Japan April 2015
March 29:
I’m starting this before our trip as some interesting things
have happened. While our grandsons were
here about a week ago, we went to the Hilo
breakwater to meet some friends. We
thought it would be an interesting experience and adventure for the boys as how
often does anyone have a chance to actually walk on a breakwater? I remembered from the time that I was much
younger, looking at the huge boulders in awe and being able to walk to the
second bend was an accomplishment.
To make a long story short, the boys completely enjoyed
it. Reyn especially, (the scarecrow)
overcame his fear and even made it to the second bend. However, on our way back, JJ slipped and we
thought that she sprained her ankle.
After icing it down, the egg sized lump was greatly reduced in
size.
After a couple of days, she decided to see her doctor as we
were scheduled to leave for Japan
in about two weeks. It turned out that
she actually fractured a bone in two places.
Fortunately, the break was not on a weight bearing bone. But, she is in a cast so we had to rethink
our trip.
We called Hawn Air and found out that it would cost us about
$1000.00 to rebook, mainly because we would lose the $400.00 that we paid for
the “Comfort Plus” seats. The remainder
($600.00) would be for the re-booking fee.
The main problem with going through with the trip was handling our
baggage through the trains as we traveled to Nagoya.
We finally had an epiphany and realized that we could
forward our bags via Yamato Transport (did I ever mention that it’s hard being
a senior citizen?). We then proceeded to
order a transport wheelchair from Amazon.
After it arrived, we started to
use the time to practice and work out the kinks. So far, everything is working well so we are
pretty confident that the trip will go well.
We will need to cut down of our baggage and picture taking but we are
hopeful for another great trip. The
worst that could happen is we will spend most of our time under a Sakura tree,
which isn’t bad at all.
I looked up maps of most of the
stations what we will be going through and downloaded maps that show elevator
locations. And, as we normally have a
very light daily schedule, we feel that the trip is “do-able”.
Two of our friends are accompanying
us into and out of Japan and
we will be spending the first and last two days with them in Kyoto.
They have a full itinerary so hopefully, we won’t hold them back. To protect their privacy, I will refer to
them as Perfecto (or “Perf”) and Purrfect (or “Purr”). For those of you who know them, I’m sure that
you will agree that those pseudonyms very accurately describe them.
We had the pleasure of reviewing
Perf’s itinerary and it is more comprehensive than any tour itinerary that
we’ve ever read. He even has a brief
history of the landmarks. I guess it
really shows his intellectualness. Me
and JJ, we just like to be in Japan
and enjoy the ambiance. The only culture
and history I want to learn is of beer.
JJ likes to experience the different Onsens. Our travel companions may refer to us as
“Simple” and “Simpler” if they write about us.
We picked up Bento from Zippy’s
the day before our flight. JJ added Ume
paste, Taegu
and Spam. It did not work out as we
expected as the rice turned out really dry from cooling down the hot food, then
refrigerating it. Next time, we’ll pick
it up in the morning before our flight.
To get from KIX to Kyoto,
we are trying Yasaka instead of MK. The
primary reason is MK’s estimated travel time is much longer than Yasaka’s. The main problem is returning, as one time,
they wanted to pick us up at our hotel at about 2:00 p.m. instead of the 4:00
p.m. requested for our 6:00 p.m. check in (9:00 p.m. flight). We ended up cancelling and caught the airport
shuttle bus.
Yasaka also gives small discounts and offers WIFI too!
Tuesday, April 7:
This morning was really hectic. Our alarm company was supposed to check out
our house alarm system on Monday as they did not respond to an event (false
alarm) on Saturday night when we were out.
No one showed up, so Monday afternoon, I called them and tell them that
we are leaving on Tuesday for Japan
and we have the alarm primarily for fire warning as we have pets in the
house. The person checked with her
supervisor and promised to send a technician at 8:00 Tuesday morning.
Also, late Monday afternoon, we realized that our accountant
did not call us for signing and paying our income taxes. I called them and they told me to come down
at 7:30. We left the house at 7:15 and
it took us 20 minutes to get to town.
Morning traffic is horrendous.
Hmmm, I wonder if it’s because I’m not working at Traffic anymore? Nah, just too many cars on the road. Going back home was super easy and we made it
back by 8:00. Then the alarm guy calls
and tells me that he’s going to be late as he is stuck in traffic! But, he fixed everything and all is good and
we won’t have to worry.
It’s a good thing I had a checklist for closing up the house
as I managed to check and secure everything really quickly and without getting
stressed out. I think I’ll end here and ask
the flight attendant for a beer.
After we landed at KIX, we were told to wait for our gate
checked wheelchair. By the time we got
the wheelchair and started working our way to immigration and customs, no other
passengers from our flight were around.
We had a young lady assigned to help us.
She took all four of us through the wheelchair line, which is also the
line for the airline crews. Everyone
went through really fast except for me.
The agent was just about to return my passport to me when he made a
“surprise sound” like “uhh”. He kept on looking
at his computer monitor and I was actually getting worried. A few years ago, I got stopped while leaving
KIX for carrying a fork, spoon and knife combo, the kind boy scouts carry. Added to that, all of our trips are to Japan and we
travel to Japan at least three times a year.
I thought maybe they think that I’m a smuggler or drug dealer. Fortunately, I finally got cleared.
Thanks to our escort, we avoided the really long line at
immigration but it still took us about 1.5 hours before we got to Yasaka
Shuttle. Due to the language problem, we
don’t really know how we were charged but it seems as though we were not
charged for excess baggage as the total charge came out to only 12400 yen or
only about $30.00 each.
After checking in, we all enjoyed the free ramen
downstairs. I still think that it is the
best ramen that I’ve eaten anywhere.
Perf and Purr also seemed to enjoy theirs. I can’t wait to hear their comparison of the
Dormy Inn’s free ramen as compared to Gogyo’s burnt ramen that their friend
recommended although I do admit that Gogyo’s “fiery fire show” is much better.
Even though I slept really late last night, I got up at
about 2:30 (7:30 Hawn Time) this morning.
The internet speed here is fantastic:
62 Mbps upload and 96 Mbps download!
The plan today is take a slow pace and show Perf n’ Purr the
basics of getting around Kyoto
via bus subway, train and taxi.
