I join the last three posters and am really sad that your Koyasan night was so disappointing - your trip, of course, has a completely different scope than mine which was part of a 11 night trip to Japan. I was able to stay two nights in Koyasan which allowed me a whole day to sightsee including a morning walking tour of Okunoin. My inn was not that crowded and served me - a single traveler - in my room for both my dinners and breakfasts. I had the time to do a lot of research since it was not a long trip like yours.
I am glad your ankle is doing better now and hope that you have many other experiences that will dull your disappointment with Koyasan.
Yes, those steps at Matsumoto castle were quite steep in parts....it always amazes me how some older people can almost run up and down while I am grabbing the bannister for dear life. ;-)

Thanks for the good wishes.

I seem to remember looking at Shojoshin-in, but I can't remember now whether I couldn't get a single room, or I thought it was too expensive. Koya-san WAS expensive - my one night cost 13,650 yen - nowhere else I stayed was over 10,000 and most were under 8,000.

I should probably have splurged more for Koya-san, but I was saving for an expected splurge in the Japan Alps when I booked there.

rizzuto - the train trip WAS good, although the bus ride from Tokoyama to Matsumoto was even better!

<b>Sep 26 - Trekking to Tokushima</b>

The day I spent getting from Koya-san on Honshu to Tokushima on Shikoku would have been a bit of a marathon even without a bad ankle. As it was, I felt both relieved and exhausted when I finally reached my hotel, the surprisingly plush Agnes, after traveling on five buses, two trains, one cable car, one ferry, and, finally, one taxi. (Maybe this will convince Bob I'm really a trooper!)

I was woken before my alarm, set for 5:30, went off, by the sound of wheeled luggage in the corridor. After a cold wash, and the religious ceremony I mentioned above, I drank some soup before the proper breakfast started, finished packing and checked out. Fortunately, I had allowed plenty of time for checking out, as I only just made my first bus, to the cemetery. Since I was limping rather slowly, I allowed more time than normal for gettng around. The bus back to the temple to retrieve my pack was followed by the bus to the cable car. These days my head for heights is not what it was, but I had no problems on the cable car.

The local train to Hashimoto was waiting when we got off the cable car, and while the ride down was not as scenic as the ride up, I still enjoyed it. Hashimoto station was being renovated, and seemed short on things like escalators, elevators, and options for lunch, but I made my next train, for Wakayama, with no difficulty. Even though it was Sunday, at one point I shared the otherwise all-male carriage with half a dozen school girls, in full uniform - plaid skirts, knee-high black socks, blue sweaters and bow ties.

When I had planned this day, I had somehow overlooked the fact that the Wakayama train station might not be next to the ferry dock! Fortunately, the efficient young woman in the Nippon Travel Agency in Kyoto had fixed this potential problem, arranging my trip so that I easily made the single mid-afternoon bus connecting the two. It was quite a long limp on an elevated walkway from the bus to the ferry, but seats, toilets and vending machines were available while I waited to board.

The ferry was unlike any I had ridden before. Up front, a small, enclosed section had airplane-type seats, but no view, and cost an extra 500 yen. In the main section, one area had regular seats facing a TV (showing golf when I checked), and the other two sections were just floor - plus an area for kids. I apologize to those who would have stayed on deck (from where the view was, in any case, largely obstructed by both superstructure and haze), but instead I gratefully dropped my packs, took off my boots, lay down on the floor and closed my eyes. Aaahhh...

I did sit up on occasion to check the view, lots of water and some small islands, but mostly I enjoyed the break. After we docked in Tokushima, following the Japanese off the boat, I couldn't help noticing that it was as immaculate as when I boarded. Finding the next bus, to Tokushima station, was easy - the bus stop was right outside the ferry terminal. I had chosen a hotel very close to the station, but even so I decided to treat myself to a taxi. The unfortunate driver had to ask his mates the location of my hotel - I doubt he had ever driven there before! I thought the 550 yen well spent

The Agnes had been a mid-range listing in Lonely Planet, so I was pleasantly surprised by the gleaming marble lobby, the good-sized room, and the excellent (if expensive) four course fixed price Western meal I ate in the "cafe". Smoked salmon with marscapone and mousse, soup, a large, perfectly cooked serving of delicious wagyu beef with vegetables, and an elaborate creme brulee with ice cream plus a very drinkable glass of red wine cost me 4,500 yen and partly made up for the disappointing temple meal. Although this was considerably more than I generally spend for dinner, it was offset by the cost of my room - 6,300 yen. Recommended. (http://www.agneshotel.jp/ )

<b>Status</b> - My ankle is doing much better, although the Tokyo subway system was a real trial. I thought Moscow had the longest interchanges around, but Tokyo's are worse, and at least Moscow has escalators! I made it to Seoul yesterday, and Japan Airlines managed to keep my luggage dry this time - I suspect it was buried - there was a soccer team on the flight with the most incredible quantity of luggage, ALL of which was delivered first. Maybe the extra weight explains the decidedly bumpy landing.

