JandMOBrien

In the rear view mirror, Japan still has me off-kilter. What will I say if someone asks, “What did you think of Japan?” I'm a muddle of conflicting but true-for-me opinions - I'm intrigued but not besotted. I wrote this entry first while in Hong Kong immediately following our departure; I am finishing it two months later at home, after memories have settled and distance of both time and geography give a little more perspective. Tokyo was a nut we never did crack. In fact, I have it on my ‘to return’ list but not because of the pleasure found but rather the challenge to figure out what so many others are entranced by. Or not. Anthony Bourdain, who has since left this earth, has it as his favourite city in the world and he's not ... read more

Where have all the flowers gone?, the song asks....then wonders if we will ever learn. I sit with iPad on knee, thinking of how to choose words that might brush the far outskirts of the unspeakable. This falls way short of the mark. Hiroshima hits your head and heart with some strange combination of horror and awe. Horror at the human tragedy that was Hiroshima in 1945. Awe at resiliency, both in the people who have rebuilt this place and in nature itself, that nurtured seeds in that radiated soil to grow the enormous trees we took shade under today, right in the epicentre. The difficulty in wrapping your head around the whys and wherefores of this atrocity doesn’t ease with spending time here. In fact, unlike those earthquakes that are part of the cosmic recipe ... read more

Off we go to the Pacific Coast once again...zipping through Osaka to the unsung city of Wakayama. Our Japan Rail line gives us a view of a peninsular town surrounded by waterways. It looks like a port town, and that working end is connected by several bridges to the core. The train station is shocking to our systems for its lack of people, the streets and traffic likewise. Not many tourists have this spot on their itinerary and we’re asked more than once why we came here. Our hotel has given us the gift of a ‘castle-view’ on the 15th floor - gazing over a pretty re-creation of another legacy of my favourite shogun, Wakayama Castle. Built on a hill in the middle of the city in the 1500s, it has a similar moat and sloped ... read more

The characters of Japan’s colourful history are larger than life, heros and villains, builders and destroyers, hard working people along with the elite and military classes. Understanding just a little has added a lot of richness to the sights we’ve seen. A shogun was the military dictator in Japan from about 1185 onward - akin to a generalissimo. The last 250 years of the shoguns time in power began in 1600 when a general named Tokugawa seized power and established his government in Edo (now Tokyo)....thus began the Edo Period, which seems to be a superstar period as least as far as the towns and historical sights we’ve visited so far. Or perhaps its just the period recent enough to have some artifacts and buildings left standing. The Edo Period had the hallmarks of economic growth, ... read more

Mmmm, jumping in where some might fear to tread. When was the last time I wrote about toilet happenings, bathing techniques and walking around naked? Ahhh, never. But this is Japan, where the customs around body care are gentle and somehow elevate the necessary to the level of ritual. Our last few stops have been in the mountains, where hot springs are common. Several places we stop (both accommodation and public places like the Hakone Outdoor Museum) offer foot baths. Tidy outdoor natural pools of hot spring water, lined with seating where you can soak your feet and enjoy the environs before continuing on. Surprisingly restorative. Many ryokans (traditional accommodations) and hotels offer onsens. An onsen is a Japanese hot spring with bathing facilities around them, on that score not unlike those in the Rockies. Japan ... read more