EMD trip report: Japan 2006, w/a teenage girl
May 9th, 2006, 06:08 AM
#61
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Hi kappa. Ichinoyu is the ryokan we stayed at in Hakone.
I've been sick w/a really nasty virus since I wrote the last installment of this trip report, but I am starting to recover and will get back to this report soon.
I've been sick w/a really nasty virus since I wrote the last installment of this trip report, but I am starting to recover and will get back to this report soon.
May 11th, 2006, 04:46 AM
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It was modified (not upper level) in that they did not do the following things that I think one would associate w/an upper level ryokan: serving dinner in the room (they serve it in a large dining hall), putting out the futons for you, and general level of service. Ichinoyu is more basic. You get the rm., some atmosphere, use of the baths, and the meals in the dining hall if you choose them. I think this is adequately reflected in the price (significantly less than ryokans w/more service), and I actually wouldn't want any more service than we got.
The room we had at Ichinoyu was somewhat worn too. But it was great for us at the price, esp. that private outdoor tub overlooking the river.
I'm still recovering but will get back to the posting soon...
The room we had at Ichinoyu was somewhat worn too. But it was great for us at the price, esp. that private outdoor tub overlooking the river.
I'm still recovering but will get back to the posting soon...
May 22nd, 2006, 04:41 PM
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Oh gosh, I have been thinking about getting back to this report, but it has been busy since I was sick and then had a girl scouting weekend w/daughter.
OK, I'll get back to the report tomorrow!
OK, I'll get back to the report tomorrow!
May 23rd, 2006, 06:30 AM
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Day 11, Mon., 4/17/06
The Okura Hotel:
The Okura Hotel is nice and upscale. The concierges speak better English than they did at the Westin Miyako last year. I find this important as I rely more on them on this trip, asking them for bus directions, getting train reservations from them, etc. The front desk clerks speak OK English, and the bell staff do not speak English. One really great thing about this hotel is location. It is on the edge (1 block from) the center part of the city, where the action is at night. All the department stores and many restaurants are there, as well as Teramachi-dori, the covered shopping area and Nishiki food market. One night we were able to walk from Kyoto station all the way to the hotel, shopping and stopping for dinner. Also, behind the hotel there is a nice quiet area that is more like a neighborhood, with small shops and dining places, and I walked there several mornings. There is a post office right behind the hotel, and bus stops also behind it. The subway is next door. And JTB has an office on the st. next to the hotel. I much preferred the location over the Westin, which is in a very quiet area and once we were there in the evening we had to make more of an effort to go back out.
Another great thing about this hotel is there are several restaurants (a noodle place, Chinese, breakfast/lunch café, Japanese, not affiliated w/the hotel) and shops (including a convenience type store for drinks and things you forgot in the basement of the hotel. Even better, the basement is connected to the subway, so you don’t even have to go out if it is raining to catch the subway. And best of all, that underground subway area is connected to a very large (two lanes, each equivalent to three city blocks long) dining and shopping area called “Zest”. I spent mornings down there having latte and all kinds of breakfast goodies (love those kolache type ones that have the little sausages in them), waiting for Celine to wake up. Those things alone combine to make this a wonderful choice for a hotel.
I paid 25200 yen per night total for the rm., and booked it six months before the trip, a bargain as the rms. were selling later for 47500 yen. We were on the 15th fl., looking out over the main st. in front of the hotel. It was not completely quiet as there was some st. noise, but I could sleep fine (and I am a very light sleeper) and I liked the view over central Kyoto and beyond. The room was large and nicely furnished w/newish modern dark wood furniture, had two very comfortable double beds w/great fluffy linens (billed as queens but they are doubles), a good sized TV, lots of dresser space, a table and chairs at the window, desk, remote controlled drapes and lights, and the BEST set up I have ever seen for two people. There is an entry hall w/bathrm. to the right, and then a door that closes before the hall enters the rm. This means that in the morning I can close that door to the entry hall and set up my “office” in the bathrm. and have the closet right there to dress, with no chance of waking Celine. I wish every hotel did this.
The hotel provides “cappuccino” cassettes in the rm. that cost 400 yen apiece, and of course a hot pot for water. There is a fridge and minibar, big enough for us to store extra drinks and cheese, and a safe. There is a sound speaker in the bathrm. and many radio stations available on the TV, so I could also listen to music in the bathrm in the morning (and have it turned completely down in the rm. while Celine is sleeping). There is CNN and one other station w/movies in English. Bathrm. amenities are good, and they even provide bath salts for the deep soaking tub. Shower is glass enclosed and separate from the tub.
Our Day:
We got up early and took the bus directly to Ginkakuji (Sliver Pavillion) to start our walking tour of the Path of Philosophy. Both of us were underwhelmed w/this small temple, and the paths were very narrow and it was too crowded. But the Path was wonderful, following a small canal, and the cherry blossoms were still in bloom, hanging over the canal. It was very pretty and relaxing walking this path. We did not stop much, but there are good opportunities for antique shopping and arts on the path. Celine enjoyed walking by the high school and seeing the boys out at P.E. We both really enjoyed Nanzenji, and we were almost sompletely alone there. I purposefully did no reading on these temples beforehand, so I did not realize how large the Nanzenji complex is, and we took our time walking all the way around it and reading about its history as the most famous Zen temple in the world as we walked. The aqueduct was really impressive. Walking the path and Nanzenji took us a little over an hr. and half.
