan, but rented a car anyway. The people at Nippon Car Rental were the nicest I have ever encountered at a car rental. They explained everything, and even gave me a book with all the instructions. The car had adaptive cruise control and lane control. The GPS was terrific. I didn’t have as much trouble driving on the left as I feared, but the turn signal level on the right drove me batty. I turned on the wipers every time I wanted to turn. After two hours driving, the car suggested I take a break! The first part of the drive was on the toll-way, but the car had a pass. The second half was starting thru the mountains. The leaves were just beginning to change and it was beautiful.
I rolled into Abashiri about 2:30 and went to the tourist office. Next stop was the prison museum. Abashiri is famous for its prison and the yakuza (Japanese mafia) movies they made about it. The prison was built in the late 19th century and replaced in the late 20th century. Many of the buildings were restored and relocated to the museum site. It was actually more interesting than I expected, and I got my first senior discount, 50%, $5. Then I drove up to the observatory. There was an incredible view over the city and the harbor as well as a great exhibit about drift ice. Apparently many people come in the winter for icebreaker tours.
My hotel, Dormy Inn Abashiri, $61, was the nicest so far, good sized room, incredible spa on the 9th floor fed by natural hot spring water, free rammen from 9:30 to midnight, and the breakfast buffet, $12, was huge. I went to the Sakana-tei Kinachi , which is famous for their whale dishes. I had the whale sashimi, a whole grilled fish, salad and a couple of grilled skewers and great local sake, $50.
Obihiro
I got a late start but the drive around the Shiretoko peninsula was spectacular. On the right, the leaves were changing and dramatic water falls tumbled down to the sea. On the left the beaches were deserted except for a few fishermen and some large coastal monoliths. Eventually I crossed over to the east side of the peninsula passing Mt.Rausu, a volcanic cone looming tall. There are lots of signs for bears and deer but I didn’t see any. I did see the biggest red fox run across the road. Unfortunately as I drove south the pollution became eye wateringly awful. It seemed more agricultural than industrial, but it was not the season for farmers to be burning their fields. I hoped that as I got into the mountains and the Akan national park it would let up. It didn’t. So I doggedly drove on, missing a few sights I had been interested in seeing. The park might have been beautiful if you could have seen any distance. Eventually I arrived in Obihiro at the Grand Terrace hotel, pretty nice for $45. The spa was nice but only opens in the evening. They sent me across the street to a no name restaurant. Wow, who ever heard of grilled tuna spareribs? Next question will I ever find them again, sadly, not likely. They brought a grilled eggplant dish that was covered in bonito flakes. The eggplant was so hot the flakes were dancing and writhing like they were alive, it was something to see. Many places put the sake glass in a lacquered box and pour until the glass over flows. Here they put the box in a bowl and poured until the glass and the box overflowed and the bowl was full. I figured out I got 3 ½ glasses. Total with salad, soup and other tidbits was $36. This is shaping up to be the culinary tour of a lifetime.
Back toward Sapporo
As usual I started moving slowly. The breakfast buffet, $9, was great, but no one was taking any of the western items. I stopped for gas and managed to communicate in sign language, he even washed my windows. I was forced to take the toll way as the old road was washed out in this year’s typhoons. The fall foliage was spectacular, yellow, gold, orange, a flash of flaming red and some dark maroon. There was a little light green left from summer and the dark green of the firs set everything off. I can’t do such a three dimensional tapestry justice in words or photos. I almost wanted to be able to paint. Even with the overcast skies it was worth the drive. I was headed to Shiraoi to visit the museum of Ainu culture. Proto Kotan is a reconstructed village of Ainu houses with a museum, dance exhibitions, bears, local artisans, and of course souvenirs. I loved it and bought a bear with a salmon in its mouth carved out of some very fragrant wood.
I passed on Norebetsu, and its commercial onsens (hot springs) and Yellowstone like volcanic pools. I really wanted to visit lake Toya-ko. It is a stunning caldera lake with a volcanic island in the center. I could have spent all afternoon walking around the lake but it was already getting dark. The overcast only increased the mystery. The GPS did an excellent job of leading me back to the rental car drop off, thru rush hour traffic. I spent $85 on gas at a little under $5 a gallon. I don’t know if the drive was cost effective but I had a blast. I again stayed at the JR Inn and this time it was $84. Dinner was back at the yakatori place, 7 skewers, salad and 2 beers less than $20. The beer is indeed better when you are in Sapporo.
Back to Honshu
Sometimes subconscious errors are for the best. A couple of days earlier I was trying to book a hotel in Aomori but all I could find were smoking rooms so I booked one and planned to try to change it before I got there. When I checked again, my previous reservation had not registered, so I booked a cheaper place, with breakfast and a spa, in Hirosaki. The train trip was uneventful and since I had seen the sights in Hirosaki I worked on my blog for the afternoon. Dinner was ok, I had a large king crab salad, some minced squid cakes and grilled skate fin. The grilled skate fin was a bit like grilled leather, some flavor but lots of chewing. I gave up on the fin and ordered asparagus wrapped in pork and grilled, yummy.
