Day 197 - Monday 24th April 2006 - Sam's Account

Today was our first day in Japan and boy what a day! We arrived before schedule in Osaka, having sailed up Japan's coastlines from the South. The sun was out and we were lapping up the mountainous island scenery. A great change from the cold miserable rainy weather in Korea.

On arrival in Osaka port we expected an information point, global ATM's and the general hustle & bustle you'd expect from a large international port, how wrong we were. The port is on new found land with hardly anything yet constructed around it. The arrivals area is the size of your front room and has absolutely NO information NO personnel to ask and more importantly NO ATM, we were definitely in a fix. We were stuck in this deserted port with no money, no where to stay and no way of getting there or paying anyway, Hmmm....

We eventually managed to understand from the other passengers that a free bus would take us to the metro station, which we thought MUST have an ATM. So we stood in the cold wind and sun for an hour waiting for the free bus. Everyone and their luggage eventually piled on board. It was a real squeeze to get everyone in and then, well 3 minutes later we had arrived at the metro station and everyone bundled out. WHAT? We could have walked the distance in 10 minutes and saved hanging around for a whole hour, great.

Well, we soon realised that a) there was no ATM at the metro station, b) we could not purchase a metro ticket with a credit card  and c) we were totally stuffed.

With all our luggage we wandered off to what was called a "trade centre" to see if we could get help or find someone who spoke English to advise us where the nearest ATM was. The trade centre was in effect a fairly empty shopping centre and the "BANK" was a series of national ATM machines which spat our cards out in an instant.

Totally dismayed, and not to say the least, worried, I sat on all our luggage whilst Colin went off without the weight of his bags to see if he could find something... anything... we really didn't know what.

As I sat with all our worldly belongings I started to dig out my hat and recite a few of the songs Colin can play on the guitar in my head. "There's nothing for it" I thought we are going to have to busk!

To my joy and half disappointment we didn't have to. Colin had found a post office and managed to get some money out there. We were saved!

Working out the metro system at first was not easy. Just understanding how the machines work, how much money to put in for which stop and which line was fairly tricky. We got there in the end though and having changed trains a couple of times we were at last on the JR to Kyoto.

This is where I made the first of my "faux pas" - I ate a sandwich. Apparently, it is not culturally correct to eat in front of anyone in a public place in Japan. But I had been up since 4.30am, it was now 2.30pm and I was starving. So, placing my rucksack on my lap to block other peoples view as best I could, I munched my sandwich and gulped my coke. Bliss!

On trying to get off the train at Kyoto station I bent over to pick my day pack up and my rucksack sent some skinny elderly Japanese gent flying into the seats across the central corridor. Whoops, he wasn't amused.

Then there was the loo, I got soaked. Not because of anything I did or didn't do, but because the loos here in Japan have heated seats and they spray a jet of warm water on your bum after a wee. To the unsuspecting visitor this jet goes everywhere other than where it is evidently supposed to go. So drenched, I left the loo in further embarrasment. This really was proving to be my Bridget Jones day.

On a more positive note, when we did find the information desk in Kyoto everything started to work out really well. We managed to get a great deal on our hotel room at only 5500 Yen per night for a 3 star hotel and suddenly everyone spoke English, fantastic. We were readily pointed in the right direction by a friendly Japanese businessmen and started our 2.5km walk to our hotel. On arrival at the hotel we put our bags down - a full 5 and a half hours of wearing our backpacks was starting to grind us down - so a soak in a hot bath put that right and we were soon back off out to find some Sashimi. 

Low and behold we saw a REALLY shocking sight. Other westerners! We hadn't seen any other westerners for weeks so this was quite a surprise.

Finding Sashimi wasn't as easy as we had expected and after traipsing around for a while trying to decipher menus and prices we settled for a restaurant that did chicken sashimi.

