Japan
Content
JAPAN
Land of Rising Sun!
As said by the Author:
Graphic Novels are a
religion, coffee is my
elixir, travel is a passion
and travel logging,
photography and
cycling keeps me busy
over the weekends!
Contact Details:
Harshal Shah
[email protected]
Articles on
Lazysuitcase:
Japan
W
e were on a short getaway to the farthest east before the east
becomes the west... People say that Japan is an expensive place to travel
to but lo and behold, what we discovered when we got there is difficult to
describe in words… all I can say is ‘expensive’ is a relative term,
especially when you add the ‘value’ and ‘uniqueness of experience’
filters!
Day 1 - Tokyo bound
The UA flight 78 from Hong Kong wasn't as bad as I had imagined. The
hostesses would definitely give our domestic airline ‘aunties’ a run for
their money but the flight in itself was ok. Part of our Day 1 was spend in
transit and check-ins but we still had enough time for our maiden evening
in Ginza, which is where we were staying while in Tokyo. We had
booked The Park Hotel and got ourselves perched on the 29th floor
overlooking River Sumida and the Tsukiji Market along with views of
Tokyo tower and the Shimbashi station.
In the evening we strolled the streets of Ginza and Higashi Ginza areas,
ran into a huge 7 storey toy store(we were def coming back here), some
fancy stores equivalent of 5th avenue and other local shops. Dinner was
at a vegan joint that was most recommended by Lonely Planet - Cafe Ain
Soph. Very quaint and very homely.
Day 2 & 3: Kyoto
In the morning took the Nozomi Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo
station to Kyoto. It flies with an average of 200 km/hr and takes about 2
hours 15 minutes. With views of Mt. Fuji-San and some of the best ham,
tomato, cucumber and cheese sandwich I've ever had, it was indeed a
pleasurable ride. The Japs are indeed very hospitable and the silence in
the train was just too much! Can't imagine what would happen to a
Japanese tourist in an Indian local. Worse if a Kesri tour group turned up
in a Shinkansen! それは殺人だろう
Sore wa satsujindarou....
We stayed at the Citadines hotel, a short walk from the main Kyoto
railway station in Gojo. The skyline is dotted with shrines, the station
tower at the south and the Higashiyama mountain range to the east.
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Our day was filled with visiting numerous shrines and temples and if I
list them out (which I will for my own sake) they'll sound like some
chant. Shorenin, Chion in, Kodaiji, Kiyomizu dera, Yasaka Jinja - all in
the south Higashiyama area. We also walked through the Maruyama
Koen Park which was awesome! Two of the prettiest streets in the city
Sannen zaka and Ninen zaka were on our list and we meandered our
evening in the Gion area, east of the River Kamo. Ate some street food
around the temples to keep us going, highlight of which was the
Tokoyaki (fried balls of baby octopus). Dinner was at a place which
didn't have an English name, neither on its entrance, menu or for that
matter the cash receipt. So not much help there but some cold sake,
sapporo beer and tempura was the fancy fare! This inn we stumbled into
was no more than the size of our living room and run by this very sweet
couple who knew how to host us a wee bit better than they knew sign
language!
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and enjoy what fellow
travelers are discussing:
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Bonsai Garden, Kyoto
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Another day of sights to be seen and the day started with an interesting
set... Nanzenji and Eikan-do temples which were designed as retirement
villa's for Emperor Kameyama but were dedicated as Zen temples on his
death in 1291. Most of the Japanese shrines are made of wood thus over
decades they are burnt or broken down to rebuild replicas. Decaying
wood troubles I guess!!
The best part of the day was the walk on the PATH OF PHILOSOPHY...
30 minutes of contemplative strolling on a traffic free route next to a
canal lined with cherry trees all the way up to the Ginkaku-ji
Temple. When hunger struck again, we had a fine Japanese meal of miso
soup, mackerel sushi and pickles at a place called Omen. Prita got some
rice and veggies.
Next on our itinerary was a ride to the most visited attraction in Kyoto:
Kinkaku-ji The GOLDEN TEMPLE. Another retirement villa converted
to a temple for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. This awesome golden
structure is made with 3 styles of architecture (Shinden, Buke, Chinese
Zenshu-Butsuden). Overall Kinkaku is representative of Muromachi
period architecture. This was followed by a ride to NIJO CASTLE, which
is also a UNESCO world heritage site built in 1603 as the official Kyoto
residence of the 1st Tokugawa shogun, IEYASU of early EDO period
architecture. Last sightseeing spot was in Arashiyama area near the
Tenryu-ji temple. Here we spent maximum time in the main bamboo
groove, the famous dead ringer for the bamboo forest in the movie
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
We then started our long ride back to Shijo Teramachi near Nishiki
Market where we wanted to dine at the 'Nepali restaurant': Yak and Yeti.