Akita
So Wednesday I took the Gono line to Akita. This was billed as a resort train. It had more leg room, plusher seats and huge clean windows. There even was a duo playing traditional music on the train for part of the trip. The trip started out thru some beautiful small farm areas and eventually got to the coast. It hugged the coast and I had an ocean side seat. The train slowed at the most scenic areas and stopped in one place so we could walk out among the costal monoliths. I will be looking for more of these trains as I head south. We pulled into Akita in the early afternoon. I was staying at another Dormy Inn, $81 across from the city park. The park had the ruins of an old castle and some typically beautiful Japanese gardens. The small museum, $1, had some very fine samurai costumes. The museum with the world’s largest oil painting was closed.
I read that the local specialty is kiritanpo, which is kneaded rice, then barbecued, then cooked in a soy/chicken broth with mushrooms, noodles and leeks. The hotel gave me a map to a place but I could not find it. I asked a young businessman for directions and he went a block out of his way to take me directly to it. So I sat at the bar and ordered it along with large salad and sake, $36. I managed to spill my first jug of sake but they replaced it. The dish was good in an old fashioned country way. Maybe something your Japanese grandmother would fix.
The next day I took an early train to Kakunodate. This is a small town with many preserved Samurai houses. Many of the houses were free entrance. One of the houses belonged to a family that made and traded soy and miso. They still lived in part of the house and gave free tastings of their wares. Rain was intermittently spitting but I didn’t let it deter me as I worked my way up thru town. Two of the houses on the main street had entrance fees. The oldest one, $3, was still partially occupied by the 12th generation of the original samurai family. There was a nice young woman who gave me a personal tour in English. The other house was enormous and set in a block of gardens with multiple buildings, shops, a restaurant and a separate tea house. The leaves were changing and as the rain let up, it was delightful to just wander the back streets.
There was line at the front desk when I was leaving for dinner, so I struck out blindly and stopped at an upscale looking place. It was early and I was the first person to sit at the bar. The waitress recommended the fixed price menu which turned out to have 6 courses. The first was a savory custard, probably the best I have had. The next course was grilled sardines, local pickles, and some salmon. Next was 6 kinds of fish sashimi style, then a perfectly fried small fish and a chicken meatball. The 5th course was kiritanpo, but this one was special. The rice was smokey and infused with the broth, there were more mushrooms than I ever had in one dish and the broth was sublime. The last course I don’t remember but it was followed by tea. I had several excellent sakes, though their pours were a bit stingy. Total $55.
Aizu
I couldn’t find an interesting place further south on the coast to stop at and my friend Remiko had recommended Aizu so that became my choice. When I tried to book a seat on the shinkasen, I could only get a seat for ¾ of the way on the first leg, but as I expected there were a few empty seats so I just moved when we got to that stop. The local train into Aizu went thru some very scenic country. I checked into the Washington Hotel, $118 with mediocre breakfast. The lobby of the hotel was grand but the rooms were so so. It seemed to cater to wedding parties, Not the best place but Friday and Saturday nights are always difficult and more expensive.
The castle was a 2.5km walk and it was worth the trip. It is set in a beautiful park, and is a reconstruction of a 17th century samurai castle. Aizu is where the samurais made their last stand in the 19th century. The castle is 6 stories, plus you have to climb the hill to get to it. Many of the exhibits had English information, so I learned a lot about the end of the samurai era. For dinner I went to a place that had neither an English menu nor a picture menu. I sat at the bar and ordered sake and uma sashimi, raw horse. The waiter smiled when I ordered the uma so I asked him to recommend the first course. It took me a while to figure it out, but I think it was the middle sections of chicken wings, skinned, marinated and grilled. I started a conversation with the young couple next to me and let them recommend some fried small fish. It was interesting talking to them and using google maps to show where I had visited in Japan. The final course was barbecued tofu. Everything was yummy and with 3 jugs of sake $44.
Takayama
Fortunately I love trains because the trip from Aizu to Takayama was long, a local to Koriyama, a shinkansen to Omiyama, another shinkansen to Toyama, and a scenic train to Takayama thru a beautiful gorge, 6 hours of mostly beautiful scenery and a lot of tunnels. At the last minute I changed my reservation to the Rickshaw Inn a 2 star that was cheaper than anything on Expedia. Google maps lead me to the back door, but you have to check in before you get the code for the back door so I went around the block. It was $120, but a nice big room on a Saturday night in a very touristy place. I wandered the historic old preservation area dating from the samurai era and saw more westerners than I have seen the whole trip, but still most of the tourists were Japanese. There were lots of street vendors and places to taste local sake and miso. Eventually I settled on Suzuya for dinner as it was recommended by the hotel as having local food. I ordered the Hoba-miso, local beef cooked on a magnolia leaf with veggies, at the table. It was quite good and the local, Hida beef is heavily marbled. The place filled up with westerners but none of them seemed to be speaking English.
The next morning I went to check out the two morning markets. The first was mostly farmers selling vegetables, but it was in front of the only remaining prefectural office of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was an impressive set of buildings, $4. As I cut back thru town I stopped for a steamed bun filed with beef. $5. Most people were getting it to go, but I sat inside and they gave me tea and some marinated beans at the same price. The 2nd morning market had vegetables as well as food vendors and trinkets. I tried barbequed mochi, sweet rice pounded and made into balls, $.80 a skewer, yummy. At the other end of town I visited a house of a wealthy merchant from the samurai period, $5. The house was so perfect that John Rockefeller reputedly offered to buy it after WWII but was turned down.
