Where do I stay when I go to Japan - Tokyo

I have been getting a few requests to post about where I have stayed in during my travels through Japan.

In this blog I will talk about Tokyo.

I have stayed in 3 different hotels in Tokyo, however our absolute favourite is the Park Hotel.

Here is a link to their website : http://en.parkhoteltokyo.com/

The hotel itself is really nice with a boutique and sophisticated feel to it. The hotel itself sits atop of a commercial building and occupies levels 25 to 34. The staff are really friendly and the concierge service is one of the best I have experienced. I have stayed at this hotel 6 times and the level of service is of a very high standard each time.

The hotel is located a 5 minute walk from Shimbashi station on the Yamanote line (the inner city loop) which is only 2 stops (approximately 5 minutes) from Tokyo station. The hotel is also located a 5 minute walk to Ginza which is home to all of the high end fashion shops and several department stores.

I just love this hotel and I doubt I will stay anywhere else when I am in Tokyo.

G

Did you know that originally all Geishas were men?

Yakisoba

My favourite festival food in Japan is without a doubt Yakisoba. It is cooked to order right infront of you and fills you up on a cold winters day while you explore Japan. A whole container of food will cost between $5 - $10.

I have since made my own version with authentic noodles and special yakisoba sauce from Tokyo Mart in Northbridge (Sydney). If I have some left over chicken from the night before, I will throw that in and make it an even heartier meal.

Here is my creation!

Complete with pickled ginger and nori (seaweed) garnishes. My chopsticks are fromTakayama and are shunkei laquerware. The gunmetal coloured plate is also from Takayama.

Individual serving with miso soup as well.

I am hungry just looking at these photos!

G

Algorithm March!

If you have ever been to Japan, you have no doubt watched some Japanese TV.
We all know the crazy Japanese TV shows but I would like to show you something which I just love. This is called the 'Algorithm March'. It is actually from a children's TV show. It has caught on around the world and you can see lots of people posting their own versions on you tube.
I just love the simplicity of the algorithm march. I used to look forward to watching it of an evening before I would go out for dinner.
Each episode would have the hosts doing the march in a different environment.

This time it's with Ninja!!!  http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xwme5_algorithm-march-ninja_fun

Algorithm march with airline workers! http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1diah_algorithm-march-airline-s-workers_fun

So simple and fun!! Only in Japan!!!

G

[Photo of the day]

As the sakura petals fall to the ground they form a pink blanket which is just beautiful.

Photo of the day - Serene Sakura

One of my favourite photos of a branch of a Sakura tree hanging over the water. Taken at Shinjuku Gyoen.

J-Pop!

If you are interested in the music scene in Japan or Asia in general and are in Australia, then check out channel SBS at 8.30am on Sunday's for PopAsia. This features the latest video clips from Japan, Korea and China.

I have watched it for a few weeks and it's a lot of fun and they all take their pop music very seriously!

Give it a chance and immerse yourself into Asian pop and keep up with the latest J-Pop for your next trip to Japan!

G

Home cooked meal in Japan - Nagomi Kitchen

I found this on the internet last night and I just had to share it with you all! This company organises for visitors to go to a local Japanese family's house to have a genuine home cooked meal.

I think this is such a great idea. I will definitely sign up for the experience on my next trip!

Check out the link here: http://www.nagomikitchen.com/

You can also do some cooking classes to learn how to make some authentic Japanese meals. Awesome!!!

G

Sakura Celebrations

White sakura. Such simple beauty.

Sakura Celebrations

Relaxing under the sakura trees. Does it get any better than this?

[Photo of the day]

Sakura observation in Shinjuku Gyoen, Tokyo

Cherry Blossom Celebrations

As the cherry blossom season gets under way in Japan, I thought it would be nice to share some of the photos I took of the cherry blossom atmosphere/celebrations and the blossoms themselves.

A spectacular event in Japan and indeed the world.

Enjoy the photos over the next week or so.

