Tag: Shinto Shrine

Land of the Rising Sun Day #12 “How Does This Float With You?”

by reissmd, posted in Itsukushima, Japan, Miyajima

Last night we had another lovely dinner with our new friend Tomoko.  We bid her farewell then got back to our hotel where we prepared our luggage to be shipped to Tokyo while we set off on an adventure to two different towns.  One thing I have to say about this trip is that the hotels have been fantastic.  The Thousand in Kyoto has been especially nice in that the staff seemed more proficient in English, the hotel is conveniently located near the Kyoto Station, and the facility was beautiful.  In addition to the room being superior check out the staircase leading from the first to second level.  It puts on quite a show at night.

Day time: Stairs look functional but ordinary.
At nighttime the stairs get dressed to kill. They also put on a show. Check out this video. See below.

After breakfast we caught the 8:03 train to Hiroshima. We have come to depend on the agents at the train stations. We typically think we are going to the correct train track but we fear putting our ticket in the machine and then finding out we’ve made an error. To avoid this complication we check with the agents and they confirm that we are at the right spot. With that reassurance we are on our way. The agents have been incredibly helpful in spite of not speaking much English. A point of the hand can go a long way.

Today we set out to go to Miyajima (also known as Itsukushima).  To access this area you take a train to Hiroshima and then a ferry to Miyajima island.  It is known for a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Floating Torii Gate.  See below.

The torii gate as seen from the ferry from Hiroshima to Itsukushima (Miyajima).
The torii gate as seen from the shore.

Soon after arrival at the island we used the “What 3 Words” app to locate the hotel. We were not previously aware of this app but our tour company let us know about it. According to the App’s instructions every 3 meter square on Earth has been identified by 3 words. For example The White House is identified by “goods.enjoyable.loft”. My office is located at “foster.knots.applied”. I have no idea how these locations are assigned these 3 word addresses but it can come in very handy when the address you are looking for is very difficult to understand (e.g. the majority of addresses we have tried to find in this country). We used the hotel’s W3W location and found it with Google maps. We first tried to locate the hotel using Google maps but without success. We then asked W3W to find the hotel on Google maps and then we were on our way. We were enjoying the walk looking at all sorts of shops when Google said, “Look Around” and sure enough we were at the hotel.

We left our bags at the hotel (too early to check in) and decided to go on a discovery tour. As I said before we saw lots of souvenir shops and places to eat. We also stopped into the tourist information center. The guide there was very nice but if he spoke any English it was well hidden. Patrice asked about where we could fine okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) in town. He seemed to understand but his ability to explain how to find the restaurant was limited. So he just left the tourist bureau and took us about 75 yards to the restaurant. Again I am amazed by the kindness of these people.

We ventured on to the Rope Roadway which is a cable car that takes you to the top of Mt. Misen. This is the highest peak on the island and it is 1755 feet high. There is a free shuttle that brings you up to the starting point of the cable car. We saw a bunch of young people lined up waiting for the shuttle. Rather than waiting, I said to Patrice let’s just walk. At first we weren’t sure we were going the right way but then we saw this sign.

I wanted to run part way but Patrice would have no part of that. (Patrice here now, Robert is full of it. He was whining the whole way about how much his back hurt and wanted to stop to rest repeatedly. IT WAS A 10 MINUTE WALK UP A MILD GRADE! He is such a baby!)

We reached the start of the ropeway and boarded one of the cable cars. The views of the forestry, water, Hiroshima were spectacular. (Patrice here again. I don’t know what views he is talking about. As you probably remember from previous posts he is terrified of heights. This was his view the entire trip to the mountain top (see below).

This is what Robert was looking at while I was enjoying the views and trying to calm him down.
Here we are at the top of Mt. Misen.

We then returned to the hotel to check in. This is another superb hotel. It seems to be a little boutique ryokan on the island. It has a public bath (onsen) that is not as ornate as the one we had in Hakone but still very relaxing.

After the bath it was time for dinner. We took the elevator to the dining room and another guest joined us. I let him enter the elevator first and he said thank you. I tried to impress him with my Japanese and said, “Oishi”. He smiled and after he exited the elevator Patrice said, “Do you realize you just said delicious?” Oops. Maybe I am clairvoyant and I was thinking of the dinner to come. Breakfast and dinner are included in the stay and tonight’s food was fantastic. Not only was the food excellent the number of courses was embarrassing. Sit back and relax. You are not going to believe what is to follow.

Persimmon with tofu
Salmon, eggplant, simmered sardine, crab, and pine needle.
Pike conger (don’t ask, I have no idea) and matsutake mushroom (again don’t) clear soup
Steamed sea bream and prawn.
Citrus grilled Spanish mackerel and lotus root.
Deep fried sesame tofu in yuba and duck loin in thick soup
Steamed oyster.
Clam miso soup and rice.
Cheese cake with seasonal fruit and tea

Are you exhausted? I am, see you tomorrow.

