Farewell Japan until next time.

 Ja mata - well then good bye.

So long Japan it has been fun visiting again. I am now on my big 24hour journy back to Melbourne. Which starts at Kanazawa and includes three trains, two plaines and my sisters car. It is going to be a long time of reading books, listening to music, playing set and maybe writing a very big blog post. 

I just had my first change over from one train to another and oh boy was it tight. There was ten minuets to get out of one station gates (where my ticket was declined! ) and onto the next platform (where I could not find the right car number!) just as I got on the train the whistle blow, the doors closed and the train was off. Wow we very close. This is the biggest Shinkansen I have been on, it is a double decker and there are three seats per side of the train not two. Yet it is still very full. Apparently today is a national holiday in Japan so that may explain some of the crowds also I hear it is the start of the summer vacation, so apparently my flight back to Australia is nearly full. 

I have yet to tell you what I did yesterday (Sunday the 14th of July) so let me do that now.

I first went to the train station to buy my train ticket to Narita airport for Monday. i then spent the rest of the day sightseeing in Kanazawa. I went to the Geashi district where there are old preserved buildings (like Kyoto you are very unlikely to see a Geashi on the street as they are usually inside practising music or dance or what have you. I then went to the castle grounds where the city has spent a fair amount of money and time reconstructing some of the walls towers and gaits. It looks fantastic. I sat around and tried to paint the castle and then had lunch. I went to the 21st century museum of art. ( the white circular building in the photos). The temporary exhibition was not very extraordinary but the permanent exhibition was much better. In the temporary exhibition there was a pice performed by a group of fine art student, they spent hours of the day dressed up as primordial bug things and moving and interacting with the environment that had made. I was very funny as they were taking it so seriously, it reminded me of something a drama teacher would make their students do. 

I wondered around the streets for awhile before heading back to the train station in search of a book shop. While we were traveling David and I would pop into book shops to try and find a manga series called Honey and Clover (David would like to read these) in Tokyo we had only found one bookshop that had it and David didn't get it at the time. Anyway I thought I wold try looking for them as well the first two bookshops didn't sell it or it was out of stock, but the last book shop had all but 4th volume. So I now have most of a manga series in my backpack to take home to Melbourne. Because David already took my hiking boots back with him last week I still have managed to travel with my backpack and a rucksack. 

When I got back to the hostel You made me some shaved ice with lemon sirup, yum! I made a crane without any help! After making dinner You and Maru got everyone together and we went out side and set off little Japanese fireworks (like big sparklers). You then drove some of us out to a public bath. This was a very well equipped public bath, it had pools of different temperatures, some were indoors and some outdoors, it also had a saner, and baths with different types of water jets. There were TVs in the sauna and one of the outdoor pools (it was humorous to see groups of Japanese women sitting watch telly in the nude while sitting in a big bath). The air conditioning unfortunately broke last night so it was a little hot, You and Maru went a got ice pillows which are big ice packets that you use as a pillow. 

I didn't do anything very exiting this morning before I got on the train. I had to go to the station and change my train to the airport because I had got the station confused and got a ticket to terminal one not two. There was no issue and it was easy to change over, but I was a little worried the night before when I found out that I had made a mistake. I am now sitting in Tokyo station waiting for my last train to take me to the airport.

 

Daijyoubu - it's ok. Seams to be You and Maru's phrase of choice. When I was worried about the train ticket that is what they would say and any time I apologised or asked for something that was their reply. 

Well im now at the airport and so can post this using the wi-fi. 

See some of you soon!

Acushla. 

Kanazawa

The two ladies that work at Pongi Guest house are so very lovely. They are warm and welcoming. 'You' and two of the other guests we sat down after dinner and played Japanese card games. I am very impressed with the hostel. I find it amazing how well 12 people can occupy such a small house (to be fair it was not full last night and there were only 8 of us - 6 guests and two employees). The spaces are well managed and everything is packed away very tightly. 

My first full day in Kanazawa (Saturday the 13th of July)

I had a big old sleep in and then leisurely made breakfast, washed and hung my cloths before I left the hostel at 11am. I met a lady that I had meet on the bus the day before I asked her how here morening was going and she had already been to a food market, the Gasha district, the gardens and it was only 11:30, she was very surprised to here that I ha d only just left my hostel. I walked along the channel towards the centre of the city and went to the old Samurai district. I then spend two and a half hours walking and sitting in the gardens. They are called $$$$ and were part of the palace gardens. They are one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan, and they really were beautiful. Each view was made to look at and care was taken to make it look beautiful. It s a very nice way to spend some time. I met an elderly Japanese couple that had traveled to Kanazawa with two of their friends to visit the gardens. The man was the tallest Japanese person I had met so far and he was very nice trying to talk English to me. 

As I was off to the Noh theatre that night I thought it would be a good idea to visit the Noh museum to learn some more about the art form. I was able to dress up in a costume and even put on a mar, I am now very impressed that the actors can move so gracefully in the cloths and with such impaired vision! 

