Toki

23rd October - Tokyo


Our last day of Jap rail pass meant only one thing - get to Tokyo. With our flight arranged for 31st, this meant a whole week in one of the worlds biggest urban areas. Good work.

Our first real taste of the city was a day aimlessly spent in Odaiba, the reclaimed islands in Tokyo bay. You arrive by monorail which is cool, but as a former Tokyoite and social commentator once noted; 'Arriving in Odaiba is a bit like arriving in the future, except that it's not the future, it's just a shit load of concrete.' As with most pre planned developments, there is little appreciation of the importance of packing skyscrapers together so that they block out the sky. Instead there are large areas of green and as a result, it feels like a place where people come to sleep.

When animals attack!

October 22nd - Hell Valley, near Nagano

A big jawed german we met in our hostel shared his relaxed opinions on the subject of Hell Valley Monkey Park, amongst others; "It is RAARBBISH! It is full of all of that concrete and not like seeing the animals in their natural environment".

- Shut it Fritz - monkeys in a skate park rule. Live with it.

The park is set in a wooded gorge, with a fast flowing mountain spring and natural hot springs dotted around. The monkeys are not the other side of fences. They are not even on the other side of the river, they are right behind you; scratching, shouting and generally intimidating each other and tourists too. Most people seem to try to get as close as possible to take photos without getting attacked - not so hard, although these macaques aren't keen on eye contact. The place isn't even that concrete and if you want a naturally heated rotemburo for your monkeys to bathe in, you might just need to build one...



"Who's a cute little monkey then?"














Still, not all amazing fun. About 2 hours and many photos later, we headed downstream to have lunch. It was a nice spot for a picnic; the steep wooded valley, the thermal vent spitting steam into the air, the bubbling moutain stream, the Japanese Macaque running at us...

Turned out we hadn't put quite enough distance between us and the park. This hairy, not so little brute had got wind of our snacking and was about to ram raid us. Using the classic 'Jurassic Park' method, I distracted the little heathen with my banana whilst Helen made for higher ground. I threw the decoy into the stream and followed her up, my peanut butter sandwich still in my hand. But as I turned back, I saw that our simian friend had made fast work of my first defence and was back on our trail.

In the end, we were saved by the presence of a benevolent old labrador (about the only dog in Japan bigger than a rat). It seems the two might have met before because the monkey came no further. Slightly shaken, we hit the path back to the bus stop.

About 5 minutes later, without a monkey in sight, we stopped at a picnic area to finsih our lunch. A Japanese family were having a full blown feast next to us and we were keen to get our breath back. Fat chance. A few minutes later, we saw that little thug coming down the path. This time we were better prepared and on the move in seconds. The family on the other hand did not fare so well. The last thing we saw as we briskly walked off was our monkey friend standing on their table wrecking things in the style of a English football hooligan.


"Look at me again and I'll gut you like a fish"

Ninjageddon

21st October - Nagano

Near impossible feat of the day; persuading Helen to visit a ninja museum.

The museum was decked out with the expected pictures of flying, swimming and hiding ninja wearing some fine threads. It also had an impressive array of blow-pipes, foot spikes and other practical maiming devices. Surprisingly, it turned out to be somewhat less interesting than the 'ninja house' next door; an ensemble of hidden trap doors, sliding bookcases and a room with a sloping floor (alas Helen did not acquire any new ninja skills). I successfully weaseled my way around the ninja climbing wall (no great feat I admit; the thing was designed for children and more to the point, 'climbing' is for chicks) and even threw a couple of ninja stars into some targets. Still, I would be no match for Helen, above - she fights dirty.

Alas, there was no accommodation in the ninja museum and so we ventured into the woods to find a mountain side shrine. The approach is via an impressive cedar avenue which looked a little like something from Lord of the Rings. Pretty spooky place, especially when the locals got the dry ice machines out.

Today I have been mostly eating...