Nagoya
Having seen enough preserved buildings, I headed for Nagoya just after noon. The train continued thru the gorge for most of the way. When I got to Nagoya, I exited the train station on the wrong side, as usual. The Google maps took me to the wrong Dormy Inn. They gave me a map to the right one, in Japanese. Expedia led me to some other hotel, so I stopped a family on the street. It took some time to communicate my problem, but once they understood it, they walked me to the hotel, which was the opposite direction from the way they were headed when I accosted them. The hotel was great, $80 a night, I was beat (dragged my suitcase over 2.5 km) so I took a nap. I was to meet my friend Naoya for dinner but, he went to the wrong Dormy Inn too. Eventually we connected and he took me to a high end sushi place. I ordered some of my favorites and they were better than I had ever had. Then Naoya ordered some of his favorites for me to try. The most interesting was the raw octopus, (usually octopus is served cooked in the US). It came beside a block of rock salt the size of a paperback book. They squeezed lime juice on the block and then you put your piece of octopus on the block for 3-4 seconds, OMG what a taste. The whole meal for two, with several sakes was $130. It was wonderful to see Naoya again and I don’t know if I will ever get sushi that good again.
Monday was bright and sunny so I walked to Nagoya castle. It is a huge complex of restored buildings, and I spent 2 hours there. The main building was 6 stories, but you have to go up a flight to get in and then you are on the 0 floor so let’s call it 8 stories. Fortunately you could take an elevator to the penultimate floor. I paid $8 for the castle and the special exhibits but I never found the special exhibits. The Toyota museum was closed on Monday and so was the Noritake garden, so I went to the tourist office. They suggested the railway museum and there I went. They had lots of rolling stock you could walk thru and films about the development of the shinkansen trains. Not my first choice but a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.
The hotel recommended a restaurant across the street next to the fish market. It was very rustic but there was nobody there when I went in and that made me nervous. I had a lot of trouble ordering sake and almost left, afraid I was not going to be able to communicate enough to order dinner. So I started using the translate app on my phone and things slowly improved. Once I got my sake, they brought out menus with pictures and some English. The two waitresses started to get curious and wanted to talk. I showed them, on the phone, where I was from and where I had visited in Japan. We talked the whole time I was there, and it was an especially memorable evening. I had sashimi, free with the hotel coupon, grilled mackerel, grilled giant prawn, steamed oyster, spinach salad, soup and sake $40.
Katsuura
Naoya had recommended I visit Ise, a famous Shinto shrine. I navigated the subway to the train station, and took an early train. Ise was not too far but it started misting as soon as I got there. The first shrine, Geku, was a 10 minute walk and while I know nothing about Shintoism I really appreciated the walks and the gardens, very conducive of meditation. I then took the bus to Naiku and the grand shrine. As the name implies it is spread over a large park with huge trees. These shrines were so simple in their design but perfect in their execution. I spent a couple of hours wandering and seeking the less visited sites. The old town area was a sea of umbrellas so I just took the bus back to the train station.
While it was raining the train was hugging the coast and the views were astounding. Sometimes the train would come around a bend and you could hear the passengers go ahhhh. I got to Kii-Katsuura about 4:30 and asked at the tourist office about a place to stay. They were amazingly helpful and when I settled on a place they walked me to it. The place was a 2 star ryokan, traditional inn, and they spoke a bit of English. It was $85 including both dinner and breakfast, but $2 extra to rent a Yakuta (robe) to go to the very tiny bath. Dinner included 9 dishes and both meals were quite good. Somehow my request for a private bathroom was lost in translation but I survived. I picked up some sake at the liquor store across the street; it helped the sleeping on the tatami mats. I sleep ok on the tatami mats but it is a long way for me to get up and down. I even ate the nato (fermented soy beans) and raw egg for breakfast. With a drop of soy sauce it was pretty good.
Katsuura is known for its hot springs, Japan’s highest water fall, 450 feet, and a world heritage temple. I took the bus to the water fall in the morning, $10 round trip; I should have taken my trekking pole out as the stone steps were wet and uneven. I loved the water fall, but passed on the major hill climb to the temples. Just after I got there busloads of Japanese tourists started pulling up. The small shrine by the waterfall was quite nice.
Tokushima
I boarded the train to Wakayama and it continued to hug the coast, the weather was sunny and the coast spectacular. From Wakayama I wanted to take the ferry to Shikoku. From the train station to the ferry terminal I could wait 2 hours and take a 15 minute bus, or I could wait one hour and take 2 trains, with an hour wait in the middle. I waited for the bus. I guess the ferry is mostly for freight as the terminal was pretty basic and there were about 25 passengers. It got dark as we set sail and the crowd was typical of a ferry, listless. When we disembarked it was a 45 minute walk to the hotel so I took a taxi, $8. The Grandvrio hotel, $80 had the lobby of the Westin but the rooms of motel 6. The bed was comfortable and I was beat. I ate in the hotel and the food was good but pricy and not much of it. The sake was marginal. The view from the restaurant looked over the yacht basin and was lovely at night.
