My last morning and part of an afternoon in Japan. First I packed which took some serious effort and planning on my part as I have a lot of food and ceramics. The last thing I want to have happen is for my very good umeboshi to be crushed!
I then headed into Kichijoji to get my money back for my baseball ticket (it was bought at a department store) and get soba noodles at the place Kuniko took me to a couple of weeks ago. I had to skype her to ask her how to order! They were fantastic- all soba is likely to be a disappointment after this place. Next I headed to the upscale supermarket to buy some miso to bring to Boston with me. At 2:30 I hopped on the bus for the 2 hour ride to Narita airport- I am on it now typing.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
4/25/08 Tokyo
We headed to the fish market this morning. We were a bit late so they were shutting it down but there is a lot of interesting things to see, eat, and buy right around it. We grabbed some food- a large bowl of rice with insanely fresh pieces of sashimi on it. I also purchased some ceramics for home- bowls, plates, etc. They are incredibly cheap here- these markets supply restaurants so its basically wholesale prices. Josh then headed to catch his flight to Hong Kong and I went to the Tokyo Edo museum which is a rather large museum about the Tokyo’s history- it was really interesting although by this point I am pretty much saturated on sightseeing and such. I almost forgot- before heading to the museum I went into an internet place for a quick nap. They have these places all over Japan- I forgot what they are called (I think it’s a manga kissa) anyway it’s a place where you pay an hourly rate to use the internet and read there comic books (manga) and drink as much coffee or soft drinks you want. Some have massage chairs and recliners you can sleep in. Apparently people actually live in them sometimes because they can’t afford an apartment. Anyway I was dead tired after my night poor quality capsule sleep and I needed to check my email so for 5 bucks I checked my email, took a 20 minute nap in a massage chair, and drank some coffee- this is a bargain as a cup of coffee here is around 3-4 dollars.
After the museum I walked around the city some more and then headed back to Kichijoji and grabbed some ramen noodles at the “greasy noodle”- so good….basically it’s ramen without the broth.
After the museum I walked around the city some more and then headed back to Kichijoji and grabbed some ramen noodles at the “greasy noodle”- so good….basically it’s ramen without the broth.
4/24/08 Tokyo nightclub/capsule hotel
It is raining today. I headed to the morning markets- Jinya-mae and Miyagawa morning markets and walked around and ate some more Hida beef on a stick and grilled mochi. I also found a great little miso shop that sold miso and a type of miso marinade that you put on a type of leaf and then add meat and veggies and then cook in on a hot plate- it was very tasty so I bought some to bring home. My original plan for the day was to head to the Hida no Sato- Hida folk village which has restored homes and such and then I was going to go for a hike. Given that the weather is bad and there’s not much to do here in the evening I made the decision to head back to Tokyo.
Since I wanted to spend the 25th in downtown Tokyo I decided it didn’t make sense to stay at Kunoko’s parents house so where better to stay than another capsule hotel! There just so happens to be a capsule hotel in the heart of Shinjuki (which is a great place to spend an evening). As I was checking in another white guy was checking in and we chatted. Josh is from Toronto and was giving the capsule hotel a try to see what it is like. We hit it off and ended up hanging out. This capsule hotel was pretty big. It had a large restaurant/bar and an extensive spa/onsen. We put on the clothes they give you and headed up to the spa/onsen. There were 3 indoor baths, 2 outdoor baths, and 2 dry saunas (one insanely hot) and a stem room. They also offered a variety of other services- massage- shiatsu, thai massage and a sort of scrub down that exfoliates your skin. The weird thing was that there were 2 women who did the scrubs (done on a table out in the open) working among a bunch of naked dudes. So we checked out the hot tub and sauna and then went down for a massage. They had a huge room with probably 10 tables and a bunch of massage therapists. So we enter the massage room (no one spoke a lick of English) and they indicate to Josh to take off his top- which he did and then he pulled down his pants (you are supposed to leave them on but he didn’t know) and you can imagine the response- a whole lot of Japanese embarrassment and laughter- Josh said they were laughing throughout the whole massage- just typing this makes me laugh. Anyway the massage therapist who did my massage was fantastic. It was quite cheap- 35 bucks for 40 mins.
After that we headed for dinner. Josh hadn’t had sukiyaki so we went for that at a nearby place recommended by lonely planet. It was really good (of course not as good as Kuniko’s mom’s sukiyaki). The restaurant was fun and our waitress spoke amazing English which she states she only learned at a conversation school.
