Top Ten Japanese Moments

Honestly, I tried to keep this short but the memories are just too good. Like me, these are in no particular order. We arrived in Japan on the 31st of August 2015 and flew out on the 10th of September 2015.

The Streets of Tokyo

The streets were extremely clean and very organised. Everyone walked exactly where and when they were supposed to and all at the same time. Some street crossings are six way zebra crossings and everyone crosses at once. If you were to add music, you would have quite a performance. There seemed to be security guards everywhere, guarding construction sites, stations and things I daren't know about.

Arakawa River, Iruma River or Tama River

People moved around without hesitation and when interacting, were friendly without fault. Every couple of hundred meters was at least two vending machines containing a selection of coffee and water, some with fruit juice and green tea as well. It's little wonder everyone moves around so quickly.

There appeared to be a completely acceptable culture of avoiding fatigue with high doses of caffeine. We watched two gentleman sit down to a drink in a bar one afternoon and the first thing they did was pull out two little energy shots which they had purchased from the Family Mart. They downed this and then went on to have a few beers, smoke, drink coffee and chatter away very enthusiastically. 

The general day to day buzz of the city seemed geared at minimising disruption. There were decibel measures at building sites to monitor noise levels and the ambulance sirens were slightly muted, a less piercing noise than most cities. I even found the lighting inside rooms, hotels, commercial spaces and homes quite subtle. Advertising was the opposite of subtle, but it had its place and highlighted the beautiful chaos of the streets. 

Shinjuku at night, obviously

Hair Appointment in Shinjuku

On a four month trip around the world, I was going to have to get my hair cut and coloured at some point. Of course my breaking point came in Japan, land of no speaka de engela. My research involved asking the reception desk at our hotel and googling “english speaking hair salons in Tokyo”. The former didn't pan out at all. When I tried to phone the suggested salon, I had a one way conversation with a very confused and giggly Japanese girl. Option two gave me one or two suggestions so I basically headed in the general direction of where I thought these salons were. 

Not a great plan, however thanks to a sign on a building somewhere, I found myself in a tiny lift taking me up to the third floor to reach the hair studio which welcomed me with open Japanese speaking arms. After a little pointing at the clock, some calculator work and scissor hand gestures, I had a hair appointment for later in the day.

Sun starting to set at around 6pm in the evening

I arrived on time and was ushered through to my seat. The lady who greeted me at reception was also the hairdresser, the tea maker, the hair washer, cleaner and accountant. We so desperately wanted to have a conversation with one another but had to settle for a rather stilted; “Where from?” and “What age?” I’m not sure she understood my answers, or even her own questions for that matter, but we smiled and laughed and understood some common words like “colour”, “eat” and “Tokyo”.

She paid very particular attention to everything she did. My hair was vigorously washed twice and there were little details like framing my hairline with vaseline so as to avoid colour on my skin and covering my ears with little ear caps to avoid dying my ears. So thoughtful.  

After a couple of glasses of water, a green tea biscuit and about three hours, I left the salon feeling accomplished for having pulled that off, looking a little less scruffy and carrying about 8000 less yen in my pocket. All well worth it. 

Tokyo knows how to make a cappucino

A Ryokan in Hakone

We were wondering where to spend an evening before arriving in Kyoto, as our bookings had worked out in a manner which meant we had an in-between night. We looked at a couple of brochures in the hotel reception area and thought Hakone would be good, it was on the way and we could possibly gain a glimpse of Mt Fuji. Well tickle my feet if it wasn’t the most precious place I have ever visited. 

We purchased a Hakone free pass at the train station for two days, as everything we had read suggested that we do this for transport. It was the right thing to do. After arriving at Hakone Yumoto Station, we hopped onto the next train bound for Gora station. The train felt like an old carriageway and we wound our way slowly up into the mountains, zig zagging across from stop to stop. It was raining lightly and the vegetation was a deep green. We crossed ravines and bridges and chugged along without a care in the world. I didn’t want it to end. The train pulled into each station and stopped to let people on and off, and then it took off backwards again and continued to do this until it reached its destination. 

Train to Gora Station

Straight out of the train at Gora, we hopped onto the Hakone ropeway which was a cable car train basically, built specifically at an angle for that mountain. It pulled us up the very steep hill, stopping every few hundred meters. The doors would open one side at a time and the conductor would announce something in Japanese and then they would close and we would take off again. After around about three stops, we hopped off and our Ryokan was a few hundred meters from the stop. 