Hopefully, we’ll get some great adventures and pictures along the way.
Thurs. April 9:
Today was our first full day in Kyoto.
The plan was just to orient Perf n’ Purr with the basics of getting
around in Kyoto.
We started the day by enjoying breakfast at Amici’s. Amazingly, the owner remembered us. We all enjoyed our breakfast and I was amazed
that it was enough to fill Perf as he is a BIG GUY and can really put away some
food.
Going to Amici for breakfast necessitated the finding and
use of elevators because of JJ. Even I
got confused sometimes, as I never really thought about the different levels at
the train station. When we enter from
the north side from street level, we normally go up one flight with the
escalator. However, when we go down on
the south side where the restaurant is, we go down two flights to reach the
same street level. Did I ever mention
that sometimes it’s hard being a senior?
Anyway, once we leave Kyoto, Perf n’ Purr will be using escalators so on
the way back to our hotel, so we left JJ in her wheelchair on the south side
and I walked Perf n’ Purr through the station via the normal escalator
route. When I got back to JJ, she was
surrounded by security guards……JUST KIDDING. I bet that got your interest!
We then went to Yodabashi to pick up a data sim card for
Perf and for me to sign up to a free wifi network for visitors. Perf and a clerk spent quite a bit time
trying to get the phone to work, unfortunately without success. I used some of the time to look around the
store, which is amazing. They have
shelves and shelves of keyboards, monitors, mice, earphones, pens…..they even have their own “dollar store” and a
supermarket downstairs. Many workers,
great service and affordable prices. If
they ever came to the U.S.,
they would decimate the competition.
Well, on a second thought, they wouldn’t be able to bring their workers
so they might possibly end up like Walmart.
Perhaps mail order would work.
Watch out Amazon and Baidu!
Speaking of Japan
workers, I saw a guy sanitizing the displayed ear buds, one by one. Do you think an American company or worker
would ever do that?
We caught the subway to Nishiki Market without any
problems. We managed to find the needed
elevators pretty easily, until we got to exit 16 at the Shijo Station. The nearest elevator was really far away from
our exit so we decided to walk up the stairs and have JJ rest as needed. As typical of JJ, she managed without
complaining and minimal assistance.
The plan was for our buddies to go to Gogyo to feast on their
famous burnt ramen. Unfortunately, we
took so long at Yodobashi that Gogyo was closed. So they decided to join us at the roast beef
bowl restaurant. When we got there, we
realized that we were in the wrong place and left. The roast beef bowl restaurant was a couple
doors down. Unfortunately, they were
closed too. So back to the other
restaurant. Some people have no shame,
when they are tired and hungry. The
restaurant served Korean themed food and I thought my spicy beef was too bold
although I really enjoyed the koko that was served as a side dish.
We then walked through Nishiki to the Gion area. We made a couple of stops for ice cream and
senbei as the other three seem to love their little snacks. Pushing JJ on the wheelchair was much less
strenuous than I anticipated, but then again, we pretty much stayed on level
ground. I told her that be would be much
easier if she lost 2 or 3 pounds! My
back hurts just a bit and I think that was caused by my being forced to push
the chair from a further back position due to bags hanging immediately behind
her.
We saw a few Sakura blooms along the way and we all stopped
to take pics. It was a really tranquil
and enjoyable walk as we were blessed with good weather and moderately cool
temps. JJ managed to take quite a few
pics while sitting on her wheelchair.
These should be interesting as they will all be taken from a much
different perspective.
After Gion, the plan was to walk north until we got to the
Karasuma subway, catch it until we needed to transfer to the Teramachi line and
return to our hotel. It was a good plan
but…….we walked, and walked, and walked and finally I decided that because I
didn’t really know where we were, we should catch the bus that was right in
front of us, mostly empty and with a Kyoto station sign on it’s front.
As we were boarding, the bus driver said something and Perf
understood it to mean that we could get on but it would be much faster if we
got on the subway, just down the street, around the corner, to the right. We found it easily and even better, there was
an elevator right there facing the street.
Remember, they don’t call them subways for nothing!
Perf is proving to be a fast learner and a quick thinker as
when we got to the station to transfer to the Teramachi line, he quickly
figured out that we were on the wrong side of the track and quickly figured out
how to get to the other side.
Riding
on the subway, even carrying JJ’s wheelchair, was pretty easy. She probably had the hardest part as she had
to walk in using her crutches and sometimes stand as the subway was so crowded
that people couldn’t even see that she was handicapped. When we got back to the Kyoto station, I forgot my first rule,
"know your exit number". I went the wrong way and had to ask.
Upon
exiting the elevator, we saw that it was almost dark and time for dinner at our
favorite place, the Izakaya at Hoke Club.
When we got there, the manager still remembered us from prior visits. We ordered many different varieties of food
and amazingly, ate everything that was served.
The dishes varied from Plum Chazuke to Tekamaki to Roast Beef slices to
Sushi. All were delicious. The atmosphere is much different from when we
started eating there several years ago.
There are more women, with their friends as well as in groups with men
and women and couples. Before, the crown
seemed more like the after work bonding typical of Japanese companies.
When we left, the manager came out to thank us for the visit
and omiyage and Perf told us later that the manager stayed in a bowed position
until we actually went out the front door.
We capped off the day by meeting to eat the ramen a couple
of hours later. JJ went to the Onsen, I
took a nap and Perf got his sim card and iphone working. Impressive.
That guy does not give up! Well,
that’s why I call him “Perfecto”. I hope
he never feels that he has a vendetta against me that must be made good. Yikes!!
Don’t know what Purr did while waiting but she looked like
she hit the “wall” and was ready to sleep.
She was still pretty and looked tired so I guess you can say “pretty
tired”. These youngsters are so soft, nowadays!
The day was a fantastic start to this trip. JJ and I are really looking forward to
getting back to Kyoto
next week to hear the adventures of Perf n’ Purr.
As I write this, I’m snacking on a Chocolate roll and
tea. It’s quite good with the sweetness
of the roll perfectly complementing the slight bitterness of the tea. Ah, how I enjoy my “quiet time” in the
morning.
Have a great day, Dudes and Dudettes!!