<b>Sep 27-28 - A Glimpse of Shikoku</b>

While my main objective for Tokushima was actually out of town in Naruto, there were a few in-town sights I might have visited if I'd been walking better, principally the Awa Odori museum showcasing the town’s dance festival, and its associated ropeway. After checking the distance, and considering the likely view from the ropeway, I settled for just visiting the Naruto whirlpools.

Before I took the taxi to the Agnes, I had gone up to the information office on the 6th floor of the station building to find out how to get to Naruto. The young woman helping me, despite our almost complete lack of a common language, had been thorough, and it was my fault I just missed a bus. No matter, I settled in for coffee, lunch and wifi at Starbucks before successfully catching the next bus (an hour later).

The bus took over an hour to reach the dock for the sightseeing boat, as it followed a winding route that included a deserted airport, but I still arrived in good time for the second-best boat of the afternoon – the whirlpools are at their best near the full moon (just a few days earlier) and at high and low tides. High tide on September 27 was at 8:00 am, so I had settled for low tide, and I didn’t want to take a later boat since I would still need to catch a train to my next town afterwards.

I’m glad I went, but I have to say that I found the whirlpools, especially on a damp, overcast day, a little disappointing. Maybe closer to eddies than whirlpools – although I did see one perfect circle, which I unfortunately failed to get on camera. After all, just how ferocious could they be when my boat was able to sail right through? I suppose those given to motion sickness might feel a bit queasy, but no-one on my boat seemed bothered. In a row-boat or a small sail boat, of course, I would have felt differently!

While the train from Tokushima to Takamatsu wasn't a shinkansen, just a "limited express", it still seemed pretty fast to me, and it did the lean on the curves thing I'd previously experienced on French ICE trains. Once again, I took a taxi to my hotel, rather than sorting out the buses, and although the Dormy Inn (booked through agoda.com) wasn't as classy as the Agnes and I had to go out to find dinner, it was fine (well, aside from the fact that it served noodles for breakfast and I'm not a noodle fan). In fact, the young woman on the front desk said she was upgrading me, and my room was definitely a double, but it faced a blank wall. Looking more carefully at houses and apartment complexes in Japanese towns I concluded that the lack of view wasn't unusual.

I had allowed a full day for Takamatsu to make sure I had enough time to fully appreciate Ritsurin Garden, one of the most famous gardens in Japan. Since I was limping, I followed the route recommended for wheel chairs, and skipped much of the northern section, and anywhere with steps, but I still had a lovely time. Checking the back of the map for the garden, I can report that development occurred in stages from the 1570s to the 1740s, and that the landscaping is considered "typical of the elaborate daimyo style gardens of the early Edo era".

Even with few flowers out, I found the garden beautiful. I also found it completely unnatural. Not in the sense that a French garden can be unnatural, with everything laid out in geometric forms, or that an English park is supposed to look like wilderness, but isn't, but that the existence and shape of almost every twig was the result of conscious decision on the part of the gardeners. Indeed, I spotted a couple up a tree busy pruning, and fine wires forcing branches to grow in the preferred directions. Even while I admired the results, the carefully contrived vistas and the twisted trunks, I was conscious of what had produced them. I love the Japanese pine trees, with their contorted branches and fine needles: they remind me of the junipers in the south-western US, surviving despite adversity. But in this case, as so often, the adversity is man-made.

I took a bus to the station where I lunched on excellent fried chicken and cabbage salad, before catching a little local train to visit Yashima-ji. Yashima-ji is temple no. 84 of the 88 temples that form the Buddhist pilgrimage circuit of Shikoku island. Several small groups of pilgrims made brief visits while I was there - I rather suspect they arrived by four-wheeled transport rather than on their own feet. Some wore all white clothes, with an elaborate sash round their necks, and carried staffs and bells, but others just wore white jackets or vests.

