Matsomoto and the Kiso valley

As they say at the train station when you arrive here, "MATSUMOTO MATSUMOTO MAAAATSUMOTOOOOO".

We arrived and found that it's actually a pretty small town with little to do. On the first night Jane had some calls to make in the hotel, so I walked around pretty much half of it in an hour.... And was offered 'sexy massages' twice. Both times were in quiet residential looking areas, and the first time I thought she was asking for directions as she looked like she was out for shopping. 

I got home, and we went for dinner at an awesome place where everything is cooked on tiny skewers.... Tasted incredible, especially the quails eggs wrapped in bacon, and the chicken!

Matsumoto also has a castle which we went around, and some resident ninjas that helped me kidnap Jane. The castle had some strange things, such as:

-   5 viewable floors from the outside, but six floors inside.

-   Because it was a great dishonour and tradition demanded it, there was a ritual suicide area for the diamon (province leader), incase the castle was ever captured. The castle was captured more than a dozen times. The room was never used.

-   A collection of rifles.... Rifles were introduced into Japan by the Portuguese who sold individual pieces for vast sums, and were then deconstructed, studied, and rebuilt by sword makers. Each did it differently though, and guarded the secrets of them closely, so there are many different types of rifle from a small period of Japan's history.

However, we were here for the Kiso valley, an amazing walk along part of the old route between Osaka and Edo (now Tokyo). This route was a traveller's journey from village to village, each 4km apart. Use of horses were only allowed by high officials, so inns and beds for the night were close together. Today, a section of around 10 of these villages remain.

We did three villages and the walk was great....Jane even saw a bear! Every 500m or so there was a bell to ring so that bears would run away, but one was obviously a bit inquisitive!

Chris

Ps. I only only saw this cat.

Hiroshima

DAY ONE

Off we went to Hiroshima on the bullet train. It was fast, and insanely luxurious, having a set up and feeling more of a plane flight than a train journey. We ran to get our 9:52 train, arriving at 9:48 to find it wasn't there yet! The train didn't arrive until 9:51. Everyone walked on. It left at 9:52:00 exactly.

Hiroshima's main sites are the bomb museum and the city hall, the latter of which was one of the only buildings left standing after the atomic bomb exploded in 1945. It's a very harrowing place, and the museum captures well the scale of the utter destruction, and the reminents in the immediate aftermath.

In the evening we tried a new Japanese speciality; a noodle pancake with seafood inside and an egg on top.

It was suprisingly tasty!

DAY TWO

On our second day we headed off to an island in the inland sea, called Miyajima. It has a famous Tori gate in the sea, and so the small town was flooded with thousands of Japanese tourists on sightseeing trips. 

We skipped the main temple in the water, due to the sheer number queuing, and opted for another temple on a slight hill. It was another 5 storey pagoda.... I'm starting to get 'templed-out'.

The town had losts of tasty snacks though, including more noodle pancakes, and these huge oysters! 

On our return journey we decided to stop off at Saijo; one of the main Sake brewing towns in Japan. We had about 90 minutes before they all closed so we dashed into the first and coincidentally, biggest in town, Kamotsuru. There were around 15 different sakes to try, and once we established that it was free to 'taste', we set about a 90 minute sake binge. They were all good, but my favourite was the one with little bits of gold in. 

The rest of the night is a bit of a blur, but this guy made us some awesome sushi. 

While Hiroshima doesn't have much to do, the surrounding area is great, and the two combined were well worth a visit.

Chris

The Love Hotel

Our hotel for mt Koyo (in Osaka), threw us out after one night because they had a better offer on the room. (The owner was a strange drunk lady who's 'hotel' was two rooms on her house). The booking site we have used almost exclusively on our trips understood our frustration at having to pay a large amount for a hotel room at the last minute, so offered to book one for us at the original lady's expense.

We turned up to find it was a love hotel. And by that, I mean a hotel where people pay by the hour.

Our blue disco jacuzzi bath.

Our massage chair.

Our minibar of strange Japanese kinky dress up costumes.

Our....... I have no idea.

Our bed control panel, which was 100% used and 20% understood.

Thanks hotel lady! Each of our 12 hours here was more expensive than a night at your 'hotel'.

Chris

Nara and mt Koyo

DAY ONE

We travelled on from Kyoto to Nara; a town full of temples and deer. I'm not sure if there's a connection, but the deer are everywhere, have their own food (deer cakes), and get their own way. I assume Jane found it hilarious when I secretly put one of the deer cakes in her back pocket, and then watched the hordes of deer go after her ass. I did.

At the end of the deer infestation there was a GIANT Buddha in a really cool building (the biggest wooden structure in the world). The picture just shows it's gate house... And the deer problem.

Leaving this temple, we wandered on to find deer stalking us. I had to give in and feed one.

After the cake was eaten, he asked for more. I didn't have any so he sauntered off. I like to think we had a special bond, but he's probably forgotten about me by now. Jane still remembers me though, and won't abandon me at a moments notice.

