We're Home!

Celebrating our return to Portland with the ubiquitous Chinese and Japanese "victory V" picture pose.

We arrived safely back in Portland a few minutes ago. This is the 114th and final post from our summer 2012 Asia trip. The goal was to keep a varied group of friends and family informed of our adventures. Hopefully we have done that, while possibly entertaining and educating a little along the way.

Thanks for joining us on our travels by following this blog!

Last Night in Tokyo

Walking home from dinner, in search of crepes.

Last Dinner and Trip Favorites

On our last night in Tokyo we walked to a restaurant that has grills built into the tables and a staff of chefs cooking 'Benihana style' at a central bar. It turned out to be a great place for us to go through our tradition of everyone naming their favorite experiences from the trip. Just as we did on our last night in Africa, we also recorded individual answers to the question, "will you return and under what circumstances?"

Since we were concluding a trip in which we visited two countries, we conducted a 'favorites tournament' of sorts, first determining our Japan favorites, then comparing to the previously determined China favorites to get a 'best of' list for the whole trip. Our goal was to get down to the 3-5 best, but that proved too difficult, which I think is a good sign. After much debate, here is the top 10 list, roughly in order of collective preference:

1. Hike to Tsumago, Japan and night at the Ryokan Fujioto (unanimous favorite).

2. The Great Wall of China (unanimous second).

3. The Nijo Castle in Kyoto, Japan.

4. The Forbidden City, Beijing.

5. The Shanghai Acrobat Show.

6. The park in Nara, Japan (Great Buddha Temple and Shrines).

7. The Summer Palace in Shanghai.

8. The Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai.

9. Zen Rock Garden, Kyoto.

10. Yu Yuan Garden in Shanghai.

Other honorable mentions from Japan that didn't make the combined top ten: Karaoke in Tokyo; The Golden Palace in Kyoto; and the hall in Kyoto with the 1,001 Kannon statues.

Rice Bowls at Tokyo Department Store

Starting the Journey Home

On Thursday, we caught a Shinkansen bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo, our last train ride in Japan. We covered 300 miles in just under 2 1/2 hours, which means that even with a few stops we averaged over 120 miles/hour. Makes you wonder why we don't have these trains at home.

We arrived back at the Century Tower Hotel (same as our earlier stop in Tokyo) and then headed on foot for the observation deck on the 34th floor of the Tokyo Municipal Government building.

Nishiki Market in Kyoto

Between the Nijo Castle and the hall of 1,001 Kannon's, and after another successful department store lunch, we headed for the Nishiki Dori Food Market in Central Kyoto. This is a long, covered street of open-front shops where the city's top restaurants buy their ingredients.

Sanjusangendo Hall

One more fun fact about the hall of 1,001 Kannons. This is the site of past national archery competitions. In one feat of unbelievable strength a couple hundred years ago, one guy shot over 13,000 arrows in 24 hours, over 8,000 of which hit the target. That's 9 arrows per minute for 24 hours straight!

Breakfast in Kyoto

Each of the four mornings we woke in Kyoto we ate breakfast in one of our rooms in our ryokan. We saved a bunch of money and got a quicker start to out days by buying yogurt, milk, cereal, and bananas at the local grocery store rather than eating out for
breakfast.

Nijo Castle and Sanjusanhendo Hall

Wednesday was our last day of sightseeing and for this we went large, focusing on two of Kyoto's (and Japan's) biggest historic attractions. unfortunately, neither place allows photography inside, so the picture above of me at the Nijo Castle inner wall and inner mote will have to suffice.

Our first stop was Nijo Castle, built in 1603 by the first Tokugawa shogun as his Kyoto home. It is incredibly well preserved, including the intricate carvings and beautiful paintings. We walked around inside the castle, passing through a maze of corridors and peering into a series of large rooms with tatami mats, sliding doors, and secret rooms for samurai bodyguards. One interesting thing about this castle is that there are special clamps placed below the wooden floor boards that scrape against the nails when the floor is walked upon, creating a kind of soft, high-pitched whistling sound. This sone to make it difficult for would-be assassins to sneak around the castle.

The castle grounds were beautiful as well, with carefully pruned trees, rockwork and small lakes. The stone walls and wooden gates were impressive and, standing atop a stone watch tower, we were able to look down upon the castle grounds, the inner and outer walls, and the inner mote. At the risk of sounding redundant, the Nijo Castle was for me one of the highlights of the entire three week trip. More than any other place, wandering the inner halls of this castle have me some sense of time traveling to the time of the shoguns.

