Craig and Jeane Visit Japan - 2013 Trip Report
Nov 19th, 2013, 11:03 AM
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Day 12 - Day trip to Nara
Today we had an early start and got to Kyoto Station around 9 am. We quickly found the ticket office for the Kintetsu line and purchased one-way tickets. Jeane and I rode the local train since the next express train would arrive in Nara five minutes after the local. The express train takes about 35 minutes while the local takes another 10 minutes. We arrived in Nara at about 10 am. The sky was overcast again and it would drizzle from time to time throughout the day. Jeane found a good map at the information desk at the station. Most of the historic sites were located within Nara Park. We started walking to our first destination, Kofukuji Temple and its five-story pagoda.
While we were exploring the temple grounds, a man approached us and introduced himself as an English-speaking guide who could take us around Nara for free. He showed us his credentials and said that he does this so he can practice speaking English. He told us a little bit about the temple and asked if he could accompany us to the nearby Treasure Museum. We felt that he was easy to understand and told him that he could. So we headed over together. It took us about 45 minutes to get through the small museum and hearing all about the treasures in excruciating detail. At the pace we were going, it would be midnight before we left Nara. Jeane gave me a nudge and hinted that we needed to dismiss the guide. As we exited the museum, I thanked the guide and informed him that we would be moving on without him. I don’t think he took offence but I felt bad that I had to fire him, especially since he was working for free.
Our next stop was the massive temple, Todaiji, the world’s largest wooden building. It is the head Buddhist temple in Japan and like most of the sites here, dates back to the 8th century when Nara was the first permanent capital. The wide path to the temple was crowded with tourists and the ubiquitous deer that wander around the park looking for humans to give them food. The temple houses an enormous bronze statue of Buddha and was easily the most impressive site we saw that day.
As we exited the temple complex, we came upon a fairly deserted path that led us toward our next destination. Jeane decided that this would be a good time to feed the deer. She had brought bagels from the breakfast buffet just for that purpose. We found the deer to be fairly well-behaved, but persistent in their pursuit of food. The deer are smaller and not as attractive as American deer. I took a couple of photos and we moved on.
At the opposite end of the park was Kasuga Taisha, Nara’s most celebrated Shinto shrine, known for the hundreds of bronze lanterns hanging in its inner temple and the stone lanterns that line its paths. There were several Japanese parents at the temple who had brought their young boys and girls, dressed in traditional clothing so that they could pray for their health and well-being - a nice photo opportunity.
Our last stop in Nara was Naramachi, an old merchant district made up of several blocks of shops and galleries. Jeane made some small purchases - bookmarks and the like. After about an hour or so of shopping, we were ready to head to the station and take the train back to Kyoto.
Dinner with the gang that night was at Misono, a teppanyaki restaurant that Peter had recommended. We had an awesome meal - tasty Kobe beef and veggies, all cooked to perfection on a griddle right in front of us.
Next: Our Last Day in Japan and Kyoto - Arashiyama and Some Last Minute Shopping
Today we had an early start and got to Kyoto Station around 9 am. We quickly found the ticket office for the Kintetsu line and purchased one-way tickets. Jeane and I rode the local train since the next express train would arrive in Nara five minutes after the local. The express train takes about 35 minutes while the local takes another 10 minutes. We arrived in Nara at about 10 am. The sky was overcast again and it would drizzle from time to time throughout the day. Jeane found a good map at the information desk at the station. Most of the historic sites were located within Nara Park. We started walking to our first destination, Kofukuji Temple and its five-story pagoda.
While we were exploring the temple grounds, a man approached us and introduced himself as an English-speaking guide who could take us around Nara for free. He showed us his credentials and said that he does this so he can practice speaking English. He told us a little bit about the temple and asked if he could accompany us to the nearby Treasure Museum. We felt that he was easy to understand and told him that he could. So we headed over together. It took us about 45 minutes to get through the small museum and hearing all about the treasures in excruciating detail. At the pace we were going, it would be midnight before we left Nara. Jeane gave me a nudge and hinted that we needed to dismiss the guide. As we exited the museum, I thanked the guide and informed him that we would be moving on without him. I don’t think he took offence but I felt bad that I had to fire him, especially since he was working for free.
Our next stop was the massive temple, Todaiji, the world’s largest wooden building. It is the head Buddhist temple in Japan and like most of the sites here, dates back to the 8th century when Nara was the first permanent capital. The wide path to the temple was crowded with tourists and the ubiquitous deer that wander around the park looking for humans to give them food. The temple houses an enormous bronze statue of Buddha and was easily the most impressive site we saw that day.
