The surprise organised by our tour guide for our yesterday’s farewell couldn’t be honoured because of the rain: he planned a helicopter flight above Tokyo as a kind of reward that 6 out 7 group members did his Japan-trilogy (3 individual trips to Central, North and South Japan) !! Wow, that would have been something special! Instead of that flight, he took his family and us to a nearby French restaurant, where we had an excellent dinner. We returned to the hotel not too late, since we all had a long day of travelling today.
At arrival at Narita airport Arjan and I just discovered in time that surprisingly enough we had to leave from different terminals - we thought that all European companies would leave from the same one … - , so unfortunately we could not share our farewell breakfast.
We both had no delays - except for myself in Paris because of a technical problem with the RER - and arrived around 7 / 8 a.m. at home. Right now the usual thing of filling up the fridge, washing, emptying our bags and sorting out the mail. We will not make it late tonight, because we still have to catch up the 7 hours time difference with Japan.
And what do I miss right now being back in Paris?? The politeness of the Japanese people (though I had to say that I arrived during rush hour in Paris, nobody let you pass in priority with your heavy bags …), the air-conditioned public transports, the cleanness of railway stations and punctuality of trains. Ask me this question again in a couple of days and by then I have been thinking certainly of more things, but still I love Paris, too!
Friday, 30 May 2008
Thursday, 29 May 2008
29-05-08
What a pity, our last day in Japan and in Tokyo, and it is raining, all day long! We had to change our plans and started with the Yasukuni-shrine, the shrine for Establishing Peace in the Empire and dedicated to 2.4 million Japanese war-dead since 1853, the most controversial shrine in all Japan. The Japanese constitutional separation of religion and politics and the renunciation of militarism didn't stop a group of class-A war criminals being enshrined here in 1979; it also doesn't stop annual visits by politicians on the anniversary of Japan's defeat in WWII (15 August). The loudest protests are from Japan's Asean neighbours, who suffered most from Japanese aggression.
Today, most probably because of the rain, there were only a few visitors and no propaganda whatsoever was going on.
More confusing was the nearby Yushukan Museum with treasures from the Yasukuni-shrine and other items commemorating (and glorifying) Japanese war-dead, like a locomotive used in the Thai-Burma railway, during which construction amongst others some Dutch POW's, forced to work for the Japanese, lost their life....
Rain continued so we decided after a last Japanese lunch to get into a museum, the Crafts Gallery of The National Museum of Modern Art, where we enjoyed amongst others a temporary exhibition of European and Japanese Art Deco.
Still raining we shopped around the Tokyo main railway station to find a nice envelop to accompany our tip for our tour guide, who I just met with his eldest sun; his Japanese wife and 1-year old daughter came over as well from their home town Nagoya and I suppose that the 4 of them will show up tonight during our farewell dinner.
Still raining, so we had enough of it and decided to get back to the hotel via Ueno Park, where we enjoyed some amazing beautiful blooming bonsai azaleas.
This will be most probably my last travel report from Japan. Arjan is waiting for me to get into the hotel onsen before we get out for a.m. dinner. As said yesterday, we will leave tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. to fly back via Tokyo Narita airport to Paris and Amsterdam. You will get by then some more news and we will send you the links of our pictures as soon as possible!
Today, most probably because of the rain, there were only a few visitors and no propaganda whatsoever was going on.
More confusing was the nearby Yushukan Museum with treasures from the Yasukuni-shrine and other items commemorating (and glorifying) Japanese war-dead, like a locomotive used in the Thai-Burma railway, during which construction amongst others some Dutch POW's, forced to work for the Japanese, lost their life....
Rain continued so we decided after a last Japanese lunch to get into a museum, the Crafts Gallery of The National Museum of Modern Art, where we enjoyed amongst others a temporary exhibition of European and Japanese Art Deco.
Still raining we shopped around the Tokyo main railway station to find a nice envelop to accompany our tip for our tour guide, who I just met with his eldest sun; his Japanese wife and 1-year old daughter came over as well from their home town Nagoya and I suppose that the 4 of them will show up tonight during our farewell dinner.
Still raining, so we had enough of it and decided to get back to the hotel via Ueno Park, where we enjoyed some amazing beautiful blooming bonsai azaleas.
This will be most probably my last travel report from Japan. Arjan is waiting for me to get into the hotel onsen before we get out for a.m. dinner. As said yesterday, we will leave tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. to fly back via Tokyo Narita airport to Paris and Amsterdam. You will get by then some more news and we will send you the links of our pictures as soon as possible!
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
28-05-08
Indeed we returned yesterday evening to the same sushi restaurant as the day before, for one of our last meals in Japan, because the end of this voyage is rapidly approaching! During our dinner, we were preparing ourselves for our today's meeting with our precious Japanese friends Toshiharu-san and his wife Setsuko-san, because we were realising that we had trouble to remember what we did see 2,5 weeks ago and even the day before yesterday was already gone out of our vivid memory: there is so many of it! and those Japanese names are so difficult to remember! Anyway with my photo-logbook (yes, that is another log besides of this webblog....) we succeeded to make a hit parade of the 6 best places we liked most and in general we highly enjoyed in comparison to our previous 2 Japanese voyages the authentic pilgrims, although in 2008 version, which are still actively part of the Japanese landscape. On top of that we loved the nature at this period of the year: lots of flowers in all kind of colours.
This morning only the 2 of us left with the 10.25 a.m. flight Okinawa to return to Tokyo (2,5 hrs flight to Haneda airport); since we had to meet our friends tonight we preferred to take an earlier flight than the initial planned flight at 2.05 p.m.
Around 2.30 p.m. we checked in our hotel (which I know by now by heart, very convenient!) and we rapidly left for the nearby district Yanaka, an old part of Tokyo with narrow streets, small houses and particular shops, where we finally found the roasted green (Japanese, of course!) tea we were looking for.
Back to our hotel to take a shower - it is pretty hot in Tokyo today, though not that humid like Okinawa in the south - and get ready for the farewell dinner. We got a little lost in the huge Tokyo (central) station, but we managed to find the restaurant in due time, where both Toshiharu-san and Setsuko-san were already waiting for us, with the 3 flags of Japan, the Netherlands and France! The restaurant is familiar to me, but still very exciting, because the food - Toshiharu-san choose again the shabu-shabu (Japanese variant of hot pot) - is exceptional delicious, accompanied by champaign and (French, of course!) Burgundy red wine and.... the presence of Satomi, the daughter of our friends!
It was hard ;-) working to get through the dinner and the presents, because the restaurant closed its doors already at 10.00 p.m., but the Delft Blue soja-set, Royal Crystal Leerdam presse-papiers and the Mariage Frères tea have been highly appreciated by our Japanese hosts. Right now I can not say anything about the gifts we have been presented, besides of the dinner, because such is still a surprise for our friend Florence.
Anyway it was an evening which we will not forget and we hope we can see each other all together again somewhere very soon; maybe Satomi will come over to Paris this year for holidays!
Tomorrow we will spend our last day in Japan, in Tokyo; the day after, Friday we will leave our hotel around 7 a.m.
This morning only the 2 of us left with the 10.25 a.m. flight Okinawa to return to Tokyo (2,5 hrs flight to Haneda airport); since we had to meet our friends tonight we preferred to take an earlier flight than the initial planned flight at 2.05 p.m.
Around 2.30 p.m. we checked in our hotel (which I know by now by heart, very convenient!) and we rapidly left for the nearby district Yanaka, an old part of Tokyo with narrow streets, small houses and particular shops, where we finally found the roasted green (Japanese, of course!) tea we were looking for.
Back to our hotel to take a shower - it is pretty hot in Tokyo today, though not that humid like Okinawa in the south - and get ready for the farewell dinner. We got a little lost in the huge Tokyo (central) station, but we managed to find the restaurant in due time, where both Toshiharu-san and Setsuko-san were already waiting for us, with the 3 flags of Japan, the Netherlands and France! The restaurant is familiar to me, but still very exciting, because the food - Toshiharu-san choose again the shabu-shabu (Japanese variant of hot pot) - is exceptional delicious, accompanied by champaign and (French, of course!) Burgundy red wine and.... the presence of Satomi, the daughter of our friends!
It was hard ;-) working to get through the dinner and the presents, because the restaurant closed its doors already at 10.00 p.m., but the Delft Blue soja-set, Royal Crystal Leerdam presse-papiers and the Mariage Frères tea have been highly appreciated by our Japanese hosts. Right now I can not say anything about the gifts we have been presented, besides of the dinner, because such is still a surprise for our friend Florence.
Anyway it was an evening which we will not forget and we hope we can see each other all together again somewhere very soon; maybe Satomi will come over to Paris this year for holidays!
Tomorrow we will spend our last day in Japan, in Tokyo; the day after, Friday we will leave our hotel around 7 a.m.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
27-05-08
Yesterday evening we all went indeed to a so-called budokan near to the port, where we could assist on 3 different floors of a giant sport complex to the typical Japanese sports judo, karate, kendo, jiu-jitsu and sumo; the latter by kids of not even 10 years old, so cute !!!
Just before, we had dinner in a restaurant in a tree (such is only possible in Japan: yes, the restaurant was in a huge artificial tree), but the nouvelle cuisine offered us such a small dish, that we both had another dinner in a nearby restaurant recommended by a brothel-employee opposite our hotel. A very colourful walk to get in there, but business seems low in the area...
Today all off for a day excursion to visit the Okinawa War Sites. We started with the Underground Naval Headquarters, where 4000 men committed suicide as the battle for Okinawa drew to its prolonged and bloody conclusions. Of the tunnels, only 250m are open, but you can wander through the maze of corridors, see the commander's final words on the wall of his room and inspect the holes and scars in other walls from the grenade blasts that killed many of the men.
Then Cape Kiyan, in the closing days of the Battle of Okinawa a cliff from which many civilians jumped to their death from the cliffs. Such is an important difference in culture between Japanese and for instance Europeans: even today one finds Japanese people (politicians) who rather prefer to commit suicide (harikiri) than being confronted with a defeat. It has to be said, that suicide during WWII also occurred because of coercion by Japanese military personnel.
Then to Himeyri-no-To, where on 19-06-1945 200 Okinawan schoolgirls and their teachers, who had been conscripted by Japanese troops as field nurses and trench-diggers, were abruptly demobilised. After being evicted from the sheltering caves, many were killed by Americans bullets and gas shells, while others committed suicide in the school grounds rather than fall in the hands of the US military, whom they had been led to believe were barbarians.
Very moving museum in emotional way and the explanations were quite neutral and it explained the madness and atrocities - in general - of wars, and such not only from a Japanese point of view.
