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Saturday 25th May - Day 19

After a restless night worrying that none of the three alarms would go off we woke up early and met Mary & John in reception. Cas had our taxi sorted and after saying “sayounara’’ we headed for the airport. Cas should have been returning home on the bullet train yesterday, but due to our lack of Tour Guide she remained with us to ensure that each of the four groups of departees got away to the airport to head back to the UK. Arrival at the airport was somewhat confusing as nothing was open and we had to work out where to go. Finally, we got ourselves checked through to London and got on our one hour hop to Tokyo. The flight was delayed by half an hour as we waited at Osaka for a connecting flight to arrive ….. we were pleased to have Special Assistance once again as we had to change terminals at Tokyo and the queues, that we were able to bypass, were long. No time for using up the last of our yen, no time to even send a message to say that we had successfully transited at Tokyo. We feared that Mary & John may not make it but we’re pleased when they did!

A 13 hour flight later we arrived back to Heathrow, it was long and we had little sleep, but luckily Simon was driving us home! It will take a few days to get ourselves back onto UK time! We had a great trip, there were a few frustrations along the way and this will be the last trip of this kind that we will undertake but we will carry on travelling, although with less arduous schedules in the future.

We spent the trip with 31 amazing people, we all got on well and looked out for one another. We had two great local guides who were full of knowledge and so very helpful. Now that the blog is finished, we have the photos to sort and the holiday photo book to print!

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Friday 24th May - Day 18

Today was our last day in Japan. We headed out about an hour from Osaka to Nara, Japans first permanent capital. Kas told us that we should buy special biscuits to feed the deer that have learnt to bow for their treats. Having observed some rather over exuberant deer who pursued those feeding them we decided just to observe others doing the feeding! Nara is also the site of the Todaji Temple which was originally built between 710-794AD by the Emperor Shomu. The building houses a the huge Vairocana Buddha statue which was made of bronze and then plated with gold. Today the temple serves as both a place of prayer and a centre of Buddhist doctrinal research. The Great Buddha Hall is actually the third generation of structure, which was believed to be originally around 30% bigger, despite that it is still recognised as the largest wooden structure in the world. One of the huge wooden pillars in the temple is hollowed out and if nimble enough you can crawl through this, according to legend the size of the hole is equivalent to the Buddha statues nostril and if you crawl through you will be blessed with health and happiness. Another scorching day we had our last Japanese ice cream on our way back to the coach before heading back to Osaka. The afternoon was spent buying last minute bits to bring home, we were introduced to the Japanese clothing shop Uniqlo where we brought a number of items of clothing! We completed our packing and then headed out to a tepinyaki restaurant for dinner, the food was delicious and the spectacle of the cooking was great to watch. A quick drink in the bar, with some of our group before heading to bed early .. we are departing the hotel at 4am so need to get a few hours sleep!

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Thursday 23rd May - Day 17 ( more photos)

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Thursday 23rd May - Day 17

It was a late start this morning, departure time of 9.30am! After breakfast I headed out to pick up snacks for the coach journey and wandered around the old town before many people appeared. Lots of the shopkeepers were out tidying the areas around their premises and starting to get ready for the day. A great time to take photos as there were very few vehicles or people about!

Today we were heading for Osaka and our last destination on the trip. We will all fly home from here in 2 days time, ours being the first flight to leave at around 6.40am and the last of the 4 flights leaving around 11.45 pm. We had an early lunch stop where we ate a traditional Japanese meal together, our last meal of the trip where we will all be together. Then we drove on to Himeji Castle also known as White Heron Castle, due to its soaring white plaster walls. The main keep was built in 1601 and is one of the oldest surviving keeps in Japan. Because the castle has never been attacked, successfully bombed (a bomb did hit the castle but it failed to detonate) or burned the majority of the buildings have survived, although regular restoration has been going on since the early 1900’s. The only stone structures of the castle is its foundations, the buildings are made of wood, plaster and earth. The building was designed for warfare, but despite the nearly 1000 gun and arrow slots it has never been attacked. The buildings were mainly used as a centre for administration and as a residence for the Daimyo. The residence was destroyed between 1868-1912 but the use of the buildings can still be seen.

