Japan, Mostly Kyoto, Gion Matsuri, Sights and Sounds
Jul 28th, 2010, 05:14 PM
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Japan, Mostly Kyoto, Gion Matsuri, Sights and Sounds
Japan, Part 2 of our trip. I wrote a separate trip report for Singapore (part 1), where we spent a few days before going to Japan. Tokyo is about 3500 miles north of Singapore and the flight is over 7 hours.
We flew from Singapore in the morning and arrived at Narita, Japan in the evening. We spent our first night in Tokyo, 6 nights in Kyoto and our final night back in Tokyo before our flight out late the next afternoon. Highlights were the Gion Matsuri, Bunraku Theater in Osaka, the sites, and learning about another culture.
At Narita, a wonderful JR translator helped us with our train tickets at the JR Information booth. We quickly learned that not many Japanese people speak English, that many signs are written in characters, and that people are very gracious about helping. This was the first of many kind and helpful people we met along our way. We were able to get round-trip tickets to Osaka for a good summer rate. The ticket was for two weeks and allowed stopovers anywhere on the route. We were planning on going to Osaka anyway, for the Bunraku theater, so this ticket worked perfectly.
We took the Narita Express to our hotel at the Shinagawa Station, the Strings Intercontinental. We had no trouble with our luggage. There is a space of it at the back of each car of the Narita Express (you can lock it if you want) and also rack space overhead for carry-ons.
We had gotten a non-refundable rate over the internet for the Strings, so the hotel was “reasonably” priced. Even though the hotel is right near the station, we managed a wrong turn. A lovely Japanese woman saw us looking perplexed and came to our rescue, walking us to our hotel.
The hotel was tastefully decorated and our room was smallish but adequate size and quite nicely decorated. The staff was very courteous and helpful. We discovered the bathroom mirror had a heated area that didn't steam over when one takes a shower. This was the first time I’d seen this, but all of our hotels in Japan had this feature. They also had super toilets with bidets, sprays, and the sound of water running to mask other noises. Seems like Japanese bathrooms have it all over American bathrooms (well, except for those that are “traditional style” where you learn one reason to take off shoes when you enter a room….).
The people at the Strings were most helpful. One of the workers gave us a good magazine about Kyoto and gave us the tip that the Japanese like to buy box lunches in the station and eat lunch on the train. He suggested a couple of great spots at the station to purchase lunch before boarding. We took his advice and went to a really nice store on the second floor of the station and had lots of choices. We also had our first experience in a Japanese store where no one spoke English. It all worked fine, even though the workers talked at us in Japanese.
At the station, we upgraded to the Nozomi Shinkansen (bullet) for a few more dollars and boarded the next train. (I’ve since heard our tickets might have worked for the other bullet which is almost as fast, but I didn’t know that at the time.) We were able to put our two carry-ons overhead and had an extra seat in our row, so were able to stow our bigger bag there with no problems.
We enjoyed our lunch on the train as we watched Japan rushing by on our way to Kyoto. We didn’t see much “countryside.” Mostly, we saw lots of houses, factories, towns, power lines and people. What we saw of Japan was a complete megalopolis from Tokyo to Kyoto and on to Osaka. Lots and lots of people!
Stay tuned for the Gion Matsuri, which was in full swing when we arrived in Kyoto.
We flew from Singapore in the morning and arrived at Narita, Japan in the evening. We spent our first night in Tokyo, 6 nights in Kyoto and our final night back in Tokyo before our flight out late the next afternoon. Highlights were the Gion Matsuri, Bunraku Theater in Osaka, the sites, and learning about another culture.
At Narita, a wonderful JR translator helped us with our train tickets at the JR Information booth. We quickly learned that not many Japanese people speak English, that many signs are written in characters, and that people are very gracious about helping. This was the first of many kind and helpful people we met along our way. We were able to get round-trip tickets to Osaka for a good summer rate. The ticket was for two weeks and allowed stopovers anywhere on the route. We were planning on going to Osaka anyway, for the Bunraku theater, so this ticket worked perfectly.
We took the Narita Express to our hotel at the Shinagawa Station, the Strings Intercontinental. We had no trouble with our luggage. There is a space of it at the back of each car of the Narita Express (you can lock it if you want) and also rack space overhead for carry-ons.
We had gotten a non-refundable rate over the internet for the Strings, so the hotel was “reasonably” priced. Even though the hotel is right near the station, we managed a wrong turn. A lovely Japanese woman saw us looking perplexed and came to our rescue, walking us to our hotel.
The hotel was tastefully decorated and our room was smallish but adequate size and quite nicely decorated. The staff was very courteous and helpful. We discovered the bathroom mirror had a heated area that didn't steam over when one takes a shower. This was the first time I’d seen this, but all of our hotels in Japan had this feature. They also had super toilets with bidets, sprays, and the sound of water running to mask other noises. Seems like Japanese bathrooms have it all over American bathrooms (well, except for those that are “traditional style” where you learn one reason to take off shoes when you enter a room….).
The people at the Strings were most helpful. One of the workers gave us a good magazine about Kyoto and gave us the tip that the Japanese like to buy box lunches in the station and eat lunch on the train. He suggested a couple of great spots at the station to purchase lunch before boarding. We took his advice and went to a really nice store on the second floor of the station and had lots of choices. We also had our first experience in a Japanese store where no one spoke English. It all worked fine, even though the workers talked at us in Japanese.
At the station, we upgraded to the Nozomi Shinkansen (bullet) for a few more dollars and boarded the next train. (I’ve since heard our tickets might have worked for the other bullet which is almost as fast, but I didn’t know that at the time.) We were able to put our two carry-ons overhead and had an extra seat in our row, so were able to stow our bigger bag there with no problems.
We enjoyed our lunch on the train as we watched Japan rushing by on our way to Kyoto. We didn’t see much “countryside.” Mostly, we saw lots of houses, factories, towns, power lines and people. What we saw of Japan was a complete megalopolis from Tokyo to Kyoto and on to Osaka. Lots and lots of people!
Stay tuned for the Gion Matsuri, which was in full swing when we arrived in Kyoto.
Jul 29th, 2010, 10:11 AM
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Is this too much info? Just wondering. Here's on our first full day in Kyoto - the Gion Matsuri Parade, Uji (Byodo-In, tea ceremony), and Fushimi-Inarai- Taisha. All recommended.
We arrived in Kyoto station in just over two hours, on the bullet train. We wandered briefly around Kyoto Station looking for signs of the Hotel Granvia, which was at the station. We finally found it and went to check-in. The women at check-in were dressed in beautiful yukatas because of the Gion Matsuri festival, underway all month in Kyoto. The Gion Matsuri is one of the top three festivals in Japan and is one of the reasons we chose to go to Japan after our trip to Singapore. Yukata are the traditional summer dress worn by women, instead of kimonos. They are made from cotton and lighter than kimonos.
The hotel also played festival music on its sound system for the next few days as the festival was peaking. It is ancient music, called Gion Bayashi, and is played on drums, gongs, and flutes. It is not on the western tonal system and reminds me of the outdoors – cicadas and other insects singing in the night. They encouraged guests to wear traditional dress, making it available for rent or purchase. I considered it but passed.
