Tokyo last day

Last full day today and we thought we'd take it easy today - low and slow as the Tamotsu dudes might say. We headed off for a wander round Asakusa, which is a late riser like us, lots of the little shops and stalls either shut or in the process of opening. But the closer to Sensoji you get, the denser the crowd, and the temple itself had a long queue, and the incense burner was pouring out clouds of incense from the sticks lit by the visitors.

It is a colourful lively place but a bit frenetic with phalanxes of school groups and seniors groups marching relentlessly into the fray. We visited the little Inari shrine round the side for a bit of quiet, and admired again the expressiveness that the sculptor managed to get into the figures.

Next stop was Asakusa station, Ginza Line, and a quick trip to Ueno, where we headed through the park to the Tokyo National Museum. There was a special exhibition of Bvgari jewellery which Anne headed off to, and enjoyed immensely, while I took in some of the main collection on the first floor.. We met up, then visited the archaeology building which had a collection of pottery figures from Japan's Kofun period, about 500 Ad.

We had a very civilised lunch on the terrace of the Museum's Café, admired the garden, then headed back for a sweep through the second floor. The capacity of the Japanese artists  to capture nature, birds, water, and landscape is marvellous to behold up close. I wanted to take this one home.

But they wouldn't let me, so we headed off, for a last Stoll down one of the magnificent tree lined boulevards of Ueno park, golden in the afternoon sun of a lovely day.

 

 

Back in Asakusa we sussed out where our train to the airport leaves from, timed the walk back to the hotel, then hunkered down for a rest and reorganize ready to go early tomorrow. 

Kamakura

We were a bit stunned this morning but managed to get out the door and onto the train from Asakusa by 9.30, the first leg of our journey to Kamakura. Hyperdia is a great application for planning Japanese rail journeys, but our trip today seemed to have narrower margins than usual. We had to scoot up and down elevators and make sure we didn't make a wrong turn, and we just squeaked in the connections, bot it all worked as planned, and we were tucking into a very welcome crepe and cup of coffee near Hase station by 11.00. We made our visit to the Diabutsu which has been a special experience every time we've visited.The impact of the statue, sitting serenely in its amphitheatre of mountains, as it has done for more than a thousand years,  with the clouds floating by behind, is profound. You can feel that streams of people have been coming here for a very long time. There is something striking about the peaceful serenity of the massive statue, that seems to accept but sail serenely above the stream of people milling about taking selfies and posing for photos and generally milling about in an ant like fashion.

After our visit, we headed off along the Kuzuharooka/Daibutsu hiking trail that climbs up to then follows a ridge through some relatively wild areas. There were lots of steep ups and downs to give our knees a good workout.

 

We stopped at the wonderfully civilized Itzuki Terrace Café , which is located 50 metres off the trail and perfectly located just when you need a rest and some sustenance, for a delicious lunch, then headed on to a Shinto Shrine, Zeniaraibenzaiten Shrine (say that three times quickly). The Shrine, according to the sign out the front, was founded by Minamoto  Yoritomo, who in 1185 was told in a dream "In a valley to the Northwest there is a miraculous spring that gushes out of the rocks. Go there and worship the gods of Shinto, and peace will come to the people." The shrine is located in  deep gully, with steep cliffs surrounding it, and access is via a tunnel cut through the rock. It is believed that money washed in the water of the miraculous spring will return manifold to the owner. There was a huge gaggle of excited school kids earnestly washing their 10 and 50yen pieces in the water.

It is a very atmospheric place but unfortunately well down a very steep hill from the trail, and it was a bit of a slog to work our way back up again, but worth it because further along we encountered Kuzuharaoakajinja Shrine, with splendid turtles in the pond out the front, and a fine Inari shrine within. We've come to like the Inari shrines with their fierce looking foxes.
This Shrine had a particularly fine pair.

We were getting a bit tired now, but had enough energy to visit Jochi-ji, established in 1281, 'considered on of Kamakura's five great Zen temples'. It was a very beautiful and peaceful place, with its three statues representing past present and future, and its touching statues located in small caves carved into the cliff face. It wa a nice end to our walk, and we were soon back on a train heading us back for Tokyo rush hour. Which I'd have to say is considerably less squeezy than Melbourne trains at the same time in the afternoon. We know our way now, and after a quick visit to the local 7eleven we are back with a couple of small bottles of Californian Chardonnay and having a well eared ha'py hour after a good day.

Back to Tokyo

We set off bright and early this morning, retracing our steps back to Takamatsu Station. It marks the beginning of our journey home, and we are glad to be heading homewards.  Takamatsu station was a nice place to be - the ladies in the Willie Waffles kiosk there make the best cinnamon buns, and we munched on a couple and enjoyed a coffee in the sun waiting for our train. In the corner of the platforms there is a beautiful arrangement of flowers and vegetables. It says quite a lot about the place I think.

