Maureen Fitzsimon's Cherry Blossom tour of Japan 2015

Friday 3 April (Good Friday)

Brisbane -> Hong Kong -> Narita -> Tokyo

There is no greater wrath than a woman scorned!

Just to kick off my little break, the Commonwealth Bank cancelled my savings Keycard, because I had made only a number of internet deposits, in the last 6 months- no Keycard withdrawals.  Their justification for not informing customers that they cut off their funds, without notice, is that ALL of their customers will have read and memorised page 25 of the "terms and conditions", which says they are allowed to spring this on the consumer without notification.  Not only did I not read the dozens of pages of fine print, when I received my Keycard, 15 years ago, but even if I had, my memory would fail me on that one!  But, I guess I'm not up to the Mensa level of their usual customer!

The excitement didn't end there!  Son, Robbie, had surgery on the day we departed.  Thankfully, this went well.  The morphine kicked in, allowing him to post dramatic pictures of his suffering in "Sunnybank Private Maternity Hospital" on Facebook.  I suspect that he had the flattest tummy on the ward!  The piccies of blood soaked dressings and drips seem to have passed Facebook censorship, and ensured a nauseating start to Easter for his fans.

Late in the evening,( thanks to son, Pete, for the airport transfer), we were jetting off to Hong Kong.  Mike snoozed all the way, and I finally read the Japan, "Lonely Planet".  For once, the movie selections were dreadful.

Hong Kong was cloudy, but a welcome stretch of the legs.  On to Tokyo.

I had booked a transfer, and we joined 4 American Russians for the 90 minute drive from Narita airport to the city.

The cherry blossoms are everywhere!  Very exciting!

On checking in to the Tokyo Prince Hotel, there was confusion regarding our booking.  After the 100th, "so sorry", I'm afraid I started to roll my eyes and pace, like all of the ugly Aussies do.  It was sorted, and we were surprised that our room was spacious, had a HUGE king bed, and the hotel had views, across gardens festooned with cherry blossoms, to the adjacent Tokyo tower.  Modelled on the Eiffel tower,

Fading fast, after not sleeping last night, we had a great dinner - avoiding the many shark fin dishes on the menu, and collapsed into a long sleep!

Cheers, Maureen.

Saturday 4 April

Tokyo

We must have done at least a dozen metro trips today, making good use of our day pass.  The biggest wait for a train, was about 2 minutes!

I've travelled on Metros all around the world, but give full marks to the Japanese for their system!  It's unsurpassable!

The only criticism I would have is that they are even worse than Australians in 'over signage '.  "Train may sway when rounding curves "!  Who would have guessed?

We travelled, firstly, to Harajuku, and crossed the bridge, where, on Sundays, Japanese teenagers dress up like dolls, and parade!  Although it wasn't a Sunday, there were quite a few teens dressed up!

Then, there was a bush walk through 1 km or more of dense forest to Tokyo's largest Shinto shrine - Meiji-jingu.  At the temple, were several brides and grooms, dressed in traditional costumes, with wedding parties.

On to Takeshita-dori- a famous street, jam packed with people, and quirky shops galore!

We then strolled down Omite-sandro- full of designer stores.  Most impressive were the modern buildings.  My favourite was the 'Prada' building.

We went on to Shibuya, where the Shibuya Crossing, is rumoured to be the world's busiest.  We went into a cafe overlooking the intersection, but had to leave before ordering, because of the cigarette smoke!

Back to Shinjuku, which we had briefly seen earlier in the day.  The railway station there puts through 3 million people in a day!

We found the crazy "Robot Restaurant", and booked for the 8:00pm show.

Found "Bistro &k", and snuggled in there, for lunch/dinner.  Great place- delicious food and marvellous service!

It's hard to describe the ''Robot Restaurant"!  Crazy, weird.  The venue was bling upon bling.  The costumes elaborate, the entertainment, energetic, quintessentially Japanese!

