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Japan 2023
  • Alan Chapman

Japan 2023

Un’avventura di 60 giorni di Alan Leggi altro
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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Nagasaki

    1 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    We went by tram to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. It wasn't as large and seemed older than the equivalent in Hiroshima. Interestingly, whilst there were photos of the Allied leaders and commanders, there were none of Emperor Hirohito and General Tojo, nor was there a recording of the Emperor's radio broadcast, six days after the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and ten days after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, telling the Japanese to surrender. Although it mentioned that Japan was in conflicts from 1931 until 1945, it didn't mention that Japan had started them all. Of course, the Museum wasn't concentrating on the historical record but particularly on the aftermath of the bomb being dropped, However, you wonder what Japanese schoolchildren are taught in their history classes.
    The Peace Park was also not so extensive as the equivalent in Hiroshima. A small part of the former cathedral was left standing. I went to the new Urakami Cathedral, and almost got caught up in a funeral, and continued to the one pillar torri gate.
    I took the tram to Dejima and Nagasaki Crispy Noodle Soup for Sunday lunch at a "Fine Dining" restaurant nearby. Afterwards, I walked around Dejima Island which isn't now on the coast but surrounded by buildings. Dejima was the base for the foreign traders, especially the Dutch, who were allowed to trade before Japan closed its doors to foreigners in the early 17th century before reopening them to Commander Perry in the 1850s and then other countries in the late 1860s when the Emperor resumed full control after overthrowing the Shogun.
    It's interesting to note that American intervention in the mid-19th century led to the Industrial Revolution belatedly reaching Japan, and a century later, it was American intervention that led to Japan adopting a democratic constitution in place of militarism.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Nagasaki

    1 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    In the afternoon, I took a tram to Oura Catherdral, built in 1864 and the oldest in Japan, dedicated to the 26 martyrs crucified in 1597. The adjoining museum had details of the Christian communities which were suppressed but survived in the centuries which followed.
    I walked up the Dutch Slope and went in one of the colonial houses which survived in the atomic bomb due to the geography of Nagasaki and its hills compared to the flat land around Hiroshima. I had a local cake, castella, and a coffee in one of the houses.
    I took the lift and a moving walkway up to Glover Garden, named after one of the western industrialists, shippers and traders. His house was one of those which had been relocated to this site together with a number of others. The Garden had been landscaped with friezes and waterfalls. as it went down the hill to a museum which housed some of the floats used at festivals.
    I took a tram back uptown and walked across the river to the ropeway up Mt Inasa to see Nagasaki at night, selected as one of the great viewpoints at night in the world. The view was enhanced by a full moon.
    I retraced the route back across the river and caught a tram back to the hotel at the end of a very full day.
    Nagasaki and Matsumoto later in the trip were examples of cities which weren't overburdened by their size and skyscrapers unlike Tokyo and Osaka, and therefore more pleasant and manageable.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Yakushima

    2 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Leaving Nagasaki by train, we took the same route out to Sin Tosu to join the main line south in Kyushu on a Shinkansen to Kagoshima.
    Whilst waiting for the ferry, we had lunch at a sushi restaurant where you took the different coloured plates off the carousel or some were brought by waiters. The prices on the menu were exclusive of 10% sales tax whereas those on the wall were inclusive of tax. Japan needs to start quoting inclusive prices like the UK does with VAT. It was unnecessary for us to work out the bill because a waitress came with a hand-held device, put it against the stack of different-priced coloured plates, and the bill was almost instantly given to us.
    The hydrofoil ferry carried about 200 passengers for 110 minutes from Miyanoura Port to the island of Yakushima. This was followed by a 45 minute local bus ride to the ryokan at Anbo which overlooked a river estuary with the forest in the distance.
    We went to a local restaurant for dinner.
    Today was another day when we used our JR Pass opening many turnstiles. The 14-day Pass was worth about £300, good value if you made many journeys as we did. The price was increased substantially in October 2023.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Yakushima

