The Halls in Japan

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旅行の開始
2017年12月27日
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日1
2017年12月27日水曜日
☀️ 8 °C
海抜: 30 m
日本 Narita 35.776608, 140.31878135°46’36” N 140°19’8” E
Kingsford-Smith to Narita
2017年12月27日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
Happy and excited despite the 5:00 am start. We are ready for our trip of a lifetime - 9 1/2 hours to Narita Airport, Tokyo !!!
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日2
2017年12月28日木曜日
☀️ 8 °C
海抜: 61 m
日本 Kabukicho 35.69384, 139.70354935°41’38” N 139°42’13” E
Shinjuku
2017年12月28日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
Tokyo-ites are gearing up for the New Years holidays, and we are about to find out what the city is like at New Year...what is open, what is not, what is crowded, what is empty. We are staying the first two nights at the Hotel Gracery - home of the huge Godzilla statue in Shinjuku - one of Tokyo's liveliest districts.
Travelling days are stressful days - carting luggage around on crowded trains and spending quite a bit of time completely lost ! Early on we coined the new term "Japantrum" and have all had one more or less. Some pics here of the tour we took on our first day into Ningyocho, an older part of Japan with many traditional food and artisan shops. We tried New Year treats - cakes with red bean paste and amazake (sweet drink made from the residue from sake making).もっと詳しく
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日3
2017年12月29日金曜日
⛅ 9 °C
海抜: 35 m
日本 Ikebukuro 35.737797, 139.7074535°44’16” N 139°42’27” E
Ikebukuro
2017年12月29日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Tonight we are settled in our cosy (tiny) AirBnB house in Ikebukuro - once we finally found it (see Japantrums from previous post) it seems like a great place to explore from and handily located a couple of steps from one of Japan's fabulous supermarkets selling all manner of gorgeous bento and meals.
Today we took an adventure on the train to meet Russell's language exchange friend Sayu and two of her three children (oldest one was at cram school). Sayu took us to a family restaurant for lunch where we had a lovely time - the children using google translate to ask each other questions about games they each liked.もっと詳しく
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日4
2017年12月30日土曜日
☀️ 9 °C
海抜: 67 m
日本 Higashiikebukuro 35.729121, 139.71913235°43’45” N 139°43’9” E
Sunshine City
2017年12月30日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C
Today we set off for a walk to see the Frank Lloyd Wright designed girls school Jiyugakuen Miyonichikan. It is now a museum - unfortunately closed for the New Year holidays. We took a walk around the outside, then headed to Sunshine City - a shopping centre in Ikebukuro with a huge Pokemon shop, Kiddyland, and an Aquarium on the top floor. Sayu had given us some free tickets to the Aquarium which she got because they visited just after a terrible incident where a tank of fish died. Highlights were luminescent cuttlefish and jellyfish, a fugu and a huge ocean sun fish.
Ivy convinced us all to go to a cat cafe (grrr...). We then finished the day with a delicious bowl of ramen at one of the places from Russ's book - Bushikoto Taizo. You place your order via vending machine and then watch the cooks as you wait. It is not the sort of place to linger over your meal. In fact most of the other people there were dining solo and getting seriously stuck in. By the time we left a queue had formed outside.もっと詳しく
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日5
2017年12月31日日曜日
⛅ 4 °C
海抜: 67 m
日本 Higashiikebukuro 35.729121, 139.71913235°43’45” N 139°43’9” E
New Years Eve
2017年12月31日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
There were little flurries of snowflakes in Tokyo this morning. It took Henry and I a few seconds of wondering what the floating white things were before we realised - snow !!! After some deliberating, we decided to spend the day and night in our home neighbourhood again. I ventured into the food-hall of Seibo, one of the huge department stores. New Years Eve was probably not the best time to visit, but it was quite an experience - absolutely heaving with people stocking up on New Year food and sweets and gifts. We bought some kit kats and whisky and went home for a rest before heading out for karaoke and dinner.
After dinner we walked to the nearest temple we could find on google maps. It was so quiet and peaceful even though it was so close to the city lights. A few people were milling around but at 10:30 pm there was no sign of any monks so we went home to bed.
