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From the sub-Arctic ambiance of Hokkaido we fly to the sultry tropical atmosphere of Okinawa.

Okinawa has an interesting history. In a nutshell:

• The Ryukyu Kingdom, a separate entity, enjoys independence as a prosperous intermediary in trade between China and Japan.
• Japan annexes it in the 1870s.
• The Battle of Okinawa rages on the island in 1945 as a stepping stone for the invasion of the mainland. The Japanese army essentially uses the entire civilian population as human shields, shooting those who use Okinawan dialect as spies and urging group suicides.
• The US administers Okinawa directly until 1972. Okinawa reverts to Japan.
• Okinawans become increasingly disenchanted with having a significant area of the country occupied by American bases. Besides the risk of so much military activity in heavily-urbanized zones, crimes committed by US personnel are a problem.

We rent a car. His name is Suzuki, after David, and, well, because he’s a Suzuki.

After picking up our car at the airport, we get lost in a labyrinth of ridiculously narrow alleyways in between broad but unidentifiable major streets in Naha, the main town. Turns out that southern Okinawa is one continuous conglomeration of citified confusion.

We eventually find our minshuku, which is like a Japanese B & B.

On the road, we visit a Ryoko-era fort at Nagasuku. There are at least 30 of these around Okinawa.

The stonework in these is amazing.

We have the entire site to ourselves – probably because of the rain.

Okinawa is very urban, especially the southern part. We expect more of a tranquil, unpopulated idyll like Sado and Hokkaido. This is not the case.

We’re going to cheat here and offer web-search photos of the urbanized south. And the more scenic north.

After a few days, Suzuki gets a flat tire and has to be towed back to Naha. There is no spare tire – only a ‘puncture repair kit’ that has no instructions in English.

This is one of those travel tales in which strange things happen. While parked up with the flat, a man in a snazzy Mercedes Benz actually scrapes our bumper and we have to get the police involved. Long story. But it ends well.

We pick up a new vehicle to replace Suzuki. We name him Satoshi, after Satoshi Nakamoto.

This vehicle has mind-blowing gas mileage. We are half way around the island before the fuel gauge even begins to go down.

These guardian spirits on rooftops are an Okinawa tradition. If they weren’t so heavy, we’d send one or two home.

We reach Cape Hedo, the northernmost point of Okinawa. (This seems to be a recent theme, going to the ‘northernmost point’ of places.)

At Cape Hedo, the water is unbelievably clear. We see groups of large blue fish swimming near the shore, which don’t really show up in this photo.

Among the wildlife on the island are wild boar.

Back in Naha. Naha has an extensive monorail system.

Maria risks losing a limb to take this photo.

We get a seat right up front.

There is a well-known aquarium here that features two live whale sharks. This is reflected in a sculpture created from potted flowers in front of the Okinawa Prefectual Museum.

As well as the whale shark motif on this JAL aircraft we see at Naha Airport as we leave for the mainland.

Sight or Insight of the Day – Okinawa

People who know us know that we like rabbits. There is a brand of car in Japan called a ‘Lapin‘.

The front badge sports bunny ears.

As does the dot over the ‘I’ in the rear badge.

If we could, we’d load one into a container and send it back to Canada.

While in town, we visit the Sapporo brewery.

This is the oldest brand of beer in Japan. They also own Sleeman Breweries in Canada, we learn.

At the brewery, we have a grilled lamb dish known as a ‘Ghengis Khan’ (transliterated into Japanese as ‘Jingisukan’, a Hokkaido specialty.

We rent another car and set out.

Hokkaido is a beautiful place to drive around. Excellent roads and little traffic.

Our first stop is Furano. A big skiing spot in the winter, it’s also known for its agriculture. We have a wine and cheese party with local, um, wine and cheese.

Below, You can see a fumarole puffing out from the mountain just to the right of centre.

Our car is claret-coloured and grape-shaped. We name him Merlot.

