Today we're back in Tokyo and once again we're back online after yet another 2 days without internet. We spent the last few days in Osaka, Toba and Hakone. Osaka turned out to be really nice, it's a bit like a mini-Tokyo... the guide books don't have much praise for it so originally we weren't planning to go there but the trip from the south of Japan up to Tokyo was long so we decided to break it up with a stop-over in Osaka which is somewhat half-way. In the end we wished we had dedicated more time to it. The city is full of life and we really enjoyed just walking around the streets taking in the atmosphere and watching everyone rush past us. In the evening we came across a sushi place tucked away in a side-street and the place looked very authentic so we decided to give it a try. We were right, this was a real Japanese sushi and sashimi place where the raw fish is all laid out in glass shelves in the counter and the chef prepares your supper in front of your eyes and hands it over to you onto the (impeccably clean) counter. The menu was obviously only available in Japanese so we somehow managed to explain that we wanted a mix and they offered us 3 different options based simply on price. In other words - we had no idea what we were ordering! Ivan, being so greedy chose the most expensive and I chose the middle one. The chef immediately got to work preparing the rice bases and chopping the raw fish and within a few minutes he was placing all the bits and pieces of sushi and sashimi in front of us. Suddenly we froze, one of Ivan's portions of sushi was still alive and wriggling its tail on the counter!!! It was something like a prawn but whitish with brown specks. I thought I'd feel sick, my appetite just disappeared within seconds and I thought I might run out but I was feeling really self conscious as the chef and shop owner were looking at us expectantly and I didn't want to offend them. Ivan also panicked and his face became all red!! Needless to say, they immediately realised what had happened and the shop owner came over and started saying "culture shock!!". Then he asked us where we are from and luckily provided a good distraction until the "thing" finally stopped wriggling, following which Ivan promptly ate it!!! He's incredible, his stomach can take anything! Well I also admit that after he ate it I quickly regained my appetite and could finish off my sushi. It was quite an experience though!! Ivan had seen someone eating something similar in Kyoto but we never thought we'd end up ordering it by mistake!
The next morning we set off for Toba, famous for the pearl island where Kokichi Mikimoto first developed the method for creating cultured pearls in 1893. Strangely the guide books hardly mention Toba and in the 2-line description the Lonely Planet Guide even describes it as a tourist circus which should be skipped! In fact at first we hadn't planned to go to Toba, but my grandparents had been to Japan back in 1972 and when talking about Japan they always used to mention visiting a place where they had seen the process of how cultured pearls were created and it seems it had always remained impressed in their memory. So we decided to ignore the guide books and booked a 1-night stay in Toba. As soon as we got there we realised that this was an ideal place to relax. Toba is full of tiny bays and islands and everywhere is really green and since the place is all hills you can get excellent views onto the sea. We arrived in the early afternoon and headed straight for Mikimoto Pearl Island. The main sights on the island are a museum where the process from the creation to the production of pearls is described in every detail, and a memorial hall describing the life of Kokichi Mikimoto. There is also a place on the island where you can watch 'ama' (women divers) dive for oysters using the technique of many years ago. Nowadays they use a different system whereby they don't need to dive deep into freezing waters! They just do it for silly tourists like us once every hour! :-) Overall I really enjoyed it and i'm glad we went as it was really interesting. It was also a nice break from all the temples and shrines we've seen recently.
Yesterday morning we left Toba and after 3 train rides we finally arrived in Hakone - close to Tokyo - where Ivan had booked a very nice ryokan called Hakone Ginyu where we could relax for a day before returning to Tokyo. Apparently the place is really in demand and in fact Ivan couldn't find availability at first and ended up shifting our travel itinerary to be able to go there on the only day when they had a room available. I had no idea the place was so nice and on the way I was complaining a bit as we had already been to Hakone so I wasn't so keen on three train rides with all the luggage - which seems to be getting heavier by the day. But the effort turned out to be worthwhile as the hotel was the best we ever stayed in. Our room was fantastic with a big terrace and hot bath overlooking a valley and hills full of trees... really beautiful. The service too was exceptional and in the evening we were served the best Japanese dinner we had so far. In fact the hotel was so nice that we only went out for about 2 hours and then spent the rest of our time enjoying the views from our terrace. Check out the photos on Flickr.
Unfortunately this morning we had to leave Hakone Ginyu to come to Tokyo for our last two days... we plan to do some last minute shopping and spend some time in our favourite places in Tokyo. It felt strange to be back, it seems like we were here ages ago, not just 3 weeks ago. It's incredible how quickly it went by though at the same time it seems like ages. On the one hand we are sorry to leave but on the other hand it will be nice to go home and settle into a routine again.... and also get our clothes washed properly!!! Ivan has run out of nearly everything and had to buy t-shirts and socks today!!!
More from us tomorrow... ciao!!!!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Greetings after three days without internet
I am writing this post on the Shinkansen super express train from Hakata to Osaka after spending three days in the Southern part of Japan at a place called Kumamoto where we had no internet and have therefore not been able to post anything on our blog or upload photos of our days in Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Mount Aso and Kagoshima.
I am now looking forward to connecting back to the internet and reading some news when we get to our hotel in Osaka.
The past few days have been eventful starting from having to face two days of Japanese breakfast to threatening to walk out of the hotel after our first night because the tatami mats were so uncomfortable and the pillows were as hard as rock.
All guide books rave about Nagasaki. But to be honest we were not impressed. It might have been because we were very tired or else because we had just come from Hiroshima which takes all the fame. Nagasaki suffered the same fate as Hiroshima and has a museum as well but we decided to skip it. We also avoided the “Western” part of the city where they even have a small part of the town looking like a Dutch village in memory of the Dutchmen who settled there earlier on. It seemed weird to visit a Dutch city in Japan!
I still managed to take some nice photos though which will be posted later.
Kumamoto –Maruko Hotel
From Nagasaki we headed to Kumamoto, a small city in the middle of Kyushu. The idea was to be able to use this as a base and see the main sights of Southern Japan. Kumamoto is a small town with not much to see but with loads of youngsters roaming around the streets giving it a nice buzz. The centre is full of shops, bars and restaurants and on the second night we spotted a decent place and drank a bottle of Sicilian La Planeta wine only to return the next day for a good ‘Western’ meal.
