Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Tokyo to Portland

Homeward bound today.  We started with breakfast in our hotel, followed by a walk to the Shimbashi Train Station, to catch the Asakusa line to Narita Airport.  We had planned to take the 9:32 departing train for an 80-minute ride to the airport, but was able to buy tickets, find the correct track, and catch the early 9:04 train, with only a 5-minute wait.  We got off at the last stop at Terminal 1, checked in with   Korean Air for our first flight to Seoul, Inchon Airport, Korea.

We passed through customs (who retrived our tax free certificates provided for my watch and the wood-cut print), immigration (who removed the sticker we got when when arrived in Japan), security ("please remove your liquids, but not your shoes"), and found our way to the lounge (business class perk) to await our boarding and 12:30 pm.  We spent some leftover currency on a bottle of saki and several boxes of Japanese style sweets.  We also exchanged the reminder of our money for US$.

On the flight to Korea, I watched the movie Minions, which was quite funny.  We arrived in Seoul, got off the plane and had about an hour to get to our Air Canada flight.  So, what did we have to do, immediately go through airport security.  What is the logic for this - get off a "secured" flight from Tokyo and go through security again?  I asked two people and they looked at me like I was nuts but I suspect they had never thought about it before.  My only conclusion is that Korea does not accept or trust Japan's security.

Oh well, we made it to the gate with a few minutes to spare, after a bit of hike and a train ride, and even squeezed in a restroom break.  On the flight to Vancouver, we enjoyed two meals and I watched 3 movies - Mission Impossible, Rogue Nation, Outside Inside (animation about emotions), and Black Sea (Jude Law searching for Nazi gold in a submarine).  We arrived at Vancouver and passed through a rather modern process for transferring to a US destination, though in a month they will have Global Entry in place.  They have an automatic passport scanner, we had to pass through security again (?), and said hi to an immigration officer.  We got to sit for over 3 hours until our flight to PDX was scheduled.  I watched the last of my iPad rental movies - Captain Phillips.  We flew to Portland and arrived home at 3:30 pm.  We went to pick up Sophie, who had had a good time at Mitten's Motel.



Sunday, November 8, 2015

Tokyo, Our Last Full Day

It was cloudy but didn't rain, though it was predicted.  We had fun doing our shopping.  We decided to catch the opening of the Mitsukoshi Department Store at 10:00.  They make an announcement, followed by doors open and about 5 minutes of bowing as one walks among the displays.   To reach the store in time, we took the subway to the Nihombashi Bridge, getting a repeat look at the official endpoin of the Nakasendo Trail.  We also saw the Edo Bridge.  Both were originally wooden with the graceful arch.  They are both now flat, concrete and underneath a modern expressway, whose foundation arise from the waters in the former moat.

At Mitsukoshi, we viewed the food displays on the basement floors and then went up to the "crafts" floor.  We also walked through watches, comprised of the famous brand names priced up to and over 10 million yen ($81,000).  Crafts turned out to be needlepoint, kniting, beads and the like.  Betsy bought a crewel and embroidery kit for a Christmas decoration.  It seems odd that a place with Shinto and Buddhist religions celebrate Christmas.  The shops have put up their Christmas decorations already.  But, they liked halloween, too.

We next went in search for the true Ginza and found it.  The band on my fancy hiking and mountain climbing watch started failing early on this trip and whle duct tape worked for a while, the end was near.  So, we stopped into a watch shop, first to ask about replacement bands (none available for my sized watch) and second, to see if a replacement watch might be available.  There was a small dsiplay of altimeter watches by Sieko.  I am bringing one home.  It is solar powered and never needs a battery replacement.  

We next went to S. Watanabe, specialist in wood cut prints.  We found a nice print of a sunset over an historic post town, like we visited on the Nakasendo Trail, and are bringing home, too.

Our last purchase were 3 "anpan," billed as Japan's national sweet - round buns stuffed with red bean paste.  We enjoyed 2 regular ones and one with fig-walnut paste in Hibiya Park with lemon tea as a break from shopping.  We walked back to our hotel via the US Embassy.

