Japan the 7th
 

Looks like I will be able to make my 7th trip to Japan on Thursday. I got the air tix to Tokyo in July for Nov 20-29 (upgraded to business class on United with SWUs), but had a heck of a time deciding where to go.

I considered the following itineraries:

1) Tokyo- Hakone- Nikko.
2) Get a special priced JR East pass and going to see the west coast of Tohoku, and Nikko.
3) Fly to Takamatsu, tour Shikoku, fly back from Matsuyama
4) Tokyo- Kiso Valley- Takayama- JR bus/train from Takayama to Toyama (which I will do some day), Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine route, maybe Nikko.
5) fly to Fukuoka, go to sumo tournament. Visit Karatsu, Saga, Imari, Shimabara peninsula.

Finally decided on the following:
Nov 21 arrive Tokyo, two nights in Yokohama (or maybe will priceline in Tokyo)
Nov 22 sushi at Sushizanmai in Tsukiji. Maybe go to an onsen in Hakone.
Nov 23 Fly to Kagoshima and catch a bus to the Kirishima Iwasaki Hotel after visiting Kirishima Jingu enroute. This is in a volcanic area northeast of Kagoshima. Lots of onsen.
Nov 24 bus to Ebino and take a walk by three volcano crater lakes. Bus ride down the "skyline drive" to Kobayashi and continuing on to Miyazaki.

Nov 24 and 25 nights in Miyazaki, probably at the Sheraton Grande Ocean Resort which is at/near Seagaia.

Nov 25 take the 12-hour day tour that goes to Aoshima and Obi, among other sights. Last stop is Seagaia.

Nov 26 JR to Nobeoka and then a mountain train up to Takachiho. Have a night at a ryokan there. This should be in autumn colors at that time. Visit the gorge, shrine, and see the kagura dance that night.

From the end of November to February the people of Takachiho have kagura dance performances in farmhouses on Saturday nights. They apparently last all night, fueled by sake. I was not able to get lodging for those performances on the 22nd or on the 24th, a holiday. But will get to see the performance that is held nightly the shrine.

Nov 27 - either a second night in Takachiho or go to the Aso-san area.

Nov 28 fly from Kumamoto back to Tokyo, late in the day.

Nov 29 fly to LAX and go right back to work that day or Sunday.

This involves a bit of moving around but mostly it is short trips that promise beautiful scenery. The flights to Kagoshima and from Kumamoto consume some time, but that is the cost of getting off the beaten (western tourist) track. About three hours from Miyazaki to Takachiho but about half of that is a scenic train ride.

Cool! I am envious. You will like Shikoku. wHERE ARE YOU GOING TO GO THERE? Great itinerary. You like to move around...

(p.s. I am in Santa Monica, up watching the Sylmar fire on TV as I am supposed to work in that area this morning. Hospital is starting to burn, generators out in hospital. I could not live here w/the fire threats...)

Have a great trip, mrwunrfl -- sounds like another great time for you.

I just ran across info for sushizanmai and am looking forward to going there on my next trip. Have you been to the Tsukiji branch before? If so, can you give directions? (I know how to get to the market and places like Daiwa, but it looks like Sushizanmai might be closer to Tsukiji stop rather than Tsukijishijo.)

Nikko is a special place indeed. I was there one January when the tiniest snowflakes were falling, and the scene was magical.

Sounds fabulous - enjoy! I've never heard of most of those places. You'll do a trip report?

Thanks Mara, I will try to do a tr. I will be going to Tokyo and the southeast corner of Kyushu on this trip.

Basically, this:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/pdf/pg-706.pdf
Kirishima- Hayashida Onsen- Ebino Kogen- Miyazaki (Obi, - Takachiho.

rizzuto, yes I have been to the Tsukiji branch before. I just took the subway to Tsukiji stop and then asked which way Tsukiji was (I gathered that two subway stops were on opposite ends, more/less, of Tsukiji). Then I asked at a car repair/gas station place where the restaurant was. I was only two blocks away. This time I might get directions first, or go by memory!

Shikoku is one of the five itineraries that I decided not to take. It would have involved flying into Tokushima (not Takamatsu as above). See the garden there. Maybe go to Naruto. JNTO showed that there is a festival in a town between Tokushima and Kochi, so stop there. Then Kochi for a couple of days - there is a place to visit north of the city also. Then to Uwajima and another town in Ehime, then Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen.

But I got an e-mail from gojapan.about.com that listed places to see autumn colors. Takachiho was on the list and the timing was right. Always figured I'd make a one-week trip to Kyushu but figured it would be the northwest corner, not southeast.