I had booked a ryokan here because it is recommended in the DK and Lonely Planet guides and the staff were extremely nice and helpful. But it all stopped there. The place seems to be run by a large family – plenty of old aunts are running all over the place dressed in kimonos and constantly bowing at you and repeating “arrigado gozimas” (thank you) until you are tired of it; but the place is quite old and unless you are willing to make use of the communal hot baths your only option is to make use of an extremely tiny bathroom – so tiny that if you stretch out your arms you knock the walls.
Our first room was typical Japanese, so we could not place our suitcases in the main area not to damage the floor mats. We had to leave them by the door of the hotel room which consisted of less than 1 square metre of space. It was really frustrating having to negotiate our way over 2 large suitcases every time we wanted to enter or exit the room or use the bathroom.
After some sightseeing in Kumamoto and a trip to the post office to send home some dirty clothes and give some breathing space to our suitcases (we are now carrying 8.2 kilogrammes less which is huge sigh of relief) we headed back to the Maguro Hotel to have dinner since this is a must in typical Japanese hotels.
Dinner exceeded our expectations. However, we were in for a nasty surprise when we got to the room as they had laid out the tatami mats (to sleep on), and we realised that we would have been better off sleeping on the floor. By the next morning our backs and necks were destroyed.
Angry and exhausted we went down to the reception the next morning to complain but at that moment there was nobody at the desk who could speak English, so we went for breakfast. Suddenly a lady who spoke a little bit of English came to ask us what time we wanted to have dinner served in the evening. In broken English (seems to be the best strategy for communicating with them) I announced loudly that “No dinner – we change hotel – back hurting!!!!”. Suddenly there was a commotion, she ran out of the breakfast room and called someone else who could speak better English and he offered to move us to a “Western” room with two comfortable (insomma not exactly orthopaedic mattresses but still a luxury compared to the previous night) and a decent pillow. The new room was very large – like a small suite – but it seems to have enjoyed better days and was crying out for a make-over. The smell of the old carpet in the room and green tea which was in the Japanese room lingered for the next two days making us crave for an early rise today to head to Osaka. Apart from that, the room was clean and the staff were so nice that we couldn’t bear to insist on leaving the place. The hotel is more than 100 years old and it has the bed spreads to show for this with red, orange and brown embroidered flowers. We concluded that they are older than the Kumamoto castle (part of it was reconstructed in 1960).
On the last day, given that we had to leave early for Osaka but mainly because we could not face another Japanese breakfast (the miso soup is finally starting to get at me), we told them not to bother. Having probably misunderstood, we were surprised when an old Japanese lady simply barged into our room without even bothering to knock on the door to ask us what time we wanted breakfast. Having just got out of the shower, I was in my underpants and started to gesticulate at her. She walked out and then back in again smiling and Giulia politely explained once again that we would not be having breakfast. She had such a big grin on her face that we concluded she probably had not seen a man in his underpants for a while!
To make sure we don’t forget our experience, they even gave us a souvenir when we checked out. I am sure Giulia will find an appropriate place for it.
Mount Aso
After a night on the tatami mats and a bad Japanese breakfast we headed to Mount Aso, the world’s largest caldera with a circumference of over 30 kilometres and with five volcanoes one of which is active.
At the train station, we spotted loads of Japanese getting ready with their cameras as the train approached. At first we wondered what the fuss was all about but then we realised that the train is a special diesel car called the ASO 1962.
The train ride was slow but quite an experience. It felt like being on a Disney train. The hostess came with hats at one point to take photos of people on the train. We stopped for 20 minutes at this place where the train has to zig-zag because the hill is too steep giving us time to take photos and buy a typical Japanese sweet stuffed with a red bean paste (it’s not as bad as it sounds). We always find red bean paste in food when we least expect it… some days ago we bought these delicious smelling sugary doughnuts… they smelt really good, until we took a bite and found red bean paste inside - ughh!
We then headed to the ropeway which took us to the top of the active volcano. The view was fantastic and we could take some great photos of the smoke and a ‘green’ lake 100 metres down the crater. I forgot to bring some winter clothes with me and paid the price since it was extremely cold. However, the scenery was great so the cold did not bother us so much.
After descending again, I decided we had not seen enough and suggested we go to the Mount Aso Volcano museum. After a tour around, we went to the bus stop and waited and waited before we finally realised that we had to wait for more than an hour for the next bus. (We got to know too late and only after having spent most of the time waiting in the cold). In order to keep warm we decided to buy hot dogs from a van parked outside the museum. Like most Japanese who know some English he asked: “Where you from?” I told him: “Malta” … as usual I was about to say “Near Italia”. But surprisingly he said: “Valletta City” though he pronounced it something like Balletta city. Then he told us about a film director and the film Erik the Viking which presumably was filmed in Malta. Apparently he is a big fan! We couldn’t believe it, usually we get blank looks and then we say ‘near Italia’ and then they say ‘ah ah Italia Italia, Roma…’ and go on blabbing about Italy…
In the evening another thing surprised us. There was this most incredible car park with the cars actually rotating and the drivers waiting at the entrance for their car. It looked like one big ferris wheel. We still cannot figure out how it all works but it is really incredible. What is more impressive, and this we had also seen at our hotel in Nagasaki is a circular mechanism on the floor which turns the car 180 degrees so that no reversing in tight corners is required. Really ingenious and practical.
Kagoshima
Kagoshima is considered to be the Naples of Japan since it is overlooked by an active volcano lying on an island opposite the main city.
We walked to the port area from the station which also has a large ferris wheel at the entrance seeing the main sights of the city. At the port area, we had lunch as we looked at the smoke coming out of the volcano and then crossed to the island and took a bus trip to get a closer view of the eruption. It was meant to be called the lava observatory but there was no fresh lava to see even though smoke was coming out from two parts of the crater. Since this volcano is deemed to be very active, we could not approach the peak unlike in Mount Aso.
The scenery was beautiful though it was evident that the people on the island are not used to Westerners as the people just stared at us.
We will now spend one day in Osaka then head to the Ise peninsula tomorrow to stay in another ryokan.
Ciao for now. We will probably be connected again when we get back to Tokyo on Thursday.
I am now looking forward to connecting back to the internet and reading some news when we get to our hotel in Osaka.
The past few days have been eventful starting from having to face two days of Japanese breakfast to threatening to walk out of the hotel after our first night because the tatami mats were so uncomfortable and the pillows were as hard as rock.
