Japan and Bali

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jazz</div><div class="ubbcode-body">FAntastic report Lapassionata and I love your writing style.

I truly am enjoying the report </div></div>

Thanks Jazz I'm in danger of walking around with a permagrin because of all the lovely comments.

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

Day 6: Tsukiji Fish Markets, Hama-Rikyu Tien Gardens, Odaiba, Asakusa part 2, Tokyo Tower

At the beginning of the week, I was barely making it to see two Tokyo attractions before heading back to Asaka. Now with only two days left to explore Tokyo, I was really trying to maximize the time and pack in the sights. I ambitiously made plans to start my day at around five a.m. to try to make it to Tsukiji Fish Markets for the early (early!) tuna auctions. I didn't particularly WANT to be in a fish market at 5 in the morning, but Lonely Planet recommended it, and my hosts twice mentioned it as a place to visit, so I figured there must be something else special about the experience.

But come the 4:30 a.m. alarm, I couldn’t even open my eyes, much less try to get out of bed. I was exhausted. Felt like I had been in Tokyo for a month already. So I left the house at the more decent hour of 8:30 am, and headed for Tsukiji. In one of those “WTH is up with Tokyo weather” moments, the sun was BLAZING, and the sky was just a high, bright blue ceiling with not a puffy, white cloud in sight. The auctions were over by the time I got to the market, and all that was left to do was to take pictures of weird and exotic--possibly even endangered--marine creatures being made ready for the Japanese table. But I didn't want to treat other people’s food shopping experience like a circus side-show, so I hung a right and headed for Hama-rikyu garden instead.

The Hama-rikyu garden is the loveliest garden in Tokyo. I was happy to learn that Lonely Planet was definitely not exaggerating about that. I was also happy to learn that there were free English ipod-looking AV guides available on loan. These guides look like the ones they use in museums, but in fine Japanese tradition, they Version 3.0’ed it so that mini-transmitters throughout the garden automatically cue you up when you arrive at a place of interest, and you can browse the particular flower species growing in that area, and you can also watch mini-videos on the historical significance of that area etc etc. It was almost too complicated for what is essentially a walk in the park. With a course map, and my AV guide, I spent the next two hours in the garden. It’s that big. Oh they say you can finish the course in 60 – 90 minutes, but that would be going at a breakneck pace, and you would miss much of what makes this garden so beautiful. (Disclaimer: I realize just how many of my pictures have these big hulking office buildings in the back ground. Obviously it's the camera's fault for having such a wide angled lens. But I promise that in most parts of the garden it's very easy to forget that you're in the middle of a city.)

<span style="font-size: 14pt">The 300 year old black pine on the left, and a red pine on the right.</span>




<span style="font-size: 14pt">Uchibori, the inner moat, is over 300 years old.</span>.








<span style="font-size: 14pt">Taking tea at the reconstructed traditional tea-house. It's supposed to be ill-mannered to leave behind the foam at the bottom of the cup.</span>

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

Sometimes it's easy to forget that Tokyo is a city by the sea, but Hama-Rikyu is right on Tokyo Bay so the air is a little saltier and you can smell the tide ponds and the ocean beyond.

<span style="font-size: 14pt">The tide coming in: when I entered the gardens, this moat was almost dry.</span>






All I'd eaten in the garden was a small bun, so I returned to Tsukiji for their famous fresh sushi. I found a Sushi Zanmai restaurant, and proceded to gorge myself. (The plates rotate on a conveyor belt: different coloured/patterned plates have differing values.)





<span style="font-size: 14pt">Finally full, and just a little shame-faced.</span>

[JamBrit]

Re: Japan and Bali

Wonderful trip report....thanks for taking us along on your journey...

[Marielle]

Re: Japan and Bali

Oh YUMM!! Japanese food!!

Wonderful photos, and loving the trip report




(and of course, can't wait for Bali!! )

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

From Tsikiji-shijo, I took the metro to Shimbashi and hopped on the Yurikamome monorail to Odaiba. Myself and a large group of highschoolers had apparently had the same idea at the same time on the same day. Odaiba is, according to M-chan, a popular desitanation for teens, and certainly an interesting one for other Tokyoites. This is the only place on my itenerary that she actually wanted to accompany me to. Odaiba is a man-made island in Tokyo Bay, reclaimed with garbage I was told. It's a fun, interesting place to visit, if only to see the crazy, futurisitc buildings, megamalls, mini Statue of Liberty, and one of Tokyo's best onsens (hot spring). Of course there are also the views across the bay to the Tokyo skyline. Mine was only a brief visit, and I didn't get to experience the island fully, but I enjoyed it. A note for anyone considering a trip to Odaiba: you want to be at the front of the monorail (it's driverless), and positioned by one of the front windows so you can get the best views as its makes its journey across part of Tokyo Bay.