Thursday morning I headed out for the tourist office. On the way I came upon the ruins of the castle. Lonely Planet said there was not much left and the museum had not a word of English on the outside, so I just wandered thru the park and enjoyed the tranquility. Eventually I came to the train station and found the tourist office on the 6th floor. They were very helpful about both Tokushima and the rest of Shikoku. My first stop was the river cruise because, I love river cruises, and it was $2 for a 30 minute cruise. I hadn’t had breakfast so I stopped at a noodle shop afterwards, the waitress didn’t speak any English so she took me out side to look at the display for me to pick; a great bowl of noodles, tempura and a beer $14. Next I walked up to the base of the mountain overlooking the town. They had a cable car to the top for the view, a demonstration of Awa Odori dance, and a museum about the dance. I was really looking forward to the dance, and the theater filled up with old people as the time neared. Unfortunately, the demonstration was short and then they launched into teaching the audience how to do the moves, not really my thing.
I asked about a place for dinner and the hotel sent me to a place they said was famous. I found it okay and they seated me and gave me a menu. There was no one else there. After 15 minutes with no service, I left. I found a small street with several restaurants and decided to try one with a Spanish theme. There was no sake but I had a delicious Japanese hard cider. I relied on the waiter to recommend things. I had a salad, an authentic egg torta, mushrooms and pork belly, and the best ceviche ever, it had 3 slices each of 5 different fish; total meal with 2 drinks, $42.
Kochi
I took a cab to the train station and boarded an express to Awa-Ikeda. It ran alongside a pretty river and was very pleasant. There I changed to a local train to Kochi. This was a spectacular ride thru a steep canyon along a rushing river, and past many small traditional towns. It was raining but the scenery was still worth the trip. I checked into the Hotel Mintoya, minutes from the station, $49 with breakfast and a spa! The tourist office was exceptionally helpful, and sold me a one day transit pass for half price, $5. It was raining fairly steadily and I opted for the castle first. I took two old fashioned trams and stopped for lunch on the way. There were innumerable stone steps up to the castle and hordes of businessmen in suits making the climb, and getting just as wet as I was. This is one of 12 original castles left from the samurai era, built in the early 17th century, and rebuilt after a fire in the early 18th century. They had some very nice exhibits inside, $4. I didn’t climb the tower as there would be no view in the rain, but I did find a ramp leading most of the way down.
Next I headed for the beach and the statue of Sakaromo Ryoma via tram and local bus. He was a local hero instrumental in the Meiji restoration. The beach was one of the most beautiful anywhere, but the currents are so strong, swimming is prohibited. I got back to the hotel, completely soaked. The hotel recommended a place a block away and I was forced to rely on my limited Japanese vocabulary. I wanted the local specialty, katsuo tataki, seared bonito, served with a pile of fried onions, delicious. I also ordered sashimi, but that turned out to be more bonito. With salad, a shrimp dish and sake it was $50. The portions were immense; I think I ate a pound of bonito.
Uwajima
I took an express train down the coast to Kubokawa, nicely scenic. There I changed to a one car local, the Yoda line. I sat up front so I could look thru the windshield, it may have been the most scenic train ride of my life. The line clung to the side of the hill along a river, thru tunnels, stopping at places so small they couldn’t even be called villages. I think the train only runs once a day, as there was grass growing between the ties. There was even a display of model trains inside the car. I had a very halting conversation with a woman who spoke as much English as I did Japanese. It was her 70th birthday and she was going to Uwajima to pray, thanks Google translate. Uwajima, has another of the 12 original castles, this one is quite small and completely original. It is atop a significant hill (for me) and all uneven stone steps. The castle and the view were worth the climb. Uwajima is also known for a Shinto fertility shrine and sex museum. The museum is $8 to enter and $200 to take pictures, I passed on both. The other famous thing in Uwajima is bull fighting. Here the bulls fight each other, like sumo wrestling I guess. They only do it a few times a year and Saturday was not one of those days.
My hotel, the Oriental, $61, was pretty basic. For dinner I went to try the local specialty, taemeshi, sea bream on kelp over rice. I had it as part of a fixed multi course meal. It was good but not memorable. All in all, Uwajima was just a stopover on the way to Yamatahama.
Beppu
The train to Yamatahama was less than an hour, but then the station was a mile and a half from the ferry so I took a cab. I picked up a delicious bento box before I got on the ferry, $7, which would have cost twice as much in Tokyo. It was a beautiful sunny day and the ferry started out thru many small islands, I do love ferry rides, I guess that’s from growing up in the desert. After almost 3 hours we docked in Beppu. Beppu is famous for its hot springs. In addition to all the ones for soaking in there are a series of extra hot ones called the hells. I bought the pass, $25 with a bus pass, and followed the crowds. They were pretty commercialized. The first one, the blue hell, was pretty, the second had some interesting boiling mud pools of different colors. The third was a crocodile farm with a kid oriented program, and the 4th was blah. The fifth, called the red hell, was the prettiest with a huge steaming red pool. The last had a terrific geyser. It went off frequently and rose 100 feet, worth the whole tariff.
My hotel, Nishitetsu Resort inn, $76, had a great spa and breakfast. My room had an ocean view. I struck out aimlessly for dinner. I picked a small place that was half full. It turned out to be a tempura place, but better than any I ever had. The batter was so light, and they cooked everything right at the bar. I ordered lots of veggies, shrimp and fish. Then the two young guys next to me started to recommend things for me to try. I had about 12 different things and sake for $30.