As we exited the temple complex, we came upon a fairly deserted path that led us toward our next destination. Jeane decided that this would be a good time to feed the deer. She had brought bagels from the breakfast buffet just for that purpose. We found the deer to be fairly well-behaved, but persistent in their pursuit of food. The deer are smaller and not as attractive as American deer. I took a couple of photos and we moved on.
At the opposite end of the park was Kasuga Taisha, Nara’s most celebrated Shinto shrine, known for the hundreds of bronze lanterns hanging in its inner temple and the stone lanterns that line its paths. There were several Japanese parents at the temple who had brought their young boys and girls, dressed in traditional clothing so that they could pray for their health and well-being - a nice photo opportunity.
Our last stop in Nara was Naramachi, an old merchant district made up of several blocks of shops and galleries. Jeane made some small purchases - bookmarks and the like. After about an hour or so of shopping, we were ready to head to the station and take the train back to Kyoto.
Dinner with the gang that night was at Misono, a teppanyaki restaurant that Peter had recommended. We had an awesome meal - tasty Kobe beef and veggies, all cooked to perfection on a griddle right in front of us.
Next: Our Last Day in Japan and Kyoto - Arashiyama and Some Last Minute Shopping
Nov 19th, 2013, 01:17 PM
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Day 13 - Our Last Day in Japan and Kyoto - Arashiyama and Last Minute Shopping
For our final day in Japan we had an abundance of sunshine. I was glad we saved Arashiyama for last. We arrived shortly after 9 AM after a 45 minute taxi ride with a driver who spoke flawless English. Jeane and I learned more during that 45 minutes about Japanese religion and culture than we had in our previous 12 days in Japan. The driver dropped us Nenbutsuji, the temple at Adashino. After seeing the temple and its 1200 statues of rakan (devoted followers of Buddhism), we worked our way down the quaint narrow lane. Jeane made some purchases at a couple of the neat little gift shops just down from the temple.
When we reached the central part of Arashiyama, we asked how to get to the Torokko station, since we wanted to take the “romantic” train ride on the Torokko line. As it turned out, there are two stations plus several others for the different train lines that come into the area. We were directed to the Saga station, and when we arrived, I purchased tickets for our train ride later in the day. The ticket seller told me that we could board at either of the Arashiyama stations. This meant we could visit Tenryugi, the 14th century Zen temple and the bamboo groves before boarding the train at the other station. At Tenryugi, the main temple was being renovated so we couldn’t go in. That didn’t matter though because the real joy of visiting Tenryugi was its beautiful landscape garden and its backdrop of trees just starting to burst with color. You can enter (or exit) Tenryugi from the bamboo groves but we didn’t realize that until later.
The Torokko “romantic” train ride runs between Arashiyama and Kameoka along the scenic Hozu River. The train travels slowly and is open to the outside, making it easy to take photos. The round trip takes about an hour. We found it enjoyable and worthwhile, but it would be a waste of time if it was raining. On our return we exited at the Saga station and walked next door to the JR station. We arrived just in time to catch the next train to central Kyoto.
Jeane and I had intended to visit the Handicraft center but there was no time. Instead we walked a few blocks to Gion and returned to the shop where Jeane had seen the painting of the two Geishas. I knew this was going to take a while, given the language barrier and our previous experiences with shipping overseas purchases home. However we were able to communicate that we wanted the painting carefully packaged with its frame and shipped to the USA. It helped that the shopkeepers were able to get an English-speaking person at FedEx on the phone. The painting arrived in good shape just a couple of days after we returned home.
After purchasing the painting, Jeane just had to stop in one more shop and purchase some more of those Japanese combs that she could put in her hair. Afterwards, we hailed a cab to return to the Hyatt for final packing and to meet our gang for drinks downstairs at the Touzan bar followed by dinner at Trattoria Sette, the hotel’s Italian Restaurant. It was happy hour at Touzan and we took advantage of the inexpensive drinks. Peter settled the tab (thank you!), although I had intended for them to pass it up to the restaurant. At Trattoria Sette, nothing went right. It was so bad that the meal (if you could call it that) was comped, as was our taxi ride to the airport the next day. The details aren’t important as I believe the restaurant and hotel staff were supremely embarrassed by the entire experience. Karen wrote a review on TA, if you really need to know more. That being said, we really all enjoyed our time together that evening. At the end, we bid Karen, Bob, Peter and Linda farewell. We knew that we would be traveling together again.