I then hung around the 21st century museum of art, which I intend to visit tomorrow. They had some sort of fashion parried on that happened  briefly outside. They had very interesting costumes on and great big wigs on. I'll see if any of the photos come out ok and put some up on Flicker so you can see for yourself. 

I them went to the Noh theatre there is some special performances on this week that mean the it only costs ¥1,000 to go to a performance this is instead of ¥3,000 or ¥4,000 but you do have to get there an hour early to get a good seat. I had a very good seat right in front of the stage people that come in at the same time as me were reserving hole rows for their friends that then turned up over the next hour. The two plays were fun the first was not Noh theatre but something that was more funny and less formal. It was about a load that travels without a servant and so has to carry his own sward. He is not happy about this and gets a passing seaweed seller to carry his sward and the lord instructs the seaweed seller on how to act like a servant. The seaweed seller get fed up with being piked on and pulls the sward on the lord and makes him dance and pretend to sell seaweed. It was very funny even though I didn't know that they were saying, the formal movement was fantastic and I liked seeing how focused the actors were - they would shake with how hard they were holding a pose. The Noh play was about a messenger that discovers a golden tablet that has fallen from the sky he talks to an old man about it, at the end of the conversation the man reviles that he is the god that protects this land and that it is his tablet that shows that the land is protected. The music was so strange, I can't imagine how it would look as sheet music. It had three drums and one flute and the musicians also made yelps and shouts. The costumes worn by the two main actors were beautiful and the old man/god  had a costume change on stage. He went into a tiny tent and a few minuets later while other action was taking place on the stage the curtain of the tent was lifted and there was a god. It was very impressive as the costumes are so big and he managed to get changed in such a small space. 

When I got back it was time for all the guest to sit down and make origami cranes. We are asked to write a peace wish on the back and then fold the crane. At the end of the year the staff will thank the big box of cranes to the temple and burn them, sending all the prayers up the the gods. I am slowly getting better at making cranes, tonight I tried to do one without getting help but I made a bag fold and my crane would not open up properly, so I  have to go back and ask for help.  Will try again tomorrow though.

My last day of sightseeing tomorrow! Then its off to Tokyo/ the airport on Monday.

Thursday and Friday.

Thursday the 11th of july.

I got up at 6am and walked over to the morning market which is set up by the river. It was very small but I managed to buy bag of blueberries (another purple purchase!)  from a lady that was selling flowers and blueberries. By 6:30 it was already hot and I went back to the shady spot I had spent time painting at two days before. 

By 8:50 I was on the bus to Shirakawa-go a Unesco World Heritage Site, that consists of a group of traditional thatched houses called Gassho so called as their shape resembles a monks hands in prayer. I first dropped my bag off at the inn I was staying at, it is one that is a little further out then the other buildings but is lovely and quiet and has a great view of the mountain range. (I am looking at the view as I write this before dinner.) I then went for a massive wonder around the forests and the village. I took my time and went up all the little paths I could find (most of the time they didn't really go anywhere and I would have to double back but they were nice all the same). It was quite difficult to try and stay cool as there was very little shade to be found. On the way down from a viewing point I followed a small road in hope that I could find a path down to the river, my troubles payed off and I was able to get down to the river bank take my shoes off and wade into the water. I also took off my long sleeve top and dunk it into the water and put it back on all wet! It was such a nice way to cool down. I then sat on a rock in the shade while my shirt dried in the sun. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around the village and just looking.  There are lots of little paths and manny many chana

S with water in them. There are little swift like birds darting through the rice fields and one or two eagles soaring overhead. The loudest sound is the crickets and if you are by a river the river. 

I went back to the house I was staying in and had dinner with the other guest and man from Milan in Italy, who is a lecturer on urban planing at an Architecture university. He is traveling through Japan in two weeks and is covering so many places in just 15 days. Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Niko, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa, Hiroshima, Mount Fugi, plus on or two more that I have forgotten. After dinner I went out for a walk, I didn't meet anyone on the streets. The sounds coming from the houses were that of people getting ready for bead or cleaning up after dinner. I got to see my first fireflies, only two of them but that was quite exiting for me. There were lots of frogs that you could hear out in the fields. 

Friday morning had me walking around the town again while it was not too hot. At midday I went the small museum they have and sat down to watch a small movie they had made about how to build these houses. It is fascinating all the different and complex joints! No nails used how they made load paths to carry the weight of the roof to the grounding stones that they had set in the ground, truly groovy stuff. At 1:50 was on a bus to Kanazawa, that is where I am now. Sitting in the Guest house called Pongyi which is very welcoming and amazingly small, but well organised.  The building was kimono shop and has been converted, the female dorm I am staying in used to be the storage room for the Kimonos! I feel as through it will be a very pleasant late couple of days.

I am looking forward to coming back to Melbourne. I have both the melbounre International film festival and Open house Melbourne to look forward to (as well as friends and families company of cause). 

shinkansen!