18th October - Nagoya

I wish! Being on a tight budget in Japan means less food for fatty. Indeed if you look closely at my picture in a previous post, you may notice that my normally curvy 'apple cheeks' are all but gone.

However, it's not all bad news. I have addressed the lack of food by lowering the quality. That's right, I have been working my way through Japan's fine array of snacky snacks. Today I have been mostly eating 'Pocky', 'shrooms' (pictured, in the hand of a giant) and dried, battered green peas. I have been mostly drinking copious amounts of 'Pocari Sweat' and 'Amino-Supli' (it is all about the protein window).

When I return home, I intend to install a Japanese vending machine in my house and dispense with the need for a kitchen.

The future is vend.

Push the button

17th October

Most things over here are high tech, including the toilets, which offer such luxuries as shower, bidet, flushing sounds (to cover any indiscreet sounds you may make) and heated seat options. Today I thought I`d be brave and try the shower option. Which turned out to be just that.

Having pushed the shower button, a jet stream shot up my skirt and the back of my t shirt. I obviously yelped and jumped off the seat which then left the jet stream to soak the entire cubilcle until I finally found the stop button.

Think I should stick to the traditional Japanese squat next time.

Bath time

15th October

Today we went to Shirahama which is a seaside resort in Southern Japan boasting some of the best onsen (hot spring baths) in the country. We chose to go to an open air onsen cut into the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The practice is to wash yourself thoroughly before entering the baths; one warm, one hot and the other containing ocean waves to cool you down. The whole experience is very relaxing and the views amazing.

Ed shared his onsen with a group of Japanes bikers (the baths are separated by sex) and said that the hairs floating in the water remined him of sharing a bathroom with Steve. Don`t let that put you off though.

If it wasn't for them damned kids....

Friday 13th September - Koya-san

Zoiks!! It's Friday the 13th and we're off to stay in a deserted temple and visit an eerie necropolis. No, not robbed from a Scooby-doo episode but real life. For real.

Koya-san is a sacred temple-infested plateau reached by winding mountain train and then cable car. The views on the way up are, I understand, 'kinda fancy'. However, I was attempting to finish Ringworld by Larry Niven and missed the whole show.

Finish the book I did not, but we did reach the top and our rather dark looking subtemple lodgings. We were greeted by an old monk who was bent almost double and clearly had difficulty walking. He welcomed us, in a confidently spoken but almost impossible to follow English, and showed us to our room. Later he would serve us our dinner (a fine meal including steamed vegetables, white sesame tofu and some delicious but unnamed mame) and carry out most of the prayer service at 6.30am the next morning. Although we heard the activity of other people in the temple, aside from our man, we scarcely saw a soul the whole time we were there.

The next morning, at some ungodly hour, we headed out to Okuno-in, an enourmous ancient cemetary and the resting place of Kobo Daishi (where he meditates in his tomb, waiting for the future Buddha) the founder of Koya-san. The cemetary has over 200,000 moss covered graves shaded by 100-foot cypress trees and is most atmospheric. Stranger still is the practice of decorating some of the graves with hats and clothing, often in a seemingly rastafarian style.

Astro City

11th September - Osaka

Today we made a fleeting visit to Japan's 4th largest city. Although it's just round the corner from leafy Kyoto it appears to be the polar opposite. The whole place is built on a massive scale, cars and trains run high above the ground and people scurry below it.

The scale of it was such that it seemed like we didn't even scratch the surface. Looking at it all it seems like a really expensive project in urban planning. All that said, we ate okonomiyake in a really sweaty shop tucked under some railway lines and were reminded that it is not so dissimilar to everywhere else.

In the evening we visited the famous Dotombori area which,　with its flashing neon and noisy advertising, does bear more than a passing resemblence to the set of Blade Runner. No Hare Krishnas though.

Bring on Tokyo

shinkansen

8th October - Kyoto

'Japan's cultural capital' is well know for its wealth of temples, zen gardens and shrines. So arriving by bullet train into the city's modern station building came as somewhat of a surprise.

