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Ginza - Day 2

6/3/2017

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So, on the final day of our Ginza trip, we made our way out to explore again.

So where do we stop to eat but at an Italian restaurant, of course. It was intimate and delicious.

In the afternoon, this entire street is closed off from traffic for several hours so people can shop and have fun without vehicles around.

As our feet were hurting and it was approaching mid-afternoon, we decided to bid adieu to Ginza and make our way home visa train.

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On Friday, June 2, 2017, Jody and I took a weekend trip into Ginza to experience Kabuki Theater and the sites of Ginza. For those who don't know, Kabuki is a classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. The individual kanji, from left to right, mean sing, dance, and skill

The Kabuki-za in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional kabuki drama form. The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and others starred; upon Danjūrō's death in 1903, Fukuchi retired from the management of the theater. The theater is now run by the Shochiku Corporation which took over in 1914. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures of the actual performances, but they were spectacular. We experienced three widely different plays over a 4-hour period. They were highly entertaining and colorful. We even had an English translation device with us at our seat. Below are pictures of the building, the cast, as well as a picture I took of the very wide stage prior to the performance..

Following the Kabuki, we strolled off through Ginza in search of someplace to eat. We finally lighted at this Japanese steak house where we had fabulous Kobe beef. What a treat.

Following are pictures from this day's walk around Ginza. We must have walked several miles as day turned into night looking at the fabulous archetiture. Ginza is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.
It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous internationally renowned department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses located in its vicinity. Ginza is recognized by many as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world, attracting visitors and regulars alike from across the globe. Needless to say, we mostly did window shopping.

The famous Tokyo Tower gleaming like a jewel.

The Kabuki Theater lit up for the night. Frankly, we got so lost in this huge section of Tokyo that we ended up taking a cab back to the Kabuki Theater. Why the theater instead of our hotel which was just a few blocks from the theater? Because our cab driver couldn't even find the hotel on his GPS. Go figure. The biggest problem with the map we had was that it was in Japanese and really hard for us to find our way around.

Just some window shopping. We can't even imagine what these two above items cost. Anyway, so ends our first day in Ginza. Talk about being tired.

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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band And Sumo Wrestling

5/27/2017

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With just one day of rest after our return from Mt. Fuji, Jody and I took a day trip into Tokyo proper for several different reasons. This was a REALLY big day for me as it included getting the Deluxe Box Set of the 50th Anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles and going to see Sumo Wrestling. First up, Jody and I made our way back to Sinjuku - Jody to shop at the Oriental Bazaar and me to return to the main Tower Records store. Sgt. Pepper had just been released the day before and the store had this huge display on their ground floor.

And of course, the happy man back home with his prize after returning from our trip.

Following our shopping spree, we made our way further into Tokyo for the big Sumo Wrestling event. Above is a panorama of the coliseum. But first, a little personal background on the significance of sumo wrestling to me. The month and year, May, 1967, just keeps coming up for me in importance while here in Japan. First, it was my HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION 50 years ago. Secondly, it was the release of SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND by the Beatles, perhaps one of the greatest modern music albums of all time. Third, it was the release of the James Bond film, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. What does the Bond film have to do with sumo wrestling? This.

These brief scenes of a sumo wrestling match in Tokyo thrilled me. Little did I think that I would ever be able to see one myself in Tokyo. Yet, here I am. And both the venue and the match are almost unchanged from the movie. My research does show that the coliseum where the original YOLT filming was done no longer exists as this new venue was built some years later. But, the ritual is the same.

Walking down the street to the coliseum. This is a BIG DEAL in Japan.

The sumo wrestlers enter the wrestling mat area.

As each wrestler enters his name is called out and the audience cheers. It is easy to see who some of their favorites are.

After the introduction ceremony, they then leave the ring and the individual bouts begin.

The wrestlers start by facing each other from just inside the outer ring. There is great formality with much bowing. Needless to say, the referee is in the purple robe.

The wrestlers will then approach each other and size each other up. They will remain behind each of the white strips on the mat.

ALL of the wrestlers do this move.

They then squat down at the line. The actual wrestle doesn't begin until both wrestlers have each of their hands touching the mat. Frequently, after squatting one of them will get up and strut around and the match will be delayed until they are in their moment for the battle. I found it amusing to watch them preen around the ring.

Here are two going at each other.

If there is a disagreement, the referees confer to sort it out.

This has much great "theater" as wrestlers like this guy demonstrate their physical prowess for the audience.

