Holiday in Japan

Fri April 7, 2006 (Zürich - Kobe)

The flights (from Zurich to Dubai and then from Dubai to Kansai airport) were pretty good. It had been more than two years since I had flown with Emirates and back then I thought it was nice to have a little screen in front of me with six movies to watch and about a dozen games to play. You still get that little screen but now there are about 150 movies and TV programs to choose from (and they start when you want them to). There are more games too, although those were never really interesting. Now if only the airport at Dubai could be improved, that place really sucks.

The fantastic finn was waiting for me at Kansai (she's on the third leg of a round-the-world oddessy, having flown to Japan from a conference in San Francisco). After a couple of weeks of being apart it was nice to catch up with her again. Thanks to Kazu's instructions it was very easy to get to Shin-Osaka and then to Rokkomichi Station in Kobe. Finding the complementary hotel shuttle bus was more difficult. The map we had was not very clear and in the end we got help from some locals and found the bus just as it pulled up. the driver seemed a bit confused and we thought that he might have been expecting someone else. After a few minutes he gave in and capitulated, we climbed into the bus and let him drive us up into the steep high hills above Kobe where our hotel sat atop Rokko mountain.

We checked in and while Leila had a shower I went looking for Damien and Nami. They were in the restaurant on the sixth floor just finishing dinner with their families. I said hello to a bunch of people and then explained that I would go back down to the room for a shower and to collect Leila before returning to have some beers with them. However, both bar and restaurant closed at 10pm and Damien came to our room to let us know that we were too late. Instead we enjoyed 5-minute noodles in our room and looked out the window which gave us a great view over Kobe and the bay.

Sat April 8, 2006 (Kobe)

Woke early and went to breakfast at 7.30. I cautiously stuck to toast, scrambled eggs and bacon while Leila dove straight into cold rice, seaweed and fish. Below us Kobe was being obscured by haze. We saw some of the family and I said hello to some of them, but we had by chance sat at the wrong side of the large dining room to have much interaction. After breakfast Leila went back to bed to snooze a bit more (she had a little flu). I went and had a look around the grounds outside, but didn't see much. The hotel is a little isolated. Back at the room I also took a brief nap before we dressed up for the big day. Today was Damien and Nami's wedding day.

We met everyone down in the hotel foyer waiting for the bus. Leila and I introduced ourselves around as Damien and Nami were off somewhere else getting prepared. Everybody was cheerful and happily expectant. The bus arrived and we poured on and rode it back down the switchbacks to Kobe, stopping at the Yuzuruha Shrine where we strolled under beautiful white cherry blossoms up towards the temple. Ushered into a side building we waited there, sipping green tea and sitting on tatami mats, for Damien and Nami to arrive. I was doing my best to photograph as much as possible without going overboard. Soon the happy couple arrived in a taxi, dressed up in full traditional japanese clothes. Damien was wearing something black and white, a big pompom and armed with a folded white fan, all of which made him look like the Daimyo of Kobe. Nami had a spectacular looking black and red kimono and looked like a princess. We then went into the shrine, which was a very open one-room thing which the breeze blew through, and things got underway. Shinto weddings are quite different to the usual western affairs, including bits about getting the attention of local spirits, drinking quite a lot of sake and Damien carefully speaking in Japanese near the end. The pipe player sounded way off to me, but he was apparantly right on song. Afterwards we took lots of photos just outside the temple, before piling back into the bus and returning up into the hills for the reception.

The reception was held at the hotel and it was pretty terrific. Great food (tempura, sushi, sashimi, bbq, other stuff) as well as nice wines and beer. We sat with Gary and Karen (Damien's brother-in-law and sister, respectively) and had a great time talking with them between speeches. After the formal reception was closed, most of us went upstairs to the bar to chat and drink sake and beer for the rest of the night. Damien's parents, Adrian and Jenny, and Gary and Karen (and their two girls) left the hotel that night. After a final late dinner with Damien, Nami and Lars we staggered back to the room and collapsed.

