Still enjoying clement weather in Shirakawa-go

I was woken up by the cluttering of cups in the next door room. My room was next to the dining room, and breakfast was ready by 7:30am...I tossed a bit more in bed before giving up to curiosity. To my stupor, there was more to eat than at the previous dinner! I did my best...though I couldn't eat all the pickles.
After lazing up in my warm room and enjoying the view from my window, I started out to walk around the village. The hostess forced me to bring one of her umbrellas as she said the weather was going to be bad. She pointed outside up the hills and they were covered in snow!
 And so I climbed up to the point of view, greeting all the old and bent people I met in the still sleepy village at 9:00
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I managed to run out of battery in the middle of a photo, so had to rely on my phone for the rest of the day. The phone itself only had 20% left of battery so I was glad to go to Tokyo in the evening. Nevertheless, the village was very pleasant and started to get crowded with Japanese tourists by 10:00. I met a couple of Americans, a few Indonesians and lots of Japanese...Most foreigners I met did the Tokyo-Hakone-Kanazawa-Shirakawa-Kyoto route.

By 11:30 i was tired and ready to lunch, but Is till haven't found the relocated village. Because a dam had to be built, they saved a few houses after much pleading and relocated them into a live museum in Shirakawa-go. This museum is next to the bus stop.

 

 

 

I did my best with my poor phone and even managed to take pictures of myself on the bouncy pedestrian bridge that connects the village to the bus stop..

 

 

The ryokan I stayed overnight

Exploring Hida in Takayama

On Wednesday I leave Tokyo in the morning to go further north and inland to the remote Gifu prefecture.

 

Kyoto main train station

 

It is another 4h trip, changing in Nagoya and riding along magnificent views of a river and surrounding fall colours. I was a bit stressing out that I will miss the bus from Takayama to Shirakawa-go, because I didn't really want to arrive during the night since I have no idea how to get to the hotel. But in Takayama I found it easily next to the station. Even better, I had 1h45min to kill in Takayama and most sights were withing 20min walk.

 

So I saw the small temple and its 1200year ginkgo tree in fiery colour, the old merchants houses, and ate mini tayaki and a meat bun. Takayama is located in the Hida region, which is famous for its beef as well, some special soba noodles and hida miso soup.

 

 

And so after much walking around, I boarded the bus for Shirakawa-go, which rode through many tunnels as we got to see the Japanese Alps..

 

 

Only 50min on the highway, we arrived at Shirakawa-go, and I had barely 5min of daylight to get a first impression of this UNESCO classified World Heritage village.

 

But mot impressive of all was the unexpected dinner prepared  by the ryokan owner, with local vegetables she grows locally. I even had a taste of the hida beef...

Autumn in Arashiyama

 So I was out of the hotel at 08:35 and caught the bus to Arashiyama, west of Kyoto an home of zen temple Tenryu-ji and the bamboo grove I saw last year. This time the colours of autumn were in full force and the view magnificent.

The zen garden was so painfully romantic. I saw the bare cherry trees and can only imagine the splendor in spring.

 

By noon I was in another bus, going across town to take me back to Kyoto train station, and I could send some postcards and eat some ebi yempura donburi (shrimp tempura with rice bowl).

The I hopped on the 100 bus I used to take last year to ride through Kyumizu area on Higashiyama dori, up to the Heian shrine.

My destination was reached: Kyoto craft centre. It does feel like a toutist trap as I only came across foreign tourists. But it is a one stop shop for everuthing Kyoto, even if there are much variety in town. I acquired a maiko kimono... Since I really cannot wear those short sleeved ones that are for married women!

Breakfast of champions

Miso soup with lemon and mushroom
A sunny side up egg and a slice of salmon
Salad of greens with fried onions
Rice
Tea
Pickles
Ate it all...

Shopping in Kyoto

So i woke up pretty smoothly hearing the shuffle in the corridor, to realize it was 8:49 when my alarm was set to 8:00. Checking it out, I realized the weekend alarm was on but not the weekdays one. I still had time until checkout so I sorted out my things to be used for the next 3 days.
Taking the train was a breeze and the silent car was most welcomed to sleep in.
Arriving at Kyoto station at 12:54 I only got my suitcase sent to my hotel in Tokyo at 14:00 after all the big size lockers were found full and another luggage service only delivered in Kyoto prefecture.
After a nice hot matcha latte, I set out for the ryokan off shijo dori, the main shopping srrret equivalent to Oxford street or 5th avenue. I can boast in sleeping behind the Louis Vuitton shop!
After dropping off my small bag and unfolding a larger one,  I was ready to test my plastic money.

Nishiki market

 

Looking for facewash

 

One of the sign entrance to Teramachi, another shopping avenue

 Pickles, pickles..

In the evening, the mission was to snap pictures in Gion an grab some local food. I settled on okonomiyaki and helped some french tourists to navigate the menu. Somehow I always end up being a tourist guide.

 

Weird wishes on prayer tablets hanging in the okonomiyaki shop

On the way back, I stumbled on a street with lots of host and hostess clubs. Funnily enough the street name is kyamachi dori ( Japanese fans go kyaaaa when they scream of excitement, and machi means town)
There is also an area where there are only bars.

But I went on to Gion watch some maiko leave their work at around 21:00. I knew there were going to be a sighting because a hide of taxis were stationed waiting for their patrons to exit the different restaurants. Seriously thiugh, these ladies walk so fast you'd have to run after them to get a proper picture. Maybe tomorrow I will have the strength...

