Monday & Tuesday, June 29 & 30:
I feel that I am totally unprepared for this trip, although
I can’t figure out why. I even went
through my checklist twice to make sure that I didn’t forget something. All was purrfect.
Unlike our last flights to Japan, we did not purchase the
comfort plus seats and waited to see if we could get the complementary upgrade
via our Platinum status. We tried to do
it online as well as call in but it seems like everyone we spoke to did not have
a clear understanding of the process.
Even HA website states that we are automatically placed on the list if
we are either gold or platinum level.
When we checked in at ITO, the clerk told us that we were
already on the standby list. We still do
not know how this is supposed to be processed, but it sure beats the $100.00
each we paid the last time. We managed
to get a whole center row for the four of us, which worked out well. I saw about four more empty seats in the
section.
The flight did not seem to be that long and we were served
two meals. The first was a Lychee
Chicken which I thought was quite good.
The gravy had a hint of Lychee in it and I thought that the flavors
melded well. JJ disagreed and from the
look on her face, she forced herself to eat it, a very rare occurrence, indeed!
The second meal was sandwiches and JJ and I swapped as she
enjoys egg and I the ham and cheese. I
was so hungry that I even finished the left over Spam musubi and Portuguese
sausage that JJ had prepared for each of us.
JJ said when we landed, she felt the “freshest” of any trip
so far. I guess her new regimen of
taking Dramamine is working. All of the
movies seemed dull so I just listened to my latest Stephen King book, “Finders
Keepers”. It’s not as good as his other
recent books, such as “11-22-63”.
After landing, we got a bit of a scare as the officials
insisted that JJ and I go to the handicap line for Immigration. I told them that we were a party of four and that none of us spoke English so we
wanted to stay together. They wouldn’t
let us and we got really worried when we couldn’t see Janet or Dave in the
regular line. I looked for familiar
faces of others on our flight but could recognize no one. I even went downstairs to check but was
afraid to venture too far as I didn’t know if I would be allowed back up. Finally, after about an hour and a half, they
came out. This is the first time in all
the years that we came to Japan
and was subjected to such long delays. Yikes!
The Yasaka Shuttle was their normal efficient self and it
was nice to be able to check news and email again. Even after being charged extra for four
pieces of luggage, it was still significantly less than MK Shuttle (13400 vs
18000 Yen).
We met after checking in to enjoy the Ramen and while it was
still good, not as good as normal as the dashi was not really hot and it seemed
that the water to cook the noodles was not hot enough either, making for a pasty
texture and poor “mouthfeel”.
I was so beat up after that that I just went to sleep,
without even finishing my Asahi. JJ of
course, went to the Onsen. I don’t even
know when she got back.
I got up at 4:00 this morning so I will enjoy my three hours
of “quiet time”. I am enjoying the
cookies from our flight along with the green tea in our room.
Today, the plan is to take care of stuff like picking up our
rail passes, going to a tea ceremony and whatever else we can fit it. JJ does a pretty good job of planning our
adventures, although not as comprehensive as our friend “Perfecto”.
Wednesday, July 1:
Forgot to mention, when we were boarding the plane in Hilo,
as I was asking for a gate check for our transport wheelchair, the agent tells
JJ that she needs to gate check one of her bags as JJ has her Delsey carry on,
a Disney themed large shopping bag with her purse and other stuff in it and a
small plastic bag with our lunches in it.
So I tell JJ to just put the lunch in the shopping bag. The agent then says, “that will do it”. So, is Hawn Air going to start enforcing their
luggage rules?
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast as it was raining
lightly. We figured no sense in going
outdoors if it’s raining as there is really nothing to see during the summer
months. So after breakfast, we go to the
Tea Ceremony place and realize that we are 40minutes early. So we agree to go to Yodobashi to kill some
time.
We reach the ceremony with seconds to spare as from their
emails, it seems as though being on time is super important. Then lo and behold, we have to wait for other
guests. When they finally show up, of
course they apologize and are all treated with undeserved courtesy. My thoughts of that Tea Ceremony was that Japanese
have a unique talent in making simple things difficult. I also felt that the lady did not look “professional”
as her Kimono did not have that “crisp” look and the orange colored cloth that
she kept in her obi to wipe the cups had a green tinge in a corner from many
years of wiping matcha powder. The other
three (minority of three, I might add), thought that it was because she was an
old timer and we were lucky to get her and not a rookie. HYF?
Surprisingly, the tea was very flavorful, without being
bitter. We each got a chance to prepare
a cup and would you believe that I was the only one in our group who could not
make it frothy? Ai yai yuh!!
The plan was to then go to a restaurant with roots linked to
the distant past near Gion. They
specialized in Tempura. I got the
impression from JJ that she had everything under control as she flashed a copy
of the description of the restaurant along with a map. Knowing the street that was near it made it
simple to catch the subway. Not knowing
the exact location made it impossible to find.
