My
decision to spend 16 days in Japan was based on a couple of things.
First, well, I’ve always wanted to go. I have read about and admired
Japanese culture for a very long time; It’s a fascinating mix of ancient
traditions and history with cutting-edge 21st century technology
and economy. The second reason: According to the internet, I could
cash in 40,000 of my American Airlines frequent flyer miles and get
over there for free! Score!
Oh,
I guess there were a few concerns (uh.. like the fact that I can’t
speak a word of Japanese), but this seemed like a great adventure
and an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I decided to go by myself,
mainly because I don’t think there are too many people who like to
take the kind of kinetic vacations I do - I tend to pack the most
exploration I can into the time allowed. I mean, Japan is a relatively
small place (about the size of Montana), but there is SO much to see,
and as you’ll see, in the 16 days I was there, I never spent more
than 2-3 days in the same place.
Before
I went though, there were 2 things I needed, a good guidebook for
research/planning and a Japan Rail Pass. I found Lonely Planet’s Japan
to be the perfect travel companion. The youthful authors have a definite
off-the-beaten-trail philosophy of travel, and it’s perfect for people
who like to plan their own itinerary (hey, that’s me!).
And
now a brief word about the Japan Rail pass: SCORE! - The pass, available
in 1-week blocks of time (and only available to foreign tourists),
allows unlimited travel on all Japan Rail trains, including the shinkansen,
or bullet trains. And since Japan Rail goes EVERYWHERE in Japan, and
has local routes in all major cities, it is THE indispensable tool
for travel in the country. It’s not cheap (400 – 550 bucks for a 2
week pass), but you can make the price after 2 or 3 trips on the shinkansen
alone (an expensive way to get around Japan, even for locals). Given
the amount of travel I did on the rail lines, I estimate getting my
money’s worth 2 to 3 times over.
So,
with Rail pass in one hand, Guidebook in another, a medium-sized suitcase
with a week’s worth of clothing (Eagle Creek Switchback Plus – Large:
the best travel bag in the known universe) and a backpack with my
trusty camera inside, I departed for my Japan adventure.
April
3
Oh
great, I just lost a day to that stupid international date line..
Who’s idea was that anyway? The flight was pretty uneventful; I did
sit next to an English speaking guy (perhaps the last one for a long
while), who was on his way back to finish building a playground in
Northern Honshu (the main island). He didn’t particularly like Japan,
but he was upset to leave his family for weeks at a time, and was
only there for business, so I didn’t let his opinion affect my enthusiasm.
With
a little help from a tourist information center in the airport, I
was able to find my hotel in the sprawling metroplex that is Tokyo.
I got my first culture-shock in the train on the way to my hotel.
Apparently, the Japanese broadcast sounds of people having sex for
the listening enjoyment of the train passengers. This struck me as
rather odd.. Now, I’m very tired from the flight and the time difference,
but I know the sound of a woman enjoying the throes of amorous passion,
and that’s definitely what I’m hearing now. I shot occasional glances
at my fellow travelers to see if they were enjoying our audio porn
experience and they didn’t seem to notice. Oh jeez.. guess what? -
It’s the creaking of the side-to-side motion of the train! Wow, I’m
glad I didn’t ask anyone about that. But the weird part is, even after
I knew what the sound was, it STILL registered as a happily pleasured
woman. I have a feeling this is going to be a surreal 2 weeks.
To
get to my hotel from the train stop, I had to fight my way (with full
bags) through Ueno Park and some sort of crowded festival. Though
I’m not exactly sure, I believe it was the cherry blossom festival
– there were long rows of food booths, each with its own distinct
alien culinary offering (and accompanying smell) and teeming masses
of drunken blossom viewers (though it was now early evening, and you
really couldn’t see the blossoms anymore). The surreal Japan experience
was certainly continuing.
..And
it continued right into my hotel room, where I came face to face with
"The Super Toilet".. This thing was a marvel of bathroom
technology. It looked vaguely like a normal toilet with some sort
of star-trek control arm extending on the right. There were numerous
buttons, all in Japanese with some pictures (Is that an ass? It looks
like an ass drinking from a fountain?!) Hanging from the wall was
an card for English decryption.. Apparently I could experience the
following bottom-based pleasures (and I quote directly): Bidet, Rectal
Washing, Oscillating Washing, Warm Air Drying, and Pulsing Spray (with
additional controls for Nozzle Position and Water Pressure).. Wow!
And guess what else? The seat was heated! Now THAT’S Japanese innovation
in full cherry-blossom bloom. And though I’m a curious gent, the only
technology I put to use during my 3-day stay was the heated seat.
