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Japan 2023

May 2023
This will be our second trip to Japan. 2 guitars shows two weeks apart, revisiting some places and exploring some new ones. Read more
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  • TravelerJapan 2023
    Day 1

    Arrival!

    May 11, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Four years since we’ve been overseas, the last trip was to Japan in 2019 before the dreaded Covid! Our passports expired in that time and things at the airport have changed a little. It was all much more streamlined and we got through security and immigration faster than usual.
    There is not much fun about long haul flying except finally getting to your destination. Watch some tv, read, sleep, eat! Flights were all on time though so that was a bonus.
    Japan has gone high tech with customs and immigration, we filled everything out on net got a QR code to get through. The longest wait was for the luggage and for the staff to find the guitars but they did eventually bring them out. Everything looks like it made ok.

    We had a great plan to ship the instrument straight to Osaka. But best laid plans and all that. We needed them delivered the next day and because it was so late they couldn’t do it. So all of them had to come on the train with us. We managed but only just and lucky we didn’t have to walk to far from the station. Wish we had a photo, we looked like a pair of pack horses.

    With all of that it was 10 by the time we got to the hotel and found our room. Dumped all the bags and went looking for dinner.
    We didn’t have to look far, just down the street from the hotel we passed a line of people waiting to get into a tiny restaurant, had a quick look at the menu and there were gyozas, Yah we didn’t need any further convincing. Tiny little place but so efficient and busy, they were pumping food out at an amazing rate.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan 2023
    Day 2

    Tokyo to Osaka

    May 12, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Today the plan is to get the Shinkansen to Osaka but first we need to trade our rail pass voucher for an actual ticket. Luckily we are staying right across the road from Shinagawa Station. After hunting down a coffee and a false start at the wrong ticket office we were at the front of the line ready when they opened at 9.00am. Not a minute before or a minute after, right on 9.am 😀. The queue was way out the door by the time they did open, the rail pass is such a good deal I think nearly every tourist buys it.

    OMG I feel like we’ve just finished the great pilgrimage. The trip on the bullet train went smoothly enough, 2 and 1/2 hours and we were in Osaka. OMG the trip over to Osaka Bay was endless. 3 train changes up and down escalators, into and out of lifts, all with way too many things to wrangle. One of the suitcases failed at almost the final step poor thing, I know how it felt, we both feel like we’ve been through the wringer.

    Once we’d checked in and had a much needed break we got a taxi over to The ATC Hall where the Osaka Guitar show is. The taxi driver thought we were nuts because the Hall is literally about 500 meters away, but getting there requires walking up over a road overpass and we weren’t lugging those instruments up any more stairs. It’s looks like it will be a huge show with lots of exhibitors. There certainly is some stiff competition there.

    Unfettered now we headed back into Dotonbori for dinner. So many bars and restaurants around it’s hard to pick one. We found a little laneway away from the main st which lead to a pretty little shrine and then on to another laneway with more intimate restaurants and bars. One of them had a grill behind the counter with plenty of options to barbecue.

    It’s quite entertaining sitting at the bar watching someone cook your dinner. Only a young chef but he had all the moves down pat.
    We had grilled shrimps, scallops, quail eggs,chicken gizzards, bacon wrapped asparagus, some mystery balls and red sausage which I was sure was just a cheerio 😃
    A stop off into a Sake Bar on the way home and we were done for the day.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan 2023
    Day 3

    Sound messe!

    May 13, 2023 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Sound Messe starts today at 11 so we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel before we headed over. There was already a line waiting to get in and the doors don’t open for another hour or so. Apart from huge displays of instruments they have a lot of performers here for this event.
    The language barrier is a little challenging for us but we manage with hand signs, google translate and the odd helpful stranger who translates for us when we’re desperate.
    It was a busy day with lots of interest but the competition is pretty fierce.
    It’s been raining most of the afternoon so when the show finished we had a wander through the shopping centre next door to get an umbrella and watch a Beatles tribute show in one of the restaurants there. A four girl band three with guitars and a drummer. They where very good. Graham and I got up and danced for the last song and got a round of applause from the performers and the crowd. 😂