We finally asked someone and unfortunately, that lady gave us directions
that had us go in the totally opposite direction. After much walking, we finally decided to eat
at a restaurant that someone recommended near Nishiki Market. The incident reminded me of the story of “Leftennant Muneno” (JJ) telling General
Custer, “Sir, I am sure that the Black Hills
are that way!” She can be so convincing
and believable and I am sure Custer’s last words to her was, “yeh, right. since when is Little Big Horn called the Black Hills?” But
the great thing is that without her, I would have very little to write about.
At the restaurant, everyone else enjoyed the selection and
flavors but I found my chicken to have an overpowering taste. The selections were also very limited and the
only beef selection was beef tongue. There
were not any Sashimi selections which usually I can count on as being a good
alternate for my weird taste buds. My
taste buds are really becoming a curse, severely limiting food that I can
enjoy.
We caught the subway back to the Dormy Inn, with Janet and
Dave leading much of the way. We
separated at the train station and we went on to my favorite store,
Yodobashi. We were successful at the Global
Kitchen and found five packages of our precious Iwashi Mentaiko. They even agreed to hold and freeze it for us
so we can pick it up before we go back home.
On the way out, we stopped by the bakery and found some
cream puffs for my morning snack. The
only downer was that I was unable to find the Ume
juice that I so long for.
We celebrated Dave’s birthday at his favorite tonkatsu
restaurant located in the “Cube”. After
getting our menus, we waited quite a while and got no service. We looked for a bell and could not find one. Then we saw this small block of wood and
thought, maybe we need to stand it on end.
Just then, the waitress comes by to take our order. I decided to order a Crab Croquette as the
rib that I was counting on was not offered on the dinner menu. The rest ordered either shrimp or tonkatsu.
I really enjoyed the shrimp tails from JJ and the Crab Croquette
was surprisingly like the crab cakes we enjoy at home. The sauce was not great but was still mild
enough so it did not overwhelm the delicate flavor of the Croquette.
When the waitress came, I asked her what the block with
writing was for (the one we thought was for signaling for service) and she said
that it described the available ingredients for making the tonkatsu sauce by
the guests.
After the dinner, the MOT (minority of three) wanted to eat
dessert at a dessert restaurant on the other side of the train station. So I dutifully pushed JJ and after they
ordered, I told them that after taking the pics, I would be going back to the
room to rest. It was about 8:00 p.m. and
way past my bedtime. Got some nice shots
of the tower at night on the way back.
JJ woke me up at about 10:00 and we all went down for the
Ramen. It was cooked to perfection but
unfortunately, I was still too tired to enjoy it 100%. Another thing is that I’ve been getting a
re-occurrence of what I call, a “scalp ache”.
I got it about 10 years ago and at that time, I thought it was
shingles. It’s on the top, right side of
my scalp and it is a really sharp pain that feels like someone is grabbing my
skull with really sharp finger nails and the most aggravating part is that it
appears unpredictably and always catches me by surprise. Not knowing when the next pain will appear
also makes it super frustrating. I know
it’s not Shingles as my doctor told me, if I can make it go away with
Ibuprofen, it’s not Shingles. Wow, I can
not even imagine how bad Shingles pain must be.
Today is our travel day and we head for Hakone. Hasta Lavista, Baybeee!
Thursday, July 2:
Being a travel day, there is really nothing much to write
about. However, for me, we had the best
lunch and dinner today.
While going to the train station, we are waiting for the
“walk” light and this young haole tourist, with tattoos on his leg, steps in
front of us to wait for the light. Then
when the light changes, he doesn’t even start to cross. So I politely asked him to get moving by
pushing the chair forward and bumping him…..heh, heh, heh. JJ, being low, cannot see what is going on so
when he turns around to see who had the gall to bump him, she innocently says,
“sorry”. And before she has the chance
to tell me “be careful”, I tell her that she doesn’t have to apologize to the
idiot who rudely steps in front of us, then hesitates to cross.
We caught a later train so we didn’t have to rush. This also made it possible for us to stop at Nagoya for lunch. At the Nagoya
train station, I remember eating the best ever ramen during our last trip in
April.
When we got off the Shinkansen, I couldn’t find my
reference, which was the visitor info office.
After realizing that we were really lost at the station, we back tracked
and finally found familiar references.
All I could remember was that the restaurant had to be accessible by
wheelchair. Banzai!! We found it!
While the ramen was as good as I remembered, it was hard to
enjoy it as the place was so busy and high energy, it was just so hard to kick
back and relax. The staff made no overt
gestures to rush us but it was just so busy that we felt that we had to make
room for other customers. But all in
all, it was worth the special stop.
The ride to Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto was a bit tiring as it
was quite long. Dave started talking to
a guy on the train and he told us that the Japanese people are avoiding
Hakone-Yumoto because they are so practical, they are avoiding the area because
of the potential eruption.
Our room is surprisingly large. One of the English speaking staff was
assigned to us to take us to our room and explain the various amenities of the
hotel. It really is a great place to
stay.
Well, except that we found out that the air conditioning
cannot be adjusted and it’s really cold.
Plus, I didn’t bring my night sweats as I was planning to wear the
yukata normally provided. I had to go to
sleep with my head under the futon to warm up the bed.