    3 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Yakushima is known to be wet, picking up moisture from the East China Sea, so it was no surprise that today was cloudy with early morning rain which fortunately abated whilst we were hiking.
    We took two local buses, rising up through the forest to the Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine in the Yakushima National Recreation Forest. We hiked 5.6km over four hours, rising from 600m to 1000m over sometimes rough ground. The Forest which could be described as a Cloud or Temperate Rain Forest, is famous for its ancient cedar trees but we also saw many broadleaf trees plus streams leading to waterfalls. We were fortunate to see a troop of monkeys near the summit, close to where we ate our bento-box lunches.
    The ravine was the inspiration for the animated film, Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke).
    On a wet evening (we were unused to rain on the trip), we had dinner at a restaurant across the river where we tried lots of dishes including mackerel, which should have been fresh being beside the sea, frozen mandarins with honey, and frozen passionfruit.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Return to Osaka

    4 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    After breakfast which included a miso soup, and on a wet morning, we repeated our route by bus and ferry back to the mainland where the weather had cleared to allow a view of the active volcano overlooking Kagoshima.
    We took a Shinkansen back to Osaka, and returned to the Bridge Hotel on the metro.
    Being the final night of the Intrepid trip, we went out for a farewell meal in the evening with some choosing the option to make their own pancakes.
    The seats on Shinkansen swivel so all passengers are looking forward. The jingles which precede announcements in Japanese and English reminded me of the music for the credits on EastEnders.
    On the trip, it was noticeable how many elderly people were bent-over between 45 and 90 degrees.

    A reminder to watch the Michael Portillo programmes on railways in Japan.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Osaka

    5 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Awoken early by James getting ready to leave for his journey to Taipei before returning to NZ.
    I had a good breakfast whilst the laundry was being done.
    Yuka took me to the Central Station, which was nearby her home, to authorise my 7-day JR Pass which had been supplied by Inside Japan, and to reserve seats on two trains in the coming weeks when I was travelling on my own.
    I took the metro to Osaka Castle and Park. After a light lunch, I joined the queue to into the Castle's Main Tower. There was a good view of Osaka from the 8th floor but the Tower had been heavily reconstructed internally with museums on each floor. It wasn't as authentic as the other castles visited.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Osaka

    5 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    In the evening, I went with Lai, Tracey and Jason to the Botanical Gardens to see the Team Lab illumination of the Gardens with changing multi-coloured lights amongst the trees and plants plus some standalone installations, all complemented with background music. It was very beautiful.
    We took a taxi back to the hotel, and Tracey, Jason and myself went to a restaurant in a street off the covered arcade to cook meat and vegetables over a grill for dinner.
    I checked into a single room at the hotel now that James had left and the Intrepid trip ended.
    Inside Japan had provided me with an IC Pass to use on the metro. I also used this later on in Tokyo, topping it up when necessary like an Oyster Card in London.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Osaka

    6 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I walked the route from the hotel to Nauda Station so I knew where to go the following morning.
    Afterwards, I followed the route on two walks outlined in the Lonely Planet guide for Japan. The first was around Dotonbori which was full of tourists, eateries and shops except for a small shrine tucked-away in an alleyway. The second was around Amerika-Mura which had lots of clothing shops and boutiques.
    In the afternoon, I took the metro to the Harukas 300 Observation Deck which had a great 360 degree view of Osaka. I found some postcards to buy after fruitless searches elsewhere., and then met Tracey and Jason. We had a good meal at one of the many restaurants in the tower-block, and then said goodbye. They were going on an Intrepid Food Tour in South Korea before returning to the USA.
    Generally, the drinks at dinner were draft or bottled beer; lemon (or another fruit) sour which is shochu, lemon juice and soda water; whiskey soda, and whiskey highball which is whiskey with ginger ale.
    I used my Kansai 2-Day Pass, which had been supplied by Inside Japan, on the metro today.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Koyasan