Our second big sightseeing visit of the day was to Sanjusanhendo Hall. Notable here: 1,001 statues of Kannon, each with 40 arms. That's 200,000 fingers! There is a single large Kannon in the center of the hall, with 500 life size Kannons arranged on 'bleachers' on either side. The 1,000 smaller statues each have one larger pair of hands clasped in prayer in front and 39 smaller arms sticking out to the sides. With this arrangement, the scene reminded me of the final seconds of a high school basketball game, with all the fans praying the final free throw attempt will be successful. The statues took over 100 years to carve and the effect is stunning.

Dining Challenges

Lest I give the wrong impression with my last post, I should mention that we have had some meals that went sideways as well.

Three or four nights into the trip, when we were back in Shanghai, we were all having stomach issues and decided pizza would be the cure so went to Pizza Hut. Unfortunately,and somewhat surprisingly, while we were waiting for our number to be called the hostess came out and informed the large waiting crowd that they ran out of pizza. We went back to the hotel an ordered room service pizza.

On our first night in Beijing, we adopted the romantic notion that we could wander down the side streets and find a great restaurant in which we could dine with the locals. We found a place that looked OK and, despite the fact that the staff and local patrons greeted us with some amount of surprise, we were seated and handed menus. No English, of course, and nothing on the menu looked very appetizing. We stuck to the plan, however, and picked the most familiar looking dishes, also taking the recommendation of the waitress on a few items. When the food arrived (pictured above), the kids immediately asked if they could go outside. Monica and I tried to be adventurous, but after I unexpectedly put a big piece of liver in my mouth, I lost all commitment to the project. Even the dish that appeared to be chicken was heavily laden with what we came to refer to as 'Beijing vinegar', which we all found less appealing than motor oil. We smiled and paid our bill and walked out without having really eaten anything.

I should also admit that we ate at McDonald's for lunch one day in Jyoto, and that we ate two dinners from street carts at the Gion Festival, comprised mostly of sausages and fried chicken.

I will say that the kids have been generally very adventurous eaters on this trip. We have found local food we really enjoyed everywhere and each of us has found a new favorite or two.

Dinners

Some of my favorite parts of these trips are the dinners. Being in a new, somewhat uncomfortable place without the distractions of friends, homework, and activities causes us to focus on each other like almost no other time. Over dinner we tend to have good conversation, joking around and sharing our observations and remembering our favorite experiences.

We had two particularly great dinners in Kyoto. For the first, we walked to a restaurant in one of the back alleys of Gion on the recommendation of the hotel staff. We found a sign with the name of our destination and entered a small reception room. Promptly, a kimono-clad hostess emerged and escorted us directly back out onto the street. Evidently we had entered the back private club section of the restaurant. Once we found the entrance for common people, we realized they only took cash. We counted our cash on hand and, since we only had the equivalent of $250 (!), we had to be careful what we ordered and drank only free tap water. We ordered Sukiyaki, Shabu-Shabu (neither of which we knew what to do with), and tempura, all of which were delicious. No other diner said a single audible word the entire time we were in this small and crowded establishment. Nonetheless, we had a great time, sharing our food and enjoying each others' company.

The second notable dinner was on our last night in Kyoto and came about much more haphazardly. Monica and I had struggled a little to find the right restaurants: not too expensive, authentic Japanese, enough variety so everyone could find something they like. On Wednesday night, we decided to leave the kids at the hotel so we could go on a reconnaissance mission to locate the right restaurant. After wandering the streets or a while, a young friendly guy offered us the menu for an Italian restaurant. It looked good (or at least affordable..) so we told him we would be back with our kids. Thirty minutes later, as we rounded the corner into the allley where we thought the restaurant was located, there was our new smiley friend. He escorted us into a building and up a flight of stairs, where we were the only patrons in a large lounge-like area, complete with low leather couches and house music. The food was fantastic, the service excellent (as always), and we enjoyed having the place to ourselves. There was a lot of laughing and head-bobbing to the heavy beats in the music. As we left the restaurant, both our waiter/recruiter and the young chef escorted us out into the alley, standing in the middle of the street and repeatedly giving us the deep hip-bend bow as we thanked them and walked away.

Vending Machines

There are over 5.5 million vending machines in Japan, which is around one for every 20 people. We literally saw them everywhere. Although we mostly saw beverages of all kinds, you can reportedly find all kinds of other things like umbrellas, magazines, an even fresh flowers.

