Well, that’s the trip. We’re at Haneda airport early. It’s raining 3-4 inches today so we figured we might as well head out. We had one last okanomiyake at the airport, this time Hiroshima style with noodles and an omelet wrap. It was a great trip, I’m glad I wrote this travel diary to look back on. I have Yen in my wallet that I’m not...

Our trip is winding down, today is a shopping day before we get on the plane tomorrow. Shinjuku was looking bright and cheery this morning. Actually we’re just north of Shinjuku in a rather ethnically diverse neighborhood. Lots of Halal restaurants and shops, along with Nepalese and Uighur. It’s a contrast to the slick Ginza district o...

On the way out of the big Tosho-gu complex was this five level pagoda. From the base up the levels represent Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void. We were wondering if the four elements theme (minus the Zen Void/Ether) had a common origin with Aristotle’s four elements. The natural suroundings are serene and majestic. There are babbling b...

It was the last day our JR Pass was active, so I had booked us a day trip up to Nikko, a large area of shrines and temples in the mountains north of Tokyo. In 1600 the daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu won a big battle and consolidated his power as the first shogun of Japan, beginning a long line of Tokugawa rulers into the 1800’s. His seat of po...

For Michele (and Ryoko) this was the big day, a four hour afternoon lesson with Suzuki Sensei. Michele and Ryoko were both nervous, talking about how they hadn’t had the time or space to practice properly, did they have their payment envelopes ready, and so on. We travelled out from the center of Tokyo for about a half hour to Kichijoj...

On our way back to Tokyo we stopped off in Shin-Yokohama at the Ramen Museum. Or maybe it’s Raumen Museum, which is how it’s spelled here. Once inside you get a floor of exhibits on the history of Ramen. Short version: it is a microcosm of Japan’s love-hate relationship with China, including honored visiting scholars, bans on Chinese l...

A few more blocks up the road is the well known tsunami defying Buddha. He was cast in 1248, was gilded at one time, and has survived major storms, earthquakes, and a great tsunami in 1498. His surrounding temple has blown or washed away a couple of times, and his base crumbled and was rebuilt after a 1923 earthquake. After the tsunami...

Kyoto was the official capital of Japan for about a thousand years, but Kamakura was a “de facto” capital for about 150 years beginning in 1185. Being a capital, de facto or not, seems to lead to a lot of temples and shrines, and like Kyoto, Kamakura has it’s share of beautiful spots. Unlike Kyoto though Kamakura is not too big and is ...

Sorry, no photos today except for this Shishi dancer from the Takayama train station. It was a long day of travel, four trains. We bounced and rocked our way down the mountains to Gifu, rolled backwards to big city Nagoya, Shinkansen to Odawara, Express to Ofuna, local train to Kamakura. We opted for a simple Indian lunch near Nagoya t...

The day started with arranging to ship our bags. We’re now fully on board with the glories of takkyubin. For less than $20 your bag is transported overnight and is waiting for you in your next hotel room. Overnight shipping, door to door, big suitcase, twenty bucks per bag. We just pull out one day’s stuff into a small duffle and enjoy...

I’m glad we returned to Takayama, it’s a charming town that deserved a couple of days. Our first stop after getting off the bus was a little husband and wife Chinese restaurant, where the owner gave us this origami during our meal. Mara, do you know how to fold this? Afterwards we strolled around town. I finally found a chair that’s to...

We said goodbye to Bill and Pam the night before, they needed to wake up early, hike out and catch a bus to Matsumodo, towards Nagano and on to Tokyo. Their plane was the next day. It was a lot of fun to travel with them and we will miss Bill’s ability to speak Japanese. We’re on our own now! The weather was back to clouds and an occas...

We woke up to clear skies and a view of the mountains around us. Ahh, that’s what was up there behind the clouds! The true mountaineers were up and out the door by 6 am, headed for the high peaks. We were more leisurely and enjoyed a Japanese breakfast before setting out for Yoko-o, the next river crossing up the valley. The swing brid...

We really didn’t have a solid idea of what the lodge were were hiking to would be like. I mean, how nice could it be, at the end of a hiking trail? Well, pretty nice it turns out! Tokusawa-en is a wonderful blend of Japanese ryokan and classic western wilderness lodge, like Yosemite. Cheerful helpful staff are waiting for you with a dr...

Starting in Takayama we shifted gears from culture tourists to “wilderness” tourists, and got ready to head to Kamikochi, Japan’s scenic high country. As you’ll see, “wilderness” will need some scare quotes. But first we had to repack. We were going to hike in to a mountain lodge, so we needed to pare down to a day pack’s amount of jus...

