Japan - Shimanami Kaido cycling, Osaka, Koyasan, Komano Kodo

Weeks 3 and 4 in Japan involved mostly cycling and hiking. We started with cycling the Shimanami Kaido from Imabari to Onomichi. The route is about 80km (50 miles for our imperial friends) and crosses over six islands and six bridges. The views look over the islands, hidden beaches and the Seto inland sea; goes through little fishing villages, ship building villages, lemon and mandarin groves and lots of immaculate parks. Like all places in Japan everything is so well signposted and a really helpful painted blue line on the road along the route lets you know if you’ve taken a wrong turn.     

   

Start of the bike route 

The first and longest bridge on the route - 4.2km

All of the lemons 

Not looking too happy near end of our first day

The first day we did the “island explorer “ route which takes you round all the islands instead of going through the middle. One of the islands is famous for making salt and we had some delicious ramen made using this salt. It definitely helped us after a lot of cycling. Being “island explorers” meant we did 55km on our first day and were pretty tired. This was infinitely helped by the cutest little guesthouse we stayed in. We had to get a Japanese host from earlier in our trip to call and book for us as they didn’t speak any English or read emails. They had a private natural hot spring bath which helped our sore legs. And then THE FOOD! The best food we’ve eaten in Japan, so delicious and so much of it. The sashimi was so fresh, although not completely sure what fish we were eating! There was a rice dish with clams and fish, fresh miso soup we cooked at the table, the most amazing fish teriyaki, all of the tempura; it just kept coming and we didn’t want it to end. We’ll definitely be thinking about this meal for a long time!

We could eat ramen for days 

Not even half of the food!

Our second day of cycling was meant to be 40km to the end but 13km in and we had to cut it short as Alex had a very sore bum! The smaller sized frames and seats are perfect for smaller Japanese sizes but not Alex sized people. So we had a nice ferry ride to the end instead. 

We had an overnight stop in Osaka where we ate their interpretation of okonomiyaki (kind of like a pancake which veg and other toppings) and walked around the craziness that is Dotombori - bright lights, busy, slightly grimier version of Tokyo. 

Very happy with some okonomyaki 

Dotombori 

Then we headed off to the more peaceful and beautiful Koyasan. A coupe of friends recommended this place to us and we are so glad we managed to go. Koyasan is a mountain with a small settlement of Buddhist temples and shrines. We stayed in a beautiful Buddhist temple which was incredibly peaceful. The highlights were eating a tasty and massive traditional vegetarian buddhist’s monks meal dressed in a yakuta (Japanese dressing gown) and then waking up the next morning at 6am for morning prayers. It felt like a privilege to be able to observe this and very contemplative. We also walked through a very old cemetery with over 200,000 tombstones to some impressive shrines. 

View of the garden from the temple we stayed in

So many many stupas in the cemetery 

Eating yet more food and this time looking the part 

We continued with the Buddhist pilgrimage theme with a trip further south in Kansai to hike along the Kumano Kodo. This ancient pilgrimage route has been in use for over a 1000 year and people have walked these routes towards three important shrines. The route goes through the most incredible scenery - HUGE cedar trees, forests, mountains for miles, rivers, waterfalls, shrines, statues, tori gates. One part of the route involves a rite of passage where you have to crawl through the tiniest space between some rocks. The literal translation is “to pass through the birth canal” (picture below of the hole) - we’ll leave it to your imagination for what we looked like going through it. We certainly felt reborn!

Fresh-faced at the start of the hike 

The “birth canal”!

Nachi falls in the background 

Ever helpful Japan - no excuse if you get lost  

Trees, trees, trees. Hills, hills hills

A glimpse of our end point far in the distance 

Finally at our last shrine - Kumano Hongu Taisha 

A little thank you for getting us through the route safely - no injuries and no snake bites! 

Walking under the largest tori gate in the world - 33.9m tall 

We passed only handfuls of people while we were walking and it was a very special feeling to have the whole place to ourselves. We managed to beat our steps record with one day reaching 35,000 steps! Needless to say we had pretty tired legs and the hostel we were staying in had no less that THREE private hot spring baths with one outdoors, so we recovered quickly. In the village there was a bath just for cooking food in. You’d see lots of people in the evenings watching their eggs and sweet potatoes cook. They did taste pretty good!

Outdoor private onsen 

Cooking onsen - our sweet potatoes bottom right 

After one of the days hikes  a Japanese man gave us a lift back to our hostel when he saw us at a bus stop. Despite our limited Japanese and his limited English he told us about his Filipino girlfriend who his wife wasn’t to happy about him having (!) and also a chat about Brexit where he exclaimed “need to stay!!” (preaching to the converted!). He refused any money and sent us on our way with a bag of sweets instead.

