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Central Japan

In October 2014 we made a 23 day train journey from Tokyo to Koyasan, stopping in Tsumago, Takayama, Kanazawa and Kyoto. With day trips to Nikko, Matsumoto, Shirakawa-go, Nara and Osaka.

By Ellen

November 29^th, 2014

Nikko AND TYPHOON NO. 1 “PHANFONE"

This day was when typhoon no. 1 “Phanfone” hit us. We flet Tokyo (see my story about Tokyo) where even more rain was predicted. Made for some great pics though, and less Japanese tourists …

Below is a 17th century carving by Hidari Jingoro of the Three Wise Monkeys over a door of the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko. The three wise monkeys are famous throughout the world for the “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil” poses. The carved monkeys covering their eyes, ears and mouth were inspired by the Buddhist teaching that if we do not hear, see or speak evil, we ourselves shall be spared from evil, and the theme was chosen here in the belief that the monkeys would protect the horses from disease.

Toshogu Shrine

Toshogu Shrine is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf were used to decorate the buildings in a way not seen elsewhere in Japan, where simplicity has been traditionally stressed in shrine architecture.

Kanmangafuchi Abyss

Kanmangafuchi Abyss was formed by an eruption of nearby Mount Nantai. When not pouring with rain this small gorge has a pleasant riverside walking trail with nice scenery. Kanmangafuchi is known for its row of about 70 stone Jizo statues, a Buddhist deity (Bodhisivatta) who cares for the deceased. Parents who lost a child often dress a statue of jizo in a red bib or hat.

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Matsumoto Castle

Matsumoto Castle is one of the most complete and beautiful among Japan’s original castles. Matsumotojo’s main castle keep and its smaller, second donjon were built from 1592 to 1614. Both these structures were well-fortified as peace was not yet fully achieved at the time. In 1635, when military threats had ceased, a third, barely defended turret and another for moon viewing were added to the castle. The wooden interior of Matsumoto Castle provides an authentic experience unlike that felt at many other castles. Interesting features of the castle include steep wooden stairs, openings to drop stones onto invaders, openings for archers, as well as an observation deck at the top, sixth floor of the main keep.

Magome

Magome is a post town in the Kiso Valley, which served travelers of the Nakasendo, a major route connecting Tokyo with Kyoto during the Edo Period.

Magome-Tsumago Trail

The trail between Magome and Tsumago is a well maintained section of the former Nakasendo. The 8 km trail leads through the countryside and passes right alongside the houses and fields of local residents, among which a mister Suzuki who insisted on serving us Japanese green tea (matcha) and fruit.

Tsumago

Tsumago was a post town on the Nakasendo route between Kyoto and Edo. It is known today as one of the best preserved post towns in Japan. The town and its residents go to great lengths to recreate the ambiance of the Edo Period. Cars are prohibited during the day on the main street and phone lines and power cables are kept concealed, allowing us to slip back in time.

RYOKAN TANABE

Situated in the heart of Takayama, this Ryokan has been in business for 80 years. We loved the luxury of this traditional Japanese inn with a beautiful tatami room and two relaxing public onsens (hot water baths). The ladies get to pick the colour of their Yukata. We were amazed by the in-room, luxurious dinners and breakfasts. We were served locally grown potatoes, river fish, hoba miso, Hida beef and home-made pickles. Most of the food was served cold which was not always to our liking, but who’s complaining …

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Takayama Autumn Festival

The Takayama Festival is ranked as one of Japan‘s three most beautiful festivals. It is held twice a year in spring and autumn in the old town of Takayama. The Autumn Festival is the annual festival of the Hachiman Shrine in the northern half of the old town.

Gojinko Procession

A portable shrine (mikoshi) is carried around the town in a parade during the festival. All around are people in traditional Japanese custome, musicians serenade, lion dance performers purify the streets and rid them of devils and Tokeiraku players bang gongs.

Karakuri Performance

The Karakuri marionette characters are Priest Hotei and two children. The boy and girl leap onto a swing and then onto Hotei’s shoulders. The performance was accompanied by live traditional Japanese music.

Evening FESTIVAL

In the evening the 200 year old festival floats are pulled through the streets of Takayama’s old town for about two to three hours. The evening festival was certainly the highlight of the festival.

Takayama at Night

On our last night in Takayama, when all festivities were over, we took a nightly stroll around town and came across some pretty sights.

Shirakawa-go

We decided to take the bus from Takayama to Kanazawa via Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO world heritage site. Shirakawa-go is famous for the traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old. Gassho-zukuri means “constructed like hands in prayer”, as the farmhouses’ steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer. The architectural style developed over many generations and is designed to withstand the large amounts of heavy snow that falls in the region during winter.