All guide books rave about Nagasaki. But to be honest we were not impressed. It might have been because we were very tired or else because we had just come from Hiroshima which takes all the fame. Nagasaki suffered the same fate as Hiroshima and has a museum as well but we decided to skip it. We also avoided the “Western” part of the city where they even have a small part of the town looking like a Dutch village in memory of the Dutchmen who settled there earlier on. It seemed weird to visit a Dutch city in Japan!
I still managed to take some nice photos though which will be posted later.
Kumamoto –Maruko Hotel
From Nagasaki we headed to Kumamoto, a small city in the middle of Kyushu. The idea was to be able to use this as a base and see the main sights of Southern Japan. Kumamoto is a small town with not much to see but with loads of youngsters roaming around the streets giving it a nice buzz. The centre is full of shops, bars and restaurants and on the second night we spotted a decent place and drank a bottle of Sicilian La Planeta wine only to return the next day for a good ‘Western’ meal.
I had booked a ryokan here because it is recommended in the DK and Lonely Planet guides and the staff were extremely nice and helpful. But it all stopped there. The place seems to be run by a large family – plenty of old aunts are running all over the place dressed in kimonos and constantly bowing at you and repeating “arrigado gozimas” (thank you) until you are tired of it; but the place is quite old and unless you are willing to make use of the communal hot baths your only option is to make use of an extremely tiny bathroom – so tiny that if you stretch out your arms you knock the walls.
Our first room was typical Japanese, so we could not place our suitcases in the main area not to damage the floor mats. We had to leave them by the door of the hotel room which consisted of less than 1 square metre of space. It was really frustrating having to negotiate our way over 2 large suitcases every time we wanted to enter or exit the room or use the bathroom.
After some sightseeing in Kumamoto and a trip to the post office to send home some dirty clothes and give some breathing space to our suitcases (we are now carrying 8.2 kilogrammes less which is huge sigh of relief) we headed back to the Maguro Hotel to have dinner since this is a must in typical Japanese hotels.
Dinner exceeded our expectations. However, we were in for a nasty surprise when we got to the room as they had laid out the tatami mats (to sleep on), and we realised that we would have been better off sleeping on the floor. By the next morning our backs and necks were destroyed.
Angry and exhausted we went down to the reception the next morning to complain but at that moment there was nobody at the desk who could speak English, so we went for breakfast. Suddenly a lady who spoke a little bit of English came to ask us what time we wanted to have dinner served in the evening. In broken English (seems to be the best strategy for communicating with them) I announced loudly that “No dinner – we change hotel – back hurting!!!!”. Suddenly there was a commotion, she ran out of the breakfast room and called someone else who could speak better English and he offered to move us to a “Western” room with two comfortable (insomma not exactly orthopaedic mattresses but still a luxury compared to the previous night) and a decent pillow. The new room was very large – like a small suite – but it seems to have enjoyed better days and was crying out for a make-over. The smell of the old carpet in the room and green tea which was in the Japanese room lingered for the next two days making us crave for an early rise today to head to Osaka. Apart from that, the room was clean and the staff were so nice that we couldn’t bear to insist on leaving the place. The hotel is more than 100 years old and it has the bed spreads to show for this with red, orange and brown embroidered flowers. We concluded that they are older than the Kumamoto castle (part of it was reconstructed in 1960).
On the last day, given that we had to leave early for Osaka but mainly because we could not face another Japanese breakfast (the miso soup is finally starting to get at me), we told them not to bother. Having probably misunderstood, we were surprised when an old Japanese lady simply barged into our room without even bothering to knock on the door to ask us what time we wanted breakfast. Having just got out of the shower, I was in my underpants and started to gesticulate at her. She walked out and then back in again smiling and Giulia politely explained once again that we would not be having breakfast. She had such a big grin on her face that we concluded she probably had not seen a man in his underpants for a while!
To make sure we don’t forget our experience, they even gave us a souvenir when we checked out. I am sure Giulia will find an appropriate place for it.
Mount Aso
After a night on the tatami mats and a bad Japanese breakfast we headed to Mount Aso, the world’s largest caldera with a circumference of over 30 kilometres and with five volcanoes one of which is active.
At the train station, we spotted loads of Japanese getting ready with their cameras as the train approached. At first we wondered what the fuss was all about but then we realised that the train is a special diesel car called the ASO 1962.
The train ride was slow but quite an experience. It felt like being on a Disney train. The hostess came with hats at one point to take photos of people on the train. We stopped for 20 minutes at this place where the train has to zig-zag because the hill is too steep giving us time to take photos and buy a typical Japanese sweet stuffed with a red bean paste (it’s not as bad as it sounds). We always find red bean paste in food when we least expect it… some days ago we bought these delicious smelling sugary doughnuts… they smelt really good, until we took a bite and found red bean paste inside - ughh!
We then headed to the ropeway which took us to the top of the active volcano. The view was fantastic and we could take some great photos of the smoke and a ‘green’ lake 100 metres down the crater. I forgot to bring some winter clothes with me and paid the price since it was extremely cold. However, the scenery was great so the cold did not bother us so much.
After descending again, I decided we had not seen enough and suggested we go to the Mount Aso Volcano museum. After a tour around, we went to the bus stop and waited and waited before we finally realised that we had to wait for more than an hour for the next bus. (We got to know too late and only after having spent most of the time waiting in the cold). In order to keep warm we decided to buy hot dogs from a van parked outside the museum. Like most Japanese who know some English he asked: “Where you from?” I told him: “Malta” … as usual I was about to say “Near Italia”. But surprisingly he said: “Valletta City” though he pronounced it something like Balletta city. Then he told us about a film director and the film Erik the Viking which presumably was filmed in Malta. Apparently he is a big fan! We couldn’t believe it, usually we get blank looks and then we say ‘near Italia’ and then they say ‘ah ah Italia Italia, Roma…’ and go on blabbing about Italy…
In the evening another thing surprised us. There was this most incredible car park with the cars actually rotating and the drivers waiting at the entrance for their car. It looked like one big ferris wheel. We still cannot figure out how it all works but it is really incredible. What is more impressive, and this we had also seen at our hotel in Nagasaki is a circular mechanism on the floor which turns the car 180 degrees so that no reversing in tight corners is required. Really ingenious and practical.
Kagoshima
Kagoshima is considered to be the Naples of Japan since it is overlooked by an active volcano lying on an island opposite the main city.
