rkkwan's long trip report for Tokyo and Kyoto, August 09

Anxiously awaiting the rest!

Tracy

Hi Ray- Looking forward to reading more. I'd love to go to Japan someday.

Alright Ray, looks like you had a lot on your plate, can't wait for this one!

Aloha!

Ah, first a small correction. I actually had been to Japan one other time, as a newborn in 1971. Flying from the U.S. back to Hong Kong, it required overnighting in Tokyo at that time, on Northwest. And that was at Haneda of course, as it was years before Narita opened. Anyways, back to this trip...

Tuesday, 8/4

NEX vs Limousine Bus

Our hotel is in Ikebukuro (池袋). With luggage, I want single ride transport from NRT, so the choices are the Narita Express or the Limousine Bus. Both have special deals from NRT - for the NEX, ¥3,500 can also get a rechargeable SUICA card; for the Limousine bus, ¥3,100 can also get a one-day Tokyo Metro pass.

My flight arrived gate at NRT T1 at 4:05p, 15 minutes early. But immigration line for visitors was long, and I didn't get through customs until 4:40p. (Ms H and K arrived earlier on CX at T2, and they took the free shuttle over to meet me). We didn't have enough time to catch the 4:45p NEX, so we decided on the 5:00p Limousine Bus for the Sunshine Prince Hotel. [Next NEX was at 5:15p, and we would have arrived at hotel around the same time as the slightly cheaper bus.]

Traffic was heavy once we hit central Tokyo, and it took 1:40 to get to the Sunshine Prince (which incidentally was where I stayed in 1981). Then it was a fairly easy 10-minute walk to "The b" on Meiji Dori (明治通り) past many restaurants and shops. We walked along surface streets, but could also have gone through the Sunshine City mall for part of the way.

The next and other stop for the bus would be the Metropolitan Hotel on the west side of the Ikebukuro station. Distance is about the same, but would involve walking through the busy station.

The b Ikebukuro

We didn't have a preference in area to stay in Tokyo, but budget was about US$110 all-in for each room. I tried pricelining for 4* and 5* and didn't get anything, and most decent hotels tend to cost a little over our budget. I got some other recommendations, but those were 2* budget hotels catered to Chinese/Taiwanese tourists. But then I found this hotel on asiahotels.com for $109 all-in for double room, $98 for single.

Turned out this hotel only re-opened on June 1, 2009. It used be the Sunroute Ikebukuro, and its location is excellent. Under 5 minutes walk from the East Exit (Parco or Seibu) of the Ikebukuro train or subway station, and 2 minutes from Bic Camera. Dozens of restaurants nearby. And I later found the post office (for ATM) just one block from the hotel.

Rooms are actually bigger than what I expected, with good facilites. The shower is extremely fancy, and of course the toilet as well. There is free espresso in the lobby and a computer to use. The double room for Ms H and K has two twin-sized bed, while my single has a full-sized one. My room faces Meiji Dori with some city view (but also noisier), while the other room faces the wall of the adjacent building.

Only problem with the whole stay was the slow check-in. The front desk agent seem to be seeing a prepaid voucher from asiahotels.com for the very first time. It took almost 10 minutes before they figured it all out and gave us our key.

Good start, Ray, I'm looking forward to your report.

Where's the next installment? What's taking you so long?

Sibling rivalry? I hope this one is as good as yk's reports..... Of course I'm a bit prejudiced towards Japan....

Looking forward to reading this. Japan is still on my must-visit list.

yk - Next installment is in my head... But I went to take a nap.

ray ---great start....anxious to read more....don't forget to urge yk to come to the boston GTG...its going to be very close to waltham --- in newton a couple of miles away...oct 10, 2009

bob

How much luggage did you have? Carry on only? Can't imagine you were dragging suitcases from the bus stop to the hotel. Or maybe you just pack a lot lighter than I do...

PS Exchange rate?

Anxiously awaiting the next installment, Ray.

Oh, this is going to be fun! Don't forget the pictures {I know you won't}.

Deb

ray---we are hanging on your every word....we need the next fix

ray---tell yk i will even pick her up in waltham and drive her if transportation is an issue...

rkkwan is still taking his long nap???

Just kiddng, I spoke with him on the phone, and he has lost internet connection over the weekend. Hopefully it'll be fixed Monday.

rhkkmk, can't commit on the Boston GTG yet. I will let you know when the date gets closer.

Sorry... My building lost internet for several days. Will resume posting now.

Where the streets have no name

I doubt U2 was referring to Tokyo, but most Tokyo streets have no name. I first noticed that street address in Japan doesn't tell which streets they're on, when I was writing down hotel addresses. Instead, addresses tell you which ku (ward) and cho (district); then three numbers - the chrome, the block, and the specific building.

It's things like this you discover about other parts of the world that makes travel so interesting. A number and a street name is not the only way to address a place!!!

Anyways, during the walk from the Sunshine Prince to our hotel, I realize that only the main roads have names - like the Sunshine 60 Dori and Meiji Dori. Not any other streets or alleys that we walk on or through to get to the hotel.

Meal ticket vending machines

By the time I finished playing with the shower and toilet, it was dinner time. There were literally hundreds of restaurant in Ikebukuro, but both my guidebook and Ms H's (which is basically a Chinese translation of some English-language one) suggests the Gyoza Stadium inside Sunshine City. [BTW, the term "stadium" immediately makes me think of Iron Chef. ]

Anyways, we were too hungry to make it to Sunshine City. In fact, we ate at the very first place we saw, directly across from our hotel on Meiji Dori. Turned out it is a chain store called Fuji Buckwheat (富士蕎麥). Like most eateries in Japan, there are food models in the display case outside with price and number. We found that food is cheap in Tokyo (not so in Hakone or Kyoto). A bowl of noodle is under ¥400, and even my "combo" of noodles and a beef rice is only ¥500. In fact, this was probably the cheapest meal we had, but we enjoyed it.

New to me was the meal ticket vending machines outside the noodle shop, as I don't remember seeing them in my previous visits to Japan. They take coins and bills ¥1,000 bills, and will vend you a meal ticket. You go inside and you hand the ticket to the cook in this case; or you sit down and a server will come take your meal ticket. Very efficient, and this way the workers won't have to handle the "dirty" money. And as we also found out quickly, prices are all-in. No extra tax or tip required, making the prices even more attractive.

Anyways, one can choose from cold or hot, soba or udon, for each noodle dish. K had a hot udon while I had a cold soba (along with my beef rice). Ms H had a katsu-don. We all enjoyed it, despite the low price.

Bic Camera

We walked around the area a little bit, and without even looking for it, we were exploring the original Bic Camera at Ikebukuro floor by floor (they have many locations now). Quite an eye-opener, and it sells more than just cameras and electronics.

Femi - Yes, I was carry-on only from L.A. through Japan to Hong Kong. I had more stuff to take back from Hong Kong however.

It is important for me to travel light. First, because I arrive later than my travel companion, without luggage means a slightly shorter wait for them.

Second, I still need to travel from my Tokyo hotel to my Kyoto hotel, and from my Kyoto hotel to KIX. Traveling light means I can use public transportation. In fact, I didn't use a taxi for any part of my trip. Even with 4 pieces of luggage from my aunt's place in Hong Kong to HKG, and from LAX to get home via Flyaway and public L.A. bus and walk.

Yes, I discovered the meal ticket vending machines this summer, where is was staying in Shinkuku. Full meals for about 500 Yen. Quite the good travel deal!

I apologize again for the slow posting. The internet went out again in my building last night, and I also had to plan my weekend trip to Utah.

Wednesday, 8/5

Subway pass vs single tickets, and the multiple rail companies

There are various rail passes available for Tokyo - Tokyo Metro for ¥710, the Metro + Toei for ¥1,000, JR for ¥730, and the JR Tokyo Furii Kippu (includes all Metro, Toei and buses) for ¥1,580. What is best and most economical depends on where one needs to go and which lines to be used.

To most of us living in North America in modern days, the idea of multiple transportation companies within single metro area can seem pretty strange. But that's the case in Japan. There are two separate subway companies - Tokyo Metro and the TOEI (run by the metropolitan government) - and the popular Yamanote Line is run by JR. Plus many other private lines that carry commuters into and out of Central Tokyo, etc...

