Tokyo gets more fascinating every time we come here. Train lines go everywhere, above ground in the suburbs but underground in the massive metropolitan area. Many of the stations are connected by long tunnels so you can go to many places without seeing daylight, and without getting wet when it is raining. So many shops, cafes and restaurants exist beneath the ground that it is almost like another city below ground. No matter what time the trains always seem to be full in both directions. We went the wrong way on one line but we found later out that even the locals do that so we needn’t worry.

The amazing Shinkansen (Bullet Train)

It was great to see Yoko again. She took us to an interesting Buddhist temple near the fish market, then to the incredible fish market. It will close in a week to move to a new facility about 15 minutes away and of course people who have been buying and selling here for generations have mixed feelings. We found out later that Reiko’s husband, Daijiro, works for a company that provided concrete for the new market so that’s what progress and development are all about. We saw dozens of fish shops and had a great sushi lunch at one of many crowded traditional Japanese restaurants.

The big white blocks on the trailers are frozen tuna.

After lunch our next stop was the most incredible light and sound show we have ever seen, at Odaiba TeamLabs. The colours, patterns, movement and variety in the many displays could have kept us entertained for hours, except we were starting to get tired by late afternoon.

Jo and Yoko amongst the lights.

The lights on the flat boards look like water lilies.

On the way home we saw a Tokyo sunset, which we believe is not very common unless seen from a high-rise building.

Jo and Yoko in charge of the electric (driverless) train into the sunset.

That was Thursday. On Friday we had to do the laundry, which is actually quite an interesting chore when in a foreign country, following which we explored the train route that we would take the next day to see Reiko. Everything went smoothly so we were confident about Saturday’s excursion.

Confidence doesn’t always solve the problem. We forgot that Saturday’s timetable would be different and what we thought would be easy was a bit tricky. Some of the trains were express and we could have ended up anywhere. But we made it just on time to be met by Reiko’s mother, who took us to meet Reiko, Daijiro and Mana to see Mana’s first sports day – not every visitor to Japan gets to see that. We had a great day with Reiko and her family.

Mana in the orange vest in her first race, helped by her Dad. Watch for her in the 2036 Olympics.

Tomorrow should be an easy day. Yoko’s husband, Shoichi, will pick us up from the hotel and take us to the port at Yokohama to start our cruise. Sounds easy – but a typhoon has hit southern Japan and it should be in Tokyo tomorrow night. The locals don’t seem to be worried (they have already had 7 typhoons this season) so we have decided not to worry either. The ship will depart earlier than planned, presumably so that we can get out to sea before the typhoon arrives. It will probably be rough but on previous cruises we have had only calm seas so it had to happen eventually.

We will provide details in the next update. Meanwhile, keep safe.

The express train from Kanazawa to Kyoto, the Thunder Bird Express, was fast and comfortable, not as fast as the Shinkansen but we still took only 2 hours and 20 minutes to travel the 230 km. For about 90 km the track is beside the huge Lake Biwa (Biwako in Japanese) so that added some interest to the trip.

At Kyoto we walked around the streets for an hour or so while waiting for check-in time then settled in at the hotel before spending a couple of hours at a local laundromat. Even tedious stuff like laundry can be interesting when being helped by local people who are quite happy to explain how the machines work.

Eating noodles in soup is much cleaner when the restaurant supplies a paper bib.

It was great to see Mieko and Yuichiro Hirose again, after 10 years. Although we can’t speak Japanese and their English is limited we still manage to enjoy each other’s company. We went north by train to a ropeway (cable car) that took us up about 1000m to a lookout and restaurant where we spent a couple of hours looking at the view, waiting in the queue for lunch, then eating a light lunch. Biwako is huge, supplying most of the water used in Kyoto, Ōsaka and Kobe from one main river.

Overlooking Biwako on a cloudy day

After the return trip to Kyoto station we took another short ride to Fushimi Inari Shrine, one of the most interesting shrines we have seen. Inari is the God of rice, so imagine how many Inari shrines there are in Japan. The Inari Shrine at Fushimi is the most important so it receives thousands of visitors every day. It’s main Gate and main building are impressive but about 4 km of smaller bright orange gates, set about 150mm apart, make it really interesting.

The entrance to the Inari Shrine

It takes about 2 hours to see all the thousands of gates; we didn’t see them all.

Dinner that night was amazing; a delicious tepanyaki meal at a hotel adjacent to the Kyoto station, with a view of the Kyoto Tower.

