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 ...