The architecture is the castle is incredible. The tile roofing style is known as Hongawarabuki, which combines flat tiles with round ones alternately. The joints between the tiles are covered in plaster and the tiles are marked with emblems representing family crests of the previous lords of the castle, currently there are 6 crests on show. The windows are designed with thick lattices to prevent the enemy, bullets and arrows from penetrating. The building has lots of Sama (loopholes), triangle shaped, circular , square an rectangle, these enabled arrows and bullets to be shot at the invaders. Gatehouses and sturdy gates protect the entrances to the castle and the shape of the castle walls meant scaling them would have been impossible.

Around 150 years ago, at the end of the samurai era, the government ordered the demolition of all castles other than those being used by the army. The castle was put up for auction and was sold for ¥23.5 which would have been ¥100,000 today and was then taken over by the army and so spared from demolition. The castle has been used by a number of film makers, most famously in ‘You only live twice’

From the castle we headed to our hotel in Osaka, the city seems to be bigger than Tokyo and it is certainly more flashy .. much more like we thought Japanese cities would be! Kas took us on a walking tour, once we had checked in, we headed towards the river and the famous Ebisu Bridge which is located in the centre of Dotonbori. It provides a view of the giant neon sign with the Glico running man, the Don Quijote Ferris Wheel and other landmarks that make the Namba area so recognisable. The area is full of eating places of all descriptions as well as lots of shops from the ¥100 stores to high end shops such as Gucci. The city was buzzing with neon light, advertising hoardings, people, flashy shops, noises and food smells, such a contrast from the city that we left this morning. We spent some time exploring and had a meal in a local restaurant before meeting up with others in the bar .. the hotel bar is extremely expensive!

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Wednesday 22nd May - Day 16

A sedate 9am departure from our hotel this morning and a day of coach travel, broken up by a visit to Korakuen Garden, another of the top three Japanese gardens. It is referred to as a strolling garden due to the variety of views from the meandering pathways past the streams, ponds, lawns and tea houses. The garden was built in the late 17th century, the land originally comprised of fields and was only a quarter of the size of todays garden. Japanese cherry blossom trees, maple trees and pine trees were planted throughout the garden, there are also many azaleas. The garden has suffered from flood damage in 1934 and war damage in 1945 but is now fully restored. Since ancient times, the Japanese have seen cranes as a symbol of good fortune and several cranes have been gifted to the garden, whilst we were visiting they were in cages, some of the females nesting, but between September and February they are allowed to wander through the gardens twice a month. Close to the gardens is situated Okayama Castle, also known as Crow Castle due to the black weatherboards covering the walls of the keep, the main keep was destroyed in 1945 but has since been rebuilt, but we did not visit.

Calling at a service station for lunch we made our way to Kurashiki, an old merchant settlement whose main draw is the beautiful willow lined canals. The city is found on Japans Seto inland sea, it contains many interesting museums and displays some of the French Impressionists work Ohara Museum of Art. The Kurashiki Bikan Historical quarter, which used to be the political and commercial centre, offers a quaint landscape with white walled warehouses and sea cucumber walls ( black & white criss-cross). In 1972 Japan’s first line of jeans were made here in Denim Street and today you can buy denim ice cream and sweets to celebrate the history of this fabric in Japan. The narrow streets are lined with historic buildings and retro shops selling a wide variety of items. If you arrive early enough in the day it is possible to buy a ticket to take a canal trip ride, complete with coolie hats! However, we were not and there is no time ahead of departure tomorrow either!

For those who had not booked the dinner at Ivy Square this evening we were warned that finding somewhere to eat would be a real challenge. We opted to eat in the French restaurant at the hotel, a great choice as the food was exceptional. It will be interesting to see how others got on with their restaurants this evening.

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Tuesday 21st May - Day 15 (extra photos)

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Tuesday 21st May - Day 15

This morning we headed for the beautiful wooded island of Miyajima which is famous for its giant torii gate, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Itsukushima Shrine. We took a coach for about 40minutes from Hiroshima and then joined the ferry, as foot passengers for the 10 minute crossing. The island has many sika deer wandering the streets, they are very used to the visitors and are quite tame, feeding them is not allowed, however this does not stop them from trying their luck at snatching bags or snacks that unwary visitors are not keeping an eye on! The area is famous for its oysters and walking down the Main Street every other stall is selling oysters in some form or another. It also sells maple leaf shaped cakes (momiji manju) made from sweet bean paste, which have a variety of fillings from cheese to chocolate, many shops also sell these specialities.

