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Japan North to South
  • Patrick Vorsteveld

Japan North to South

Una aventura de 53 días de Patrick Leer más
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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld
    1

    Deadpool

    3 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    I really like the landscape parks in the bigger cities. They are basically an escape from the crowdedness and noise from the city streets. I found one online that looked pretty cool and was not too far away: Koishikawa korakuen. This park next to the Tokyo Sky Dome is relatively large for a park. The entrance fee was only 300 yen so i decided to go in. The park is dotted with lakes and ponds and bridges connect several small islands. The parks abundant trees allowed for some nice strolling in the shade. I gues it's not that popular with the younger crownd in Tokyo since most people were way over 60. After an hour walking around i had seen the entire park and thought it was time to go to Yokohma.
    Even though Yokohama is pretty close to Tokyo and it's actually pretty hard to see where one city begins and the other ends, i had not yet visited this place. There was nothing of my particular interest so i decided to go to the rebuillt harbour district. This used to be a big port with warehouses but has been converted to a huge shopping center with theme park and loads of restaurants. It was only a half hour trainride from my hostel to the harbour district. These last couple of days have been really warm and as i got out of the airconditioned train and the hot humid air made me sweat almost immediately. It took some time for me to figure out where to go which is not unusual with a lot of signs that are mostly in kanji. But with a little help from Google maps i found my bearings and set off into the harbor district. The first half hour of walking took me through various huge and expensive shopping malls. Interesting to see but not my cup of tea. I walked passed the theme park where i could hear the kids screaming as they rushed down in one of the rollercoasters. I read somewhere online that the red brick warehouses contained sever very interesting restaurants and i decided to check it out. Halfway to the warehouses i suddenly heard a lady screaming for joy at a truck that was parked at the side of the road. As i got closer I realised this was not a regular truck. The movie Deadpool had just been released in Japan and so a huge deadpool statue in an interesting pose was placed on this truck and then just driven around town. Meanwhile the soundtack for the movie was screaming out of the speakers. Aahh yes these are the kind of things that make me love Japan. I took some quick pictures and went on to the red brick warehouses. It was getting really hot and uncomfortable in the sun and that gave me a good excuse to go into a restaurant for some lunch. I checked several restaurants before choosing one that sells Hawaiian burgers which is basically a burger with avocado. But boy is it delicious! I took some time to really enjoy and let the food settle for a bit before heading of to Yokohmama's chinatown. This is one of Japans biggest chinatowns and it shows. Literally dozens of streets litterd with shops and restaurants that serve chinese food. I found a nice and colorfully decorated temple and walked around in the backstreets some more before going back to the station and joining Jimmy and some other guests in yet another drinking session at Nui's.    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Headset

    4 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    The event with the expensive headset Megume told me about was set to start at 11am so i had plenty of time to get some extra naptime. I slowly set off from the hostel to the even which was held in a big building in Shinjuku. I reported at the reception and they told me to take the elevator to the 47 floor where the demonstration would be held. It took me quite a while to find the right room since everything was in kanji. After walking about 7 rounds in the building i finally managed to find the demonstratation room. It was a good choice to go early as there were only 2 people in front of me. Each person could listen to the headset for a good 5 minutes before it was time for the next person to listen. After 10 anxious minutes it was finally my time to listen. I have to admit that the headset sounded really clear and crisp but I'm not sure if my ears could hear the difference with a regular headset after all the years of really loud Techno parties. It was definitaly a great experience though and i must say that Slayer sounded more metal and Marianne Rosenberg more disco than on any regular headset. On my way back i strolled through a nearby park to find a garage sale in the main square. People were selling roughly the same stuff as the Dutch sell on Kingsday. The rest of the day was spent in the shopping and Kabokicho red light district and just enjoying the hustle and bustle of the backstreets. I don't have the urge to buy stuff or anything. It's just really nice to walk around and watch people. Back to the hostel again where a small Matsuri was going on in the street with lots of small kids beating the big drum that was in front of the shrine. I got some nice pictures but had to get the hostel for a quick shower since i was going to meet Nao, a girl i met two years ago in Hana Hostel in Tokyo. She invited me to her share house to have dinner with her and her friend and housemates. The place was not that hard to find but google got the addres wrong and sent me to the house nextdoor. I rang the bell and a very surprised Japanese student who didn't know Nao just hung up on me. After a while I found the right house with the help of Nao and i got into the common kitchen where they were already making Takyoki, one of my favorite foods. It was so great to see her again and talk with her and al of her friends. I had a lot of fun making Takoyaki, although i'm not very good a it. I was enjoying myself so good that i almost forgot about the time and after taking pictures of us together i had to run for the train back to the hostel. I got to the station in time al sweating but i just made it before the last train. Back in Asakusa i went to Nui if I could see Jimmy there. He went to Niigata and i wanted to hear about his adventures. I couldn't find him at Nui or at K's house so i decided to go straight to bed. I was absolutely knackered!Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Amemura

    5 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    As Jimmy and I would both leave Tokyo today and would go in the same direction we had spoken about going on the Shinkansen together. But because we hadn't agreed on a time and yet and i had not seen him yesterday, i woke up early to check if he was still in the hostel or not. I checked with the staff at K's house and they told me he had already left, which was too bad since we didn't get the change to exchange our addresses and he didn't have FB or Email or anything. Luckily he would come back to the hostel in a couple of days so i left him a note with my address. I took the subway to the Shinkansen and after getting a reserved seat ticket and waiting for roughly 50 minutes (i really have to learn to plan this better. :-P) i got onboard. In a certain way it was good i was alone now because i really needed to update my blog and the trip to Osaka would give me plenty of time to do so. About an hour and a half later i had nearly finished two days of my blog as i noticed a big person entering the wagon i was in. I looked up and it was Jimmy! Apparently he had been doing some shopping before entering the same Shinkansen as me. We briefly spoke before the conductor came in and told Jimmy that this was not his reserved seat and he had to move to his own seat. (the cars were rougly 80% empty. :-P) Luckily this Shinkansen version has 5 cars for non reserved seats and after walking through 9 long train cars we arrived in car 5 and the rest of the trainride was spent chatting and exchanging adresses. At Osaka station came the time to split up since he was going on to Hiroshima. I helped him up the stairs with his heavy luggage and we said our goodbyes. I took a local train and strolled abit around the downtown Umeda area in Osaka before taking the subway to Amemura. This is the youth/underground district of Osaka and one of my favourite places to just stroll around and watch people pass by. As an added bonus it is also the place where one of my favorite hostels is located, Hana Hostel. Great little hostel with great staff. I'm always looking forward to coming there. I checked in and after a quick shower and a long nap i went out on the streets of Amemura. This place is best enjoyed at night when a lot of people are outside or in bars having a good time. You can hear all the different kinds of music from as many different and crazy bars. I wanted to get a little break from all the partying of the last couple of days in Tokyo so i grabbed some dinner and some Highball drinks from the local konbini before heading to bed (relatively) early.Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Bracelet

