Okayama to Takamatsu to Imabari to Onomichi to Tokyo
Mitaka: Studio Ghibli Museum
Emperor's Garden, Tskiji Market, Sailor Moon, & Capsule Hotel
Kimi Ryokan
Tokyo Shopping and Flight to Seattle
Here is a map of the route we took and the exact places. Wow did we make it far during our first week. We were traveling at the speed of a Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train)! Sadly Google Map doesn't allow you to have all those points while in public transportation mode, but we did travel the entire way on JR train.
Cape Soya, Wakkanai
Most Northern point
of Mainland Japan
We went from Akita to Wakkanai. Ever sense I had seen a Japanese
animation I had wanted to visit the most northern point of Japan. Wakkanai has
an actual monument about an hour outside of the city that marks the most
northern point. Ending
our main travel by going from the south to the north was mindboggling to say
the least.
To round out our large Island hopping we visited the last of the
four main islands, Shikoku. We travelled over the only bridge that connects the
main island of Honshu with that of Shikoku by train. The ride was even on a
sleeper train, which we really wanted to experience if only to ride on, and we
were just in luck,
we each had our own bunk! We originally planned to
bike across the Shimanami Kaido which is a bike/pedestrian bridge that goes
from Imabari to Onomichi. We ended up instead traveling the same route by bus,
as we were a little short on time. At the transfer site we found an amazing
vending machine that basically materialized a fabulous banana icee for 200¥ or
about 2 USD.
All the girls going shopping
Goodbye Japan! Hello Space Needle
and Seattle
After this final travel adventure, we headed back to Tokyo for a
stay at a capsule hotel and some souvenir shopping before heading to the
airport. After leaving the capsule hotel we saw all these Tokyo-ites with their
suitcases. It had become a regular site to see many people walking around with
suitcases. It helps them when shopping as they are easier to manage when
getting on and off trains while also going up and down stairs or escalators
which are everywhere around Tokyo and most of Japan. After some last moment
shopping around Tokyo we headed to Narita Airport and eventually lift off. Our last
official photo for our first excursion overseas was a photo of downtown Seattle
and the Space Needle Seattle. Coming home was a lot different since we
saw everything in a different light, and a new perspective.The way only traveling gets you to question
and experience new things and allows you to make new assessments about your own
Country, State, City, and life choices!
A day by day account of where we were and some of the experiences we had.
Nara
Himeji & Banshu Ako
Banshu Ako
Banshu Ako & Osaka
Hiroshima & Miyajima
Miyajima & Beppu
Beppu & Sakurajima
Here is a map of the route we took and the exact places. Sadly Google Map doesn't allow you to have all those points while in public transportation mode, but we did travel the entire way on JR train. Nara,
a little town outside of Kyoto, was one of the few places that we saw a bunch
of other international tourists and we were all there for the same reason, to
feed the famous deer. I believe that since of the high volume of visitors they
had a higher proportion of street markets. We enjoyed visiting this city that offered some decent food from the
grocery store in the train station and some photogenic and feisty deer.
Nara, Japan Market
Hiroshima, Japan
A-Bomb Dome and Eternal Flame
We
felt that no trip would be complete without visiting Hiroshima and really
respect our two countries history. The visit to the memorial museum was a
somber event.
Leaving Hiroshima, we took a ferry to Miyajima and the famous floating torii of
Itsukushima Shrine.
We did not feel that it would be right to urban camp in Hiroshima city so we
opted for a more appropriate location on the island. Plus it would be a lot
more secluded area meaning that we would not be anyone’s way. We found a perfect
place that ended up surrounded by native deer and we even heard a couple of
very load monkey screeches as darkness fell over us.
Miyajima Island
Floating Torii
Banshu Ako, Packs off to eat our
7-eleven cappuccino ice cream before
walking the rest of the way to the camp
ground
Ohmoto Park, Miyajima Island
By
week two we were becoming overwhelmed by the big City, concrete, people
everywhere, trains moving, and cramming into those trains and well.... Val was
just exhausted and needed some down time. Information women at the train
station called a campsite she knew of way out in the middle of nowhere...