We did some window shopping and then went to our favorite
Izakaya for dinner. I enjoyed my
favorite sashimi-beer combo and the MOT ordered Tonkatsu (which was not on the
menu but the owner said no problem), Tempura, Pork-Kimchee and Ume Chazuke. Everyone enjoyed their food and the tab came
out to just under 10000 Yen. A bit
pricey for an Izakaya but well worth it.
As it was getting dark while walking back to our hotel, we
decided to check out the Fireflies. It
was doubtful that we would find any as the signs that we saw the last time were
not up and we didn’t see anyone else along the trail. I thought I saw one or two but they were
probably just light reflecting off the water.
BTW, I think our poltergeist at home was playing tricks on
me. I couldn’t figure out why my pics we
being imported into my laptop in a different file format than normal (TIFF vs
RAW for you camera guys). I thought it
was my software but just found the setup on my camera was changed. It started from my pics taken before we left for
Japan so I know that it
happened in Hilo. Plus, I think he has a brother in Japan as my
flash unit settings got changed to “manual” and I had a hard time figuring out
why my flash pics taken last night were getting “blown out”.
Friday July 3:
We went to the Japanese Buffet Restaurant downstairs and I
was a little (very little) disappointed as the selections were a bit
limited. However, the coffee and flavors
of the food was quite good, even the bacon, which Japanese restaurants often
have problems in preparing well.
Although the plan was to go to Hakone checkpoint, there it’s
raining so we will go shopping and hope that the weather clears in the
afternoon.
We spent the morning shopping in the immediate town
area. It was actually a pretty pleasant
experience waiting while the MOT were shopping because if no benches were
available, I would just sit on JJ’s wheelchair and listen to my book. We may continue to use that chair even after
she is well!
After a light snack of pastry and drinks, we started looking
for a place to eat lunch. We ended up at
an Udon restaurant. Even though I’m not
an Udon eater, it was ok. The flavor of
the dashi was perfect but somehow, I just cannot enjoy the noodles because of its
size and texture.
BTW, before I forget, after I sent my last email, I was
notified that 6 were undeliverable. And
guess what all 6 had in common? All were
“cable” accounts, “shaw.ca (Canada) or hawaii.rr.
HYF?
Before going to the Hakone Checkpoint, JJ went to verify
that the bus could handle our wheelchair.
While waiting in line for the bus, one of the staff approached us and
asked where we were going. We told her
to the checkpoint and also asked if the Pirate Ship” was running. She said that the ship was running and that
we could purchase the bus tickets from her.
We got on the bus and find that they even have an area that
will hold the wheelchair. The bus driver
drove like hell on wheels. He must have
known that road like the back of his hand.
He knew exactly where to slow down and where he could drive like a
demon. Just before we get to the
checkpoint, we hear an announcement that this was the stop if we wanted to ride
on the Pirate Ship. I verify this with
the driver and he tells me that the ship is not operating due to weather. WTF?
He also tells us that we can either get off now or go to one more stop
for the checkpoint.
I remember this stop from our last trip here and I know that
the Hakone Checkpoint is quite a distance away, if you are walking. So we stay on the bus and get off at the last
stop.
While walking to the checkpoint, we see the store that we
had purchased a “magic box”. This is a
box that opens only if you know the exact sequence of moving the various pieces
in proper sequence. Earlier, I told JJ
that I didn’t remember the “Magic Store” as being near the checkpoint. But lo and behold, she was right and I was
wrong. Perhaps this happened for the 3rd
or 4th time (maybe more) in our almost 50 year marriage. But no matter, it still pains me to admit hat
I was not correct. Note, I was not
correct. I was not wrong.
Fortunately for us, the checkpoint was foggy but not
raining. It was pretty nice walking
around and enjoying the area without “tourists” around us, although the fog
gave the area an eerie ambience. Our
views of the area also shifted so quickly with the fast moving fog.
The bus ride back to Yumoto-Hakone was a lot less exciting,
even though we had the same bus driver.
I guess he had to drive less aggressively because we were going
downhill. It was also great to see the
courtesy the bus drivers give to each other on the narrow, winding mountain
road.
At this time, the young ones are resting before dinner, JJ
is at the onsen, and I am enjoying my second BIG can of Kirin. We plan to go back to our favorite Izakaya so
I just hope that the weather and my energy level allows it.
Excitement of the day:
Just before we got back to Yumoto-Hakone, I started to prep myself by
putting on my backpack, fleece jacket, etc. as I knew that I had to handle the
transport wheelchair. So there I was, ready
to go when I notice that I dropped a tissue on the floor. Just at that moment, as I was leaning from my
seat and bending over, the bus makes a turn to the left and lose my balance and
start my slow motion roll to the floor.
I did manage to pick up my rubbish.
Dinner at the Izakaya remains at the top of my list. We even managed to save about 1000 yen by
ordering a sashimi platter for two at the get go, rather than ordering the
platter for one, two times. The most
interesting part was that us tourists outnumbered the locals. There was a guy from Australia and two guys from either the U.S. or Europe. All three of those guys seemed to fit in well
with the culture.
BTW, in case you notice that sometimes my “tense” is wrong,
it’s because I write some parts of this on the day that it happens and finish
it off early in the morning during my “quiet time”.