We were able to check in early and get settled in our room. Our room had a great view of the Kyoto Tower and a great bathroom, with one of the super toilets. We had plenty of space. It had a black carpet and only one small picture – seemed a bit dark and drab to me, but it turned out to be a great place to stay. We really appreciated being at the station, where we had all public transit at our feet. It was very easy to get around, and get around we did. The concierge was helpful. Also, it was nice to have the choice of breakfasts each morning (we’d paid extra for breakfast). They gave us coupons for our choice of 3 restaurants in the hotel, including one that served a buffet that included western and Japanese, so that worked out well for us. It was also nice to have so many places for dinner in the station – many restaurants at the top of the two major dept stores in the station. After long days of touring about, it was nice to go back to our room to relax and not have far to go for dinner.
The station itself was fabulous. It is ultra-modern and totally fun. I can’t begin to describe it. Google it if you want to see pictures of Kyoto Station. (Our room was very quiet and peaceful, by the way, in case you are wondering. The action did not disturb us, for which we were grateful.)
So, off we went to downtown to see the floats that were going to be in the parade the next day, sample the food, see what was doing in Kyoto. What was doing was probably a quarter million people jamming the streets. People of all ages were out, shoulder to shoulder, enjoying the sight and sounds. We found several of the floats and were able to walk onto a couple and see them closer up. People on the floats were playing the Gion Matsuri music and chanting, including children. Many wore traditional dress for their floats. There were street vendors selling food, toys, you name it. There were even games like at a carnival. Some of the shops were open and there were special displays of traditional fans and screens. In some ways, it is akin to Mardi Gras. We finally wended our way back to the hotel.
In the morning, we went to see the parade. It was just amazing. The festival has been held for over 1100 years, and the same floats are used from year to year. Some are very tall – up to 30 meters. Others are shorter. They are decorated with tapestries from Europe, Persia, China. Many have characters on them and represent a traditional story. People wearing traditional dress ride in many of them. All weigh tons and are pulled by people in traditional dress. The floats are on carts that don’t have turning axles, so watching the big ones turn at corners is interesting. The team throws water on the road and uses bamboo sticks under the wheels, chocks, and other tools to turn the wheels. They turn in increments, a few degrees at a time, and the crowd claps and cheers with each successful turn. The corners were crowded, but one could work one’s way up to see, over time.
We are not big on crowds, but watching this parade was truly an experience of a lifetime –worth the trip in itself. I took photos and movies and later deleted my memory card by accident….ARGH! DH has photos but did not take movies, and I think movies are needed so others can hear the music and watch the turns and hear the crowds cheer.
After the parade, we opted to get out of Kyoto for the rest of the day, as we knew all the sights would be jam packed. On advise of the concierge, we took the train on the short trip to Uji and to Fushimi Inari-Taisha. Uji is a wonderful town southeast of Kyoto. Uji has some lovely traditional streets with good shops and specializes in green tea, which is grown in the area. There is an information desk just outside the train station, where a woman was able to direct us to the Taiho-an, which has a mini-tea ceremony. The house for the ceremony is near the river and the Uji tourist information office. We really enjoyed our mini-tea ceremony. The hosts of the ceremony did not speak English, so had to try to tell us what to do with some difficulty. We were in a group of tourists, only two of whom were Japanese. We tried to copy them. I read more afterwards to try to understand what we had done. It was very peaceful, in any case, which was nice after the busy festival.
Uji houses Byodo-In, which is on the 10 yen coin, and it was our first Temple in Japan. It is about 1000 years old and really beautiful. It sits facing a lovely pond. A very good museum is attached which includes many of the articles that were once in the Temple. There are English descriptions, which we appreciated. Also, if I recall, it was air-conditioned, another great feature. Did I tell you the Kyoto area is very hot, not unlike Singapore?
We really liked Uji and would have liked more time there. But we wanted to see Fushimi Inari-Taisha before dusk, so went back on the train. Fushimi Inari-Taisha is a Shinto shrine with thousands of red tori gates that you walk through up a hill and in a forest. It is an amazing sight and experience. It got dark on us and the lanterns went on in the gates and mosquitos came out, so we didn’t walk too far. Still, it was very impressive.
We returned to Kyoto, went to our room to refresh, then went to “Eat Paradise,” at the top of the Istavan dept store in Kyoto Station, to find a restaurant. We had a couple of restaurant recommendations, but since the names, for the most part, were in characters, we couldn’t figure out which restaurants were which. Some had plastic food representing menu choices in the windows. Some had photos of food on the menus. Lots of Japanese restaurants specialize in a particular type of food, and it was hard to pick a place. We finally picked a place that had a variety of food.
We found not a lot of people speak English in Japan. I think most study it in school, but they are reluctant to speak. Our waiter was able to communicate well enough and we ordered. When our food arrived, I was so grateful that he explained what to do with our food – what sauce went on what. I felt like a total idiot in Japan – like the equivalent in America would be to not know what to do with the condiments when served a burger and fries. Fortunately, the Japanese were always polite. I had iced saki for the first time. It is to die for. Also, it is sneakily potent. I slept well that night.
Gads! That was just day one! The rest of my trip report is shorter. Further highlights - the Bunraku Theater in Osaka and 2 small earthquakes (not exactly a highlight, but interesting to us).
We arrived in Kyoto station in just over two hours, on the bullet train. We wandered briefly around Kyoto Station looking for signs of the Hotel Granvia, which was at the station. We finally found it and went to check-in. The women at check-in were dressed in beautiful yukatas because of the Gion Matsuri festival, underway all month in Kyoto. The Gion Matsuri is one of the top three festivals in Japan and is one of the reasons we chose to go to Japan after our trip to Singapore. Yukata are the traditional summer dress worn by women, instead of kimonos. They are made from cotton and lighter than kimonos.
The hotel also played festival music on its sound system for the next few days as the festival was peaking. It is ancient music, called Gion Bayashi, and is played on drums, gongs, and flutes. It is not on the western tonal system and reminds me of the outdoors – cicadas and other insects singing in the night. They encouraged guests to wear traditional dress, making it available for rent or purchase. I considered it but passed.
We were able to check in early and get settled in our room. Our room had a great view of the Kyoto Tower and a great bathroom, with one of the super toilets. We had plenty of space. It had a black carpet and only one small picture – seemed a bit dark and drab to me, but it turned out to be a great place to stay. We really appreciated being at the station, where we had all public transit at our feet. It was very easy to get around, and get around we did. The concierge was helpful. Also, it was nice to have the choice of breakfasts each morning (we’d paid extra for breakfast). They gave us coupons for our choice of 3 restaurants in the hotel, including one that served a buffet that included western and Japanese, so that worked out well for us. It was also nice to have so many places for dinner in the station – many restaurants at the top of the two major dept stores in the station. After long days of touring about, it was nice to go back to our room to relax and not have far to go for dinner.
The station itself was fabulous. It is ultra-modern and totally fun. I can’t begin to describe it. Google it if you want to see pictures of Kyoto Station. (Our room was very quiet and peaceful, by the way, in case you are wondering. The action did not disturb us, for which we were grateful.)
So, off we went to downtown to see the floats that were going to be in the parade the next day, sample the food, see what was doing in Kyoto. What was doing was probably a quarter million people jamming the streets. People of all ages were out, shoulder to shoulder, enjoying the sight and sounds. We found several of the floats and were able to walk onto a couple and see them closer up. People on the floats were playing the Gion Matsuri music and chanting, including children. Many wore traditional dress for their floats. There were street vendors selling food, toys, you name it. There were even games like at a carnival. Some of the shops were open and there were special displays of traditional fans and screens. In some ways, it is akin to Mardi Gras. We finally wended our way back to the hotel.
