Kurashiki, the venice of the east

Fresh from the peaceful garden of Ritsurin, we came back on Honsu int he afternoon to go a bit north of Okayama to explore Kurashiki, the Venice of the east. To me it was attractive for its specialty of indigo dye and the architecture of the old store houses. The canals also gave an interesting atmosphere while wandering about in the Bikan historical center.

 


 







There is a lot of walking when visiting, so there is no hesitation to get any snack. We also came across major houses with massive entrances.



At some point a Japanese lady started talking to me and we had a chat until she asked where we were from...it was fun to know I look like I was from Okinawa. I was flattered she thought so for 1min30s. But I guess I did not have the exotic accent so she became intrigued.

Still I went into so many shops in Kurashiki and bought only peanuts that it was a lovely treat. This is a place to revisit with more focus on local crafts. I am sure there are workshops to visit an experience the indigo fabrics (Kojima denim)

Takamatsu, my first steps on Shikoku island

With racing heart and wide eyes, I came to Takamatsu, over the short tunnel and long train bridge over the sea with its naruto foiling inexperienced sailors. And because in the train and on the bridge I am not skilled enough to take decent pictures, only my  memory will paint it for my eyes.

 

Shikoku station is much welcoming, and I have no memory of how we got to the garden, though you can get to it by train or 2km walk. We probably walked and window shopped, stopping at every show with aaahs and ooohs. And being autumn, chrysantemum sculptures were displayed at the entrance as well.

 

 

Ritsurin garden felt a bit more compact and intimate. Lots of viewepoints and romatic rendez vous niche to have secret conversations and potting. It is a historical garden apparently, from the 17th century as well. Those feudal lords sure had some taste. Or really liked gardening.

 

The water formed a natural walking path around it, while the view beyond reinforced the natural elements and blur the line between the man made garden and the forest on the hills.

There is a boat tour, with special hats, and lots of huge koi fishes in the water. There are multiple cute buildings as well, used as tea houses, museum, to rest. And of course the classic elements of Japanese gardens: stone bridges in different forms, shaped pine trees.

 

I enjoyed the different play in lights  on the water in this garden. There was an infinite play of colours between the variants of greens, black and browns, but also the orange of the leaves.

 

Of course there was an element of cute among us, and truly beautiful. I would say it is a playful garden, with plenty of poetry and meditation done.

 

Okayama momotaro potholes, chrysantemums and Kōraku-en

After 2 nights in Hiroshima, we moved on to Okayama, still in Chugoku region  but in Okayama prefecture. It is a short train trip north of Hiroshima and has an international airport deserving South Korea and neighbour countries. We met lots of cabin crews at breakfast. Okayama would be our base for a few days as well while we explore the prefecture and even Shikoku island.

Okayama is famous for several things that cannot be avoided while in town: The famous story of Momotaro (short video here), and one the top 3 landscape gardens of Japan (Kōraku-en) across from Okayama castle.

The walk from the hotel was quite nice, going through some residential areas, coming up to a river and flooding zone that kind of acted like a moat to the castle and garden area. So the garden was on this huge mount of ground that looked like a green  island on the river. I don't know if one can walk around on the edges of it. There was a combined ticket with the castle but we only took the ticket for the garden (about $4).

It is a large garden with huge lawns, but also areas with tea plantation, rice paddies, cherry, plums, and of course fun stone bridges and lots of autumn leaves.

 

The views were fairly modern and diverse with different moods, to think it was done in the 17th century...

 

As most gardens, people use the different viewpoints and we came across our first wedding from afar. The bride was wearing her white kimono (uchikake and headdress) and the party was in full formal sober kimono.

There was a building with a stage and we happened to see a story told, probably of Momotaro

Besides Momotaro is everywhere when you look where you walk. He impersonates every here in town.

