OK, back to Kyoto! Robin and I met up there after separate side trips from Hiroshima: she wanted to see Himeji Castle and I wanted to see the Mazda assembly line. Kyoto was a great place to spend our last few days in Japan. I took Robin to Kurama and Kibune, we visited some of…
Month: February 2010
Tea in Masuda
Masuda! Out in the wilds of Shimane prefecture, the least populated in Japan, this small town was a big change from Tokyo. Robin and I headed out there on a complicated series of shinkansen then a pokey local train to stay with Caroline, a couchsurfer. After finding Caroline’s place, about a 15 minute walk from…
Emergency sleeping in Japan
Robin and I are crazy but not insane – our love hotel adventure wasn’t actually all that risky. We fortunately didn’t have to use any of these, but there are many emergency sleeping options in the nightlife areas of large Japanese cities: Capsule hotels. Usually for men only, although some women-only or mixed places are…
Blogging notes
A few notes on my travel blogging: I’m not going to be putting photos in my blog entries for the next while. It just takes too much time in front of a computer, and entries get posted a lot later as a result too. You can see my latest photos on flickr (and I’ll try…
Hikoning in Hakone
Robin wanted to try some onsen and see Mount Fuji, so we headed to Tokyo’s famous Hakone mountain resort area to do just that. It’s also an interesting region from a transit point of view. JR only serves the nearby city of Odawara, so from there you need to use the private Odakyu railway. From…
REVIEW: Yamato Transport Company
LOGO: 9/10. It’s a mother cat carrying a kitten! This logo is everywhere in Japan, as recognizable to Japanese people as the Coca Cola logo. 1 point off because the logo on their vehicles is usually fairly small. URL: 10/10. kuronekoyamato.co.jp. It means "Black Cat Yamoto", not something boring like "Yamato Transport Company" like you…
A week in Tokyo
I’ve been a bit busy since Robin arrived… that’s a good thing :) Last Thursday, we visited Kapabashi-dori, the kitchenware district of Tokyo, so Robin could see the plastic food. Many restaurants have plastic food in the windows (as advertising, but it also makes it relatively easy for foreigners to order) and it’s one of…
Robin is here!
Robin is here! Robin arrived a few hours ago today. I took the train (Keisei Skyliner) out to Narita in time to see her 777 touch down from the observation deck, then headed down to arrivals. Yay! She’s now sleeping off the jetlag, so I have time to upload photos and blog entries…
Home to Tokyo
On the last day of almost any adventure (long or short, awesome or fail) I just want to get home. Tokyo feels like home to me for the time being. It’s been my base in Japan and it’s the only place in the world where there’s an apartment rented in my name. I showed up…
Last few adventures
This morning I said goodbye to Kyushu, Nagasaki, and the worst hotel in Japan (must write to Lonely Planet about that one too) and got on a train for Shimonoseki. Shimonoseki is the fugu (blowfish or globefish) capital of Japan so my mission was obvious. Fugu, it turns out, is delicious but also pricy (chefs…
Usuki; Train to Nagasaki
Usuki was great. The stone Buddhas are worth a side trip if you’re ever nearby. One of them looked like he may open his eyes at any moment and say something. Not sure I’d understand a 1000 year old dialect of Japanese though so it’s just as well that he didn’t. Is Usuki worth a…
Beppu and Onwards
I’m on a trainset called the Hyper Saloon Inter City. Later today I’m taking the Sonic Limited Express 40. Japan has the best train names evar. Also the best trains, hands down (sorry Germany and France.) The only downside I’ve found (apart from the cost if you don’t have a Japan Railpass) is that there…
Can has Cat Mountain?
Onwards from Sakurajima: I took the train from Kagoshima to Kumamoto and spent the evening in town. Historically, that’s an interesting combination because of Saigo Takamori. He was an important figure in the Meiji Restoration, during which Japan restored contact with the rest of the world and consolidated government power under the emperor as a…
Active volcano!
The next morning it was raining and I was hung over, so I borrowed an umbrella, bought some coffee from the vending machine, and went back to bed for a few hours. After that, I went to the train station and rented a bike. JR have managed to make renting bikes more complicated than renting…
Beware the Orange Lanterns
On my last night in Kagoshima, I decided to try imo-jochu, a local specialty. I walked out of the place I was staying and went about half a block to the first orange lantern. Orange lanterns can mean many things in Japan but usually they mean an izakaya, which is a traditional Japanese pub. There…
Kaimon
I climbed Kaimon Dake. It was a far more strenuous climb than Kibune and Kurama, but worth it for the views and the simple joy of climbing. There is a small shrine at the top of the mountain. I think the spirit enshrined there is an alcoholic. Instead of the usual coin box, there were…
Ibusuki
There’s only one reason for most people to go to Ibusuki: the sandbath – the only natural one in the world. There’s a section of sand along the beach that’s heated by volcanic steam. You can get buried in the hot sand and lie there for as long as you like. It feels about how…
Cat fail, train win
You may have heard of cat cafés – a uniquely Japanese phenomenon where you pay by the hour to visit cats in a comfortable living room-like setting. I’ve been meaning to visit one. Apparently there’s one in Kyoto but a combination of poor Internet access and train schedules prevented me from getting directions in time…
Yamayaki at Nara
I found out that there was a fire festival on Saturday in Nara – an ancient capital of Japan close to Kyoto and Osaka. I decided to go to Nara for the day, then head to Osaka at night as originally planned. Nara is strange. According to local legend, the god Sento rode to Nara…