The weather changed here in SoCal this morning. When I got up (9am) I thought that I must have turned the heater on in the middle of the night. But it was just a warm breeze coming in thru the window. Santa Ana wind, I guess. Surely won't help the fires.

emd, I hope you got the day off instead. No actually that would mean stuff was burning, so I hope you are working. We are on a 7-day work sked and I am late today.

Bill, looks like a great time.

I see they have a horse racing track in Miyazaki, too late in the season, lol

The buses are located right outside the baggage claim doors at Kagoshima airport. You have to buy the tickets from a machine on the wall and its all in Japanese but I know you'll manage. Should be a beautiful ride up into Kirishima. I am envious. Are you staying at the Sheraton Miyazaki on SPG points? On the site its 4K + $60.00 for the cash and points....good deal

Can't wait to read about your experiences in Takachiho. Have fun!

Aloha!

btw, have you tried japanican.com for your Tokyo reservations? I know people on bft have tried it as a alternative to priceline with its limited Tokyo offerings. I used them on my last trip and was satisfied with the service. I see that they have a slew of listings during your dates in town from the 5200 yen to 30000+ yen per person price range

Aloha!

This sounds like a wonderful trip. You certainly know how to get off the beaten track. I have no doubt that it will be worth the effort. Like Mara I hadn't even heard of a number of these places so am now googling them to check them out.

Yes, my stays at the Sheraton in Miyazaki and the one in Yokohama are on points + dollars.

I booked the Hana Ryokan Iwatoya thru japanican.

Found another website that I might use in the future. They would have been able to book the people's lodge in Takachiho among other places in that town. It is run by a husband (Aussie?) and wife (Hiromi) who have an agency in Nagano-ken. They were quick to reply and I think they would do a good job (clearly he/they understood English well). www.japanhotel.net

I am not sure how cold it is going to be in the mountains in Kirishima or in Takachiho. Have to come to a decision on what to pack to be warm enough but with minimum bulk.

Hey, mrwunrfl, tomorrow is packing day, right????

I am already awaiting your reports from "On The Road" in Japan.

So cool you are getting in on the sumo tournament in Fukuoka.

Too bad Mike can't meet up w/you on this trip...

Oh, re the fires. It was such a stressful day in Santa Monica on Sat. It was hard not to watch the TV, nonstop coverage of the fires. By Sat. afternoon there were, I think, 4-5 fires, Anaheim Hills, Irvine, etc. Jumping highways, merging, etc. It seemed like the perfect storm for fires. I had the person I was to work with come to Santa Monica instead of me trying to get out to the Augora Hills area to meet him. Too many freeways closed. Very sad watching the people on TV who lost homes, etc. That kind of fire really scares me.

Sounds like a great trip. Enjoy!

The flight from LAX was on time, was in 1 flight from LAX was on time, was in 15H, top deck exit row in business class. I will requalify for 1K on return. Very good service and very good Japanese dinner, yes on United.

Took the bus from NRT to the YCAT. Long drive, almost two hours in traffic. Found my way from east side of Yokohama to the Sheraton on the west side. All I did on arrival day was to go to the Hard Rock Cafe Yokohama to get a pin for a friend.

Saturday I went to Asakusa and then the boat down the Sumidagawa to Hama Rikkyu garden. To tsukiji.

I will post more later. This keyboard at the Sheraton Miyazaki is not cooperating. Asked for and got a king room instead of double double.

Sounds excellent, wunrful-san.

Also, well done on the good flight on UA. That one is always a crap shoot, business class or not. (Did you get the new seats?)

Speaking of uncooperative keyboards, is there a specific key sequence that turns a Japanese keyboard into a Roman-characters-only kb?

Bill, I've always wanted to try that boat cruise down the Sumida river. Was it touristy? Probably pretty cold this time of yr,lol.
I had the hardest time finding the HRC Yoko. I thought we were on the first floor and didn't realize(until Linda showed me)that the first floor was on the basement level.That's one tall building that its below

Aloha!

... yo, wunrfl ...

... so glad you're 1K 'for another day' ... I do love those 'trans-pac' SWUs ... (and, as always, please don't tell the SQ-forever wife) ...

... (and, in my sweetie's honour: in future, do consider SQ J, all the way, LAX-SIN ... (but you stay away from my all-time cherished 'in-room masseuse' at the Four Seasons Singapore) ...