In the morning, we went to see the parade. It was just amazing. The festival has been held for over 1100 years, and the same floats are used from year to year. Some are very tall – up to 30 meters. Others are shorter. They are decorated with tapestries from Europe, Persia, China. Many have characters on them and represent a traditional story. People wearing traditional dress ride in many of them. All weigh tons and are pulled by people in traditional dress. The floats are on carts that don’t have turning axles, so watching the big ones turn at corners is interesting. The team throws water on the road and uses bamboo sticks under the wheels, chocks, and other tools to turn the wheels. They turn in increments, a few degrees at a time, and the crowd claps and cheers with each successful turn. The corners were crowded, but one could work one’s way up to see, over time.
We are not big on crowds, but watching this parade was truly an experience of a lifetime –worth the trip in itself. I took photos and movies and later deleted my memory card by accident….ARGH! DH has photos but did not take movies, and I think movies are needed so others can hear the music and watch the turns and hear the crowds cheer.
After the parade, we opted to get out of Kyoto for the rest of the day, as we knew all the sights would be jam packed. On advise of the concierge, we took the train on the short trip to Uji and to Fushimi Inari-Taisha. Uji is a wonderful town southeast of Kyoto. Uji has some lovely traditional streets with good shops and specializes in green tea, which is grown in the area. There is an information desk just outside the train station, where a woman was able to direct us to the Taiho-an, which has a mini-tea ceremony. The house for the ceremony is near the river and the Uji tourist information office. We really enjoyed our mini-tea ceremony. The hosts of the ceremony did not speak English, so had to try to tell us what to do with some difficulty. We were in a group of tourists, only two of whom were Japanese. We tried to copy them. I read more afterwards to try to understand what we had done. It was very peaceful, in any case, which was nice after the busy festival.
Uji houses Byodo-In, which is on the 10 yen coin, and it was our first Temple in Japan. It is about 1000 years old and really beautiful. It sits facing a lovely pond. A very good museum is attached which includes many of the articles that were once in the Temple. There are English descriptions, which we appreciated. Also, if I recall, it was air-conditioned, another great feature. Did I tell you the Kyoto area is very hot, not unlike Singapore?
We really liked Uji and would have liked more time there. But we wanted to see Fushimi Inari-Taisha before dusk, so went back on the train. Fushimi Inari-Taisha is a Shinto shrine with thousands of red tori gates that you walk through up a hill and in a forest. It is an amazing sight and experience. It got dark on us and the lanterns went on in the gates and mosquitos came out, so we didn’t walk too far. Still, it was very impressive.
We returned to Kyoto, went to our room to refresh, then went to “Eat Paradise,” at the top of the Istavan dept store in Kyoto Station, to find a restaurant. We had a couple of restaurant recommendations, but since the names, for the most part, were in characters, we couldn’t figure out which restaurants were which. Some had plastic food representing menu choices in the windows. Some had photos of food on the menus. Lots of Japanese restaurants specialize in a particular type of food, and it was hard to pick a place. We finally picked a place that had a variety of food.
We found not a lot of people speak English in Japan. I think most study it in school, but they are reluctant to speak. Our waiter was able to communicate well enough and we ordered. When our food arrived, I was so grateful that he explained what to do with our food – what sauce went on what. I felt like a total idiot in Japan – like the equivalent in America would be to not know what to do with the condiments when served a burger and fries. Fortunately, the Japanese were always polite. I had iced saki for the first time. It is to die for. Also, it is sneakily potent. I slept well that night.
Gads! That was just day one! The rest of my trip report is shorter. Further highlights - the Bunraku Theater in Osaka and 2 small earthquakes (not exactly a highlight, but interesting to us).
Jul 29th, 2010, 10:27 AM
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Thanks for all the excellent detail, Orcas; it sounds like you had an amazing time in Kyoto. As a non-Japanese speaking/reading Westerner, I find Japan to be something of a contradiction: on the one hand, English is rarely seen/heard/understood, and on the other hand the country is amazingly simple to visit.
I completely relate to your feeling like an idiot in restaurants. Even in simple settings, I'm never exactly sure what dish is supposed to be used for which purpose, or whether I'm actually supposed to put that green powder in a cup and add water.
I completely relate to your feeling like an idiot in restaurants. Even in simple settings, I'm never exactly sure what dish is supposed to be used for which purpose, or whether I'm actually supposed to put that green powder in a cup and add water.
Jul 29th, 2010, 11:03 AM
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Loving all the details Orcas! Great to experience Japan through a new set of eyes. I loved our time at the Granvia, you are right about all the different options for food and shopping in the station area, just amazing. Yet our favorite is still the little noodle shop on the top floor whose windows face the total opposite end that your room faced. Simple noodles with barely any English but who really needs English in Japan? Waiting for more and your impressions of Osaka!!
Aloha!
Aloha!
Jul 29th, 2010, 12:30 PM
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Thanks for your comments. I'm glad someone is reading this! I hope it is helpful to people!
Sunday, we took the subway and a bus to “Kinkaku-ji,” the Golden Temple. The subway was easy, bus was very difficult. Kinkaku-ji was beautiful, of course. I think it would be really something at sunset, with the gold glowing.
Afterward, we took the bus to Ryoan-ji, the castle that has a famous rock garden with fifteen large stones. It was crowded and hot. There was a lack of English signage or explanation of the finer points at Ryoan-ji.
I’ll pause a second to say that I think we’d have appreciated many sights much more with a guide. English signage is weak at many. You need a good guidebook, at least, but books are heavy and you have to decide which to take. Not just saying this because this is fodor’s website, but the Fodors guide to Japan is actually good. I carried a thinner one and it did not have as much info. Given how little information you actually get at the sights, it is well-worth carrying a thicker book with more information, even if it weighs you down a bit. So throw out that pair of shoes you won't wear anyway, and bring extra guidebooks with you. That's my advise.
We took a cab to Arashiyama afterwards. The cab turned out to be very expensive, and we avoided cabs thereafter. We first visited the castle, Tenryu-ji, which has a beautiful garden, the Sogenchi Garden. There is a fine view of Kyoto from the garden hills. Again, English signage was scant.
We walked the bamboo path and saw the famous Togetsu-kyo bridge. We don’t quite get why this bridge is so famous. It doesn’t look like much. We didn’t stay for the cormorant fishing. It was very hot.
I’m sure Arashiyama, and many of the places we saw, are incredible in the Fall when the Japanese maples are turning colors, as well as in the spring. It is not hard to understand why Japan is a very popular tourist destination in spring and fall. We'd like to return in Fall.
Monday was a national holiday, so lots of people were still touring about. (The Japanese are great tourists in Japan as well as elsewhere.) We walked to Sanjusangen-do, the Temple with 1000 golden statues and some larger statues in the middle. Talk about hot! That place was sweltering! The statues were impressive but the heat and the lack of English signage detracted from our awe. I felt we were missing a lot. One of the Japanese signs, for example, described the different parts of each statue. This was not translated into English anywhere.
After visiting the golden statues, we took the subway to the Nishiki Food Market. It was great! Anyone can understand a market, even if all the food was strange and different looking. In fact, that makes it more interesting. It would have been fun to have a foodie tour, though, I must admit. There were lots of tasties and I partook a little: seaweed (I think) fixed in different ways, fish, etc. We sat down to a marvelous creation in one little shop, of fruit in a little igloo made from shaved ice. It was very refreshing. Again, little English spoken, but we could point, grin, say “domo arigatto,” rub our stomachs in satisfaction, and bow.