I left Tokyo on Tuesday morning on a Shinkansen bound for Nagoya, I then got on a train that had extra big windows so that you could look at the scenery as you went up the into the mountains. I forgot how much fun riding the Shinkansen is it is really the best way to travel long distances so much more comfortable then a bus of aeroplane and it takes from the centre of one city to the centre of another no need to trek in from the periphery like an aeroplane (although granted no where near as fast as a aeroplane). I sat back listened to music, ate my food and watched the world wiz by the window. After a short change over in Nagoya it was off to Takayama, a slower trip but with very nice views as the train followed the river for the last half of the trip. 

I dropped my bag of at my hostel and then walked to the preserved area of the town where there are still old houses and shops. I then went and sat under a willow tree by the river, to do some painting. While I was painting I had two people come up to me to say hello. The first was a Japanese lady that had come up on a bus trip for the day to go sightseeing. Her English was not very good and my Japanese doesn't go beyond, hello, I'm from Australia, it is hot today, are you sightseeing... So  we spent quite some time smiling and nodding as we tried to make each other understood. The second person was a local man who was pushing his mountain bike home, he tolled me that as he was retired his hobby now was to go bike riding in the country side. He had very good English and even said goodbye by saying cherio! He was very lovely to talk with and I really liked getting to talk to two Japanese people it is not something that happens as much in big cites like Tokyo even Saporro it doesn't happen. 

I went to the supermarket to pick up some tofu (it was the worst I have had so far in Japan) and went back to the hostel to make miso. The other guests in the hostel were nice to talk to and the couple that own the hostel are very lovely. They have a little boy who is eighteen months old who was particularly taken with on of the guests who was from Canada. The hostel was very nice it was most things a hostel should be: lade back, clean and comfortable. 

On wednesday morning I slept in until 8am and had a slow breakfast. I then packed up my day pack and set off for a walk up to the grounds of the ruined castle and around the temple district. I had a nice walk, although it was very hot (but not too humid which was a relief) and spent time writing the blog post for Tokyo and stopped to draw a little shrine that was sitting out on a little pond. On the way back to the centre of the city I found the local library and went in a sat looking at children's books for a while. It was afternoon by this time and a set off on a little mission to find a tofu shop and a vegetable shop that had been recommended to me as apart from a italian restaurant there was no restaurants that didn't serve Hida beef. I found the tofu shop without much difficulty but the vegetable store's location eluded me. Instead I found a small supermarket and bought only vegetables that were purple ( an eggplant, red cabbage and red grape) and some noodles. It was only when I was putting them in my bag that I realised that all the fruit and veggies were all purple. I then walked along the river to another part of the town that had been preserved. There was an old building that was owned by a wealthy sake brewer and money lender that I paid to go into. The beam and column structure of the roof is just beautiful, I don't think the photos capture it well. The house was nicely designed the rooms were all pleasing and connected together in clever ways. The lady that sells the tickets had a great seance of humour and was telling me about the history of the building. After a very long and hot day I headed back to the hostel to sit on the couch and talk to the owner and her little boy. 

A little later I started to make dinner as most of the people in the hostel had gone out for dinner including the owners it was just me and the young lady that is working at the hostel for two months. I fried up the eggplant, cooked the noodles and miked it with the cabbage and served the tofu just by itself (it already had sesemee seeds in it). It was a real feast! As I was finishing dinner the owners and one of the guests who they had taken out for dinner came back and we sate around drinking sake.

 

Studio Ghibli and legoland.

On Sunday we went out the Mitaka to the Studio Ghibli museum. Although I went last time I was in Tokyo it was still fun to go again. My favourite part is where they have walls covered with water colour sketches of the different films. After spending the morning at the museum we took the Studio Ghibli 'cat bus' back to Mitaka and found some plain wooded chopstick! Something that was difficult to find as most of the big shops only sold ornate chopsticks.  We also found a jazz cafe on the second floor of a building. So we sat down to drink ice coffee eat piazza and listen to jazz recordings. We stayed there for an hour or so, it was such a nice place hang out it, and was the perfect haven form the hot weather outdoors. 

When we got back to Tokyo we took the train to the Tokyo Skytree, the large TV tower built onto of a large shopping complex. As it was close to dinner time went to the food court and ate ramen, to was ok but it had some strange gluteus porig looking substance added to it which made it think and the texture was unpleasant to eat. The que to take the lift to the viewing platform, let along the even longer que to purchase the tickets deterred us from going up to the viewing platform. Instead we walked back towards the river and sat in a bar drinking Asahi super dry. 