    6 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Jonny the Backpackingman told me about how good it is to ride a bike through Osaka (well, basically a lot of Japanese cities) and so i thought it would be nice to rent a bike from the hostel and just ride around a bit. Jonny also told me about the Nihonbashi district in Osaka, which is basically a smaller version of Akihabara in Tokyo but not less geeky. I decided to bike in the general direction of the Osaka aquarium, a route that would lead me through the Nihonbashi disctrict. I tried to mount my phone to the handlebars of the bike but after a couple of near drops I found it to be wiser to just hold the phone in my hand and set the volume to maximum so i could hear to the spoken commands of my navigation app, which was a bit safer. I soon found out that my biking experience in the Netherlands and more specifically Amsterdam was very useful. Here you basically don't ride on the roads but on the sidewalks where the pedestrians also try to find their way. Apparantly rules and regulations don't apply to bikers. No speed limits or passing each other on the left side. Just make sure you get to your destination as fast as possible without hitting anybody. After a short and steep learning curve and swapping my sunglasses for my regular glasses i quickly found my way through the Osakan traffic. Only to be regurarly stopped by the plethora of traffic lights on every crossroads. One of the downsides of American style city planning with streetgrids. I passed the Nihonbashi district but a lot of shops hadn't opened yet so i pedaled on to the waterfront area. I stopped for a short while to spray myself with sunscreen. The first few days in the blistering sun i forgot to do it and although i didn't get sunburn i started to get this kind of "inverted panda face" look. :-D.
    I got to the waterfront area with the big ferris wheel and the aquarium and got into the little shopping mall to cool down a bit and maybe get something to eat. The mall itself was nothing special but they had a Baskin Robbins ice cream parlor. The 40 different flavours did not make choosing easier but the "Temptation Island" and "Maple syrup something" i chose were pretty good. Although i have no idea what "Temptation Island" should taste like. Coral and sand perhaps?
    Back outside i saw a sign pointing to Mt. Tempozan. At 3.54 meters it's arguably Japans lowest mountain. As posted on Facebook, the climb was cruels, hot and harsh but i made it. Unfortunately several of my sherpa's did not survive the climb, so i had to climb the last 23 centimers on my own. ;-) Only to find several schoolkids in their uniform relaxing on the top.
    The descent went pretty smooth and fast and i pedaled back to the Nihonbashi district where a lot more shops had opened. I parked my bike and checked out the area. There were a lot of shops that sell only one type of item. I found a shop that just sold networking cables. But then in all different shapes, sizes and categories. I found a shop called No.1 Guns and was intrigued. They did not sell real guns but very lifelike BB-guns. These things are so realistic that i'm pretty sure they are not allowed to be sold in the Netherlands. Apparantly they even have play games with these guns. Kind of like a high-tech tag game. I got back in the Amemura district where i met up with Jonny again in the local Starbucks or "the office" as he would call it. We discussed the day and previous night and both decided to take it easy for once. I got back to the hostel with a couple of Highball drinks and after a shower and short nap I got back down to the common room in the hostel where i met David and Chris from New Zealand. My intentions on working on my blog were short lived as we chugged down several beers and talked about whatnot. It was around 1am and i was ready to go to bed when i met Yok from Thailand, a very sweet girl who was traveling through Japan with her brother and sister. We talked for a short while and she ended up giving me a wonderful bracelet her sister designed and her brother made. How sweet! We said goodnight but not before promising to meet up again the next morning before they would leave for the airport. After that i went to bed realizing this was a wonderful day!    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Buffaloes

    7 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    I wanted to go see the bamboo forest on Arashiyama today but the heavy rain and the late waking up made me change my plans. I actually did some useful things like laundry and update my blogs, which was kind of a challenge because at the same time I was having a conversation with David from New Zealand and Kazukesan from the hostel. With a little discipline from me and David shutting up (;-)) I got two new days in my blog. David asked if I would blog about it in my blog and I said yes. :-) I asked Masaesan if she could. She actually found one and told us that although it was not the highest league it would still have a big crowd watching the game. David and Chris wanted to join and i sent Jonny, whom i met in Sapporo a couple of weeks ago, a message if he wanted to come to. I got some nice ramen supper with David and Chris before going to the game which was held in the Kyocera dome. Jonny would join us later at the stadium.
    It was a little tricky to find the ticket booths at the stadium but after we found it we got some nice tickets at the 1st base area. Jonny joined us and after trying to enter the stadium through the wrong entrance we managed to get in without many problems. We found our seats and ordered beer from one of the girls running around in bright outfits with beer backpacks. No need to leave your chair for beer, how cool is that! The game itself wasn't that spectacular until the last inning when "our" team had the option to win the game but failed. It was a tie, which meant that the game would have three more innings. Already sitting there for almost 4 hours and possibly spending at least one more we decided to leave and watch the rest of the game at the sake bar underneath the hostel. Jonny went back to his hotel. Me and Chris met up with David who was already in the sake bar.    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Nekiyaki

    8 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    I decided yesterday that no matter what the weather would be, i would go to the bamboo forest. I wanted to see it since the first time i arrived in Japan but something always came up or plans had to change. Luckily the weather was in my favour today and so two relatively short train rides brought me to Arashiyama, just outside Kyoto. I was advised to rent a bike since there are more things to see than just the bamboo forest and so i rented a classic bike with basket for roughly 1000 yen. The weather started to heat up already as i got on my bike to the forest. After finding my way on the map, they have a tendency here to use maps with the north facing any which way direction but up on the map, i got on my way. Actually the forest was not that hard to find since the signs are usually aplenty and clear. And in this case i could just follow the stream of tourists from the station. Which was not a particular good thing as that would probably mean there would be a lot of tourist in the forest as wel, which was the case. The forest itself is really nice and to watch the bamboo sway in the wind is a particulary soothing sound. But the abundance of loud tourists and selfie sticks tempered my enthousiasm. It was just too crowded. Now don't get me wrong, i know i'm as much a tourist as the next person there, but my expectations might have been too high. In the forest was a nice temple complex and even though it had the same problem as the bamboo forest, it was nice to see the landscaped garden and the buildings that made up for the complex.
    I hopped on my bike to explore other parts of Arashiyama but the heat and the sheer steepness of the roads made me choose to go to back to Osaka to spend the last evening of my stay there. On my way in the train to Kyoto i remembered the soymilk donuts i had the first time i was in Nishiki market and i just had to get back there for some more. It was just one easy trainstop from Kyoto station which was on the way to Osaka anyway. Contrary to two years ago i could easily find the place, ordered 10 donuts and sat down on a bench in front of the shop just to enjoy these fresly baked, steaming hot donuts. Delish!!
    Back in the hostel i took a short refreshing shower after all the sweating (the heat and humidity are crazy here) and i took of for a nice last stroll through the Amerikamura and Shinsaibashi shopping street. Doing nothing special, just enjoying one of my favourite places, topping it of with some delicious Nekiyaki at Furutano a famous Okinomiyaki place in a department store at the end of Shinsaibashi street. Back to the sake bar at the hostel again to meet up with Jonny and some other folk for some alcoholic delights, before we set of into the area to see some other bars. I guess my body was done with all the partying and lack of sleep because after just two bars i was too tired to go on. I was so tired i can't even remember getting to bed. I had a great time here again Osaka. Arigatou!    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Stroopwafels

    9 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    My goal was to take it easy today as all the partying and drinking had physically caught up with me. Luckily the trainride from Osaka to Okayama was a short one and i planned on making two short stops along the way. The first one was in Kobe. At the Oktoberfest on my first Japan trip i learned that there was a Dutch stroopwafelshop (for people who don't know stroopwafels, it's the best cookie in the world, period) and so i was very anxious to see the shop and meet the shopowner, Marco. A Dutch immigrant who started the shop. The shop was not to far from the station and was easily found. When i got in the shopowner was a little bit surprised i knew his name but after telling him my name and explaining we had a mutual acquaintance he quickly got up to offer me a freshly baked stroopwafel, which i happily accepted. It was so weird for me to talk Dutch again after weeks of English, German and very poor Japanese. ;-) We talked a bit about his shop and Yumi, our mutual friend and before i left i bought the biggest pack of stroopwafels he had with all the different flavours he makes. Trust me my fellow countrymen, a chocolate or coconut stroopwafel may sound strange but it's actually pretty darn good. Really! Unfortunately i can't prove it to you as most of the stroopwafels were gone within a matter of hours. In the rush of saying goodbye i forgot to take a picture of us together but that just gives me an excuse to come back to Kobe again. :-)
    Next stop on the way to Okayama was Himeji castle. One of the most famous and beautiful remaining castles of Japan. It has been (partially) closed the last couple of years due to restauration but now you can see over 90 percent of the restored castle again. It was easy to find as the castle is directly visible from the station and a 15 minute walk takes you straight through the entrance of the castle. Now this is obviously a touristy place as well but nevertheless it's a great place to visit. Every effort has been made to keep the castle as authentic as possible. So no elevators or whatsoever and the staircases are narrow and small. This in my mind however adds to the overal atmosphere of the castle. In the beginning i had to find my way across a group of elderly French tourists but some handy moves on my side and i was in the clear. The self guided tour sends you through the castle's main keep and the outer areas with short explanations in English with plenty of opportunity for pictures. The tour leads you to the exit of the castle and back to the station. So glad i could finally see this beatiful place.
    Back on the train for the final and short ride to Okayama. The hostel was easy to find and only a short walk through the downtown area. I checked in and after making my bed i and taking a shower i got back downstairs to the common area and order myself a cold brewski. I was there talking with Emma from the UK and Yiyang from Korea when all of a sudden i turn around only to see a camera pointed straight at me. I was kind of startled at first but soon found out that this was a local TV crew making an article for NHK Okayama on tourist visiting Okayama. NHK is the country's national station but with several smaller stations in major citys nationwide. There is apparantly a rise in tourism to Okayama and they were looking for random tourists to ask for their choice in choosing Okayama as a destination. After talking a bit with them and showing my goshuin they asked me if they could join me in my sightseeing tomorrow and make an article about me! It didn't take much thinking on my part to say yes! I mean how cool is this. Last time i was here i got into a newspaper and now on TV! Are you kidding me? This is just awesome. After some more quistions at the bar this part of the interview was over and we decided to meet up the next day at 9am. I made the wise decision to go to bed early so i would be fresh the next morning. Awesome!!!    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    NHK

