Japan Day 8 - Nara and Osaka!

It was tough to get out of the warm, comfortable bed this morning, even though I knew that there would be a wonderful breakfast awaiting me at Inoue's home. For breakfast, I even tried nato, which is fermented soybeans. First, one adds a little mustard and soy sauce, then, mixes, mixes and mixes the fermented soybeans, which are coated in a gooey, sap-like substance. I tried several bites; but, nato is not my favorite food.

After breakfast, Chihiro, her parents and I toured the sites in Nara, the capital before Kyoto. Since legend has it that one of the gods arrived in Nara on a white deer, the shika deer are protected in Nara Park. Before we arrived, I was looking forward to purchasing deer crackers to feed the deer. However, upon arrival, the deer would come right up to us, without having any food in our hands. In fact, those who gave the deer crackers soon had a horde following them and nibbling at their jackets.

Our first stop was at Todai-ji, a Buddhist temple hosting a giant seated Buddha (Daibatsu). Built into the sides of the large gate the Todai-ji were two large, frightening, wooden statues. Their expressions were mouthing the first and last letter of the alphabet (a reference to covering everything from beginning to the end), protecting the main gate from everything. This is also where I was stopped by my first group of school children, intent on completing their field trip assignment of talking to an English speaker. We passed through the main gate and thru the secondary gate (all temple gates face south); and, we were standing in front of a breath-taking temple. Even though the current building is smaller than the original built in the 8th century, it is still one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. We entered the temple; and, almost the entire space was taken up by the giant bronze Buddha seated on lotus petals. In order to showcase the sheer size of the Buddha statue, there is a hole drilled through one of the wooden supporting posts of the temple. This hole is the size of the nostril of the Buddha; and, one can try to shimmy through it's narrow opening.

From Todai-ji, we walked stone lantern lined pathways. During special festivals, all of the lanterns are filled with candles; and, the four side openings are pasted over with paper. Our walk took us to a Shinto Shrine. There is a yearly fire festival here where a fiery torch is waved over the crowd from a second story balcony. The gathers early on the grass below in order to be close enough to have embers of this fire land on them, which brings good luck. The second story balcony offered a very picturesque view of Nara. Even the rest area in this shrine was unique, as it had self serve green tea, requesting tea drinkers to wash their glasses in the sink after use.

Soon, we had to take the train to Osaka to catch our flight back to Tokyo. Osaka was very bright and very loud. After the quiet tranquility of Nara, Osaka felt more cramped, crowded, over-lit, and loud than Vegas itself. However, it had it's own perks, namely takoyaki (octopus dumplings). We tried with sauce and mayonnaise and with salt. Then, it was off to the airport. We didn't have to take off our shoes. And, for those few who did, slippers were provided to walk through the security. Wishful thinking on my part that our US airports could be as courteous as Osaka airport!

On our return to Tokyo, I was able to experience my first real crowded train experience (although, really, not that bad, according to the locals. e.g. there were no pushers pushing us into the cars). This was the last train on a Friday night; and, it held both salarymen leaving work and those who had been partying all evening.

Japan Day 7 - Kyoto and Fushimi!

The drumming started at 6:30 am, calling the faithful to morning Zen meditation. I rolled over on the futon and tried to keep sleeping. However, by 7:30, we were up. We took a quick look at the Myorenji gardens before heading to a Zen meditation in English at Myoshinin Temple. We were joined by two women from Seattle and one guy from France. The monk who led the meditation was apparently not a traditional monk. He spoke of meditation, religion and neuroscience. After meditation, we viewed the rock garden as well as several painted panels that were 200 years old.

The most well-known tourist attraction in Kyoto is Kinkakuji, the Golden Temple. The current temple was rebuilt and regilded in gold in 1960, after a young monk burned it down (according to the book 'the temple of the golden pavilion' by yukio mishima).