Sun April 9, 2006 (Kobe - Arima - Kobe)

Woke at about 3am and couldn't sleep again until nearly six. Jet-lag was getting in a few kicks. Went to breakfast feeling a bit groggy (must have been last night's beer). Had breakfast with Lars, Priscilla, Damien and Nami. We planned to go for a walk together that morning before they all had to leave. They checked out and stashed some of their stuff in our room and we were ready to go by about noon. Leila and I were keen to maybe go have a look at Arima and its onsen (baths), so we all headed off in the direction of Mt Rokko's peak where the ropeway was. Kenji (D & N's exuberant 7 year old son) was with us and he was as usual full of energy and fun. We passed through a small forest and then a golf course before reaching the top of Mt Rokko and a bunch of touristy buildings and attractions. The view over Kobe was nice. We were all a bit hungry and thirsty so it was agreed that a cafe was in order. Lunch was had and enjoyed. The others had to turn back so Leila and I said goodbye and continued on our way.

We found the ropeway, which turned out to be a long distance cable car, and rode it over the steep hills and forests to Arima. During that ride it was made ubundantly clear to me why Japan's mountain regions were relatively uninhabited. Very steep and loose-looking rock, covered in forests. In Arima we walked down into the alleys of the center and strolled about looking at the shops, cafes and dozens of people. Leila, who didn't have lunch at Mt Rokko, was getting hungry so we found a nice little restaurant were we got some udon soup. Being a bit tired (Leila was still trying to shrug off the flu) we walked back up to the ropeway and went back to Mt Rokko and then on to the hotel where we crashed in our room for some hours. Jetlag knocked me out cold and Leila had some work waking me up for dinner. We wandered up the road to an empty cafe-restaurant where I had to take the owner outside to point at our preferred dishes on plastic display in the front window. After dinner we headed back through the chill air to our room and went to bed pretty early. Melatonin dreaming.

Mon April 10, 2006 (Kobe - Kyoto)

Woke to see that it was raining outside and the mountain was covered in mist. At breakfast Leila and I worked out our schedule and glumly watched the steady rain. We packed and checked out and then rode the shuttle down to Kobe. There we switched to a local train to reach Sanomiya where we could get our Japan Rail passes validated. That done we boarded a crowded express train which took us to Kyoto in less than an hour. At Kyoto main station, where the rain was also pouring down, we tried to work out where the information office was and then spent about half an hour splashing about trying to find it. Once there Leila organized for us a couple of nights in a ryokan (Hotel Iroha) in central Kyoto. We then took the subway and found the place after being lost for only a few minutes. Check-in wasn't until 4pm so we left the bags and waded back out into the rain to go exploring. We were looking for a place to get some okonomiyaki, or an isakaya (type of pub) to at least get snacks and beer, failing that we knew there were some big temples nearby. In a covered market alley we found the okonomiyaki and snapped them up to be devoured in a sheltered spot at the end of the ally. Quite nice really.

After that we found a pretty darn huge buddhist temple (Chion-in) which we visited, finding its gigantic gate, high stone stairways, big temple complex and cemetary grounds all very interesting. Particularly the story about its being built in 1234 on the site of where the founder of Jodo Buddhism (Honen) apparently fasted himself to death. Meanwhile, the rain continued to drizzle down. Nearby to Chion-in was a shinto shrine (Yasaka Shrine) where we spent a few minutes paddling around its exterior. We saw a sign which pointedly indicated that entry was only for those who want to pray and really mean it, so you fakers can just stay outside. Our wet feet were getting a bit tired so we headed back towards our ryokan, looking for an isakaya (without luck). Back at the hotel we managed to scrape up some green tea and sake while waiting for our room to be ready. Foolishly, I had stashed my umbrella with our luggage which disappeared from the lobby not long after we returned. Not wanting to wait in the hotel when we could go shopping instead I asked if I could get my umbrella please, however the luggage was in transit to the room. So we were given the key to our room and sent up. No luggage. In fact we only got the luggage after asking for it twice and waiting about 40 minutes. This had me grumbling for some time.