The Marine Liner, the train that runs between Okayama and Takamatsu, is a double Decker, and unfortunately our reserved seats were on the lower deck, so as the train passed over the magnificent bridges that hop from island to island, we had a view of concrete slab. But there are large sections where you can see, and there are magnificent views of little islands, sparkling blue sea and rugged coast.

We had around twenty minutes wait for our Shinkansen from Okayama, just enough time to buy some supplies for the long trip to Tokyo. The station bento boxes are great.

But the novelty of being on the train does wear a little thin after a few hours. We caught a glimpse of Hemeji Castle flashing by, and could only see the base of Mt Fuji as it was shroudēd in low cloud.

So, after eating everything and drinking everything and listening to a couple of "Short History of Japan" podcasts we hit Tokyo in time for afternoon rush hour. We were very glad we'd sent our bags on, as we had to catch another two busy  trains and navigate down what seemed like an extraordinary number of escalators. Once again Google maps tried to send us to the wrong hotel - it seems to struggle with Japanese hotels, or perhaps it only gives directions to hotels that pay? Whatever, I was cursing and struggling with the phone, while Anne looked up and saw our hotel a couple of blocks away. The hotel appears to be in a rather shady part of Asakusa, but it is very comfortable and convenient. We had dinner in an Indian restaurant round the corner, which was ok.

Tomorrow we want to visit Kamakura and the great Buddha there, and walk one of the hiking trails.

Takamatsu

We wanted to have a low key day, and to be honest we were feeling a little seedy, perhaps cumulative tiredness, or more likely one too many glasses of Zoave last night. Took a while to get into gear, and we spent a fruitless half hour looking for a Tourist Information Centre shown on our map but which does not seem to exist on the ground. We've worked out the ticket machines for the local trains, and we caught one down to Tamamo Park and the ruins of Takamatsu castle. The main castle has gone, but the moats, bridge, stone work, and two of the turrets on the perimeter walls remain. It has a nice enough garden but nowhere near as nice as Ritsurin.

But it was a nice place to spend a sunny Tuesday morning. Anne was feeling like a rest, so we headed back to the hotel, then I set off to see how far I could get on the 88 temple pilgrimage. The short answer is, not very far at all.

I caught a train to Kotoden-Yashima station, as I had read that there was a bus from there up the mountain. There was a sign in English confirming this, but the bus time table was in Japanese and I couldn't work out what time the next bus might be. It was a fairly cheerless location and the sun was blazing down, so I thought I'd walk. I headed off up a road heading towards the mountain, which led to an abandoned JR Funicular railway, with the carriages slowly decaying away in the overgrown foliage. There was some inviting looking stairs, so I headed up those, but they led to a shrine with no further access up the mountain that I could see. Thwarted I resorted to the map, and chose a conservative approach of walking back towards the station before, hoping I might hit some signage for a pathway up the mountain. From my Camino experience, the pilgrimage path there is liberally marked with yellow arrows and shell symbols. Surely the 88 Temple Pilgrimage path would be clearly marked?

Well, not this bit. I walked up the road I thought from the map would lead to the walking trail but totally missed this sticker which was the only signifier that this was indeed the right way - only noticed it on the way down. Eventually I came to a collection of walking sticks left to help people up the mountain, which was a pretty clear sign I was on the right track. The pathway climbs up steeply but thoughtfully there are seats every few hundred metres. I started to encounter people going down, including some pilgrims in the trademark white cotton jackets. I think my age was a good ten years younger than the average age of people I encountered going up and down. The older Japanese people are extraordinarily fit.

It was a pretty walk up Mt Yashima and eventually I arrived at #84, Yoshimi temple. It is home to an ancient carved statue, the Senju Kannon or thousand armed goddess of mercy, but it was nowhere visible. In fact the place had a sort of shut up feeling. It is also home to a shrine to the Yashima Toshaburo Badger, "considered to be a monogamist and is respected as a god of peaceful families, marriages and the restaurant business." I paid my respects to this one.

Around the corner, coaches were pulling in filled with bus borne pilgrims. They all collected their sticks as they got off the bus for the 200 metre slog from the bus park to the temple.

The top of the mountain has splendid views across the inland sea and back inland, and is an important historical site. I managed to see rather more of the mountain than I intended, as there are few English signs, and I managed to misunderstand the maps.

Eventually I found the path I had come in on, and retraced my steps back to the station, and back to the hotel. We hit the Spanish Italian grill again for dinner, and went easier on the Zoave this time. It started raining while we were eating - no doubt because I put my rain coat in my bag which I sen on to Tokyo. But tomorrow we will be on trains most of the time, so should be ok. We are looking forward to getting back to Tokyo.

Takamatsu

This morning we packed our bags and strolled down to the station enjoying the clear bright morning and the relaxed pace of Okayama. We stopped to take a photo of  the statue of "Peach Boy", Momotaro, who is an important hero for the city - the main street is named after him, man hole covers depict his exploits, and ladies in shops will song his song with the slightest prompting.

 

There was a mum with a tiny child in a pram sitting nearby and she was pleased to see us taking the photo. The little one waved to us and said 'bye' as we headed off into the station, a lovely farewell from a really nice city. We enjoyed our stay in Okayama.