Once you leave the Nanzenji complex and turn left, you can walk right to the Westin Miyako in two minutes. We entered the Keage subway station next to the Westin and took the subway back to the hotel as Celine had forgotten her cell phone. At 11 a.m. we took bus #59 behind the hotel to Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavillion, a 30 min. ride. The bus was crowded to the point where no on else could have squeezed in. Kinkakuji is smaller than it looks in the pictures, but it is beautiful. It is also crowded. I really find that I like the temples that are not crowded and could leave the crowded ones out with out any regret, regardless of whether they are must sees or not (except Kiyomizudera- that one is worth the crowds and is so big and sprawling that it doesn’t seem as crowded as these smaller ones like Ginkakuji and Kinkakuji). We breezed through the grounds.
We then got on the bus right outside the temple going towards Diatokuji temple, about 10 min. away. This is a very large walled temple complex, almost like a little city with stone paved streets running through it. We had lunch reservations at Izusen, which serves shojin-ryori Zen cuisine. We had a hard time finding it in the maze of paths in the complex. When we stepped in, it was very apparent that we were the only gaijin there. The hostess ran over and motioned us to the door, saying “this is Zen restaurant”, as if we had accidentally walked in. I explained that we had reservations and she showed us to our floor table. Izusen employs what is called “Teppatsu” style, which means that your food comes in bowls that stack up inside each other once you are done eating each portion.
We each ordered a lunch set that cost about $35-40. I am a very adventurous eater and I can say this is the strangest food I have ever tasted. Everything is very squishy and jelly looking; it did not look or taste like traditional tofu. It is yuba (soy milk skimmings) and fu (wheat gluten) based. To be honest, it tasted awful to us and although we tried each bowl of different food, we could not eat any of it past the first taste. I think the branch of Izusen at Kyoto station is much less traditional and they have other options available besides the couple of yuba and fu based lunch sets at the temple location. Anyway, that is the last time either of us will eat this type of Zen cuisine.
We then took a cab to Kitano station ($6) and got on the small electric train to Arashiyama (220 yen). We talked to a British man who teaches in Kyoto while on the train, and he was so engages in talking w/us that he missed his stop. Arashiyama is touristy in the area right outside the station, w/lots of souveneir shops. (There is a separate JR station a bit further away from the river, another 10 min. walk). We walked out of the station and took a left to cross the long bridge over the side river. Even on a Monday afternoon there were lots of people.
After crossing the bridge we went right at the monkey sign, and took almost an immediate left to enter the monkey park. We paid at the entrance and then started the very steep 25 min. climb up to the park. As we got to the top, Celine turned and motioned for me to be quiet, as there was a big monkey on the path. We were both somewhat skiddish about walking past this large monkey, but we scooted by him together, and then realized that there were 5 other monkeys looking down at us from a tree. At the top of the small mountain is an open area w/ a hut. We were motioned inside by a researcher, and there we were able to buy apple slices and nuts to feed the monkeys through chain link windows. The monkeys are very active and jump onto the hut and swing off the windows, happily grabbing whatever is handed to them. It was clear who they dominant males are as when they jump on the windows, the other monkeys get out of their way and let them have the food. Celine especially enjoyed the baby monkeys, and she was brave enough to go outside to watch them (w/the researchers always standing between you and the monkeys). We spent about an hour here and were the only gaijin there. We really liked this place, it is very unique. The path down is not as steep as the one up.
We then crossed back over the bridge and walked a short way past a temple on the left side of the main street and took a left to walk through the Sagano Bamboo forest. It was a good thing I had 4 maps of the Kyoto area w/me this day (I used them all), and a really good thing I had the JNTO Kyoto Walks map, as it was by far the most accurate one of this area and the only one that had the bamboo forest on it. Walking on the path through the bamboo forest was very cool, especially hearing the huge bamboo “knock” together when the wind blew. Bamboo have leaves only at the very top of the stalk and they rustle nicely in the breeze also. We loved this walk.
I was a bit confused on how to get back to Kyoto but we decided to use the JR station and our JR passes. By the time we were at the end of the bamboo walk we were pretty far from the JR station and were tired. There is a small electric train that goes only one stop – from the end of the bamboo forest to a stop close to the JR station. We went to the window to try to get on it but the man said it would be 660 yen apiece. I thought this was way too much for one stop and declared that we would walk, using the JNTO map. Celine was a tropper and off we went, back through the bamboo forest and all the way to the JR station (a 30 min. walk).
When we got to the JR station I asked which of the two platforms went back to Kyoto and the station man motioned that we should cross to the other side of the tracks. This seemed intuitively wrong to me, but we followed his directions. Once the train started moving, I knew we were going away from Kyoto. I was frustrated, as we were tired and hungry and it was 6 p.m. It took a LONG time to get to the 1st stop where we could have gotten off to go back, but by then we were so mesmerized by the scenery that we stayed on for another stop! This train goes through tunnels and over (WAY UP high over) two amazingly deep and beautiful river gorges. It looked like pictures I have seen of the Columbia River Gorge. The train was full of students in uniforms, apparently taking this train to their homes far west of Kyoto. We got off 20 min. later at the second stop and got on the train back to Nijo station and then 3 stops on the subway to the hotel.