    Set off looking for where we could get a drink as this restaurant only had soft drinks and ran into the performers again. More sign language and a bit of confusion and we got some directions to a restaurant up on the next floor.
    There was a line to get in and we recognised a few people from the guitar show. All the seats where full and one young girl who seemed to be in charge of either the staff or the customers I wasn’t sure which got everyone at one table to get up so we could sit down.
    After about five minutes of us inviting them to join us at this big table they finally relented and some of them sat down with us again.
    Half the restaurant seemed to be from the guitar show, the next table had just had a dozens beers delivered, which they insisted we have a couple of.
    Suzi who seemed to be their boss introduced them all. They all work at a guitar shop here in Japan. Another couple of Luthiers we’d seen at the show came in and same thing Suzi shooed some of the boys out of the booth to make room.
    Then the food started arriving, more and more and more and more beers. It was a fun night with delicious food and some good company.

    The second day of Sound Messe was a repeat of the first. Lots of players and interest. No sales for us this year but there weren’t really for anyone except a couple of Luthiers who sold their guitars to a dealer of a music shop, for a very discounted price.
    We got everything packed up fairly quickly and ended our night at O’s Kitakan with another great meal of Beer, Sashimi, Kobe beef, Karaage Chicken, Sake and Sweet Potato ice cream.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan 2023
    Day 5

    Hiroshima

    May 15, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Packed up all the instruments and sent them off to Tokyo this morning. So we are feeling much lighter on the trip to Hiroshima.
    Made our way into the main station and on to the Shinkansen, only an hour and a half trip and we are there.
    Our hotel is a few ks from the train station, sun is shining and it’s hot so we opted for a cab. Gave the cab concierge the address and he got a surprised expression on his face, then the driver laughed when he read the address. Umm this is not shaping up well.
    Turned out we booked a love hotel! 😂😂 Bet they were surprised when we booked it for two nights, they are probably missing out on prime time booking while we’re here.
    Graham is disappointed there is no vending machine with assorted selections available. Must be BYO!
    There is however a very large tv with a big range of dvds options, and a blow up bed in the bathroom. Umm the possibilities.

    Well at least he let us in early so we dropped our bags and headed off to see the Peace Park and Atomic Dome. Such a beautiful space dedicated to all the victims of the atomic bomb.

    The Peace Memorial Museum has so many photos, first hand accounts memorabilia of the atomic bomb. Very emotive exhibitions and displays, enlightening and disturbing.
    We happened to pick a day when the high school students were out on an excursion to the museum. They we very respectful but there was sooo many of them.

    We also found the National Peace Memorial Hall. Very tasteful with a wonderful respectful atmosphere.
    “Let all the soul rest here in peace for we shall not repeat this evil”    Read more

  • TravelerJapan 2023
    Day 6

    Miyajima Island

    May 16, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    What a lovely day we’ve had today. I was worried about the school children so we are on the first boat over to Miyajima Island today. I figured they’d never be able to get that many teenagers organised for an early start.
    We took the direct boat from the Peace Park which takes about 40 minutes. Nice trip except for the extremely loud Americans who laughed and talked at the highest possible volume all the way. We made sure we went the opposite way to them once we got off.

    Miyajima Island is most famous for its giant torii gate, which at high tide seems to float on the water. It’s just a lovely scenic place, with great views of the sea and islands, traditional buildings, a pleasure to walk around and explore.
    We rode the rope way up to the top of Mt Misen, climbed up to the five story pagoda, explored the lovely back streets and shopping district saw the Itsukushima Shrine in both full tide and low tide.
    We’d booked to go back on the boat at 2.30 and just when we were walking back all the school kids were coming off the ferry. Perfect!    Read more

  • TravelerJapan 2023
    Day 6

    Shukukeien Gardens

    May 16, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We contemplated what to do on the way back from the island. We’d talked to a young couple yesterday who’d been to the Gardens and they were very impressed so we thought we’d have a look.
    Bit of a city tour on the green bus and we were there. Another picture perfect spot in the middle of a busy city. The Japanese really know how to do manicured gardens. There are so many, big ones, little tiny ones in front of apartments and houses.