G

Cherry Blossoms at Zojoji Temple

Hiroshima Part 3 - Itsukushima Shrine

As you travel to Miyajima by ferry, the first thing you see is the famous Torii gate. This is considered to be one of the three best views of Japan. The gate sits over the water and looks spectacular and hints of the beauty yet to come. Directly behind the Torii gate is Itsukushima Shrine. It also sits over the water and looks like it is floating at high tide.

The famous Torii gate and Itsukushima behind

Itsukushima consists of a Noh theatre stage, a main hall and a prayer hall. All of these are joined together by corridors all built over the water.

Typical of the Japanese, Itsukushima is simple in its design. Painted red it stands out and highlights the beauty of its surroundings.

Itsukushima is a stunning shrine. Its positioning over the water makes it unique and because of this it should be on everyone's 'to do' list. The solitary red Torii gate is perfectly complimented by the subtley complex Itsukushima. When you stand on the furthest point of Itsukushima and look out through the Torii gate to the Seto Inland Sea, you have a sense of ages past and of a calm which is reflected throughout Miyajima.

The next time I visit Japan I will be coming to Miyajima and staying a few nights at one of the Ryokan. This is because I want to wander around the island at dusk/night after all the day tourists have gone when Itsukushima will be lit up and look even more spectacular.

The view through the Torii gate from Itsukushima

I enjoyed Itsukushima, but like with everything else in Japan, I want more time to appreciate it. I will be going back!

G

Hiroshima Part 2 - Climbing Mt Misen

One of the main attractions on Miyajima is climbing Mt Misen. The start of the climb is located a short distance behind Itsukushima Shrine. You can take a rope way up the mountain or walk.

We arrived a little late in the day so we decided to save time and go via the rope way. The views from each gondola ride along the rope way are spectacular. At the end of the rope way is Shishi-wa station which has an observatory and monkeys!!! This was my first encounter with Japan's wild monkeys. There are signs telling you not to look the monkey's directly in the eye as they will think this is a challenge. I took a few photos of them and then we watched them run around and huddle together for warmth. I think they are pretty cute!

Must....stay....warm!

We enjoyed the view and pressed on towards the summit.

The view from Shishi-wa observatory area.

The trail to the summit can be quite steep in places but is rewarding as you get to stop at a few places along the way. One of these places is Reikado. This temple protects a flame which was originally lit around 1,200 years ago and was used to light the Hiroshima Peace Park eternal flame.

The flame lies within this building

The path to the summit is winding in places and feels positively ancient with small statues here and there and parts where boulders have partially blocked the path. It was a lot of fun exploring the mountain.

Giant boulders and temples along the path.

An ancient path....

The day we selected to climb Mt Misen was a cold, overcast day with fog rolling in and out as we snaked our way to the top and sheets of rain falling over the Seto inland sea in the distance. In this atmosphere we reached the summit to find the area almost to ourselves except for the roaming sacred deer.

Legend tells us that a God sits atop some of the boulders each and every night to watch over the sacred Miyajima.

You can almost feel the God sitting there as you pass by in the almost complete silence at 500 meters above the sea.

These are the boulders where the God sits and protects Miyajima.

The view from the observatory was quite breathtaking on this day.

The climb up Mt Misen is one of those things you have to do at least once in your lifetime. Unfortunately it is not for everyone as it can get steep in parts. We were lucky that the day we visited lent itself to the sacred nature of the island. We were there in early January so it was cold but the trek to the summit warms you up.

Add Mt Misen to your list of 'must see' in Japan - it is more than worth it.

G

500 Cranes - Half Way There!

Well, I am half way through my paper crane journey.

500 cranes made - 500 more to go!


Here is what 500 cranes looks like.

I can't wait until I am finished!

G

One year on.....

Today my thoughts are with Japan and the Japanese who lost loved ones or ther homes from the devastating Tsunami and earthquake one year ago today.

Japan will rise again.