The train ride over to the island of Shikoku takes less than an hour but you really feel like you are somewhere else. The train trip itself is spectacular, crossing over the inland sea hopping from Island to Island, and the whole feel of the place is different. It seems cooler and fresher, thanks to the proximity of the ocean. We had a coffee and a bun sitting in the sun, then headed off to find our hotel, which was a bit of a challenge, as the girl in the tourist info centre spoke no English so could give us no directions, and Google maps directed us to a different hotel, which was a bit confusing for a while. But we worked it out in the end, dropped our bags, had some lunch, then headed off to have a look at Ritsurin Koen. We went without any expectation whatsoever which was good perhaps, as the garden was simply extraordinary, one of the best things we have seen in any of our travels. We were lucky to get a volunteer guide, a lovely older gentleman who had learned his English by listening to the radio, and who had a deep knowledge of and passion for the garden. There were moments today when the hair honestly stood up on the back of my neck, where I felt like I was somehow in a living blue willow china scene. I don't know who decides the ranking of gardens in Japan, but for my money Ritsurin has to be right up there at the top of the list.

 

Our guide told us there are 1600 pines, of which most are allowed to grow naturally, but several hundred have been carefully pruned over hundreds of years to form special shapes. There is a team of 16 special pine gardeners, and an elite team of three who work on the most celebrated pines.

We caught a train back to our neighbourhood, then stumbled off towards our hotel, more than a little tired. We'd seen a "Spanish Italian Grill" restaurant our way out, and it was open, and we were tired, so we thought we'd try some Japanese Tapas and a glass of wine to give the energy to get home. It turned out to be a great choice, cool young chefs wearing T shirts with "low and slow" on the back - no idea what that means, but they were good, the sound Track was mellow, and we stayed on for dinner, finished off with an excellent crème Catalana
So we are very pleased we have come to Shikoku and we are looking forward to tomorrow.

 

Okayama

Another day of brilliant blue sky and sunshine. After a leisurely breakfast, we hopped onto one of the great little trams that rattle up and down the wide main streets of Okayama. We wandered through the gardens of Korakuen, said to be one of the top three gardens in Japan. I'm not sure who decides or how, but it certainly is a beautiful place, and filled with people enjoying the Sunday morning sunshine. We climbed the small hill in the park and patted the stone that is said to bring prosperity to offspring - hope it works kids!

We had lunch in a nice café looking across the river to the castle, then visited the castle itself. After Matsumoto castle, which has survived intact, Okayama castle looks like it did from the outside, but has been reconstructed so that the inside is like any modern building, nice even steps and an elevator. It has all the atmosphere of a concrete carpark. But it was fun none the less. We had a nice chat to  Japanese man who was a castle buff. He recommended Nagoya castle. We will have to get here next time. There was a great exhibition of reconstructions of the armour of various important Samurai figures, including Tokugawa Ieyasu's and Toyotomi Hidetoshi's.

They certainly are not interested in camouflage.  Some of them looked particularly terrifying.

We still had some energy left so we caught a tram down to the station, and caught a local train to Kurashiki, a town about 25 minuteas ride away, and explored its celebrated historic canal district. Well, eventually we did, but not before I got us lost. People are very kind here though. A lady in a shop saw us looking confused, and came over to give us a map and point us in the right direction. It is a beautiful place, and one which we wished we'd had more time to explore.

We found ourselves a the Ohara Museum of Art, a small but high quality collection of Western Art, the outcome of a collaboration between a Japanese artist, Torajiro Kojima, and a wealthy philanthropic industrialist, Magosaburo Ohara. Kojima travelled through Europe in the 1920s, identifying works which he would then persuade O'Hara to buy. The collection has been enhanced since, but the core contains works by Monet, Guagin, Modigliani, Henri Rousseau, Matisse and many others. An unexpected find, and a pleasant way to spend a few hours. Our genial spirits started to flag somewhere in one of the ancillary galleries, so we beat a retreat back to the station and were soon back in Okayama.

Did a load of washing in the hotel machines, ok dinner at a restuarant over the road - about half the price of last night's, and about jalf as nice, though dinner last night was sensational. So, off to Shukoku tomorrow, not a long trip and a relatively slow start. We are feeling a bit tired tonight so a quieter day will be good.

Okayama

I was up at 5.40 this morning, and down for the morning temple service, which one of the young monks told me is essentially the same ritual that monks on Koyasan have been performing for 1200 years. It was a peaceful way to start the day. At the conclusion of the chanting part, where the monks chant various sutras in Sanskrit I think, the senior monk launched into a long discourse, of which I understood a little thanks to the whispered translation from a younger monk who kindly came and sat beside me. But it did go on for quite a while, and it was after 8 before we emerged for breakfast. I must surely have earned some merit from all that. Anne meanwhile had a bit of a sleepin, then a sit in the delightful garden outside our room. The best view I think of any room I've slept in.

