Trains - Cascadian Abroad

Yokohama

October 5, 2024January 23, 2015 by Robert Haddan

Yokohama was high on my list of places I wanted to visit while in Japan. I really knew nothing about it and the desire was probably due to it being home to the Yokohama Baystars baseball team, Japan’s equivalent to the Chicago Cubs (think “lovable losers”).

Last weekend, we popped down to Yokohama for the day. Located a short train ride south of Tokyo, it’s actually the most populated municipality in Japan and second most populated city after Tokyo. Due to its development as a port town in the 1800s, Yokohama is a melting pot of Pacific cultures.

Our first stop was the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, billed as the world’s first food-themed amusement park. On the two lower levels, a 1950s-era Japanese street scene has been replicated in authentic detail with signage, music and a variety of ramen shops. A less-era-authentic magician performed tricks for the large crowd while blasting modern electronic music from his iPhone.

The wait times for each shop are on a chalkboard by the main stairs. We arrived around noon and already some of the shops had 30 minute waits. Waiting that long for ramen in Japan seems a little silly since there are literally 20,000 shops in Tokyo with no wait, but it’s a little like waiting in line at Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland. The wait is part of the experience.

We picked NARUMI-IPPUDO, a French bouillon/Japanese dashi hybrid for our first course. The mini-sized bowls with medium-sized noodles and light broth were the perfect appetizer. In response to the variety of tourists who come through the museum’s doors, most of the shops offer at least one vegetarian bowl and one halal option for the increasing number of Muslim visitors. Guilt-free ramen is the best ramen of all!

Spicy Miso Ramen — The delicious spicy miso ramen at Ryu Shanghai

Lunch #2 involved one of the aforementioned 30 minute waits. Ryu Shanghai offered a unique spicy ramen with thick noodles in a rich, flavorful soup. The added dollop of the spicy miso sauce on top was enough to open up the sinuses on a cold day.

Kamome Shokudo was one shop caught my attention in the brochure. The original shop washed away in the 2011 earthquake and tsumani that decimated northeastern Japan. The shop has been replicated in the museum, giving their Sendai-style ramen a second life.

Puroresu — A 1950s-era television broadcasts old puro resu (professional wrestling) matches

Era-correct props dotted the museum’s basement floors. A payphone booth was made even more authentic by the black electrical tape holding the cord to the handset. An old black and white television console showed 1950s professional wrestling matches (side note: the sport’s popularity in the 1950s used to draw large crowds to watch the matches on big screens in Tokyo). A stained vending machine rolled out small glass bottles of Coca Cola. Plenty to see while waiting in those long ramen lines.

Yokohama Bayfront — Yokohama Landmark Tower; Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel; Yokohama Bay Bridge.

Next, we headed south toward Tokyo Bay. Every once in awhile, we get those “doesn’t feel like Japan” moments. The area around Tokyo Bay certainly qualified as one of those times. The massive Landmark Tower, Japan’s second largest building, anchors the skyline and casts a large shadow over the Nippon Maru, a clipper-style boat-turned-museum that was used as a training vessel for the Japanese Merchant Marines from the 1930s to the 1980s.

Looking toward the bay, you can’t miss the Cosmo Clock 21, the centerpiece of the Minato Mirai 21 (MM21) shopping center. Built in 1989, it was the world’s tallest ferris wheel for nearly a decade and, thanks to the digital clock on its face, it still stands as the world’s largest timepiece.

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse — The Red Brick Warehouse served as a customs building in the early 20th century, but now hosts shops, restaurants and cultural facilities

From MM21, we followed Kishamichi Promenade along the bayfront. It felt more like the Cairns Esplanade in Australia than anything we’ve seen in Japan. A running event was taking place on the day we visited, so we shuffled alongside those athletes braving the cold weather along the bayfront, ending up at the Red Brick Warehouse. The event overtook the grounds of the former customs warehouse, which was restored in the early 1990s and is now (of course) a retail center.

Yokohama Chinatown — The gates to Yokohama’s Chinatown district

From there, we ventured inland toward Yokohama’s thriving Chinatown district. Thousands of Chinese immigrants arrived at the port in the 1800s, bringing with them food (including ramen) and customs that still thrive in Japan today. More than 250 shops are fit into several city blocks, making it one of the world’s largest “Chinatown” districts.

Two ornate and impressive temples appear between the pork bun shops in Chinatown. Guan Di Miao was founded in the 1860s by immigrants as a central spiritual site as well as a tribute to Guan Gong, a well-respected general during the Han Dynasty in around 220 B.C.

The Mazu Miao temple is the newest temple in Chinatown

The second temple rivals all of the great structures we’ve seen in Japan, yet was built less than a decade ago, officially opening in March 2006. The city had planned on building a large apartment complex on the site, but the community was concerned about the impact such a building would have on the area. They negotiated with the developers and eventually purchased the land, building Mazu Miao in its place.

Less than two hours by train, Yokohama deserves another day trip in the near future. Would love to hear from anyone who’s visited about what we missed the first time around.

Cascadian Abroad :45—Yokohama

“Isn’t Japan Expensive?”

December 17, 2014 by Robert Haddan

A few weeks back, I asked for your burning questions to be answered in future posts. Here’s a question from Cascadian Deni:

We’re really enjoying your blog. You asked for questions a few postings ago. Here’s mine: We understand that Japan is very expensive vis-a-vis food. lodging, etc. Are you finding it so?

We’d heard the same thing before coming to Japan. After nearly nine months on the ground, my answer is “It depends.”

Food

Standard grocery items are similar in price. Here’s prices from last week in Tillamook, OR (thanks Mom!) for some staple items compared with current prices in Kawagoe (converted to USD and comparable measurements).

Item	U.S.	Japan
Eggs	$2.19/12 pk	$1.75/10 pk
Bread (premium)	$2.19/18 slices	$1.92/8 slices
Bread (store)	$1.67/20 slices	$0.82/8 slices
Milk	$0.99/pint (473 ml)	$0.88/500 ml
Apples	$0.88/lb	$0.95/lb
Bananas	$0.79/lb	$1.60/lb
Red bell pepper	$1.79/ea	$1.08/ea
Potatoes	$0.59/lb	$0.64/lb
Yogurt	$0.59/cup	$0.71/cup

*Prices compared on 12/12/2014 (exchange rate $1 = ¥119.03)

Pretty comparable. One thing that’s a little unique is that many items are sold in packs. For example, you can’t buy a single banana in our local grocery stores. They’re pre-wrapped at a standard weight (usually four or five to a pack). Because apples are in season, we can currently buy them individually, but they’re still priced per apple, not by weight.