A Bathing Ape

As we hopped around Kyoto via bus on Wednesday, Grant noticed a retail store for a brand he is interested in, "A Bathing Ape". It was a really cool shopping experience, enhanced by modernistic decor, the trendy footwear and apparel and the fact that we were the only ones in the store for the entire 30 minutes.

In this store there are three actual items involved in the purchase of any single piece of merchandise. The first, the display item, helps you pick what you want. The second is issued to you by someone working behind a counter for you to try on. And finally, the third is issued from the back for actual purchase.

Kyoto Buses

We got quite good at getting all around Kyoto on the extensive city bus system. Even when standing room only, the air conditioning still felt great!

Asian Bugs and Heidi Do Not Get Along

Throughout our trip, Heidi has ended up with several reactions to bug bites, like the one pictured here on her thigh. Good thing she's so tough!

Gion Festival

Top picture above is one of the floats from the morning parade. When we returned to "our shrine" on Tuesday afternoon, there were big crowds and a large procession of men of all ages in short white robes and loin cloths that Monica called "diapers". These guys picked up the huge, heavy golden structures from the Yasaka Shrine and carried them around the streets of Gion, pausing occasionally to put them down, drink a short can of beer, trade places, and congratulate each other. It was an impressive display of strength and socializing. Second picture is these guys.

Zen, Manga, and The Golden Temple

Tuesday was the day of the big parade and Gion Festival. It was also scorching hot and very humid.

We first swung by the parade for a quick glimpse. It was very crowded (although incredibly quite...) as we walked along the parade route to catch a glimpse of a few of the tall, man-powered floats. We then hopped a bus for the north side of Kyoto.

Our first stop was the Ryoanji Temple, which houses Japan's most famous Zen rock garden. It was surprisingly small (80 ft by 30 ft), but provided us with a nice setting in which to pause and contemplate. The garden with its 15 rocks is observed from a small wooden porch, and you must remove your shoes to enter. The fact that this garden has been in existence and unchanged since the 1400s is a little hard to contemplate.

We then headed for the Kinkakuji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion). The golden temple was constructed in 1390 as a retirement villa for a retired Shogun. The top two floors are covered in gold leaf and, with it's surrounding ponds and gardens, it is quite a spectacle. Because of the heat and the fact that we arrived at the same time as a large Chinese tour group, we made quick work of the temple grounds and hopped a bus back to central Kyoto.

Our next stop was Kyoto's international manga museum. This turned out to be a little disappointing since it was mostly a huge collection of manga (Japanese comic books) stacked on shelves. Nevertheless, the collection was impressive and everyone enjoyed a display of how manga is created and how it evolved.

At this point, everyone was pretty wiped out so we headed back to our rooms and spent the rest of the evening in the comfort of air conditioning, save for a quick trip out to the temple to get some noodles, fried chicken, and sausages for dinner.

Gion and Geisha

The Gion district, which was the location of our Kyoto hotel, is interesting for its several shrines and it's bustling main street. Most of interest, however, is the vast matrix of quaint, narrow alleyways. Spaced out anong these small lanes are nondescript restaurants and private clubs.

As Gion is Kyoto's most famous geisha district, many of these barely-marked entrances undoubtedly lead to geisha houses. Contrary to popular western misconceptions, geisha are not prostitutes. Rather, they are trained in the traditional arts and in conversation, and their primary role is to make men feel like kings when they are in the private confines of the geisha house. These are private clubs and no one is admitted to a geisha house without a proper introduction.

During our stay in Gion, twice we saw small groups of women in kimonos with their hair pinned up and their faces painted white, rushing somewhere in their wooden shoes. Likely these were not geisha, but were maiko - young women training to be geisha.

Japanese Toilets

To the uninitiated, Japanese toilets can be intimidating at first. With heated seats, automatic lids, and controls for water pressure, temperature, and placement, there is a lot to operating them effectively. Some also have sound effects that can be turned on (e.g. running water), and the one above has a fan (runs at two speeds) and it's own hand-washing station.

These high-tech gadgets are not exclusive to hotels, but can also be found in department stores, train stations, airports, and other public places.

