Advertisement
Published: August 26th 2015
Goodday!!
I had limited internet access the last two months and in the meantime I've been working in Europe for the summer, therefore I had little time to write.
While in Hiroshima I was busy looking at options to go watch a baseball game of Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Kobe or Yokohama. The player from Curaçao in that team, Wladimir “Coco” Balentien, broke the homerun record last year. I found out that he was injured so I didn’t bother to go anymore. Although it would have been nice to experience a game because baseball is big in Japan.
I left Hiroshima by bus towards
Kyoto, a “must” when visiting Japan! Kyoto has about 1.5 million people and used to be Japan's capital in the past. It's home of the Geisha culture consisting of women dressed in their traditional dresses, "kimonos". They act as hostesses and entertainers for male customers by singing, dancing etc. I liked Kyoto with all its shrines, temples and many women dressed in kimonos. Especially the Gion district was very nice, an old part of the city with its wooden houses and a popular geisha district. It gives the city a unique and different
impression and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Kyoto has a number of temples and Shinto shrines, too many to visit them all. Once I grabbed a map and spoke to the receptionist at my hostel, I figured out which places I wanted to visit in the city throughout my stay. I started off by going to Yasaka-Jinja Shrine. Beautifully built more than 1300 years ago, it lies at one entrance of the Maruyama Park which is a nice place to take a stroll, have a drink and look at people. I continued through Gion towards Kodaiji-Temple. It was built in the 17th century and is located in a nice garden containing various structures, including the main Spirit Hall where pictures are prohibited. Just next door to the temple there is a big Buddha statue. I continued through the narrow but busy streets of Gion and ended up at the gorgeous Kiyomizu-dera Temple, founded more than 1200 years ago. The main hall of the Buddhist temple was built on tall, wooden pillars and has a big balcony. From the temple-complex you enjoy nice views over the city. The Sanjusangen-do Temple was very peculiar. It's a very long Buddhist temple with 1000
Armed Kannon statues inside and unfortunately they don't allowed pictures inside.
After wandering around for a couple of hours, late afternoon was approaching. I jumped on the train to Fushimi-inari-taisha Shrine. The shrine was built in the 8th century and is located down the Mt. Inari hill. Up the hill there are several smaller shrines and the path leading to the top is mostly covered by torii's, traditional Japanese gates. Of course I made the effort to climb all the way up. The top itself wasn’t that great, but just before reaching the top there is a nice viewpoint over the city and from there I saw the sunset. The next day I slept in and went by bus to Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion). It's a Buddhist hall containing relics of Buddha and the garden and buildings were said to represent the Pure Land of Buddha in this world. It's located in a beautiful garden and near a lake, offering excellent opportunities for photography. Just next door I also visited the Ryoanji Temple, originally a country house but used as a Zen training temple since the 1400’s. The site is known for its simple but remarkable Rock Garden
which is one of the few examples of dry-landscape (kare-sansiu) left. On the way back towards my hostel I stopped at the Nishijin-ori Textile Centre where they have short kimono fashion shows for free. Very interesting! I was just too late to enter the Nijojo Castle and I decided to continue towards the famous Pontocho-dori Street, a street which kept much of it's traditional tea-houses and geisha culture. I walked along the Kamogawa River where several people, especially youngsters, were just sitting and chilling together on the grass. I spent one afternoon in the Arashiyama area, located in the outskirts of Kyoto. The area is nicely green with the Oi-gawa River flowing through. It was very busy, mostly with Japanese tourists. A well-known spot in the area is the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, an area densely covered by high bamboo trees. What a stunning place it was! Walking through the grove felt a bit surreal! After Kyoto I wanted to go to the Takayama area. I didn't plan too much before going to Japan and didn't know about the Golden Week until I was in the country. It’s a national holiday and many Japanese people go on holidays in their own
country. I couldn't find accommodation in Takayama, neither in the surrounding areas or the Mt. Fuji area. I was kind of forced to visit Tokyo earlier than I thought. I immediately booked my accommodation 3 days in the Mt. Fuji area immediately after Golden Week.
