Category: Japan

So, here we are in Japan.  Our distant, mysterious pacific neighbors and a country that has only opened up to the west in the last 200 years.  Rosies limited impressions are of sushi, samurai, saki, origami, super technology geeks, anime, cherry blossoms, geisha and the most scariest horror movies ever……pretty embarrassing list really……I cant wait to learn and experience more as we move through the country.

The Shinjuku air was beautifully cool and fresh, hundreds of people were bustling around us, Rosies eyes were as wide as saucers.  Towering neon lit TV screens that were multiple stories high blared out advertising at us.  Whole skyscraper buildings were changing random colours and cars whizzed around us.  

What a place, the Shibuya Crossing was pure busy chaos.  Rosie wanted to get a good pic and heard that by heading up to the second floor of Starbucks you could get a good view over the crossings.  Every other visitor to Tokyo had heard this urban myth as well…it was jammed packed up there, Rosie sneaked off a couple of crafty shots over paying customers heads before sneaking off not having bought a coffee.

Stepping out after dark is another world altogether in Tokyo, especially in the Shinjuku area where Rosie and The Operator are staying in a local apartment.  The night sky isn’t dark and there is not one star to be seen, an other wordly pale glow or eternal twilight is present due to the incredible amount of neon illumination from buildings, billboards and signage reflecting off the clouds.

Well, the rain didn’t stop so we walked raincoat and umbrella clad to the Samurai Museum just down the road hoping to get on the first tour of the day.  We did, we were lucky though, alot of other people me thinks had the same rainy day idea.

The suburb of Asakusa was on the cards, we were off to visit the Senso-ji Temple.  This is Tokyos oldest temple and was founded in 628AD, more than 1000 years before the founding of Tokyo itself.  It is a large complex and one of the busiest sights in town so we were glad we still managed to get there early via the metro.

We are heading towards Ponto-Cho, the narrow pedestrian only walkway with doorways that enter some of the most exclusive, old and elite restaurants in Kyoto.  The lanterns were lit, the hustle and bustle had started and Rosie and The Operator were cruising for a bit of dinner that wasn’t going to break the bank.

Rosie and The Operator have a full day sightseeing in Kyoto, the day has dawned clear and bright and we are off to visit one of the most popular shrines in the city, Fushimi Inari-Taisha.  Famous for for its beautiful temple and winding tunnel of vermillion torii gates, we want to get there early. 

Rosie and The Operator looked at each other….we had just hopped on a high speed train and god knows where we were going!  Rosie felt sick.  No English names of the stops were scrolling above the carriage door and all announcements were being made in Japanese.

As far as the eye could see in front of Rosie the giant bamboo slow and dignified, swayed in the breeze.  The stems were soooo tall, unbelievably tall.  When you looked skyward the bamboo arched overhead forming a tunnel.  The Operator bent over the fence and wrapped his knuckles on a bamboo stem that had the girth of his calf, it echoed hollowly.

Hiroshima is like a pilgrimage site for Rosie and The Operator, being in Japan it only felt right to pay homage and visit the sight where the most unthinkable act of violence has happened on the planet. 

The highlight of this wee town is its hilly Temple Walk, behind the railway tracks a cobbled track winds for 2.5 km up and down the hills passing 25 temples on its way.  This was Rosie and The Operators aim today….walking this route and enjoying the sunshine and being away from the crowds of the big cities.

Nara is compact from a tourist perspective and most of the sights to see are based around the Nara-koen (Nara Park).  This park is home to 1200 deer, who are considered messengers of the gods and actually have national treasure status. 

The ancient castle Inuyama-jo looks down on the town from its lofty perch above the river.  It is a beautiful and commanding site to behold 40 metres above the river.  Rosie and The Operator are getting used to these treks up to temples and castles which are only ever built on the high spots. 

Gujo-Hachiman has abit of everything, an ancient feudal castle, heaps of temples, old town streets and its claim to fame…..the factory that makes all the plastic food models you see around Japan…they are all made here! Lets go and have a look around.

The houses are lovely and rustic looking, perched in a grouping on the valley floor with the mountain ridges rising around it looked very much like a story book village.  A few people were already wandering the streets of the village below and that was where we were headed next.

The Nakasendo Way was one of 5 major travelling routes through Japan formally endorsed by the shogun and one of two that linked the capitol Kyoto with the city of Edo (Tokyo). This inland route was the favored one between the two cities from 1603 – 1869 as there were no huge rivers to ford.

Takayama as a town, has the most English signs, English interpretive boards at spots of historic interest and generally the most Western tourists of all the spots we have visited outside of Tokyo and Kyoto. 

Its a great feeling to be recognized and acknowledged by your neighbors when you are out and about and to be treated like a local by the places you frequent.   It is such a nice feeling to have people genuinely say they are going to miss you when you leave.  I feel exactly the same too,