What a fine spicy meal just to balance out all the Japanese fare from the
rest of the day... If an Indian, You know what I mean! The Gurkha cook
and the matron were a class act! We polished every morsel on the plate
and we have some pictures to tell the same.
どうもありがとうございました
Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita
Day 4@ the land of the rising sun.
With sunrise in bright and sunny Kyoto and a Shinkansen to catch ,we
dashed out to see one more temple: Nishi Honganji which is the largest
reconstructed temple of the Jodo Shin-Shu school of Buddhism. Our stay
at the Citadines was sterling. At the station before boarding for Tokyo,
we did the trip down the longest set of open air escalators (11 floors from
top to bottom) all in 1 direction. The station overlooks the Kyoto tower
from where the views of the flat plains of this region are astounding.
I must admit that the Shinkansen is truly a better way to travel than air.
Fast, punctual, cleaner than any mode of transport I've been in. And the
silence bereft of all the gujjus's. Oh! What peace and some quiet lunch on
the train.
Back at the Park hotel, we spent rest of the evening meandering in
Roppongi. One of my most favored areas of Tokyo, Roppongi houses the
newly formed Roppongi hills area which made its debut in 2003 and the
Tokyo tower - a slightly taller replica of the Eiffel tower. A knack to be
inspired by all international monuments, I was sure the Japs would have a
replica of The Taj Mahal for sure. I just had to look at the right place.
Starbucks (to my surprise) Vanilla latte and Mocha equipped, we
explored the labyrinth of Roppongi Hills, followed by a 2 km walk to see
Tokyo tower and get some views of the city landscape from the main
observatory. Headed back to Roppongi for an unique dining experience
of vegetable sushi (oh yes I did, and do I recommend it above all I've
eaten!)... The place is called vegetable sushi potager (how fancy?). After
searching high and low for it (quite literally), we found it just around the
Grand Hyatt Tokyo. This new restaurant (www.sushi-potager.com/en)
set up only 15 months back tops the chart on concept food. Our French
host Mathieu gave us a detailed explanation of each dish served up right
at the teppanyaki style table that we were perched at.
Day 5: Still on the Japanese cultural tour, we started the day in the
Imperial palace grounds. A pleasant walk through the gardens across the
moat and sighting. The royal family still resides in the palace, so only a
small section is left open for public to explore. Few of the highlights were
the guard houses where over 100 samurai stood guarding the palace
grounds (we of course weren't as lucky to see a samurai sword), a watch
tower where one could get a view of Mt. Fuji-San (now blocked by
numerous tall buildings) and a Garden where Iris flowers were in bloom
(borrowed from the nearby Meiji jingo). That pretty much sums up the
IMPERIAL palace.
Imperial Palace
We briefly explored the Ueno park and then spent our afternoon at the
largest and most visited shrine SensoJi amongst thousands of tourists,
followed by a serene cruise from Asakusa to the beautiful Hama Rikyu
Teien (created in 1654) which is known as the Detached palace garden.
This garden has 2 large ponds which were used for Duck Hunting in the
early 1800s. In 1935, they made a grave to console the spirits of the
ducks that were killed (I have nothing to comment!)
The evening was spent watching thousands cross the "Shibuya" main
crossing from a cozy Starbucks just opposite the Shibuya station. This
was after paying our respect to Hachiko's statue just outside the station.
Hachiko, if you may know, was a small Akita dog who accompanied his
master, a professor at Tokyo university, to Shibuya Station every
morning and returned every evening awaiting the professors return. A
day in 1925 the professor died of a stroke at the university and never
came home. Hachiko continued to turn up at the station every day to fetch
his master till his own death 10 years later. The locals built a statue in his
memory and this spot is quite a famous meeting spot for passengers at
Shibuya.
Day 6 |7 |8: Tokyo's unique vitality comes from the intertwining of its
time honored old with the variety of its new that covers it's various
districts. In comparison to Bombay where we see the rich and poor so
closely meshed with a slum jutting out of the corner of each high rise,
this big city is truly a melting pot of ages. From a Shinto shrine in the
middle of a large park at Meiji Jingu to the crazy Harajuku girls, from
champs élysées like newness at Omode Santo to the back alleys of
Kabukicho - the red light district in Shinjuku we saw and walked it all in
one afternoon.
