So sad to be leaving . . . .

Day 13

Well – this is our last day in this wonderful country and we are very VERY sad!

As this was our last day, we decided to stay local and do a last trip round Kyoto.  This would also give me an opportunity to do some last minute shopping – whooo hooo!!!

We decided to re-visit Nishiki Market and do a quick (?) stop at Tokyu Hands . . . well it’s at the top of our street and so close, so it would be rude not to go!

I spent a good hour wandering round Tokyu Hands and bought some more of those essential items that you never knew you needed . . . and a couple of more new pens and pencils.

After managing to drag myself away from Tokyu Hands, we popped over the road to the market.  Again, it seems as though everyone else had exactly the same idea, as the market was absolutely crammed.  There were sooo many people squished in there was hardly room to move.

We made our way through the market, stopping at certain stalls and checking out the amazing fruit and vegetables again, and I bought some green tea (yes, I am slightly obsessed!).

So now it’s back to the apartment to start getting all our stuff together and get packed. 

To be honest, I didn’t think I had bought that much this time . . .  but once we got it all out from the different hiding places . . there was loads of stuff . . .  and a LOT of green tea.  Ooops, I may have overdone it after all!!!!

After a lot of persuasion and some clever ‘Tetris style’ packing from Scott, everything is now in suitcases and we are officially ready to leave.

There is a distinct possibility that I may not get on the plane tomorrow as I intend to stay here forever – but as Scott has rightly pointed out, we have no-where to live as there are new people booked into the apartment tomorrow . .  bugger!

So now we only have a very early start, a train journey, two flights and a car ride to get home . . .  which will all take around about 22 hours . . . now there’s something to look forward to (and probably a weeks’ worth of jet lag)!

It is with a very heavy heart that we both say a sad farewell to Japan . . . . .  for now - because trust me, we will be back again (I’ve already checked out apartments for Spring 2015!!!!).

So until Spring 2015 (fingers crossed)  . . . . . .  Dewa mata suguni ne (see you soon)

A Beautiful Island.....

Day 12

Oooh - it's coming to the end of our holiday.

Today we went to Itsukushima - a small island off the coast of Hiroshima which is more popularly known as Miyajima (means Shrine Island in Japanese). 


Itsukushima is well known for the Itsukushima Shrine and the huge Torii gate which is out at sea and at high tide looks like it is floating.  When the tide is out, you can walk out to the gate (avoiding all the puddles).

The island is also known for the deer that live there and are free to wander the island as they please. There are signs all over the island telling people that these are wild animals and we are not allowed to feed them. They do, however like to eat paper and are known to be partial to the odd tourist map here and there, so you have to be careful when trying to work out where you are !!!!

The journey to Miyajima room us just over three hours, most of it on a bullet train and the last part on a local train.  And as has happened over most of this holiday, it seems most of Japan were also going to Miyajima today ..... And a LOT of school children. 

Basically, today was all about wandering around and just checking out the sights. We were making our way along the front to the Torii Gate, when I was approached by a teenage school girl with a clipboard!! She asked me in perfect English if I had a few minutes to answer some questions for her school project. Of course ....... She only wanted to know my name, where I was from, how many times I had been to Japan and why I liked it and what was I looking forward to in the island.  I told her momiji manju cakes and kokeshi dolls ...... The simple pleasures in life!!!

She was incredibly polite and I was given an origami crane she made for my trouble ..... Scott by this time was half way across the island ....... 

The deer had a great way of sneaking up on Scott. There were a few moments where the deer just appeared and frightened the life out of him. I think it is sport for them!!!  He was almost a nervous wreck by the time we left!!!

The tide was out when we got there, so we were able to walk right up to the Torii Gate. Again, we noticed that people have been putting money in holes in the shrine and the area around the shrine is littered with yen, but no-one touches it ... Amazing. It's quite a thrill to be so close to this Torii Gate .....