We finished the War Sites with the visit to the Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum (Okinawa Senseki Quasi-National Park (沖縄戦跡国定公園)), another very emotive museum. I found following on internet about it:
"In late March 1945, a fierce battle such as has rarely been seen in history took place on these islands. The "Typhoon of Steel" that lasted for ninety days disfigured mountains, destroyed much of the cultural legacy, and claimed the precious lives of upward of 200,000 people. The Battle of Okinawa was the only ground fighting fought on Japanese soil and was also the largest-scale campaign of the Asia-Pacific War. Even countless Okinawan civilians were fully mobilized. A significant aspect of the Battle of Okinawa was the great loss of civilian life. At more than 100,000 civilian losses far outnumbered the military death toll. Some were blown apart by shells, some finding themselves in a hopeless situation were driven to suicide, some died of starvation, some succumbed to malaria, while other fell victim to the retreating Japanese troops. Under the most desperate and unimaginable circumstances, Okinawans directly experienced the absurdity of war and atrocities it inevitably brings about.
This war experience is at the very core of what is popularly called the "Okinawan Heart," a resilient yet strong attitude to life that Okinawan people developed as they struggled against the pressures of many years of U. S. military control.
The "Okinawan Heart" is a human response that respects personal dignity above all else, rejects any acts related to war, and truly cherishes culture, which is a supreme expression of humanity. In order that we may mourn for those who perished during the war, pass on to future generations the historic lessons of the Battle of Okinawa, convey our message to the peoples of the world and thereby established, displaying the whole range of the individual war experiences of the people in this prefecture, the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum. "
Some personal testimonies were translated in English and hard to read....
In the museum park one finds the Cornerstone of Peace (Heiwa no Ishiji,平和の礎), a secular war memorial for the victims of the Battle of Okinawa. It was erected in 1995 in memory of the 50th anniversary of the battle. Similar to the Vietnams Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, the memorial focuses on the names of those that died in the battle. However, it takes the unique controversially approach of trying to list all the names, military and civilian from all countries involved. As of June 2007 it contains 240,609 names.
Like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the sites of the atomic bombs in August 1945, these War Sites are massively visited by school classes; a good thing to see that the children of today are taught about what happened over 60 years ago.
We both enjoyed - though such seems not to be the appropriate word.... - these visits, which once again confronts one with the horrors of war.
After a quick lunch (so quick, that we both had only time for a cheese burger, what a shame for the Japanese cuisine!) we went to Gyokusendo Okokumura, a theme park promoting the Okinawan history, culture, and nature, whereas I thought it would only feature Asia's greatest stalactites and stalagmites... A very commercial uninteresting stop, which we both would rather had exchanged for a longer stay on the War Sites, but such is one of the rare inconvenient parts of group holidays.
Right now back in my favourite manga / internet cafe, with free drinks and airco; the latter is highly appreciated, because it is still hot outside.
Arjan is having a coffee - most probably an ice-coffee.... - at the next-door Starbucks. Most probably we will have dinner in the same restaurant as yesterday evening, at least one finds sushi and sashimi over there, whereas such is difficult to find at the main street of Naha (Kokusai-dori), which is rather Yankee-steak oriented...
Just before, we had dinner in a restaurant in a tree (such is only possible in Japan: yes, the restaurant was in a huge artificial tree), but the nouvelle cuisine offered us such a small dish, that we both had another dinner in a nearby restaurant recommended by a brothel-employee opposite our hotel. A very colourful walk to get in there, but business seems low in the area...
Today all off for a day excursion to visit the Okinawa War Sites. We started with the Underground Naval Headquarters, where 4000 men committed suicide as the battle for Okinawa drew to its prolonged and bloody conclusions. Of the tunnels, only 250m are open, but you can wander through the maze of corridors, see the commander's final words on the wall of his room and inspect the holes and scars in other walls from the grenade blasts that killed many of the men.
Then Cape Kiyan, in the closing days of the Battle of Okinawa a cliff from which many civilians jumped to their death from the cliffs. Such is an important difference in culture between Japanese and for instance Europeans: even today one finds Japanese people (politicians) who rather prefer to commit suicide (harikiri) than being confronted with a defeat. It has to be said, that suicide during WWII also occurred because of coercion by Japanese military personnel.
Then to Himeyri-no-To, where on 19-06-1945 200 Okinawan schoolgirls and their teachers, who had been conscripted by Japanese troops as field nurses and trench-diggers, were abruptly demobilised. After being evicted from the sheltering caves, many were killed by Americans bullets and gas shells, while others committed suicide in the school grounds rather than fall in the hands of the US military, whom they had been led to believe were barbarians.
Very moving museum in emotional way and the explanations were quite neutral and it explained the madness and atrocities - in general - of wars, and such not only from a Japanese point of view.
We finished the War Sites with the visit to the Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum (Okinawa Senseki Quasi-National Park (沖縄戦跡国定公園)), another very emotive museum. I found following on internet about it:
"In late March 1945, a fierce battle such as has rarely been seen in history took place on these islands. The "Typhoon of Steel" that lasted for ninety days disfigured mountains, destroyed much of the cultural legacy, and claimed the precious lives of upward of 200,000 people. The Battle of Okinawa was the only ground fighting fought on Japanese soil and was also the largest-scale campaign of the Asia-Pacific War. Even countless Okinawan civilians were fully mobilized. A significant aspect of the Battle of Okinawa was the great loss of civilian life. At more than 100,000 civilian losses far outnumbered the military death toll. Some were blown apart by shells, some finding themselves in a hopeless situation were driven to suicide, some died of starvation, some succumbed to malaria, while other fell victim to the retreating Japanese troops. Under the most desperate and unimaginable circumstances, Okinawans directly experienced the absurdity of war and atrocities it inevitably brings about.
This war experience is at the very core of what is popularly called the "Okinawan Heart," a resilient yet strong attitude to life that Okinawan people developed as they struggled against the pressures of many years of U. S. military control.
The "Okinawan Heart" is a human response that respects personal dignity above all else, rejects any acts related to war, and truly cherishes culture, which is a supreme expression of humanity. In order that we may mourn for those who perished during the war, pass on to future generations the historic lessons of the Battle of Okinawa, convey our message to the peoples of the world and thereby established, displaying the whole range of the individual war experiences of the people in this prefecture, the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum. "
Some personal testimonies were translated in English and hard to read....
In the museum park one finds the Cornerstone of Peace (Heiwa no Ishiji,平和の礎), a secular war memorial for the victims of the Battle of Okinawa. It was erected in 1995 in memory of the 50th anniversary of the battle. Similar to the Vietnams Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, the memorial focuses on the names of those that died in the battle. However, it takes the unique controversially approach of trying to list all the names, military and civilian from all countries involved. As of June 2007 it contains 240,609 names.
Like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the sites of the atomic bombs in August 1945, these War Sites are massively visited by school classes; a good thing to see that the children of today are taught about what happened over 60 years ago.
We both enjoyed - though such seems not to be the appropriate word.... - these visits, which once again confronts one with the horrors of war.
After a quick lunch (so quick, that we both had only time for a cheese burger, what a shame for the Japanese cuisine!) we went to Gyokusendo Okokumura, a theme park promoting the Okinawan history, culture, and nature, whereas I thought it would only feature Asia's greatest stalactites and stalagmites... A very commercial uninteresting stop, which we both would rather had exchanged for a longer stay on the War Sites, but such is one of the rare inconvenient parts of group holidays.
Right now back in my favourite manga / internet cafe, with free drinks and airco; the latter is highly appreciated, because it is still hot outside.
Arjan is having a coffee - most probably an ice-coffee.... - at the next-door Starbucks. Most probably we will have dinner in the same restaurant as yesterday evening, at least one finds sushi and sashimi over there, whereas such is difficult to find at the main street of Naha (Kokusai-dori), which is rather Yankee-steak oriented...
Monday, 26 May 2008
26-05-08
Again beautiful weather, though sometimes cloudy, but so humid.... it felt like at least 40 C. We both took the very convenient monorail to Shurijo-koen, the reconstructed old residence of the former Okinawa royal family. The castle Shuri-jo invites comparison to China's Forbidden City, although admittedly on a smaller scale.
The pick is the Chinese-influenced Shurei-no-mon, also rebuilt in 1958. It is considered to be the symbol of Okinawa, so there's a constant stream of tour groups and school parties lining up to be photographed in front of it.
The original castle, like much in Okinawa, was destroyed during the WWII Battle of Okinawa. There are a couple of not so interesting temples on the park grounds. We visited Bezaiten-do, in the middle of a pond, rebuilt as well after WWII.
Interesting were the remainings of the nearby Kinjocho-no-Ishidatami-michi, a 15th-century stone street. The steep and narrow path, with its old stone walls and ornate gateways and tropical gardens is very picturesque.
Back with the monorail to Naha, where we took a taxi to get to Fukushu-en, a Chinese style garden. All materials were brought from Fuzhou, Naha's sister city in China, including the pagoda that sits atop a small waterfall. Such a Chinese-style garden makes a nice difference to all the previous Japanese-style gardens.
Off again by taxi to Kokusai-dori, Naha's main street, to get to a professional air-conditioned internet/manga cafe, with excellent facilities, to catch up the backlog in the webblog.
Tonight we all meet again at 6 p.m. in the hotel: our tour guide would try our assistance to a karate training for kids.
Tomorrow we will make a tour in the southern part of the island to visit the battle grounds of WWII.
The pick is the Chinese-influenced Shurei-no-mon, also rebuilt in 1958. It is considered to be the symbol of Okinawa, so there's a constant stream of tour groups and school parties lining up to be photographed in front of it.
The original castle, like much in Okinawa, was destroyed during the WWII Battle of Okinawa. There are a couple of not so interesting temples on the park grounds. We visited Bezaiten-do, in the middle of a pond, rebuilt as well after WWII.
Interesting were the remainings of the nearby Kinjocho-no-Ishidatami-michi, a 15th-century stone street. The steep and narrow path, with its old stone walls and ornate gateways and tropical gardens is very picturesque.
Back with the monorail to Naha, where we took a taxi to get to Fukushu-en, a Chinese style garden. All materials were brought from Fuzhou, Naha's sister city in China, including the pagoda that sits atop a small waterfall. Such a Chinese-style garden makes a nice difference to all the previous Japanese-style gardens.
Off again by taxi to Kokusai-dori, Naha's main street, to get to a professional air-conditioned internet/manga cafe, with excellent facilities, to catch up the backlog in the webblog.
Tonight we all meet again at 6 p.m. in the hotel: our tour guide would try our assistance to a karate training for kids.
Tomorrow we will make a tour in the southern part of the island to visit the battle grounds of WWII.
Friday, 23 May 2008
23-05-08 / 24-05-08 / 25-05-08
23-05-08
Yesterday evening we finished with a Japanese style buffet in the hotel, delicious. Finishing our bottle of red wine rather quickly, the hotel offered us another bottle half empty and left over by previous guests, a good deal!
