I’m Just Back From Japan
While Yoko Matsugane was getting ‘up and down’ (or making pars), possibly on a golf course in her home prefecture of Ibaraki, I too was picking them up and putting them down in Japan. Okay, maybe not quite at the same time. Okay, she was playing golf and I was playing the role of tourist walking here and there when I wasn’t riding on one of Japan’s high speed trains. In this article, I’ll give you a peek at some of what I saw, both in words and pictures, taken with my very own camera.
The flight in from Hong Kong is rather long - five hours and change plus a one hour difference in time zones. I landed at Narita. Last time I went to Japan, I thought the immigration part was extremely long in the amount of time it took to get my visa. But things have brightened up considerably. I got my passport stamped and my visa in no time at all. They’ve updated the hardware and now they take a picture of you while you stand in front of the immigration officer. Some travelers have older passports - this gives them an up-to-date picture of you.
Then, they inspect your luggage. I don’t think it was random, as every visitor seems to have to go through this. I had two bags plus a camera bag. They only opened one. He didn’t really go through it item by item - he just sort of felt around. Looking for drugs or weapons I guess. I had neither.
Then you change some of your currency for Japanese Yen. I had landed in Japan when the US dollar was bottoming out. I think I got only about 91 yen per dollar. I should have cashed in my Hong Kong dollars. I might have gotten a better rate. Then I was helped by a nice young lady who worked for Japan Rail. She was handily placed by the ticket machine for the NEX (Narita Express). Most people go into Tokyo by this train (NEX) - it’s faster than the bus, way cheaper than a taxi, and I could go right to Shinjuku Station which is on the west side of Tokyo. My hotel was just a few blocks from the station.
My hotel, the Century Southern Tower, had it’s lobby on the 20th floor of a skyscraper. I approached the check-in counter and said, “Tadaima”, to the lovely woman. She replied, “Okari”. What I had said was, I’m home, and what she said was Welcome home. I then said, I guess I’ve been watching too many Japanese TV dramas. What about you? Well this bit of bantering got me an excellent room on the 35th floor with a great view.
Next morning I checked out and headed for Myanoshita. This would be the first use of my Japan Rail Pass. I took the train cross town to Tokyo station and then boarded the Kodama Shinkansen (Bullet train) for Odawara, about an hour away. Odawara is the gateway to the Mt. Fuji area. I switched trains and lines and headed for Hakone-Yumato where I would have to switch trains again. I needed to head towards Gora and would do so via a small train that made its way high into the hills. The train made two switchbacks (pull ino a dead-end, then the engineer would exit the train from what was now the back of the train to go to the other end which was now the front of the train) to proceed higher before reaching a small hill town called Myanoshita.
I got out at Myanoshita, and walked down a steep hill to the town. The Hotel, called the Fujiya, was about a five minute walk heading back up another hill. The Hotel was celebrating it’s 130th anniversary. Many heads of state, kings, and other assorted notables have stayed there. And now me. The gardens and trails were very picturesque.
Next day it was back down out of the hills as I was scheduled to go to Kyoto via the Hikari Shinkansen. This time the Fujiya Hotel drove me to the rail station at Myanoshita saving me a walk up that steep hill. In Kyoto, I would be staying at the Hotel Granvia which was directly above the Kyoto rail station.
It was a marvelous hotel - the nicest room I had in Japan. The room had its own expresso machine. Wonderful views from the room too. The next day I visited a famous temple in Kyoto and walked the Path of Philosophy. The pictures I took can only suggest how beautiful this area was, including an impromptu shot of a possible future gravure idol.
My next destination was Hiroshima. There I would stay at another Granvia Hotel; again right next to the railroad station rather than above it. I checked in and headed back to railroad where I would ride the JR Sanyo line to Miyajima-guchi about a half-hour away on the coast. There I would board the JR Ferry for the 10 minutes ride to the island of Miyajima, which is one of Japan’s three most treasured and revered places.
The attraction here is the famous huge red torii gate set in the sea. There’s also a shrine, a pagoda dating back to the 13th century, as well as many tame deer that literally walk the same paths that we the sight-seers do. Many of the Japanese women who visit this island, are dressed in the traditional kimonos.
The next day I rode the train to another of Japan’s main islands. This was Shikoku, the smallest of the main islands. I crossed the Inland Sea on the train via a lengthy bridge. I was headed for Matsuyama and the train hugged the shoreline for many miles. Matsuyama was a failry big city, but the train station wasn’t near anything of interest, so I had lunch and returned backed to Hiroshima.
The next day I had to make the nearly six hour train ride back to Tokyo. I had to change trains at Shin-Osaka. Ultimately I got back to Shinjuku, and again checked into the same Century Southern Hotel. This time I was greeted by the same woman who said, Okari, to me before I even recognized her.
I was leaving for Hong Kong the next evening. I planned to check out, ask the hotel to hold onto my luggage until about three thirty PM when I would reclaim it. So I spent that late morning and afternoon taking pictures in a fabulous park in Shinjuku that was the home to the Meiji Shrine. The day was overcast and threatened rain, but I was still able to get some excellent pictures in the park of families, of the park’s trees, and some gorgeous flowers.
So this was a small view of some of Japan’s attractions. I am happy to sharew these pictures with you. I enjoyed my time in Japan (this was my 3rd visit), and will definitely go again.
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:50 pm
a reprint of a comment lost in the transfer
# Ｌｅｅ Says:
November 26th, 2008 at 7:42 pm e
Thanks for this write-up and those beautiful photos! It’s so nice to see the Japan of yesteryear - like taking a walk back in time. I’ve been there a few times myself and these pictures only make me want to go again!
my reply =
# JustMeMike Says:
November 26th, 2008 at 8:22 pm e
The small town of Miyajima is indeed a national treasure. In my view it was very picturesque and delightful. On the train to Miyajima-guchi I found myself sitting next to an elderly Japanese woman. She was nicely dressed. We sat peacefully for a while. I guess she instantly knew I was a foreigner and my camera was a clear-cut signal of the tourst. She spoke no English, and my Japanese is far less than sukoshi, pronounced scoshi and means ‘just a little’.
But when she did speak to me, I did pick up on the end of a sentence - Miyajima des ka? I figured she was asking me if I was going to Miyajima. I mean this was a small 4 car train on a commuter line that was running through Hiroshima to the coast which was south of Hiroshima. I didn’t look like a local resident going home from a day at the office. WHere else would I be going to on this train? But I didn’t say that, instead I said “Hai“. Which means yes.
And when we got to Miyajima-guchi, my destination, she politely signalled me that I should exit the train. Arigato gozaimas, I said. Thank you. Then I said Ja ne, which is a short way of saying, Goodbye, see you later. Far less formal than Sayonara.
Yes, she was old enough to have been born either during WWII or just after.
So yes, old Japan still is alive and well.
Thanks for the readership and thanks for the comment, Lee. Happy Thanksgiving to you.
jmm