We were incredibly sacked after this long day of walking and stayed in that evening.
The Okura Hotel:
The Okura Hotel is nice and upscale. The concierges speak better English than they did at the Westin Miyako last year. I find this important as I rely more on them on this trip, asking them for bus directions, getting train reservations from them, etc. The front desk clerks speak OK English, and the bell staff do not speak English. One really great thing about this hotel is location. It is on the edge (1 block from) the center part of the city, where the action is at night. All the department stores and many restaurants are there, as well as Teramachi-dori, the covered shopping area and Nishiki food market. One night we were able to walk from Kyoto station all the way to the hotel, shopping and stopping for dinner. Also, behind the hotel there is a nice quiet area that is more like a neighborhood, with small shops and dining places, and I walked there several mornings. There is a post office right behind the hotel, and bus stops also behind it. The subway is next door. And JTB has an office on the st. next to the hotel. I much preferred the location over the Westin, which is in a very quiet area and once we were there in the evening we had to make more of an effort to go back out.
Another great thing about this hotel is there are several restaurants (a noodle place, Chinese, breakfast/lunch café, Japanese, not affiliated w/the hotel) and shops (including a convenience type store for drinks and things you forgot in the basement of the hotel. Even better, the basement is connected to the subway, so you don’t even have to go out if it is raining to catch the subway. And best of all, that underground subway area is connected to a very large (two lanes, each equivalent to three city blocks long) dining and shopping area called “Zest”. I spent mornings down there having latte and all kinds of breakfast goodies (love those kolache type ones that have the little sausages in them), waiting for Celine to wake up. Those things alone combine to make this a wonderful choice for a hotel.
I paid 25200 yen per night total for the rm., and booked it six months before the trip, a bargain as the rms. were selling later for 47500 yen. We were on the 15th fl., looking out over the main st. in front of the hotel. It was not completely quiet as there was some st. noise, but I could sleep fine (and I am a very light sleeper) and I liked the view over central Kyoto and beyond. The room was large and nicely furnished w/newish modern dark wood furniture, had two very comfortable double beds w/great fluffy linens (billed as queens but they are doubles), a good sized TV, lots of dresser space, a table and chairs at the window, desk, remote controlled drapes and lights, and the BEST set up I have ever seen for two people. There is an entry hall w/bathrm. to the right, and then a door that closes before the hall enters the rm. This means that in the morning I can close that door to the entry hall and set up my “office” in the bathrm. and have the closet right there to dress, with no chance of waking Celine. I wish every hotel did this.
The hotel provides “cappuccino” cassettes in the rm. that cost 400 yen apiece, and of course a hot pot for water. There is a fridge and minibar, big enough for us to store extra drinks and cheese, and a safe. There is a sound speaker in the bathrm. and many radio stations available on the TV, so I could also listen to music in the bathrm in the morning (and have it turned completely down in the rm. while Celine is sleeping). There is CNN and one other station w/movies in English. Bathrm. amenities are good, and they even provide bath salts for the deep soaking tub. Shower is glass enclosed and separate from the tub.
Our Day:
We got up early and took the bus directly to Ginkakuji (Sliver Pavillion) to start our walking tour of the Path of Philosophy. Both of us were underwhelmed w/this small temple, and the paths were very narrow and it was too crowded. But the Path was wonderful, following a small canal, and the cherry blossoms were still in bloom, hanging over the canal. It was very pretty and relaxing walking this path. We did not stop much, but there are good opportunities for antique shopping and arts on the path. Celine enjoyed walking by the high school and seeing the boys out at P.E. We both really enjoyed Nanzenji, and we were almost sompletely alone there. I purposefully did no reading on these temples beforehand, so I did not realize how large the Nanzenji complex is, and we took our time walking all the way around it and reading about its history as the most famous Zen temple in the world as we walked. The aqueduct was really impressive. Walking the path and Nanzenji took us a little over an hr. and half.
Once you leave the Nanzenji complex and turn left, you can walk right to the Westin Miyako in two minutes. We entered the Keage subway station next to the Westin and took the subway back to the hotel as Celine had forgotten her cell phone. At 11 a.m. we took bus #59 behind the hotel to Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavillion, a 30 min. ride. The bus was crowded to the point where no on else could have squeezed in. Kinkakuji is smaller than it looks in the pictures, but it is beautiful. It is also crowded. I really find that I like the temples that are not crowded and could leave the crowded ones out with out any regret, regardless of whether they are must sees or not (except Kiyomizudera- that one is worth the crowds and is so big and sprawling that it doesn’t seem as crowded as these smaller ones like Ginkakuji and Kinkakuji). We breezed through the grounds.
