Tokyo (Monday, October 11)

Our sightseeing day in Tokyo.  The weather was beautiful - not a cloud in the sky, which was a welcome relief from our rain-drenched weekend in Nikko.  But it was hot.  It probably got into the 80s (we were subsequently told it was a record high for Tokyo).

Two gardens, an aquarium and Kabuki - it was a very full day.  In keeping with our desire to check every garden in Japan off our list, we visited two Rikugien Garden, which dates from the Edo period around 1700, and is a classic Japanese landscape garden.  There is a central pond (in which there are hundreds of turtles as well as carp), and beautifully sculped pine trees and forested areas and tea houses.  There is a weeping cherry tree that must be spectacular.

Rikugien Garden, Tokyo

Rikugien Garden, Tokyo

The next venue was Kyu-Furakawa Garden, only 1.5 kms from Rikugien.  This one was particularly interesting as there was a stately Western residence built in 1917 and rose gardens, which were a week away from fall blooming.  In the lower part of the garden was a classical Japanese landscape garden, so you really got a blend of feelings.  It was awfully pretty.

Kyu-Furukawa Garden, Tokyo

Kyu-Furukawa Garden, Tokyo

Two gardens were enough. We decided to think outside the box and headed for the Tokyo Sea Life Park, their version of our Aquarium.  As we were riding the train over, I reminded Andrea that it was a national holiday.  So think about how crowded the New Aquarium would be on a school holiday and then put that on steroids, many times over.   Was it packed!  But, you know what, it was fabulous.  They have exhibits of sea life there from all over the world - fish I never could have imagined, much less seen.  My favorite was definitely the leafy sea dragon from Australia.  But there was so much more.  Despite the crowds, it was worth the trip.

Leafy Sea Dragon

Orange Thingy?

We hustled back to the hotel to get ready for Kabuki, which started at 4:30.  The theater was right near the Ginza district, although the authentic Kabuki theater is being renovated and this is the more modern alternative.  The performance was about 4 and 1/2 hours, divided into three separate plays.  Two were dramas - tragedies of a sort; the other was a comic performance.  It sort of reminded me of opera, but with off-key, war chant-like singing.  The comic performance reminded me a bit of 'L'Elisir D'Amore.  The two dramas weren't so identifiable.  But it was interesting to see the performance and to observe the crowd (many women in the audience dressed in beautiful kimono, although don't think it's like The Rocky Horror Show or anything like that).  Fortunately they sold English language accompaniments in the form of an audio guide, so at least I could follow it.

And then vacation was over.  I had to meet one of my partners at 8 the next morning to begin two days full of meetings in Tokyo.  I am not going to try to sum it up here.  I will wait until I am on my flight back to Boston this Saturday.  So, dear readers, thanks for hanging in this long, but you'll just have to wait for the grand finale (surely to be another of life's great anti-climaxes) for a few more days.

Nikko and Back to Tokyo (October 10)

It was 10/10/10 today.  As I said, we woke up to a still steady rain, but by about 9 o'clock blue skies began to break through.  The weather was definitely changeable but it held and there was no rain.

We dashed off to the religious area to get our fill of temples and shrines.  And boy did we.  The throngs were out (it is a three-day weekend in Japan) and the shrines and temples were quite crowded.  They are quite beautiful and walking through them is a lot like seeing the great churches of the Western world.  For these, though, the setting is so spectacular in the deep woods of balsams and other types of pine trees.  I will post some photos.

Back to Tokyo and the train connections worked like a charm  We were in our room at The Peninsula by about 5 o'clock.  The hotel is really nice and our room is, I think we both admit, a welcome change from our ryokan lifestyle over the past couple of weeks.  Not that we didn't like staying in the ryokan.  But the amenities of a first class hotel are not to be sneezed at.  And The Peninsula is a really nice property.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant that specializes in unagi (broiled eel).  It was on the 12th floor of a department store.  The eel was excellent - grilled in a way that made it taste better than I have ever tasted it.  A little sightseeing in the Ginza area (which was busier than Times Square, hands down) and then back to the hotel.

Some sightseeing tomorrow - maybe some gardens.   We'll see what the weather is like.  And then on Tuesday it is back to work  . . . .

Rinnoji Taiyuin Temple

Grounds at Rinnoji Taiyuin Temple

Toshogu Shrine

Shinkyo Sacred Bridge

Kaiseki at Hotel Tokugawa

First Course

Clear soup course (tofu and mushroom in fish broth)

Beef, cabbage and mushrooms to be cooked in pot

Pot has water on one side, tofu milk in other

Broiled fish, miso soup and rice and pickles

A rare occurrence - dessert

Broiled fish

It really isn't all about the food.  But verbal descriptions don't really do justice to the cuisine.  And besides, we know that most of our friends are in touch with their "inner foodie" and probably appreciate these photos to one of another shrine!

Nikko (Saturday, October 9)

We really have had pretty good weather so far on the trip.  We did not totally believe the reports that said weather during this time should be between the low 60s and the mid 70s.  It was, although it occasionally crept up into warmer highs.