Kumamoto
Well, my lack of planning tripped me this time. I wanted to take the scenic train thru Aso to Kumamoto, but the earthquake in May had wiped of some of the tracks. If I had started early I could have taken a train to Aso, seen the caldera, and taken a bus to Kumamoto, alas not to be. So I took the train north and got off at Kokura. It was a short walk to the castle which was quite nice, though a modern reconstruction. Also there was also a museum for Matsumoto Seicho, a writer that was designed by a Spanish architect and a lovely Japanese garden, $7 for all three. I got back to the station and looked up the schedule to Kumamoto, there was a train in 3 minutes, so I went for it. I got off the escalator just as the last person was boarding and the train door closed right behind me, phew. The tram system in Kumamoto was fairly simple to figure out so I took it to the Tokyu REI hotel, $71. It was raining so, after checking in, I wandered thru the covered shopping area which extended for several blocks. It was Halloween and many young people were dressed in costume. I stopped at a sushi place that looked nice. I ordered to my heart’s content and spent $42 with sake.
The next day was sunny and I walked to the castle. It had suffered major damage in the earthquake and was closed. I did walk around the grounds and took pictures. There was a nice museum, $3, which had an extensive exhibit about the damage. The museum tickets were by machine, and all I had was the equivalent of a hundred dollar bill, no problem, the machine gave me change! Most of the museums in town were also closed, which explains why the tourist office at the train station was so unhelpful. After trekking around and taking pictures I tried a local specialty, Karashirenkon. This is boiled lotus root then the holes are stuffed with mustard and miso, and then it is battered and fried. I bought 3 slices and the vendor heated them up for me. Interesting but I’m not taking any home.
One place that was open was the Suizenji Gardens, $4, rated as in the top four in Japan. It was just a short tram ride and well worth the trouble. It was large and serene and not a lot of people. As I was leaving I saw a fruit vendor with some kind of melon, when I got closer, I saw one peeled, it was a pomelo the size of a honeydew! While there I tried another local delicacy, a sweet made with sweet potato and bean paste, actually quite tasty. The only other place open was the local crafts and products museum. It was interesting and only $2.
Dinner was close to the hotel and the local favorite is called Basashi, raw horse. I had the combo platter with parts of 5 different areas of the horse, as illustrated by the chef pointing to various parts of his body. There was also some of the tendon from the back of the neck. The pieces were sliced a bit thick and it was quite chewy. I liked the horse in Aizu better. The chef and I were going back and forth with the translate apps on our phones and having a great time. I also had a large sashimi platter, a small grilled skewer assortment and a spinach salad, with sake $56. I took the elevator down and when I got off, the chef and the waitress were on the sidewalk (ran down the stairs) bowing and thanking me for coming. The further south I go the more friendly and talkative people are.
Kagoshima
How a day starts is never a sign of how it will end. It was the start of my fifth week in Japan, andi got my usual leisurely start. I went out and the tram came fairly quickly, thought it looked a bit different that the antiques or modern ones from the previous day, maybe mid 1950’s vintage. As I watched for my stop on Google maps, I soon realized that two different routes passed by my hotel and I had boarded the wrong one. I disembarked planning on backtracking, but I would have had to return to my original stop. With a 10 minute walk, I could get on the right tram and save some yen. I arrived at the station with 5 minute until my train, I didn’t rush it, and took time to book a seat, buy coffee, and recharge my public transportation card. 30 minutes later I boarded the next train.
After arriving at the Kagoshima shinkansen station, I milled for a bit and finally figured out I didn’t need to change to the old station, I could just catch the tram form there. I soon had three people in line helping me find the right station to disembark, and helping with my luggage. After dropping my suit case at the hotel, Dormy Inn $85, I started walking, to the park, the art museum, the statues of local heroes, and was headed for the cultural museum. As I passed by a bus stop and older gentleman asked where I was form. After a brief conversation, he encouraged me to climb the hill to the observation point for the view of the city, only 179 meters high and a 15 minute walk he said. Half way up I figured out the 170 meters was over 30 stories! There were some strategically placed benches, and eventually in made it to the top. As I rested at the last stop before the top a businessman asked if I was alright and pointed out that it was almost 3:20? He went on to explain that there was going to be a Japanese satellite launch. When I got to the top a small crowd was waiting and the gentleman was streaming the launch on his phone. Pretty soon we saw the rocket, the launch site was 85km away, but we could see the trail and the flame. It was a weather satellite and Japan’s largest rocket. What a nice treat!
My new friend gave me a ride back down to town and explained that there was a festival going on that night and the next. It was happening right in front of my hotel. I decided to just do dinner from the street vendors, after all who can resist candied squid on a stick? There was lots of drumming and dancing on the streets. Eventually the myriad teams, all in their respective uniforms, formed up and started dancing. The music was all the same but different teams had different moves. There were teams of old people, kids, business groups, school groups, and even tango dancers. It was quite the spectacle. Since the street food left a bit to be desired, I partook of the hotel’s free noodles after my soak in the spa.