We got a new room in the hotel (because I booked it separately since the tour package ended this morning).  We have an Artist Room, which means it has painted walls.  We have a bamboo-themed room.  A free saki comes with the room, which we are enjoying as I write this.


Later, we went out to find dinner and happened upon a wine bar.  We each had a glass of wine and shared ratatouille and seafood paella.  We walked back to the hotel passing by the start of the main street of the Ginza.  It was lit with a vertical signs, which advertise what is on each floor of each building.  We re-packed for our long travel day tomorrow.


Saturday, November 7, 2015

Tokyo in the rain

The weather has changed, fortunately after all hiking has been completed.  It rained most the day and is predicted to be the same tomorrow.  But, we weren't going to sit in our hotel all day, so out we went with our umbrellas and rain jackets.

We started with breakfast in the hotel, which was western style buffet, with some Japanese-items for those inclined.  We walked first to the Tsukiji Outer Market, which appeared to be the area where Japanese come on Sunday for brunch.  It is only open on Sundays, Wednesdays and holidays.  The shops and cafes offered sashima on rice (raw fish). 



The fish comes from next door from the wholesale fish market.  One curious thing that happened in the outer market.  I walked into a knife store (some where as long as swords) and a guy jumped up and stood directly in front of me.  I said I just looking; he didn't move, smile or say anything.  I took that as a sign I was not wanted and left.

We left the market for a stroll through the Minato City area.  We walked by the Hama-rikyu Gardens, which we toured about a month ago the first time while in Tokyo, then to the Sengaku-ji Temple.  


Great joinery

And, carvings on a beam

It was built in 1612, and is the grave site for the Ako Ronin (or known in the west as the "47 Ronin").  Their leader was Naganori Asano and is famous from the Ako Incident or "Chushingura."  The Japanese seem to still pay their respects to these disgraced samuri by placing incense at each gravesite.


We tried to find a large tree (chinquapin) and may have saw it later from afar.  But ended up in a Japanese Garden known as Happo-en.  It had a series of bonzai trees on display, a few over 500 years old and the many other things normally associated with such gardens.  We walked around the pond with large koi.  

Bonzai trees

520 years old!



We walked to the nearest subway station and caught a train back to our hotel.  We picked up some snacks and retreated to our hotel room for tea and to dry out.

We went to the edge of the Ginza to find dinner and after wandering around a bit, chose a small restaurant, a "shokudo" with an unknow name.  We sat at the counter peering up at the bartender.  We ordered off the menu, 2 beers, Korean pancake, pot stickers, chicken skewers, salad with mushrooms and bacon dressing (came with an egg in the center, mostly uncooked), and tuna sushi.  It was great value and fun to watch the action.  The beer is poured from an automatic machine that first tilts the mug, fills it to within 1 1/2 inches of the rim, straightens the mug and finally squirts in foam, making a consistent sized head.  We walked back to our hotel, the rains had stopped for now.

Nakasendo Trail, Day 5

Today was our last day on the Nakasendo Trail going from to Karuizawa to Yokokawa via the Usui-toge Pass.  We walked up about 1,200 feet over 6 km and descended nearly 3,000 feet over 10 km.  It was a very gentle downward grade except for two bits.  Our high point was just short of 4,000 feet elevation. 


We had an early breakfast - Japanese buffet with Western influences and were on the trail by 8:15.  We walked by a variety of upscale weekend or summer homes through a marvelous open deciduous forest.  Many of the leaves had turned golden and red.  it was a most pleasant walk.  


At the pass, we hung out at a viewpoint that looked out onto the "Alps" including several "mounts."k  All of the intrepretative signs were in Japanese so we can't tell you which ones we saw.  It was clouding and hazy (rains are coming) but still impressive in multiple ranks.  There were a cafes at the pass along with a temple.  One of the cafes has pictures of John Lennon when he visited with Yoko.