Next: The Flight Home on ANA/United and Final Thoughts
For our final day in Japan we had an abundance of sunshine. I was glad we saved Arashiyama for last. We arrived shortly after 9 AM after a 45 minute taxi ride with a driver who spoke flawless English. Jeane and I learned more during that 45 minutes about Japanese religion and culture than we had in our previous 12 days in Japan. The driver dropped us Nenbutsuji, the temple at Adashino. After seeing the temple and its 1200 statues of rakan (devoted followers of Buddhism), we worked our way down the quaint narrow lane. Jeane made some purchases at a couple of the neat little gift shops just down from the temple.
When we reached the central part of Arashiyama, we asked how to get to the Torokko station, since we wanted to take the “romantic” train ride on the Torokko line. As it turned out, there are two stations plus several others for the different train lines that come into the area. We were directed to the Saga station, and when we arrived, I purchased tickets for our train ride later in the day. The ticket seller told me that we could board at either of the Arashiyama stations. This meant we could visit Tenryugi, the 14th century Zen temple and the bamboo groves before boarding the train at the other station. At Tenryugi, the main temple was being renovated so we couldn’t go in. That didn’t matter though because the real joy of visiting Tenryugi was its beautiful landscape garden and its backdrop of trees just starting to burst with color. You can enter (or exit) Tenryugi from the bamboo groves but we didn’t realize that until later.
The Torokko “romantic” train ride runs between Arashiyama and Kameoka along the scenic Hozu River. The train travels slowly and is open to the outside, making it easy to take photos. The round trip takes about an hour. We found it enjoyable and worthwhile, but it would be a waste of time if it was raining. On our return we exited at the Saga station and walked next door to the JR station. We arrived just in time to catch the next train to central Kyoto.
Jeane and I had intended to visit the Handicraft center but there was no time. Instead we walked a few blocks to Gion and returned to the shop where Jeane had seen the painting of the two Geishas. I knew this was going to take a while, given the language barrier and our previous experiences with shipping overseas purchases home. However we were able to communicate that we wanted the painting carefully packaged with its frame and shipped to the USA. It helped that the shopkeepers were able to get an English-speaking person at FedEx on the phone. The painting arrived in good shape just a couple of days after we returned home.
After purchasing the painting, Jeane just had to stop in one more shop and purchase some more of those Japanese combs that she could put in her hair. Afterwards, we hailed a cab to return to the Hyatt for final packing and to meet our gang for drinks downstairs at the Touzan bar followed by dinner at Trattoria Sette, the hotel’s Italian Restaurant. It was happy hour at Touzan and we took advantage of the inexpensive drinks. Peter settled the tab (thank you!), although I had intended for them to pass it up to the restaurant. At Trattoria Sette, nothing went right. It was so bad that the meal (if you could call it that) was comped, as was our taxi ride to the airport the next day. The details aren’t important as I believe the restaurant and hotel staff were supremely embarrassed by the entire experience. Karen wrote a review on TA, if you really need to know more. That being said, we really all enjoyed our time together that evening. At the end, we bid Karen, Bob, Peter and Linda farewell. We knew that we would be traveling together again.
Next: The Flight Home on ANA/United and Final Thoughts
Nov 20th, 2013, 01:45 AM
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Craig-I am enjoying reading your TR. I've been reading small pieces of it when I find the time. We too wanted to visit the Handicraft Museum, but got there 20 minutes before closing so only saw a little. It did look very interesting, and I may go back tomorrow.
Kavey-We just returned from Nara and I must say that Kasuga Taisha was the biggest disappointment of our trip. You hardly see anything for the $5 admission fee. The grounds which are free were so much more worthwhile than going through the gate. One of the buildings is totally covered and you can't even see into the others. We were out of there in less than 10 minutes. Nevertheless, we did enjoyed our day in Nara.
Kavey-We just returned from Nara and I must say that Kasuga Taisha was the biggest disappointment of our trip. You hardly see anything for the $5 admission fee. The grounds which are free were so much more worthwhile than going through the gate. One of the buildings is totally covered and you can't even see into the others. We were out of there in less than 10 minutes. Nevertheless, we did enjoyed our day in Nara.
Nov 20th, 2013, 04:48 AM
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Sayonara, Japan...