Monday was David's last day in Japan and he wanted to go to a big lego store, we thought the biggest one would be on Odaiba near the Legoland discovery centre. The trip out on the train over the rainbow bridge was fantastic, it almost felt like it was going to be a theme park ride. When. Got to Odaiba it looked as if the Lego store was closed for renovation so we decided to do to Lego Land instead. We were the oldest people that were not there with there children by 15 years or so. Still some of the centre was fun.  There was a ride that I thought was going to be like a haunted railway, and it was similar but you had these lego guns that you used to shoot big lego monsters that were coming to get you and you collected points (as a side note I got more points than David which i think is impressive as i don't play video games).  My favourite part was the lego models of some of the famous building in Tokyo. There was a litle model of the Nagasaki capsule tower and Yoyogi stadium. At the exit to lego land there was a lego shop although it was not very big, but was still got to look at some of the very impressive models they have, they have an architecture series where you can build Some of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings and the Star wars collection with its big star destroyers and the like are always impressive. 

After having lunch in Odaiba we were both tired and far too full. We got the train back across the bride spent some time looking for a particular graphic novel in bookshops and then gave up and went back to Asakusa. In Asakusa I found a second hand book store which we browsed around but then we raced back to the hostel as there was a big thunder storm in the way. Instead of staying at the hostel for an hour we quickly grabbed David's bags and walked quickly back to the train station. The thunder and lightning were quite spectacular and we were very fortunate that we got to the station before then rain started coming down. 

It was lucky that we got to the train station so early as we hot on the wrong train! It was going to Naita NOT Narita airport. Luckily it was in the right direction it just meant that it took us longer then expected to get to the airport and we had to change trains and wait for fifteen minutes. When we got to the airport there was a big que for the Australian flight and it took us fifty minutes to cheek in David's luggage this left us only fifteen minuets until David had to go through the security gate. We had enough time to go to the observation deck and look at the wonderful un set that you could see through the break in the clouds. It was then time to say goodbye and take a train back to Tokyo. On the train back to Tokyo a funny thing happened here is an exerp from an email that zi wrote to David about it: 

" I am sitting on the train  back to Tokyo writing about the last few days in Tokyo and I feel a funny movement on my leg, I absentmindedly brush my leg with my foot and the feeling goes away. After thinking about it I am curious as to what would make my foot itch so I look down and there is a very large green flying bug thing on my shoes! (I assume that this was the thing on my leg making it itch.) with out thinking I kicked the bug off my shoes and it started flying around the train carriage. The funny thing was watching everyone elses reactions to this big bug. Some were warding it off with books and newspapers while the bunch of school girls repelled from it and squealed. The man sitting next to the school girls piked it up in his hand and let it out at the next stop. "

This concludes the adventures in Tokyo. I will try and write about Gifu prefecture soon. Although I wont have internet tomorrow night because of the village I am staying in. 

A.B.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

After being at the Endo museum for an house we walked back to Asakusa and took two trains to get out to Sebu stadium. We had to find some seats which was hard as most of them had already been saved for others that came early or were saved as a place to keep ones bag. We found a nice standing spot and one seat so that we could take it in turns to sit down. Just before the game stated the man in the seat next to us moved his bags and allowed us to have two seats side by side. The game was very fun to watch, even though I didn't know all the rules and was a little confused by the scoring system (there we recording something that was not a home run but had something to do with the different bases players got to ).  Listening to the different chants the supporters had and watching them all do the same hand gestures at the same time was grand. The moment when the pitcher throws the ball and you are waiting to see if there is going to be a run made is an intense moment and when the ball is hit and people can run it is very exiting. The game started off quite slow with the first two or three innings with no home runs, but after the aposing team scored the first home run it became more exiting as the Sebu Lions tried to catchup. There was one innings where the Lions got three home runs, which was very exiting! At the beginning of the seventh innings all the Sebu Lions fans that had being blowing up balloons during the bottom of the sixth, let them all go at the same time, so there were balloons flying everywhere making whistling noises. We watched the seventh innings and then left to catch the train back to the Endo Museum. 

We spent another hour or so at the Endo museum and them went back to Asakusa to find dinner. We went to another little restaurant/bar and got to laugh at Japanese TV programs that were playing on a small television in the corner of the restaurant. 

A rather long post about Tokyo.

Tokyo 

David and I have spent the last three days in Tokyo it has been quite a mad time as the weather is hot and sticky Tokyo is such a big big city and there are so many possibilities of what can be done on any given day. I have enjoyed our time in Tokyo but am very much looking forward to taking a fast train out of here and getting back to smaller towns and a slower pace of living. I write most of this as I head back to Tokyo after seeing David of at Narita airport. Between the trip back to Tokyo and the long trip I have tomorrow I hope to get tell you all the things we have gotten up to in Tokyo. here is a start and if I don't finish it tonight I will add another post tomorrow. 

Friday the 5th July. 

On Friday we flew from Sapporo to Tokyo and arrived in tokyo in the afternoon. The interesting thing about the flight was that when we were checking in our luggage the lady that was serving us informed us that because of the weather in Tokyo we may be landing at in Nagoya! The flight was a little rough and we stated our descent about 40 minutes before we were meant to arrive in Narita airport. This meant that  we were not confident that we had arrived n Tokyo or not until we sore the sign on the top of the terminal building. The weather may have been quite bad as there we very few other aircraft at the airport. 