Some things are better left for the imagination.
April
4
My
circadian rhythms were all screwy – I was wide awake at 4 a.m. bleah.
A little after 6 I started my exploration of Tokyo. I walked around
the park next to my hotel (goodness there ARE cherry blossoms here!)
and a nearby shopping area. I broke in my Japan Rail pass by taking
a train down to the Imperial Palace area, which wasn’t very exciting,
as people aren’t allowed in except on new years day and the emperor’s
birthday (it was neither). Next, I wandered into the Ginza shopping
area and finished up the first of what would undoubtedly be many,
many rolls of film. I then went underground in an effort to figure
out the Tokyo subway system – It’s pretty straightforward and easy
to navigate once you can figure out how to use the ticket machines
(no English explanation available). I took the subway to the Shinjuku
area of Tokyo where the tallest buildings reside. I’m a skyscraper
addict and must check out the views from any observation deck I can
find. On the 51st floor of the Shinjuku Sumitomo building,
I found a free observation deck. My God, but Tokyo is IMMENSE.. I’ve
never seen anything like it. It goes as far as you can see in all
directions and it’s PACKED! – The only word that comes to mind is
Coruscant (and if you’re not a Star Wars fan, I’ll let you know that
it’s a planet where every inch is developed). Wow.. so, I wandered
back to the park near my hotel and visited the Tokyo National Museum
(one of the few museums that my guidebook said was worth the trip).
The whole thing was Asian art, and lots of it.. I completely exhausted
my brain trying to take it all in, so I zombie-walked back to the
hotel for a rest.
That
evening I felt a strange internal desire.. it was my own personal
call of the wild.. must go to electronic district.. must go to electronic
district. What can I say? – I’ve got a toy-centric personality. Akihabara
is probably around 1km x 1km of electronic & appliance superstores.
I was in heaven. I focused my efforts on Japanese DVDs, wondering
what kinds of titles are available over there that haven’t shown up
in US markets. I found a few like Jackie Brown, Barton Fink and The
Abyss.. but sadly they were all regionally encoded for Asia, so I
left the electric megalopolis without a single purchase, save a delightful
sushi dinner (Undoubtedly the first of many sushi meals I will be
enjoying in Japan as I’m a sushi-holic. I just can’t help myself –
but admitting I have a problem is the first step).
April
5
I
decided to try the shinkansen and take a day-trip out to Nikko (by
way of Utsunomia for those of you with the home game who are keeping
track). Well, we had our first problem. I figured out how to get a
shinkansen ticket, but I found I had to compare the little Japanese
characters and departure time to a big board (in Japanese) to find
out what track it left from. It all seemed so confusing, so I asked
the ticket man where to go. "Twenty -two" he said.. which
seemed reasonable, because 19 – 22 are bullet train tracks. I only
had a few minutes, so I ran down to 22 and found.. nothing - not a
single human or anything that remotely looked like a bullet train.
Now in retrospect, perhaps the man shouted "Tu-wen Tai-tu"
which may be Japanese for "19".. I Have no idea, but I missed
my train. This isn’t a real problem as with a Japan Rail pass I can
miss trains all day – but I hate looking like a dumb tourist.. oh
well, I suppose I was a dumb tourist.
The
shinkansen is mad phat (as the kids would say) – It’s quick and very
comfortable. Well, I have a confession to make. When I bought the
Rail Pass, I had the option of buying the "normal" pass
or paying an extra $150 and getting the "Green" or 1st
class ticket.. I decided to reward myself for no particular reason
and bought the pompous green ticket. Wow, talk about pampering. You
often get drink service, your own little table, bigger seats, hot
towels and even a hand-job from the beautiful Japanese attendants
(okay, I made that last bit up). Suffice to say, I rode around Japan
in style.
So,
where was I? Ah, Nikko. Nikko is an amazing place. It is a collection
of shrines and temples in the middle of forested hills. And they were
the most ornate I saw throughout my travels (and I saw a LOT of shrines
and temples). I blew 3 rolls on the sights around Nikko, I just couldn’t
help myself. I also had my first noodle lunch – noodles are plentiful
and cheap in Japan – you can get all kinds of stuff mixed in as well.
I usually pointed at the plastic model in the window that had interesting
plastic stuff on the plastic noodles - I liked everything I tried.
Oh yeah, I also met a couple of English-speaking fellow tourists in
Nikko - a couple of German guys (They took even more pictures than
me).
That
night, back in Tokyo, I decided to check out the Tokyo nightlife district.
Lots of clubs and bars. For the first time, I really would have liked
to have a companion; I wasn’t ready to throw myself up against a language
barrier that evening especially being very tired and having really
sore feet from all the walking around Tokyo and Nikko.