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Kanazawa

Below is the Nomura-ke, a restored samurai residence displaying the lifestyle and artifacts of the era when samurai were prosperous.

NAGAMACHI SAMURAI DISTRICT

Nagamachi was a samurai district located at the foot of the former Kanazawa Castle, where samurai and their families used to reside. The area preserves a historic atmosphere with its remaining samurai residences, earthen walls, private entrance gates, narrow lanes and canals.

We came across a Japanese family dressed in traditional clothing, they tend to do this on weekends.

Kenrokuen Garden

Kenrokuen is classified as one of Japan‘s “three most beautiful landscape gardens”. Many people consider it the best of them all, but we were a bit dissapointed because the very old trees needed support beams and ropes.

The spacious garden used to be the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle. Constructed by the ruling Maeda family over a period of nearly two centuries, it was not opened to the public until 1871.

Higashi Chaya District

The Higashi Chaya District is the largest and by far the most interesting of the three districts in Kanazawa. A chaya (teahouse) is an exclusive type of restaurant where guests are entertained by geisha who perform song and dance. The buildings along the central street houses two original teahouses, cafes and shops. One of the shops, Hakuza, sells gold leaf products, a specialty of Kanazawa, and displays a tea ceremony room which is completely covered in gold leaf.

Omicho Market

Omicho Market has been Kanazawa’s largest fresh food market since the Edo Period. Today, it is a busy and colorful network of covered streets lined by about 200 shops and stalls. While most shops specialize in local seafood and produce, you can also find flowers, clothing, kitchen tools and more on sale.

Kaiten Sushi

At Mori Mori Sushi, a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Conveyor belt sushi is a form of fast-food sushi common in Japan. Kaiten sushi is a sushi restaurant where the plates with the sushi are placed on a rotating conveyor belt or moat that winds through the restaurant and moves past every table and counter seat. Customers may place special orders, but most simply pick their selections from a steady stream of fresh sushi moving along the conveyor belt. The final bill is based on the number and type of plates of the consumed sushi.

Kyoto and TYPHOON no. 2 "VongFong"

The second typhoon in a week made landfall. The lady sitting next to us at the sushi restaurant warned us that trains were going to be suspended, so we made sure to board an early train to Kyoto. Typhoon Vongfong was the most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2014, but luckily the storm weakened by the time it reached Kyoto and we were just left with an afternoon and evening of heavy rain. What else to do than the laundry and watch some (mostly funny) Japanese television …

GINKAKUJI AND PHILOSOPHER’S PATH

Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) was built in 1482 as a retirement villa by shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, modeling it after Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion), his grandfather’s retirement villa. The villa was converted into a Zen temple after Yoshimasa’s death in 1490.

The Philosopher’s Path is a stone path through the northern part of Kyoto’s Higashiyama district. The path follows a canal and gets its name from Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan’s most famous philosophers, who was said to practice meditation while walking this route on his daily commute to Kyoto University.

Nishiki Market and Pontocho

A traditionaly dressed Japanese couple at Nishiki Market. I had the best okonomiyaki (a cross between a pancake and a omelette) in Pontocho, one of Kyoto’s most atmospheric dining areas. It is a narrow alley packed with restaurants on both sides offering a wide range of dining options from inexpensive yakitori to traditional and modern Kyoto cuisine, foreign cuisine and highly exclusive establishments that require the right connections and a fat wallet.

Monkey Park Iwatayama

After a short but steep climb up Mt Arashiyama we arrived at the spot where wild Japanese macaque monkeys gather. We saw them up close and enjoyed watching the playful creatures frolic about. Surprisingly, it is the animals who are free to roam while the humans who feed them are caged in a box!

Bamboo Grove Arashiyama

The walking paths that cut through the bamboo groves make for a nice walk. For centuries, the bamboo has been used to manufacture various products at local shops, such as baskets, cups, boxes and mats.

KINKAKUJI

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) is a Zen temple whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. Formally known as Rokuonji, the temple was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and according to his will it became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect after his death in 1408. Kinkakuji was the inspiration for the similarly named Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion), built by Yoshimitsu’s grandson, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, on the other side of the city a few decades later.

FUSHIMI INARI SHRINE, Sanjusangendo AND KIYOMIZUDERA TEMPLE

Fushimi Inari Shrine is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital’s move to Kyoto in 794.