(post-script - Russell popped out again just before 12:00 and lined up for an hour to ring the bell. He had to team up with a Japanese couple because there were so many people. I feel sorry to have missed that experience).もっと詳しく
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日6
2018年1月1日月曜日
☀️ 11 °C
海抜: 34 m
日本 Jingūmae 35.671628, 139.71028535°40’18” N 139°42’37” E
New Year's Day in Harajuku
2018年1月1日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
Today we lined up with hundreds of others at a shrine to wish for good fortune, and drink some more amazake. By way of contrast we also walked down Takeshita Street in Harajuku, home of all the most kawaii shops in Tokyo. Ivy felt she had found her spiritual home among the Hello Kitty, Paris Kids, and Cosplay Costume shops and the crepe stalls. The rest of us just felt a bit overwhelmed and exhausted - the street was pumping from end to end and ringing with the high pitched twangy voices of salesgirls.
Almost forgot about this morning. We went down to do some washing at the coin-op laundry around the corner which happened to be next door to an urban Sentou. Russ and Henry popped in to the men's baths (after an awkward explanation to the cashier that Henry was a boy not a girl) and then convinced Ivy and I to go in. It was mostly older Japanese women a little bemused by us I think.
Our New Year's dinner was sourced entirely from the supermarket - soba, teriyaki chicken and sushi - delish !もっと詳しく
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日7
2018年1月2日火曜日
☀️ 10 °C
海抜: 56 m
日本 Roppongi 35.660464, 139.72924935°39’38” N 139°43’45” E
Roppongi Hills
2018年1月2日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C
Today we explored Roppongi Hills, a modern and posh area of Tokyo. We went to the Mori Art Museum (modern art) which is on the 52nd floor of a sky-scraper which, although it is much shorter than Tokyo Tower and the Skytree still has amazing views (to Fuji-san and beyond) by virtue of being at a higher altitude (ie in the Hills). In the gallery, we lucked upon an Erlich exhibition with incredible installations and illusions that kept the kids and adults entertained for hours.もっと詳しく
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日8
2018年1月3日水曜日
⛅ 5 °C
海抜: 14 m
日本 Shinōsaka-eki 34.733165, 135.50021434°43’59” N 135°30’1” E
Dreamsleeper...
2018年1月3日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
A challenging day and night. With some sadness, we checked out of our little AirBnb home in the morning to fill in time until our bus to Hiroshima at 10:00 pm. The obvious first stop was fluffy pancakes in Shibuya and they totally lived up to the hype !! We window shopped in Shibuya until it was time for more ramen - another recommendation from our guide. This one used chicken broth (and for mine butter and miso). At this place the noodles are served separately to be dipped in the broth. We are lucky we eat early - again by the time we left the queue was snaking down the street.
Now, I suppose we really should have known the Dreamsleeper could not possibly live up to expectations. Although it was exciting at first we all spent a fairly uncomfortable night and arrived in Hiroshima a little tired and sore (I have some sort of pinched nerve in my shoulder causing pain - but at least did not get bus sick...)もっと詳しく
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日9
2018年1月4日木曜日 10:00
⛅ 5 °C
海抜: 9 m
日本 Shiyakushomae-eki 34.385203, 132.45529334°23’7” N 132°27’19” E
Hiroshima
2018年1月4日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
Now this is a hard chapter to write. As a child growing up in the '70s and '80s, the Cold War and the nuclear threat were constantly there in the background of our lives. 6 August was a date we observed - I remember going to peace rallies sometimes and at school we all read "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes". In more recent times this seems to have been forgotten as we move on to other threats and concerns. Which is why I am very glad we made the trip to Hiroshima to remind ourselves of the unfathomable atrocity that resulted from the decision of the US Command to "test" their new bomb out on a suitable city - not too small, not too large.
A simulation in the museum shows the unsuspecting city of Hiroshima in the early morning of 6 August 1945, going about their business, then "Little Boy" descending. And the rest (as they say) is history. We all felt very emotional walking around the Peace Park and the museum. Some of the many, many affecting and moving images:
* The shell of the mostly destroyed Hall of Industry has been allowed to remain - a stark reminder against the rest of Hiroshima now built up with modern high rise flats and office blocks.
* The letter from the US Commander in Chief authorising the use of the bomb.
* A watch in the museum that was retrieved from the rubble - stopped at 8:15 am.
* The charred remains of a tricycle belonging to a three year old boy who perished when the bomb hit while he was riding outside his home. His distraught father - for want of anything else to do - buried the boy with his trike in their backyard. There they both lay for 40 years when the old man dug them up, gave the boy a proper funeral and donated the tricycle to the Museum.