To keep a record of the route you’ve done you collect stamps along the way in a little passport. The Kumano Kodo is a UNESCO heritage route and has been paired with the only other UNESCO route Camino de Santiago in Spain. If you do both routes you get to call yourselves a Dual Pilgrim, definitely on our list of things to do.

Kumano Kodo - COMPLETED 

Koyasan and the Kumano Kodo have been the absolute highlights on this trip. We’ve seen some pretty incredible scenery and completing the hike was a great sense of achievement. We are definitely feeling very lucky to be able to do this trip and can’t believe our time in Japan is nearly over. 

Rach and Alex x

Japan - Himeji, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Naoshima Art Island

Another day another bullet train. On our way to Hiroshima we stopped off in a town called Himeji known for its picturesque castle and gardens. While we were there the Himeji Marathon was on and the finish line ran into the castle grounds. We love to cheer on a marathon and at the end this one had brass bands, cheerleaders, shell horn players and people dressed as samurais to celebrate the finishers. As the marathon was on we got to enter the parks for free, result! But because it was free they wouldn’t let us stamp out stamp book, sad times. If you’ve ever been to Japan you will know that there are stamps everywhere - train stations, castles, shrines, parks - and people get obsessed collecting them, which we are now too! We have a special book for the shrines which opens up like a concertina and can be hung up.         

Himeji marathon finish line with Himeji Castle  in the background 

Koko-en garden 

Goshunicho - shrine stamp book 

After Himeji we went to Hiroshima and visited Peace Memorial Park. The A-bomb done building still stands in the park a reminder about the horrors of WWII and nuclear weapons. The whole park has memorials to those who lost their life with origami cranes featuring a lot. There is a heartbreaking story of a girl who developed leukaemia from the radiation after the bomb and tried to make 1000 paper cranes as a symbol of hope, healing and longevity; she hoped it would help her live but unfortunately she didn’t manage to make them before she died and so her school friends completed it for her. Now children from all over Japan and the world make paper cranes as a symbol of peace and thousands and thousands are displayed around the park. Walking around the museum was very harrowing and upsetting, especially when you get to the bit with all the personal artefacts of children. It’s terrifying to think how the number of nuclear warheads in the world now have the power to completely eradicate human life! 

Hiroshima A-bomb dome 

Monument in Peace Memorial Park with thousands of paper cranes hanging 

View from the cenotaph down past the peace flame and the A-bomb dome 

We needed some happiness to help us through Hiroshima and went on a day trip to Miyajima Island nearby. This island is incredibly beautiful with a tori gate outside the shrine which looks like its floating in the water in high tide. We climbed up the mountain on the island past hundreds of cute mini Buddhas with crocheted hats. We saw lots of signs warning us about the mamushi viper snake on the island but managed to hike without trouble. The views from the observatory from the top were stunning, Japan is just gorgeous and we cant get enough of the landscape. 

Floating tori gate on Miyejima Island 

Route up Mount Misen...

... past all the mini Buddhas ...

... with all cutest little hats!

View from the top of Mount Misen Observatory  

Gorgeous sunset over the tori gate 

After this we headed to Naoshima Art Island known for its modern art museums and outdoor sculptures, probably most famous for the yellow pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama . We cycled around the little island feeling very cultured and taking in all the art. We particularly enjoyed the traditional houses made into art installations. 

Getting involved with some art 

Japanese people are kind and really want to make sure you are having a good time or help you get somewhere if you are lost despite the language barrier (nothing google translate can’t help). In lots of bars and restaurants they love to give mini origami as gifts - so far we’ve got cranes, ninja stars, mini boxes. 

Rach and Alex x

Japan - Tokyo, Odawara, Hakone, Kanazawa

Sorry for yet another big gap since our last blog. Our time in Japan has been jam packed and time seems to be running away with us. 

Arriving in Tokyo from a very laid back Sri Lanka was a complete assault on the senses - there are thousands of people everywhere, its bright, loud and completely disorientating. It’s really difficult to put into words what’s its really like. Everything is so ordered and neat and tidy with so much attention to detail. We spent a lot of time just standing and staring at our surroundings - rows and rows of buildings with illuminated advertising signs, electronics, manga comics, music; arcades full of old men chain smoking and playing a computer game where an octopus eats little metal balls! There are vending machines everywhere selling an array of drinks, snacks and ones with miniature toys and trinkets called Gatchapon. The things you can get in them are hilarious - cats doing gymnastics, hats for cats, anime figures, trains, sushi pieces. The options are endless. Tokyo is like nowhere else we’ve ever been.

All of the arcade playing

Alex getting involved

The bright lights of Tokyo

Gatchapon vending machines

Choices, choices for Gatchapon

            

                                  

We did the usual touristy things like watching the hundreds of people crossing the road in Shibuya, walked through Harajuku and Takeshita Street, went to a cat cafe, spent hours on the stationary floor in Tokyu Hands, shopped at the 12 story Uniqlo, walked around Akihabara also known as electric town. We visited our first shrine (Meiji shrine) where there is a special ritual to wash your hands before saying a prayer - wash left hand, then wash right hand, then rinse out your mouth with your left hand, then rinse your left hand again. Then when you go to pray you bow, pray, clap twice then bow again. Sometimes there is a big bell to ring or jangle. We’ve also visited an origami museum and joined in a workshop to make origami cat, mouse and cheese as the area was celebrating a cat festival. Japan LOVES cats!