    7 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I forwarded my large holdall to Ise before checking out of The Bridge Hotel and walking to Nauda Station to catch the Nankai Electric Railway Express for the one-hour ride to Hashimoto where I caught the local mountain train to Gokurakubashi. The seating was unreserved and neither were full on this Saturday morning. I used my Kansai 2-day Pass.
    At Gokurakubashi, there was a funicular railway to Koyasan Station where I waited for a local bus into town and got off at a stop near the Fudoin Lodge. The Lodge was one of 52 temples in Koyasan, out of 117 temples in total, offering traditional lodging to pilgrims. The Lodge was very smart. I had a ryokan-style bedroom plus a lounge,
    Koyasan was founded about 1200 years' ago as a monastery for Shingon Buddhism. It is the start of one of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes, going south down the Kii Peninsula.
    I walked to the main complex of pagodas and other buildings at Danjo Garan, and then Kongobuji with its beautiful screen paintings plus the largest rock garden in Japan.
    Back at the Lodge, I went to the onsen, and then changed into yukata clothes for the set vegetarian dinner plus sake in an attractive dining room, sitting on a low stool.
    The heater was on in the bedroom because it was cool, Koyasan being at 900m in the Kii Mountains. It was surrounded by forests of cedar, cypress, red pine, hemlock fir and umbrella pine, all conifers.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Takahara

    8 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    At 7.00, I went to the Buddhist religious service at Fudoin Lodge. There were about 24 worshippers plus two priests. The service was conducted in Japanese and English with some information being projected on to a screen. I joined the other worshippers in burning incense. One of the priests outlined the stages of meditation which we practised for 10 minutes; posture, breathing, and the acceptance of the Buddhist image into your heart.
    At 07.50, those of the worshippers who were residents went into breakfast which was Japanese-style and vegetarian.
    At 09.00, a taxi collected me for the drive south through the Kii Mountains which reached 1000m and were densely forested with deep gorges. We arrived on the coast at Tanabe by midday, and I went into the Tourist Information Centre at the train station to be given a comprehensive account of the Kumano Kodo with maps, bus timetables, etc. This was part of my Kumano Kodo package arranged by Inside Japan.
    I bought a snack lunch from 7-11, one of the 24 hour supermarkets which were very common in Japan, the others being Family Mart and Lawsons. 7-11 had ATMs which accepted foreign credit cards when you neede local currency.
    I took a local bus to Takijiri, which was the starting-point of this branch of the Kumano Kodo, and was met by a guide who took me to the Pilgrimage Centre which had a small exhibition about the Kumano Kodo, and also showed by the first shrine on the pilgrimage route.
    I was given a shite umbrella at the Centre which I retained for the rest of the holiday although it was used rarely.
    Unfortunately, steady rain had begun in mid-morning and I didn't fancy walking for a couple of hours in the rain. Fortunately, the owner of the night's accommodation came and collected us by car to take us to Takahara. The guide showed me the shrine and camphor tree there.
    The minshuku (family-run guesthouse) was called Hatago MasaRa. The husband was Japanese and his wife was French. A Japanese couple, who I saw again the following day hiking, were the the other guests. I had a bedroom and lounge.
    It was misty and foggy in the mountains.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Nonaka

    9 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    I left Takahara at 08.30 and walked 13km along the next section of the Kumano Kodo to Nonaka., the Nakahechi section. There was drizzle or mist occasionally in the morning, and rain in the late-afternoon. The route included steep ups and downs, mainly inside the forest. I passed many oijis (shrines) and walked from Post 8 to Post 34, the posts being 500m apart. The route was well-signposted with toilets and cafes in the villages. The path was mainly a forest track with stones and roots although there sections of tarmac, usually roads, such as the last couple of kilometres this afternoon.
    Each overnight stop provided a bento-box lunch for the following day.
    There were no bears or leeches but I saw monkeys high in the trees and heard some birds although they were mainly unseen.
    I passed or was passed by about a dozen others on the trail so this section wasn't busy. The views would have been great if it wasn't so misty.
    At Nonaka, I walked up some steps past massive cedar trees, which were common at the entrance to shrines, to see Tsugizakura-oiji.
    I walked back a couple of kilometres, using my umbrella in the rain, to the overnight accommodation which was a minshuku called 3rd Place Kumano Kodo. I had a 5-room annex to myself.
    Dinner consisted of 20 items Japanese-style. The other guests were five ladies from Perth who stayed in an adjacent annex.
    On the way back to my annex, I slipped down a badly-lit slope and lost one of the slippers provided in the annex.
    There was nothing of interest to watch on TV which was the case generally although BBC World was available at a few hotels in the cities.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Hongu