We already got a one-day Metro-only pass that came with our Limousine bus ticket, which I planned to use for the next day when we just go around various places in Tokyo. For this day, we mainly want to visit the Tsukiji fish market and Odaiba, so none of those system(s)-wide passes make too much sense for us.

Instead, we bought single-ride tickets from Ikebukuro to Tsukiji market; as well as from Toyosu back to Ikebukuro in the afternoon. We also bought a ¥800 day pass on the Yurikamome Line to/from/around Odaiba. (More about that later).

Our morning ride was from Ikebukuro (池袋) to Tsukijishijo (築地市場), which is on the Toei Ōedo Line (都営大江戸線), a new line that didn't exist when I last visited Tokyo. From Ikebukuro, we'd take the Tokyo Subway Yūrakuchō Line (有楽町線) to Tsukishima (月島) and connect there.

Tokyo subway fares depend on companies and distance. Machines have English instructions, and you press your destination stations to show the fare. Because our destination is on the Toei line, we have to use a different machine than sells a "transfer" ticket over the two systems, and not the regular Tokyo Subway-only machine. Our "transfer" ticket cost ¥290.

We made a small mistake in deciding to leave hotel at 8:30a, which is at the height of the morning rush. The train on the Yūrakuchō line was very crowded for the first 5-6 stops.

Best sushi I've ever had

The only "must go" place in Tokyo for my trip was the Tsukiji (築地) fish market. And I wasn't going to get up at 5am the auction, and I didn't care too much about seeing the fish selling either. I just wanted to eat some good sushi.

But showing how little I prepared for the trip, I didn't know that the sushi places are segregated in a bunch of buildings to the north of the actual market. I had imagined everything under one roof, which is not the case.

Well, by the time we get to Tsukiji, it was already like 10a. And we were hungry. And there were already lines in front of 2 or 3 most popular sushi shops. So, we simply decided to forget about the market, and just went for FOOD!

There must be about 40 sushi bars in those 4 buildings separated by alleys, and first we had to decide whether to line up for the 2 or 3 popular ones; or try one of the other 30+s. We decided on the latter for two reasons. [Ms H later added another good reason.] First, I simply hate waiting in line for food when there are alternatives; second, most of those waiting in line are tourists holding English or other guidebooks. I figure, the local Japanese probably know better to eat at one of the other restaurants, and so should we.

It was a very hot day and all the bars have A/C on, with a closed screen door; so, it was impossible to see how busy each place was. We basically just picked a random one, as I can't read the name anyways. Store front only has its Hiragana characters おかめ, which is Okame. Turned out, the little sushi restaurant was basically full, and there just happened to be the three seats at the end of the bar near the door. And all the other patrons were locals. We felt good already.

Neither Ms H nor I are very picky with our fish, so we just ordered the set. Ms H had the deluxe sushi set for ¥3,500, and I had chirashizushi, which is basically the same pieces of fish over rice, also for ¥3,500. We ordered a unadon for K for ¥2,500 as he's not a big sushi fan. They also had a cheaper sushi set for ¥3,000, I think; so what's the point?

Well, needless to say, the fish is better than any I have had in my life, though I haven't really eaten much expensive sushi. Most I have spent is about US$50 in a couple of good sushi bars in L.A. But this US$36 set (all-in; no tip, no tax) easily blew those away. The unadon is also very nice. The eel is very very tender, and they use a light soy sauce to grill it with. It is very different from those over-cooked, over-sauced unagi I usually found at cheap places.

But back to the sushi, Ms H's sushi set is actually better than my chirashi for two reasons. First, it came with two a la carte pieces she could choose from; second reason was the way it was presented. And that was also the other reason why it's better to go to a restaurant with no line:

Ms H had sushi at Tsukiji once before, in 2008. It was more crowded that time, and she waited in line for sushi at one of the restaurants (but not the most popular ones). To save time, they'd come to take her order while still in line, so that once she sat down, they could bring her sushi set quickly to her. But this time, because there was nobody waiting at our restaurant (in fact, it started to empty out after we got in). The sushi chef simply put a small wooden dish in front of Ms H, and gave her sushi set omakase-style from the lightest to the heaviest tasting ones!

By the time we finished our expensive breakfast, it was already around 11am. No point watching the market workers wash the floor, so we just walked around the stores nearby, and started to walk towards Shimbashi/Shiodome to ride the Yurikamome Line to Odaiba.

The various food stores are quite interesting, and then Ms H saw one that's selling fresh (i.e. live) sea urchin for ¥500 each. The guy cut opened one for her to be eaten fresh. I had a big fresh oyster for ¥400. Not the most tasty, but very juicy and not too salty. Not bad.

Interesting concept on eating at the less crowded sushi restaurants. I am hoping to get into Sushi Dai on our visit since I've heard so much about it, but might go the route you did instead.

Statia - Well, see how crowded it gets when you get there. But Ms H was actually surprised at how quiet the whole area was when we got there. Maybe it was simply too hot and humid on that day some people decided not to go out.

Mobile Suit Gundam

Well, I am not going to explain what Mobile Suit Gundam (機動戦士ガンダム) is at length here. You can Google it. But what happened is that the Japanese built a "life-size" Gundam RX-78-2 at the Shiokaze Park (潮風公園) on Odaiba (お台場), the large man-made island in Tokyo Bay, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of that anime series. It's going to stay there until the end of August.

I was not a fan of Mobile Suit Gundam, as I was just a bit too young when it came out in 1979 (but I was a big fan of the other series Macross that came 3 years later). Still, to see a 19m/59ft tall "life-size" Mecha sounds exciting enough for me, and not just the 13-year old K.

To get there from Tsukiji, we walked to the Shiodome (汐留) station and rode the fully-automatic Yurikamome (ゆりかもめ) line over the Rainbow Bridge. The Yurikamome line is a separate train line from the subways and JR. We bought a day pass for ¥800 so that we can also ride among stops on Odaiba later in the day. And just to mention that Shiodome is now a newly developed commercial center with some pretty impressive high rises.

We got off the Daiba station with most of the other passengers, and followed everybody to the Shiokaze Park. But we could see the head of the Gundam from the train already. While there were plenty of people, it wasn't too crowded. The only lineup was to buy the commemorative models.

I saw some photos of the life-size Gundam prior to the trip, but I have to say the real thing looks better and more impressive. And the head will move every once in a while (every 15 minutes I think), with it voice broadcasted from speakers elsewhere. I'd say it was indeed worth traveling 6,000 miles to see it and touch it.

Anyways, they were selling a special edition model set there for ¥1,500 (limit one per person, not sold elsewhere) and some other souvenirs. The end of the line says ~1hour, but I think we got through in about 45 minutes to buy them. The line to walk underneath the Gundam and to touch it was very short, so we did that too.

The rest of Odaiba - Ferris Wheel, rejection by Toyota, etc

After snapping enough photos of the Gundam, we walked along the Odaiba Seaside Park to get a good view of the Rainbow Bridge before going into the Aqua City mall for some much-needed air-conditioning and food. We had a light late-lunch at the Monsoon, which has a nice view of the Tokyo Bay and Rainbow Bridge. We shard a satay (¥1,800) and had some drinks (¥420-600 each).

We then rode the Yurikamome line a few stops to the other side of Odaiba, and got off at the Aomi (青海) station for Palette Town. There was no line at the Daikanransha (パレットタウン大観覧車, giant Ferris wheel) and we had a whole cabin for ourselves. It was the world's tallest ferris wheel from when it opened in 1999 until the London Eye a few months later; and at 115m, still the world's 11th tallest. It was kind of smoggy that day, but it's still worth the ¥900, despite the Hello Kitty theme and lack of air-conditioning.

Palette Town is also the location of Toyota's Mega Web showcase. What interested me most was the chance to test drive a car on its 1.3km test track around the facility for two laps - for just ¥300. One had to make a reservation about an hour ahead and choose the car. I didn't do any homework before going, and just picked a large Japanese domestic market sedan, the Mark X, a cousin to the Lexus GS sold here.

With some time to spend, we ventured into the other side of Palette Town, a mall called Venus Fort. The design is similar to casino shops in Vegas - Roman-themed with painted ceiling, etc. There is also the "History Garage", free admission, with some nice historic 1960's and 1970's Japanese cars. Because of time constraint, I didn't have time to really look at them. I'll go back there next time.