Given that neither Josh or I had been to a Tokyo night club we both decided it would be fun to check one out. We ended up doing some research online to find a place and when we got there connected with a couple of Aussies living here teaching at an international school- it was a 3 floor nightclub and was pretty crazy. Josh ended up making out with this girl and then was quite surprised when the large Nigerian bouncer broke them up and pulled the girl away- he later found out from the bouncer that it was his girlfriend! Amazingly the bouncer was quite cool about it- I think in the US (and Canada per Josh) this could have easily resulted in a back alley beating. We headed back to the capsule hotel- upon arrival a couple of absolutely hammered Japanese businessman came in- one was so drunk that the staff had to help him out of the elevator. There was some hardcore drunk snoring happening in the capsule hotel-should have used earplugs. Either way these things are a bargain and I would stay in one again (for a night or 2).
Since I wanted to spend the 25th in downtown Tokyo I decided it didn’t make sense to stay at Kunoko’s parents house so where better to stay than another capsule hotel! There just so happens to be a capsule hotel in the heart of Shinjuki (which is a great place to spend an evening). As I was checking in another white guy was checking in and we chatted. Josh is from Toronto and was giving the capsule hotel a try to see what it is like. We hit it off and ended up hanging out. This capsule hotel was pretty big. It had a large restaurant/bar and an extensive spa/onsen. We put on the clothes they give you and headed up to the spa/onsen. There were 3 indoor baths, 2 outdoor baths, and 2 dry saunas (one insanely hot) and a stem room. They also offered a variety of other services- massage- shiatsu, thai massage and a sort of scrub down that exfoliates your skin. The weird thing was that there were 2 women who did the scrubs (done on a table out in the open) working among a bunch of naked dudes. So we checked out the hot tub and sauna and then went down for a massage. They had a huge room with probably 10 tables and a bunch of massage therapists. So we enter the massage room (no one spoke a lick of English) and they indicate to Josh to take off his top- which he did and then he pulled down his pants (you are supposed to leave them on but he didn’t know) and you can imagine the response- a whole lot of Japanese embarrassment and laughter- Josh said they were laughing throughout the whole massage- just typing this makes me laugh. Anyway the massage therapist who did my massage was fantastic. It was quite cheap- 35 bucks for 40 mins.
After that we headed for dinner. Josh hadn’t had sukiyaki so we went for that at a nearby place recommended by lonely planet. It was really good (of course not as good as Kuniko’s mom’s sukiyaki). The restaurant was fun and our waitress spoke amazing English which she states she only learned at a conversation school.
Given that neither Josh or I had been to a Tokyo night club we both decided it would be fun to check one out. We ended up doing some research online to find a place and when we got there connected with a couple of Aussies living here teaching at an international school- it was a 3 floor nightclub and was pretty crazy. Josh ended up making out with this girl and then was quite surprised when the large Nigerian bouncer broke them up and pulled the girl away- he later found out from the bouncer that it was his girlfriend! Amazingly the bouncer was quite cool about it- I think in the US (and Canada per Josh) this could have easily resulted in a back alley beating. We headed back to the capsule hotel- upon arrival a couple of absolutely hammered Japanese businessman came in- one was so drunk that the staff had to help him out of the elevator. There was some hardcore drunk snoring happening in the capsule hotel-should have used earplugs. Either way these things are a bargain and I would stay in one again (for a night or 2).
Friday, April 25, 2008
4/23/08 Takayama
Took a 45 minute bullet train ride to Nagoya and then boarded the train for Takayama. Actually typing this up on the train. The ride itself is quite stunning as we are passing through mountains and valleys- the train is literally passing through mountains (I think as we go through some big tunnels). Takayama is in the Hida district which is a mountainous area bordering the Japanese Alps. Hida is famous for Hida beef- in the US we only hear about Kobe beef but there are other similar styles of beef that are well known in Japan.