We also visited the nearby Taramachi Shopping Arcade. We found a very good store there, Daishodo, that carries reproductions of wood prints. Apparently, some of the original printing blocks are still used to make the prints. We indulged and bought some prints to remind us of our trip.
We crossed the river and wandered into the Gion district. It is very interesting and old, with a lovely canal running through. We found a wonderful tempura restaurant called Ozawa (actually written in English characters!) and had a great experience. Again, not much English spoken, but we got to sit in a little room at a Japenese style table but with a hole in the floor for our legs (We can’t do the bending thing. How do the Japenese do that?). A woman prepared our meal in front of us. A family from England also sat at our table and we struck up a great conversation – plan on staying in touch.
On our way back, we walked through the Pontochodori area at night, with the lanterns and lights glowing. It is a very small alley with fine restaurants and night entertainment places on both sides. Some of them have outdoor seating over the river – lots of atmosphere and a very nice evening stroll.
Then, back to the hotel for bed. Zzzz. Tuesday, Osaka and the Bunraku Theater.
Sunday, we took the subway and a bus to “Kinkaku-ji,” the Golden Temple. The subway was easy, bus was very difficult. Kinkaku-ji was beautiful, of course. I think it would be really something at sunset, with the gold glowing.
Afterward, we took the bus to Ryoan-ji, the castle that has a famous rock garden with fifteen large stones. It was crowded and hot. There was a lack of English signage or explanation of the finer points at Ryoan-ji.
I’ll pause a second to say that I think we’d have appreciated many sights much more with a guide. English signage is weak at many. You need a good guidebook, at least, but books are heavy and you have to decide which to take. Not just saying this because this is fodor’s website, but the Fodors guide to Japan is actually good. I carried a thinner one and it did not have as much info. Given how little information you actually get at the sights, it is well-worth carrying a thicker book with more information, even if it weighs you down a bit. So throw out that pair of shoes you won't wear anyway, and bring extra guidebooks with you. That's my advise.
We took a cab to Arashiyama afterwards. The cab turned out to be very expensive, and we avoided cabs thereafter. We first visited the castle, Tenryu-ji, which has a beautiful garden, the Sogenchi Garden. There is a fine view of Kyoto from the garden hills. Again, English signage was scant.
We walked the bamboo path and saw the famous Togetsu-kyo bridge. We don’t quite get why this bridge is so famous. It doesn’t look like much. We didn’t stay for the cormorant fishing. It was very hot.
I’m sure Arashiyama, and many of the places we saw, are incredible in the Fall when the Japanese maples are turning colors, as well as in the spring. It is not hard to understand why Japan is a very popular tourist destination in spring and fall. We'd like to return in Fall.
Monday was a national holiday, so lots of people were still touring about. (The Japanese are great tourists in Japan as well as elsewhere.) We walked to Sanjusangen-do, the Temple with 1000 golden statues and some larger statues in the middle. Talk about hot! That place was sweltering! The statues were impressive but the heat and the lack of English signage detracted from our awe. I felt we were missing a lot. One of the Japanese signs, for example, described the different parts of each statue. This was not translated into English anywhere.
After visiting the golden statues, we took the subway to the Nishiki Food Market. It was great! Anyone can understand a market, even if all the food was strange and different looking. In fact, that makes it more interesting. It would have been fun to have a foodie tour, though, I must admit. There were lots of tasties and I partook a little: seaweed (I think) fixed in different ways, fish, etc. We sat down to a marvelous creation in one little shop, of fruit in a little igloo made from shaved ice. It was very refreshing. Again, little English spoken, but we could point, grin, say “domo arigatto,” rub our stomachs in satisfaction, and bow.
We also visited the nearby Taramachi Shopping Arcade. We found a very good store there, Daishodo, that carries reproductions of wood prints. Apparently, some of the original printing blocks are still used to make the prints. We indulged and bought some prints to remind us of our trip.
We crossed the river and wandered into the Gion district. It is very interesting and old, with a lovely canal running through. We found a wonderful tempura restaurant called Ozawa (actually written in English characters!) and had a great experience. Again, not much English spoken, but we got to sit in a little room at a Japenese style table but with a hole in the floor for our legs (We can’t do the bending thing. How do the Japenese do that?). A woman prepared our meal in front of us. A family from England also sat at our table and we struck up a great conversation – plan on staying in touch.
On our way back, we walked through the Pontochodori area at night, with the lanterns and lights glowing. It is a very small alley with fine restaurants and night entertainment places on both sides. Some of them have outdoor seating over the river – lots of atmosphere and a very nice evening stroll.
Then, back to the hotel for bed. Zzzz. Tuesday, Osaka and the Bunraku Theater.
Jul 29th, 2010, 02:43 PM
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You help more people than you know by doing this. Rizz and I are beyond help,lol
Invest in the new Kindle due out 8/27 and you can store all your guide books and then some on one, small, easy to use and travel with platform
You know I have never been to Sanjusanjen-do yet? We are staying at the Hyatt this fall and hope to catch the fall colors of Kyoto then if we are lucky. Enjoying your writing as the enthusiasm is infectious.
Aloha!
Invest in the new Kindle due out 8/27 and you can store all your guide books and then some on one, small, easy to use and travel with platform
You know I have never been to Sanjusanjen-do yet? We are staying at the Hyatt this fall and hope to catch the fall colors of Kyoto then if we are lucky. Enjoying your writing as the enthusiasm is infectious.
Aloha!
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Jul 29th, 2010, 04:27 PM
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Tuesday. We used our rail ticket and took the train from Kyoto to Osaka to see the Bunraku Theater. In retrospect, we should have done this on the national holiday, as the sites had been crowded during the holiday and it would have been a good time to be in the theater.
Osaka is not far from Kyoto – maybe 45 miles. It is city all the way. In fact, you can see the buildings in the distance from Kiyomizu-dera, a Temple in Kyoto that we visited on Wednesday (coming up!).
I had ordered our tickets in advance, over the internet and the arrangement is you pick up your tickets when you arrive. Bunraku theater is the traditional puppet theater, and is the home of bunraku and natioanl theater is in Osaka. We were fortunate it was playing during our visit, as the seasons are limited.
The puppets are half life-size and operated by 3 puppeteers who are on-stage. A narrator chants the story and someone accompanies him on a stringed instrument. It sounds very ancient and very Japanese (natch).
When I ordered the tickets, I had to choose between three plays. Two were written in the early 1700’s and one was written in the 1950’s. I picked one of the older plays and the 2 pm show, which turned out to be an excellent choice as the 1950’s show was more for kids and the show lasted past 6 pm! I had no idea it would be so long and we were glad we didn’t go to the later show. (It did not seem that long, I should add. It was enthralling!) We found a summary of the story on the internet that we read beforehand. They gave us a more detailed narrative at the theater. But back to Osaka first.
We got to Osaka early as we weren’t sure if it would be easy to find the theater. We had to switch trains at Osaka station, but that was easy and the subway let us off very close to the theater. (The concierge had told us exactly how to get to the theater, and we also stopped at tourist information at Osaka Station.)
We stopped by the theater and picked up our tickets. (We had reservations but you pick up the tickets at the theater) Then we wandered a bit. We didn’t have a lot of time. We walked to some very crazy shopping area nearby where the streets were completely covered. It was sort of like a mall, but more outdoors than that. There were lots of people playing some kind of gaming machines in the stores and there were huge video screens on some buildings nearby.