Waiting for the monorail at Shimbashi station


On a hunch, I got off at the station where most of the train's occupants where getting off (Daiba). It was a smart move. There was a massive terrace, the statue of liberty, and amazing views across the bay. Plus, down the stairs from the terrace, was a small park by the water.




This is why I am glad I bought a camera with panorama capability


Suijo Bus marine park. There was no swimming allowed, naturally. Will I sound silly if I say I was looking for evidence of the garbage that Odaiba is built on?


The Fuji TV building. On the bottom left of the picture you can see a staircase leading up into the building. Right beside those stairs was an escalator that has got to be the longest I've ever seen. It went up four flight. I was afraid to let go of the railing.


At the top of the escalator, another terrace. I looked up at the underside of this building and praised Japanese ingenuity.


Telecom Centre straight ahead, the flame of liberty on the right, and a plane coming in for landing at Haneda airport.

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

I had initially planned to visit the onsen on Odaiba (Oedo Onsen Monogatori) because I was dying to participate in this quintessential Japanese experience of nude communal bathing in a hot spring. Japan is a chain of volcanic islands, and where there is heat and water, there are geysers and hot springs. You can find these onsens all over the country and in any environment you can think of: urban, rural, on top of mountains, by the sea shore, in the forest etc etc. Monogatori was reputed (again by my bible, Lonely Planet) to be the best urban onsen in Tokyo. It pipes its hot water in from deep below Tokyo Bay, and apparently has many differnent types of tubs, both indoor and out, along with attached spa and massage services. (There is an etiquette to onsen bathing that I will touch on later when I describe my onsen experience.) It sounded lovely when I read about it, but it was now late afternoon, and I knew I would have to rush the experience. So, a bit regretfully, I headed instead to Asakusa to look for the Edo-Shibayachi museum. This was one of the few times that my naviational skills failed me. For the life of me I could NOT find this museum. And forget stopping to ask directions. The six japanese phrases/words that I did know rather well did NOT include, right, left, straight or turn. So I gave up after 45 minutes of wandering, and just decided to wander some more for another hour and half before going to Tokyo Towers for more night time views of Tokyo. I was eventually tempted into a restaurant by the promise of sweet potato ice cream and yummy udon noodles.

<span style="font-size: 14pt">Again, through the Thunder Gate. . .</span>


<span style="font-size: 14pt">. . .and up the Nakamise-dori shopping arcade. . .</span>


<span style="font-size: 14pt">. . .where I contemplated purchasing some fans as souvenirs. . .</span>


<span style="font-size: 14pt">. . .but they were probably made in China anyway, so I continued down a side street. Behind those sliding doors are multiple two or three-table restaurants, the refuge of the hungry and exhausted salary-man. Foreigners aren't welcome, of course. . .</span>


<span style="font-size: 14pt">. . .oh look! A kimono-ed lady. Tons of them about Asakusa. . .</span>




<span style="font-size: 14pt">I was minding my own business when I saw the picture of the sweet potato icecream. . .</span>


<span style="font-size: 14pt">. . .and I went in fully intending to dine, but curiously, I just wasn't hungry. . .</span>


<span style="font-size: 14pt">. . .nope, not thirsty either. . .</span>


<span style="font-size: 14pt">. . .but I had already been seated, so I ordered the ice cream, with some sesame balls. Meh. Shoulda followed my gut and just left. NOT a Yumm Moment. . .</span>

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

There was no better way to end the evening than gazing on the nightime Tokyo skyline from a perch at the top of an old, soon-to-be-decomissioned televion antenna. Well, Tokyo Tower is more than just an antenna. Firstly, it looks like the Eiffel tower, and is really a pretty night-time landmark. Second, there is actually a four floor entertainment centre at the base of the tower called &quot;Foot Town&quot; where you can find the kinds of stuff that interest kids like a guiness world records museum, a wax museum, a &quot;magical dungeon&quot;, aquarium etc etc. There's also a space for special exhibits, and at the time I was visiting, there was a Michael Jackson exhibit in town.