We walked to the port area from the station which also has a large ferris wheel at the entrance seeing the main sights of the city. At the port area, we had lunch as we looked at the smoke coming out of the volcano and then crossed to the island and took a bus trip to get a closer view of the eruption. It was meant to be called the lava observatory but there was no fresh lava to see even though smoke was coming out from two parts of the crater. Since this volcano is deemed to be very active, we could not approach the peak unlike in Mount Aso.
The scenery was beautiful though it was evident that the people on the island are not used to Westerners as the people just stared at us.
We will now spend one day in Osaka then head to the Ise peninsula tomorrow to stay in another ryokan.
Ciao for now. We will probably be connected again when we get back to Tokyo on Thursday.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Reflections from Hiroshima
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is a daunting experience that should not be missed by anyone travelling to Japan. It is an unusual tourist attraction. The sober monuments and the museum can inflict feelings of sadness and anger and at the same time wonder at how a city faced with such destruction could rise from the ashes in such a short time.
I was prepared to expect the worst from a friend of mine who recommended the place immediately as soon as we had decided to come to Japan. Clearly not honeymoon material he said but a must visit. And indeed he was right.
I write this a day after since this has given us time to discuss, to reflect on the horrors of war and especially nuclear weapons.
The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by the American forces at 8.15 am on 6th August 1945. Tens of thousands of people were killed insantly, 140.000 had died by the end of the year and the death toll rose to 200.000 in the following years as a resut of after-effects.
You enter the park and the first thing you see is the A-Bomb Dome, a haunting reminder of the destructive forces that were unleashed on the city. The former Industrial Promotion Hall designed by a Czech architect stood close to the hypocenter, or ground zero. The occupants of the building were killed immediately. But its twisted girders, gaping holes and piles of rubble have been preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not something to be proud of like other World Heritage Sites but rather a shocking reminder of the destruction that is caused by wars and in particular weapons of mass destruction.
We miss the Peace Bell at the other side of the entrance, which we will see at the very end and head to the Children's Peace Monument surrounded by paper cranes. This monument depicts a girl with outstreched hands. A crane, the Japanese symbol of longevity and happiness passed above her. The work refers to the story of a child victim of the bomb who believed that if she could make 1,000 paper cranes she would survive. Sadako, two-years old when the bomb was dropped, seemingly escaped unharmed. But she developed leukaemia when she was 10 as a direct effect of the radiation caused by the A-Bomb. She continued to fold more paper cranes even after reaching 1,000 but died at the age of 12. Till today, children around Japan still fold cranes and send them to the Children's Peace Monument where they are freshly hung.
It was indeed a very moving moment to see a group of young Japanese school-children sitting in silence as a Japanese girl read something I could not understand. The concentration on the faces of the children was impressive and when she finished reading, some children were in tears, more than 50 years after the event.
Across the rod is the Flame of Peace, which will be extinguished only when all nuclear weapons have been eliminated from the earth. Being the cynic I am, I have titled this flame on flickr the eternal flame. I hope that I am proved wrong. Hiroshima's aim is that all such weapons would have been destroyed by 2020.
Adjacent to it is the Cenotaph, designed by Tange Kenzo, for the victims of the bomb. It contains the names of all those who died together with an inscription that reads "Rest in peace. We will never repeat the error."
The centrepiece of the park is the Peace Memorial Museum which graphically explains the consequences of the bomb on the city by means of photos, videos and personal belongings of victims.
The most impressive items were a mangled tricycle and the imprint of a dark shadow on the granite steps of the Sumitomo Bank building - the sole remains of someone who was waiting for the bank to open in the morning. Another impressive item is a watch which survived and which still depicts the time as 8.15am. There are many deformed glass bottles which did survive the immense heat unleashed by the bomb which exploded some 580 metres on top of its target.
There are shocking exhibits like a letter by Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt urging him to study the feasibility of nuclear energy or a letter by the Treasury to the President of the United States stating that a lot of money was being spent on the atomic bomb and that if it turned out to be unjustified it would result in a serious investigation.
Outside the musuem are the so-called Phoenix trees which were growing 1.5km from the hypocenter and which have been transplanted here since. They are said to have given the city hope since it was said that nothing would grow for 75 years but they were sprouting leaves months after the A-Bomb.
The exhibits in the museum are endless. Letters sent by every mayor of Hiroshima condemning any testing of nuclear weapons which takes place, photos of the rebirth of the city, stories of victims, children who lost all their families. Indeed an eye-opener.
Like the engraving on the tomb under the Cenotaph states: the hope is that the world will have learnt its lesson and this will never happen again.
I was prepared to expect the worst from a friend of mine who recommended the place immediately as soon as we had decided to come to Japan. Clearly not honeymoon material he said but a must visit. And indeed he was right.
I write this a day after since this has given us time to discuss, to reflect on the horrors of war and especially nuclear weapons.
The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by the American forces at 8.15 am on 6th August 1945. Tens of thousands of people were killed insantly, 140.000 had died by the end of the year and the death toll rose to 200.000 in the following years as a resut of after-effects.
You enter the park and the first thing you see is the A-Bomb Dome, a haunting reminder of the destructive forces that were unleashed on the city. The former Industrial Promotion Hall designed by a Czech architect stood close to the hypocenter, or ground zero. The occupants of the building were killed immediately. But its twisted girders, gaping holes and piles of rubble have been preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not something to be proud of like other World Heritage Sites but rather a shocking reminder of the destruction that is caused by wars and in particular weapons of mass destruction.
We miss the Peace Bell at the other side of the entrance, which we will see at the very end and head to the Children's Peace Monument surrounded by paper cranes. This monument depicts a girl with outstreched hands. A crane, the Japanese symbol of longevity and happiness passed above her. The work refers to the story of a child victim of the bomb who believed that if she could make 1,000 paper cranes she would survive. Sadako, two-years old when the bomb was dropped, seemingly escaped unharmed. But she developed leukaemia when she was 10 as a direct effect of the radiation caused by the A-Bomb. She continued to fold more paper cranes even after reaching 1,000 but died at the age of 12. Till today, children around Japan still fold cranes and send them to the Children's Peace Monument where they are freshly hung.
It was indeed a very moving moment to see a group of young Japanese school-children sitting in silence as a Japanese girl read something I could not understand. The concentration on the faces of the children was impressive and when she finished reading, some children were in tears, more than 50 years after the event.
Across the rod is the Flame of Peace, which will be extinguished only when all nuclear weapons have been eliminated from the earth. Being the cynic I am, I have titled this flame on flickr the eternal flame. I hope that I am proved wrong. Hiroshima's aim is that all such weapons would have been destroyed by 2020.