The restaurant was exactly what we had expected a Japanese restaurant to be in our minds eye. Shoes off, heated floor, waiters dressed in Kimono's with tied headbands and a lot of bowing, regularly. Fab! The food was pricey for what we had and we tried the raw chicken sashimi which believe it or not was really good.

With a few glasses of wine in us we retired to our room. Phew, what a day!

Day 198 - Tuesday 25th April 2006 - Colin's Account

Japan is proving to be excellent and today was spent walking around Kyoto soaking up the sights and atmosphere.

Sam was in charge of the itinerary and had put together a walk taking in the Nijojo castle, which was the old home of one of the Japanese Shogun's. The most interesting feature of this 17th Century castle is the 'Nightingale floor'. Whenever you walk on this floor, no matter how lightly you tread, it makes noises similar to the song of a Nightingale. The reason was, to ensure that the enemies of the Shogun could not creep around the palace or up upon his bedchamber, during the night, without alerting the sentries.

There are vending machines everywhere in Kyoto and I expect the rest of Japan as well. They sell everything from beer and cigarettes to sushi, fruit and iced tea. They are 'open' all night, often in secluded places and are cheap. What is sad is that we are unable to have these in the UK. I remember, when I was barely a teenager, seeing chocolate and cigarette vending machines, but they were so constantly vandalised or broken open for their money or products, that they have all but disappeared, except for a handful in well lit shops. By contrast the Japanese are actually well behaved, even the telephone boxes still have the old paper telephone directories hanging next to the phone.

Our next stop was the Kyoto imperial palace park, which is famous for it's beautiful cherry blossom at this time of year and various ponds. At one of the ponds there were a dozen or so avid birdwatchers, each with high powered telephoto lens camera's. By attaching my binoculars, which are a perfect fit for Sam's camera lens, I was able to compete on equal terms. Unfortunately I only saw a duck and a cat who was stalking all the birds. Oh well, perhaps that's why I only saw a duck.

Most of the schoolgirls here remind us of the Japanese schoolgirl in Kill Bill, with their short (very) tartan skirts and knee length white socks with tennis shoes. We were almost waiting to be chopped to bits, but they only seemed to want to say hello and practice their English on us.

We took a walk through a more traditional area with authentic Japanese buildings and temples, which was very pretty and we saw quite a few French tourists, which surprised us as they don't normally stray so far from home.

Our last stop was in the Pontocho district, which is a bustling area full of bars and restaurants, old wooden buildings and lanterns. It is also home to many Geisha girls and the trainee Maiko, but we were a bit early and so missed out on seeing any as they scuttle to and from appointments.

Having been fairly fleeced for dinner last night, we stopped at a supermarket and bought lots of different types of sashimi (raw fish) together with hot Wasabi sauce, no chicken sashimi for us tonight. It was superb and we washed it down with some Chablis, a gift from Sam's Mum and Dad and carefully carried by Mike to us in Hong Kong a few weeks ago.  On a final note I have finally managed to find and book some reasonable price tickets to Auckland, so we will be off to New Zealand on 3rd May. It' s actually quite nice to know where we will be going next, for a change.

Day 199 - Wednesday 26th April 2006 - Sam's Account

Having at last been able to sort out our onward flight plans to Auckland, we left by train to Nara.

Japan's hugely efficient train system meant our train left precisely on time and a swift 45 minutes later we had arrived.

Nara was Japan's first real capital and is now the number 2 tourist attraction in Kansai (this region) after Kyoto.

There are 8 Unesco world heritage sites in Nara and these can all be seen on a 8km walk around the city; which is what we did.

The star attraction is Todai-Ji, which houses the most enormous bronze Buddha. It is over 16 metres high and consists of 437 tonnes of bronze and 130 kg of gold. This Buddha was constructed between 710-794AD by Emperor Shomu to act as a supreme guardian deity of the Nation and the Japanese come here in droves to pay their respects. In addition to prayers it is possible to make a wish on a wooden wish card and hang it next to the Buddha for good luck. There is also a wooden column with a hole through it towards the back of the building and it is the general custom to wriggle through this hole which is apparently the same size as the Buddha's nostril to be given a longer life and enlightenment. There were vast queues of school children waiting to wriggle through the hole and apparently many adults often get stuck in it and have to be extricated!