    10 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Being on TV in Japan. Who could have dreamed that? Luckily i didn't lose any sleep over it but as soon as i woke up i got a little bit restless. I mean i am used to being looked at here, especially in the smaller towns. But this is a whole different level of attention. This is a cameraman following your every move and getting aired on (albeit local) TV. I planned to do some local sightseeing anyway today and just try to treat it that way. I got up a litlle earlier than usual since i am not a morning person and need some time to really wake up. I took a nice long shower and double checked if i had al my stuff with me in the backpack. As i came down Mayu and Genki were already at the hostel getting some shots of the building. Mayu was the director/interviewer and Genki the cameraman. We shook hands and said goodmorning and after a short talk we set off into Okayama. I felt myself getting really nervous especially when Genki was pointing the camera straight at me. But i was confident that it would be just a matter of time before this would subside and it more or less did after a while. Basically i tried not to think to much about it and just did my own thing. Meanwhile Mayu asked me things about myself like age, family etc. I think partly to get some information for the article but also make me feel a little bit more comfortable. It helped. :-)
    We got to the station and i got a little bit lost searching for the tram which was a bit hidden from sight. I thought i was smart and asked Mayu but she told me that i had to figure it out myself. She was obviously right. Even things like finding your way in Okayama can be interesting for the article. (maybe even more so when it's me with my legendary navigational skills ;-))
    Eventually i found my way to the tram and Mayu and Genki followed me inside. First stop was Okayama park, a beautiful landscaped park. Genki filmed me having breakfast and i was still nervous enough to make a mess of my riceball, which can be difficult enough to eat anyway. We walked through the park and headed for the castle where i mistakenly took the lady from the ticket booth for a monk who could draw a sealn in my goshuin. :-D You can see it back in the article when i say "doko?" meaning "where?". :-D Remember i didn't get help from Mayu or Genki so i had to find out for myself. Luckily the lady had an English map of Okayama and she pointed out the Okayama shrine to me which was only a 10 minute walk away from the castle. We got to the shrine and Mayu managed to get Genki inside the building so he could film the monk drawing the seal in my book. It was slowly getting time for lunch and I went through a small shopping arcade to find a nice restaurant. But not without going through some shops first. Everytime i entered a shop Mayu would come in right after me, showing her NHK badge and asking for permission to film in the shop. Meanwhile Genki kept filming and pushing memory card after memory card in the camera. One card could hold about 40 minutes of raw material and i saw him change cards at least three times. Eventually we stumbled upon a restaurant with the entire menu and no pictures (which is pretty uncommon). We got inside and after asking for permission to film i tried to ask the shop owner what the specialty of this restaurant was. With some verbal and a lot of non-verbal communication (aka pointing) he managed to explain to me that this was a yakiniku restaurant, which literally means grill meat. It was a BBQ restaurant which basically means meat! I found this a good choice for lunch and with a little help from the owner we ordered spare ribs, beef tongue and some vegetables. Now the idea of yakiniku is that you get the meat raw on the table and you cook it yourself on a miniature BBQ that is integrated in the table. Seriously folks, where can i do this in my home country?! There's not much to it in terms of complexity but the end result is so tasty! I wanted to pay for the lunch but Mayu and Genki insisted on paying since they could join me on this day. For which i thank them a lot!
    We had about an hour left of filming time since the raw footage had to be edited for the evening news and so after a short stroll throught downtown Okayama we went back to the hostel where i treated them to stroopwafels with tea. They did the final interview there before they set of to the NHK studio for editing. I thanked them again for this awesome day and after waving goodbye i treated myself to a shower and a cold beer to cool down a bit. Mayu had said that the item would air somewhere between 6 and 7pm and since the hostel didn't have television i went to the local Okonomiyaki place for some nice hearty food and my TV debut. Marisan from the hostel was so nice to explain the people the situation and if i could see the show, which wasn't a problem. It took about half an hour and and a lot of nervous moments but finally my item was on! It was so awesome! They took the best parts of the day and made a really nice article from it. I recorded the whole item which lasted about 5 minutes so you can see for yourself on Facebook. :-) Back to the hostel i celebrated with a couple of beers with Yiyan from Korea before heading off to bed. I was knackered from all the excitement so i fell asleep right away. Truly a day to remember! Thank you Mayusan and Genkisan!    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Blue line

    11 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    I had been looking forward to this day for a long time. I also had several scenarios planned depending on the weather because i wanted to do a famous bike ride called the Shimanami Kaido. A 77km long trip across several islands and bridges that would lead me from Honshu to Shikoku. My original plan was to do it in two days but the forecast for the second day was mainly rain and thunder so i had to complete the trip today. That unfortunately meant a little less sidetrips and a little faster pedaling but hey i'm Dutch and biking is in my DNA. ;-) I woke up early to get to Onomichi, the starting point of the bike ride. Renting a bike was incredibly easy. No ID necessary, just pick a bike you like, pay the man behind the counter 2000 yen and fil in you name on a simple form and you're off. The bike trail starts with a small boatride to the first island and from there the trail is either a separated bike lane or marked with a thick blue line. Easily recognisable and painted over the entire length of the trail. Now you might think this is easy enough but with my renowned navigation skill i g took a wrong turn at roughly the 5th crossroads. The brochure said the entire trail consisted of gently climbing slopes and there i was pushing my bike up a 15 percent incline, while cursing and sweating all the way up. On the top of the climb was a gentle older Japanese man and i asked him if this was the trail. He had to laugh very hard and then told me i missed a turn. He was friendly enough to guid me back to the trail. I thanked him for his help en continued my way on the gentle slopes leading to the first bridge. It was a really nice and scenic trip up to the first bridge and the fact that the bikelanes are separated from the other traffic really adds to the rhustic feel of the trip. Crossing the bridge was a breeze and the views from the bridge into the island dotted inland sea between Honshu and Shikoku were nothing short of awe-inspiring. On the islands the trail mostly goes over the same roads that the other traffic uses, although there often are quiet and smooth sidewalks you can ride on. Every now and then i would take a small break to catch my breath and take some pictures of the surroundings. I kept an eye on the time and when i was halfway down the trail (the distance to Imabari was clearly marked on the blue line), it was time to get some wel deserved lunch and cool off a little bit. The sun was already hammering down at this time so this break was more than welcome. A half an hour and 5 deepfried chicken nuggets later i got back on the back and got reminded of the advantages of prober cycling gear. I was wearing just my normal clothing and it felt like my underwear was trying to cut my legs off. Luckily on of the other side effect is that your butt gets numb since the bloodflow is cutoff so that helped to ease the pain a bit. As i stopped to take some nice pictures of the next bridge i would cross i noticed my mobile phone, which i use as a camera too, had totally crashed, possibly due to the heat of the sun. I had to into a konbini to let it cool down before i could finally reset it and use it again. This had cost me some valuable time as i had to get to the bike rental station at 5pm and i had to cross a small mountain ridge between me and the last bridge. I switched to beast mode and just pushed the pedals like it was nobody's business. I heard some people with carbon bikes and professional outfits growl as i passed them with my 5 speed bike with basket on the handlebars. I've had people actually cheer me on as they saw me passing by, hauling ass on my "old ladies" bike:-P
    The last bridge promised to be spectacular as it spans a total distance of more than 5 kilometers fro the last island to Shikoku. The bridge was really high and involved some spiraling climbs to get to the bridge deck. The view of and from the bridge was just spectacular and eerilie high. After i crossed the bridge it was just a short ride to Imabari station where the blue line ended. I quickly found the bike rental station and got on the train tu Masuyama, home of the Dogo onsen. One of the oldest onsens in Japan. A true treat after a day of cycling. In Matsuyama i transferred to a tram which would bring me to Dogo onsen. At the tramstop i saw Shine and her family. They had been the ones cheering me on. We had a nice talk in the tram stopped at the final stop it was time to say goodbye. I went straight up to the hostel, which was still a climb, for a bath and a change in clothes. I walked down to the tramstop to get some dinner from the konbini. I walked around a bit and took some pictures of the Dogo Onsen before going back to the hostel for some well deserverd sleep.    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Honkan