I am staying at Hida Takayama Temple Inn Zenko-ji www.geocities.jp/zenkojitakayama. It’s actually a Zen temple that functions as a hostel/Inn which is pretty common in Japan. The monk that runs it speaks great English so I chatted with him about it for a while. What he said was that there most Japanese don’t go to Temples often as they have small altars in their homes and that most of them don’t practice meditation. So what this means is that the temples are often empty. I requested my own room which he accommodated- I was in a living room on the second floor with a very comfortable futon on the floor that had an electric mattress pad. For 30 bucks a night it was a steal. I spend the afternoon wandering around older section of the town which has lots of traditional wooden buildings and houses- narrow quant streets with shops, miso factories, and sake breweries. It is really nice. I sampled some Hida beef on a stick which was quite nice. I also had grilled mochi balls that had a soy sauce on them and a type of rice that was mashed up and then grilled (kind of like a hash brown on a stick) that had a rich soy based sauce on it that was fantastic.
Since I haven’t been to a sake brewery I was excited to check them out. They don’t make it during this time of year but you can still go in and see some of the large barrels and taste their sake. Unfortunately I didn’t like most of the ones I tasted. Their was sort of moldy/cheesy flavor to them. I tried some higher end daigninjo that was good but not worth buying and carrying around.
I then headed to a hotel nearby that has a great onsen that you can use for 10 dollars- sauna, 2 indoor baths, and 2 outdoor baths in stunning garden. After that I headed to dinner and met up with a couple I had met in Kyoto and coincidentally ran into here. We headed to a steak place that had an attached butcher shop. We both opted for the (43 dollar) Hida sirloin. It is brought to you sliced and you cook it yourself on the table. As you can see from the picture it is VERY fatty. It is sort of like eating a whole steak that is composed of the fatty portion of a steak- although tasty it’s too fatty to be eaten by itself- would have been a better choice to get shabu shabu or sukiyaki. We headed to a local bar that had a bartender who spoke great English and knew a lot about sake. We had fun swapping travel stories and chatting about work and career stuff- they both work for Price Waterhouse Cooper as consultants.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
4/22/08 Kyoto
I woke up pretty early to head to he Kobo-san market fair which is held monthly at the To-Ji temple. It is a massive market/flea market kind of thing held on the grounds of this temple. There are food stands, people selling used kimonos and clothes, crafts, pottery, jewelry, etc. Like everywhere here there is also fish and fish products for sale. It goes in many directions and spills out onto the surrounding streets. I bought some hand-made pottery and at these pancake like things that were filled with custard- fantastic.
Next I headed back to Kyoto station to do an organized tour I read about- Johnnie’s Kyoto walking tour. It is a tour through non-touristy back streets of Kyoto. I wish I can say it was good- it wasn’t. The tour guide is one of the first Japanese person I have encountered who was not helpful- not good for a tour guide. In addition there were over 30 people in the group- which made it move along VERY slow. I could have done the whole thing in an hour and a half- we took 5. He provided some interesting information but overall it was a wash.
The tour ended very close to the Kiyomizu-dera temple (which we went to last trip). Nearby are the Ninen-zaka and Sannen-Zaka areas which are 2 restored neighborhoods with old wooden houses, lots of nice shops and restaurants- it is really a great place to walk around and poke in shops. I walked around them and headed to the Kodai-Ji which has beautiful lan
dscaping, gardens and a lovely view of Kyoto.
After the temple I walked around these neighborhoods some more and checked out an incense store that was huge. Kyoto is famous for incense (among other things). I then walked over to Gion (Geisha district). It is VERY touristy and a lot of the buildings are modernized and I didn’t find it all that great so I headed back to my Ryokan.
For the record attempting to find good restaurants without Kuniko is very difficult. The lonely planet book I have is not great for restaurants and more often than not the places with English menus aren’t great. Las night we went to a small yakitori place and I ordered a salad- with tuna- it was about 50% mountain yam which is the slimy stuff I hate- basically imagine a sald DRENCHED in a clear, tasteless slime- I ate most of it anyway. So tonite I just couldn’t be bothered and joined the English couple at an all you can eat buffet they found in the train station. Although it wasn’t up to the level Kuniko can find (not even close) it still had a lot of good fresh veggies and overall was good. The fact that I could look at what I was eating before eating it was wonderful. Also it was quite nice to have dinner with people (eating alone is OK but can get old).
Monday, April 21, 2008
4/19/08 Kyoto and Osaka Capsule Hotel experience
I headed to Kyoto today to check out the Arashiyama and Sagano areas which is at the base of Kyoto’s western mountains. I first went to Tenryu-ji which has beautiful gardens and has a fantastic bamboo grove behind it. I then walked to the Gio-Ji and Nison-in temples. The Nison-in temple had a large graveyard around it that was quite interesting. This area of Kyoto is visually stunning and less congested than the other parts I previously visited. I tasted grilled mochi which was tasty.
