Today we head home. And what a LONG journey it was. We left Hakone at 9:50 am by train bound for Tokyo’s Skinjuki station. Short break – time enough for a Starbucks run! – then on to Narita Airport on another 90 minute train ride. We had 2 ½ hours to eat lunch, buy last minute items, and check in before our flight.
The flight back was thankfully only 9 hours since it was turbulent most of the way. By the time we got into LAX, I was exhausted and motion sick because I forgot to take my Bonine pill. 2 ½ hours later, we were on the last leg of the journey flying from LAX to San Jose Airport. Kit picked us up and took us home.
The thing that kept me going the whole day (and night) was seeing Cody. It was so wonderful to see him and his tailing wagging as we walked in the door to hug him. “Cody, I’m home!”
And thus endth my journey to Nippon (Japan). It was a great trip – lots of good sites and adventures, interesting exposure to another culture and country, good times with Dennis, and happiness at coming home!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Adventures in Eating No. 2
The first Kaiseki dinner was fun. The second dinner was more of an adventure because we really couldn’t identify what food was in front of us. I think the chef decided to try some really esoteric foods that Saturday night. One fish dish had the spines still on it. The meat dish we think was pheasant. There was clear caviar but I just was comfortable with the idea of biting into a poor little egg. And the worst one was a bright orange fish head complete with eye that came as a speciality! Needless to say, I didn’t eat a whole lot of the dinner dishes that night.
(Update 11/24)
The next morning, I went to the spa and then to breakfast, downstairs. A small fish was served, which reminded me of the previous night's fish head-- and staring eyeball. I'm not much of a breakfast gal to begin with and, so, I decided to skip breakfast.
Hakone Day #2 (11/10)
Today’s my last full day in Japan. Too bad it’s raining and foggy. It took the group a long time to figure out what to do, given the weather. Would it rain more or clear up? Dennis and I wanted to go for a hike in the mountains, but we weren’t sure if it would be really muddy or not. So we opted for a trip up the Hakone Mountain, hoping it would clear up.
To get up to the top of the mountain, we took a little train that putted along doing switchbacks up part of the mountain. Then a cable car that seems like a train but goes up a hillside. On the train and cable car, I was able to see the countryside and it was beautiful. Mountains upon mountains filled with trees, some of which were just beginning to change colors to yellows and reds. I was able to see more “akai” (red) leaves from the cable car. Wow – Japanese maples in red are beautiful! A whole hillside must be incredible.
A Japanese woman on the car cable car ride talked to me and said she thought it would be about another 2 weeks before it was prime leaf-pepping time. This was the only Japanese woman who spoke to me the whole trip. A lovely older woman there to see the fall colors with her husband and daughter. She spoke great English and asked me lots of questions. When I mentioned that I was from San Francisco, she said she had been there. And then she tried to find the English words to say that she’d seen gay men on her trip to SF. I could understand what she was trying to get at and said, “You mean 2 men together”? Yes, that’s what she meant. Funny how that stood out for her on her visit to California. Interesting to find out what we’re known for in other parts of the world.
Anyway, I digress. The last leg of the journey up the mountain is something called a ropeway which is a single car moving along a cable line attached to the roof of the car. Right as we reached the summit of the mountain, it was all foggy. All the other ropeway cars disappeared as well as the hills and ground below. We joked that we were in heaven.
So the view wasn’t great, but we had a nice lunch at the summit and trouped back down the mountain (ropeway, cable car, and train) to Hakone.
Chie and Donald went to see the Toy Museum, and we went for our last temple walk, which turned out to be a hike after all. The hike to the temple took us on a small paved road straight up the hillside through the forest. It was beautiful but a killer hike. I finally gave up at a nice scenic viewpoint and let the brothers continue on up the hill. I sat on a bench, looked at the hills, saw clouds from the hot springs in the area on the hillside, and just listened to the animals as it grew dark. I have become much better at just sitting and noticing everything on this trip. I need to remember to continue to “be in the moment” more. It’s very relaxing.
We walked back to the hotel in the dark, just as it started to rain again. Time for another hot spring soak or “teacup time”, as we started to call it!