Buying bread is probably the trickiest thing. The loaves are packaged in five, six or eight slices with different thicknesses. The most common is called shokupan—a soft, white, chewy milk bread. The thicker slices are kind of like “Texas Toast” while the thin slices are more like Wonder Bread. As with most things, the preference for slice thickness differs by region. We occasionally find whole-wheat bread but usually buy sesame bread (goma no pan/胡麻のパン) or brown rice bread (genmai pan/玄米パン) from the local bakery.

There are some exceptions on both sides. Some fruit—especially melons—is much more expensive in Japan. During the past summer, a whole cantaloupe cost around 1,000 yen ($8.42 USD). One with Hello Kitty’s face carved in the rind went for 5,000 yen (about $42).

Eating out seems to be similar to the U.S…. some places are more expensive than others. When we eat out in Tokyo, we’re usually picking cafe-style vegetarian restaurants where we pay about 1,000 yen for an entree. Japanese fast-food restaurants offer the lunch crowds big bowls of udon or soba for under 500 yen ($4.21 USD). In my opinion, Tokyo is no more expensive than any other large city in the world when it comes to dining out. In fact, I thought prices in Melbourne and Sydney were far higher than anything we’ve experienced in Tokyo.

The one area I’ll concede is more expensive on average is Tokyo’s craft beer bars. It’s common to pay 900-1200 yen ($7.58-10.11) for a pint of craft beer. Even the big brewery beers are 500 yen for a large glass.

Shelter and Transportation

Living expenses are where “it depends” really comes into my answer. Our lifestyle in Japan is significantly different than it was in the U.S.

Our two-bedroom apartment in Japan is about 1,400 square feet smaller than our house in Oregon. Our rent is much less than our mortgage and it’s less expensive to heat. The garbage bill is covered by the rental company. However, we pay less for rent than I paid in Salem, OR in 2005 for a place roughly the same size.

Utilities are reasonable as well. Our fiber-based internet is fast and less than we paid for Comcast high-speed service. Electricity and gas is also less, which only seems fair with the difference in home size.

Japan also suffered a housing bubble burst in 2008-09 as the U.S., but the market in the metropolitan areas has rebounded in recent years. New construction in our area also seems to be booming. Since we arrived in March 2014, four very large homes have been built on our street. Watching them being built from the ground up, I’d guess they’re about 2,200 square feet, which probably puts them in the $300,000 price range.

As I mentioned before, our lifestyle here is significantly different than it was in the U.S., which makes comparing some things difficult. We chose not to have cell phones while in Japan, which average more than $100 a month in the U.S.

We used to commute 45 minutes each way and, even with our gas-friendly Toyota Prius, we were still paying $40 a week for gas. Viktoria commutes to work through the courtesy of her own two feet, so we’re not paying for gas, vehicle maintenance or insurance. We regularly use trains and local buses, which can be as much as 1,500 yen each if we’re gallivanting around Tokyo, but usually 1,000 yen will last a couple weeks for trips around Kawagoe.

We have three large grocery stores, a giant home goods store and a 100 yen shop (like a Dollar Store in the U.S., although with the current exchange rate, it’s more like the 84 Cent Store) within a few blocks of our apartment, so we’re not paying jacked-up prices as a result of shopping local.

Health

Fortunately, we haven’t had to exercise our Japanese national health care plan yet. Upon becoming residents in Japan, we received our national health care cards. I’d rather not have to write the experiential post about how the health care system works. I’ve heard second-hand stories about how it seems more inconvenient than U.S. health care (requiring doctor visits for every prescription refill, preventative dental care isn’t as common), but I can’t validate those myself.

In the U.S., we were both public employees and had access to affordable, quality health care through our employers. In the last couple years, we had to start making small monthly pre-tax contributions, but it was still far better than what most private-sector employees contribute.

Travel

Traveling in country can be expensive, but it all depends on your lodging and transportation choices. For example, we found an excellent deal (less than $100/night) at the Hilton overlooking Hakata Bay and Fukuoka Tower when we went to Fukuoka in June. We used Airbnb (affiliate link) to find apartments on our recent trip to Osaka and Kyoto. We loved Airbnb when we traveled at home and usually found it to be far more affordable, convenient and comfortable than staying in hotels.

Transportation is usually the most expensive part of any trip and that’s no different in Japan. We flew from Tokyo to Fukuoka (548 miles) for about the same price as a flight from Portland to San Francisco (536 miles). The Shinkansen (bullet train) to Osaka was about 300 miles and was more expensive than flying, but that’s without considering the cost of the Shinkansen from Tokyo to the airport and back again. In the end, it was probably still more expensive to take the train, but also much more comfortable.

“Isn’t Japan Expensive?”

In our experience, I’d say the answer is “For some things, yes, but generally it’s no worse than the U.S.” Our personal cost of living is much less in Japan than in the U.S. For tourists, I don’t think it’d be much worse than our experiences in San Francisco, Chicago or Washington D.C. as far as dining out or lodging goes.

Thanks to Deni for the great question!

Kyoto: Reaching Enlightenment

December 10, 2014 by Robert Haddan

We woke up early on our final day in Kyoto. The Lonely Planet guidebook suggested arriving at Ginkaku-ji as soon as it opened to avoid the crowds.

We hopped on the #100 bus at Kyoto Station, which I’d wished we’d taken on our first day as it was essentially a 230 yen tour bus. It carried us past the massive orange torii at Heian Shrine and five other must-see sights. It was also a subtle reminder that three days in Kyoto wasn’t nearly enough.

After rubbing shoulders with thousands of our closest friends over the previous couple days, arriving at Ginkaku-ji before the crowds was simply amazing. You could get the sense of what it would have been like to walk the grounds before it became a tourist attraction. With only a handful of people inside, our ears rang with silence and tranquility.