We then got on the bus right outside the temple going towards Diatokuji temple, about 10 min. away. This is a very large walled temple complex, almost like a little city with stone paved streets running through it. We had lunch reservations at Izusen, which serves shojin-ryori Zen cuisine. We had a hard time finding it in the maze of paths in the complex. When we stepped in, it was very apparent that we were the only gaijin there. The hostess ran over and motioned us to the door, saying “this is Zen restaurant”, as if we had accidentally walked in. I explained that we had reservations and she showed us to our floor table. Izusen employs what is called “Teppatsu” style, which means that your food comes in bowls that stack up inside each other once you are done eating each portion.
We each ordered a lunch set that cost about $35-40. I am a very adventurous eater and I can say this is the strangest food I have ever tasted. Everything is very squishy and jelly looking; it did not look or taste like traditional tofu. It is yuba (soy milk skimmings) and fu (wheat gluten) based. To be honest, it tasted awful to us and although we tried each bowl of different food, we could not eat any of it past the first taste. I think the branch of Izusen at Kyoto station is much less traditional and they have other options available besides the couple of yuba and fu based lunch sets at the temple location. Anyway, that is the last time either of us will eat this type of Zen cuisine.
We then took a cab to Kitano station ($6) and got on the small electric train to Arashiyama (220 yen). We talked to a British man who teaches in Kyoto while on the train, and he was so engages in talking w/us that he missed his stop. Arashiyama is touristy in the area right outside the station, w/lots of souveneir shops. (There is a separate JR station a bit further away from the river, another 10 min. walk). We walked out of the station and took a left to cross the long bridge over the side river. Even on a Monday afternoon there were lots of people.
After crossing the bridge we went right at the monkey sign, and took almost an immediate left to enter the monkey park. We paid at the entrance and then started the very steep 25 min. climb up to the park. As we got to the top, Celine turned and motioned for me to be quiet, as there was a big monkey on the path. We were both somewhat skiddish about walking past this large monkey, but we scooted by him together, and then realized that there were 5 other monkeys looking down at us from a tree. At the top of the small mountain is an open area w/ a hut. We were motioned inside by a researcher, and there we were able to buy apple slices and nuts to feed the monkeys through chain link windows. The monkeys are very active and jump onto the hut and swing off the windows, happily grabbing whatever is handed to them. It was clear who they dominant males are as when they jump on the windows, the other monkeys get out of their way and let them have the food. Celine especially enjoyed the baby monkeys, and she was brave enough to go outside to watch them (w/the researchers always standing between you and the monkeys). We spent about an hour here and were the only gaijin there. We really liked this place, it is very unique. The path down is not as steep as the one up.
We then crossed back over the bridge and walked a short way past a temple on the left side of the main street and took a left to walk through the Sagano Bamboo forest. It was a good thing I had 4 maps of the Kyoto area w/me this day (I used them all), and a really good thing I had the JNTO Kyoto Walks map, as it was by far the most accurate one of this area and the only one that had the bamboo forest on it. Walking on the path through the bamboo forest was very cool, especially hearing the huge bamboo “knock” together when the wind blew. Bamboo have leaves only at the very top of the stalk and they rustle nicely in the breeze also. We loved this walk.
I was a bit confused on how to get back to Kyoto but we decided to use the JR station and our JR passes. By the time we were at the end of the bamboo walk we were pretty far from the JR station and were tired. There is a small electric train that goes only one stop – from the end of the bamboo forest to a stop close to the JR station. We went to the window to try to get on it but the man said it would be 660 yen apiece. I thought this was way too much for one stop and declared that we would walk, using the JNTO map. Celine was a tropper and off we went, back through the bamboo forest and all the way to the JR station (a 30 min. walk).
When we got to the JR station I asked which of the two platforms went back to Kyoto and the station man motioned that we should cross to the other side of the tracks. This seemed intuitively wrong to me, but we followed his directions. Once the train started moving, I knew we were going away from Kyoto. I was frustrated, as we were tired and hungry and it was 6 p.m. It took a LONG time to get to the 1st stop where we could have gotten off to go back, but by then we were so mesmerized by the scenery that we stayed on for another stop! This train goes through tunnels and over (WAY UP high over) two amazingly deep and beautiful river gorges. It looked like pictures I have seen of the Columbia River Gorge. The train was full of students in uniforms, apparently taking this train to their homes far west of Kyoto. We got off 20 min. later at the second stop and got on the train back to Nijo station and then 3 stops on the subway to the hotel.
We were incredibly sacked after this long day of walking and stayed in that evening.
May 25th, 2006, 10:24 AM
#71
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emd:
Sorry you didn't like Izusen....I guess growing up with that type of food I knew what I was eating(Squishy, slimy vegies and kanten)so it was always ok.
I also did not like one of the dashi they used in one dish but did not have the bad taste experience you had.
Aloha!
Sorry you didn't like Izusen....I guess growing up with that type of food I knew what I was eating(Squishy, slimy vegies and kanten)so it was always ok.
I also did not like one of the dashi they used in one dish but did not have the bad taste experience you had.
Aloha!
May 25th, 2006, 11:28 AM
#72
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hi hawaii! Izusen was very nice, esp. being on the grounds of the temple complex and the garden was nice. And the presentation was good. I should have done more research into exactly what that style of Buddhist vegetarian food is, and if I had done that I would have realized it wasn't for us. It is nothing like tofu-based meals and for some reason I thought it was more like that. It was the vegetarian part that attracted me since Celine is vegetarian and we had had a hard time finding variety on the dinners for her. But we laugh about it now, because Celine is a hearty eater and will eat anything (except meat and fish), and now we laugh that we finally found something she doesn't like!