Land of the Rising Sun Day #8 “Tour of Kyoto and Making a New Friend”

by reissmd, posted in Japan, Kyoto

Last night we had the kind of experience I love when we travel. We had an interaction with the local people. We were introduced to Tomoko, a friend of one of Patrice’s biking buddies. We simply met for dinner at a local restaurant and it was delightful. I could tell immediately that this was my kind of experience. When we walked in I didn’t see anyone who looked like a tourist (except us of course) and they didn’t have any menus in English. If we were alone it would have been a nightmare but with Tomoko’s assistance we were able to order a delicious meal at an incredibly inexpensive cost. When I think back to the meal we had at the Sky Tree restaurant that was EXTREMELY expensive and not nearly as good it makes me a bit nutty.

At the restaurant with our new friend. Tomoko is the one in the middle.

This morning we decided to start with my favorite activity of the trip…. Breakfast. The hotel offers a choice between a restaurant serving a traditional Japanese breakfast or another with a Western breakfast. Today (at the urging of my friend Fred) we decided to try the Japanese style. See below.

We were told what each item was but please don’t ask me what is what. I know the words tofu, seaweed, miso soup, were spoken. One thing is clear, nothing was said that I associated with breakfast or any other meals.

The breakfast was good but I certainly recognize why there are not many (if any) obese people in Japan. The Japanese diet is one of very lean foods. This reminds me of one of our earlier guides who compared the geography of Japan and the USA. “Japan is a very thin country and America is a very wide country” she said. I told her that Japanese are very thin and Americans are very wide as well. We have only seen two overweight Japanese people here. One was from Seattle the other from San Jose. We did see one rather obese boy in a group of school children today. The only possible explanation would be that his father moved here from the USA for work.

Today’s guide, Kiyoko, was supposed to meet us in the hotel lobby at 9:00. We were in the lobby at 8:55 when we found out she was going to be late since her train was delayed. Hey, I thought Hiro told us the trains might be about 15 seconds late? No matter, she arrived and we were on our way. Our first stop was the UNESCO World Heritage Site Kinkaku Ji Temple. The building was constructed in the 14th century and was burned down by a novice monk on July 2, 1950. It was subsequently rebuilt (obviously, otherwise we wouldn’t be here) in 1955 and the gold leaf was replaced from 1986-1987 at 5 times the original thickness. I am sure you will agree it is a fantastic sight.

I asked Patrice to look at this great photo I took. She thought I was joking and it was a stock photo which I downloaded. Maybe I missed my calling in life?

Here are pictures of two famous couples who have visited the temple.

My brother Stephen and his wife Fayla circa 2015 (we lost Stephen in 2016).
Patrice and I tried to recreate the photo but unfortunately we can’t recreate him. He is missed by many.

Sorry if that was a downer moment for what I typically like to make a funny experience for my readers. I suppose I can be forgiven because after all we have been taught that Buddhist temples are typically used for funerals since the Zen Buddhist philosophy deals with the hereafter as opposed to Shinto shrines which deal with happy occasions such as weddings and birthdays.

Our next stop was Ryoan-Ji Temple which houses another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Rock Garden. I have to admit this didn’t do much for me. I don’t want to be disrespectful but playing with rocks never appealed to me. What do you think? See below.

The Rock Garden.

Our third stop was at the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. This place was really cool. I mean temperature wise. Today was a very hot day and the bamboo provided a lot of shade to cool us off. See below.

We were told that bamboo can grow close to 3 feet per day maxing out at about 65 feet when fully mature (Hmmm, 22 days to reach full height?)

Our final stop of the day was the Inari Shrine. This is a Shinto shrine which boasts of having thousands of torii gates. It was explained to us that torii gates are at the entrances of all Shinto shrines but this one takes it to an extreme.

Main entrance, oops I mean Torii, of the Inari shrine.
Patrice and me in front of a long line of toriis.
We were told that companies pay to have information written on the toriis. I have no clue what any of these say. We saw a woman posing along side of one. Do you think her loving look was next to a post that said, “Eat at Burger King”?

Then it was back to the hotel. The front desk made reservations for us at a restaurant recommended by Tomoko. I am excited to go but a bit concerned because we won’t have Tomoko to order for us like she did last night. The front desk printed a map for us which includes directions on how to get there. They just delivered it to our room. See below.

Can you help us get to the Loin Restaurant in the Hotel New Hankyu Kyoto?

Maybe you need a closer look at the instructions?

Is that better? Maybe this will help (see below).

ホテルを出たら左に進みます。 300メートルほど歩くと左手にレストランがあります。

Now do you have it? We better leave early since I think this will be an adventure.