Now came the biggest disappointment for my trip! Toyota says I need an International Drivers Permit, which I didn't have for this trip. Oh well, at least they handed me my ¥300 quickly. To protest this atrocity, my next car purchase won't be a Toyota product... (Well, unless I can can find a good deal on an IS. Hahaa...)

Tired from the heat, humidity and all the walking, we decided it's time to head back to the hotel. We rode the remaining portion of the Yurikamome line with our daypass to Toyosu (豊洲), and then pay ¥290 for the single-ride on Tokyo Metro's Yurakucho line back to Ikebukuro.

I have eaten instant ramen for >30 years, but...

I really believe that one learns a lot more when traveling. Take this example. I am Chinese and grew up in Hong Kong. I have eaten Nissin instant noodles - and the Hong Kong version, Doll noodles - for ever. But I've always associated ramen as Japanese, even though its name comes from China, as 拉麺. And somehow I have never noticed while living in Hong Kong or the US that Japanese noodle places sell either soba/udon or ramen. But rarely both types.

Well, finally, I learned during this trip that in Japan ramen is Chinese food (中華料理)! That's why traditional Japanese soba shops won't have ramen, and ramen places all call themselves Chinese food and it is almost always served with pork, in a pork-based broth. Silly me!

Anyways, after resting a little in our hotel, we went out to find dinner. I didn't know at that time, but Ikebukuro is one of the "ramen" central in Tokyo. We went to one called Kake Ramen (本格中華食堂) on a side street really close to Sunshine 60 Dori. Turned out it is the original store of a small chain with 13 stores. Our three ramen cost between ¥420 to ¥540, depending on how much pork and whether I want extra MSG (not kidding). A side order of gyoza (dumplings) is ¥170 when ordered a noodle, and we also ordered some chicken wings for ¥280. Final bill, ¥1,890 for three. Very economical, but tasty and filling.

We walked around Ikebukuro some more afterwards and get some ice-cream and drink from the convenient store "FamilyMart". In Ikebukuro, there seems to be one at every corner.

I'm hungry by just reading this!

Such a great report, thanks for sharing!

I sincerely apologize for the long delay in the report. I went on a last-minute trip to the national parks in Utah this last weekend, and I am getting a new back up hard drive, moving photos around, and updating to Mac OX 10.6, etc...

Also, a small correction. The single ride Tokyo Subway fare from Toyosu back to Ikebukuro is ¥230, which is cheaper than the Subway/Toei "transfer" fare of ¥290 in the morning to Tsujiki Market.

Thursday 8/6

The Post Office - No, I don't write postcards!

After just one full day in Tokyo, I realize that Ms H didn't bring enough yen from Hong Kong. [I brought zero from the US.] I was quite surprised how cash-based the Japanese society still is - even souvenir shops catered to tourists are cash-only. As most visitors know, the best place to get yen is a ATM at a post office, as they do take international ATM/debit cards, unlike many Japanese banks. More on that later.

Just two problems. One, these ATMs are not 24-hours (though they operate longer than regular PO hours). Second, I need to find a post office. I was planning to ask the front desk of my hotel where it is; but I remember seeing a very detailed neighborhood map in front of the Toshima (豊島区) ward government office directly across from our hotel. The map is extremely clear and I find that the closest post office was just 1 minute away. Later in Kyoto, I have also used such neighborhood maps to find post office/ATM very easily, without having to ask anybody the location.

We went to the PO at 9am when it opened. Turned out, the ATM area was already open. Now, another problem. My Bank of America "VISA" check card won't let me take out ¥25,000. I thought the limit was the equivalent of US$300, and ¥25,000 is significantly less than US$300. I then tried ¥20,000 and it was fine this time. Looking at my bank statement, Japan Post charges a 1% fee, while BoA charges $5 for each transaction. So, the total fee is about $7.1 for ¥20,000 taken out; or just over 3% total.

I took out money two other times during my week. One was at a post office in Kyoto; the other at a commercial bank in Tokyo. I wanted to see which ATMs will take my card. First try was the Mitsubishi-UFJ right across from the Ikebukuro Station. MUFJ is the largest Japanese bank (and the world's 2nd largest, after HSBC), so I figured I may have a chance. But no, they won't take my card.

Next to it was a HSBC, but their ATM is behind locked doors. I swiped my BoA card at the door anyways, and it unlocked. Promising. And indeed HSBC let me take out ¥20,000, also with a 1% fee just like the post office. I have read that Citibank ATMs will also work. But now I know HSBC is fine.

With cash in hand, we stopped at Doutor next door, which is like a Starbucks, for breakfast. Menu is all Japanese, and I just pointed that one random item, which turned out to be green-tea latte. Perfect. We also had a hot dog, some pastries and hot chocolate. All for ¥1,190.

ray, great report... i too want some of that sushi...

bob

Standard tourist spot - Asakusa

This was the day we'd use our Tokyo Metro pass. It was a package deal with the Limousine Bus, and it only covers the 9 Metro lines but not the 4 Toei ones. (Would have cost ¥710 if bought separately).

Our first stop for the day was Asakusa (浅草). I have been there once in 1981, but all I remembered was the very crowded pedestrian mall there. We took the Marunouchi (丸の内) line to Ginza (銀座), and then transfer - long walk - to the Ginza line to get to Asakusa.

We did the standard tourist stuff - taking pictures in front of the Kaminarimon (雷門), checking out the stalls at the Nakamise (仲見世) pedestrian mall, eating a ningyoyaki (人形焼, pancake filled with red bean paste, ¥100), etc. But the main hall of the Senso-ji was undergoing exterior restoration. We could still go inside, but the outside was covered. Also visited the small shrine to the east of the temple.

We had lunch at a nice little restaurant called Kagetudo (花月堂) that's adjacent to the Nison-Zo (二尊仏, two saints) at the temple. We had soba noodles and rice; and shaved ice and their funnel cake for desert. Total ¥3,870 for the 3 of us. After that, we searched for a store famous for its senbei (煎餅, Japanese crackers), before leaving the area.

Toy shopping at Akihabara

I have to admit I have never heard of Akihabara (秋葉原, or Akiba for short) before this trip. Didn't realize it is THE place to go for many people. We took the Ginza line back for 5 stops to Suehirocho (末広町). K spent a lot of time in several stores looking for models and small Gundam and Kamen Rider (仮面ライダー) toys. We also visited a big electronic store, but it's similar to Bic Camera in Ikebukuro. Also saw the young girls in costume handling out flyers for their "maid cafes", but I wasn't planning to go with Ms H and her son.

ok, i'll bite. whats a maid cafe?

Ken, check out this site. Take a look at season 1 episode 2 video for an in depth look at a maid cafe in Tokyo.

http://ultimatejapan.tv/videos.html

Aloha!

ht, mahalo for the link, although i couldn't open it. maybe i should just go to one in tokyo. lol.

kuranosuke - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosplay_restaurant

rk, thanks for the link. it doesn't seem like the place for me. those japanese can sure think up some bizarre venues for a dessert and coffee shop.

btw, good trip report. much detail. i too love eating fresh uni out of the shell. ummmmm.

Alright. Computer upgrade completed and no more trips in the immediate future, I will hurry up with this trip report.

Wow, so many girls in Yukata!

Summer is fireworks time in Japan. I read an article that some smaller cities were canceling theirs this year because of the poor economy, but Tokyo still has three major ones in summer and on this day was the one at the Meiji Jingu Gaien (明治神宮外苑), a large complex of several stadiums. [The Sumidagawa (on the river near Asakusa) was earlier, while the Tokyo Bay would be held 2 days later.]

Miss H heard about this from her friend, so we decided to check it out. It was a an all-evening event with separate concerts at the different stadiums; we weren't going to get tickets for those, and would just go near the area to see the fireworks, which would have 12,000 pieces, most in the event's history. The Meiji Jingu Gaien is on the east side of Harajuku (原宿), and not to be confused with the Outer Garden of the Meiji Jingu (Shrine) on the west side.

From the Suehirocho subway station, we took the Ginza line to Omote-sando (表参道) and then switch to the Chiyoda (千代田) line for one stop to Meiji-jingumae (明治神宮前). We started noticing something interesting on the Ginza line train, as there are many young Japanese girls wearing yukata (浴衣), the flowery light kimono that literally means "bathing clothes". Turned out it is a tradition to wear yukata to go to the summer fireworks, and the closer we get to the Harajuku/Jingu Gaien area, the more yukata we saw. And then we started to see men in kimono too.

