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Day 17: The Voyage Home
Jul 26th
Disclaimer: This post is in no way related to the Star Trek film of the same name
I’m really bored and this flight is like 12 hours long. So rather than writing a blog post about a rather mundane flight I thought instead I’d catalogue all the hilarious ways Terry has been drifting in and out of consciousness whilst we’ve been travelling.
0920 – On the Narita Express
Terry falls asleep sitting in the vestabule of the train. He starts to lol in his sleep and every time he starts to slip down he jolts up and slaps himself in the face with the back of his hand.
1030 – Starbucks in Narita Airport
I come back from the Western and Terry is nodding like the Churchill dog on his stool. Oh yes!
1105 – Ten Minutes Until Take-Off
Terry falls asleep and headbutts my shoulder hard enough to wake himself up, immediately passes out again and is woken by my laughing.
1300 – Lunch is Being Served
I wake Terry to ask him if he wants lunch, he says yes but passes out between saying yes and actually ordering anything.
1430 – Terry is Completely Sparko
Terry doesn’t actually wake up but I look over to see him mouthing like a fish. He then mumbles something and goes back to sleep.
1505 – Terry Takes The Trolley
Terry’s head lols out into the aisle as the trolley is coming, the Stewardess drives it into the back of head. He wakes and immediately sinks back into his sleep.
Jack
(Chronicler of Misfortune)
Day 16: Homeward Bound
Jul 25th
I’m sitting in a railway station, I got a ticket for my destination. On a tour of one night stands, my suitcase and guitar in hand and every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one man band.
- Simon and Garfunkle
It’s our last day, the end of the trip, and we’re back in Tokyo, the first city and the place we fell most in love with.
We spent our afternoon savouring the sight, sounds and smells of Akihabara, weighing up the myriad ways to unburden ourselves of our excess Yen. Big stores and small noodle joints with neon signs on the sides and all manner of advertisements and endorsements in the windows.
We head over to Asakusa and met up with Aya, a friend from our first stay in Tokyo. We head over to Shibuya the gleaming shopping Mecca we’d not visited for weeks now. We found some trendy, industrial jazz bar where the pizza was tiny but tasty and the coctails were fantastic, in fact I’ve picked up a new drink (35 of Whiskey, 35 of Amarretto) The Godfather.
A nice night, a nice atmosphere and some nice conversation gave us a nice send off. It’s a short post today but we treated it like our greatest hits album so all I’d really be doing is parroting things I’ve already said.
Goodbye Tokyo, we’ll miss you very much but we’ll be back. That you can count on.
Jack
(Coming soon to an airport arrivals lounge near you)
Day 15: Dawn of the Dead
Jul 24th
At 3,776 meters (12,389 feet for those of you who work in old money) Mt. Fuji is Japan’s tallest mountain and last night, under cover of darkness and in the freezing cold, we climbed it. I’d love to say it was a walk in the park, I would, but it was grueling and exhausting, it hurt to walk, we started to suffer from altitude sickness which brought waves of dizziness and nausea, and my ankle (the one I dislocated a few years ago) felt for a while like it had that first day I wrecked it. We were shivering, we were sweaty but the moment that sun rose across the perfect blanket of clouds everything melted away.
The hike through the stations was difficult to say the least, scrambling up volcanic rocks and slag. There was so much dust in the air and though I started wearing a vest in the 17*C air at 10pm by the time I reached the 7th station (2,780m) I was pulling on additional layers and in the low single digits of the 8th station (3,250m) I was wearing everything I’d brought.
Above the 8th station was where the climb became frustrating for us and the Canadians we’d been climbing with. There are a number of Torii as you reach the summit and people climbing were taking photos there, having to stop every 10 meters or simply misusing their oxygen (some so much you could see the narcotic effect it was having); it was like a zombie march. As the trail ground to a halt and everyone (the Japanese included) began to abandon their proper etiquette. This was there our 5 man team was able to let loose. Running the final kilometer to make the sunrise was the only way and we all shot off, we abandoned the trail and scrambled over rocks and along ash banks, we had genuinely believed we wouldn’t make the summit for dawn. I made the summit first out of us, my legs must have burned but I didn’t notice, as I entered the temple at the top I was taking the steps at full sprint, 2 or 3 at a time and I know I was getting funny looks.
I walked out along an east facing, rocky outcropping and withing minutes was joined by the rest of the team. With ten minutes of sunrise we had made it to the peak and we were ecstatic! We took videos and photos as the sun slithered into view over the cloud, it was beautiful and we sat there, eating breakfast at 04:30 and let the warmth of the sun heat us up.
The route down was hard too, ashy and loose. All of went over at one time or another but simply knowing what we’d achieved in those 10 hours was enough to push us onwards and to a warm bed at the end.