Pictures do not do this performance justice as we watched these huge men try to either throw each other down or literally out of the ring. The event goes on for hours. We stayed for about 2 1/2 hours as we had no dogs in this race and just wanted to experience the event.

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Return to Mt. Fuji - Day 3.

5/25/2017

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Well, even though it called for rain, we walked from our hotel to FUJI-Q first thing in the morning to see if it was going to open and if we could get on at least one roller coaster ride. Fortunately, it was open and we got in.

Unfortunately one of the main roller coasters that Jody wanted to ride and the ferris wheel that I wanted to ride were closed that day. However, this roller coaster ride with one of the world's steepest inverted drops was running and Jody was hot to ride. As you can see, the cart is going 90 degrees straight up.

Almost there.

Starting down.

Oh yeah!

Needless to say, we survived.

We skipped this bad boy as the rides are VERY expensive and the rain was approaching. Jody was just happy to have done the previous ride. I had no complaints.

The famous Japanese "Hello Kitty!"

But, with a cool reverse side.

Of course, I wanted to go to the "Labyrinth of Fear" - a haunted hospital. Jody wasn't thrilled about this, but since I went on the roller coaster with her, she was game.

I said she was game, not happy. As we walked through the hospital, and sometimes ran as demented, dead patients and doctors chased us, I noticed that Jody always wanted to be in front of me. When I asked why, she said that was because I only slowed her down. So much for my survival.

We survived this as well.

On our way back from FUJI-Q Jody took a nice picture of our hotel.

The hotel's flowers were, of course, Japanese beautiful.

We returned to our hotel before the rain got bad and I discovered that my feet had gone through a remarkable and disturbing transformation.

May, 2017 marks many, many important moments for me. It was exactly 50 years ago this month that I graduated from High School and traveled to Baltimore's Hippodrome Theater to see James Bond (the one and only Sean Connery) in You Only Live Twice. This film, which almost entirely takes place in Japan, thrilled me with its exotic locale and culture. So, on a rainy Thursday afternoon next to Mt. Fuji Jody and I relaxed with cheese, crackers, and wine and watching YOLT in our hotel room while it poured buckets outside. Ah, so good.

And finally we had a lovely Japanese steak dinner that we grilled ourselves in the hotel's fine restaurant. Time to go home. Up next - SUMO WRESTLING.

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Return to Mt. Fuji - Day 2

5/24/2017

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As we start to prepare for Day 2 of our Mt. Fuji trip, Jody got a picture from our hotel room window of the amusement park, FUJI-Q, lit up at night. I guess they don't want you to forget that they're there.

And I feel the need to take this picture of Mt. Fuji from our window as we prepare to go to Station 5 on the volcano for that up close and personal trip.

Here is our now familiar train/bus station for departures to Mt. Fuji, the Moss Festival, etc.

On the bus going up Mt. Fuji - a 45 minute trip.

And here we are at Station 5. As can be expected, a Mecca for food, drink, and gifts..

Notice the little legend in red near the bottom? That's the 5th Step.

Leave it to horsewoman Jody to find horses wherever she goes.

You're probably wondering, where's Mt. Fuji? Well, at first the cloud cover around the volcano was so bad that we couldn't see it's top, nor the ground below. So, we just hung out longer and shopped and had some coffee..

This was one of several bikers who cycled up to Station 5. Wow!

I had quite the thrill when I found this Darth Vader-San cloth hanging artwork with Darth in front of My. Fuji. May The Force Be With You!

You ever notice that when I take selfies with Jody that I'm always the "Big Giant Head"? I wonder why that is?

Finally Mt. Fuji appeared. Yeah!

After riding the bus back down Mt. Fuji, we got on a train and headed for our second destination of the day, famous 5-story Chureito Pagoda in Fujiyoshida. To get to it, one must walk up 400 stairs.

FUJI-Q can be seen from everywhere.

We made it!

Ok. First off, the picture above is NOT my picture. When I first discovered that Jody and I were going to live in Japan for 4 months, I began researching Japan and discovered this iconic photo of a pagoda overlooking Mt. Fuji. At the time I did not realize that it was the famous 5-story Chureito Pagoda in Fujiyoshida. From the beginning, I always wanted to visit this scene, and now, here we are! It was worth walking up the 400 stairs for a glimpse of the view that I had only known in a picture for the last 12 months. Below is my attempt to recreate this picture within the limitations of an overcast day, no cherry blossoms blooming, and Mt. Fuji playing hide and seek. Still, an awesome scene and experience for me personally.

Jody played around with her camera with the above and below shots and they blew me away in their drama.

A Japanese ceremony was being conducted at the foot of the pagoda while we were taking pictures. There was much flute playing amidst a very quiet and dignified ceremony.