The surrounds en route to Hakone

Staying at a traditional Japanese Inn (Ryokan) was one of the things I was most looking forward to on our trip and I was not disappointed. We had booked into the Hakone Gora Onsen KaraKara and one of the reasons we picked it was because it had a private onsen. An onsen is a hot spring bath, which are sometimes private, but otherwise shared as a steam room or sauna would be at a health club. We were shown to our door by the hostess where we left our shoes neatly at the entrance. There were several rooms leading off the passageway, all with straw floors and in the middle of the lounge was a table with floor chairs. Just outside the lounge was the hot spring which was a round wooden tub with hot water flowing continuously. Wooden slats surrounded the patio and the view was a misty mountain with fresh rain falling all around. If this was heaven, them I’m good to go. 

Our hot tub

Having not eaten all day, we headed out first to find some food. The only place open in Gora was a pizza spot but I’ve yet to have a better Chicken Teriyaki Pizza or Moscow Mule. Make that three Moscow Mules. The hot spring water warmed our bones when we returned, slightly rain soaked, and the bottle of red wine we bought along helped us sleep on the floor for the first time since arriving in Japan. 

Our Ryokan lounge

The following day started with a proper Japanese breakfast consisting of green tea, noodles, potato salad, ginger and gherkins, rolled egg omelet and Horse Mackerel. That would be fish, not horse, as I briefly considered after reading about the latest Japanese delicacy to hit sushi bars. 

The Shinkansen Bullet Train

The Japan Rail Pass is a must for anyone planning to head out of Tokyo. This gets you on to the Shinkansen, or bullet trains. I spent a good half an hour standing on one of the platforms trying to get a video of one. The first one, I turned around to ask Colin something, and missed it. The second one, I blinked. The third time, I literally stood there and waited holding my phone up in the air, and I finally got one passing by. 

At the platform, awaiting very fast train

The thing to do on the Shinkansen is get a Bento Box, as most of the commuters do. I did not have this opportunity as most of the time I didn't eat on the train. The last trip from Hiroshima back to Tokyo would have been the opportunity and Colin sort of took advantage of this, however we only had about ten minutes to get something and it was still fairly early in the day so I opted for coffee and sandwiches. His was wonderful. I'm still trying to figure out what Burdock root sandwiches are. 

The restroom of the train was fully automated, and very spacious. This, I also only discovered on the last trip or I would have spent more time in there playing with all the sensors. 

The trains are spacious, fast, comfortable and they have sockets to charge your electronic equipment. Coupled with the tray tables, coat hooks, food trolleys and scenery, they basically put air travel to shame.

Oysters on Miyajima Island

We missed the first ferry over to Miyajima Island because I needed to go to the ladies when we got off the train. For the first time in Japan, I was confronted with no loo paper, there was actually a notice on the door which said that you had to purchase from the station. I had little time, no tissues and no change on me either. I was looking perplexed about to head to the station when a very kind Japanese lady offered me one of her tissues. And that just sums up how very helpful and considerate the Japanese people were to me, to us. 

After a lovely and overly expensive coffee, (which in all fairness came with water, green tea, several bows, thankful hand gestures and a little gift) we headed over on the ferry to Miyajima Island. It’s every bit as quaint and beautiful as they say and the deer really do eat whatever they can get their teeth into, including my fiancé. 

Deer Lunch

There were numerous stalls selling all sorts of touristy bits and pieces, but rightly so. We tried deep fried oysters and Miyajima locally crafted beer. Wonderful. The Croissant rusks were a must try, and didn't make it off the island.

Croissant Rusk

The Ropeway up Mount Misen

Whilst on Miyajima Island, we started following signs and headed toward the Ropeway. Because, who wouldn’t? 

Ropeway signage

Before we knew it, we bought one way tickets of 1000 yen each to take us to the top of Mount Misen and we would walk back. It was about halfway there, swinging about in our carriage and looking down at the vast, thick vegetation below, that I decided I would be taking the cable car back again. How I was going to break this to Colin, I was not sure. I held thumbs that they served beer on top, this would help me no end in my quest to lazy out. 