Adjacent to it is the Cenotaph, designed by Tange Kenzo, for the victims of the bomb. It contains the names of all those who died together with an inscription that reads "Rest in peace. We will never repeat the error."
The centrepiece of the park is the Peace Memorial Museum which graphically explains the consequences of the bomb on the city by means of photos, videos and personal belongings of victims.
The most impressive items were a mangled tricycle and the imprint of a dark shadow on the granite steps of the Sumitomo Bank building - the sole remains of someone who was waiting for the bank to open in the morning. Another impressive item is a watch which survived and which still depicts the time as 8.15am. There are many deformed glass bottles which did survive the immense heat unleashed by the bomb which exploded some 580 metres on top of its target.
There are shocking exhibits like a letter by Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt urging him to study the feasibility of nuclear energy or a letter by the Treasury to the President of the United States stating that a lot of money was being spent on the atomic bomb and that if it turned out to be unjustified it would result in a serious investigation.
Outside the musuem are the so-called Phoenix trees which were growing 1.5km from the hypocenter and which have been transplanted here since. They are said to have given the city hope since it was said that nothing would grow for 75 years but they were sprouting leaves months after the A-Bomb.
The exhibits in the museum are endless. Letters sent by every mayor of Hiroshima condemning any testing of nuclear weapons which takes place, photos of the rebirth of the city, stories of victims, children who lost all their families. Indeed an eye-opener.
Like the engraving on the tomb under the Cenotaph states: the hope is that the world will have learnt its lesson and this will never happen again.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Off to the Peace Park
Greetings from Hiroshima. We are about to head for the Peace Park and the spot of the A-Dome where the atomic bomb had landed in 1945.
Therefore this post will be a bit short. Yesterday morning we left Kyoto after attempting the popular Philosopher's walk which Giulia decided to term the Crazy Man's walk. I should suggest we patent this, who knows maybe in 10 years time if we return the guide books will use this name instead.
It got hot rather early and we had to walk from one temple to another under the Eastern mountains of Kyoto. But amid twists and turns, no signage and hills and stairs, and a wrong turning which resulted in us climbing countless stairs only to end up in a Japanese cemetery we despaired so much that we returned back to the hotel and headed for Hiroshima taking an earlier train than scheduled.
From here we went to the picturesque Miyajima Island which was beautiful. There is the most famous Torii gate of Japan which ends up in the sea when the tide comes up. Needless to say I took countless photos.
Since the tide was down, there were hundreds of Japanese gathering clams on the beach. After some sightseeing and two cable car rides with impressive scenery we returned back to find the Torii gate covered by the sea. A really relaxing and pleasent scene. We didn't want to return back to Hiroshima and attempted to find a restaurant on the island but most were closed. Presumably its not high season yet.
Photos as usual are on www.flickr.com/photos/brincs/
Monday, May 14, 2007
Temples galore in Kyoto and Nara
It has been two days of heavy sightseeing in Kyoto and Nara and we did not even have time to update our blog. So here I am today writing this at the hotel before we sleep and then head off to Hiroshima further south of Japan.
Our stay in Kyoto kicked off poorly with the Westin Miyako giving us a horrible room which was more akin to a two-star hotel than a five-star hotel. Luckily, when we got back yesterday after a day of sightseeing, we were upgraded to a deluxe room which was by far superior to the room we had on the first night.
Giulia could not face more Japanese food on Saturday evening so she spotted a Spanish restaurant on the map that the hotel had given us. At the same time, I was reading the DK guide and seeing the same restaurant we decided to head there where we ate Western food for the first time in nearly two weeks.
We started off with tapas of prawns, octupus and jamon serrano and then had a squid ink paella topped with a nice white Spanish wine. I had not enjoyed a bottle of wine so much for ages given that over the past days I had been on sake, Japanese beer and water.
The next day, we headed to Gion, the Geisha district Eastern Gion and the Higashiyama. At the Yasaka shrine, we stopped to see two Japanese weddings which turned out to be a great photo opportunity. As usual photos are on www.flickr.com/photos/brincs/
We also walked by the Maruyama Park, famous for the cherry blossom but we had to make do without since we arrived too late in Spring.
In the area, full of temples and shrines, there were many Japanese wearing the traditional kimonos and even Japanese Geikos (Kyoto's proud geisha prefer the term Geiko) so I took loads of photos. There were a few groups of them. They hang around in groups. The first group we saw were three taking photos of each other, the second group had a photographer accompanying them while the third group just entered a shrine and took some photos of each other using their mobile phones.
The Gion district, during the morning hours was a big disappointment. It was nearly Paceville after a heavy Saturday. We then went to the Pontocho Alley, a really nice alleyway which becomes even prettier in the evenings where we returned for dinner.
This charming alleyway is full of bars and restaurants overlooking the river and these restaurants alll erect platforms overlooking the river.
Our next stop was the Nijo Castle, best known for its unusally ornate interiors and nightingale floors which squeak when you walk on them. The Karamon Gate is really beautiful as are the Kano paintings that can be found in the Nijo castle.
We then headed back to the area near Pontocho first to hit the shops and then to eat fantastic dish of sushi and sashimi in Pontocho alley. This was the best ever sushi. Extremely fresh, the selection was fantastic. Just before we started however, I was shocked since the guy next to me had a piece of fish with its tail still moving. We were lucky that among the selection we choose there was no such fish served.
Today we headed to Nara, 50 minutes away from Kyoto. This used to be the gand diocese of Buddishm and the far eastern destination of the Silk Road. Many buildings have survived.
We must have walked at least 8 kilometers across Nara Park, where most of the temples are located. Here there are loads of tame deer which just walk around with the crowds waiting for people to feed them food which can be bought from street vendors close by. With 1,000 deer, these vendors make brisk business.
Our first stop was the Kofuku-ji Temple followed by the Todai-ji Temple which has a great Buddha Vairocana inside the main hall. We then went to the Kasuga shrine which is surrounded by massive trees and 3,000 or so stone and bronze lanterns which must be a great spectacle when they are lit up.
Twice we were stopped by Japanese school children asking us questions in English as part of their studies and then wanting to take photos with us.
We then walked in the Naramachi District also trying to find a shrine which was supposed to be a world Heritage site since it is the oldest shrine in Japan but turned out to be a disappointment, first because we could not find it and then, when we found it, because it was nothing spectacular. Here again we experienced Japanese hospitality at its best when we asked for directions and the person who gave us the directions in the street got on her motorino and started to follow us to make sure that we went in the right direction. Unbelievable but true.