It might well be a waste of precious holiday day but I’m not ashamed to say we were asleep moments after we climbed out of the shower. Now we ache, we’re sore and raw and out joints are seizing but that doesn’t matter because last night we took on something huge, we did it and that makes us mighty.
Jack
(Mighty Morphin’ Mountain Racer)
Day 14: The Great Journey
Jul 23rd
I’m tapping this out quickly before I set off to catch a bus, only one hour of travel left today on top of what has already been nearly 8. It’s 2015 local time and I’m in a hostel at the base of Mt. Fuji. Tonight I will climb the tallest mountain in Japan.
I’ve been waiting for months for this and I’ve been getting more and more excited as time has gone on and tomorrow morning, around 0430 I’ll watch the sun rise across the land of the rising sun. It’ll be tough, it’ll be long and it will definitely get wet, but who care about that,
There isn’t much to report for today, just a great number of hours at the mercy (and it was be merciful) of the Japanese transport system, so I’ll leave it at that for now. I hope the next 8 hours are as good for you as they are for me.
Jack
(now with a Pack)
Day 13: Going Misen
Jul 23rd
Today had one and only one goal, do the island of Miyajima. Now of course that is quite a large goal, but we were game for it, well rested and packing enough water to drown a dolphin.
From Hiroshima we headed westerly to Miyajimaguchi where the ferry would take us out into the Inland Sea and to Miyajima. The approach to the island is splendid, lushly forested mountains play back drop to Miyajima’s most famous sight, Otori – The Floating Shrine Gate. This massive red gateway which has been the threshold to the island in one way or another for over a thousand years was disappointingly exposed as we approached at low tide but we knew our tide times and set off to explore the rest of the island in the mean time.
The town itself is home to yet more of Japan’s surprisingly tame deer, these ones however were far less aggressive than their Nara counterparts, not used to being fed by tourists they simply laze in the shade by the port or trot through the shopping arcade that links the dock to the shrine. We even saw one seemingly queuing in a store!
The temple is a vibrant red indicative of its affiliation with Chinese Buddhism and stands out against the natural green of the island. At highest tides this temple appears to be floating on the water and though not today, the hanging lanterns and and beautiful altars didn’t leave us wanting for any more.
We decided to head up the mountains of the island and, under equipped as we were for a rope climb, we opted for the Gondola and Funicular route. By his ashen face I’m sure that, as our aged gondola bobbed and jostled its way out of the station, Terry would have prefered taking his chances with the rock climb in plimsoles.
Reaching the top rewarded us with stunning views over the Inland Sea and Sento, and though we never saw any of the monkeys we were promised we did see some stunning natural features to compensate. The miles of track we walked wound their way down and up the peaks of Mount Misen with aging shrines, watering holes and volcanic caves along the route. The main junction of all the tracks was a small smokey temple which houses a fire that has been burning for 1200 years. That isn’t a typo, 1200 years!
Once done at the top we took the Ropeway back to the town to get our view of the Otori at high tide, we weren’t disappointed either, the ancient red gate stood reflected in the azure if the Inland Sea and it was splendid.
Back in Hiroshima we took dinner as an opportunity to see more of the city than what we’d glimpsed through train and tram windows. We took a recommendation from the hostel book for Kai-Foo-Do, unfortunately it would seem Kai-Foo-Do is no more as we searched high and low but never found it. In desperation and hunger we ducked into a vending machine restaurant and took picked a random dish from the menu, what we got was either brilliant or vile, it depends which of us you ask. Fish and Pork soup with cold Udon noodles. Yeah I did a double take too. The dish was terrible, so bad that in the end I just gave mine to Terry who was devouring his like it was the sacred ambrossia!
A Frappacino on the walk back to town and a detour through the seedy streets filled with Businessmen Bars and shows with names like “Philipinos Reveal” and “For Men”. Just another part of Japan that proves how nice the country is, even at its sleaziest it looks fantastic.
Jack
(Frankly quite hungry)
Dressing for the Occassion
Jul 22nd
One of the great things about Japan is the style or should I say the lack of a single style and the acceptance of many types of dress.
For me there has been one thing I’ve worn pretty much every day everywhere which has saved me from
Heatstroke and sunburn, down pours of rain and a sweaty face.
So thank you Bonnie for buying me a linen scarf last year, it has been a life saver!
Jack
(My mum still buys me clothes and so do her friends)
Day 12: Hiroshima Food
Jul 21st
It didn’t feel right to bundle these two parts of the day together so in a break from precedent I’ve split it in two.
The area we’re staying in is famous for it’s way of preparing Okonomiyaki, a Japanese pancake and noodle dish which when done right is delicious. So naturally we took the advise of some friends we made on the road and went to a small Okonomiyaki restaurant 5 minutes from the hostel.