Travel on the shinkansen has eclipsed all other forms of transport that I have experienced*. You sit in a massive arm chair, with enough leg room for even the tallest of freaks, and are smoothly whisked off to your destination. In addition, the newer 'Nozomi' (which translates as something like 'dragon punch' or 'flying dagger') trains look like some form of high-spec power ranger.

The station is equally as futuristic. It has the biggest flight of stairs I have ever seen; if you took a tumble on that kiddie, you could be going for quite some time. As with many of Japan's newer architectural feats, the building also serves as a shopping mall.

* This includes piggy-back through the streets of Chamonix and being driven in Jody's MX5.

Kyoto

8th - 10th October

As a city full of temples, shrines and zen gardens (and the occasional Geisha), Kyoto rates highly as a tourist destination. Sometimes popularity isnt always a good thing, but Kyoto hasn`t disappointed and we`ve enjoyed the last few days strolling through serene surroundings. However, to ensure that you don`t get `templed-out`, the city also has a lot more to offer including some pretty impressive modern architecture.

We have also been lucky enough to be taken out one evening by Reiko and Ernesto who live in Kyoto. They kindly took us to a traditional Japanese inn where we were treated to many dishes including sashimi and tofu, all washed down with a glass or two of sake.

The Curse of Monkey Island

5th October - Inland Sea

Miyajima is a densely forrested island just south of Hiroshima and is famous for its tame deer and monkeys(!). Our rather sweaty ascent to the island's highest peak took us almost up into the low, heavy clouds. It yielded some stunning views over Japan`s Inland Sea, but no monkeys.

The picture is of the famous floating torii (shrine gate), one of Japan's 'three best views'. As you can see, there's not a monkey in sight.

Hiroshima

4th October

Amongst other sights, we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum today which obviously has a very powerful message to tell. Every picture, memoir and article just made you realise what an insane place the world can be.

On a lighter note however, now being in our first Japanese city of notable size, we`ve spotted a trend for dyed curly barnets. The locals seem to have a particular love for dodgy ginger perms. Having had my photo taken a couple of times, I`m starting to worry that it`s because of my hair. Maybe I should have brought my straighteners afterall...

Streets paved with goldfish

2nd October - Tsuwano, western Japan

The ancient Samourai village of Tsuwan is nestled deep in a valley in the mountaineous inland region of Chugoku. What it lacks in pavements, it makes up for in water channels that run down the roadsides. And swimming about in the dark water are some of the fattest sea-beast carp that I have ever seen. As the story goes, if the village was ever seiged, the fishies would be used as snacks. That might even be true, but if so, I would like to see a scrap between a half starved man and one of these big boys. My money`s on fish face.

The village also proved that its wildlife was not limited to Kraken. We came into close contact with cranes, an eagle, a kingfisher, a preying mantis and a flying bear. That is what I call a full day`s work.

Nippon Safes Inc.

1st October - Shimonoseki, Japan

And so, at last, we have made it to Japan.

Get in.

First impressions continue to be good; the place is a pleasant mix of modern architecture, wooded hills and really small cars. We are in the Japanese equivalent of Felixstowe and yet I have no compulsion to run away screaming.

Shomonosek is famed for serving the poisonous fugu (puffer fish). And we`re not talking `swollen head nut allergy` type poisonous, we are talking double dark tetrodotoxin poisonous. We just had some for lunch and although I`ve got a slightly sore finger, I think I`m ok.

Slow boat to Japan

September 30th

Earlier this evening we departed Qingdao in China for Shimonoseki in Western Japan.

We are on the mighty `Utopia 2` which could not be any more Japanese. The signs are there; unnaturally hospitable and helful staff, tatami matts in our cabin, Karaoke in the bar upstairs and a rather communal bath/shower (see pic).

Additionally, I haven`t heard anyone shouting for at least a couple of hours, so we must be clear of China.