We walked round the island and then made our way back into the main hub.... The part where all the shops are!!!!  Whilst in one shop, the ladies behind the counter suddenly started clapping. As I turned, I saw the back of a rickshaw with a bride and groom on it!!  We did see them again later on as they travelled round the island on a rickshaw until I assume they went to the hotel for the reception. 

I'm now on the hunt for kokeshi dolls. I have found in the past that there are some unique dolls on Miyajima that I have never seen anywhere else, so I was on the look out for some unique ones..... And I found them - them being the operative word...... I have bought three!!!!! Well, Scott left me alone in the shop and I couldn't help myself!!!

We are now in the heart of the tourist area and there are shops everywhere. I bought some momoji manju cakes and Scott got himself a bacon and cheese wrapped eel - each to their own!!! I go for chocolate filled cakes and he goes for eel!!!

There was this huge shop, where a man was carving wood .... This was one of his works .... Wonder how long this took!?!

We passed the largest rice spoon in the world (you've seen it before on my other blogs) and started to make our way back for the 15:15 ferry back to the mainland ...... Along with the rest of the island!!!

The train gods must have been looking down on us today, cos though we hadn't planned our journey back time wise, we seem to catch each train easily. We only waited a few minutes for the local train from Miyajima to Hiroshima and as we got to Hiroshima the Shinkansen to get us to Shin- Osaka was arriving in 10 minutes and finally we got to Shin-Osaka at 6pm and the Shinkansen to Kyoto was due at 6:15 .... Perfect!! We were back in the apartment by 7. 

Scott is now chilling on the sofa watching a programme about earthquakes and tsunamis.... It's all in Japanese so he's only looking at the pictures ......

Last day tomorrow, so we are doing a Kyoto day where we will catch up on some stuff ... Another trip to Tokyu Hands and another trip to Nishiki Market for some more tea... Then back home to pack - booooo. So sad ... 

So until next time ... Oyasumi Nasai xxx

Just a Mooch Day ......

Day 11

Well, today was a proper just mooch around kind of day today.  It's been a hectic few days and we are both feeling it today, so we decided to take it nice and easy..... Starting with a lazy morning and a nice lie in.... Heaven!!!

We then decided to go to Arishiyama to have a wander round the Bamboo Grove. We had no specific plans for today, but we both liked Arishiyama and the Bamboo forest and Scott promised me a green tea ice cream at the top of the grove..... What more incentive did I need!?!?!?!

However, it appears that the rest of Japan also had the same idea as us as it was absolutely heaving. The bamboo grove was really busy and once again, Scott has accidently bombed sooooo many photos today. People will be getting home and wondering who this strange man is on all of their photos!!!

As promised, Scott got me my green tea ice cream at the top (he had a boring vanilla) and we discussed the plans for the rest of the day. We decided to try Kiyomizudera again to see if it was any better than last week, so back on the train and back into the city.

We made our way back through Maruyama Park where we stopped for a coffee. Now, since day 1 when we were waiting for the Geisha Dance to start, we have been stopping for a coffee at this place in the park. It's very quiet and the lady serving is really nice.  Today is about the fourth time we have stopped for a coffee..... On the way over, Scott joked about having our loyalty card ready so we would get our free drink....... Silly boy!!!

I went over to order and pay for the coffee and the lady obviously recognised us as she didn't even tell me how much the coffee was - I just handed over the cash.  A few minutes later, she came over with the coffee.... Then another few minutes later, she came over with two cups of green tea - for free!! She must have heard Scott talking haha!!  Again, Scott has surprised me by having a go of the green tea... He didn't drink it all, and poured most of it into my cup, but at least he had a go!!!

So now, it's back over to Kiyomizudera ........ Oh My God .... How many people!?!?! It was worse then last time!!! There were sooooo many people in such a small space. It was only 5pm, but people were already starting to queue to get into the Temple for the illuminations..... Again this was not going to happen. I have made my peace with the fact that I will not be in the temple for the illuminations.... Though I have seen them from the outside!!!  Bugger !!!