A young man with a Prada phone in the metro, an old lady in a kimono
buying her daily groceries, a smiling doorman (awake and alert unlike the
ones we are used to), a bunch of young school children with 6" heals on
their sneakers, 20+ mothers with little babies at an organic cafe right next
to a 6 and a half foot sumo turned bouncer with punk like hair. Not to
forget the bunch of random tourists like us who tried to stay out of the
way of the daily hustle and bustle of this traditional hyper urban
cosmopolis...
Some subway wedges for breakfast, an organic Japanese lunch at Hiroba
cafe in Omode Santo, a financier and a nut truffle tart with a local custard
pancake at a fine 'Peltier' cafe, the best Macchiato and Cappuccino at
Sega Fredo, an Italian takeaway pento pouch with iced tea at a street side
Ninopanino cart at Harajuku, chilled Suntory draft and cold sake at
'Liumin' on golden gai, soupy dim-sums with Sakura Izumi Shochu at
'Tokyo Dai hasten'.... Is definitely a melting pot in both our stomachs.
Seems like one continuous food and drink binge but it was interspersed
with a lot of walking right through the neighbourhoods of Meiji Jingu,
Harajuku, Omode Santo, Shinjuku, Kabukicho, Golden Gai (housing the
tiniest pubs in the world, ‘Liumin’). Visited 2 shinto shrines: Meiji jingu
and hanazono jinja and a tad bit shopping at Tokyu hands, Kinokuniya,
Oriental bazaar.
Winding down from a week of shrine searching, veg. food hunting,
soaking in the varied sub-cultures and catching the pulse of this potpourri
of imperial and modern land of the samurai... We managed to get some
rest and relaxation starting a grey and drizzly Tokyo Saturday in the 7
story toy store!!
Cheers and thanks for tuning in…
[email protected]
Land of Rising Sun!
As said by the Author:
Graphic Novels are a
religion, coffee is my
elixir, travel is a passion
and travel logging,
photography and
cycling keeps me busy
over the weekends!
Contact Details:
Harshal Shah
[email protected]
Articles on
Lazysuitcase:
Japan
W
e were on a short getaway to the farthest east before the east
becomes the west... People say that Japan is an expensive place to travel
to but lo and behold, what we discovered when we got there is difficult to
describe in words… all I can say is ‘expensive’ is a relative term,
especially when you add the ‘value’ and ‘uniqueness of experience’
filters!
Day 1 - Tokyo bound
The UA flight 78 from Hong Kong wasn't as bad as I had imagined. The
hostesses would definitely give our domestic airline ‘aunties’ a run for
their money but the flight in itself was ok. Part of our Day 1 was spend in
transit and check-ins but we still had enough time for our maiden evening
in Ginza, which is where we were staying while in Tokyo. We had
booked The Park Hotel and got ourselves perched on the 29th floor
overlooking River Sumida and the Tsukiji Market along with views of
Tokyo tower and the Shimbashi station.
In the evening we strolled the streets of Ginza and Higashi Ginza areas,
ran into a huge 7 storey toy store(we were def coming back here), some
fancy stores equivalent of 5th avenue and other local shops. Dinner was
at a vegan joint that was most recommended by Lonely Planet - Cafe Ain
Soph. Very quaint and very homely.
Day 2 & 3: Kyoto
In the morning took the Nozomi Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo
station to Kyoto. It flies with an average of 200 km/hr and takes about 2
hours 15 minutes. With views of Mt. Fuji-San and some of the best ham,
tomato, cucumber and cheese sandwich I've ever had, it was indeed a
pleasurable ride. The Japs are indeed very hospitable and the silence in
the train was just too much! Can't imagine what would happen to a
Japanese tourist in an Indian local. Worse if a Kesri tour group turned up
in a Shinkansen! それは殺人だろう
Sore wa satsujindarou....
We stayed at the Citadines hotel, a short walk from the main Kyoto
railway station in Gojo. The skyline is dotted with shrines, the station
tower at the south and the Higashiyama mountain range to the east.