We decended from the pass on a rather narrow, undeveloped trail first through a more dense decidious forest then into cypress and cedar.  


There was some history of battles, the first police station and bandits which were hinted at in our walking guide but all of the signs were in Japanese.  We know a few symbols/characters, particulerly the ones for "Nakasendo," but not many others.  Betsy has concluded that the walking guide has room for improvement.  We got a chance to lok at the guide Walk Japan, specifically Jamie (our tour leader on Kumano Kodo) is developing for their upcoming self-guided Nakasendo trip and it is much better.  We may offer him some of our observations via email.


After getting down the near Yokokawa, we followed a rail-to-trail conversion through a tunnel, past an old, defunct power station and into town.  We missed a checkpoint, originally used to check for unauthorized travelers on the route.  We reach the station, had a snack and boarded a local train to Takasaki.  We then caught the next Shinkasen Bullet Train to Tokyo Station.  We transferred to the subway for two stops to arrive at Shimbashi Station and walked to the Park Hotel.  We felt good, we were seasoned travelers back in the big city.

The Park Hotel is very nice.  It is in the Tokyo Media Building.  Reception is on floor 25; our room is on floor 28.  All of the rooms above reception are on the outside of a triangular building creating a 10 story atrium in the middle.


The view from our room

Looking down to reception

Looking up

We cleaned up and went for dinner.  We first scoped out some skyview restaurants on the 41st and 42nd floors, but found them too pricey and not to or liking.  We ended up at an Indian restaurant which  was very good.  It was nice to use a knife and fork, while sitting at a table.

We came back to the hotel by way of a large clock/sculpture that "activated" at 8:00 pm.  It was quirky and not flashy.  Betsy says it represents precursor or evolution underlying the high-tech city/nation that Japan is today. 


Friday, November 6, 2015

Nakasendo Trail, Day 4

Today was a day of train rides and short walks.  It started with another Japanese breakfast in Narai, which I finally remembered to photograph.

There is seawwed in the cellophane package;  and no rice has been served yet.

After breakfast we walked to Kisohirasawa, about a mile down the valley on roads to the train station.  We caught an earlier than suggested train to Matsumoto, since the shops in Kisohirasawa were not open and there wasn't much to see.  Matsumoto on the other hand is a rather large city with several interesting sights.  The biggest sight is the Castle, which is surrounded by a moat, has a grand Guardhouse and two gates.  It is also the site of two palaces, one inside and one outside the moat.  





We next wandered to a short touristy street, crossed the river (which was nicer than the typical drainage canal), hit a few blocks of another street known for the local architecture (black and white boxes) and then back to the station.  We had aobut an 2-hour layover between trains.  We stopped into a "French" style bakery for coffee and snacks.

We caught the next train that took us from Matsumoto to Nagano, then with a 10-minute layover, caught the Shinkasen bound for Tokyo.  We got off at the thrid stop at Karuizawa.  We traveled quickly through flat valleys in between tall mountain ranges, some with snow along the highest ridges.  We also saw another steaming volcano, Mt. Asama, which is claimed by Karuizawa.  Karuizawa is at 3,100 feet elevation and was founded by a Canadian missionary who liked the climate.  There is a church named in his honor - Shaw Memorial Church.  The town is also known as a place to escape the summer heat.  Two interesting facts - one, John Lennon and Yoko Ono came here every summer until John's death, and two the current emperor met his wife-to-be on a local tennis court.  

From the train station, we walked to a convenience store to get supplies for tomorrow (as recommended by OKU Japan) and then up about 2 miles on the main road to our inn for the night - Tsuruya Ryokan.  The route started out as a typical city street but got more and more touristy as we went.  The number of people walking the street increased as well.  The city shows a number of non-Japanese eateries including English pubs, Italian restaurants, German Sausages Places and French bistros.  


After checking in, we went for a stroll around the neighborhood, which took by the church, numerous summer cabins and homes (some of which looked like what one would see in New England with fall leaf color), the Mampei Hotel (where John and Yoko stayed), St Paul Catholic Church (a favorite site for weddings, which is strange in that Christians were persecuted during the Edo period), and the famous tennis courts.