We walked as a group to the shrine, it is on the edge of the inland sea making it a very picturesque location with the mountains in the background. The shrine is dedicated to three goddesses; goddess of the sea, goddess of traffic safety and goddess of good fortune and fulfilment of wishes. First built in 593, it was remodelled in 1168. The vermillion colour of the shrine and the torii gate is considered to keep evil spirits away. The corridors in the shrine total 260m as they pass by the main shrine, the stage, the music rooms etc. the torii gate weighs 60 tons and stands 16.5m high, the roof is made of thatched cypress bark. The present gate is the 9th since the first was built in 1875.

After the visit we had a couple of hours of free time, some of the group joined Kas to see the Daishoin Temple, however, we decided to head back to the town, stopping off for a refreshing drink of local lemon soda. We wandered the stalls and picked up a few gifts and searched for a restaurant that was serving oyster burgers, as Mike had set his heart on trying one … we found a small place close to the ferry terminal Mike got his burger and I had a delicious vegetable tempura dish. We had been fortunate in that the morning had been relatively quiet but as we left more and more coach loads arrived. We headed back to the hotel.

Mike decided to have a nap whilst I went back to the Peace Park, which was just a few minute walk from our hotel, as I wanted to capture some more photos. We had been recommended to visit the Shukkeien Gardens, about a twenty minute walk from the hotel, we were pleased that we decided to visit. The gardens, adjacent to one of the art museums was very pretty and peaceful, set in the midst of the city. Originally constructed in 1620 for the feudal lord of Hiroshima. The idea behind the garden was to collect together in miniature a series of views of Hangzhou, China. There is a large central pond, with more than 10 islets, around the edge are mountains, valleys, bridges, tea cottages and arbors with a connecting pathway joining them all. In 1945 the garden was destroyed by the bomb but the garden has been restored to its former glory. The gardens receive about 250,000 visitors each year.

The afternoon was very warm and we were both very tired so decided to have a small meal and then go back to pack up for moving on tomorrow.

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Monday 20th May - Day 14 (extra photos)

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Monday 20th May - Day 14

Bags out for 7am as they were being taken by lorry to our next hotel whilst we took the bullet train to Hiroshima. Breakfast was followed by a short coach trip to Kyoto station, todays journey was just under 2 hours. Such a nice way to travel, this journey was not as scenic as our first trip on the bullet train but is much more comfortable than travelling by coach.

Arriving at Hiroshima we were met by our new coach driver who drove us to the Hiroshima Gate Park to pick up lunch, today we visited a small bakery and were able to sit outside and enjoy the warmth and more importantly the fresh air. Many of us are suffering from sore throats, coughs and snuffles due to air conditioning and tiredness, so getting some fresh air is wonderful. Despite the good weather here, at this time of year it does not seem to be the Japanese way to sit outside in fact the majority of the Japanese actively try to keep the sun off of them by moving around in the shade, using umbrellas as sunshades and wearing clothes that cover them including gloves.

Once refreshed we headed to the Atomic Bomb Dome in the Peace Memorial Park. This afternoon was an emotional one as we learn more about the atomic bomb that was dropped on the city on the 6th August 1945 just 600m above the Shima Hospital. Amongst the burning ruins were the skeletal remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, now known as the A Bomb Hall . Between 90,000 and 146,000 people died here in the city, over half of these died on the day with the rest perishing from radiation poisoning over the subsequent few months. The peace park is a beautiful area with memorials and rose gardens, including the Children’s Peace Monument, at which we were fortunate to witness a vey moving event carried out by around a hundred junior high pupils who were here on a school visit. They spoke about the need to learn from the past and how this should never happen again, the sang a beautiful song with harmonies, it was very emotional despite us not understanding a word. We proceeded through the park to see the Flame of Peace, the pond of peace and the Cenotaph, all of which have huge significance from that dark day.

A lecture had been booked for us with a survivor of the bombing, Sadat Yamamoto was a 14 year old, when he was exposed to the bomb in the Eastern Drill Ground about 2.5km from the hypo centre. He spoke in Japanese about his experience and the effects around him, about how people were affected and our guide translated his words. Following this we visited the museum. Unfortunately with a cruise boat in dock and the many school trips the museum was extremely busy and so there was no chance to get to see anything, it felt rather disrespectful to have so many people pushing and shoving their way through the museum although the mood was muted.