Crazy Travel

The 13th, 14th, and 15th were by far our most ambitious travel days, as we went from Tokyo to Hakone National Park to the rural towns of Magome and Taumago, eventually ending at out hotel in Kyoto. Between our Tokyo Hotel and our Kyoto Hotel, we took:

2 bullet trains
2 cable cars
2 trolleys
2 gondolas
2 commuter trains
1 5-mile hike
4 bus rides

Whew!

Fortunes

Kimono-clad young women tying their fortunes to the rack at Yasaka Shrine.

Paper Lanterns at the Yasaka Shrine

The Yasaka Shrine was our home base in Kyoto. Our hotel was just out of the south entrance, so when coming "home" each day we went into the West gate, through the shrine grounds, and out the South gate.

Wooden Prayer Blocks

Left by visitors at the Kasuga Grand Shrine in Nara.

"Great Buddha" Temple

Looks like any other grand Japanese temple from the 700s, until you look closely and realize the cluster of "ants" on the front steps is actually people. This is the biggest wooden building in the world and houses a 50-ft-tall bronze Buddha.

Nara

On Monday we decided to avoid the crowds in Kyoto and head to Nara for the day. Nara is about a 40 minute train ride from Kyoto and was the first permanent capital of Japan, from 710 to 784 AD. Most of Nara's temples, shrines, and museums are contained in one giant park in the middle of the city.

Another notable thing about Nara is that deer, being the messengers from heaven that they are, are allowed to roam free around the park. They are absolutely everywhere and are anxious to be hand fed special deer crackers that can be purchased from street vendors for 150 yen (about $2).

This day was super hot, topping 90 degrees with high humidity and we had to take our time getting around the park. At one point we stopped to sit in the shade and struck up conversations with a nice older man that lives in Nara and, separately, a group of college-age boys and girls that were anxious to practice their English.

Upon entering the park, we headed directly for the Todaiji ("Great Buddha") Temple. When the emperor commissioned this temple in the mid-700s, he intended it to be the center of Buddhism for all of Japan. To this end, a 50-ft tall bronze Buddha was created and is housed inside the temple. While a 50-ft Buddha is certainly impressive in its own right, the building itself is breathtaking in its magnitude. In fact, it is the largest wooden building in the world.

On the recommendation of our new friend, we also visited "January Hall" and The Kasuga Shrine. Both provided some great ancient Japanese imagery. The gardens around the shrine were very pleasant, and with very few other visitors, made for a peaceful and enjoyable day.

Laundry. Finally.

Lest I've given the impression that this trip is all fun and games, I should share that we spent Sunday night in the laundromat up the street.

Of course we were able to make this fun too with the help of a little Kirin...

Heidi with New Friends in Kyoto

Notice the two clowns in the background.

Kimonos

Because of the festival, there are lots of small groups of women in colorful kimonos and wooden slippers. We have also seen a lot of young couples, her in a bright kimono and him in a darker robe (not sure what the male version of the kimono is called).

Ryokan Gion Maifukan in Kyoto

In Kyoto, we are staying at a modern version of the Japanese ryokan. This means the rooms have tatami mats, futons on the floor, a Japanese-style bath (thankfully in each room), and all the footwear rules with which we are now familiar. However, no meals and as it was recently built, it has all the modern finishes. Of course, these being the last two rooms available in Kyoto when we booked them months ago, they certainly weren't cheap.

Arriving in Kyoto

Fujihara-san safely delivered us to the train station in Nagiso, where we hopped a train for Nagoya. In Nagoya, we caught a Shinkansen bullet train for the 90 minute trip to Kyoto. This time we sprung for reserved seats, since the last time we rode a bullet train we had to stand in the aisles for over an hour.

We arrived in Kyoto to find that everyone in Japan had planned a trip to Kyoto at the same time we had. As it turns out, we had landed in Kyoto smack dab in the middle of the Gion Matsuri festival. This festival is one of Japan's most famous (and most crowded), dating back to the 9th century. The highlight of the festival is a parade of large wheeled floats on July 17th.

Our hotel happens to be in Gion, at the epicenter of the festival. For our first night in Kyoto, we decided to embrace the festivities by eating street food, shoulder to shoulder with throngs of Japanese, and then to walk the main thoroughfare at dusk (pictured above). Although there were easily 200,000 people in the crowd, this was definitely a Japanese-style mob. People moved in an orderly fashion, east on one side of the cones in the middle of the street and west on the other. Friendly police officers directed traffic and took pictures for people. It was a very different feel than, say, the Portland Rose Festival.

More Pictures from Best Meal Ever

Tempura with pasta 'flower' and rice popsicle.