After dropping bags off out our hostel in Asakusa we went for a walk in surch of food and to have a wonder around the streets. We couldn't find many restaurants that were both open (it was 4:30 ish) and served anything that looked vegetarian, instead of a proper meal we opted for baked goods. We walked past the temple but it was so crowded that instead we tried some of the smaller streets. We walked past some tiny little restaurants that had lots of green vines that were shading them. After walking around for some time trying to find a particular restaurant that served ominomiarki, we were about to give up when we found the place. It was a nice little place were you sat around a BBQ plate that was part of the table top and you got ingredients so that you could cook your own ominomiarki. It must have looked like we wouldn't know how to cook the pancake as one of the waitresses took over the cooking of our dish. It was very nice food and I tried something called apple wine which was yummy. David was still peckish when we left the restaurant so we then went in surch of a  tempura restaurant. This one was much easier to find and the couple that owned the restaurant were very kind and allowed us to order off the lunch menu so that David could have the only vegetarian meal. They had covers of jazz albums on the wall and were playing jazz music, David commented on this and the owner tolled us that they had owned a tempura shop in New York for thirty years or so from the seventies to 2003. After our second dinner we went in surch of a Lawson's so that we could buy tickets to a Baseball match that was playing the next day. It was tricky trying to use the ticketing machines so we needed to ask for help from the store attendant but with there help we managed to purchase two tickets to the Sebu Lions Vs the Mariners at Sebu stadium. 

Saturday the 6th of July.

Saturday we did quite a bit of commuting to get to and from places. First we walked to the Endo Tokyo museum. We could only spend an hour looking around as we needed to get out to the baseball and it was about an hour and a half out of town by train. The museum was great, it shows the history of Tokyo it has both models and artefacts to present and explain the life and urban environment at different times in Endo's history.  There were lots of different models, models of houses and town streets and boats and of verying sizes from 1:1 (fullsize) to 1:10 and 1:20. The detail of these models is just fantastic, they had binoculars so that you cold have a closer look at the street skape. There were little model people doing all sorts of things including hanging up the washing and eating a slice of water mellon while leaning over the bridge. 

This is all I have time for tonight I will write more tomorrow while I am on the train to Takayama. 

With love,

Acushla. 

Tuesday, wednesday and Thursday.

On Tuesday we got up for breakfast at 7am had breakfast and then when back to sleep. After a long sleep in we settled in for a lazy morning of drinking coffee and uploading photos in the communal lounge room. Around midday we went out for a walk in the woods around the hostel. In the afternoon we up to our room to drink more tea and it started to poor down with rain. It pored and pored! I felt very sorry for the hikers that may be on the mountain and the people that we had met that were doing the overland hike ( a hike from Asahikdake to another mountain in the Dizetzuzan national park, it takes between five and eight to do). While it was still raining I went down to the outdoor onsen and got to sit in hot water while the cool rain fell down. It was a very pleasant experience indeed! 

Wednesday 

On wednesday morning we had to pack up and get the bus and then a train to Sapporo. After breakfast we went on another walk around the hostel until our bus arrived. After quite a bit of snoozing on trains and busses we arrived in Sapporo and hound our hostel. The wether was very overcast and rain was threatening even so we went out and spent the afternoon in the city in Odori park. The highlight of the day was going to a restaurant called the Iki Laboratory that as situated in the basement of a building. The food was terrific and the pis of reisitonce  was the mock meat that was made into Japanese dishes. Oh yum!! It was nice to sit down and drink saki and eat yummy food it felt very special. 

Thursday (yesterday, gosh I am nearly up to date!! ) 

We took at train and a bus out Moerenuma park that was designed by the sculptor Isamu Naguchi.  It was a very strange park with large man made hills and large sculptures.  The park was a tip that the Sapporro local government had targeted to turn into a green space once it stopped being a landfill sit. We rented some bikes and road around, walked up strangely shaped hill, went into a big glass building, looked at the wacky play equipment (I climbed on the equipment, David just took photos of them so you can have a look). We also saw the water feature that went on every couple of house. The strange part was when the water feature stated filling  up with water that was sloshing about, creating an interference patten. It was a very interesting park. In the afternoon we went back to Odori park and joined all lots of other people that were enjoying the sunshine and the grass. We then went a drank beer under the Sapporo radio tower. For dinner we went to a small restaurant/bar near our hostel where we were told that we could get vegetarian food. It was reminiscent of an Izakaya restaurant were you sit at the bar and get served food that is cooked in front of you. David and ai had a real feast! And David got to tast shoco for the first time, fermented potato alcohol. 

Anyway we are now in Tokyo and about to go get some food. 

All the very best,

Acushla. 

Climb every mountain..... Or maybe just Asahidake

It has been quite a big week! we have been in Asakidake and Sapporo and I write this as we fly from Sappror to Tokyo. There is so much that we have done and I would like to write in detail about it but I an feeling wuite tired so we will see how far I get. 