OBSERVATION
Every
couple of days, I’ll throw in a little insight into Japanese culture
gained from direct observation or experience. For instance, I arrived
right before Election Day – or as the Japanese say it: Erection Day.
So, everywhere I went, I was accosted by vans with enormous loudspeaker
systems strapped to their top, screaming election propaganda at me
at approximately 125-150 decibels. AAH! Talk about your acoustic nightmare..
I gather they were explaining why their candidate was worthy of your
erection. Apparently the competition was pretty stiff.. Okay, I’m
stopping this right now.
April
6
I
say goodbye to Super-Toilet and catch the shinkansen to Kyoto. I decided
that this was the day I fire my hiking boots. My feet were in terrible
shape.. blisters and shin-splints (I think that’s what they are) –
I KNOW it’s not just because I’m getting old, so after checking into
my hotel, I headed out in search of tennis shoes. Here’s the crappy
part. I actually packed my tennis shoes for the trip, then said: "Nah.
I shouldn’t need these – after all, I have HIKING boots.." Doh!
Figures.. God knows what I’ll have to pay now. Well, whatever it is,
it will be worth it, cuz I can’t take any more of those evil bastard
boots. 9200 yen later (about 77 bucks), I have my ugly, but very comfortable
Nikes. I immediately swapped footwear, found a Kyoto map and ventured
out for some shrine-hunting (there are some 2000 shrines and temples
in the Kyoto area! - But only a few really good ones that I wanted
to see..) I found a couple on the other side of town, but after walking
around the grounds, I was in some serious hurt, so I hailed a cab
for the ride back to my hotel (this should be expensive) – 15 bucks
later, I had him drop me off at Kyoto Tower for some more high-rise
viewing (Did I mention that I love this tall-building stuff?). I did
manage to walk back to my hotel from there for a serious nap. When
I went out to find some dinner that night, the pain was unbelievable.
I couldn’t even walk right – I managed to limp across the street to
the train station for some spicy noodles and limped right back where
I instantly fell asleep again.
April
7
I
was feeling a lot better in the morning, but I decided to make this
a short day to give myself a little extra healing time. It turned
out to be the wisest decision of the trip. However, I still had a
half-day to explore. Consulting my trusty guidebook, I decided to
go to Nijo-jo Castle and a few nearby temples. Nijo-jo was more of
a palace-type building compared to other "real" castles
I saw in Japan. It was a single-story construct, but impressive nonetheless.
I went nuts with the cherry blossom photography.. just couldn’t help
myself.
I
found a couple of nice shrines on the way back to the train station
and I also found a pachinko parlor. I actually remembered that my
dream from the previous night was about pachinko, so I took it as
an omen and tried my luck. Well, That was the quickest 100 yen I ever
spent. But it really was a must-do experience. Pachinko has certainly
evolved since I played when I was a kid. Now it’s all automated; You
just adjust the amount of kick to give the first ball and all the
rest will follow in rapid order. Actually, this really takes all the
fun out of it for me, so I was able to easily resist the gambling
urge for the remainder of my trip. Besides, the kind of prizes available
didn’t really excite me (Yeah, like I want Japanese bubble-gum pop
music CDs. Yuck. Sometimes when I hear foreign music, I just get down
on my knees and THANK GOD that American music is founded on blues-based
rock.. but I digress.).
Before
retiring for the day, I visited a marvelous temple complex only a
couple of blocks from my hotel. According to the literature, Japan’s
tallest 5-story pagoda was among the ancient buildings at this site.
Ayup, it was pretty tall (insert picture taking sounds here). So,
time for the much needed R&R. Lucky for me I brought along a book
just for this type of hotel-bound emergency: Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s
Rainbow. After 2 aborted attempts in 2 years, I can finally dedicate
the required attention & concentration this book demands. Hooray
for small literary victories.
I
did make a quick outing for some dinner. I decided to try some Japanese
fast food – a place called "Lotteria" – the Japanese equivalent
of McDonalds or Burger King. Ready for the motto? "We Provide
High Quality, Good Service and Amenity" Heh. Just one of the
many things I found that doesn’t quite make the English translation
smoothly. Though the service was nothing short of miraculous by American
fast-food standards. The employees were VERY courteous and I watched
as my cashier efficiently bagged every component of my combo meal,
meticulously folded the corner of each bag to keep it shut, and upon
being asked for some ketchup for my fries, proceeded to fill a small
pie-tin of ketchup and neatly wrapped it in saran-wrap. I was stunned.
