Post by Owen on Sept 7, 2014 6:16:18 GMT
1 ~~~ Splendours of Japan ~ March 2014 ~ Val Mansfield (aka Tangata) ~~~ 717
This travel tale was written by Val Mansfield aka Tangata and relates to a Trafalgar Tour.
It was originally posted on the Trafalgar forum.
Following a late decision to pack a Laptop, I'll try to post as we go along, but no promises!
Photographs will have to wait until after we get home.
Saturday March 15th
After a late scare that I was coming down with another bout of Dengue all was well. One late decision was to take a laptop instead of a tablet. I find it a lot easier to use and it offers more memory, I like to have at least three copies of every photograph I take.
At 16:00, 30 minutes after Madam’s planned departure time, we threw the bags, packed this morning, into the car and were off to the airport for our 18:20 flight. That was much earlier than necessary at our little airport, but our Travel Agent had requested seats for us and advised getting there early. That didn’t work, our tickets from Chiang Mai to Hong Kong were OK but Hong Kong had evidently hogged all the double seats leaving us in the centre of the 2 – 4—2 layout and even worse with the two middle seats; still the end of the world.
Apart from that, checking in was actually very easy as was Immigration and security. Although Security became interesting as they were processing a China Eastern flight full of the world’s most inexperienced travellers. The woman in front of me had her son with her who had a toy gun with him. His Aunt had three bottles of water – perfectly understandable if you have even flown China Eastern.
The woman in front of Madam had three large aerosols in her carry on bag.
For the relatively short flights involved we had decided to travel Economy, a decision I was already regretting.
On board it was as bad as I had feared; the seats were comfortable enough but the pitch was very tight. Madam spoke to a Stewardess and we were instantly moved to an emergency exit row with at least 80mm more room.
This was our first experience with Dragon Air, a regional airline owned by Cathay Pacific, which offers direct Chiang Mai to Hong Kong flights. We preferred this to the alternative routing of Chiang Mai to Bangkok, besides I needed a couple of hours in Hong Kong.
Having got preferred seats we found them very acceptable. The dinner would never win any prizes, but it was tasty and beer was available. We landed about a half hour early. It was a bus gate, not normally good news, but on this occasion it suited us as the bus delivered us just where we wanted to be.
Followers of my earlier chronicles may recall that in both South America and New Zealand I had problems with my new “chipped” ATM card and had become a kept man. This was because it has to be used first in Hong Kong to validate it, hence my search for a Standard Chartered ATM, which the airport web site assured me was available prior to Immigration.
Had it been the other side of Immigration it would not have mattered, as my Hong Kong ID card lets me slip though Immigration very easily.
We asked an Immigration Officer who gave us directions and assured us that it was the only one in the airport.
I held my breath but it discharged some money and hopefully it will now work in Japan.
We tried for a change of seats, but the plane really was full.
We went through Security and by 22:20 were at the gate, so I decided to phone number 3 daughter, Vanessa. She asked about our schedule and on being told we are due in Tokyo at 06:30 she very encouragingly said, “You’ll be shattered!”
I found a Duty Free shop and bought a bottle of Laiphroig which should get me through Japan.
In the meanwhile, Madam had been exploring and had found a Lounge that she had a key to, so we moved there.
Sunday March 16th
Hong Kong to Tokyo
Our Cathay flight boarded on schedule at 01:05, but the captain announced that strong tail wings would cut 25 minutes off the flight time and that as Narita has a 06:00 curfew we would wait 30 minutes before pushing back. I would have preferred to wait in the lounge! However, we did have the front seats in Economy with massive leg room and we were able to fold up the arm rest between us which gave us more width.
At some stage shortly after takeoff we swopped seats as Madam’s audio plug was not working.
The flight was advertised as offering a cold meal/dinner, which ended up being a cold picnic like snack in a cardboard box – definitely not the Cathay Pacific I knew when it was my preferred airline. No suggestion of a beer or a whisky.
After the meal most people settled down to sleep and I settled down to read and perhaps to doze.
We arrived at Narita at 06:10, 31 years after we had last seen it, for some reason my flight to and from Japan had always been through Haneda airport which is far more convenient. When we were last at Narita it was still mired in deep controversy.
The first thing we noticed, apart from the long walk, was that there was much more English available than had been the case in 1983.
Immigration was no problem; they took finger prints from each forefinger, no ink involved and a photograph. I was given 90 days and Madam 14.
Our luggage arrived after a short wait and we walked through the Green Channel where, somewhat surprisingly, they wanted to look at my camera bag. Presumably satisfied that it contained only Canon equipment and not a Leica, we were allowed through.