    12 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    As i woke up i could still feel the bikeride from yesterday in my legs. But since it was raining i had a good excuse to take it easy today. I looked online for nice local places to visit and found Ishite-ji, one of the 88 temples on the Shikoku pelgrim trail. This one was known for it's somewhat unusual secondary temple grounds. This temple doesn't have the regular shape but instead is more like a goldcoloured dome. Surrounded by a lot of wooden buddha statues. The secondary grounds can be reached trough a cave. It's a truly spectacular sight. I actually took a wrong turn again and got to see the secondary temple grounds first. It was really quiet and serene and i could make some nice pictures without people in the way. I went through the 200 meter long cave and entered the main temple grounds. It was a relatively small temple grounds but it was filled with different temples and shrines. There were dozens of pelgrims in their special clothing, praying to the various temples. A truly wonderful sight and i just stood there to enjoy it for a while. As i left the temple it started to rain again and so after eating my lunch in Dogo park i went back for a long nap. I guess yesterdays bikeride was heavier than i thought. I ended up napping for more than two hours. I set the alarm but i can't even remember turning it off. It was already getting dark and so it was time go to Dogo Onsen Honkan. One of the oldest onsens, it really has this authentic feel to it. I already had seen it yesterday from the outside and it kind of reminded me like the bathhouse in "Spirited Away". (if you don't know this movie, do yourself a favour and go watch it). There were several options for bathing and i chose the one with both the baths and a tour of the royal onsen. The onsens consists of a maze of onsens and it took me a while to find out the workings of this particular onsen. A little help from the tea ladies got me on track and soon i was washing up for the baths and entering the onsens. As i finished bathing i put on my yukata and got to the rest/cooling down rooms for a cup op sencha and some rice cookies, while enjoying the view from the onsen over all the other tourists taking pictures of the building. I changed into my normal clothing and was lead around the royal onsen. This bath, intended for the emperor and his family has only been used 7 times in the last 100 years. I even got a tour of the royal toilet, a squatting toilet that has never been used so far. It's made from laquered wood and the floor is covered in tatami mats, quite unusual for a toilet. I gues it's a royal thing. ;-)
    I left the onsen and got some nice ramen at the adjacent arcade. I still can't believe how much ramen you get for this price and how absolutely delicious it is. Back to the onsen for an early sleep as i would get up at 5 o'clock to get the ferry to Beppu.    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Ferry

    13 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    It was already time to leave Shikoku again and set off for Kyushu or more specifically Beppu. When i was planning my trip i figured some days of rest would be welcome after Tokyo, Osaka and the Shimanami Kaido. And what better place to do this in one of the most renowned onsen towns. I had two options to get there. One was by train but it would be a long way around. The other was by ferry which was a bit more expensive but shorter and i figured also a nice experience. So i opted for the ferry. I had to take a train to get to the port of Yawatahama first and was surprised by the beauty of the surrounding mountains. The morning fog made it even more beautiful. I arrived at the ferry port just after 8am only to find out that the first ferry would not leave until 10.15am. So much for waking up early to catch the earlies ferry. There was nothing to do but wait and kill time by working on my blog and trying to catch some sleep. The ticket window opend an hour before departure and after filling in a form with my personal information i bought myself a 2nd class ticket for the ferry.
    The ferry arrived and we got the sign to get onboard. After the obligatory ticket check i climbed the stairs to enter the ferry. I made sure to get onboard asap so i would get a seat with a nice view. But to my surprise there were only about seats for eight people, the rest of the interior was just basically an elevated floor where you had to take your shoes off and take one of the square pillows so you could comfortably lay down. I was suprised at first but soon realised that this was actually a pretty good idea. The ferry ride would last over 3 hours and only the first and last couple of minutes would be interesting. The biggest part of the journey was quite boring with nothing to see except the waves. So the best thing would be sleeping anyway. :-)
    After a nice nap and some working on my blog the boat had arrived at the terminal in Beppu. I left the ferry and set off to walk into the town. I had read there was a really nice aquarium in Beppu and took the bus from Beppu station to go see some fish. The aquarium itself is not that big but nicely setup with some interesting themed basins with underwaterlife from all over the world. There was even a very nice coral display with live coral, something you don't see everyday as coral is not that easy to grow in an aquarium.
    It had gotten time to get to the hostel and after check-in it was time for a shower and a short power nap. I noticed in the hall there were some tips for local activities and restaurants and i noticed one about a local Gyoza restaurant. Gyoza are fried dumplings of Chinese origin. I've had them a couple of times before as a side dish and these things are absolutely delicious. And to get a plateful of these little wonders for only 600 yen was something i could not resist. The restaurant was easy to find and there is no menu. The lady behind the counter only asks how many portions you want and if you want a beer with it. Now it may sound strange that a restaurant only serves one dish but it's not that uncommon and after trying the first you won't have any problems with the lack of choice. These dumplings are insanely good! The whole plate was gone within a minute even though i got in a converstation with Shinichisan, a local from Beppu. On the way back to the hostel i grabbed me a couple of cold brewskis. In the hostel's common room i met Daisy and Sunshine and wast later joined by Toshi and some other folks for some good talks before getting some well deserved sleep.    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Orandajin

    14 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    I had planned two days in Beppu and figured one day of onsens would be more than enough for me. So i chose to do something a bit more active but still not too crowded today. I read about stone Buddhas in a small town calles Usuki just an hour south op Beppu and thought this would be the ideal spot for me to be active and still get some rest. Trains to smaller places don't go very often in these surroundings and because i lacked to check the schedule i had to wait almost an hour for the first train. As i arrived at Usuki i found al the bus schedules to be in Japanese only and so i asked the friendly lady from the tourist office if she could help me out a little bit. She very enthousiastically started to tell me about the area and all the things to see and do. After a while she showed me the busroute and explained that the next bus to the stone Buddhas would soon depart from the station. The busstop was only a few steps away from the station and as the bus arrived i was the only passenger to board it. That remained so until the bus arrived at the final stop at the stone Buddhas. I got a ticket at the entrance gate and the lady was apparantly surprised to see a foreigner because she asked me where i was from and was surprised when i told her i was from Oranda. She was friendly enought to point me to the entrance of the stone Buddha park and soon i was on my way. Most of the signs and boards were in kanji but it was still a spectacular sight to see the Buddhas carved out from the rocks. I walked around for more than an hour and made sure i visited all the statues. I was a really relaxing and inspiring site to walk around in. I wrote a small note in one of the guestbooks. I had seen a small restaurant on the way up to the place and as i had to wait another 45 minutes for the bus figured it would be a nice place to have lunch. I entered the restaurant and heard 3 people from different places in the restaurant yell "Orandajin!" which means "Dutch person!" I guess I was the news of the day in this very small place. :-)
    I order lunch and got a really simple but delicious and hearty vegetable meal. It had all kinds of locally picked vegetables, fresh and pickled with rice and miso soup. As the bus was about to come i left the restaurant and the lady from the ticketwindow was so friendly to recheck the bus schedule for me. One bus and trainride and i was back in Beppu again. It was getting late in the afternoon and after hunting for some nice Beppu t-shirts i went back to the hostel to meet up with all the folks from yesterday evening. Sunshine suggested to go to a park and relax and play some baseball and volleyball which sounded like a great idea. I went to bed tired but satisfied. This was just the day i needed. :-)    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Sand