On the ropeway, from our cable car

So we arrived on the mountain and the surrounding ocean and islands were absolutely beautiful. I can’t pronounce any of them, but they were gorgeous. We took a couple of pictures and then I breezily commented on how they make an extra 200 yen off the people who think they will walk back until they see the distance and then purchase a ticket back. Colin was not having any of it though, so we continued on foot. I was feeling put out at having to hike Japanese mountains without being fully prepared. After passing several older gentlemen and a lady in high heels, I thought perhaps I should toughen up a little.  

View from Mount Misen

And so we commenced with our decent through the treacherous mountain terrain. Only we didn’t go down, we seemed to keep going up. We sort of went the wrong way, and once we reached the absolute peak of the Mount Misen, about a bucket of sweat later, Colin conceded that he’d gotten the hike out of him and that we should head back on the Ropeway. I’m glad we did that hike to the top, albeit sort of unintentionally. We really did feel on top of the world for a few minutes. Us and anyone else who made it. 

On top of the World

Fighting Ninja’s in Nakanocho

We knew it would be cheesy, but we had to do this dinner theatre interpretation of a Ninja show. It was affordable, close by and included an authentic Japanese dinner. We threw some Japanese beer and whisky down out throats before arriving at the venue just before the start time of 8.30pm. We were served our drink on the house and a round platter of Japanese bites. They were all delicious, from the purple ninja california rolls and the snapper sashimi to the chicken meatball squares and seaweed noodles. No really, it was fabulous. 

Japanese beer and whisky before the show

The show kicked off with much narration from the Ninja’s on stage. They would talk for about three minutes in very fast Japanese, followed by one or two english words which may or may not have been an interpretation of what was just said. Just as we were wondering how this was all going to pan out, I got pulled up to learn some Ninja moves on stage which I then performed in front of all eight people that were there. Including one with a cell phone video camera. Thanks Colin. 

After my sterling Ninja performance, the show became very entertaining with a vague storyline of Ninja’s fighting one another. The high definition wall screens behind the stage were vey effective and the grand finale was a massive monster prop which satisfactorily ended the entire performance to manic applause from all, including me. 

Eating Sushi at Musashi in Kyoto

We asked at the visitor centre in Kyoto about a sushi restaurant to eat at in the area after booking some shows. Not that there was any lack of sushi whatsoever, we just weren’t sure which would be a good option. Our helpful consultant pointed us in the direction of Musashi on the main street. We poked our heads in and noted a line of people sitting on a bench, waiting their turn to have sushi at the very full sushi conveyer belt. 

We didn’t wait long because they don’t mess around. The sushi is created and loaded on the conveyer belt at quite a pace and those spotted around are eating it just as quickly. Before long we were placed on stools at the sushi conveyer bar and given small ceramic mugs to pour our green tea, straight out of a hot water spout on the counter. 

A stream of delicious looking fish and rice concoctions paraded past me and I started with something I hadn’t had before, crunchy pork california rolls, very delicious. Candied sweet potato was also a wonderful new discovery. I went on to salmon nigiri which was so tasty I went on to another dose of salmon nigiri. A number of fish delicacies passed me by which looked wonderful but were not quite up my alley, these being fattier tuna and salmon and other types of raw white fish meat. Calamari was also a topping, as was prawn, and horse. Not the fish this time, the horse you ride on holidays in the Drakensberg. 

A view of Kyoto from Kiyomizu temple

We learnt that the dishes were coloured differently according to whether they had wasabi in the food or not, and one dish was more expensive than the others, but that was all. They also handed us a coloured plate for the beer we ordered so that all was tallied up by plates at the end.

We loved this meal, neither of us wanted to leave, but we eventually did and our seats were allocated before they even had a chance to cool down. 

A morning ride through Kyoto

We scooted down from our room fairly early on our last morning in Kyoto to claim the bikes which were available for guests to hire. We paid our 600 yen for three hours and despite several warnings from the reception desk that is was going to rain, we finally hopped on to our bicycles and headed off. It was a nice cool morning, not too cold and not hot. It was around 8.30am on a Sunday morning so the streets were quiet.

Our bikes in Kyoto

Our plan was to visit a temple further North of our Ryokan. The temple was a recommended tourist spot, so we thought it would make a good spot to head to. Unfortunately it was a bit early for things to be happening and we couldn't really access it, but we were there more for the journey that day and not so much the destination. As is usually the case.