We returned back to Kyoto at around 8pm and headed for an Italian restaurant. Giulia ate pizza, she had been craving for one for the past three days while I tried my luck with pasta. The sauce was good but the pasta left a lot to be desired. It was meant to be spaghetti but I clearly got noodles instead.
As the saying goes when in Rome, eat like the Romans do. So for me, back to Japanese food as from tomorrow :-)
Saturday, May 12, 2007
From Kanazawa to Kyoto
Hi everyone!!
I’m writing this blog on the train from Takayama to Kyoto. We arrived in Takayama yesterday evening after leaving Kanazawa on a never-ending journey of weird train and bus-rides.
Kanazawa is a nice town famous for the Kenroku-en Garden which is one of the three most famous gardens in Japan. We arrived in Kanazawa on Thursday evening and walked around the place trying to find some non-Japanese food. Although I love Japanese food I’m feeling like I need a break from it every now and again. I don’t mind the sushi but I’m getting a bit fed up of the tofu and strange veggies. The next morning we went straight to Kenroku-en Garden as our guide book says it’s best to go early. The garden is really beautiful and luckily the weather was also great so we spent about 2 hours walking around admiring the beautiful plants and flowers. The Garden is also full of tiny streams and bridges – just how I always imagined Japanese gardens to be. Afterwards we visited a Japanese villa nearby which was really nice, it was the first time we entered a typical Japanese house – the type that are all wooden and with really thin walls. On the way back to the hotel I found this really cool shop and bought some nice clothes, the fashion is really different to Europe and I’m kind of getting hooked on it! J By the time we got to the station we discovered that we had missed the train by 10 mins and had to wait another 2 hours to leave for Takayama!!! Obviously I got the blame cos I had stopped to do some shopping!! Grrrr!!!
The journey to Takayama involved three train rides and one long winding bus ride between Japanese hills. We were quite worried at first when the train station official printed out the itinerary because we only had a few minutes to connect between each journey. But we hadn’t realised to what extent the transport system here works like clockwork!!! It was really amazing. Also when we got off the train in a tiny village to take the bus to the next train station the bus driver was waiting just for us – it seems he knew about us! Then we realised that they all communicate by mobile phone! We are totally amazed at the service! Also, throughout the journey yesterday afternoon we were impressed at the kindness of people and their willingness to help us. First when we were taking the first train, the train changed at the least minute and we asked an officer at the station and he literally ran through the crowds to get to the ticket booth and changed our tickets to get us onto another train instead, we only had one minute to spare so then he ran all the way with us to the platform with our bags and kept the train from leaving until we got on! Amazing!! We also managed to get ourselves into trouble when getting off because we tried getting out of the wrong exit on the carriage and found that we had got into a no-entry cabin at the end of the train where there was an officer who told us to go out from the other end. By then a crowd of Japanese swarmed onto the train and we couldn’t get out!!! Ivan started panicking cos we expected the train to leave any second with us on it!!!! Finally we managed to push our way out and when we got off we realised that the officer was keeping the train waiting till we got off!!! They are so incredibly helpful! Getting off the bus I got stuck in the door with my huge 20+kg suitcase and 2 bags and both the driver and a passenger rushed to the rescue. They also amazed us how they are constantly smiling and waving at us, and they chat with us in Japanese even though they realise we can’t understand a word!!
After a 5 hour journey we got to Takayama at around 7pm where Ivan had booked a ryokan – this is a real ryokan - all wooden, with sliding doors and Japanese garden where you eat on the floor and sleep on tatami mats. I was a bit wary of these tatami mats but I must admit they are quite comfortable and I hadn’t slept so well in about 3 days! The ryokan also had communal onsen (hot spring baths) for men and women. I was a bit worried about being in my birth-day suit in front of strangers but luckily when I got to the bath there was nobody – phew!! So I had a huge hot spring bath all to myself – hurray!!
This ryokan was really lovely, of all the places we have stayed in I think it is my favourite because it is really authentic. We also had a Japanese dinner and breakfast served in our room. The dinner was delicious but I really cannot stomach this food for breakfast… the worst is the miso soup which I was tempted to throw down the sink when she left the room but luckily Ivan ate some of mine… they look a bit concerned when you leave food in your plate!
We then spent the morning walking around Takayama, a very pretty village famous for crafts and for Sake (rice wine). In fact the town is full of tiny shops selling all kinds of Japanese craft items mainly for tourists, and sake houses where you can taste and buy sake. We were also lucky to see our first cherry-blossom tree. In Tokyo the season was over as it is already very warm but Takayama is higher up and therefore the temperature was a bit cooler.
That’s all for now! We will now spend 3 days in Kyoto but we plan to take a day-trip to Nara tomorrow. Apparently there are 8 world heritage sights so it should be nice!
I’m writing this blog on the train from Takayama to Kyoto. We arrived in Takayama yesterday evening after leaving Kanazawa on a never-ending journey of weird train and bus-rides.
Kanazawa is a nice town famous for the Kenroku-en Garden which is one of the three most famous gardens in Japan. We arrived in Kanazawa on Thursday evening and walked around the place trying to find some non-Japanese food. Although I love Japanese food I’m feeling like I need a break from it every now and again. I don’t mind the sushi but I’m getting a bit fed up of the tofu and strange veggies. The next morning we went straight to Kenroku-en Garden as our guide book says it’s best to go early. The garden is really beautiful and luckily the weather was also great so we spent about 2 hours walking around admiring the beautiful plants and flowers. The Garden is also full of tiny streams and bridges – just how I always imagined Japanese gardens to be. Afterwards we visited a Japanese villa nearby which was really nice, it was the first time we entered a typical Japanese house – the type that are all wooden and with really thin walls. On the way back to the hotel I found this really cool shop and bought some nice clothes, the fashion is really different to Europe and I’m kind of getting hooked on it! J By the time we got to the station we discovered that we had missed the train by 10 mins and had to wait another 2 hours to leave for Takayama!!! Obviously I got the blame cos I had stopped to do some shopping!! Grrrr!!!