DH was too hot to spend much time outside. We had discovered an entire underground (air conditioned) mall at the subway station, so we headed back for that. We wandered through it and stopped at a sushi place to eat before the show. That’s really all we saw about Osaka. We did not have time for the castle. We looked at the map and it looked like it would have been a fine destination, though – big park, castle, museum. I’d like to see it one day.
At the theater, we rented out a sound system in English. They had other languages, as well, though I didn't pay much attention to what they were. You have a plug for one ear, so you can still hear the narrator and music. The sound system was fantastic. The story was translated and it also explained some of the key things we should notice that were going on, like which scenes were particularly hard to narrate, to manage the puppets and things like that. The lights were on low during the show so everyone could read the narration. The narration was also on a screen, written in Japanese above the stage, as the language is apparently somewhat old-fashioned, like Shakespeare, so it is hard for even the Japanese to follow.
At the theater there is also a little museum with exhibits of the puppets and other information. Of course, it is mostly written in Japanese – so frustrating. I wish there had been a lecture we could have gone to on this theater. As an intro to the show, the announcer told us (translated on our headsets) that Bunraku theater is, perhaps, a dying tradition, as the younger generation is losing interest, and few are following their parents footsteps or joining the theater. The puppeteer and narrators start very young as the craft is quite hard to learn. Families have passed down the traditions for generations, like Kabuki and Noh theater.
After experiencing this absolutely amazing puppet theater, I would be willing to venture to the kabuki theater, if I ever get the chance, if I can have an earpiece and the story in advance, like in the case of Bunraku. I hear Noh theater is less accessible. Don’t know, though…
I highly recommend a visit to the national theater of Japan for Bunraku or Kabuki if it is taking place while you are there.
After the theater, it was late, and we headed back to Kyoto for the night.
Next day, Johnny Hillwalker tour and Kiyomizo-dera, a great day.
Osaka is not far from Kyoto – maybe 45 miles. It is city all the way. In fact, you can see the buildings in the distance from Kiyomizu-dera, a Temple in Kyoto that we visited on Wednesday (coming up!).
I had ordered our tickets in advance, over the internet and the arrangement is you pick up your tickets when you arrive. Bunraku theater is the traditional puppet theater, and is the home of bunraku and natioanl theater is in Osaka. We were fortunate it was playing during our visit, as the seasons are limited.
The puppets are half life-size and operated by 3 puppeteers who are on-stage. A narrator chants the story and someone accompanies him on a stringed instrument. It sounds very ancient and very Japanese (natch).
When I ordered the tickets, I had to choose between three plays. Two were written in the early 1700’s and one was written in the 1950’s. I picked one of the older plays and the 2 pm show, which turned out to be an excellent choice as the 1950’s show was more for kids and the show lasted past 6 pm! I had no idea it would be so long and we were glad we didn’t go to the later show. (It did not seem that long, I should add. It was enthralling!) We found a summary of the story on the internet that we read beforehand. They gave us a more detailed narrative at the theater. But back to Osaka first.
We got to Osaka early as we weren’t sure if it would be easy to find the theater. We had to switch trains at Osaka station, but that was easy and the subway let us off very close to the theater. (The concierge had told us exactly how to get to the theater, and we also stopped at tourist information at Osaka Station.)
We stopped by the theater and picked up our tickets. (We had reservations but you pick up the tickets at the theater) Then we wandered a bit. We didn’t have a lot of time. We walked to some very crazy shopping area nearby where the streets were completely covered. It was sort of like a mall, but more outdoors than that. There were lots of people playing some kind of gaming machines in the stores and there were huge video screens on some buildings nearby.
DH was too hot to spend much time outside. We had discovered an entire underground (air conditioned) mall at the subway station, so we headed back for that. We wandered through it and stopped at a sushi place to eat before the show. That’s really all we saw about Osaka. We did not have time for the castle. We looked at the map and it looked like it would have been a fine destination, though – big park, castle, museum. I’d like to see it one day.
At the theater, we rented out a sound system in English. They had other languages, as well, though I didn't pay much attention to what they were. You have a plug for one ear, so you can still hear the narrator and music. The sound system was fantastic. The story was translated and it also explained some of the key things we should notice that were going on, like which scenes were particularly hard to narrate, to manage the puppets and things like that. The lights were on low during the show so everyone could read the narration. The narration was also on a screen, written in Japanese above the stage, as the language is apparently somewhat old-fashioned, like Shakespeare, so it is hard for even the Japanese to follow.
At the theater there is also a little museum with exhibits of the puppets and other information. Of course, it is mostly written in Japanese – so frustrating. I wish there had been a lecture we could have gone to on this theater. As an intro to the show, the announcer told us (translated on our headsets) that Bunraku theater is, perhaps, a dying tradition, as the younger generation is losing interest, and few are following their parents footsteps or joining the theater. The puppeteer and narrators start very young as the craft is quite hard to learn. Families have passed down the traditions for generations, like Kabuki and Noh theater.
After experiencing this absolutely amazing puppet theater, I would be willing to venture to the kabuki theater, if I ever get the chance, if I can have an earpiece and the story in advance, like in the case of Bunraku. I hear Noh theater is less accessible. Don’t know, though…
I highly recommend a visit to the national theater of Japan for Bunraku or Kabuki if it is taking place while you are there.
After the theater, it was late, and we headed back to Kyoto for the night.
Next day, Johnny Hillwalker tour and Kiyomizo-dera, a great day.
Jul 30th, 2010, 11:08 AM
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ladytravels, you are in for a treat with the Johnny Hillwalker tour. It was very good! More below.
Wednesday. We woke up and lay around for awhile, as it was early, and then we felt the bed shaking. Hmm. No magic fingers on our bed, so - earthquake! We heard the toilet shloshing a little. It went on for about 20 to 30 seconds. I got on-line later and it was a 5.0 centered about 60 miles away. An interesting way to start the day.
After breakfast, we went out to the bus station to meet up with Johnny Hillwalker and his tour, “Walk in Kyoto, Talk in English.” It’s offered on Mon, Wed and Fridays but not on national holidays. We’d arrived too late on Friday and Monday had been a holiday.
The tour is like Singapore Walks, and is for whoever shows up at the bus station, which is conveniently located just outside Kyoto station. Johnny leads the tours on Wed and Fridays and he has others lead on Mondays. He is a very knowledgeable, elderly Japanese man who increased our depth of understanding many times over. We did not walk far, but went to interesting places and got a lot better understanding of what we were seeing.
There were about 20 of us, only 3 other Americans (We saw few Americans in Japan, and in fact, few western tourists – think they heard about the heat or something.). Johnny took us through the back alleys of Kyoto, which are hidden by the big buildings and showed us the homes and workshops where people have lived and worked for generations. We visited a fan shop where the family has been making fans for 17 generations! Johnny explained how different families are responsible for different pieces of the fan, from the bamboo, to the paper, the painting, putting it together. It is done in different shops in the neighborhood. We saw a shop where beads are made and put together in bracelets for Shinto practices and a pottery shop where the family has been making famous "Kiyomizu-dera pottery" for generations.
But change is coming. Like the Bunraku theater, many young people are abandoning their family’s traditional crafts, feeling there is no future in it, and leaving the city for the suburbs.
Johnny took us to the Higashi-Honganji Temple, where we sat quietly. Then he explained a bit about Buddhism and Shintoism and how they play into the lives of the people. He showed us Shinto shrines and explained taking off our shoes, bell ringing, clapping of the hands, bamboo grates at the bottom of buildings and other things we had seen in other places. He gave us pastries and tea from a local shop and we visited a community center and heard more of the history of the geishas, which is always a fascination. He also took us to a former geisha area and showed us an existing geisha school. From the outside, you'd have never known. We ended up in the eastern area, near Kiyomizu-dera, with ideas for other great things to do. I cannot recommend this tour highly enough. It cost 2,000 yen for adults, or just over $20.