Next morning we met Mieko and Yuichiro again and walked across the road to the Tokyo Tower, with an observation floor 100m high showing great views of the city, surrounded by mountains. We saw the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) arriving at the station, the one we would catch the next day (there are dozens each day but of course the one we saw must be ours). The Hirose’s proudly showed us their home town from above, on a clear day.

From the Kyoto Tower; see the Shinkansen pulling into the station.

Using a local bus we visited the Kitano-tenmangu Shrine, especially interesting because on the 25th of each month it operates as a flea market, occupied by hundreds of small stalls with vendors selling a huge range of food, souvenirs, craft, textiles and second hand products. This was followed by a light lunch in a tiny local guest house.

As it started to rain we took a taxi across town to Heianjingu Shrine, famous for its beautiful gardens. The rain stopped while we wandered around, enjoying the peaceful grounds with dozens of different plants and reflecting pools.

Enjoying the serenity

Back at Kyoto Station we went up 11 escalators to a Tempura restaurant and enjoyed another really good meal. The Japanese certainly know how to turn simple fresh produce into incredible food that looks and tastes wonderful.

Feeling exhausted and full we returned to our room to pack for the next phase of the holiday, a few days in Tokyo. We will travel by Bullet Train, the Shinkansen, taking about 2 hours 20 minutes to go about 450 km; looking forward to that.

It took a couple of hours to reach Shirakawago, driving through very high, very steep mountains. Driving “through” is the right word because Japan must have thousands of tunnels, some only 100 m long but we drove through several long tunnels. In one case a 15 km tunnel was followed by 100 m in the open then another 8 km tunnel. The road system must be very expensive to build. It occurred to us that whenever more rock is needed for concrete (for buildings, roads, bridges, etc) they dig another tunnel.

We stayed at Gosenjaku Lodge on the right bank of the river in Kamikochi National Park, during 24 hours of steady rain.

The mountains certainly are beautiful, with dense forest up to the tree line at about 2500 m in this area, and a mixture of green grass or moss and exposed rock above the tree line. The trees are starting to turn to autumn shades so it should be quite pretty by the time we leave Japan in 3 weeks.

Shirakawago is a 350-year old village nestled in a narrow, flat valley between tall mountains, with several cold, clear streams running amongst the buildings. The rain stopped and we enjoyed a couple of hours wandering around the village. Some buildings are solely for tourists, e.g. shops and museums but most are still used as homes for local people. Most of the buildings have thatched roofs in original style while some have been modernised with iron roofs and gutters. Rice fields and vegetable gardens co-exist with buildings and streets. Visiting this town is certainly worthwhile and we saw lots of local tourists and a few westerners.

A couple of hours later we arrived at Kanazawa, a large city on the northern coast, facing the China Sea. It’s a nice city and Kana and Gutti chose a good hotel right in the city centre. After dinner in the hotel’s Italian restaurant we farewelled Kana and Gutti who were to leave for Tokyo early the next morning. It was sad to part from them as we have really enjoyed their company and they have been such wonderful hosts.

The next day, Saturday, we wandered around Kanazawa for several hours, visiting the train station, to buy tickets for Kyoto; the Samurai district, a very old part of town with original style housing; the Kenrokuen Gardens, beautiful green gardens with several lakes; Kanazawa Castle, a well preserved 350-year old structure in the centre of the city; and the fish market, filled with locals buying an incredible range of fish produce.

Lots of people, especially young women, dress up for special occasions such as public holidays.

Beautiful Kenrokuen Gardens

Kanazawa Castle

That was a full day, with 13 km of walking, so we hit the beds very tired, to get ready for the next phase of the trip, a few days in Kyoto.

On Monday morning it was nice to see Kana and Gutti again after 10 years. They took us to their house only 10 minutes by car from the Tokyo station where we were fascinated by the great view over Tokyo city. We left half our luggage there and drove for a couple of hours to a camp site a few km west of Mt Fuji, where they had reserved a cottage for two nights. On the way we saw our first view of the mountain but then it disappeared behind clouds for the rest of the evening.

Our first view of Mt Fuji, from the car

Kana and Gutti cooked a bbq dinner on the table and we sat around eating and chatting for a couple of hours. Gutti promised that the next morning we would see Mt Fuji from the front patio.

Our cottage near Mt Fuji

No such luck. The cloud was still covering the mountain. Leaving the camp site mid-morning we drove to a car park 2200 m up the northern slope of Mt Fuji, then walked for 3 hours up to 2500 m and along the side of the mountain for about 2.5 km. The cloud cleared and the views both up and down the mountain were very good. It was strange to think that we were walking at the same height as Australia’s tallest mountain. It is easy to see why this mountain has a special place in the hearts of Japanese people. After 3 hours of cloud-free views the the clouds moved in again as we finished our hike.