The journey to Takayama involved three train rides and one long winding bus ride between Japanese hills. We were quite worried at first when the train station official printed out the itinerary because we only had a few minutes to connect between each journey. But we hadn’t realised to what extent the transport system here works like clockwork!!! It was really amazing. Also when we got off the train in a tiny village to take the bus to the next train station the bus driver was waiting just for us – it seems he knew about us! Then we realised that they all communicate by mobile phone! We are totally amazed at the service! Also, throughout the journey yesterday afternoon we were impressed at the kindness of people and their willingness to help us. First when we were taking the first train, the train changed at the least minute and we asked an officer at the station and he literally ran through the crowds to get to the ticket booth and changed our tickets to get us onto another train instead, we only had one minute to spare so then he ran all the way with us to the platform with our bags and kept the train from leaving until we got on! Amazing!! We also managed to get ourselves into trouble when getting off because we tried getting out of the wrong exit on the carriage and found that we had got into a no-entry cabin at the end of the train where there was an officer who told us to go out from the other end. By then a crowd of Japanese swarmed onto the train and we couldn’t get out!!! Ivan started panicking cos we expected the train to leave any second with us on it!!!! Finally we managed to push our way out and when we got off we realised that the officer was keeping the train waiting till we got off!!! They are so incredibly helpful! Getting off the bus I got stuck in the door with my huge 20+kg suitcase and 2 bags and both the driver and a passenger rushed to the rescue. They also amazed us how they are constantly smiling and waving at us, and they chat with us in Japanese even though they realise we can’t understand a word!!
After a 5 hour journey we got to Takayama at around 7pm where Ivan had booked a ryokan – this is a real ryokan - all wooden, with sliding doors and Japanese garden where you eat on the floor and sleep on tatami mats. I was a bit wary of these tatami mats but I must admit they are quite comfortable and I hadn’t slept so well in about 3 days! The ryokan also had communal onsen (hot spring baths) for men and women. I was a bit worried about being in my birth-day suit in front of strangers but luckily when I got to the bath there was nobody – phew!! So I had a huge hot spring bath all to myself – hurray!!
This ryokan was really lovely, of all the places we have stayed in I think it is my favourite because it is really authentic. We also had a Japanese dinner and breakfast served in our room. The dinner was delicious but I really cannot stomach this food for breakfast… the worst is the miso soup which I was tempted to throw down the sink when she left the room but luckily Ivan ate some of mine… they look a bit concerned when you leave food in your plate!
We then spent the morning walking around Takayama, a very pretty village famous for crafts and for Sake (rice wine). In fact the town is full of tiny shops selling all kinds of Japanese craft items mainly for tourists, and sake houses where you can taste and buy sake. We were also lucky to see our first cherry-blossom tree. In Tokyo the season was over as it is already very warm but Takayama is higher up and therefore the temperature was a bit cooler.
That’s all for now! We will now spend 3 days in Kyoto but we plan to take a day-trip to Nara tomorrow. Apparently there are 8 world heritage sights so it should be nice!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Greetings from Kanazawa!!!
Hi everyone!
Sorry for not updating the blog for a while, we left Tokyo and went by train to a place called Hakone close to Mount Fiji and there was no Internet access at the hotel. The hotel is really nice, with views of the countryside and mountains.
But first things first. Our last day in Tokyo was great despite the heat. I woke up very early to go and visit the famous Tsukiji fish market, while Giulia decided to spend some more time lazing in bed and then upload the previous blog before we met at 10.30 at the Starbucks in Meguro station.
Lucikly I got my way since she insisted that we meet at Tokyo station which would have been an impossible meeting spot given that it is huge, incredibly busy with countless metro and rail lines.
I headed to the market in my worst pair of shoes since it is meant to be messy and arrived before 8am since this is meant to be the best time to visit. Needless to say the market is huge and the variety of fish and shellfish is out of this world. It is indeed a foodies paradise. I have never seen so many different varieties of octopus in my life.
But the market itself is an experience. Its chaotic at its best. Japanese just wiz through in these Piaggio like vehicles (see flickr for photos) and they have absolutely no respect for people walking around. You really need to watch your step otherwise there is a great chance that they can hit you. In the hour I was there, however, there were no accidents though I nearly caught one in a photo I took as this driver avoided a passerby.
Seeing all this fresh fish of all types and varieties, I stopped for a lavish sushi breakfast in this typical Japanese place close to the market. I was surprised to see Japanese eating their breakfast just as if it was lunchtime. Noodles, soup, meat, fish, you could choose anything for an early breakfast.
After meeting we headed to the Imperial palace – well the outside of it since it only opens for two days each year.
But there is a place where you can get a good glimpse of it over the palace walls. Only the East Garden of the palace is open to visitors.
Before this we came out of the Tokyo station with its western style architecture and saw scores of Japanese painting this as their main subject. Then there was a beautiful garden with real modern architecture and splendid fountains. I had to help a group of Japanese who were trying to take a photo and could not manage since the camera remote was not working (must have been the only electronic gadget not working in miles).
Walking around in the heat was terrible even though the scenery was nice. We went to the East garden and tried to find the spots with most shade. After an hour in these gardens we headed for the Tokyo International Forum – a great piece of architecture with a structure like a ship inside. After a late lunch we headed towards the financial district to see the Tokyo stock exchange but before this we had to enter two other department stores with more designer shops in each one than can be found in Boulevard Waterloo in Brussels.
From here to Ginza where we went to Mikimoto for tea and fantastic cakes. Although famous for its pearls their flagship store in Ginza includes this café.
In the evening we returned to the sushi place we had been before too for another great meal. By the end of it, both of us could barely move.
Kinnotake
On board a bus to the hotel, we met a Dutch couple who were on a business trip in Japan and were now holidaying before heading for Shangai. They told us that Kyoto is great, so we are looking forward to that in two days time. They also told us of how surprised they were to forget a camera in a temple and found it in exactly the same spot an hour and a half later.
I booked the Kinnotake ryokan because of a mistake I had made while planning the itinerary. Thankfully I realised way back in Brussels so I had time to cancel the reservation which would have taken us far south of Tokyo. So where do we stay? I had looked up hotels but my first option was fully booked. I read that at times if you are lucky you need to book six months in advance to find a room.
Therefore I had to go for the second option but it was not disappointing. It took us around 2 hours to get to the place in the hills of Hakone from Tokyo. There were no English signs with the name of the ryokan (Japanese typical hotel) so I walked into another hotel to get directions. It turned out we needed to go up a 100 metre hill which obviously left me out of breath. But at least I managed to go up much faster and this enabled me to take some great shots of Giulia working her way up with a heavy suitcase J
We were greeted outside the ryokan by a Japanese host and taken to the reception area where we were asked to remove our shoes. At least I did not do a Wolfowitz – i.e. I had no holes in my socks. We never saw our shoes again till our check-out.