To get up to the top of the mountain, we took a little train that putted along doing switchbacks up part of the mountain. Then a cable car that seems like a train but goes up a hillside. On the train and cable car, I was able to see the countryside and it was beautiful. Mountains upon mountains filled with trees, some of which were just beginning to change colors to yellows and reds. I was able to see more “akai” (red) leaves from the cable car. Wow – Japanese maples in red are beautiful! A whole hillside must be incredible.
A Japanese woman on the car cable car ride talked to me and said she thought it would be about another 2 weeks before it was prime leaf-pepping time. This was the only Japanese woman who spoke to me the whole trip. A lovely older woman there to see the fall colors with her husband and daughter. She spoke great English and asked me lots of questions. When I mentioned that I was from San Francisco, she said she had been there. And then she tried to find the English words to say that she’d seen gay men on her trip to SF. I could understand what she was trying to get at and said, “You mean 2 men together”? Yes, that’s what she meant. Funny how that stood out for her on her visit to California. Interesting to find out what we’re known for in other parts of the world.
Anyway, I digress. The last leg of the journey up the mountain is something called a ropeway which is a single car moving along a cable line attached to the roof of the car. Right as we reached the summit of the mountain, it was all foggy. All the other ropeway cars disappeared as well as the hills and ground below. We joked that we were in heaven.
So the view wasn’t great, but we had a nice lunch at the summit and trouped back down the mountain (ropeway, cable car, and train) to Hakone.
Chie and Donald went to see the Toy Museum, and we went for our last temple walk, which turned out to be a hike after all. The hike to the temple took us on a small paved road straight up the hillside through the forest. It was beautiful but a killer hike. I finally gave up at a nice scenic viewpoint and let the brothers continue on up the hill. I sat on a bench, looked at the hills, saw clouds from the hot springs in the area on the hillside, and just listened to the animals as it grew dark. I have become much better at just sitting and noticing everything on this trip. I need to remember to continue to “be in the moment” more. It’s very relaxing.
We walked back to the hotel in the dark, just as it started to rain again. Time for another hot spring soak or “teacup time”, as we started to call it!
Hakone Day 1 (11/9)
We had a slow start towards Hakone on Friday, about an hour south of Tokyo, and arrived there in the early afternoon. We had our typical on-the-go lunch on the train ride down to Hakone of bento and other snacks from a convenience store. That’s one thing I didn’t like about this trip – it felt rushed to move to the next place and we had very little time to sit and eat or relax.
Hakone is a resort area for Japan with lots of little towns nestled in the hills in the around Hakone. When we got there, Donald, Dennis and I went on a tour of the temples and shrines in the local area. Unfortunately, Hakone has very small streets, no sidewalks, and lots of traffic. So our walking tour wasn’t relaxing because I was always worried about on-coming traffic and getting hit by a truck or car!
We saw Shirayama Shrine – a little, dilapidated, old shrine. Then Soun-ji Temple. This temple had an interesting tree that was supported by 3 stands because it was growing horizontally. There were also headstones with red bibs on them. I still need to find out what the significance of the red bibs is. Anyone else know?
We continued our walk to Shogen-Ji Temple which looked like it was in use since we couldn’t go in. We walked on an old stone road, Old Tokaido Road, used originally by people traveling from Kyoto to Tokyo a few eons ago.
The only way we found the next temple was by following the monk who was dropped off by a taxi and going home! It was down some steep stairs on the hillside. It is Hakone Karron – sort of a cross between a temple and a shrine. And it was probably the most interesting thing we visited on our walking tour. The main room was open and you could look in at the altar from the doorway. There were these floor-to-ceiling objects in the shape of a Christmas tree but they were filled with candles and their holders all lit up. They gave off a gold effect for the altar. There was incense burning and a happy-looking Buddha at the door! We all agreed that it would be very cool to spend a day in a temple practicing Buddhism with the monks. Maybe next trip (??) we can arrange for that.
I was very aware today how hard it is to navigate around Japan without speaking or reading the language. To read the map for the walking tour, we literally were matching Japanese characters on the map to those on signs to make sure we were at the correct spots. And in the hotel, when guys came to make up the bedding, they were asking questions that we couldn’t understand or pantomime a response to, so we had to go find Chie. We really relied on her to be our translator.