Friday, April 10:
JJ wanted to eat at the buffet downstairs. I was a little apprehensive as she is really
particular about her food and I’m the one who is wheeling her around. And you know that my patience quotient is
about a 3.2 with 10 being very patient.
My fears were unfounded as she was pretty good in deciding quickly. We even got our favorite window facing seats.
The food was pretty good and the same as all of our other
visits. I enjoyed the clam miso soup and
koko the most. And you know JJ, she
enjoyed everything!
We were debating whether we should cash our travelers checks
or save them and use an ATM. We finally
decided to cash the checks as we didn’t know if JR would accept a credit card
as payment for the Shinkansen. I left JJ
at the train station and went to cash the checks. We got a good exchange rate of 119.340!! But lo and behold, JR accepted our charge
card as payment. (the CNN site had the
Yen/Dollar a bit over 120. Getting about
1% less at the Japan Post Office Bank has been our experience)
The fellow at JR who helped us was really perceptive. He saw JJ in a wheelchair so be booked us on
a wheelchair car with reserved seats.
The cost for the two of us was 11180 Yen (<$100.00). The trip was fast and uneventful.
Nagoya
station is pretty big and confusing. The
station maps that we downloaded were of no help at all. We decided to eat lunch at the station. Good choice!
The ramen I ate was even better than the one at Dormy Inn. But, when I mentioned this to JJ, she asked
for a taste of the dashi and she said that it was “bland”. I couldn’t believe this and I exclaimed that
it had a great depth of flavor and perfectly seasoned! Ai yai yah!
After lunch, JJ agreed to TRY and catch the subway to our
hotel. We found the station just outside
of the train station but could not find an elevator. We walked and looked but just could not find
one. Finally, we decided to walk down
the stairs and go into the subway station.
While looking for a ticket machine, we saw an elevator. We decided to go on it and see where it was
on topside so we could use it the next time.
I was really surprised when we reached the street level. We were OUTSIDE of the station and can now easily
find it again.
The subway car was really crowded. As soon as we boarded, a young mother and her
young son stood up and offered JJ their seat.
An older woman spoke to me in Japanese and I told her my “nihongo
wakarimasen”. She then told a young guy
in front of me to move so I cold place the collapsed wheelchair next to the
wall. JJ’s injury has shown the both of
us that most people want to be nice and do good. Well, all except that old man in Kyoto who gave us the
“eye” at the train station when we didn’t move as fast as he wanted us to. And we were not taking our time either. His patient quotient must be minus 5 or he
was rushing to visit his sick mother (grouch like that could never find a wife
or girlfriend)!
When we reached our station (Fushimi on the Higashiyama
line), we made it out pretty easily.
However, for some unexplained reason, I got my east-west directions
confused and we ended up going the wrong way.
But, we finally reached the Dormy Inn.
We also got to see some pretty Tulips at a park.
The hotel is new or recently upgraded. It is really nice. The young man who checked us in seemed to
speak English well but he really got us confused. For instance, when I asked him if the vending
was on the top floor, he said that it was on our floor too, the third floor. However, our room is on the 12th
floor. Then he told us that the Onsen is
on the 13th floor but it was on the 2nd floor. HYF?
Upon entering, the room is nice and bright. The A/C control has a touch screen. The only downer of our room is that it has
only one small trashcan. My empty beer
cans themselves will fill it up. There
was also a young kid in the hallway making lots of noise. Must be a gaijin.
When I wheeled JJ to the Onsen, I had hoped that I could get
a massage at the same time.
Unfortunately, I had to make an appointment for about an hour
later. My back really hurts from pushing
JJ around. Did I mention that she needs
to lose about 2 or 3 pounds? Most of the
pain was gone after that one session.
Like in Kyoto
on our last trip in January, I fell asleep early on and had to be wakened up.
We stayed up for the ramen.
The dining room was surprisingly empty.
There were less that 5 of us. It
was good but not as good as the ramen at the train station. The workers were super helpful,, even serving
us and coming back to get our empty bowls.
It seems that ever since we came here, we met so many
helpful people. It will be interesting
to find out if it is due to the local culture toward the handicapped or the
elderly or if they are just courteous and helpful by nature.
Pushing JJ around is a lot easier than I imagined. It is hardly tiring at all and as mentioned
earlier, only my back hurts a bit. The
only other problem is when it rains. She
uses an umbrella and has to hold it up high enough so I don’t get blinded. We might get a raincoat for her but that too
might not be perfect as it doesn’t breath and would be hard to take it on and
off when we enter buildings.
We are supposed to go to a fire festival on Saturday but might
opt out if it’s a rainy day.
Saturday, April 11:
Our Dormy Inn Nagoya includes breakfast. When we first went there, it was a bit
empty. But it seems that lots of people
enjoy a later start as time passed as the dining room really filled up.
The staff again were super helpful with JJ, even filling
plates of food for her as I was wheeling her around. I watched them interact with other guests and
they are very helpful with everyone that I could see. They even moved a chair at a table so we
could wheel JJ right in.
The dining room and kitchen looks brand new and bright and
clean. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera
so pics will have to wait. They had an
interesting coffee machine. It featured
fresh ground coffee as “coffee”, “weak coffee” and “charcoal making
coffee”. The two that we tried were
really good with the charcoal one having a better flavor.
I saw a couple of weird charges on our card. I didn’t want to question it yet as it is
still “temporary”. The problem is that
if it is fraudulent and we report it, the bank will cancel the card and we will be left with only my
credit union card which was never set up with a pin for ATM use. Lesson learned as we used to depend on
travelers checks but are now using mostly charge cards and have a bit of a
learning curve in using ATM’s.
After going through our daily charges, I think that the two
temporary charges are for our shuttle to our hotel. They don’t add up to what the copy of my
receipt is but the charges are still temporary so I won’t worry about it.
When we left the hotel to go to Tsurumai Park,
we were greeted by the sun shining and a really cool breeze. The Sakura blooms were few but there were a
lot of people there, surprisingly, mostly very young as we usually see a wide
variety of ages.
The park was very tranquil and we saw several artists setching. We got a real treat when we saw a small crane
like bird use it’s piercing beak to catch fish.
We tried to buy some food for a light lunch but their drinks were not
cool enough for selling.