    15 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We had agreed to do some sporty activities today together and the plan was to gather in the hostel's common room at around 2.30pm. That would leave me plenty time to do two special onsens today. The first one being a sand bath at the beach. I figured this would be a good one to start with as it was relatively close to the hostel and a good base from where to get to the second onsen. Rina, a guest from the onsen, told me how to find the place and after a short walk from the trainstation i found myself in the sand bath place. I got a short explanation at the ticket booth. Basically what you do is wash yourself like you do before you enter an onsen and only put on the yukata that is provided to you. The sandbath itself is mixed gender and that is probably also the reason why you keep your yukata on at all times. Even when you are buried in sand.
    I entered the sandbasin and was instructed to lay down in a small pit that was already dug. Once i layed down. the ladies began to bury me in hot black vulcanic sand. It was a really weird sensation. Almost like somebody covers you with a really heavy electric blanket. And even though the sand was not that hot, the fact that it covered my entire body except my head made me sweat profusely. You stay buried for around 15 minutes which was enough for me. The ladies checked up on me every couple of minutes or so. I don't know if it was standard procedure or because they saw me sweating like a hog. :-P Finally the sign was given and with some instructions from the crew i was able to free myself from the sand. I couldn't wait to get under the shower since the sand was everywhere. I rinsed of all the sand from the yukata and also myself and after getting dressed i went on to the next onsen. It was called Hoyo onsen and although it's quite far from the center of Beppu it's still a favourite among onsen frequenters because beside the normal onsens it also has an mud onsen. This was something i just had to try! My google maps app said it was only one walk away and so i decided to walk to the onsen. Wat Google maps forgot to mention, however, was the fact that the entire walk was uphill for one hour straight. I was still sweating from the sandbath and walking uphill in the scorching sun made me sweat even more. I think i drank two liters of water without even having to pee once.
    I finally arrived at the onsen and quickly found my way to the outside mud onsen bath. Now my experience has tought me always to be careful as the bottom of the onsen is not always visible and almost always treachourous since it's made up of natural stone. And of course after two steps in i slipped and fell head first in the muddy water. Obviously onsens are a serious thing so nobody laughed out loud but i am pretty sure most of the folks had to hold in their laughs seeing me go down. the bath itself was surprisingly nice and not smelly at all. It is said to give you a smooth and clean skin so that's always good. I had to leave the onsen pretty early because the way back would also be an hour walk and it was already half past one in the afternoon. The walk back to the hostel was nice as it gave me a chance to cool down a bit. As i got back to the hostel, most of the group was already there and we set off to the baseball batting venue first. There were several pitching machines with various speeds and effects. I found it pretty hard to actually hit the ball right, although i managed to hit some homeruns. ;-) I played some airhockey with Rinasan and after a short game of pingpong we walked back. Halfway through the walk we found a bamboo forest with some loose bamboo and Toshi thought it would be nice to bring some bamboo with us to use as decoration for the hostel. He carried these three meter long bamboo stalks all the way back to the hostel, sometimes blocking traffic when we crossed a road. We stopped to get some beer and went on to a park to play some volleybal. It was already getting dark and it was time to get back to the hostel. Rinasan and i decided we had walked enough and took the bus while the others walked the last bit. Rinasan went straight back to the hostel and I wanted to get one more portion of those delicious Gyoza i ate two days ago. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed and so i had to make do with a salad and some beer from the local konbini. When i got back at the hostel the others were already there and after watching a Japanese dubbed episode of Knight Rider and some more beers i went to bed. Again knackered. ;-)    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Football

    16 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    It was time to leave Beppu for the next destination, Fukuoka. I planned 4 days in Fukuoka so there was no rush to get there. I checked out 5 minutes too late and took a short detour through the shopping arcade for some sugar orange peels. Rinasan had told me this was the local Beppu specialty and so obviously i had to have some. It took some searching as the shop's name was in kanji only but comparing the shops facades with a picture got me to the right place. The sweets is basically an orange peel prepared with a lot of sugar so it has a bittersweet taste. Probably not very healthy but really tasty. A local train took me straight from Beppu to Fukuoka and it was a good time to get some shuteye. I have taken up the habit of just walking around town the first day to get a feel for the city and directions and just to watch people. I walked to the canal street shopping mall as it was on route to the hostel. It was just another shopping with a lot of the same brandstores you would see everywhere so i was quickly on my way again. Meanwhile the rain started pouring down and i figured this would be a good chance to catch up on my blogging as i'd been lagging behind for almost four days. I walked into the nearest coffeeshop and after getting me a macha latte I and some newfound inspiration i got rid of the backlog of blogwork. Meanwhile it had gotten time to check-in at the hostel so i picked up my stuff and walked there through the rain. After checking in and freshing up i was in the common room of the hostel where i met Mark from Hong Kong and Revvy from Taiwan. They were also about to have dinner and i joined them to try one of the famous Hakata ramen. Just about every town and city here has it's own specialty in food and in Fukuoka it's the Hakata ramen. There are just so many delicious ramen restaurants in this place. They all have their own variety of ramen and they're equally delicious. This time we went for a pork and fish broth with spring onions, pork belly and noodles of course. Utterly mouthwatering stuff!
    Back to the hostel we met Simon from the UK and i suggested to him to watch the England-Wales match somewhere in a bar on a TV screen. Chuto from the hotel staff suggested a sports bar in the Tenjin area and so we were quickly on our way. A little bit of asking around quickly led us to the bar which was slightly hidden and in the basement of a building. It was loaded with locals and to our joy the game was already on! The locals were cheering for both teams and the atmosphere was really nice. We ordered a pitcher or two and watched England win the game in overtime. We got a couple of beers from the konbini as we went back to the hostel, where i quickly fell asleep in my bed.    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Volcano

    17 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    I heard Mark talk about a vulcano in Kyushu yesterday and decided to check it out. It would be a two hour train ride to Kagoshima and then a short ferry ride. A bit long since i also had to get back the same day. But how many times do you get to see an active volcano, right?
    At the station i quickly found out that only the slowest Shinkansen would ride all the way through to Kagoshima. This was probably due to the fact that the route leads throught Kumamoto, the city that has been heavily hit by the earthquake a couple of months ago. This would add some extra time to the trip but since i had already set my minds on seeing the volcano i went on and boarded the Kodama Shinkansen. The trip, as always with the Shinkansen, was smooth and comfortable. Before and after passing through Kumamoto it took a slower pace, apparantly for security reasons and i could see some of the damage done by the earthquake. Most of the visible damage remaining were broken roofs covered with thick sheets of plastic. After leaving the Kumamoto area the train picked up speed and quickly i arrived in Kagoshima. A short local trainride took me to the station that was nearest the volcano. I could not see the volcano yet but as i walked around the corner, the volcano island doomed before me as a big dark silhouet. Actually a pretty scarry and impressive site at first. Unfortunately the weather was very foggy so the top of the volcano was not visible. But i still had a ferry and busride up the volcano and the weather might still clear up so i did not lose all hope of seeing an eruption.
    The ferry took me to the island in about 15 minutes and after buying a dayticket for the tourist bus (i already discovered that walking or biking was not really an option) I was on my way. The bus stopped at several sightseeing spots, following a rigid schedule. Depending on the spot we had either 5, 8 or 15 minutes of sightseeing before the bus would leave. Without any form of warning. Now the time we got was more than enough to see the different sites but it makes you feel rushed somewhat. Unfortunately, even at the highest viewpoint the visibility was still not good, so i did not get to see any smoke or eruptions. The bus took us back to the ferry port and i walked a little bit across Kagoshima as i went back to the station. The ride in the Shinkansen back to Fukuoka gave me plenty of time to get some extra sleep. Back in the hostel I saw Revvy again and we chilled out in the common room together. I finally went to bed at midnight. I really need to get some more rest haha.    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Tunnel