Last stop on the walking tour was the Tamadare Waterfall. Actually it was two waterfalls with a shrine between them. …Very Hawaii-looking with streams of water falling and trickling down a rock hillside into a pond. And the shrine was about 75 steps up the hillside so I was huffing and puffing by the time I got to the top to see it. Buddhists and Shintoists must be (or were in ancient times) in really good physical shape with all these stairs!
We walked back to the hotel for a much deserved hot springs soak!
Hakone is a resort area for Japan with lots of little towns nestled in the hills in the around Hakone. When we got there, Donald, Dennis and I went on a tour of the temples and shrines in the local area. Unfortunately, Hakone has very small streets, no sidewalks, and lots of traffic. So our walking tour wasn’t relaxing because I was always worried about on-coming traffic and getting hit by a truck or car!
We saw Shirayama Shrine – a little, dilapidated, old shrine. Then Soun-ji Temple. This temple had an interesting tree that was supported by 3 stands because it was growing horizontally. There were also headstones with red bibs on them. I still need to find out what the significance of the red bibs is. Anyone else know?
We continued our walk to Shogen-Ji Temple which looked like it was in use since we couldn’t go in. We walked on an old stone road, Old Tokaido Road, used originally by people traveling from Kyoto to Tokyo a few eons ago.
The only way we found the next temple was by following the monk who was dropped off by a taxi and going home! It was down some steep stairs on the hillside. It is Hakone Karron – sort of a cross between a temple and a shrine. And it was probably the most interesting thing we visited on our walking tour. The main room was open and you could look in at the altar from the doorway. There were these floor-to-ceiling objects in the shape of a Christmas tree but they were filled with candles and their holders all lit up. They gave off a gold effect for the altar. There was incense burning and a happy-looking Buddha at the door! We all agreed that it would be very cool to spend a day in a temple practicing Buddhism with the monks. Maybe next trip (??) we can arrange for that.
I was very aware today how hard it is to navigate around Japan without speaking or reading the language. To read the map for the walking tour, we literally were matching Japanese characters on the map to those on signs to make sure we were at the correct spots. And in the hotel, when guys came to make up the bedding, they were asking questions that we couldn’t understand or pantomime a response to, so we had to go find Chie. We really relied on her to be our translator.
Last stop on the walking tour was the Tamadare Waterfall. Actually it was two waterfalls with a shrine between them. …Very Hawaii-looking with streams of water falling and trickling down a rock hillside into a pond. And the shrine was about 75 steps up the hillside so I was huffing and puffing by the time I got to the top to see it. Buddhists and Shintoists must be (or were in ancient times) in really good physical shape with all these stairs!
We walked back to the hotel for a much deserved hot springs soak!
Monday, November 12, 2007
The ultimate Japanese spa experience (11/9)
We took at train to Hakone today. Its south from Tokyo and is known as a resort/spa area. So we were in for two day and nights of rest and relaxation before heading back to California.
The Hotel Kaiun has Japanese style rooms with tatami mats on the floors so you take off your shoes at the door and walk around the mats in socks or bare feet. The hotel room has an entry way, sink and toilet (Western style thankfully) in a separate area, and 2 tatami mat rooms with a view out to the river and mountains (which are across the road). In the main room this is a low table and 2 chairs without legs so that they just sit on top of the mats. In the other smaller room, there are two regular chairs. In the evening, hotel attendants come in and fold up the table to make room for the futon beds. They set up the futons and the bedding for bedtime and while we go to breakfast they will put the bedding away in the closets. The closets are sliding doors that also serve as the room’s walls. Simple and efficient.
The tatami mats have a scent similar to hay. It’s not bad, just noticeable. I asked for two futons to be placed on top of each other just to make it a little softer bed for myself.
When we came back to the hotel after a temple walk, it was time to experience the hot springs that are famous in this area. Lots of hotels have hot spring spas and there are day spas too. Chie went with me to explain the process. I was grateful since I wouldn’t have figured some of it out myself.