I then headed into Osaka after having decided to actually stay in a capsule hotel. The capsule hotel I stayed in has a sauna/spa in it. It is located in the heart of the Umeda entertainment district which is just madness- sensory overload- lights, people, noise, etc- see below video. A capsule hotel is basically a hotel where you have, well, a capsule to sleep in- a small pod. The pod is tall enough to sit up in but not stand. It has a TV and a very comfortable bed. There is a bamboo screen you pull closed when you go to sleep. The downside is hear people snoring. You aren’t supposed to smoke in them but I think people were cause it was stinky. The way it works is like this- you enter and take your shoes off and put them in a small locker then you check in. You pay either 26 or 33 dollars- depending on if you want to use the spa/onsen. You are given a key for a locker and given a yukata (bath robe)- you put your clothes and valuables in the locker. There is a room with a TV where Japanese men smoke and drink or are fully passed out in chairs. The capsules are in a separate section with a thick glass door that blocks the sound.
I then headed into Osaka after having decided to actually stay in a capsule hotel. The capsule hotel I stayed in has a sauna/spa in it. It is located in the heart of the Umeda entertainment district which is just madness- sensory overload- lights, people, noise, etc- see below video. A capsule hotel is basically a hotel where you have, well, a capsule to sleep in- a small pod. The pod is tall enough to sit up in but not stand. It has a TV and a very comfortable bed. There is a bamboo screen you pull closed when you go to sleep. The downside is hear people snoring. You aren’t supposed to smoke in them but I think people were cause it was stinky. The way it works is like this- you enter and take your shoes off and put them in a small locker then you check in. You pay either 26 or 33 dollars- depending on if you want to use the spa/onsen. You are given a key for a locker and given a yukata (bath robe)- you put your clothes and valuables in the locker. There is a room with a TV where Japanese men smoke and drink or are fully passed out in chairs. The capsules are in a separate section with a thick glass door that blocks the sound.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
4/18/08 Nara
I took the train to Nara from Osaka this morning. Nara is fantastic. The city itself is small. Nara has 8 Unesco world heritage sites and its really easy to navigate on foot. It was pretty rainy today but that didn't take away from thoroughly enjoying Nara. I started at Kofuku-Ji which was transferred from Kyoto in 710. It has 2 pagodas- one of which is the second highest in Japan. The video below is inside the temple.
Next I grabbed some lunch at Shizuka which serves a Nara specialty called kamameshi- which is rice served in an iron pot with veggies, fish, and meat. It was fantastic. The rice sort of gets burned on the edge and its very tasty.
There are tons and tons of deer in Nara and they are overly friendly. Vendors sell food to give to them which probably only adds to there lack of fear of humans. I thought they were bad in Miyajima.
Next I headed to the famous Todai-ji. It was unbelievable- it has the largest wooden building in the world and contains a huge statue of the Buddha that is over 52 feet tall. It also contains a bunch of other large statues and I can't remember who they are of. I bought a charm which is for "success and victory." which should ensure lots of success in the new job!
I checked out Sangatsu-do Hall and Nigatsu Hall. Then I went to the Kasuga Taisha shrine which is lined with hundreds of lanterns- it is amazing- see above video.
Nara is also famous for some pickles- made with sake curds- they are great so I bought some to bring home. The shopkeepers were really sweet.
Next I grabbed some lunch at Shizuka which serves a Nara specialty called kamameshi- which is rice served in an iron pot with veggies, fish, and meat. It was fantastic. The rice sort of gets burned on the edge and its very tasty.
There are tons and tons of deer in Nara and they are overly friendly. Vendors sell food to give to them which probably only adds to there lack of fear of humans. I thought they were bad in Miyajima.
Next I headed to the famous Todai-ji. It was unbelievable- it has the largest wooden building in the world and contains a huge statue of the Buddha that is over 52 feet tall. It also contains a bunch of other large statues and I can't remember who they are of. I bought a charm which is for "success and victory." which should ensure lots of success in the new job!
I checked out Sangatsu-do Hall and Nigatsu Hall. Then I went to the Kasuga Taisha shrine which is lined with hundreds of lanterns- it is amazing- see above video.
Nara is also famous for some pickles- made with sake curds- they are great so I bought some to bring home. The shopkeepers were really sweet.
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