As we prepared to leave, we looked down at the steps and decided to instead take a walking road down the site. It was very beautiful and peaceful and despite the presence of other visitors to the pagoda, we were by ourselves during this walk.

We discovered a little building on the way down with an interesting well.

As Jody loves dragons, this was a real treat for her.

We made our walking way back to the train station. The tiled path was made more interesting by inlaid pictures of the pagoda and Mt. Fuji. Very attractive.

A rice paddy we encountered on the way.

As we got off the train at our hotel destination, we couldn't fail to notice the dramatic image of Fuji against one of the several FUJI-Q park roller coasters. We had accomplished what we had set out to do and had beaten the rain which would start shortly after we arrived back at our hotel. Another successful day. But, would we make it to FUJI-Q with rain scheduled for all day tomorrow?

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Return to Mt. Fuji

5/23/2017

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On Tuesday, May 23, 2017 Jody and I returned to the Mt. Fuji area as we wanted to do more there and to see Mt. Fuji up close and personal. On the train trip, we spotted this very interesting statue on the train platform. What's with the nose?

As we arrived at our hotel's destination, Jody started getting all excited as directly at our train stop was the entrance to FUJI-Q, the elaborate amusement park identified from afar in pictures from our earlier Fuji trip. Jody's a thrill-seeker for roller coaster rides and I knew this vision was in our future, up close and personal as well.

Upon arriving we saw Fuji peaking through the trees and knew that this would be a great day for pictures. Our major destination today was the famous annual Moss Festival. It only took about 45 minutes by bus to arrive at the festival.

As we walked around the huge moss area in the valley, our mouths were open at the grandeur of it all. Pictures don't do it justice, particularly with Fuji looming in the background.

Just to give an idea of how wide the moss field was in this panorama shot.

You can seldom get away from Fuji, it LOOMS everywhere!

Besides lots of food booths, there was even a juggler.

With Fuji at my back, the other view of the Moss Festival and the valley. After having our eyes blown out from the color, we let the Moss Festival and returned for dinner and a relaxing evening in our hotel room. Tomorrow is another day.

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Day 5, Kyoto

5/20/2017

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On our last full day in Kyoto, we visited Nijō Castle. This is a flatland castle. The castle consists of two concentric rings (Kuruwa) of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area of the castle is 275,000 square metres (2,960,000 sq ft), of which 8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft) is occupied by buildings. The entire castle is surrounded by a moat.

As with so many Japanese sites, the gardens are the main attraction.

From atop the highest point of the castle looking down on the moat.

After a stroll through these beautiful gardens, we went off for lunch where I struggled with some noodles.

After lunch and shopping, Jody and I returned to our AirB&B where our host took us out to meet a friend of his who specializes in kimonos and other Japanese artwork. The following images are some examples of her collection. Most of these pieces are silk with some being hundreds of years old.

This is a piece of a 400 year-old kimono.

But, of course Jody just HAD to be fitted for ANOTHER kimono with all the bells and whistles to go along with it.

The completed Obi.

Ando, the artist and kimono maker, even told Jody how to stand and show off the intricate kimono artistry. Jody got this whole outfit for a song. The fact that this was a handmake used silk kimono in excellent condition was a big plus. New kimonos go for literally multiple thousands of dollars.

Our host, Yoshio, and Ando took us out on the streets surrounding Ando's shop and treated us to dinner. This street was filled with dining establishments.

And in the center - shrimp tempura. Yum!

A final picture of a happy Jody after another full day in Kyoto. Back to Hachioji tomorrow.

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Day 4, Kyoto

5/19/2017

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On Day 4 in Kyoto we set out by train to Fushimi Inari to visit the Taisha Shrine, which was awarded 1st Prize by Trip Advisor as the most popular site by foreign visitors 3 years in a row. As we entered the town Jody noticed many young people dressed in traditional Japanese garb.

We were a little hungry and there were many street vendors selling appetizing??? dishes like this. Know what it is? How about fried quail.

This one particularly scared me. I have no idea what it is.

Entering the shrine area.

Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari which is 233 metres above sea level, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines which span 4 kilometers and takes approximately 2 hours to walk up. Since early Japan, Inari was seen as the patron of business, and merchants and manufacturers have traditionally worshipped Inari. Each of the torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha is donated by a Japanese business. First and foremost, though, Inari is the god of rice.

These are some MEAN cats.

To reach the top of the mountain, we set off walking. We did not know at the time that it would take over 2 hours to reach the top on a progressively elevated climb. There are 10,000 Torii gates to the top. Didn't know that either. The map below makes it look easy. NOT!