First you put on certain clothing to go up to the hot springs, called an Ofuro-Onsen. You wear undies and a yukata (cotton bathroom of sorts) and slippers. This hotel’s ofuro-onsen is on the 5th floor. There are separate men’s and women’s. You disrobe, leave your clothing in a basket, and go to the shower area. There are about 8 individual shower stalls but they are not like the type you’d find at a gym. You pick up a little bench and take it to a stall. You sit and use a hand-held shower to wash yourself. Then you go into the hot spring area which is a large steaming hot tub with a tiled bottom to soak. There’s a cold plunge area and a sauna too. I found the water temperature to be hot but not so hot that I couldn’t just walk into the water. But the best part is a separate, open air room that is on a covered deck with two individual hot tubs. I call them “teacups” because it’s like you’re sitting in a huge teacup soaking in hot water with a little fountain trickling in more water. I felt a little like I was in Alice and Wonderland with the huge teacup! I liked to soak in my “teacup”, look out towards the mountains and breath the fresh air.
I just had to get over being naked in front of my mother-in-law, as well as a lot of other more petite Japanese women! Turns out there wasn’t any one else in the spa when we were there so that was better. But my body type, particularly my bust size, doesn’t work well for Japanese yukata’s. I found that it just didn’t give me enough coverage – shows a little more cleavage than I’m comfortable with showing my in-laws! Luckily, Dennis brought a kimono with him so I am using that. It has more fabric to wrap around me!
After the hot springs and brief snooze, it was time for Kaiseki style dinner served in our rooms. The hotel staff sets it up and brings in items during your meal. Kaiseki is a specific style of meal with multiple dishes served in small portions. It was a feast! None of us could figure out what all the items that we were eating, but we would say what was tasty, what we would trade for something else, or guess at what we thought something was. It was all very healthy food – primarily vegetables (some broiled at the table, some pickled) and fish. Dennis and I gave our sashimi to Donald, who was in heaven eating all it along with Asahi beer.
There were 3 different types of soups, tempera, pickled veggies, soft tofu with different dipping sauces, pumpkin, chestnut, radish, mushrooms, potato and more. It was all beautifully and delicately presented. That’s part of Kaiseki – if it’s beautifully presented, then it’s a good meal. So we sat at the table (cross legged or straight out in front of you) for over an hour and a half eating, talking and digesting.
Then on to a shiatsu massage, also done in the room on the futon. An older gentleman employed by the hotel came to room for the massage. Chie stayed with me so she could translate his directions (i.e. turn over) and questions (i.e. pressure too hard?). It was not a relaxing massage because it was somewhat vigorous and the lights were on and Chie was talking to the guy. But he did work out some of the tight spots in my upper back.
So now that I’m soaked, stuffed, and shiatsu’d, I think it’s time to hit the futon and go to sleep!
The Hotel Kaiun has Japanese style rooms with tatami mats on the floors so you take off your shoes at the door and walk around the mats in socks or bare feet. The hotel room has an entry way, sink and toilet (Western style thankfully) in a separate area, and 2 tatami mat rooms with a view out to the river and mountains (which are across the road). In the main room this is a low table and 2 chairs without legs so that they just sit on top of the mats. In the other smaller room, there are two regular chairs. In the evening, hotel attendants come in and fold up the table to make room for the futon beds. They set up the futons and the bedding for bedtime and while we go to breakfast they will put the bedding away in the closets. The closets are sliding doors that also serve as the room’s walls. Simple and efficient.
The tatami mats have a scent similar to hay. It’s not bad, just noticeable. I asked for two futons to be placed on top of each other just to make it a little softer bed for myself.
When we came back to the hotel after a temple walk, it was time to experience the hot springs that are famous in this area. Lots of hotels have hot spring spas and there are day spas too. Chie went with me to explain the process. I was grateful since I wouldn’t have figured some of it out myself.
First you put on certain clothing to go up to the hot springs, called an Ofuro-Onsen. You wear undies and a yukata (cotton bathroom of sorts) and slippers. This hotel’s ofuro-onsen is on the 5th floor. There are separate men’s and women’s. You disrobe, leave your clothing in a basket, and go to the shower area. There are about 8 individual shower stalls but they are not like the type you’d find at a gym. You pick up a little bench and take it to a stall. You sit and use a hand-held shower to wash yourself. Then you go into the hot spring area which is a large steaming hot tub with a tiled bottom to soak. There’s a cold plunge area and a sauna too. I found the water temperature to be hot but not so hot that I couldn’t just walk into the water. But the best part is a separate, open air room that is on a covered deck with two individual hot tubs. I call them “teacups” because it’s like you’re sitting in a huge teacup soaking in hot water with a little fountain trickling in more water. I felt a little like I was in Alice and Wonderland with the huge teacup! I liked to soak in my “teacup”, look out towards the mountains and breath the fresh air.