Just as we were leaving, JJ spotted an Asahi sign and when
we went over, the lady had grilled beef on a stick for sale. A good thing about having a wheelchair is you
don’t have to look for a place to sit, rather just look for a shady spot. When I started positioning JJ’s chair, this
guy told me to sit in his spot. Did I
mention how nice people here are?
We caught the subway back and decided to visit Daiso so JJ
could buy hangers. It was in a huge
shopping building, similar to Aeon in Kyoto. This building was connected to the subway
station by a huge underground shopping complex.
While looking at the directory, we saw that they had a
Uniqlo store. They are supposed to sell
soft and warm vests and jackets. They
actually sell a huge variety of clothing for men, women and children. The sizing of the jackets were too small for
the average woman from Hawaii.
When we finally got to Daiso, it was really crowded and had
really narrow aisles. We finally decided
to leave as we didn’t want to wait in that long, long line just to pay for
hangers. We walked back to our hotel and
ate a small snack before heading out to Tejikara for the fire festival.
We had to catch the Mietetsu line to Gifu, then transfer to Tejikara. The station staff was so helpful and got us
to the correct platform so quickly that I never got to really learn how to do
it. We also found that if they offer to
help, it is better to accept as they will get you in a car where you can stay
in the wheelchair.
I had a bit of a scary moment. The train agent got us to our platform so quickly
that I couldn’t use the bathroom. We had
about a 10 minute wait so I decided to go.
I had to up and down several stairs and make many turns to get there. When I got back, I saw that I had missed my
last turn and returned to JJ from the other end of the platform. At that point, I was just happy to have found
my way back!
The festival was about a 5 minute walk from the
station. When we got there, there was a
huge crowd on the street full of food and game booths. It was a great “party” atmosphere. We tried some of the food and it was good,
the beef on a stick tasted like Kobe
beef. A really nice thing was that they
had trash boxes all over the place.
We found a nice place to park JJ’s wheelchair to watch the
festival. The fire festival itself was
disappointing. It was really drawn out
and boring. Even the fireworks consisted
of only a “Roman Candle” like display.
As some of the fireworks were quite close to the crowd and JJ got a bit
of ash in her eye. Poor thing,
everything is happening to her. But, you
have to take the bad with the good, right?
Remember she also won the 35K playing Let It Ride in Vegas?
I think that there may be stigma about using or sitting in a
wheelchair in Japan. First of all, you rarely see anyone in a
wheelchair and we sometimes see people, especially children, staring. Then, at the festival, as JJ was standing
quite a bit so she could take pics, I offered an older lady the chair to sit
on. She seemed quite happy as she looked
really tired leaning against the tree for support. But after a few moments, her husband made her
get up and stand. I don’t know for sure
if the wheelchair is viewed negatively but was just wondering. In every town or city that we’ve visited this
trip, they have wheelchair ramps where ever needed, such as at intersections.
The train staff again made the return to Nagoya uneventful. I even fell asleep and if JJ fell asleep too,
we would have ended up in Tokyo! A big problem we are encountering at the
various subway stations is not knowing the proper floor to go to using the
elevator. Only a few elevators have a
sign by the button with the subway name and direction. Most just say “B1F, B2F, etc. and the floor we
are on is not even identified so we don’t have a reference.
Back to the hotel, had a fast Asahi, eat the ramen (great
service again), and drink more Asahi.
Got to keep that tank full!
If the Nara
fire festival had similar vendors near the festival itself, it would be
purrfect! As far as the Tejikara
festival goes, we would not return. We
already made our flight reservation for January for the Nara festival. Care to join us? Advice to you photographers, bring a monopod
and a remote release (or a tall ladder) so you can take pics over the crowd.
Sunday, April 12:
Wow, it’s already day six.
This trip is proving to be very enjoyable for me, with JJ in a
wheelchair. People have commented on how
great, giving and loving I am. “Lyman,
you are the best husband, because ______ would never do that for me”. But the truth is, the great part is I don’t
have to wait for her. When shopping, if
the store is crowded or has small aisles, we just leave. But, as she exclaimed, now she is always one
step ahead of me!
I’m really amazed at how many people don’t look at where
they are walking. We’ve endured several
“close calls” on this trip. Besides
walking into us, some just step right in front of us and others abruptly stop. In really crowded places, we started to
remove the footrests to lessen the chance of hitting someone in front of
us. That seemed to work pretty well.
The plan for today was to go to Higashiyama Zoo and
Botanical Garden. Catching the subway
was easy. Once we got to the station,
there were no maps or directional signs.
JJ said to just follow families with kids as it is a zoo. It worked!
Once in a while, it pays to listen to her. And I mean, once in a while, not most of the
time and definitely not all the time!
The zoo is built on a hill.
There was a lot of long slopes and in the steepest areas, they had a few
elevators. They had some interesting
animals such as Koala and Polar Bears.
They also had a slow moving Rhinoceros in a large pen and big cats in a
small enclosure. HYF?
The zoo had really poor directional signing. Our main interest was the botanical garden
and we were unable to find the path to enter it. We followed a sign that said Botanical Garden
but when we got there, it said “no strollers” and we took it to mean
wheelchairs also. When we got close to
the main exit, we looked at the map and the place that we thought was the entry
to the gardens was just for a greenhouse.
The nicest thing about that zoo was that there were so many
families, some were three generation families.
This is so much different from what we see at either the Hilo or Honolulu
zoos. Makes you wonder about
values. In Japan, families have real time
interaction with their kids. I have
never seen organized sports for children like we have in Hawaii.
HYF?
We couldn’t find a place to eat lunch in the zoo so we left
to find a restaurant. At first, the only
place that looked viable was McDonalds.
We walked for several blocks and couldn’t find one. We finally ended up at a Donbori and Udon
restaurant. Both of us chose the beef
bowl and it was quite good. We couldn’t
figure out the computerized ordering system that prints tickets so we had to
ask for help. It’s easy, once you can
read Japanese and know the system.
Traffic in the area was really heavy. We were amazed as the super nice people of Nagoya immediately change
to angry, bitter old people when they get behind the wheel. We heard numerous horns sounding and it all
seemed so “unjapanesey”. I guess western
culture is slowly making an inroad.
