No shortage of ‘rising sun’ on our visit to Japan

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As mentioned in my recent blog, in which I reminisced on my business experiences in Japan, I also mentioned that Joan and I visited our son, Jared, for a fortnight in August 2010, while he was working over there and before the tsunami ultimately cut his time there short. I don’t know why I didn’t post a blog at that time, but what I do remember is it was incredibly hot and humid for most of our visit, so maybe that dulled my brain! Although I am now relying heavily on memory and my diary records, I hope the photos alone make this blog enjoyable.

On arrival at Narita ex Sydney, we took the Narita Express directly to Shinagawa, where we were booked into the Prince Hotel for our first 5 nights. The benefit of staying there was that this was a part of Tokyo I knew well from my business dealings with Mitsubishi, and it was also on the very convenient circular JR Yamanote train line, which gave us good access to many of Tokyo’s touristy locations.

Visits around Tokyo were to the traditional touristy spots of Rappongi, Shinjuku, Harajuku and Shibuya, with a particular highlight at the latter being present at the ‘busiest pedestrian crossing in the world’ during rush hour, although I suspect that for that crossing, rush hour is 24/7! These locations in Tokyo really light up at night, with the combination of bright lights and huge neon advertising almost disguising the fact that it is dark outside. Just to show that you can’t take the Aussie out of the boy, we even found an Irish Pub in Rappongi one night that allowed us to view a Bledisloe Cup rugby game from back in Auckland.

A full day was set aside for a visit to the Ghibli Museum, which is located in Mitaka, just outside of central Tokyo. This is the animation and art museum of Miyazaki Hayao's Studio Ghibli, one of Japan's most famous animation studios, which has produced many feature length films. The museum itself was creatively designed in the distinct style of the studio's films, and many of their famous characters were there, including a life-sized robot from "Castle in the Sky" in the rooftop garden. The first floor of the museum exhibited the history and techniques of animation and it had a small theatre which showed short movies by Studio Ghibli that were exclusive to the museum.

Next day was a half-day trip to Kamakura, around 70km south of Tokyo, where we took in the 13^th century Great Buddha (which is ‘huge’ as well as ‘great’!), the Hasadera Temple and the Tsurugaoka Shrine. The afternoon was then spent back in Tokyo at Asakusa, where an atmosphere of the Tokyo of past decades still survives. Asakusa's main attraction is Sensoji, a very popular Buddhist temple, built in the 7th century. The temple is approached via the Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries.

We moved on from Tokyo on the Hikari Shinkansen to Nagoya, in the centre of the island, a ride of a little less than 2 hours, where we stayed two nights at the Kokusai Hotel. The main attraction here was the 17^th century, Edo period, Nagoya Castle, containing the Hommaru Palace, which comprised over 30 rooms with historical and cultural exhibits.

From Nagoya, it was just a short half-hour trip on the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto, where we stayed a further three nights at the Tower Annex Hotel, just near the JR Kyoto station. Kyoto served as Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its exceptional historic value, the city was dropped from the list of target cities for the atomic bomb and escaped major destruction during World War II. Highlights there included the Kyoto Imperial Palace, residence of the Imperial Family until 1868; Nijo Castle, the former Kyoto residence of the shogun; Kiyomizudera Temple, famous for its large wooden terrace that surrounds it; and the Nishiki Market, a fresh food market street in central Kyoto. We were also treated to an impromptu concert when we took a stroll down the central canal walkway.

Side trips from Kyoto included a half day in Nara, where the main attraction was Nara Park with its abundance of freely wandering deer, and the site of both the Todai-ji Temple, with its 15m high bronze Buddha, and the Kasuga Taisha Shrine, which had over 1,000 hanging lanterns. We also took a side trip to Himeji, less than an hour away, with its fabulously elevated Himeji Castle, the top floor of which offered a fabulous view down to Koko-en, a traditional Edo-style garden.

In my opinion, an absolute essential for a visit to Japan is Hiroshima, not for any morbid reasons but purely to understand the massive damage war can inflict on both people and infrastructure. I have previously visited Auschwitz in Poland and Choeung Ek in Cambodia, so I was under no apprehension that it was going to be a fun visit, but I think it is important that people have reminders of some of the worst aspects of our history. Obviously, the main ‘attraction’ there is the Peace Park and accompanying Memorial Museum, which displays belongings left by the victims, photos, and other materials that convey the horror of that event. The Atomic Bomb Dome, standing alone in an otherwise manicured park area is a further poignant reminder of that incident.

A more enjoyable side trip was that to Miyajima Island, accessible from Hiroshima by a local JR train and then a ferry, taking about an hour in all. The number one attraction there is the highly photographed World Heritage site of Itsukushima Shrine, which is most famous for its dramatic gate, or torii, on the outskirts of the shrine, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, extensive forests, and its ocean view. Dedicated to the deity who protects from maritime disaster and war, the shrine was reportedly built way back in 593. We took a cruise around the bay and were blown away by the general beauty of the area.

Well, that just about completes our travels on this Japanese trip. The relatively long trip from Hiroshima back to Tokyo on the Sanyo/Tokaido Shinkansen (a little over 5 hours), was by no means a chore as it gave us ample opportunity to get a perspective of the varied Japanese countryside, highlighted of course by a superb view on a clear day of the famed Mt Fuji, which in hindsight, we wished we had spent some time visiting. The balance of our trip was spent visiting Jared and checking out his ‘palatial’ digs (not!) at Ishinomaki, where he was working up until that town was almost wiped off the map by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, as described in my last blog.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Exploring Japan
We are going to Japan in March. I' enjoying Japan of days gone by.

[DaveandIssy]

Japan
You've just got to love those deer in Nara - wandering down the main street. It's a wonder there aren't a lot lying injured on the side of the road given the volume of traffic. We also loved Miyajima Island. Hiroshima - just so so sobering.

[Nomad Old Farts]

Japan
It's indeed a fascinating country, with a culture that stands all on its own. I see you guys are Melbourne based. We moved three years ago from Sydney's northern beaches down to a sleepy little town on the NSW south coast called Broulee. If you were ever thinking of wandering up this way, it would be great to catch up. I'm sure we could find something to talk about!