Japan oh Japan how wonderful

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21/09/09

I stepped off the plane after a good flight where the aircraft used was a rather old one with no TVs on the headrests , so I decided to sleep instead.
The humidity was the first thing that made me realise that I had arrived in another country and with Australia having so many Japanese travellers except for the writing you would not have felt out of place.
Our bags came out very quickly and I headed off to the tourist information where I had been told I would be able to sort out all my tours and accommodation, I was wrong , the tourist info was only able to sort out accom that they delt with and all they could say about tours was that I should go to the closest travel agency downstairs which did not exist 
Fortunately for me Japanese people are by their nature very helpful and soon I had a train ticket to get me to my hotel which was in the Asukusa district and after an hour and a half train journey and a 15min walk I finally arrived at the hostel which was situated right next to an amusement ground!
The accommodation was actually very nice and the staff as always knew the most about travel arrangements so I spent the next few hours surfing the net and looking for deals tour Japan without breaking the bank.
By around 7 pm I had booked accom in Hiroshima and knew that I would be going there the following day by Shinkansen or bullet train.
Went out for a nice meal and met some Korean guys who were able to suggest what to eat , basically there is this laptop on the table and you order online and the food arrives ,then you swipe your card ,pay and leave ,simple!
Back to the hostel where I played some drinking games with a group of Australian teachers who were over on a trip with their school and some 20 students doing a tour of Japan, they seemed just the type of teacher I wished I had had at school.
Went to bed to wake up at 230 am realising that I had left my bag in the lounge and when I went to see if it was still there the staff had it and everything was still there ,amazing.
Beerblog- Kirin - deep golden colour ,crisp refreshing larger which is slightly sweet at first with a slightly bitter aftertaste. A hint of malt flavour.
Exactly what is says on the tin , great as an autumn beer.

22/09/09
Woke today at 830 am after having a restless night with the high humidity and six people sleeping in a room 5m by 2.5m
Packed my bags and went and called the folks and chatted for about one hr.
Left at about 11 to go and get the Shinkansen to Hiroshima ,I still feel very safe and at ease when walking around with people not taking notice of me being the only natural blonde ,blue eyed person walking around with people always happy to help.
The underground or metro cos not all of it is underground is very complex with there being many different systems converging on the city borders , however it is all colour coded and if you calm down and have a good look you will soon see how things work.
After I had a look I was only slightly lost and with a little help from the helpful Japanese to pay the correct fee I headed off for the Tokyo main train station which is a fabulous place for someone like me.





The amount of Japanese fast food stores with the food all displayed with the amount of calories is almost overwhelming but after you work out that this fast food is actually good for you , you are also queing up for some of the many varied goodies.
After purchasing my ticket to Hiroshima I went for a walk to the Emperial gardens which were unfortunately closed due to some holiday or other.
Its surprising how quickly two hrs can pass by walking around a strange city and it was time to go to catch the train, which I had boarded by 1445.
Unfortunately these trains look like planes but are more regular and when the train left at 1450 I realised that I was on the wrong train as mine was meant to leave at 1510 !!
After some more help by the ever present helpful Japanese person that speaks more English than I speak any other language I get off at one station further down the rail and wait for 20 min for my train to arrive ,which is a good idea as the one I was on was fully booked!! Not so big in Japan any more!!
Once on the correct train I dug into my sushi and had a beer and then promptly fell asleep to the gentle rock of the carriages doing over 300km per hour.
Later when I woke up I took some lovely photos of the landscape floating past as it slowly got dark.
Arrived at Hiroshima at 7pm and walked to my hotel that although is very nice I do prefer the hostels however there is a three day holiday at the moment and there is no accommodation to be had! Hope to go to bed early tonight as there is a lot to see tomorrow.
Beerblog- Asahi draught - pale golden colour and surprisingly easy to drink. Very nice bitter sweet taste with a slight honey aftertaste.


23/09/09
After a very warm nights sleep where I tossed and turned most of the night I headed out for the short walk to the Hiroshima castle even though the people at my hotel were sure that I should take the tram.
The castle grounds are very impressive themselves with large ponds around the walls which were probably moats at some stage. The photos of what it looked like after the atom bomb were amazing and sad at the same time, it is amazing how man can be so cruel to his own kind! The whole place was reconstructed in the 50s and the process was true to the original methods with most things being handmade.
There was even a tree that survived the blast and still grows today.
Also went to the A bomb dome over which the bomb exploded so that the force of the explosion was down and not away and this caused the building to remain standing. The fact that they were told that there would be nothing growing there for the next 75 yrs is amazing as there seems to be plenty of growth in the city as well as vegetation and when people talk about the threat of nuclear holocaust I think they forget that mans desire to survive and this planets ability to regenerate are very great indeed.
The worst part was the peace museum where you saw how people were directly affected by the after affects of the fallout radiation and the burns that people received.
At about 3 pm I took the tram to the Miyajima ferry terminal to go to the island of that namesake.Got a really good deal booking at the tourist board booking the tram to the ferry and including the ferry for 860yen , there is an option to pay 2000yen and be able to use the ticket for two days and go up the cable car as well.
After a pleasant trip to the island I arrived at low tide which allows you to walk to the temple entrance and walk through it which is supposed to bring good luck , however it is much better to see the water around the temple in my opinion.
There were a great number of biscuit shops and fast food outlets and I was only tempted once by some cream biscuits that I would highly recommend! Watching how they were made was also very interesting.
The highlight for me was finding the little garden behind the shops that was very well stocked with Koi!
The trip back to Hiroshima was also very well rewarded with a lovely sunset over the mainland as the ferry set sail from the island, a great end to a busy day.
Beerblog- Zero tasty draught- well for one thing this beer is far from tasty!
It has a light golden colour with very little taste at all however it does have a slightly pleasant aftertaste.