Arjan tried to appeal to the law of equal treatment of sexes: women had to pay Yen 1.500 (about Eur 10) and men Yen 2.100 (about Eur 14) for the meal, but such did not work ;-) Honestly spoken, I think that such a sex-unfriendly treatment would be forbidden in most Western European countries, but I am not complaining since for once is it advantageous for women!
Anyway, the day started cloudy. We had to catch our 3rd ferry during this trip, from Tokunoshima to Yoron-to, lasting 4 hours and leaving at about the same time as our arrival time yesterday, i.e. 9.40 a.m. This ferry was more luxury than the previous one, and we learned that that one will finish its service coming summer, so we just had back luck....
The weather improved during the trip with as result that we both get pretty sunburned on our face, arms and legs.
The weather was fantastic at arrival, our hotel was so, so, but situated at the beach and near the village from which I already forgot the name: the island Yoron-to is only having a circumference of 24km and it is the only village there is! After a swim in the sea (the East Chine Sea or the Pacific Ocean: one of them, we are on theirs borders and I can not figure out which one we were in), relaxing on the terrace and having crossed the village, we had Italian style dinner at the terrace of the small restaurant Umi Café in a Greek setting (the Greek island Mykonos is the twin-sister island of Yoron-to).
24-05-08
The weather was tropical: hot and humid. Though such sounds tempting, I am not that much interested by beach life (Yoron-to is a great place to dive as well, with its barrier reefs) and for that I was happy to hear that all of us decided to shorten our stay at Yoron-to by 1 day to leave 1 day earlier for Okinawa. And our tour-guide also succeeded to change both Arjan's and my flight from Okinawa to Tokyo with by now arrival time at Tokyo at 00.55 p.m., so Toshiharu-san, we will arrive in due time for our farewell dinner at May 28th!
The whole group + our tour guide rented some bikes for the day to discover the island. Very, very small bikes, very hot weather and quite hilly, so quite killing, but..... we loved it: amongst others the colours of the surrounding sea, mainly of the barrier reefs, are wonderful. We had a dive in the sea on one of these beaches, we were complete on our own (it means our small group of 8 persons): Japanese people are not that beach minded. We enjoyed an excellent lunch with a Korean speciality in a very simple place. I received some green tea from a Japanese lady who I offered some tulip bulbs; because of her enthusiastic reaction when she learnt that we are from Oranda (Japanese people have difficulties to pronounce the L).
In the afternoon we went to Yuri-ga-hama, situated at 1,5 km offshore of the O-kaneku Beach, noted as the stardust beach, because the deposits of dead plankton on the beach look like star-shaped sand grains. A glass-bottomed boat took us to this mysterious beach that only appears at ebb tide. Impressive views, white sand, crystal clear water, different colours of blue, wow! We had quite some fun with 5 young pretty Japanese bikini-girls looking for these star-shaped sand grains; our tour guide succeeded to let them act in his video singing in Japanese and English Welcome to Japan ....
At return in our hotel we were happy to see that we managed to convince the hotel to fill up its swimming pool, so we had another dive. And surprise, we discovered the outdoor onsen with sea view: difficult to get in when you are sunburned - it became worse after our bike tour -, but great experience!
We all finished the day with a dinner (another sushi for us and some more sake ...) in the village. Some of us went to the local disco, we not, but we heard the next day that it was quite an experience: young and (very) old, not tipsy and (very, very..... gosh, what an impressive intake have those people down here on the islands) tipsy were dancing all together, not touching each other and right at 11.00 p.m.; the whole show - there was some live music - was over and everybody - incl. the very drunk persons - went away without any problem!
25-05-08
The day started again with hot weather.
Loving Japanese gardens, I went on my own by taxi to the Yun'nu-Rakuen Garden, a botanical garden in a tropical atmosphere with 40 kinds of hibiscuses and 150 other kinds of semitropical plants. Flowers bloom all the year around. I was there completely on my own and I think there has been nobody before the previous month: I needed a stick to chase the spiders away that blocked the way with their webs. The garden was not that well maintained as Japanese gardens usually are and I reckoned that such gave the charm to it. I enjoyed it! I was happy to see that the taxi driver had understood that he had to pick me up again 1,5 hour later; I was not to keen to walk back the whole stretch with that high temperature.
Back to the hotel, where everybody, Arjan included, was sitting and reading at the beach or swimming. We took a last shower around noon to get ready for our last ferry, bringing us in 4 hours to Okinawa-honto, the last island we are visiting from the Southwest Islands.
We left just in time, because it was getting very dark on Yoron-to and finally it even rained while we were on the ferry. This ferry was the best we had and the fullest we saw: part of the Ground Self Defense Force (because of WWII Japan is not supposed to have an army; only a Defense Force in case a foreign country is attacking Japan) was present, too.
We enjoyed on the ferry some sumo-wrestling on the TV, 1 of the 6 yearly tournaments is going on. For something like the 5th year in a row, a non Japanese person won the Emperor’s Cup: the Bulgarian born-1983 Stefanov Mahlyanov "Koto-Oshuu" (literally 'The Zither of a European State'), the first time ever that an European won. See for more info.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koto%C5%8Dsh%C5%AB_Katsunori
At arrival at the port of Naha, the capital of Okinawa, it was dry again and still very humid. A mini-bus picked us up to get to our hotel, in the middle of the Tsuji entertainment area, once a brothel quarter, now features ubiquitous clubs and bars, a surprising choice of our travel agency.
In the evening we all went by taxi to Kokusai-dori, the main street in Naha. That makes a colourful walk, day or night, with all its neon, shops and restaurants. Quite a shock after the peacefull previous smaller islands.... We both had dinner in one of the numberless restaurants, a kind of BBQ-yourself.
Yesterday evening we finished with a Japanese style buffet in the hotel, delicious. Finishing our bottle of red wine rather quickly, the hotel offered us another bottle half empty and left over by previous guests, a good deal!
Arjan tried to appeal to the law of equal treatment of sexes: women had to pay Yen 1.500 (about Eur 10) and men Yen 2.100 (about Eur 14) for the meal, but such did not work ;-) Honestly spoken, I think that such a sex-unfriendly treatment would be forbidden in most Western European countries, but I am not complaining since for once is it advantageous for women!
Anyway, the day started cloudy. We had to catch our 3rd ferry during this trip, from Tokunoshima to Yoron-to, lasting 4 hours and leaving at about the same time as our arrival time yesterday, i.e. 9.40 a.m. This ferry was more luxury than the previous one, and we learned that that one will finish its service coming summer, so we just had back luck....
The weather improved during the trip with as result that we both get pretty sunburned on our face, arms and legs.
The weather was fantastic at arrival, our hotel was so, so, but situated at the beach and near the village from which I already forgot the name: the island Yoron-to is only having a circumference of 24km and it is the only village there is! After a swim in the sea (the East Chine Sea or the Pacific Ocean: one of them, we are on theirs borders and I can not figure out which one we were in), relaxing on the terrace and having crossed the village, we had Italian style dinner at the terrace of the small restaurant Umi Café in a Greek setting (the Greek island Mykonos is the twin-sister island of Yoron-to).
24-05-08
The weather was tropical: hot and humid. Though such sounds tempting, I am not that much interested by beach life (Yoron-to is a great place to dive as well, with its barrier reefs) and for that I was happy to hear that all of us decided to shorten our stay at Yoron-to by 1 day to leave 1 day earlier for Okinawa. And our tour-guide also succeeded to change both Arjan's and my flight from Okinawa to Tokyo with by now arrival time at Tokyo at 00.55 p.m., so Toshiharu-san, we will arrive in due time for our farewell dinner at May 28th!
The whole group + our tour guide rented some bikes for the day to discover the island. Very, very small bikes, very hot weather and quite hilly, so quite killing, but..... we loved it: amongst others the colours of the surrounding sea, mainly of the barrier reefs, are wonderful. We had a dive in the sea on one of these beaches, we were complete on our own (it means our small group of 8 persons): Japanese people are not that beach minded. We enjoyed an excellent lunch with a Korean speciality in a very simple place. I received some green tea from a Japanese lady who I offered some tulip bulbs; because of her enthusiastic reaction when she learnt that we are from Oranda (Japanese people have difficulties to pronounce the L).
In the afternoon we went to Yuri-ga-hama, situated at 1,5 km offshore of the O-kaneku Beach, noted as the stardust beach, because the deposits of dead plankton on the beach look like star-shaped sand grains. A glass-bottomed boat took us to this mysterious beach that only appears at ebb tide. Impressive views, white sand, crystal clear water, different colours of blue, wow! We had quite some fun with 5 young pretty Japanese bikini-girls looking for these star-shaped sand grains; our tour guide succeeded to let them act in his video singing in Japanese and English Welcome to Japan ....
At return in our hotel we were happy to see that we managed to convince the hotel to fill up its swimming pool, so we had another dive. And surprise, we discovered the outdoor onsen with sea view: difficult to get in when you are sunburned - it became worse after our bike tour -, but great experience!
We all finished the day with a dinner (another sushi for us and some more sake ...) in the village. Some of us went to the local disco, we not, but we heard the next day that it was quite an experience: young and (very) old, not tipsy and (very, very..... gosh, what an impressive intake have those people down here on the islands) tipsy were dancing all together, not touching each other and right at 11.00 p.m.; the whole show - there was some live music - was over and everybody - incl. the very drunk persons - went away without any problem!
25-05-08
The day started again with hot weather.
Loving Japanese gardens, I went on my own by taxi to the Yun'nu-Rakuen Garden, a botanical garden in a tropical atmosphere with 40 kinds of hibiscuses and 150 other kinds of semitropical plants. Flowers bloom all the year around. I was there completely on my own and I think there has been nobody before the previous month: I needed a stick to chase the spiders away that blocked the way with their webs. The garden was not that well maintained as Japanese gardens usually are and I reckoned that such gave the charm to it. I enjoyed it! I was happy to see that the taxi driver had understood that he had to pick me up again 1,5 hour later; I was not to keen to walk back the whole stretch with that high temperature.
Back to the hotel, where everybody, Arjan included, was sitting and reading at the beach or swimming. We took a last shower around noon to get ready for our last ferry, bringing us in 4 hours to Okinawa-honto, the last island we are visiting from the Southwest Islands.
We left just in time, because it was getting very dark on Yoron-to and finally it even rained while we were on the ferry. This ferry was the best we had and the fullest we saw: part of the Ground Self Defense Force (because of WWII Japan is not supposed to have an army; only a Defense Force in case a foreign country is attacking Japan) was present, too.
We enjoyed on the ferry some sumo-wrestling on the TV, 1 of the 6 yearly tournaments is going on. For something like the 5th year in a row, a non Japanese person won the Emperor’s Cup: the Bulgarian born-1983 Stefanov Mahlyanov "Koto-Oshuu" (literally 'The Zither of a European State'), the first time ever that an European won. See for more info.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koto%C5%8Dsh%C5%AB_Katsunori
At arrival at the port of Naha, the capital of Okinawa, it was dry again and still very humid. A mini-bus picked us up to get to our hotel, in the middle of the Tsuji entertainment area, once a brothel quarter, now features ubiquitous clubs and bars, a surprising choice of our travel agency.