Once again, we would not have been able to rent a car without my sister’s help in sending us International Drivers Permits.

Lake Akan is on our route.

One of Lake Akan’s claims to fame are these marimo, or round balls of algae.

Wikipedia says the marimo population is declining. Probably because the tourist shops are full of jars of marimo for sale as souvenirs.

Lots of wildlife in Hokkaido. We see deer on the road. And foxes.

We see this one in the middle of the road. When we stop, not only does he not run away, he casually trots back to our car to have a closer look.

While driving on the Shiretoko Peninsula early in the morning, we see a mamma bear and two cubs crossing the road. We only catch a fleeting glimpse through the mist, but we are impressed.

The bears here in Hokkaido are huge, unlike the ones on Honshu. They’re related to grizzlies. I’ve lived in Canada most of my life and I’ve never seen a wild bear. Strange that the first country I see one in is Japan.

The Shiretoko Peninsula is has a very remote feel.

At the top of the Shiretoko Pass, you can see the Russian island of Kunashir in the Sea of Okhotsk. (In fact, the Russians stole this island and others at the end of WWII. Long story.)

While driving we run into a severe dust storm.

From time to time, we stop in Japanese roadhouses called Michi-no-Eki. This one is shaped like a cargo ship.

It has interesting local products for sale.

We reach Wakkanai, the northernmost point of Japan.

There is an irregular ferry from here to nearby Sakhalin Island in Russia. (Sakhalin Island became known to the world when the Soviets shot down a Korean Airlines 747.)

Throughout the north of Hokkaido you see abandoned homesteads. We remember seeing similar sights in Iceland.

We guess that some environments are just too severe to live in. Especially in winter.

We carry on down the west coast of Hokkaido.

We come to Otaru, a former major trading town. A canal runs through the centre.

There are warehouses left over from the glory days.

We make our way overland, passing Mount Yotei, the ‘Mount Fuji of the North’.

Just north of Noboribetsu is Jigokudani, or ‘Hell Valley’. At the entrance is a giant demon. Apparently, they are the legendary inhabitants in Hell Valley – good demons who protect the numerous hot springs.

Volcanic activity in the area provides colourful sulfur pools…

…with that distinctive rotten-egg smell.

We do a few short hikes.

We soothe our feet in a natural hot mineral stream.

So do other hikers.

Summer arrives in Hokkaido at last.

Sight or Insight of the Day – Hokkaido Road Trip

All over Hokkaido, we notice these arrow signs over the road every 100 meters or so.

This because it snows a LOT in Hokkaido in winter, and sometimes the snow makes it difficult to figure out where the edge of the road is.

As Canadians, we can relate.

A brief entry to update our railpass travels. From Yokohama, we cross to the other side of Honshu and catch a hydrofoil to the island of Sado from Niigata.

We arrive in the port of Ryotsu.

We rent a car on arrival. Japan is the only place we’ve been to so far that demands an International Driving Permit to rent a car.

The ones we left home with expire after one year. It’s impossible to rent a car in Japan without one.

My sister goes to great lengths to acquire a pair of IDPs for us when we send her the necessary documents. (They are available only in your country of origin.) Then she deals with the trouble and expense of sending them to us.

Thanks a million, Sis! You’re the best!

Sado is a charming place to spend a few days. It used to be a place of banishment for unwanted people from the mainland, including at least one emperor.

It’s quiet and sparsely populated.

We (almost) circumnavigate the island. Besides the usual excellent roads, there are barely-room-for-a-single-vehicle stretches as well.

Small villages dot the island.

This is the village of Shukunegi.

It’s full of quaint wooden houses and narrow alleyways.

We see some wildlife on the island. This Japanese Striped Snake crosses the road as we pass.

We also see some ferret-like animal scuttling under a bush.

This is a full-size reproduction of an old merchant ship, painstakingly recreated by local shipwrights.