* Tiny paper cranes actually made by Sadako in hospital, many made out of medicine wrappers and such like.もっと詳しく
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日9
2018年1月4日木曜日 22:00
⛅ 4 °C
海抜: 海水位
日本 Uno-eki 34.490666, 133.95588734°29’26” N 133°57’21” E
Uno Port
2018年1月4日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
After our emotional day in Hiroshima, and a couple of hours of train travel we were very happy to arrive in the very welcoming Uno Port Inn. This place has some of the feel of a youth hostel - a shared lounge, friendly staff and fellow guests, but is also very comfortable with a warm room, crispy white sheets and comfy yakatas supplied. The rooms are all named after Japanese film directors, and we are in "Ozu". Uno Port is on the edge of the Seto Inland Sea which is dotted with Islands - some tiny, some huge (you need a car to get from one side to the other). The Islands are famous for art - films, painting and sculptures.
Tired and grubby as we were after our travels we were keen to try the recently opened onsen down the road from the Inn. It turned out to be a most luxurious experience. Built around a natural spring it had a number of baths, spas and tubs (indoor and outdoor) as well as massage chairs and (for Ivy and I) a row of hairdryers and beauty creams and products for apres bath. We all met back up fresh and squeaky clean in our yakatas and had dinner at the onsen restaurant. The perfect finish to a long day and we all slept well side by side on our cosy futons.もっと詳しく
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日10
2018年1月5日金曜日
⛅ 2 °C
海抜: 254 m
日本 Kusakabe-honmachi 34.500852, 134.28959734°30’3” N 134°17’23” E
Shodoshima
2018年1月5日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C
Today we took the ferry to Shodoshoma. Its a large Island so we rented a car to get around. The Island is the setting for a famous Japanese book and film "Nijushi-no-Hitmoi" ("Twenty-Four Eyes"). The story starts with a young teacher in the 1930s meeting her year 1 students in a little school on the Island and follows their lives and troubles to World War II and just after. There is a small theme park dedicated to the book and film. Luckily Russ had made us all watch the film a few weeks ago in Australia so we all had a wonderful time walking through the exhibits including a little model school room and a dining room where you could order a "school lunch" (beef broth, bread roll, milk and fruit - surprisingly tasty and satisfying).
It was a wonderful morning but in return for this the travel gods dealt us a blow and when we left the park we found our rental car had a flat battery (we left the headlights on so not strictly the travel gods fault). A man from a nearby garage turned up very promptly and got us started for 3000 yen. As we had to keep the engine running for at least an hour we drove up to the highest point of the Island. Near to the top there was quite a bit of snow. There is a cable car ride at the top. We took a ride, it was very foggy which made it atmospheric but meant we could not see all that much. I am sure there is a spectacular view of the Island in warmer weather.
To our relief the car started without incident when we got back in, but a small miscalculation meant that Russell missed the ferry back with us to Uno Port and had to wait another two hours on the Island. The rest of us are snuggled in the lounge with a sake (me) and soft drinks (kids) writing in our journals and playing scrabble.もっと詳しく
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日11
2018年1月6日土曜日
⛅ 9 °C
海抜: 9 m
日本 Naoshima Kō 34.459703, 133.99568934°27’35” N 133°59’44” E
Naoshima
2018年1月6日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Today started with breakfast at the Uno Port Inn (bacon & egg rolls and coffee) and ended up in Kyoto for dinner !
In between, we got the ferry out to Naoshima, the most famous of the art islands. It is a fascinating place and we realised that we did not allow enough time for these islands !!! Naoshima has several small galleries and a number of outdoor sculptures along the coast line. Having to be careful with time, we chose Bennesse House, a beautiful building overlooking the beach - a little reminiscent of MONA. Inside is a small collection of works including Hockney, Yves Klein, Basquiat, Twombly as well as some Japanese works. One of the highlights was a huge wall with neon words that light up including several swear words that had Henry and Ivy wide-eyed. Another was a dynamic work of art covering an entire wall and depicting the flags of the world made out of sand and connected by perspex tunnels. An army of ants was introduced at the top and is gradually tunnelling through the art work.
Henry and Russell went to a unique onsen (elsewhere on the island) which was also covered in art, mosaics and statues. Meanwhile Ivy and I found a fantastic coffee shop run by a very cool guy called Mikazuki Shoten. He was making Melbourne / Sydney style coffee and I had the best latte since arriving in Japan. We also chatted and he gave us sweets and stickers.
