Réinitialiser la recherche
Japan 1Japan 1
Modifier la route

Japan 1

août - septembre 2017
  • Tim In Japan
Une aventure de 36 jours par Tim In Japan En savoir plus
  • Tim In Japan

Liste des pays

  • Japon Japon
Catégories
Aucun
  • 3,0kkilomètres parcourus
Moyens de transport
  • Vol-kilomètres
  • Marcher-kilomètres
  • Randonnée-kilomètres
  • Bicyclette-kilomètres
  • Motocyclette-kilomètres
  • Tuk Tuk-kilomètres
  • Voiture-kilomètres
  • Train-kilomètres
  • Bus-kilomètres
  • Campeur-kilomètres
  • Caravane-kilomètres
  • 4x4-kilomètres
  • Nager-kilomètres
  • Pagayer/Ramer-kilomètres
  • Bateau à moteur-kilomètres
  • Voile-kilomètres
  • Péniche-kilomètres
  • Ferry-kilomètres
  • Bateau de croisière-kilomètres
  • Cheval-kilomètres
  • Ski-kilomètres
  • Auto-stop-kilomètres
  • Cable car-kilomètres
  • Hélicoptère-kilomètres
  • Pieds nus-kilomètres
  • 37empreintes
  • 36jours
  • 183photos
  • 105j’aime
S’abonnerCalendrierPartagerListe de choses à faire
Les plus récents en premier
  • Tim In JapanVoyageurJapan 1
    1

    Asakusa, Tokyo

    23 août 2017, Japon ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Made it to the Red Planet Hotel by 9:30. Flight was delayed to 11:45 out of Brisbane. Takes ages at Narita airport to progress through fingerprint and retinal scans. Made it on to the Keisei Skyliner with a minute to spare! Had to cart my luggage between the Ueno Keisei station and the metro station a few 100 metres away. No problems catching the metro and eventually found the hotel. It's hot and humid in Tokyo, I was sweating checking in. Photos from my hotel room window.En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Tim In JapanVoyageurJapan 1
    Breakfast
    On the north wall of Senso-ji1Senso-jiCarp in a small stream1Otaca Sweets GF display1What's for dinner?

    Asakusa day 2

    24 août 2017, Japon ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    It's 34 degrees and humid today (weather app says it feels like 41). I've bought my breakfast from the Family Mart and it was OK. Coffee at Starbucks (I walked past it ok, give me a break jeez!) Walked through the Asakusa shopping streets, then off to the adjoining parkland that contains the Senso-ji Buddhist temple and other temples. No photos allowed inside the temples.
    Bought some GF cakes from Otaca Sweets, should be interesting.

    My data SIM is operational so I'm connected! Have bought a Pasmo card, which is like a Go Card on steroids. It can be used in vending machines as well as on all trains in Greater Tokyo.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Tim In JapanVoyageurJapan 1
    12

    Tokyo Skytree

    24 août 2017, Japon ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

    This is the tower shown in my first post and it is a 25 minute walk away. I'm on the 12th floor of this hotel. I left just after 7 (still 31 degrees) and arrived around 7:30. I bought a "fast combo" ticket for around $46. It's a tourist thing, you bypass the queues and can go to both viewing platforms (350 and 450 metres). The tower itself is 634 metres high; the first photo gives some background on its construction (one for the engineers out there).
    Much like Centrepoint in Sydney but with Thomas the Tank Engine, anime and seasonal themes. A video I took encapsulates this as well as the crowd. Unfortunately you have to become a premium member to upload video 😣    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Tim In JapanVoyageurJapan 1
    1Dharma wheel (which fascinated me)Honkan Japanese GalleryHyokeikanMuseum garden and teahouse, not open at this time of yearSort of a selfie used by stealth, the elderly couple behind me are lunching

    Tokyo National Museum

    25 août 2017, Japon ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    There is so much to see in Tokyo's museum district in Uenoonshi park. I spent most of the morning in the National Museum's Honkan building, which hosts the Japanese Gallery. It had so much information from pre-BC artifacts through to a history of Buddhism in Japan, the rise of the Samurai caste and much more.
    There are several other buildings in the complex that I didn't have time to see. I'd like to come back when the weather cools. It's been 35 degrees, humid and breezeless for a couple of days. We're all suffering here 😥    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Tim In JapanVoyageurJapan 1
    1Home of the kid loving clown
    1Didn't go in, spared some poor young girl some foreign middle-aged creepiness