We were a bit early for the fireworks, so we walked around Harajuku a little bit, checking out the fashion there. Unfortunately because of my lack of planning, we didn't walk along Takeshita Dori (竹下通り), THE street in Harajuku to go to. Well, next time.

We walked to just outside the stadium area about 6:30p, an hour before the fireworks were supposed to start. The police was just closing off the street that led up to the stadium, and suddenly, many of our fellow crowd started "occupying" the street with huge blue nylon tarps. We didn't have any, but followed suit to "occupy" our spot on the ground. It turned out to be one of the best "free" spots for those without tickets to watch the fireworks, at only about 300 yards away. K was a bit hungry, so he ventured out to get hotdogs for all of us. The line was extremely long, and he initially went the wrong way on his way back. Ms H was quite worried for a while, but eventually he came with the huge tasty hotdogs, ¥400 each.

While 12,000 fireworks isn't a lot (the 7/4/09 NYC fireworks has 40,000 pieces; some festivals use over 100,000), all of them come from one location. Which makes the process very very long. Unlike the usual ~20 minute display, this one was still going on after 30 minutes. We were hungry, hot, and tired; and decided to beat the crowd and left early.

It was a fairly long walk to the Kitasando (北参道) station on the new Fukutoshin (副都心) line that links the western "secondary centers" of Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro. Its Ikebukuro station is on the west side of the JR station there, and was quite a long walk for us back to our hotel.

More ramen

We were exhausted from the whole day out, so we ate at another ramen shop adjacent to our hotel. Turned out it is another popular chain, Hakata-Tenjin (博多天神). Hakata and Tenjin are the two centers of Fukuoka on Kyushu, famous for their ramen noodles. Three noodles cost ¥2,200.

Here are a few photos taken at Tsukiji, as you guys seem to be most interested in food:

The sushi bar we ate at, Okame:
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/tokyo0809/e215aa4bd

The chef giving Ms H her sushi set piece by piece:
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/tokyo0809/e28c1d2ac

My chirashi:
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/tokyo0809/e2e51bf22

Lines at the more popular sushi bars, Sushi-Dai and Yamato:
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/tokyo0809/e3c3291a4
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/tokyo0809/e33bf02c2

Ms H's live uni:
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/tokyo0809/e3b896af1

Me and my oyster:
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/tokyo0809/e3cf49761

Few words about riding Tokyo's subway

I found Tokyo's subway system pretty easy to use, especially because I can read the station names in Kanji (Chinese characters). For English readers, the names can be long and meaningless, and also in very small fonts in the maps, but that problem is alleviated with the letter and number associated with each line and station, respectively. For example, the Ginza Line is the "G" line; Shibuya on one end is "G1", while Asakusa on the other end is "G19". Also makes it easy to count how many stops before you get off.

The most confusing aspect of the subway system is its dual operator, which I have mentioned before. All subway maps should indicate the Akasua, MIta, Shinjuku, and OEdo lines as operated by Toei, while the other 9 lines by Tokyo Metro. You need to buy a "transfer" ticket if you're riding both systems, and there are turnstiles at transfer stations between the two system. A Tokyo Metro-only pass won't get you on Toei trains (or any other train lines).

Get a city map where they draw out the actual location of the subway platforms, because like the Paris Metro system, some transfers (and access to the trains) can be very long. In cases where you have a choice of connections/lines, you may have to walk a lot more with one over another. For example, because our hotel in Ikebukuro is to the NE of the main JR station, we are only 2-3 minutes to the Marunouchi Line; while the Yurakucho and Fukutoshin lines are much further away. Or that the transfer between the Marunouchi and Ginza lines at Ginza is like a 1/4mi long. Nice touch is that signs tell you how many meters you are away from the other train.

Absolutely stand on the left while taking the escalators. Japanese people are usually too polite to scream at you, but you'll be holding up everybody if you stand on the right.

Avoid riding the trains between 8-9am, as they do get very crowded in Central Tokyo. But at other times, it's fine, and we can often find open seats. When the trains are crowded, people do push hard to get on, and those already on the train will have to tolerate it. They do try to "help" you to get off a crowded train when it is your stop.

The train car design may seem boxy and utilitarian (unlike some flashy newer designs in Europe or China), but they have large, very clean windows, and very well lit. That is one thing I've found about Japanese subway and commuter trains. Newer cars have LCD displays of the next station, connections, etc. Better than the scrolling LEDs or little lamps in a route map type (or worse) I find everywhere else.

Priority seats on subway trains (and other transportation) are colored differently, and unlike anywhere else in the world, you do not sit on them at all unless you qualify. Even if the train is crowded and standing room only.

One of the cars on each subway (and many commuter) train is a "Weak A/C Car", with labels above its doors, 弱冷房車. These cars are kept at 28C/82F, while regular cars at at <26C/78F. While Ms H and K had no problem riding in these cars, I would be sweating like crazy. I wish they have a super frigid 強冷房車 for people like me.

The new Fukutoshin Line has express trains that only stop at the main stations. But unlike in NYC where express trains have its own tracks in Manhattan, these run on the same tracks. We saw a train passed by us when waiting at the Kitasando station.

Great report, Ray, and I loved your pictures.

I found the Tokyo subway and trains quite easy as well - I am a New Yorker and used to subways of course. I also traveled around quite a bit on my last trip to Japan. Even though I read hiragana and some Kanji, I think that all the stations pretty much had English signage. Also in Tokyo I used the Suica card which doesn't save you money, except as a package with the train from NRT to Tokyo, but it can be used on all subways and the JR as well as some other places such as Yokohama where I went for the day.

Uni looks great!

August 7, 2009

10.5Hr Daytrip to Hakone

From the start, we have decided to go for a trip outside Tokyo. I have been to Hakone (箱根), Kamakura and Nikko; but all in 1981 and am keen to going back to any one. Ms H said she'd prefer to see more scenery than historical/religious stuff, so I decided on Hakone. Because I didn't have a lot of time to do research, and that we there are three of us, including one kid; I also decided not to try a ryokan this time and would just go for a daytrip.

Many of us here have been to Hakone, including doing the same loop using the "Hakone Freepass" from Odakyu Electric Railway (小田急), so I'll keep it relatively brief, hopefully.

Odakyu's Tokyo terminus is at Shinjuku, so we took the JR Yamanote Line (山手線) for four stops from Ikebukuro, ¥150. [Pretty crowded at around 7:45a, but not impossible to get on/off.] One can buy the Hakone Freepass from Odakyu's machines, but as usual, they won't take foreign credit cards. So, instead I went their manned office, which opens early and the agent speaks perfect English. She also gives me the timetable book for all the transport in Hakone covered by the Hakone Freepass, which is useful. Our ¥5,000 two-day pass covers regular train service from Shinjuku and back (once); but we discovered that once you get back to Shinjuku, the turnstile will take away the ticket, even if you only do it for one-day. [Which means, you can't sell the Freepass to others to use it within Hakone for the next day. Not that I was planning to do so...]

Odakyu runs various trains from Shinjuku to Odawara (小田原), but the Limited Express "Romancecar" requires a ¥870 surcharge each way, and is only about 20 minutes faster. We passed, and rode the regular Express commuter train at 8:25a. We arrived Odawara at 9:59a, and transferred across platform for the 10:00a local to Hakone-Yumoto (箱根湯本), arriving at 10:15a.

We didn't have breakfast, so we went to get an early lunch there. Most restaurants open at 11am, but we found one open for noodles. Prices at this resort area is higher than Tokyo, as it cost us ¥2,900. We also checked out the souvenir shops and decided on what to pick up when we got back here later in the day.

We took the Hakone Tozan Line (箱根登山線) at 11:24a from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora (強羅), arriving 12:04p. More about this line. The whole Tozan Line actually is from Odawara to Gora. The lower part from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto is dual-guage for both the narrow-gauge (3'6", 1,067mm) track for through trains on the Odakyu main line, and for the standard-guage (4'8.5", 1,435mm) track for going up to Gora. But currently, they only run narrow-gauge cars, (Romancecar or standard commuter) trains from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto; and everybody has to transfer to the standard-gauge train up to Gora. [It is interesting that the flat portion is narrow-gauge, while the mountainous portion is standard-gauge, opposite standard convention; but that has to do with the legacy of Japanese rail development.]