The Buddha is housed in the largest wooden building in the world and protected by two extremely fierce looking Nio guardians made entirely from wood as well. These wooden statues are considered the finest in the world. They are both 12 metres high and look as though they will spring to life at any second.

The rest of our walk took in temples of various sizes and importance.

After a very long day of walking we eventually got back to Kyoto station and tucked into a huge, hot & steaming rice bowl served with some soup and green tea. Just what the doctor ordered and at 600 Yen each (about 3 quid) it wasn't bad value for money at all. Pas mal!

I'm loving it here.

We were planning to fly to Nepal, go trekking and then visit India but this has been put on hold due to the political problems there at the moment. I'm gutted, I was SOOO looking forward to Nepal. Hey ho, let's hope things will sort themselves out before we have to leave Asia.

Day 200 - Thursday 27th April 2006 - Colin's Account

Wow, day 200 already, where does the time go?

It's interesting to see the differences between our cultures and it's particularly noticeable, as in many ways it is so similar to London. Lots of 'suits' everywhere, smartly dressed women, bars, restaurants and a great hustle and bustle.

Sitting on the train today, I saw that everyone who was reading had a cover over their book, which hid what they were actually reading. More disconcerting was the fact that they were reading back to front and quite probably upside down as well. Even stranger was that the bar code, ISBN number and price were shown on the front top left cover as opposed to the rear, on the right.

Today we took the train, underground, train again, cable car and then bus to Koya-san, the most sacred place in Japan. There have been thousands of monks here since 816AD and an almost equal number of temples. There is a huge cemetery filled with the cremated remains, or more often than not a lock of hair or ashes, of important monks awaiting the return of the Buddha. We saw one guy hosing down the graves with a flame thrower. Sam reckoned he was killing weeds, but I think he was just making sure. Some of the statues/headstone's had lanterns beside them and next to the lanterns, electricity meters! What I want to know is, who they send the bill to.

An unfortunate twist, because of tourism and not at all in keeping with supposed religious tendencies, is the cartel that the monks have formed concerning accommodation in the town. You can stay in a monastery/temple in Koya-san, for a stiff 9000 Yen per person (bear in mind we are paying 5500 for both of us for a 3* hotel in Kyoto) and for this you get a mat on the floor, vegetarian food for dinner and a wake a call at 5am, so you can help with the early morning chores.

The cable train/car is incredible and climbs some 300m in altitude at a 45° angle. This together with the last 10 miles of the train journey, which twists and turns through numerous valleys is worth the trip on its own.

After a walk around town which was nothing particularly special, we took a 13km walk through the forests, which was not easy as we only had Japanese maps and signs to follow. At the point where the path left the road, there was a large yellow sign with a picture of a bear on it. We assumed it meant beware of the bears, but who knows and anyway the forest walk was beautiful with huge trees and densely forested mountains all around

On the way back we avoided the need for the cable car, because our hike took us back to a different station and so we saved some money on the return fair. We used this to good effect back in Osaka, where there is a very lively night scene. As we exited the station in Osaka, we could see a rock band busy busking on a pedestrian walkway, which passed high over a four lane expressway. This being Japan, they had electricity, amplifiers, a full drum kit, radio microphones and were very loud. They were also very good and were competing with another band on a nearby pavement, complete with female lead singer and tom tom's etc.

We found a small bar under the railway tracks that could easily have been in London. It was full of after work businessmen knocking back pints, so we fitted straight in although for a while Sam was the only girl there. They were doing a roaring trade in Guinness, which the menu promised was either from a can or a bottle, but was also draught. Somewhat perplexed by this statement, I watched eagerly as someone ordered a Guinness. The barman pulled the bottle from the fridge and poured it carefully into the glass. So far so good, but definitely not draught. Then a curious thing happened, he placed it on a mat, under a tap that looked like a draft Guinness pump and pulled the lever that would normally deliver the beer, except that the glass was already full. A jet of 'air' shot down into the glass and before our very eyes a head developed on the pint and 'lo and behold' a pint of draught Guinness appeared. Hmm, clever lot these Jap's.