I took a night bus to
Tokyo and spent 3 days there. Tokyo was a great experience and what a busy place! I was regularly at Shinjuku station for transfer, a very crowded station where I was always getting a bit confused due to the size of it. With more than 30 million people in its metropolitan area, Tokyo is the world's largest city. Tokyo is busy and lively, offering something for everyone depending on their interests. I travelled mostly by Tokyo’s extensive and excellent metro-network; very easy and convenient! Three days in Tokyo were not enough but it didn’t matter, since I didn't feel like I had to see “everything” anyway. My first stop was at the Metropolitan Government Building. The entrance up to the 45th floor is free, from where you enjoy views all over Tokyo. From here I got a true sight and impression of how huge Tokyo really
is! After this I went to the Tsukiji outer market area but was too late, people were already putting things away. I moved on and wandered through the Ginza area which has a lot of luxury brand stores, and the lively Shinjuku area just outside the station bearing the same name. It’s like the Time Square of Tokyo. It’s a lively and vivid area full of lights, people, pubs/cafes, restaurant, strip-clubs, pachinko's, manga cafes etc. I strolled around the area, had some dinner and also a beer or two at a bar where I had a little conversation with some people. Another day I visited the Imperial Palace East Park, where the Imperial Palace is located. You’re able to see the actual palace from a distance, with the well-known Nijubashi Bridge in front. The whole park is surrounded by water and a wall. It’s nice to have a walk inside the park but I didn’t it find it very special. The Asakusa area is another lively area worth exploring. The area is located along the Sumidagawa River with a view of the Tokyo Skytree tower and the Asahi Breweries. Nearby I also went to the Nakamise Street, entering through the
Kaminarimon Gate with its giant lantern. It’s a very busy but nice street leading straight towards Sensoji Temple. The temple is said to be the oldest in Tokyo, built in 628. The complex consists of an impressive main entrance, a main temple building and a pagoda. At the hostel I met Justin, a black American teacher who also quit his job to do a long trip and Japan was his first stop. We spoke about our travels, told each other about our travel plans etc. It was great to interact with another black guy travelling, since it's not common seeing black people who quit their jobs to travel. My friends Nydia and Joseph from Curaçao are two other rare examples. 😊
I left Tokyo by bus to the
Mt. Fuji area and stayed for three days at a hostel in Fujiyoshida. From a main street near the hostel you can clearly see Mt. Fuji towering in the background; very impressive! At 3776m it’s Japan highest mountain and an active volcano. I arrived early afternoon, had a quick lunch and was just on time to grab one of the last buses towards Takinoue Park, where the Fuji Shiba-sakura Festival
(Moss Phlox) was held. The drive towards Takinoue Park took about an hour, passing through the beautiful landscape. The park was very beautiful with all its colourful flowers and offering the most beautiful views of Mt. Fuji I could have asked for. The next day I went to Hakone, where I grabbed the Hakone Tozan Cable Car up to Mt. Hakone which was nice. Unfortunately the rope-way was closed to the public due to volcanic activity. I took a bus down to Kanagawa-ken, where I had a nice boat-tour on Lake Ashinoko. The boats are replicas of old, pirate ships and they take you across the whole lake. I just sat back, put my music on and enjoyed the trip, the views, the breeze, the clean air. From my hostel I walked towards Churei-toh Pagoda with another guest. The pagoda is part of a shrine and was built in early 1960's as a peace memorial. From here I had an excellent view of Mt. Fuji and surroundings.
Back in Tokyo for my last night I decided to book a capsule hotel, just for the experience. I had to leave my shoes in a locker at the reception and
use a flip-flops from the hotel instead. The capsule hotels are very popular in Japan and I guess they’re not suitable for claustrophobic people. I must say that it was better than I thought it would be. I was actually able to sit up straight on my mattress, I got a piyama to wear, a towel and toiletries such as a razor, a tooth brush and some toothpaste. They had two separate floors for women only. The “rooms” do not lock, they have just a roller curtain. You can leave your valuables in a locker, the shared toilets were on the same floor and the shower was on the top floor. It was a typical open, Japanese shower with a warm bath and a few showers with small benches on which you can sit and wash yourself.
Well, that was my Japanese experience. If I had more time I would have definitely stayed longer but it’s time to move on. All by all, I was glad and happy with my stay and experience here and I'd surely love to go back one day! Such an interesting country; very modern and western but still a completely different world worth
visiting and exploring your own way!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.111s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 14; qc: 30; dbt: 0.0542s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Garrick
non-member comment
nice
Very informative and very nice blogpost Elton-San...especially the pictures. I was never attracted to Japan but it definitely sounds like a interesting place to go.