    10 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    On a sunny and warm day, I walked 3 km downhill to the Nonaka bus-stop where there was a Dutchman doing the same journey. The bus took us to Hongu, and then another bus to Hoshinman which was on the Kumano Kodo.
    I walked 6km downhill from Post 63 to 75, buying a herb-juice and plums on the way. This was a popular section, maybe because it was mainly downhill on good paths with good views, passing fields of horticulture and fruit tress, and because Kumano Hongu Taisha, one of the three most important shrines on the Kumano Kodo, was at the end.
    After walking around the shrine-complex, I continued down the long stone path marked with cedar trees to the shrine's entrance, and then towards the river where, in a field, was the largest Torri gate in the world which had been repositioned there. I ate my bento-box lunch on a nearby bench.    Leggi altro

  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Yunomine Onsen

    10 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    In the afternoon, I walked a very steep section of the Kumano Kodo entitled Daimchi-goe over the top of a mountain from Hongu to Yunomine Onsen. It was only 2km but took a couple of hours. An American lady avoided a very poisonous snake on the path. I had blood on my trousers so may have been bitten by a leech on my lower right leg.
    I could smell the sulphur when descending into Yunomine Onsen. I went to the Public Bath which had an 1800 -year history. The entry cost Y400 plus Y700 for a small towel which I kept. There was only one other person in the onsen.
    There was a stream of hot water flowing alongside the road in the village where a few people were using the foot-bath, and where you could boil eggs.
    My overnight accommodation was Ryokan Yunomineso which was slightly out of town so it was the final walk of a day when I'd probably walked 13km in total. The ryokan was more like a medium-sized hotel.
    Dinner was in a large dining room with individual tables all facing in one direction, a bit like a classroom. There were eleven dishes in the Japanese set meal, and this was the first and only place where a waiter indicated in which order the dishes should be eaten.
    Having dressed in the yakata, after dinner, I went to the onsen which had two indoor and one outdoor pools.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Koguchi

    11 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    The Japanese set breakfast included a small glass of orange juice which typified the miniaturisation of the food and drink on the set menus.
    The ryokan at Yunomine provided a transfer to the bus-stop in the village where I caught a bus to Ukegawa from where I walked 13 km from Post 54 to 29 at Koguchi.
    I met again the American from Washington DC and a lady from Singapore plus a couple from Walthamstow which included a lady who worked at St Thomas's Hospital; a small world. An Aussie lady took my photo at the viewpoint and summit called Hyakken-gura about halfway along today's hike.
    I stayed at a converted schoolhouse called Shizen-no-le, a ryokan with about 20 guests including an Intrepid group on an activity holiday. There was an onsen.
    The Japanese set dinner and breakfast were in a large dining-hall with your seat indicated by your room number.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Kii-Katsuura

    12 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Today would have been a long and tiring hike (1260m up and 960m down) with the possibility of arriving too late to see all the sights at Nachi. Instead, I was up early to catch the 07.00 bus from Koguchi to Kanmaru and then a bus to Shingu Station which followed the Kumano-gawa which as boat trips and forms part of the Kumano Kodo. The bus passengers included smartly-dressed children on their way to school in Shingu.
    From Shingu Station, I took another bus to Nachi Station and, from there, a bus to Daiman-zaka which was the name of the approach to Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, one of the three most important shrines on the Kumano Kodo. The 600m walk to the shrine was up 267 steps lined with ancient cedar trees.
    I visited the shrine plus Nachisan Seiganto-ji, a Buddhist temple, and bought a small black cat, a sign of welcome which was at the entrance to many shops in Japan.
    I went in the lift up 25m to the top of the 3-storied Pagoda from where I saw the Pacific Ocean in the distance as well as the Nachi Falls, the highest in Japan at 133m, across the valley.
    This was my last day on the Kumano Kodo. My conclusions are as follows.
    Over the four days from the afternoon of the 8th until the afternoon of the 12th, I hiked about 65km across the hills and mountains with many steep ups and downs. Much of it was under cover along cedar and pine forest trails and staircases which were uneven at times with roots and rocks. Parts of the trail were tarmac. There was a range of accommodation including camping. The trail was well-signposted with markers every 500m. There was a lot of information in booklets, maps and timetables. There were also toilets on the trail and at the large sights such as shrines. There were some beautiful shrines and scenery. At this time of year, the trail wasn't busy. The locals were very helpful as were the staff at the accommodations. The meals, bento-boxes and facilities at the accommodations were good, and the luggage forwarding was perfect. The weather was kind except on the first afternoon.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Kii-Katsuura