We've now been walking for about an hour and beginning to wonder, where's the top?

Of course, we weren't the only ones walking, and walking, and walking. At this point, we met an English-speaking couple coming down. They saw that we were getting tired and told us that it was another hour climb. At this point, we had seen enough Torii Gates, and since we had another site to visit, we decided to make our way back down the mountain.

Before we go to our next site, I leave you with this image from the 2005 movie, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA. This is a wonderful movie with terrific actors and images. Obviously, the adolescent girl running through these famous Torii Gates has a fascinating story to tell. Highly recommended.

We took another train ride, only this time upon exisitng the train we had to walk an additional 15 minutes to our next site. Although a bit tired and hungry, we're glad we pressed on as the gardens around this temple were very beautiful. Tōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku.. Tōfuku-ji takes its name from two temples in Nara, Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji. It is one of the so-called Kyoto Gozan or "five great Zen temples of Kyoto". Its honorary sangō prefix is Enichi-san. Originally built in 1236, the temple burned and was rebuilt in the 15th century. Some buildings have been burned and rebuilt in succeeding time periods. The grounds include both Zen dry stone gardens (including this patchwork gravel and stone garden) and moss and tree gardens. It was peaceful and relaxing.

Japanese gardeners literally rake these lines into the sand. Amazing.

FYI: For those who don't know, the 1926 German Expressionistic silent film, METROPOLIS, is one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time, hence my shirt's quote from the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

We left this site and headed by train downtown for some shopping and dining at a superb Indian restaurant. Young girls in kimonos were everywhere. Then, we walked to Gion Corner to see a Geisha performance on stage.

There was a great deal of commotion around this vehicle with people trying to get a glimpse of the Geisha inside. Famous Geishas here are like rock stars.

While I stood in line holding our place for the performance, Jody went around eyeballing the exhibits, such as these Geisha shoes.

The performances begin with traditional Japanese music.

Among the skills a Geisha must learn is the art of floral arrangement.

We then were treated to several short, Japanese plays, all accompanied by live on-stage music.

The plays were colorful diversions to the two highlights of the evening, the first of which was a performance by a Geisha.

What a face. And, she never cracked a smile.

The final performance was a Japanese puppet story. There are 3 Japanese puppeteers dressed in black manipulating this one puppet throughout the story. It was amazing watching them and their remarkable coordination.

We then went out into the teeming Kyoto Friday night streets and took the subway back to our lodging. This was a very exhausting and full day.

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Day 3 and on to Kyoto

5/18/2017

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We arrived via train in Kyoto, the third largest city in Japan, on Thursday, May 18, 2017. We put our luggage in lockers at the station and set off for Kinkakuji. Kinkakuji (literally "Temple of the Golden Pavilion"), officially named Rokuon-ji (literally "Deer Garden Temple"), is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the most popular buildings in Japan, attracting a large number of visitors annually. It is designated as a National Special Historic Site and a National Special Landscape, and it is one of 17 locations making up the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which are World Heritage Sites.

The Golden Pavilion itself.

It seemed like every other scene in this park was more beautiful than the first. It was packed with visitors, including many young Japanese girls and women dressed in kimonos.

We than left the Golden Pavilion and set off by foot for Ryoanji Temple. Ryōanji is the site of Japan's most famous rock garden, which attracts hundreds of visitors every day. Originally an aristocrat's villa during the Heian Period, the site was converted into a Zen temple in 1450 and belongs to the Myoshinji school of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, whose head temple stands just a kilometer to the south.

The

Japan gives the color "green" a new name.

Following these two beautiful tours, we returned to the train station to retrieve our luggage and take the subway to our AirB&B to crash for the evening.

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Day 2 in Hiroshima and on to Miyajima

5/17/2017

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The next morning we checked out of our hotel to travel to Miyajima. Before departing, we visited the museum across the street and got our Peter Rabbit fix.

We had a lovely 50 minute boat ride from Hiroshima to Miyajima. Certainly beat going on a commuter train.

As we approached the island, we spied it's main attraction, the Itsukushima Shrine. It is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" torii gate. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.

We arrived on the island of Miyajima, and immediately took a ferry like this one the short distance to the mainland to check into our hotel.

The first sight that greeted us as we entered our hotel was this replica of the Itsukushima Shrine. The hotel was very colorful with many displays as seen in the following pictures.

After checking into the hotel and getting settled, we immediately took the ferry back to the island for the major attractions. From the ferry we saw this towering pagoda that we would later see up close.