Next, we headed to the town of Fushimi, famous for its' sake factories. We took a tour of the Geikkekan sake factory. There was a brochure in English; however, the tour was completely in Japanese. However, the museum had many English translations. We finished our tour by sampling two sakes and a plum wine (interestingly, most of the plum wine is exported to the USA). Our tour included one take home can of sake. Overall, well worth the tour cost of 400 yen.

Fushimi has a famous Shinto shrine called Fushimi Inari. Originally founded in 711, it has pathways lined with thousands of reddish-orange gates called torii. These torii have been donated by individuals and businesses; and, it appears that one can donate torii still today. inari.jp
For dinner tonight, we headed back into Kyoto for conveyor belt sushi! The place was packed but efficient. We didn't have to wait long before getting seats along the conveyor belt. The sushi chefs quickly served up some of the best sushi I had ever eaten, with a much wider variety of sushi than I had previously been exposed to. Some of the more unusual ones that I tasted were crab guts, horse, cuttlefish and nato (fermented soybeans). We ate until there was a stack of plates in front of each of us. The bill was simply the number of plates times a flat fee per plate. Green tea was included for free.

Our night ended at a small bar in a back alley run by Ray, who speaks fluent English and Japanese (and caters to expats as well as locals). In addition to the sake and beer we ordered, Ray provided sweets, including homemade green tea bite size candies. It was a relaxing end to a busy day.

Japan Day 5 - Tokyo to Nara!

This morning was dreary with a light drizzle. However, that didn't phase those on bicycles, who rode with one hand and carried an umbrella with the other.

For lunch today, I finally ate udon, a Japanese noodle soup. The udon was delicious! However, I ate too slowly; and, the udon expanded in the broth over time.

Today, my friend Chihiro and I traveled to her parents' home in Nara. For dinner, her mom served us sukiyaki. A hot plate was in the center of the table, on which mushrooms, carrots, chrysanthemum leaves and slices of beef were fried. We used our chopsticks to move fried items from the hot plate to a bowl with raw egg, then ate the tasty mouthfuls.

Japan Day 6 - Kyoto!

This morning, we took the train to the the home of Nintendo's headquarters, Kyoto. Unlike Tokyo's system of trains and subways, in Kyoto, we spent the majority of our public transportation time on busses, all of which are a flat fee (either 100 or 220 yen).  We visited the Philosopher's Way and ate lunch at a temple along the path. The setting was peaceful as we enjoyed the beginning of the fall colors. We continued our day by walking to and around Nanzenji Temple. It is an enormous complex, opening with a large wooden gate. We followed the ritual protocol of hand and mouth washing before walking to the altar, throwing in a coin, ringing a bell, making a wish, bowing twice and clapping twice. The Nanzenji complex was a peaceful, garden retreat.

Next, we attended a traditional geisha performance. The performers were both maiko (geisha in training) and geisha. Kyoto still has a geisha tradition, including the teahouses and places to rent geisha kimonos. We were first shown to a small sitting room, where we were served sweets and matcha green tea. Then, we moved to the auditorium for the performance. The geisha and maiko acted out five scenes, including traditional dances. They were accompanied by shamisen and three vocalists. They even played a version of 'rock, paper, scissors', with 'samurai, mother, tiger'.

Since the temple where we were staying (Myorenji) didn't have a bath or shower, they provided us with coupons to the public bath. Public bathing is something that I haven't done since the awkward junior high and high school years after gym class. However, the public bath in Japan is an experience that one shouldn't miss. These baths are still frequented in the older neighborhoods, where when the homes were built, there was either not enough space or money to include a private bath. Men and women have separate locker rooms and bathing facilities. First one soaps and rinses at the shower heads. Then, one moves into the large hot-tub. It was a wonderfully relaxing experience.
We rushed back to Myorenji Temple past our 9 pm curfew. However, the friendly manager led us to our room while his young son entertained us with his antics. The room was covered in tatami mats. The only furniture was a low table with hot water for tea. We unfolded our futons and slept soundly.

Japan Day 4 - Tokyo!

