Wes’s Ramblings

We were hoping that today would be clear. We have had a chance to see Mt. Fuji from the train on two occasions and both times it was cloudy. We started the day by getting on the Romance Car (train that had lots of extra leg room and was more comfortable) for about an hour then took a train up a switchback trail. Cool train but busy… apparently all tourists go out on a Saturday to see Mt. Fuji!! We had to stand the entire trip up the trail.

After the switchback train, we continued up by taking a couple of ropeways (like a gondola). Once we got up higher, Mt. Fuji appears out of nowhere. It was finally a clear view! Lots of pictures were taken out the windows.

To get back down, we had two options: 1) take the same route back or 2) take a Pirate boat across the lake, then take a bus back to the RomanceCar. We thought that it would be more fun to take the different route and take the boat. Wes said “Arrgghhh” a lot…

Once back in Tokyo, we went to the house, had some wine and just relaxed for a while. Kim and Kumiko’s neighborhood has some really cool shops and restaurants. We were going out for Yakitori for supper and walked into this place that was really inconspicuous. If you didn’t know what kind of place it was, you would just walk right past it. We walked in and immediately thought that it was cool. There was a bar-height counter with 5 or 6 stools and one table for 4 in the corner; that was it! You tell the cook what you want and he cooks it right in front of you. The asparagus wrapped in meat like prosciutto and the chicken meatballs rocked!!

We plan on relaxing a little tomorrow which will be wonderful. Being on the go for the last week and a half has been great but the thought of just hanging out tomorrow is really appealing.

Krista Rae

So, just by chance while we were riding the train Krista noticed a sign for the Tokyo motorcycle show which happened to be on while we were here. So, I managed to convince her that I needed to go to check it out.

So, I spent a couple of hours walking around checking things out.This show was a lot better than the Calgary show. Much larger displays from the manufacturers with interesting rides that we donít get in North America. Not only that, there are manufacturers I haven’t even heard of with some interesting bikes.

Check out the pics.

Wesley J

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Kumiko worked in the morning today but we were meeting her for lunch leaving us a couple of hours to burn. Once we were up and ready to go, Uncle Kim took us for tour around their neighborhood and through a park where the Cheery Blossom trees had exploded… and the sky was blue so the pictures turned out really well.

Then off to the train station to go meet Kumiko for lunch at this little Thai restaurant. We took the train to where the Motorcycle Show was, left Wes in his glory to wander around and drool for a couple of hours while we carried on to an area called Odaiba. It’s known as Palette Town and is where the younger crowd goes on dates, etc. It is a very deceiving place; looks like nothing at all on the outside but once inside the mall, it opens up completely and mimics the Alladin Hotel in Las Vegas with the Roman-like decor and sky scene ceilings. We had coffee, walked the mall, then back to meet Wes.

Kim and Kumiko have done a fantastic job of introducing us to new foods and types of food preparations. We went to Ginza, an area in Tokyo which was what Wes and I had pictured Tokyo would look like, for Shabu-shabu. Being a lover of the food network, I actually knew what this was! Shabu-shabu means swish-swish… very thinly cut raw meat and various vegetables that are cooked in boiling water (kind of like fondue).

Got back to K and K’s relatively late and had to get some sleep. Tomorrow is to be an early day assuming the weather is good. We are going to try to get a clear view of Mt. Fuji.

Krista Rae

We had to check out of our ryokan but also had a few hours to pass before getting on the train to go back to Tokyo. After leaving our bags at the inn, we decided to pass on our usual breakfast place; Wes got some Rotten Ronnie’s and we continued on to Starbucks for the daily fix.

It was a really nice day out so it was nice just to wander with no particular plans. We bought a few things then went to yet another temple. As it turned out, it was one of the better ones in our opinion; and cost nothing to get into. It was a huge, beautifully carved wooden structure; one sign said that it was the largest wooden structure in the world, another said that it was one of the largest… we are guessing that the latter is the correct one (Todaiji with the big Buddha in Nara seemed so much bigger).