May 25th, 2006, 05:23 PM
#73
I'm really enjoying your report! And travelling with teen girls....We had two of them for eight years! Even my trip to India had a few "teen moments" and DD was 21 by then! I always foungd the "I am going to let you make arrangements for your own meals and entertainment for the next x hours if you can't appreciate my hard work on this trip" worked well.
Surprised to hear about the Japan Solo map. I made a note in my copy. I really prefer the Gateway maps, but Japan Solo has such nice plans that I use it too. I always get lost anyway, so I next time I'll blame the book, not my navigational skills
Keep going now... Being deathly ill and overtaxed at work is not a good enough excuse for some of us....!!
Surprised to hear about the Japan Solo map. I made a note in my copy. I really prefer the Gateway maps, but Japan Solo has such nice plans that I use it too. I always get lost anyway, so I next time I'll blame the book, not my navigational skills
Keep going now... Being deathly ill and overtaxed at work is not a good enough excuse for some of us....!!
May 25th, 2006, 05:49 PM
#74
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Thanks Lucy! As you know my writing style is detailed and it takes a long time to do one entry here. But I will try to do a few more days tomorrow and get this wrapped up over the long weekend. I am anxious to start planning my next trip but I need closure on this one first.
That's good to know about your daughter, although I was hoping we'd be over this by age 20! I know Celine loved this trip. Having 2 teens is stretching and developing my patience and parenting skills, that is for sure.
That's good to know about your daughter, although I was hoping we'd be over this by age 20! I know Celine loved this trip. Having 2 teens is stretching and developing my patience and parenting skills, that is for sure.
May 25th, 2006, 06:24 PM
#75
And I can vouch for the fact that these family (and especiallly mother/child) trips do strengthen your relationship. Although we only will have about 8 days at the end of summer when both girls can travel, they are already putting in their requests...will it be colonial Mexico?
If so, can we then squeeze in a trip to either Cambodia or Peru over Christmas? I get to travel, and have my family come along willingly. What could be better? It maKes all the past sulkiness (by them, and husband, too
) well worth it!
Really though, take your time. I love your detailed reports!
If so, can we then squeeze in a trip to either Cambodia or Peru over Christmas? I get to travel, and have my family come along willingly. What could be better? It maKes all the past sulkiness (by them, and husband, too
) well worth it!Really though, take your time. I love your detailed reports!
May 26th, 2006, 09:33 AM
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Day 12, Tues, 4/18/06
We got up early and left the room at 7 a.m. and after stopping at the concierge desk to see if we could get tickets to the Giants/Swallows game that night (and finding out that the fan section was sold out and I could not find out what other seats were available unless I went to Osaka Dome) we headed by subway to Fushimi Inari shrine. This shrine is open 24/7 so we knew it would be a good place to go in early morning. We exited the station and turned left to walk the street up to the shrine. We had not had breakfast and there was a lady sweeping outside her udon shop and she motioned us inside. She had not really opened yet but she served us the best kitsune udon of the entire trip. I also had her make me the only sushi I had on the entire trip, a tuna roll, and we both had very fresh inari.
We headed up towards the shrine (at the end of the st. we were on) as most shops were still closed. We started walking the shrine, going through the thousands of tori gates and it was very magical. Apparently businesses pay for the orange tori that make up the shrine, in order to bring good luck to their businesses, and some tori can cost the businesses equivalent of 20K and up to 75K USD. Each tori has a plaque or inscription on one of the poles w/info on the business it represents. We stopped at the first 3 shires of the 5 along the tori route, and walked for about 45 min., then decided we had had enough and wanted to leave. It only took about 30 min to get back, as we were going downhill.
When we got to the bottom, the shops were open, and Celine was aghast at the little sparrows that were being grilled on sticks (like a corndog) outside some of the restaurants. We stopped so I could buy something for my garden, a ceramic cat w/a bell inside, and the woman there spoke some English and engaged Celine (who is a bit shy) in some conversation about what she liked about Japan. This lady was very sweet and gave me a handmade gift tag (made by her daughter) for the second cat bell I decided to buy from her for a friend. I really enjoyed the statues of the foxes at the shrine and wanted to get one for my garden, but they weigh a lot (concrete) and there was no way to drag the thing where we were headed.
There are many pictures of the many orange tori on the web, but for any of you wanting to see the gate at the shrine, and listen to cool bit of background music, here is the Fushimi Inari website: http://inari.jp/
At about 9:45 a.m.we boarded the JR train and headed to Kyoto Station to take the shinkansen at 10:20, as we were going to Hiroshima and stopping at Himeji along the way. We boarded the Hikari to Himeji (unreserved car, not a problem at all) and arrived in Himeji at 11:15. We walked straight out of the station and it was COLD and very windy. So instead of walking the 20 min. to the castle we hopped easily on a bus (they come every few min. going up and down the main street that leads right to the castle. We were at the castle in just a few min.