After a excellent breakfast served in our room, we paid, and headed out to start the long journey to Okayama. First the bus to the station, next the funicular down the mountain, then train to Shinimamiya, then train to Osaka, then train to Shin-Osaka, then Shinkansen to Okayama. Left at 9, arrived a bit after 2. We had lunch and a beer to fortify ourselves in Shin-Osaka, which was packed and cheerless - we just happened to see a table become vacant in one of the station restaurants as we walked past, and grabbed it as a place to sit down. Really busy weekend people traffic - all the trains going towards Koyasan that we passed were packed - lucky we went yesterday not today.

We were a bit travel weary and bedraggled when we got here, but after a bath and a rest we headed out to explore Okayama, which is a relief after the super busy Kyoto and Osaka experiences. Okayama Hana much more laid back vibe. We walked up to the river and saw the other black crow castle, its roof top golden tiger fish ornaments glowing in the late afternoon sun.

 According to Shijo, our guide from the other black crow castle in Matsumoto, the tiger fish is believed to gush water from its mouth when threatened. These fish ornaments are a sort of divine fire extinguisher, important for wooden castles. And probably as effective as the collections of red, water filled buckets you see outside Toji temple in Kyoto.

Anyway, we are very glad we went to Koyasan. It is a special place. Tomorrow we might take it easy, visit the famous gardens and maybe the castle, but generally have a rest day.

Koyasan

We were up early and on our way by 8, just in time to hit the rush hour in Osaka which we had to pass through on our way to Koyasan.The people there seem a little less gracious than other places we've been. We saw a guy deliberately bump into a lady who was sheparding a young child down an escalator. We were glad that we sent our bags onto Okayama and only had small backpacks to navigate through the crowds of hurrying commuters. But we got through the various stages of the journey ok and arrived up on the Mountain a bit after 12, in time for a very welcome lunch of toasted sandwiches.

The autumn colours are spectacular up here this time of year, and the trains and the streets are packed with mostly Japanese tourists. After lunch we dropped our bags off at our Shukubo - temple lodging- we are stating, then headed off to visit Okunion, a massive cemetery with over 200,000 headstones, clustered around Kobodaishi Gobyo, a building in which it is believed that Kobo Daishi remains in eternal meditation. The monks still bring food to him twice a day, and have been doing so for over a thousand years. The whole area is set in a forest of massive cedar trees, and on a beautiful clear day like today, with the sun filtering down through the foliage, it was special.

The cemetery is a who's who of Japanese history, but there are many monuments, large and small, beautiful and strange. One custom is placing a bib or hat on statues of Jizo Bosaro. Jizo is believed to watch over and protect children in the afterlife. The bibs are placed on the statues by those who have lost children, but also for the long life of living children. Some of the statues have beanies, some straw boaters.

The pathway leading through Okunion is designated a World heritage site, and rightly so.
As we walked along groups of O-Henro Sans were walking the other way, identifiable by their white robes and staffs. These are people intending to make the 88 temple pilgrimage around Shikoku.  The tradition is that they come here first, to announce their intentions to Kobo Daishi and ask for his support. Lovely to see the tradition in action. As an O-Camino San I approve, and feel faintly envious.


We headed back into town, had a coffee in a little café with the best view ever, then walked over to visit Reihokan Museum, which was a nice contrast to Museum of Kyoto - packed with interesting stuff and well explained in English. We stumbled back to the monastery, admiring the gorgeous vistas of maple and ginko trees in the golden afternoon light.

We have a lovely room in the temple, overlooking a garden with a waterfall and carp filled pond. We soaked away the aches of the day in our respective hot tubs, then were treated to a spectacular dinner, brought to our room by a lovely young monk, Zen-Ch'ing.

So off to bed. We promised to get along to the service in the morning so need to be up before six.

 

 

Kyoto

Today we caught a bus into Kyoto Central, and jumped onto the end of the queue for the 100 bus. In no time the queue was stretching back a couple of buses worth of people. We managed to get onto the next bus that came along, and sailed off smugly observing all the people left behind. Ah, Schadenfreude, so satisfying. We got off at the National Museum but discovered that the main galleries are closed at the moment, and only a special exhibition was on offer. We decided to visit Sanjusangen-do Buddhist temple over the road instead. A good choice we thought. Some of the 28 guardian deities have a lot of personality. The overall affect is spectacular. Anne has it in her top 5 things to see in Kyoto list.  The temple hall is very long, and has been used for centuries as the site of an archery competition. We followed a group of school boys who were being shown round by an older gentleman, who was telling them about this, from his gestures. The boys were a very appreciative audience, with lots of 'oohs' and 'aaahs' and 'eeeees'.

Next stop was the Museum of Kyoto, two buses and a walk through a high end shopping district away. We stopped for coffee in an Excelsior Café, which was playing its soundtrack of the worst cover versions of the worst songs of the sixties. If it is meant to make sure you don't hang around too long, then it sure works for us.