As a result of action in 1945 the city had to be completely rebuilt and the city seems much more spacious with wide open spaces, such a different feel to the rest of Japan that we have visited. We headed for our hotel which was centrally located and will give us an opportunity to easily visit other interesting points in the city tomorrow afternoon when we have some free time. A quick shower and we were out to try and find somewhere to eat, finally ending up in the rooftop bar of the hotel. Wow, what spectacular views of the city, the Peace Park and the islands in the bay.

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Sunday 19th May - Day 13

Today we headed out of the city to Fushimi Imari Shrine, which is famous for its tunnels. The approach to Okunion shrine is called Senbon Tori ( one thousand tori gates). It is believed that there are as many as 10,000 gates across the mountain, each of which have been donated by Companies or individuals. It is said that the shrine was founded in 711 before Kyoto became Japanese capital. The shrine is dedicated to Imari, the deity of a good harvest and success in business. Fox statues can be seen throughout as they are believed to be the divine messengers of Imari. There are two routes through the gates, one taking 3 hours which covers the whole mountain and the other just 30 minutes, we took the later route. Todays weather was warm but a little damp too, so you had to keep your wits about you to ensure that you did not loose an eye on the corner of someone’s umbrella!

Our final group visit in Kyoto was to a Sake museum where we watched a film and were then taken on a tour, seeing where the brewing of the sake and their bears took place. Unfortunately, as it was Sunday we were unable to see the process working. We were told that the local water is particularly good for use in the process and that the rice used is all sourced locally. The rice is first polished to get off the roughness from the grain, any waste products are used for fertiliser and animal food. Once the rice is polished it is washed to remove the powder and then it is soaked and wrapped overnight enabling the grains to swell., then it is steamed and cooled. The Koji enzymes are added by the Master Brewer this brings about the saccharification process when the starch is converted to glucose, the yeast then converts the glucose into alcohol. After about a month the sake is separated from the lees, the sake is filtered and then pasteurised. The sake is left to mature, in a tank, for around 6 months, then it is diluted to adjust the alcohol content which is generally around 15%. The product is bottled and ready to sell. The more polished the rice is the stronger the flavour and aroma. We tasted two types at the end of the tour and had the option to buy some of their products.

Back on the coach and we headed via the seven eleven to pick up lunch then back to the hotel. The afternoon was free time, we worked on the blog, trying to get caught up after a couple of hectic days and then had a bit of a sleep. Exhaustion is setting in and we have another few days of the trip remaining. Tonight’s dinner was at a recommended restaurant just across the street from the hotel, the food was excellent, we had dinner with Mary & Peter tonight.

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Saturday 18th May - Day 12 (more extra photos)

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Saturday 18th May - Day 12 (extra photos)

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Saturday 18th May - Day 12

This morning we visited three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, all of which were temples. Having visited a number of countries with very many temples I expected today to become ‘templed out’! However, happily each temple was very different to the others the main downside of today was that it was Saturday and so many local families were also visiting the sites, everywhere was very busy. The month of May is also extremely popular for school trips and we are certainly finding this to be so!

Kinkaku-Ji Temple was our first stop, this site is also known as the Golden Pavilion, this richly decorated temple is beautiful. This site is a zen-Buddhist temple close to Kyoto, it was originally designated as a holiday villa for the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitzu in 1397. The temple has three levels, the first is the noble peoples style, it is open in style, the second is in the samurai style and the top is in the Buddhist style. The second and third stories are covered in 200,000 gold leaves. The gardens are very beautiful, in the centre and surrounding the temple is the Kyoko-chi pond also called the mirror pond.

Our second visit was to the rock garden of the Ryoanji Temple. Originally the temple was an aristocrats villa which was converted into a Zen temple in 1450. The rock garden is a piece of cultural heritage, the deceptively simple garden consists of 15 rocks spread out on white sand. The rocks are supposed to be arranged so that at no point can you see all 15 rocks at the same time, however it is possible to view them all in one go, if you look carefully!