Today is our travel day to go to Tokyo.
I decided to use a private railway instead of JR just to make the travel
easier as the cost is only about $20.00/person more. The transfers can be a bit of a hassle with
our luggage and transport wheelchair.
Banzai!!
Saturday, July 4:
Before going to breakfast, I started looking for our breakfast
vouchers. I couldn’t find them. All I could remember was that I was going to
put them in a safe place. The problem is
not remembering the safe place.
Because we had time constraints, I decided to just purchase
additional meal vouchers and chalk it up to a learning experience. I went to the front desk and gave the clerk
my room key, to show that I was a guest, my credit card to show that I wanted
to pay for it, and explained that I misplaced the breakfast vouchers.
So he processes it and tells me that it will cost 1200 yen
for the local tax. Ok, but then I still
don’t have the vouchers. So after trying
again to explain what I wanted, he gives me two more vouchers and tells me that
there is no extra charge as our stay included breakfast. Sometimes, I wish I listened to my parents
and went to Japanese school.
Getting from Yumoto-Hakone to Tokyo was a pretty simple process as we did
not have to make any transfers until we got to Shinjuku. There, we had to transfer to the JR line and
it was a bit confusing but manageable.
We finally got to the Kanda station as that’s where we ran into
problems. As we didn’t know what exit to
take, we took the closest. We followed
the signs to the Ginza subway station and
ended up outside. We took the general
route of the sign (as there were no more signs) and finally asked someone. Finally, we found that we had to go back into
the station to get to the Ginza line. Then our real problems started due to the
amount and weight of the luggage we had.
Climbing up and down the stairs was tough. What I should have done when planning the
route was not find the shortest walk, but the most easiest. If I had used the Yamanote line and gotten
off at the JR station, even though the walk was longer, it would have been much
easier, without having to go up and down the SUBway stairs . Lesson learned.
After leaving our bags at the hotel, we walked in the area
(Akihabara). The area is known for its
electronics and the number and variety of stores is amazing. And so is the number of people.
We enjoyed a quick lunch at a Tempura place, where we had a
bit of a problem with the vending machine that is often used in Japan
restaurants. I couldn’t find someone to
help but help came quickly when a short line built up behind us. Besides the usual fare, I tried a Tempura
Scallop that was pretty bland.
After lunch, we found shop (Gaba) that specialized in musubi
and shaved ice. Gaba is a sprouted rice
that is supposed to be as nourishing as brown rice but has the flavor of white
rice. I ate a Korean BBQ musubi and the
rice was very tasty. The Korean BBQ was
a bit off tasting. The MOT ordered
shaved ice. It was surprisingly large
and they said tasted good.
Then after checking in at our hotel, we went off to
Ameyokocho shopping district. It proved
to be aptly named as it was raining the whole time we were there. It was especially hard getting around,
pushing the wheelchair and holding the umbrella. It was also impossible to take pics.
We finally decided to go to the Yodobashi that we saw across
the the JR station to check out the grocery store and to eat dinner.
We ate dinner at a Tonkatsu restaurant and me being the
oddball, ordered belly pork and a coupe of beers. I decided to go back to our old schedule of
being back at the hotel by 3 or 4 and have dinner at 5:00. These long days are beginning to take a toll
on my aging body and mind. It was 11:40
in Hawaii and
we were still eating dinner. AI yai yah!
This Yodobashi also did not have a grocery store and a
dollar store like in Kyoto.
Sunday, July 5:
Wow, we are over the ½ mark of our trip.
Forgot to mention, this Dormy Inn (Akihabara) is really bad
because of the construction going on. We
love the chain for three primary reasons:
- They have an Onsen
- They have Ramen at night
- They have a buffet restaurant for breakfast
Due to the construction, this hotel only has the Onsen. Instead of the Ramen, they are offering
guests “cup of noodles” and it seems that they are sending guests around the
corner for breakfast. It would have been
OK if we were notified and at least had a chance to book at another location
but we were not aware of the construction until we left our bags for
storage. Pretty unusual for a Japanese
company to treat their guests this way.
I don’t know if I should bring this up with the manager due to the
language problems. We’ll see.
Also, the sink that we use for brushing our teeth is a
stainless kitchen sink, which is a bit odd too.
Breakfast was a bargain for only 600 Yen each. But, we found out that they will serve
exactly the same dishes everyday. But,
even if I only drink the coffee, eat the rice and koko, it’ll be worth it.
When we got back to the hotel, I asked the clerks if they
spoke English as we were not too happy with our visit. He said that he could speak a little. I showed him a note I wrote and pointed out
why we always stay at a Dormy Inn, three times a year, since 2012:
- Onsen
- Noodles at night
- Buffet breakfast
Also, our room was supposed to have a Tatami area. I showed him my other list of what we would
like:
- Relocation to another Dormy Inn
- Larger Room
- Discount
I also told him that if they couldn’t do anything, we would
still remain loyal Dormy Inn customers.
The seemed to have tried really hard to relocate us, but
having two room probably made it more difficult. Finally, they said that they couldn’t find a
room for us and I said, ok, thank you for trying. Then JJ says, what about a larger room? They managed to find one room for our stay.