Our luck ran out yesterday.  We left Tokyo in a light rain that turned into a steady downpour, as we made our way up to Nikko, a couple of hours north of Tokyo.  Nikko is a World Heritage Site, home as it is to what is billed as the most elaborate shrine in Japan (as well as many other sacred sites) and the mausoleum of Tokugawa leyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.  It is also the gateway to Nikko National Park, with beautiful mountains, waterfalls, lakes, etc.  We could have been in downtown Tokyo for all the mountains we saw!  Virtually everything was fog enshrouded as we made our way on the bus through the park.  It reminded me of a trip many years ago that I took through Austria where it rained every day and I spent a day in each of Innsbruck and Salzburg and never say a mountain.

And I hadn't dressed appropriately for the weather.  Here I had packed a rain jacket, schlepped it the entire trip, but when we consolidated down to one bag for this brief weekend trip, I packed lightly and didn't bring it.  Not only that, I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt in a steady rain and  the temperature had dropped into the 50s.

You have to love my wife though.  Determined to get her money's worth, we are off walking up to waterfalls (which admittedly were spectacular).  A woman whom I can't get to take a walk in Wellesley power walks her way through the fog and rain to capture photos of fog enshrouded waterfalls.  It is a shame about the weather, as you can tell this is a really beautiful spot.  I am only kidding, too.  I was a willing participant and it was worth it.  Not to say that we both weren't quite happy to get to our hotel.  Hotel Tokugawa is a modern ryokan, which combines the amenities of a modern hotel with some of the traditional aspects (think kaiseki and public bath) of the ryokan.  It is really nice and the food was excellent.

Kegon Falls

Yudaki Falls

It is Sunday morning and it is still raining.  Fortunately the hotel has Internet access, and Andrea may try to catch the Yankees game on MLBTV.com.  The hotel has a shuttle that runs to the famous shrines, and we plan to make the visit later in the morning - come hell of high water, as they say.

Kurashiki to Tokyo (Friday, October 8)

It is off the “off the beaten path” track and back to more familiar tourist destinations.  Tokyo is our destination today.

 

We took the Shinkansen today from Okayama to Tokyo (after getting a local train from Kurashiki to Okayama).  There are three classes of Shikansen – the Nozomi (the fastest), the Hikari and the Kodama.  The Hikari was just fine – it covered the 336 miles between the two cities in a little over 4 hours.  Imagine if we were able to travel between Boston and New York in 2 ½ hours – it would easily tilt the balance against the US Airways shuttle.  During our ride we got to see Mt. Fuji (see below, a bit enveloped in clouds).   Our conductor was so cute – he came up to us at the beginning of the trip and told us that at 14:48 we should be sure to look out the left window to see Mt. Fuji.  And then after we passed it, he came by and flashed a “thumbs up.”

At one of the stops, there was a little boy in a stroller outside our window with his mom.  He kept looking at us, and we waved to him.  Andrea took a little gorilla plush toy she had hooked on one of her bags, hopped off the train and gave it to the little boy.  He smiled and waved bye to us.  Lois always wanted Andrea to be a diplomat – her dream has come true with plush toy diplomacy.

    

We arrive in Tokyo at 3:30 and dropped up a couple of bags at The Peninsula, where we’ll be staying beginning on Sunday night.  Tonight it is off to a ryokan in Akasuka (the Sadachiyo), one of the original parts of old Tokyo, and then tomorrow up to Nikko for the day and a night.

We have had two bad experiences with cab drivers here.  It’s quite surprising actually, because we had always found cab drivers to be nothing but pleasant.  Both in Kurashiki and Tokyo we got a ton of attitude from a cab driver presumably disappointed that he was only getting a less than ¥ 1,000 fare from the train station.  Reminds me a bit of the cab drivers at International Place who crab when, after waiting on line for a fare, get someone who is going to Beacon Hill.  But cab drivers in the US are supposed to be surly.  That can’t happen here, can it?  But it did.  Twice.

Tsurugata Dinner

I’m going to try to record the dinner, course by course, in real time as our hostess Matsuo brings it.    We started off with a little peach wine.   Peaches are a specialty of the region.  It was sweet and refreshing.

The first course consists of roe on seaweed, a little mountain potato, a jellied thing with carrot, some maki-like thing that may be soba and maybe fried tofu.  We ordered one glass of shochu, which is a wine based on potatoes, not rice as in sake.  First course was great – even thought we don’t know exactly what it is we are eating.  The shochu was just ok.  They serve it with water and ice, almost like a cocktail.

Next course is sashimi.  There are three varieties – maguro (tuna), aji (horse mackerel) and hirame (flounder), with both soy sauce and a ponzu sauce.  The fish is really fresh and just melts in your mouth – Fantastic!

Next course is the clear soup course.  This one is a clear broth with a purple potato-like thing (I am told it has arrowroot in it as well), mushrooms and some little greens.  It is very delicate and tasty, although last evening’s fish paste and crab was better.