... have fun ... (and do consider a certain 'therapist' at the Tokyo Park Hyatt ... well worth the little discreet 'tip') ...

macintosh (robert)


... gentle hostess, in your sarong, you care for me, as only you know how ...

It is the key just below the Esc button. I just pressed the Escape button and wiped out thirty minutes of typing.

It was the old style business class on United.

The boat was cold at the stern where it was open but hot under\behind the glass where the seats were. Not a whole lot to see on the cruise, except for 13 bridges, some skyscrapers, and the river side of Tsukiji market.

A hostess in Japan would not wear a sarong. She would probably wear a kimono.

I caused a small fuss in Obi today.

After visiting Obi-jo, I was walking back to the station and flagged down a taxi. Told him to go to the JR station. Enroute, I realized that I would have a 90 minute wait for the next train.

Told the driver to take me to the bus station instead. He stopped, backed up a bit and said there is a bus stop right there. I realized that would do me no good since I could not read the timetable info at the stop. So, I switched to plan C and told him I wanted a restaurant (restoran, soba).

He backed up another twenty feet into a side street and then drove across the street and dropped me in front of a tiny noodle shop.

Figured I would eat, relax, and then go to the train station. Had soba (flat, not round) with tofu for 400 yen. Finished the soup with a little over an hour before the train would arrive, so I asked about taking a bus to Aoshima.

There were three women running this shop. I asked one about taking the bus and she squatted down to consult three timetables that were posted. She checked here and checked there and talked to the other two ladies, and then a customer offered his input, and the other customer in the shop tried to help, speaking English to me.

Finally, the lady in charge came up with a plan. It involved catching a bus in 5 minutes, changing buses in another town and then getting to Aoshima at 1600.

I was pretty sure I knew where the bus stop was, the taxi driver showed me, but I asked the lady doko anyway. She said across the street, over there and told me to follow. This was when the two customers piped in.

I told the lady that I would just go to the train station and showed her the timetable and how the train would arrive in Aoshima 8 minutes before the bus.

The woman led me across the street to the bus stop where one of the other women from the shop was already there, checking the timetable. They discussed the issue and the second lady left when a bus approached.

It turned out to be an out of service bus, but a minute behind was the bus I was to take. I tried to tell her a second time that I would just take the train and showed her the timetable again. But she just said, more or less, in Japanese, that no, she had it worked out, the bus is the way to go.

When the bus arrived the lady had a discussion with the bus driver. He got out of the bus to discuss it some more. This took a couple of minutes, much talking, and then the bus driver understood what she wanted him to do for me and said ok and opened the bus door. She showed me where to get on and then I said arrigato gozaimashita and she walked away, very pleased.

I got on the bus and then told the driver that I wanted to go to the train station! The lady wanted me to get on the bus, so I did, but I did not want to have to change buses in some little town. The train was direct and got me there sooner.

Took another minute for the driver to make me understand that he did not go to the train station. I patted him on the shoulder, said thanks, and got off. Good thing that I did not have to pass in front of the noodle shop and, luckily, the bus stayed at the stop - between me and the shop - for a minute as I walked away (didnt really want the ladies from the shop to see me walking, after all that).

Great story, mrwunrfl. Reminds me of the old cartton of the helpful Boy Scout helping -- dragging? -- the old lady across the street, whether she wanted to go there or not.

>>>A hostess in Japan would not wear a sarong. She would probably wear a kimono.<<<

... indeed ... (was referring to the part-Singaporean better half, and her occasional attaire) ... (although, that 'hostess' at the Tokyo Park Hyatt, well, not always 'kimono clad' ... (pre mrs. m era, to be sure) ...

... keep up the good posts, wunrfl, and, as always, sweet and smooth (SQ) rides to you ...

macintosh


... In this ever changing world, Singapore Girl, you're a great way to fly ...

What did you have for Thankgiving dinner, mrw?

I love the noodle shop lady story.

kaiseki, including horsu sashimi

Heading to NRT now.

ahhhh basashi......very red but oishi des ne!
Can't wait to hear all

Aloha!

giddyap!

My flight from LAX to Narita airport was scheduled to arrive at 3:55 PM. It was on-time, if not early.

About 20 minutes after stepping off of the plane I had claimed my checked bag and was through immigration and into the arrival hall.

I found the baggage delivery service counters easily and chose ANA. This was Friday afternoon and they charged me 1950 yen to ship my bag to Kirishima Onsen, Kagoshima-ken on Kyushu for arrival on Sunday. What a sweet deal.