Anyways, this 35-minute ride covers 8.9km, but rose 445m. That's a very steep 5% average grade, with portions going up at 8%. There are also 3 switchbacks where the train zig-zag up the hill. It is a very interesting ride indeed.

(to be continued)

Looking forward to hearing more about Hakone. Would you say this is a sketchy destination for someone afraid of heights? I'm only concerned because we are staying at Hakone Ginyu, plan to do the loop, and my sister is not crazy about heights.

Also appreciate the subway info. I've done some thorough study of the subway system in Tokyo, but you still provided tidbits of further info that will be helpful. We are getting the Suica card on arrival (with N'Ex) and I've understood that this card will be valid on all the subways in the city, including our transfers. Is this correct?

Statia - the Suica card is a stored value card that replaces cash, and it is accepted on all kinds of trains. But it is not a pass, so you are deducted the fare for each ride. You just don't need to worry about the companies and how much each ride costs.

Ray, I'm finally catching up with your report. Very helpful details - thanks!

Yes, Ray...which is why I figured the Suica card is easiest to use when we plan to do a lot of transfers. I was just wanting to confirm that we will only have to swipe the card to deduct the transfer costs, and not have to pay cash at transfer points.

Continuing on...

From Gora, the next mode of transportation is the Hakone Tozan Cablecar to go up to Sounzan (早雲山). This is just a 9-minute ride on the funicular, but unfortunately I think it is the weak link of the whole Hakone loop, as it is not frequent enough and doesn't match with the Tozan train arrivals well. I would have given the whole transportation scheme from Shinjuku an "A+" except for this cable car. Now, I'd only give it "A-".

My guidebook recommends visiting the Gora Park, so we got off at the first stop Goen Shimo (公園下) and walk to the park entrance. There is an admission fee, and we didn't feel like spending too much time there, so we decided not to go and pick up the next cablecar to Sounzan. Arriving at Sounzan at 12:39p, we walked quickly for our transfer to the Hakone Ropeway, beating all the others on the cable car. In fact, our gondola left with only like 5 or 6 people even though it can hold 18 passengers.

The Hakone Ropeway system was rebuilt in 2001. If you search for images, you may still see lots of older pictures of the original gondola system. But the new system is a "funitel" with two cables, and it is extremely steady, even when passing through the towers. It won't help if one is afraid of heights, as it does cross a deep valley before arriving at Owakudani (大涌谷), but it is more steady than any aerial tramway I've rode on, including the Ngong Ping gondola system in Hong Kong, which holds up to 17 per cabin.

At 1,044m/3,425ft, Owakudani is the highest point of our trip. Unfortunately, the weather turned sour very quickly, and we were suddenly in the clouds and rain. At the station, Ms H and I shared a "golden peach". It was very sweet and very juicy and I didn't get allergic to it; but it was also the most expensive peach I've ever eaten - ¥300.

We did what everybody has to do at Owakudani - eating the black egg 黒玉子, boiled in local springs. The sulfur in the water turned the shell black, and it's supposed to be life-prolonging. We'll see about that. ¥500 for a bag of 5.

With the weather up there horrible, we didn't stay long, and picked up the second part of the Hakone Ropeway down to Togendai (桃源台) on Lake Ashi (芦ノ湖). Because of the cloud, we could not see Mt. Fuji at all. We hurried and just caught the 1:50p Pirate Ship to Moto-Hakone (元箱根). I had been to Lake Ashi in 1981 and I believe we also rode a ferry at that time; but I was surprised how quiet and serene Lake Ashi is today. The only vessels on the lake were the pirate ships and maybe one or two sightseeing boats.

The ship stopped briefly at Hakone-Machi first, then Moto-Hakone at 2:30p. The whole area was very very quiet, despite being a Friday afternoon in August. Cafes and restaurants were all empty (if not closed). We walked along the shore a little bit, and had coffee and cake at a small cafe called PaPePiPoPu or something like that. ¥3,000.

We took the Route C express bus at 3:50p back to Hakone-Yumoto. This bus uses the new Hakone Bypass route and takes 25 minutes (vs 35 via the old route). We could have stayed on to Odawara, but we needed to do some shopping at Hakone-Yumoto. Finally, we left at 4:52p, then transferred at Odawara at 5:12p for the regular commuter express back to Shinjuku, arriving at 6:50p. It was raining pretty hard.

So, that was our 10.5hr trip to Hakone. I think for ¥5,000, it is quite a steal. We took an express, a local, the Tozan train, the cable car, the two sections of the ropeway, the pirate ship, a bus, and then a local and an express train. And beautiful scenery. Not bad at all.

You should have shown your Hakone Free Pass for a free admission into Gora Park....next time The Hakone Free Passes are good for discounts in almost all attractions,souvenir shops, museums, restaurants, etc. in the Hakone area, just show the pass for your discount.

Beautiful pictures Ray,thanks for sharing!

Aloha!

hawaiiantraveler - Oh, I should have known better! Yes, will do next time.

Shopping Time

By the time we got back to Shinjuku, it's dinner time. I've read that the food court in the basement of the Odakyu Department Store (小田急百貨) is one of the largest in Tokyo, but unfortunately, unlike the shops, the food court closes early. So, instead, we ate at a sit-down restaurant, still inside Odakyu. I forgot the name, but it is one of about 10 or so restaurants there, and this one specializes in rice dishes. I had a chicken on rice, while Ms H has a Hokkaido-style sushi & rice. K has some chicken wings and shrimp tempura. Total ¥4,240. Not bad, but also not the most memorable.

After that, we did some shopping upstairs in the Odakyu. Unlike Macy's here, Japanese department stores are very highly staffed and is really quite enjoyable to browse. After Odakyu (which is on the west side of the Shijuku station complex), we ventured outside for a bit, but then went into Lumine shopping center on the east side, which has a lot of young ladies' fashion. Finally, we took the Yamanote line back to Ikebukuro, and K did some more shopping at the Bic Camera there.

8/8 Saturday

JR Tickets

I was taking the Shinkansen to Kyoto that day, but I wasn't planning to buy my tickets in advance until I saw on the TV news the previous night that many reserved seats on the Tokaido Shinkansen (東海道新幹線) were already sold out. I panicked, so I got up early to go to the JR station to buy my tickets, along with Ms H and K's NEX tickets for the direct 12:33p Ikebukuro-NRT.

I first tried the machines, and indeed there were no reserved seats left for any Shinagawa-Kyoto Shinkansen trains that day. But since I want to use credit card, I had to go to the manned counter anyways. Again, the counter opened early and the agent spoke excellent English. Curiously, he was able to get me reserved tickets for many trains that day. I was going to take the Nozomi 233 that would leave Shinagawa at 2:07p. My ticket, including the Yamanote Line connection from Ikebukuro was ¥13,720. [NEX from Ikebukuro to NRT is ¥3,310 each. And that very responsible agent asked me again to confirm I was buying all these tickets for the same day; and I told him yes, I would go to Kyoto while my friends would fly out of NRT.]

I later found that there are quite a number of train ticket resellers in Japan, with perhaps 10% discount on some long-distance trains. Since the Shinkansen is not cheap, if one has time, it is probably worth an effort to check out the resellers. Also, flying is an alternative too. Looking at the fare table from ANA, their Haneda to Itami fare is cheaper than the train from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka.

More shopping

After checking out of "The b Ikebukuro", we left the luggage there and went to do some last minute shopping. We first had a quick breakfast at the cafe in the basement level of the Tobu (東武) Department Store on the west-side of the Ikebukuro while waiting for the main store to open at 10a. I bought an umbrella at the UNIQLO store for ¥790, which turned out to be extremely useful in Kyoto and Hong Kong. But while browsing in their very pretty food/confectionery department, we had the one and only communication problem with anyone. The clerk would not sell us a piece of an interesting pastry. Oh well.

After Tobu, we went back to the west side to PARCO; and with just a few minutes left before they had to catch the NEX, we hit the Seibu (西武) too. On this trip, I learned that many of the major department stores in Japan are also commuter train companies as they built the store on top of their train station. It is the case for Tobu and Seibu at Ikebukuro, Odakyu and Keio (京王) in Shinjuku, etc. Same thing with the Hankyu (阪急) in Osaka and Kyoto.

Bye Tokyo, Hello Kyoto!