G

[Photo of the Day] Sake Barrels at Meiji Jingu

This is one of the first things I saw on my first trip to Japan. We started our Japanese trip with a visit to Meiji Jingu and this is just past the main entrance.

G

Hiroshima Part 1 - Senjokaku (Pavillion of 1,000 Mats)

Senjokaku Hall is located on Miyajima which is a 20 minute ferry ride from Hiroshima. The hall is commonly known as the Pavilion of 1,000 mats which refers to its size. The Japanese used to (and sometimes still do) measure the size of rooms by how many tatami mats it could accommodate. Thus this large hall can house 1,000 tatami mats.
This particular hall was commissioned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1587 for the purpose of honouring fallen soldiers.

Upon first entering the hall you notice it is completely open. There are no walls and only a roof. While the wooden beams and floors are beautiful in their own way, the hall seems particularly sparse.....until you look up.

Completely occupying the ceiling are endless paintings of various themes and scenes. Unfortunately I only had a very short time to visit Senjokaku, but I tried to see as much of the paintings as possible. I am not sure of who some of the artists are or their historical significance, however I do recognise some of the paintings as some of the most famous battle scenes and hero Samurai in Japanese history. I wonder if these are some of the originals.

I have always loved the way the Japanese depict horses so I just fell in love with this painting.

My favourite horse painting

I love this one in particular as it is so simple. Just black ink forming a fabulous simple effect which I think shows a confident artist.

The next photo is a little hard to see, but I am sure it is from one of the famous battles of Japan where there are two famous horses and Samurai/leaders representing each side of the battle.
Below is the white horse with the Samurai swimming next to it.



I think this is the opposing black horse and Samurai.

I am not entirely sure what this is but it looked great hanging from the ceiling.

I really enjoyed looking at all the beautiful paintings suspended from the ceiling of this great hall. I plan to go back and spend a lot more time photographing and admiring the paintings. If you are on Miyajima you must stop by Senjokaku and have a look.

G

Matsumoto Castle

Matsumoto Castle is my second favourite castle in Japan. What makes it special is that it is one of the most original and complete castles. Its black walls make it unique and has earned it the nickname 'crow castle'.
The castle began construction in 1592 and it has since become one of four castles designated as National Treasures of Japan.

Matsumoto-jo

The castle interiors have been turned into a museum displaying armor and weapons from when the castle was built.

Some of the armor on display inside the castle

I visited Matsumoto-jo as a stop over in winter from Kanazawa to Nakanojo. It was very cold inside the castle and especially cold at the top! But its worth the climb up the steep stairs to see the view from the top and the narrow windows where archers once defended the castle.

View from the top

Matsumoto-jo also has one more feature which makes it unique - a moon viewing platform. This was added during a time of peace in 1635 when it was deemed safe to add an unprotected section to the castle. Moon viewing parties are still held every year in Autumn and it is said that 'the moon can be seen three times from the moon viewing room. Once in the sky, once in the water below and once on your cup of sake.

The moon viewing platform from inside the castle

Matsumoto-jo is beautiful and in my opinion, high on the 'must see' list. It is only a 15 minute walk from the train station and easy to access. I am definately going back for a second visit.

G

Sake Tasting Evening

I know I have posted about Sake before, but I have a great excuse to post about it again. I recently attended an evening called 'Japan, Endless Discovery through Sake' which was hosted by the Japan Tourist Bureau (JTB) here in Sydney.

The evening started off with Taiko drummers and then moved on to some speeches about sake and its history. One thing I didn't know is just how long the Japanese have been making sake - some 2,000 years!

This is a map of Japan showing where all of the brewers were located and the sake they make.

There were 6 sake breweries which were represented by the owners or managers of each company. What was really impressive is that one of the breweries was represented by the owner and president who is the 11th generation to own the brewery. Each representative also wore a jacket which showed the brewery they represented and their logo. I just love this part of Japanese culture. They are so proud to show people who they work for and the respect they have for the past by continuing the tradition of wearing the company jackets.