The Japanese eat a lot of seaweed. We even buy a bag of seaweed potato chips once. (By mistake.)

Japan, needless to say, is a sushi-lover’s paradise. Great for Maria; for me, not so much. I prefer my fish thickly battered and deep fried.

Near Aikawa are the remains of a gold mine that operated for centuries and closed down in 1989.

We use the waning days of our railpass to travel first to Sendai, then for one last long train journey to Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido.

Sapporo was the site of the 1972 Winter Olympics. Here’s a view of the city from the top of the ski jump.

Sight or Insight of the Day – Sado-ga-shima

We notice many elderly women in Japan are in a permanently-stooped-over state. Our theory is that this is a result from a lifetime spent working in the garden, which many women do while bent nearly double.

From the bucolic charms of Takayama, we return to Nagoya and transfer onto a shinkansen for Yokohama.

Though less than an hour from central Tokyo, Yokohama has plenty of attractions in its own right.

As a port, it has been involved in pivotal moments of Japanese history.

For example, many people worldwide are familiar with Hokusai’s ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa‘

We learn that ‘Kanagawa’ is here – an earlier name for what is today Yokohama. Mount Fuji is now hidden by skyscrapers.

This is also where Commodore Perry landed in 1854 and demanded the opening up of Japan after centuries of self-seclusion.

Which leads to Yokohama becoming a thriving trade port. We visit the Yokohama Silk Museum. It features dozens of dazzling kimonos, each one a work of art.

Yokohama has also been in the forefront of Japanese emigration, limited as it is. There’s an informative museum about this near the waterfront.

(A noteworthy observation: Japan is the only country we’ve been to in Asia that doesn’t have significant numbers of educated people who want to move to – or at least have a bolthole in – somewhere else. Such as Australia/New Zealand or Canada/USA.)

Most Japanese emigration took place early in the last century. This ship, the permanently-docked NYK Hikawa Maru, has an interesting history.

In service between 1930 and 1960, she ferried people to Seattle in the thirties, served as a hospital ship in WWII, was used to repatriate Japanese soldiers after the war, and returned to trans-Pacific passenger duty.

Also related to the sea – a Japan Coast Guard Museum. Its most riveting exhibit is a captured North Korean spy vessel.

This ship, disguised as a fishing boat, was sunk in a hostile encounter in 2001 and salvaged later.

Suitable for use by any James Bond villain.

For dinner, we drop in on the Ramen Museum.

More about dogs in Japan. People with small dogs often push them around in a pram. We thought these were re-purposed baby prams, but nope; they’re marketed and sold as doggy prams.

We must mention the neighbourhood we’re staying in here. It’s kind of like a Japanese Skid Row. It just turns out to be where our accommodation is located, but it’s definitely a ‘quartier défavorisé‘. Lots of impoverished, older single men around. And social services. But safe (this is Japan, after all.)

Interesting to see the Japanese response to the less fortunate. This neighbourhood has many multi-storey buildings with very small rooms and communal bathrooms and kitchens. Laundromats (which also have showers in them) are plentiful. So people have a roof over their heads, a way to keep themselves and their clothes clean, and some dignity-preserving privacy.

Sight or Insight of the Day – Yokohama

More noodle-related education. We visit the Cupnoodles Museum.

It tells the inspiring story of Momofuku Ando, the Father of Cup Noodles.

Without Ando-san‘s wonderful invention, where would the world be today? It’s like the Kraft Dinner of the East.

After a brief overnight in Osaka again, we head for Takayama, in a region of  Central-north Honshu (Japan’s main island).

The view from the (non-shinkansen) train is more rural than usual.

It’s in the mountains. They don’t call these the Japanese Alps for nothing.

Takayama has streets full of old wooden buildings.

I sample a local specialty – grilled soy-sauce-soaked rice balls on a skewer.

Some kind of festival is going on in the streets.

Little girls also get into the act.

The cherry trees are still in blossom in this cool climate.