 

We also checked out the restaurant next to the castle after taking pictures with a ginko tree in its full yellow autumn leaves.  We spent some time exploring around the hotel for a quiet stroll, discovering the malls, bars and shopping areas. Not being far from the train station, the area was modern but not too hectic. As a matter of fact it felt like a Sunday though it was a weekday, maybe because people live mainly outside the centre of town.

For diner, mom and I had the local specialty: A fantastic dinner of bara sushi set. You cannot be on a diet on a trip to Japan.

 

And shortly after dinner I got a Skype interview for a possible job with Medecin sans frontieres.

Japan 2015 - logistics of travelling with parents

This was the highlight of the year, and one of my greatest life achievement: Between two jobs, I took my parents to Japan. I could afford so with the sudden exchange rate crash at the beginning of the year (airfare was suddenly 20% cheaper).

 

And so the whole year was excitedly spent in planing for this autumn trip. This would be my first trip with company in Japan, and I had to budget for 2 hotel rooms most of times, or a double or large room in minshuku. The Japan rail pass was of course used for all transportation, and the main meal of the day was breakfast, usually included in the accommodation.

The challenges were many:
-keeping a comfortable pace of traveling as there are much to see, and we have different rhythms
-selecting sights and activities that capture the local customs and spirit (zen, megalopolis, matsuri, onsen, food)
-satisfying their interests (Japanese gardens, industries, temples, markets, castles, trains, etc..)
-trying to experience something I have not experienced or seen yet.

Of course the trip sightseeing was great, but what was amazing and unexpected was also how I discovered and enjoyed my parents reactions. It was my parents' first trip in Asia and I was not aware of their expectations or prejudices. So it was with much amusement, laughter and sometimes incredulity that I experienced their wide eyed reactions or comments.



Resources and tips:
Thanks to Japan tourism website, all the major sights were covered using the Japan railpass for 2 weeks.

Since my previous trips were all traveling south from Tokyo, this time the itinerary was from Hiroshima traveling to Tokyo on Honshu island, with a quick side trip to Shikoku island. We would cover one city/town per day in average, and no more than 2 planned activities to allow for leisure exploring and getting lost, covering architecture (temples, castles), town histories, Japanese gardens, and Japanese factories.

We planned to but did not send our luggage (one suitcase and rucksack each) from the Kansai airport to the hotel by TAQ-BIN upon arrival, while we find our way. But we used the service from Okayama hands free travel counter in the train station to our hotel in Kyoto, and again from Nagoya to Tokyo. We traveled on a rucksack only to the onsen as there were bus travel from Kobe.

I also made sure we were not changing hotel everyday, but settles in a strategic town and explore the surroundings in daytrips:
Hiroshima based
Okayama based
Kyoto based
Nagoya based
Tokyo based


What to pack? For the season layered warm clothes are best. Of course my parents had to pack their medication. But other than that we could find everything else from the many kombini (convenient stores).


Itinerary
Landing in Osaka Kansai airport
Hiroshima - peace park and eating historical street food in Okonomimura
Miyajima - Itsukushima shrine and old town
Okayama - Kourakuen
Takamatsu - Ritsurin koen
Kurashiki - merchant warehouse and strolling along canals
Himeji - climbing a martial architecture world heritage castle
Kobe-Arima onsen - buying a suit and omotenashi experience in 7th century onsen town
Kyoto - history and culture strolling in the west capital
Osaka - Shin Osaka and wet market
Nagoya - minshuku stay and impromptu Toyota museum visit
Shizuoka - views from Nihondaira ropeway to Kunozan Toshogu shrine
Tokyo - Eating sushi in Tsukuji at 4am and Kagurazaka matsuri
Leaving from Narita airport

Accomodations
Hiroshima: Chisun Hotel Hiroshima
Okayama: Okayama Koraku hotel
Arima onsen: Hana Koyado
Kyoto: APA Hotel Gion
Higashiyama airbnb (Kyoto Amanogawa)
Nagoya: Kyoya Ryokan
Tokyo:
Mercure Ginza
The B Ikebukuro