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.