The final site was the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple. Founded in AD778, the most famous feature of the temple is its wooden veranda, standing 13 metres above the ground. From the veranda there is a good view of the many maple and cherry trees which look stunning in their autumn colours. It is also known as the Pure Water Temple and was founded on the site of the Otowa Waterfall in the wooded hills in the east of Kyoto. Due to the 15 minute uphill walk in the heat we decided not to visit this site but instead to remain around the shops and restaurants. We took the time to enjoy some local food, stick tempura in the following flavours; pumpkin & sweet potato, cuttlefish & cheese … they were interesting! We followed these with a delicious chocolate ice cream .. they do ice cream very well here and then a beer to wash it down.

Back on the bus and we headed for a traditional tea ceremony, something that most of us were looking forward to although with some apprehension about having the matcha tea. The tea house was enormous and was the most beautiful wooden building with very pretty, traditional gardens. Inside the tea house was a large shrine and low tables and chairs were set out for us all along with the tea making equipment, we had, of course removed our shoes before entering the building. We were introduced to our host and another lady who would be the guest for the ceremony, they guided us through the ceremony, which can take up to 3 or 4 hours, there is a strict procedure to be carried out and it takes a number of years to learn how to conduct these ceremonies correctly. Once we had observed and tasted their tea it was time to make our own, which we all did and tried to follow the procedure. Some people enjoyed the taste but I think that the majority found it too bitter for their tastes. However, it was an interesting experience to learn about. We drove on to Gion, the geisha district of Kyoto and walked the streets to see the traditional houses. The temperature today was 29 degrees, so a long and busy day, along with the heat wiped us all out but there would be no time to rest!

Back to the hotel for a very quick turnaround before 10 of us headed out for an optional excursion of a Japanese BBQ. Well, what an evening! 90 minutes in which we could cook, eat and drink as much as we could. We sat on cushions on the floor but there were pits below the table to put your legs into, so more comfortable than just sitting on the floor. Two braziers were already heating up and the table was laden with platters of different cuts of meat and vegetables, there were sauces and cooking utensils so we set to work cooking our supper. Kas was able to order drinks and more food on the app so she was kept busy ordering extras including octopus and scallops, salads more meat, more drinks whilst the rest of us cooked for the whole group. It was a very sociable evening, helped along by a copious supply of plum wine, beer and red wine. Once our time was up we headed for the hotel and some went to the bar for a nightcap.

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Friday 17th May - Day 11 (extra photos)

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Friday 17th May - Day 11

Today we head for Kyoto by train. Before heading off we attempt to get a group photo although I don’t think we managed all 33 plus Myumi in the same shot, we also handed over our tips to her as once we arrive in Kyoto we will be saying farewell for the last time - Sophie had thoughtfully collected them all together in a beautiful Mount Fuji drawstring bag.

A short walk to the station and we were herded onto our first bullet train (Shinkansen) which can reach speeds of 320km per hour, not much time for photos but hopefully we will get more opportunity when we take our second train in a few days time! We all sat together in one carriage and were told that we had to change trains in 40 minutes but as the first train was not travelling on we did not have to rush to get off. The train was spotless, there was lots of room, had comfy seats with headrests, large luggage stowage above the seats and the carriages were huge. A visit to the toilet revealed that was also immaculate … the UK could learn a lot! It was difficult to say whether the train seemed excessively fast, I took some video footage and it was certainly moving!

Time for a comfort break at the second station before boarding the Thunderbird train to Kyoto, this is the fastest limited express train service which runs in Western Japan reaching 130km per hour. It is thought that the name comes from a legendary bird with the same name in North America. We settled in to our second journey of around an hour, arrival at Kyoto station was going to be a rushed affair as we had just 1 minute to all get off of the train … we made it and in fact the doors stayed open longer but I think Myumi did not want to risk the chance of anyone being left behind! The journey took us through the picturesque countryside of the area, lots of rice fields and small holdings could be seen. We travelled along the coast and past what looked like some quite wealthy houses. Our new guide Kas was waiting for us on the platform and we headed into the station to find something for lunch before heading off by coach to Arashiyama and its famous Bamboo Grove. We said a very quick goodbye to Myumi and she was off to get her train.