As far as the food was concerned, well, I could determine that I ordered
a chicken sandwich, but as to what the semi-solid layer of goo was,
I can only guess (bean curd?). It was a very odd consistency and the
taste was foreign to my palate. Oh well, at least the fries were right
on.
OBSERVATION
I
mentioned the meticulous packaging of my food, well it turns out that
the Japanese are obsessed with wrapping and packaging. For example,
in the hotels I stayed in that had bar soap, I would tear open the
box.. now, what do you think I would find.. soap, right? Nah.. I found
the inner layer – the vacuum sealed plastic wrap that contained the
soap. Weird. I expected to keep unwrapping layer after layer, not
unlike those Russian dolls, eventually finding a fortune cookie-like
message at the core: "No soap for you, wrapper boy"
April
8
My
feet were about 85% when I woke up that morning – a vast improvement
- so I decided I was in good enough shape for a day trip to Nara.
Like Kyoto, Nara is an ancient Japanese capital and cultural center.
Plus the city seemed to have been spared from Allied bombing and other
disasters throughout the centuries, so all the temples & buildings
would still be there in their original & well-preserved state.
Even better, it was a gorgeous day; Blue skies, big puffy clouds,
and temperatures in the 60s – one of those days where you are perfectly
comfortable in a light jacket. I spent the morning and early afternoon
walking around beautiful Nara-koen park, home to the amazing Todai-Ji
Temple (the largest wooden building in the world) and its 16m high
Great Buddha. I found out that I couldn’t have planned this trip to
Nara any better, for it was Buddha’s birthday! And to celebrate, a
special kind of tea was being served on the temple steps. I was tempted
to sing "Happy Birthday" to the big guy, but thought that
the locals might knock me up side my unenlightened head.
Lunch
in Nara turned out to be one of the highlights of the day. I found
an all-you-can-eat automated sushi restaurant.. YES! After I paid
1500 yen, I sat in front of an endless parade of appetizers, sushi,
desserts and mystery items all temptingly rolling past me on a conveyer
belt. This was a perfect time to try new things, and some of the items
were actually quite tasty (though I still don’t know what they were).
However, I tried a delightful brownish-looking sushi item, thinking
it might be some marinated fish of some kind, only to find it was
a foul-tasting root of some kind.. Ick. And to make matters worse,
all the items came in groups of two, so I had to eat the nasty vegetable’s
twin brother.. I stopped the radical experimentation at that point.
After eating my fill (and then a little more), I went back to Kyoto
to enjoy the rest of the perfect afternoon in the sprawling Imperial
Palace Park.. I had a delightful time just relaxing in the sun and
people watching.
My
evenings in Japan were usually spent winding down with a little TV
(hopefully, I had CNN to catch up on the latest Kosovo bits) and I
was usually so tired from walking all day that I zonked out around
10 or so. But this evening I actually found an interesting Japanese
program (see the observations below for what NORMAL Japanese TV was
like). It was a documentary-like show about a Japanese family who
spent some time with a primitive tribe of people in New Guinea (or
some like place), and when they went back to Japan, they actually
took some tribe members with them as part of some cultural exchange..
It was hysterical – and it was nonfiction too (sort of like a real
"Gods Must be Crazy"). The cool part was I didn’t have to
understand Japanese to enjoy the program.
OBSERVATION
So
what about that crazy Japanese TV.. Much (TOO much) of the programming
was amateur singing (usually kids), kind of like Karaoke – in fact,
I can swear that there was a channel that played nothing else. Then
there’s the obsession with Edo period dress (the funky top-knot hair,
kimonos & swords, etc.). There were dramas, musical variety hours
(sort of like Sunny & Cher meet SHOGUN), and numerous commercials
which all featured this period of Japanese history. Speaking of commercials,
I actually found them to be the best part of Japanese TV. They were
just so different.. I suppose it appeals to a much different cultural
psychology. Lots of bad singing and surreal perfume-type imagery..
I often found myself switching channels to FIND commercials, not avoid
them.
April
9
This
was to be a big travel day, as I planned on taking the shinkansen
down the remaining length of Honshu, through the underwater tunnel
to Hakata on the southern island of Kyushu. From there it was another
2 hours by "normal" rail to Nagasaki. It was quite a pleasant
trip – the mountainous scenery from the train kept me interested the
entire 5 hours.
When
I arrived in Nagasaki it was raining (no, not BLACK rain!), so it
seemed like a good idea to take another cab trip to my hotel (what
the hell, it’s just money, right?). I quickly ate (The infamous "Mos
Burger": The bastard spawn of McDonalds and Lotteria), then hailed
another cab to the A-bomb museum. Wow, the museum was awesome – it
was full of history, computer reconstructions of the historic bomb
blast, artifacts and more. The coolest part for me was the second
half of the museum which was just about nuclear weapons in general.