The temple, officially known as Jishō-ji, was built as a retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa in the late 1400s. Ashikaga’s grandfather had commissioned the golden pavilion of Kinkaku-ji and Jishō-ji was intended to resemble that pavilion, including a silver-foil facade. However, the Ōnin War delayed construction and Ashikaga died before the silver foil could be applied. The common name Kinkaku-ji (“Temple of the Silver Pavilion”) became a popular nickname in the 1600s.

Fuji-san — A carefully-raked pile of sand in the Kinkaku-ji garden in the shape of Mt. Fuji

The stellar gardens are highlighted by two meticulously maintained sand sculptures. The first sits in front of the pavilion itself. The sand formed into a four-foot tall homage to the sacred Mt. Fuji.

Ginkaku-ji Sand Garden — The sand garden in front of the residence

Sitting on the veranda of the residence, you can gaze over the second sand garden with its sharp curves and lines. A maintenance man was straightening the sculptured sand before the crowds arrived with the precision of a surgeon.

The temple path leads up into the surrounding hills. From one overlook, you can see a Chinese parasol tree growing in the distance. In 2011, a seedling from a tree in Hiroshima that survived the atomic bomb during World War II was planted on the hillside.

From Kinkaku-ji, we headed down the Philosopher’s Path, a two-kilometer walk along a cherry tree-lined canal leading to Nanzen-ji temple. The path was named for Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro who would follow the path on his daily walk to Kyoto University. The surrounding neighborhood mixes residences with small cafes, giving it more of a European feel.

Sanmon at Nanzen-ji — The main gate (sanmon) at Nanzen-ji

We arrived at Nanzen-ji, our last stop before heading home. The massive sanmon (main gate) welcomes you into the surprisingly large grounds. The temple was established in the late 1200s and buildings seem to sprout from the surrounding trees.

Nanzen-ji Aquaduct — The aqueduct of Nanzen-ji

The most impressive of all of the temple’s structures was the long, arching aqueduct. It was built in the 1800s to provide water from Lake Biwa west to Kyoto. It looked out of place amongst the traditional eastern architecture, but the curves of the arches provided several foolproof photo opportunities.

With that, our unforgettable Kansai trip came to an end. We boarded the Shinkansen for Tokyo Station and returned to real life.

Kyoto: Fushimi Inari and Kiyomizu-dera

October 6, 2024November 25, 2014 by Robert Haddan

After two wonderful days in Osaka, we set out on the second-half of our Kansai adventure, bound for Kyoto. But first, coffee!

I only mention the coffee stop because it was the morning of November 3, yet the Starbucks at Temmabashi Station was already decked out for Christmas with an updated drink menu and American holiday music blaring through the speakers. But, as the saying goes: “When in Starbucks, do as the Starbuckians do.” We ordered the seasonal Snow Maple Toffee Latte, a take on a Canadian/New England treat called Maple Taffy (which the internet says is made by pouring boiling-hot maple sap over snow).

With a lethal dose of caffeine and sugar coursing through our veins, we boarded the Elegant Saloon 8000 express train to Kyoto. Other than the comfortable forward-facing seats, I didn’t notice anything particularly special about the train, but all along the 30-mile route, photographers with tripods and $10,000 lenses were set up, waiting to capture a photo of the train with the hills of central Japan in the backdrop. I snapped a horrible photo of the train once we arrived in Kyoto because it seemed like the right thing to do.

Changing Colors — The changing colors of the Japanese maple trees in Kyoto

So, right… Kyoto. An amazing, dynamic and diverse city, the former imperial capital of Japan boasts more than 2,000 temples and 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We intentionally scheduled our trip for early November to see the sights surrounded by the changing colors of autumn and we were not disappointed.

Fushimi Inari Taisha Torii — A few of the thousands of torii (shrine gates) lining the path to the inner shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha

We started our day at Fushimi Inari Taisha, the shrine dedicated to the kami (god) of rice (among other things). The shrine is famous for the thousands of torii (shrine gates) that lead to the inner shrine in the middle of Inari Mountain.

Inari is also the kami of industry, so in an offering to the god, Japanese businesses have donated each of the torii. Each gate is marked with the date it was placed and the name of the donating company. To the uninformed foreigner (us), you’d probably assume the words to be something spiritual. However, to the Japanese-literate, it’s an endless string of advertisements. Pretty cool advertisements though!

We spent a couple hours hiking up/down the trail to the middle of the mountain, where a view of the entire city opens up. We stopped for lunch, which of course included inari sushi (a fried-tofu pouch filled with sushi rice, named for the kami). We also had a bowl of kitsune soba. Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes play a significant role in Japanese folklore. They’re also said to be fond of aburage (fried tofu), hence the namesake dish.

Kiyomizu-dera is a Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto. One of the UNESCO sites, its current structures date back to the 1600s. The impressive main hall, with its large veranda designed to accommodate thousands of pilgrims at any given time, was built without a single nail.

I’m a big fan of the Buddhist temples and the smell of incense that fills the air. Despite the large crowds (turned out we were there over the Culture Day holiday weekend), there’s still plenty of opportunity to find a moment of Zen.

English Students — Two separate groups of students practiced their English on Viktoria. They were clearly unimpressed with me.

One (or two) such moments occurred when small groups of students descended on tourists to practice their English. They asked three pre-written questions with no follow-ups. The shrines and their large crowds must be popular for this homework as we experienced this in Asakusa back in May as well. The earnest students left a good feeling as we ventured into the temple.

Artist — An artist working on a sketch of Kiyomizu-dera’s main hall

From the veranda of the main hall, you can see a grand view of the city and, across the way, the temple’s lonely pagoda rises from the trees. A scenic walk leads to the pagoda. An older Japanese man sat near the trail, oblivious to the crowd around him as he made a beautiful color sketch of the iconic main hall.

Kiyomizu-dera Pagoda — The pagoda at Kiyomizu-dera

We reached the pagoda after a lovely walk, where I’ll admit to committing a cultural faux-pas. A very nice lady of Asian decent was snapping photos of her travel companions by the pagoda, so I asked her if she would take our photo as well.

Me: Shasin wo totte morae masu ka?
Her: I’m sorry, I don’t speak Japanese.

Shoot… As a person who is offended by the general clumping of cultures, I felt terrible, but she didn’t seem to mind. I’m guessing it’s one of those things that the other person doesn’t think twice about, while you beat yourself up over it for a couple days. The picture turned out lovely though!