A coach journey of nearly an hour took us to the area of the bamboo grove. Kas got us off the bus and with headsets on we marched off, along with hundreds of other people. Unfortunately it was not long before the group got very spread out and those at the back were unable to hear her commentary or know for certain in which direction she had gone, we just followed the huge number of people assuming that we were headed to the same place! As soon as the tail enders reached her she was off again, giving the tired ones no chance to catch their breath. I have to say this was what I was fearful off with a large group trip but Myumi had avoided it by being more relaxed. I do hope that this route marching is not a sign to come of the rest of the trip! Mike & I took a few photos at the beginning of the grove and decided to head back to the coach and get an ice cream, as the temperature hit 27 degrees, so we did not make it to the centre of the bamboo grove. Luckily we now have a WhatsApp group set up so can see other people’s photos too.

Back on the coach and off to the Kyoto Tokyo Hotel for the next three nights. Our luggage had travelled from Kanazawa by truck and was already waiting in our rooms. Rooms which are a little smaller and more basic than those we have previously had on the trip. Unpacking and working out if we needed to wash any bits to get us to the end of the holiday was job number one, ahead of a relaxing bath! Dinner tonight was a traditional meal, a kaisei where we were joined by an apprentice geisha, known as a maiko who performed traditional dances. The young girl was just 16 years old and had chosen to train as a geisha once she left school, she was beautifully dressed in her kimono. She told us a bit about her life. She lives in a geisha house and trains for 5 years before she is fully qualified, she learns to sing and to dance, she learns to play instruments and how to wear the traditional costumes. Our dinner was beautifully laid out but it was unclear which order we should eat the items, we would have benefitted from an overview of the items to get the best experience from the meal.

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Thursday 16th May - Day 10 (extra photos)

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Thursday 16th May - Day 10

Our fears of a wet visit to the Kenrokuen garden this morning seemed unlikely as a cloudy morning turned into a bright and sunny one! The garden is one of the top three gardens in the country according to Japanese citizens. The name of the garden means “the garden containing six” which refers to the six attributes that a garden should have: seclusion, antiquity, spaciousness, human integrity, water and scenic views. The garden was more like an arboretum as there was very little in the way of flowers, some of the trees have such heavy boughs that they need to be propped up. There were wisteria plants everywhere so earlier in the season it would have looked spectacular. The Japanese use water so well in their gardens, small streams and ponds and even waterfalls, the garden displays the oldest fountain in Japan.The day started to cloud up and the temperature fell visibly.

Our second visit today was to a local shop and craft centre where we got to decorate our own chopsticks with gold leaf, the process was fun and we were happy with the results. We now have to store them away for a month before using to ensure that the gold leaf does not come off! There was a small museum with some very beautiful artwork and a shop where Mike purchased some earrings for me. Whilst in the centre the heavens opened so none of us were tempted to indulge in the gold leaf ice cream. Myumi suggested we all took a trip to the bathroom to look at the gold designs in there! From the centre we took a short walk to the Higashi Chaka area of the city with its beautifully preserved wooden geisha houses. Many of the buildings have been converted into restaurants or tea houses now although some are open to the public.

We headed back on the bus to the hotel, with most of the rest of the group. We are both tired and we are only about half way through our trip. So we will spend the afternoon recharging our batteries in readiness for our trip on the Thunderbirds train tomorrow morning to Kyoto. The train journey will be the last time we spend with Myumi as she will be leaving us and we will be introduced to a new local guide for the remainder of our trip. We will all miss Myumi, she has been great and we have all got to know her well. It had been suggested that we head to the station to see the building so we headed across to get some fresh air, the wooden gateway and the station itself are certainly impressive and vast. The weather has turned wet and extremely windy this evening, we struggled to stand up against the wind as we returned to the hotel, let’s hope that it has subsided by tomorrow!

The hotel that we are staying in is beautiful, the atrium has a large water feature and flowers can be seen throughout the hotel in the Japanese style. Ikebana, is the Japanese art of flower arranging, the word means, “to make the flowers come alive”. The aim of the arranger is to select specific flowers and greenery to elicit emotions from the viewer as a piece of art would. The rooms and the general areas are all spotless and in excellent condition and the restaurants are extremely good. We were hoping to make it to the sky lounge this evening on the 30th floor to listen to live music but Mike feels unwell so we have decided to rest up further, ahead of tomorrows journey.