A large sign welcomed us, as did a very pleasant lady who informed us that it was 1°, which we already knew.
She bought us some bus tickets and took us outside to wait for our bus. It was a very slick operation. We caught the 07:15 bus, 65 minutes from plane to bus in an International Airport is pretty good!
We were told it would be a 1 hour 45 minute trip, but it took about 1 hour 30 minutes. We stopped twice at Terminal 1 to collect people, then at the downtown air terminal where most people got off. One more stop at a hotel and we had the bus to ourselves. Of course, this was early on a Sunday morning; expect longer travel times most days.
The bad news as we fronted the desk at 08:45, was that our room would not be ready before 14:00.
We dumped our bags and explored the hotel. We then headed outside abandoning any thought of the ambitious walk we had planned; we were both far too tired for it.
Instead we explored the hotel’s Japanese Garden, a garden that predates the hotel by several centuries.
It was very picturesque but did present a photographic challenge. The contrast was just too much and the high-lights were burning out. Definitely a case of “expose to the left” and spend time in Photoshop later!
There was one wedding group being photographed, the Bride refused to look my way!
After a couple of hours we went back inside and people watched as guests arrived for what appeared to be at least three weddings and a very popular breakfast buffet.
At 11:00 Madam attacked the check in desk again and was told 45 minutes. At 11:50 we were on our way to our room.
A quick shower and we collapsed for four hours.
Then we surfaced and sorted out the Internet etc. It is so easy to forget how it was only a few years ago when keeping in touch whilst travelling was extremely expensive. I have just had confirmation from a friend in London that she has our tickets for the “Ceremony of the Keys” in August and I’ve just updated “To Do” lists and Trip It plans.
I will write more about the hotel later.
Welcome Drinks
We met at 20:00 for our welcome drinks, briefing and dinner. There are only 13 of us, 9 Australians, two from the US, one a Brit and Madam and I.
Our TD is Mihoko San or Mimi San. Mihoko means Olympic Torch, she was born during the Tokyo Olympics.
The drink was a green concoction, a small extra Beer cost me ¥1750. The meal consisted of a Salmon Salad Tofu as an appetizer, assorted tempura and sushi. It was very tasty, but we won’t be getting fat!
We have coupons for breakfasts that can be used at any of three restaurants, as we are here for three nights we can try them all.
Tomorrow’s program starts at 09:00.
Hotel New Otani Garden Tower
This is certainly the most luxurious hotel we have stayed at in Japan. Mind you in 1983 we were on a course and staying at Government expense. More recently when I was here I was also at Government expense and was in a Business Hotel. My room there would fit into this one about four times.
The hotel was built for the Tokyo Olympics and has been added to and modernised since then.
Room
Our room in the Garden Tower is on the 31st floor and has views over Tokyo and the Japanese Garden.
It is well appointed with a safe, a desk, a table, nice drapes, carpet etc.
As with a lot of hotels of its age, the power points are not in the right place, but there are four of them available.
Japan uses 100v and US style plugs but beware they are unearthed plugs, so if your computer has an earth prong on it you will need an adaptor. Our room does have an adaptor which will accept a US style plug with an earth prong and two or three round pin prongs. There is nothing that would fit a United Kingdom or Australian/New Zealand plug.
Bathroom
The bathroom has a bath (tub) with a shower over it. This may be of concern to anyone with mobility problems, but there are two substantial hand rails.
The toilet has a very clever seat – I will say no more, but if you are interested you can buy one duty free at the airport as you leave.
Utilities
The bathroom comes with soap, liquid soap, shampoo and conditioner along with a couple of toothbrushes in case you forgot one.
There is tea and coffee making facilities, with a good selection of teas.
There is a hairdryer in the bathroom.
No iron or ironing board and laundry costs more than I pay for my clothes! However there is a washing line over the bath.
Bed
We have twin beds. The mattresses are a bit soft for our taste, but we sleep on bricks!
Internet
Internet is free and reasonable fast.
Bar
There is a small refrigerator, stocked and a drawer full of expensive miniatures. There is room for some cans of your own.
There are three types of water in the fridge, all imported so presumably charged for.
There is an ice machine in the lift lobby on each floor.
TV
We have a nice flat screen with over 40 channels, around 25 in English with French and Russian channels. We had to find the “Bilingual” button on the remote to get rid of the annoying Japanese voice over.
Monday March 17th
Not unusually, I didn’t sleep well last night; I seldom do the first night away, even if I have had a sleepless night on a plane.