We had to rise at 4 AM in order to meet our taxi to Itami Airport at 5:25 AM. We really don’t like these early morning flights but in order to connect to our trans-Pacific flight in Tokyo, we needed the 7:55 AM departure. Itami is located in Osaka, so it was a bit of a drive. However, Jeane and I arrived in plenty of time. The driver dropped us at the domestic departures area so we were directed to the area that handles international connections. Our flights were on ANA, one of my favorite airlines. We had a fabulous view of Fuji-san poking through the clouds on our flight from Itami to Narita. From Tokyo we flew to Washington Dulles in business class, sleeping for much of the flight. We went through customs at Dulles and transferred to a United flight in a one-class aircraft to Hartford. Because we arrived on an airline other than United and were not flying in first on the domestic leg, we had to use passes that we receive with our Mileage Plus Explorer Visa card to get into the United business class lounge. We arrived in Hartford in mid-afternoon and it was nice to have the remainder of the day to unpack and reacclimate ourselves.
This trip was one of our favorites, but not for the same reasons that we loved Myanmar, Bali, Thailand, India and Bhutan. Our trip to Japan had a social component - time spent with other Fodorites, and that’s what made it really special. We will return to Japan, but not right away. Next year, we are traveling to Bali to reunite with our friends and then continuing on to Sydney before returning home via Singapore. Having limited ourselves to central Japan, we barely scratched the surface of this fascinating country. I regret that we did not ride the bullet train and I believe we missed out by not visiting Hakone. These are just some of the reasons to go back. Finally, I want to thank all of those who assisted us in our trip planning, especially Peter (Hawaiiantraveler), Lucy (Lcuy), DonTopaz, Bill (mrwnrfl) and anyone else that I may have inadvertently left out.
We had to rise at 4 AM in order to meet our taxi to Itami Airport at 5:25 AM. We really don’t like these early morning flights but in order to connect to our trans-Pacific flight in Tokyo, we needed the 7:55 AM departure. Itami is located in Osaka, so it was a bit of a drive. However, Jeane and I arrived in plenty of time. The driver dropped us at the domestic departures area so we were directed to the area that handles international connections. Our flights were on ANA, one of my favorite airlines. We had a fabulous view of Fuji-san poking through the clouds on our flight from Itami to Narita. From Tokyo we flew to Washington Dulles in business class, sleeping for much of the flight. We went through customs at Dulles and transferred to a United flight in a one-class aircraft to Hartford. Because we arrived on an airline other than United and were not flying in first on the domestic leg, we had to use passes that we receive with our Mileage Plus Explorer Visa card to get into the United business class lounge. We arrived in Hartford in mid-afternoon and it was nice to have the remainder of the day to unpack and reacclimate ourselves.
This trip was one of our favorites, but not for the same reasons that we loved Myanmar, Bali, Thailand, India and Bhutan. Our trip to Japan had a social component - time spent with other Fodorites, and that’s what made it really special. We will return to Japan, but not right away. Next year, we are traveling to Bali to reunite with our friends and then continuing on to Sydney before returning home via Singapore. Having limited ourselves to central Japan, we barely scratched the surface of this fascinating country. I regret that we did not ride the bullet train and I believe we missed out by not visiting Hakone. These are just some of the reasons to go back. Finally, I want to thank all of those who assisted us in our trip planning, especially Peter (Hawaiiantraveler), Lucy (Lcuy), DonTopaz, Bill (mrwnrfl) and anyone else that I may have inadvertently left out.
Nov 20th, 2013, 09:07 AM
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Craig and Jeane,
Thank you for your trip report.
I just reread it and had the vicarious pleasure of sharing your travels once again.
A good mix of sights, advice and itinerary ideas
Kanazawa is on the list of must sees for our next trip to Japan.
Car rental will be on the list and the parking brake tip is noted.
I found this trip blog that has a good overview of Kanazawa with a video tour of your machiya
http://honeytrek.com/crash-course-the-japanese-arts/
What airline did you use to fly to Wajima?
Again thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed trip report
Thank you for your trip report.
I just reread it and had the vicarious pleasure of sharing your travels once again.
A good mix of sights, advice and itinerary ideas
Kanazawa is on the list of must sees for our next trip to Japan.
Car rental will be on the list and the parking brake tip is noted.
I found this trip blog that has a good overview of Kanazawa with a video tour of your machiya
http://honeytrek.com/crash-course-the-japanese-arts/
What airline did you use to fly to Wajima?