In the evening we all went by taxi to Kokusai-dori, the main street in Naha. That makes a colourful walk, day or night, with all its neon, shops and restaurants. Quite a shock after the peacefull previous smaller islands.... We both had dinner in one of the numberless restaurants, a kind of BBQ-yourself.
Thursday, 22 May 2008
22-05-08
Well, the ferry was long, very long, and by such quite an experience. Apparently it was not the most luxury one. The number of people boarding was surprising our tour guide, who assured us that most probably we would be the only ones. Such was not exactly the case, but after all we managed to find a more or less (rather less .....) comfortable place to sleep on tatami mats like in a dormitory in the army....
Toilets were OK for the women - no details about the men toilets.... - , showers were present, but too complicated, the restaurant was bad (rude staff, quite surprising in Japan!) and at the end we both slept at least 5 hours. At 5 a.m. we made a stop in Amami-o-shima to (un)load new goods and people and that was the time I decided to get up and go on the top deck where I had a talk with a former US-soldier, nowadays married with a Japanese woman and living and working as a civilian in Okinawa.
Okinawa played a key role as tragic battleground in the closing months of WWII. Okinawa became a major US military base during the Cold War and today a strong US military presence persists on the island: 17 % of its inhabitants are American. Their main task would be the control of North-Korea, Chine and Taiwan.
We arrived at approx. 9.30 a.m. at the small island Tokunoshima and since the rooms of our comfortable hotel were not yet available, we carried on right away for a day tour around the beautiful island. Again lots of bright coloured flowers and lots of (palm) trees. Fascinating coast with surprising rock formations. Lunch at Yonoma Beach with a delicious local speciality. Some women were busy to collect sea weed, which you actually can eat directly from the sea. I think I know it, but I thought it to be a kind of noodle...
We were impressed by the War Monument at the Inutabu Observatory at the coast commemorating a battle between the Japanese and Americans causing the destruction of the at that time biggest Japanese naval ship, causing more than 3.000 victims.....
According to a group member one of the twin-films produced a couple of years ago by Clint Eastwood Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima co-produced with Steven Spielberg would relate about this tragic event.
It rained a bit today, it is cloudy, but the temperature is OK. Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. off for another ferry to Yoron-to, a kind of bounty-island.....
The Nainsei-shoto, or Southwest Islands, usually referred to as Okinawa, meander for more than 1000km from the southern tip of Kyushyu (where we left from yesterday) to Yonagumi-jima, a little over 100 km from the end of Taiwan. In total, Japan counts over 3.000 islands, so we still have work to do ;-)
Toilets were OK for the women - no details about the men toilets.... - , showers were present, but too complicated, the restaurant was bad (rude staff, quite surprising in Japan!) and at the end we both slept at least 5 hours. At 5 a.m. we made a stop in Amami-o-shima to (un)load new goods and people and that was the time I decided to get up and go on the top deck where I had a talk with a former US-soldier, nowadays married with a Japanese woman and living and working as a civilian in Okinawa.
Okinawa played a key role as tragic battleground in the closing months of WWII. Okinawa became a major US military base during the Cold War and today a strong US military presence persists on the island: 17 % of its inhabitants are American. Their main task would be the control of North-Korea, Chine and Taiwan.
We arrived at approx. 9.30 a.m. at the small island Tokunoshima and since the rooms of our comfortable hotel were not yet available, we carried on right away for a day tour around the beautiful island. Again lots of bright coloured flowers and lots of (palm) trees. Fascinating coast with surprising rock formations. Lunch at Yonoma Beach with a delicious local speciality. Some women were busy to collect sea weed, which you actually can eat directly from the sea. I think I know it, but I thought it to be a kind of noodle...
We were impressed by the War Monument at the Inutabu Observatory at the coast commemorating a battle between the Japanese and Americans causing the destruction of the at that time biggest Japanese naval ship, causing more than 3.000 victims.....
According to a group member one of the twin-films produced a couple of years ago by Clint Eastwood Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima co-produced with Steven Spielberg would relate about this tragic event.
It rained a bit today, it is cloudy, but the temperature is OK. Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. off for another ferry to Yoron-to, a kind of bounty-island.....
The Nainsei-shoto, or Southwest Islands, usually referred to as Okinawa, meander for more than 1000km from the southern tip of Kyushyu (where we left from yesterday) to Yonagumi-jima, a little over 100 km from the end of Taiwan. In total, Japan counts over 3.000 islands, so we still have work to do ;-)
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
21-05-08
Setsuko-san & Toshiharu-san are doing fine: in despite of heavy rain in Tokyo, there is no damage to their home and garden.
The weather here is getting the better and better, bright sunshine and over 25 C. We had a day off which we started with a visit to the asa ichi (morning market), quite small but always interesting to see the products - especially the wide variety of fish and vegetables - disposed in foreign countries.
Then off the 2 of us with a ferry to the volcano Sakurajima having since 1955 an almost continuous stream of smoke and ash. Most unfortunately, for that reason the outdoor hot springs of Furusato Onsen were closed till 4 p.m., which we really regretted because this pool-sized cliffside rotemburo (open-air baths) has views on the bay.
We then wanted to rent bikes, but they looked so small that we decided to hike by feet to a lookout but about half way we went back: the way was quite boring and quite long.... Half way we met some farmers harvesting a local speciality, a fruit tasting like a peach and looking like an orange prune, but labelled like an orange, very small, very tasteful and very expensive, we have been told over Eur 3 per piece. The farmers were very happy with our presents in return: some tulip bulbs and a pair of small typical Dutch wooden shoes (klompen).
We took the ferry back to Kagoshima and walked to the Minato-Odori Park, an interesting name for something not that special... but a nice spot to enjoy our Lawson (Japanese convenient store) lunch.
Then we took the taxi to Iso-teien (Sengan-en), a beautiful bayside garden incorporating one of the most impressive pieces of 'borrowed scenerey' to be found in Japan - the fuming peak of Sakurajima. We got a tour through the former residence of the 19th Shimazu lord. The Shimazu clan held sway for 29 generations (nearly 700 years) until the Meiji Restoration (1868). We finished it with a tea ceremony.
Right now back in the hotel, from which we will leave very soon to catch the 6 p.m. ferry to Tokunoshima arriving only tomorrow morning around 9 a.m. By this we are leaving the mainland of Japan to arrive in the small numberless islands in the south, an experience we are looking forward to.
The weather here is getting the better and better, bright sunshine and over 25 C. We had a day off which we started with a visit to the asa ichi (morning market), quite small but always interesting to see the products - especially the wide variety of fish and vegetables - disposed in foreign countries.
Then off the 2 of us with a ferry to the volcano Sakurajima having since 1955 an almost continuous stream of smoke and ash. Most unfortunately, for that reason the outdoor hot springs of Furusato Onsen were closed till 4 p.m., which we really regretted because this pool-sized cliffside rotemburo (open-air baths) has views on the bay.
We then wanted to rent bikes, but they looked so small that we decided to hike by feet to a lookout but about half way we went back: the way was quite boring and quite long.... Half way we met some farmers harvesting a local speciality, a fruit tasting like a peach and looking like an orange prune, but labelled like an orange, very small, very tasteful and very expensive, we have been told over Eur 3 per piece. The farmers were very happy with our presents in return: some tulip bulbs and a pair of small typical Dutch wooden shoes (klompen).
We took the ferry back to Kagoshima and walked to the Minato-Odori Park, an interesting name for something not that special... but a nice spot to enjoy our Lawson (Japanese convenient store) lunch.
Then we took the taxi to Iso-teien (Sengan-en), a beautiful bayside garden incorporating one of the most impressive pieces of 'borrowed scenerey' to be found in Japan - the fuming peak of Sakurajima. We got a tour through the former residence of the 19th Shimazu lord. The Shimazu clan held sway for 29 generations (nearly 700 years) until the Meiji Restoration (1868). We finished it with a tea ceremony.
Right now back in the hotel, from which we will leave very soon to catch the 6 p.m. ferry to Tokunoshima arriving only tomorrow morning around 9 a.m. By this we are leaving the mainland of Japan to arrive in the small numberless islands in the south, an experience we are looking forward to.
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
20-05-08
First a question to Setsuko-san & Toshiharu-san: how you are you doing; we heard about heavy floods in Tokyo-city??!!
Here down in Kagoshima, we have wonderful weather again, bright sunshine and I would say again at least 27 C.
We all participated today for an excursion to the peninsula Satsuma, just south of Kagoshima. We started with the Kamikaze Peace Museum at Chiran. Chiran was one of the major bases from which the hapless pilots made their suicidal and less than totally successful attacks on Allied ships. There's a distinctly weird feeling to this fawning collection of aircraft, mementoes and photos of young, fresh-faced men who were selected for the Special Attack Corps in WWII. There's a little English signage, apart from the dubious message that they did it for the dream of peace and prosperity. There's no mention that they had little choice, and were often sent out high on Hirophon - amphetamines. Far from achieving the aim of 'a battleship for every aircraft', only minor ships were sunk at the cost of over 1000 lives.
Chiran has also a fine collection of samurai houses and gardens, all dating from the mid-Edo period (1600-1868). Interesting is the use of 'borrowed scenery'. Water is usually symbolised by sand and gravel. What do you think of the description 'The garden carries you off into the realm of imagination and romantic aestheticism'; that is something you most probably only find in Japan and that is why I love this country!
Lunch in the Taki-An, a traditional house on the samurai street with a nice garden where we sat - I managed such even with my recently injured knees, so I think that actually they are OK again! Arjan had some more troubles ... - on tatami mats to eat a bowl of upmarket soba (buckwheat noodles) and sipped Chiran's famous green tea, from which the plantations were around us, even these are aesthetically maintained!
Then off for another kind of onsen-experience in the Tennen Sunamushi Kaikan Saraku sand baths: after having changed yourself in a yukata (light cotton summer kimono), you wander down to the beach where the burial ladies (and an incidental burial man) are waiting, shovel in hand, to cover you in red-hot black volcanic sand. The weight and heat feel very odd, and it takes iron-clad willpower to endure the full 15 minutes (we both did not manage) treatment, but as you rinse off the sand in the showers afterwards and enjoy the onsen, you feel unusually energised. One of the group members had been appointed as our photographer, so there are some proofs! Quite a nice experience.
Back to the hotel around 4.45 p.m., where we had to take some information for the night ferry we have to take tomorrow evening. We still do not know the details, so we will see.
With the youngest girls of the group (actually they are beyond 60-ies and one even beyond 70-ies.....), we took the giant rad placed on top of the JR railway station (another thing only possible in Japan: who can image to put this kind of machinery on top of a building ??!!) which allowed us to enjoy the view on the nearby vulcano Sakurajima, still hyperactive and which we want to explore tomorrow.
