Our last day in Machida was pretty restful. The interpreter was still a little sick and we were all a little tired from a busy week. So morning was couch-time trying to understand Japanese TV. On Japanese TV there is a panel of 6 people (or the talent) responding to every little thing on screen in a little window in the corner of the picture. I still don't quite understand why.
That afternoon we hit Machida for some last minute gift shopping. We also hit an arcade to kill time. The Japanese arcade is a much more modern affair than ours, with internet-connected machines enabling people from across the country to challenge each other. I helped someone with an easy win in Tekken 7 because I don't know how to block.
There was a festival going on that afternoon with a group dance contest in the main streets. That was fun. And good lord those pants.
One of the most common kinds of bikes is the basket plus child seat affairs. It's known colloquially as a mamachari, which translates to "mom chariot". So that's kawaii.
That night we ate at a proper izakaya, which is kind of a japanese tapas. You order many small plates that are intended to be eaten family style (so don't get too attached to your order!). I, as usual, ordered the weirdest things on the menu, which in this case was the baby fish and rice and also soba noodles covered with an omlet. Both were delicious. One secret to eating what you want in a family style situation is ordering something nobody else wants to eat.
My interpreter, unfortunately, has been sick the last couple days, so yesterday's adventure was just our hosts and me and today is a rest day for all of us before the long flight back tomorrow, because we are pooped, kupo.
After dropping the kids off at day care in machida, we headed off to beautiful Hakone for my first Onsen experience. An onsen is a traditional bathhouse, these days treated like a public spa more often than not. First, you sit in one of their sit-down shower areas and wash off. Once all the dirt from the road is washed off, it's time to hit the 40C water, piped in straight from a hot springs! Actually, not straight in, apparently the water so hot straight from the spring that it requires time to cool down before it's safe to use. Hakone is a volcanically active area, so there are many hot springs in the area.
Unfortunately, between the rush to and from the Hakone station and the enemies cameras in a bath area tend to create, I did not have time to get any really good pictures of the area. But I will tell you this: Hakone is QUITE beautiful. Lush green foliage everywhere, and yesterday it was cloudy, so the hilltops just above us were kissed by a ring of clouds.
The onsen itself was just what I needed after days of walking and toting luggage. After washing, I hit the pools out in the fresh air. My favorite was a pool with just enough room to sit side-by-side all in a row, and immediately in front of you are trees in the colors of fall, with the lush hillside opposite peeking through the branches. Sitting there in a hot bath was quite relaxing. In demand were the two single-sized bucket tubs with an equally good view. The water was slightly cooler (although still quite warm), piped in from a bamboo tube. Quite soothing.
It helps to be okay with nudity on a visit to the onsen. I am 39 and am well past the shyness of my youth, so it wasn't a problem. But there are no bathing suits here. You do get a personal towel to cover your shame, but half the people there just wear it on their heads. This is largely because it's bad form to actually let your towel fall into the water. One man had fashioned his into a stylish headband, which I thought was a nice touch.
Afterwards, we took the train back to machida to pick up the kids and get dinner. The Machida shopping district/train station is quite bright at night. And the visit to the grocery store was interesting! More or less the same as an american grocery, but a lot more squid and octopus in the seafood section. I picked up a packet of mussels that looked interesting, only to discover they were still alive and moving. I managed to set it back down again without screaming.
Dinner was a nabe pot. Which is hotplate + pot right on the table that you can add broth, mushroom, noodles, tofu, etc to. Quite delicious. Although dinner with a two children under 3 can be QUITE an event.
Today is a rest day, so it's doubtful there will be much more to blog about before leaving tomorrow. Although we may go out to eat tonight, so we'll see. I've got at least one more post in me I'm sure. Japan is great, but traveling takes a lot out of you!
Yesterday we were wiped out and my interpreter woke up with an unfortunate cold (not fun to be sick while traveling!), so we took it easy yesterday. I was also wiped out, so not many pictures.
We did manage to make our way to the Artinia cafe, the SQUARE-ENIX cafe and gift shop, as we are both huge nerds for Final Fantasy. This was my only real shopping indulgence. I picked up a couple plushies and small pins.
The food is surprisingly good for a theme cafe! The pancakes were delicious, and the eggs benedict my interpreter got were quite delicious as well, more so than any I've had in Portland actually.
From there it was an uneventful trip from Shinjuku back to Machida on the express train where we collapsed for the afternoon. I'm not sick, but I think going from couch potato to walking the length of Japan is catching up with both of us.
The ramen house that evening was delightful. I should have snapped a pic. The waiting area had no seats, but padded bars you could half sit/lean on. I really thought that was clever. Also, the decor was fabu. And the ramen top notch! So far, I cannot get enough of soba, ramen and oyakudon.