I actually learned a lot about nuclear testing since the end of WWII
– Did you know that there have been over 2000 nuclear tests in the
last 55 years? (I didn’t)
A
brief stop in the rain allowed me to tour the epicenter area, where
a black granite obelisk marked the exact point of the plutonium bomb
detonation over the city. It was quite an experience standing there
on that gray day imagining the destructive power that shared that
same spot with me >shudder<. So I sat down and fed the 4-winged
pigeons and petted the little glowing 3-eyed bunnies that lived in
the park. (That’s NOT true! NOT funny either.. well, a little..)
About
this time I realized that I had lost a 10,000 yen bill. Gone.. probably
in the cab that I took to the museum. That’s like losing 80 bucks.
Vaporized. Well, some cab driver got a handsome tip, and I got a foul
mood for the rest of the day. I walked back to my hotel, grumbling
all the way, dreaming of all the different, ugly tennis shoes I could
buy with 10,000 yen. Oh well, if this was the worst thing that happened
to me on the trip (and it was), then it’s O.K. Hooray for a larger
perspective!
April
10
The
weather was still pretty crappy in Nagasaki, so I decide to leave
early for Kagoshima. But first I experience the western-influenced
goodness that is "Mr. Donut" At Mr. Donut, I can get American
coffee without paying the average 400-600 yen. For a mere 200 yen
($1.75) I can get the tasty American brew, and that’s about what I’d
pay at Starbucks these days anyway (and what’s up with that?!). I
should point out for your education that Japan is a big tea society,
green tea is plentiful and free everywhere. American coffee is still
an exotic imported item for the most part, but there seems to be a
growing coffee culture – "Addict ‘em and they will buy"..
it worked great with cigarettes over there, that’s for sure. But I
digress..
On
the train to Kagoshima, I sat in the "Top Car", which was
actually a pompous ultra-first class division of the normal pompous
green car.. Here’s where I got the free drinks and little tables.
Sharing my "Top Car" is another Rail Pass holder – a nice
Japanese woman who seems to speak perfect English! – I found out that
her name was Masako, and she’d been living in Denver for the past
16 years (That must be why she speaks English so well AND has a Rail
Pass) - That’s me, the quick one.. Anyway, by this point in my journey,
I was really starved for English communication. It was a wonderful
release to talk with her for those couple of hours on the train. I
was pretty sure I would now be able to last the rest of the trip on
the quiet side of the language barrier.
Kagoshima
is on the southern part of the island of Kyushu. It sits across the
bay from an active volcano (Mt. Sakurajima) which has been smoking
since the mid-50s (when smoking was good for you). As I took the bus
to my bay-front hotel, I was astounded to find the view from my room
was a perfect overlook of the volcano! How cool is that? Well, I guess
it’s cool until there’s a major eruption.. and there have been 4 this
century, the last one in 1955. I decided to place my fate in mathematical
probability and hope for the best.
I
really liked the city of Kagoshima and set out to explore it that
afternoon. I ended up at (you guessed it) a great sushi restaurant
and sort-of befriended the sushi chef there (who’s English was about
as skilled as my Japanese). He kept giving me weird dishes (sea shard?
What the hell’s a sea shard?) "My gift to you" he would
say.. Nice guy. Good skills. Best meal of the trip.
OBSERVATION
I
haven’t said much about the Japanese people. Well, there are a bunch
of ‘em – that’s for sure. Ever had a bad hair day? Well they seem
to be having a bad hair society.. That’s not very nice, I know, but
it’s true – for men and women both. I suppose there’s only a limited
number of doos that you can sport with the genetic hand dealt you.
It made the weird hair-doos that I saw once in a while actually quite
stylin’ and cool. They certainly stood out. Bad haircuts or not, I
still found most of the Japanese women I saw attractive.. It’s hell
being a western guy sometimes.. And Japanese children? They’re all
beautiful - every one of ‘em.. until they get around 7 or so, then
they start to look like little adults (with bad little haircuts).
April
11
Sunday
mornings are really quiet in Japan. I saw very few people as I walked
the couple of miles to the Ferry station. From there I went out to
see the volcano close up. Yup that’s an active volcano all right..