We had a wonderful time, as did the rest of the audience!

Collapsed into bed!  18,000 steps on the pedometer!

Cheers, Maureen.

Easter Sunday 5th April 2015

Tokyo bus tour

Today was our first day on the organised tour.  Advantages are that you don't have to organise yourself, you get a commentary, and you cover quite a bit.  Disadvantages: Mike is struggling to keep up the pace, you have to keep to a schedule, and wait for others.

We are with a totally Aussie group- lots of accents and appearances- but all Aussie!

There are 2 groups-with only 20 people per group.  That's 2 seats each.  Yahoo!  Considering that this was an el cheapo internet deal, at peak tourist season- it's incredible!

They seem a nice lot!  There is a Sri Lankan/Aussie Dr from Caloundra, with 'Dr' on his name tag.  As usual, I'm a receptionist in a medical centre!

It's actually quite fascinating going 'under cover '.  I've already heard one lady espouse a rubbish medical tale of a quite astonishing nature.  My trap is firmly shut!

So, today's pedometer readings - just for the tour- show 15,000 steps and 10 km walked.  This is not a tour for weaklings!  Mike probably did at least 8 km of that.  Even though yesterday we did a few thousand more steps than today- it was at our own pace!

I'm finding it fairly easy, as I do quite a bit of exercise.  But I'm rather impressed that Mike has not needed CPR!

First up, a guide walked us, at a clipping pace, to a train station- quite a bit further than the metro!  Mike is not happy that tour guides are always young and fit!  The train took us to the 7th century Asakusa Temple.  (Multiple times rebuilt.) Very impressive!  There were 90 shops in the Temple grounds for peaceful and enlightened retail therapy!

On to the famous Tsukiji Fish Markets.  The biggest in the world.  Some tourists arrive at 4 am to be selected as one of the 125 who can witness the fish auction.  Bully for them!

There was no smell, as it was all so fresh.

Lunch was in Ginza.  This upmarket shopping precinct, closes half of its streets on a Sunday, between April and October.  It felt rather naughty, to be strolling down the middle of the main street of Ginza, while the ever obedient Japanese still use the footpath.

The lunch was one of these places where you bar-b-que your food on little gas hot plates, set in the tables.  Great idea but...  It was crowded, and disorganised.  I felt like sending my Practice Manager, to sort them out!

On to view the Imperial Palace.  Cherry blossoms and cute, stone bridges adorned the foreground.

This is a "Cherry Blossom" tour.  These trees have a very short flowering period.  Only a couple of weeks.  We seem to have been lucky, as the season varies by a couple of weeks, from year to year, depending on the rain, summer heat etc.,

Unfortunately, today drizzled on and off.  Nevertheless, we next enjoyed a walk in Ueno Park.  This had many cherry blossoms- (sakura), including one spectacular avenue.

Mike was, by now, begging for mercy!

We ended up on the 17th floor of a building in Shinjuku.  Looking at the cushions on the floor, beside the low table, sent a ripple of consternation through the group - except for the two young women, on board.  Luckily, there was a hole in the floor to accommodate feet.

Eating with chopsticks has never been one of my talents.  Between 10 km daily walks, and an inability to actually get the food in Japan from the plate to my mouth, I'm hoping to shame the Sheilas at Jenny Craig!

This meal was a 'hotpot', where you plonk all of the vegies and meat into a bubbling pot of stock at the table.  It seems that Japanese chefs are a jolly lazy lot!  Their customers seem to do all of the work for them!

Fortunately, we didn't need to hire heavy equipment to extricate the groups' bodies from the pit under the table!

Tomorrow is a free day.  Sleep in!

Cheers, Maureen.

Easter Monday 6th April

Tokyo

Baby son is 26 today!  My amazing present to him was abdominal surgery- gift wrapped by the surgeon!  He's recovering nicely!