Anyway, on the train again. We were hoping that we would be able to see Mt. Fuji this time around, but once again it was grey and cloudy. As we got closer to Tokyo, we noticed that the Cherry Blossom trees had really started to explode. The really are beautiful!!

Kumiko met us at the station and got us back to the house. Still haven’t had to experience the train during peak times; I am thinking that that is a good thing!

Krista Rae

So, this morning was early as we needed to be at the train to Nara by around 8:45. So, stopped by our usual breakfast place and had our usual breaky. Then, the next stop was Starbucks for… the usual.

The train ride was about 40 minutes and we even go a couple of brief views of the distance. You can rarely see more than a few blocks here as there are multi-storey buildings everywhere. Nara was a nice change of pace as it is quite a small town compared to Kyoto. Interestingly, Kyoto is populated by about 4 million but seems much much smaller then Calgary. Geographically speaking itís likely a quarter the size too.

Oh ya, Nara. We spent a few hours wandering around to some spectacular temples, the names of which of course I don’t recall. The most impressive was the building built around the 15 m tall Buddha. I guess it’s the largest wooden structure in the world and is really amazing to see.

Oh ya, I almost forgot about the deer park. It’s the main park in the center of Nara and there are a bunch of these little deer wandering around that expect you to feed them. I was eating a pastry for myself and was literally attacked by the little bastards. One of them actually bit Krista on the leg as a reminder of why she was there. Funny stuff. They’re so tame you could actually pet them. Heck, I was about to try to ride them but thought I may look like an ass if I did. Hmmmm, I may be growing up… I guess I’ll have to ride Ringo when we get back just to make up for it…

Back to Kyoto and an enjoyable meal of Japanese bbq. I need more Sushi, I’ve only had it twice since we’ve been here…

Wesley J

Today started off at a very slow pace. After all of yesterday’s walking, we thought that we would take it easy today. We found a good breakfast spot; waffles, apple/maple syrup, fruit, oj, tea/coffee and sausage all for $14 for both of us. Then off to Starbucks to sit out on the deck for a good half hour. By the time we actually got ready to start off, it was already 10:30. We decided to be lazy and take the train to the Imperial Park instead of walking the 5km. Good thing we did…even though we thought that we wouldn’t walk as much today as yesterday, we still managed to put on about 15km.

The weather was fantastic today so it was really nice just to hang out in a park for a couple of hours. Lots of cherry blossom trees in bloom, fully and partially. We did some walking then found a somewhat grassy area away from people to lie under a tree and read for a while. It was really nice to just relax.

We figured since we were in the vicinity anyway, we might as well go to Nijoji Castle…famous for the “Nightingale Floors” (floors built to squeak to alert when intruders are in the castle). Wes being a Ninjurai (half Ninja, half Samurai) still managed to make the floors squeak! (A true Ninja can make it across the floors without them squeaking.) He is up in our room practicing right now on a squeaky spot on the floor…

After a long walk back to our ryokan, I asked some people on the street to recommend a good sushi spot for Wes to grab some supper. Finally found one, got to sit right up at the sushi bar but Wes still says that Sumo in Calgary is just as good, if not better. Then off to a place where I would actually eat something!

Since we’ve spent the last two days putting on a lot of miles, tonight is going to entail another movie in our room.

Tomorrow, a short train ride to Nara for the day and then back here in the evening.

Krista

More old wooden buildings and walking… They need roller coasters or something to keep me excited…

Wesley “Ninjurai” J

Our ryokan here is definitely budget accommodations. The beds are absolute shit and the pillows are full of plastic beads. Just f-ing awful. On the positive side, outside of the above, it’s pretty much exactly what we want, traditional Japanese accommodations and a fantastic location. Kumiko did a great job tracking it down.