I just had to get over being naked in front of my mother-in-law, as well as a lot of other more petite Japanese women! Turns out there wasn’t any one else in the spa when we were there so that was better. But my body type, particularly my bust size, doesn’t work well for Japanese yukata’s. I found that it just didn’t give me enough coverage – shows a little more cleavage than I’m comfortable with showing my in-laws! Luckily, Dennis brought a kimono with him so I am using that. It has more fabric to wrap around me!
After the hot springs and brief snooze, it was time for Kaiseki style dinner served in our rooms. The hotel staff sets it up and brings in items during your meal. Kaiseki is a specific style of meal with multiple dishes served in small portions. It was a feast! None of us could figure out what all the items that we were eating, but we would say what was tasty, what we would trade for something else, or guess at what we thought something was. It was all very healthy food – primarily vegetables (some broiled at the table, some pickled) and fish. Dennis and I gave our sashimi to Donald, who was in heaven eating all it along with Asahi beer.
There were 3 different types of soups, tempera, pickled veggies, soft tofu with different dipping sauces, pumpkin, chestnut, radish, mushrooms, potato and more. It was all beautifully and delicately presented. That’s part of Kaiseki – if it’s beautifully presented, then it’s a good meal. So we sat at the table (cross legged or straight out in front of you) for over an hour and a half eating, talking and digesting.
Then on to a shiatsu massage, also done in the room on the futon. An older gentleman employed by the hotel came to room for the massage. Chie stayed with me so she could translate his directions (i.e. turn over) and questions (i.e. pressure too hard?). It was not a relaxing massage because it was somewhat vigorous and the lights were on and Chie was talking to the guy. But he did work out some of the tight spots in my upper back.
So now that I’m soaked, stuffed, and shiatsu’d, I think it’s time to hit the futon and go to sleep!
Kimonos (11/9)
I asked Chie to take me to a Tokyo department store so I could see the Kimono Department. So today we went to Odakyu Department Store. And I’m so glad I did. It was so educational. Not only did I see some beautiful kimonos on display, but Chie explained how they are used in Japanese society.
They are beautiful silk pieces of clothing. But it’s not just the kimono that you buy. There’s the obi and the obi-age, the tie and brooch, the petticoat, the shoes and special socks, matching purse, hair pieces, and a coat and fur if it’s cold. All of these items could cost upwards of $10,000. Of course the kimono I liked best, in beautiful maroons, was $5000! Update 11/26: A pair of footwear (shown below) cost about $750!
Chie said that nowadays lots of young women want to wear more modern formal wear but might wear a kimono for the traditional New Year’s Day trip to a local shrine or a wedding or their 20th birthday (which is a big celebration in Japan).
Chie said that, in the past, the mother would buy kimonos for her daughter’s wedding dowry. This would include at least 5 kimonos – a summer one, winter one, in-between-seasons one, one for mourning occasions, and one for formal occasions. So that would be a sizeable investment.
The women we saw wearing kimonos in Kyoto who were attending tea parties at temples were probably members of exclusive, and expensive, tea clubs. And they would need several more kimonos just so they weren’t wearing the same one at every event. Kimonos are only for the upper classes.
They are beautiful silk pieces of clothing. But it’s not just the kimono that you buy. There’s the obi and the obi-age, the tie and brooch, the petticoat, the shoes and special socks, matching purse, hair pieces, and a coat and fur if it’s cold. All of these items could cost upwards of $10,000. Of course the kimono I liked best, in beautiful maroons, was $5000! Update 11/26: A pair of footwear (shown below) cost about $750!
Chie said that nowadays lots of young women want to wear more modern formal wear but might wear a kimono for the traditional New Year’s Day trip to a local shrine or a wedding or their 20th birthday (which is a big celebration in Japan).
Chie said that, in the past, the mother would buy kimonos for her daughter’s wedding dowry. This would include at least 5 kimonos – a summer one, winter one, in-between-seasons one, one for mourning occasions, and one for formal occasions. So that would be a sizeable investment.