After lunch, we hoped to go to Heiwa park, which is supposed
to be really close to the subway station.
We started toward the general direction we were told to go and I finally
told JJ, this hill is too long and we need to turn around. The full stomach and an Asahi didn’t help but
I just couldn’t go up that hill……and come back down again.
We decided to go to Sakae station and walk back to our
hotel, just so we can know the area better.
Along the way back, we heard some loud rock music so we decided to take
a look. The band was comprised to three
people, the singer and star, a foxy looking Japanese girl dressed in a wedding
gown, a guitarist with great showmanship dressed as a Jesuit priest and the
drummer who would have looked very masculine if he wasn’t dressed up as a
bride. They were charismatic, loud and
full of energy.
Finally got back to our hotel. It’s a good thing that I signed up for a
massage today as my back is really hurting from all of the uphill pushing and
downhill braking today.
The only negative thing about our hotel is the
location. It is about a 8 minute walk to
the subway station but it just seems so long.
But so far, the staff and facility are really outstanding and that makes
things work for us. The lack of
restaurants nearby is also a big negative.
We are so used to the convenience of Kyoto Dormy Inn.
At this point, I really don’t care if we do anything or see
anything more. What we’ve seen and done
is more than I expected, given JJ’s injury.
Just being in Japan
is exciting, fulfilling and relaxing.
We’ll return to Hawaii
feeling rejuvenated and ready to tackle the world.
BTW, I finally sold my Vette. We were together for 15 years and she sure
looked good, even at her age. She was my mistress that JJ accepted and
never got jealous at. She still looked
as foxy as the day she left the assembly line.
What great curves. What a throaty
roar. What power. What passion.
But time and technology move on and I have to prepare for my next great
love.
I need to start acting my age. No more bright, “Torch Red” painted
Vette. Just a grandfatherly Tesla Model
X SUV, that will beat the pants off my old Vette! BANZAI!!!
That car is like a perfect woman, fast and QUIET! Sorry ladies, but you know I’m just trying to
be funny and don’t mean it, right? What
I really mean is, QUIET and fast! Heh,
heh, heh. Before you get mad at me,
remember, JJ is one step ahead of me so all is good.
Have a great day, everyone!
Monday, April 13:
BTW, a financial genius suggested that if you are away from
home and need to report a credit card fraud, take out cash before reporting it,
if that card is your only source of money.
I really admire people who can solve problems with simplicity and whose
solutions make me think, “why didn’t I think of that?”.
I’ve been getting up much later than normal for most of this
trip. This is mostly because I stay up
for the Dormy Inn ramen instead of taking a nap before hand. Last night’s ramen was really great. I don’t know what makes the subtle difference
between cooks but it happens and you can actually taste it. JJ said she noticed that this cook shook the
noodles out four to five times instead of three that she saw the night
before. Hard to believe it made a
difference but then what is the cause?
This morning, the worst thing that could happen to me
happened. Yes, we lost internet
connectivity. Ai yai yuh! So I can’t even read the papers while waiting
for JJ. Arrrgggghh!
Although we went down for breakfast pretty early (about
8:00) the dining room was pretty empty.
I guess being more of a business hotel, most of the guests were at work. The tofu here is amazingly delicious. Better than even the tofu at the Kyoto Dormy
Inn.
The day looked rainy so we changed our plans and decided to
visit the Osu shopping area instead of Nagoya Castle. The shopping area is really large. Very large
when compared to Nishiki Market in Kyoto,
but it really lacks the diversity of type of businesses. Some of the shops almost bordered on the
bizarre, such as a tattoo shop.
Fortunately, one of the stores we went into was a 100 yen
store called Seria. I found a
screwdriver and pliers which I needed to fix JJ’s wheelchair brakes. We used them so much that I think the cable
stretched and the brakes hardly held at all.
The items in the pic cost a total of 972 yen (100 yen store is actually a
108 yen store).
We enjoyed lunch at a small restaurant that served Unagi and
sashimi. The owner was very
accommodating as the sashimi lunch that included tea, rice and miso soup had
three varieties of fish and I just wanted maguro and he graciously said that
having only maguro was not a problem.
Total tab with a beer was only 3600 yen and both our food orders were
delicious.
Seated next to us were two Hell’s Angles, full of tattoos,
from Denmark! At first I thought they were American as when
the owner couldn’t understand what they wanted, they started talking louder to
him.
After lunch, we continued to look for omiyage but could not
find any. I know that for JJ, a large
part of her enjoyment while traveling is shopping for omiyage. Not being able to enter those small little
shops must be a downer for her. Most of
the shops in Osu were clothing stores.
We finally decided to go back to our hotel early so JJ could go to the
onsen and me just chill out with some Asahi beer.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be sunny so we can go to the Nagoya Castle.
This morning, because it was raining, we asked the front
desk to call a taxi for us. The driver
seemed nice enough but the fare to Osu was 1500 yen. I don’t think he was long hauling and traffic
was pretty heavy. The company was named
Malaysian Taxi and there was a 200 yen surcharge for something..
The fare back was about 780 yen. We gave the driver 1000 yen as we waved him
down after another taxi just drove past us.
Fare difference almost double?
HYF?
The really bad part of staying at this hotel is the lack of
restaurants in the immediate (within 2 minutes walking) area. So far, we’ve eaten every dinner in our
room. And dinner is composed of
sandwiches and salad from Circle K. We
were thinking of catching a cab to Nagoya Station for dinner but decided it
just wasn’t worth it as we didn’t know if the restaurants were our type (old
people). We saw an ad for a Izakaya
touting their seafood but the pics were all of vegetables. HYF?
So far in Nagoya,
our breakfasts and lunches were really great but dinner, could be so much
better. In spite of this, I would still
stay at the same hotel because of the onsen for JJ, the ramen for me and the
friendliness of the staff. If they
served even a simple dinner, say chazuke,
tofu, ume and fish, it would be purrfect.
Hasta Lavista, Baybeee!
Tuesday, April 14:
I might be coming down with a cold. I may have gotten it from a worker in a Kyoto restaurant who was
sniffling and handling my credit card. I
tried JJ’s magic cure of gargling with salt and warm water and am just hoping
it works as it normally does back home.