It was finally time to say good bye to Tokyo. I had a lot of fun, and love the fact there are so many areas to walk around in Tokyo. And there are so many areas left to go to next time - Roppongi, Shibuya or Ueno, or the Palace or the Meiji Jingu.

Anyways, we picked up our luggage at the hotel and went back to the JR Ikebukuro station. After seeing Ms H and K off on their 12:33p N'EX, I took the Yamanote line down to Shinagawa (品川), arriving 1:04p. The Shinagawa station is large, but very modern and easy to navigate. Yamanote Line uses platform 1/2 while Shinkansen uses 21-24. The station has lots of eateries inside the gate area, perfect for passengers in transit to/from the Shinkansen. Not having Western food for 5 days, I had a set with onion soup, and spaghetti with seafood, for ¥900 at the Shinagawa Diner. Not expensive at all!

This was my 2nd time on a Shinkansen train. First time was in 1981 from Kyoto to Nagoya, on the original "0 Series". This time, on the Nozomi 233, it was a "700 Series" with 3-2 seating. I had the window seat on the left side. Nobody was in the middle seat. As expected, the train was totally on-time, leaving Shinagawa at 2:07p, stopping at Shin-Yokohama at 2:19p and Nagoya at 3:45p, arriving Kyoto at exactly 4:21p.

The distance from Shinagawa to Kyoto is 469.5km/291.7mi, which is longer than NYC to Boston or Washington, DC. But it made it in 2:14, averaging with 2 stops 210km/h or 130MPH. Pretty impressive. My only problem with the train was its A/C. The Japanese have really cranked up their thermostats after recent campaign to 82F, which is what the train feels like. 78F is more reasonable.

Sorry to hear about the weather turning bad in Hakone. Looking forward to hearing more about Kyoto. Great report with good information.

One more thing about the Shinkansen before I go on. I remembered in 1981, our trip from Kyoto to Nagoya (134.3km/83.5m) takes about an hour (or at least 50 minutes), probably with two intermediate stops. This time on the Nozomi, that stretch was done in just 36 minutes, averaging 223.8km/h or 139.1MPH.

Hotel MyStays Kyoto-Shijo

With just myself in Kyoto, I thought of staying at one of the many budget ryokans for my 3 nights there. Unfortunately, the first night was a Saturday, and several ryokans that I inquired last minute were full. I gave up on the idea, and searched elsewhere. I have no idea how I came upon a booking site called Rakuten Travel that specializes in discount Japan hotels. And I found the MyStays Kyoto-Shijo for just ¥21,000 for the three nights for single person. A quick check on Tripadvisor showed it is a very good business hotel in central Kyoto at the corner of Shijo-Dori (四条通) and Nishinotoin-Dori (西洞院通). Note that streets in Kyoto have names!

From the very modern Kyoto station, I could take the subway for two stops to Shijo (四条) and walk 1/4mi, or I could take either the #26 or #50 bus to just opposite the hotel. I picked up a bus map from the Tourist Info counter at the station, and chose the bus, taking the #26, ¥220.

Kyoto has only two subway lines but a very good bus system. Unfortunately, traffic along the busy Kawaramachi-Dor (河原町通), Shijo-Dori and Sanjo-Dori (三条通) can be horrible, and the buses can be very crowded. More on the bus later.

The hotel turned out to be very nice. My "single room" actually has a full-sized bed, just like my one in Tokyo (even though the Tokyo one was considered a "double room". But the size, amenities, etc are very similar to the "b" Ikebukuro. Only complaint - no CNN or any English-language channel. Also, my room has absolutely no view, with just a few feet of space from the windows on the next building.

Night walk

It was almost dinner time, so I walked east along Shijo-Dori to the city center. I turned north one block to the famous Nishiki Market (錦市場), but by that time all the shops were closed. I continued on to the parallel covered pedestrian arcades, Teramachi (寺町) and Shinkyogoku (新京極). I turned east again and found on Kawarachi-dori a beef-bowl place called Matsuya (松屋), which is a smaller chain than Yoshinoya that is all over Asia and L.A. A regular beef bowl with soup and salad is only ¥520. Cheaper than here.

I continued east through some very narrow alleyways, and crossed Kiyamachi-Dori (木屋町通) with the little Takase River (高瀬川) running along it. There are plenty of bars and restaurants here, reminding me of all places, Amsterdam. The next alley to the east is the famous Pontocho (先斗町) which was famous for its geisha houses, but now all high-end restaurants.

Finally, I got to the big Kamo River, or Kamogawa (鴨川). Along the banks, there was some youth festival tents set up for the summer, called 鴨川納涼. Didn't look too interesting to me, so I turned back and took bus #11 to my hotel.

I'm amazed by how reasonable the food prices are there!

yk - Well, I ate at cheap places. But some of the nice restaurants on Pontocho (some with patio overlooking the river) do advertise set dinners, starting at around ¥3,500 to ¥4,000. Of course a la carte will cost more.

8/9 Sunday

What to see, and how to get around?

The hardest thing about Kyoto is to decide what to see in my 2 days there. Reading the guidebooks, there were at least 20 places I really wanted to go. The only place I definitely remembered visiting in 1981 was Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺); while we should have also visited Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺) and/or Heian Jingu (平安神宮), I really can't remember for sure.

I realized early on that it really didn't matter where I would go. I would enjoy all of it anyways, and I was right. To maximize time to see things, I decided to visit the Higashiyama (東山, or Eastern Hills) on first day, and Arashiyama (嵐山) in the west on the 2nd day.

For Day 2, I know I will use the Keifuku (京福) tram, so I just need a one-day pass for the buses for ¥500. [A one-day bus/metro pass costs ¥1,200, while a two-day one costs ¥2,000. The bus-only pass is a much better deal, especially since there are only two subway lines and don't go to many places.]

Now about the buses. One interesting thing is that you get on from the rear door, or pay when you get off from the front. Most lines cost ¥220, but some lines that go further out can cost more, and you need to take a ticket when you get on, and pay accordingly. A very nice touch is that there's a coin changer next to the driver that accepts ¥500 coins and ¥1,000 bills. So, don't need to worry you don't have exact ¥220. And one can buy one of the passes directly from the driver.

As I mentioned before, buses can be crowded, but there's digital display and announcement in Japanese and English for the next stop. The drivers are also very courteous.

Kiyomizu-Dera

I chose to go there first because it opens early, at 6am. That way, I can maximize my sightseeing time. I took bus #207 from my hotel to the Kiyomizu-michi (清水道) at around 7. Quite a number of older people were on the bus, and they also got off there. Surprisingly, they were not going up to Kiyomizu, but they headed towards a smaller temple on the opposite side of the main roadway, Higashioji-Dori (東大道通). A banner indicates there's some sort of festival going on at the Rokudo-Chinnoji (六道珍皇寺). I wasn't planning to go there, but decided I would investigate if I have time later on.

A typhoon was approaching Japan and it was hot and humid and rainy in Kyoto for my two days there. So bad that my camera lens would fog up all the time, so I need to wipe the lens and immediately take a picture. Probably because of the weather, and also because the next weekend would be the popular "night-visit" to Kiyomizu-Dera, it was very quiet when I got up there at around 8am, after climbing the fairly gentle Kiyomizu-michi for about 15 minutes. Admission to the inner part of the temple costs a reasonable ¥300.

I followed the main visiting route, drank the water from the spring, etc... and found there is a nice teahouse next to the spring. I sat on the tatami, and had a bucket of cold tofu (about 10 pieces) and sauce, for ¥600. Very nice, light and interesting breakfast. Here are a couple of pictures:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e1bdbf838
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e9a168c1

all very interesting ray...where are those pics??

Bob - What pictures are you talking about? The thousand or so I've taken on this trip? They're on my computer, of course!

Rokudo-Chinnoji

I actually had 5 places in Higashiyama that I was most interested in visiting - besides Kiyomizu, I would also want to visit Chion-in (知恩院), Shoren-in (青蓮院), Nanzen-ji (南禅寺) as well as Ginkaku-ji (銀閣寺). But after spending like 2+ hours at Kiyomizu-Dera, I gave up the idea of visiting them all. I would just go as I wish.

So, after coming down Kiyomizu-michi, I decide to follow the ever-bigger crowd to Rokudo-Chinnoji (六道珍皇寺), to see what's going on. I found out that every year, between 8/7 and 8/10 is the time where spirits will come back from the nether world to visit their old homes (or something like that). People will go to this temple to ring the large bell there to lead their ancestors' spirits back to their home. In Japanese, it is written as 六道詣り. It was very interesting, and the line to ring the bell was blocks long around the temple.