    Akihabara

    25 août 2017, Japon ⋅ 🌙 30 °C

    So I only brought 1 USB to micro USB cable with me. Why not go to the mecca of Japanese electronic stores and pick up a cable there? Not a difficult assignment using the Metro to get there. Found the cable I wanted and also picked up a Galaxy S8 phone cover. Took some video to show how big these stores are ( they adjoin the train station).
    Walked around the surrounding streets for some time, they're ideal for anyone interested in anime, video games, maid cafes and general cuteness. Saw young teens advertising "services" in schoolgirl outfits, this seems to be a national obsession.
    Had an iced mocha in Starbucks (yes, again!) just to beat the heat.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Tim In JapanVoyageurJapan 1
    1

    Mt Fuji

    29 août 2017, Japon ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    So a group of 16 meet up at Tochomae metro to hike Mt Fuji. The tour is run by Fuji Mountain Guides with 4 young guys (3 Americans and a Brit) as tour guides. It takes a long time to exit Tokyo as we're on the road by 7am during peak commuting period.
    The hike starts at the Subishiri 5th station, which is 1950m above sea level. Our goal is to reach Fujisan lodge (3400m) by late afternoon. We'll have an early night there, then leave for the summit at 2:30 am.
    Being of a certain age, I've retired the backpack and bought modern luggage. So I've rented a backpack and 2 hiking poles from the guides. It's immediately apparent that I can't fit all my gear into this backpack, so my daypack comes along for the ride. It starts initially attached to the backpack but that's too awkward so it becomes a frontpack later in the day.
    It's surprisingly warm and humid at 2000 metres. I'm wearing long trekking pants and sweating profusely (like most of the others). There's a lot of fog around so the views are non-existent. The 1st photo shows this. It's at one of the stations where we can take a break, have a toilet stop and buy drinks.
    We eventually make it to the Fujisan lodge by 4pm. The 2nd photo shows its location above the cloud layer. The 3rd photo shows the track leading up to the lodge with hikers. So dinner is supplied and is a curry with rice. Filling and quite flavoursome.
    We're turning in around 7pm. We each have a supplied blanket and sleeping bag but are tightly packed together. So if I lay on my back and stuck my elbows out I would hit 2 people. Some people sleep but my immediate neighbours both snore so I while away the hours in quiet desperation.
    Finally it's 2:30 and time to trek upwards. We go single file and encounter wind and freezing rain. Turns out the waterproofing wax I bought for my boots isn't that great. Awesome time to find out. There are a lot of hikers after the same goal. We get to the summit and mill around trying to take cover from the wind and rain. It's very cloudy but suddenly the sun appears! The crowd goes "oooh" and a mad scramble ensues to take photos. 15 seconds later the clouds are back and the opportunity is lost! Only for a couple of minutes as magically the clouds roll away and the sun is revealed in awesome majesty. These are my last 3 photos, including the obligatory "summit selfie".
    Anyway it's not smart to linger at the summit so we trek back to Fujisan lodge for breakfast. Chicken with scrambled eggs, very tasty. Everything is packed away and we make our descent. This is the reason that parts of my body no longer talk to me. With the weight I'm carrying my knees and toes cop a pounding. The terrain is mostly scree but there are sections involving rocks that were challenging. Thank God for the hiking poles!
    Eventually I make it back to the starting point. Time for a drink, a bit of a rest and then I'm off to Gotenba in the van. And that's the end of my Mt Fuji adventure.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Tim In JapanVoyageurJapan 1
    My room before dinner
    1Bedding configured while I'm eating1Dinner night 1The massage service I used1Dinner night 2The ryokan at night

    Yamagishi Ryokan, Kawaguchiko

    29 août 2017, Japon ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    So the bus from Gotenba deposited me at Kawaguchiko station. I'm still wearing my hiking gear (including boots) but it's 29 degrees here and I'm carrying around a dry bag and a day pack. I stop by the ryokan where I will be staying. Check in isn't until 3 but I can leave my dry bag there until I check in. My luggage has made it from Tokyo, huzzah!

    When I do check in I'm taken through the formalities of dinner and breakfast, both supplied for the duration. I show the staff my dietary requirements in Japanese which causes considerable angst. So a tip for you coeliacs out there: either don't stay at a ryokan or put up with the meals and avoid the obvious gluten traps.

    The first two photos show my room (529) before and after dinner. So bedding is prepared while I'm eating (3rd photo). No footwear is worn at dinner or in the room. There is a small landing next to my door and a shoe rack. There is a low table for meals, impossible for a middle aged caucasian such as myself to negotiate, and also a smaller but crucially higher table which is more suitable.