Everyone on our tour seemed to be late to breakfast.  We are all doing our own thing today, but the next 4 days will be the usual tour thing - bags out at 6am!  I 'm out of practice with these types of tours!

Have to give the Japanese top marks for manners.  They even bow constantly when on the phone!  Also, cleanliness- especially the loos!  A large number also wear face masks!  Most are immaculate!  The men almost invariably wear suits!  They also strive to be helpful to tourists.  Much appreciated!

We headed off to Akihabara- the big area for electronics in Tokyo.  JB hi fi - eat your heart out!  This place has MASSIVE stores!

I bought a spare lens cap for my camera for$5 , and Bose noise-cancelling headphones for both of us.  We didn't have to pay GST(8%), and Visa had a deal on.  Six percent discount for using Visa!  Yes- discount.  Not like in Australia where you are penalised for using credit cards.  This made a total saving of $240.  I've had my eye on these headphones for a long time, so knew the prices well!

We headed out to Naka-Meguro- an area with masses of cherry blossoms along the canal.  Today is bright, warm(23C)and sunny!  This was a lovely area with some input of Italian culture.  A very pleasant lunch was enjoyed in a little cafe beside the canal.  Cherry blossoms filled the air and people were gathering them up and throwing them up, into the sunlit sky.

Off to Roppongi- a very modern metropolis, where we had planned to visit the Mori art gallery and catch the views from the 52nd floor.  Closed for renovations!

Instead, we "lived off the land"!  We were invited to sit at a table (with a starched cloth), and given a free creme caramel to try.  On leaving, we were given a sample bag- with cake!  Not one yen needed to be spent!

Next up, we were ushered into a "World Wine Show".  After tastings a plenty for free, we offered to buy a bottle.  Minimum 6 bottles.  So no sale- but they were most gracious!

Talk about Tokyo on the cheap!

Then on to the Tokyo Tower- which is the spitting image of the Eiffel Tower, with the bonus of a cafe halfway up.  Built in 1958, it is right beside our hotel.

We went up 250 meters, just before sunset and lingered to watch the lights come on over Tokyo.

Smoggy but nice!

On to a cafe, near the hotel, with a French theme, especially bread.  Think: gourmet sandwiches.

The waitress, ever so delicately, placed the unfamiliar cutlery.  Not like the service we had recently in Australia.  Plonking a handful of cutlery on the table, our Aussie waitress instructed us to "sort it out amongst yas!"

So, all up, a relaxing, fine day in Tokyo, doing only 13,500 steps!

Tomorrow we head for lakes and countryside and sub zero temperatures!

Cheers, Maureen.

Tuesday 7th April

Tokyo - Hakone - Kawaguchiko

Tokyo weather is so fickle, that it makes Melbourne weather look good!

Today was 12C max in Tokyo.

Yesterday 23C.  We headed to Hakone- about 100km from Tokyo.  Climbing high into the mountains, we arrived at Lake Ashi.

In total kitchy Japanese style, we boarded a pirate boat with dragon decorations.

I took a number of photos on this cruise of the large caldera based lake.  This part of my Japanese album will be labelled 'Fifty Shades of Grey '.  It was misty, and constantly drizzling.

You could choose to go for a gondola ride.  The ads for this attraction showed a snow topped Mt Fuji glistening in the sunlight, while happy tourists in gondolas glided by in the foreground.  Before me 2 gondolas were visible.  Presumably, the others were consumed by the clouds.  I gave thanks for the brilliant weather I've been lucky enough to experience on most former holidays!  I was also grateful that I didn't believe the internet predictions of temperatures in the low 20s.  It must have been only 4C in Hakone!  Warm hat, scarf, gloves, and layers of jumpers, were used and appreciated.

We toured on to the hot springs.  Hydrogen sulphide aroma!  There was a disconcerting amount of loud rumbling.