Chion-in

After that, I took Bus #206 for 3 stops up to Chioninmae (知恩院前). It was about a 7-8 minute walk past all the HQ offices and schools of the Jodo Buddhist sect (浄土宗, or Pure Earth Sect) to get to Chion-in (知恩院). It has the largest sanmom (三門, or main gate) in Japan, built in 1619; and it is very impressive indeed. I also paid ¥500 for a combination ticket that gets me into both a side garden as well as the Ohojo (方丈) garden. Ohojo is the living quarter of the head monk (also 方丈), and I found that at these Kyoto temples, that's where the beautiful Japanese gardens are located at. And they rightly require admissions. [No fee to enter the mall hall to worship.]

A little confession... While I was taking off my shoes to enter a secondary building, I lost my balance and my camera bag crashed into one of the screen doors. These screen doors are actually made of paper, and I tore a hole in it. Nobody noticed it, but I quickly drop a ¥100 coin in the donation box for my sin.

At its giftshop, I bought a small ¥100 pastry made in a Kyoto nunnery. That was my lunch.

It was already around 1:30p by the time I left Chion-in. I walked by the entrance to Shoren-in, and decided to skip it in favor of having more time in Nanzen-ji. I walked to the bus stop on Jingumichi (神宮道) which has a great view of the humongous torii (鳥居, or gate) to the Heian Shrine (平安神宮), which I may or may not have visited in 1981. From there, I took bus #5 for 4 stops, going northeast, to the Nanzenji, Eikando-michi (南禅寺, 永観堂道) stop.

Nanzen-ji

One thing I noticed is that even though there's good public buses and maps in Kyoto, few tourists (Japanese or foreign) use them to visit the sites. Most Japanese tourists still seem to be traveling in tour groups or the Keihan (京阪) sightseeing bus. I was already surprised earlier in the day where there is no sign for the Kyomizu-Dera from the bus stop. Now, I got off the #5 bus, and there was no sign for the Nanzen-ji (南禅寺).

I initially walked the wrong way, but then turned around and found the pretty crooked and hidden route. I guess more arrive by the subway instead. Nanzen-ji is the most important Zen Buddhist temple of all of Kyoto, as it's ranked above the "Five Great Zen Temples" of Kyoto, and it is the HQ of the Nanzen branch of the important Rinzai sect.

I climbed up the Sanmon for ¥500. It seems a bit overpriced, as the view wasn't really that great. But it was still quite interesting, and I am a sucker for pagodas/towers/domes/sanmons or whatever one can climb up to. The visit of its magnificent Hojo (方丈) Garden, like at Chion-in, again charges admission of ¥500, which was well worth it.

It was about 4:15p by the time finished visiting Hojo Garden and I saw that they have a tea room inside the Hojo complex. For ¥500, one gets a green tea and a small piece of pastry. I went in and was the only person there. So, I was sitting by myself on the tatami in a private room with a private garden with a waterfall, inside the Hojo complex of the most important Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto. On a Sunday afternoon in August. All for US$5. Surreal:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e2bcbb359
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e3e6a76f3

My Lonely Planet guide recommends one to visit a small shrine behind Nanzen-ji, called Okuno-in. It was getting dark at that time, but I know that Japan is extremely safe. I was the only person on the forest path initially, passing through a cemetery, and there were small religious stone icons along the path. There was also very loud sound from the cicadas all around me. Immediately, I felt the whole forest to be alive - and I was in a scene inside a Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿) movie - like My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ), Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫), or Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し). Another very memorable moment.

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e24271669

Another cheap meal

I took the #5 bus back to my hotel and took a nice shower. I had been sweating like a pig all day and hadn't really eaten much. One block away from my hotel is another cheap eatery, called Ug-Munashi (めしや 宮本むなし). It is a chain of rice restaurants in the Chubu and Kansai area. I had a set dinner of bbq beef with rice, and soup and salad (燒肉定食). All for ¥760.

Walking back to the hotel, I passed by a small fruit stand. They were closing out, so I got two peaches for ¥280. Not as good as the "golden peach" Ms H and I shared in Hakone, but they were still pretty good.

8/10 Monday

Amazing (and Affordable) Breakfast

Here's another indication how inexpensive meals are in Japan. My hotel, MyStays Kyoto-Shijo, has a branch of chain restaurant Honke Sanukiya (高台寺 天風) and in the morning they offer two set breakfasts. Let me just show you the pictures of the one I ordered:

It came in two boxes, plus rice, and the tofu soup (heated with a tea lamp):
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e18a51d43

Top box: http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e1f44f36f
Bottom box: http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e8b7c252

Most incredible was the price, which I paid at the hotel's front desk, and just presented it to the server: ¥1,000 US$10.5 all-in. With tea.

Keifuku Arashiyama Line

So, my plan for the day was the Arashiyama (嵐山) area in western Kyoto. The best way to get there is by the Keifuku Arashiyama Line (京福嵐山本線) tram. And my hotel is just about 5 minutes walk from its Shijo-Omiya (四条大宮) terminus. This is a tram line that is single-car and shares the roadway with vehicles. It departs every 10 minutes, and cost ¥200, which is less than the bus (which has a surcharge over the base ¥220 for Arashiyama). I took the 9:20a train and arrived at the Arashiyama terminus 23 minutes later at 9:43a.

It was a nice ride, and I stood the whole way right behind the conductor (along with a kid that's about 6-year old) to watch him operates the tram! I felt like I was a kid again!

It was raining pretty hard by the time I got to Arashiyama, but I ignored it, and went over to see the Togetsu-kyo (渡月橋) over the Katsura-gawa (桂川). Then I turned around to visit the Tenryu-ji.

My 2nd most expensive meal

Tenryu-ji (天龍寺) is the HQ of the Tenryu Branch of the Rinzai Zen Buddhism sect (臨済宗), and it is #1 of the "Five Great Zen Temples" of Kyoto. Even though it is "underneath" its sister temple Nanzen-ji, but because it is the main attraction in the Arashiyama area, it seems to attract more visitors. Still, it is far from crowded on this rainy Monday morning.

I paid ¥600 for the combination ticket for both the main hall and garden. (¥500 for the garden alone). Then I saw their vegetarian restaurant Shigetsu (篩月), hidden in a corner of the garden. It was a little early for lunch and the ¥3,000 price for a set lunch seems a bit steep for me, but then I remembered that Lonely Planet said Tenryu-ji is famous for its vegetarian meal. I walked around a little more, counted my money and then went in.

I was the first customer that day, and I was led into a large tatami room with closed screen door. The kimono-clad server would kneel down to open and close the door when she enters and exits the room. I ordered the standard set lunch for ¥3,000 with "5 dishes and 1 soup", plus tea and fruits. Everything was beautifully prepared:

I sat in one of the rooms to the right:
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e1eac3b1b

Inside: http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e14f7b973

My lunch:
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e2a50840
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/ec5ff8f8

The egg plant was the only hot dish (besides the rice). The soup was chilled as well.

Later on, a couple was led into my room. Then two girls traveling together, and then another man. All Japanese tourists.

This was definitely another highlight of my trip.

Bamboo forest & Okochi-sanso Villa

I exited Tenryu-ji through its North Gate, which leads directly to the famous bamboo forest. Well, it was a lot smaller than I imagined, as I could walk through it in 2 minutes. But during those 2 minutes, because of the curvy nature of the path, I was indeed surrounded by huge bamboo, and it was quite fascinating.

At the end of the bamboo "forest" is the entrance to the Okochi-sanso Villa (大河內山莊), the private estate of the film star Okochi Denjiro (大河內傅次郎, 1898-1962). Entrance fee is ¥1,000 and it includes a tea/pastry at the tea house at the end of the visit. The residence is not open for visit, but the stroll garden is very nice, with viewpoints for both the Hozukyo (保津峡, Hozu Valley, of the same river upstream from the Togetsu-kyo) to the west, as well as Kyoto to the east. Well worth visiting. While I was there, I only saw two other visitors. I basically had the whole villa for myself.

On my way out to the train station, I stopped by Nonomiya-jinja (野宮神社) a little Shinto shrine next to Tenryu-ji. I then went trainspotting along the JR Sagano (嵯峨野) line for a little while, taking photos of passing trains, including the Sagano Tourist train.