We LOVED Himeji castle! We had some webpages to read through about the history and it was a lot of fun to walk those INCREDIBLY narrow and steep stairs to the top of the castle, stopping on each floor to look out the windows and see the exhibits. The stairs are like those on a ship, narrow, steep and a bit claustrophobic. They give you slippers to wear (not optional, you must remove your shoes), but I could not wear them on the stairs as I would have slipped. When I got my slippers, I accidentally had one pair inside the other (hard to explain this, you have to see it) and was walking around for a while w/two pairs of slippers on my feet, almost unable to walk, until a guard looked at me, got a “silly tourist” look on his face and came over to show me what a fool I was.
One BIG word of caution: the arched doorways outside that you have to walk through to get into and out of the castle are VERY LOW. On the way into the castle there are “caution” signs at the top of each archway, but on the way out, there are not. Celine was in front of me and I went under an archway without looking up and ducking, and the top of my head hit it HARD! The next thing I knew, I had fallen backwards in one fell swoop and landed completely on my back on the pavement! I was stunned and my head hurt badly, but I started laughing and could not stop. I was literally rolling on the ground laughing. Luckily, no one but Celine saw this and she was horrified w/embarrassment, telling me to be quiet and hurry and get up. But then she started laughing because I was ROFL and she sat down with me and we both laughed for about 5 min., tears streaming down our faces. PLEASE watch out for those low doorways!! I had a big bump on my head for days.
We spent only one hr. and a half at Himeji castle and took the bus back to the station, after browsing in an antique shop across the street from the castle for a few min. (and I bought ceramic owl for my garden). We boarded the 1:30 Hikari to Hiroshima (again, unreserved w/no problem) and arrived at 2:40. We went straight out of the station, caught the cable car #6 to the Peace Park, and got off at 3:10 pm. We only had a few hrs to see the Dome and other outdoor areas of remembrance and also visit the museum but since I had been there before (last yr., w/my son) we were fine. I would not have come back here alone but Celine had just studied about the end of WWII and Hiroshima in school and really wanted to go. I was surprised she was able to go through the entire 2nd part of the museum where the personal stories of so many children killed by the bomb are told. She would not have been able to do that two years ago when she was 11, she would have had nightmares for months.
We stayed in the museum til close to 6 p.m. then headed right back to the JR station. Once there, we went inside and down the first set of stairs going down (these stairs are just inside to the right if you are coming into the station from the cable car). At the bottom of those stairs is the BEST Okonomiyaki I have found in my two trips to Japan. It is on the left, across from the grocery store in the basement of the train station. If you are at Hiroshima station, try this place. The pancake is thin and large, topped w/cabbage and bean sprouts and seasonings that are grilled and then an egg is cracked open on top of that. It is SO good, and Celine and I split one. Total = $9 w/drinks. Best bargain meal of the trip. Then we went in the grocery store as Celine wanted some candy for the train ride. She picked out what she thought was a little container of gummy bears. But they rang up 1260 yen! It turned out she had bought Japanese children’s vitamins!
We caught the 6:50 p.m. shinkansen back to Shin-Osaka, again unreserved, then hopped on the next train from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto, arriving back at Kyoto Station at about 8:45, and took the subway to Shijo. We were hungry again decided to walk from the Shijo Station to Teramachi and the central area of the city, going towards the hotel, to try and find something to eat. A very nice older Japanese gentleman who lives in Kyoto started talking to us on the way out of the station and ended up walking all the way to Teramachi-dori w/us, practicing his English.
We couldn’t find anything good for Celine’s vegetarian diet at Teramachi, but we saw an Italian flag outside a restaurant catty corner from the main corner entrance to Takashiyama Dept. store. We were one of the last tables to be seated for the night. This restaurant (upstairs, so you get a nice view of the street below if you are by the window), called San Marcos, was so good and inexpensive- we loved it and went back there again on Friday night. I got a ½ bottle of red wine, we each got a salad and garlic bread, Celine had a cheese pizza and I had a pasta dish (really good) and Celine had dessert, all for equivalent of $27. The food is great, service is friendly, and you can add unlimted drinks and a salad to your entrée for just $4, or also add on dessert to those for a total $5 extra. A great bargain, and I highly recommend this place when you are tired of Japanese food and want good inexpensive Italian.
Long day, and I had to pack up our stuff to store at the hotel as we were leaving for an overnight trip the next day.
We got up early and left the room at 7 a.m. and after stopping at the concierge desk to see if we could get tickets to the Giants/Swallows game that night (and finding out that the fan section was sold out and I could not find out what other seats were available unless I went to Osaka Dome) we headed by subway to Fushimi Inari shrine. This shrine is open 24/7 so we knew it would be a good place to go in early morning. We exited the station and turned left to walk the street up to the shrine. We had not had breakfast and there was a lady sweeping outside her udon shop and she motioned us inside. She had not really opened yet but she served us the best kitsune udon of the entire trip. I also had her make me the only sushi I had on the entire trip, a tuna roll, and we both had very fresh inari.