We found the Museum of Kyoto was a bit of a dud, very stuffy, very crowded, not much there, and not a lot of explanation in English for the exhibits. But the lovely lady who sold us our tickets told us that there was going to be a procession of people in Japanese costume that day over to the Heian Shrine. So when we left we wandered in that direction, and sure enough, there it was. Anne said it was sort of like Moomba in slow motion. There was a lot of stopping and standing, people in costumes which the load speaker told us were wearing costumes from different eras. Here is Shogun Ashikaga in 1390s. A bit later here is Oda Nobunuga in 1590. The retainers of each seemed to be wearing pretty much the same outfits though. Anne's theory was that the retainers in the grey and blue outfits ran round the block to help fill out each historical period - we're sure we saw the same guys at least three times. The best value were the palanquin bearers. The palanquin with people inside must be a fair old weight, so the bearers would run along, then stop and, to make lifting easier, they'd balance the palanquin on sticks - which is a great idea except one bearer didn't locate his stick properly and one end of the palanquin crashed heavily to the ground. Ouch.

 

 

 was all good fun but terribly slow progress with all the stopping and stately strolling, so we decked into a restaurant nearby for a spot of lunch. It was one where you order lunch and pay via a machine, get tickets which you trade in for your order. A great system but not super intuitive. We worked it out thanks to Anne's lateral thinking. Sometimes travelling in Japan is like an iq test - with the potential of social embarrassment to encourage you to sharpen your wits.

After lunch the procession was still going, but when we saw the grey blue guys coming again we figured we'd had enough. By good luck, a station for the subway line that runs past our hotel was close by, and we were back home in no time. Anne had a rest, while I headed out to walk to Toji temple, not too far from our hotel. It is a bit faded and bashed, but beautiful in the afternoon light. Kobo Daishi was abbot of a monastery on the site, and there is a lovely statue of him, as well as some impressive sculptures in the halls. Well worth a visit and relatively close to Kyoto station.

 

We explored the neighbourhood around the hotel a bit, lots of little streets and houses not unlike Gion, then headed out for yet another delicious meal. So, we've enjoyed Kyoto, and will be sorry to leave tomorrow, but it will be nice to be somewhere a bit quieter - which we expect Koyasan will be.

 

Kyoto

We were much more efficient in finding our bus platform this morning, and just as well, for seconds after we joined the queue a couple of large rowdy school groups appeared to tag on behind us. We managed to get a seat and could observe the packed mass in the aisle with some complacency. Cultural site visiting seems to be a major part of the Japanese school curriculum. As we walked up the narrow roadway towards Kiyomizu-dera, we walked past charter bus after charter bus, each full of school kids. The road is lined solid each side with little shops selling food, souvenirs, pottery and even one with ninja star knives. The school kids were streaming in and out of the shops, no doubt exploring the educational value of shopping. The atmosphere reminded me more of the show bag hall at Melbourne show, rather than the entrance to a religious site. Everybody seemed in high good humour.

The closer to the entrance to the temple we got the more packed it became, so we turned off down a lovely street that runs along the side of the valley, with numerous temples and shrines as well as interesting little shops and lovely old buildings lining the sides, almost no cars, and relatively fewer other pedestrians competing for space. It is called, I think, the Ninen-zaka path, and is one of the nicest bits of Kyoto I've seen. We walked past the impressive Yasaka-no-To pagoda, last rebuilt in 1440, and said to contain some relics of the Buddha. We passed a group of about 20 of the smallest children we've ever seen, walking along each holding a rope looped between a carer at each end.

 

There are lots of shrines and temples to visit. We patted the ox statue, that is supposed to take on your ills if you pat it in the matching place. Sore leg?  Pat ox's leg. We spun the Mani  prayer wheels, walked around the Temmangu shrine, patted the statue of Hotie, and left coins in front of the Jesu statues, all of which actions are said to earn merit and good fortune. A bit touristy maybe, but we seem to be going ok, so something is working. We had lunch in sight of the enormous entrance to the Choin-in temple, then walked on up the road a bit before we were enchanted by the sight of a number of huge camphor trees, massive things that must be ancient to have grown so large. They stand outside the entrance to Shoren-in Temple, which we visited.  A very peaceful and beautiful place, with wide verandas, long well worn wooden corridors, and surrounded by a delightful "strolling garden." There were only about twenty other people visiting at the time we were there.

There is a bus stop right outside the temple, so we decided to call it quits for the day, and we managed to navigate our way back to the hotel where we laid low for a couple of hours before heading out for dinner. A better day today - finding quieter less popular places seems to work for us. Tomorrow we aim  to visit the National museum and Sanjusangen-do temple, and maybe a shuffle through Gion, then get organized for our trip to Koyasan.

