Mid-course

We have quite literally waddled in from dinner at Fukuyama. The problem started with our inability to have any idea what we were ordering, and the waiter’s keen sense that we might have been well-heeled tourists that he could add a little bit to what we really needed from a nourishment point of view. We were at another BBQ restaurant a couple of hundred metres from our hotel. We ended up with two rather large platters of various thin cuts of steak, some chicken and some liver – and some vegetables. We ploughed our way through most of it, and it really was delicious, so it was hard to leave uncooked pieces on the platter. The BBQ grill was gas-fired and set into the table. We had come in dressed for the bitter cold we encountered on our walk, but I was soon glowing from the heat and the waiter rushed over to see if he could turn me over to cook on the other side.

There was also the challenging physical problem of lowering ourselves into a pit, with the table at waist height while seated. Really, the problem was not so much with the lowering, but with the raising from the depths, especially when carrying the extra kilos from our meal.

But I am getting a bit ahead of myself. We are on Day 11 having arrived at Fukuyama, and we left you on Day 7 after our train journey up the Oi Oi Oi River Valley.

Day 8, Sunday was bright and sunny to start and we were looking forward to a seeing some of the older towns and traditions of Japan. We managed to Zoom in to church for a few minutes to chat with some of the folk who attend virtually these days, and catch up with some news.

En route to the town of Takayama we called in to a museum/cum shop at Seki which is famed for the manufacture of cutlery, swords and knives. We also had the opportunity to dress up in some traditional kit. We thought we looked quite regal. Takayama is a very old town and parts of the Old Town have preserved the old homes and shops of a long ago era. Of course these old wooden structures have an overlay of the present times with tourist shops and many, many restaurants. By chance more than planning we arrived during part of the Takayama Festival where gaily decorated and ancient floats parade in the street. There was an amazing drum performance which drew a goodly crowd, but we were lucky enough to be right at the front. After a luscious lunch, our schedule was pushing us on to Shirakawa-go, another old town which has preserved much of its housing. The roofs are all thatched, and each year another layer of thatching is added, so that the roofs are about 800mm thick. It was snowing when we arrived but it was clear that there had been significant recent snows going by the piles of snow on the ground and on the roofs. The dangers of snow slipping off the high-pitched roofs was evidenced by the sign we saw, warning of “Farring Snow.” This is what happens when you tell the signwriter what to write rather than showing him or her. The houses were a good size, and each seemed to have a small plot of land to grow rice or vegetables. The people have cleverly captured the contours to took advantage of every drop of rain or melted snow to ensure that each plot had a good supply of water. It is very impressive how centuries of practice have perfected agriculture so that no square metre of land or millilitre of water is wasted.

Day 9, Monday, and we are on the road again. We were not lured into any false notion that this day would start out bitterly cold and would go downhill from there. Speaking only of the weather of course. We left Nagoya for the town of Iga, well known as a region where Ninja’s were based. We visited the Iga-ryu Ninja House which demonstrated many of the Ninja practices of stealth with hidden doors and traps. It was very interesting and I am motivated to do some reading about Ninjas and the Shogun.

Our destination from there was to city of Kyoto but we had a service centre stop along the way to refuel the coach and ourselves. Of the many things we could learn from Japan, one is how to have a highway service centre. The one problem we had was negotiating the automatic food ordering machine, but hunger drove our quest, and we eventually worked it out.

I was pretty bushed by the time we got to Kyoto, so stayed and rested and organised some of the photos while Jenny, Lynn and Steve went for a walk to Kyoto Station – a massive place, and getting there as they did at peak hour was most likely not the best choice. Still, it had shops, and Jenny has found a soul-mate in Lynn who, like Jenny finds it hard to resist buying clothes. They had been gone for hours and I was starting to get a bit anxious. I saw that Jen had not taken her phone (a rare event) so there was not much I could do but wait. They turned up after about three hours, laden with purchases that included a small salad and fried chicken that we had for our dinner.

Day 10, Tuesday, was supposed to be a free day in Kyoto but we did an optional tour to see the Ten Ryuji Temple. Despite its obvious allure as a site of great beauty and significance, my knees resisted, so I, with Steve, (dicky heart) stayed to admire the views from the bottom of an uninviting paved stairway to the temple and zen gardens that apparently are quite beautiful. With the girls back (eventually) we went for a stroll along the main street of the town which was packed with visitors many of whom also went to the temple. Many women and some men dress in traditional clothes where are really beautiful.

From here we went to see the Golden Pagoda, also set in lovely gardens that invite you to calmness and peace. It is slightly incongruous, as the beauty of the pagoda, lake and gardens are offset by the shuffling crowds and having to share the experience with so many people. It would have been nice to have moments of quiet and reflection.

Back at Kyoto, Jenny, Lynn and Steve were clearly not put off by their previous night’s excursion and getting hopelessly lost visiting and returning from Kyoto Station. To prove their navigational skills they wanted another attempt and to include me and another victim, Dennis, in their folly. At least Dennis is a man of the land, so I assumed he would have pretty good skills in finding his way about, and importantly in getting back. How they got lost is a mystery, as the Station is quite direct and about 1200 metres away! Anyway, we got there and went a little further to the Kyoto Tower which has a very good observation platform. It was lovely seeing the city lights spreading out to the horizon in all directions. The gang was looking for something other than a Japanese meal, so we found an Italian restaurant. The food was so-so, as Japanese chefs are excellent at Japanese food. I was reminded of the meal we had at a Chinese restaurant in a village just South of Glasgow – it would have made any Chinese person blush with embarrassment. I think that meal came from a packet with added curry powder.

Which brings us to today – Wednesday, and Day Ten – the half point of our holiday. If yesterday was merely “cold”, today was bitter, with strong winds and snow. We visited the Hatsukuru Sake Brewery and Museum. Of the many fine qualities of sake, taste is not one of them. It was interesting seeing both the traditional and modern ways of getting sake, but with so many steps in the process, you must admire the ingenuity and doggedness to finally get to a product that produces a satisfying drink (to some!) I think I will stick to wine – not that we are large consumers, but we (meaning “I”) do enjoy a good well-aged wine. We were whisked away to Kobe where we boarded the Shinkansen to Himeji. It was only a short journey but it was completed in amazingly short time. We have now done a few fast trains – France, Germany, China and now Japan. We keep thinking just how a fast train linking Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne would transform our travel. Still, having a large population helps. On the line we were on today, there was a Shinkansen every 10-15 minutes and maybe Australia could not sustain that level. But maybe ten trains a day – that might work.

Stopping at Himeji was to visit the Himeji Castle, a vast and stunning fortified structure. It is certainly well-defended with two large moats, imposing castle walls, and impenetrable gates. I suppose it kept out those pesky Ninjas. Even with blustery winds and rain squalls, it was a terrific experience to walk around the castle perimeter. But the rain was also an encouragement to scurry back to the coach for the next leg to Fukuyama. It was this leg where the cold really set in and the wind buffeted our vehicle as we drove through snow flurries. At least we were warm and secure inside the bus.

I can see that this is far too long and I am sure no one will have read this far. Good on if you managed this. I will try to be more succinct in future.

Cheers for now

Bill