A few things I learned in Japan

1. Selfie sticks can be dangerous 

2. There is a lot of rice grown in Japan.  Along all our train journeys we saw lush green paddies on any bit of flat land - from vast fields in rural areas to tiny corner allotments in towns and villages. 

3. Traditional culture and the modern world seem to comfortably co-exist in Japan 

3. We met some lovely people on our trip. The locals  were delightful - polite and kind, and genuinely appreciative and forgiving of my attempts to speak the language. 

4. My attempts to speak Japanese improved over the trip - I could make myself reasonably well understood but understanding what was being said to me continued to be very difficult. I wished I could have had more conversation in Japanese with the people we met.

5. Ohashi (chop sticks) are good way to eat - you kind of have to slow down a bit and so you enjoy your food a little more - particularly the more traditional Japanese meals where each food item is served on its own little dish rather than just piled onto one plate. We all got pretty proficient at eating with ohashi. 

6. Train travel in Japan is easy to use and the best way to see the country. 

7. I love spending time with my family! Ok, I already knew this but traveling together in Japan will hold lots of special memories for each of us. I am sure we will be reminiscing and telling our stories about this amazing trip for years to come!

Tōkyō de no watashitachi no saigo no hi

Friday 8 July 2016

We all slept in a little, enjoying the big soft hotel beds after many days on futons, waking to another warm cloudy Tokyo day; sadly our last in Japan but still plenty to see.

First stop was around the corner to visit the famous Tsukiji market, the biggest fish market in Japan. As a huge working market it is a crazy busy place, but tourists are allowed to visit certain areas – at your own risk! Bicycles, motor scooters, fork lifts, small trucks, motorised trollies and people (some whelding razor sharp knives) were going in all directions, along the labyrinthine alleyways lined with stalls. We saw many near-misses and at least one crash as we very cautiously edged our way past the stalls, watching the fishmongers at work and marvelling at the array of seafood, particularly the size and quantities of tuna. 

Continuing to make good use of our JR passes, we rode the Yamanote line – the main city circle line (29 stations and over an hour to circumnavigate – impressive compared to Melbourne’s five station city loop) – to Harajuku. 

We wandered down Takeshita Dori, the heart of Tokyo’s “kawaii culture”, with shop after shop of teen fashions and cute accessories, making a beeline to try out the famous Marion Crepes. Totemo oishii desu yo! 

As if that wasn't sweet enough, Em could resist stopping off at Candy-a-go-go for a big bag of lollies. 

Still in Harajuku, walked up the Omotesando to the Oriental Bazaar for some serious souvenir hunting, much to Kerryn’s delight and the disinterest of the boys (at least until we offered to buy them a t-shirt). 

Before backtracking to a couple of iconic sights we had previously visited very early in our trip, the Meiji-Jingu Temple 

and Shibuya scramble, so that Em could see them too.

Then back on the Yamanote line to Shimbashi, to collect our luggage as well as some packs of flavoured (strawberry and matcha) KitKat from a Don-Ki (the wackiest discount store in Japan – the range of stuff for sale combined with the crazy store layout was an experience in itself. Kerryn actually got lost in the store trying to find bike accessories!!), before battling – suitcases in tow - with the peak-hour train squeeze to get around to Tokyo station to catch the Narita express out to the airport. 

Another busy but fun day in Japan, before our overnight flight back home to Australia…..

Nihon wa densha ni ikimashita Easy-peasy desu na!

We have found all the trains in Japan to be clean, comfortable, scrupulously punctual and dead easy to use - from Tokyo metro subway to Shinkansen. A great way to get around and see the country. 

We got bargain price 3-day Tokyo metro passes with our Narita to Tokyo skyliner train transfer. These passes just run through a slot at the automatic gates at all the subway stations. Can't use these passes for JR lines in Tokyo though. Also didn't work for our monorail trip to Toneri, for our Nagomi visit, but buying tickets from the machine was simple, as there was an English option on instruction menu. 

The JR passes - a deadset bargain for foreign tourists - are easy. Once activated (can only do this at certain major JR stations - we did this at Ueno, a couple of days after we arrived in Tokyo) we just showed the passes to station staff at the ticket gates (can't  go through automatic gates) and were waived through with a polite "arigato gozaimashita". 