    12 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I took the local bus from Nachison back to Kii-Katsuura Station and then walked to the fishing port where I ate my bento-box lunch and then an ice-cream. I walked to the Tourist Pier and took the shuttle bus to the Urashima Hotel which was on a promontory overlooking the bay.
    There were loudspeakers and notices about tsunami evacuation centres along the promenade here and in other coastal towns, and loudspeakers in case of earthquakes inland in places such as Takahara.
    Whilst waiting for my room, I went to Bokido, a 4-pool natural hot spring onsen in a grotto with waves lapping the rocks and concrete barrier at the entrance.
    The resort hotel consisted of four sections but some were closed. There were 600 bedrooms in total which could accommodate 3000 guests. Walking around, it was very quiet but 100-200 guests appeared from somewhere at the buffet dinner and breakfast.
    The hotel looked as though it had seen better days but it was in a great location with a view of the Pacific Ocean from my bedroom.
    My forwarded holdall had arrived as always.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Ise-shi

    13 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    After the transfer from the hotel to the station, I met the Spanish-American couple from Denver who I'd met on the Kumano Kodo.
    I took the Limited Express 4-car train from Kii-Katsuura along the beautiful flooded coast with bays and islets but few sandy beaches, and many tunnels on the single-track line to Taki, and then the local 2-car train to Ise-shi.
    I stayed at a 100-year-old traditional wooden ryokan, Hoshide-Kan, with an escape ladder in my bedroom. It had a small onsen for one person.
    In the evening, I walked into the centre of town to Geku-sando, a supposedly lively street but it was very quiet even on a Friday night. The side-streets were quiet dark. I had western food for a change.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Ise-shi

    14 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    The ryokan served a Japanese set breakfast on both mornings.
    Around Ise-shi, there were 125 shrines in an area the size of Paris. I walked to the Geku shrine which was set in parkland, and then two miles to the larger Naiku shrine, also in a large park. It was a festival day with large crowds, some in black, being supervised by stewards at the most important shinto shrine in Japan. The festival of Kamisso-sai was followed by the festival of Kanname-sai when the first rice was harvested.
    At one building, I saw priests performing a service at a distance, but I was unable to take photos of the main shrines and their distinctive rooves due to the high fences around the shrines keeping the crowds out.
    The trunks of some of the cryptomeria trees near the shrines were protected with cloth-coverings to stop pilgrims rubbing their hands on them.
    There was a wall of sake barrels which had been offered as gifts to the shrine by various locations.
    There was a long street leading up to the entrance of the Naiku Shrine (Ise-Jingu) called Okage-yokecho which was lined with shops and stalls. For a morning coffee, I went into the Cafe Cap Juby, and returned around lunchtime when it had started to rain. The cafe had dozens of LPs of rock bands and blues singers such as the Stones, the Eagles, Woody Guthrie, Otis Redding, Dylan, and Smokey Robinson plus Texas-Mexican border music. The owner was a guitarist who had played in a group.
    For lunch, I bought a steamed bun with Matsuzaka beef inside.
    It was raining steadily so I caught a taxi back to the ryokan to read about Alastair Cook's retirement from cricket on my laptop.
    The local restaurants were either shut or full so I bought some items from a supermarket for dinner back in the ryokan.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Tsumago

    15 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    I left my holdall at the ryokan for forwarding to Matsumoto.
    It was still raining so I ordered a taxi to take me to Ise-shi Station where the rain stopped. I took the JR Rapid Mie to Nagoya, a journey which was not covered by the JR Pass so I had to pay the inspector. Different Prefectures have different rules about the validity of the Pass. From Nagoya, I took the Chuo Line to Nakatsugawa and then a bus to Magone.
    The countryside was fairly flat and dotted with green and yellow rice paddies.
    Magone was one of the main villages on the Nakasendo Way, the name of the Postal Route between Kyoto and Edo, now Tokyo. On this Sunday afternoon, it was very touristy. so I walked through the village to start the hike along the Way. After a short while, there was thunder and lightening so I sheltered, even contemplating returning to Magone to catch a bus. However, a German lady came along the trail at about the same time as the rain stopped and the sun came out so I continued with her until she veered off the trail to look for something.
    The trail went uphill for the first 2km reaching the "lucky" height of 777m, and then it descended for 4km to Tsumago in the Kiso Valley. Tsumago was much quieter than Magone, perhaps because all the tourists ahd left by 16.30. The trail itself had been quiet despite this section of the Way being one of the most popular.
    The walking was easier underfoot than the Kumano Kodo. The trail could have done with a few more signposts. The trail was mainly along forest trails except for the final kilometres into Tsumago and around the earlier landslide.
    I stayed at Daikichi, a family-run minshuku.
    There were German and Dutch couples at dinner where we sat on the ground with our legs stretched under the table to eat the Japanese set meal. which included grasshopper, rainbow trout, and horse sashimi.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Naira