    Hiroshima is hosting the G7 in a couple of days which we knew nothing about when we booked although I did wonder why nearly every hotel was booked out. Consequently nearly every policeman in Japan is here. They are literally on every street corner. Even over on the island this morning. We got a couple of them to take photos for us, they were very accommodating. 😂

    Made our way back into the restaurant area after the gardens. Still too early for dinner so we found a bar to have a drink. Had to pay ¥1100 to sit at the bar for half and hour but you got a free drink. Couple of very pretty girls behind the bar all dressed the same, black short skirt, white shirt, bit like Simply Irresistible. Umm we’re not really sure what sort of bar this is, seemed like once they’d got your drink they had to stay and talk to you. Hard work for our waitress, but she was doing her best. She wants to go to Australia later in the year and work for a year over there. So of course Graham gives her his card and invites her to stay with us. Well she was trilled and all the other girls came running over to look at the card. I wouldn’t be surprised if Monkey turns up on our doorstep in November. By this time our half and hour was up so either buy another drink or get out, Graham had another beer and we started quizzing the waitress where to have dinner, we’ll there was a big discussion across the whole bar and luckily one of their regulars or their pimp I’m not really sure which had a bit of English and he managed to tell us about a Sashimi restaurant only a few hundreds meters away.

    Set off to find this place with only a photo and the vague directions from old mate. After a couple of wrong turns and some guidance from a young guy getting into his flash car, he actually followed us in his car around a few corners to make sure we got there ok.
    Delicious sashimi, fish, prawns, caviar, eel, squid, bonito, very upmarket place all the chefs behind the bars in their gleaming whites.

    When we’d left the bar we noticed a charcoal grill place across the way, so after leaving the sashimi we decided to check it out. It was another winner. Got some cooking lessons off the head Chef ( well not really a chef because they don’t cook any thing you do that at the table but the knife skills they had to cut that meat, amazing) They had the baseball playing in there and Hiroshima was winning. They were all very excited when we showed some interest.

    When we got back to the hotel the funny little guy came running out to find us. Sorry sorry he keep saying, I’m pretty sure that the only English word he knows. He forgot to get me to sign the credit card slip, had probably been having anxiety attacks over it all day.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan 2023
    Day 7

    Fukuoka

    May 17, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    The Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Fukuoka was packed, I think everyone was getting out of Hiroshima before the G7 started. Luckily we had booked a seat this time and the trip was only an hour. Our Hotel is a short five minute walk from the station, It looks a lot classier than the last one, even has a full check in desk instead of a hole in the wall. We left our bags and headed off to find Hakata Old Town. There’s not much to it but it’s a nice quite street with older building and temples.

    It’s warming up the more we go south, you need to be out of the sun in the middle of the afternoon. We headed out again about 5ish to find the Yatai Food stalls. They are street stalls along the canals selling everything from Ramen to Barbecue. Passed through Canal City on the way which is a flash shopping centre, but it does have a musical water fountain display which was pretty entertaining.

    We found the food stalls but it was still pretty early so we wandered around for a while and then decided to have a drink somewhere first. Went into this deserted restaurant overlooking the canal and sat at the bar. So many staff in here and no customers. We sipped our beers watching three chefs get an assortment of food ready. We thought they were a bit premature because there was no one even walking pass this place.

    A gong must have sounded somewhere because suddenly people started appearing from all directions. It’s funny in restaurants because all the staff call out greeting whenever anyone arrives or leaves. So there was a chorus of greetings for the next half hour. We sat at the bar with the best seats in the house watching the chefs put together some amazing dishes. After they’d dished them out to the function we’d ask can we have some of that. They were very surprised at first, then they thought it was funny, then I think they loved that we wanted to try everything.

    It was a great night, like being invited onto the set of iron chef.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan 2023
    Day 8

    Yanagawa!

    May 18, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Second day in Fukuoka
    Fukuoka doesn’t t seem to have too many attractions in the main city area so we are going for a day trip down to Yanagawa. It’s about an hour on the local express train. It’s a bit overcast today and we debated taking the umbrellas but left them behind in the end. So of course when we got to Yanagawa it was raining.

    We’re going on a canal boat trip and luckily the operators are prepared and had raincoats and hats for us all.
    They call this the Venice of Kyushu, but of artistic licence but they are pretty canals and we had a lovely hour long tranquil trip which ended in Yanagawa old town.