Thankfully, other than the pain in the back of my throat, I feel fine
and it gives me an excuse to suck on my li hing mui without guilt. Not bringing my humidifier for my CPAP is
probably aggravating the situation as the humidity is so low, I’ve been getting
static electricity shocks constantly.
I forgot to mention the other day, when we were leaving
Higashiyama Zoo, there were some really young scouts soliciting money. We passed them without thought but then
decided to turn back and give them something as the people of this city have
shown us so much aloha. After I emptied
my pocket of all of my loose change, the scoutmaster said something to me in Japanese. Of course, I responded with my “nihongo
wakarimasen”. He then said “thank
you”. As we were walking away, one of
the mothers stopped me and pinned a green feather on me. I don’t know the meaning or symbolism of the
feather but I hope it did not mean “easy fish”.
The internet connection has really been spotty the last
couple of days. Sometimes, we enjoy
blazingly fast speeds and other times, it’s like the old dialup days.
Our new luggage is working out really well. Our old hard sided suitcase opened like a
clamshell. While it did protect the
contents from physical as well as water damage, they just took up so much space
in the typical small Japanese hotel room.
Even though those suitcases were only a couple of years old,
we decided to change them out as most of our travel is to Japan. Delsey came out with a new line of hard sided
luggage that opens from the side. Like
their softsided brothers, they are easier to pack and take up minimal space
when opened. It also was available in my
favorite color, Purple. True Okinawan
Ninjas LOVE purple!
Since it is still raining, we decided to go to the Nagoya Science
Museum. We went to Fushimi station via the Fushimi
underground mall. The mall runs along
side the subway line. JJ found some
interesting tops. Unfortunately, we had
to pay cash for the items.
When we got to the station, we couldn’t find our way to exit
5, which is really close to the NSM. I
asked an agent and he told me how to get to the gate. He also told us that we wouldn’t have to buy
a ticket and to just walk through. The
directions and the path to gate 5 was very confusing as we had to walk down a
walkway, take the elevator down, then walk some more and tae the elevator up,
then walk up some stairs out of exit 5.
We got lost. Terribly lost. We found another agent and he told us that we
were going the wrong way and to go back.
We finally found our way out by looing at the vaious station maps which showed
our progress in working our way out.
When we got to exit 5, whe agent just waved us through. We then realized that the first agent
notified the other agents that we were just passing through the station. Amazing.
Can’t imagine that ever happening in the U.S.A.
The NSM was just a short walk in the rain. It consisted of about 6 or 7 floors. The place was like the Discovery
Center in Honolulu on steroids. There were a lot of hands on exhibits and the
unfortunately, all of the written and spoken explanations were in
Japanese. They offered an app for
language translation but both JJ and I did not have our phones.
The highlights for us was an exhibit showing how tornados
are formed and also one showing electrical discharges from a Tesla Coil. Wow.
We ate lunch at the museum’s cafeteria. They did not offer a wide selection so we
both ordered hot dogs and pepsies. The
hot dog had an unusual sausage that was really tasty. The bun was also toasted, which made it all
the better.
The walk back to our hotel was surprisingly short, like
about ½ the distance and time that we experienced this morning. We may have found a place to eat across the
street from our hotel. It looks like a
seafood restaurant but it is really small so it may cater to only regulars.
We walked across the street to
the restaurant. We were a bit apprehensive
when we first entered but were greeted warmly, like we were old friends. We explained to the lady that “nihongo
wakarimasen”. She gestured what I
thought to mean, “no problem”.
She seated us right next to the
chef’s sushi bar. The chef told us that
they did not have an English menu nor a menu with pictures. We asked if they had scallops and they looked
at us questionly. So I took her outside
and pointed to the scallops. They also
had oysters. It turns out that it is an
Izaaya.
We ordered 4 scallops, 2
oysters, Katsuo sashimi (which didn’t have that strong fish flavor of our local
Aku), and Teka Maki made of Katsuo and a big bottle of Asahi. They even gave us each a side dish of steamed
clams. Total tab was 3390 yen.
They prepped the scallops and oysters
by placing them in a closed container and steaming them for 10 minutes. Everything was flavorful and we hope to go
back tomorrow night.
When we got back to our hotel, we
were in the elevator when 3 people came in. They sounded like they were
from Hawaii
so i asked them if they were. They said yes and they asked if I was from Hawaii. I told
them that I live here in Nagoya but was educated
in Hawaii so that's why i have that Hawaii accent. As
they looked at me in amazement, I told them, "just joking, we're from Hilo". Lady
says, she used to live in Hilo,
what's your name? I say, Lyman Jakahi. She says, are you related to
David Jakahi? I say, yes, he is our son. She asks, what is he doing
now? I say, he is teaching at Waipahu
high school. As she looks at us in wonder, I tell her, the kids cannot
pull anything over him as he did everything. She agrees. Isn't it
great to be remembered? She even
remembered that we use to own George’s.
David was so convincing, even
as a youngster. He convinced me and JJ
that the schools no longer gave report cards.
Perhaps he should have run for mayor.
He is surely more honest than his classmate, Beeeely K. I tell you, Beeeely K gives new meaning to
the term, “D..b S..t”. What was he
thinking? He had it made.
So, there you have it. We had a great day, got lost, found our way,
ate some pretty interesting food and made a few friends. Doesn’t get better than that. A great day in Japan is better than a great day
anywhere else.
Sayonara, Dudes and Dudettes,
Wednesday April 15:
I got up feeling pretty
refreshed until I realized that it was 2:30 as I went to sleep at about 11 last
night. So after sending out my journal,
I went back to bed and managed to fall asleep again.
The plan for today, which is
our last full day in Nagoya, is to go to the Toyota Museum
if it’s raining and to the Nagoya Castle and Yoro
Falls if it’s clear. It turns out that we did neither.
After breakfast, JJ said that
she really wanted to go to the tulip festival in Ishizu and Yoro falls if we
had enough time. We looked out the
window and she tells me, “see, isn’t that the sun shining?”. Me, “no, the ground looks like it just
rained”. So I finally tell her, let’s
chance it. If it’s raining, we can eat
lunch and come back. Even a rainy day
outdoors seems more fun that the Toyota
Museum.