DAY TWO

We set off on a three hour journey to mount Koyo; an important religious centre for Buddism. Half way through the train journey Jane didn't feel well, so abandoned me and went home. 

Mount Koyo is at the top of a mountain (pffff... 900m), but the temples,and in partular the cemetery, have remained the same for hundreds of years, though as the sighs kept reminding me the temples have been burnt down and rebuilt many times over the years, as it seems all Japanese important buildings have been. 

As I sat and ate my lunch of sushi and orange jelly in peace, a monk appeared to ring this giant bell continuously for what seemed like hours.

I left and instead found peace in the biggest zen garden in Japan. This is a garden formed from white sand that's been raked, and big stones. This garden 'shows' a dragon moving through the sand. The monks gave me some green tea, and what looked a lot like a deer cake, and then I was on my way.

Now before I sound weird, I don't usually enjoy graveyards, but this one was fairly special. It took me about an hour of walking through a 1300 year old forest containing gravestones from locals, generals, spiritual leaders, and strangly, CEOs to reach the hall of 10,000 lanterns.

There are very few people, and the trees are high, and cut out the majority of the light, so it feels very peaceful there. The further into the forest I went, the more special it felt so when I finally reached the hall, it was almost like a crescendo; a wooden hall with 10,000 lanterns in it, all burning continuously (some of them for 800 years now), with a thick mist of insence and monks chanting and swapping candles. In the basement, there were scores of shelves holding mini Budha statues with a corresponding number to match a latern. I wasn't sure what the connection was for, but couldn't help but admire the meticulous and almost scientific way they maintained their system.

While the walk in had been on the longer and less trodden path, I headed out down the 10 minute path. This was lined by corporations who has bought large plots for their VIP employees, with grand centrepieces and individual gravestones complete with business cards boxes (so they can keep track of who has been visiting). I was very glad to have down the other path first.

This was almost analogous of the Japanese society we had seen as a whole though; deeply traditional and spiritual, while now dominated by businesses.

Chris' onsen and mt Fuji

It's our last full day in Japan, and unfortunately Jane has hurt her hip. She decided she wanted to chill out and not do much, so it was up to me to yet again provide content for the blog.

As I write this, I'm on the shinkensen (bullet train), back to Tokyo, but the trip out to Hakone started a little slower... I accidentally got on the local train instead of the super fast bullet train, so a 30 minute journey became nearly 2 hours.

I finally arrived at my station, and got a bus to one of the oldest onsens (hot spring) in Japan...Tenzan.

Thoughts

-   It was the best bathing complex ever. Apart from all the naked guys. Budapest is extravagent, but the temperature, natural surroundings (it's in a forest with natural rocks making most of the pools), and ceremony of it make it better. Apart from the naked guys.

-   Cost Y1300 (£10) to get in, and for something so old and natural, you pay at a vending machine.

-   Your shoes go in a shoe locker. Clothes and bag in another locker. Obviously.

-   There were 8 hot pools, ranging from hot to 'OH MY GOD MY SKIN IS MELTING'. All the water is naturally heated by the volcanic activity below the surface, and it's really nice to sit in natural rock pools which have a babbling hot water source flowing into them.

-   There was one freezing cold pool and I seemed to be the only person who went in it. It may have been a fish pond.

-   There was a sweat cave. It was incredible. No more than a metre high, you walk in hunched over and sit on a mat to sweat with around a dozen other men. Oh, and you cover yourself in rock salt before you go in for dome unknown reason.

-   Most of the pools are natural, some are wooden handmade things, but all look awesome when you see the steam rising off them.

-   After 90 minutes, I was clean and 2kg lighter. (Also faint).

-   When you leave the pools, there is an airlock you step into which has 20 or so hair dryer nozzles that dry your body for you before letting you leave into the changing room.

-   You are supposed to spend time in the relaxation area afterwards, but I was in a rush for the bus.

Onwards I went on a bus to see the Hakone lake and hopefully a nice view of mt Fuji! But having got a sandwich and sat down by the lake, there was just cloud.....

After waiting an hour, it appeared and it's weirdly exactly what a kid ( or I ), would draw as a mountain.

Looked at it for 20 mins. Took a billion photos. Moved 10 minutes down the path. Took more photos. Went up a hill. Took more photos.

Then started to head home (it was 4.15). Got on a packed bus for an hour of standing, then onto the train... Back to see Jane soon, so hopefully she's back to full hip functionality.

Chris

PS. got to go through Tokyo at rush hour... I'll never complain about the tube in London again.

5 days in Kyoto!

Day 1

We arrived in Kyoto and headed straight to our hotel via bus. Please note (and this is relevant for later) I was doing all the navigation and organising the bus that we were going to take.