Back at the cottage Kana and Gutti prepared and cooked a really nice sukiyaki dinner, following which we re-packed for the next day’s adventure when we could take only overnight luggage in back packs.

We drove for a couple of hours to Ogizawa, where, at 1400 m, we started a very interesting mountain experience:

Ripening rice fields on the way to Murodo

* an electric bus took us through a steep tunnel beneath Mt Akazawa for 15 minutes, during which we climbed about 100 m to the Kurobe Dam, a large dam built in 1956 to supply hydro-electricity and water to areas.

* after walking across the dam wall we rode in a cable car through another narrow tunnel, up a 31 deg slope climbing another 400 m.

Check out the slope on the cable car track

* the next step was a rope-way that took us across a wide gully and up another 500 m. The scenery at each of the stations and from the rope-way car was breathtaking.

Looking down from the cable car to the dam wall (bottom right)

Looking up from the cable car. Our mountain lodge is over the top of the range.

* finally we boarded another bus for a further 200 m tunnel climb beneath Mt Tateyama-Machi to Murodo, a volcanic plateau famous in Japan for its hot springs, mountain climbing, sulphur emissions and amazing scenery. At 2500 m there was no snow but the maximum day temperature was 10 deg and by the time we arrived late in the afternoon it was down to 5 deg. Overnight it was 2 deg. On a clear day we could have seen the ocean on the north coast looking past the city of Toyama. We ate a great set-course dinner, then settled down for sleep on the futon mattress laid out on a tatami mat floor.

The first view of our lodge at Murodo, during the final 15minute walk.

One of many active volcanoes, from the lodge

Setting off the next morning, at 5 deg.

On Thursday we reversed the trip down the mountain and drove for a couple of hours toward Matsumoto Castle. Well that was the plan; the weather deteriorated to misty rain then steady rain as we travelled so we changed plans and went directly to Kamikochi instead. We parked outside the National Park because private cars aren’t allowed in the park and took a taxi into the park, then walked through light rain to really nice mountain lodge. Dinner in the lodge restaurant was another really great meal.

Lots of monkeys, deer, birds and bears at Kamikochi National Park

Buffet meal, Japanese style – delicious

Living like locals

Tomorrow we will go to Shirakawago to see an old town that has been on our bucket list for years.

We were excited about returning to Japan to visit friends and take a cruise around Japan. It will be very busy but should be a lot of fun.

After an uneventful flight (that’s the best kind of flight) and the 70 km trip to Tokyo we checked in at Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Station, very conveniently right next to the station. We spent the next day just wandering around the station district, getting our bearings and getting used to the crowds.

Shopping near Tokyo Station

We had a wonderful sushi dinner with Toshi, Midori and her two children, Madoka (9) and Hayato (7). It was great to see them. The restaurant was within easy walking distance of the hotel so we could get amongst the locals as they live their normal lives. Already we are seeing the benefit of having Japanese friends.

Chatting with Madoka and Hayato

This weekend was a long weekend so on Saturday morning, as we walked around the neighbourhood, we could see that people were more relaxed than on a week day and there were not as many in the streets and shops. Toshi took us by train to the Sky Tree tower, at 600 m one of the highest in the world, where we met Midori, Nario and the kids. The lift took us up 350 m at 600 m per minute to an amazing tepanyaki restaurant amongst the clouds. The meal was great and the company was great but the view was mainly white cloud. Never mind, we still had fun.

The view from the tepanyaki restaurant at the top of the Sky Tree

Next stop was Asakusa, just a short train trip away. This is a very old temple that we saw 21 years ago and it is interesting to revisit attractions that we have seen before. Midi and Toshi found a tiny traditional bar where we had a fascinating range of dishes for an early dinner, accompanied by beer and sake.

With Toshi and Midi at Asakusa

On Sunday we found our way through Tokyo Station and caught the train to Mt Takao, meeting the others on the train. Some of us walked the steep path to top of the 600 m peak, while Jo and Toshi rode the cable car, through quite beautiful lush, green forest, different to the eucalyptus forests of Australia. Lunch was an outdoor buffet, all-you-can-eat and drink in 2 hours. We tried hard but couldn’t eat and drink for the whole time, although we did enjoy it.

With Midori’s family at Mt Takao, a National Park close to Tokyo

After returning to the hotel we had a light dinner and packed for the next stage of our holiday, then to bed feeling tired but relaxed.