Back at the hotel I visited the Japanese bath on the top floor, where a security code was required to enter the women's bathroom. I had the tub, tiled, with a cluster of rocks in one corner, to myself - I don't think that late afternoon is prime bathing time. I dined at a little izakaya place just round the corner from the hotel - the waitress was very upset when I ordered chicken liver skewers (by the Japanese name) and tried to get someone to translate to make sure I knew what I was doing. I did, and they were delicious!

Despite your ankle it sounds like a wonderful trip.

Indeed, you are a trooper!

Thanks Kathie!

Yes, Nywoman, Japan was very interesting, although I'm glad to have reached Korea. Am holed up in a love motel (very amusing) with minimal net access, maybe will get some writing done.

I'm glad to hear that your ankle is improving and that you are managing to see quite a lot despite your limp!

<b>Irony</b> - I was sitting on the bus from Seoul to Danyang, wondering when I would have enough time to catch up on my journal and trip reports, and do some trip planning. I figured there would be no down time until I reached Hong Kong. I tried writing on the bus, but it was too bumpy, and besides, there was scenery out the window. Then, when I reached Danyang, I found it smaller and quieter than I expected, and that I'd have to spend an extra morning waiting for a bus. I was just muttering to myself about this, when I remembered that I had wanted some down time.... (Then I found an earlier bus, and plenty to do, so all I really managed was to get my journal up to date.)

<b>Sep 29 - 30 - Kanazawa, friends, and a doctor</b>

After I made it to Tokushima, still limping, I decided to skip Matsue and go straight from Takamatsu to Kanazawa. It would mean missing a town that sounded interesting, but would save me a long travel day, and get me to a doctor a couple of days earlier. Since my Matsue hotel was a Toyoko Inn, I had no trouble canceling my room, and JR changed my Takamatsu to Matsue tickets to Takamatsu to Kanazawa without penalty (I hadn't bought the Matsue to Kanazawa tickets).

When I finished packing in Takamatsu, I realized I didn't have my hiking stick, which had been doing duty as a cane. I started to think this trip really was jinxed, but happily I had merely left it at the front desk the night before, and it was ceremonially handed over to me when I checked out. I needed it, as the day involved changes at Okayama and at Shin Osaka (where I bought a nice bento box for lunch). The first train was a double-decker, which meant more stairs, and limited my view when we crossed the Inland Sea as I was downstairs. The scenery after Kyoto was also worth seeing - more mountains.

KimJapan, whom I had "met" on Fodors, and who had so kindly volunteered to help me with the doctor, met my train, along with a Japanese friend. The two of them escorted me to the clinic, translated for me (both forms and people), and took care of my bags. I was so grateful! After an exam and some X-rays, the doctor told me my ankle wasn't broken, but would need another two weeks to heal. He gave me some new, more potent, sticky white plasters, and wound a heavy duty bandage round my foot - much wider and tougher than the Ace bandage I had been using. Getting the foot back in my boot was quite an exercise!

After some excellent coffee, KJ delivered me to my hotel. I had picked it because friends of mine had stayed there the year before - or so I thought. It turned out they had put the wrong link on their blog, and had actually stayed at another, nicer, APA hotel nearby. Not to worry, this hotel was cheaper, and the difference helped cover my doctor's bills. (Bills plural, as it turned out I was also charged for a translation of the initial bill.) I had a nice time eating dinner that night with KJ and her friend and family - my conveyor sushi experience.

Then next morning KJ's husband R played tour guide for me, taking me round some of the historic districts, to a favorite house and garden, and to the Omi-Cho market. I always like markets, and was interested to see the prices. Local produce costs more than imported, not as a reflection of the cost, but because the Japanese don't want to eat "foreign". We lunched at the market on some good soup, and I tried some sesame sardine. In the Nagamachi district I saw some lovely, heavy, modern glass - but not something I wanted to carry!

We finished up at the station, where I bought the bus ticket I'd need to get from Shirakawa-go to Takayama. I really enjoyed the day, and ended it by eating dinner at a place very close to my hotel, Kotatsu. I had okonomiyaki again, this one, with beef, was MUCH better than the one in Kyoto, and I also had a delicious mushroom "salad":. Saving my feet by dining close to home really worked out well.

Kudos to KimJapan! Aren't Fodorites wonderful?

