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Published: October 16th 2008
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Tokyo and around
On the 1st September I left Vladivostok and caught the ferry to Japan. There were only 3 backpackers on board, myself, a Scot and yet another Aussie. All the rest were Russians who were going to Japan to buy cheap Japanese cars to bring home. One of them (Oleg, who was already quiet drunk) insisted on sharing his home made Vodka with us and I finally took out the hipflask (thank you Sky!) that id brought with me from Scotland. Poor Oleg drank most of it and we didnt see him for the rest of the night. We arrived safely in Fushiki in Japan and caught the bullet train to Tokyo which was great (Network Rail has a long way to go yet!). Ended up staying in the Tokyo area for about 2 weeks in total. Tokyo was amazing, if not a bit mad -It wasnt infrequent to be walking from a shrine to a Japanese garden whilst passing grown men reading manga comics in supermarkets or hearing the clatter from video/gambling arcades. Nor was it as claustrophobic as Id first feared and it was certainly an awful lot cheaper than I had been led to believe
- accomodation being less than 18 euros and meals available for less than five. For a big city the people were great and v. friendly. It wasnt unusual for someone to actually take you to where you wanted to go if you asked for directions. It was here that I first developed a taste for yakkatori bars, these are small bar type places that grill chicken (or chicken giblets to be more precise) on a mini barbecue while you sip a beer - all very cheap and a great way to meet some of the locals.
During this time I went on a couple of trips to areas near Tokyo. Spent a couple of days near Mt. Fuji and climbed the mountain at night with a couple of Americans. It was a bit surreal and a great experience. Near the summit a long line of 200 or so people had formed who were doing the same thing. The sunrise was pretty spectacular but we didnt linger too long as it was freezing and you really needed to keep moving to keep warm although the toast with Sake at the summit did help! After another day in Tokyo I than
went to Hakone where I experienced my first Onsen (Japanese style hot bath) and traditional sleeping quarters. After that I went to Nikko for a few days for some more Onsen (Im now hooked) and also to see the site where Japans first Shogunate is buried.
Osaka
On the 18th September I left Tokyo for Osaka, the second largest city in Japan. I stayed there for a total of 4 days but again used the city as a base for exploring the outlying region. This time I ended up staying in a Buddhist temple in a place called Kayosan which is a very sacred place in the world of Buddhism - the only differences I found were that it was more expensive than normal accomodation and you had to get up for the Buddhist mass at 6.00am - I didnt even get a free head shave out of it. The people I met in Osaka were just as friendly as those I had met in Tokyo and I became firm pals with a guy I simply asked for directions when I got off the bus from Tokyo. So much so in fact that we ended up going to
one of those Karaoke type places which was a mad experience. You book your own room and sing whatever tunes you want to over beer and Pizza - the Sex Pistols My way will never sound the same again!
Kyoto
This newly converted Buddhist (that's a joke Phaedra!) headed to Kyoto on the 23rd for what was to be a total stay of 8 days. With its 17 world heritage sites, 1600 Buddhist temples and over 400 Shinto shrines there was plenty to see. As usual though, it was the people I met that I remember the most. First up, was Bob, a barman from the Royal Oak/Winnie Fennels in Edinburgh who was in Kyoto for a year to go studying although I secretly think he was sent here to try and get me to go back to Scotland due to the massive decline in sales that have occurred since I left!! Than I bumped into an English guy I had met in Lake Baikal while travelling on the Trans-Siberian so we ended up palling around together for a while and ended up one night watching a Japanese Reggae band in action - another one of those strange sights
that has to be seen to be believed. Not far from where I was staying was the Geisha area where Geisha women in their traditional Kimono were often seen scuttling along the narrow streets.
Nara (and a bit of couchsurfing)
I had planned to spend a few days in Nara (the original capital of Japan) but accomodation was very expensive. People I had met before on my travels had raved about couchsurfing which is where people allow you to stay at their place for free. Me being sceptical decided that it must be for weirdos run by weirdos but decided to have a look-see anyway and to my surprise there was someone in Nara who ran a cafe and allowed people to stay uptairs. It sounded good so I went for it and it was one of the best things I've done so far as it was in a fantastic area and the cafe itself was very nice. My Japanese host was great as were her pals who came around for dinner that evening in the cafe - she was actually hosting 4 other travellers so it was a nice small group. It was a great experience and something
i'll try again in the future although to be honest judging by some of the other profiles I've seen in other places it won't be too frequent an occurence!
Hiroshima
I arrived in Hiroshima on the 1st October not knowing quiet what to expect. The city itself is quite small for Japan with a population of 1.1 million and has Parisian style boulevards etc that make it very pretty - the people who reconstructed the city after the atomic bomb was dropped had a great deal of foresight in the rebuilding. Of course, the first place to visit was the memorial park and museum which as you'd expect was a pretty moving experience. The island of Miyajima is also close by and another day trip there had me climbing Mt. Misen through forest scenery and stunning views - I even managed to get my first swim in Japan later on the beach. October and still in shorts and T-Shirt - happy days! The nightlife in Hiroshima was also very lively - yes you guessed it - another Karaoke bar, this time with an American and a guy from Offaly.
Kagoshima
From Hiroshima I took an overnight bus to
Kagoshima which is located at the southernmost end of the island. Kagoshima being famous as being the birthplace and deathplace of Saigo Takemori and also more recently as being the launchpad for Kamikaze raids during WWII. It is also very near the volcanic island of Sakurajima. I stayed there for 5 days in total but wish I could have stayed longer as I met some brilliant people there who made me feel very much at home - we even had a bit of a leaving do on my last night which was great.
Kobe
Scene of a devastating earthquake that killed over 6,000 people in 1995 and my last destination in Japan - this was where I was to catch the ferry to Beijing and the weather having turned for the worst meant that I didnt see very much although this was no great problem as I had to plan my China itinerary anyway - I did manage to go to nearby Hemeji for a day however. In tandem with the weather I was a bit miserable as my stint in Japan was coming to an end - a great country and one Id love to come back to
again.
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Sandra Teeling
non-member comment
Well Done
Hi Dan, Marianne passed your blog on to me and it makes interesting reading you sound as though you are having a great time. Enjoy every minute of it, it is the trip of a lifetime. Take care of yourself Luv (Aunty) Sandra xx