Again thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed trip report
Nov 20th, 2013, 02:19 PM
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Thanks for your report, Craig. It's great to read about what fellow Fodorites were doing in japan. We have just arrived home. My goal is to get my trip report completed and posted by the end of the weekend. I don't dare post today - the jetlag interferes with my proof-reading!
Nov 21st, 2013, 01:21 PM
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Oh, and the video above is worth watching, just to see what an amazing job KimJapan does with her company, The Art of Travel. I had mentioned her before, but a good part of the success of our trip can be attributed to her: [email protected]
Nov 21st, 2013, 03:46 PM
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Mike and Anne, the Honeytrek couple, were so gracious and game for anything. Check out their blog - they've been traveling almost two years now I think and have been to some pretty amazing places. What a great idea they had for a honeymoon!
Nov 22nd, 2013, 01:43 PM
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Well done Craig, and warm Saturday morning greetings from sweet Seoul, South Korea.
Many thanks for taking the time to convey such thoughtful information and impressions. Writers like you make being on the road for work that much more enjoyable. (And Kathie, I'll eventually get around to your always magnificent reviews. And, should the esteemed Kim J see this post, two rather well-travelled friends speak highly of your Art of Travel; keep up the good work.)
Craig, noticed one of your profile page activities is hiking. Well, have a sweet one for you and Jeane. Am very privileged to travel to Tokyo for work, but will always have the fondest Japan memories of ascending to the top of Fuji-san, *years ago* with some cherished friends. A long-time family connection, 'Mr. Kita', from Kyoto, was instrumental in arranging all particulars. July, full-moon ascent, with most memorable sunrise summit. (Then, have been a full-on hiking/climbing fanatic from childhood.)
Also noticed you may be returning to our fine home of Singapore for short stay, along with Bali and Sydney holiday. (Have always had most acceptable, albeit infrequent, working stays at the Sydney Park Hyatt, and as for Bali, have always savoured each and every holiday.) As always, honoured to offer SIN lodging, dining, and recreational reccos (along with a certain cherished Singaporean airline, and what is rapidly becoming my alternate Singapore office and home, beloved Changi). So many (ongoing) SIN changes since your last visit.
All for now; thanks again and early Thanksgiving wishes to you and all. (I get to celebrate the American holiday with colleagues and friends in SF Bay Area - with eventual SFO arrival with SQ16, thank you.) Warm wishes from Seoul,
macintosh (robert)
... Singapore Airlines, You're a Great Way to Fly ...
Many thanks for taking the time to convey such thoughtful information and impressions. Writers like you make being on the road for work that much more enjoyable. (And Kathie, I'll eventually get around to your always magnificent reviews. And, should the esteemed Kim J see this post, two rather well-travelled friends speak highly of your Art of Travel; keep up the good work.)
Craig, noticed one of your profile page activities is hiking. Well, have a sweet one for you and Jeane. Am very privileged to travel to Tokyo for work, but will always have the fondest Japan memories of ascending to the top of Fuji-san, *years ago* with some cherished friends. A long-time family connection, 'Mr. Kita', from Kyoto, was instrumental in arranging all particulars. July, full-moon ascent, with most memorable sunrise summit. (Then, have been a full-on hiking/climbing fanatic from childhood.)
Also noticed you may be returning to our fine home of Singapore for short stay, along with Bali and Sydney holiday. (Have always had most acceptable, albeit infrequent, working stays at the Sydney Park Hyatt, and as for Bali, have always savoured each and every holiday.) As always, honoured to offer SIN lodging, dining, and recreational reccos (along with a certain cherished Singaporean airline, and what is rapidly becoming my alternate Singapore office and home, beloved Changi). So many (ongoing) SIN changes since your last visit.
All for now; thanks again and early Thanksgiving wishes to you and all. (I get to celebrate the American holiday with colleagues and friends in SF Bay Area - with eventual SFO arrival with SQ16, thank you.) Warm wishes from Seoul,
macintosh (robert)
... Singapore Airlines, You're a Great Way to Fly ...
Nov 22nd, 2013, 04:26 PM
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Craig I am so glad to have found your report, and I am pee green with envy that we missed the Fodorite Tokyo gathering. I would have loved to have heard that shouted out welcome! I remember how hard you worked on planning your trip and it sounds like you reaped the benefits.
When exactly did you go - October?
When exactly did you go - October?
