Day 6 - Mt. Fuji and a train

Ohayou gozaimasu!

Day 2 of our WishClub experience had begun with breakfast of some fresh fruit (something lacking in our travels so far), toast, and coffee.



Outside was a quite, regular, non neon infested street, quite a change from what we were used to in Tokyo. We took pictures, said goodbye to the two Japanese guys who came back with us, and headed off to our first destination of the day.



The Mariko-Shuku Hotel Village

Back before there were fancy things like paved roads, cars, and bullet trains the samurai who would travel between Edo, Kyoto, and other places would stop along the way in hotel villages. This is one of the few remaining that has not yet been knocked down (or burned down like everything in Japan) and rebuilt as something modern.




The homes are traditional the streets are tiny, just as they always have been.




A temple in the back of the village and a cemetery on the hill across from it.

Back in the bus and we were off.



As you drive around the Shizuoka you will notice these green strips everywhere you look. In case you did not know already they are tea leaves. Shizuoka is famous for it's tea and is exported all around the world (just one of the many teas available, but I like that site so I linked to them).

Our next stop was Gyokuro-no-Sato. It is a park and slight tourist attraction, not like the ones you find in Tokyo, but something much quieter and local. Today we were there for the tea ceremony, but since we had to wait for the tea master to be ready we spent some time feeding the carp.




The very hungry carp.



They don't care if it's fish food or your hand, they are furious with hunger and will consume anything that gets in their way.


Now while you can go for tea ceremonies all over the place this location is peaceful and quite, hours away from the busy streets of Tokyo or the over visited Kyoto. On the day we went we saw a few families, all Japanese, but all quite and respectful of where we were.

It was time to start.

Entering the tea room is accomplished by using this tiny door. The door is so small as it was once used as a way to make the samurai take off their katanas, with them still attached to their person they would be unable to fit.

Next was our "appetizer", that is not the right word at all to use in this situation but I cannot think of the proper term. It was a small light red bean bun, the tastiest I had ever eaten.

The tea master came in next and we watched her prepare the macha tea. A process rife with tradition, every movement having some sort of meaning.



We drank in the proper fashion, the cup is handed to you with the design facing and you spin it twice as to not mess it. We were all very quiet during the entire time in the room. Although it was used in tradition as a place to relax and converse with your peers we sat there and simply watched. Quite a good time.

Out of the room we went back onto the WishClub bus.

Next up was Lake Tanuki which would offer us a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji. Just click that link and see what I mean.

Unfortunately the mountain lived up to it's nickname of The Shy Mountain as it hid from us amongst the clouds.

At least the area was pretty.

He came out to say goodbye as we were leaving.


Don't forget about the vending machines, this is Japan after all.

Down the hill we went to our final destination


The Shiratio Waterfalls. Now what were white folks doing here? That's what the people wanted to know. We were so far off of the standard tourist path that we had people talking to us about where we were from and us (handsome) guys in the group got a couple smiles and giggles from Japanese girls who never expected to see blond hair and blue eyes at the bottom of a local waterfall. ;)

It was at the bottom of these waterfalls that we ran into an ancient ancestor of modern Japan, an artifact forgotten by time, left to rot, unable to live in it's former splendor..

Onward we went, climbing a huge flight of stairs (it didn't seem so bad going down) to reach a small shopping area.



A girl preparing a local bean something snack on a grill. It tasted sweet and was incredibly sticky. In this area wasabi is everywhere as it is locally grown, what would cost me here in New Jersey 10,000 yen could be had for only a few 100 yen. Too bad importing vegetation is something customs do not take kindly too. But they did have wasabi soda, which turned out to be not very good, but that was expected.

Once again back onto the bus we went but this time it was to say goodbye. After we dropped a few people off at the local train station her and I were driven to one of the greatest things Japan has to offer

That's right. The bullet train.

The Shinkansen. I would eventually become obsessed with it but this was my first up close experience.

As we stood on the platform of the station waiting for our train to arrive we talked about the bullet train and how it's famous the world over.

"So how fast do these things go anyway?" she asked.

I didn't need to say a word as only a few seconds later this happened.