    18 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Revvy from the hostel told me about the trip she made to Kitakyushu and it sounded interesting enough for me to check it out. Kitakyushu literally means "the north of Kyushu" and it's comprised of several smaller cities like Kokuro and Mojiko that were added together to form the bigger city of Kitakyushu. My plan was to start in Kokura, which is more or less the center of the city and work my way up throught Mojiko where i planned to take a bike to Shimonoseki on Honshu, the main island of Japan. A very short Shinkansen ride took me to Kokura where a nice castle is situated. I walked to the castle in about twenty minutes while enjoying a doner sandwich mady by a Turkish guy calld Metin in a foodcar. It was slightly adapted to Japanese tast but absolutely delicious. The castle was small but nice and the interior was filled with a lot of displays on the history of Kitakyushu and Kokura in particular. As i was looking out over Kokura from the top floor of the castle, i heard music coming from a nearby shopping mall. It sounded like regular J-Pop but i had to check it out. As i got to the shopping mall i could just see the end of a performance by a girl group called QunQun, comprised of roughly 16 year old girls. I was kind of disappointed to have missed the show but then maybe an even more interesting part began. A table was placed on stage and the fans (a lot of them middle aged) could get a meet and greet, autograph or even a picture with their favourite girls. All for a fair amount of money obviously. Now this may seem a bit creepy for western terms but keep in mind that this is Japan. It's something that's called Otaku culture and it's actually pretty common. Nevertheless it's still interesting to observe and so i stayed for a while until i'd seen enough and went on to my next destination, Mojiko. Mojiko is a somewhat older port town, one of the first to be opened after a more that 200 year period of seclusion. One of the most traded items in Mojiko is bananas. All around town you see shops selling everything related to bananas from little souvenirs to cakes and whatnot. Every now and then i would see a group of people screaming to eachother while one of them was rhythmitically hitting a banana box, while 10 people or more were seated on seats watching the entire show. It looked a bit odd but after asking one of the ladies in the group it turned out to be an auction where bananas were sold to this small crowd. And even though i could not understand one word of what they were saying it was really fun to watch the crowd and the auctioneer interact.
    It was time to cross the straight between Kyushu and Honshu. I had read that there is a pedestrian/cyclist tunnel that you can walk throuhg. It's roughly 800 meters and it takes you from Mojiko on Kyushu to Shimonoseki on the westernmost point of Honshu. My first plan was to rent a bike but the weather was nice and i had plenty of time so i chose to walk there instead. It was only a 8km walk. I crossed the Mojiko harbor and after a while saw a building that said "Kanmon" tunnel. This was it! I took the elevator down and as i got out i stared into the pedestrian tunnel. It looked just like any other tunnel but just smaller and just suited for pedestrians and cyclists. Crossing the strait this way took about 10 to 15 minutes and the small incline mad the walk pretty easy. And old man whom i talked to in the elevator used the tunnel as excercise to stay fit, as he passed me again on his way back to Kyushu.
    I got out at the Shimonoseki side and set about to Shimonoseki station which was still almost 5 kilometers away. The road lead me through some nice neighbourhoods and i visited some shrines along the way. It was time to get lunch and i started actively looking for a restaurant that selled Fugu. Fugu is a highly poisonous fish that only a select group of chefs are allowed to prepare. One small mistake and the entire fish becomes (deadly) poisonous. This is also the reason those restaurants are hard to find. What i didn't know is for exactly this same reason this dish is also extremely pricey. Prices start at 70 euros for only a couple of slices of Fugu and some miso soup. Oh well, sushi doesn't sound that bad all of a sudden. :-P I got me some nice plates of sushi at a local kaiten sushi. One of which was mentaiko, the eggsack of a female fish, which is a local specialty as well. It's hard to explain the taste but it's a little bitter with a mushy consistency. Of course i ate way too much sushi and slightly stuff i was back on course for Shimonoseki station. After passing through the shopping area and finding my way through the maze of roads i almost directly got a train back to Kokora and consequently Fukuoka. I got back to the hostel with some brewskis and quickly met up with some other guests from Korea, Taiwan and Japan for some good talks and laughs. This was a rich day!    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Fascists

    19 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    With all the traveling around the last couple of days I hadn't seen much of Fukuoka itself. And because i already visited the biggest attractions I thought it would be nice to just stroll around the shopping area in Tenjin and do some people watching. A small detour on the way brought me to Fukuoka tower, a 110 meter high structure that serves as a lookout and controlling point for the harbour but is also a free lookout point over the city. The entrance was free so there was no harm in paying a visit. The view is actually pretty nice since you can see the city and the waterside at the same time. There was not much else to do and so i got back down to ground level and continue my walk to and through the Tenjin area. Underway i saw heaps of tourist being lead to tax-free shopping centers where they could buy rice-cookers, amongst other things.
    Somebody had told me about a great second hand shop called "Book Off" that not only sells second hand books but, depending on the shop, almost anything that can be sold. I was looking for an extra pair of shorts and figured this would be a nice place to get one for cheap. It took some time to find the shop as it was located on the top floors of a department store. But once found it was easy to find my way through the heaps of stuff on sale there. Clothing is neatly sorted and very reasonably priced. I found myself a nice pair of shorts for only 800 yen and browsed through the shop before continuing my walk through Tenji. It had gotten past noon so i set myself down in a Starubu to escape the blistering heat and update my blog while enjoying a Macha Latte. I try to get no more than three days behind in my blogging and this session brought me back on schedule again. As i was walking around i suddenly heard a lot of loud screams behind me and as i looked behind me saw a protestmarch going on. The protesters were waving Japanese imperial flags and in front there was a car with loudspeakers on it that were screaming in Japanese. There were roughly 30 protesters protected by a couple of hundred policemen. It turned out to be a fascist demonstration of people who, for some reason, had something against Korea. No not North but South Korea. Around the protestmarch and the wall of policemen were also a hundred anti-fascists having a counter protest. I was intrigued and decided to follow it and see what would happen. Eventually the protesters ended up on a square in the middle of Tenji. They tried to get their hateful message across but the gathered anti-fascists tried to make sure they couldn't. :-) It was a loud mishmash of screaming megaphones. After some small skirmishes the police ended the demonstration. I went back on my way and after walking a couple of rounds i ended up back at the same square where a communist rally was now going on. The crowd was a mixture of older and younger people although the latter seemed more involved with their phones than in the rally. I got me a couple of Highball drinks and just watched and enjoyed the spectacle before heading back to the hostel for my daily afternoon shower. :-P
    I met Andresh from Hungary in the common room and since we both hadn't eaten yet, we went out to find one of the recommended ramen-ya that serves the famous Hakata ramen. A short walk brought us to the shop but unfortunately it was closed for the day. Luckily there are plenty of other ramens shops so we quickly found another one. And it was pretty good. I just love the pork belly they add in their ramen here. It's utterly mouthwatering. After getting back to the hostel i set off one more time to try out the Yatai. Yatai are foodstalls you can find out in the streets of Fukuoka. They serve simple but good meals and i had to try it for myself. But as i got there my good mood was quickly spoiled. I wasn't that hungry so i just wanted to order some yakitori. The first Yatai i was sent away from because i had to order ramen first. The second one did not hear my simple question and just kept repeating "waiting line, waiting line" and the last one just sent me away before he offered the two free seats at his stall to a couple walking three meters behind me. There were more Yatais to try but my good mood was totally gone and i decided to head back to the hostel and get some snacks and drinks before going to bed.    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Megane

    20 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    I had visited Nagasaki for the first time in 2014 and it struck me as a really laidback city. It has a really welcoming atmosphere and if you mention you are from Oranda you've made instant friends. The Dutch were one of the first (and for over 200 years the only) counties do to trade from an isolated island in Nagasaki. The weather forecast predicted rain in the morning and dryer weather in the afternoon so i had a nice long sleep and took a train late in the morning from Fukuoka. There were some things i hadn't been able to visit in 2014 due to lack of time and i was determined to do them this time around and i figured since it were some smaller attractions i could squeeze them in one afternoon.
    First up was Clover Gardens, the former residence of Thomas Glover, one of the first traders/merchants to come to Japan after the end of the 200 year seclusion of the country. He was of key influence of the industrialisation of Japan in the Meiji period. After looking around for the entrance for a while i finally found an elevator(!) that would take me to the entrance of the gardens. The Clover gardens are a collection of houses from that period that give a real nice feel of life in that period of time. Each house can be entered and information about it's history is given in both Japanese and English. Luckily the rain had subsided and so I had a pleasant walk while learning something about Nagasaki's history. Highlight of the gardens is Thomas Glovers house where a lot of authentic items are on display and you can learn about how he and his wife lived there.
    Next up was Oura church which was only a 10 minute walk away. Now the Portuguese had tried to spread Christianity through Japan some 200 years ago before they were kicked out for that very reason. The Japanese people who converted to Christianity had been prosecuted and murdered by the shogunate at the time. The end of the Japanese seclusion however saw the influx of westerners and their religions again. And so many churches were built, the first being Oura church in Nagasaki. I've have seen many many churches in my life and normally i'm not very keen on entering one anymore. But this was one i had to visit. It has all the things you'd expect from a church, including the stained windows. The only exception being that there was a box that you had to throw 100 yen in before praying, just like in the temples and shrines here. :-) I had seen enough and headed towards the hostel. It was only slightly raining so i decided to walk the distance and do some people watching in the big shopping arcade. Just before getting to the hostel i made a smal detour to see the Megane bridge. In English this is called the glasses bridge. ("Megane" literally means "eye make") It's one of the older and more scenic bridges and makes for a nice picture. It was a short walk to the hostel from there and after check-in and a shower I went back out for some Champon, a Chinese noodle dish with pork that is only served in Japan. :-P
    Back in the hostel i met up with Mark from Holland (finally another Dutchie) who was hitchhiking and camping his way through Japan. Really fascinating and inspiring to hear his views on traveling through Japan. After that it was time for bed. Tomorrow is going to be a Dutch day!    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Doko?