Still following along. Finally some good luck in meeting up with KimJapan. I hope to do so one day soon! Can't wait to get your impressions on S-Go and Takayama. Funny you mention the mushroom salad as it is one of our favorites in Japan, so many flavors....

Aloha!

Kathie - absolutely.

ht - really liked the Japan Alps! See you're headed for Korea as well, some lovely countryside here, too.

<b>Oct 1 - 2 - Another Garden, Another Guide</b>

I spent much of the next day in Kanazawa exploring Kenrokuen, which Lonely Planet said was one of the top three gardens in Japan. I can well believe it. Again, it was totally manicured - I spotted several guys up trees, pruning - but beautiful. Since it was larger than Ritsurin, with many more trees, it didn't feel as unnatural. I particularly liked the low, star-shaped ground cover that looked like moss but wasn't. Along with the oldest fountain in Japan, the garden was well-provided with streams and ponds, but not with places for lunch. I eventually wound up sitting on the floor, which was very hard on my bad foot, much as I like tatami.( I noted that I was seated out of sight of the locals.) Alongside the soup, rice, spring roll, shrimp, veggies (including edamame) was a serving of a local "stew" with chicken and gluten bread which I enjoyed much more than I expected.

At the far end of the garden I visited the Seisonkaku Villa, unfortunately covered with scaffolding while the roof tiles were replaced. When I left I started having real trouble walking on the gravel paths, and headed for the nearest bus stop. I ate dinner at Kokatsu again - this time I was greeted as a regular and besides the mushroom salad, shrimp okonomiyaki and the house specialty (spicy bacon and cabbage) that I ordered, I was brought a dish of tofu and fish roe. Another good meal.

The next day, originally my only full day in Kanazawa, I had arranged for a Welcome Guide, asking that we explore some of the crafts for which the city is famous. We started at a geisha house - I hadn't realized that the house where they entertained clients wasn't the house where they lived. The client sat in the main room (with his back to the alcove, oddly), and the geisha performed in the smaller, adjoining "waiting" room.

I found our next stop, the gold leaf "museum", especially interesting. What starts as an ingot is taken down in successive stages to foil so thin you can practically see through it. The kimono painting place was less successful - probably only really interesting if you want to try it yourself. After lunch we visited the Museum of Traditional Crafts, which turned out to actually exhibit modern versions of the crafts. We had walked all the way up one side of Kenrokuen to reach the museum, and when my guide wanted me to walk back down I insisted that there must be a bus we could take instead. Walking up had been tough, but walking down would be much more difficult for me. I don't think my guide had really appreciated that I had difficulty walking, despite the bandage and the stick! Fortunately, a study of the maps turned up a bus.

I just had time for a quick shower before KJ and family collected me for dinner - at a place where we cooked the food ourselves on a brazier. I love these kind of meals, and it really doesn't work well for one person. So my visit to Kanazawa ended with good food and good company.

It was certainly a pleasure to meet and spend time with you! How's your ankle doing?

Hi Kim! Thanks & thanks for asking. It was doing much better - I had stopped bandaging it. But the other side of the ankle is hurting now - I think it got tired of compensating! It had a hard day yesterday, but is a bit more rested and happier today.

<b>Oct 3-4 - Sleeping under thatch</b>

The Shirakawa-go and Gokoyama regions of Honshu island used to be extremely isolated, especially in winter, home to rice farmers and little visited. Not any more - tunnels through the mountains have brought expressways and tourists to its doorsteps. But for those relying on public transport, some areas are still hard to reach, and I was thrilled when Kim offered to drive me. I'd sleep in popular Ogimachi, where I could get a bus on to Takayama, but first we'd visit Suganuma and its gunpowder museum.

With Kim's daughter studying for exams in the back seat, we headed for the hills. I can't get enough of mountain scenery, especially when there are rivers as well, and was also interested to see the haystacks (are they still called haystacks when they're made of rice stalks?), with bundles of stalks draped over poles and topped with plastic against the rain. But the signature sights here are the farmhouses. Large, two-story buildings, with unique thatched roofs, they're called gassho-zukuri or praying hands, after the shape of the steeply-sloped roofs. We saw a thatching job half-done, and I was struck by how thick it was, compared to the thatched cottages I was used to seeing in England. But the color of the new thatch was the same soft yellow.