Monday morning, I visited the famous Tokyo fish market, Tsujiki. Even though I left later than recommended (8 am), that gave me a chance to experience rush hour. A sea of dark suits flowed through the railway and metro stations. I was lucky enough to get a seat while the subway car filled with passengers at each stop. At Tsujiki, I climbed the stairs to overcast skies and the smell of fish. A street map (there are helpful maps with 'you are here' on many street corners), displayed the fishmarket to the left. I plunged into an open air market full of mushrooms, fruits and vegetables, finally arriving at the seafood and fish. There were prawns, octopi, clams, mussels and fish of all sizes. In addition, just walking was an exercise in avoiding being hit by people, carts and trucks, all rushing past. Eventually, I stopped to eat a late breakfast. After carefully studying the kanji on the outside photo of dumplings, I entered the tiny shop and ordered using the vending machine. In this tiny, 16-seat establishment, my knees touched the counter. However the cafe was so narrow, I had to lean forward to let customers pass behind me. The service was quick and friendly, and, the customers slurped their noodles just as quickly.

My next excursion was to Odaiba Island to the Maraikan Science Museum (one of the few museums open on Mondays). The hostel receptionist recommended seeing Asimo, the robot by Honda. Asimo was amazing! It walked, talked, kicked a soccer ball and even danced. Maraikan also boasted a replica of the Shinkai6500 (deep sea sub), an exhibit on particle accelerators, and a hands-on try at endoscopic surgery. Odaiba Island is a shopping and entertainment destination, with Forever 21, H&M, SonyExplore, LEGO Land and even Fuji TV.

 Taking the train back to Ginza, I began the search for Jiro's sushi restaurant. 'Jiro dreams of sushi' is a documentary movie of the sushi chef rated #1 in the world by Michelin. Using the restaurant's 4-2-15 address, I asked many people for assistance in locating Jiro's shop. The easy way is to find the Sony building and then look for the W suit store. Jiro's sushi bar is nestled beneath the suit store. Since a meal at Jiro's starts at $300, I hadn't made a reservation. However, glimpsing Jiro through the restaurant door made the search worth it!

 For dinner tonight, we ate a type of Japanese 'junk food' called moonjya. In the center of each table, there was a large, inlaid, rectangular hot plate. Onto the hot plate, we fried thinly sliced meat, veggies, and tomato. Next, we added a liquidy 'dough' and cheese. Then, everything was chopped together with two metal spatulas. The result was pure yumminess!

Japan Day 3 - Tokyo!

My first day on my own taking the array of trains and subways around Tokyo. Two different companies run the subways; and, there is also a train line. Per the hostel, it's not worth it to buy day passes, as each day pass is only for one company. I tracked my rides today; and, I rode both subways and the train.
jr line 130
toei metro 170
toei metro 170
tokyo metro 160
jr line 130
On my very first ride, the train pulled into the first station and stopped. However, the doors didn't open. There was a long announcement over the PA, none of which I understood. Thankfully, the doors did finally open and we kept moving.

Since it was so clear out that we could see Mount Fuji from the hostel, I decided to visit the tallest structure in the world, Tokyo's Skytree. It stands 634 meters high, with observation decks at 350m and 450m. Be ready to spend hours waiting in lines, first a line to get a time to buy a ticket. When you return at your time, you'll stand in line to buy the ticket. Then, there's another line to get on the 40 person elevator to the first observation deck. The elevator speeds upward at 600m/minute (my ears popped on the way down). After all that waiting, the view at 350m was worth it! A 360 degree, birds eye view of Tokyo spread out below us. However, be aware that there is an additional 1000 yen charge to go to the next observation deck at 450m.

There is plenty to do at Solamanche between waiting in line to get a ticket time and waiting in line to purchase a ticket. During that time, I walked to Sumida Park, visited my first Shinto Temple, drank a white grape and aloe juice and even test drove a rescue robot used at the Fukushima nuclear plant!

For lunch, I wondered across the canal from Skytree and stumbled upon Kailash Indian Restaurant. Welcomed by a 'Namaste', I was instantly curious where the owners were from. Both the owner and server are from Nepal. They served up delicious naan, curry and lassi; and, lunch was reasonably priced at under 1000 yen. What a delicious surprise!