At 04:30 I was admiring the near perfect moon and noting that there were quite a number of cars zooming round. There didn’t appear to be many more at 06:00. In fact the traffic was pretty good all day. Nothing like Bangkok, Hong Kong or even Singapore.
First here are some extra thoughts arising from yesterday. We were pleased to see that many of the wedding guests, particularly the younger women, were wearing kimonos, although a modernised version without the complicated obi and generally with modern shoes. It was still a bit incongruous to see them carrying and using i-pads. The only man we saw in anything approaching traditional dress was one of the grooms.
Secondly the gardens date from the seventeenth century and the hotel was built for the Tokyo Olympics, the 1964 ones, not the cancelled 1940 ones. There were some huge Koi in the various pools, much larger than ours but not, we thought, as colourful. The gardens also have a fair cat population.
Finally, although the hotel is smoke free, it is quite clear that someone has been smoking in our room recently. It doesn’t particularly worry us, but if you are worried by the smell of smoking then I suggest you take a good sniff when you enter your room and complain if necessary. No one else we have spoken to have this problem.
Now, to answer Chech’s concerns, or as many as I can:
I don’t think the seat is heated; it is a bit more high tech than that. The loos at the restaurant we had lunch at today did have heated seats.
As a not fish eater you would have been out of luck last night. I asked Mimi San and she said that wouldn’t be a problem as there was always lamb available. OK, just joking! She said that there was always a vegetable alternative available and mentioned chicken and pork as the most usual meats. She also said that she would be conducting your tour which I think is very good news!
One of the hotel restaurants only offers Japanese food, so we’ll miss that one when it comes to breakfast. Even after 41 years in Asia I still want a European style breakfast!
Read on to hear about the Top of the Tower Restaurant.
Changes
Let me start by talking about changes. As I said, we were last here in 1983, I was here three years ago but for only three days and didn’t get to see much.
I mentioned the increased use of English at the Airport, there appears to be an increased use everywhere, including road signs.
On the drive from the airport I noticed two foreign cars and was surprised to see a large building with BMW written on it. Today confirmed that foreign cars are becoming comparatively common. We saw Mercedes, Jaguars, Range Rovers, BMWs, Alfas, Audis, Volkswagens and one Ford Mustang. In six weeks here in 1983 I can recall seeing only two foreign cars, both had Diplomatic plates and were flying flags.
The other major change became apparent on the drive from the Meiji Shrine along a shopping street and were confirmed by our later visit to Ginza. International labels are everywhere and not only labels but International chains. In 1983 only the comparative few Japanese who travelled abroad would have even recognised an International Label and the only International chain I can recall was McDonalds and that was a wholly Japanese owned franchise.
OK, get off the soapbox and back to the day!
Tokyo Sightseeing
Meiji Shrine
This was our first stop, the Meiji Shrine is dedicated to the memory of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken, generally considered the father and mother of modern Japan. 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the death of Empress Shoken and alongside part of the path to the shrine there is an exhibition, in Japanese and English, of her life and achievements.
It is a very popular shrine and becomes very crowded at certain times of the year. Fortunately, today was not one of them.
There are three gates leading to the shrine, all in classic Shinto style. We drove past the first one, but walked through the other two.
You are not allowed into the inner part of the shrine, nor can you take pictures from the platform, but there is still a lot to see and photograph.
Imperial Palace
Next stop was the Imperial Palace. Unlike Buckingham Palace, which is open for several months each year, you can’t get inside this one except for two days a year, and I don’t think I would want to be in the crowd on those days!
Quite a long walk took us to one of the gates with two guards visible in the distance. In all it was not the most exciting of visits. The best photo opportunity is probably provided by a statue of a mounted Samurai.
Ginza
After lunch we had about an hour and a half to shop or do whatever in Ginza. We chose to do whatever! We walked some of the Ginza and explored some of the side streets and the smaller streets that run parallel to the Ginza.
We did venture into Misukoshi, Japan’s oldest Department Store. On the sixth floor, the first to offer anything of interest to a man, we found a display of cigars that I have only seen equalled in Havana. There was also a full collection of smoker’s equipment, lighters, cases, cigar cutters etc. All of the things that made gift giving so easy in the days when people smoked!
There was also the largest collection of Leicas that I have seen. An eager salesman assured me that they were better than my Canon. They probably were, but ¥1.3 million ($13,000) would have bought me a body and a fixed focus lens! I’d rather travel.
Asakusa Kannon Temple
Temptation resisted, we headed to the Asakusa Kannon Temple, the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo. It is also known as Senso ji. In characters the names are the same; it is just that they are pronounced differently depending on the dialect used.