However, I still managed to hit the shops and got myself a lovely new kokeshi doll - this is the first one I have bought so far, but I do have my eyes on another one ..... Might be going back for that later hehehe!!!

So, with Scott coming to the end of his rapidly fraying rope, I thought it would be a good idea to get him away from the gentle slope area and get him home.

We went home via the 7Eleven where I indulged in my favourite food at the moment ..... Dumplings!!!! Got my usual curry one and then went wild and got an orange coloured one, which turned out to be a bolognese/cheese one .... Not what I was expecting but still good!!!

So back to the apartment to sort out tomorrow's adventure ...... Miyajima. I know, we have been there before, but Scott loves it and as he wants to go back..... Who am I to argue??? But it does mean another early start (we'll need another holiday when we get back) and a three hour Bullet ride!!!

So until next time ..... Oyasumi Nasai xxxx

Shirakawago ......

Day 10

I had been really looking forward to this...... Ever since reading about Shirakawago and the houses, I'd been desperate to get up there and see them for myself. 

Shirakawago is a World Heritage UNESCO site and is famous for its gassho-zukuri farmhouses ... Some of which are over 250 years old and it is right up in the mountains ......

Gassho-zukuri means "constructed like hands in prayer", as the farmhouses' steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddist monks pressed together in prayer. This style developed over many generations is designed to withstand the huge amounts of snow falls during winter. The roofs, made without nails, provided a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms.

The scenery here again was beautiful, but as we were going up the mountains, we went through a lot of tunnels and didn't see too much. The last tunnel we went through seemed to go on forever!! On the way back, Scott noticed a sign in the tunnel that said it was 11km long ..... I thought we would be in Calais when we came out the other side!!!

The main village is Ogimachi and is a quite a small village and really only took us about 2 hours to walk round ..... Of course, Scott still managed to find back roads and lonely paths .... Anything to avoid the tourists (I must tell him at some point that we are also tourists!!!).

A lot of the houses have been relocated to an open air museum where you can go inside and experience what they are like but most of the houses in the actual village are lived in, and all round the village you could see people just going about their daily business. It looks like a lot of people are starting to prepare for the winter as they were putting up extra wood scaffolds and protection for the trees and houses. Guess the snow will be there before long.

The houses themselves are lovely.....

There are also a lot of souvenir shops and they all sell wicker goods .... We guessed the theme here!!!  There were some fantastic shopping type basket bags and I really wanted one, but I knew it would be trouble to get home ..... Never mind!

Despite there being so many people around - they were coming in by the tour bus load - the village seemed quiet and we were rarely surrounded ... It was so peaceful and the air was lovely.

It's been a big couple of days and we are completely whacked now and we still have a good long journey home ......

We eventually made it back to the apartment where we are still trying to recover from our two huge meals.  It's been a fantastic couple of days where we have been right in the rural heart of Japan and where the limited English (both spoken and written) has been a fun challenge ... Though Scott would still like to know exactly what he did eat last night!!!!

We are having a Kyoto day tomorrow ... We are going to the Bamboo forest in Arashiyama and hopefully I'll get to Kiyomizudera for the illuminations. 

So until next time .... Oyasumi Nasai xx

Ryokan and Hot Springs ......

Day 9

In all the time I have been coming to Japan, the one thing I really wanted to do was stay at a traditional Ryokan and try the hot springs or as they are also known - Onsens. Onsens are public baths in inns, hotels or in our case, Ryokans. As this trip was all about the rural, this was going to be the perfect opportunity to squeeze in a overnight stay at an Ryokan and see some amazing sights.

I wanted to go to Shirakawago and Takayama, but they are quite a distance from Kyoto and would have meant spending most of our time travelling, so a night in a ryokan in Takayama is it!!!!