While you can find the Johnny Hillwalker tour in the internet, he passed out a brochure with other similar walking tours, but I had not found these on the internet earlier and had not known about them. it was too late for us to go on any, but if they are as good as Johnny's tour, they are well worth it. The walking tours are not expensive, unlike those offered by some tour companies. You can email for info at [email protected]. I found this on the web: http://www.waraido.com/
I am not clear on which walks are going on when - the brochure lists walks in the springtime more. I know the walk through the Gion District (Geisha) was going on when we were there, even though that isn't clear in the brochure. (It's 1000 yen or just over $10/person) It would be good to give them your dates and inquire what is offered when.
After our tour, we did not have nearly enough time to explore the area around Kiyomizu-dera. Alas, it was our last full day. Everything, shops and sites, close around 5 pm, so the day is short (this is true of everywhere we went in Kyoto and nearby). So, here’s a tip. Allow plenty of time for this wonderful area, which winds up the hillside. It is full of interesting shops and looks very old and traditional. We started browsing and then realized the Temple would soon close and we’d miss it if we kept lally-gagging around.
Here is another tip. Carry cash and lots of it. Lots of places don’t take credit cards and it is quite the shame when you can’t buy your friend the perfect gift because you have run out of yen. That happened to us as we walked up to Kiyomizu-dera.
Realizing we were short on time, we rushed up to Kiyomizu-dera. It’s the Temple that you see in so many photos that is built on rocks and stilts with a great viewing area of the City of Kyoto. It has some Shinto shrines, too. It’s definitely worth the visit. Just allow time for it and the surrounding streets so you aren’t rushed.
Afterwards, we returned to the hotel, but we decided to go back through the little alleys instead of on the busy street, and lo and behold, it was like the area Johnny Hillwalker took us too – it was like being in a small town, instead of in the big city, with old, traditional looking homes facing the alley, and people returning home from shopping and work, through the alleyway. And just on the other side, tall buildings on a busy street. Very nice discovery.
We had dinner at a Spanish restaurant in “Eat Paradise” or “The Cube” (they are side-by-side) then went to bed.
Coming up, Thursday morning in Kyoto and the Nijo Castle, and our return to Tokyo on the Shinkansen (bullet).
Wednesday. We woke up and lay around for awhile, as it was early, and then we felt the bed shaking. Hmm. No magic fingers on our bed, so - earthquake! We heard the toilet shloshing a little. It went on for about 20 to 30 seconds. I got on-line later and it was a 5.0 centered about 60 miles away. An interesting way to start the day.
After breakfast, we went out to the bus station to meet up with Johnny Hillwalker and his tour, “Walk in Kyoto, Talk in English.” It’s offered on Mon, Wed and Fridays but not on national holidays. We’d arrived too late on Friday and Monday had been a holiday.
The tour is like Singapore Walks, and is for whoever shows up at the bus station, which is conveniently located just outside Kyoto station. Johnny leads the tours on Wed and Fridays and he has others lead on Mondays. He is a very knowledgeable, elderly Japanese man who increased our depth of understanding many times over. We did not walk far, but went to interesting places and got a lot better understanding of what we were seeing.
There were about 20 of us, only 3 other Americans (We saw few Americans in Japan, and in fact, few western tourists – think they heard about the heat or something.). Johnny took us through the back alleys of Kyoto, which are hidden by the big buildings and showed us the homes and workshops where people have lived and worked for generations. We visited a fan shop where the family has been making fans for 17 generations! Johnny explained how different families are responsible for different pieces of the fan, from the bamboo, to the paper, the painting, putting it together. It is done in different shops in the neighborhood. We saw a shop where beads are made and put together in bracelets for Shinto practices and a pottery shop where the family has been making famous "Kiyomizu-dera pottery" for generations.
But change is coming. Like the Bunraku theater, many young people are abandoning their family’s traditional crafts, feeling there is no future in it, and leaving the city for the suburbs.
Johnny took us to the Higashi-Honganji Temple, where we sat quietly. Then he explained a bit about Buddhism and Shintoism and how they play into the lives of the people. He showed us Shinto shrines and explained taking off our shoes, bell ringing, clapping of the hands, bamboo grates at the bottom of buildings and other things we had seen in other places. He gave us pastries and tea from a local shop and we visited a community center and heard more of the history of the geishas, which is always a fascination. He also took us to a former geisha area and showed us an existing geisha school. From the outside, you'd have never known. We ended up in the eastern area, near Kiyomizu-dera, with ideas for other great things to do. I cannot recommend this tour highly enough. It cost 2,000 yen for adults, or just over $20.
While you can find the Johnny Hillwalker tour in the internet, he passed out a brochure with other similar walking tours, but I had not found these on the internet earlier and had not known about them. it was too late for us to go on any, but if they are as good as Johnny's tour, they are well worth it. The walking tours are not expensive, unlike those offered by some tour companies. You can email for info at [email protected]. I found this on the web: http://www.waraido.com/
I am not clear on which walks are going on when - the brochure lists walks in the springtime more. I know the walk through the Gion District (Geisha) was going on when we were there, even though that isn't clear in the brochure. (It's 1000 yen or just over $10/person) It would be good to give them your dates and inquire what is offered when.
After our tour, we did not have nearly enough time to explore the area around Kiyomizu-dera. Alas, it was our last full day. Everything, shops and sites, close around 5 pm, so the day is short (this is true of everywhere we went in Kyoto and nearby). So, here’s a tip. Allow plenty of time for this wonderful area, which winds up the hillside. It is full of interesting shops and looks very old and traditional. We started browsing and then realized the Temple would soon close and we’d miss it if we kept lally-gagging around.
Here is another tip. Carry cash and lots of it. Lots of places don’t take credit cards and it is quite the shame when you can’t buy your friend the perfect gift because you have run out of yen. That happened to us as we walked up to Kiyomizu-dera.
Realizing we were short on time, we rushed up to Kiyomizu-dera. It’s the Temple that you see in so many photos that is built on rocks and stilts with a great viewing area of the City of Kyoto. It has some Shinto shrines, too. It’s definitely worth the visit. Just allow time for it and the surrounding streets so you aren’t rushed.
Afterwards, we returned to the hotel, but we decided to go back through the little alleys instead of on the busy street, and lo and behold, it was like the area Johnny Hillwalker took us too – it was like being in a small town, instead of in the big city, with old, traditional looking homes facing the alley, and people returning home from shopping and work, through the alleyway. And just on the other side, tall buildings on a busy street. Very nice discovery.
We had dinner at a Spanish restaurant in “Eat Paradise” or “The Cube” (they are side-by-side) then went to bed.
Coming up, Thursday morning in Kyoto and the Nijo Castle, and our return to Tokyo on the Shinkansen (bullet).
Jul 31st, 2010, 08:54 AM
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Thursday, time to return to Tokyo for our Friday flight. (We could have returned to Tokyo and flown the same day but we didn't want to spend so much time in transit on the same day.) We decided to continue in Kyoto for the morning, as there were many things we had not yet visited that we wanted to see, including the craft center and the Nijo Castle. We decided to save the craft center for another trip and to see the castle.