Banshu Ako.During our walk to this
campground we found a 7-11 store where we bought ice cream, we stopped at a
shaded picnic bench, and I had Ash take a photo, all I wanted was there!A bench, shade, ice cream and no pack, and
better yet a nice view!We finally made
it to this campground, where we stayed 3 days. This place had showers, laundry,
picnic tables, vending machines, kitchen set up for all to use... even a TV
where we watched sumo. They were very kind and lent us two bicycles to get
groceries. After realizing many people were there to go clamming, we purchased
a sack and dug in the sand at low tide with all the locals.I promptly got a slight burn, and many little
tiny clams.The campground personnel
took our clams, poured them into a plastic tub, then poured lukewarm water over
them and placed them in the shade with a piece of cardboard over the top, and
motioned with their mouths that the clams needed to spit the sand out. Ash was
new to the entire process... but found her fair share of clams too. They then
loaned us a frying pan to cook them up in!On our next trip to the market we purchased two boxes of ice cream and
gave them to the staff to say thank you!(They close the campground on a Tuesday I think, and were becoming
worried we would never leave... we did little but rest) Upon our departure they
had made a little care package of food (one of the gifts included were Ritz
crackers filled with lemon cream filling... quickly became a favorite) and then
drove us back to the train station so we didn't have to ride the bus or
walk.... so very kind. This couple and their staff hold a special place in our
hearts!
Beppu Park, Beppu
After
such a great experience at Banshu Ako we wanted to take our chances in a
Japanese Onsen. I knew that one place that we would be sure to find an onsen,
Japanese bathhouse, was in Beppu. We picked out one that was relatively cheap
and included about seven different types of baths, a sand bath, and a
sauna.After a nice soak we headed to a
computer café and then on to bed in our hammocks. It was pure luck that we were
able to camp next to a grove of bamboo.
Dinosaur Park, Sakurajima
From
Beppu we headed even farther south to the city of Kagoshima and across the bay
to Sakurajima. We had a bit of a hike up steep switchbacks to the Dinosaur
Park, so named because of the life size dinosaurs and other animals statues
located there. We found a perfect spot that had a functional bathroom, a little
on the icky side, a nice outdoor sink, a rooftop patio, and a beautiful view of
the active volcano and bay.
It was the perfect place to camp out and we even had a pet hawk. We
really liked this location except for the steep climb up side of the hill.
Here is a map of the route we took and the exact places. Wow did we make it far during our first week. We were traveling at the speed of a Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train)! Sadly Google Map doesn't allow you to have multiple points while in public transportation mode, but we did travel the entire way on JR train except on our excursion to Katahara Hot Spring where JR trains did not reach and thus had to use the local train run by another company.
It
is unbelievable how much we accomplished in the first week. Traveling from
Seattle, WA to Tokyo
was strange enough all by itself, but then to make it all the way to Kyoto in
the same week, going from one great experience to another, and another, I just
can't find the words to adequately express how much I loved and learned about
Japan from the first day I arrived, through the first week, and then the 6
weeks to follow. We took the time to explore Tokyo for two and half days to
head off and get a better bearing on where we were and how to travel in this
amazing world on the other side of the Pacific. We definitely wanted to hit the
highlights of Japan before expanding our exploration.
Our
first destination was Ueno Zoo and the giant pandas. We ate some super
delicious, freshly made pot stickers in the park before purchasing a vending
machine zoo pass. Surrounded by school tour groups, families, and others we
proceeded to through the gate and saw everything from Giant Pandas, Elephants,
and Rhinos, to California Sea Lions and Otters. It was somewhat funny to have
California Sea Lions as an exhibit, but I guess they would not be able to see
them in the wild. Ueno Zoo was a nice place to start our visit to Japan by
seeing the Giant Pandas.