I would like to start by telling you about the hike we did to the top of Asahhidake. On monday David and I packed our bags, strapped on our hiking boots and hiked to the top of Asahikidake - the tallest mountain in Hokkaido. It took us three hours to hike up and an hour and a half to two hours to hike down, and we spend half an hour at the top. 

We started the day by taking the ropeway up to a higher point from whick we could stat the walk. At this rope way station there was a seanic  walk that could be done that passed some of the small lakes or ponds and had lovely views of windflowers. We could also see the fumaroles and the discolouration of the snow from the sulphur. After ringing the bell  for good luck it was time to climb the mountain.  It was fairly steep climb which was made more difficult by me have hiking boots that I had not worn for a while which gave me some grief and getting a saw leg about half way up through the climb which meant that I couldn't raise my leg  very high making climbing difficult and slightly painful. There is a chance that we should have turned around but I really wanted to get to the top and while I am not  overly fit I am very determined. So with rest breaks and gritted teeth I made it up the mountain. The view all the way up and from the top were just amazing. We cold look up the path and see other hikers, sometimes a clouds would obscure the hikers and the top of the mountain. Wile we were high up for the first three quarters of the hike it was still very warm and sunny. Unfortunately for me I missed a spot when applying sunscreen and burnt my right shoulder in the most magnificent way. 

Making it to the top was such a great feeling and I am so glad that we didn't turn around. We had a big lunch of miso (with that fresh tofu that we got in Asahikawa), snow peas and avocado and crackers.  I got ot do a sketch of the view and just look out the view. 

The way down we quite tricky as the rocks on the trail would slip from beneath you and as we were walking on a ridge there were big drops on either side of us. Oh I forgot to mention that on the way up we sore people almost jogging down the mountain! It look very scary. We also sore lots of people with hiking polls which would have been extremely useful on the way down. I only managed to fall over twice on the way down which I thought for me was quite impressive. 

It was strange on the way down because you would look in front  to you and be amazed at how far we had walked and you would look up to the peaks and be surprised that we had really climbed that was an hour or two ago.  Back on the platue we had to walk through snow and a small stream to get to the cable car,  and back to the hostel. By the time we had walked to the hostel My leg was so saw and stiff that I couldn't climb up hostel entrance stairs and had to walk up the ramp instead! But we got to the pouch and purchased beer from the vending machine and just stat there from an hour before dinner drinking and resting. After dinner it was time for a long hot soak in the Onsen and an early night. 

An apology of sorts.

I have lots and lots of things that I would like to write about, but  have been so buys and I am just too tired to make coherent sentences.

I would like to tell you about hiking/climbing up Asahikidake and our amazing youth hostel in the mountain. I would like to tell you about bear bells and over-land hikers and our lucky escape from a Big rain storm. But as I said I am too tired to do it tonight and so I apologise and will try and do better tomorrow.


Acushla.  

Good bye Asahikawa

On Sunday morning there was a  flea market on the shopping street outside the hostel. We had a look on and found some really neat things. I would of liked to spend longer looking but we were on a mission to find a thermos and stock up on food as we were off to Asahidake at midday and we needed to get food for lunches as there would not be access much food and no certainty of the availability of vegetarian food. Hence the thermos so that we could make miso and take it with us each day. We could not find a thermos at the department store and we were running out for time before we had to get the bus - we decided to have another look at the market because I thought I had seen a small thermos when we were looking before. Fortunately I spotted a big thermos that still had the instruction book and the box it was bought in. This was an extreamly good find as it cost ¥400 compared to the Tully's thermos that was ¥3,500 that we has saw earlier that day. 

With packs on back and a quick stop and a market stall to get omomomiyaki and a Japanese donut-like pastry it was time to get the bus up the mountain. Eating the omonomiarki while on a bus and trying to pick put the slice of bacon was quite a challenge as it is a messy food at the best of times. I have to say we did extreamly well and managed to not get any food on ourselves, our cloths or the bus. We arrived at the youth hostel and were shown out tatami mat room. The room is a traditional Japanese style room so we get to take the beds put of the cupboard each night and them fold them away in the morning. This youth hostel is the very very  nice. There is an Onsen downstairs and the food for dinner and breakfast is lovely. I feel very pampered and I feel like the chef has done a great job in accommodating David and I not eating meat. 

We went for a walk up to the visitors centre to see what walks we could do while we are up here. The woman at the centre gave us some advice about which paths has too much snow on them and which bridges were unsafe to cross, ( as a side not she had a very hypnotic voice that was a pleasure to listen too). We went on two of the short walks that were suggested before heading back to the hostel for dinner. In the first five minuets of walking we saw a dear run into the forest, which was such a surprise to see. There we signs on the second train that asked people to not pick the flowers on leave any rubbish ( these are the sign with the little mouse like creature on them - the Pika). 