Our new room is significantly larger. However, there is less “walking space” as most of the room is taken by the bed that
is actually larger than our king sized bed at home! Plus, we have to take our shoes off to go on
the Tatami area. But, JJ is happy.
Before we went out for the day, we gave one of the clerks a
box of choc-macnut candy to share with the other guy who helped us and he was
really appreciative. Or surprised to be
appreciated by Gaijin.
We went to the Harajuku area to see street performers at Yoyogi Park
and to see the flowers at Meiji Jingu.
Meiji Jingu, although a very long walk, was very tranquil,
except for a few very loud American tourists.
It was really hard to believe that we were in the middle of a large
city. The forest around the shrine was
created about 90 years ago by volunteers and the trees were donated from all
over Japan
and the world. At the entrance, there
were casks of wine that were donated by wineries in France
to honor the Emperor Meiji for his roll in introducing Western culture to Japan.
Looking for a place to eat, we stumbled onto Takeshita Street,
which is a popular place for Japanese teenagers. The street is lined with a variety of shops,
7-11, McDonalds, local restaurants and boutique shops. Super crowded.
We ate lunch at a small restaurant that was a total
rip-off. They used a baiting tactic of
low prices and when you get in, wham!
Our lunch of 3 roast beef plates (not very good) and 1 pasta plate and 1
beer and 2 soft drinks cost about 8900 Yen.
Based on how they got us in there, I made sure we were charged correctly
as my estimate was more like 7500 Yen.
But, the check was correct.
The MOT then went to a shop that sold Crepes. It was a very popular place with long lines. The consensus was that they were not very
good but the presentation seemed nice (to me).
On the way out, we saw a sign to Yoyogi Park
and after a round about long walk, we finally got there. It was a total waste of time as the vendors
did not sell anything that was attractive to us and the music was so, so. The showmanship of the two bands we saw was
great but the music, ahh, what ca I say as one of the groups were a rap
group. Interestingly enough, there were
many old people (residents) there.
While walking back to the station, we encountered a long
line of people, waiting to to to an event at the stadium next to the park. There must have been thousands of them,
waiting in line. Unfortunately, we did
not know how to ask what was the event.
After a short rest at our hotel, we got lucky and found a
food court nearby. We chose a Yakitori
restaurant that actually grilled more than chicken. Everything we ate was really flavorful and we
all enjoyed the variety and flavors of the food.
I will be able to include more pics as I realized that my
settings were set to high for emailing pics.
Hasta lavista, Baybee!!
Monday, July 06, 2015:
The day started normally, enjoying a leisurely breakfast at
the “alternate Dormy Inn restaurant”.
Menu was changed a little as they added banana to the yogurt and the
fish was mackerel instead of salmon.
The plan was to go to Tsukiji Market, then on to Ginza. After
freshening up, we left our room and saw a whole bunch of Dormy Inn cleaners,
just finishing up a meeting. One of them
opens the elevator door for us and as JJ starts sitting in her wheelchair, it
slowly collapses. Only the seat keeps it
from completely collapsing. She gets off
the chair and as soon as I look at it, I can see that a main support bolt is
not completely through the mount as the nut is missing. Ai yai yah!!
We ask the front desk if there is a hardware store
nearby. The girl says maybe we can find
parts at a nearby store. We walk along
and cannot find the store. Dave starts
asking various shops if they have the nut we are looking for by showing them a
drawing of a nut. He finally hits pay
dirt when someone tells him of a bolt store.
As we are walking down the street, everyone but me sees this giant bolt
sign. The guy that we ask tells us they
do not have a nut that matches our bolt.
I ask him if he has a bolt and nut combo that will fit our chair. Once he looks at the chair, he immediately
knows what we need. Voila! Problem solved.
Even though we thought we understood the subway system in Tokyo, we still do
not. While going to Tsukiji, we couldn’t
make it through one wicket as we bought a wrong ticket. We thought that a ticket was good for all
subways as we never had a problem during our last trip. Even the routing by Hyperdia did not show the
need for separate tickets.
On the way back, we were completely denied access to a
wicket as we had bought the ticket from the wrong vending machine. HYF?
At Tsukiji, it was raining.
We found some neat Omiyage stuff and also knife shops that sold
stainless steel blades. The first shop
wouldn’t take charge cards. When we
found the second one, when I asked if they took charge cards, the clerk told me
“no”. Just as I was moving on, Janet
sees the cc placard so we point it out to her and then I guess she understood
what I was saying. And no, none of the
knives were stamped “MacKnife” (remember that old Bobby Darren song, Mack the
Knife?). The store also offered tax free
purchases for tourists.
Tsukiji was so crowded that even the ramen stands outside
were packed with tourists standing and eating their ramen on tables that you
stand and eat on. We finally found a
place to eat about a block away that sold Tempura. We realized we found a good place as most of
the customers looked as though they worked in the area.
It was so rainy that I didn’t even take my camera out. While walking, we heard some loud
exclamations of “what are you doing here” and it turned out that Janet and Dave
met a couple from their church. I told
him that after that, it is possible that he could win the lottery.