Mampei Hotel

An example "weekend" home.

We bathed and then had dinner.  For the first time, we got a "menu" in English of the food courses we were served.  I thought the king crab salad was a hit, given it was the first time for real crab.  Also, we got instructions on how to cook the thinned sliced beef on our personal grill.  We finished with green tea ice cream.

Tomorrow is the finale hike up, then over Usui-toge Pass and down a gentle slope along one of the most beautiful sections of the Nakasendo.  Ten mles to walk, then 2 trains into Tokyo and to our final hotel, back to sleeping in beds.



Thursday, November 5, 2015

Nakasendo Trail, Day 3

Today, turned out to be pretty easy.  We walked 4 miles from Yabuhura to Narai, with an elevation changes of 1,128 feet up and 885 feet down.  We are in Narai which is the middle post town of the Nakasendo route.  It is town number 34 of 69.  It is also the highest town on the route at 3,150 feet.  

We started the day at our inn outside of Kiso-Fukishima.  


We awoke to fog and cooler weather, which later changed to clear and warm (at mid-60s).  We were shuttled down the valley arriving to the train station about an hour before the next "local" train.  We had to travel three stops to Yabuhara.  We walked a bit of the big city of Kiso, seeing the river front and little else.  We boarded the train, on-time, of course, and journeyed for about 15 minutes.  We passed through several tunnels as the main valley curved.  

A sign Betsy discovered in the tran station toilet

We started hiking by first walking through the town, then began ascending on very even paths, properly graded.  



We reach the Torii Pass after 3.5 km.  There is a torii gate at the top, which was built by an 15th century samurai who prayed at this point for victory over a revival clan.  He was praying to Mt. Ontake which is visibe from the pass.


Another view of Mt. Ontake and its many vents

We rested a bit further on at very nice rest stop/toilets and while there a group of older men came up from Narai (obviously an retired-guy hiking group).  They were impressed that we had walked the Kumano Kodo.  Of course, they were fit and enjoying a nice day on the trail.  I envied them because they were walking one-way and I sure would hop on a train to return home.

We also saw some type of very old, large tree, but could not identify it.  I have a picture of the sign and we might be able to figure out which type it is by using a language translation app.


We arrivedl in Naria just before check-in time, so we walked the 1 km by 200 meter wide historic town.  It is on the National Architectural Preservation List, so the buildings are maintained as they were in the Edo period.  Narai was known as the "Narai of 1000 Inns," as this was the most prosperous of the 69 post towns.  Travelers prepared or recovered before or after tackling the Torii Pass.  The town relies on tourism for its survival now, unlike Yabuhara, which has none of their original structures, lost due to many fires.  Although, they are famous for making hair combs out of Minebari trees.  I even bought one.


We checked in, got the run down on where things were and timing for dinner and breakfast, had tea, and bathed.  It was "famly-styled," which meant Betsy and I bathed together.


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Nakasendo Trail, Day 2

Today was a long day of walking, but enjoyable (nearly 12 miles).  We spent most of our time on roads, with a few forest paths.  We had an early Japanese style breakfast and immediately began walking.  It was nice to be out before the day-trippers arrived.  We walked through the rest of Tsumago getting a good view of the traditional architecture.  None of the shops were open yet.  


We then began ascending but diverted to the site of the Tsumago Castle.  It provided a great view back down in the town.  


The castle was successfully defended by 170 men against a Tokugawa force of 5000 in late 1500s.  However, a later Tokugawa Shogun ordered it destruction, so only a few monuments mark the location.  We saw the mountain top later on the hike and could see why it was such a great spot.  It overlooks the confluence of two rivers and thus has a view in three directions (valleys).