Kyoto Tower rising from the edge of the city’s downtown area

We headed to our temporary Airbnb home near Kyoto Station. We’d need to rest up with two days and 2,000 temples to see.

Cascadian Abroad :45—Kyoto

Osaka’s Dōtonbori: The Japan We All Know and Love

October 5, 2024November 11, 2014 by Robert Haddan

Last week, a school event gave us a nice long five-day weekend. We took advantage of the time to visit the metropolis of Osaka and Kyoto in Japan’s central Kansai region. This will be the first of a series of posts since we packed a LOT of activities into those five days. Plus, a new feature… read to the end to find out more!

We were excited about our first real Shinkansen (bullet train) trip, which covered the 500 km trip from Tokyo to Osaka in about 2 1/2 hours. Technically, the train to Narita Airport in Chiba is a Shinkansen, but it doesn’t really reach the speeds that the Nozomi trains do.

The Shinkansen culture is an experience in itself. There is a definite sense of velocity, especially once you get out of the Tokyo metropolitan area and are speeding along the southern edge of Honshu. The train feels like a much more comfortable airplane. The seats recline to a healthy 45 degrees, but with ample legroom, you don’t feel cramped by the seat in front of you. Spacious airplane-style restrooms are located in between the cars and train staff bring a cart through offering snacks and drinks.

Bento boxes — Everyone had their bento boxes open before we were out of Tokyo-proper

Many of the riders brought their own bento (boxed lunch) with them, which could be readily purchased at the train station. 1,000 yen (a little under $9 USD) will get you a large bento and a tall-boy can of Japanese beer. We had our American bento—a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with potato chips.

Home Sweet Home Away From Home — Our home sweet home away from home

We would have two days to see what Osaka had to offer. We dropped our bags at the apartment we found on Airbnb. If you haven’t tried it yet, Airbnb is a great way to find low-cost places to stay all over the world (I feel like they should pay me for that statement…). The apartment was comfortable and centrally located between three main train lines, making it easy to navigate the city.

While the PB&J was a nice train treat, it was time for a proper lunch. We headed down to the Japan we’ve all seen on television—Dōtonbori. At night, the popular tourist district lights up with neon and video (more on that later), but it’s pretty impressive during the day too.

Osaka is famous for its okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is basically a savory pancake. Each region of Japan does it a little differently, but Osaka-style is the most common in Japan. The batter is made from grated yam, flour, eggs and cabbage, then it’s topped/mixed with a variety of ingredients. Walking through Dōtonbori, there was no shortage of places offering up this Japanese soul food. We ended up lunching at Takohachi, more famous for its fried octopus balls (takoyaki), and dining at Kyo-Chabana after the line at the famous Mizuno didn’t move for 15 minutes.

After lunch, we walked over to the National Bunraku Theater and bought tickets for an act of that evening’s show. We had a couple hours before the show started and hunted down a cool craft beer bar called Yellow Ape. I’d learned about it when I reached out to Newport, Oregon’s Rogue Ales to see where we could buy their Pumpkin Patch Ale in Tokyo. I’d expected a form message in reply at best, but instead I received a quick personal message and was put in touch with Phred, their distributor in Tokyo. Phred not only offered up some Tokyo locations, but told me the dates the beer would be on tap and suggested Yellow Ape while we were in Osaka. Rogue was already pretty cool in my book, but I was really impressed with the personal and super-helpful service.

It turned out Yellow Ape was close to our apartment. We stopped in before the bunraku performance and enjoyed a pint of the Pumpkin Patch Ale and an excellent Shonan Orange IPA from Kanagawa’s Kumazawa Brewing.

Showtime! Bunraku is a type of puppet theater that was founded in 17th century Osaka. The performance itself begins at 11 a.m. and ends around 9 p.m. It consists of several acts and you can buy tickets for individual acts (about two hours) or the whole day. We opted for the single-act tickets.

The puppets (ningyō) are amazing up-close, standing between three and four feet tall. The heads of the puppets are divided into different classifications based on things like personality and social class and are used in multiple shows, so you can easily tell the heroes from the villains.

During the performance, the puppets are expertly animated by the puppeteers (Ningyōtsukai) and two assistants. While the assistants are dressed in black from head to toe (including a hood), the main Ningyōtsukai becomes part of the performance. The Ningyōtsukai is responsible for constructing their own puppet for the show, making the connection between puppeteer and puppet very personal.

For me, the highlight was the narrators (Tayū) and shamisen musicians, who sit side-by-side at the side of the stage. A different pair is revealed for each act from behind a rotating wall. The information provided at the performance says “The narrator and the shamisen player, in their twin positions, seem to be trying to top the other in artistry… but in fact they are in perfect unison: neither leads and neither follows.” It was a perfect description as each stood out in their artistry, but in a way that fit together. The shamisen is a three-stringed guitar and has that traditional Japanese music sound. The Tayū stretch and strain their voices as they fill the roles of all of the characters as well as that of the narrator.

While the performance was in Japanese (an English “gist” was provided in print and a more in-depth “gist” could be rented in recorded form), the artistry of the whole thing outweighed the story, which was quite violent and soap-opera-esque. By the end of the story, several characters were killed off and more than one revealed themselves to be disguised as someone else.

After the show, we headed back into Dōtonbori. By now, the neon signs illuminated the night and the crowds packed in tight for the quintessential Osaka photographs. Dōtonbori itself is just a collection of restaurants, shops and clubs, but the environment is energetic and highly entertaining.

Dōtonbori Signs — Signage hanging above the restaurants in Dōtonbori

In addition to the ornate and playful static signs mounted above most of the restaurants, several were also animatronic, willing you with their subtle wiggling toward their offer of goods and services. We took a few laps around the area, had the aforementioned okonomiyaki fix and headed back to our apartment to rest up. Our Kansai adventure had only just begun!

Cascadian Abroad :45

I’m trying something new with this trip. Pictures are great, but so much of the experience is, well, experiential. I thought it’d be great to share some moving images to provide a better feel for some of our adventures. Since our video camera is also our point-and-shoot camera and I’m a terrible videographer, I’m going to condense the essence of the trip into a 45-second video. Quick and easy to watch, plus a lower risk of motion sickness from my shaky hand! Here’s the first one… enjoy!

