Day 1 - Arrival in Beijing On Saturday morning, October 6th, USA time, I lifted off the ground in Columbia, SC en route to Washington Dulles, where I connected with my United Airlines 747 13 hour nonstop flight to Beijing. Everything went well. No delays, no problems, a smooth flight. I had stayed up all night to maximize my chances of sleeping on this flight. I was lucky to have no one in the middle seat next to me, which allowed me a little more room. With my head on a pillow, earplugs installed, visor in place, and a Benadryl in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today would be my last full day in Japan. We went to the Imperial Palace, a 27 acre compound which was the residence of the Emperor when Kyoto was the capital of Japan. The capital was moved to Tokyo in the 1869. On the grounds was a very nice garden, called the Oikeniwa Garden. Then, we visited the Nishiki Market, an incredible collection of alleyways and hallways with shops, ranging in size from small booths to multi-story stores. You could find anything here. I didn't buy anything, but looked around and got some lunch. We then went to the Philosopher's Walk [View Full Entry]

---

---

We saw some beautiful sights today. We started the day by taking a train out to Kameoka, just outside Kyoto to the NW. The train rides through flat city, and then all of a sudden you go through a tunnel, and emerge on the other side to the sight of undeveloped rugged green mountains and rivers. We got on a boat for a 1 1/2 hour boat ride down the Hozu river. It was absolutely beautiful. We disembarked the boat at Arashiyama and had lunch. Yes, I found some more beef curry and rice. We visited the Tenryu-ji Temple, and sat [View Full Entry]

---

---

We got on a train, and visited Fushimi Inari, a temple complex and gardens, with more than 1,000 torii gates. I bought this card there that is supposed to bring you luck in love. (Hey, whatever it takes). A special moment happened before we left. These very cute school girls in their school uniforms were apparently on a field trip there. They came up to me and asked me questions in English, like what was my name, where was I from, what do I like best about Japan, etc. I tried to speak a little Japanese to them, too. It was [View Full Entry]

---

---

Kyoto is a beautiful area, surrounded by green mountains, with many cultural and historical things to see. It's full of parks, gardens, temples, and shrines. First stop was "The Golden Pavilion", a beautiful gold-colored temple with surrounding gardens. The place was full of school children dressed in their uniforms, some in kimonos. Then it was off to the Heian Shrine, a huge shrine complex painted with a red/orange color, believed to ward off evil spirits, with an accompanying huge Torii gate over a street. The complex includes a nice garden that we strolled through. We then visited [View Full Entry]

---

---

We piled on the bus and headed towards Gotemba. Along the way, you could spot glimpses of the Tokkaido Trail, an old trail that people would use to walk from Kyoto to Tokyo. Portions of the trail are still there and are lined by huge cedar trees that were planted a long time ago to provide travellers with shade. Beautiful area. Bullet Train (Shinkansen) At Mishima, we boarded the bullet train (Shinkansen) to Kyoto. This was one of the highlights of my trip, and was one of the reasons why I wanted to visit Japan. The train made two brief stops [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today, we left Tokyo and drove out to Mt. Fuji. The first stop was a rest area near the base of the mountain, offering a good view of the mountain. The bus then drove us up the mountain to a point about halfway up, at an elevation around 7,000 ft. We then went to Lake Yamanaka, and had lunch there. I found some beef curry and rice again, which was becoming my favorite and most consumed dish in Japan. Then, we went to Lake Ashi. We took a gondola from Lake Ashi (elevation around 2,000 ft) up to Mt. Komagatake, elevation [View Full Entry]

---

---

We took a day trip to Nikko National Park, north of Tokyo. It was about a 2 hour bus ride up there. It was raining with thunder when we got there. We went through the Rinnoji Temple and Toshogu Shrine complex, a collection of beautiful historic buildings on hilly terrain surrounded by huge cedar trees. We had a Japanese-style lunch in a local restaurant in Nikko, which I thought was really good, consisting of noodle soup, rice, vegetables, tempura, etc. We took the curvy road up to Lake Chuzenji, a natural lake formed by a volcanic crater. The weather cleared and [View Full Entry]

---

---

"Ohayo Gozaimasu" (Good Morning). It started getting light about 4am. They don't have "daylight savings time" in Japan, and they must be just west of a time zone line, so it gets light early and dark early. We had a great breakfast at the hotel, a buffet with American and Japanese style dishes. Meiji Shrine, Imperial Palace, and Asakusa Kannon Temple Then, we headed out to Yoyogi Park/Meiji Shrine. The tour guide briefed us on the Shrine. This isn't just a historical exhibit, this is still a functioning house of worship. People work there, and go there and pray. We a [View Full Entry]

---

---

After 14 hours spent cramped in a coach seat on a Delta Airlines B-777 flight from Atlanta, I landed at Tokyo's Narita Airport. I felt pretty good, I had managed to sleep for almost half the flight. It was exciting to touch down and begin this 10-day adventure, called "Life in Japan" via General Tours. Everything went smooth at the airport, including the passage through customs, and getting my bag. I was met by someone who made sure I got on the right bus to my hotel. I had about a 20-30 minute wait, so I went ahead and exchanged some [View Full Entry]

---

---