Today, we started with a strong dose of healthy history and culture at the Tokyo National Museum, and ended at the cultural junk food equivalent of Akihabara, the glitzy electronic vice shopping area in Tokyo. It was quite a difference.
Although I think these buddhist statues were maybe a little more impressive! The lighting in this room was superb. I am standing at full height and looking up, if that gives you any indication of the size of this one.
Then hours of walking around the electronics district, where we didn't buy anything. Fun though!
They have massive vertical sega arcades with amazing modern games, including some kind of Gundam battle arena that looked fantastic. The state of the Tokyo arcade game is the same as their vending machine game: strong.
There is a surprisingly large demand for action figures of women with large breasts in the geek district. Okay, I am not that surprised. My favorite were the toys of girls who could, for some reason, summon battleships or sections of battleships to shoot things. They are very popular.
Dinner at Freshness burger. I did not have the spam burger, but the cheeseburger and the signature freshness burger were significantly better than the McDonalds burgers from the night before. The avocado croquettes were also quite tasty. I wanted more soba but the interpreter was hungry for something more familiar. Not a bad choice as it turns out.
I am old, out-of shape, and absolutely not used to being on my feet all day. My posture improved dramatically as the day went on, purely as a survival mechanism so my lower back didn't fail utterly. As it turns out, I'm too old to just take my body for granted. I will consider learning this lesson.
I am wiped out. Tomorrow should, if the gods that linger on this island are kind, be a much less eventful day. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So weak. And just a little bit flabby.
God these are getting harder to write. Not because Japan is any less interesting, but because the days are just packed and I'm wiped out at the end. Concise conservation of energy is my goal tonight.
Today was our last half-day in Kyoto. In the future, I might suggest we spend at least 3 full days in a town like kyoto and not try to hit too many locations, but alas, that was not the trip we planned.
Kiyomizu-dera is the most famous temple in Kyoto, quite beautiful and a nightmare for anyone with acrophobia. I casually sauntered over to the edge of a railing near a large shrine assuming it was several feet to the ground and nearly passed out. Oh, it's quite a bit farther and supported by old wood beams put together with no nails. Still, well worth it.
I had the oddest lunch at a tofu factory, with fresh tofu skin in soy milk, with small garnishes and soy sauce. The bowl was a wooden bucket of some sort. Surprisingly delicious.
The Kyoto Aquarium was maybe an odd choice for tourists, as the target audience seems to be schoolchildren, but I loved it. Adorable baby seals, a large reef tank with a sea turtle and some of the most gorgeous jellyfish I've ever seen. It's probably the best aquarium I've ever been to.
The Skinkansen is less interesting when one doesn't have the window seat. Still, a marvel of engineering. Imagine a train that can get you from LA to SF in only a couple hours. You could have that! I'm trying to imagine California with the train network Japan has. Too bad the political will for it is non-existant.
We're in the Shinjuku section of Tokyo for the next couple days. The Granbellhotel is quite posh. Tiny room, but the automation inside is crazy. There's a massage button on the toilet I'm afraid to push, but the fan turns on when you sit down. Every door has a fancy light panel with the room number. It's really quite nice. We're next to J Mex, Hotel G and Hotel the Hotel is just down the street. Yes, THE Hotel the Hotel. We also passed some host bars on the way in. That's where young Japanese men are dolled up to provide a nice evening for women.
Dinner at McDonalds. Yes, THE McDonalds. I just wanted to see how different it was in Tokyo. Answer: not much!
Quite coincidentally, some old friends are in Japan for roughly the same two week period, so we agreed to meet up in our biggest point of overlap: Kyoto! They are somewhat more organized, so we spent most of the day with them, walking from the temples in Takoa, in the NW of Kyoto, then walking 6km or so down to the west end of Kyoto to yet another big temple. I am far too tired to remember the names of each temple, so you may have to check the location data on the instagram photos for that information. It's a good thing this keyboard was built for hands, because my feet are basically non-functional at this point.
The continental breakfast at the beautiful Sasarindou Hotel is delicious, but has more cabbage than I was prepared for. I am not complaining, just learning to enjoy cabbage in this country.
The bus ride from Kyoto train station to Takoa is 50 minutes, with plenty of opportunity to catch views of daily life and cultural heritage in Kyoto. I don't know which is more interesting, the temples stashed away in so many corners of Kyoto or all the little differences between the day-to-day life in Japanese society compared to my own.
You know what makes old, historic temples more interesting? A soothing layer of fuzzy green moss over everything. The grounds of the temples are well-tended. They look natural, but stray leaves are brushed away from paths and moss beds regularly.