Many people have small dogs here. We stop to pet the friendly ones. The owners always say ‘Thank you’, as if we do them a great favour by honouring their choice in canine companions.

We indulge in a meal of wagyu beef.

We rent bikes for the day.

We visit the Hida-no-sato (Hida folk village) a few kilometres away. This features old traditional farm houses relocated from the area and preserved.

It’s good to be away from the big cities for a few days.

We like these carp streamers. They’re called koinobori.

We stop to rest at a small shrine.

There are bears here. They can be dangerous.

This is the largest koinobori we’ve ever seen.

Sight or Insight of the Day

We see this sign when the laundry facilities are not working one day.

The figure in the sign is bowing. The Japanese bow a lot.

For example, on trains, when the conductor reaches the end of a car, he turns and bows to the people in the car. Then he moves into the next car and repeats.

A bow is a sign of respect, not servility. That people take their jobs seriously, no matter how humble, is a refreshing change from elsewhere in the world, where people’s attention can’t be pried from their cell phones with a crowbar.

While in Hong Kong, we bought a 21-day Japan Railways railpass. (These must be purchased while outside Japan.)

Our first stop from Tokyo is Fukuoka.

We learn a harsh lesson: never travel during Golden Week in Japan!

The entire country seems to be on the move. Transportation is crowded. Hotel prices can quintuple, believe us. All attractions are swarming with visitors.

It’s easy to forget how close we are to continental Asia. There is a ferry that runs from here to Pusan, Korea.

Today is a rainy day in Fukuoka.

Zen temples mean zen gardens.

At least the rain keeps the crowds away from this temple complex.

Fukuoka is famous for its ramen. (Many cities in Japan make this claim.) We have lunch in a bustling noodle bar.

A self-confessed non-foody, this is what I think of when I think of ramen.

This is the real deal.

Next we travel to Kagoshima. On the way, we pass Minimata Bay. This was the site of serious industrial mercury poisoning in the sixties, I remember.

Kogashima’s most outstanding feature is an in-your-face active volcano, Sakurajima, just across the bay.

We don’t get to see this, because it is rainy and misty our entire time in town.

We take a ferry over to Sakurajima and enjoy the free thermal footbath.

One result of living near a volcano that regularly spews clouds of ash over town – the city council organizes to pick up the ashes after they are swept up.

Kagoshima is also well-known in Japan for its outstanding local pork. The locals raise Berkshire pigs, producing what is essentially the ‘Kobe beef’ of pork.

We wait in line at the Aji No Tonkatsu Maruichi restaurant. We are rewarded with the best panko-encrusted pork ever.

Next stop is Hiroshima.

Besides the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, we visit a few museums in nearby Kure. One is the Japanese Imperial Navy
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Museum, with its decommissioned submarine out front.

This is the third submarine we’ve been in on this trip. (One in Sydney, one in Perth.)

Interesting that the museum concentrates on post-WWII activities: mine-sweeping and UN peacekeeping duties.

Less constrained is the nearby Yamato Museum.

The Yamato Museum has more exhibits about actual naval activities during the war. Sometimes exhibits have descriptions in Japanese only. My theory is that these are of the more militaristic and hectoring variety, better left untranslated for sensitive foreigners.

We notice that any mention of the domestic wartime experience in Japanese museums severely glosses over any context whatsoever. Blithely indifferent to numbers like these. Every place we’ve been to on this trip that suffered Japanese occupation – Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Honk Kong – tells an unvarying tale of brutal oppression, torture, starvation, and enslavement. Yet the (brief) portrayal in museums here speak of a nation mystified by the rain of Allied bombs and utter destruction of the country and subsequent occupation. ‘The people were saddened’. Strange.

Anyway, back to the present-day Japan of gentle ways. We visit the small-but-excellent Hiroshima Museum of Art. Some kind of geisha class is underway in the courtyard.

Among its collection is a Van Gogh we’ve never seen before.