Thursday morning I walked down to the ferry terminal and caught the ferry to Sakurajima, where the volcano is. It had been an island until 1914 when a massive eruption spewed enough lava to connect it to the mainland. The volcano is still very active and spits ash regularly; the tombs even have roofs on them because of the ash. There was a tour bus leaving just after I landed so I spent 2 hours circling the island. We stopped at several places, one where a 10 foot high Shinto shrine was buried in lava except for the top 3 feet. Another was a family run store with delicious local honey and shochu, a local liquor made from sweet potatoes. It was very tasty and STRONG. The island is known for very small mandarins, and the world’s largest radishes. The tour, $18, was quite nice overall. When I got back to the mainland, I decided to walk to the Sengan-en Gardens, 2 miles, and along the way I passed the spot where Francis Xavier landed in the 16th century. Sengan-en was where the Japanese industrial revolution started. There was a building for housing the western engineers who built the first factories, ruins of several early factories, and the residence of the ancient daimyo (feudal lord). The gardens were very nice. Some of the stone stairs looked tumbled down, but as you walk you realized that each stone was exactly where you needed it for your next step.
When I took the bus back to the hotel, the streets were again closed for the dancing clubs. Apparently Nov. 3rd is a holiday, Culture Day. I asked about dinner at the hotel, but got distracted while looking for their recommendation and stopped at a sushi place and spent my usual, $46. Two long days of walking but Kagoshima was a nice visit. The Dormy Inns have the best onsens and a long soak after 7 miles of walking felt great. I should have gone to Ibusuki for the hot sand baths, but I can’t see everything.
Nagasaki
I am now into my fifth week and starting to slow down a bit. When I changed from the shinkansen to the local at Tosu, I took too long and got to the new track just as the train pulled away. I then had to wait……………….. 20 minutes for the next train. I checked into the APA hotel, $125 a night average but Saturday was $175 and Sunday $42. I walked to Dejima, $6, which was and artificial island where they interned the westerners after they outlawed Christianity in 1636. The Portuguese were expelled 2 years later and the Dutch controlled the only contact with the western world for 200 years. The area is all a recent reconstruction but highly informative with lots of English signage. I had dinner on the waterfront looking over the harbor; an excellent sashimi donburi (over a bowl of rice), some sardine sashimi, and of course sake, $36.
Nagasaki is a small city with an excellent tram system, $1.20 a ride. I started at the history and culture museum, $5, and they had a reenactment of a samurai era trial with volunteer actors. They gave me a chair and an English cheat sheet so I could follow along. From there I went to the Sofuku-Ji, $3, a Ming dynasty temple that is one of the few originals left in the world, very special. Then I walked thru Chinatown and caught a tram to Glover gardens, $10. Glover gardens are named after Thomas Glover a Scottish merchant who built Japan’s first railroad. I had lots of steps, too many uphill, and went to the same place for dinner and ordered the same thing.
I generally abhor war monuments, but felt compelled to visit the Nagasaki peace park. It was nicely done with lots of sculptures of mothers and children. Close to the train station is the memorial to the 26 martyrs of Nagasaki, 6 missionaries and 20 Japanese Christians who were executed after Christianity was outlawed. There was a Gaudi-esque church there too. Nagasaki has more Christian churches than any other place in Japan because of its long history of being the only opening to the west. In the harbor there is an old side wheel steam/sailing ship. At first I thought it was a museum, but by the time I found out it did harbor cruises I had already booked a different cruise. Harbor cruises are just one of those things I love to do. This one went out and around Gunkan-Jima, an abandoned coal mine island that looks like some kind of apocalypse.
I asked the hotel about dinner and they sent me to Uodana-Asa by the train station. OMG another sensation, whale sashimi, a beautiful composed salad, an ugly but luscious grilled fish, and a baked dish made from grated mountain yam. The dining just keeps getting better. It came to $55 but $20 of it was local sake.
Okayama
I planned to use Okayama as a base for several days and I got a deal at the ANA Crown Plaza, 4 stars and $120 a night, right at the station. I asked about breakfast but they wanted $24 so that was out. After checking in I walked to the Koraku-en, considered one of the top three gardens in Japan. Between being a senior and the coupon from the tourist office it cost $1 to get in. It was completed in 1700 and restored based on paintings done at that time. Nobody does gardens like the Japanese. From there I went to the castle, called the crow castle because it is black. Every castle so far has had a chrysanthemum display and this one was outstanding. The hotel recommended a place that turned out to look very “business dinner” ish, so I struck out down a side street and found a friendly looking place. There were a few “salary men” getting blotto but the food was great, 7 kinds of sashimi, grilled fish, salad, sake and happy hour on shochu. I spent $36 and it was well worth it.
Naoshima and Takamatsu
Tuesday I got up early hoping to get breakfast at the train station, but the only thing open was McDonalds, ugh, and they had a line out the door. I took the train to Uno and caught the ferry, $2.75, to Naoshima, a once nondescript island that is now a center for modern art. I took the bus around to the Chichu art museum designed by Ando Tado, $20. You go into and underground 3 dimensional maze of exposed concrete. Eventually you come to a line, you take off your shoes and enter a room with 5 huge Monet’s. I love Monet and always go out of my way to see any of his work. These had not been cleaned since he painted them; three were so dirty they were just blue blurs. There were 3 more empty rooms; one had a 10 foot granite sphere. The last one had 40 people in line and I skipped it. I love modern art but this was a world class rip off. I walked 3 km back down the hill with nice views of the inland sea, skipping the other two galleries.