It was getting late and we needed to
locate a place to hang for the night, were planning to sleep in a park
somewhere in Tokyo as the Ryokan we were staying at had checked for other
hotels and campgrounds that may have vacancies and there were none. The biggest
park in Tokyo, minus Ueno Zoo, is the park surrounding of the Imperial Palace,
so that is where we chose to have our first urban camping experience. After
exploring the Western Garden we nervously went tramping through layers of loud
crunchy leaves in the dark all sneaky like to set up our Nubé and hammocks.
Later that evening, we realized that there were many people sleeping in the
same park, but right under the streetlights, so much for us trying to be sneaky
hiding in the bushes.
Shibuya Crosswalk, Tokyo
During the second full day in Japan
we tried to visit the Tskiji Fish Market – sadly it is closed on Sundays and we
would have to visit it another time when we came back to Tokyo at the end of
our stay – Daiba, Shibuya, and finally Yokohama. Since, Tskiji was closed and
it was about 4:30 in the morning we decided to take some time and travel by
train to an area that might be a little out of our way compared to how central
a lot of attractions are in Tokyo, off to Daiba and the Gundam we went. Still
nothing was open just yet, so we found some yummy vending machines and created
a whole bunch of funny photos along the waterfront of this partially man-made
island. Once things were open, we hit the stores, first for food and then to
see what the different shops offered. This way we would have ideas on what
souvenirs to get on our way back. We heard that Sundays were the best time to
see the crazy outfits of the Harajuku teens, se we headed off that way and saw
the famous Shibuya crosswalk.
We soon became overwhelmed by all the people, navigation, and oh my all the
things we had left to learn about our new life for the next seven weeks. Val
and I decided that this was a good time to head out of the major city and get
some breathing room. We headed to a smaller town that was a little ways out of
Tokyo, Yokohama; we found a fantastic little park that was right on the river
that had little piers side by side jetting over the water that would be perfect
for hanging our hammocks from the railings. This was our second day of urban
camping and we loved this amazing location. In the open, yes, but the locals
were kind; there was a bathroom close by for clean water to cook and for late
night nature calls. Overall, Yokohama was one of our favorite places to urban
camp. Laying side by side on a small pier as dusk fell over Japan, we lay
watching each high-rise light with different shades until they were all lit and
their reflections found their way across the water right to our hammocks was a remarkable
sight. We both thought, well, if this is
urban camping, we were in love!
Hakone Open-Air Museum Foot Bath
The Hakone region took two whole
days to explore as we went up a mountain by almost every form of land
transportation: train, bus, tram, and gondola. On this mountain, they also have
an open-air art museum; where theyhave a
Picasso exhibit of some of his less well-known pieces. This art museum also had
a footbath that used natural hot water pouring from the mountain. At the very top of
the mountain the Gondola stops and we elected to hike further up a mountainside
to where natural hot spring pools sprouted from the earth, here they would dunk
eggs into the hot pools where they would turn black and boil then be sold as
good luck eggs. On the second day, we proceeded across Lake Ashi on a large
boat styled like it was afloat during the days of pirates and such; we then
caught a bus to a nearby JR station.
Fushimi Inari Shrine Backpack holder
From Hakone we continued on to
Kyoto, hoping to catch a performance by the Pontocho Geishas and maybe a tea
ceremony. That night we were happy to get tickets to both events. We wandered
around the Geisha district of Kyoto as we waited for the event times to grow
closer and found a nice park that had many shrines and areas that would work
perfectly for our next home. At the tea ceremony we learned here that matcha (green
tea) is an acquired taste that we have not acquired, this was a once in a
lifetime experience and we drank the thick green concoction despite our bodies
telling us not to, for politeness sake. Giving thanks that they would only give
us one serving, they then ushered us to the Geisha performance. To celebrate
the end of our first week in Japan, we visited a famous shrine and famous
temple in Kyoto. The first was Kiyomizu-dera Temple with a fantastic view of
Kyoto from the observation deck and the second was Fushimi Inari Shrine with the famous torii
gates all lined up.