Next stop is Himeji, with its castle. Our train is a special pink-themed Hello Kitty shinkansen.

Hello Kitty is, of course big in Japan, having been invented here. But she’s also popular elsewhere in Asia. We remember an entire ‘Hello Kitty’ lounge at the Taipei Airport, among other things.

Because it’s Golden Week, Himeji is heaving with visitors.

Most castles in Japan are restorations. Himeji is original.

You get a nice view from the top.

A lot of Japan looks like this – a heavily-urbanized area surrounded by mountains.

Sight or Insight of the Day – Railpass Rambles

As we leave Tokyo on a brilliant sunny day, we spy the iconic Mt. Fuji.

It’s a challenge to take photos from a shinkansen because of their high speed. Maria manages to get a more tranquil shot.

As mentioned, in Kyoto we pass this awesome temple several times a day.

One afternoon, we attend the Miyako Odori geisha performance.

Nearby is a statue of Izumo no Okuni, the woman who originated kabuki theatre.

I think it’s interesting that Okuni and William Shakespeare were alive and active at the same time. Just on opposite sides of the globe. Two people of humble origins that changed the world of theatre.

Crossing a bridge on the Kamo River, we see this bird on the rocks below. We research ‘water birds of Kyoto’, but can’t find a description that fits with his prominent crest.

We walk around the Gion district.

This is Shinbashi Street in Gion.

The Kennin-ji temple is nearby. It’s the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto.

On the ceiling of the main building is this marvelous painting of twin dragons.

Of course there are Zen gardens in the courtyards.

There are banks of chrysanthemums peonies at this time of the year.

As per the anagrammatic title of this entry, we take the shinkansen to Tokyo.

The first of many (we have a 21-day Japan Railways railpass.) These trains travel at over 300 KPH. They are spotless, frequent, comfortable, and go like a rocket.

Our neighbourhood in Tokyo, Ueno, is a good mix of ‘lively’ and ‘quiet’.

The owner of our hotel is a former sushi chef. One evening, the guests enjoy a free feed of fresh sushi.

We continue to stumble onto landmark art exhibitions. There is a special exhibit on Gustav Klimt at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno Park.

The museum, like many places here, has a free umbrella locker. The Japanese are admirably civic-minded.

This tendency keeps us on our best behaviour. We try not to act like barbarians.

In the same park is the Tokyo National Museum.

It’s a treasure house of Japanese and other Asian articles.

This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. It has great views over city from its free observation decks.

On a clear day, you can see Mt. Fuji.

Today is not a clear day.

A café at the top has a piano that anyone can use. A very self-possessed little girl puts on an impressive performance.

This is Shibuya Crossing, in one of the busiest parts of Tokyo – a hectic place at the best of times.

Japan has its examples of minimalism and simplicity. It also has a lot of visual pollution.

Sight or Insight of the Day

We have to mention the impressive working garb of Japanese taxi drivers. This one is typical, with his dark suit, crisp white shirt, tie, polished shoes and white gloves. Just like in Ottawa.

This has been the norm everywhere we’ve been in Japan so far.

From Osaka it’s a brief train ride to Kyoto.

Kyoto Station is humming with activity. It’s a real people place.

Kyoto, the former Imperial capital of Japan for more than a thousand years, is one of Japan’s most historic cities.

The route to our lodgings takes us past this massive temple, the Higashi-hongan-ji, twice a day.

This chart in a chopstick store shows how to measure for your correct size. Who knew chopsticks had a size?

We spend an afternoon at the Fushimi Inari temple.

Like many temples, there are a lot of votive wishes being posted.

Notice these votive wishes in the shape of a fox head.

Foxes play a big part in the mythology of this particular temple. There are stone foxes everywhere.

Fushimi Inari is famous for its hundreds thousands of torii, or gates.

These remind us of Christo‘s 2005 installation, The Gates, in New York City. Not really surprising, because as it turns out, Christo’s work was inspired by this very temple.