After dinner it was time to try the Onsen, which I had been looking forward to for quite a while. The water in this onsen is very very hot and it is hard to stay in the water for long. So saying it was still lovely. 

Ok i think that is enough from me for now. We are traveling from Asahidake to Suporro tomorrow so I should have time to fill you in on the last two days then. 

Lavender and more bike riding.

Saturday 29th

On Saturday morning Yukari walked us over to a tofu store. It was housed in a big building that used to hold a large number of tofu shops now there are only a few left open and we could only see one in the building that was open that day. It seamed as if the shop was run  by  a elderly  couple. They make the tofu on sight and sell it from out of big sinks of water that have been casted into the floor ( I didn't bring my camera so I dont have a phot but Yukari had a camera so i will see if I can get her pictures). We bought a large chunk of tofu wrapped up in  bamboo paper as well as some fried tofu and some potato starch noodles. The noodles were truly strange, they were in water and as they had nearly the same refractive index as the water it was very hard to see them, it was not until we put the sauce into the water that we could see them. It was strange though as the noodles were the absence of the brown water. 

After putting the tofu in the fridge covered with water we took the Norokko to Farm Tomita ( we had to get off at a temporary station called "lavender field station" that is set up just during the summer while the flowers are out). We walked around the farm and felt very much like tourist, but we were in good company as there were so many other tourist the vast majority of which were tourist from Honshu. We got to sit quietly by ourselves up at the top of a hill and look over all the different farms. There were lots of shops in the farm and it was amazing to see all the different lavender paraphernalia. From your usual suspects of soaps, postcards, oils and lotions to lavender flavoured cheesecake and  lemonade ( the latter two we tried).  Back on the Norokko we too the train further down the line to Furanno. After a  alfresco lunch in the park next to the train station we hired bikes and too a ride out of town via the river and through the farm land. We got off our bikes at one point to walk along a stony path. To one side were wheat fields and to the other were very tall planes ( just over the top of my head or a little higher). On these tall plants were vast numbers of grass hoppers and it brought me great delight to run ahead and scare the grass hoppers so that I could see so many of then moving at once. Compared to the day before this bike ride was a dream as it was so very flat. The five o-clock tran took us back from Furanno to Asahikawa. The plan was to go back to the hostel and then later go out to eat big bowls  of veggie soup from Chaos=Heaven ( see earlier post), but very sadly this was not to be. We got back to the hostel and after making friends with a Australian, Tim, satdown to have drink with Tim, Isao and some of the other travellers. We invited Tim to come and eat with us at Chaos=Heaven but where we got there it was too full, the waiter said to come back in half an hour. We went off to the den an Australian bar at the top of a very dark and unmaintained staircase and had a beer. After 45 minutes we went back to Chaos =Heaven but it had closed!!  With no desire to try and find vegetarian food late at night ( it was about 9pm at this time) David and I fell back to making food from supplies bout from Lawson's. back at the hostel I cooked us dinner with input of two Japanese university students that were trying to help me find something to season the stir fry with, they found it funny that David had used BBQ sauce to season our food the night before and wanted to help me make a better decision. 

All the guests of the hostel we in the communal area and it was lovely to spend time talking. Yukari and Isao went out and prepared a. Pice of cake as it was one of the guests birthdays the next day. We all sung happy birthday and there was lots of clapping. Such a nice gesture felt very typical of Yukari and Isao's hospitality, going out of there way to make peoples stay pleasant. We stayed up until 12 or so when most people had gone to bed.

Sunshine and small hills.

A little bit more about Friday. 

The country side around Biei is just beautiful, i had the most pleasant day. After riding back to the town centre and returning the bikes we went off to try and find a restaurant in which to find a nice cold beer.  We walked up and down the main street and it wasn't looking like we were going to find any where as most of the cafes were closed. After a while we found a small yellow painted building that looked somewhat like a cottage house, that was selling beer. Two chilled glasses of Sapporo Star were a perfect end to our time in Biei. 

The train from Biei to Asakikawa was a the Norokko, a scenic  train that was a little slower then the local train, had windows that you could open and seats that faced the window so that sightseers don't strain there backs turning to look out the window ( ok that is not the reason but the seats did face the windows). Traveling by train is so mu ch fun, it is nic e to b able to look out of the window and look at the towns we pass, and the tiny little JR ( Japanese Rail) huts that they have at each station. Some of theses buildings  are just little boxes with seats in them with a big green sign that says JR on them, but they are all slightly different looking and I enjoyed spotting them as we went through each station. 