Sign-up with us on
www.lazysuitcase.com
& enjoy more coverage
on New Zealand and
other destinations:
City Tips
Hotels
Flights
Car Rentals
Activities
Travel Diaries
Travel Packages
Hidden Gems
Tips & Tricks
Our day was filled with visiting numerous shrines and temples and if I
list them out (which I will for my own sake) they'll sound like some
chant. Shorenin, Chion in, Kodaiji, Kiyomizu dera, Yasaka Jinja - all in
the south Higashiyama area. We also walked through the Maruyama
Koen Park which was awesome! Two of the prettiest streets in the city
Sannen zaka and Ninen zaka were on our list and we meandered our
evening in the Gion area, east of the River Kamo. Ate some street food
around the temples to keep us going, highlight of which was the
Tokoyaki (fried balls of baby octopus). Dinner was at a place which
didn't have an English name, neither on its entrance, menu or for that
matter the cash receipt. So not much help there but some cold sake,
sapporo beer and tempura was the fancy fare! This inn we stumbled into
was no more than the size of our living room and run by this very sweet
couple who knew how to host us a wee bit better than they knew sign
language!
Join us on Social Media
and enjoy what fellow
travelers are discussing:
Just Click below!
www.facebook.com/lazysuitca
se
Bonsai Garden, Kyoto
www.twitter.com/lazysuitcase
www.linkedin.com/company/l
azysuitcase
Another day of sights to be seen and the day started with an interesting
set... Nanzenji and Eikan-do temples which were designed as retirement
villa's for Emperor Kameyama but were dedicated as Zen temples on his
death in 1291. Most of the Japanese shrines are made of wood thus over
decades they are burnt or broken down to rebuild replicas. Decaying
wood troubles I guess!!
The best part of the day was the walk on the PATH OF PHILOSOPHY...
30 minutes of contemplative strolling on a traffic free route next to a
canal lined with cherry trees all the way up to the Ginkaku-ji
Temple. When hunger struck again, we had a fine Japanese meal of miso
soup, mackerel sushi and pickles at a place called Omen. Prita got some
rice and veggies.
Next on our itinerary was a ride to the most visited attraction in Kyoto:
Kinkaku-ji The GOLDEN TEMPLE. Another retirement villa converted
to a temple for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. This awesome golden
structure is made with 3 styles of architecture (Shinden, Buke, Chinese
Zenshu-Butsuden). Overall Kinkaku is representative of Muromachi
period architecture. This was followed by a ride to NIJO CASTLE, which
is also a UNESCO world heritage site built in 1603 as the official Kyoto
residence of the 1st Tokugawa shogun, IEYASU of early EDO period
architecture. Last sightseeing spot was in Arashiyama area near the
Tenryu-ji temple. Here we spent maximum time in the main bamboo
groove, the famous dead ringer for the bamboo forest in the movie
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
We then started our long ride back to Shijo Teramachi near Nishiki
Market where we wanted to dine at the 'Nepali restaurant': Yak and Yeti.
What a fine spicy meal just to balance out all the Japanese fare from the
rest of the day... If an Indian, You know what I mean! The Gurkha cook
and the matron were a class act! We polished every morsel on the plate
and we have some pictures to tell the same.
どうもありがとうございました
Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita
Day 4@ the land of the rising sun.
With sunrise in bright and sunny Kyoto and a Shinkansen to catch ,we
dashed out to see one more temple: Nishi Honganji which is the largest
reconstructed temple of the Jodo Shin-Shu school of Buddhism. Our stay
at the Citadines was sterling. At the station before boarding for Tokyo,
we did the trip down the longest set of open air escalators (11 floors from
top to bottom) all in 1 direction. The station overlooks the Kyoto tower
from where the views of the flat plains of this region are astounding.
I must admit that the Shinkansen is truly a better way to travel than air.
Fast, punctual, cleaner than any mode of transport I've been in. And the
silence bereft of all the gujjus's. Oh! What peace and some quiet lunch on
the train.
Back at the Park hotel, we spent rest of the evening meandering in
Roppongi. One of my most favored areas of Tokyo, Roppongi houses the
newly formed Roppongi hills area which made its debut in 2003 and the
Tokyo tower - a slightly taller replica of the Eiffel tower. A knack to be
inspired by all international monuments, I was sure the Japs would have a
replica of The Taj Mahal for sure. I just had to look at the right place.