We then caught the subway to Ginza
where JJ wanted to visit the Itoya store where they specialize in all things
stationary. They had 12 floors and most
of them featured some kind of stationary related item. Funny thing is they had escalators going up
but none coming down so everyone who didn’t want to walk down had to use the
lone elevator.
On the way back, we stopped to take a picture of the Apple
store. It’s huge and even has a rotating
Apple logo on the top.
It was time to go back for my rest time at the hotel and
Janet and Dave decided to venture off by themselves to the Asakusa area. After a fast beer in our room, JJ and I went
to a “Cat Café” near our hotel. It was 4
stories up, only stairs. The place was
pretty small and there was perhaps about 8 cats. Most of them were really big. Clients could touch them and take non-flash
pics but could not carry or feed them.
They were also required to completely wash and sanitize their
hands. Price was very reasonable, 500
Yen/person for 30 minutes.
By the time we returned, it was almost 5:30, the time were
to meet if we were going to have dinner together. Surprisingly, Janet and Dave were back in
time. We planned on going to another
Yakitori restaurant in the same food court.
When we got there, it was almost empty and Dave asked if they had an
English menu. When they handed it him,
it was really tattered and dirty. JJ
said that she just read that if a restaurant has dirty menus, it shows the care
and pride the business has for it’s food and clients since computers and
printers are so cheap nowadays (not to mention lamination). So, back to same ole, same ole.
The cook was happy to see us again. I wonder if he remembered us because of our
unique personalities or because we were the only ones with a bright blue
wheelchair? We ordered basically the
same foods, adding smoked cheese to our order.
It was quite good.
Today is our last full day in Tokyo.
It looks as though it may stop raining.
Tuesday, July 7:
The plan today is to go to Shimbashi, then on to
Jiyugaoka. The bad news is that because
I was working on a train change for Wednesday, we took the Yamanote line
instead of the Ginza subway. The good new is we saved 200 Yen each as we
could use our JR Pass.
It may not seem like much but if we did this 1000 times, it would be
about $4000.00!
When we got to Shinbashi, we got to see the famous
crossing. Of course Dave, with his
constant need for coffee, said that he read that the best view is from the
Starbucks across the street. As I refuse
to pay for their inflated coffee prices, I ordered an Earl Grey tea. It was more bitter than my mother in law!
After we get to the second floor, there are only a few seats
available with a window view. I see a
haole couple with their backpacks on the seats beside them and I ask if we
could use those seats. They appear to
reluctantly give up the seats. I don’t
now why so many people think that their bags are more important than other
people. I see this often at airports and
I always wonder why they are so “clueless”.
HYF?
We wander a bit JJ wants to go to a Food Show. It turned out to be pretty much what you
would ordinarily see in the basement of any train station. We decide to eat lunch before heading out to
Jiyugaoka. When JJ asks if there is a
food court in the store, I hear “no” and JJ hears “9th floor”. We go to the 9th floor and I
realize that JJ’s hearing is better than mine.
After the MOT make a complete circle to check out every
restaurant (come on guys, main thing got beer), they decide on an Italian
restaurant. We see the people next to us
and the portions seem kinda big, so JJ and I decide to share a pizza. They offered only two types, and neither had
meat or sausage. So we settle on a
Margherita pizza. Dave tells us that
pizza places pride themselves on the Margherita as because it is so simple, the
melding of sauce and cheese and basil must be perfect. It turned out to be one of the best pizza
that I have ever eaten. My taste buds
never felt overwhelmed. JJ thought that
the sauce was too “tomato-ey”. HYF? If the crust was crispy, it would have been
Purrfect.
Jiyugaoka was not as expected. First of all, Leftennant Muneno fooled me
again. I thought that she had done her
research as she never asked me to look into it.
Well, when we got there, the only research she had done was “go to the
visitor information office”. Good advice except where is the visitor info
office? We ask someone outside the
station and they send us in the wrong direction. It’s just that language thing. We take a long circular route to look for the
canal that JJ read about. Finally, out of
exasperation, I suggest that we head back, especially because it raining. But Dave, ever the diplomat, suggests that we
try harder. So I go and ask the station
guys about where the visitor info place is.
He tells us where it is and they give us directions to the canal that JJ
is looking for.
As we are climbing this hill t get to the famous canal that
we cannot find, I extended my Ki so much that I never noticed the pain and
tiredness of climbing that hill, pushing JJ, nor the canal. We hear Dave calling as he found the
canal. Only thing is that it is BEHIND
us. I was so focused that I never even
saw it. It turned out to be a miniature
canal, with a miniature bridge and a miniature gondola. The last time I saw this much hype about
nothing was in Oregon
and visited their covered bridges and “natural, man made ocean reef”.
One of the things i always like to see are people who love
pets, especially homeless ones. There was such a group at the Jiyugaoka
train station. I like to give them all of my loose change. Only
this time, I wished later that i had kept 320 Yen for the train fare back as I
ended up having to break my 10000 Yen bill for the fare back to Shibuya.