We headed up towards the shrine (at the end of the st. we were on) as most shops were still closed. We started walking the shrine, going through the thousands of tori gates and it was very magical. Apparently businesses pay for the orange tori that make up the shrine, in order to bring good luck to their businesses, and some tori can cost the businesses equivalent of 20K and up to 75K USD. Each tori has a plaque or inscription on one of the poles w/info on the business it represents. We stopped at the first 3 shires of the 5 along the tori route, and walked for about 45 min., then decided we had had enough and wanted to leave. It only took about 30 min to get back, as we were going downhill.
When we got to the bottom, the shops were open, and Celine was aghast at the little sparrows that were being grilled on sticks (like a corndog) outside some of the restaurants. We stopped so I could buy something for my garden, a ceramic cat w/a bell inside, and the woman there spoke some English and engaged Celine (who is a bit shy) in some conversation about what she liked about Japan. This lady was very sweet and gave me a handmade gift tag (made by her daughter) for the second cat bell I decided to buy from her for a friend. I really enjoyed the statues of the foxes at the shrine and wanted to get one for my garden, but they weigh a lot (concrete) and there was no way to drag the thing where we were headed.
There are many pictures of the many orange tori on the web, but for any of you wanting to see the gate at the shrine, and listen to cool bit of background music, here is the Fushimi Inari website: http://inari.jp/
At about 9:45 a.m.we boarded the JR train and headed to Kyoto Station to take the shinkansen at 10:20, as we were going to Hiroshima and stopping at Himeji along the way. We boarded the Hikari to Himeji (unreserved car, not a problem at all) and arrived in Himeji at 11:15. We walked straight out of the station and it was COLD and very windy. So instead of walking the 20 min. to the castle we hopped easily on a bus (they come every few min. going up and down the main street that leads right to the castle. We were at the castle in just a few min.
We LOVED Himeji castle! We had some webpages to read through about the history and it was a lot of fun to walk those INCREDIBLY narrow and steep stairs to the top of the castle, stopping on each floor to look out the windows and see the exhibits. The stairs are like those on a ship, narrow, steep and a bit claustrophobic. They give you slippers to wear (not optional, you must remove your shoes), but I could not wear them on the stairs as I would have slipped. When I got my slippers, I accidentally had one pair inside the other (hard to explain this, you have to see it) and was walking around for a while w/two pairs of slippers on my feet, almost unable to walk, until a guard looked at me, got a “silly tourist” look on his face and came over to show me what a fool I was.
One BIG word of caution: the arched doorways outside that you have to walk through to get into and out of the castle are VERY LOW. On the way into the castle there are “caution” signs at the top of each archway, but on the way out, there are not. Celine was in front of me and I went under an archway without looking up and ducking, and the top of my head hit it HARD! The next thing I knew, I had fallen backwards in one fell swoop and landed completely on my back on the pavement! I was stunned and my head hurt badly, but I started laughing and could not stop. I was literally rolling on the ground laughing. Luckily, no one but Celine saw this and she was horrified w/embarrassment, telling me to be quiet and hurry and get up. But then she started laughing because I was ROFL and she sat down with me and we both laughed for about 5 min., tears streaming down our faces. PLEASE watch out for those low doorways!! I had a big bump on my head for days.
We spent only one hr. and a half at Himeji castle and took the bus back to the station, after browsing in an antique shop across the street from the castle for a few min. (and I bought ceramic owl for my garden). We boarded the 1:30 Hikari to Hiroshima (again, unreserved w/no problem) and arrived at 2:40. We went straight out of the station, caught the cable car #6 to the Peace Park, and got off at 3:10 pm. We only had a few hrs to see the Dome and other outdoor areas of remembrance and also visit the museum but since I had been there before (last yr., w/my son) we were fine. I would not have come back here alone but Celine had just studied about the end of WWII and Hiroshima in school and really wanted to go. I was surprised she was able to go through the entire 2nd part of the museum where the personal stories of so many children killed by the bomb are told. She would not have been able to do that two years ago when she was 11, she would have had nightmares for months.
We stayed in the museum til close to 6 p.m. then headed right back to the JR station. Once there, we went inside and down the first set of stairs going down (these stairs are just inside to the right if you are coming into the station from the cable car). At the bottom of those stairs is the BEST Okonomiyaki I have found in my two trips to Japan. It is on the left, across from the grocery store in the basement of the train station. If you are at Hiroshima station, try this place. The pancake is thin and large, topped w/cabbage and bean sprouts and seasonings that are grilled and then an egg is cracked open on top of that. It is SO good, and Celine and I split one. Total = $9 w/drinks. Best bargain meal of the trip. Then we went in the grocery store as Celine wanted some candy for the train ride. She picked out what she thought was a little container of gummy bears. But they rang up 1260 yen! It turned out she had bought Japanese children’s vitamins!
We caught the 6:50 p.m. shinkansen back to Shin-Osaka, again unreserved, then hopped on the next train from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto, arriving back at Kyoto Station at about 8:45, and took the subway to Shijo. We were hungry again decided to walk from the Shijo Station to Teramachi and the central area of the city, going towards the hotel, to try and find something to eat. A very nice older Japanese gentleman who lives in Kyoto started talking to us on the way out of the station and ended up walking all the way to Teramachi-dori w/us, practicing his English.