When we are downstairs, we see
the Hawaii
group and talk story with them. They
mention that the hotel has a free shuttle to the Nagoya Train Station. Perfect, as we were going to catch a cab.
We bought our tickets to
Kurama, where we have to transfer to Ishizu.
Once we get to Kurama, no one even asks us if we need help. “Angels” appear miraculously, whenever we get
lost. It is just amazing. From that point on, at almost every stop,
someone was there to assist us. And more
amazingly, every one of them made us feel that our welfare was all that
mattered. Don’t fake it to experience it
though, bad karma.
Once we got to Ishizu, the
directions on the internet stated “catch the city bus”. Great, except that the city buses don’t run
on a regular time schedule and the schedule posted is all in Japanese. As we are waiting, this old lady comes to the
bus stop and starts talking story to JJ.
Once the lady understood what our plans were, she talked to each bus
that came by to see if that bus went to the festival. The train station is so small that they don’t
even have an agent at the station.
Before getting on the train, you need to take a ticket from a machine in
the station, similar to a bus.
Later, the lady talks to me and
it seems as though we have a two hour wait for the bus. I think she says she is going to find a taxi
for us. While she is on the phone, a
cab comes by with a passenger dropping off at the train station. The old lady goes up to him and explains our
plight. She tells us, that he will take
us. We are elated. I give her the box of caramacs that I’ve been
carrying around and she was thrilled.
She even tells the taxi driver to ask us when we want him to pick us up. That what makes traveling on your own fun and
satisfying
The Tulips were past their
prime but the air was clear, crisp and cool.
And, the adventure in getting there made it just so much fun
exciting. Experiencing travel by
wheelchair in Japan
proved to be fairly easy, most of the time.
Come to think of it, the only times we encountered problems was when we
felt that we did not want to bother or impose on them. We also stayed away from areas that we knew
was hilly or had long slopes,
We ate a light lunch at the
festival which was a grilled herb chicken.
Not really great but good enough when you’re hungry.
The taxi came right on time and
got us back to the train station. The
drivers in this little town are crazy!
They speed on the narrow town streets and seem like they are playing
“chicken” with each other.
The day was blessed with many
angels, great weather of some pretty flowers.
Life doesn’t get better than this.
My sore throat is gone but I
have this raw feeling in my chest every time I cough, which is not that often. Fortunately for me, unlike most people, I
cannot multitask. So when I’m pushing JJ
around, I forget about everything else.
Once we get back to the room though, I can feel all of the pain. HYF?
For dinner, we went back to the
same Izakaya. Too bad we didn’t find it
earlier. Food for the most part was good
and the people friendly. I especially
like the shrimp that was grilled. I got
to eat all the best parts, the head and tail.
Tomorrow, we forward our bags
to KIX and catch the Shinkansen to Kyoto. Probably make a side trip to Uji to pick up
tea.
I was so tired last night that
I went to sleep right after dinner, about 7:00.
I even skipped my favorite ramen.
Got up at 2:30 so I am right back in the groove.
Surprisingly, several of you
have reacted with amazement regarding my pushing JJ around. It’s nothing special. Every husband would do it if the need ever
arose. And the experience has given us a
greater appreciation of those who have a lifetime of disability as well as the
many strangers who offered assistance.
Hasta la vista, dudes and
dudettes,
Thursday April 16:
Learned a little trick today
about catching the train. When I bought
the Shinkansen tickets to go to Kyoto,
I asked if I could buy tickets al the way to Uji, where I wanted to buy
tea. They said it was possible and that
made it so simple when we were transferring from the Shinkansen to the JR line
in Kyoto. Rather than having to leave the Shinkansen
station and buy the JR tickets, we came out of the platform and went straight
to the platform to Uji.
Once we got to Uji, it was an
easy walk to the area where they sell tea as it was mostly a slight slope
downhill. We found a nice restaurant and
decided to eat there as the last time we were in Uji with David and Janet, we
went to place that must have had the worst lunch anywhere. Tru fac!
The crowd in this restaurant had a lot of locals such as tradesmen and
cab drivers, so we knew we picked a winner.
JJ’s Unagi was the real thing but my steak was actually teri bbq. Nevertheless, it was quite good.
Again, my favorite tea shop was
closed. I like that shop because it’s
one of the smaller ones in the area and they also have many cat figurines on
display. Perhaps the elderly owners are
in Hawaii.
I had quit buying tea from Uji
because it was so convenient in Nishiki Market.
But the last time we went, two shops that we went to were polar
opposites. One was super expensive and
the other was really cheap. I honestly
cannot tell a difference between the two but what if the cheaper one is from China? Who knows what they allow for fertilizer and
weed control? The tea from Uji is priced
between the two extremes at Nishiki and is from Japan.
While waiting for the tea to be
packed, we took a little walk and saw that the Wisteria was in bloom. While JJ was ooing and awing about the beauty
of the bloom, I thought, eh! She wants
to go closer so she can smell the blooms and I tell her, probably won’t be able
to as the wind is to our backs. When we
get close, we could really see the bees, happily flying around in bee paradise,
dozens if not hundreds of them. Every so
often, JJ would say, “it smells so sweet”.
She was in JJ paradise at that moment.
(She probably couldn't smell anything but just wanted to prove me
wrong).
Going back to the train station
was physically strenuous. In addition to
our full load from Nagoya,
we bought a lot of tea. Going up that
long slope was a bit tiring. When the
train agent asked if we needed help, I enthusiastically exclaimed, “yes”. But the biggest help was in Kyoto where the agent took us out of the
station via the numerous elevators. It’s
really easy if you know your way around and can speak and read Japanese.
As we were walking toward our
hotel, I see this little yellow car in the distance, with it’s hood opened,
backwards, a sure sign of something exotic.
It turned out to be a Honda 2 seater.
Cute.
Once we got back to our hotel
and checked in, all I could think about were a couple of cool Asahi’s. I called to make an appointment for a massage
and a guy answered. He said I could come
up right now so I did. The guy had hands
like a vise grips. Unlike the ladies,
who I thought knew when to back off, this guy made it hurt. Even when I “umphed” in pain, he barely
backed off. When we were finally done,
he said that my shoulders were especially tight. My calves too, FYI. Boy did those two areas hurt.