Shibuya crossing 

      

                                   Visiting a cat cafe - there are hedgehog and owl cafes too! 

Shrine in Akihabara - shrine dedicated to geeks and electronics 

Our attempt at origami 

People generally keep themselves to themselves and don’t make eye contact. Lots or people wear protective face masks to try protect themselves from bugs (although not sure how effective they actually are). Someone told us some women wear them if they haven’t put make up and need to go out but don’t want to show their face or as barrier to stop people talking to them! Although not everyone is like this, one Japanese man stopped us on the street to have a chat and when we said we were from England he said in the best London accent “wa gwan!!” and “bad man ting!!” So very random. 

The food has been an absolute highlight. After a month of curries for every meal, though delicious, it has been great to eat some different things. Ramen, gyoza, sushi, onigiri rice balls (we are living off these from the 7 eleven), katsu curry, yakitori, tempura. In lots of places you chose what you want from a vending machine. In one ramen place you eat your meal in individual separate booths! Food is heavy on carbs, meat and not much veg. It’s quite hard to be a vegetarian coeliac here. 

       

Ramen vending machine              

Alex living his best ramen life 

Chicken katsu

All of the sushi

Onigiri rice balls/triangles - we are living off these to save some money

From Tokyo we made our way to Odawara about 30 minutes going towards Mount Fuji. We are too early for cherry blossom but come here to see their plum blossom festival at a plum grove with over 35,000 trees. It looks stunning and smells beautiful. Unfortunately it was too cloudy to see Mount Fuji in the distance. 

   

 

From here we did a day trip to Hakone which is famous for a loop where you take different forms of transport - bus, pirate ship!, cable car, ropeway, train. We managed to see a beautiful view of Mount Fuji over the lake as we came round a hill on the bus but then the clouds descended and couldn’t get a picture on time. Did it actually happen if there is no photographic evidence?? You’ll just have to trust us that it looked absolutely majestic and we were super happy that we managed to catch a glimpse. Hakone is a volcanic area and we saw some hot steam rising from the rocks around the volcano that smelt very eggy. The open air contemporary art museum was a welcome change of pace. 

View of the lake from Hakone shrine 

The pirate ship to get across the lake. Mount Fuji in the clouds behind 

Smoking sulphur smelling steam 

          

             Hakone Open Air Museum - glass staircase and massive crochet climbing frame for kids

Breaking the rules - for under 6 years only!

We then went onto Kanazawa in the west to try some snow crab that is currently in season. It’s also a town which is famous for lots of Japanese crafts like laquering, silk dying, embroidery, ceramics and most famous for producing 98% of Japan’s gold leaf which they like to adorn their castles and shrines with.  From a 10p sized piece of gold its flattened to the size of a king sized bed and as thin as a strand of hair. We did a gold leaf printing workshop, our works of art are in the pics below. There is even gold leaf ice cream!

      

Kanazawa wasn’t bombed during the war so a lot of it still stands as it did over 400 years ago. We walked around the geisha district where there are still working geisha houses and also around the gorgeous houses in the old samurai district. We took part in a traditional tea ceremony where powdered green matcha tea is prepared in specific way then drunk in a specific way with special Japanese sweets in between. We sat on the floor in a circle facing the lady making the tea. When you are served the tea you have to ask the person to your left permission to drink tea before them, then ask the lady who gave you the tea permission to drink it, the tea cup is given to you facing forward but you cant drink from that side so have to turn the tea cup in your left hand clockwise while thinking about the tea culture, then drink all the tea in three sips, rotate it back to the way you received it and give the tea back. You are served individually so everyone watches you so felt a little stressful to get the ritual correct!

The Japanese gardens have been a delight to visit too. They are absolutely immaculate. In Kanazawa we visited Kenroku-en gardens which is rated the third best in Japan. They have bamboo constructions around the trees and shrubs to protect from snow damage. We needed this for our acer in our back garden last year, it died from the the heavy snow on its branches. We were lucky to see a kingfisher dive into the water and catch a fish. The poor photographer who had been there watching this bird for hours was so excited to show us his pictures he missed a great photo op! While walking around here we got stopped and interviewed for a local TV show and they found it hilarious that the reason we came all the way to Kanazawa was to eat the crab. 

Phew, that’s enough for now. Next blog will be about Himeji, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Naoshima Art Island and cycling along the Shimanami Kaido trial. We’re going to need another holiday to recover from this trip :)

Rach and Alex x