We then ferried back to bid a fond farewell to our friendly hosts and Uno Port Inn. From there we took the local train to Okayama, and after stocking up on ekiben, the shinkansen to Kyoto.
One more thing (I was reminded of this after re-reading the Hiroshima chapter - at Bennesse House one of the Artworks was a large silk panel in white and rusty red on which was printed Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution (inserted shortly after the bomb) which reads:
Article 9 (1) Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes.
(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognised.もっと詳しく
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日12
2018年1月7日日曜日
⛅ 7 °C
海抜: 14 m
日本 Ōebashi-eki 34.693738, 135.50216534°41’37” N 135°30’8” E
Day trip to Osaka
2018年1月7日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
Today we took a daytrip from Kyoto to Osaka to meet up with our school and Parkrun friends Fumiko, Peter and Mitchell. It was lovely to see some familiar faces and relax a little and be guided around by them for the day. We went to the Ebisubashi shopping arcade on the Dotonbori river which has been a commercial and theatre street since the 18th century. We had lunch in a casual (but apparently famous) restaurant - we tried okonomiyaki - cabbage omelet doused in sweet salty sauce and mayo - its disgustingly delicious.
Ivy seems to be cautiously expanding her food repertoire in Japan (possibly out of complete hunger). She had some of the okonomiyaki at lunch and requested some of my ramen tonight at dinner.
Honke dai ichiasaki is another ramen place that came recommended. It is 50 years old and happens to be about 200 metres from our Airbnb home - which makes it convenient to check the size of the queue !もっと詳しく
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日13
2018年1月8日月曜日
⛅ 7 °C
海抜: 42 m
日本 Kyōto Shiyakusho-mae-eki 35.011636, 135.76802935°0’42” N 135°46’5” E
Kyoto
2018年1月8日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
Today was a day of temples in Kyoto. It was also a rainy day (our first one). I went out early for a walk around Higashi Honganji which is just down the road from where we are staying. After that, I collected the others for coffee and pancakes and then we took the bus out to the Golden Temple - stunningly beautiful even in the rain. We came back to Kyoto station for some serious shopping - the first item being a new suitcase for all our loot. I then bought a dress and a blouse and Henry and Ivy bought souvenirs. Dinner was from the local department store (Isetan) food hall - sashima and sushi, so fresh and delicious. We also bought some much needed fruit - beautifully cut orange and grapefruit segments and the most delicious strawberries I've ever had. The fruit cost a bomb ! Probably more than all the sushi and sashimi put together.
We had a very tense half hour or so late at night when Henry got up to go to the toilet then pulled the door closed from the outside with the lock on. We were just considering drastic measures (ie calling locksmith, getting out buckets) when Russ managed to fix it (no need to speak of how). He is amazing !
The kids are getting a little homesick, mostly in the mornings and the evenings. By and large they have been troopers during the day. We have been doing at least 10000 steps, as measured by my new fitbit, and some days closer to 20000.もっと詳しく
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日14
2018年1月9日火曜日
⛅ 8 °C
海抜: 374 m
日本 Arashiyama 35.009449, 135.66677335°0’34” N 135°40’0” E
Bamboo forest and Gion district
2018年1月9日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
The sun came out today so we took the train to Arashiyama to wander through the bamboo forest. Like the Golden Temple this was very much a tourist trail with lots of souvenir and food stalls along the way. However, it is also a residential area and it was very cute to see little kids on their way home from school for lunch with their mothers, on bikes and on foot. Japanese children go off to school in coats, but shorts, skirts and bare legs even in the middle of winter !
After the tranquillity of the bamboo forest, we went back into town to find the "real" Kyoto. We spent the afternoon in the Gion area - lots of little alleys with old style houses, shops, bars and clubs. Many of these looked impenetrable and / or were marked "members only". We saw a real Geisha (or Maiko) shuffle / glide down the road and swiftly into one of the doorways.
The main street of the Gion area is another shopping extravaganza - souvenir shops galore but also very old shops selling kimono fabric, linens and the like. We got some snacks at the Nishiki Markets, a long thin alleyway filled with fish, vegetables, pickles an all manner of foodstuffs.