    We had an old guy driving the boat? Well they push it along with a big long stick. He did not stop talking for more than ten seconds the whole time, was a pretty funny commentary by all accounts, lots of laughing and nodding from the other boat trippers. We of course didn’t understand a word of it. 😂

    Yanagawa restaurants are famous for eel so of course we had to try that. Sounds gross but it’s actually very tasty and a bit of a delicacy so it was probably the most expensive meal we’ve had so far.

    There is obviously less English tourist the further south we go. Much fewer English signs on Stations and menus. Makes for some entertaining travel excursions. We managed to get ourselves back to Fukuoka though.

    Now tonight we need to try out the Yatai stalls we bypassed yesterday. But first we went back to visit our favourite restaurant.. oh they were all so pleased to see us again. They made us up a plate of some gristly meat. Pretty sure it was gizzard, wasn’t too bad, Graham loved it. Then we cooked us some Kobe Beef and Fish with chilli. They were both delicious especially the beef. Graham I think had had one too many beers and decided to eat the whole chilli in the fish dish. Holy Moly I thought he was going to have a heart attack. The people are so lovely here, one of the waitresses gave me a hug as we left.

    I know it seems like we’re eating a lot but these are all only small dishes I swear. We tried out the stalls on the way home and they were tasty but not a patch on our Restaurant. We sat next to a race car driver and his girl friend. He’d been to Australia and won Bathurst 12 hour in 2015. Graham thinks it must have been one of the support races. He lives in Tokyo and is here for a race somewhere. Gave us tips for Tokyo and places to visit. They wanted to know what we were doing in Tokyo and after telling them about the guitar show it turns out his father is a professional guitar player so who know we might see his Dad in Tokyo.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan 2023
    Day 9

    Kumamoto

    May 19, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Arrived in Kumamoto this morning, dumped our bags and set off to visit kumamoto Castle. There’s a bit of annoying drizzly rain hanging around this afternoon. The outside of the castle is lovely and there a nice little restaurant/ souvenir area right at the front of it. The tickets we bought included a Wakuawakza Museum visit. The museum had a lot of interactive stuff, try on a kimono, sit in a golden carriage, ride a horse. Kept us amused so I’m sure the kids must love it.

    This poor castle has been burned to the ground in 1877 and rebuilt and then through an earthquake in 2016 which they are still rebuilding from. So while it looks fantastic, disappointingly none of the interior is original of course. The inside is a fantastic museum on 6 floors unfortunately all in Japanese. We did get a nice view from the top floor though.

    Back to the room for a rest and the rain has eased this afternoon, so we set off on the city tram again to check out Shimodori. Lots of shops and eateries around. One street in particular was full of bars. Graham stuck his head into one which seemed to have a heap of people in so in we went for one drink.

    Not a word of English anywhere in the place and we were sitting there obviously looking perplexed when the old guy sitting next to me offered to help. He had a little English and his friend on the other side had Google translate. So with that we managed to order beers, tuna sashimi, some grisly boiled chicken and some horse sashimi. The sashimis where delicious the chicken not so much. Ive had a bit of hay fever today and the wasabi that came with the tuna, holy moly cleared up my nose in no time.

    People are amazingly friendly here. The old boy was going home and the people behind us invited us to sit with them. We thought they were a couple but no, just friendly phycologists in town for a function.

    We have the morning to fill in before we pick up our hire car so we’re off to the traditional arts centre. A showcase of all the arts in the Kyushu regions. Some stunning pieces there from Tatami mats, pottery, ceramics, jewellery I would have loved to bring some of them home.

    The bonus was it’s just across from the castle so we got to see it with blue skies today.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan 2023
    Day 10

    Takachiho Gorge

    May 20, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Picked up our hire car about lunchtime. Goodness it’s a shame we’ve only got it for two days so much paperwork to go through. Now to get ourselves out of Kumamoto. Thank goodness for google maps on our phones, and luckily the traffic is fairly light today.

    We are going to see Takachiho Gorge only about 70 klms away but it took us a good hour and a half to get there. It is a gorgeous area and very popular with the tourist buses. Here’s a warning for anyone travelling in Japan. Go sightseeing in the morning the afternoons get very busy.    Read more

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