The video can hardly convey the speed that we witnessed as a Shinkansen rushed past us on it's tracks. It was awe inspiring, we could react in no other way than simply laughter of shock.



The train arrive exactly when it was supposed to. We took our seats and headed back to Tokyo to fall asleep before yet another day of adventure.

Day 7

Day 9 - Woke up this morning and got myself a Maiko

Did we actually get any rest from the day before? All I knew was that it was early in the morning and we were already in Tokyo station on the Nozomi platform waiting to get on the N700 bullet train and travel across the country to Kyoto, the old capital of Japan and one of the few cities not bombed during WWII.

There she was, waiting to take us across the country at 180 miles an hour. This was the top of the line rail transportation in Japan.





Riding quietly across the railways we passed through he Japanese countryside. The train was smooth, clean, quiet, and arrived at the station exactly when it was supposed to. If only we could get something like that here in the USA.


We arrived in Kyoto Station, Japan's second largest station, a place we would explore in the coming days, before noon and quickly went to our hotel, the Kyoto Plaza Hotel, to drop off our bags and head back out into the city.

We were quickly on the subway and headed to Yume Yakata, a Maiko / Geisha photo studio. Today we'd (her) be dressing up as a maiko, a geisha in training, and get a few pictures taken.

Konichiwa.
After an hour I was called up into the dressing room. She had gone through the complete makeover of a maiko and was ready for her photo shoot.

The studio was great, along with the pictures that you bought they let you take your own camera and take as many as you wanted, both in the photo room and afterward back in the dressing room with other props or with each other. Highly recommended for anyone looking to do this sort of thing in Kyoto.



We then headed off into Kyoto to do some sightseeing on our own. I wouldn't recommend the route that we took, though. From the photo studio we took the subway to Kitaoji and then proceeded to walk for an hour west. We got to see many local shops and small shrines along the way, but if your feet are not up for it then take a cab or figure out the bus system instead.



Along the way we passed vending machines, obviously, this is Japan after all, but one was quite unique, a battery vending machine. The second shot is of the inside of a vending machine. We finally got to see what makes them work. It was a rare site.


Kyoto is filled with temples and shrines. It seemed like around every corner there was something to see. Unlike Tokyo which is neon and crazy, Kyoto felt much more subdued and peaceful.


Up in the mountains we noticed a huge Kanji carved out. Ka, or fire. During the yearly Kyoto Fire Festival this symbol is set ablaze in the night in celebration.

We had finally arrived.

The Golden Pavilion.

The grounds were absolutely packed with Chinese tourists, after a quite stroll through Kyoto this was quite a change of pace. People arrived here by the busload.






Despite people yelling at their children and folks mucking about all over the place the grounds themselves (off the walkways) were soft and moss covered. It was like something out of a post card, maybe that's because this site is on many sold across the city.
As were leaving we came across yet another exciting vending machine. This one sold ramen, complete with hot water. Yet another reason why Japan is such a magical place.

We left the pavilion and set off to our next destination, the famous zen rock garden of Ryoan-ji.




Along the way we came across another temple set in from the road. Besides for us it was empty and silent.

We also passed another Mos Burger, home of the Mos Burger. We had to stop in and I had the one they were named after. Delicious, as expected.

As we continued down the street I saw a sign that pointed to the temple, except it said it was far to our East. After looking at our map and consulting with some local youths we discovered that we had taken a wrong turn out of the Golden Pavilion and now were quite a distance away from our intended destination. Shucks. But we made the most of it and went back to something we had passed along the way.

Yay Sakura!

Along whatever road it was we had been walking down was a large cherry blossom festival.
We found some food we had not seen in Tokyo so we tried it out.

Not sure what that was either. They were soft chewy balls of some kind covered in a sweet sauce and topped with powder.

Walking towards a subway station we passed a department store with dozens of bikes parked out front. All had only a simple lock on the back wheel, if anything at all. They weren't chained to a thing yet there they sat, not being stolen or knocked around. Trying pulling that one off here at home.


Back at Kyoto station we headed to the hotel, a short walk only about a block away. Our room was ready for us. We went to our floor, opened the door..

TINY ROOM!
But the toilet did have buttons on it, so that made it worth it.

Day 10