So I paid my semi-reasonable fee to ride the elevator up to the Main Observatory at 150m. Of course, when I got there, the views were crap. Well, maybe not total crap since it WAS 360 degrees, but it just wasn't far enough above ground to give a proper panoramic feel. So that's when I paid an extra UN-reasonable fee to ascend to the Special Observatory at 250m, and THAT's where you get the great shots. My favorite part of that scary elevator ride: a calm english-speaking voice comes on to say &quot;In a few seconds, you will feel a jerk. Please do not be alarmed, as this is normal, and a part of the elevator's safety mechanism.&quot; And right on cue came that jerk which, btw, despite the warning, still spiked my heart rate. I don't care how &quot;safe&quot; the mechanism, small metal boxes suspended from cable hundreds of metres in the air should NOT jerk. I wonder how many tourist freak-outs they had before they recorded that message?





<span style="font-size: 14pt">So I think here we are looking east toward Ueno and Asakusa</span>


<span style="font-size: 14pt">Could this be west?</span>


<span style="font-size: 14pt">OK now we're definitely looking south across Tokyo Bay toward Odaiba and the Rainbow Bridge. Peep the ferris wheel.</span>


<span style="font-size: 14pt">Bit of a close-up of the bridge and ferris wheel.</span>


Planes coming in for landing at Haneda


<span style="font-size: 14pt">This might require a bit of the eye of faith, but that big lit up building in the left side of the pic is Roppongi Hills, and the two dark areas radiating out from its right side are park spaces; the top one holds the Meiji Jingu shrine.</span>

[Marielle]

Re: Japan and Bali

Wow, amazing photos!!



I feel like I am right there experiencing it, just how I imagine Japan to be....

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Marielle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Wow, amazing photos!!



I feel like I am right there experiencing it, just how I imagine Japan to be....

</div></div>

Thanks, Marielle . Have you booked your Bali hotel yet? I am longing to go back...

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

Day 7 &amp; 8: Hakone and Mount Fuji

M-chan’s Dad offered to take me to see Mount Fuji and M-chan had taken a couple of days off so that we could take a small trip of our own. However, given the time constraints, the smart thing was for us to combine the trip ideas into one long weekend in Hakone and the Mount Fuji area.

I had been dying to visit a real live onsen and I really really wanted to stay at a ryokan (Japanese traditional inn). I had this romantic vision of myself relaxing after a long day’s trek on Fuji by soaking for an hour in a natural hot spring out doors under the cherry blossoms. Then I would retire to a comfortable futon bed laid out on tatami mats, behind the sliding screen doors of my room in a quiet, isolated ryokan among the Japanese pines. Right. There may even have been the gentle music of a Japanese flute involved. The sound of one hand clapping etc. (I blame old travel shows on Japan for putting these notions in my head.) Anyway, after rolling their eyes a bit, my hosts were kind enough to attempt to fulfill my wishes. What we hadn’t bargained on is that EVERYONE seems to want to go to Hakone on the weekends and consequently the room rates shoot up astronomically Friday through Sunday night. What accommodation wasn’t too expensive, had already been booked weeks, even months in advance. My Lonely Planet recommendations were all booked up. I was about to give up and maybe consider Fukuoka, when M-chan and her dad miraculously found us rooms at a ryokan in Hakone that had its own onsen.

Friday morning was wonderful, not just because I was looking forward to the weekend in the country, but also because I got to wake up without the alarm clock, no pressing items on my agenda, no sights left to see in Tokyo. We left Asaka in the mid-afternoon and headed west to the Hakone region. It felt like one minute we were speeding down the highway out of the suburburbs, and the next we were in the countryside: driving through mountain tunnels, ascending treacherous mountain roads with multiple switchbacks and descending into ancient volcanic craters with their post-card perfect towns. Hakone-Yumoto. Miyano****a. Chokoku-no-mori. Gotemba. That weekend I really regretted not spending more time familiarizing myself with ALL my camera’s settings. Fully half of my pics I had to dump because of poor lighting or the wrong camera setting for the scene. And that’s really too bad because the Hakone region is beyond lovely. You tend to forget in Tokyo, that Japan is a chain of volcanic islands. M-chan told me that about 80% of Japan is mountainous, and a good proportion of that uninhabited. Tokyo is all ultra-modernity, glass and steel, a hymn of praise to all things man-made. Japanese are rightly proud of their cities and the cutting edge tech culture to be found there, but I am a country girl at heart, and I think a part of me was yearning for something a little bit more untamed than the large, urban parks and gardens I had already visited in the city.