    21 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Time to go Dutch! This was also something i couldn't find time for when i was here for the first time in 2014. I don't know why i decided to skip it two years ago but I have been regretting it ever since. I mean how often can you see a part of your country in a place halfway around the globe. So i decided that no matter what I want to visit Huis ten Bosch. This is a theme park/open air museum put here by a local businessmen who apparantly was really fond of the Netherlands (really, who isn't?). He made every effort to make this theme park look as realistically as possible. Even the bricks that make up the houses were imported by ship from Dutchie land. And it shows. Even before entering you are greeted by the sight of Amsterdam Central station. And when you enter the park itself it's at some points hard to distinguish this place from the real thing. Although is pretty awkward to see the Dom tower (which stands in Utrecht) from Amsterdam Dam square. And places where it was not allowed to ride a bike. Not very Dutch. :-P. A lot of attractions have a Dutch theme like cheese, although there are also a lot of other attractions to attract more people i suppose. After walking around and convincing myself i was not back home, I stumbled upon a plaza with a beerfest. They served various German beers and sausages. (now where have i seen this before? ;-) Only thing was it was not as crowded yet, i guess it was too early in the day. But the bar was open and i couldn't resist getting a nice cold Warsteiner and Paulaner beers just to quench the thirst. I anxiously awaited the band to start playing and the place to fill up but that didn't really happen. The band was a one man guitar player who did 4 George Michael covers and then quit and the place was still not very crowded. I had seen enought and got on my way back to the trainstation, passing through the Schiphol gate (how fitting! :-)) The train took me back along the inner sea that lies between Nagasaki and Sasebo. (it's actually featured in one of the Rail Away episodes)Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Strolling

    22 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    No big plans today. I had seen most things i wanted to see. I had some tshirt hunting to do and this combined with the heavy rain made me go out into the nearby shopping arcade. Shopping arcades are basically shopping streets but the street has a roof so no matter what the weather is, it's always comfortable. Add to that that the backstreets of these shopping arcades are usually a pretty good place to find cool shops and some people watchin and you have a good activity to spend the day. The arce was filled with people even though it was just another weekday and i quickly found myself browsing through the many tax free shops that line the arcade. After going to the MacDonalds for a homely snack i found myself strolling through the backstreets of Nagasaki. Unfortunately there weren't many shops of interest for me and after walking about for roughly two hours I returned to the hostel where i spend the rest of the afternoon talking with a guy from Britain about his biking and camping adventures in Japan. Really cool to see the way he traversed Japan on his Koga-Miyata, a Dutch-Japanase bike brand, how funny. :-)
    I went to bed early as i had to get up really early to catch the first train to Fukuoka and then a flight to Okinawa.    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Sweat

    23 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    When i said i had to wake up early yesterday, I wasn't exaggerating. Although the flight to Okinawa would depart at 10.30 i had to catch a local train from Nagasaki to Fukuoka. A ride that would take over 2 hours. And with check-in time and the extra buffer i always like to build in it meant i had to get up at 5 am. Thankfully i had already packed my backpack and so the departure from the hostel went quiet and smoothly.
    I got a quick breakfast and went to Nagasaki station to catch the early train to Fukuoka. At the platform i realised i had forgotten my umbrella and i went back to the konbini to pick it up before returningto the platform. Of course as always at these times and despite the punctuality of the Japanese Railways the train got cancelled and i had to wait half an hour for the next train to depart from the station. Luckily this train departed as scheduled and there was still no reason to panic. I always easily fall asleep in the train and this one was no exception. I put my seat all the way back and got some extra well needed sleep. After a while i woke up only to realise that the train was moving really slowly and occasionally stopping. I couldn't really figure out what was going on but figured it had to do with the morning rush. Still no reason to panic but this shouldn't take too long. Luckily the train picked up speed and on transfer and a 5 minute trip later i was at the aiport. After looking and asking around i found my way to the right terminal and check-in desk and found myself in the waiting room. It was time to check in and of course the Japanese wouldn't be the Japanese if they had not found a way to streamline the boarding process. Not aware of this system, i got refused at the gate entrance since first seats A and F were to board, followed by B and D, before finally allowing rows C and D to board. And as always, how unfamiliar it may seem at first glance, it does work!
    The flight itself was nothing worth mentioning, albeit calmly and comfortably.
    The plane landed smoothly at Naha airport and as soon as i disembarked the plane I could feel the intense heat and humidity. I started sweating and haven't stopped since. The inland flight did not require any immigration or customs hassle and soon a bus took me to the terminal building. It took me a while to figure out which bus to take to my destination but the friendly lady from the bus counter helped me on my way. Bus 120 at bus stop number 3 end leave the bus at Ihei bus stop. Thankfully the stops are pronounced in multiple languages and English being one of them it was easy to find the right place to exit the bus. As soon as i left the airconditioned bus i started sweating profusely. The walk to the Churahama hostel was still a quite long one and i arrived dripping in sweat, only to find the hostel was still closed, kind of. I somehow managed to find the "owner" who showed me my room but got confused as i asked him for a key to the lockers and had to check everyting i asked him over the phone. I nevertheless settled into my room and after asking for a larger bed since the bed/couch was too small i made myself home. I got a nasty surprise as i tried to turn on the A/C as it was coin operated. 100 yen would buy me 2 hours of cold air. I will not repeat the words i said there and then but i can tell you they weren't very nice. ;-)
    I noticed the tsunami wall as i walked to the hostel and it had a nice boardwalk. I got some beers to go as i figured it would be a great place to watch the sunset. It was. I've seen many sunsets around the world and every place seems to have it's own stunning version of it. The fact that i wasn't alone in enjoying it proved me right. As the sun had set i went back to the Transit cafe for some exellent fondue(!) and local Orion beer before returning to bed. Tomorrow i would have to rise early again.

    Normally this is where my blog ends but the coin operated airconditioning woke me up every two hours as it ceased operationg. I had just enough coins to make it until 5 o'clock and so the last hour and a half were spent cursing and sweating in my room...    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Maejima

    24 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I got picked up from the hostel at 7.15am by Doug, the owner of the reef encounters dive shop. He brought me to the dive shop and after financials were taken care of i was introduced to Andrea, who would be the divemaster for today, Mick from Australia and Tyle and Tucker, brothers from Arkansas. We loaded up our gear into the car and while driving to the harbour, Andrea explained to us how the preparation and diving itself would go. Today's diving would be in the Keramas island group, about an hour by boat from Chatan on Okinawa island. I bought some extra sunlotion and that turned out to be a good idead as the sun was schorching hot. The captain of the boat was responsible for choosing the dive sites so all we had to do is get ready and get wet. ;-) Mick was to be my buddy for today and he turned out to be a very relaxed and experienced diver. Contrary to the Japanese divers on the boat,, which were racing from spot to spot, Andrea kept a nice pace and showed us all the cool small and special things hidden in the coral. I was hoping to see a reef shark and i was not dissapointed. Even though i could see it for only a short while the sight was just spectacular!
    The dives weren't very deep and even though i had plenty of air left, the regulations of the boat were that dives could last a maximum of 45 minutes. Back on the boat we got our gear ready for the next dive as the captain steered the boat to the next spot. I will not go into the depths (pun intended) of every dive but suffice it to say they were al great. The water was extremely clear and there were so many new and different things to see, it was unbelievable. I did not rent a camera this day as i wanted to check out the underwaterlife first, a choice i deeply regret. But i was sure the next two days were going to make up for that. :-)
    As the boat sailed back to Chatan harbour, most of the people were sleeping because of the intense day. We got our gear back to the shop to rinse all the salty water off. Maggie from the shop told me that the hostel they booked for me made a double booking and so they had to transfer me to another hostel a little bit further away from the shop and the harbour. But since i would be picked up in the morning and brought back after the dives that was not really a problem. I was actually relieved and hoping that this hostel would have normal A/C in the room instead of a coin operated one. Luckily it had and after a salad and hot meal with some bears i nearly litteraly crashed in my bed. Awesome aswesome day!!    Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Tokashiki