The women we saw wearing kimonos in Kyoto who were attending tea parties at temples were probably members of exclusive, and expensive, tea clubs. And they would need several more kimonos just so they weren’t wearing the same one at every event. Kimonos are only for the upper classes.
The Road to Kamakura (11/8)
We didn’t see Bing Crosby or Bob Hope on the Road to Kamakura today**, but I did have a really good time! Kamakura is a 1 hour train ride south towards the ocean from Tokyo and it’s a nice small city – sidewalks so it’s walkable, pretty, and uncrowded. The temples we saw were nestled into the wooded hillsides. This is the first place I’ve been to where I think I could feel comfortable living here.
We got off the train and walked right into Enguku-Ji Temple next door. It was a long series of temple buildings going along towards the back of a canyon. It’s famous for its Buddha tooth! But we couldn’t see it/them – not for public viewing. The best part of this temple for me was the alcove at the back of the canyon with a little altar and flowers and I could hear all sorts of bug noises – buzzing, chirping, etc.
Dennis and I separated from the rest of our party for a couple hours of exploring Kamakura by ourselves. It was very nice to have some time to ourselves and to be on our own time schedule. First stop was a soba noodle lunch at a small roadside restaurant. We had cold soba noodles and little root veggies on top. Dennis observed that the woman serving us (maybe, the owner?) was 70+ years of age. Many people in Japan appear to work into their 70’s (do taxi drivers ever retire?).
Dennis and I separated from the rest of our party for a couple hours of exploring Kamakura by ourselves. It was very nice to have some time to ourselves and to be on our own time schedule. First stop was a soba noodle lunch at a small roadside restaurant. We had cold soba noodles and little root veggies on top. Dennis observed that the woman serving us (maybe, the owner?) was 70+ years of age. Many people in Japan appear to work into their 70’s (do taxi drivers ever retire?).
We then walked to Kencho-Ji Temple. It had 700 year old juniper trees planted from seeds brought over from China. The old, knurled tree trunks made for interesting picture taking. And there were big crows cawing all over the place. We walked to the back of the temple complex and on to a small path that took us into the forest and up the hill. This small trail intersected the Ten-en Trail, a trail system on the ridgeline roughly northeast of Kamakura.
The forest looked and felt more like a jungle than a forest: the foliage was dense and green, trees towered overhead, and many varieties of birds were chirping away. From the ridgeline we could see the surrounding countryside, mostly wooded hills near and far. The late afternoon sun backlit some of the maples and their yellow leaves. We, also, came across some small caves. This was a scenic, interesting, and in some ways unusual hike!
It was great to get lost so quickly, but I got a little nervous about where we were exactly (“where are we?”). Then the trail kept going up and up and became more narrow. But then we came to a wider trail and some white posts indicating trails, and I knew we were on course. We passed some people hiking and all said “konnichiwa” (good day) to us. After about an hour we headed out of the forest/jungle and down the hill to another temple. Along the way we passed a neighborhood of houses nestled in the canyon. It looked like such a nice, peaceful neighborhood to live in. Dennis said something about how this was the “old” Japan he remembered.
We briefly saw Kamakuragu Shrine before catching a taxi to Kotokuin Temple to see Diabutsu, the Great Buddha (I simply instructed the cabbie, in English, to take us to the “Big Buddha”… he understood… no problem).
Diabutsu is such a huge statue (about 65 feet high). Dennis says Daibutsu is a large sculpture, a work of art. The daylight was fading by this time. But, there was enough light left in the sky to illuminate clouds overhead. This made a nice contrast to the green, bronze Buddha. As the sunlight turned to dusk and the lights aimed at the Big Buddha were switched on, we could marvel at the different perspectives this gave to the statue, his face in particular. Chie said that looking at the Buddha made her feel peaceful. Dennis said that the Buddha’s expression appeared to change when viewing it in different light and from different angles.
Before finding a local restaurant for dinner, we visited Tsurogaka Hachimangu Shrine, and it surrounding park, in the middle of downtown Kamakura. It was hard to see most of it since it was dark by then. At dinner, I tried plum wine. It’s pretty sweet stuff. I don’t think I’ll be buying a bottle of plum wine or sake to bring home. …Just not my type of alcoholic drink.
** Reference to old “Road to” movies with Crosby and Hope
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)