After all that time spent waiting, I hurried down from Skytree to get to Tokyo National Museum in Ueno. There were so many interesting exhibits, from ukiyo-e prints to terracotta figures to sumarai suits of armor to beautiful porcelains to painted screens. After the museum closed, I walked thru Ueno Park and saw a group yo-yo-ing, another juggling, and, a third dressed out of Grease and dancing to '50s music.

On my walk back along the railway, I passed by a craft fare with artists displaying jewelry, shoes, and purses. In contrast to this craftmanship, I continued back thru the shopping area of yesterday, even busier and louder with vendors shouting at passing customers. For supper, I ate from the bustling kebab shop. Then, i made my way back to Akibara to check out the Tokyo Anime Center. It was disappointingly more giftshop than museum.

Japan Day 2 - Tokyo!

This morning's task (after navigating the hostel's shower system), was finding breakfast. I walked past several populated cafes offering food choices only in Japanese. Finally, I worked up the confidence to enter one and order from the vending machine. Waalaa! My,breakfast arrived a few minutes later, complete with green tea.

After breakfast, Hiro arrived for a day of exploring Tokyo. We walked thru a street of vendors hawking their wares, even boots by Texaco. (Wonder if Texaco realizes that?) My highlight was fresh pineapple from Hokkaido for 100 yen.

By now, I was hungry again so, we stopped in a small shop for noodles. The combination of noodles, meat, bamboo shoots and broth was delicious!

Next, we visited the grounds of the Imperial Palace. It's paths have become a popular place for people to run. However, it has caused friction (and accidents) with the usual , non-running visitors to the grounds. Nevertheless, we watched a loosely organized race begin near the main gate (which is under construction).
As we left the grounds, we noticed a group of people milling at the end of a street. We walked toward them and were excited to have stumbled on a Food Fest! We sampled wine, wasabi, daikon, blueberry jam and real ginger ale.

Our next stop was the Sony showroom, where we played in Windows 8 computers and tablets that are not yet available for purchase. While the Experia was nice, we liked the keyboard better on the Slate.
By now, our feet were tired; and, we headed to Electric Town in Akihabara for a little bit of an otaku experience, the maid cafe. Otaku is a word that means 'nerd'; but, now carries the connotation of those who are very involved in the manga culture. The maids serve the clients; and, for a fee, you can take your picture with or play a game with a maid (although, we all played paper-rock-scissors together for free). http://akibaculture.tripod.com/cafes/07_athomecafe.html.

Our evening ended with me trying once again to stay awake thru a delicious dinner, including tiramisu.

Japan Day 1 - arrival in Tokyo!

Singapore Airlines delivered us promptly at 7:05 pm. Then, breezed thru customs (after being fingerprinted and photographed). Rental phone from Softbank--check! Yen from ATM--check! Then, off to purchase a train ticket to Tokyo Station. This proved a little more difficult due to the automatic ticket machines being in Japanese. However, customer service spoke English. Then, as I worriedly glanced between trains, an English speaker helped me pick the correct train. By the end of the 1.5 hour ride, I was falling asleep between every stop.

It was so wonderful to see a familiar face waiting for me at Tokyo station! Hiro helped find the hostel, which turned into more fun with trains and tokyo addresses. By now, it was 10:30; and, the hostel has an 11:30 curfew. So, the staff showed us the back way to get in, a confusing mix of stairs, unmarked doors and an elevator.

Although there are a McDonalds and Starbucks not far from the hostel, I vetoed both. Instead, we ate at a restaurant with some interesting features. First, we had to take off our shoes and put them in a locker. Then, we had a doorbell type button on our table. the serving staff only passed by our table if we rang the bell. Lastly, everytime we rang, a different server would appear (i've subsequently learned that there is no tipping at restaurants in Japan, which means we've had exceptionally fast server  response times at every food place we've visited, since no one person owns the table or tips). And even though I can't remember exactly what I ate in my travel stupor, it was all delicious!