Towards the end of the evening, two Japanese business men bought us a beer each and then left, giving us a bow and a sayonara on the way out. We made the last train home, but only just, as we discovered that they also served Abbot ale and Belgian Duval. It would have been churlish to refuse, but a great day was had by all.

Day 201 - Friday 28th April 2006 - Sam's Account

Feeling tired and hung over from last night out in Osaka, we spent the day wandering around Kyoto and taking in the sites we hadn't yet had the chance to see. There weren't that many so we organised our travel to Mt.Fuji for tomorrow, found the supermarket for a cheap sushi meal in the room tonight and moseyed around the shopping / bar / restaurant district of the town.

The sun was out and although weary from our last few days we had a good day.

Day 202 - Saturday 29th April 2006 - Colin's Account

We are leaving Kyoto today and heading for Mount Fuji, which is about 110km west of Tokyo. The transport options were 6000 yen each for an all night bus journey or 2hours 20 minutes on the Bullet train for 10,000 Yen each.

We opted for the Bullet train which looks somewhat like the Eurostar, except that the nose is much longer (see pictures). A sort of Cyrano de Bergerac of the train world.

Arriving in Shin Fuji right on time, we booked our bus tickets to Kawaguchiko straight away as Shin Fuji is a dump and I can't imagine anyone wanting to stay much longer than absolutely necessary. I did have to have a quick walk around town to find an ATM and was stopped by two young, fresh faced, cyclists who were missionaries for the church of the latter day saints (Mormons). They were also Portuguese and spoke perfect English although with a strong American accent. They didn't try to convert me, but did tell me where to find a post office. Interestingly the ATM offered English and Portuguese as the alternative languages to Japanese. A coincidence? or have we stumbled in to a Portuguese enclave like the Russian one in Korea.

An hour into our bus journey we caught our first glimpse of Mt Fuji, which fills the sky, with it snowy upper slopes and distinctive flat top. As we wound around the lakes and mountains we saw signs advising that the roads ahead were heated. Heated loo seats is one thing, but heated roads? Rather impressive and certainly beats gritting any day.

Kawaguchiko is situated around a large lake of the same name and ringed by mountains dominated, of course, by Mt Fuji itself.

As we are a bit late to do any real hiking or sightseeing today, so we found a hotel and I planned a hike/climb for tomorrow. We do want to climb Mt Fuji, which at 3776m is the highest mountain in Japan, but unless it's the season (July/August) it is heavily frowned upon as there are strong winds, low temperatures and all the support stations along the route are shut. Having said that, it is possible although you have to register at the police station giving them  your route, start date and the equipment you will be taking.

Logistically, we don't really have the time before flying out to New Zealand, so we will have to save it for another time.

Day 203 - Sunday 30th April 2006 - Sam's Account

Well what a shame. It looks as though we won't be climbing Mount Fuji after all. It is "off-season" and although our Lonely Planet guide says to ignore this, we can see with the binoculars that the top is heavily covered in snow and we cannot make out any traceable pathways at all. In addition to this the locals strongly disencourage it with flyers and signposts pretty much everywhere. They also ask "off-season" climbers to fill out detailed forms and hand them into the police. They want to know what equipment you will be using the names, sex and ages of all the climbing group ... etc ... etc... Heavy duty.

So we climbed another mountain opposite Mt.Fuji; behind Mishotai-yama and that was hard enough in itself. We climbed almost 1800 metres in 4 hours and although the trek was unforgiving and very hard at times the views form the summit were well worth the effort.