Back in Asahikawa we went to the supermarket to but groceries for dinner. So far we have decided to cook our own food when posable to save the hassle of finding vegetarian food and ensuring that we are eating protein. Back at the hostel we cooked up a stir fry which was very tasty if I do say so myself, we have been very fortunate that all our self cooking has worked out well so far.  Although I found out last night that one of the sauces we out on the stir fry is meant for putting on BBQ meat and when I tried to use the same sauce on Saturday night, the two Japanese university students that were in the hostel keep giving telling me that it was not for stir fry and were politely persistent that I not use it in my stir fry. Over dinner Isao offered us saki and we sat around drinking saki, eating the rock mellon I had bought and  talking with him a the other guests until 11pm. It is so nice to try out my limited Japanese with our hosts and the Japanies guests, it is so great to have David here as I he has a better knowledge of Japanese then I do and so I can ask when I don't know or forget a word, or am worried about the pronunciation. 

Friday 28th.

Friday the 28th. 

Friday felt like our first true day as sightseers. After a sleep in that I have been looking forward for the last week or so and the purchase of a sunhat we went off to Biei, a small town surrounded by farming land. 

We rented bikes and road around the country side for the rest of the day. 

It was an extremely pleasant day, riding, eating  mystery baked goods ( I did well with a cheese role and a pumpkin role but David did not fair so well). I got to sit beneath birch trees and paint ( which always makes me happy) and having a travel companion is lots of fun - I can understand why The Doctor always finds a companion to travel with. Anyway I have tot go to eat dinner.

Lots of love,

Acushla. 

Thursday afternoon.

Thursday afternoon the  27th. 

A few remarks about our first afternoon in Asahikawa. Walking from the station to the hostel we got a little confused about where we were on the map and it took us a while to find the hostel (the streets were numbered 1to 8 West-East and 1-9 South - North, we had got our x and y coordinates incorrect and our starting point was not were we thought we were on the map). After that small misadventure we found our hostel which was described on a hostel website as 'devastatingly hip'. The couple that run the hostel Yukari and Isao are lovely and have been very nice to us - more on that later. After dropping off our bags it was time to find a late lunch. The task of trying to find vegetarian food in Japan is always a challenge but we were extremely lucky and found a restaurant called Chaos=Heaven. This restaurant plays  jazz and reggae music and has  picture of Bob Marly on the tree centrepiece which is made up of a number of tree branches that have been tied together. This cafe sells one soup with slight variations, one of these variations  is to have no meat!  The name of the vegetarian option was 'Vegetables for health' you could choose the amount of rice you wanted and David ordered more servings of egg so that we could try and have m ore protein. This soup was fantastic!! It was full of different vegetables cooked in different ways, for instance the pumpkin, eggplant, carrot and potato were roasted in the oven, the asparagus, tomato and cabbage were blanched and the okra and capsicum were uncooked. Um um!! (we are going back tonight to have some more as it is our last night in Asahikawa.) 

After lunch we walked over to the park, now I have heard of people going to parks and feeding birds but usually they are swans, ducks or pigeons, but not in Japan. We saw a lady throwing bread into the air to feed the eagles (washi).  She would through the bread up and the eagle would swoop down to snatch it out of the air. 

After going back to the hostel for an afternoon snooze we went out in search of dinner we certainly had less luck this time round in finding vegetarian food. We ended up going to Lawsons (a omnipresent  convenient store that  live up to its tittle and is very convenient). We bought tofu, miso, noodles and beer for dinner and eggs, bread, bananas, yogurt  for breakfast the next day. With rumbly tummies we went back to the hostel  and cooked up a little feast. In the tiny kitchen ( I will upload some photos of the hostel at some point so you can have a look).  With full tummies and a plan to go out to explore Beie the next day we went to bed

Day one and two.

26-27th June.

We are now on a train from New Chitose airport to Asahikawa.  So far it feels like we have spent most of our time in airports  but that not far from the truth.

- David says now that we are on a train he feels like we have finally escaped from the sinister clutches of the airport ( or something to that effect).  

The flight from Melbourne to Cains, Cains to Narita was pleasant enough and having company truly made the flight more enjoyable. I am still winning at Set (a patten recognition game that David and  I can play on my ipad) but I think by the end of this trip David could be giving me a run for my money. 

Arriving at Narita airport at 8pm last night, we managed to wind our way through immigration and customs find an ATM that would accept one of our debit cards ( a more confusing experience then I remember) and find a pay phone to call our hostel to come and pick us up. 

Yamamoto San was in charge of the hostel and he can to pick us and some other  guests up from the airport. He was very thoughtful and drove us all to a seven eleven to pick up things for dinner. With noodle salads and inari for dinner, and some yogurt and pancakes for breakfast the next day we went to the hostel for to eat and get to bed. 

The next day day (today the 27th) brought with it a pleasant surprise, a sunrise at 4:30 which meant that it was light outside when we got up at 5:30 so while it was still an early morning it was much easier to bear. Yamamoto San drove us back to the airport when David got to see how vending machine coffee was like ( so far it seams that it is drinkable and some what reminiscent of instant coffee). 

The blue sky has come out!! Until now it has been overcast and raining since we arrived in Japan, but now the blue sky has come out and looks beautiful against the green fields ( pictures provided). We are nearly at Asahikawa where  hope to find some lunch and  have our first recognisance of Japan.