One of the rewarding things about this trip has been getting more context to some things were are interested in. For example I really enjoy seeing all the different uses of pottery in Japan, particularly at traditional meals. Here for example is a ryokan breakfast in Takayama: Nothing fancy pottery wise, but I enjoy the different style...

On Monday we said goodbye to Kyoto and boarded an express train to Takayama, in the center of Honshu (the main island). The train itself was nice but the tracks were no Shinkansen. The farther we went into the hills the less smooth the ride. It was nearly impossible to work on my iPad, whenever I tried to tap a certain something on the...

Next to the Bamboo grove is the well tended home and garden of Denjirō Ōkōchi, who was a silent film star. A popular character of his was this one eyed samurai. Some people when they hit it big like to go to the big city, live the social life. Others like Denjirō buy some serenity, a place overlooking Kyoto. When those cherry trees in ...

There was a handwritten sign next to the Guesthouse front desk alerting guests to the To-ji flea market, held on the 21st of the month, “HOW CAN YOU MISS IT?” So while Bill and Pam checked out a golden temple (they accepted the challenge) we decided to head down to To-ji (yet another huge temple complex near the train station), because...

Near the Philosopher’s Path is a beautiful Buddhist temple (seems like you’re never far from one in Kyoto), Higashiyama Jisho-ji. H-J’s beauty strategy was sculpted sand: I thought this cone was a great example of Japanese design. A clear idea well executed. Imposing size, crisp lines, it seems so solid and yet it’s just sand. Next to ...

We turned a corner from the cemetery and met with absolute throngs of people, busloads of tourists flowing in a human river following “One Way” pedestrian signs. Representatives from most of world had been sent to tour the Kiyomizu-dera temple, Italians, Brits, Germans, Koreans, Americans, Vietnamese, and on. Many guides leading their ...

Our friend Ryoko remembered this great guesthouse she stayed at in Chengdu while on a trip to China. The owners were Japanese and she felt very comfortable and at home there. Well time and events roll on, and the Chengdu guesthouse owners had to return to Japan. They now run a charming place called Guesthouse Soi, which has both simple...

We woke up to the sound of rain on our Tokoname shipping container, so it was time to bust out the rain gear for a wet walk back to the train station. It was a grey and damp day, so not many photos. We grabbed some breakfast at the Nagoya station, featuring an egg on a thick slice of very white bread. They really like their bread and r...

It’s pottery day! We forwarded our luggage to Kyoto using Takyubin (sp? “Ta-Q-bin”), which was a smart move because the Yamanote line at 8am is packed, like only a Japanese train is packed. From Shinagawa we hopped on a Shinkansen to Nagoya, then a local train south to the humble pottery town of Tokoname. Tokoname is one of the old pot...

We went for lunch in Asakusa but it took a while to find a restaurant for the five of us. It’s sometimes not easy to get a sit down meal in Tokyo, the majority of eateries are stand up counters or a row of single stools. Ryoko says people in Tokyo are always go-go-go. She was saying there used to be soba stands on the train platform, w...

There are two common Japanese sources of things Taiko in California: Asano and Miyamoto. For the KBJ folk dance Michele has already purchased a drum and a couple of other items from Miyamoto, and Miyamoto is where the Shishi Gashira (lion head) is from. So a visit to the Miyamoto mother ship in Asakusa was in order. Michele sold it to ...

After lunch we went to the Sumo tournament at the Ryogoku arena. It’s structured as a competition between East and West, but within that there are many houses of sumo wrestlers. Each house posts their colorful flag out front: Our guide Yoko did a good job explaining the basics, such as the different rankings and how Sumo fits in cultur...

Day 2 started with a trip to Tokyo station in Ginza, where we exchanged our JR rail pass vouchers for actual rail passes. That was a long line too. I think there are lots of foreigners visiting Japan, maybe more than usual since they have opened up and removed restrictions. Anyway, after that it was a nice stroll through the Ginza dist...

OK, here we go! I think this is the first three week vacation we’ve ever gone on, in the past we’ve only had so much vacation available. The Sunday morning drive to LAX was calm. We parked at the airport Hilton parking garage, which had a clearance of 5’10”, so I had to duck all the way from the car to the elevator. In the Hilton lobby...

April 30, Through the tunnel to Rodeo Beach and the Marin Headlands. So many plants were blooming.