We climb forever to the top of a mountain for an extraordinarily beautiful temple complex with all the trees starting to turn into their fall colors. You know what's prettier than a deciduous forest in the fall? Nothing.
Mochi dongo for a snack (the path to the temple is easy, but the elevation change is steep, so: fuel) and a little restaurant on the way down. We eat outdoors on wide benches with tiny pillows and tiny tables. You take your shoes off to be polite. It is comfortable and I love it. Oyakudon again, because I love that too.
We are approached for the second time tin two days for a TV interview. We accept this time instead of decline, but fail to find words they're interested in. To be fair, the interviewer asked terrible questions that went nowhere. Still, we are apparently candy to TV interviewers. Please boys, one at at a time!
We walk from the top of the mountsin, 4km down one of the prettiest hiking trails I've ever been on next to the clearest mountain stream, marred only by the occasional orange leaf scouting the way for its fellows. Just gorgeous. Eventually we hit little villages, one of which has a preserved traditional district, which eventually bleeds into Kyoto proper, a large bamboo grove, and another huge temple. It is an amazing day, brought to us by our well-prepared friends.
I have a lost track of which of my aches and pains and infirmities are the result of age or being so out of shape. I had to stop repeatedly on the hike to stretch my legs to loosen up my lower back, which had joined my feet in a chorus of pain. At the very least, I think I would like to get in shape purely to delineate which discomforts can be laid at the feet of mortality and which point to a lack of discipline.
Our friends, who have been to Japan many times, were well-prepared and planned an excellent day. We never would have stumbled on that trail on our own and we were grateful both to see them and to join them in their adventures.
There is a koi feeder at the last temple we visit who tends the giant koi fish at incredible koi pond in the garden there. He feeds some by hand and gives them a friendly pet down the back.
Kyoto is an incredible city. It is well worth your time to visit, should you ever get the opportunity.
Yak & Yeti was our final destination. Nepalese food in the heart of one of Kyoto's bustling shopping districts. Our server is a tiny woman who has tapped energy sources I can only dream of at this point. The service is top notch, the food affordable, the flavors unbelievable.
Most apartments, backyards and occasionally roofs have metal clothes lines for hanging laundry to dry in Japan. The toilets can get you to space but nobody has a dryer.
Another whirlwind morning of labrador and kid wrangling and we leave our friends in Machida for a few days. Machida to Kyoto on the bullet train (shinkansen) is the plan.
The shinkansen travels 300 km/hr and gets us to Kyoto in about 2 hours. It is blazing fast. We opt for comfy business seats because we're saving so much money by staying with friends. We regret nothing. It connects with the train systems in both Tokyo and Kyoto nicely. The train system continues to be a wonder.I adore the complexity, efficiency and utility. Although I should note that cell phone cameras in Japan are legally required to make a loud camer-esque "clicking" sound. This is because there is a problem with some dudes trying to take upskirt photos of girls on the train. So maybe it's not quite an ideal situation for everyone. I come from the western U.S. where mass transit is generally associated with smelly people and the poors and best avoided if you can afford a car. So it's nice to see an example of mass transit used by so many people from so many walks of life.
Anyway, bullet train. The Japanese countryside between Tokyo and Kyoto is gorgeous, especially on a rainy day with fluffy clouds nestled in the hills. The shinkansen moved much too fast to catch any of it really, but I tried a few times. So you'll just have to trust me that it's worth seeing. The cities are a little less inspiring, but I admire Japanese architecture and urban planning so even that had much to recommend it.
On my list for Japan is Soba noodles for some reason. Luckily, they are not particularly hard to find. That plus some Oyakodon (a rice bowl with chicken and and a half-cooked egg that serves as the sauce). It literally translates as "Parent/child bowl"). Crazy delicious.
Luggage in a locker, we walk through a sweet park with an aquarium and a contemplative stream/pond. Some interesting side roads as always. A small shrine to the god of women in trouble, a wonderful foot bridge structure over a particularly large intersection and then back to the station for luggage and a quick train trip to the hotel. As it turns out, we haven't even gotten to the interesting part of town yet.
Our hotel is thick in a very touristy, cultural district with many geishas in training, and old-fashioned streets full of little hole-in-the-wall eateries. We wander around for a bit to see the sights. It really is alive with tourists and locals looking for food and fun. Japan has a big interest in internal tourism and exploring cultural heritage so there are many out-of-towners walking around. We eventually settle on an inviting little Ramen shop. It is perfect. I cannot resist another small side bowl of rice and half-cooked egg. Despite all the walking, I think I am getting fat on this trip.