Then the 4 of us decided to take dinner in a nearby yakitori restaurant, where we enjoyed the local specialities like imo shochu (potato liquor) and sweet potatoes (I forgot the name of this speciality). We had quite some fun by trying to explain what we wanted to eat, how much, ordering the specialities, how to split the bill, etc., but as usual the Japanese staff is so patient, helpful and kind that with some patience, you find your way around.
Arjan finished his day with a nice cup of coffee in Starbucks and I had to do some work on the free internet hotel PC: updating this blog!
Here down in Kagoshima, we have wonderful weather again, bright sunshine and I would say again at least 27 C.
We all participated today for an excursion to the peninsula Satsuma, just south of Kagoshima. We started with the Kamikaze Peace Museum at Chiran. Chiran was one of the major bases from which the hapless pilots made their suicidal and less than totally successful attacks on Allied ships. There's a distinctly weird feeling to this fawning collection of aircraft, mementoes and photos of young, fresh-faced men who were selected for the Special Attack Corps in WWII. There's a little English signage, apart from the dubious message that they did it for the dream of peace and prosperity. There's no mention that they had little choice, and were often sent out high on Hirophon - amphetamines. Far from achieving the aim of 'a battleship for every aircraft', only minor ships were sunk at the cost of over 1000 lives.
Chiran has also a fine collection of samurai houses and gardens, all dating from the mid-Edo period (1600-1868). Interesting is the use of 'borrowed scenery'. Water is usually symbolised by sand and gravel. What do you think of the description 'The garden carries you off into the realm of imagination and romantic aestheticism'; that is something you most probably only find in Japan and that is why I love this country!
Lunch in the Taki-An, a traditional house on the samurai street with a nice garden where we sat - I managed such even with my recently injured knees, so I think that actually they are OK again! Arjan had some more troubles ... - on tatami mats to eat a bowl of upmarket soba (buckwheat noodles) and sipped Chiran's famous green tea, from which the plantations were around us, even these are aesthetically maintained!
Then off for another kind of onsen-experience in the Tennen Sunamushi Kaikan Saraku sand baths: after having changed yourself in a yukata (light cotton summer kimono), you wander down to the beach where the burial ladies (and an incidental burial man) are waiting, shovel in hand, to cover you in red-hot black volcanic sand. The weight and heat feel very odd, and it takes iron-clad willpower to endure the full 15 minutes (we both did not manage) treatment, but as you rinse off the sand in the showers afterwards and enjoy the onsen, you feel unusually energised. One of the group members had been appointed as our photographer, so there are some proofs! Quite a nice experience.
Back to the hotel around 4.45 p.m., where we had to take some information for the night ferry we have to take tomorrow evening. We still do not know the details, so we will see.
With the youngest girls of the group (actually they are beyond 60-ies and one even beyond 70-ies.....), we took the giant rad placed on top of the JR railway station (another thing only possible in Japan: who can image to put this kind of machinery on top of a building ??!!) which allowed us to enjoy the view on the nearby vulcano Sakurajima, still hyperactive and which we want to explore tomorrow.
Then the 4 of us decided to take dinner in a nearby yakitori restaurant, where we enjoyed the local specialities like imo shochu (potato liquor) and sweet potatoes (I forgot the name of this speciality). We had quite some fun by trying to explain what we wanted to eat, how much, ordering the specialities, how to split the bill, etc., but as usual the Japanese staff is so patient, helpful and kind that with some patience, you find your way around.
Arjan finished his day with a nice cup of coffee in Starbucks and I had to do some work on the free internet hotel PC: updating this blog!
Monday, 19 May 2008
19-05-08
I have still to tell about Ocean Dome, located nearby the Sheraton we were staying last night, a miraculous thing - a kind of Brave New World water amusement park, with a mock volcano and body-boarding on artificial waves: a 140m white-sand beach and a splash of ocean under a huge dome. Is putting it next to the real ocean a beautiful stroke of irony or a bitter reflection of our times? After all it just seems to have been a bad idea, because the whole thing went bankrupt and nevertheless some efforts we didn't get in to see the remainings of it.
Anyway we left this morning at 9.30 a.m. for another transfer day and fortunately it stopped raining. A first stop at Ebino-Kogen (kogen = plateau) for a short walk around this volcanic area; it rained again a little so the views were limited.
Next stop at Kirishima-jingu. This bright-vermillion shinto shrine is beautifully situated and actively in use.
Nearby we went to the Sakura-sakura onsen, the real thing, incl. mud package! Men/women were separated (which is usually the case at these public places) and our tour guide asked us to take some pictures of our faces full with mud sitting a steaming hot onsen; which causes quite some fun.
We arrived around 6.30 p.m. at Kagoshima in a convenient hotel nearby to the main railway station (and a Starbucks ....), where we will stay the coming 2 nights. We adventured a restaurant nearby and we were lucky in our choice; we enjoyed some tempura and yakitori (charcoal-broiled chicken and other meats or vegetables, cooked on skewers).
Anyway we left this morning at 9.30 a.m. for another transfer day and fortunately it stopped raining. A first stop at Ebino-Kogen (kogen = plateau) for a short walk around this volcanic area; it rained again a little so the views were limited.
Next stop at Kirishima-jingu. This bright-vermillion shinto shrine is beautifully situated and actively in use.
Nearby we went to the Sakura-sakura onsen, the real thing, incl. mud package! Men/women were separated (which is usually the case at these public places) and our tour guide asked us to take some pictures of our faces full with mud sitting a steaming hot onsen; which causes quite some fun.
We arrived around 6.30 p.m. at Kagoshima in a convenient hotel nearby to the main railway station (and a Starbucks ....), where we will stay the coming 2 nights. We adventured a restaurant nearby and we were lucky in our choice; we enjoyed some tempura and yakitori (charcoal-broiled chicken and other meats or vegetables, cooked on skewers).
17-05-08 / 18-05-08
17-05-08
Simple as it is, the yesterday's minshuku had at least an onsen, originally a mineral hot-spring area, usually with accommodation. This was a very simple version, but highly appreciated!
With the sun on our head we left Kochi for another transfer day with quite some interesting stops. Lunch at a terrace at Oki-hama beach, at special request ;-) of the girls in our group, because there are some nice looking Japanese surf boys (and a rare surf girl...). Very particular was that at the very same place a group of pilgrims came down on the beach doing their rituals. Unfortunately they were too far to photograph them, but the view of surfers at your left eye and pilgrims at your right eye is very unusual. We met the same (or another? we saw so many of them!!) group later on the road and there we could make a stop to watch them walking (these were the sportive ones; they were walking, not travelling from one to another temple by air-conditioned bus).
A stop at Ashizuri Misaki (= cape), a wild and picturesque promontory ending at a lighthouse. It has a long history but today it is famous for suicides, with stories such as that of a young geisha who danced off the edge onto the beckoning rocks below.
The Kongofuki-ji is Temple 38 of the 88. We had plenty of time to look around, very pleasant with all those pilgrims around.
A last short stop at some beautiful formed rocks in the sea before our arrival at Sukumo in a very, very, simple ryokan (traditional Japanese inn).
For the 2nd night in a row we slept on tatami (tightly woven floor matting on which shoes are never worn), not that comfortable for non-Japanese people, but being rather tired, it did not bother us too much. What is pleasant of this kind of accommodation is that dinner is shared all together (also because often there is nothing else nearby), prepared by mama-san and we enjoyed some BBQ (and I finally drunk my first sake).
18-05-08
Early wake up to catch the 7 a.m. ferry to leave the island (with its 88 temples) Shikoku via the harbour at Sukumo to the island Kyushu (harbour Saiki). Arrival at 10 a.m. and again a lunch stop at a place with a view on the sea. Still good weather, 27 C.
We arrived at 3.30 p.m. at Phoenix Seagaia Resort at Miyazaki, a very, very splash place, 180 degrees in contradiction with the previous accommodation: what do you think of a stay at 5 stars Sheraton!!?? Well, not so bad of course, but what I consider of being inconvenient is that these type of hotels can be everywhere in the world ... We rented some bikes to make a 2 hours tour and to astonish ourselves again because of the concrete beaches. Not so nice, but certainly necessary because of dangers called typhoons and tsunami.
But we could not resist enjoying the pleasures of such a luxury, so we reserved a private onsen for 1 hour: wow, how nice, to have such an - this time - outdoor place just for the 2 of us; it much reminded me of the place Toshiharu-san showed me some time ago.
After that we felt the need to leave this place for a while and not having dinner inside the hotel. Our tour guide recommended us a rotating sushi-restaurant in the city, labelled by Floortje Dessing (Dutch travel program, accompanied by our present tour guide during her shootings in Japan) as the best in Japan. We managed 15 dishes for approx. Eur 30 and such is not even half the price of and a better quality than the rotating sushi restaurant Matsuri near to my office.
Right now I am sitting at the free internet access at Sheraton, it is raining (the remainings - or the start ? - of a recent typhoon) and we soon have to leave for Kagoshima.
Simple as it is, the yesterday's minshuku had at least an onsen, originally a mineral hot-spring area, usually with accommodation. This was a very simple version, but highly appreciated!
With the sun on our head we left Kochi for another transfer day with quite some interesting stops. Lunch at a terrace at Oki-hama beach, at special request ;-) of the girls in our group, because there are some nice looking Japanese surf boys (and a rare surf girl...). Very particular was that at the very same place a group of pilgrims came down on the beach doing their rituals. Unfortunately they were too far to photograph them, but the view of surfers at your left eye and pilgrims at your right eye is very unusual. We met the same (or another? we saw so many of them!!) group later on the road and there we could make a stop to watch them walking (these were the sportive ones; they were walking, not travelling from one to another temple by air-conditioned bus).
A stop at Ashizuri Misaki (= cape), a wild and picturesque promontory ending at a lighthouse. It has a long history but today it is famous for suicides, with stories such as that of a young geisha who danced off the edge onto the beckoning rocks below.
The Kongofuki-ji is Temple 38 of the 88. We had plenty of time to look around, very pleasant with all those pilgrims around.
A last short stop at some beautiful formed rocks in the sea before our arrival at Sukumo in a very, very, simple ryokan (traditional Japanese inn).
For the 2nd night in a row we slept on tatami (tightly woven floor matting on which shoes are never worn), not that comfortable for non-Japanese people, but being rather tired, it did not bother us too much. What is pleasant of this kind of accommodation is that dinner is shared all together (also because often there is nothing else nearby), prepared by mama-san and we enjoyed some BBQ (and I finally drunk my first sake).
18-05-08
Early wake up to catch the 7 a.m. ferry to leave the island (with its 88 temples) Shikoku via the harbour at Sukumo to the island Kyushu (harbour Saiki). Arrival at 10 a.m. and again a lunch stop at a place with a view on the sea. Still good weather, 27 C.
