North to South
(Apologies for the delay in posting this blog. With much sightseeing underway it's been a struggle to get uptodate.)
Happily it transpired that many a gaijin do make it as far north as Hokkaido. Although few were in evidence in Hakodate (to the extent I became quite well known at the city's tourist information office), in the excellent backpackers hostel where I spent a couple of nights in Sapporo there were guests from across the globe.
As with so many destinations a few high profile attract the bulk of the tourists while plenty of other perfectly interesting stop offs are never seen. As the days of my railpass go by the speed of my sightseeing increases and there's a growing reliance on the guidebook to offer suggestions as to the 'must see' points to include on the itinerary as with plenty of others doing the same inevitably you end up in a few tourist haunts, worthwhile visits no doubt, but seen only with a milling throng accompanying you at each turn.
This said the most recommended sight in my guidebook, the Hokkaido historical village, was pleasantly sparse in its visitors. I rode a horse-drawn tram down the main street of this turn of the century town with just a few others while in some of the farther flung corners of the village I was able to amble through farmhouses and peasant mountain residences in complete solitude, helping somewhat to recreate the atmosphere of the time.
From Sapporo I decided to take the sleeper train back to Tokyo to make the best use of my time. Although not cheap, being around 60 quid even with my railpass, it did provide a sound night's kip and a decent way of passing 1300 km by with relative ease and comfort. On arrival in Tokyo I had something of a homecoming in the hostel where'd I'd spent a good deal of time some 10 days previous. Aside from the staff there were various faces who were at the hostel the last time and who I hadn't expected to see again, one person from the Sapporo hostel who I'd recommended the hostel to and others. Best of all my visit coincided with the return trip to the hostel by a Japanese friend who I'd got to know when last there, and so the scene was set for an enjoyable afternoon and evening.
My main other reason for the stop over in Tokyo though was to pay a visit once more to the main tourist office to stock up on leaflets for the south of Japan in the same way I'd done for the north a couple of weeks earlier, allowing me to hopefully piece together something of an itinerary to work to. This time a volunteer was on hand to assist with my itinerary; an old Japanese man went through the interesting places I should make priorities using a most engaging style of English: "in the morning you will enjoy the beautiful castle..."
And so it was, having spent a few hours sifting through leaflets I set off from Tokyo the next day. I didn't head directly south, but instead took a trip into the Japanease alps, through the 1998 Winter Olympic host city of Nagano and the nearby castle town of Matsumoto. Although the latter should have made for a good stop by all accounts, it quickly became a hassle as the nice sounding cheap hotel in my guide book upon which my plans rested was closed, leaving me with a heavy backpack in hot, humid conditions and nowhere to stay, and the tourist information office was in a box room in the station while renovations took place and the lady spoke no English. Nevertheless I was there to see a castle and by jove at the very least I was going to get that from the day.
The castle itself while pleasant on the outside was a real pain to navigate on the inside. Not only did you have to take off your shoes and carry them in a plastic bag around the castle, but the steps were steep, the floor hard on the feet and generally it seemed an arrangement concocted to ensure I enjoyed only discomfort at best or pain when trying to negotiate the stairs. Although the exhibits were interesting enough; samurai related including a range of firearms, by this point my enthusiasm for the venture had waned and I only wanted to get out of the place. At least I suppose I can say I've visited a Japanese castle, although I think in the future I might stick to enjoying their exteriors!
I decided to retreat to Nagano for the night, although this proved quite booked up, but the helpful tourist information office there found me a place in the end. I didn't look around too much although I spent part of the evening in a jazz bar I stumbled upon which rather bizarrely had a trio playing Jazzed up versions of such primary school classics as 'the Grandfather clock' and the Sesame street theme, while by the bar the one or two customers there other than myself chain smoked in an attempt to create an authentic jazz bar atmosphere.
From Nagano I've made my way to Kyoto, Japan's cultural heartland, where I spent a couple of days picking my way around the more spectacular of the thousands of temples spread throughout what is otherwise a modern city not unlike many others in Japan. Having spoken to fellow travellers who have had longer to enjoy Kyoto than myself I gather that a principal attraction is the ability to find places of solice within and around the cityscape, be it a well manicured Zen garden or escaping to the hills that both hem the city in and also ensure the countryside is close at hand.
Kyoto is also handy in its position for day trips. Yesterday I spent much of the day in Himeji, appreciating what is generally regarded as Japan's finest castle. Despite my less than endearing experiences with the genre, this larger castle, while still demanding shoes in bags and lots of stairs proved more easily accessible to giant gaijin such as myself.
Today it's been another daytrip, this time to Nara, boasting some of Japan's most important Buddhist temples all set within parkland grazed by quite a number of deer. I've noticed that wherever you go the wildlife is generally expecting to be fed. In gardens if you stand to admire the pond you will quickly find yourself being admired by a number of carp, mouths open optimistically expecting whatever it is carp choose to eat. The deer in Nara were no exception, not helped by various stalls offering deer food for sale. It was at least entertaining to see deer sat rather passively amongst temples, tourist stalls and the throngs of visitors to the park.
Heading yet further southwards I'm stopping over at Okayama in the West of Honshu island before visiting the inland sea, an area of water encircled by Shikoku island to the south and Honshu to the north before reaching Fukuoka for a festival on the 15th. That leaves just a couple of days on the rail pass for Hiroshima and other sights around. It'll be from Fukuoka that I'll eventually depart for Korea but exactly when that will be is very much still to be seen!