    Dinner time is either 6pm or 6:30. Breakfast is 7:30, 8 or 8:30. I've asked for the 6:30 dinnertime and 7:30 breakfast time. I find the breakfast not so suitable so will skip the last 2. It will now be the GF weetbix, some yoghurt, cheese, fruit and cold coffee. Breakfast of champions, what!

    The ryokan has an onsen (public bath) available at no charge to guests. I've been once but didn't feel greatly improved. I think the 35 minute in-room massage was more effective. The Mt Fuji hike has definitely taken it out of me!    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Tim In JapanVoyageurJapan 1
    1
    1Lake MotosuMt Fuji view from Lake Motosu

    Laundry Day!

    31 août 2017, Japon ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    So I've rented a car from the local Toyota franchise. It is a Toyota Vitz compact car, so it's not fast but is easy to park (photo 1). The first task is to do some laundry as the Tokyo heat and Mt Fuji trek have severely stretched my clothing resources.
    The coin laundry is on a main road and should be easily accessible, yet Google Maps insists on using back streets. Or it's just me. Anyway I eventually find it and decide on a machine (2nd photo). I have bought detergent and manage to follow all the steps to start a 27 minute wash (with the help of Google Translate). Once that is done I load up a dryer for 50 minutes.
    While the clothes are drying I drive to a park at Katsuyama rest area on Lake Kawaguchiko. It's pretty and tranquil, so I sit on the grass, eat my lunch and watch young people throwing a baseball and kicking a soccer ball. Back at the laundry, my clothes are bone dry. Mission accomplished!
    Later in the afternoon I drive around Lake Motosu. It's beautiful, serene and very quiet. Good views of Mt Fuji from here. Last 3 photos.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Tim In JapanVoyageurJapan 1
    Cable car return trip
    Picture 1 from Mitake-san1Picture 2 from Mitake-sanView from route 411

    Okutama

    1 septembre 2017, Japon ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    So I've decided on a longish return drive to Okutama. I use Google Maps to navigate. It takes me along route 139. There are quite a few turns and many 30kmh zones. I take a pitstop at a rest area in Tsuru. It's extremely scenic past here with mountains, a river and multiple dams.
    As I progress to more remote terrain I hit a technical problem. Turns out my data SIM provider doesn't have coverage in this area so Google is gonski. Time to bone up on the car GPS system. It's not difficult as it supports destinations based on names or phone numbers (and is in English). Soon I'm back in the game.
    I eventually make it to Takimoto station. This is where I took the cable car up to Mitake-san, which is at 939 metres. The 1st photo is from the return trip as I had a good view down. At the top it's typically touristy but there are panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. I walk up a few trails before returning via the cable car to Takimoto.
    The car GPS selects route 411 for the return trip. I won't be back in Kawaguchiko until after 5 so I have limited stops. That's a pity as I cross a number of small and picturesque bridges which are well worth a photo. There's much less stress on this route. Eventually I turn on to route 137 which takes me back to the Ryokan.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction
  • Tim In JapanVoyageurJapan 1
    Cable car at RV park
    Everyone wants a feedRV park near the pondFrom my hotel window in NaganoMy Teppanyaki menuTeppanyaki chef "makes fire"

    Towards Nagano

    2 septembre 2017, Japon ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    It's 188 km from Kawaguchiko to Nagano, which is a long day's drive on the general roads. The mountains are a constant backdrop to the day even when I'm stuck in Saturday traffic. Plenty of 7-11 stores along the way for pitstops and stretching.
    Towards 10:30 I stop at a rest area which is an RV park. At first glance it's not impressive, but as I walk through it I warm to it greatly. There's a cable car and a pond with catfish and ducks, all jockeying for position should some scraps come their way. It would be a great lunch stop but it's sadly too early in the day. The first 3 photos come from this area.
    It's busy in the centre of Nagano when I cruise in. I end up parking in a multi-story car park, which takes ages as we have to wait for cars to exit first.
    My hotel room is typically small and has views to the south east (4th photo). I've looked online for Nagano restaurants and have found a Teppanyaki restaurant within 200 metres. It's menu is also online so I'm able to translate it.
    When I walk there I find there's a girlie bar next to the lift I am taking. Distracting. On the 9th floor the head waiter tells me it will take around 2 hours to go through all the courses. It actually takes 90 minutes. I'm really there for the 160 gms Australian beef but sit through the other courses. They present challenges as I dodge the croutons in the salad and try to work out how to eat a prawn with chopsticks. I end up just using my hands, which works for me. The chef gives me a cue for the photo ops, all in all a good night.    En savoir plus

    Voir la traduction