The trek back down to the town took 3 hours and very tired, hungry and thirsty we stocked up for dinner in the local 7/11 and then had to walk another hour back to our hotel before collapsing in a hot bath, pot noodle, red dwarf episode and then bed.

That was an extremely tough day.

Day 204 - Monday 1st May 2006 - Colin's Account

It is Golden week, here in Japan, so called because it encompasses three bank holidays in one go. It's not a good time to be on the move in terms of transport or accommodation, but we have been lucky so far.

We have left Mt Fuji and have arrived in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. The train station here is one of, if not the, largest train station in the world and is practically a town in itself. Some two million people pass through here per day.

Fortunately we found a hotel without difficulty, right in the heart of things. Around us are numerous skyscrapers with some amazing architecture and to the east of the station are numerous brightly lit streets with thousands of glaring neon signs, restaurants, pubs, designer shops and other services that, unlike Bangkok, are not generally available to foreigners.

We are both weary after our mountain climbing of yesterday, so I was left to stroll around the area on my own. It does feel a bit odd walking around here as I could easily be in London. The Japanese are completely westernised in their dress, fashion, shopping, buildings etc. Everywhere else we have been, it has been much more obvious that we were in a foreign country, but not here, at least not in some parts of the cities. Imagine walking around central London, but everyone you encountered on the streets, excepting for yourself, was Japanese (without the camera or baseball cap). It's quite a strange feeling.

Tokyo is really just another big city and I'm sure it's lovely, but in all honesty we are just looking forward to getting to New Zealand and Australia now.

Day 205- Tuesday 2nd May 2006 - Sam's Account

Couldn't sleep all last night (again), so I ended up staying in bed for most of the morning while Colin went off exploring on his own.

When I eventually managed to surface, we went for a stroll around the Shinjuku area and found it was happy hour in a pub, so sheltering from the continuous drizzle we ordered a couple of large G & T's. God they were huge! I am unfortunately on a diet, so I enjoyed a few gulps and then left Colin to finish them both and order a pizza. I went back to the room to feel sorry for myself!

Tokyo has unfortunately not impressed me. Perhaps it has something to do with overwhelming homesickness or perhaps it just isn't as good as Hong Kong. Well that's what I think anyway. Hong Kong knocks spots off Tokyo, especially during the Hong Kong Sevens of course!

That said, it is interesting to see the Japanese all suited and booted rushing around. From that standpoint, as Colin said before, you honestly could be in London - except for the fact it would seem that we are the only westerners here. Their city is not cosmopolitan at all, just Japs.
 

Day 206 - Wednesday 3rd May 2006 - Colin's Account

At last we're off, the hotel kindly looked after our bags while we took a last walk around our busy little part of Tokyo. Found an excellent Italian restaurant for lunch and then it was off to Narita International airport.

Our tickets were waiting at the check in desk as promised and we were soon off on the first leg of our journey which was to Seoul, yep back to Korea again!

Two hours and one very poor landing later, we were wandering around Incheon airport. We had no Korean Won, but the wait was only 70 minutes.

As we boarded our new plane to Auckland, I realised that I had left my guitar on our previous flight, so much for the stewardess promising to bring it to me on landing. Fortunately both flights are with Korean air and so they made a quick radio call and it soon arrived, hand delivered by one of the crew from the Tokyo - Seoul leg.

Korean Air is apparently famed for its excellent service and hospitality, but I have to say the seats were very uncomfortable and there were no TV screens on the back of the seats, that you get with EVA, BA, Virgin & others, to help while away the 10.5 hour flight. They also kept disturbing us with their PA system making loads of mostly useless announcements. Being a bit nervous on planes, I was also not at all happy at the clanking coming from the undercarriage as we took off, an then once again during the journey. Never mind, the countless flights from Charleroi - Belgium to Dublin have removed most of my nervousness.

Finally managed to snatch some sleep, although the guy behind me was slumped on his flip down tray, so I couldn't get my seat to go back very far.

The Japanese journal is now finished and moves to the New Zealand journal