We were all tired (except for Russ who has boundless energy when in the cities) so came back to our local ramen for dinner and went home to bed. Big adventure tomorrow #feelinganxious.もっと詳しく
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日15
2018年1月10日水曜日
☀️ 1 °C
海抜: 862 m
日本 Sano 36.732686, 138.46213636°43’58” N 138°27’44” E
Jigokudani
2018年1月10日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 1 °C
Well you cannot get much more different to the shopping streets and markets of Kyoto. Today we made it to Jigokudani and to our ryokan right up in the mountains. The ryokan is a 30 minute walk on a track mostly covered in snow and has been in the same family since it opened in 1864. The man presently running it says his family has been in the area for 500 years. He himself rarely leaves - perhaps into the city just 2-3 times a year. Otherwise, they shop locally and pick mushrooms and mountain vegetables. There are monkeys everywhere ! They are jumping from window ledge to window ledge and in the hotspring outside. The ryokan itself is pretty rustic, but seems warm and comfortable.
The journey here was quite a feat - requiring Russell's logistical planning and my anxiety and time control (keeping everyone focussed and on task). We left Kyoto early and took the "Thunderbird" train to Kanazawa. From there it was a quick change (made it with less than a minute to spare) on to a shinkansen to Nagano, then a local train to Yudanaka. At Yudanaka station we got a bus to the Monkey Park and ryokan. Everything pretty much worked like clockwork until we fell at the last hurdle. We missed getting off the bus at the right stop and by the time we realised an announcement told us all to stay strapped in our seats as we were heading up the windy mountain pass to the top. 20 minutes later we ended up on the ski fields (Shiga kogen). Luckily we were able to get a bus back down without too much of a wait as I really did not want to be walking to the ryokan in the dark.
Dinner at the ryokan was great fun. Our host Katsuyoshi-san and his wife were so friendly (and a little bit crazy). They served us a huge feast of fried salty trout, locusts, wild duck and mushrooms and cabbage and noodles in a soup that we cooked at our table on a burner. We chatted with our fellow guests who were also from Sydney - a brother and sister with 3 children between them (one Henry's age and two a little older). Our hosts then invited us into the lounge to play "Go" and drink cocoa. Apparently a new "Go" strategy was invented in Jigokudani (at the ryokan) and they are very proud of it. The kids all ran off to explore and play and Katsuyoshi-san brought in glasses of plum wine made by his mother. There was more excitement when his wife rushed in to tell us there was a "racoon dog" (tanooki) outside. She took out a bowl of food scraps and told us that sometimes if the coast was clear, racoon dog might go and get his family to come and eat. The coast was not clear however, because an old monkey barged in monopolised the scrap bowl.もっと詳しく
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日16
2018年1月11日木曜日
☀️ 0 °C
海抜: 862 m
日本 Sano 36.732686, 138.46213636°43’58” N 138°27’44” E
Snow Monkeys
2018年1月11日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C
Today started with another fantastic meal at the ryokan - boiled fishcakes with fresh wasabi, scrambled eggs, potato salad with gorgeous rainbow radish slices, miso, rice and mushrooms (lots of mushrooms). It snowed overnight so outside it was a winter wonderland of fresh powdery soft snow. We checked out of the ryokan and spent the morning at the snow monkey park. The kids went a bit nuts with excitement. Just before we were due to leave, Henry fell into an icy pond up to his neck. I still don't know exactly what happened and feel a bit sick about how it could have turned out. I suspect he tried to walk on the icy surface, misjudging its thickness !!$#@ Anyway, he managed to scramble his way out, and we took him back to the ryokan where Katsuyoshi and his wife let him have a hot bath in the spring and then made us all coffee and hot lemon drinks. They gave us towels and even some spare gum boots since his waterproof hiking boots were now completely soaking (and due to their waterproof nature not releasing any water from inside !).
After that drama we made our way back down the mountain, retraced our steps to Yudanaka and Nagano (to collect our large suitcases) and then on to our next destination...もっと詳しく
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日17
2018年1月12日金曜日 10:00
☀️ -1 °C
海抜: 597 m
日本 Matsumoto 36.238038, 137.97203436°14’17” N 137°58’19” E
Matsumoto
2018年1月12日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ -1 °C
Last night was a little bit of luxury in a hotel in Matsumoto with in-house baths and fancy rooms and lounge. We all felt a bit scruffy lobbing in fresh from the snow in our hiking boots and carrying Henry's wet clothes in plastic bags. We got to do some washing and drying and the hotel staff put Henry's boots in their boiler room overnight to dry out.