On Top of the World

August 4, 2014 by Robert Haddan

It’s been around 90 degrees for about a month now. The humidity sits on you like a wet rag. Finding ways to beat the heat can be tough. Going up seems to be the best remedy so far.

A few weeks ago, we went on our first hiking trip since arriving in Japan and were itching to get out again. This time, we ventured deeper into the Okuchichibu Mountains for Mitsumineyama. Wikitravel called it a “fairly tame” hike to the peak. In hindsight, “fairly tame” may be in the eye of the beholder.

From Kawagoe, it was about a 90 minute train ride to Seibuchichibu Station in Chichibu. Upon arriving, we boarded a local bus that would take us to the Mitsumineyama trailhead. The bus was an adventure in its own right. Billing itself as the “Express” bus to Mitsumine Shrine, it only had a few stops. However, the first stop was 20 minutes away and the second stop, the trailhead at Oowa, was about 45 minutes.

Bus to Oowa — The bus to Oowa drops you right at the torii for Mitsumine Shrine at the base of the mountain

The owner of a small restaurant stopped us on our way to the trail. With a lot of Japanese and many useful hand gestures, she explained that a footbridge had collapsed due to heavy snow and there were ropes blocking the path, but that we could climb through the ropes and hike the mountain. Our adventure has begun!

Hilly Path — The first part of the trail was paved in stones and lined with stone tablets and wolf statues… and it was the first hill of the day, but far from the last

The ropes and accompanying signage was just a short walk up a steep stone path. A handy picture showed the collapsed bridge and the treacherous conditions that lay ahead. Shortly past this sign was another, this one warning of bears. Fortunately, I learned from nature shows that bears like peanut butter and our pic-a-nic basket had an ample supply. The Yogi Bear Show counts as a nature show, right?

Bridge Sign — Yup, that bridge looks to be in bad shape… but what’s the yellow sign?

We shimmied under the ropes and headed up the hill. The trail was buried deep in the trees, providing shade and taming the hot summer sun. It was almost pleasant. About a klick up the path, we came to the troubled bridge.

Collapsed Bridge — It was even worse in person

It was fairly easily navigated around, stepping over the small stream that ran beneath it. It looked like Mitsumineyama had seen a hard winter as many of the path guide ropes had slid down the hill in addition to the crushing snow that bested the bridge. Onward and upward!

It was obvious why the mountain would be considered a spiritual place. Before long, we came into an opening with a small waterfall, maybe 15-20 feet high, surrounded by several torii and hokora (miniature shrines). Many stone tablets lined the path near the waterfall. It was clear this was a special place. We rested for a few minutes and took it in before continuing our climb, taking in the natural beauty of the area as well as the manmade additions.

Statue with knitted cap — The knitted caps are a common offering to the statues in shrines, protecting them from the cold and rain

The path never leveled out as it climbed to the top. We finally reached the summit at 1,102 meters (about 3,615 feet) above sea level. We covered about 3.2 km (about 2 miles) in just under two hours. So much for “fairly tame.” But the experience at the top was well worth it. While the bus also goes directly to the front gate, the reward at the top of the mountain made us pity those who took the easy way up. A worship area overlooked the mountainous range and the valley below. After a short rest, we headed down the stone lantern-lined path toward Yōhaiden, the shrine’s worship hall.

The first structure in Mitsumine Shrine is Yōhaiden worship hall

As with most Shinto shrines, Mitsumine is made up of several shrines. The 2,000 year old buildings were renovated around 2003 and were in immaculate condition. The detail of the wood carving was amazing and popped with the refreshed colors.

Main Hall — Mitsumine Shrine’s main hall

Detail on the Main Hall — Detail on the carvings adorning the main hall

In the center of the shrine is Mitsuminejinja Kounkaku (興雲閣). A cafeteria reminiscent of a senior living dining hall served up hot soba with tempura gobou and all-you-can-drink tea. We fueled up and then paid the low price of 600 yen (plus 200 yen for towel rental) and took advantage of the sentō.

Slippers — You have your inside slippers and your potty slippers

This was our first sentō experience. The “observe and imitate” approach required a little more stealthiness than usual since we’re talking about public baths that don’t allow swimsuits, if you catch my drift. Upon entering the building, we deposited our shoes in the cubby by the door and slipped on the plastic-y brown slippers provided. If you need to use the restroom, you trade these for plastic-y green slippers that say “Toilet” on them with a picture of, what appears to be, a newlywed couple.

Sorry to disappoint, but there are no photos of the sentō itself (didn’t want to be THAT GUY). It could be best described as the locker room hot tub in the gym, but way better. Upon entering, there’s a large showering facility where you are expected to cleanse before entering the bath. The bath water contains minerals that are believed to have healing properties. After a long, sweaty hike up a mountain, I’d say this is spot on.

Leaving Mitsumine — View of the Okuchichibu Mountains from the front of the shrine

Alas, our time at Mitsumine had to come to an end. We’d originally planned to hike to the peak of Mitakeyama, but the “fairly tame” hike up Mitsumineyama was enough, so we took the bus back to the station. 70 minutes later, we were back on the train for a 90 minute trip home. It was a long day, but a rewarding day.

“Where ARE We?”

July 29, 2014 by Robert Haddan

There are a lot of “can you believe we’re here” moments in Japan. We’ve seen some cool places and have had some amazing experiences. But yesterday’s trip to Tokyo’s Odaiba district was one part “can you believe it” mixed with two parts “what the heck?”

Odaiba is an artificial island built in the 1850s to protect Tokyo from the U.S. Navy and Commodore Matthew Perry’s Pacific fleet. In the 1990s, it was redeveloped as a “city of the future.” That plan never fully materialized before developers starting building shopping malls and hotels. As a result, there’s an interesting mix of architecture on the island, but mostly just a lot of commerce.

The commercial part of the island is easily walkable and we had a few sights in mind. Along the way, we found a lot of unexpected sights as well.

Several tents were set up in the area between DiverCity shopping mall and the West Promenade park. Completely random things were everywhere, like this superhero cutout over a tent with a Viking toddler riding a large, white octopus. Or the man on stilts high-fiving everyone who walked by as he passed a tent selling Under Armour sports gear. I wonder if he can find workout pants that fit?