We couldn’t find anything good for Celine’s vegetarian diet at Teramachi, but we saw an Italian flag outside a restaurant catty corner from the main corner entrance to Takashiyama Dept. store. We were one of the last tables to be seated for the night. This restaurant (upstairs, so you get a nice view of the street below if you are by the window), called San Marcos, was so good and inexpensive- we loved it and went back there again on Friday night. I got a ½ bottle of red wine, we each got a salad and garlic bread, Celine had a cheese pizza and I had a pasta dish (really good) and Celine had dessert, all for equivalent of $27. The food is great, service is friendly, and you can add unlimted drinks and a salad to your entrée for just $4, or also add on dessert to those for a total $5 extra. A great bargain, and I highly recommend this place when you are tired of Japanese food and want good inexpensive Italian.
Long day, and I had to pack up our stuff to store at the hotel as we were leaving for an overnight trip the next day.
May 26th, 2006, 12:23 PM
#77
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emd - You sure packed a lot into that day!
I remember those low clearance places in Himeji-jo and I am short. You must have really hurt your head to have fallen back like that. You could have used a nice ice pack! Glad it didn't stop you! Right, those slippers there were one size fits all - I ended up just walking without them.
I also went to Fushimi Inari early in the day though not as early as you. I found it a little disorienting as all the signage along the torii gates was in Japanese and at times I felt there was more than one way to go and I started to get a bit anxious as there were so few people around so I didn't stay all that long.
I remember those low clearance places in Himeji-jo and I am short. You must have really hurt your head to have fallen back like that. You could have used a nice ice pack! Glad it didn't stop you! Right, those slippers there were one size fits all - I ended up just walking without them.
I also went to Fushimi Inari early in the day though not as early as you. I found it a little disorienting as all the signage along the torii gates was in Japanese and at times I felt there was more than one way to go and I started to get a bit anxious as there were so few people around so I didn't stay all that long.
May 26th, 2006, 12:24 PM
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Hi emd,
Glad you are back. I was wondering if you enjoyed the Hotel Okura. That is where we stayed. Your room was near ours from your description. I thought it a nice hotel and a great location too!!
Your report is beinging back some wonderful memories. We both thought Himeji was very nice also. My husband loved that day trip, bullet train and all. Did you find the Hall of Rememberance near the Dome. Someone on the board told me about it. We really found the first hand stories most interesting. Also used the JNTO maps, found them to be very good at times!
We leave im about 2 1/2 weeks for Europe, wish we had time/money for two trips a year-I loved the Japan and the Cherry Blossoms!!
Glad you are back. I was wondering if you enjoyed the Hotel Okura. That is where we stayed. Your room was near ours from your description. I thought it a nice hotel and a great location too!!
Your report is beinging back some wonderful memories. We both thought Himeji was very nice also. My husband loved that day trip, bullet train and all. Did you find the Hall of Rememberance near the Dome. Someone on the board told me about it. We really found the first hand stories most interesting. Also used the JNTO maps, found them to be very good at times!
We leave im about 2 1/2 weeks for Europe, wish we had time/money for two trips a year-I loved the Japan and the Cherry Blossoms!!
May 26th, 2006, 12:46 PM
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MAra, that is exactly how we felt at Fushimi Inari also. Celine said she wished she had a bag of bread crumbs to leave a trail. And as you said at some points you can chosse one of two ways to go, and where does each of them go? How does one get to the top of that mountain? We couldn't figure it out. That is the point when I said, "To hell w/climbing the mountain, we've seen a lot of toris, it's nice, but let's go to Hiroshima today!" and off we went on the unreserved train. The beauty of a flexible schedule and having backup plans and other possibilites to turn to.
cwn, hi! I have been thinking of you as someone posted that they are going on a cruise around Japan ports, starting in Himeji. It looks like a good cruise, on a luxury yacht, 128 passengers. There are others like it that combine Japan ports and other SE Asia destinations.
Have a great time in Europe. Let me guess, how much luggage is your husband taking on that trip?? hahaha.
I am going to Italy in the fall, Florence and Tuscany for 1st time, just me and a very close friend, renting a villa in Tuscany and taking cooking classes. First time to Europe for pleasure since the college graduation backpacking trip.
cwn, hi! I have been thinking of you as someone posted that they are going on a cruise around Japan ports, starting in Himeji. It looks like a good cruise, on a luxury yacht, 128 passengers. There are others like it that combine Japan ports and other SE Asia destinations.
Have a great time in Europe. Let me guess, how much luggage is your husband taking on that trip?? hahaha.
I am going to Italy in the fall, Florence and Tuscany for 1st time, just me and a very close friend, renting a villa in Tuscany and taking cooking classes. First time to Europe for pleasure since the college graduation backpacking trip.
May 26th, 2006, 09:03 PM
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Italy is one of our all time favorite places to visit, but Japan did leave its mark! I know you will have a good time.
We actually sailed out of Osaka. It was a 19 day crossing and included two more stops in Japan, Korea, Russia and then was basicly an Alaskan cruise strting with the Aleuitan Islands down to Seattle.
We actually sailed out of Osaka. It was a 19 day crossing and included two more stops in Japan, Korea, Russia and then was basicly an Alaskan cruise strting with the Aleuitan Islands down to Seattle.