The next course is the simmered course.  A little fish (the whole thing), with lotus root, green beans and fu (a little maple leaf shaped thing made from wheat).  The taste was good, but there were too many bones, so I have to take a few points off this course.

Next course is the grilled course.  Matsuo brings two individual grills, on which is placed a grilling dish in which there are pieces of beef, red and green peppers and little mushrooms placed on a bed of miso, all in a leaf of some sort.  The beef is tender and very flavorful, as are the vegetables.  The miso gives it a nice flavor.

The next is the fried course, which consists of tempura.  A green bean, a little fish covered with a shiso leaf, a mushroom, a piece of potato, a piece of onion and a shrimp.  Although it is very tasty, it really is nothing incredibly special.

The vinegared course was really good.  Crab meat, soaked in a vinegar dressing, along with some cucumber.  They served it with the crab shell over the meat – very fancy presentation. 

The last course before dessert is rice and miso soup.  Andrea wonders why you end a fantastic meal with boring white rice and miso soup.  She has a point (as she so often does).

Finally, the dessert course arrives, which consists of three grapes and a piece of melon.  The fruit was delicious, and this type of dessert has been fairly typical.  No wonder there is less obesity in Japan than in our country.

That is the traditional kaiseki, which has been the bill of fare at the ryokans at which we have stayed.  It is definitely Japanese haute cuisine, although a steady diet of high end food can itself get tiring.  But we are not complaining, mind you.  We really aren't . . . 

Okayama (Thursday, October 7)

A beautiful, cloudless day greeted us.  Today was about gardens.  But before getting into that, let’s talk about breakfast.

I like breakfast – always have.  For me, it is usually a bowl of cold cereal, maybe with some fruit or raisins.  I will confess that the elaborate breakfasts here – focused as they are on fish, tofu, vegetables, rice – were starting to get me down.  But the Tsurugata cured me.  Of course, there was the obligatory fish, but this morning it was three small pieces of mackerel that you grilled on a flame at the table (very simple, not like Benihana), and they were really tasty.  And I got them to bring me hot water with which I made Starbucks instant coffee that I had brought with me (although there is a Starbucks here in Kurashiki, about 600m from the Tsurugata).  I heartily recommend the Starbucks instant coffee to any traveler addicted to caffeine who is traveling to out of the way places.  It's an adequate substitute.  

In any event, breakfast was really good, and it was a great way to start the day.

We did gardens.  First, we went off to Okayama (about a 15 minute train ride) to visit Korakuen Garden, which is considered one of the three best gardens in Japan.  We had seen Kenrokuen Garden, which is one of the other two, in Kanazawa.  So, to quote Meat Loaf, two out of three ain’t bad.  We liked Korakuen, although there were more grassy expanses than we had seen at Kenrokuen.  But they blended agricultural things along with the more aesthetic (for instance, there are tea fields and rice fields in the garden).  The day was beautiful and we took many pictures (which I will try to attach at a later time).

We then decided we would hit another garden, but that involved heading off the island of Honshu and over to Shikoku, which is connected by a series of bridges.  We were game.  So we hopped on a train (the marine Liner) and headed for Takamatsu.  Many islands dot the water (the Seto Island Sea) between the two larger islands of Honshu and Shikoku.  The Seto Ohashi Bridge was opened in 1988 and consists of six separate bridges that comprise the whole.   It is about 8 miles long and is the world’s largest double-decker bridge.  Makes the Bay Bridge pale in comparison.

Our destination was yet another garden – this time the Ritsurin Koen Garden outside of Takamatsu.  We may have even liked this one the best of all (even though it isn’t in the consensus top three).  The pine trees, of which there were many, were both sculpted and wild.  I will try to post some pictures when we get an Internet connection again.

Finally, we decided to take a ferry back across the Seto Island Sea to Honshu.  It was a good choice.  We got great views of the islands that dot the sea, saw the very impressive bridge from a distance and although it was overcast we sat outside and it was not too cold. 

We were beat when we arrived back at the Tsurugata.  In the next post, I will describe the dinner we ate that night.   

Our Room at the Tsurugata

Kurashiki (October 6)

We arrived in Kurashiki around 1 o’clock this afternoon.  The literature says it has a population of about 500,000, and it certainly has the feel of a city in which much more is going on than in the places we have been in the past few days.  Yet our ryokan (more on it later) still has no Internet access.  It is under common ownership with a hotel a couple of blocks away, and we are able to use the business center, so Andrea and I holed up there, inserting that fiber optic needle directly into the vein that keeps us connected to the world.   However did we live without broadband access?

Kurashiki is the real deal and our ryokan (Tsurugata) is definitely the real deal.  The old part of town is the Bikan Historical Quarter, a charming old section of old homes and establishments along a river that runs through the city.  The architecture is white walls with occasional black tiles or wood at the bottom, tile roofs, including on the walls that surround the buildings.  It gives the area a clean, aesthetic feel.  It feels totally authentic

Our room wasn’t ready so we walked around the town for awhile, poking our heads into stores.  Andrea noticed one sign at a store that was selling, among other things, place mats that were described in English as “Lush” place mats.  Of course, they meant “Rush” placemats, the woven fiber.  Andrea pointed this out to the proprietors, who were very happy to have been corrected and thanked her profusely.  That’s our girl, huh readers?