Stilts — A man on stilts is a man who has a hard time buying pants

I actually found comfort in seeing some normal Japanese weirdness, such as the Funassyi shop. Everyone loves Funassyi! In case you’re wondering, Funassyi is a pear. Funassyi’s parents were pears and Funassyi is the fourth of 274 children. We must refer to Funassyi by name because Funassyi is neither male or female and, therefore, is immune to pronouns. And this is what I consider normal on this day in Odaiba.

We looped back around to our first planned destination. A 60-foot tall Gundam robot statue looms in front of the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza shopping center. Technically, this is a suit worn by Amuro Ray on the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam, one of the most popular anime series to make its way past the shores of Japan.

Gundam Style — Don’t even THINK about shoplifting from DiverCity!

A short walk from DiverCity is Toyota’s MegaWeb complex. The first building is part of the Venus Fort mall, which is modeled after Venice, Italy and is a pretty blatant rip-off of the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The museum itself featured several restored cars, both made in Japan as well as cars imported into Japan. The displays were broken into pre- and post-World War II sections, showing the foreign influence on the country in the years following 1945.

The Western influence on post-war Japan showed in cars like the 1962 Mazda Carol and imports from automakers including Ford, Chevrolet and Fiat. Pre-war cars included a 1937 Datsun Model 16 sedan and an American-imported 1936 Cord 810. All of the vehicles have been painstakingly restored to original condition by Toyota’s restoration experts. It’s a nice tribute to Japan’s long automotive history while weaving in the story of the country’s evolution during the 20th century.

Toyota Hydrogen Car — Toyota’s Hydrogen car, the FCV, is scheduled to be available for sale in 2015

Perhaps even more impressive was the MegaWeb’s Toyota City Showcase, which featured several of Toyota’s concept cars. As tree-hugging Cascadians, we left our Toyota Prius in good hands back in the states, but we were drooling over potential future purchases as we walked through the showroom. The revamped hybrids with futuristic dashboards and single-seat three-wheel cars were great, but we were super-impressed by the FCV hydrogen fuel cell car, scheduled for a 2015 release. It’s an attractive car powered by renewable energy and only emits water vapor as byproduct. Sign me up!

Playing the Hydrogen Trivia game at Toyota MegaWeb. The game wand is a replica hydrogen fuel pump.

So, we’ve seen the future of automobiles. What’s next? How about swinging by the Statue of Liberty. Yes, that’s right… Odaiba has one of those too.

Apparently, the French version of the Statue of Liberty was in Odaiba for “The French Year in Japan” back in the late 1990s. It was so popular, a permanent version was built in 2000. Hundreds of these things have been erected around the world, including three more in Japan. The statue in Miyagi Prefecture was damaged by the 2011 tsunami.

Since we’d clearly jumped the shark in Odaiba with the whole Statue of Liberty thing, we headed back to the mainland for dinner and our final stop of the day.

Despite decades of wreaking havoc on their beloved country, Japanese people still love the monster known as Gojira! In celebration/marketing of the newest Godzilla movie, which opened in Japan over the weekend, a replica of the monster has been built in the Tokyo Midtown Gardens park. A tame light and smoke show runs every evening while the exhibit is open. Kids screamed playfully, more interested in running under Godzilla’s wavy tail than away from his sharp teeth.

This, I believe, is the beauty of Japan. Tokyo is an amazing city and from one train station to the next, you can enter a completely different world than the last. This was a playful day and tomorrow might be a nature day or a traditional day. Tokyo offers all of that and more.

Enoshima and Kamakura

July 28, 2014 by Robert Haddan

It’s been a HOT week in the Kantō region with most cities registering the year’s highest temperatures. University classes are done for awhile, so we attempted to escape the heat with a midweek excursion to the Pacific Ocean. The nearest beach town is Enoshima, so we caught an early train from Kawagoe and set out for the two-hour train ride east.

Enoshima is a small island that is technically part of Fujisawa city and the center of the Shōnan coastal region. The island is a living shrine to Benzaiten, the Buddhist goddess of music and entertainment. We explored the island for a few hours before heading further east to Kamakura.

Standing in the shadow of The Great Buddha of Kamakura – actually, the shadows are from the trees, but still…

Kamakura is a small city that was considered the capitol of Japan during the reign of the Kamakura shogunate (1185–1333 AD). The highlight of a trip to Kamakura is the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in.

The day’s story is better told in pictures, so enjoy!

A view of Enoshima Island from the bridge between the island and the area near Katase-Enoshima Station

Shopping Street — The shopping street on Enoshima Island is framed by a bronze torii that has been oxidized over the years

Shop Animals — As native species, owl and fish imagery are prevalent on the island. One shop also customized the traditional maneki-neko (beckoning cat).

Torii to Enoshima Shrine — The torii to Enoshima Shrine… and the first of many, MANY stairs we’d encounter on the island

Statues leading to Hetsu-no-miya Jinja (Shrine at the Edge), the first of the smaller shrines making up Enoshima Shrine

Hetsu-no-miya Shrine. The large ring is made from bundled grass. Tradition suggests walking through the ring in a figure-eight (infinity – ∞) prior to prayer .

View from the top — View of the Enoshima beaches near Hetsu-no-miya Shrine

Wadatsunomiya Shrine houses the dragon that once terrorized the island. His story is included throughout the island.

“Love locks” are attached to the fence around Koibito-no-oka. Legend says if a couple ties a lock and rings the bell, they will never be separated.

A sign at the entrance to the island warns “Beware of Hawks.” While we were resting near the water, a hawk swooped down and took a bite of someone’s onigiri. Beware of hawks for reals!

The Iwaya Caves are lined with Buddhist statues and symbolism. Candles are distributed as you enter to light the way (lower-right).

More stairs — It’s all uphill from the Iwaya Caves back to the Hetsu-no-miya Shrine. So. Many. Stairs.

Back on the shopping street, a shop offered the Dr. Fish service. For 500 yen, you put your feet in a small pool and little fish eat the crud off of your feet. The fish are visible in the background.

Birds at Enoshima Station — Outside the gate of Enoshima Station, these steel-sculpted birds sat perched on a rail. Someone knitted little hats and shawls for them.

Fish Flops — Fish-shaped flip flops for sale at a shop in Kamakura

Yuigahama Beach near Kamakura. The ocean was warm and mostly calm, perfect for a refreshing dip after a humid day.

