Category: 2023

Post 550 Japan 2023
Ian Collard
May 9, 2023

The Start of our Japan Trip - 7th of May 2023.

Waiting to board in Brisbane it is 10:50 pm. Our flight is due to depart at 11:50 pm. I suspect the last flight out of Brisbane tonight.

 

 

Japan Day 1

Just some rough notes to jog the memory.

Flights uneventful.

Cattle class not conducive to sleep

ships Singapore

A 380 everywhere

entry to Japan visit Japan website less that successful did need a QR code from somewhere.

first night tea around the corner from hotel good ramen curry

Woke to realise could see Fuji out the window

stuck with western food at Buffet breakfast.

bus trip to see giant bronze buddha

get closer to Fuji

drove along the forshore of surf beach

Buddha is impressive avenue of cherry blossom trees not in flower near by. Don't get cherries. Flowered even earlier than normal this year.

Lunch larger services area. Vendor style machine to order lunch interesting. My meal ended up too hot to eat. steamed pork dumpling instead. iccream

Starbucks in front of Fuji view

need to look at trip itinerary to see where but caught small bullet train ride to our hotel

again following the guides instructions found nice resutean for tea. Didn't take visa or Mastercard so paid cash. Now need ATM found fee charging ATM at 7/11 now have single 10000 yen note $100 not what I wanted 🙁

today breakfast 7 bus 8

 

 

 

 

Singapore stop over.

While not a great airplane buff I did recognise this double decker airbus 380. Not so special any more I saw at least 5 in Singapore with Singapore Air Lines livery and then more in other air line colours when we got to Narita.

Singapore Harbour.

Had a window seat taking off out of Singapore. Got a great view of the ships in the harbour.

Tokyo

Before we left Australia we completed the entry to Japan requirements on line. It didn't quite go as planed as once in Japan they were looking for a QR code which we didn't have not sure what we missed on line. Wasn't too much drama we just had to fill in a card before going through customs.

We managed to find the trip a deal guide and catch the bus to our hotel. I even managed to get some Yen out of an ATM at the airport. So far so good.

The view out of our hotel window.

Tokyo

We even managed to find a small Japanese Restaurant near the hotel and enjoyed our first genuine Ramen.

Post 551 Japan 2023
Ian Collard
May 9, 2023

Japan Tokyo bus.

What a surprise to find that when we drew the curtains in the morning we could see Fuji on the horizon.

The buffet breakfast was a good combination of western and Japanese style. I played it safe and stuck to western style.

Japan Day 1

Just some rough notes to jog the memory.

Flights uneventful.

Cattle class not conducive to sleep

ships Singapore

A 380 everywhere

entry to Japan visit Japan website less that successful did need a QR code from somewhere.

first night tea around the corner from hotel good ramen curry

Woke to realise could see Fuji out the window

stuck with western food at Buffet breakfast.

bus trip to see giant bronze buddha

get closer to Fuji

drove along the forshore of surf beach

Buddha is impressive avenue of cherry blossom trees not in flower near by. Don't get cherries. Flowered even earlier than normal this year.

Lunch larger services area. Vendor style machine to order lunch interesting. My meal ended up too hot to eat. steamed pork dumpling instead. iccream

Starbucks in front of Fuji view

need to look at trip itinerary to see where but caught small bullet train ride to our hotel

again following the guides instructions found nice resutean for tea. Didn't take visa or Mastercard so paid cash. Now need ATM found fee charging ATM at 7/11 now have single 10000 yen note $100 not what I wanted 🙁

today breakfast 7 bus 8

 

 

 

 

The giant Buddha

The first stop on our tour was this Giant Bronze Buddha. The Buddha has has a chequered past. It was originally wooded in side a temple but both got blown and washed away by typhoons rebuilt and blown away again. After several iterations of wood  bronze inside and outside we now have this giant Buddha outside. For a few yen it was possible to go inside.

Giant Bronze Buddha.

Ann at the giant buddha.

 

Tokyo

Driving around we got closer to and better views of Fuji.

Just before this shot we drove past one of Japans surf beaches and yes there were people in the water with surf boards.

 

Fuji

Our lunch stop was closer to the Fuji and we got some nice views even if there was a Starbucks in the foreground.

Lunch was interesting in the you ordered through a vending machine style interface with pictures an Japanese writing. Needless to say we didn't get it correct and my meal was too spicy for me. Luckily I found a steamed bun which was much more palatable.

It is also fortunate that meals in Japan don't cost the earth. My wasted lunch was just less than 1000 yen or 10 Aussie dollars.

Bullet Train

Just so we could say we had been on the bullet train Trip a Deal organised a one stop trip on this iconic fast (300 Km/hr) train.

I was surprised to realise just how many of these trains there are. In the few minutes we were waiting on the platform for our train two trains ran express through the station.

Post 552 Japan 2023
Ian Collard
May 10, 2023

Japan Day 2 - The Golden Pavilion

Bus Hamamarta to Osaka via kyoto.

The Pavilion along with its picturesque garden is popular with both international and Japanese tourists.

 

 

 

 

Japan Day 2

Bus Hamamarta to Osaka via kyoto.

Golden pavilion - actual leaf gold on wooden structure. rebuilt in the 1950s after a mad monk burned it down. Ironic because it had survived lots of civil wars with various Shoguns and the Emperor.

Bamboo forest not all that impressive.

Lunch steamed pork and beef buns. Lots of Japanese girls in rented kimonos

Poor blocks pulling tourists around in rick Shaws.

100o gates pity was rushed at the end of the day and Ann didn't get to see the gates up close. then we lost lost a member of our team.

Team I use that work loosely as some members just wanted to leave them.

Nice Barbecue tea tonight. warned that hotel room is small. It is but still very pratcile.

Ann ended up with a whisky drink at tea - then found on the way out there was a drink machine complementy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Golden Pavilion.

It is ironic that the pavilion survived lots of civil wars between various Shogun and Emperors only to be burned down by a made monk in the 1950s. It has been completely rebuilt since then.

The Golden Pavilion

Even though we have been there I am still not too sure on the details of the significance of the pavilion or the phoenix that adorns the roof. It is gold not because it has been painted that colour but because the timber structure has been coated in gold leaf.

The Bamboo Forest

The Bamboo Forest on the other hand was less impressive.

It is still very popular even though our guide assured us that it was not very busy we thought it was quite crowded. There were quite a few Japanese, young ladies, young couples and even families dressed in traditional Kimonos. It is a popular thing to do to hire a kimono for the day.

The Bamboo Forest.

These blokes were doing a roaring trade with the tourists wanting a ride through the street in their rickshaws.

1000 Torii

Again I should do some more research. There are a lot of Torri (gates) marking the entrance to a temple. I don't think there are precisely 1000 but I didn't count them. I also don't think the Japanese writing is spiritually significant. Japanese people or companies pay to have their name placed on a gate.