Each of the brewery's representative got up to introduce themselves, gave us a brief history of their brewery and explained the type of sake the make.

The last sake brewer to introduce themselves was Hakushika. This company had their brewery damaged in the devastating tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011. True to the Japanese spirit, he told the audience that they are getting on with making sake and are putting the tsunami behind them.

All of the sake was really nice and a lot better then the bottles of sake I had previously been drinking!

There were some surprises in some of the flavours we tried. The Hakutsuru brewery in particular has modernised their sake. They offer citrus flavoured sake (lemon), sparkling sake and sake infused with plum flavour. These were my favourite flavours of the night. Here is a link to their website: http://www.hakutsuru-sake.com/top.html

Some of the sake types on offer. I sampled them all!

The Dassai brewery offered beautiful crisp tasting sake which I couldn't get enough of! Here is a link to their website: http://asahishuzo.ne.jp/en/ The representatives of Dassai were really nice and liked to have a laugh with me and I even got one of the guys to 'Kampai' (cheers) with me. I introduced myself to the managing director Mr Kazuhiro Sakurai and I told him that I hope to visit his brewery next time I am in Japan. He handed me his business card and told me I would be welcome any time. I was pretty happy with that!

The night was so much fun. I got to mingle with Japanese people from both Australia and Japan and I learnt a lot about Sake. I hope to see more of the citrus and sparkling sake in restaurants and liquor shops in the future.

If you have a chance to sample some sake at an event like this, you must do it as I promise you, it will be a much better quality than you are probably used to.

I hope the JTB hosts more events like this so more Australians can discover all that Japan has to offer.

G

I love Japanese Toys!

I have always been a sucker when it comes to soft toys, so it comes as no surprise that I have accumulated some of the cutest ones I could find in Japan.

On our first visit to Japan we had some spare time one day so we asked the concierge at our hotel if there is a toy store close by. We all know that Japan is the innovator when it comes to new and exciting toys and robots so we thought we would try to find some.

We were directed to Hakuhinkan Toy Park in Ginza.

We were in for a treat!

4 whole floors of toys!!!!

The ground floor has all the latest gadgets and toys and latest crazes and things you only see in Japan. You can spend ages looking around this floor alone and marveling at all the cool stuff Japanese kids get to play with!

The next floor up is the soft toy floor and there is literally hundreds of different types of everything you can think of. There is every animal under the sun as well as Disney and Studio Ghibli characters.

I had a panda when I was little and he was always there to hug when I needed a friend or if I had a nightmare. So ever since I have been on the lookout for more Panda bears and I found the most adorable and super soft one ever - so I got it in 2 sizes!

Next I found the most amazing little rabbit. It comes in lots of colours and sizes and was expensive compared to other soft toys. I am not sure if it was a special character or if it is just the material as it actually feels like a real rabbit it is that soft! Its head permanently slumps to one size which makes it even sweeter.

And lastly, the softest most adorable polar bear ever to have been made! I have never felt this material before it is like the softest fleece mixed with flannel. He may not be the most handsome polar bear but he is the most hugable!

One more floor up and you find all types of kids and baby toys from floating rubber ducks to board games.

The next level is full of figurines and models and more 'boy' toys and collectibles and there is also an 'old fashioned' slot car racing track.
I beat my husband twice playing the slot cars. He blamed it on his slow car......

Here is a link to the toy stores website. It is in Japanese, but you can see the pictures and get an idea of what its like.

http://www.hakuhinkan.co.jp/guide_en.html Click on each floor description and you can see some pictures of what they keep in stock.

If you are in Tokyo you must go to Hakuhinkan Toy Park. Just have a browse and I guarantee before you know it, you will have lost track of time and turned into a kid again by the time you leave!

G

On My Way

Just a quick update on my paper crane journey.

I have folded 150 paper cranes to date!

Only 850 to go......