They were fantastic places to visit and at Inari Shrine we even strapped our
backpacks to a lamp pole
so that we didn’t have to carry them all the way up the mountain side that the
shrine was located at. You could tell that some people were worried about
someone coming to claim the bags and were very relieved when we came back. It
was so sweet to see people really care and about somebody else’s items. Do not
get me wrong we were a little worried about leaving our stuff there unattended,
but were happy to find that people in Japan were a lot more carrying about
other people’s possessions.
Our first week in Japan had some
amazing experiences. We met plenty of great people that helped us find an
attraction or 7-eleven, the correct train platform, and one nice man even drove
us in his personal car to two hotels before finding one that was open with a
vacancy. We rode a Shinkansen for the first time. The highlights of these first seven days were
endless, breathtaking, and a complete dream, even now – looking back through
the photos.
We read a lot about urban camping in Japan, before ever going over there and doing it ourselves. The main thing that made me feel confident about it being safe was that my mother had approved of it and even found it herself AND that on one of the recommendations it had said a police officer had suggested the park first.
Beppu, Beppu Park
Along the way we had asked many tourist centers if there was a place to camp at _____ (fill in the blank), they all would reply that they cannot officially recommend it, but that many people do camp there.
We would of loved to have more ideas of places to stay or that would be good. As we became experienced Japan Urban Campers, three criteria had to be met:
A bathroom
Two solid, old trees
Those trees had to be at a distance of 13 to 16 feet apart (Mother's feet, heel to toe)
Here are a few of the places that we stayed at all around Japan. The only one that we wouldn't recommend is Himeji Castle Park as the security guards didn't really like it, but if pressed to find a place late at night in Himeji we would go back and know that we would have to take it all down before 5 am.
A few of the places we would really recommend/ our favorites:
Yokohama, Seaside Park: beautiful and a nice way to see the city lights and close to a bathroom
Shirahama, Shirarahama Beach: we never had to take the hammock and Nube down during our 2.5 day stay, as almost no one walks behind the storage containers placed up by the cement walkway (this was during the weekdays, not sure how that would change during the weekend and high travel season). Very close to a nice bathroom. Beautiful beach.
Set up our SMr Nube and Hammocks to make sure
that we both knew how they worked and what all
the components were.
The flight over the Pacific was an emotional one. Not bad emotions per say, but they did make the flight a lot longer then the quoted nine hours. It was like being on a roller coaster. First me were super excited, then anxious - what if Japan didn't live up to our expectations? what if it was horrible? what if...? - then we were tired, it is a nine hour flight after all, then we would get happy - we are really flying to Japan, other people do things like this...not us, right?. Well I think you get the idea, every emotions was coursing through our veins, minus anger.
Man! have flights changed since the first time I flew back in the 1990's as a child....
Head phones actually look like headphones, not stethoscopes that doctors use to listen to your breathing, minus the metal piece at the end.
You actually get your own TV that has a bunch of recently released movies, instead of multiple monitors that are attached to the ceiling that play the same movie on all of them. Oh, and the you have right in front of you provides information about the flight, music, games, and shopping too.
They feed your really good food and unlimited drinks. It also appeared that they gave an allowance of alcohol to those of age.
There's no longer a pull down shade, you press a little button down below to set what kind of darkness you would like and then before landing it gradually brightens back up to mimic a sun-rise.
We arrived into Narita Airport at a little before 4pm Japan time. We were through customs with no hiccups and on the Narita Express into Tokyo Station. The Express was a little expensive...but we really wanted to get into the city quickly and we were new to the train system.
Or at least that's my excuse, since I was the money manager and the navigator and the translator during the trip - not that I knew very much Japanese, but since I was the one carrying the money and knew where we were going, it was kind of a default . By the time we were into Tokyo station it was a little after 6 and we were headed to Kimi Ryokan in Ikebukuro. After taking a couple moments to get our bearing and figuring out the rail system we were off.
In our Yukatas in our room at Kimi.