After breakfast, one of the impeccably dressed hotel staff members also helped us to package and send the gumboots back to the ryokan at Jigokudani. We also wanted to send one of the kangaroo scrotum souvenirs as we thought Katsuyoshi might appreciate it. Russell asked the beautiful lady to help him write out the description in hirigana. It took her a while to work out the word he wanted (ie scrotum). When she realised she did a quick "Hail Mary" then wrote out the characters on a hotel notepad.
We then headed off to the Matsumoto castle. It is 6 floors of diminishing size and you can climb up from floor to floor via narrow wooden steps. It has been restored several times, but there has been a castle on that site (attended by a clan of warlords) from the 1500s. We imagined fully armoured samurai clanking through the wooden corridors and stairways.
This afternoon we were on the road again, to Kofu, then Otsuki on the shinkansen and finally a local train out to Kawaguchiko where we are spending tonight for the Fuji view. It was so exciting sitting on the rattly old local train as Fuji-san hoved into view behind the houses and shops, white snow cascading down her sides.もっと詳しく
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The Halls in Japan 旅行者
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日17
2018年1月12日金曜日 23:59
🌙 -7 °C
海抜: 826 m
日本 Kawaguchi-ko 35.517095, 138.75177935°31’2” N 138°45’6” E
Fuji-san
2018年1月12日, 日本 ⋅ 🌙 -7 °C
Today just got better and better. We checked in to another indulgent hotel, with a view of Fuji from our room and a private onsen. We had dinner served in our room, all jumped into the hot tub on the balcony as well as the public baths, played Karaoke in the games room downstairs and then fell into bed.
It is a moving and very special experience seeing Fuji so close. We are extremely lucky to have such a clear view.もっと詳しく
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The Halls in Japan 旅行者
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日18
2018年1月13日土曜日
☀️ 5 °C
海抜: 17 m
日本 Asakusa Eki 35.711877, 139.79669735°42’43” N 139°47’48” E
Back in Tokyo
2018年1月13日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C
We woke up this morning to a beautiful clear day and an incredible view of Fuji from our balcony. It's hard to describe how special it is. I jumped straight into the hot tub to enjoy the serenity. Freezing cold outside - the water that splashed out of the hot-tub froze on the floorboards of the balcony !
We decided to get the bus directly back to Tokyo (since our JR passes ran out yesterday anyway). We arrived at our hostel in Asakusa in the early afternoon. This is more like a youth hostel, but with family rooms as well as dormitories (Henry befriended a couple of young guys from Vancouver over Nintendo in the common lounge). There is a nice, friendly vibe here, even though it is much less salubrious than last night's accommodation.
In the evening we walked to Skytree (past the giant poo aka Asahi beer building) and looked over Tokyo at night - so huge. There is a very interesting screen inside showing the town of Edo (pre-Tokyo). Even in the 1850s it was a city of a million people.もっと詳しく
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日19
2018年1月14日日曜日
☀️ 7 °C
海抜: 17 m
日本 Asakusa Eki 35.711877, 139.79669735°42’43” N 139°47’48” E
Asakusa
2018年1月14日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C
We explored Asakusa a bit more today. It is an older district with a bit more of a scruffy (but cool) vibe. The market streets have famous statues of Edo era figures, including one of a thief on the roof of one of the shops. We went to the huge Senso-ji temple in the morning, then took a look at the kitchen-ware shops along Kappabashi-dori. This is an amazing street with a huge chefs head at one end and all manner of kitchen equipment and knives etc. There are also shops selling the plastic food you see in a lot of Japanese restaurants - they are surprisingly expensive !!! But, I gather they are hand painted and quite a bit of work goes into them. A bowl of soup cost maybe $300...they are so beautiful I could not leave without buying something - so I got a tiny maki roll for the equivalent of around $30.もっと詳しく
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日20
2018年1月15日月曜日
⛅ 7 °C
海抜: 57 m
日本 Mitaka-shi 35.683513, 139.55958435°41’1” N 139°33’35” E
The Ghibli museum
2018年1月15日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
This place is quite extraordinary. Every detail of the uniquely shaped building references details of Miyazaki's films and interests. There are stained glass windows with characters from Kiki, Ponyo, Totaro and all the favourites. There are spiral staircases and corridors joining rooms showcasing the history and techniques of animation, and the painstaking but beautiful (mindful) process from concept to film. You can't take photos in the museum so not much to show. We all spent an enjoyable morning, but felt the weeks of travel catching up on us and so we retired early to the hostel. We mooched around until early evening then joined a tea tasting with the hostel staff. We tried cherry blossom tea (a New Year special), konbu, green tea, sencha (the high quality leaves) and finally matcha (powder made from the bright green young leaves especially grown under a shade cloth to preserve their youth and tenderness.もっと詳しく
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日21
2018年1月16日火曜日
☀️ 11 °C
海抜: 27 m
日本 Kitajikken Gawa 35.710722, 139.80149935°42’39” N 139°48’5” E
Fish market and Sumo
2018年1月16日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
A busy day today. We had an early start, packing up and checking out by 7:00 am to get to the meeting point for our tour of Tsukiji fish market. As it turned out, we were the only ones on the tour, and we had two guides as one was training. They were so nice and chatty that it just felt like we had hired some friends for the morning (knowledgeable and Japanese speaking friends). We walked through the outer market trying samples and getting snacks along the way. Tour groups aren't allowed in the inner market, so our tour guides dropped us off there and we went in for a quick look around. The markets are so busy so you constantly feel like you are in the way (which you are) but they are fascinating - rows and rows of every kind of seafood imaginable, huge hunks of tuna, live crabs, massive mussels and abalone. Even turtles ! Again, no photos allowed.