With umbrella back in hand we dove back into the street and swam towards where Leila knew some department stores were. Trailing through a long and colourful shopping arcade we became hungry again and ducked into a small restaurant. We've been choosing these places based on whether or not they used plastic food displays out front, because the menues are almost always in japanese and therefore somewhat mysterious. The lady was very understanding and had good comprehension of idiot-gaijin sign-language, so we got what we wanted.

As it happened we ended up walking for miles. I got completely turned around several times, but Leila's radar was well tuned on this occasion so we didn't get lost. The department stores were a bit uninspiring, and Leila ended up making only one purchase (a scarf) and that was in the arcades somewhere. By the time we got back to the ryokan I was completely stuffed and immediately went to sleep for a couple of hours. Leila woke me up and led me to a restaurant not far away where we had a fantastic meal (flatfish sashimi for Leila and shabu-shabu pork and vegetables for me, and a little tempura for the both of us) and lots of sake. Outside, the rain had stopped. Hooray!

Tue April 11, 2006 (Kyoto)

Had breakfast in the hotel and discussed the plans for the day. It was still raining. Laundry was first, Leila had been globe-trotting for almost two weeks by this point, so we obtained from the front desk a small map to find a tiny laundrette about five minutes walk into nearby backstreets. By now we had realised that Japanese maps are not to scale, not absolutely precise and often just plain wrong. So we had to hunt a little bit to find it. Having found the laundrette we put the clothes on to wash and then split, Leila went map-hunting and I caught up on writing this travelogue while babysitting the laundry. We met up again later at the hotel, Leila hadn't found a map but did find some deliciously sweet rice and bean paste cakes which we shared over a spot of green tea.

After a bit of a break we left the ryokan and crossed the street to go down into the subway, which we took to go and see Nijo castle. Despite the steady rain and occasional umbrella-bashing winds, this was very nice. We got to see the Shogun's house and the Imperial palace (Honmaru Palace) on its own little fortified island within the complex. Hungry again, we went looking for sushi and found it under Kyoto's main train station. This was truly great sushi! While at the station we booked seats for tomorrow's Shinkansen (bullet train) trip to the south. Next stop, Leila wanted to check out an arts & crafts place in the northern part of the city. On the way we briefly explored another big shinto shrine (Heian). At the arts & crafts center I bought Leila a nice gold and silver inlay necklace and we watched the artist (Ujo) who made it as he worked on something else. We also bought a silk scarf and a couple of books (one a biography of Yukio Mishima and one full of mid 20th century japanese horror stories) before trudging back home. The rain stopped every now and then but never for very long. At the ryokan Leila went down to the ladies onsen but came back in just a few minutes, there wasn't any water in them! Maybe it's a morning thing only. That night we wandered around under the neon looking for food, which we found. Over dinner we talked and argued about various aspects surrounding the bombing of Hiroshima.

Wed April 12, 2006 (Kobe - Takamatsu)

We checked out early and made our way to the main station via subway. It was still overcast but at least the rain had stopped. We boarded a shinkansen and headed south. Real fast. It was like being on a plane that was almost landing (but never does). In a very short time we reached Okayama where we transferred to a significantly slower train which took us over a series of bridges to Takamatsu, on Shikoku island. On the way we could see whirlpools in the water! In Takamatsu the weather was great! Bright sun and even a bit warm. We went to the nearest tourist information center and tried to get them to book us into a ryokan that Leila had read about in the guide. No luck, so we had to settle for a four star western hotel right in the middle of the shopping/restaurant/entertainment district. Drat. After checking in and resting for a few minutes (it was about half a kilometre from the train station) we went exploring all the miles of neon-lit shopping/restaurant arcades. Leila had read about an interesting place (Yashima) that was a little bit out of town. Yashima would offer us a shrine, an ancient battlefield and a great view of the Inland Sea - all on top of a high plateau reachable by funicular railway. So we caught a local train and headed out to Kotoden Yashima, a small town at the base of the plateau. Unfortunately, the funicular had been closed since last August. so we moped around a small shrine nearby until I discovered what looked to be a walking trail headed up to the plateau. However, after about ten minutes of confused bush-bashing we decided to give up and head back to Takamatsu. That night we prowled the streets looking for one restaurant and then another, but the lack of western-style signage made this impossible. Despite this and by complete chance, we did find Tenkatsu hiding behind a front which made it look like a straightforward sushi joint. But it was much much more than that! Pushing through a second pair of doors we found a long U-shaped table wrapping around holding tanks set into the floor. Looking down into this we could see about two-dozen fish swimming around. We sat down and gazed at our soon-to-be dinner. Right then a couple of slightly drunk salarymen came over and gave us both a welcoming glass of sake, which was a very cool thing to do, very nice. When the waitress came by we tried to order one of the big red snapper but she told us that this might be too much for us (i.e. that fish for three people, you only two people, fish too big), so we let her talk us into accepting a different and smaller fish. So one was scooped out and taken away, we were given hot sake while we waited for our zankoku ryori. Minutes later the fish returned and had been prepared sashimi-style, we ate delicate slices of its flesh as it lay twitching on a bed of shredded radish. It really wasn't enough food but the thought of a second sacrifice to the gaijin god of tourism was probably a bit over the top. So we left the restaurant, said goodbye to our salarymen friends, and tracked down a nice little isakaya to eat japanese tapas and drink more sake. Great night.