I travelled with two bags. A 26-inch spinner that I shipped and a small rollaboard backpack. I put a couple of shirts, a pair of trousers, etc. – enough for a couple of days – in the backpack. Also in the backpack I was able to stuff a hoody sweatshirt and a fleece jacket. I wore running shoes (good for Tokyo) but in the big bag had some waterproof shoes (to wear in the country).

After sending the bag on its way, I went to find an ATM. Had some trouble doing that but found it and withdrew 120,000 JPY. Didn’t get anymore cash for the rest of the trip.

Bought a bus ticket and had to wait a good 10 minutes for the next bus to the YCAT (Yokohama City Air Terminal). At 4:45, the bus made an on-time departure.

Note that less than an hour had elapsed from the time I was in my seat upstairs on that plane to the time when I was in my seat on that bus.

After going out to the Yokohama HRC, I stopped at the concierge desk at the Yokohama Bay Sheraton and spoke to the assistant manager. He looked up a place where I could buy some good cigars, got out a map of the area around the hotel, and marked the spot for the tobacco shop – across from a Starbucks.

Next morning I stopped at the desk again. The same asst manager was (still/again) there. Got him to call the shop to find out that the place was already open – at 7:30 AM or so. It was only a couple of blocks away but I had trouble finding it until I backtracked and a woman came up to me on the sidewalk and spoke to me. I didn’t understand her but did notice that we were in front of the shop. We then managed to communicate that, yes, I was the person coming from the Sheraton. About 11,200 JPY for four Cohibas and a Montecristo.

Went to the Starbucks and ordered a couple of pastries and a coffee from the cheerful girls at the counter. I was given a choice and selected the kurisumasu brend.

Headed over to JR Yokohama station and looked but did not find an English language train/subway map so I asked a guy if a spot on the map was Asakusa station. I made the choice based on what I thought must have been (but was not, I think) the Yamanote line. He did not understand but tried to help. A young couple also stopped to help. Then a woman came by and spoke English very well. She said she would find me the best train, went over to the JR gate and spoke to the attendant, and then pointed at track number 5 and told me that was the one to take. Then we went over to buy my ticket.

What I really need to learn how to say in Japanese is: “Please say this in Japanese”. If I simply was able to have someone pronounce the station name that I was pointing at then I would have been able to figure out the entire map, by comparing it to the English language one I was holding.

I got my bearings after getting on the train and then realized that she had put me on the perfect train, one that went thru to Ueno. Transferred there to a subway and got off at the Asakusa stop.

Up on the street I could go left or right to get to the shrine. I chose right, the wrong way, but was happy to find a Mr Donut and, across the street, a Starbucks. At the sbux, I ordered another kurisumasu brend. Sat down next to a young western woman who left a minute or two before me.

I went over to the shrine area, through the main gate and down the street which was lined with shops. It was busy but not jam-packed. It is a very nice temple, to say the least. More info here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3001.html

The boat ride was pretty good, definitely worthwhile though not particularly scenic (unless you like sterile modern urban landscape). I got off at the park and explored it a bit. It was very green. I couldn’t figure out the paths quite right so I missed the ochaya. The park is Hama Rikyu garden http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3025.html and I would love to go back there when their peony garden is in flowers.

The garden is a short distance from Tsukiji Market, so I headed over in that direction. It was about noon.

Enjoying your detailed report Bill.
Linda loves a used kimono shop on that main dori on the way to Sensoji. Waiting for more

Aloha!

Great report so far! As often as you go to Japan I'm surprised you haven't tried to learn a bit of Japanese...

>What I really need to learn how to say in Japanese is: “Please say this in Japanese<

Nihongo mo ichido itte kudasai

or something like that, lol I always slaughter it. I'm sure someone will give the correct way

Aloha!

How about this?

Kore wa nihon go de nan to ii masuka?

Nihon-go de nan to ii masu ka.

That's it, you got it mara

Thanks, I will use that. I have learned a little Nihongo, just a little.

Getting from Hana Rikyu to Tsukiji was easy (follow the sign) and quick, maybe five minutes.

It is quite obvious when you have arrived, at least from this end (the south). There is a big structure that the trucks drive into to load/unload. At the end of it are the warehouses where apparently the auctions take place.

The area in Tsukiji where all the shops and restaurants are located is only about two blocks long and a couple of blocks wide.

I walked past a few caskets of bluefin on ice to the street facing the market. There were a few dozen people in lines to get into a few restaurants. The first one I came to had about 30 pictures of chirashi bowls (edomae chirashizushi, I think) that were absolutely gorgeous.