At the best observation point on the southern part of the island,
I met a nice family from Gifu. I seem to meet a lot of people when
I ask someone to take my picture. It’s an elaborate ritual which starts
by me saying "sumi-masen" (excuse me), then I point to the
camera, then I point to me, then I point to them, then I smile, then
they figure it out, then they gladly accept and take my picture (every
time). The Japanese are a pretty camera-centric people, and I found
that they often took pictures for each other too (it’s just a thing
you do there). So, back to this family from Gifu – They were absolutely
delighted to find a receptive, chatty foreigner. We threw ourselves
up against the language barrier a bit while I met the whole family
and then they all took a picture with their new friend from wash-ing-tan.
I must say it was pretty neat.
After
a while I was feeling pretty ashy (I guess that’s the down-side of
volcano-watching). I took the ferry back home for a much needed shower
and an nice Italian lunch. Well, it was a Japanized-Italian lunch
– The spaghetti had seaweed strips on it.. oh well, close enough.
I’m afraid the rest of my day was rather anticlimactic, as I went
from exploring an active volcano to doing laundry. Hey, even Indiana
Jones needed to do laundry – you just didn’t see those parts in the
movie.
So,
now with clean clothes, I had time to take a photographic tour of
the pier area & park near my hotel. I found some great shots and
blew another roll.. (I think I’m up to about 15 rolls now – oy!, this
is going to be expensive).
April
12
It
was another big travel day, as I had to travel back across the entire
length of Kyushu, then hop another shinkansen back over to Honshu
and ultimately to the city of Hiroshima. Well, partway through the
first leg, I was pleasantly surprised to meet up with Masako again!
Though I initially accused her of stalking me, it was nice to continue
our conversation from a few days ago. We parted once again in Western
Kyushu, but given our propensity for running into each other, I said
we’d see each other soon. :)
It
was raining in Hiroshima when I got there (NO, NOT BLACK RAIN!), so
I tailored my stay towards indoor activities – like the Peace Memorial
Museum. It was similar to the Nagasaki A-bomb museum, but with enough
differences in the city history, exhibits and museum lay-out to provide
a fascinating new experience.
Guess
what I ate for dinner? Yah, you betcha – sushi. This was another automated
sushi-on-parade restaurant, but this time you paid for your sushi
by the color and quantity of plates you selected. I picked up a few
of the red-plate items (like fatty tuna – delicious but not cheap),
but stuck mainly to the intermediate (200-280 yen) dishes. I think
the best part about eating sushi in Japan was that nobody was there
to tell me about all the parasites and toxic waste I was probably
ingesting. Ignorance is indeed bliss (and quite tasty).
OBSERVATION
Fashion
and Japan – like oil and water.. For men, fashion seemed to reach
it’s pinnacle with the business suit. That’s about all I ever saw
– From crowded subways to McDonalds – the business suit was omnipresent.
I certainly felt like the fashion rebel with my leather jacket and
jeans. For Japanese girls, this year it’s legwarmers and platform
boots.. Sort of an of early 80s medley of Olyvia Newton John (let’s
get physical) and Ace Frehley of Kiss (big, big glam-rock boots).
And the perfect accessory? The mini-cel phone, which seemed to permanently
attach the young Japanese woman’s hand to the side of their head.
Cel phones were about as common as business suits in the Land of the
Rising Sun.
April
13
Well,
good news and bad news.. Good news: The rain had stopped. Bad news:
it was still icky and gray and my photography would suffer that morning..
Oh well, there have certainly been worse mornings in Hiroshima. Actually,
the gray skies weren’t such a bad backdrop for the A-bomb dome - Once
the old Industrial Promotion Hall, it’s now a permanent symbol of
the destruction brought upon the city. It’s been maintained in it’s
current state since the morning of Aug 6, 1945. Somehow, Big puffy
clouds and a beautiful blue sky wouldn’t have been appropriate. I
continued my walking tour of the city to Hiroshima-jo Castle (here
a blue sky would’ve been nice), took a few pictures and decided to
leave early for Takamatsu - it’s on another island (The smaller island
of Shikoku - hopefully a sunny island).
I
took the shinkansen to Okayama, where I boarded a regular ol’ train
for Takamatsu. When we got to the bridge (actually, a series of bridges)
that connects Shikoku to the main island, the train had to stop unexpectedly.
This was a first for me in my travels through Japan, as the rail service
was so precise, you can set your watch by it. I have never been more
impressed with public transportation in my entire life. However, here
we were – stopped – and I didn’t know why. The conductor debriefed
us (in Japanese), so I still didn’t know what the situation was. A
lady in the seat in front of me turned around and in pretty good English
asked me if I understood. Uh.. no. She explained that there were high
wind gusts on the bridge, and we would be unable to continue until
they had stopped. In unison, every passenger took out their mobile
phone and attempted to salvage their disrupted lives. The nice lady
in front of me hung up and said that she had to take a cab to Takamatsu
and asked if I would like to share. "Sure, I’ll split it with
you" – but she said that her boss would be picking up the fare,
as she was late for an important meeting. Whoa, that’s great! How
cool is that? The woman’s name was Naomi, and her English was good
enough to chat the entire way to Takamatsu. Her meeting was right
across the street from the train station too, so that worked out really
well (I told her to thank her boss for me, as the cab fare was over
100 bucks!).