The hotel was lovely and a perfect location for us to head out and check out what Kyoto had to offer. We headed to one of the main 'youngish' shopping districts and wandered for hours. We went to the Japanese version of Urban Outfitters, many vintage shops and had fun exploring. There is a lot of merchandise on sale in all of the shops for Halloween and we sampled a tasty Halloween Burger removed McDonalds (don't judge Chris, I begged him as I've never seen such a weird burger before). It was delicious :)

We checked out a Pachinko hall or casino (not exactly sure what to call this place). Chris stayed and played, I hated the place and left after one game. Pachinko, to my understanding, is essentially an arcade game whereby a person twists nossles and pushes buttons to get small metal silver balls to fall into the right places on the screens. If you get enough balls to fall in the right place then you can exchange a token for a prize (like a Yakult or a biscuit). Playing the game costs more than either of the aforementioned items. Now hundreds and thousands of people flock to these halls all around the country and there is a sleeping area so I am clearly missing the point and need to do more research. 

After a quick dinner at a cute bar by the river we headed home to sleep before meeting Ed Mockridge the next day. For anyone that doesn't know Ed is one of Chris' friends from uni and he happened to be in Japan for business at the same time as us.

Day 2

First thing we headed to Fushimi-Inari Taisha, the head shrine of the Inari Cult, dedicated to rice and saki. The shrine was ok but behind it we found 4km of paths covered with orange Torri gates. These create a kind if tunnel, and are wooden gates, painted orange and each one an offering from companies asking for success in business. The black writing on the gates identifies the company that donated it. We hadn't realised the walk would be quite so long but got on with it and were soon at the top. The gates are pretty expensive (1.2 million yen), so on occasions you would come across shrines that had lots of little gates all over them. There are many stone foxes protecting the shrines and these are supposedly messengers from the rice gods.

Our unexpected walk had taken us a little while and so we descended the mountain, via an off-path 'shortcut', to find some lunch. We picked a conveyor sushi restaurant which was pretty awesome and then set our sights on a relaxing afternoon with Asahi's and saki. At just before 10 (we had been drinking for a while) I left to go back to the hotel and sleep. Ed left shortly after to return to Osaka. Chris arrived home at 5am having been to have dinner with some Japanese skaters he had met and getting a little lost on his way home. Apparently getting into a taxi and saying 'MyHotel please' didn't go so well. The name of the hotel we were staying at was MyStay not MyHotel. 

Day 3

The next day it rained and rained and rained. We moved hotels in the morning and then I went to the Imperial Palace to book our tour for the next morning. The blocks here are bigger than in the states and this excursion took me a LOT longer than expected...4 hour walk in the rain...

Chris stayed in bed.

Day 4

The next morning we got up nice and early and headed for the Imperial Palace (where the Emperor used to live pre-1868). The Palace is surrounded by beautiful gates and has within it a number of buildings used for enthronements, ceremonies and waiting rooms. Whilst all of the current buildings are replica's they are still pretty impressive and we were particularly impressed with the roofs made from layers of cedar bark (second picture below this paragraph). A lot of the buildings are now in museums or temples and as a result there are a lot of expanses of raked gravel in the spots where they used to be. The highlight for me were the beautiful landscape gardens and gorgeous lanterns.

Next we headed straight to Nijo-Jo, the Kyoto residence of a Shogun in the mid 16th Century. He led a new military based government and as such this home is filled with statements of his opulence, intended to demonstrate to the Emporer where the power now lay. And opulent it was; there were massive moats, huge gates, watchtowers and gorgeous gardens. Inside the main home there are a number of rooms with gilded screens and carvings. On the walls in some of the rooms there are red rope hangings (gives the impression that the Shogun is alone and confident to all visitors when in fact there are many guards behind the walls just in case anything happens). There were also Nightingale floors throughout, making it impossible to walk or sneak up on anyone! Ever time we walked it sounded like little birds chirping.

(Can you see me in the photo below?)

Next we jumped in a taxi and headed across town to a place called Kiyomizu-dera. It's super famous in Kyoto. There is a beautiful platform that overhangs the valley, a three storey Pagoda and a main Hall.

The site is fairly touristy and there are many ladies in traditional Japanese dress...

Behind the main hall there are a number of shrine buildings that people seek out for the purpose of being 'lucky in love'. There is a waterfall said to have mystical powers if you drink it's waters. There are 3 separate streams that you can drink from that signify success, love and health. I (stupidly) went first and being newly engaged and at a temple where thousands flock to find luck in love thought I would drink from the love stream. Chris going second did not. He chose health...typical.

We visited 2 more temples that same day and walked the Philosophers Path at dusk which was beautiful. By the time we got back to our home stay we were exhausted and ready for bath and bed!

This was my favourite temple that we saw...and the sky was doing unusual things which made it all the more memorable...

Day 5

We only had a half day today before heading back to Osaka and then onto Nara, and we planned to make the most of it...We got up early and headed for Kinkaku-Ji or the Golden Pavillion. This was originally built as a retirement villa for a Shogun but was converted to a Zen temple when he died. It was burnt down by an unhappy monk in 1950 and rebuilt shortly after and is interesting as each floor is designed in a different Japanese architectural style.

We LOVE Kyoto and had an amazing time...

Jane