We arrived at 3.30 p.m. at Phoenix Seagaia Resort at Miyazaki, a very, very splash place, 180 degrees in contradiction with the previous accommodation: what do you think of a stay at 5 stars Sheraton!!?? Well, not so bad of course, but what I consider of being inconvenient is that these type of hotels can be everywhere in the world ... We rented some bikes to make a 2 hours tour and to astonish ourselves again because of the concrete beaches. Not so nice, but certainly necessary because of dangers called typhoons and tsunami.
But we could not resist enjoying the pleasures of such a luxury, so we reserved a private onsen for 1 hour: wow, how nice, to have such an - this time - outdoor place just for the 2 of us; it much reminded me of the place Toshiharu-san showed me some time ago.
After that we felt the need to leave this place for a while and not having dinner inside the hotel. Our tour guide recommended us a rotating sushi-restaurant in the city, labelled by Floortje Dessing (Dutch travel program, accompanied by our present tour guide during her shootings in Japan) as the best in Japan. We managed 15 dishes for approx. Eur 30 and such is not even half the price of and a better quality than the rotating sushi restaurant Matsuri near to my office.
Right now I am sitting at the free internet access at Sheraton, it is raining (the remainings - or the start ? - of a recent typhoon) and we soon have to leave for Kagoshima.
Friday, 16 May 2008
16-05-08
Good weather is not leaving us anymore, as it seems!
A nice breakfast inside the very nearby railway station (yes, that is possible to get a good breakfast into a railway station!) before a long transfer day to the south of the island Shikoku.
We have to confess right now, but we actually left for Japan to do a pilgrimage :-)))) We started the day with a visit to Zentsu-ji, temple no. 75 out of the 88 sacred temples. This one holds a special significance as the boyhood home of Kobo Daishi and it is also the largest of the 88. Lots of statues, some passing reciting monks, lots of pictures ...
We continued with a visit to Kompiro-san (or Kotohira-gu), originally a temple dedicated to the Guardian of Mariners. Its hilltop position delivers superb views over the surrounding countryside, but it also meant 1.368 steps (we calculated that such equals 88 stories ...) up: and yes, we did it, all of them!! We could go up by a traditional palanquin, but if (Japanese) people get up of about twice our age, we did not dare to do such..
In the National Treasure of the Shoin we admired some beautiful screen paintings and a small garden.
We continued our trip through the mountains and the wonderful Iya Valley with splendid views on the gorge. Iya Valley is considered one of Japan's 'three hidden regions'. There we made a not so interesting boat trip: the captain was more interested by feeding a kind of eagle than telling us what eventually was to be seen.
Last stop was the vine bridge Iyano Kazura-bashi, which Ingrid courageously passes over. Rivers in Shikoku's mountainous interior were once commonly spanned by these perilous catwalks, which could conveniently be cut down to prevent enemy forces from crossing.
We checked in around 6.30 p..m in Kochi at a minshuku, the Japanese equivalent of a B&B; a family-run budget accommodation. We finally got our first real sushi and sashimi dinner somewhere nearby!
A nice breakfast inside the very nearby railway station (yes, that is possible to get a good breakfast into a railway station!) before a long transfer day to the south of the island Shikoku.
We have to confess right now, but we actually left for Japan to do a pilgrimage :-)))) We started the day with a visit to Zentsu-ji, temple no. 75 out of the 88 sacred temples. This one holds a special significance as the boyhood home of Kobo Daishi and it is also the largest of the 88. Lots of statues, some passing reciting monks, lots of pictures ...
We continued with a visit to Kompiro-san (or Kotohira-gu), originally a temple dedicated to the Guardian of Mariners. Its hilltop position delivers superb views over the surrounding countryside, but it also meant 1.368 steps (we calculated that such equals 88 stories ...) up: and yes, we did it, all of them!! We could go up by a traditional palanquin, but if (Japanese) people get up of about twice our age, we did not dare to do such..
In the National Treasure of the Shoin we admired some beautiful screen paintings and a small garden.
We continued our trip through the mountains and the wonderful Iya Valley with splendid views on the gorge. Iya Valley is considered one of Japan's 'three hidden regions'. There we made a not so interesting boat trip: the captain was more interested by feeding a kind of eagle than telling us what eventually was to be seen.
Last stop was the vine bridge Iyano Kazura-bashi, which Ingrid courageously passes over. Rivers in Shikoku's mountainous interior were once commonly spanned by these perilous catwalks, which could conveniently be cut down to prevent enemy forces from crossing.
We checked in around 6.30 p..m in Kochi at a minshuku, the Japanese equivalent of a B&B; a family-run budget accommodation. We finally got our first real sushi and sashimi dinner somewhere nearby!
Thursday, 15 May 2008
15-05-08
Early sunrise, we had to be ready for the 8.12 a.m. ferry. Weather is wonderful, sunny and I would say around 23 C.
We rented some bikes - much too small ..... - to get around on the rather small island. We started with some so-called Art Houses, which were a little disappointing: what is the fun of destroying an old painted scroll with some hyper modern characters (Kadoya Art House)?
The Backside of the Moon by the artist James Turrell in an Art House designed by - there he is again - Tadao Ando was quite fun: getting in from the daylight into the entire dark is puzzling: it took us (i.e. our eyes) between 5 to 10 minutes to notice that actually we could see something.
The last Art House we could 'stand' was the Go'o Shrine: a temple with a full glass staircase is something I can not appreciate...
Off with our bikes to some outdoor pieces of art from artists like the Dutch Karel Appel and the French Niki de Saint Phalle; that was fun to chase them by feet (it is hilly on the Nao-shima island) and bike.
And yes: we found the Anna Paulownia tree (kiri); it gets too far to explain you the story behind, which some of you know already: for the moment it is enough to know that I (Ingrid) am born in Anna Paulowna and that the Anna Paulownia tree is a true Japanese tree with a special meaning starting with the birth of a girl. Something I do not understand, that it is still blooming in Japan (blossoms finished already in Paris a couple of weeks ago and it still had to start in Leiden (The Netherlands) and that the tree had so many leaves here in Japan.
Then we continued - still on our bike - to the Chichu Art Museum designed by - guess once again - Tadao Ando! One of his all concrete designs, once you get used to it, you start liking it! The interesting thing of this museum was the way the art was disposed: very spacious, and the captivating mix of light (artificial and natural), lines and material. What do you think of entering just the 2 of us, with nobody around us, on slippers (even in museums in Japan you may have to take off your shoes), and slowly but surely in front of you one of the masterpieces of the world famous French painter Claude Monet (Water Lily Pond) is showing up? Magic! On both side walls and behind us 3 more works of Claude Monet were shown.
Another interesting artist is the American Walter de Maria (never heard of him before) with his works Seen/Unseen Known/Unknown and Time/Timeless/No Time: intriguing names for intriguing pieces of art. And again we were enjoying lots of flowers: around the Museum one finds the Chichu Garden: a garden of plants cherished by Claude Monet.
So all together Nao-shima is worth to visit and fun to cycle around in a relaxed way.
I have to sign off; a co-traveller is chasing me away! We are leaving tomorrow morning for another hotel; so no idea when we can get back to you.
We rented some bikes - much too small ..... - to get around on the rather small island. We started with some so-called Art Houses, which were a little disappointing: what is the fun of destroying an old painted scroll with some hyper modern characters (Kadoya Art House)?
The Backside of the Moon by the artist James Turrell in an Art House designed by - there he is again - Tadao Ando was quite fun: getting in from the daylight into the entire dark is puzzling: it took us (i.e. our eyes) between 5 to 10 minutes to notice that actually we could see something.
The last Art House we could 'stand' was the Go'o Shrine: a temple with a full glass staircase is something I can not appreciate...
Off with our bikes to some outdoor pieces of art from artists like the Dutch Karel Appel and the French Niki de Saint Phalle; that was fun to chase them by feet (it is hilly on the Nao-shima island) and bike.
And yes: we found the Anna Paulownia tree (kiri); it gets too far to explain you the story behind, which some of you know already: for the moment it is enough to know that I (Ingrid) am born in Anna Paulowna and that the Anna Paulownia tree is a true Japanese tree with a special meaning starting with the birth of a girl. Something I do not understand, that it is still blooming in Japan (blossoms finished already in Paris a couple of weeks ago and it still had to start in Leiden (The Netherlands) and that the tree had so many leaves here in Japan.
Then we continued - still on our bike - to the Chichu Art Museum designed by - guess once again - Tadao Ando! One of his all concrete designs, once you get used to it, you start liking it! The interesting thing of this museum was the way the art was disposed: very spacious, and the captivating mix of light (artificial and natural), lines and material. What do you think of entering just the 2 of us, with nobody around us, on slippers (even in museums in Japan you may have to take off your shoes), and slowly but surely in front of you one of the masterpieces of the world famous French painter Claude Monet (Water Lily Pond) is showing up? Magic! On both side walls and behind us 3 more works of Claude Monet were shown.
Another interesting artist is the American Walter de Maria (never heard of him before) with his works Seen/Unseen Known/Unknown and Time/Timeless/No Time: intriguing names for intriguing pieces of art. And again we were enjoying lots of flowers: around the Museum one finds the Chichu Garden: a garden of plants cherished by Claude Monet.
So all together Nao-shima is worth to visit and fun to cycle around in a relaxed way.
I have to sign off; a co-traveller is chasing me away! We are leaving tomorrow morning for another hotel; so no idea when we can get back to you.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
14-05-08
Arjan arose - like a Phoenix :-) - and felt well enough to visit one of the most beautiful gardens Japan has, Ritsurin-koen. The garden, dating from the mid-1600s, winds around a series of ponds with lookouts, tearooms, bridges and islands. The weather was wonderful again, so we took our time to admire its beauties and lots of blossoming azaleas and enjoy lunch.
Florence, we have some wonderful ideas for your Japanese garden; but I think you need a full-time (Japanese) gardener for the daily maintenance ;-). Recommendation of Arjan: design a simple rock garden.... We headed back by taxi to join the group to get by public transport to Yashima, 5 km east of Takamatsu. We started with Shikoku-mura, a village museum. The only thing we liked was another museum designed by Tadao Ando, this time an art gallery (which we did not go in) and a rose garden, very alike the chrysanthemums' garden - also designed by him - we visited yesterday near to Kobe.
We had fun with taking pictures of cute young school kids and the umbrella swallow (you have to see the picture to understand that one ...).
We continued by public bus to Yashima-ji, temple no. 84 of the 88 temples of Shikoku, the pilgrimage after Kobo Daishi. We were so lucky that with us, a bus - so not the diehard pilgrims ... - arrived doing their rituals, incl. reciting/singing. We acted like paparazzi to save it all in image. Interesting to see it so lively and again, no other tourists, great!