Thu April 13, 2006 (Takamatsu - Kochi)

We packed and checked out of the hotel, our plan was to head south to Kochi on the pacific coast. Before leaving Takamatsu we sent off some postcards. The train ride through central Shikoku was nice, with deep and heavily forested valleys, a big river and occasional towns. Very rural looking in parts and very wild in others. I liked to see the big stands of bamboo forest that appeared from time to time. It took about two hours to reach Kochi, where it was raining like hell, dammit. We thought about finding another ryokan but the information lady said that we could only get one day at the ryokan offered (we wanted two days in Kochi), so we settled for another big western hotel instead. Through the rain and via a tram and then on foot we walked to the Bright Park hotel. Check-in wasn't until three so we left the bags there and headed off into the city to look around. After lunch in one of the shopping arcade restaurants the rain had stopped, so we went to the city center to have a look at Kochi castle. This place was really quite good, several hundred years old and in original condition. Big gates, wide stairways leading up to a high plateau and a walled compound inside containing the main building. We went inside that and climbed up to the top which gave us a terrific view of the city all around. Kochi fills, completely fills, the plain between two low mountain ranges and the sea. Buildings crowd together for as far as one can see.

After this we went back to the hotel and checked in. There we took it easy until a little before sunset, when we walked to the big river and followed its course as the sun set. With the decreasing light we headed back into the city and our wandering path took us by a martial arts school where we could hear kendo in progress. Next to that was a little garden park, where we sat down and let the darkness fall. Later, as we continued back towards the hotel, we stumbled onto the grounds of Kochi castle again and could see the high main building lit up against the night sky, very pretty.

We eventually found a pretty good restaurant. Ordered waaaay too much food and drank a fair amount of sake. Finished the night off by happening upon an Irish pub - we had to try the Guinness, which was pretty good! Slept like the dead.

Fri April 14, 2006 (Kochi - Nahari - Kochi)

Walked to the train station to get some information on getting to Hiroshima the next day (bus to Matsuyama then ferry across the Inland Sea). We also decided to spend this day traveling east along the coast. We bought sandwiches and rice balls for breakfast and boarded a train which took us to Nahari (a bit more than two hours). At Nahari we wandered to the stoney shoreline to look at artificial wave-breakers and a very calm Tosa bay. With grey skies overhead we expected rain but never got more than a few drops. Found a small and somewhat decrepit looking shrine (might have been Kongocho-ji, no. 26 of Shikoku's 88 pilgrimage temples). Back at the train station we found a nice little restaurant and, as usual, got some great food. Feeling a bit sleepy we jumped on the train again and snoozed as it brought us back to Kochi. We bought tickets for the next day's bus ride to Matsuyama and then retired to the hotel. Before it got too dark, Leila went for a jog along the river. After she returned and when it was sufficiently dark, I walked to Kochi castle to try and get some night photographs of it. The restaurant we had dinner in was full of people and activity. We ate various small things (including helwa) and consumed much sake, highly enjoyable. After some aimless wandering we eventually found that Irish pub again and had another pint of Guiness.