I
had a yummy noodle lunch and began my quest for a hotel. Takamatsu
was the only place where I didn’t reserve a hotel room in advance.
After a little searching, I found the "Rihga Hotel Zest"
(don’t ask me – I think it’s just another bad translation), which
was nice and comparable in price to what I was paying at other places
(60 – 100 bucks/night). From there, it was a nice walk to Ritsurin-koen
garden, Takamatsu’s biggest tourist draw. It was quite nice (and it
was a beautiful, sunny day), but periodically there was a 90kph, train-stopping
wind gust that ripped through the garden and would nearly blow me
over. Wow, no wonder they stopped the train!
I
spent my evening shopping and ate another hybrid Japanese/Italian
meal. I was fortunate to find an uncut American movie on TV that night:
"Eye of the Needle" with Donald Sutherland – Not a terrible
flim. I hadn’t even seen it before, which was a bonus.
April
14
On
the agenda for today was a day-trip to Kotohira. Apparently this is
THE place to go on Shikoku for shopping and shrine-watching. The shrine
in question was Kompira-san Shrine, with its 800 steps up the mountain.
800 steps? I’ve been walking around this bloody country for nearly
2 weeks now.. I can do 800 steps for breakfast with one blister tied
behind my back. The best part about all those steps is the view it
gives you of the valley when you’re done climbing. Quite a reward
for all that effort. Plus it’s worth documenting that it was another
absolutely gorgeous day. It was one of those days that you just couldn’t
get in a bad mood, even if you spent all your money – which is what
I did. All of it (save 9 bucks U.S. in my wallet). There were amazing
woodcraft stores in Kotohira, which is where I spent all my yen on
various trinkets & gifts for the people back home.
It
was during travel to Kotohira that I learned one of the most valuable
lessons about travel in Japan. Got a question? - Ask a young person.
They are the ones in the middle of 5-years of English classes, they
can figure out what the heck you want to know, and if they can’t right
off the bat, it’s a wonderful puzzle for them. Plus of course, you
can meet all kinds of cute young Japanese women this way. I also found
that most Japanese people will not initiate conversation, but once
you ask a question, that’s the conversational "green light".
They are inquisitive about foreigners in their country and eager to
try their English skills. I was asked many times if I was Australian.
I guess there’s a big Australian tourist industry in Japan (Or maybe
it was the wombat in my pocket).
Anyway,
where was I? – oh yeah, back in Takamatsu with no money.. Good thing
my rail pass allowed free travel, I couldn’t find a single damn ATM
that let me use my American Visa cards, I suppose I would have to
wait until tomorrow when I went to Osaka.
OBSERVATION
So
what happens when there are no young people around to ask my questions?
Well, you come face to face with the immense obstacle that is the
language barrier. I did not prepare myself linguistically for this
trip. I had a Japanese phrasebook which I tried to use a few times,
but it really only succeeded as a comical prop as I pretended to throw
it over my shoulder in the middle of a conversational problem. It
was pretty much useless. I did memorize a few things from it, like:
"I don’t speak Japanese" – that was a useful one.. plus
the obligatory "thank you", "excuse me" and "please
keep me prisoner in accordance with the Geneva Convention" (it
was an older book).
In
most of the places where I needed to communicate, namely the hotel
desks and train stations, the employees knew enough English for me
to to describe my basic needs. I actually used a quaint hybrid of
simple Japanese and English words (like: Hai, track 22 – which means
"yes, track 19).
So,
for 2 weeks, I mainly kept to myself and concentrated on my photography.
In the places I visited, there was often a western foreigner or two,
so I engaged in English conversations from time to time, which was
therapeutic to say the least.
April
15
The
winds were gone. I was able to leave Shikoku with no problems. I rode
in the pompous green car on the shinkansen to Osaka, my last stop
before returning to Tokyo. I was getting damn good at finding hotels
in the middle of sprawling Japanese cities, so of course I screwed
up this time. I tried to check into the Osaka Tokyu Inn, when I should
have been trying to check into the Esaka Tokyu Inn – Esaka is a northern
suburb of Osaka.. of course! - now back me up here people, anyone
could do this, right? Well, my hotel was only a couple of subways
stops away, so it was not a major diversion.