OK, we went back to the ryokan and checked in.  Our room is spectacular (I will upload photos when I get to a faster connection):  two very large tatami rooms(each at least 10 mats) and a private garden with a 400 yr.-old pine tree (we are told).  After getting settled we went back out into town to do some more serious sightseeing.  There is an impressive private art museum, built to resemble the Pantheon, which stands out in this otherwise authentic Japanese district.  The founder has a beautiful house across from it, and a villa that he built for his wife next door (the Green Villa - will try to attach a picture).  We then visited a very impressive house (Ohashi House) that was inhabited by one of the leading families of the town.   Built in 1796, it has at least 10 rooms and seems to go on forever.  It was still the spare tatami room furnishing, but the number of rooms really distinguished it.  Finally we walked through the Honmachi district, which is a little more working class, but with interesting stores, restaurants, etc. along crowded little streets.
 

I think the meal tonight at Tsurugata may have been the best yet.  Served in our room, it was course after course of deliciously prepared, interesting food.  My favorite may have been a delicate fish broth in which there were two mushrooms and a ball of fish paste and crab.  It was simply delicious.  There were other interesting things – small pieces of beef cooked with a brown rice crust, tamago wrapped around cooked eel, a delicious white peach in a jellied mold.  Eating small dishes – but lots of them – really is the way to go.

It was interesting when we checked into Tsurugata, there were dozens of sandals – used to walk in the common areas of the ryokan – in the reception area.  As we each prepared to put a pair on, they brought us two identical pair that were different than all the rest.  Our cynical and suspicious minds got us to thinking that maybe these are the “foreigner” sandals they break out just for folks like us.  Goodness knows what new foot fungus may be spreading through the United States.  A country just can’t be too careful, you know.

Which brings me to another cultural observation – sandals.  When you check into a ryokan, you leave your shoes at reception, step up onto a wooden area and slip into sandals that the inn provides for you.  Those you wear around the inn, except that when you get to your room you slip out of them before setting foot on the tatami mats.  To make matters more complicated, there are bathroom sandals as well, as you would not want the same feet that walk on the tatami mats to set foot on the bathroom floor.  A little bit complicated, but you get used to it.

BTW, Andrea asked the Tsurugata about the different sandals as we were checking out.  They quickly explained that the sandals were somewhat larger sized, to account for Westerners having larger feet.  Andrea thought the explanation a little pat and disingenuous.  Oh well.  

Tsuwano to Kurashiki (Wednesday, October 6)

We woke up to a beautiful morning in Tsuwano and had our breakfast at Meigetsu.  The proprietor gave us a ride to the station, perhaps feeling sorry for us because of our not insubstantial luggage.  When we arrived there was an older couple there who had also spent the night at Meigetsu, but presumably walked to the train station with their luggage.  I didn’t sense any withering stares, although I of course played the dunce.

A local express train took us through the mountains to Shin Yamaguchi, where we changed to a local Shinkansen.  The scenery was pretty and the ride very peaceful.

A word about the trains.  It is the custom for the conductor to bow when he (invariably it’s a he) enters the car.  He then walks to the front of the car, bows again, and then begins taking tickets.  I’m not sure that I would recognize any “attitude” on a cross-cultural basis, but I am also quite sure that no conductor we have yet seen has displayed any.  I’m thinking of explaining this custom to some of our favorite conductors on the Framingham line to see whether maybe they can “catch the spirit.”  Fat chance that Stacey with the big hair is going to bow before she starts taking tickets!

Tsuwano (Tuesday, October 5)

A sightseeing day started with a heavy rain shower that threatened to derail our plans.  So, we had breakfast and went back to our room to wait it out.  Fortunately it stopped at about 9:30 and off we went to our various sights.

We are still largely “off the grid,” however, with no Internet access.  Our proprietress told us that there was Internet access at the tourist office.  That turned out to be true, although it consisted of a laptop computer that you could use for 30 minutes for ¥100.  I suspect that I could have downloaded all my pent-up copy to a disk and then uploaded it to the blog, but I’m not sure any readers are so in need of the next installment to make that worth the while (feel free to post if you violently disagree!).  So I’ll save them and upload them en masse when we next hit a wireless hot spot.

Tsuwano is a nice little town, as I think I’ve already noted.  You can easily “do” the town in a day, though, and perhaps even less than that.  We set out and walked through Tonomachi, the former Samurai residence district (seems to be a constant theme to those careful followers of the blog), which was picturesque, etc.  Then we climbed up to the Taikodani Inari Shrine, which according to the pamphlet, is counted among Japan’s five greatest Inari Shrines (not sure how to calibrate that accolade).  It has a commanding presence on the side of the mountain, overlooking the town.  From there we walked through the streets of the town out to the Ogai Mori house and memorial hall, which celebrates the life of this famous (for Japan, of course) military surgeon and novelist who lived in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  We were thinking of someone who might be comparable from the US, but drew a blank.    The exhibits were totally in Japanese, so I really can’t tell you much about his life, although to have a museum devoted solely to you – even in a dinky little town – he must have accomplished much. 