It would so happen that the very flat Kyoto suddenly developed hills now that I was on a bike, but most of that battle was undertaken on the way to our first stop, so the ride back was a cruise downhill with a brief stop for a coffee. The rain started coming down just before we got back on our bikes but it was light and created a fresh morning mist and a crisp smell of fresh water hitting the warm pavements. There were a few people going about their business, finishing off their bakery duties, waiting for the bus, reading the paper and having a smoke outside their doors as we glided past and became part of Kyoto life for a short while.

The Kyoto Imperial Palace Park

Before heading back, we rode around Nijo castle and its moat. We opted not to go in, we had enjoyed our ride and needed to get busy checking out. We proudly handed the bikes back in one piece and not too wet. I felt better leaving Kyoto on that note, it had been such an amazing place to be and the ride gave me the opportunity to breathe it all in.

A Day in Ginza

We were booked into the Mitsui Garden Hotel in Ginza after arriving back from Hiroshima, partly because it was close to where we would be meeting someone for dinner as well as the station for easy access to and from the trains and airport. 

What a wonderful place to stay. Our room had large windows overlooking the buzzing streets and we were eye level with many of the high rise buildings along the road. It rained from the moment we arrived in Ginza, to when we left about 70 hours later, so there was a continuous supply of romantic rain drops on the glass. You could play some tracks from Lost in Translation and stare out of the window for hours, the only interruption being the motion activated toilet seat. There is a different level of investment into restroom facilities in Japan, they are finely engineered pieces of work, superior to most of our basic equipment back home in South Africa. 

Rain soaked Ginza

Colin and I split for the day, he was going to check out a fish market and electronics and I was going to do some shopping. Everyone in Tokyo was so well dressed, I was feeling very drab.  Besides that, it’s also a girls pleasure to peruse the boutiques, restaurants and streets at her own pace, investigating and stopping to look at all sorts of different things. So that's what I did. My pace was slow because it was pouring with rain and I could only walk so fast in rubber slops along a wet street. 

I ducked in and out of Abercrombie and Fitch, GAP, the Lumineer, Marronier Gate and Printemps. Everything was a bit pricey for a traveler on the Rand but I managed a sale item or two. I stopped later in the day for a coffee and a bite to eat, but unfortunately the cafe I picked did not have an English menu. I therefore ended up having iced coffee and a sweet potato waffle biscuit. It was interesting. 

I eventually headed back to our hotel room and Colin and I then went out to a little spot near out hotel for a Moscow Mule. We had been there the evening before and really enjoyed the ambience. The restaurant was below street level with red brick walls and dark wood pillars. They served tapas style food which included everything from fish to meatballs, chicken and potato-salad salad. I was noticing a trend with the potato thing. We just had a drink and a tuna bite to try it as we were going for dinner later in the evening. The restaurant was popular with the after work crowd and smoking in restaurants and bars is not only permitted in Japan, but very popular. 

The end of our Tuna bite and Moscow Mule

We had co-ordinated travel plans with Robin, a friend of Colin’s from Scotland, so that we would be able to meet up for dinner the day he arrived and the day before we left. Robin is a travel writer from Scotland and so he kindly offered to include us on his dinner plans which included reviewing the Peter at The Peninsula for dinner. 

We were certainly spoilt. Not only was it a pleasure to meet Robin and hear about his fascinating career as a travel writer, but we were able to do this from the 24th floor of a beautiful restaurant overlooking the glowing streets of Tokyo. The food was a different level as well, my charming and punchy ginger and carrot soup starter perfectly accompanied the rain outside, paired with a recommended Chardonnay. The boys had scallops and tuna carpaccio, both of which met with suitable admiration. 

While the men feasted on their red meat and red wine mains, I devoured my grilled Salmon fillet with a range of vegetables and salad to compliment it. It was out of this world. Colin is still raving about his Wagyu beef too, several weeks later. Finally, I opted for the chocolate Sundae dessert, purely for review purposes of course, while the two of them sipped on a fine Japanese whisky.

Chocolate Sundae at Peter at the Peninsula

After dinner, we headed off to two nearby bars to sample their beers, limoncello, grappa, wine and anything else they would serve us. What a great time spent with great company. Just a few hours sleep and then we were up to catch our bus to the airport to fly out. Not our freshest morning.

So while these top ten Japanese moments made my post, there were a dozen more moments that I will never forget. I don't know why I didn't go to Japan before, I feel I've missed out on the Japanese way of life to some extent. It's calm, positive and respectful which are qualities I aspire to.

I intend to return and I'm already looking forward to it.