We pretty much just spent the day wandering from Temple to Shrine to Pagoda. Not too sure how many clicks we put on but I’d guess somewhere around 15 km’s. Essentially 9 am ‘til 6 pm was spent walking. We tried our best to get lost, taking side streets and not consulting the map much or asking for directions. Fortunately, we found some really cool out of the way places with no frickin whitey foreigners. We even found a cool little French bistro where we could actually read the menu and talk the language… well, sort of. The frogs were out of Guinness though. Three signs advertising Guinness that were visible from the street and they were out…

We were standing on the corner looking at a map trying to figure out where the gyoza place was that the lady at the art studio recommended. The map was in Japanese and she had explained it all wrong… Anyway, a nice follow (Tom) stopped to help us out and actually walked us to his recommendation for good gyoza. The meal was good so we headed back to the ryokan, after stopping at my favorite vending machine, for an evening of relaxation.

Wesley J

Krista: My image of Gion Corner was really off…not a single Geisha to be seen!!

A buffet breakfast in Japan is interesting…lots of Western foods and lots of foods that we wouldn’t consider to be breakfast…corn soup, salad, oysters, whole fish with eyes bulging from their heads…

We had some time to kill before getting on the train so decided to get some fresh air. Went for a 5 km walk around the coast of the peninsula; Wes talked rocks and showed off the knowledge he still has from his mineralogy class, which wasn’t much. I think Uncle Kim thought that we were nuts when we played the typical tourist and took off our shoes and socks and went for a quick, and I mean quick, walk into the Pacific Ocean…water was freezing cold.

Danger:  halmark moment ahead!

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The taxi ride to the train station seemed to take forever. We didn’t have much time by the time we got to the station to get anything to eat so Uncle Kim and Kumiko thought that we should be introduced to a Bento (boxed lunch) and they actually come in a wooden box!! The train ride to Kyoto was an uneventful two hours.

Arriving in Kyoto was the first time so far that we have had to fend for ourselves; up until now, we have been able to rely on Kumiko. Our first test was finding the right doors to exit the train station from…not the easiest task. The ryokan was pretty easy to find. Wes left me in charge of the check in; good job too…Kumiko did the booking and he had no idea what Kumiko’s last name was!

Wes: OMFG! We went to BIC Camera which essentially Best Buy on steroids and too much caffeine. I though my eyes were going to start to bleed then I’d go deaf and start a seizure when we walked in the door. We were seriously bombarded by at least 10 different loudspeakers playing different crap as well as being yelled at by about 6 or 8 little Japanese girls in voices akin to shrieking… We ended up buying a watch (no cell phone in my pocket…) and a movie. Not much of a night life in Japan as far as we can tell.

Krista Rae & Wesley J

Today started with a western style breakfast served to us in our ryokan. It was actually a pretty decent breaky but the don’t have bacon here. It’s just the same cut of meat as bacon but isn’t smoked like in Canada. All guys are bacon connoisseurs so I though I’d mention it.
High tide was coming in so we did another lap of the shrine to get some pics with it surrounded by water. The weather was fantastic and the photos turned out great.

The next leg of our journey was on a ferry, really just a big speedboat that holds about 60 people. That took us into Hiroshima and dropped us at the steps of our hotel. When Kumiko said it was our hotel we thought she was kidding. Beautiful place with a beautiful view of the sun setting and rising over the ocean.

After dropping our bags we headed into downtown Hiroshima to see the sight of the first atomic bomb ever dropped on humanity. Pretty sobering sights. We then attended the Peace museum, which was very interesting but very sobering. We all came out wanting to hug each other and get drunk…

Back to the hotel for a break and then off to supper. Supper was frickin stellar. Gee Gee, you and I need to open one of these Yakinuki (sp?) restaurants in Calgary, we’d be rich. Essentially they bring a briquette grill to your table and you bbq your own food. Just frickin awesome. I came away drunk, full and happy!

Here are some pics from the day.

Wesley J & Krista Rae

I thought I’d post a few videos. They’re pretty rough as all I have is capture and transcoding tools on this old laptop. None of the editing tools I have will run on the old CPU in the 4 year old laptop….

Here’s a ~1 min clip of Mt. Fuji from the bullet train:

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From the bullet train to the ferry on this old train:

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Then a quick taxi ride through the village:

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On the way to this shrine:

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Wesley J