 

 

 

Kyoto

Today we planned to explore a bit to the North, starting at Kinkaku-ji, then catch a train to Arashiyama to catch the Sugano "Romantic Train". We've heard that Kinkaku-ji can be very crowded so we were up and out the door by 8, hoping to get there early. Anne had researched the buses, and we needed to catch a 205 from Kyoto station. We got the subway in to Kyoto no worries, but managed not to see the large sign facing the station which tells you which bus leaves from which platform. Each bus platform has its own sign, and I saw 205 so we hoped on. It was the right bus, but going in the wrong direction, and some 10 minutes later we arrived ... almost back at the door of our hotel. Undaunted, we caught the 205 bus heading in the right direction. Kyoto buses aren't the most comfortable conveyances - short on leg room, hot, diesel smelling, and often crowded, but the trip was made worthwhile by the presence of a couple of groups of what looked like older primary school age kids, in groups of four, heading off for the day to visit some of Kyoto's cultural heritage. (I can't imagine any Australian primary school sending groups of four students out for the day on our public transport to visit cultural sites.) We made friends with one group, we smiled, they smiled, they waved, we waved, good feelings all round. We bumped into them a few more times when we got at last to Kinkaku-ji. Here are the two girls with Anne - lovely beings.

And the Golden Pavilion in the back ground. I was glad to see it at last, even if it is a reconstruction. The gardens are immaculate thanks to the work of the tireless ninja lady gardeners who rake up every leaf. 

We caught another bus onto Ryoan-ji temple, famous for its Zen rock garden. We spent a while contemplating the 15 rocks arranged in a rectangle of racked white gravel, created first around 1500 by a highly respected Zen monk Tokuho Zenketsu. Enlightenment not forthcoming, we strolled around the shadey peaceful gardens for a while, before heading down the hill to catch a wonderful little train on the Kitano line. We had to change trains, to an even more attractive train. On the platform waiting for the interchange was a group of kindergarten age children all in blue shorts or dresses, white socks, and straw hats. They were like a flock of ducklings, and when the train pulled in, the line split up, and the stragglers had to be shooed in.

After a rather squeezey trip, being solemnly scrutinized by 30 pre-schoolers, we arrived at Arashiyama, which is a pretty spot. We were much taken by the sight of a gaggle of young ladies absolutely resplendent in their kimonos, lining up at one of the take-away restaurants in the main street.

 

We didn't have a lot of time so we chose to walk through the bamboo grove, which is promoted as one of the town's attractions. After the bamboo groves on the walk to Tsumago, these seemed a bit tatty, and the narrow paths overcrowded with people on hire bikes taking selfies. A nice walk further up the hill, past lovely tea houses and shrines, but we had to get back to the station in time for our Saguno Romantic Train. Which proved to be a dud for us. The landscape the train passes through is spectacular - steep gorges and a beautiful river, with small boats making what looked like an impossible journey through shallow rapids - but the train itself was packed and found ourselves wishing we'd stayed to explore more of Arashiyama. At the end of the "Romantic Train" ride we found ourselves in a fairly desolate landscape of rice paddies and a fair walk to the JR train to get back to Kyoto. But we did get back in time for a late and delicious lunch in an Oniomiaki restaurant before stumbling home again.The hotel cunningly offers free drinks after 5, which is a great marketing strategy as after a long day and a drink the temptation to eat in the hotel is strong - too strong for us tonight, so that's what we did.

 

All in all not a bad day, but we are finding Kyoto harder work than other places on the trip so far. Tomorrow we will explore the East side, along from Kiyomizu-dera.

 

 

 

 

Kyoto

We woke up with the first light this morning and watched the sun move down the mountain from the warm haven of our doona covered futons. It was chilly and peaceful and still, at least it was for a while until some guy with a whipper snippet started up about 6.30. So we got up and started the day off with another wash and bath in the cypress tub. Breakfast in the Fujimoto Inn was another spectacular Japanese spread, salmon, different sorts of mushrooms, tofu, rice, and yogurt to polish it off.  An unusual but delicious and satisfying breakfast, and the English lady resolutely eating toast at a nearby table was missing out sadly in my opinion, but I guess she was happy too. We went for a quick walk along the quiet streets, deserted except for a few ladies out industriously sweeping their front steps.

The owner and assistant farewelled us very nicely, and we pottered down to sit in the early morning sun to wait for the bus which would begin our journey, and three train changes and about three hours later arrived at Kyoto station. Its my third time arriving in Kyoto, but I found it as disorienting and overwhelming as the first. We found a café and had some lunch and coffee to strengthen our nerves, then blundered round a bit until we found the Tourist Information Centre, and got clear directions on which way to go to get to our hotel. The hotel we are staying at is located in a relatively charmless part of Kyoto, to the South, and the building itself is eye-wateringly ugly. But it is located literally a few steps from an entrance to the subway, and only one stop from Kyoto central, and the hotel inside is very comfortable. We spent the afternoon getting over the culture shock of coming from such a peaceful place to somewhere so busy. And we did some planning and organizing - ran a load of laundry thought the hotel machines, topped up our Suica cards, found the bus ticket office and bought some daily passes for the next few days, and booked tickets for the Sugano "Romantic Train" for tomorrow. We headed off for dinner at one of the group of restaurants on the top floor of the Yodabashi store near the station - I was trying to find one that my kids had discovered last time we were here, but picked a different one - though dinner was still delicious. But Yodabashi is a major sensory overload, such bright lights, so many things, and we decided it was time to scuttle back to the hotel and spend a bit of time on a darkened room to build up our strength for tomorrow.