We had bad luck for lunch.  Both places we wanted to eat – one an okonomiyaki place, the other a sushi place – were both closed.  We ended up at a noodle shop (udon) – just a little hole in the wall that could not have seated more than a dozen or so people.  It was ok, but just ok.

In the afternoon we visited the Hokusai museum, dedicated to the works of Katsushika Hokusai, a famous artist of the late Tokugawa era.  He lived from 1760 to 1849 and is recognized (at least according to the museum pamphlet) as one of the most influential Japanese artists in the world.  The works exhibited included woodblock prints, illustrated books and paintings.  Some of his more famous paintings are the multiple views he painted multiple views of Mt. Fuji.  Moving a rung or two down from the aesthetic, we then visited a local establishment that makes sake and, after sampling a number of the offerings, bought a keepsake of Tsuwano to enjoy when we return.

Tsuwano really is a very pretty town.  Fact is, though, that without internet access and with limited sightseeing opportunities, a day is probably enough.  And so tomorrow early we are off to Kurashiki. 

Pictures from Tsuwano

Tamatsukuri Onsen toTsuwano (Monday, October 4)

It was a travel day.  We left our ryokan in Tamatsukurionsen this morning to catch a train to Tsuwano.  The train ride took us along the coast (Sea of Japan) and it was without a doubt the prettiest train ride we have been on during our stay.  There were times when we were literally looking down from the car into the sea.  The mountains in the area come right to the sea and the views are dramatic and quite scenic.  Check out the photo below.

We arrived in Tsuwano in the early afternoon.  Tsuwano is billed in the travel literature as “Little Kyoto on the Sanin (which is the river that runs through the area).  It is definitely smaller and more picturesque than other cities we have visited, although to call it Kyoto is a bit of a stretch (the little part is accurate).  It is, though, nestled among the mountains – it reminds me in some respects of a ski town (Aspen, Bourg d’Oisans) without any of the glamour, although I didn’t see any slopes.

Our ryokan (Meigetsu) is on a side street packed into an old neighborhood in Tsuwano.  We have a double room (a total of 16 tatami mats, with a really dinky modular  bathroom attached).  The staff are extremely nice and accommodating, although overall we have continued to “step down” at each leg of our trip in terms of the luxuriousness of our accommodations (although The Peninsula in Tokyo awaits at the end of the line).

We “did the town” this afternoon – there really isn’t a lot here.  We had a late lunch, and had difficulty finding a place that was open after 3 o’clock.  The place we ended up had the distinction of having the snottiest waitress we have encountered in the country.  She just wasn’t very nice and by contrast with the abundantly solicitous service everywhere else, it was definitely noticeable.    We went to a museum of the works of M. Annos, who paints water colors and has done illustrations for children’s books as well.  The museum was in a gorgeous building built in 2001 – dark wood and clean white walls.  Annos had painted many landscapes around the world.  There was one of Positano that Andrea wanted to get as a post card to give to Lois.  It turns out that the painting in the exhibit was incorrectly marked (it was not  Positano), and of course my wife pointed it out.  Correcting people the world over – that’s my wife.

Tamatsukuri Onsen (Sunday, October 3)

This area, on the shores of Lake Shinji, is said to be one of the first hot springs and that remains what draws visitors here.  The ryokan that Andrea booked looked lovely and remote from the Internet pictures.  Little did we know that, after being picked up at the train station, we would arrive at the ryokan to see that it was in a row of hotels backed up against a mountain (under which presumably is the source of the springs).  Tour buses were everywhere, taking tourists to their destinations (Andrea refers to the strip as Atlantic City).

Still, once inside the ryokan is quite peaceful and pleasant.  You have no sense whatsoever that you are in the midst of a destination resort.  It is modern and fairly unlike the Asadaya at which we stayed in Kanazawa.  You can walk to your room with your shoes, and only when you get to the room do you take them off.  Meals are taken in a dining room (spacious and clean with translucent screens hanging between the tables for privacy), overlooking a garden. 

The baths are worth dwelling on for a moment.  Although our room has both a small indoor bath and an outdoor hot bath, there are public, single sex baths that have both indoor and outdoor baths.  You enter, put your clothes and towel in a basket, grab a washcloth and go to the cleaning area.  This consists of handheld showers, about three feet off the ground, at which you wash yourself.  There were probably a dozen of these showers in the men’s bath.  After you have washed and completely rinsed all the soap from your body (getting soap in the bath would be a “pool clearing” event such as those that kids will occasionally trigger at pools in the US!), you soak in one of the baths, each of which is probably about 6 yards square.  The bath is for soaking and relaxation, and it is quite hot.  But it is very relaxing and a cultural experience to boot.