We returned to Takamatsu around 6.10 p.m. and checked the ferry bringing us tomorrow morning to the nearby Nao-Shima. The island features some stunning art and architecture in a project that was originally started by the Fukutake Shoten publishing company to display its collection of contemporary art. Mr Fukutake Shoten managed to get award-winning Tadao Ando to design its Nao-Shima Contemporary Art Museum. More about it tomorrow!
Florence, we have some wonderful ideas for your Japanese garden; but I think you need a full-time (Japanese) gardener for the daily maintenance ;-). Recommendation of Arjan: design a simple rock garden.... We headed back by taxi to join the group to get by public transport to Yashima, 5 km east of Takamatsu. We started with Shikoku-mura, a village museum. The only thing we liked was another museum designed by Tadao Ando, this time an art gallery (which we did not go in) and a rose garden, very alike the chrysanthemums' garden - also designed by him - we visited yesterday near to Kobe.
We had fun with taking pictures of cute young school kids and the umbrella swallow (you have to see the picture to understand that one ...).
We continued by public bus to Yashima-ji, temple no. 84 of the 88 temples of Shikoku, the pilgrimage after Kobo Daishi. We were so lucky that with us, a bus - so not the diehard pilgrims ... - arrived doing their rituals, incl. reciting/singing. We acted like paparazzi to save it all in image. Interesting to see it so lively and again, no other tourists, great!
We returned to Takamatsu around 6.10 p.m. and checked the ferry bringing us tomorrow morning to the nearby Nao-Shima. The island features some stunning art and architecture in a project that was originally started by the Fukutake Shoten publishing company to display its collection of contemporary art. Mr Fukutake Shoten managed to get award-winning Tadao Ando to design its Nao-Shima Contemporary Art Museum. More about it tomorrow!
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
13-05-08
I felt much better today, but this time it is Arjan having some problems: crazy to catch such a thing in hygienic Japan! Resulting in too less sleep on top of that as well :-(
No choice, we had to leave Osaka, to pack and get ready for the day. We met our driver, got in the bus (made for Japanese legs, thus much too small, but since there are only 7 of us, we have plenty of free chairs). We passed the Akashi Kaikyo Ohashi, world's longest suspension bridge with its 3.910m span, linking the island of Honshu with Awaji-shima (Western Honshu).
Today we visited the first construction designed by the famous Japanese autodidact architect Tadao Ando. We will see more artefacts of him in 2 days time. If you google on his name you will find some more information about this interesting man.
We started with the Hyakudan-en Garden (or Yume-no-Butai?) in the Higashiura complex, a concrete garden with flowers, not really my piece of cake. Though an opportunity to admire chrysanthemums of the world of all seasons throughout the year.
Then a little further we visited the Mizu-no-Tera (water temple), a - in my eyes - simple water pound made of concrete as well, with some nice lotuses. Inside a simple temple. Nice, but I am wondering why - certainly - spending so much money for something simple, where I did not see any Japanese visitor. Being very close to Kobe, known 1. for the virtual world championship of Belgium according to our Belgian tour leader - by chance, Brazil beat Belgium during the world cup soccer in Japan in 2002 - and 2. for a much more tragic reason: the earthquake of 17-01-1995, which levelled neighbourhoods and killed more than 6000 people. Fortunately, the city has risen, Phoenix-like, from the ashes and is now more vibrant ever. We did not make a stop in the city itself, but we visited the Hokudan-cho Earthquake Memorial Park, again not really my piece of cake.
We made another stop at the Naruto Whirlpools: at the change of the tide, the seawater whisks through the narrow Naruto Channel with such velocity that ferocious whirlpools are created. We arrived about 20 min. too late to witness it ourselves, but we still could see some remainings of it. The nearby museum gave us a good impression of it.
We were supposed to visit one of the 88 Shikoku temples, but it didn’t stop raining anymore since this afternoon, so we skipped that one. We headed straight away for our hotel for the coming 3 nights at Takamatsu, near to the railway station. Very convenient to buy some neutral food for Arjan, who went to bed straight away at arrival. I backed up the delay in our webblog at the PC in the hotel lobby and had dinner at one of the numberless restaurants in this area with some noisy Japanese salary men. I will sign off right now, see how Arjan is doing, feed him if possible and get some sleep as well. Tomorrow nice weather is forecasted and no, no need to let us know that summer arrived in The Netherlands/France, we know: enjoy it!
No choice, we had to leave Osaka, to pack and get ready for the day. We met our driver, got in the bus (made for Japanese legs, thus much too small, but since there are only 7 of us, we have plenty of free chairs). We passed the Akashi Kaikyo Ohashi, world's longest suspension bridge with its 3.910m span, linking the island of Honshu with Awaji-shima (Western Honshu).
Today we visited the first construction designed by the famous Japanese autodidact architect Tadao Ando. We will see more artefacts of him in 2 days time. If you google on his name you will find some more information about this interesting man.
We started with the Hyakudan-en Garden (or Yume-no-Butai?) in the Higashiura complex, a concrete garden with flowers, not really my piece of cake. Though an opportunity to admire chrysanthemums of the world of all seasons throughout the year.
Then a little further we visited the Mizu-no-Tera (water temple), a - in my eyes - simple water pound made of concrete as well, with some nice lotuses. Inside a simple temple. Nice, but I am wondering why - certainly - spending so much money for something simple, where I did not see any Japanese visitor. Being very close to Kobe, known 1. for the virtual world championship of Belgium according to our Belgian tour leader - by chance, Brazil beat Belgium during the world cup soccer in Japan in 2002 - and 2. for a much more tragic reason: the earthquake of 17-01-1995, which levelled neighbourhoods and killed more than 6000 people. Fortunately, the city has risen, Phoenix-like, from the ashes and is now more vibrant ever. We did not make a stop in the city itself, but we visited the Hokudan-cho Earthquake Memorial Park, again not really my piece of cake.
We made another stop at the Naruto Whirlpools: at the change of the tide, the seawater whisks through the narrow Naruto Channel with such velocity that ferocious whirlpools are created. We arrived about 20 min. too late to witness it ourselves, but we still could see some remainings of it. The nearby museum gave us a good impression of it.
We were supposed to visit one of the 88 Shikoku temples, but it didn’t stop raining anymore since this afternoon, so we skipped that one. We headed straight away for our hotel for the coming 3 nights at Takamatsu, near to the railway station. Very convenient to buy some neutral food for Arjan, who went to bed straight away at arrival. I backed up the delay in our webblog at the PC in the hotel lobby and had dinner at one of the numberless restaurants in this area with some noisy Japanese salary men. I will sign off right now, see how Arjan is doing, feed him if possible and get some sleep as well. Tomorrow nice weather is forecasted and no, no need to let us know that summer arrived in The Netherlands/France, we know: enjoy it!
12-05-08
Happily I felt much better, because we were both looking forward to visit the Koyo-san. Koya-san is a raised tableland covered with thick forests and surrounded by 8 peaks. The major attraction is the monastic complex, also known as Koya-san, which is the headquarters of the Shingon school of Esoteric Buddhism. A unique way to get a glimpse of long-held traditions of Japanese religious life.
The Shingon (or Esoteric Buddhism) religion has been founded by Kobo Daishi in the 9th century. He was not the only Daishi (= great teacher or saint), but anyone talks of the 'daishi', everyone knows who is being referred to. Shingon is the only mayor sect that believes enlightenment can be achieved in this lifetime. Pilgrims have been walking clockwise around Shikoku for over 1000 years following the footsteps of Kobo Daishi. Such used to be a hardship and some of them never made it. Nowadays hardship is not a factor. The pilgrims buzz around in air-conditioned vehicles collecting the 88 temple stamps and give little thought to the past. There are still walkers however.
We got there by public transport (train, cable car, bus), all well organised in Japan and running in time. There are too many temples to see all of them in an afternoon, so we had to limit ourselves. We started with the Kongubi-ji, the headquarters of the Shingon school and the residence of Koya-san's abbot. Some of the rooms have some beautifully painted screens. We loved the 2 typical Japanese rock gardens. We continued with the temple complex of Garan, with several pagodas. We were just in time to see a monk activating the huge bell, present at any Buddhist temple, at 1 p.m. After that we witnessed another monk reciting his prayings at on outside Shinto-temple.
Off for our last main goal of that day, Okuno-in. On the way to it, by feet, we sneaked in some other temples, especially enjoying the beautiful flowers we see every where during this trip. Unfortunately we missed the cherry blossoming, but there are so many other blossoms left, wonderful!
Any Buddhist worth their salt in Japan (according to Lonely Planet) has had their remains, or just a lock of two of hair, interred at this temple to ensure pole position when the future Buddha and Kukai return to the world. So impressive these cemetery grounds along a winding, cobbled path lined by tall cypress trees and thousands of tombs covered with moss.
The Toro-do (Lantern Hall), the main building of the complex houses hundreds of lamps. Also hundreds of Jizo statues, small stone statues if the Buddhist protector of travellers and children. A wonderful day all together.
We returned all together to Osaka, where Arjan & I found our first Internet facility before we had a simple dinner. Yes, still not one of those wonderful dinners which Japan has to offer, but we are patient, we still have plenty of time left!
The Shingon (or Esoteric Buddhism) religion has been founded by Kobo Daishi in the 9th century. He was not the only Daishi (= great teacher or saint), but anyone talks of the 'daishi', everyone knows who is being referred to. Shingon is the only mayor sect that believes enlightenment can be achieved in this lifetime. Pilgrims have been walking clockwise around Shikoku for over 1000 years following the footsteps of Kobo Daishi. Such used to be a hardship and some of them never made it. Nowadays hardship is not a factor. The pilgrims buzz around in air-conditioned vehicles collecting the 88 temple stamps and give little thought to the past. There are still walkers however.
We got there by public transport (train, cable car, bus), all well organised in Japan and running in time. There are too many temples to see all of them in an afternoon, so we had to limit ourselves. We started with the Kongubi-ji, the headquarters of the Shingon school and the residence of Koya-san's abbot. Some of the rooms have some beautifully painted screens. We loved the 2 typical Japanese rock gardens. We continued with the temple complex of Garan, with several pagodas. We were just in time to see a monk activating the huge bell, present at any Buddhist temple, at 1 p.m. After that we witnessed another monk reciting his prayings at on outside Shinto-temple.
Off for our last main goal of that day, Okuno-in. On the way to it, by feet, we sneaked in some other temples, especially enjoying the beautiful flowers we see every where during this trip. Unfortunately we missed the cherry blossoming, but there are so many other blossoms left, wonderful!
Any Buddhist worth their salt in Japan (according to Lonely Planet) has had their remains, or just a lock of two of hair, interred at this temple to ensure pole position when the future Buddha and Kukai return to the world. So impressive these cemetery grounds along a winding, cobbled path lined by tall cypress trees and thousands of tombs covered with moss.
The Toro-do (Lantern Hall), the main building of the complex houses hundreds of lamps. Also hundreds of Jizo statues, small stone statues if the Buddhist protector of travellers and children. A wonderful day all together.