 

 

 

Nakasendo trail to Tsumago

This morning we caught a train to Nakatsugawa then bus to Magome, then walked along part of the old trail that was one of the main communication lines between Kyoto and the new centre of power in Edo. We sent our bags onto Tsumago and walked with day packs. Another beautiful day, and perfect for walking.

Starting our walk in Magome, we were welcomed by groups of high school kids who were practising their English and pointing out features of the town.

They were lovely kids and a really nice start to the walk. It made up in part for the steepness, as the trail climbs out of Magome and up over the Magome Pass. Once out of the town, the trail passes through a mix of forest and little villages, quite similar to bits of the Camino in places. There are signs warning of bears, and bells at regular intervals with signs encouraging you to ring loudly, perhaps to let the bears know that dinner is coming. But we made it uneaten over the pass, and down to a lovely tea house which really felt like it was out of a time past. It had a fire pit with a big blackened kettle, and a lovely older gentleman who kept making and pouring cups of tea for walkers who struggled in to sit at the long tables inside.

The walk was very beautiful, through bamboo, or pine, or autumn forest, often with the sound of running water and a wonderful freshness in the air.  Magnificent views, shrines, quaint houses, bear bells, flowers, water wheels, enough but not too many walkers heading in the opposite direction to practice saying 'conichi-wa' to - the walk had it all. Shintaro and Tombe the Mist felt not too far away along there.

We got to Tsumago after dawdling along, some 4 hours to walk about 8 kilometres, and had some lunch and a very welcome beer before retrieving our bags and heading to our Ryokan. After a bath in the Hiroki bath 'made from the famous scented Miso valley Cypress wood' and a bit of sitting in our room contemplating the splendid view from our windows, we headed down for what we agreed was our best Japanese meal ever. The Ryokan has been in the same family for over 100 years, the inn keeper speaks fluent Italian, Spanish and English, his wife is a brilliant chef, and they went out of their way to be friendly and to make sure everyone felt welcome and special. A great place - Fujioto

Inn in Tsumago gets our five star award.

 

Today we were given two gift wrapped chestnuts by a nice American couple, two mandarins by a nice Japanese couple, and two twisty sort of things by a young Japanese boy at one of the rest stops. Whether it is some version of the custom of Omiyage - the giving of small gifts - or just people practising random acts of kindness, it is extremely nice,  and something to carry away with us. We feel very grateful to have had such a magnificent day.

 

 



Matsumoto Black Crow Castle

This morning was another beautiful day and we headed off early for the short walk to Matsumoto Castle. Matsumoto is so compact we did not need to take the "Sneaker Bus" - another one of those great, rather odd Japanese English names. It is a lovely city with lots of interesting little streets heading off and a view to the mountains whichever way you look. On arrival at the Castle, we were lucky to be offered a tour by one of the 'Goodwill Volunteer Tourist guides'. Shoji was a knowledgeable and affable guide, who patiently showed us around the castle, pointing out features we almost certainly have missed. Extraordinarily kindness, which we appreciated. Thankyou Shoji.

The castle is largely intact and as built in 1595. It was lucky that it was constructed at the end of the Sengoku Warring States period, so it never saw action, and its special room for the lord of the castle to commit ritual suicide if things went badly has never been used for its designed purpose. Nice of the designers to cover all possibilities though. The most used part of the castle proved to be a later addition, the 'Moon viewing platform' constructed with open windows overlooking the moat, and designed as a good spot for the Samurai to drink sake. And very nice it must have been too.

We wandered back along lovely Naware Street that winds along beside the river with lots of little shops and cafés. We sampled the 'taiyaki' - a local delicacy, essentially a waffle but in the shape of a carp and available with a variety of fillings. We can recommend the apple and cinnamon.

Castle visiting builds the appetite, so we stopped off for lunch in a little restaurant which had a granny sitting at one of the two tables outside, contentedly hoeing into a big bowl of noodles. We figured that was local knowledge, so we sat at the other table. Lunch was good but our castle guide made a reference to 'horse beef' during the tour. We weren't sure if this was a lost in translation thing, but we looked at the bits of beef that came with lunch with some suspicion.

On the way back to our hotel, I saw out of the corner of my eye a lady pointing her camera in our direction. I assumed she wanted to photograph the building behind us, and began to move out of the way, but no, she wanted to photograph us. Funny to have the tables turned. So we posed and smiled, and wondered what on earth she would say when she showed this one to her friends or family. "And here are these two funny gaijin ....'

Back at the hotel we embarked on the adventure of using the hotel washing machines. Detailed instructions for using the drier, but for the washing machine the only assistance was a picture of the character on the ON button. Anne punched a few other buttons, hoping that we would get cold wash. What we didnget was long wash, as tone machine was still going hours later. But eventually it released our wash and we now have nice clean everything.