When I say small you may be picturing a 30 seated cafe or even a Bistro, no this place has 8 seats, total. There is one 4 seater table and 4 stools lined up along the side of the griddle upon which all the food is prepared. The food is litterally cooked a foot away!
Talk about delicious though, we asked for the chef/host/waiter/porter’s recommendation and went with that, what we got was a massive plate of pancake, bacon, cabbage, onion and of course Udon all cooked in homemade sauce and spices. Best ¥650 I’ve spent so far!
This little place was so warm and inviting that we felt odd once we’d finished, like guests leaving a party a bit too early. We chatted with the locals and the chef, watched some strange Japanese comedy show and had a really nice time, a definite must for anyone staying in Hiroshima.
Jack
(Well fed, ready for bed)
Day 12: Hiroshima Peace Park
Jul 21st
Humanity’s greatest shame is that its one perfect creation is death
There aren’t anywords to acurately describe the feeling of standing in front of the A-Bomb Dome, I won’t even try, I wouldn’t do it justice.
There is a large section of Hiroshima, once the bustling centre of the city, which has been given over to the pursuit of global peace and freedom from nuclear proliferation. Oppenheimer once said “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds” but the destruction wrought on Hiroshima did more than that, it ripped a gaping whole in the human spirit and though time has acted to heal it, the scar must never be forgotten, serving as it does as a reminder of the single biggest tragedy in our history books.
The Peace Park holds a museum which paints a stark picture of pre-Hiroshima Japan, it does nothing to hide the hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians massacred by the Japanese Imperial Army, nor does it play down Pear Harbour or the invasion of Malay with which the Empire declared war on the United States and Great Britain. It shows in no uncertain terms the events on both sides that lead up to the Bomb; the politics and the fighting. It also doesn’t seek to exaggerate the after effects of the attack, there would be no point when the events told through items salvaged from rubble piles and through survivor accounts are so far outside what we as humans can endure.
This is Japan’s Topography of Terror, this is Japan knowing that it may never return to the old ways, this is Japan telling the world to move forward as one and ban these ridiculous weapons.
It’s said that the person that launches the next nuke probably won’t be alive to see it reach it’s target. I don’t know if that’s true but I can imagine it is.
Jack
(Glad to be alive)
The Weather Here
Jul 21st
I think I mentioned in an early blog that we arrived in Japan at the end of the rain season so it was pretty wild for a few days. I may have neglected to mention though that we’re now in the dry season!
Hooray you may say, we did too, but it’s been 35*C plus here this week so for anyone in the UK thinking that you just wish it was warm please spare a thought for us backpacking in the upper 30s.
That’s all,
Jack
(High in fibre and good for you)
Day 11: Feeling the breeze, Kyoto with ease.
Jul 21st
One thing any visitor to a Japanese city will probably be struck by is the number of cyclists and bikes on the roads. They are everywhere, dodging and diving through foot and car traffic. I’d put Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo on a list of cyclable cities anytime. So today, rather than get a day pass for the overcrowded, aircon-less bus system we went a bit local and rented some bikes and set off Kyoto sight seeing.
Our fist stop of the day was the Imperial Palace and garden which were told was magnificent beyond the ones found in Tokyo. Since we skipped the Tokyo Imperial Palace I can’t compare but what I can say is there ones are truely spectacular. Normally you have to book the day before to do the tour but we were lucky and got on one in the afternoon so we set off round the gardens. The thing about today is that it was 36*C in Kyoto with no wind or humidity. Needless to say we were salty bythe time we were due for the tour.
The palace itself is beautiful and on the hour long (free) tour I really got a sense of how different Japanese nobility was. Even the gardens were approached differently.
From there it was a short cycle down to the Kyoto Manga Museum, which doubles as both a museum and a fantastic private library. When for example you are finished learning about Manga’s effect on Post-War Japanese Culture well grab some One Piece, Naruto or Gundam comics and go sit on the lawn! For ¥500 you can stay all day and come and go if you want. It’s no wonder that so many people go there to read the new releases rather than buy each book at ¥500-700.
Before we head home for the night we cycled across town to Gion, the Geisha district. There are a few streets here that, ignoring the telegraph poles, don’t seem to have changed much in the last 100 years. Shinbashi-dori was beautifully ornate and on another street we were lucky enough to see not just one but three Maiko (apprentice Geisha) and one fully fledged Geisha (distinct with her white collar)! We’re apparently very lucky as many people never see a Geisha or even a Maiko in all their time in Kyoto.
With their precise walk, distinctive neck make-up and elegant posture I have no problem believing that these women were once the mist sought after companions in Japan.
Jack
(When he dresses like a Geisha it scares kids)