Sat April 15, 2006 (Kochi - Matsuyama - Hiroshima)

In the morning we found that the rain had returned. We checked out quickly and trudged off to the rail station under our umbrellas. There was a 9am bus to Matsuyama for which we had tickets. Had breakfast at the station before boarding the bus. After a few stops around town it turned north through the mountains, on a highway which drilled straight as an arrow through dozens of short tunnels. Outside, when we could glimpse the valleys between tunnels, we could see only trees and dense mist. Occasionally, a valley would be large enough to support a community and we would see small buildings crammed together in the available space. the drive to Matsuyama was about two and a half hours and the weather there was still wet. We stashed our bags in some coin-op lockers and then split up. Leila wanted to visit a 3,000 year old onsen (public baths) while I was aiming at Matsuyama castle. We agreed to meet again at the station at 4pm, as we were intending to travel on to Hiroshima that night.

After leaving the fabulous finn on a tram bound for the onsen, I walked towards the low forested mountain at the city center. I could already see the castle in the mists above. On the way up I found a garden and wandered around that for a while before continuing up. The castle itself was ok, although it was undergoing considerable exterior restoration. Inside it was pretty good, with a bunch of samurai artifacts (armour, weapons, art work and documents) on display behind glass. It was all very interesting and the rain had stopped by the time I was finished. Back down the mountain I tried to catch a tram back to the station, but I didn't know the system and I ended up going somewhere else. After some backtracking and a long walk I finally got to the station. with a bit of time left I had a drink and something to eat in an English-style cafe (tea and biscuits actually, quite alright too). At 4pm Leila arrived wearing a dreamy smile on her face, the onsen must have been good (she said it was great, very relaxing). We retrieved our bags and boarded a bus headed across town to the harbour. Our aim was now Hiroshima, across the Inland Sea. We hoped to catch the 5pm express ferry. Grindingly slow traffic made it a close thing, but we still managed to squeak aboard the super-jet before it literally blasted off.

The rain had returned and the sea and sky were suitably grim, but that boat was fast. Really fast. Shinkansen fast. No kidding. We were across the Inland Sea and pulling into Hiroshima in little over an hour. At Hiroshima it was bucketing down with rain. We lept onto a packed tram that took us into town, jumped off and then slogged through the downpour to a ryokan that Leila had booked the previous night by phone. An unhealthy-seeming woman in dark glasses greeted us, gave us slippers and then led us to our cell. Well, it wasn't quite that bad, but everything seemed geared to maximizing the proprietor's profits. Lots of little rooms, one toilet, one bathroom, walls made of papiermache stiffened with a few extra coats of paint. The little TV was coin-operated, and the pillows could double as flood-mitigation sandbags (and judging by the rain that seemed definitely on the cards). Next door an elderly French couple were battling through two layers of uncertain english communication (our incognito hostess didn't speak much english either) just to move into their room. the ryokan did not serve meals, so we were headed back out into the weather to find something. We invited the french couple (Pierre and Claudette) to join us, which they did. Very close we found a small evil-smelling ramen soup joint, it was the dodgiest place I had seen in a long while. But two cheerful japanese girls gigglingly told us (in pretty good english) that it was very good. So we figured out how to order (pay now, suffer later) and sat down at the counter to enjoy some actually pretty ok noodle soup. After this the french couple fled through the rain back to the ryokan while Leila and I hunted for somewhere to get a drink. The rain had taken on biblical proportions by now, so when we spotted a place not twenty metres further on we went in. Inside we found an oldish guy with a sharp sense of humour who sat us down and served us hot sake and some mysterious things cooked on sticks. This was excellent and that guy was mucho cool and seemed to be having some fun as well. After a while we said goodbye and stepped back out into the night to find that the rain, as capricious as ever, had stopped. But we had had a long day and sleep beckoned us back to our futons.

Sun April 16, 2006 (Hiroshima - Osaka)

We woke to blue skies and a bright warm sun. Amazing. We packed our bags, checked out and walked to the JAR station where we stashed the luggage and reconed the bullet train situation. Back outside we headed towards Hiroshima's 20th century legacy.