Starbucks (to my surprise) Vanilla latte and Mocha equipped, we
explored the labyrinth of Roppongi Hills, followed by a 2 km walk to see
Tokyo tower and get some views of the city landscape from the main
observatory. Headed back to Roppongi for an unique dining experience
of vegetable sushi (oh yes I did, and do I recommend it above all I've
eaten!)... The place is called vegetable sushi potager (how fancy?). After
searching high and low for it (quite literally), we found it just around the
Grand Hyatt Tokyo. This new restaurant (www.sushi-potager.com/en)
set up only 15 months back tops the chart on concept food. Our French
host Mathieu gave us a detailed explanation of each dish served up right
at the teppanyaki style table that we were perched at.
Day 5: Still on the Japanese cultural tour, we started the day in the
Imperial palace grounds. A pleasant walk through the gardens across the
moat and sighting. The royal family still resides in the palace, so only a
small section is left open for public to explore. Few of the highlights were
the guard houses where over 100 samurai stood guarding the palace
grounds (we of course weren't as lucky to see a samurai sword), a watch
tower where one could get a view of Mt. Fuji-San (now blocked by
numerous tall buildings) and a Garden where Iris flowers were in bloom
(borrowed from the nearby Meiji jingo). That pretty much sums up the
IMPERIAL palace.
Imperial Palace
We briefly explored the Ueno park and then spent our afternoon at the
largest and most visited shrine SensoJi amongst thousands of tourists,
followed by a serene cruise from Asakusa to the beautiful Hama Rikyu
Teien (created in 1654) which is known as the Detached palace garden.
This garden has 2 large ponds which were used for Duck Hunting in the
early 1800s. In 1935, they made a grave to console the spirits of the
ducks that were killed (I have nothing to comment!)
The evening was spent watching thousands cross the "Shibuya" main
crossing from a cozy Starbucks just opposite the Shibuya station. This
was after paying our respect to Hachiko's statue just outside the station.
Hachiko, if you may know, was a small Akita dog who accompanied his
master, a professor at Tokyo university, to Shibuya Station every
morning and returned every evening awaiting the professors return. A
day in 1925 the professor died of a stroke at the university and never
came home. Hachiko continued to turn up at the station every day to fetch
his master till his own death 10 years later. The locals built a statue in his
memory and this spot is quite a famous meeting spot for passengers at
Shibuya.
Day 6 |7 |8: Tokyo's unique vitality comes from the intertwining of its
time honored old with the variety of its new that covers it's various
districts. In comparison to Bombay where we see the rich and poor so
closely meshed with a slum jutting out of the corner of each high rise,
this big city is truly a melting pot of ages. From a Shinto shrine in the
middle of a large park at Meiji Jingu to the crazy Harajuku girls, from
champs élysées like newness at Omode Santo to the back alleys of
Kabukicho - the red light district in Shinjuku we saw and walked it all in
one afternoon.
A young man with a Prada phone in the metro, an old lady in a kimono
buying her daily groceries, a smiling doorman (awake and alert unlike the
ones we are used to), a bunch of young school children with 6" heals on
their sneakers, 20+ mothers with little babies at an organic cafe right next
to a 6 and a half foot sumo turned bouncer with punk like hair. Not to
forget the bunch of random tourists like us who tried to stay out of the
way of the daily hustle and bustle of this traditional hyper urban
cosmopolis...
Some subway wedges for breakfast, an organic Japanese lunch at Hiroba
cafe in Omode Santo, a financier and a nut truffle tart with a local custard
pancake at a fine 'Peltier' cafe, the best Macchiato and Cappuccino at
Sega Fredo, an Italian takeaway pento pouch with iced tea at a street side
Ninopanino cart at Harajuku, chilled Suntory draft and cold sake at
'Liumin' on golden gai, soupy dim-sums with Sakura Izumi Shochu at
'Tokyo Dai hasten'.... Is definitely a melting pot in both our stomachs.
Seems like one continuous food and drink binge but it was interspersed
with a lot of walking right through the neighbourhoods of Meiji Jingu,
Harajuku, Omode Santo, Shinjuku, Kabukicho, Golden Gai (housing the
tiniest pubs in the world, ‘Liumin’). Visited 2 shinto shrines: Meiji jingu
and hanazono jinja and a tad bit shopping at Tokyu hands, Kinokuniya,
Oriental bazaar.
Winding down from a week of shrine searching, veg. food hunting,
soaking in the varied sub-cultures and catching the pulse of this potpourri
of imperial and modern land of the samurai... We managed to get some
rest and relaxation starting a grey and drizzly Tokyo Saturday in the 7
story toy store!!
Cheers and thanks for tuning in…
[email protected]
