We have an extra long day today. By that, I mean we will get back to San Francisco half a day before we leave.
It will also be a long travel day.
Bus
One of the first serendipitous fortunes that we have had while traveling happened just now.
Owen and I were prepared to lug our bags down the streets of Tokyo , invade people’s space on the subway with our stuff, then rattle our way on the train out to Narita International.
As we stepped out the door of our hotel into the heat of Japan’s summer, an airport shuttle bus was just getting ready to pull away.
I asked the driver if it would be possible to catch a ride. He made a call. I was fairly sure we were out if luck. Owen and I took odds. He agreed that it was implausible. After a lengthy conversation on the radio, the driver said, “Ok”.
We made a couple stops at nearby hotels, he helped me buy tickets at Shinjuku station and now we are on our way. We are cool, comfortable customers.
As a bonus, the bus drive also provides some nice views.
Getting to the airport early has been great. I have time for a last sushi lunch and a bit more shopping to spend my remaining Yen.
There were a few things to wrap uo before we leave Japan. Namely… shopping.
I had something to pick up in Kichijoji. While there, I walked around. It is a very pleasant place with few tourists. I stopped by the temple and the shrine and looked into some stores.
I then realized that I needed to head back to Asakusa. Hisashi had confirmed that it was a great area to buy souvenirs. I wanted to avoid it because of inflated prices for tourists. Chinese and Korean tourists have apparently flocked to Asakusa for hundreds of years.
It turn out, it is a great area for souvenir shopping.
Today was “less hot”. I would not call it cool but it was tolerable.
By the time I had finished up shopping, I was famished. Owen had eaten so I was on my own.
Tempura
I was in the mood for tempura so I searched for a good restaurant for tempura in Shinjuku. I was not disappointed.
I had never been to a place that specializes in tempura. I was lucky to get there early before crowds.
I ordered a recommended “set” and then sat back and enjoyed an excellent meal as the chef and his teacher made each piece of tempura and served them in courses.
It started with shrimp.
Then I was served rice and miso soup.
That was followed by vegetables.
Squid followed
Next came eel.
Then scallops.
Then a squid with a sweet dessert paste.
Then dessert with tea.
It was incredible. There were five chefs working with a host and five waiters. Throughout the meal, I drank a lot of sake.
It was really fun watching the two chefs working together. I was wondering what skills must be learned to become a tempura chef. They certainly did a great job. Again, I’ve been spoiled.
Our last meal in Japan
When I got back from dinner, Owen wanted to go out and eat and drink. I was stuffed but he wanted to have a nice time on our last evening. So we went.
We walked around quite a bit to find a place. Eventually we settled on a great low key spot.
We talked about our trip. We talked about our ups and downs. I had a chance to tell him how proud I am of the man he is becoming.
It was really sweet.
Packing
We bought two suitcases to haul home our loot. It’s funny because we traveled with little day-packs for a month and tomorrow we will be wheeling two suitcases through the subway and the train station.
Just after having a coffee and small breakfast, Hisashi reminded me via text to make a silent prayer for Hiroshima. Today is the 78th anniversary of the first use of atomic weapons.
I prayed for the victims of Hiroshima and for enough sense to remain within humanity to avoid such misery and destruction in our future here on Earth.
The breakfast at the hotel is not very good (in my opinion). I would also like to see and do as much as I can with our couple remaining days. I decided to take a trip to the Tsukiji Market, the traditional fish market in Tokyo.
I know that they have moved the auction that was so popular with tourists but I understand that the “Outer Market” is still very interesting and that many of the great restaurants still operate.
I want sashimi for breakfast!
Yatta! Success!
Asakusa
This afternoon we have plans to visit the Asakusa area with Hisashi-sensei and one of his friend’s family.
Asakusa is best known for the Senso-ji Temple. We will meet at the Kaminarimon Gate.
Kaminarimon Gate
Senso-ji is very busy. There are people from all over the world including many Japanese. We saw several couples dressed up in kimonos (yukata).
We were introduced to two beautiful girls, the daughters of Hisashi’s friends from Ise.
Mirei-chan and Koyuki-chan are university students and were very nice to show us around this afternoon.
Hisashi is a great composer and producer when it comes to getting wonderful photos taken. He is quick to ask passersby to work with him getting the best shots. Then he invites them to join our group which they are always happy to do.
We told this sumo wrestler how much we enjoyed the match at Naogoya.
He seemed flattered and proud. He thanked us for inviting him into the picture.
Nitenmon Gate
If given the chance, I would also like to visit Nitenmon Gate as it houses the remains of Ieyasu Tokugawa the first Shōgun of the Edo period and Blackthorn’s counterpart in Clavell’s novel Shōgun which my father and I both enjoyed very much.
I got to see Nitenmon Gate. I learned that although it is not as impressive as Kaminarimon, it is a lot older as it did not burn in the fire-bombing of Tokyo as the other buildings had.
Senso-ji
We made our way through the line and up to the altar to pray. It is a huge temple.