    16 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    After a Japanese set breakfast, I began my hike along the Yogawa-Michi section of the Nakasendo Way at 08.30 on another sunny and warm day. This section followed the Kiso River in the Kiso Valley after crossing the Nenoue Pass. I hiked the 5km to Nagiso Station in an hour and bought some lunch. before continuing the hike to Nojiri Station. which I reached at 13.30. I saw no other hikers until some time after I reached Nojiri, one of them being the German lady from the previous day. I saw some people in the rice paddies and fields of horticulture.
    The trail was a mixture of forest paths, open trails past some lovely houses, iron and wooden steps, and tarmac, especially on the last 5km on a downhill forest road into Nojiri. The first part of the hike up to Nenoue Pass was steep. There were warning signs about bears so I rang the bear-bells and blew my whistle. There was a dead snake on one of the roads.
    Many older properties were closed and maybe abandoned.
    The scenery was lovely with the leaves on some trees starting to change colour.
    After an hour's wait at Nojiri, I took a train on the Chuo Line for an hour's journey to Naira, stopping at all stations including Kiso-Fukushima. Naira was a National Monument and another Post Town as were Magone and Tsumago, with a high street lined with old houses. and shops although it was quiet in late afternoon once any tourists had left.
    I stayed at Katou Minshuku where there was one Japanese guest ,who spoke very little English, at dinner and breakfast which were Japanese set meals.
    I turned the heater on in the bedroom for a while sonce the evenings were getting chillier, especially given the altitude in the mountains.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Matsumoto

    17 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I left Narai on the 09.17 Chuo Line train to Shiojiri where I caught a Shinonoi Line train for the short journey to Matsumoto.
    I stayed for two nights at the Marunouchi Hotel, a modern hotel and part of the conversion of a Meiji-era bank with a large dining room where the buffet breakfasts were served. It was the first hotel to have BBC World on the TV plus a laundry service.
    I walked the short distance to the well-preserved castle and the parkland around it. Inside the main tower were narrow, steep stairs between the floors, one of which had a firearms museum.
    Lunch was a buckwheat soba soup with pork.
    I walked down Nawate and Nakamachi Streets with their white and black storehouses converted into handicraft shops.
    I visited one of the cafes run by an American which had a number of musical instruments plus a baby-grand piano. I returned in the evening for a recital by a Suzuki-method teacher which included Chopin and anime themes. I drank two flasks of soba and potato shochu which made me very tipsy when I got out into the evening air. However, I managed to walk to the Castle to see it floodlit.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Matsumoto

    18 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    After breakfast, I visited the new City Museum which had an exhibition about the first exposition in Matsumoto in 1873 plus a permanent exhibition about the city and the surrounding mountains.
    Then I went to the relatively new Museum of Art which had wonderful illusionary light installations and a golden pumpkin, similar to the one on Naoshima, by Yoyoi Kusama.
    I went to a costume-hire shop, Hanakomichi, where two ladies were very pleased to see me because most of their business was hiring kimonos rather than samurai warrior costumes. They dressed me together with a sword and with a picture of Matsumoto Castle as a background. They wanted me to walk outside around the Castle but I drew the line at that. They were going to put some of the photos they took on Instagram.
    I went to a Nepalese restaurant for dinner. The town was very quiet by 19.00.
    Matsumoto was a very attractive small city in a valley surrounded by mountains. where there would be winter sports.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Return to Tokyo