I walked around the block and looked at a few other places but none looked better than the first place. I went there and got in line on the sidewalk. After a minute a person tapped me on the shoulder and pointed out how I was not at the end of the line: it started out on the street and turned back onto the sidewalk.

There were 20 or 30 people in line, mostly Japanese but some Western. After about 10 minutes the woman that I saw at the Starbucks in Asakusa came around the corner and walked down the sidewalk to the next street. She looked down there but then turned around and walked back into the street, about two feet away, so I stopped her.

Her name is Dascha, from Moscow, and she was making a whirlwind visit to Tokyo after a week or so in Nagoya learning the Toyota Way. It was about 12:30 PM. We spent the next hour and a half talking and waiting in line for our turn at the restaurant. It was a perfectly sunny day and the sun was quite warm while in the shadow it was cool.

At the front of the line, the man steps out, takes your order, and goes back in to get it started. It was an assembly line. The place only has a dozen or so stools in a line in front of the counter. The place was about 7 feet wide, so it was a squeeze for people to get down the line of stools.

The menu is in pictures on a signboard outside and it is glorius: chu-toro, chu-toro with ikura, chu-toro with uni, uni with ikura, ikura only, chu toro with ikura with uni with crab with shrimp. Various combos, in other words.

A small handwritten sign gave instructions:

Would you like to order now ?

1. <u>Order is call the number. please</u>
2. My house is no salmon.
3. No credit card. No receipt.
No doggie bag. No take it out.
4. One seat aperson. One order a guest and all menu is no sharing
5. Sorry - no baby. No baby carrige.

<font color="red">No photograph!</font>

We decided we could live with all of those rules.

She ordered the big assortment, 1800 yen, and an order of oysters, 600 yen I think, and I ordered the chu toro bowl at 1600 yen. The lowest priced dish 1000 looked to be some nice tuna. The dishes came with miso soup and a small dish with what the guy identified to be squid, and I think there was an itty bit of pickled stuff.

After lunch, we walked around the edge of Tsukiji to the Toei Oedo line Tsukijishijo station (probably the most convenient to Tsukiji) but we decided it was not for us and we headed for the Tsukiji subway stop.

This walk involved walking past several little restaurants and food shops. Past alleyways where I could see more little restaurants.

She had Omotesando and Roppongi on her list and I had a four hour performance of music and kagura dance to attend. And I just could not just walk on by all of those shops. I pointed her in the right direction and headed down one of the alleyways.

Saw a line in front of a shop in an alley and then saw it was Sushizanmai. But it was a kaiten sushi place, not the regular restaurant on the street that I had visited before. The kaiten place was good but not great.

The non-kaiten place was on the street around the corner from the kaiten place. They had flyers out front that showed that there are four Sushizanmai locations in Tsukiji with a fifth place across the main road that is in front of Tsukiji.

If you find Tsukiji and can't find a Sushizanmai then you aren't trying.

I couldn't walk away from Tsukiji with just that one fish-rice bowl, and this second stop meant that I would be too late for any the 1-5PM performances that I had planned. But there was a later show at 6PM that I decided to attend.

I took the subway and decided to change at Roppongi when I realized I was changing to the Oedo line that I could have taken from Tsukiji to Kokuritsu-Kyogijo stop. This is the national stadium area.

Looking at the map in front of the train station I finally realized why the maps are not north-up. On my first day on my first visit to Japan I was frustrated because I couldn't match my north-up paper map with the one posted at Shinjuku station.

The reason, it is now obvious to me, is because the maps are oriented to the view of the reader. Up on the map is the area in front of you. Your left is left on the map, etc.

A little conversation, a little sushi, a little international romance......
What do you mean you didn't want to walk by some shops!!!!! lol

This trip report is starting to get real interesting. You sure the dogster isn't ghostwriting??lol

Aloha!

Agree w/HT.

wunrfl-san, did you not take a hint when Dascha ordered some oysters?

Hmm, now that I think about it, I had a choice between maybe spending some time exploring Tokyo with a sweet lady (half my age) or sending her on her way and me heading back into Tsukiji for sushi. I chose the sushi.

mrwunrfl, be glad you passed on Shikoku. We were there the first week in December a few years ago and went to see Naruto. The skies were dreary and the whirlpool wasn't very dramatic, somewhat weak. The locals told us that the best time to see the whirlpool was in the spring. We stayed at the Tokushima Prince and had a lovely view of the boat harbor which was especially pretty in the evenings...but that was about it.