So - up early (again!!!) to catch the 08:15 train to Nagoya, then catch the 10:56 to Takayama ..... All told this would take us just over five hours. The journey to Nagoya on the Bullet Train was uneventful .... But we spent about an hour in Nagoya waiting for the next train and I noticed this sign outside the train station..... Nagoya are very strict!!!!!

We now caught the Hida Wide View Express train. We guessed it might have big windows - and it did!!! After about 20 minutes on the train, a recorded voice started telling us about the area we were in and pointing out areas of interest..... Amazing!!  The scenery was beautiful and we could see the trees going red and yellow - and even the snow on the mountain tops.

We eventually made it to Takayama and you could tell we were in the mountain ranges as the weather was a lot chiller than it had been in Kyoto, but so fresh. We couldn't check into our Ryokan until 3, so we had a couple of hours to kill. So we wandered round Takayama taking in the sights.  It's a very pretty town And Takayama is known for keeping its traditional roots. We came across the beautifully preserved old town where all the houses are traditional wood and some date back to the Edo period ..... Very old!!!

Some of the houses are open to the public and a lot of the shops are in the traditional state... It made a real change from city scapes.

It's getting closer to 3pm and I'm getting more and more excited about the ryokan...... So eventually Scott gave in and we arrived at the door of Ryokan Tanabe at 2:45 ....... We were greeted warmly by Tanabe san herself and she checked us in.  After check in, we were handed over to a lovely elder Japanese lady (and to our eternal shame, we did not get her name) and she gave us our yukata so. These are a type of summer kimono and also known as bathing clothes.  These are what we would wear during our stay.

Our lovely lady showed to our room and it was quite big...... There was also a large cypress bath tub, so we could do our own hot spring bathing if we wanted to. She then explained the bathing rooms.... Separate for men and women and gave us a leaflet on bathing etiquette.

So, we now had a couple of hours before dinner would be served, so we hit the baths. Oooooohhhhh!!!! What an experience - and to top it all, we both had the baths to ourselves. There is one large bath indoors and two smaller outdoor baths and they were piping hot (sorry - no photos allowed - well there are naked people in here!!!) 

I spent AGES in the bath aching my poor bones ....... And it looked like Scott had the same idea!!!  We both thought it would be a good idea to get out and cool down before dinner.

Dinner was going to be served in our room.

Dinner would be Kaiseki style.... This means there would be a lot of different dishes in one go. Now, from the look of our food (and as best as our lady could describe to us), we had:

Hida Beef
Sashimi
Rice
Savoury Steamed egg custard
Seafood combo
Cold soba noodles with a raw egg
Miso soup
Tofu
A mix of various pickled veg

And many other things that I don't and never will know what they were!!! All these dishes were carefully placed on our table by our lady and once finished, she left us to it. 

I am soooo impressed with Scott though as he dug straight in and ate almost everything - though there are a lot of those things he will never eat again!!  There were also two desserts - Apple pudding and a creme caramel which were also delicious. It took us about an hour to get through all the food and by the end we were completely stuffed.

The lady came back in and cleared the dishes away and then moved the table ..... It was then an elderly gentlemen arrived and he proceeded to get out the futons and make our beds!!! 

So - now we awe completely stuffed and very relaxed, but as it was still early, we thought we would hit the baths one more time ...... 

We both slept like logs that night!!!!

We were getting up quite early the next morning as we were catching the 9:50 bus to Shirakawago, so we booked breakfast for 8am. Again, this was a japanese breakfast with many dishes .... None of which included cornflakes or rice crispies as Scott as hoping!!!

Here we had makerel, miso soup, salad, rice, nori (seaweed), egg, yakult (!) and lots of green tea. We were still quite stuffed from last nights dinner, but we made a bloody good effort with breakfast!!!

We checked out of the ryokan after having a good old natter with Tanabe san, despite the fact that neither of us understood each other haha!!

So - it was off to catch the bus to Shirakawago ........

Climb Every Mountain .....