My run on Sunday morning took me up along a river on a lovely winding road.  I passed by nice homes, all of which appeared to be involved in some sort of agricultural pursuit.  And it seemed as if many of the homes, even very modest ones, had carefully crafted gardens adjoining the house, where someone had taken the time to sculpt the bushes and place the rocks in the appropriate Zen position.  It was nice, and the area could have been in France.  Not the ugliness that I have noted earlier in the blog

.

Ah yes, the obligatory sightseeing.  Matsue is the close by city, about a 10 minute train ride from our ryokan.  It appears to be the main city of Shimane Prefecture, although I am not sure of that.  The big draw is Matsue Castle, which is a commanding presence on top of a promontory outside the city (photo attached).  It was built in the 1500s and was designed not as a residence, but for protection from invaders.  Sort of a Japanese Alamo.  Our next stop was the Lefcadia Hearn residence.  Hearn was a writer for Harper’s at the turn of the 20^th century, who came to Japan and stayed.  He wrote books about Japan for English-speaking audiences, and by all accounts was beloved by the Japanese people.  The guy lived in Matsue for about 18 months and they have a museum for him and have turned his home into a landmark.  We also visited another Samurai residence – it’s sort of like going to Colonial Williamsburg or Plimoth Plantation, except they don’t have people “in role” there to explain (and they’d probably be speaking in Japanese if they did).   We finished it off with a visit to the Shimane Prefectural Art Museum to see a special exhibit by a famous (now dead) pottery maker.

It rained torrentially.  Fortunately the ryokan staff had handed us umbrellas before we left for the train and we at least had some measure of protection.  But we were glad to get back into our room to dry out.

One final observation.  At the train station  in Matsue, which is the case at most train stations of any size, there is a store that sells all sorts of confections, typically with some sort of bean paste filling, all of which are exquisitely prepared, wrapped and boxed.  It is almost like walking into cosmetics at the ground floor at Bloomingdales.  There are counters everywhere filled with these delicious treats.  They will often occasionally mix in some Western type breads and pastries to accompany the assortment.  And then there are other things – bags of dried fish, vacuum sealed little clams for miso soup, and other things too numerous to mention.  It is hard for me to imagine how places like this stay in business, but there you have it.

Kanazawa to Tamatsukiri Onsen (Saturday, October 2)

This post is coming to you on a delayed basis, as the ryokan at which we are staying Saturday and Sunday nights has no internet.  A particularly disappointing fact for Andrea, who was hoping to watch the Yankees-Red Sox games on her MLB TV subscription.

 

Saturday morning we left Kanazawa for our next stop, the Kasentei Yuraku ryokan at Tamatsukiri Onsen (onsen is Japanese for hot springs).  It started off a gorgeous fall day, and I got out for a run around the grounds of Kanazawa Castle and the Kenrokuen Gardens.  These areas of Kanazawa are really nice, with museums and other public buildings (I assume they were public – signs were only in Japanese) that were authentic and stately.  My run ended (as it often does when I travel) at the local Starbucks, which was a block from where we were staying.  My tall Pike Roast was ¥340 – about $4 at current exchange rates, compared to $1.60 in the US.  The interesting thing to me is that a tall latte was only ¥380, compare to maybe $2.90 back home.  Not sure I get the pricing model, but the coffee was good.

Our train left Kanazawa about 10 o’clock and it was a pretty long journey to our destination.  We changed trains in Kyoto and took the Nozomi (even faster version of the Shinkansen) to Okayama.  We then got on a limited express train to Tamatsukiri Onsen.  Some of the natural scenery (mountains, lakes, rivers) was gorgeous, but let me get this out right up front – the developed part of Japan is really pretty ugly.  It’s sort of a contradiction.  So much of Japanese culture is so incredibly beautiful in design and color – the pottery, the silk, the crafts, flower arranging, the food, etc.  And everything is so clean – you could literally eat off the floor of a train.  But you ride by these cities and towns and at least I am struck by how ugly and rundown they are.  There are either new, characterless apartments and other buildings or old rundown, beaten up buildings.  There are power lines everywhere and houses nestled right next to factories and parking lots.

It is amazing to travel here with Andrea.  She breaks out into Japanese and people almost gasp at how good she is.  As for me, I’m sort of playing Dustin Hoffman to her Tom Cruise (think Rainman), although I don’t rock back and forth and I try to limit my ritualistic behaviors.  Andrea chats up the cab drivers, the tourist bureau personnel, the hotel staff, etc.  It is interesting in our ryokans that the staff speaks to us in Japanese and they are careful to make eye contact with both of us equally, even though I must have a blank stare because I haven’t a clue about what they are saying!

We arrived at our destination and it is the dinkiest train station we have seen in Japan.  And, to boot, we had to carry our luggage up and down the stairs to get from the platform.  The ADA hasn't made its way to the island of Honshu!