Next stop was Nokyo-mae, a delightful traditional village. I had lunch at a place where I left my shoes outside and sat on the floor. Lunch was good and the tea was from someone famous, but it cost $4.50 for a cup. I had contributed enough to the economy so I skipped the Ando museum. Back at the port, there was a free 007 museum, about the Bond movie “The man with the red tattoo.” Very campy. To try to salvage something out of the day I took the ferry to Takamatsu, $5. The Ritsurin-koen garden was worth the whole day’s trip. This garden was built in the early 17th century and is immense. Probably it was my favorite garden in Japan. My friend Naoya told me that Takamatsu had the best of the best udon noodles. At the train station there was a stand up udon shop. Outside you selected the style you wanted and bought a ticket from a machine, then stood at the counter and slurped them up. I can’t believe they could make udon taste so good, the noodles were silky and the broth sublime. I fell asleep on the train back to Okayama.
Matsue
The train ride from Okayama to Matsue was long but thru a beautiful canyon and along a river. The train was late leaving, (only the second late train in 5 weeks) so I grabbed a sandwich and coffee to go. The castle, $2.75, is another one of the 12 originals and really felt authentic. You had to take your shoes off at the entrance and the interior had a very old feel, five stories of steep stairs, lots of worn wood and exposed beams. It is definitely my favorite so far. The history museum was okay, shoes off again, and like every place in Matsue, half price for foreigners. Eventually it warmed up a bit so I took the boat tour around the moat and thru the city canals. Often they would lower the roof of the boat to get under the bridges. To my surprise I got on a boat with 10 women in traditional kimonos, of course I had to take my shoes off again. They were all sitting on their heels very proper and I was splayed out like a typical gaijin. When we got off the youngest one wanted a selfie with me, and then we started talking thru our phone apps. They were all in some kind of kimono school. They showed me the bus back to the station and were absolutely delightful to me.
I needed cheering up as I had been checking the election returns. It was like a slow motion train crash; I didn’t want to look but could not turn away. I bought sake and nuts for the train ride back and just got dinner from the 7-11.
Miyajima
The early bird gets the worm they say so I started early for Miyajima just south of Hiroshima. My JR pass even covered the ferry ride to the island which is famous for the “Floating Tori”, a shrine located just off shore. The worm that day was low tide and instead of floating, you could walk out to the Tori (gate). This in one of the top tourist sites in Japan drawing over 4 million each year. The rest of the shrine, dating from the 6th century, was quite nice; it is on stilts and at high tide is also in the water. I hadn’t had breakfast so I stopped at the first vendor and got a fried pastry, $4, like a jelly donut but stuffed with oysters! They were grilling oysters on every corner. There were small wild deer roaming all around, very cute; the males had their antlers removed. It was a very picturesque village with many other shrines and a great five story pagoda from 1407.
As there were oysters everywhere I decided to have lunch. I had oysters with udon noodles, since they were selling oysters for $2 and I got 5 in my $12 udon, I thought it was a deal. The heart of the village was packed with souvenir shops and food stalls. The local specialty is momiji-manju; maple leaf shaped pastries made by these amazing robotic machines and stuffed with sweet bean paste. Of course I had to try one.
I could not see anything of interest in Hiroshima except the bomb memorial so I elected to go to Saijo, the capital of sake. They have 7 breweries with tasting rooms. My first stop was Kamotsuru, which makes the sake I had in Tokyo that was served to Obama. Next was Fukubijin, and the tasting was out in the warehouse. The daiginjo was amazing and I bought a bottle, $32. I missed one of the breweries and three were closed, my final stop was at Saijotsuru. They had one that had won gold medals for 17 years in a row and was delicious, so another bottle to weigh down the suitcase. I had a nice discussion with the girl there; she said she screamed when she saw the election return. All in all a very rewarding stop.
I should have known better but I tried a sushi place recommended by the hotel. It looked very nice, their English was good, but the prices! I had mixed sashimi which was okay (I am getting spoiled) a grilled fish and sake, $50.
Himeji
On Friday I moved 30 minutes up the line to Himeji. I got a deal including breakfast and a great onsen, for $100 a night on the weekend. Also Himeji has the biggest and grandest castle in all of Japan. After dropping my bags at the hotel, I stopped for lunch by the train station. They had stools at the counter that were very close together and I tried to pull one out between my legs. It didn’t slide as well as I expected, I lost my grip, and in very slow motion fell on my butt in the middle of the restaurant. Anyway the food was good, sashimi over a bowl of rice with miso for $8. The castle was a little over a kilometer from the station and on the way was some kind of festival. There were about 70 or 80 food stands, a stage with music, and some people in Edo era costumes wandering around.
The castle, dating from 1346, was huge, the outer most walls enclosed over 900 acres. It was another of the 12 remaining originals and has been used in many movies including “The Last Samurai.” Entrance was $10 including the gardens. I lost count of how many steps just to the main castle gate. Once inside it was again shoes off and then 7 or 8 more floors up. Definitely the biggest and most crowded castle. There were 82 buildings, 27 towers, 997 firing openings, and the main keep was 150 feet high. The gardens are outside the walls and only 15 years old. They were divided into 9 separate gardens that were very nice but lacked that patina of age that adds so much.