Once settled out our Ryokan we were back out on the town to find food. We were hungry. After wandering around for about an hour we went back to the Ryokan and asked for any recommendations for food. They recommended going back to the train station as there are food malls with plenty of options, but after a long flight and being up super early to go through TSA we did not feel like walking all the way back, so we settled for the closest decent looking restaurant.
Our first restaurant in Japan was Chinese...
That restaurant happened to be a Chinese place named Ma La Gong Fang...alrighty, so we looked at the menu which thankfully was a picture book. And made two selections a celery, peanut stir fry and one that looked like sweet and sour. The server told us "no" and then started talking in Japanese..."uhhh, why not?" was our response. After trying to figure out some English to stick a sentence together that would make some more sense to us, which didn't work out very well, one of the other customers blurted out "chicken heads" to try and help the server and us out a little. "Well alright, we don't really want to eat chicken heads on our first night in Japan" is what was running through our heads.
We then asked for recommendations and ended up with a stir fry rice dish and some other things. Once the third plate arrived we were a little bit more confused by our food and how to eat it as they also provided a bowl of water with it. After tasting it was a sweet potato that had been caramelized in ginger which was still piping hot, so to make it cool enough to eat you had to dunk it into water and then eat, but first you had to pry it off the plate with your chopsticks. It was a decent meal and we even made friends with a couple of the other customers. Our fellow neighbors ordered us a traditional Chinese tea...oh, goodness, it was better then the sweetened chilled tea that you can buy in the US. Sharing the experience with the fellow restaurateurs was nice and even fun. It was a fabulous welcome to the country, even if it was on the basement floor of a Chinese restaurant.
There are only 6 days until we get on an airplane to head over the pacific ocean to Tokyo, Japan for our 49 day trip to all of the major islands: Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido, plus some minor ones. It feels like yesterday that I got mother to agree to travel to Japan with me, that we drove to Barnes and Noble to pick out a good travel book, and that we purchased an overall map of Japan to start learning the locations and geography. I grew up with manga and anime, like many children in the United States, but as I became older I started falling in love with their traditions, history, and contradictions.
I have compiled a lot of research on the different attractions, combining our interest in the Japanese experience and trying to cut costs. We finally came to the conclusion that we would try camping as much as possible and pay to use onsen/ofuro (indoor bath) or rotenburo (outdoor bath) whenever necessary/we really want to be clean. While in the Grand Canyon we tested out our Sierra Madre 3 person tent with 2 vestibules. The tent was fabulous, it didn't weigh too much, was easy to set up, and had plenty of room for us and our possessions. We did have to clear a path and make sure that we found semi-level location, so we opted into performing research on hammocks, but with hammocks you have to have a shelter in case it rains (we are traveling to Japan during their rainy season).
After hours, days, and many google searches later Val found a very interesting hammock set. After watching every video and finally deciding to splurge and purchase this amazing package, we finally received the set over the weekend (5.3.14). Val finally had a chance to set it up yesterday, although rather gusty in Eastern Idaho, and came to the conclusion that after some finagling that it would be perfect for all our trips. We really liked that it had a mosquito net, two could sleep under the same shelter, you could roll everything away to cook under the shelter, you can also convert it into a small tent by using hiking poles to prop up the two points, and it all packed down really small. Val and I are extremely pleased to be taking this on the road with us and can not wait to hang it from some beautiful Japanese trees.
Reservation for our first ryokan (traditional hotel)
Printed our Welcome Cards: discount coupons for different locations that are available to foreign visitors to reduce costs
Written some common words we will want in Kanji, English, and pronunciation
Copies of all vital documents
Received two months worth of medication: you can actually receive a vacation waver from your insurance that allows them to pay for more than one months worth of medication if you are going to be gone
Medicine documentation for entry: for some medications you actually need to supply documentation to the Japanese government for approval before entering the country. We also found that in the case of bringing medications abroad it makes it easier during customs to have:
On your doctors letterhead, type of medications, generics/other substitutes, what you are taking the medications for, how long your have been seeing the doctor, and contact information