Hiking Hiwada

July 16, 2014 by Robert Haddan

Before leaving the U.S., we’d started to get into hiking. With the beautiful natural areas in Oregon, it’s not hard to find a hiking trail to fit your mood. Japan offers many hiking opportunities, but our area is so citified that greenspace is mostly limited to parks with walking paths.

However, just a short train ride to the west lies the Okuchichibu Mountainous Region (奥秩父山地). The area is full of wooded hiking trails and reminiscent of the Cascade and Coast ranges back home. Hidaka City is the gateway to the Okuchichibu region, with three great peaks and just a 15 minute train ride from our station. We headed for Hidaka, choosing to brave the 90-plus degree temperatures following a few days of Typhoon Neoguri leftovers. Luckily, although just a few miles west, the temperatures were pleasant and a light breeze made for a comfortable day.

Playing Bus Stop Bingo, matching the kanji on the display board for the Kinchakuda stop

We’d been to Hidaka recently for lunch, so we knew that we needed to plan slightly better for the bus ride. In reading the few reviews I could find for the hike, I also knew we wouldn’t see much rōmaji, so I carefully wrote out the kanji for each mountain we’d be hiking and the bus stop we’d need. Since the bus only stops when people need to get on or off, we played some Bus Stop Bingo trying to match my scribbles to the reader board on the bus.

Hiwadayama Street Sign — The sign from the road pointing to the Hiwadayama trail head.

After successfully departing the bus at Kinchakuda, we headed up the road to the Mt. Hiwada (日和田山) trail head. The trail had a couple options. You could walk the gentle slope of the switchbacks up to the start of the main trail or follow the makeshift stairs straight up the side of the mountain. We opted for the challenge of the stairs and worked our way up to the trail’s first torii.

At the top of the initial climb, the trail splits into two paths to Hiwada’s summit. The politically-incorrect options: to the left, the “Men’s Course” (男坂経由) and to the right, the “Women’s Course” (女坂経由). In true Cascadian fashion, we opted for the more difficult Men’s Course, a rocky and hilly climb to the peak.

Panorama — Part of the gorgeous panoramic view near the top of Mt. Hiwada

The trees opened up along the way to offer views of Tokyo to the east and the Okuchichibu region to the west. Eventually, the summit comes into view as a large torii frames Kotahira Shrine.

View from Kotahira Shrine — The view from Kotahira Shrine

From the shrine, it’s a short, rocky climb to the peak. From the trail head to the summit, it was about 1,000 ft of elevation gain over a half-mile distance. The straight-up climb plugged our ears, but the benches at the summit offered a chance to adjust to the elevation.

Hiwada summit — This statue marked the summit of Mt. Hiwada

From here, it was about a one-third mile walk to the Mt. Takasasu (高指山) summit. The short path felt like exploring the jungle in Lost. Oddly-placed, dilapidated structures rose from the trees around every corner. The summit itself was marked by a radio tower surrounded by a rusted, broken-down building. We quickly moved on before the Smoke Monster decided to make an appearance.

Takasasu summit — The summit of Mt. Takasasu, otherwise known as Dharma Initiative Station 11, The Tower.

The last peak was Mt. Monomi (物見山). Along the way, a beautiful view emerged with a house perched over a valley with views of nothing but trees and mountains. A small rest house offered respite from the sun as well as vending machines and restrooms. We stopped briefly to refill the water bottle and buy a couple sports drinks before moving on.

Rest House — The rest house leading to the Mt. Monomi trail head

The Monomi trail was some of the day’s more challenging terrain. The recent rain left some muddy spots and steep, rocky trails interrupted the smoother paths up to the summit. At the top, any potential view was blocked by pesky trees, but some comfy benches allowed for another short rest and a snack.

“Say Chīzu!” A hiking group stopped to take a picture at the Mt. Monomi summit.

A large hiking group came in from another trail and stopped to take a picture. In a funny moment of cross-culturalism, the photographer urges the group to “Say Chīzu!” While the shape of the word “cheese” naturally creates a smile, the Japanese equivalent of “chīzu” creates more of a, um, dumb face! After saying “chīzu,” they adjust their mouths into smiles and the photo is snapped.

We briefly followed the group down the hill, but took the first opportunity to pass the slow-moving herd (on the muddiest part of the trail, of course) to head back down Monomi. The path down winds through some interesting terrain. At times, the path is rocky and muddy, while in other places, you find yourself walking through someone’s orange orchard. Eventually you reach a road and follow it down for about a mile where you end up at Musashi Yokote Station (武蔵横手駅).

Summit Markers — The summit markers for Hiwada, Takasasu and Monomi

By the end of the day, we’d hiked roughly five miles and ascended/descended 1,200 feet over three-plus hours. The hike itself was very convenient with well-placed facilities that don’t interrupt the natural experience. The views were unbelievable in places and the trails were challenging, but doable with any level of fitness. I’m sure we’ll venture further into the Okuchichibu region for our next hike, but with the proximity and access of the Hiwada-Takasasu-Monomi trail, we’ll be back here sooner rather than later.

Fukuoka

June 17, 2014 by Robert Haddan

While in Japan, we’re hoping to take advantage of our ability to see some different parts of the world. Places like Beijing and Seoul are just puddle-jumpers now and Sydney is about 10 hours away. But Japan itself offers a lot of travel opportunities as well.

We took advantage of a university conference in Fukuoka Prefecture this weekend to see a different part of Japan. Fukuoka is on the north coast of Kyushu (one of the four large islands of Japan) and is Japan’s sixth-largest city. It’s also ranked 12th on Monocle Magazine’s 2013 list of the world’s most livable cities. We could definitely see why. More on that later.

Narita Airport is east of Tokyo and it took two-and-a-half hours by bus to get to Kawagoe when we first came to Japan. We took the train this time, which requires a trip on a Shinkansen—a Japanese bullet train. The trip to the airport only took an hour and 40 minutes. No more bus for us!

The airport process was a breeze as well. Being a domestic flight, there wasn’t a lot of hubbub to get to the gate. The train station is in the airport, so you make your way through the terminal. Japanese television reporters stop you to ask about Japanese pop stars (yes, this really happened… I doubt they’ll air it as we weren’t very impressive). Security consists of the standard carry-on X-Ray, but we didn’t have to remove shoes, belts, etc. or even empty change from our pockets. We could bring liquid through as well, but the security officer required us to remove the lid so they could smell the contents.