We returned all together to Osaka, where Arjan & I found our first Internet facility before we had a simple dinner. Yes, still not one of those wonderful dinners which Japan has to offer, but we are patient, we still have plenty of time left!
11-05-08
Ingrid feeling not so well, it took us some time to start our day, but finally it went OK and we enjoyed it very much.
We started with a visit to the Sumiyoshi-Taisha, a shrine dedicated to Shinto deities associated with the sea and sea travel, in commemoration of a safe passage to Korea by a 3rd-century empress. Interesting is the collection of more than 700 stone lanterns donated by seafarers and business people.
Then off to Amerika-Mura (= Amerika Village), a compact enclave of trendy shops and restaurants with hordes of colourful Japanese teens living out the myth of Amerika. We assisted for a while some shows by young street artists in the Amerika-Mura Triangle Park, a very small all-concrete park.
We continued for Nakano-shima, an island in the midst of Osaka's unrelenting grey, where we sit down for a while resting and enjoying the sun in the Rose Garden.
Of course I had to see the twin-tower space-age version of the Paris' Arc de Triomphe, the Umeda Sky Building. You love it or you hate it, what is certain is the impressive view from the top. We sat down till sunset before we left, Arjan & the rest of the group for a dinner and myself to the hotel: my stomach still needed a rest.
We started with a visit to the Sumiyoshi-Taisha, a shrine dedicated to Shinto deities associated with the sea and sea travel, in commemoration of a safe passage to Korea by a 3rd-century empress. Interesting is the collection of more than 700 stone lanterns donated by seafarers and business people.
Then off to Amerika-Mura (= Amerika Village), a compact enclave of trendy shops and restaurants with hordes of colourful Japanese teens living out the myth of Amerika. We assisted for a while some shows by young street artists in the Amerika-Mura Triangle Park, a very small all-concrete park.
We continued for Nakano-shima, an island in the midst of Osaka's unrelenting grey, where we sit down for a while resting and enjoying the sun in the Rose Garden.
Of course I had to see the twin-tower space-age version of the Paris' Arc de Triomphe, the Umeda Sky Building. You love it or you hate it, what is certain is the impressive view from the top. We sat down till sunset before we left, Arjan & the rest of the group for a dinner and myself to the hotel: my stomach still needed a rest.
10-05-08 last part
This blog is going to be a puzzle, but working on it with 2 different persons, in internet cafes or a hotel lobby with unusual Japanese keyboards does not make it easy...
I will finish the day 10-05-8, where I left you after the ballet. Toshiharu-san, Arjan & I met each other again after the ballet at the hotel to share a last coffee, pick up our luggage and get a taxi to get off for JR Tokyo railway station. Toshiharu-san helped us to get the right tickets and train, the Shinkansen = high speed train to Osaka, a 2h40min. voyage : I wish that the French TGV offered such a legs' space!
We said goodbye to Toshiharu-san for merely 3 weeks.
At Osaka-shin station an extremely good English Japanese person offered spontaneously his help to give us the right directions by metro & train to continue to our hotel near to the Tennoji-station. There our luck still didn't leave us, because 2 blocks from our hotel we met a person with an umbrella asking us if we were looking for the 1-2-3 hotel: how did he know? Was he waiting there in the rain (it started already raining earlier the day in Tokyo?) the whole evening for us? Something we probably never will know!
In the hotel lobby Jan, our Belgian tour guide, welcomed us; we both know him for our first voyages to Japan in 2004 and 2005. He proposed us to have a late dinner in the restaurant of the hotel; an offer I better would have refused since I enjoyed it till the next day, something quite unusual for me!
I will finish the day 10-05-8, where I left you after the ballet. Toshiharu-san, Arjan & I met each other again after the ballet at the hotel to share a last coffee, pick up our luggage and get a taxi to get off for JR Tokyo railway station. Toshiharu-san helped us to get the right tickets and train, the Shinkansen = high speed train to Osaka, a 2h40min. voyage : I wish that the French TGV offered such a legs' space!
We said goodbye to Toshiharu-san for merely 3 weeks.
At Osaka-shin station an extremely good English Japanese person offered spontaneously his help to give us the right directions by metro & train to continue to our hotel near to the Tennoji-station. There our luck still didn't leave us, because 2 blocks from our hotel we met a person with an umbrella asking us if we were looking for the 1-2-3 hotel: how did he know? Was he waiting there in the rain (it started already raining earlier the day in Tokyo?) the whole evening for us? Something we probably never will know!
In the hotel lobby Jan, our Belgian tour guide, welcomed us; we both know him for our first voyages to Japan in 2004 and 2005. He proposed us to have a late dinner in the restaurant of the hotel; an offer I better would have refused since I enjoyed it till the next day, something quite unusual for me!
Monday, 12 May 2008
10-05-08
After a not so good night sleep (such is called jetlag .....) in Japan, we started our day very early, Toshiharu-san picked us up from the hotel at 7 am. On special request of Arjan, he organised an authorisation to assist to a sumo training in a beya = school for sumo players. I already assisted to it 3 years ago, but since we arrived almost from the beginning of the training, we saw much more, incl. the warming up. Also interesting was the fact, that at the after the warming up, a former sumo champion participated as well and there one particularly notices the hierarchy of this very popular sport in Japan. Then off the 3 of us went to the Hamarikyu-teien, often referred to as the Detached Palace Garden with walks, ponds and teahouses (see picture of tea service). Then we visited the genuis Imperial Palace East Garden, the only quarter of the palace proper that is open to the public. Dying for some coffee, Toshiharu-san took us to the best coffee of town (sorry, we forgot the name of the place.....) near to the JR railway station, and we enjoyed a nice sandwich as well. Before going off for some ballet, Toshiharu-san showed me a tea bowl of Yen 11.550.000 (approx. Eur 80.000) just to show me why during a genius tea ceremony it is of importance that the guest express their admiration of the teabowls used by the host ... Toshiharu-san showed me as well the restaurant where we will have our farewell dinner in 3 weeks time, but more about that in 3 weeks!
10-05-08 Arjan's first day in Tokyo
Travelling by British Airways I had a long flight via Heathrow's new terminal to Tokyo. After some messages in the papers that the luggage handling was quit a mess I arrived at Narita Airport only with one hour delay. From London the flight took just over 12 hours. Getting through customs and immigration (fingerprints and photo taken) and then down to the luggage collection. My bag had arrived already :-) and I went straight on to Ueno and the Suigetsu hotel, ready for a shower as I thought our room should be available by 13:30. Bad luck, check-in time 15:00. Left my luggage and read Ingrid's note that she had arrived and left for Kamakura. So I went and had my first Japanese lunch (some tempura) in Ueno and spent the rest of the afternoon walking around through Ueno, Shibuya and the Hie temple (nice sake bowls to make photos of).
Dinner, of course SUSHI, in Ueno again and back to the hotel were Ingrid had already arrived.
Dinner, of course SUSHI, in Ueno again and back to the hotel were Ingrid had already arrived.
09-05-08 Ingrid's first day in Tokyo - 10-05-08 afternoon
After 40 minutes delay in Paris and a 12 hours flight I arrived on Friday morning at 7.30 a.m. local time in Tokyo. Customs - incl. fingers prints and ID photo - , pick up of luggage and transport by Keisei to Ueno, a district in Tokyo city went very fast. Visiting for the 3rd time the same hotel, by now I know the way, which helps. I hoped that the room would already be available, because I felt tired and wanted some sleep (I did not sleep at all in the plain, Annette, I read the book you gave for my birthday, very pleasant travel book about India). Happily the room was not available, so I had to carry on after having dropped my luggage and left a little note for Arjan to let him know that I arrived. I went on by public transport to Kamakura. Toshiharu-san explained me in advance how to get there, which was very convenient, because the main railway station of Tokyo is something special, so big!!! After 1 hour of travelling by train I arrived and right away I felt myself back in Japan again: cleanness, temples, vermillion coloured torii (entrance gate to a Shinto-shrine), kind people offering spontaneously their help if they saw me looking for the way, sushi lunch, hyper modern toilets, dressed dogs, ..
Kamakura used to be the capital of Japan from 1185 to 1333. There are a large number of Buddhist temples (I visited about 5 of them) and the occasional shrine dotted around the surrounding countryside, as well as some very pleasant walks and a Great Buddha (Daibutsu). The latter I visited by taxi, because I was running out of time, the sites close down around 6 pm. I managed to explain the taxi driver that he had to wait 20 minutes: I was happy to still see him at return!
Back to my hotel in Ueno where soon enough Arjan arrived as well, but that he will tell you himself.
10-05-08
Part of the afternoon Arjan and I split our ways: both Toshiharu-san and I assisted on my special request to the ''Maurice Béjart Memorial Play'' performed by the Tokyo Ballet at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan (i.e. Tokyo Culture Hall) next to our hotel. We were not too much impressed by the Sept danses grecques on music of Mikis Theodorakis, but we loved the 2 pieces on music of Igor Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps and L'Oiseau de Feu.
Kamakura used to be the capital of Japan from 1185 to 1333. There are a large number of Buddhist temples (I visited about 5 of them) and the occasional shrine dotted around the surrounding countryside, as well as some very pleasant walks and a Great Buddha (Daibutsu). The latter I visited by taxi, because I was running out of time, the sites close down around 6 pm. I managed to explain the taxi driver that he had to wait 20 minutes: I was happy to still see him at return!
Back to my hotel in Ueno where soon enough Arjan arrived as well, but that he will tell you himself.
10-05-08
Part of the afternoon Arjan and I split our ways: both Toshiharu-san and I assisted on my special request to the ''Maurice Béjart Memorial Play'' performed by the Tokyo Ballet at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan (i.e. Tokyo Culture Hall) next to our hotel. We were not too much impressed by the Sept danses grecques on music of Mikis Theodorakis, but we loved the 2 pieces on music of Igor Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps and L'Oiseau de Feu.
10-05-08 Meeting with Toshiharu-san
On our second day in Tokyo we were guided around by Toshiharu-san (a friend of Ingrid), who took us early in the morning to a Sumo wrestling school to attend a training of the wrestlers. Very interesting to see this training from the warming-up to almost the end. After the training we were brought to a park in Tokyo where a small tea ceremony was brought to us.
Enjoying a bowl of Japanese green tea
The tea house in Tokyo centre
Ingrid and Arjan in front of the Sumo wrestling school
Enjoying a bowl of Japanese green tea
The tea house in Tokyo centre
Of course you may not miss the Imperial Palace Gardens. Though it became a bit rainy, it still is a pleasant place to be
Toshiharu-san brought both of us a very pleasant day in Tokyo, for which we thank him very much!!
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Thursday, 1 May 2008
Hai nieuwsgierig aagje
In mijn mailtje stond toch echt dat vanaf 9 mei pas de eerste berichten zouden verschijnen :-)
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