Some of us climbed up the sulphur crusted hill, to view boiling thermal pools, where wire baskets of eggs were lowered into the water.  When cooked, the baskets were pulled up, to reveal blackened shells, with a nice boiled egg inside.  We were told that, in the past, people in Japan were executed by throwing them into the boiling pools!

Lunch was roast pork, spiced cabbage, and consomm�.  Quite OK, except that trying to cut pork with a spoon, is a challenge!

After lunch, we went off to the Peace Park.

This area had a Japanese garden, countless cherry blossom trees, and was a Shinto shrine/temple to boot!  Despite the cold and rainy weather, it was beautiful, and very enjoyable.  Apparently, you normally have a great view of Mt Fuji - sob!  sob!

We are now in our hotel in Kowaguchiko.  Our room looks across the lake, which is a lovely view- even with grey skies!

There are hot spring baths at the hotel.  No clothes allowed!  I'll pass!

Tomorrow max of 3C !

Cheers, Maureen.

Wednesday 8 April

Kawaguchiko -> Toyohashi, Mt Fuji, Bullet Train

Peeked out the window this morning and what did I see?  Snow!  Falling snow!

And snow it did!  Constantly!  Almost all day!

We went to a Mt Fuji museum.  The area has only been UNESCO listed for 2 years!

Again, had to be satisfied with looking at the film on Mt Fuji.  Took photos of the postcards!

One couple from Bribie had never seen snow!

Another lady reminded us that that we were doing the el cheapo tour.  If we had paid for a premium tour, of course, the weather would have been better!

We were supposed to go up to 2300 metres elevation, but, of course, the road was closed.  Had to be satisfied with playing with snowballs!

In fact, we all loved playing in the snow.  Don't get to do it too often!

So, we had an early lunch - at 11am.

We each had 2 little burners on the table, keeping hot, two dishes.  An array of condiments in little dishes, surrounded the burners.  Exquisite!

Then, we toured through the landscape, covered in a pure white blanket.  Eventually, towards the coast, the weather cleared, and we drove through the well-populated countryside.

The green tea plantations were perfectly manicured.

We left the bus at one point, and watched many bullet trains speed by at the station, before boarding one, and arriving in Hamamatsu.  Our bus caught up with us.

Hamamatsu makes ALL of the pianos in Japan.  It is considered to be the music capital of the nation.

We are constantly challenged by the toilet gadgetry here in Japan.  Every loo seems to have a different control panel.  Working out how to flush, involves quite some concentration!  They all have in common, nice warm seats.

Today was reputed to be 5C max.  This afternoon it felt much colder!  Playing in the snow wasn't THAT cold, but Hamamatsu was freezing.  One lady said that she was hanging out for the heated toilet seat in the hotel!  It did not disappoint!

The Okura ACT City Hotel is simply divine!

Our room has wonderful views over the city, and the restaurant we chose-the �Pagnini�- featured French cuisine!  Who would have thought it was French, with an Italian name!

The food, service and view were second to none!  A cuisine highlight of the trip.

What a great day!  Although we didn't get a great view of Mt Fuji, we did so many other fun things.  We've previously seen a number of snow topped volcanoes, so can imagine the view!

All up- a fantastic day!

Cheers, Maureen.

Thursday 9 April

Toyohashi -> Kyoto

Sun! We've had our fill of snow fights, so sun is welcome.

The guide, Fujiola, started the day, as usual, by asking us to 'pass water on the bus'.  Deciding that this would be a little unacceptable in our culture, especially as the bus doesn't have a toilet, we handed around bottles of water instead!   Her English is in need of a bit of a polish, and she inadvertently gives us many chuckles every day.

First up, we passed through areas with factories, like Yamaha, making musical instruments.  Then on, past towns, with other industrial areas.  Not that attractive!   The Toyota plant was massive, as expected.

The Japanese seem to love amusement parks- with huge Ferris wheels and roller coasters in many places.