The Best Meal Ever?

Saturday night's dinner at Ryokan Fujioto was certainly the best meal of this trip and is a candidate for the best meal I have ever had. Each of 11 courses was personally served and carefully explained by our host, Fujihara-san.

The entire meal was fantastic. Some of the highlights:

'Invisible rock' trout, served whole and meant to be eaten with the skin on.

Baby wasps, hand-plucked from their nest buried in the ground (pictured above with the chopsticks - the kids and I ate every one of the little guys).

Sashimi made from a fish whose father was a salmon and mother was a trout, to give it the texture of salmon and the sweetness of trout.

Beef, which was fed apples and beer and given massages throughout its life to increase tenderness. We each cooked our own in small individual pots.

The best tempura we've ever tasted (Fujuhara-san's wife is a tempura instuctor), topped with a small 'flower' made of died, fried pasta.

A small salad of local vegetables, which included a cherry blossom, preserved in salt since April.

Miso soup that, upon close inspection, included vegetables individually cut into shapes and/or tied into decorative knots.

Finally, rice, formed into a popsicle on a large stick and sautéed in a delicious peanut sauce.

Ryokan Fujioto

For our single night in Taumago we stayed in a traditional Japanese Inn or 'ryokan'. The Ryokan Fujioto is run by Fujihara-san, the friendly and spry 60-something gentleman who took over the business from his grandfather 25 years ago.

There were two other families staying at the ryokan, one Japanese and one Australian. We had our own little loft with side by side rooms, each with the traditional tatami mats, sliding shoji screens, low furniture, and futon mattresses. We were well-instructed on the proper footwear etiquette, including when to wear house slippers, when to wear bathroom slippers, when to wear garden slippers, and when to have no slippers on.

This ryokan also gave us a low-stress introduction to Japanese baths, since the staff gave us detailed instructions and encouraged us to use the common baths as 'private' (i.e. we could lock the doors). Japanese baths are essentially large rooms with multiple shower heads (to accomodate multiple bathers at once) and a large soaking tub. Bathers are expected to sit on a small bench and scrub themselves clean, armed with a bucket and cloth, and rinse thoroughly before entering the communal tub. Wash cloth and soap are never permitted in the communal tub. At Fujioto the tub was made out of a special cedar.

Fujioto-san was a wonderful host (see blogs on dinner and on money troubles), and we very much enjoyed our time at Fujioto. The traditional and historic feel of the building made for a great experience and the garden was beautiful.

Tsumago

Tsumago turned out to be even more idyllic than Magome. This town, also established around 1600, is comprised of the original wooden Japanese homes, lined up side-by-side along a single road that runs parallel to the Kiso river. Although there are some shops in the street-facing buildings, this town is much less commercial than Magome.

After dinner, we took a stroll in complete darkness (no street lights here, only the occasional lantern) down the town's single street. The only sound was of water bubbling down the small canals on either side of the road. We climbed a dozen or so stone steps to a small shrine, which was frankly kind of creepy in the dark. We were also able to glance discreetly into a few homes to see how people lived in this well-preserved bit of history.

Money Trouble

Snacking in front of the grocery store in Magome

We knew in advance that the Ryokan in Tsumago would only take cash, so we started several days ago withdrawing maximum amounts from the ATM each day and using a credit card whenever possible. However, due to some unforeseen cash needs, we ended up in Magome, hungry and with about what we thought we would need in cash for Tsumago.

We searched for a restaurant in Magome that would take a credit card, but to no avail. So, the kids and I went into the grocery store with a budget of 900 Yen (about $11 dollars). Through some good teamwork and with a positive attitude, we emerged with some peanuts, two peaches, and two bottles of water. We sat and snacked in front of the store, building our energy for the 2 1/2 hour hike to Tsumago. Monica and I were appreciative of the way the kids approached this travel challenge.

Our meals were included at Ryokan Fujioto, and when offered pop or beer at dinner we declined to keep the cost down. When it came time the next morning to pay the bill for lodging the next morning we had just enough, but with only 250 Yen left over. Not enough to pay for the bus to the nearest train station!

With no small amount of embarrassment, we attempted to negotiate keeping another 1,000 Yen (about $13), but the innkeeper didn't seem too excited about that idea. Fortunately, he understood our situation and offered to drive us to the train station. Our egos were bruised, but we were on our way, able to buy train tickets with a credit card and to get more cash once we arrived in Kyoto.