24/09/09

Went to bed at around 1am last night after staying up and chatting to some folk in the hostel J hoppers in Hiroshima, I would really rate them very well , always trying to help in every way.
Today I am heading to Nara to see the oldest temples in Japan as well as the Largest single wooden structure in the world.
Took the Shinkansen again but I am a seasoned traveller on these things now and can sleep really well at 300km/h.
The Todaiji temple was very impressive as well as the large sculptures of the deities.
The walk through the gardens were also very nice however I am still looking for the traditional Japanese gardens that are so exquisite in the design. Managed to get a hotel called a super hotel that when I arrived I met the manager and he gave me a great deal with breakfast included and free LAN internet.

Beerblog-Nodogoshi-golden in colour with a slight bitter and flat taste.Very nice when cold but as it warms the bitterness grows.A nice refreshing beer for a hot day in Nada.


25/09/09

No beer today ,I decided that all the walking around was not being helped by me carbo loading every evening!
After a lovely but short nights sleep I awoke and headed down to breakfast where the dining room overlooked the street in front of the train station and it was from this view point that I realised how much concrete is used in the world or how much steel must be imported for as far as I know there are no iron ore mines is Japan.
Headed back to Kyoto and on the way met a Texan called Darren who seemed to have had a nice three weeks travelling around ,but in all that time he had still not made it to Hiroshima what a pity.
On arriving at Kyoto I quickly realised that the city was bigger than I expected especially when I got on the bus to go to the Kiyomizu temple which was supposed to be the most beautiful temple in Japan with people coming from all over Japan to see it. It really is a nice place and the gardens and views from them are for me the best I have seen so far!
Afterwards I went to the Imperial park but unfortunately you can only visit the Imperial gardens with a guided tour and it was fully booked with the next one being on Monday , so that stopped me !
I had heard of the Ryoanji rock garden and I had just enough time to get there before I needed to head back to the main train station to go to Tokyo so I quickly went and was glad I did as I got to see the famous 15 rock stone garden that I had seen in some Japanese gardening books and now I have finally been there.
The gardens in total were spectacular and I hope to one day have my own.
Once back at Kyoto main station I was a bit taken aback that to get to Hiroshima from Tokyo cost 18000 yen direct but to get back has now cost me 22000 by first going to Kyoto, I would advise to get a JR rail pass. Back on the Shinkanken I had a lovely meal bought at the rail station and waited to get back , travelling at nearly 300km it wont take long.


26/09/09

I know that staying in a dorm is a lottery and you never know who is going to share the room with but after four months of travelling I finally have lost the lottery!
I shared the room with four other guys two nice Spanish guys , a guy from oz and an unknown guy from germany. Nathan from Oz was a pleasant guy until he went to sleep and then his snoring woke me from REM and it was impossible to get any sleep so I surfed the net , fortunately receiving a signal in my room. The unknown German guy arrived at 3am into the room slept for 30 min then got up turned the light on and proceeded to pack his bags and head out , I just don’t understand some people!!
Finally managed to get about two hours sleep from 4 to 6 then got up and got my stuff ready to head out to the fish market which is the largest of its kind in the world.
Unfortunately I was too late with my lack of sleep and the auction was already over of the big yellow fin tuna that can be sold for as much as 100000 pounds per fish!
Decided to do the sky bus tour and would recommend that you don’t bother as you cant see the sights seated and you are not allowed to stand , so it’s a waste of 1500 yen. Next I headed to the government buildings which give free access to the best view of the city available, if it has just rained and the air is clear then you can catch a glimpse of Mt Fuji as well.
Last port of call was the area of Shibuya where there is a convergence of five streets which produces the most amazing senes of pandemonium as people cross from all sides.
Lastly met some Japanese friends I met in Perth who took me to a local rice bowl restaurant where I had rice with sea weed and some tiny fish all washed down with some lovely green tea , what a lovely end to a lovely day.

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Photos

glorious food
Not good to look at when traveling in India

Temple on Miaji Island
please forgive spelling

Zero good taste beer
This beer is exactly what it says on the tin

better beer
cant read name from here