For dinner I tried a place with lots of lanterns out front. I started with a local specialty, a piece of fish wrapped around a piece of cheese, then battered and fried. It sounds strange, but it actually worked. Next was a Kansai pancake with scallions. As I was looking at it, the young guy next to me showed, with sign language, how to eat it. I took a big bite and the guy started to snicker because he knew it was still hot. Then there was salt and pepper fried noodles, yumm. Last was simmered sea bream. It was half a fish, the left half I think, including half of the head. The head has the sweetest meat and lots of it. With sake it came to $40, another gourmet feast.
Nara
I left early for Nara and got there about 9:30. Nara was the capital of Japan in the 8th century and has 8 world heritage sites. The first site, Kohfukuji Temple, had a three story pagoda and a five story one too. I skipped the museum, museumed out, and went to the Daibutsuden which houses a 15 meter Buddha, $5. It was quite a sight and is housed in a very large wooden building along with several other large statues. To the left and up the hill a bit was the biggest bell I can remember seeing. Next was the Kasuga Taisha shrine. The number of lanterns on the approaches to the temple numbers in excess of 4000! The line to get in stretched the equivalent of 2 blocks, so I just walked around the grounds. The most unusual world heritage site was the primeval forest which was set aside as a preserve in the year 847. There was almost no one there and I wandered the paths for about 40 minutes. My last site was the Gangoi Temple, reputed to be the first Buddhist temple in Japan. It was built in 588 and moved to Nara in 710.
I actually wished I had 2 days in Nara as there were some archeological sites I want to visit. Another trip I guess. Back in Himeji I went looking for a place for dinner. It was Saturday night and the first three places I tried were full. I stuck my head in a small place that was half full and an older gentleman at the bar with his wife offered to help me order. His name was Shigemi Amano and he was a Judo instructor from Hiroshima. We had a great time and I had a nice salad, some octopus chopped up in a pancake and served in a bowl of miso, a local chicken dish (they even told who raised the chicken), and some asparagus and bacon; with the requisite sake, $24. The food was good and the evening was very enjoyable.
Back to Tokyo
The Japan Rail pass does not allow one to ride the Nozomi super express so I took a shinkansen that made a few more stops and took 3.6 hours for 405 miles. About half way, as I was working on my blog I heard the passengers going ahhhhhhhhhhh, looked up to see Mt Fuji come into view. It stands alone, capped in snow, and commands the landscape. In Tokyo I dropped my luggage at the Tokyu Stay Shimbashi, $97 a night. It was brand new and close to the Yamanote line, 2 stops from the main station. I was not feeling to ambitious so I just went up to Ueno Park to wander around and people watch. It being Sunday, there was a lot going on there, music, people dancing, food vendors, etc.
That night I had dinner with Lisa again and her friend Ayako joined us. Ayako just passed the first level Sake sommelier test. We had so many different, fabulous, sakes that I quickly lost track. There were also so many wonderful dishes from the sashimi to the final dish, sengyo chazuke, I wanted to stay in Japan.
Monday was cloudy but not cold. I walked down to the Hamarikyu Garden. This was a 17th century shogun villa and duck hunting preserve. It was a pleasant hour and half visit in the center of the city. From there I took the water bus, $7, up the river to the Asakusa shrine. The cruise was pleasant and we went under a great number of bridges of every color and style you could imagine. The shrine is one of the top tourist draws in Tokyo and quite spectacular. The tourists were mostly Japanese and many were in traditional dress. From there I walked to Kappabashi Street which has everything kitchen related. They even have the plastic food that many restaurants have in the window. I was not in much of a shopping mood but did pick up a few bowls.
My final stop was the Korakuen Garden, one of the two surviving Edo period gardens in Tokyo, started in 1629. It was probably my favorite urban park. There was hardly anyone there and the paths wander up and down the hills, across bridges and thru thick groves. The leaves were turning with red and gold everywhere. I would like to visit in every season. I took more pictures of this park than any other on the whole trip. My last dinner in Japan was at a sushi place by the hotel, 8 pieces of sushi, salad, miso with clams, a savory custard and sake, $48.
So, now I am down to my last day, not a lot left to do. Kyu Shiba Rikyu garden is the other remaining Edo era garden in Tokyo, and walking distance from my hotel. It was a very pleasant park but there was a lot of street noise. From there I walked to the Zojo-ji shrine. It was in a pleasant park with the Tokyo Tower next to it. If the day had been clear I would have gone up for the view, but instead, I sat on a bench and read the last of the Japanese history I had been working thru on the trip. I now feel that I have a good introduction to the history and geography of Japan. I really understand why Lisa loves it so.
After picking up my luggage, to took the monorail out to Haneda Airport, the older international airport. There I had to cash in my metro card, change my Yen to $, and mail my pocket w Wi-Fi back. As I was packing up the pocket Wi-Fi, someone pointed out that the woman at the currency exchange was waving frantically at me. Turns out I had left my passport on the counter. I almost got my wish of staying longer in Japan. The flight back was uneventful, just long.