 

Looking for the Gods in Izumo-Taisha

I wok up at 03:00am this morning, completely jet lagged still. But I had set my alarm to wake up at 8 so I did my best to go back to sleep...and failed. I napped a bit around 5, but was awake again by 7, seeing the daylight outside and hearing the occupant of the next room wake up and move about her room. She was out by 7:30. They really have an early start over here.

I understood why when I got to the train station and asked to get the tickets and route to Izumo-shi. The clerk asked his colleague and the colleague spent the next 15min in a huge book. I kind of wanted to give up and do the area instead maybe, but I felt bad giving up after he desperately looked for it after 15min. Finally, he emerged and gave me more than I expected. In addition to the train name and schedule he even gave me the platform numbers of arrival and departure!!

And so off I went, very pleased at 9:15 to catch the Hikari again to Okayama...Looking at my tickets I finally realize it would take me 4h to get to Izumo-shi station! I could have left at 4am really.

From Okayama, another train took me across, from the Pacific ocean to the Sea of Japan, passing by Niimi midway, Yunago and Matsue. I arrived at 13:05 in Yazumo-shi and fromt here I had to take another bus for 20min...it was worth it though, as the shrine was not crowded and I could get a nice view of the premises. I am not sure I can get such a view in Ise shrines.

 It is also a popular place for weddings, and for throwing coins in the thatched cords to bring luck I think.

 

I bought an omikuji for 100yen, which is the cheapest souvenir ever so far, but when I asked the miko to explain if it was good or bad. She started up blabbing and I smiled and stared blankly as I even understood less of what she was saying. So I thanked her and left wondering, whether or not to hang the paper for the bad things to be gone with the wind like these:

 

Because I didn't know how to tie it down, I took it home. i will have it translated somehow. It cannot be too bad because the only thing I understood from the miko was that it is 50/50. For those wondering what a miko is, they're young women working as priestesses or helpers at the shrine.

 

Finally, it was time to return to Izumo-shi by bus, because I was getting worried there wouldn't be any trains left for Hiroshima, if it would take me another 4h to get back. Luck struck as I managed to rush into the train going to Yamaguchi,  along the western coastline, so I was guaranteed a sunset on the Sea of Japan, and would finish my loop of the day.

 

Tomorrow I m leaving the Hiroshima area and will journey northward. Today was a nice day viewing the colors of autumn in the valley of middle Honshu.

Hiroshima

Landing at Kansai International Airport at exactly 9:34am on Saturday, my luggage was searched after the customs officer asked me in Japanese and I answered that it was for 'tourism'. of course he was suspicious, or at least intrigued since I had a French passport, and spoke Japanese, and it wasn't my first entry int he country. Nevertheless he searched everywhere except in the side pocket where I had my Swiss knife and a thread and needle to mend any hemline...Well, at least we made conversation:)

I then made my way to the JR pass window and conducted a whole 'conversation' in Japanese to get the pass and the ticket to Hiroshima. I was impressed myself since I haven't spoken properly for one year and a half! But again, it mostly consited of "onegai shimasu",  "hai, hai" and finally "arigatou gozaimasu". Still I was so convincing the clerk didn't attempt even once to speak in English....:)

I realized it's only 1h30 from Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima. That means I will take my time to get to Kyoto on Monday. The express train from the airport to Shin-Osaka left with the cleaning staff cutely waving at the train as it sped off the platform to its destination. I missed a great photo, and even a great video.

I then rembered how cheerful and helpful people are in this country. It is a source of inspiration in term of services. I wish it were like this everywhere. The Hikari Shinkansen stopped at Kobe, Okayama, Fukuyama I think , before getting to Hiroshima. I still enjoy the fact that the ticket controller bows to the whole carriage to greet the customers, and bows again when finished checking everyone in the carriage. It is also thoughtful that all the seats are turned facing forward in the direction of the train, so that everyone is going forward.

In Hiroshima station information office, someone misunderstood my Japanese and gave me a map in English instead. I hadn't eaten since 8:am local time, and I was tired playing treasure hunt (deciphering the signs to find my way in town). So I climbed up in a taxi, and 10min later I was at my hotel.

Dropped my bags and was told to return for check-in at 15:00. Well I had about 1h30 to kill so I proceeded to walk along the Aioi Dori, on main street with lots of department stores (Mitsukoshi, Tokyu Hands, Tenmaya, Fukuya, etc..) and ended up feeling festive about Christmas with all the shop jingles and decorations. And then I got to the Peace Memorial Park and the Gembaku Dome (A-bomb dome):

 

The cenotaph has colorful and poignant paper crane.

 

It made me think how tragic it must have been, and how the children on their schooltrip must assimilate the event somehow. On that sad note, I decided to find the Hiroshima castle, before heading out for food before my body collapse.

When approaching the castle compounds, I realized I stumbled on a chrysanthemum flower show. It was quite amazing and I remembered it is the season. One episode of Japanology is entirely dedicated to this flower.

 

There were all sorts, even the bonsai ones that were so cute.

 

Impressed by so much craft and hard work, my body finally aknowledged its weakness and I stumbled away fromt he castle, only seeing its outer donjon.

 

I grabbed some food and feasted on 2 bentos at the hotel.  Tomorrow I will eat out. For now, I need my beauty sleep.