Samurai Residence District - Kanazawa

Narrow streets and a real 17th century feel on a beautiful fall afternoon.

Kaga Kaiseki

Although I alluded to the meals at Asadaya Ryokan in an earlier post, I didn’t get around to describing in any measure of detail the wonderful food they served. Dinners consisted of 11 courses – the kaiseki is sort of a Japanese tasting menu. Kaga is the cuisine local to Kanazawa. For the benefit of the “foodies” who are reading this, I will go into TMI about the food. If you really aren’t into food, skip this post.

Before getting to the menu, though, the thing to remember (if you have been reading the blog you’ll see the theme here) is that it is all about the presentation (okay, at least a lot about the presentation). Each course is served on exquisite pottery or lacquerware, and never the same dish or design. There is usually some decoration included on the plates, such as a leaf or a flower. The visuals are gorgeous. Enough of the windup, though, let’s get to the food.

Here was our dinner the second night at Asadaya:

Starter (Sakizuke) – Steamed egg custard with shrimp, gingko nut, lily bulb and mushroom. This dish had a delightfully light and delicate taste.

Autumn appetizers (Zensai) – Sea eel sushi, matutake mushroom (a local variety) mixed with chrysanthemum, salted yellowtail and taro.

Clear soup (Osuimono) – Fish paste, matutake mushroom and Japanese citron rind in a fish broth.

Assorted Sashimi (Otukuri) – Sea bream, barracuda, spiral shell and garnish.

Deep fried dish (Chuzara) – Flat fish tempura, gingko nuts skewered by a pine leaf and broccoli tempura served in an edible dried noodle basket. The basket was exquisitely made and you finished the course by eating the basket.

Steamed dish (Susumezakana) – Tile fish fillet with chestnut flakes.

Broiled dish (Yakimono) – Japanese tenderloin, green pepper and onion. This was fascinating. They brought a small, individual charcoal grill to each of us and we cooked the three beef cubes (small, no bigger than ¾ inch square) on the grill. Same with the onion and green pepper. Dipping sauces of soy sauce and a plum/miso paste. The beef melted in the mouth.

Simmered dish (Nimono) – Sharp tooth eel, mushrooms, white leek and tofu simmered in a fish broth. Very delicate taste.

Vinegared dish (Hachimono) – Steamed abalone, spikenard (still don’t know what the hell spikenard is!), ginger and seaweed.

Rice dish (Shokuji) – Boiled local rice and clear soup with fish paste.

Fruits (Mizugashi) – local grapes and kaki (persimmon). Andrea is absolutely wild about persimmon. It is very tasty – like melon, but better.

You are probably full (and tired) just reading about it. Think about how we felt. Dinner was basically an almost two-hour undertaking and we were served graciously and unbelievably attentively by our hostess dressed in kimono. All of this sitting in a lovely tatami room on cushions and a chair back. It is just an incredibly unique experience.

A brief coda, because I just can’t go on any more about food, but breakfast is great as well. Takes about half the time and emphasis is on fish and vinegared food. Although we had eggplant, miso soup, yogurt with melon and countless other things that I can’t even remember. The morning we left they even gave us an extra serving of persimmon because Andrea loved it so much.

Kenrokuen Garden, Kanazawa

One of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan.

Geisha Performance

Kanazawa

I have gotten a little behind in my reportage, and there is much on which to catch up. We arrived yesterday in Kanazawa, after a train ride that took us through the mountains and along the coast of the Sea of Japan. The countryside was pretty, although I can’t get Andrea to agree that mountain scenery is beautiful. We saw many rice fields along the way. It struck me how much manual labor is involved in the harvest. There were stalks that appeared to be hung over a wooden structure for drying and the only way they could have gotten there was by human labor. Another interesting thing we saw was what appeared to be a massive public works project, which we later learned was the construction of tracks for a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kanazawa. It was a huge concrete structure on concrete pillars that looked a bit like a monorail – and it is extending for what seems to be hundreds of miles. Maybe it is Japan’s version of the Big Dig – it must be massively expensive. It is scheduled for completion in 2014.

Our accommodations at the Asadaya Ryokan in Kanazawa are the real deal. We have a large room that consists of tatami mats and a table with two chair backs that sit directly on the floor with cushions. There is an alcove that looks into a little garden in which there are a couple of chairs and a table. They bring the futons in for sleeping while you are at dinner. On the whole, the room is very clean and spartan (of course, reminding me of home). One of the hostesses, dressed in kimono, greets you and takes care of you throughout your stay. Dinner was served in a separate tatami room and was a true Kaga Kaiseki, consisting of about 10 courses of incredibly delicious and exquisitely presented food. And it wasn’t just sushi or sashimi (although we did have some delicious sashimi). There was food cooked on a hot stone, thinly sliced beef cooked in a broth and a vinegared course of the equivalent of seviched, pickles and the like. And that was only a few of the courses. Breakfast was equally extraordinary (perhaps even more so). Pickles, rice, grilled fish, raw fish, eggplant – and that isn’t all. And all of them are served in beautiful lacquered bowls or gorgeous pottery and presented in the most beautiful way.