The
first thing I had to do in Osaka was find some money. The second was
visit the aquarium. I read in my little book that they have whale
sharks in captivity! How cool is that? Whale sharks are the largest
(known) fish, often attaining lengths of 60 feet or more. This one
was a just a baby at 15-18 feet.. but it was still awesome to see.
Another highlight was a tank full of Japanese Spider Crabs (big, spindly,
alien-looking things) – creepy! After the aquarium, I went to the
observation deck of the Asian World Trade Center (yes, another damn
skyscraper), where I blew another couple of rolls (up to 22 now..
yikes!).
That
evening for dinner I took a different spin on the whole sushi thing
– Take out! I had a nice sushi dinner in the comfort of my tiny little
hotel room. Skyscrapers and sushi.. it just doesn’t get any better
than this.
April
16
Time
for another day-trip. This time, my little book advised me that one
of the better castles in Japan was found in Himeji, a small town west
of Kobe. That seems like a reasonable quest, so I ventured out. Kobe
was unimpressive (though it was nicely cleaned up from that earthquake
a few years ago), so I passed on through to Himeji. Score another
one for the book – the Himeji-jo castle was fantastic. Plus it was
another beautiful day with tons of cherry blossoms that made for some
more spectacular photography. Also, Unlike some castles in Japan,
we were allowed to go inside and climb up to the very top of this
one.
On
the way back, I stopped in Akashi, where the world’s longest suspension
bridge resides. This thing is a structure-nut’s wet dream. The Akashi
Kaikyo bridge is 3911 meters with a center span of 1,991m –that’s
over 700m longer than the impressive Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
There was even an observation deck on the bridge.. how could I refuse?
As
I was leaving the bridge, I noticed I had lost the eyepiece of my
camera – shit – so I went back over my path and found a huge, uniformed
class of Japanese students undoubtedly crushing my camera part into
fine powder. As I searched, a young boy approached me and said "excuse
me, may I speak with you?" - "Uh.. YES, but in one minute,
okay?" I said as I held up my 1-minute finger and walked towards
2 girls who just found my eyepice. Behind me, I could hear all the
poor boy’s friends laughing at him for being rejected by the asshole
tourist. I thanked the girls for finding my part, then went back to
find my conversation partner. Their English teacher, Nora (from Ireland),
apologized and explained that she said they could approach people
and ask to speak with them. I assured her it was perfectly fine, but
that I needed to find my missing eyepiece first and now I was ready.
So I met the young boy and answered all his standard "meeting
a tourist" questions. He went from laughing stock to hero of
his class – I felt much better about the whole thing (I even met a
boy who’s "English name" was Mark.. so I took his name as
my Japanese name, which made the kids laugh). Of course I had to pose
for pictures with the entire class when we were done talking, which
was enjoyable too. But stupid me, I never got cute, Irish Nora’s address
for continued correspondence.
Well,
after 2 weeks, I finally broke down and ate McDonalds for dinner that
night. But I had their new "curry burger", which I felt
was a reasonable exotic compromise.
April
17-18
Oh
sad day, I must return to Toko for my flight back tomorrow. I kicked
around the idea of squeezing just ONE MORE expensive shinkansen trip
in, as my rail pass expired at the end of the day. I decided that
if I had time, I would try for Nagano, where they had the last winter
Olympics. Well, after the train to Narita, and checking into the hotel,
and lunch, it was 2:30.. Since it was at least an hour and a half
to Tokyo station, then two hours more to Nagano, I decided just to
relax for my last 24 hours in Japan. I suppose I deserved a little
rest after this whirlwind tour, to say the least. The last day passed
uneventfully.
CONCLUSION
What
can I say? – it was a phenomenal trip full of wonderful, exciting
experiences. I am giving myself a merit badge in resourcefulness for
spending 2 solo weeks in a country where I didn’t speak the language.
I’m giving myself another merit badge for train travel, as I was able
to go from city to city and travel within each city with near flawless
execution. Perhaps I should get another badge for culinary exploration,
as I stuck mainly to Japanese food where possible – and hopefully
a final merit badge for travel photography
(with 25 frickin’ rolls, SOMETHING has to turn out well). I would
definitely recommend Japan as a travel destination – it’s a safe,
friendly, interesting place with much to see and do. If you plotted
all the places I went on a map (er, well, I did – at the top of the
page), you’ll see that I completely ignored Northern Honshu and the
island of Hokkaido – so I have to go back sometime.. you can look
forward to another descriptive journal when that happens. So until
then, sayonara!
Mark
April, 1999