After breakfast, we took the subway to the Nijo Castle famous for the Nightingale floors, which were designed to make the sound of a bird chirping when you walk the halls so the Shogun would be warned and the hiding samarai could attack. The Nijo Castle actually offers an English headset, which we rented. There was more English signage than in other places we had visited and it was almost as informative as the headset. The headset tended towards the academic, including dates and names of Japanese shoguns and eras that were mostly Greek to us. I overheard someone with an English guide who was explaining that the shogun’s women changed their kimonos every hour! I didn’t get to ask about that, as she wasn’t our guide, but my little headset was telling me stuff I’d never remember.
While it was very hot again, Nijo Castle was a very cool place (figuratively) and an interesting place to visit, so we were glad we’d gone there before taking the train to Tokyo.
We returned to the Granvia, where they were holding our bags, and took the shinkansen to Tokyo. Again, we had no trouble with our bags. This time, the seats were full so we couldn’t put our larger bag in front of the next seat, but there was space for bags behind the last row of seats in the car, and only one other bag was there. You don’t have to worry about anyone stealing your bag in Japan, so we just left my bag at the back. DH’s 2 carry-on bags fit overhead.
This time, I’d booked at a little place called the Hotel Niwa, because it looked really nice and peaceful on the internet and it wasn’t outrageously expensive. It was a bit out of the way, which I had figured would be fine, before I went to Japan. I figured I’d be some sort of expert in Japanese transport in a week. Hahaha. What I’d learned is you have to ask for directions and few are comfortable speaking English, and the signs are mostly in Japanese characters. To get to the Niwa, we had to change to the subway at Tokyo station, get on a local line and transfer. I asked 4 different people. I had written down the name of our station and could say it. Each person I asked barely spoke English, but understood what I was asking and was eager to help. Each gave us the next direction by hand-signaling. In fact, we made it the whole way from Tokyo Station to the train station near the Niwa in only 10 minutes (Did I say you never have to wait more than a minute or two for a train in Japan?). DH said it was a miracle. I said, “No. I asked for directions.” It might be hard for a guy to manage in Japan….
The Hotel Niwa was only a few minutes from the train station, in a university area. It was truly lovely and the people were so kind. Our room was the nicest we had on our whole visit. We even had a Jacuzzi tub.
That night, we walked around the area a bit and found a place to eat – no English again.
We woke up early and soon felt the bed shaking again and heard a clang or two. Another earthquake lasting about 25 seconds. It was again a 5.0 with the epicenter about 50 miles away. I asked someone later about this and he said it was normal for Japan…two in 3 days? Yikes, is all I can say. It wasn’t scary but just that thought is scary. It’s amazing so many ancient buildings have survived. The Japanese must be earthquake engineering experts!
When we took the train in the morning, the signs announced (in English, too!) that some lines were out of service to check for earthquake damage. More on Friday shortly.
After breakfast, we took the subway to the Nijo Castle famous for the Nightingale floors, which were designed to make the sound of a bird chirping when you walk the halls so the Shogun would be warned and the hiding samarai could attack. The Nijo Castle actually offers an English headset, which we rented. There was more English signage than in other places we had visited and it was almost as informative as the headset. The headset tended towards the academic, including dates and names of Japanese shoguns and eras that were mostly Greek to us. I overheard someone with an English guide who was explaining that the shogun’s women changed their kimonos every hour! I didn’t get to ask about that, as she wasn’t our guide, but my little headset was telling me stuff I’d never remember.
While it was very hot again, Nijo Castle was a very cool place (figuratively) and an interesting place to visit, so we were glad we’d gone there before taking the train to Tokyo.
We returned to the Granvia, where they were holding our bags, and took the shinkansen to Tokyo. Again, we had no trouble with our bags. This time, the seats were full so we couldn’t put our larger bag in front of the next seat, but there was space for bags behind the last row of seats in the car, and only one other bag was there. You don’t have to worry about anyone stealing your bag in Japan, so we just left my bag at the back. DH’s 2 carry-on bags fit overhead.
This time, I’d booked at a little place called the Hotel Niwa, because it looked really nice and peaceful on the internet and it wasn’t outrageously expensive. It was a bit out of the way, which I had figured would be fine, before I went to Japan. I figured I’d be some sort of expert in Japanese transport in a week. Hahaha. What I’d learned is you have to ask for directions and few are comfortable speaking English, and the signs are mostly in Japanese characters. To get to the Niwa, we had to change to the subway at Tokyo station, get on a local line and transfer. I asked 4 different people. I had written down the name of our station and could say it. Each person I asked barely spoke English, but understood what I was asking and was eager to help. Each gave us the next direction by hand-signaling. In fact, we made it the whole way from Tokyo Station to the train station near the Niwa in only 10 minutes (Did I say you never have to wait more than a minute or two for a train in Japan?). DH said it was a miracle. I said, “No. I asked for directions.” It might be hard for a guy to manage in Japan….
The Hotel Niwa was only a few minutes from the train station, in a university area. It was truly lovely and the people were so kind. Our room was the nicest we had on our whole visit. We even had a Jacuzzi tub.
That night, we walked around the area a bit and found a place to eat – no English again.
We woke up early and soon felt the bed shaking again and heard a clang or two. Another earthquake lasting about 25 seconds. It was again a 5.0 with the epicenter about 50 miles away. I asked someone later about this and he said it was normal for Japan…two in 3 days? Yikes, is all I can say. It wasn’t scary but just that thought is scary. It’s amazing so many ancient buildings have survived. The Japanese must be earthquake engineering experts!
When we took the train in the morning, the signs announced (in English, too!) that some lines were out of service to check for earthquake damage. More on Friday shortly.
Jul 31st, 2010, 03:43 PM
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rhkkmk,
I have thought about that. A Japanese person could find their way out of the international terminal of our airport, but not a lot farther. I understand why the Japanese come in tour groups.
It would be hard to come to the US and not know English. However, anyone who knows the Roman alphabet can at least read our signage.
We believe we would have appreciated many sights more, had better English information been available. Even a Dutch person we met was bemoaning the lack of English at cultural sights. English has become, after all, the "lingua franca" of our age.
The Japanese are the only people who use their character set (though perhaps those who read Chinese can read some) and most westerners have not studied Japanese. We were surprised there is so little English in a nation that is so interested in the west and that does so much business with the west.
Who knows? Maybe I'll take an "Intro to Japanese" course at our local community college. It would be fun to be able to at least talk a little and to read the signs (though that seems a daunting task with four character sets). DH and I are planning on watching a series of Japanese movies in the next several weeks, or movies about Japan (including seeing "Lost in Translation" again. )
In any case, we found Japan fascinating and it really peaked our curiousity. It was very different from our previous travel abroad, which has been to Europe, for the most part. We've been home for one week and DH and I were commenting this morning that we are still dreaming about being in Japan.
Japan was accessible and exotic at the same time. Maybe part of it being exotic is the language barrier. I'm sure part of it is that we never studied Japanese or even Asian history in school. It was all Western Civ. I feel like our trip opened up a whole new world for me and I have a lot to learn.
I have thought about that. A Japanese person could find their way out of the international terminal of our airport, but not a lot farther. I understand why the Japanese come in tour groups.
It would be hard to come to the US and not know English. However, anyone who knows the Roman alphabet can at least read our signage.
We believe we would have appreciated many sights more, had better English information been available. Even a Dutch person we met was bemoaning the lack of English at cultural sights. English has become, after all, the "lingua franca" of our age.