Reserved seats for longer trips are booked with JR pass at station ticket offices and, as it is all networked, we could  book multiple reservations for connecting trains at the start of our day's journey. 

The station staff are very polite, appreciated my bubbling attempts at Japanese and usually had enough English to sort our tickets and point us in the right direction. 

HyperDia - a train journey planning app - was helpful but we always allowed plenty of time to sort reservations at stations, as a few times we couldn't use the Shinkensen (a couple of super-fast ones are not available for JR pass) or the train was sold out (in this case station staff were very helpful with alternatives and we always got to where we wanted to go!)

PS just don't loose or damage the JR pass - no refundable and no replacements. Kerryn was the queen of our JR passes so we never missed a beat!

Food we really like in Japan (Part 6)

Onigiri - maybe the ultimate Japanese snack food! These were available at every convenience store, staton stall and supa for around 100 yen. 

A triangle of rice, with a little flavour morsel (e.g. tuna and mayo, pickled plum, beef) hidden in the middle, wrapped in nori. 

PS Japanese rice is a special short grain variety that, when cooked correctly, is quite sticky without being gluggy - brilliant for onigiri, inarizushi, dozo..... I hope we can find this back in Australia as it is also quite tasty. 

PPS I also read, and have noticed during our travels, that gohan (rice) is an important dish in its own right in Japan; not treated as an accompaniment, as we tend to use it in Australia. It is most polite to eat every last grain from your gohan bowl, as a sign of respect for the rice growers - we did our best, with our newbie ohashi (chop stick) skills! 

Tōkyō ni modorimasu

Thursday 7 July 2016

After a bit of a restless night for the family on futons and tatami (we will all enjoy our own beds back home in Australia), Ben and I headed down to the onsen for an early morning bath, then Kerryn joined us for ocha and morning kōhī in the small lounge area at our ryokan while we waited for Joel and Em. 

We feasted again on a traditional Japanese breakfast - 11 different items (but no sake) this morning.  Again most items where new to us and, apart from a croissant, we had never had food like this for breakfast before! But it was delicious and quite filling - a noodle tomato lettuce salad and a miso ball cooked over the candle burner on the table and eaten with rice were highlights. 

Wishing we could stay a bit longer at the ryokan and Takayama, we packed our bags to head for the station. Along the way Kerryn stopped for some quick souvenir shopping while Em and I tried a local specialty - Hida Gyu-man, a soft hot bun with beef filling. Delicious! 

We were also accosted by groups of Japanese junior high school kids who seemed to be on assignment to talk in English to tourists - they asked our names, where we were from and what we like about Japan. The school girls got the giggles when they saw Ben's Pokemon backpack then when he took off his sunglasses there was more giggling as they thought he was cute and they all said Australia was great. "Nihon no subarashii kuni desu", I said, in reply!

We took the limited express through the Japan Alps to Nagoya. It was a slow but picturesque trip with the train line following the valleys, alongside a river for much of the way. In between the lush forested mountains and hillsides, we past a number of small towns and villages, consisting of groups of houses, all with productive looking vegetable plots, interspersed with green rice paddies. 

Our ekiben on this trip was a kiddies sarubobo lunch box filled with rice, beef, prawn, cheese and a range of pickled vegetables - which Kerryn and I shared.  The kids, perhaps feeling a little less adventurous after the ryokan meals,  opted for sandwiches and melon pan. 

Quick change at Nagoya and we were back on the Shinkensen for a super-express trip back to Tokyo. 

It was a bit of a shock to the system to be back in bustling Tokyo, but we braved the crowds in the massive underground shopping mall, beneath Tokyo Station 

ton find Character Street and the Pokemon Shop for Ben. A couple of wrong turns and then we were there, with Ben zeroing in like a bee to honey! A little while later, he emerged with some gifts for his friends and a special-release Tokyo Station Pikachu. Mission accomplished!

For our last night in Tokyo, we went a bit "fancy-pants" and taken hotel rooms in downtown Tokyo, a short walk from Shimbashi Station. We are staying on the 19th Floor of the Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza, with a gorgeous panorama of Tokyo, day and night!