150 paper cranes

A long way to go, but at least its a start.

More updates to come!

G

1,000 Paper Cranes Starts With the First Fold

1,000 Paper Cranes Starts With the First Fold

My first exposure to Paper Cranes was in high school when my Japanese teacher got my class to fold 1,000 paper cranes to send to Hiroshima for the anniversary on August 6th.

Traditionally 1,000 paper cranes were given as a wedding gift by the father to wish the new couple 1,000 years of happiness. It is also believed that folding 1,000 paper cranes makes a person's wish come true. When the paper cranes have been folded, you string them together to be hung up or given as a gift. This is now called a senbazuru.

Most people who have heard of 1,000 paper cranes have heard of them because of Hiroshima. At the Hiroshima Peace Park Memorial there is a statue of Sadako Sasaki who was diagnosed with Leukemia as a result of the atomic bomb blast. She heard the legend of being granted a wish if you fold 1,000 paper cranes, so she undertook the task in the hope she would live. Sadly, she died of her illness and as a result people from around the world now fold paper cranes to be left at the memorial to show their love and respect for her.  You can see the paper cranes in specially constructed undercover areas near the base of the statue.

The statue of Sadako Sasaki in Hiroshima Peace Park

After visiting Hiroshima and the Peace Park I was profoundly emotionally affected. Seeing the millions of paper cranes at the memorial has inspired me to make my own set of 1,000 paper cranes (Senbazuru).

I purchased some beautiful origami paper a little while ago and I started to fold my paper cranes.

My first few paper cranes

Unfortunately I can't buy this beautiful paper in bulk so I went looking for some plain brightly coloured paper instead. Here is my stack of paper to be turned into cranes!

I am not sure how long this will take me but I will keep you posted on my progress!

G

Takayama Part 7 - Kokubunji Temple

Kokubunji Temple is the oldest temple in Takayama. Emperor Shomu originally built the temple in 746 as one of several temples dedicated to peace in the nation.

The ginkgo tree is said to be 1,200 years old and the three storey pagoda was built in 1807.

This temple is located along one of the main streets of Takayama and is worth a look in. When I visited the temple I heard some deep chanting that was both mesmerising and soothing. I sat down and enjoyed listening to it for a while in the cold crisp air.

Kokubunji Temple

Statues wedged into a part of the Ginkgo tree.

The 3 storey pagoda

Detail of the pagoda

If you are in Takayama, you should drop by to see the temple and the ginormous Ginkgo tree you may just get to hear the chanting like I did.

G

Takayama Part 6 - Shiroyama Park and Takayama Castle

If you want a relaxed day walking around through snow covered trees and walking through trenches of fresh snow then take some time out to walk around Shiroyama Park. The park has a walking course that leads you around the mountain and up to the ruins of Takayama Castle.

The path we took to get to the walking course

Grounds of a temple located along the walking course

I actually loved walking up the mountain and through the dense woodland. Along the main walking course we saw some older Japanese couples (no doubt locals) keeping fit and going for a walk. They always stopped to say hello and give us a big smile.

Once we got off the main walking course and started to climb the mountain we were completely alone. It was great fun and many a snow ball was thrown....mainly at me!

Snow ball damage!

There are some huge stone ruins which formed part of the castle grounds and entry to Takayama castle called Ote-mon gate.

The Ote-mon gate with the ruins on the right and left

Huge stone wall ruins

Lots of snow = lots of fun!

As you wind around the mountain there are a few look-out areas to see the views over Takayama.

The view over Takayama

Standing on top of Takayama Castle's ruins

View of surrounding mountains.

Along the path through the forest you encounter some very large trees which evokes scenes from a fairy tale. As it was just the two of us climbing up the mountain it was completely silent except for the occasional thud of over laden branches dropping piles of snow on the ground.

If you have the time and enjoy a peaceful stroll, I highly recommend walking around Shiroyama Park - we had lots of fun.

G