We got into the area in the late afternoon just before sunset, and M-chan’s dad treated us to dinner at an buffet-style restaurant. The Hakone region is apparently famous for its fishcakes. They come in a wide variety of shapes and colours (pink, green; plant-shaped, fish-shaped). I was not a fan. I found the taste a bit too...fishy . Everything else was delicious, though, and they even did a great veggie lasagna.



We arrived at our ryokan about 40 minutes later, down a narrow, quiet street high up on a mountain slope. The first thing I noticed was the sound of water rushing below the side-walks, and steam billowing up from intermittently placed vents. Oh yeah, we were in a hot-spring town. I was excited because that meant our ryokan’s onsen was probably piping in this hot spring water for their bath, rather than using artificially heated water. The ryokan itself was a bit disappointing: the rooms were small and cramped, the service was spotty and the television was possessed. The onsen in the basement was clean enough—and I say this because I understand that where there is warm water, there will always be mold. I didn’t truly mind, but M-chan was horrified on my behalf.

Regarding onsen etiquette: you are expected to cleanse yourself (i.e. shower) before entering the communal baths. Same sex bathing is entirely naked. Your hair is expected to be up and out of the water. A small towel is usually provided that you can use to wrap you hair, or just fold and put on top of the head—again keep it out of the water. Even the most basic public onsens have some toiletries available in the changing room. There is usually a set of lockers with baskets where you can put your belongings and towel. Mixed company bathing is done wearing swim-suits or yukatas (traditional robe.)

We exited the onsen smelling faintly of sulphur, but feeling so much more relaxed. There is just something about a hot bath that makes you want to sleep for days afterward. But before we bedded down for the night we took a little walk around the neighbourhood, looking in at other hotels and ryokans. It was very dark, and very quiet, and just a little creepy. The air was soooo fresh, I thought I would get oxygen-poisoning. I wanted to wander even farther afield, but my thoughts and my feet were dragging, so we headed back to the inn. M-chan watched a little TV, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was done for the night.

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

The next morning we were literally up with the birds. M-chan laughed when I told her the futon was alot harder than I thought it would be...


In my yukata, but it's incorrectly wrapped: the left side should be uppermost.







The breakfast of champions.



Well, at least it had a nice view...

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

The drive to Mount Fuji was maybe about two hours. Just getting from the entrance at the base to the Kawaguchi-ko 5th station about a 30 minute ascent. I didn't even try to take too many pictures along the route because I was caught up in taking in the views. There were alot of weekenders and tour buses on the road with us. Gradually we started noticing lots of cyclists on our route as well. There must have been some kind of special cycliing event going on because all of them were headed for Kawaguchi-ko 5th station (2305m) as well. That is a seeeeerious climb for a bicycle to do, trust me. I was happy to see a decent number of women among their ranks.




Just a hint of Fuji-san



Then the clouds parted, and behold...



We're now at the base, heading for the the 5th station

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

By the time we reached the 2nd station, I really needed to pee. Backtracking a bit: within one hour of eating our &quot;breakfast of champions&quot; at the ryokan, all of us were ravenous. We made a detour to McDonald's for some coffee and breakfast sandwiches. M-chan was oddly insistent about using the facilities there, but I shrugged it off. I didn't understand why until I had to use the facilities at Station 2. Oh. Em. Geeeeee. Mi seh! It was a latrine, and the accumlated urine of hundreds of thousands of visitors year after year had caused this incredible build up of ammonia. It was not renk, it was TOXIC. I could not BREATHE. Literally. Could. Not. Breathe. And it was a squat toilet to make it worse, so I had to crouch closer to that hole. Oh Lord. My eyes were watering, I was coughing, the scent got into my throat and WOULD not be dislodged. Wow. I couldn't help thinking about the canary in the mine. The need SOME kind of sensor in those restrooms, because one day some unsuspecting tourist is going to pass out and fall into that toilet. The only blessing is that the hole into the pit is too small to fit most North Americans

Fuji 2nd Station



I believe that this is looking north toward the Fuji five lakes region. Most paid tours to Mount Fuji make a stop here to take pictures of the sacred peak reflected in one of the lakes. Unfortunately we didn't make it there that weekend, but next time...

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

The climbing season for Fuji-san is July-August. Most people start their climb from one of the four 5th Stations. This one looked like an Alpine village and seemed to be popular with the tour buses. Since we were up there in May, it was very cold. The clouds kept playing hide-and-seek with the peak, but by the time we were ready to go, we got some remarkably clear shots.

Kawaguchi-ko 5th station