Happily it transpired that many a gaijin do make it as far north as Hokkaido. Although few were in evidence in Hakodate (to the extent I became quite well known at the city's tourist information office), in the excellent backpackers hostel where I spent a couple of nights in Sapporo there were guests from across the globe.
As with so many destinations a few high profile attract the bulk of the tourists while plenty of other perfectly interesting stop offs are never seen. As the days of my railpass go by the speed of my sightseeing increases and there's a growing reliance on the guidebook to offer suggestions as to the 'must see' points to include on the itinerary as with plenty of others doing the same inevitably you end up in a few tourist haunts, worthwhile visits no doubt, but seen only with a milling throng accompanying you at each turn.
This said the most recommended sight in my guidebook, the Hokkaido historical village, was pleasantly sparse in its visitors. I rode a horse-drawn tram down the main street of this turn of the century town with just a few others while in some of the farther flung corners of the village I was able to amble through farmhouses and peasant mountain residences in complete solitude, helping somewhat to recreate the atmosphere of the time.
From Sapporo I decided to take the sleeper train back to Tokyo to make the best use of my time. Although not cheap, being around 60 quid even with my railpass, it did provide a sound night's kip and a decent way of passing 1300 km by with relative ease and comfort. On arrival in Tokyo I had something of a homecoming in the hostel where'd I'd spent a good deal of time some 10 days previous. Aside from the staff there were various faces who were at the hostel the last time and who I hadn't expected to see again, one person from the Sapporo hostel who I'd recommended the hostel to and others. Best of all my visit coincided with the return trip to the hostel by a Japanese friend who I'd got to know when last there, and so the scene was set for an enjoyable afternoon and evening.
My main other reason for the stop over in Tokyo though was to pay a visit once more to the main tourist office to stock up on leaflets for the south of Japan in the same way I'd done for the north a couple of weeks earlier, allowing me to hopefully piece together something of an itinerary to work to. This time a volunteer was on hand to assist with my itinerary; an old Japanese man went through the interesting places I should make priorities using a most engaging style of English: "in the morning you will enjoy the beautiful castle..."
And so it was, having spent a few hours sifting through leaflets I set off from Tokyo the next day. I didn't head directly south, but instead took a trip into the Japanease alps, through the 1998 Winter Olympic host city of Nagano and the nearby castle town of Matsumoto. Although the latter should have made for a good stop by all accounts, it quickly became a hassle as the nice sounding cheap hotel in my guide book upon which my plans rested was closed, leaving me with a heavy backpack in hot, humid conditions and nowhere to stay, and the tourist information office was in a box room in the station while renovations took place and the lady spoke no English. Nevertheless I was there to see a castle and by jove at the very least I was going to get that from the day.
The castle itself while pleasant on the outside was a real pain to navigate on the inside. Not only did you have to take off your shoes and carry them in a plastic bag around the castle, but the steps were steep, the floor hard on the feet and generally it seemed an arrangement concocted to ensure I enjoyed only discomfort at best or pain when trying to negotiate the stairs. Although the exhibits were interesting enough; samurai related including a range of firearms, by this point my enthusiasm for the venture had waned and I only wanted to get out of the place. At least I suppose I can say I've visited a Japanese castle, although I think in the future I might stick to enjoying their exteriors!
I decided to retreat to Nagano for the night, although this proved quite booked up, but the helpful tourist information office there found me a place in the end. I didn't look around too much although I spent part of the evening in a jazz bar I stumbled upon which rather bizarrely had a trio playing Jazzed up versions of such primary school classics as 'the Grandfather clock' and the Sesame street theme, while by the bar the one or two customers there other than myself chain smoked in an attempt to create an authentic jazz bar atmosphere.
From Nagano I've made my way to Kyoto, Japan's cultural heartland, where I spent a couple of days picking my way around the more spectacular of the thousands of temples spread throughout what is otherwise a modern city not unlike many others in Japan. Having spoken to fellow travellers who have had longer to enjoy Kyoto than myself I gather that a principal attraction is the ability to find places of solice within and around the cityscape, be it a well manicured Zen garden or escaping to the hills that both hem the city in and also ensure the countryside is close at hand.
Kyoto is also handy in its position for day trips. Yesterday I spent much of the day in Himeji, appreciating what is generally regarded as Japan's finest castle. Despite my less than endearing experiences with the genre, this larger castle, while still demanding shoes in bags and lots of stairs proved more easily accessible to giant gaijin such as myself.
Today it's been another daytrip, this time to Nara, boasting some of Japan's most important Buddhist temples all set within parkland grazed by quite a number of deer. I've noticed that wherever you go the wildlife is generally expecting to be fed. In gardens if you stand to admire the pond you will quickly find yourself being admired by a number of carp, mouths open optimistically expecting whatever it is carp choose to eat. The deer in Nara were no exception, not helped by various stalls offering deer food for sale. It was at least entertaining to see deer sat rather passively amongst temples, tourist stalls and the throngs of visitors to the park.
Heading yet further southwards I'm stopping over at Okayama in the West of Honshu island before visiting the inland sea, an area of water encircled by Shikoku island to the south and Honshu to the north before reaching Fukuoka for a festival on the 15th. That leaves just a couple of days on the rail pass for Hiroshima and other sights around. It'll be from Fukuoka that I'll eventually depart for Korea but exactly when that will be is very much still to be seen!
posted by Daniel at 8:56 am
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