Day 8

Today we were going rural .... Sort of!!  We are going to Ohara.  Ohara is a rural town on the northern outskirts of Kyoto. It's about an hour away but is still classed as part of Kyoto.

There are no trains to get to Ohara and you can only get there by bus. No problem - just one subway trip to the bus depot and catch the No 19 to Ohara. How hard can it be???  Actually not hard at all!!! We only waited 10 minutes before the bus came ... But we were in a huge queue.... It appears Ohara is very popular with the Japanese, especially on a weekend!!!

So, it was at this point we discovered that Scott does not fit in a Japanese bus - he is just too tall. His poor knees were pushing right up against the seat in front of him. I just about fit but my knees were resting against the seat in front.  However, the fantastic scenery that passed by managed to take our minds off the pain in our knees.

We arrived at the main bus station in Ohara and helpfully, there was an information desk there with loads of maps and pamphlets - very helpful except for one thing ..... They were all in Japanese - doh!!  The big 'you are here' Map was also in Japanese .... Well I guess we are in Japan!!!!

Hmmmm .... What to do??? Did we try to ask anyone for directions or help??? Nooooo of course not - we did the only natural thing.... And followed the crowds!!

There are two main Temples in Ohara - Sanzenin and Jakkoin. We knew that one Temple was on one side of the road and the other temple was on the other side. But we didn't know which was where so we had no idea which temple we were going to first .....

Now, as I said Ohara is a rural town and is such on the side of a ruddy great mountain, so everywhere we were going was uphill ..... But again, the scenery and the landscapes were enough to take our minds off that.  On our way to the first Temple, we passed a lot of farming land so we think we know where some of the men with huge vegetables came from yesterday .... There was all sorts of veg growing (some I still don't know) and they were all huge!!!

After about half hour of walking (uphill - did I mention that??) we came across the first Temple and it was .... Jakkoin!!! We mooched round the Temple for a while and round the gardens.  We came out of the Temple and wandered along a path just to see what was about ...... However, when we saw the big sign with the picture of a big bear on it.... We turned round and went back!! We really didn't need to understand Japanese at that point........

We then made our way back to the bus station area and using amazing powers of deduction worked out that if we crossed the road we would be going to the Sanzenin Temple (plus we followed the other crowds!!).

Again, we were making our way up a ruddy great mountain side ..... Yeah yeah - well I suppose to some people it would have just been a bit of a steep slope - but it felt like a mountain at the time.

The Sanzenin Temple is the main tourist attraction in Ohara and you could guess that by the fact the the road up to the Temple was lined with shops, cafes and restaurants. Oh the things you can get at a food stall ......  On the way up I had some Takoyaki.  These are a battered ball filled with various different things - the most popular being octopus. There were a few stalls selling Takoyaki, so I guess this is the Japanese version of Kendal Mint Cake!!!

Spurred on by my new found energy, we made it to the top. I say again, there was a really steep slope and a LOT of steps to get to the top!!!

The Sanzenin Temple is huge .... There is the main Temple that holds highly valued statue of the Amida Buddha that dates back to the 900s, and a gorgeous garden to wander round with lots of little paths where we found some fantastic scenes and hidden waterfalls. 

In one part of the grounds, there is a moss garden and amongst the moss are 25 buddahvistas.  So cute!!!  I found most of them, but couldn't find a couple ... I'm sure they are out there somewhere.

Right at the top end of the grounds are Rows of miniature Kannon statues. These have been donated to the Temple and there are thousands of them. 

We made our way round the grounds and back to the start where we browsed round the shops where they seemed to be selling some fantastic food stuffs but again we didn't know what they were ... I really must brush up on my Japanese writing, though it has to be said, the ladies in the shop were more than willing to try and explain what everything was.

We've been here a while now and noticed that we have hardly seen any European tourists, in fact none at all. I know people are put off Ohara by the lack of English signage,  but it's really not difficult  and I'm glad we did it as Ohara is a beautiful town and once our  legs have recovered we would love to go back.

