We took a taxi after breakfast to Morika Tofu Shop on the very outskirts of Kyoto. Our cab driver did not know how to get there. He had to call in to his station to get the coordinates for his modified GPS. Even, then, he said he had never been there. But he did agree that it was the best tofu, in that Morika-san is widely regarded by everybody as the champion tofu maker in all of Japan. So, we engaged in quite a discussion with our taxi cab driver, his broken English, my broken Japanese. And many hand gestures, voice [View Full Entry]

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We signed up for a Friday morning tour of Kyoto, since we have not gone on a bus tour yet on this trip. There are 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto. All are open for public viewing, including the famous Nijo Castle. More than 30 million tourists a year visit Kyoto. Nijo Castle was built in 1603 by Tokugawa. It has very thick outer walls and a moat to defend it. Within the walls, the main buildings are decorated with paintings by Kano Tanyu. Every building contains hidden rooms. The corridors were constructed with nightingale floors, that squeak when walked [View Full Entry]

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After taking the bullet train from Tokyo to Nagoya, we now embark on our second trip using our Japan Rail pass. The first trip was such an adventure, and made us wish that such travel was available in the United States. The seats and ride were so comfortable. The seats recline in a fashion much better than the airline seats. And an adjustable footrest helps the shorter passengers get comfortable. The windows have a pull down shade for those that want to sleep. People are respectfully quiet, and turn their cell phone ringers to silent. When they talk, they generally speak [View Full Entry]

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From 794 to 1868, Kyoto was the capital of Japan, and was the emperor's residence. It is Japan's 7th largest city now, with 1.4 million residents. Prior to WW2, Kyoto was bombed and destroyed several times. So, it was spared from atomic bombing and air raids due to its historic value, castles, temples, and shrines. Maruyama Park is Kyoto's most popular park for viewing cherry blossoms. Most of the famous cherry blossoms viewing sites are free. Kyoto Imperial Palace was the emperor's imperial family's home until 1868, when it was moved to Tokyo. The actual palace burned down and was reb [View Full Entry]

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This morning, we are headed to Nagoya-Jo, the Nagoya Castle that Tokugawa ordered to be built for his ninth son on the site of an older castle. It was destroyed in WW2, and replaced in 1959 with a replica . It has a fine museum inside featuring armor, treasures, and histories of the three families. We also will visit the arts and crafts area, since Nagoya is well known for shibori, an elegant form of tie dying, as well as cloisonné, ceramics, and Seki blades (swords, knives, and scissors). We really have not purchased much so far. Since food is relatively [View Full Entry]

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The city of Nagoya is the home of my Dad's father. It is Japan's 4th most populous city, and has over 2 million population. It serves as the capital of Aichi Prefecture, and the principal city of the Nobi plain. Nagoya developed as the castle town of the Owari, one of three branches of the ruling Tokugawa family during the Edo period. Much of the city was destroyed by U.S. bombers in 1945. Modern day Nagoya is most well known as the headquarters of Toyota, as well as numerous production plants in the area. Another big attraction is the Toyota Techno [View Full Entry]

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I am sure this was not the same village my Grandfather left in the 1800's, to find his way to the United States, and to build the future that my family enjoys now. He came to California as a 16 year old boy, and passed away in 1965 at the age of 84. Nagoya is now a very industrial city, and home to the largest automobile company in the world, Toyota. We are going to venture out on foot today, then perhaps take a tour to some castles and shrines tomorrow. Our first stop today is the Toyota Commemorative Museum of [View Full Entry]

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We got to the crazy area of Tokyo known as Harajuku, the teen fashion street and Rodeo Drive combination of Tokyo. As they say here, spendy and trendy. We got off the train and headed down the main street to where the outrageous clothes in the shops were exceeded only by the young teens and twenty somethings in their Sunday best. These kids are the exact opposite of American kids who wear their faded jeans, torn T shirts, and sneakers. These kids must be color blind or just plain crazy. They make Haight Ashbury in SF and Melrose Avenue in LA [View Full Entry]

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Japan's main island, Honshu, is covered by a network of high speed trains connecting Tokyo with most of the island's major cities. These high speed bullet trains are called shinkansen, and operated by Japan Railways (JR). The Tokkaido shinkansen, which we will be using, connects Tokyo to our others visits: Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya. This line was inaugurated in 1964 as the first shinkansen line and the world's first high speed train service. At that time, the trains already ran at about 200 km/h. Now, they reach speeds of 300 km/h. We bought shinkansen passes in the states before we le [View Full Entry]

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The huge Tsukiji market dates back to the 16th century, when the military rulers who had just moved Japan's capital to Tokyo wanted to ensure they had a proper channel to get enough fish to their hungry vassals at the nearby castle. Today, Japan is the world's biggest consumer of seafood. The market handles 480 kinds of seafood, bringing around 40,000 buyers and sellers daily. The value of its seafood trade amounts to 1.8 billion yen ($20 million) per day on average, making it the heart of the national seafood distribution system and the biggest fish wholesale market in the world. [View Full Entry]

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