Sumo was scheduled for the afternoon, but we had time for a coffee and to spend some time in the Hokasai museum, located near to the Sumo Stadium in Sumida (where Hokasai was born and spent most of his life).
Sumo was quite an experience. We all sat in a little box on individual cushions. Although none of us really understood the rules it was amazing spectacle and hard not to become swept up with the crowd excitement - which increased as the afternoon went on and the big stars started to come out. Three well dressed women in their 60s were sitting next to us and chatted politely with me and Ivy in English. When a certain sumo came out later in the evening they went nuts - screaming and waving the banners they had brought.
On the other side of us were some young guys who sounded English but turned out to be brothers from Canberra. They shared their (basic) knowledge of the rules, and we shared our wifi. Later we connected on Facebook so that they could send us some of the photos and videos they had taken. Travelling around as a young person must be completely different (to when I was travelling as a young person) in these days of social media.
When one of the sumos won the second last round the entire stadium erupted !!! (we later found out it was a controversial result). All of a sudden cushions were being hurled around the stadium. The last bout started and we decided to make a run for it because I was worried about the crowds. Leave it to the Japanese, however, to have everything sorted. The crowds all went from stadium to station in an orderly manner and there was no problem getting on a train. We were back at the hostel to pick up our bags by 6:30 pm and by 7:00 pm we were in a taxi headed to the Disney resort and the greatest day of our lives...もっと詳しく
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日22
2018年1月17日水曜日
⛅ 8 °C
海抜: 16 m
日本 Tokyo Disney Resort 35.630658, 139.88287135°37’50” N 139°52’58” E
The happiest place on Earth
2018年1月17日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Ivy left her journal at the Disney resort, so until she gets it back, I have promised I would record all the rides we went on in my journal. So (in rough order):
Pinocchio
Snow White
Star Wars Space Tour
Pooh's Hunny Hunt
Swiss Family Robinson Hut
Raft to Tom Sawyers Island
Beaver Brothers Canoes
Splash Mountain
Pirates of the Carribean
The Carousel
Peter Pan
Tea Cups
Dumbo
Buzz Lightyear
Monsters Inc

It started to rain in the afternoon but nothing can really dampen the magic and unwavering happiness of Disneyland. Everyone smiles and waves (and in Ivy's case wishes her a Happy Birthday thanks to her special sticker), there is music everywhere, the smell of pop-corn, lights, rides, shops and fun ! We had a ball.もっと詳しく
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日23
2018年1月18日木曜日
⛅ 11 °C
海抜: 11 m
日本 Tokyo International Airport 35.549393, 139.77983935°32’58” N 139°46’47” E
Time to go home...
2018年1月18日, 日本 ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
Today it was time to leave fantasy land and head back to reality. We got the train back into Tokyo and after a coffee in Ginza we boarded the monorail to Haneda airport. Russell's friend Shoko came to see us off and we enjoyed a last taste of Japanese craziness by having dinner in a planetarium (at the airport) complete with a light show.
I am writing this on the plane and the cabin crew have just announced its 29 minutes until we land in Sydney. We loved Japan. Some of us are already planning our return journey !!もっと詳しく
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旅行の終了
2018年1月18日

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