When back in Shibuya, the kids said that they would explore
the area. JJ and I went back to our
hotel to pack and rest before dinner.
Our plan was to pack our large suitcase and forward it to KIX. The clerks were unfamiliar with the process
so it was a good thing that a Yamato guy was at the hotel.
We met for dinner and couldn’t find anything suitable at the
food court. So we settled for same ole
Yakitori. As good as the food is, I just
got tired of the same flavor as everything is cooked and seasoned the same. We got to sit next to the grill and found out
that the cook was from Indonesia
and is in Japan
for education. He is a really nice guy
and was really happy that he saw us again.
Come to think about it, the essence of that restaurant was not the food
but the overall ambiance that really make us happy just to be there.
Hasta Lavista, Dudes and Dudettes
Wednesday, July 08, 2015:
As we were packing, we saw this piece of charcoal, in a
little basket. I wonder if it’s to
passively remove odors in the room?
Today was a travel day.
Leaving Tokyo
before our anticipated time caused a few problems but they were actually very
minor ones. The biggest problem we
encountered was to store our bags in Hachioji. Finally, Dave found a touch screen with
directions. Once you know the system,
everything is easy. There also was a
choice of several languages.
While D & J met with their friend, JJ and I took a
stroll around the block. We couldn’t
find anything interesting in the immediate area so we ended up eating at the
train station. We found a Korean
restaurant that was pretty good. The
heat in my tofu soup was perfect and the flavor good. JJ ordered Japchai and it seemed ok but her
comment was “Kay’s had a better one”. We
really miss Kay’s Lunch
Center’s food. Ah, the good ole days!
There were many volunteers working on plants outside of the
station. It was really nice seeing the
community effort to beautify the area.
The train ride back to Kyoto
was interesting only because so many people (men, mostly), traveling alone,
would put their bags on the seat next to them.
It was really hard finding seats that were next to each other. When we finally got back to Kyoto the kids left us in the dust. Great, they are finally getting into the
independent groove.
We enjoyed dinner at our favorite Kyoto Izakaya. The manager was surprised when he saw
us. We really enjoyed a lot of different
foods. See the pics.
After dinner, JJ and I went to Yodobashi and found 2 more
Iwashi Mentaliko. After we paid for it,
we asked a guy if they could freeze it for us.
He doesn’t understand so calls someone else. The lady goes to the fish department and
talks to the guy. She comes out and says
“no” and crosses her wrists. HYF? I guess it’s a good thing that they had only
2 more.
Interesting thing about this trip. Both JJ and I feel tired. Part of it is dealing with the rain but it
could also be that we haven’t fully recovered yet from our tiredness in Hilo or maybe age has
crept up on us and made itself felt.
Many people we know lose their desire to travel after they hit that 70
year barrier. Perhaps that too is
working on our minds.
Thursday July 9, 2015:
We split up for breakfast, the kids opting for the Dormy Inn
buffet and me and JJ the Amici. We
enjoyed the lighter breakfast at Amici and it was good to see the owner again.
We spent the morning going to Sanjusangendo, a temple and
garden very close to our hotel. To get
there, we caught the JR to Tofukuji, then transferred to Keihan Railway to
Shichijo station. Climbing up those
stairs might have been harder than walking to the temple from our hotel.
The grounds offered many photo ops and we really enjoyed the
leisurely stroll. Since no photos were
allowed within the temple, I decided to stay outside, rest and listen to my
audiobook.
We then looked for a place to eat lunch. Restaurants were rare in the neighborhood so
we settled for a franchised curry restaurant.
It turned out to be a refreshing meal, offsetting the really high
humidity of the day. I made the mistake
of ordering short rib curry which had a lot of fat. I should have ordered a beef curry like Dave
and at least get a few pieces of beef.
We then walked along the Kamo river to get to the Gion area
and Maruyama park. I realized that we
were in for a long walk when Dave pointed out Kyoto Tower. When we finally reached Gion, everyone was
ready for a cool refreshment. JJ found
this restaurant that had shaved ice and beer.
Perfect combo for our group.
After our snack, on to Maruyama park. The area offered nothing special and really
drove home the idea that in the summer, we have to go to Hokkaido.
Cooler temps, lower humidity and flowers in bloom…..not to mention the
great seafood.
The plan was to go to Kodaiji Temple
but when we saw the stairs we had to climb, we decided to forgo it. Soon after that, we came across an artist who
specializes in cat themed items, t-shirts, shopping bags, caps, etc. We were pretty impressed with his work so I
asked him how much one of the bags was.
He said 3800 yen but we could get it for 3000 yen. Sold!
While the MOT were across the street shopping, I was watching the artist
and was surprised that each one of his products was hand painted, making our
purchase a bargain.
It was so hot and humid today that I finally agreed to let
Dave push JJ’s wheelchair. Several
times, I was a bit light headed and would not have been surprised if I blacked
out, especially after kneeling or squatting and quickly standing up. Either I need more Li Hing Mui or more stress
from JJ to get my BP up.
We caught a cab back to our hotel, resting a bit and went
back to the Izakaya for an early dinner.