Our brains are constantly in overdrive, trying to figure out the control panels on the toilets! At the truck stop today, each loo had green or red lights on the door, to indicate its status of occupation.  Inside, were little chairs, so babies and toddlers could sit while Mum attended to the call of nature.  We had seen this in many loos in Japan.

Eventually, the heavily industrialised areas gave way to cute villages, tucked between green hills, peppered with cherry blossoms.  'Farms' of solar panels were prominent.  Nuclear power currently accounts for only one per cent of Japan�s energy needs.  Since Fukushima, it's been on the way out.

On to Kyoto.  The Heian Shingu Shrine was rather large, with prayer trees well adorned with wishes written on little pieces of paper.  Just like other Shinto shrines.

Kyoto had a very pleasant canal, resplendent with cherry blossom trees on both banks, reflected in the glassy waters.  People in little row boats enjoyed the sunny day.

Lunch was Japanese fare.  We had a 10 minute walk each way, which took Mike 20 each way- at least he made it! It was the usual 'legs in the hole in the floor ' thing! The soup was cold and slimy!   Usually, I'll eat anything, but....

On to a kimino fashion parade.  A young woman was pushing and shoving and moving through the crowd.  She seemed to be working with an older woman and a younger man.  I've seen this set up before! Her hand was diving into bags as she jostled through the crowd.  I clutched my bag tightly, took her photo, and notified the guide.  Japan is about as safe as Australia, and many would be off their guard.

The Golden Pavilion was next.  Another nice little bush walk.  Mike was thrilled! A building painted in gold, was the centrepiece.

On to Kiyimizu Temple- housing the Goddess of Mercy Statue.  Strangely, there is a shrine offering marriage blessings, and this has something to do with 'mercy'! You go figure!

This was the 'Noosa' of shrines!   The stream of people, winding their way up the hill, past glitzy shops, crammed full of every imaginable tourist enticement, was commonly clad in kimonos, and male national dress.  The temples themselves glowed bright orange in the late afternoon sun, framed by cherry blossom trees heavy with delicate bracts sporting petals of delicate pink hues.  Yep! Picturesque stuff!

On to Kyoto railway station, for another bullet train ride to Osaka.  The bus driver drove our luggage to Osaka, while we travelled by bullet train.  Less than 15 minutes travel between Kyoto and Osaka!

We ate dinner at a food court at the railway station.  Good local food- tempura prawns, vegies, a massive plate of rice and a big bowl of noodle soup- $9.  A lot cheaper than last night!

A solid 13 hour day, doing over 16000 steps!   This helps to make up for eating an ice cream, and a wasabi Kit-Kat!   Yes, wasabi!

Cheers, Maureen.

Friday 10 April

Nara, Kobe, Osaka

Up bright and early for our trip to Nara.

We started at another temple (The Todaji) - with a Big Budda ensconced.  The complex was large and very nice.  Around the grounds, and indeed, around Nara itself, deer roamed free.

On to Ashiya, on the way to Kobe.  We visited another fish wholesaling wharf, and watched an expert dissect a tuna.  Then, upstairs to their cafe.  Sitting with the workers, we were treated to a splendid banquet.  As much shasimi as we could eat, as well as prawns, tempura fish, salmon, other meat dishes and salads!  Just fantastic!

Next stop was the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum.  The plum rice wine wasn't bad; just not good enough to buy!

We did a quick look around Kobe, including Chinatown.  The buildings and Malls were quite impressive.

Back to Osaka, to see Osaka-jo- a castle built by 1583 , by 100,000 workers toiling for 3 years.  It's been razed and rebuilt over the years.  The cherry blossoms lining the huge granite walls of the canal were spectacular.

Next, we wandered around the city, had a drink in an 'Elvis' bar, and had a farewell banquet.  15,000 steps!

Tomorrow morning, we fly to Hong Kong, via Taipei.  We have one day in Hong Kong, before coming back to reality in Shailer Park!

Cheers, Maureen.

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