For dinner we hit a very trendy yakatori bar over the road. The food was very nice though some of the items we got bore little if any resemblance to what we thought we'd ordered. But it was all good, and pretty reasonable price wise. To round out the day we walked back up to the castle, which a nice man in one of the shops we visited today told us would be lit up tonight. And so it was, a grand sight and a nice end to a very pleasant say in Matsumoto, a city I'd recommend everyone should put on their must visit list.

Nikko to Matsumoto

Today was mostly a travel day, with four different trains to get us here to Matsumoto. We had another super breakfast at the hotel before heading off through the drizzle across to the station. The weather gods were certainly kind to us for our stay in Nikko.

Japanese trains continue to amaze me. They are super clean, run perfectly on time, and the whole infrastructure is well organized that you can plan a trip across 4 separate train lines, with connections 10 minutes apart, and be confident that it will all work smoothly. There is the excitement when the sleek shinkansen slides in, and stops precisely so the door is aligned perfectly with the lines on the platform.  Plus there is often good human entertainment. On our first leg, three teenage girls with large wheeley cases got on and sat opposite us. A Japanese granny got on shortly after and sat next to them. As the train began to move, all three promptly fell asleep. With the movement of the train, the wheeley cases started rolling off down the carriage, and would have continued, had not granny firmly stopped them with her walking stick. She let the  girls sleep on, and sat calmly with her stick stopping the cases from rolling away. A bit later another teenage girl gave us an origami stork and an inedible sweet each, which was a very kind gesture which we appreciated. At our next stop, a young mum with a tiny baby in a sling stood next to us as we queued for our Shinkansen. With the universal language of mothers, she was soon showing off the baby's teeth to Anne, and all was going well till the baby locked gaze with me and started to cry. I do have that effect on people.

At Nagano, there was a splendid train opposite ours. Everything extra shiny, an attractive restaurant car and staff in extra snappy uniforms with extra white gloves. Enviously we watched that one sail away as we sat eating our "Iki Bens" - the bento boxes you can get on railway platforms.

Not that our lunch wasn't nice or that our train when we got onto it wasn't pleasant. And the views of the mountains on the last leg were almost too scenic to be true.  So, tired but happy we arrived at Matsumoto, and a short walk to our hotel.

I needed to get some cash from a post office ATM, and on the way back I passed a sight which seems to me quintessentially Japanese. An elderly Japanese lady was carefully taking a photo of an autumn leaf on a tree near the post office with a mobile phone camera. I know I am generalizing wildly, but I suspect that most seniors of her vintage in Australia would not know how to take a photo on their mobile, if indeed they had a mobile with a camera, and they would not have that sort of fascinated interest in a leaf turning its autumn colours. It was a lovely sight though. Good for her. I hope she wouldn't mind that I furtively took her photo as I walked past.

For dinner we went to a little restaurant that felt like it came straight out of a Shintaro  the Samurai episode. It was run by an older Japanese couple.  They were so hard working - a real struggle for Mrs to get up the stairs, and Mr literally ran serving the tables. I saw him out the window flying off down the street on his bicycle, and returning a few minutes later with a plastic bag of something. A lovely meal and very reasonably priced. Matsumoto looks like a nice city, not too big but lively - we are looking forward to exploring both its famous 'Black Crow' castle and some of its streets tomorrow.

Lake Chuzenji

After a fantastic breakfast in the hotel we sauntered across the road to join the queue for the bus to Lake Chuzenji, about an hour away up higher in the mountains. We've learned to arrive well before scheduled departure times as long queues form for scarce resources like buses. Lucky we did as the bus was packed. Luckily lots of people got off before the bus started its climb up via an impressive series of switch backs. There is one road for going up and another for going down, a good arrangement which allows for slow vehicle overtaking and removes anxiety about head-one.

The mountains are beginning to get their autumn colours and the higher you go the more colour. The town of Chuzenji Onsen is a popular resort and holiday destination, with lots of daggy attractions. I tried to get Anne to go out on the lake in one of the swan paddle boats but she declined.

So instead I wistfully watched them gliding like mini mutant viking boats across the lake while we enjoyed our morning coffee and cake set, on a real terrace this time.

There is a lovely path that runs for a few kilometres beside the lake, up to what is left of a boat house and fishing lodge which was a resort for wealthy 19th century chaps. The combination of cool air, bright sunshine, sparkling water and autumn coloured trees made it one of the bet walks ever. The few people we met looked really happy.

 

 

On the way back we visited the Futarasan Shrine, a lovely peaceful place, then had a very Japanese lunch in a restaurant overlooking the lake. Continuing on to the bus stop we passed what must be a special rock, as it has its own fenced off plot.

 

 



There was a lengthy queue when we got to the bus station, but two buses came in quick succession, and we got good seats on the second. After a spectacular descent around 48 switchback corners, we were deposited back in Nikko.  A quiet evening and another pleasant dinner, and another very satisfactory day. We will be sorry to leave Nikko tomorrow, but we know that there are many wonderful places ahead.