In the evening, we return through town. Everywhere in urban Japan you see pachinko parlours.

People sit here at all hours of the day. The noise is deafening. Apparently, the average sound level reaches 92 decibels, about the same as standing under a passing commuter train. 

In contrast to this infernal din, the norm in Japan is to keep quiet and avoid unnecessary noise.

This is our kind of place. It’s clean. And quiet.

Sight or Insight of the Day – Kyoto

In Kyoto, we stay in a ryokan, that is, a traditional Japanese-style inn.

There’s a small garden outside our door.

And of course we have a hot bath.

We go to Hasedera for a day trip.

It’s a 40-KM train journey away. We pass through less densely-packed parts of town.

Hasedera village is tranquil and rural. You only hear the stream that runs through town.

The narrow main street is full of interesting shops.

It’s fun to browse. Maria buys a new wallet.

There are no non-Asian visitors here. It is off the (non-Asian) tourist map. Why are we here? In January 2016, we see Robert Lepage’s The Library at Night at the ‘national’ archives in Montreal.

Among its aspects is a VR (virtual reality, for those of you over a century old) tour of ten world libraries, some imaginary, some past and gone, some still in existence.

One was the rotating sutra library of the Hasedera monastery. Such a library is known a kyozo.

I find this so fascinating. I vow that if we ever go to Japan, we’ll seek out this library. (Thinking it not very likely, at the time.)

As it turns out, Hasedera happens to be located less than an hour from Osaka, where we first arrive. An uncanny coincidence.

So of course we make an effort to visit, since we’re in the vicinity.

While here, we touch the feet of the Buddha for good luck. Sorry, no photos allowed where the magic happens.

We have lunch in the village at a local restaurant.

Then back to town again. Did we mention that our place in Osaka has a resident cat?

His name is Akubi. Akubi means ‘yawning’, which he does a lot of. Usually just before napping. He has strangely short legs, like a dachshund or a corgi.

When he’s not prowling the hotel, he sits on a leash outside and lets adoring passers-by fuss over him.

You can see he’s just loving the attention we give him. </S>

Sight or Insight of the Day – Hasadera

In one of those exquisite ironies of travel, we arrive at the site of the Hasadera library in the temple grounds, years after first learning of it on a freezing Montreal January afternoon on the other side of the globe – and it’s closed. At least to the public.

Oh well. So it goes. This is what it looks like on the inside.

First of all – Happy Easter!

On our penultimate day in HK, we take the Ngong Ping 360 cable car to the big Buddha on Lantau Island.

We pass the airport from where we’ll be leaving for Japan. Built to replace Kai Tak, it’s built on reclaimed land and is quite the engineering feat.

A Chilean woman takes our photo.

After being blown around by strong winds pushing the cable car, we arrive.

A good place to have an escalator.

We arrive in Osaka at the tail end of cherry-blossom season.

‘So we grew together,
Like to a double cherry, seeming parted,
But yet a union in partition,
Two lovely berries molded on one stem.’ – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Note the Sararīmen – the guys in suits – sitting on the benches, trying to stave off Karōshi.

The castle is surrounded by several moats, with curved walls built of enormous stones.

Osaka Castle has a long and turbulent history.

City view from the top of the castle.

Matcha-flavoured ice cream. Matcha is powdered green tea.

In a temple on the castle grounds, people tie small notes with their wishes on them to a fence.

We visit the Udema Sky Building.

A good place to watch the sun go down.

Riding the escalators in the top is fun.

Around our hotel are several small temples and cemeteries.

We’re fortunate to come across a rare exhibition of works by Vermeer and other Dutch masters at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts.

There’s a lot of commerce going on in Japan. Like most of Asia.

Sight or Insight of the Day

We admire this stackable garage in town.

We can imagine this becoming a thing in North America. Of course, it would have to be scaled up in size to accommodate two or three F-150 pickup trucks.