We freshened up, after a long day train travel, and frocked up before going for a quick dinner at a local Chinese/Japanese restaurant, then on to catch the last act of Kabuki at the nearby Kabukiza Theatre. 

A full show is made up of several stories, each with multiple acts and can go for around four and half hours. However, you can buy entry into single acts, in the half hour before they start, to get a taste of Kabuki. 

The Kabukiza is a beautiful old theatre in Ginza. We arrived just in time for the last act of the show - Kagekiyo from the story Kotohoide Mimasu Kagekiyo. We were only able to get standing room tickets (this was OK as the act we were watching was less than an hour) but we hired a translator so we would understand the story and follow along with the dialogue. This was loads of fun, as the costumes and make-up were spectacular, and the acting impressive - with the lines delivered in a kind of sing-sog speech but no microphones (we heard it all quite clearly from standing room up tha back.  

There were all the various elements of kabuki on display, including traditional musical instruments (played from a side-stage upper room), impressive entries through the audience and simultated flight sequences. Joel, in particular, really enjoyed the kabuki, having learnt about it in drama studies at school. 

We wandered home along the busy night-time streets of downtown Tokyo, stopping off at a convinence store for ice creams. 

No escaping elections

Having been on holidays in the lead up to  the Australian Federal elections, held last Saturday 2 July (we did a pre-poll postal vote before we left for our trip), we thought we had escaped much of the election campaigning! (Although we have been watching the outcome of the Australian election with interest, via social media).

Not so! Election campaigning for the Japanese senate is in full flight here, in the lead up to the senkyo, being held this coming Sunday, 10 July. So as we have travelled around Japan we have noticed loads of billboards with pictures of very earnest looking politicians and had our ears assaulted by a steady stream of minivans driving past with loud-hailers blaring as politicians and party workers extol the virtues of their esteemed candidate. 

Ah politics - you just can't avoid it!! But probably no chance of a "democracy sausage" on Sunday, I reckon....

Ryokan de rirakkusu

Wednesday 6 July 2016

After pre-breakfast of yogurt, hot cakes and drip coffee, we left the older kids to have a bit of a sleep in, while we had toast and jam with barista coffee at the tiny bar of our hotel. Kerryn really enjoyed her first real latte in two weeks - saikodesu na!

We packed our bags and headed to the station to organise the train trip to Takayama. We had a bit of a wait for our train so Kerryn browsed around the gourmet foods section of the depato at the station while I took the kids for morning tea - coffee for me and waffles for them. 

We grabbed some maki nori bento and sandwiches before boarding the Shinkensen for a short trip to Toyama. Then transferred to a  three carriage limited express to Takayama. Not able to get reserved seats for this train but plenty of room in the non-reserve car. Although this trip was slow (rolling along at only around 60kph), it was very picturesque as we climbed away from the flat rural regions of Ishikawa and Toyama into the mountains, following alongside the Miyagawa  River, across bridges and through many tunnels.

It was a short walk uphill to our accommodation in Takayama, the Yamakyu ryokan. 

Shoes off at the front door; slippers on to be shown to our traditional tatami room, where we sat on the floor and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon tea - ocha and sarubobo (happy monkey baby) biscuits. 

Refreshed from the ocha, we walked into the old part of Takayama. Unlike the other big cities we had visited, Takayama is a country town - no high rise buildings here with mostly 2 or 3 story houses. We wandered through the older part of town admiring the historic wooden buildings. There were a few locals out watering their pot plants or cleaning their doorways with water from channels running alongside the streets.  

We did a bit of poking around the shops for a few souvenirs - sarubobo being the local specialty item. 

We had a spectacular Japanese feast in the dining room at our ryokan. Prepared by some of the local grandmothers, there were 12 different dishes along with ocha and hot sake. Most of the foods were new to us and we where a bit unsure of etiquette and how to start, but our kind kimono-clad waitress just smiled and told us to eat it all. It was absolutely amazing food, all very tasty, with the sashimi, tempura and beef and tofu hotpot (cooked over a candle-burner at the table) where the highlights. The hot sake was also fantastic!

We were very full after dinner 

so we slipped into yukatas 

and some of us tried out the 'underground' onsen - after carefully studying the etiquette (thankfully an English version was provided). It was very relaxing but the spring water was very warm so you couldn't soak for too long in the bath.