After a warm welcome they took us to our room with great countryside views and a hot spring bath in our terrace. The room was simply great with a dining area with very low chairs (Japanese style) and a ‘kimono’ which I opted to wear for the evening.
Then came dinner – a two-hour feast served in our private dining room by a Japanese girl who could not speak a word of English. She was patiently explaining what we were supposed to be eating in Japanese while we told her thank-you every time not knowing in many cases what we were about to eat.
No surprises, I ended up taking photos of each course (so if you are interested, log on to www.flickr.com/photos/brincs/ When dessert came I couldn’t resist so I dug into the bowl only to remember that I had not taken a photo. So I yelled at Giulia not to touch her’s until she took the photo.
We then went for a drink by the bar – clearly the nicest bar we have ever been too.
In the morning, Japanese breakfast yet again served in our private dining room. I ate whatever was presented but Giulia was not too impressed with having to eat fish, soup, tofu and vegetables among other things in the morning. Obviously she was crying out for some good old English cereal.
So that is all for now, writing this blog on a train to Kanazawa which involved a five-hour journey. Here again everything works like clockwork. The trains are punctual to the second – we had to change trains and only had nine minutes in between but the train arrived dead on time so we boarded the other train with five minutes to spare.
Sorry for not updating the blog for a while, we left Tokyo and went by train to a place called Hakone close to Mount Fiji and there was no Internet access at the hotel. The hotel is really nice, with views of the countryside and mountains.
But first things first. Our last day in Tokyo was great despite the heat. I woke up very early to go and visit the famous Tsukiji fish market, while Giulia decided to spend some more time lazing in bed and then upload the previous blog before we met at 10.30 at the Starbucks in Meguro station.
Lucikly I got my way since she insisted that we meet at Tokyo station which would have been an impossible meeting spot given that it is huge, incredibly busy with countless metro and rail lines.
I headed to the market in my worst pair of shoes since it is meant to be messy and arrived before 8am since this is meant to be the best time to visit. Needless to say the market is huge and the variety of fish and shellfish is out of this world. It is indeed a foodies paradise. I have never seen so many different varieties of octopus in my life.
But the market itself is an experience. Its chaotic at its best. Japanese just wiz through in these Piaggio like vehicles (see flickr for photos) and they have absolutely no respect for people walking around. You really need to watch your step otherwise there is a great chance that they can hit you. In the hour I was there, however, there were no accidents though I nearly caught one in a photo I took as this driver avoided a passerby.
Seeing all this fresh fish of all types and varieties, I stopped for a lavish sushi breakfast in this typical Japanese place close to the market. I was surprised to see Japanese eating their breakfast just as if it was lunchtime. Noodles, soup, meat, fish, you could choose anything for an early breakfast.
After meeting we headed to the Imperial palace – well the outside of it since it only opens for two days each year.
But there is a place where you can get a good glimpse of it over the palace walls. Only the East Garden of the palace is open to visitors.
Before this we came out of the Tokyo station with its western style architecture and saw scores of Japanese painting this as their main subject. Then there was a beautiful garden with real modern architecture and splendid fountains. I had to help a group of Japanese who were trying to take a photo and could not manage since the camera remote was not working (must have been the only electronic gadget not working in miles).
Walking around in the heat was terrible even though the scenery was nice. We went to the East garden and tried to find the spots with most shade. After an hour in these gardens we headed for the Tokyo International Forum – a great piece of architecture with a structure like a ship inside. After a late lunch we headed towards the financial district to see the Tokyo stock exchange but before this we had to enter two other department stores with more designer shops in each one than can be found in Boulevard Waterloo in Brussels.
From here to Ginza where we went to Mikimoto for tea and fantastic cakes. Although famous for its pearls their flagship store in Ginza includes this café.
In the evening we returned to the sushi place we had been before too for another great meal. By the end of it, both of us could barely move.
Kinnotake
On board a bus to the hotel, we met a Dutch couple who were on a business trip in Japan and were now holidaying before heading for Shangai. They told us that Kyoto is great, so we are looking forward to that in two days time. They also told us of how surprised they were to forget a camera in a temple and found it in exactly the same spot an hour and a half later.
I booked the Kinnotake ryokan because of a mistake I had made while planning the itinerary. Thankfully I realised way back in Brussels so I had time to cancel the reservation which would have taken us far south of Tokyo. So where do we stay? I had looked up hotels but my first option was fully booked. I read that at times if you are lucky you need to book six months in advance to find a room.
Therefore I had to go for the second option but it was not disappointing. It took us around 2 hours to get to the place in the hills of Hakone from Tokyo. There were no English signs with the name of the ryokan (Japanese typical hotel) so I walked into another hotel to get directions. It turned out we needed to go up a 100 metre hill which obviously left me out of breath. But at least I managed to go up much faster and this enabled me to take some great shots of Giulia working her way up with a heavy suitcase J
We were greeted outside the ryokan by a Japanese host and taken to the reception area where we were asked to remove our shoes. At least I did not do a Wolfowitz – i.e. I had no holes in my socks. We never saw our shoes again till our check-out.
After a warm welcome they took us to our room with great countryside views and a hot spring bath in our terrace. The room was simply great with a dining area with very low chairs (Japanese style) and a ‘kimono’ which I opted to wear for the evening.
Then came dinner – a two-hour feast served in our private dining room by a Japanese girl who could not speak a word of English. She was patiently explaining what we were supposed to be eating in Japanese while we told her thank-you every time not knowing in many cases what we were about to eat.
No surprises, I ended up taking photos of each course (so if you are interested, log on to www.flickr.com/photos/brincs/ When dessert came I couldn’t resist so I dug into the bowl only to remember that I had not taken a photo. So I yelled at Giulia not to touch her’s until she took the photo.
We then went for a drink by the bar – clearly the nicest bar we have ever been too.
In the morning, Japanese breakfast yet again served in our private dining room. I ate whatever was presented but Giulia was not too impressed with having to eat fish, soup, tofu and vegetables among other things in the morning. Obviously she was crying out for some good old English cereal.
So that is all for now, writing this blog on a train to Kanazawa which involved a five-hour journey. Here again everything works like clockwork. The trains are punctual to the second – we had to change trains and only had nine minutes in between but the train arrived dead on time so we boarded the other train with five minutes to spare.
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