Jetstar — Our plane boarding from the tarmac.

After a short wait, we were directed to the Friendly Airport Limo (a bus with standing-room only) which took us from the gate to the plane on the tarmac. We waited while they finished the inspection, but it was 20 minutes from the time they opened the door until we were airborne. Very efficient and pleasant flying experience.

Falafel set at Kebabooz Sudanese restaurant

The two-hour flight arrived around dinner time, and despite some travel snacks, first priority was finding food. We had a few places mapped out in advance and chose a Sudanese falafel and kebab restaurant called Kebabooz in the trendy Daimyo neighborhood. The small restaurant (five tables total) was down an alley, which was in another alley, which meant it HAD to be good. The chefs/servers were listening to ’90s American gangster rap at an appropriate volume. A warugaki (bratty child) amused the other diners with her antics.

The food was amazing… easily a top-5 Japan meal. You could watch the hummus being handmade-to-order in the kitchen. The best thing on my plate was the salata aswad, a Sudanese eggplant salad. Basically it was eggplant potato chips covered in a spiced yogurt. I could have eaten it all day.

Clock Fountain — Is it a clock? Is it a fountain? Yes.

We headed back to the train station so we could get checked into our hotel before dark. We were highly amused by the fountain/clock on the main street by the station. Whether it was the fact that the fountain was an accurate digital clock or that two traditional Manneken Pis-style statues were making sure the fountain stayed full, we’ll never know.

Fukuoka Tower at Night — The view from our room at the Hilton. Fukuoka Tower is in the center and Hakata Bay is at the right.

We stayed at the Fukuoka Hilton, which was actually the cheapest hotel in town thanks to a summer special rate. We had an unbelievable view from our 8th-floor window of Fukuoka Tower, Momochi Seaside Park and Hakata Bay. The tower glows at night thanks to 8,000 half-mirrors attached to its outside walls.

Saturday was the conference, so I was left to my own devices for the better part of the day. I stopped at a couple different stations to see what was happening in other parts of Fukuoka, but eventually ended up back at the area by our hotel. I walked down the main street and worked my way down to Fukuoka Tower. For 800 yen, you can ride the elevator up to the observation tower, but I opted for the free selfie. An oversized novelty camera with a small shelf offers instruction on how to get an up-the-nose shot of yourself in front of the tower. Mission…. ACCOMPLISHED!

Selfie — Up-the-nose selfie in front of the tower? Check.

Just past the tower is Momochi Seaside Park. The beach stretches along Hakata Bay and seemed to be a hotspot for Fukuoka’s young folk. Sunbathers dodged beach soccer and volleyball games while fisherman wandered past the barricade on the pier to catch a few of the jumping fish in the bay.

Our hotel was attached to the Fukuoka Yafuoka! Dome, home of the SoftBank Hawks baseball team. I bought a ticket for the right field bleachers and a vintage Hawks t-shirt and made my way to the ballpark.

Hawks Mascots — The Hawks plethora of mascots join the Baystars mascot for some funky, funky dancing.

The hometown Hawks were hosting the Yokohama DeNA Baystars. The hour before the game was mostly the Hawks seven (count ’em, seven!) mascots joining the Baystars’ overstuffed bear mascot in dancing to the latest American pop songs. An acrobatic cheerleading group flipped and tossed each other about to the amusement of the crowd. Some ceremonies that seemed to move the crowd were performed. I clapped along at the appropriate time despite not understanding a word of it. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown, which in Japan includes a batter from the opposing team taking a ceremonial weak cut at the pitch.

By the time 2 p.m. rolled around, I’d forgotten why I was in this big dome with all these people. Oh yeah… a baseball game! It was an exciting one, with a dominating pitching performance by Hawks starter Kenichi Nakata and each team trading a big inning at the plate. The Hawks came out on top, winning 4-2 and sending the crowd into a balloon-blowing frenzy.

We were able to share the sightseeing activities on Sunday. We started with breakfast at Bakery Kitchen Raggruppi, a small bakery down—you guessed it—a side alley. Google Maps totally missed the mark on this one, but a nice lady who was heading out for a refill on her water bottle walked us several blocks out of her way to the restaurant.

The restaurant offered all-you-can-eat homemade bread with some seasonal treats and an omelet in its upstairs cafe. My plate included a cold kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) soup while the Mrs. had a light potato salad. Some tuna and several large slices of prosciutto had to be navigated, but it was a small price to pay for a great breakfast. We grabbed a few treats in the bakery downstairs on our way out.

Directly across the street is Maizuru Koen and Ohori Koen. The parks butt up against each other, but apparently are distinct parks. Along the main street, Maizuru Koen greets you with a pond full of lily pads. Large cranes perch in the trees and willow trees fall over the dirt path. Literally steps from a busy street, it was like being in a different world.

Turret — A restored turret in the Fukuoka Castle ruins complex

The ruins of Fukuoka Castle are also part of the park. Centuries-old stone walls are visible throughout the complex and a few of the old buildings have been restored. It’s an active restoration site, so new pieces of the old buildings are being unearthed and are open to the public.

A long path leads into Ohori Koen. A large pond is circled by a walking path. Visitors can rent rowboats or swan-shaped pedal boats or just sit along the edge of the pond and enjoy the view. In true Japan fashion, there’s a Starbucks on site, so you can also enjoy a dark chocolate Frappuccino along with the view.

I mentioned Fukuoka’s ranking as one of the world’s most livable cities. Tokyo is actually ranked higher on Monocle‘s list, but I preferred Fukoka’s vibe. The city’s layout is much more of a western-style than Tokyo, which made finding things a lot easier. There was a ton to do without the mass of humanity that comes with a day-trip to Tokyo. Parks and public spaces are numerous and the city has made great use of its bay front with shopping, restaurants and recreational opportunities. The area around Fukuoka Tower is the city’s cultural center, with a large public library, park space, the city museum and sports fields all leading from the main street to the bay front. The transportation system is straight-forward and convenient.

Granted, it was a small sample size, but Fukuoka is definitely one of my new favorite Japanese cities. I’m hoping we’ll get a chance to compare it to Osaka, Kyoto and Sapporo before we leave.