We made it back down the side of the mountain and back to the bus stop.... Where Everyman and his dog was waiting for the number 19 back to Kyoto!! We squeezed Scott back on the bus and made our way back to the apartment.

We've had a chilled out couple of hours and now we are sorting out tomorrow's adventure....... Tomorrow we are going to Takayama and Shirakawa-go and spending Sunday  night in a traditional Ryokan. Major excited!!!  Hopefully the hot springs will sort out our aching bodies .... Can't wait to get in there. Scott has even read up on hot bath etiquette to make sure he does it right.

So it's going to be a day or so before I update this as hopefully I'll be too relaxed to write anything tomorrow night!!

Until next time .....Oyasumi Nasai xxx

A Stroll Round Kyoto

Day 7
(Have we been here a week already - booooo)

After the hustle and bustle of yesterday, today was going to be a nice easy day. We had a bit of a lie in and a lazy morning because today we were going to do the Higashiyama route finishing up at Kiyomizudera for the temple illuminations.

An easy day he said..... Just a stroll he said..... Last time I listen to him!!! As you may have seen from my FB today, he walked me MILES..... MILES I tell you. There isn't a back alleyway that I have not visited in Kyoto today. The things this man will do to avoid the throng of tourists.......

Anyway, the start of the route is at the Heian Shrine ......

It's at the Heian Shrine that we appeared to have stumbled across the Kyoto Annual Allotment Big Vegetable competition.  There were a lot of very proud men showing their rather large vegetables to all and sundry. Now, I like my veg, but even I struggled with what some of these veggies were.... But they were impressive!! While we were there, gold parchments were being handed out to what I assume where the winners........ These men were very proud.

We tore ourselves away from the huge veg, and continued down the path.

The next two temples are Shoren-in and Chion-in.  The Chion-in Temple is currently undergoing repairs so it's huge gate is covered in bamboo scaffolding. Shame, cos this is a lovely huge temple - but we passed by and carried on down the path.

We are now getting to the old traditional streets lined with Machiyas and more Temples. There are also a load of Buddahs lining the route which will give you good luck / fortune / love life depending on which one you rub...... I have rubbed all of them today, so I expect to be happy, lucky, fortunate and happy in love  At this point, I would have been happy for a sit down and a cup of tea!!!

We are now approaching Kiyomizudera but it's still too early for the illuminations (they don't start until 6:30). So for now, I'll just have to make do with SHOPPING!!! Yea - there are lots of shops along the route up to Kiyomizudera .... And I think I've been in every single one - especially the Ghibli shop.... New Totoro bought. Wanted to sneak this one out, but Scott wouldn't let me - bah!!!

So as we were so early, Scott told me that we could do a little detour and go to Gion to see if there were any Geisha around..... Oooh - Gion ..... Geisha - well of course - I'm there. About 10 minutes into the walk, I found the little detour was a lie!!!!  But we were going to Gion, so I wasn't going to complain.

Unfortunately it was a quiet night and we didn't see any Geisha (still have many more nights to try), so we made our way back to Kiyomizudera ........

Halfway up that so called gentle slope (gentle slope my arse.... It's like climbing up the side of Everest .... OK, small exaggeration, but it is quite steep) we noticed there was a queue of people .... These people are not queuing to get into the Temple.... Are they??? Oh yes they were.  The queue was HUGE. Aaargghhhhh........  Queues are going to be the bane of my life!!!

Quick decision made.... We are off home and we'll come back another night - this is the first night of the illuminations and a Friday, so I guess it would be busy.

We made our way back down that bloody slope to the bus stop...... Oh my life - how many people??? Another quick decision made and we walked home.... WALKED ... These poor things on the end of my legs have no idea what's going on - all told, we walked just under 12 miles today ...... 

So we are back in the apartment (resting my poor feet)  preparing for tomorrow ... We are going to Ohara.

So until next time .... Oyasumi Nasai xxx