We tried a few new dishes and it was a nice meal. Then on to Yodobashi for some last minute
shopping. We found more Iwashi Mentaiko
and best of all, the helpful guy from our first night was working. He not only said he could freeze what we
bought, but he found 5 more frozen packages.
Almost as good as a Royal Flush in “Let It Ride”. BANZAI!!
I finally managed to get an appointment for a massage
tonight. Since I couldn’t get an
appointment last night, I’m going for the 80 minute course. It will be a great way to end the day. I don’t know if I got my money’s worth as I
fell asleep through most of the session.
But I don’t feel as achy anymore, so I guess I did.
The MOT kindly waited for me so we could enjoy our last
Ramen together. It was excellent. It was about 10:30 and they returned from
shopping about 30 minutes earlier. Ah,
the energy of youth (or perhaps middle age?).
A big thing for me regarding this trip is that it has really
helped me to refine and advance the concept of Ki and Relaxing, which we
learned in our Aikido Ki class that we took several years ago. When the going got hard, like those long
uphill climbs, I would extend my Ki and really try to relax. Those really helped but even then, today I
had to admit that I reached my physical limit and asked Dave to take over the
pushing of the wheelchair. I was
perspiring so much that I had nothing to pee.
Tru fac. I felt grungy even to
myself. Tru, tru fac.
Tomorrow is our last full day in Japan. The plan is to finish our Omiyage shopping,
which is almost as fun as sightseeing and taking pictures. I just hope I can find my Ume
juice to bring back home. That would
really be the “frosting on the cake”
While I look forward to seeing our friends and “little
people”, I’m not quite ready to leave.
Sayonara, Dudes and Dudetts
Epilog:
After breakfast, JJ and I caught a taxi to Gion for her to
her shopping. When she was done, I
thought she was crazeee. She had three
large shopping bags, packed with boxes and another small one. Did I mention that we were already packed?
I’m pretty much cooled down by the time we get back to the
hotel. She buys a box from them to pack
her purchases, then off to Aeon Mall to eat lunch.
We went to the same Korean restaurant that we found during
our last Kyoto
trip. We both enjoyed our orders of Tofu
soup and Bi Bim Bop. On the way back, I
picked up a few more cans of the elusive Ume
juice from Harves. It’s not quite the
one I’m looking for but at this point, I just can’t be too choosey.
When we get to Yodobashi to pick up the Iwashi Metntaiko,
the guy even has it packed in a Styrofoam box for us and even gives us a few
packs of gel ice. It’s a good thing we
had three boxes of the chock-macnut candy for him.
JJ packed and re-packed our luggage. We ended up with six pieces of luggage, one
of which we forwarded directly to KIX from Tokyo.
This not include our “personal” items such as backpacks or purses.
When the shuttle came to pick us up, we had a total of 9 pieces of luggage and I had estimated that
we would have 7 when I made the reservations.
Fortunately, we four were the only passengers to the airport.
The driver was very friendly and would point out landmarks
to us. When we got to the airport, I
told him that we were 5 bags over so I should pay an additional 5000 Yen. He said we were only 2 bags over so it was
only 2000 Yen more than the fare as he gave us a discount. I thanked him. JJ said that next time, we should keep a box
of candy for the shuttle driver. I asked
her, what are you going to do if the driver is not nice? She said, “eat it”.
When we checked at
Hawaiian, we got lucky again as we all could get the comfort seats, although we
could not get them 4 in a row. I said
that it was fine so Janet and Dave ended up in an exit row and we got the seats
in the front of the plane. The business
class and comfort plus section in front was completely full so we got the last
two seats.
I got a bit of a shock as I had just fallen asleep when I
hear a voice, “Lyman, would you like to read the paper?” I looked at the FA with surprise and
responded, “why?” I was wondering if
something happened that I needed to read about.
The FA responds by saying “You are a Platinum and we have an extra paper
so I was wondering if you wanted to read it”.
Whew, everything’s OK. I slept
about 4-6 hours and JJ almost none.
Needless to say, she is pretty tired.
We had asked for a porter to help us as we had a lot of
luggage. The blonde girl who helped us
shocked us when she spoke to us in Japanese.
She was also shocked when she learned that we were local. BTW, she was a blonde Filipino girl who went
to school in Japan.
She was an amazing person.
She had us and a Japanese national woman who was with her daughter. But the lady was in such a hurry that when we
reached the luggage area, the blonde girl put her in an elevator, and sent them
on their way, knowing that she lost out of any chance to get a tip. When we got to the HA baggage interline area,
I gave her a $13.00 tip and told her thank you and I could handle it form
there. She said, no, she has to go to
the interisland terminal so she will help us.
She takes us through TSA and even to the HA lounge, knowing that she
already got her tip. All I have left are
Yen so I give her 1000 Yen and ask her if she can change it at the money
exchange place. She thinks I want change
for myself and asked if I trust her to come back. Then it hits me and I tell her, “no, it’s
extra for you because you are so nice.”
Just an amazing person with a fantastic heart. It’s really the nice people you meet that
makes travel so rewarding.
Anyway, we are safely back so until our next adventure,
……………..
ON (Okinawan Ninja)
