Rodney Inge and a bit of Darren

Hi, Too busy and sometimes unable to work the internet keyboard, so forget turkey. now in switzerland visiting friends. they have been terrific hosts and been showing us around their world of beautiful mountains and swiss buildings. three more days and off to the usa for another type of unknown adventure please await the stories when we get home with the 1000s of photos... read more

Darren had an enjoyable end to his trip in Tokyo, in 24c sunshine. Quite a contrast to the previous day when it was 16c and rainy. Rodney and Inge also had a wet day (see their other entry). First Darren went to Ohgi's (friend) home suburb of Harajuku. There he enjoyed a flea market by a small local shrine, then headed for the Meji Shrine, built in tribute to the emperor who introduced the Japanese to western ways. A beautiful shrine and a wonderful day to visit as several weddings in progress. He then went to the gardens next door, established by the emperor for his empress. Unfortunately I was just a week or two early for a splendid vista of irises but it was amusing to watch the local professional photographers fuss over the first ... read more

Been raining on/off all day, that kind of light rain that soaks. Cant see anything of Mt Fuji, last time I momentarily saw it was on a bullet train coming here at 200+ KPH, selected action mode on the camera, pushed the continuous rapid photo button & off it went. Managed 1 reasonable photo. We purchased a Hakone 2 day pass for transport, much cheaper than individual tickets. First port of call was the Glass Forest Museum. Its French, what a grand building. It has a wonderful inner green garden It takes U back to Venice & has innovative glass deigns. The grounds have glass trees with lights, what a sight. Later I heard a smash in the souvenir shop, turned around & a Japanese lady knocked over an item. Time to go I thought. Next ... read more

What a foreign experience to 'enjoy' 24 hours of rain! It started on Friday evening when I headed out for a self-guided tour of Shinjuku, the CBD location of my accommodation. Tokyo need not be expensive, I am staying in a brand new 4 star hotel for $85 a night!! Anyway I had a great meal at a tempura restaurant then got lost on my walk but found my way back home eventually in the driving rain. Saturday I was up at 5.30am to go to the Tsukiji fish market, that handles 18% of all the world's fish. The idea is to have a fresh sushi breakfast but as it was wet and about 12c I had katsu don (crumbed pork cutlet on rice) instead. Then to the Senso Ji shrine in the Matabachi (old Tokyo) ... read more

Hi Guys, its 8 pm booked in for a hot steamy onsen this onsen is outside and yep, it is raining. Picture your own courtyard, bamboo fence, steam rising from the murky green water while hot water is trickling out of a lions mouth, a Japanese garden with manicured trees. Unfortunately it was too hot for my skinny body, so I lept out after 15 mins & jumped into the interior onsen near our bedroom. This one had a cold water tap, so on with full force it went. Now Im red & rosey at the compture with a hot cup of green, & I do mean green tea - tastes like dishwater, ah but it is good for you! Time to wake up Inge & get going in the rain for the day ..... ... read more

Checked out the market in Takayama as did Darren this morning. Darren is heading back to Tokyo and Rodney and I headed off to Odewara, the southeast corner of Honshu. From the train we did view the peak of Mt Fuji surrounded by lower cloud and snow. Had to take a local bus trip of 50 miniutes for Halcone. Very scenic forest and it was a reminder of heading into the Dandenongs resort weekend away. The weather predication is for rain for the next few days and it has already started tonight as we sat in the thermal outdoor pool plotting tomorrow's movements. The bullet trains are the way to go !! Hope Lynn Koskey is listening, they travel around 200+ KPH, Theres no waiting, trains are exactly on time and leave swiftly, feels unusal travelling ... read more

THE TRAIN TRIP FROM KANAZAWA TO TAKAYAMA WAS TESTAMENT TO THE EFFICIENCY OF JAPAN RAILWAYS. THREE CHANGES OF TRAIN REQUIRED WITH ONLY 4-5 MINUTES CHANGE TIME FOR EACH. YET I STILL CONNECTED AND MADE THE JOURNEY ON TIME. YOU COULD ONLY DREAM ABOUT THAT TYPE OF SERVICE HAPPENING IN AUSTRALIA. ON ARRIVAL I VISITED THE HIDA FOLK VILLAGE, A WONDERFUL SPOT WITH ABOUT 30 RURAL HOUSES DATING BACK TO THE 1600S, RECONSTRUCTED AFTER THE VILLAGE WAS FLOODED FOR A HYDRO SCHEME. THE JAPANESE LOVE MOVING BUILDINGS AND DOING REPLICAS OF BUILDINGS. IN THE EVENING ROD AND INGE HAD HAD A BIG DAY (i MET UP WITH THEM AT OUR HOTEL) SO HAD TAKEAWAY FOR DINNER. i VENTURED OUT AND ENJOYED THE LOCAL HIDA BEEF, SUPPOSEDLY THE BEST IN JAPAN AND WHO AM I TO DISAGREE?... read more

Today Darren enjoyed a town of 500,000 that was less affected by ww2 bombings than others. Kanasawa is very tourist friendly, with really good bus routes and English literature but not many tourists other than Japanese! One local asked me if Kanasawa is famous in Australia - er, no. The Kenrouken Gardens are one of the top three in Japan and really enjoyable though they all have a certain flavour after a while. It strikes me that there are few flowers evident in spring other than pink camelias. The Kanazawa Castle, reconstructed over the last century, was interesting too. Then I enjoyed a very well presented museum on the arts and crafts of the region as Ishikawa prefecture is the traditional home of the arts in Japan. Finally I visited a former geisha teahouse dating back ... read more

Today Darren headed into the hills to get away from the hustle and bustle of Kyoto. He took a privately run, ultra swish local train to the small village of Kurana. He met Oon and Hille, a lovely danish couple on the way. We headed together for the local onsen. Onsens are hot, natural springs and this one was outdoor and in a very beautiful setting. After a quick soak Darren said good bye and started a funicular ride then walk up Mt Kurana. He now understands why obesity rates are so low in Japan - there's steps galore! Virtually the whole route up the 500m hill then down was stepped. A popular route with locals as there's shinto shrines everywhere on the mount. Then Darren returned to Kyoto to take a 15.10 train with Rodney ... read more

Today Darren stepped out on a five hour walking tour with Mr Hajime Hirooka, better known as "Johnnie Hillwalker". Johnnie provided heaps of knowledge on Kyoto and how religion fits in Japanese life. He took us to the Higashi-Honganji temple, the home of the largest buddhist sect in Japan. The temple is the largest wooden building in the world but unfortunately was scaffolded over due to renovations. But the smaller hall was also very impressive. Johnny then took us through many lanes, to visit small shinto shrines and many craftware districts including fan manufacture and ceramics. We sampled some yummy vegetarian sushi and so-so japanese cakes. Spotted the birthplace of Nintendo and an older geisha district. The day ended up with a visit to the Kiyomizu temple, where there were thousands visiting on the day. An ... read more