I initially considered taking the bus to visit Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺), the famous Golden Pavilion. But it was getting late, and I decided to head back to central Kyoto to visit the Nishiki Market before it closed. So, I took the Keifuku train again and walked back to the hotel to wash up, and then headed out again.

Nishiki Market

I got to the market at around 5pm, and some shops were starting to close up. But still, I got to walk through it with most still open. There were lots of food stuff, but no longer a snack person, the only thing I ate was a shish kabeb of something called aigamo duck (アイガモ, or 合鴨), which is a cross between domestic duck and mallard. She is holding my piece, ¥150: http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/e947750

I was totally exhausted by that time, and walked back along thoroughfare Shijo-Dori. Across from the restaurant I ate the previous night, I found another similar diner that's even more popular, Yayoiken (やよい軒). It is a large chain with many stores all across Japan. And they have lots of noodles and rice sets. [Like most of these restaurants, you buy the meal ticket from a machine, then sit down wherever you like. A server to bring you water/tea and take your ticket.] I had a tekkadon (鐵火丼) combo, which includes raw tuna on rice, plus a side order of udon. All for ¥860.

Oh, want to add that there is a small exhibit inside the Okochi-sanso Villa about Okochi Denjiro's work. [Also, the Japanese name I typed above was wrong. It should be 大河内傳次郎]. One of his best-known movie was Sanshiro Sugata (姿三四郎), the first feature movie of Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明).

8/11 Tuesday

Most exciting event of my week in Japan!

My flight to Hong Kong was at 10:55a from Kansai, so I got up pretty early at 5am. I turned on the TV, and NHK news was talking non-stop about the approaching typhoon and the flooding and deaths it had already caused in western Honshu and Shikoku. Then at 5:07a, suddenly the newscaster stopped and reported there's a major earthquake at Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県), about 140km/90mi WSW of Tokyo, and 240km/150mi east of Kyoto, where I was. The most amazing thing was that because the shockwave took time to travel, I saw the lights and equipment in that NHK Tokyo studio shook a few seconds after the newscaster had already announced it. And then, perhaps another 15-20 seconds afterwards, I felt my building swaying. I would have been pretty scared if I hadn't experienced a 5.0 quake a few months earlier in L.A.

This quake was measured at 6.4 on the Richter Scale, killed one person and injured over a 100. Fortunately, no major damage. But I was most impressed by the speed information came upon through all the TV channels. Just seconds after the quake, there was already a tsunami warning issued for the coastal area, and all TV channels started to report it.

[In contrast, it was minutes after the quake in Los Angeles before there was any mention of it on the TV channels here, despite L.A. being in a major seismic area.]

My 99th airport

Because it was too early for the buses, I walked the 1/4 mile to the Shijo (四条) stop on the Kyoto subway's Karasuma (烏丸) line, and took the 6:05a train two stops to the Kyoto station, ¥210. I then bought a non-reserved ticket on the Haruka (はるか) Limited Express to Kansai Airport (KIX) for ¥2,980. Well, I later realized I should have bought a JR-West Kansai-area pass for just ¥2,000 that will cover my trip. Oh well, next time. I got on the 6:22a train, and the non-reserved cars were already quite crowded with not many empties.

The train made it to Shin-Osaka quickly in 26 minutes, but then it became the slowest "express" train I've ever ridden. Slower than the Leonardo Express from FCO to Rome-Termini. Eventually, it arrived at KIX at 7:43a. I was way early for my flight, and had to wait a bit before I could even check-in.

There weren't that many flights out of KIX, really, and there was no line at security or immigration. I had a "sandwich + coffee" combo at Cafe Kansai after immigration, and spent my last yen on some pastries for my family and friends in Hong Kong. I still had a lot of time to take plenty of aircraft pictures before boarding my ANA flight to HKG.

KIX was the 99th airport I have flown into or out of.

---

Well, folks, that was it. Thanks for reading. I will start a separate thread on the airline forum for my flights on ANA. It'll take me a while to post all my pictures, but once I have them all, I'll post the links here again.

A little summary of the public transportation I've used in the week:

NRT Limousine Bus
Tokyo Metro: Ginza, Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Yurakucho and Fukutoshin Lines
Toei Subway: Oedo Line
Yurikamome Line
Odakyu Electric: Express on Odawara Line, local on Hakone-Tozan Line
Hakone Tozan Railway
Hakone Tozan Cablecar
Hakone Ropeway: Sounzan-Owakudani and Owakudani-Togendai
Hakone Pirate Ship
Hakone Tozan Bus (Route C)
JR: Yamanote Line, Shinkansen "Nozomi" (Shinagawa-Kyoto), KIX Limited Express "Haruka"
Kyoto City Bus: 26, 11, 207, 206, 5
Keifuku Arashiyama Line
Kyoto Metro Karasuma Line

New airport: KIX, my 99th
New UNESCO World Heritage Site: 0 (been to Kyoto before)
Number of bottled green tea (¥150) consumed: too many to count

Great report as usual Ray. Love experiencing Japan through another set of eyes.

Funny about the earthquake. Japan has been experiencing quite a few recently and we leave for Tokyo in less than three weeks, yikes! Glad you made it through ok. Must have been a little leary going underground to catch the train right after a quake. I know when I have experienced one I like to stay in the open somewhere for a while and not near any tall buildings and definitely not in a subway in case of the aftershocks.

No one seems to believe me when I tell them that you can do Japan smartly and inexpensively.....hope rhkkmk is still reading,lol

Aloha!

Thanks for the fabulous report and pictures, Ray! I'm looking forward to my own trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Hakone in November so it was very helpful! I immediately thought of you when I got news of the earthquake and was hoping all was well. Strange this is that here on my island we had earthquakes the exact same days at Japan, give or take the time difference. I thought that was really odd.

hawaiiantraveler & Statia - Well, I'd have been pretty scared if I hadn't experience the earthquake in L.A. a few months earlier.

And I totally agree that Japan can be done inexpensively. As one can get from our report, I'm constantly surprised at how reasonable prices are. While not as cheap as say Hong Kong, eating in Japan is cheaper than in most places in the US.

And I should emphasize once more how much I enjoy the temples and the gardens in Kyoto. To me, they are 100x more enjoyable than say the gardens in Suzhou. They are different, but the experience of them are so much better. The sites in Kyoto are uncrowded and the visitors there are there to quietly enjoy the places; not there to get their pictures taken to show they've been there.

The other thing I was pleasantly surprised is that the English skills of most people I encoutered were actually better than I had expected. I actually experienced less problem communicating there than in some parts of France, for example. Also, the ones that do speak English - like the agents at the rail counters - have much less accent than say most the English speakers in Hong Kong.

Tokyo photos have been posted:

Gallery version: http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/tokyo0809
Slideshow version (I suggest you click on the "Auto-show captions"): http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/tokyo0809/slideshow

Looking at the photos, it seems like you got more food for your cheap breakfast than the expensive lunch!

yk - Yes, that breakfast at MyStays is an excellent deal. The vegetarian lunch at Tenryu-ji is quite special, but it is definitely not cheap at ¥3,000.

simply fantastic, both the report and finally the pics....very good pic of you with chef...
thanks ray...

i have not heard from yk about attending the boston GTG??

Alright, Hakone pictures are up:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/hakone0809

Slideshow version: http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/hakone0809/slideshow
(Again, please check box "Auto-show captions")

First part of Kyoto pictures posted:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809

Slideslow version: http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyoto0809/slideshow
(Again, please check box "Auto-show captions")

Second half of Kyoto pictures posted now:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyototwo0809
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/kyototwo0809/slideshow

fantastic pics....wow...

bob

Bob - Yeah, Kyoto is really that amazing. And consider that the weather was horrible when I was there... I was using an umbrella when taking most of those pictures.

kyoto is a sister city to boston, so we really hope to get there sooner rather than later

FYI on ATMs. 7-11 store ATMs work fine with foreign cards--at least they did with my PNC Bank card. No extra charges. I would think that the 1% charge rkkwan refers to is the VISA/MC ATM networks standard foreign exchange charge.

Thanks for the info on ATM, Paul. And yes, the 1% is the standard foreign exchange charge.

Lots of airplane pictures posted from my ANA flights LAX-NRT, KIX-HKG and HKG-NRT-LAX.

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/ana0809