The Japanese are the only people who use their character set (though perhaps those who read Chinese can read some) and most westerners have not studied Japanese. We were surprised there is so little English in a nation that is so interested in the west and that does so much business with the west.
Who knows? Maybe I'll take an "Intro to Japanese" course at our local community college. It would be fun to be able to at least talk a little and to read the signs (though that seems a daunting task with four character sets). DH and I are planning on watching a series of Japanese movies in the next several weeks, or movies about Japan (including seeing "Lost in Translation" again.
)In any case, we found Japan fascinating and it really peaked our curiousity. It was very different from our previous travel abroad, which has been to Europe, for the most part. We've been home for one week and DH and I were commenting this morning that we are still dreaming about being in Japan.
Japan was accessible and exotic at the same time. Maybe part of it being exotic is the language barrier. I'm sure part of it is that we never studied Japanese or even Asian history in school. It was all Western Civ. I feel like our trip opened up a whole new world for me and I have a lot to learn.
Jul 31st, 2010, 04:21 PM
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The Japanese culture and society have struck me as being extremely polite and cordial to visitors, but they don't necessarily encourage foreigners to visit, especially for leisure trips (as opposed to business).
Jul 31st, 2010, 04:34 PM
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Friday. Last day of our trip. We had a little time before our flight, so we decided to visit a nearby area of Tokyo called Akihabara, or the "Electric City.” It was only two subway stops away. It got me very interested in Tokyo and I wish we had had more time there.
True to its name, the Akihabara was electric! Music poured out of the doors (pop), and there were big electronics stores. There were huge posters and video screens on buildings, and there was anime everywhere. We went into a couple of the stores - whole floors devoted to different things - cameras, tvs, computers, games – so much attention to detail and sense of design – they even had computers in cool colors in Japan including pink and baby blue. I found some very nice gifts for our kids in the anime museum.
Alas, too soon we had to return to the hotel for our suitcases. DH did not want to lug our bags in the heat and on the train so we took a cab to Tokyo Station. It only took us 15 minutes. After inquiring, we found the Narita Express. Again, we had no trouble with our luggage as the Narita Express has a luggage area in the back. It comes every few minutes. It took less than an hour to get to the airport.
My flight to the US was uneventful, which is good. I was flying frequent flier with a stop at Los Angeles LAX, while DH was flying direct to Seattle, as his work paid for his ticket. My ff ticket included a 9 hour layover at LAX, which was way too long. Consequently, before leaving for our trip, I had paid $200 for a ticket on an earlier flight. This is easy to do when you are flying from abroad, as you have to pick up your luggage from your first leg to go through customs. Assuming you arrive on time for your earlier flight, you can just take your luggage with you and check in on your preferred flight. For me, shortening my travel day was well worth $200. (Not a bad price for a roundtrip from Seattle to Singapore and Japan...)
LAX is possibly the most disgusting airport in the world. It is a disgrace to America that our visitors have to pass through it as a port of entry to our great nation. After clearing customs and walking about 8 minutes to my terminal, my first stop was at a drinking fountain only to find a wad of pink chewing gum stuck in the bowl. Disgusting and welcome to America. Some Singapore politicians must have been to LAX before passing their anti-chewing gum laws. Then, on to the bathroom…from clean toilets with bidets in Japan and Singapore, to a stall where someone left their drink cup full of melted ice, straw sticking out, on top of the toilet paper dispenser. The water in the washroom sink was so hot I nearly scalded my hands. But the final blow was when a woman dragged her young child into the bathroom while screaming at him and swatting him. And this is not my first experience like this at LAX. LAX is a sh*thole. Can I say that on fodors?
I was glad to board my plane and get the heck out of LAX. I had a nice flight back to Seattle. Seattle was in all its glory – crystal clear skies, setting sun, snowcapped mountains aglow, relatively cool air, clean airport and people with some sense of pride in their airport and city.
So, that’s the end of my trip report. Writing this helped me get the trip straight in my head and will help with labeling our photos. Hope it helps someone planning a trip!
True to its name, the Akihabara was electric! Music poured out of the doors (pop), and there were big electronics stores. There were huge posters and video screens on buildings, and there was anime everywhere. We went into a couple of the stores - whole floors devoted to different things - cameras, tvs, computers, games – so much attention to detail and sense of design – they even had computers in cool colors in Japan including pink and baby blue. I found some very nice gifts for our kids in the anime museum.
Alas, too soon we had to return to the hotel for our suitcases. DH did not want to lug our bags in the heat and on the train so we took a cab to Tokyo Station. It only took us 15 minutes. After inquiring, we found the Narita Express. Again, we had no trouble with our luggage as the Narita Express has a luggage area in the back. It comes every few minutes. It took less than an hour to get to the airport.
My flight to the US was uneventful, which is good. I was flying frequent flier with a stop at Los Angeles LAX, while DH was flying direct to Seattle, as his work paid for his ticket. My ff ticket included a 9 hour layover at LAX, which was way too long. Consequently, before leaving for our trip, I had paid $200 for a ticket on an earlier flight. This is easy to do when you are flying from abroad, as you have to pick up your luggage from your first leg to go through customs. Assuming you arrive on time for your earlier flight, you can just take your luggage with you and check in on your preferred flight. For me, shortening my travel day was well worth $200. (Not a bad price for a roundtrip from Seattle to Singapore and Japan...)
LAX is possibly the most disgusting airport in the world. It is a disgrace to America that our visitors have to pass through it as a port of entry to our great nation. After clearing customs and walking about 8 minutes to my terminal, my first stop was at a drinking fountain only to find a wad of pink chewing gum stuck in the bowl. Disgusting and welcome to America. Some Singapore politicians must have been to LAX before passing their anti-chewing gum laws. Then, on to the bathroom…from clean toilets with bidets in Japan and Singapore, to a stall where someone left their drink cup full of melted ice, straw sticking out, on top of the toilet paper dispenser. The water in the washroom sink was so hot I nearly scalded my hands. But the final blow was when a woman dragged her young child into the bathroom while screaming at him and swatting him. And this is not my first experience like this at LAX. LAX is a sh*thole. Can I say that on fodors?
I was glad to board my plane and get the heck out of LAX. I had a nice flight back to Seattle. Seattle was in all its glory – crystal clear skies, setting sun, snowcapped mountains aglow, relatively cool air, clean airport and people with some sense of pride in their airport and city.
So, that’s the end of my trip report. Writing this helped me get the trip straight in my head and will help with labeling our photos. Hope it helps someone planning a trip!
Jul 31st, 2010, 04:46 PM
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rizzuto, We were wondering about that. There are so many Japanese tourists everywhere, we weren't sure the government really wanted to encourage other tourism.
I went into the Japan tourism office at the Kyoto Station (Japan Travel Agency, I believe) and there were many brochures on tours all over Japan and even to America, but every one was in Japanese. There was not an English section. All the desks were full and busy except for the one empty desk where there was a sign saying it was where English was spoken and that they would be back soon. However, it was close to the closing time of 5 pm. I waited for about 10 minutes and finally left with no information. You have to go to Japan prepared, and it helped to have a concierge.
I went into the Japan tourism office at the Kyoto Station (Japan Travel Agency, I believe) and there were many brochures on tours all over Japan and even to America, but every one was in Japanese. There was not an English section. All the desks were full and busy except for the one empty desk where there was a sign saying it was where English was spoken and that they would be back soon. However, it was close to the closing time of 5 pm. I waited for about 10 minutes and finally left with no information. You have to go to Japan prepared, and it helped to have a concierge.