Sanjusangendo is the popular name for Rengeo-in, a temple which is famous for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The temple was founded in 1164 and rebuilt a century later after the original structure had been destroyed in a fire. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, the photograph is copyright of Massimo Pacifico, read his story about Temples and Tea Ceremony in Kyoto.

Kiyomizudera is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. It was founded in 780 on the site of the Otowa Waterfall in the wooded hills east of Kyoto, and derives its name from the fall’s pure waters. In 1994, the temple was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites.

Nara

Shrine visitors write their wishes on these wooden plates called ema and then leave them at the shrine in the hope that their wishes come true. Most people wish for good health, success in business, passing entrance exams, love or wealth.

Nara Park is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer. Considered in Shinto to be messengers of the gods, Nara’s nearly 1200 deer have become a symbol of the city and have been designated a natural treasure.

Kasuga Taisha is Nara’s most celebrated shrine. It was established at the same time as the capital and is dedicated to the deity responsible for the protection of the city.

We had a bowl of noodle soup at Mizutani-chaya, an old farmhouse-style noodle restaurant right in the middle of Nara Park.

Todaiji was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan. Todaiji’s main hall, the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall) is the world’s largest wooden building, despite the fact that the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple hall’s size. The massive building houses one of Japan’s largest bronze statues of Buddha (Daibutsu). The 15 meters tall, seated Buddha represents Vairocana.

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Osaka Aquarium, also known as Kaiyukan, is located in Osaka’s bay area. It covers various forms of life inhabiting the Pacific Rim. Marine life is displayed in 15 tanks, each representing a specific region of the Pacific Rim. The central tank, representing the Pacifc Ocean, is nine meters deep and home to a whale shark, the aquarium’s main attraction. Visitors start their tour of the aquarium on the 8th floor and slowly spiral down floor by floor around the central tank. Some of the tanks stretch over several floors, making it possible to observe the animals from different depths and perspectives.

Dotonbori in Osaka

Historically a theater district, it is now a popular nightlife and entertainment area characterized by its eccentric atmosphere and large illuminated signboards.

We had okonomiyaki and takoyaki (octopus balls) at Creo-Ru restaurant. Didn’t like the takoyaki very much and it wasn’t because of the octopus, weird texture …

Koyasan

Koyasan is the center of Shingon Buddhism, an important Buddhist sect which was introduced to Japan in 805 by Kobo Daishi, one of Japan’s most significant religious figures. A small, secluded temple town has developed around the sect’s headquarters that Kobo Daishi built on Koyasan’s mountaintop.

We experienced an overnight stay at a temple lodging (shukubo) where we had vegetarian monk’s cuisine (shojin ryori).

Okunoin Cemetery

Okunoin is the largest cemetery in Japan, with over 200,000 tombstones by prominent monks, feudal lords, individuals, associations and companies, including some surprising ones, such as a pest control company’s memorial to all the termites that their products have been exterminating.

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Stray Cats

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Choishi Michi Trail

The original main approach to Koyasan is along the Koyasan Choishi Michi trail. The trail is marked by stone signposts (choishi) which stand every few hundred meters along the path so that pilgrims can find their way. The markers are numbered (in kanji) in descending order with number one at Koyasan and are formed to represent the five Buddhist elements: earth, water, fire, air and void. The entire Choishi Michi trail is about 23.5 kilometers, but we only hiked a small part of it.

Public Transport

We mostly travelled on JR trains with our Japan Rail Passes. Sometimes it would become overly crowded, especially on weekends, starting on Friday night. We only had one opportunity to ride a Shinkansen bullet train, from Tokyo to Nikko.

Toraya Tea Room

Toraya, a maker of wagashi (traditional Japanese confections), was founded in the early 16th century in Kyoto where it became a supplier to the imperial court from 1586 to 1611. At present, Toraya has three factories and approximately 80 shops throughout Japan, in addition to a boutique in Paris.

I tried the yamaji no nishiki, an autumn leaf wagashi. The matcha green tea was way to strong for me.

Food

We had black sesame ice cream and mitarashi dango (mochi balls on a stick with sweet soy sauce) in Takayama. Superfresh mochi, pounded right in front of us, in Nara. Warm melon bread with ice cream at “The World’s Second-Most Delicious Melon Bread, with Ice Cream, Bakery” (second-most is out of respect to the baker that the owner did his apprenticeship under). Potatornado near Ginkakuji in Kyoto. Hida beef bun in Shirakawa-go. And a black Halloween burger at McDonald’s in Kyoto.

Drinks

We were amazed at the amount of vending machines, you’ll never go thirsty. Your choices are hot or cold drinks, like hot chocolate in a very hot bottle.