It was fairly easy to photograph everything, except for one particular statue. You can also shake the sticks and learn your future for a miserable ¥100.
Next to the temple is a small Shinto Temple, the Askusa Shrine, which you cannot enter, but there are some interesting lions.
Evidently if you take the number of people wo profess to be Shinto and add to it the number who profess to be Buddhist you end up with a number considerably higher than the population of Japan. people covering all possibilities?
Nakamise Shopping Street
This starts at the Asakusa Kannon temple and runs for about 200 metres. It was very busy and had lots of interesting little shops, including Mimi San’s favourite comb maker, with prices for a comb around $140.
The new Tokyo Tower is in the area and can be photographed, but there was not enough time to go up it. It is the tallest free standing tower in the world.
We got back to the hotel around 17:00, with two hours before we were due out for dinner.
Meals
Breakfast
We opted for the “Top of the Tower” restaurant and it appeared that most of out fellow travellers made the same choice.
We arrived around 07:15 and walked straight in and had our choice of tables. The International Buffet was very international, European, Japanese, Chinese and a few dishes that were difficult to classify.
I started with bacon, sausages and fried eggs. All were well cooked but unfortunately, as is often the case in Asia, not very hot. There was a choice of hard or soft bacon and eggs in many forms.
The fruit selection was excellent the Japanese melons being particularly good. There was also an excellent selection of rolls, croissants, Danish etc. The butter was labelled “organic”, I didn’t know there was any other sort, but it looked more like a soft white cheese.
The orange juice was good, as was the coffee which was refilled constantly. I had two cups, my first since January!
When we left, around 07:45, there was a short queue, probably no more than six people.
Worth noting that the Satsuki Restaurant, which also offers a breakfast buffet, opens at 6:00, so that is probably the one to use if you have an early start as we have tomorrow.
Lunch
Lunch today was a cooking course; we were taught to make Sushi and then ate our own. When the chef came in, Mimi San was obviously surprised to discover that we had a woman chef, Anna San. Anna San said that she only knew of one other female Sushi chef.
She first expertly filleted a large fish and then very patiently showed us how to make Sushi. We each made a salmon, an eel, an octopus, a squid and a fish sushi. Anna San then made us two more each, this time operating at her normal dazzling speed.
My efforts demonstrated why Gaijins should not make Sushi. The ball of rice that looked right in my hand was in fact far too large. Pushing a hole in it with my thumb merely split it in two, I had to improvise and use my little finger. But worst of all, I was far too heavy handed with the horseradish. Fortunately it was not as strong as the English variety.
In contrast, Madams little hands and artistic approach turned out perfect looking examples.
We all received a certificate which will be very useful when I open a Sushi restaurant in Chiang Mai. Look, I was trained in Tokyo!
Dinner
Dinner was included and we met at 19:30 and walked to town. Hence we found out where we should have gone on Sunday! The trick is to start in the Tower Lobby and take the lifts down to the lowest level, then walk out and turn right.
Some of us saw more of the town than the rest of us. Five got lost and Mimi San had to go off and find them.
It was an excellent meal, essentially chicken in various forms plus a steamed egg and some excellent rice. All in all it was very enjoyable.
For the first time we had authentic Japanese style chop sticks. They are joined together and must be broken apart. This of course, shows that they are new and not recycled.
The area has a lot of restaurants and bars and will obviously be where we head tomorrow night.
Sorry Chech, no sign of a McDonalds, but there is at least one hamburger shop.
Optionals
We heard about the options today. One will be a tea ceremony the other a dance show. Interest seems to be very small. Sumo wrestling was not offered.
cool
This is a huge hotel and is really divided into two, the main and the tower. Each has a lobby, though you can check in at either. The lifts from the room bottom out at lobby level which is the sixth floor. Round the corner from them and slightly hidden away is another set of lifts that go down to ground level. There are banqueting levels, shop levels office levels etc. At the lowest level there is an exit which will take you to town. No climbing or anything necessary, about a five minute walk.
Our coach today leaves from below the main lobby in the main wing. We are giving ourselves 20 minutes to get there - it is a big hotel!
We are the only ones I've heard of who have a smokey room! Doesen't worry us and we only notice it when we walk in. The public rooms are definately non smoking and there is a designated smoking room.
A nice hotel, but the same age as Mimi San, so there are some flasher, newer hotels around. But this one is worth it if only because of the Japanese Garden.
Now 06:18, off to try a different restaurant for breakfast.
The road up Fuji was closed on Sunday above station 2, we are hoping that it is OK now and we will be able to get to station 5.