I thought that Ogimachi was fairly crowded, despite the looming clouds, but Kim said she'd never seen it so empty! We were able to get seats in her favorite restaurant, Irori, where we were seated round an irori or central fireplace. The food was delicious - mine was a hida beef "set". In the US I seldom eat beef, as I've developed an allergy to either bovine growth hormone or the antiobiotics used on factory-farmed cows, and grass-fed local beef is expensive and not always available. I make up for it when I travel, and the Japanese beef is, of course, famous. I saw no need to try to find Kobe beef (or the money to pay for it) when hida was so good.

The farmhouse we visited, ancestral home of a well-off family, reminded me a little of the houses in Bhutan, with different activities on different levels. Here the attic level had been used for raising silk worms, but I paid more attention to the quite remarkably massive beams forming the roof supports. I would hate to be within range of one of those during an earthquake! Despite the thick thatch, and the insulation likely provided by snow drifts, I'm sure these houses were seriously cold in the winter. I remembered growing up in England, before my father installed central heating, when only the side facing the fire was warm (wing chairs were invented to trap the heat). Since I would be spending the night in a farmhouse, I was glad it was only the beginning of October!

After we went up to the best viewpoint (by car to save my foot), Kim delivered me to my farmhouse and headed back to Kanazawa. I was sorry say goodbye, and very appreciative of her help and friendship. I was not as isolated that night as I had expected, though. At dinner, served around another irori, I found that only one of the other guests was Japanese, and the other two an Australian couple at the end of a four month trip home from London. I felt sorry for the Japanese man, who apparently did not speak English, as we indulged in travel chat. He seemed to enjoy the meal as much as we did - a more elaborate version of my lunch.

After dinner I decided against an evening stroll - it looked too dark, and the ground too uneven, for me to risk it with a bad ankle, and I had a bath instead. The tub was wooden, just big enough for one person, with wooden covers to keep in the heat. Aside from my usual problem of getting too hot under a duvet, I slept fine on the tatami mats in my room, although I would have been happier with somewhere other than the floor or the small table for my belongings. Unfortunately, I was woken early by the sound of heavy rain, and while I did get about 15 relatively dry minutes for photos, the rest of the morning was solid rain.

Breakfast was Japanese, except for the egg. Three of us had scrambled eggs alongside the soup, rice, pickles and vegetables, but the Japanese man had what appeared to be a boiled egg. Not so! It turned out to be raw, and after stirring it up a little with his chopsticks, he drank it down with apparent relish. I'll take mine scrambled any time...

thursdaysd,

Mmmmmmmmm I love Hida beef.....and Miyazaki beef and of course Kobe beef. oh sooooooo tender.

Raw eggs for breakfast and at lunch and dinner to dip your sukiyaki beef into, yuk. I usually get <i>the look</i> when I scramble the egg and drop it into the steaming hot sukiyaki sauce to cook it a little at dinner,lol. Linda hates when I do that. Really gets a rise out of the locals, they just shake their heads muttering gaijin or something of the sort ;)

We are considering a car rental for the Ogimachi- S Go area in a future visit. Has the opening of the new highway expanded the public transport, i.e. bus systems any or is the car the way to go in that area?

Too bad about the rainy weather but they have had a hot and dry summer so I think they need the water. Have you seen any fall colors in Japan and if so where and when? Can't wait for the S Korea part as our launch time is getting close.

Aloha!

Hi ht - I did do the dip the meat into raw egg thing, but I draw the line at eating raw egg straight!

KimJapan could answer the bus question better than I can, but I certainly think a car would be the way to go if you're willing to drive. There is a web site with a good map of the bus routes, maybe this one: http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/index.html , but basically you're going to Ogimachi on the way from Kanazawa to Takayama. I thought the best scenery was between Takayama and Matsumoto.

Occasional tree with fall color, but nothing major.

Where are you going in Korea? My photos (aside from any I take tomorrow in Seoul) are up at http://kwilhelm.smugmug.com/Travel/R...-World-2010-11 - the galleries are all protected but the password is just the name of the gallery, lower case.

I got English-language TV back today to find out there's a typhoon possibly headed to Taiwan, my next destination!!!

Also following along with continued great interest. With plaudits to thursdays for both the reports and the perseverance, and to KimJapan for the Fodorite support.

Raw egg: blecch.

Thanks for reminding me of how much I enjoyed hida beef! I envy you your night in a gassho-zukuri. I saw one in Takayama, and like you was stunned by how thick the thatch was and how enormous the beams are. Amazing!