    19 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    I walked to Matsumoto Station with my holdall which had been forwarded from Ise-shi. I'd reserved a seat on the Azusa 18 Limited Express to Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. The journey took 150 minutes, and I may have glimpsed Mt Fuji although I wasn't sure if it was snow or cloud-covered.
    The JR Blossom Hotel was a short walk from the station which, it was claimed, was the busiest in the world with two million passengers each day. There were lots of platforms, corridors and exits plus multiple over-ground and metro lines.
    The crowds on the streets were a contrast to what I'd seen in the twelve days since leaving Osaka.
    The room at the hotel wasn't available until 14.00 so I meant across the road to a cafe for lunch.
    In London, I'd booked a seat for a concert at the Suntory Hall in the evening. The Hall was part of a modern development in the Roppongi Hills and had a reputation for having excellent acoustics. The Hall was large and cavernous.
    Before the concert. I had dinner at a brasserie, one of the many eateries in the development. I couldn't understand why the plaza was called Herbert von Karajan Platz.
    The concert was given by the Tokyo Philharmonic as part of their subscription series. The conductor was French, Chloe Dufresne, and the soloist was a young Japanese violinist, Lina Nakano. The programme comprised "D'un Matin de Printemps" by Lili Boulanger; the 3rd Violin Concerto of Saint-Saens, and the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz.
    The Hall was 90% full, and the audience remained seated at the end to provide enthusiastic applause rather than rushing to the exits. The section leaders stood and prompted their colleagues to take the applause. The final bow was given by the Leader, and then the applause stopped. It was very orderly and Japanese.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Tokyo

    20 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    After a good buffet breakfast at the Blossom Hotel, I booked online a ticket for the one-act matinee at the Kabukiza theatre in Ginza, and then took a taxi to ensure that I arrive there in time. There were a lot of school-chlildren in the audience. Those who had booked only one act sat in the gallery at the back of the theatre. I bought an earpiece which explained the plot of the Kabuki play first performed in the early 1800s and set in the medieval period. It was very colourful. An audience-member in the gallery shouted support for one of the actors.
    I took the metro to the Meiji Shrine and Garden where I had a snack lunch in a cafe.
    In the afternoon, I took the metro to the Shibuya Crossing and took the lift to the lounge at the top pf the Magnet by Shibuya 109 Building to look down on the Crossing and also across the city. I also took some photos of all the people using the crossing from a Starbucks,
    Returning by metro to Shinjuku, I thought the crossings there were just as busy as the one at Shibuya.
    I used the IC Card on the metro. Y2500 had been preloaded by Inside Japan, and I topped it up when necessary. Each journey on the metro was costing the equivalent of a few Pounds.
    Returning to Shinjuku Station in the afternoon, I'd taken the east rather than south exit by mistake, and discovered another posh shopping streets.
    In the evening, I walked up a main street beside the station, past buildings with neon lights, towards the Kabukicho district but couldn't find an appropriate restaurant with an English menu so returned towards Shinjuku and had dinner at a Nepalese restaurant. There were lots of restaurants in small booths or larger ones with alfresco dining, frequented by a young clientele.    Leggi altro

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  • Alan ChapmanJapan 2023Viaggiatore

    Tokyo

    21 ottobre 2023, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    After another good buffet breakfast at the Blossom Hotel, I walked to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and took the lift up to the Observatory on the 45th Floor of the South Tower. There were great views over the city but no sign of Mt. Fuji. The Observatory was quite large with a souvenir shop, a grand-piano which someone played, and windows on three sides.
    I walked along a long underpass, maybe 1km long, back to Shinjuku and then on to the Gyoen National Garden which had a variety of different gardens, including a traditional Japanese garden, a rose garden, and a row of English poplars. There was a good view of NTT's DoCoMo Tower.
    I took the metro to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace, formerly Edo Castle, which had a few original guards' houses, walls, and a tower remaining. The Garden would probably be more spectacular in the Spring and Summer when the trees and plants would be in flower.
    Another metro ride took me to the Tokyo Tower which was very busy on a Saturday afternoon. There was a 90 minute wait to go to the top so I settled for a lift up to the first level, which was 150m above the ground., for views over the city.
    I returned to the hotel on the metro, and had dinner in the hotel.    Leggi altro

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