We ate dinner at our
Izakaya. When we first got there, I was
super tired but finally got my second wind.
I will be going to sleep soon and hopefully be able to get up for the
ramen. Perhaps Perf and Purr will be
there.
After this trip, with JJ in a
wheelchair, traveling without it will be like going from platinum status to steerage. From our experience, if you are on a tour and
wheelchair bound, don’t expect special treatment. But if you are on your own, don’t worry about
it as this country takes care of the infirmed.
But once the Americans find out about this, there is no doubt in my mind
that some will fake it just to get the extra care and attention. So, shhhhhhhh, tell you friends but don’t let
those xxxxx’s know. Did you ever hear
the story about people hiring handicapped guides to get into Disneyland in the U.S.A. just so
they would not have to stand in line?
HYF? Bachi or what?
I went to sleep right after
dinner, but, JJ got me up at 9:00 to go downstairs. At first, I was a bit disappointed as Perf
and Purr were not there. Then I started
thinking that it is probably for the better as we would end up talking story
and ruining their rest for tomorrow.
Then surprise, there they are, looking so fresh and energetic, like the
day is just starting. They just returned
from their outing!
We are completely engrossed
listening to their stories, especially the ones of all the great and helpful
people that they’ve met, such as restaurant owners referring them to other
restaurants who serve what they were hoping to eat (Unagi). Most of these experiences would not happen on
a tour.
I think they secretly thanked
me when I exclaimed, “ok, enough. Let’s
let them get some sleep”. We made plans
to meet at 8:00 in the lobby for breakfast, with the caveat that if we are all there,
great, if not, no prob.
I overslept and woke up at 6:30
to finish this journal. No sense in
waking JJ up at this point. My cold is
much better and will probably be mostly over when we leave tomorrow. We plan to just do some shopping today.
Have a great day, Dudes and
Dudettes!
Friday, April 17:
Normally, when we travel, we
have many opportunities to shop while visiting sites or during a “slack” part
of the day. Somehow, time was never
available on this trip and I can’t figure out why. Probably is had to do with JJ not being able
to get around on her own.
So we spent the whole day
shopping. Of course, the whole day for
us is between 10:00 and 4:00. After
breakfast, we went to Harves which has an area that is operated by independent
businesses. The aisles were nice and
wide so we could easily negotiate the store.
We were very fortunate as we
went to Yodobashi Camera after that. They
are much more than their name implies.
We found stationary, a collapsible ice chest as well as food that we’ve
been looking for several trips. They
even have their own “dollar store”. The
most fortunate happenstance was an elderly clerk who really went out of his way
to help us find certain items, such as Tamarii Shoyu (which is really great on
sashimi) and Iwashi Mentaiko (sardines stuffed with fisheggs). When he found out that we were taking the
fish to Hawaii
after we asked for gel ice packs, he even found foam sheets and a Styrofoam
platter to pack the fish and gel packs.
After dropping of the items in our hotel, we went back to take him a box
of choc-macnuts. Just as we were about
to leave, he had searched for us and had some Japan snacks for us.
It was about 2:00 p.m. and we
still didn’t eat lunch. Our plan was to
go to the Aeon Mall to buy the cooked Takenoko and eat lunch at a Korean
restaurant that JJ liked. We got the
takenoko but by that time, we thought that we may as well just snack and eat an
early dinner at the Izakaya that we like.
So back to the hotel, snack,
have a few Asahi’s and JJ goes to the Onsen.
When she returns, we eagerly go to the Izakaya, only to find that it’s
too full to accommodate more guests. We
decide to go to Yodobashi and get some bento for dinner as both of us are
pretty tired. However, when we get to
Yodobashi, we discover that they have a whole floor devoted to a
restaurants. We find a Korean place and
wait in line. JJ orders her Bi Bim Bop
and me a Tofu soup. Interestingly, the
soup did not have kim chee in it, only pork and tofu and garnishes. Even with my dead tastebuds due to my cold,
it was quite good. Just as I was taking
pictures, the camera had a message, “Demo Mode”, meaning that the memory card
was not installed. I had left in the
computer when I downloaded the only pic I took today, JJ with the Kyoto Tower. Talk about “slide clutch” (big island slang
for dimwitted as the power from the engine is not getting to the wheels because
the clutch is slipping).
Finished the day by packing,
then downstairs for my last serving of ramen for this trip. Looking back, it was more of an adventure
than normal. We had to learn many new
things and got to do a lot more than I expected (but a lot less than normal).
We really loved Nagoya and will return
there again. We met many helpful people
and that is what makes Japan
so special to us, the people. It’s funny
that the people here always seem to be hurrying somewhere and yet for the most
part, are very courteous, patient and helpful.
Too bad they cannot export that along with their great products.
Until our next adventure,
Sayonara, Dudes and Dudettes.
Epilogue:
We are back and almost on
track. JJ went to see her doctor today
and he was surprised that the ankle is healing so well even after traveling
(little does he know how she was pampered).
One thing we wish we had done
was to get a Go Pro so we could have videoed ourselves, in the rain, with JJ in
the wheelchair carrying an umbrella low, and me pushing, wearing my raincoat.
Our experience when we got back
to Honolulu was
really bad, as compared to KIX. After JJ
was wheeled off the airplane, we and about 3 more wheelchair bound passengers
and their travel mates were held in a locked area and told that it was policy
that we had to wait for the shuttle.
Then they had the gall to say that they didn't know if the shuttle could
accommodate everyone and their travel mates.
I was willing to wheel JJ to immigration but was told that we had to
wait.
Like KIX, they had someone
assigned to each wheelchair but unlike KIX, as soon as we went through
immigration to the baggage claim area, all except one disappeared. Fortunately, we were first but the remaining
three were not too happy and I don't blame them. I think I over tipped the guy with a $10.00
as he was really surprised and grateful, even though he had helped us take our
baggage through customs to inter line our baggage to Hawaiian.
I emailed Hawaiian about this
and I got their standard non-answer "answer", that they would refer
this to the appropriate manager. I hope
Jet Blue comes in and shows HA what customer service is all about. Those of you who have flown on Jet Blue know
what I mean about superior customer experience by a domestic carrier.
I wish Japan could
export their "customer first" mantra.