If you were born yesterday it's possible that the name of this city might be meaningless to you. Ok, that's not fair. There are very likely a great many people who don't know Hiroshima's significance in modern world history ... so for the benefit of those I will say this much - on August 6 1945 the USA dropped a nuclear bomb on this city, they followed this by doing the same to Nagasaki three days later. If this isn't ringing any bells then ... ah forget it.

Our first point of call was a garden (Shukkei-en) that had originally been laid out nearly four centuries ago. After the bomb it had been reconstructed with painstaking care. We walked around admiring its ponds, miniature islands and greenery for a good while. Japanese landscape gardeners are truly a breed apart. After this we walked to the city center and hunted down some lunch. Leila had been there once before and knew exactly where to take me. We were going to get something for which Hiroshima is justifiably famous, the Hiroshima okonomiyaki. This was cool and great and also quite filling. Afterwards we visited the various monuments and memorials scattered about the hypocenter (literally, the ground beneath the center of the atomic explosion of 1945). The most moving of these was the main museum. We signed the petition and donated some cash.

The thing my mind kept turning to was the manner in which the USA approached dropping the bomb. They did it without warning, they seemed to have debated the point and then those responsible decided that a specific warning was not appropriate. I couldnät help thinking that this was so some scientist could verify/calculate the effectiveness of the weapon in human terms. The counter-argument of course is that it had been made clear to the USA that the Japanese would not surrender at any cost. So the USA felt compelled to demonstrate exactly what "at any cost" really meant. Although, if someone had warned the citizens of Hiroshima a day or so earlier, I'm pretty sure they would (from a safe distance) have connected the necessary dots. Again, the counter-argument here would point out that nobody would have (at that time) taken seriously such a warning anyway.

By the afternoon we were more than a little emotionally exhausted. We got on a bullet train and were whisked off at mind-numbing speeds to Osaka. We employed a tourist information center to supply us with accommodation that was heavily discounted, centrally located and with good subway connections. Which they did in rapid order. This is, without doubt, the best way to go if you are travelling in Japan a la carte.

We only got lost once (a policeman helped us out) and so found our strangely-fronted businessman's hotel (the Dotombori) right in the center of Osaka's pulsing heart. We checked in and then went food hunting through the crowded arcades. Leila spotted a crab restaurant and since she had been salavitating every time we passed one (they're expensive) we took the plunge despite the obviously high cost. We had the works, crab everything plus sake. sushi, sashimi, tempura, bbq, soup, salad and on and on it went ... everything you could think of doing with crab. Bloody expensive but very much worth it. Afterwards we continued to range through the arcades looking at the seething crowds and flickering phantasmagoria of neon. It was jaw-dropping stuff. Our guidebook claimed it reminded one of scenes from Bladerunner, and except for the wonderful absence of rain the book was spot on. The pachinko parlours were cacophanous. We bought octopus balls (the Osaka specialty) and sweet things on sticks. Near the end of our endurance we stole into an empty bar and had four guys serving us sake and more interesting tidbits. We conclude that life in Japan would probably make us very fat indeed.

Back at the hotel we slept on a bed with an apparently wooden mattress. Ouch.

Mon April 17, 2006 (Osaka)

More great weather. Although it wasn't very warm. We went to visit a shinto shrine at Sumiyoshitaisha, which was south of the city center in a quiter area and spent about an hour walking around looking at the temple buildings and venerably old spirit trees. There were scores of stone lanterns too, apparently donated by various individuals to the temple. Back in central Osaka we spent the rest of the day shopping. Gift purchases are tough! This proved difficult and for me quite tiring. So much so that I eventually spat the dummy and went on strike. Leila soldiered on though, with a seemingly endless supply of energy she scoured central Osaka while I sat in the hotel's bar catching up on this diary.

In the evening we went looking for one last restaurant. Eventually we found one which would serve us with sukiyaki, something we had been hunting unsuccessfully for since we came to Japan. It was terrific too, a great way to complete our Japanese oddessy.

After dinner we collected our luggage and caught a train for Kansai Airport. After a long time, we got home to Zurich.