    25 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    New day new dives. Andrea picked me up from the new hostel and i was really rested because i had the comfort of a working A/C in my room. She told me there were no other divers in her group today and we would dive with just the two of us. A personal dive master how awesome. And as i had already experienced her way of leading the dive i was even more enthousiastic. In my experience a lot of divemasters drag you through the water and point out some of the more obvious and bigger sea life. That is understandable if you have a bigger group but it's not how i like to dive. Andrea has a relaxed pace and actively looks for those things that make a dive really special. Like i said yesterday a lot of the Japanese divemasters race their customers to some well known spots and that's that. Andrea was looking under overhangs, in crevices and whatnot to find the smallest of nudibranches, juvenile cuttlefish and dragonmoths. Either which one of them is hard to find just in itself. We got to the same group of islands as yesterday but there are several divespots to choose from and we didn't repeat one of yesterdays dives. I will not go into detail of every single dive. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. But rest assured all three of them were pretty friggin' awesome. Add to that the nice and fun talks with Andrea inbetween dives and the passion we share for diving and it was another excellent day of diving. I slept all the way back to the harbor on the top deck of the boat. We rinsed our gear again at the diveshop and after she brought me back to the hostel it was for a quick and easy dinner and off to bed again. Diving is really hard you know! :-)Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Maeda point

    26 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Today was going to be a different location, but not less special. Andrea picked me up a little bit later than yesterday we had to take a short ride over the islands only highway to get to Maeda point. I was again the only client for today and so that promised some more great dives. I was not dissapointed. Although the dives at this site are somewhat more sandy, in my experience that doesn't have to mean there is less life to be found. To the contrary. Andrea and I always made sure to be among the first to go in the water so there won't be to much sand kicked up by all the divers. And there were a lot today. Three boats with in total over 40 divers would make for a crowded dive spot. Luckily we managed to avoid the crowded spaces and went our own way. No sharks today unfortunately but a lot of different nudibranches and really hard to spot shrimps and triggerfishes. Andrea had told me about a dragon moth, a rare fish of which three specimens lived in the sand at the first divesite. They don't have one place they stay like seahorses but they would lie somewhere in the sand. She toold me that probably a lot of divers would be looking for it so we had to have luck on our side. Somehow halfway through the dive i saw something moving in the sand and i decided to follow it. I quickly realised it was the dragonmouth Andrea talked about and I just took lot of shots of this creature, hoping that one or two would be good. ;-) After taking about a hundred pictures i decided i would leave the poor creature alone, only to see myself surrounded by all the other divers who had seen mee chasing this fish across the sandy bottom. I have to admit though that they neatly awaited their turn and did not get in my way. Again i'll let the pictures speak for themselves. We didn't have lunch on the boat as they would return to the harbour after every dive so we got some famous Okinawa soba from a local restaurant. The line of people in front of the entrance usually is a sign of great food and this restaurant was no exception. We got a nice table outside in the shade and the food was brought to our table. Incredibly good soba noodles with pieces of spare rib that just drop off the bone if you pick it up. Utterly delicious! It was time for the last dive and after the usual routine of building up and getting in the water we quickly went on our way. We saw one of the Japanese divemasters point out something but as i got closer to get a look i was waved away. I was not in the way and just tried to hold still as not to stir up too much sand that could ruin the pictures the other divers were trying to make. But that wasn't enough, she signed me to move. Which I reluctantly did while unintentionally kicking up some sand from the bottom. We quickly found our own way again and the rest of the dive was great. As we got back to the harbour we got our stuff in the car before taking a quick rinse and getting dressed in our normal attire. The ride back took some time as there was a big sunday(?) traffic jam. We got to the hostel and i thanked her for all the great dives and the fun we had al these three days. Back in the hostel after taking a shower i set off to the konbini to get some cash and dinner. On the way back it started to rain really heavy and i had to take shelter in the nearest McDonalds, only a 10 minute ride through the rain. As i finished my meal the rain had gotten a little bit less and i decided to make a run for the hostel. I arrived soaking wet but quickly dried up while watching a Japanese TV show and drinking some local Orion beers. I finally crashed at half past nine. Tomorrow I will move to Naha but it will be a slow day...Leer más

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  • Patrick VorsteveldJapan North to SouthPatrick Vorsteveld

    Kanji

    27 de junio de 2016, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    With all this diving the past three days i had become pretty tired physically. I therefore set the alarm a bit later to catch up on some sleep and snoozed it multiple times to get even some more quality nap time. As the diving had ended it was time for me to pack my stuff in the backpack and head on down south to Naha. The capital of both Okinawa island and the prefecture with the same name. Isesan, the very friendly and helpful owner of Oyado hostel looked up the busschedule for me and offered me to bring me to the busstop, something I gladly accepted with the temperatures outside already reaching 30+ degrees. We arrived at the busstop and as i got out the car the bus was already there. I said a quick thank you and goodbye to Isesan and rushed to get on the bus. Today was gonna be another day of strolling around the downtown area. After about an hour i pressed the button to get off the bus. The Japanese have their own system of paying for the bus. It's not very complicated but it requires throwing the exact fare in cash into a machine when one exits the bus. It took me some time to get the right amount of money as i was fiddling around with the wrong bills, apparantly to the dismay of the driver as he started commanding me to hurry up. (well i am guessing that's what he was saying, based on the non-verbal communication). I finally got the right amount and tossed it in the machine, shutting up the driver. I exited the bus and went looking for a big electronics store called Yamada Denki. I was not really looking to buy stuff but i always enjoy walking around in these to shops to see al the cool stuff they sell. For a while i stood at the toilet seat section, seriously thinking about buying one. I know a lot of you have serious second thoughts about these toilet but once you've tried one there's no going back. The only thing that stopped me from buying one was the fact that i would have to rebuild half my toilet. But still...
    Next i headed for Kokusai street, the main shopping street/area of Naha. Although it's a big shopping street you don't see a lot of the bigger chain stores but instead a lot of local shops. I promised one of my friends to get him a tshirt with big kanji signs on it. I have been frantically searching all over Japan but it was really hard to find a one that i liked. There would always be something in the design to put me off. Apparantly a shirt with just straight kanji is very difficult to find. My last hope was that somewhere in this shopping street I would find a tshirt that would match my criteria. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were so many tshirt shops that let you design your own tshirt, with or without pictures, kanji, smileys and whatnot. I got a brochure from one of the shops and decided to study it before choosing a design. I still had three days to make up my mind. From Kokusai street i walked to the seaside to cool down a bit and watch some kids play at a small beach before heading to the hostel as I was really in need of a refreshing shower. I passed an Aeon supermarket and went inside to get some cold brewskis and some snacks. Great was my surprise when i saw a small real baguette lying in the bread section. They have a lot of different breads here but they are all soggy and very sweet with no real crust. I had been craving "real" bread for a while and would not let this opportunity pass me by. I put it in my basket together with some local Orion beers. (an excellent beer to drink in the warm sunny climate of Okinawa) As soon as i got outside i got the bread out of the bag and took a first big bite. It's hard to describe the feeling but suffice it to say it was pretty darn delicious. I was still enjoying this great find as a i arrived at the hoste. The check-in was easy and pleasant with a giggly girl at the reception who laughed at almost everything i said.
    I went to my dormitory and met Jack from England. He won a trip in a competition from his university and chose to go to Japan. After giving him my condolances on Brexit and talking about the Euro Championship footbal we went out for some food and found a nice smal streetvendor that sold fried noodles. We grabbed a couple of drinks and had a lot of fun quoting various classic comedies like Naked Gun, Police Squad and Monty Pything. Pretty impressive since he was only 19 years old. :-)
    At midnight it was lights out in the hostel and i quickly fell asleep. I guess my body is getting tired from all this running around. ;-)    Leer más

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