I went running this morning through the streets of Kanazawa. Although I saw scores of people of bikes (going to work and school), I didn’t see anyone else running. It occurred to me as well that I did not see a soul wearing a bike helmet. How odd is that in a country that is totally fixated on cleanliness? Isn’t head injury a little more important than a few harmless germs? If I could only get a little mojo going on helmet safety, and get the Bell or Giro franchise here, I’d be a rich man.

Sightseeing today, after spending more time than we would have chosen to cashing from travelers’ check. Banks in Japan are very interesting. There is a huge bullpen of people who are working away in plain sight as you sit waiting to do your transaction. The women are all dressed in uniform; the men are all in white shirts (or at least mostly so) but it doesn’t seem to be a uniform. It all seems very labor intensive.

As we got started, we were approached by a group of school children outside Kanazawa. They wanted to have their picture taken, which we proceeded to do. And then they insisted that I needed to be in the picture! I’ve posted the shot, with me as a regular goodwill ambassador.

The big draw in Kanazawa is Kenrokuen Garden, adjacent to Kanazawa Castle. It really is a spectacular garden. There are beautiful ponds, running water, monuments, trees, mosses, etc. The design is very peaceful, quiet and lush. We visited the Prefectural Museum of Arts and Crafts, which displays and explains local crafts. We attended a performance that was described as what happen in a typical “night on the town” in a geisha district. It was all quite traditional Japanese. The performance was participatory and the group was delighted to goad me up to the stage to beat the drums (picture posted). Many in the audience got up and participated and, as they say, a good time was had by all.

Finally on the tourist side, we visited the Samurai residence district, where many of the houses are still very well preserved. It all seemed very authentic and the late afternoon was a gorgeous time to be walking around. It would be trite (and not entirely true) to say that I felt transported back to the 17^th century, but it was a good feel.

Dinner in a few minutes. I will try to write down the entire menu and blog it later tonight.

A few loose ends

Andrea reminded me of a couple of things I needed to share.

Remembering that a broken light on our flight over last time yielded a couple hundred dollars of free vouchers, Andrea tried her best to find something comparably wrong on this flight. When her seat didn't fully recline, she called the flight attendant, who instead of demurely offering compensation proceeded to pull the seat apart to fix it! No luck there. She also froze the tv monitor at her seat, but the flight attendant reset the system. Oh well.

Our hotel in Nagano is quite nice. Western style, which is probably a good transition, with clean, comfortable beds and pillows. Internet access (which may be spotty at the ryokans at which we'll be staying). We won't be here long, as we are off this morning for Kanazawa.

I told Andrea that I would not blog about our breakfast, which we had at a non-descript coffee shop at the train station. She said that I should. It is typical in Japan for a coffee shop to offer Western-style breakfast "sets" for a fixed price. Ours included some scrambled eggs (with a dab of ketchup), a small piece of ham (which Andrea refers to as "the requisite slice of pig"), yogurt with some granola-like topping and honey, white toast, coffee and a type of fruit juice the taste of which neither of us could recognize. Not haute cuisine, to be sure, but portion-controlled and perfectly fine - all for 500 yen each (about $6). The coffee was actually quite good. There will be plenty of fish, miso and pickles for breakfast at the ryokans.

We're Here

Our journey began when we got into a cab on Tuesday morning at 5:30 am to head to Logan Airport. It ended 27 hours later when we got off the Shinkansen at Nagano Station and walked to our hotel. The trip involved planes, trains, buses and our own two feet. But we are here.

Our flight path took us far to the north and we were able to confirm that Alaska is indeed close to Russia.

We are tired and so I'll make this quick. A couple of observations. First, when was the last domestic flight you took in which the entire crew of flight attendants bowed in the front of the cabin as the trip began? That is how our flight to Tokyo began. Second, presentation matters. From the person from whom you purchased your train ticket, to the cashier exchanging your currency to the flight attendant bringing you your meal, they present you with what they are giving you in a way that is totally unfamiliar in American culture. Indeed we in the US are fortunate that some surly type unhappy with his or her job doesn't simply grunt and shove something back across the counter. I like the respect that the presentation shows for the act that is being undertaken.

Enough on the cultural observations. More later.

En Route (or the equivalent in Japanese)

First leg of the journey is complete. We left the house at 5:30 this morning (Andrea was not somnambulant) and are now at Dulles Airport. As the plane touched down and while taxiing to the gate, it was all I could do to prevent reaching to turn on my Blackberry (think Peter Sellers' right arm in Dr. Strangelove). But I am on vacation; connectedness can wait. We board our flight to Tokyo in about an hour. More from the other side of the world . . . .

Getting Ready

It would be wonderful if we could just snap our fingers and be packed, the house secured and ready to board our flight. The tension level is at a simmer, but the trend is definitely towards a rolling boil! We just need to get through the next couple of days, get on the plane, and then whatever is will be. But until then . . . .