We then "stair-stepped" up a side valley out of the original Kiso Valley route.  This diversion was created in 21 days by 5,000 workers due to blockage of the original route by rain and flooding in 1733.  The Princess Naminomiya was on her way to marry Shogun Tokugawa Ieshige.  The route makes a left turn and climbs over the Nenouetouge Pass to 836 meters (2980 feet by my watch).  We came down on a winding road into Nojiri, one of the post towns and back to the Kiso Valley.


A little reminder of an English walk

We caught the train to Kiso-Fukushima, a ride of about 35 minutes.  We used a public phone (wow) to call our inn for the night, who came and picked us up.  We are at Komanoyu Ryokan, at over 3,000 feet elevation in a narrow side valley up from the main Kiso Valley.  We were met by very friendly staff who showed us the layout (dining room and bathing areas) and our room.  They even made green tea for us in our room.  While having tea, I spotted a spouting mountain and after some research and conversation with a staff person, now know that it Mt Ontake.  It erupted in September 2014, killing 47 people (hikers) and is still steaming.  


After tea, we took baths and a soak in the outside "onsen" (pool).  Don't think too hard on this, but I am sitting in a kmono in the lobby drinking a draft beer with slippers on, about to go in for dinner.  (Photos are not possible).

Dinner was another great meal in the Japanese style.  We started with appetizers of trout sashimi, "cheese sandwich with radish, egg custard, panni cotta with tofu, vegetables, carp, followed with several broth bowls, hot pot beef with onions and cabbage, beef roll up with sprouts, then rice, miso soup and soba noodles, finishing with banana ice cream.   The portions are always small, presented in their individual dish, and with wonderful flavors.  We shared a sake decanter.  The green tea was tasty and we now know that it is not steeped like black tea.  The hot water is poured over the leaves and the tea is immediately poured out into cups.

Tomorrow will be a short walk but with some significant elevation gain - the guide says it is "the most challenging section of the trail."  

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Nakasendo Trail, Day 1

We have begun the first of five walking days on the Nakasendo Trail.  Our day began early with another great breakfast at the Hyatt, followed by a taxi ride to the train station.  We caught the Shinkansen (bullet train) toward Tokyo, but got off at Nagoya, little over a 30-minute ride.  We waited about 25 minutes, caught a slower train to Nakatsugawa, about 50 minutes long.  We next got a bus to the departure village of Magome, along with hundreds of day trippers and tourists.  We gathered our wits and walked up the main street of Magome passing the traditional-style houses and shops.  The street is paved with flagstones.  




Magome is the 43rd of the 69 post towns from Tokyo (Edo) to Kyoto.  We walked about 5.2 miles to the village of Tsumago, the 42nd post town.  We went up and over the Magome Pass at 801 meters.  It was an easy walk given that it was on even paths, no tree roots and very few protruding rocks.  We passed through two villages on either side of the pass - Touge (translates as "mountain pass") and O-Tsumga, not a numbered town, a few km from Tsumago.  The walking guide worked well in that it described each intersection and included a picture.  The map was less helpful in that it didn't identify most features.  The GPS tracked where we were.


We arrived at our inn for the night at 3:00 pm - Matsushiroya.  It was established in 1804, has 6 rooms (we are on tatami mats again, no WiFi and a single-sized bath.  We took a break for green tea and figgy sweet, before going out to get a completion certificate and to visit the museum.  The museum was nice, a guide described the various rooms of the main house and took our photo sitting in front of the fire pit.  We toured on our own the two other areas which were largely exhibits one would find typical to museums.  We are in the Kiso Valley which was known for timber production.  The locals were paid with rice in exchange for the amount of lumber provided.  Rice was not grown here.



Our inn for the night

Dinner was at our inn and consisted of traditional Japanese fare.  There were 11 dishes, plus green tea and sake.  The dishes were pickled "stalk" of something, asparagus-like stuff, daikon radish, teriyaki carp (bony), sashimi with wasabi, salted grilled river fish (completing a triade of sea, river and pond fishes), soba noodles and broth, rice, miso soup, bowl of vegetables and tofu, and an egg custard with shrimp, chicken bit and crab.

First servings

Second servings