My prayer was of thanks for an amazing trip to Japan.
Sukiyaki
Hisashi had made reservations for a very nice sukiyaki restaurant. Asakusa was once a very large entertainment district and the restaurant was part of the history. I do not believe that most tourists that come to the area to shop and see the temple get to eat at such a great place.
The woman who started our hot pot was a master. Owen told me that she kept her eye on him the whole meal and made sure that his bowl always had meat.
Tomoko-san, Mirei-chan’s mother, joined us for lunch.
Akihabara
After lunch, we were not ready for the fun to end. The first plan was to go the the National Park at Ueno. When we got off the metro, our guides quickly changed plans because it was pouring rain.
We headed to Akihabara.
Akihabara is famous for Otaku, the super fans of anime and manga, the nerds. It is a very lively area with huge billboards depicting characters from animated shows and video games.
It is also famous for Maid Cafes. To my great surprise and delight, I learned that our guides Mirei-chan and Koyuki-chan were taking us to a Maid Cafe.
I had asked Owen if he wanted to go to a Maid Cafe when we were first in Tokyo and he flat out refused. I believe that he knew the stereotype in the American mind that they are “pervy”. I understand. The idea of cute girls dressed as French maids serving drinks, singing, and dancing would seem “pervy” to the ethically Protestant minded American. I knew that Maid Cafes are part of Japanese “kawaii (cuteness) culture”.
We had a great time together and the girls made it even more fun. We had a couple rounds of drinks, enjoyed singing, playing cute games together, and watching cute dance performances.
We were with several groups of people that includes men, women, and couples. For Owen’s sake, I was relieved that it wasn’t overtly sexualized. I think he had a good time despite himself and his dad acting the fool.
Good Bye
Hisashi-sensei rode on the train with us to Shinjuku Station where we made our farewell. He has been such an important part of our visit to Japan and is such a great friend. I was happy and proud of the strong bond that he and Owen made and felt privileged to share so many wonderful memories with his family, his friends, and him.
I felt very sad saying goodbye and I hope I was able to properly express my gratitude and affection to and for him.
I can’t wait until we have the opportunity to see each other again.
We had some time to kill on our way to Tokyo so we stopped in a sea-side town in Hiratsuka to visit DUDE INN.
This is a small store catering to Japanese Deadheads. They make their own line of Grateful Dead and Dead and Company merchandise.
The proprietor was very glad to have us.
Owen liked the clothing.
It was a fun stop. We listened to a tape of Dead and Company at the Hollywood Bowl on Halloween two years ago. We were all at that show.
Tokyo
We are back in Tokyo. Our hotel is at the Shinjuku Station. It could not be more convenient. Owen is very happy with the view.
We’ll meet Hisashi-sensei and some of his colleagues this evening.
We met Hisashi-sensei and three of his young colleagues at the Omote-sando station, a very chic area of Tokyo. He took us all to another of his favorite spots to eat. It was a curry udon restaurant. Curry udon is two great tastes that taste great together. I believe that it is rare to have a chance to enjoy curry udon. The flavor of curry udon is very unique and very delicious. Owen was happy that we got to eat with bibs. He noticed that udon and ramen are difficult to eat while keeping your shirt clean.
Moemi-san, Kanori-san and Ren-san are our new friends. It was very generous of them to share a Friday evening with us. They made us feel very comfortable. Going out with Japanese people in Tokyo gives a whole new perspective.
Tokyo can feel somewhat cold. The people can seem distant. That is probably because the city is so busy.
Enjoying a meal and some drinks brought everyone to life and we soon felt very close. We laughed a lot together.
Hisashi also does a great job breaking barriers and bringing people together. I think it was smart for his company to move him into “Human Relations”.
After dinner, we went to a very nice rooftop bar that featured Campari. I enjoyed a Negroni.
Our new friends were very fun and eager to engage Owen and myself in conversation. We hope to meet again when Owen is of drinking age. Sensei was as lively as ever.
I started the day by making it down the the port in Katsuura to observe the tuna market.
Supposedly, this tuna market is the largest in Japan.
I am glad that I had this opportunity. The famous Tsukiji Market in Tokyo was moved to Toyosu because of interference from tourists. Although the many fish restaurants remain in Tsukiji that we might still visit. The auctions are now limited to tourists.
Anyway, the auction was very interesting. It was quite a bit quieter than I expected. These fish go for thousands of dollars (sometimes tens of thousands). Yet in Japanese fashion, it was quiet and orderly.
The buyers carefully inspect the fish by observing the quality of the meat in the cross sectioned tail. They then place stickers on the fish. I suppose those are the bids.
The fish are then quickly packed in crates with ice and loaded onto trucks to be shipped around the country.
Foot Bath
Katsuura is famous for its tuna and its onsens.
It had started to rain while I was watching the auction so I waited out the rain while soaking my feet.
Train
I realized that we had to hustle a bit to catch an early train to Nagoya and then on to Odawara.
The plan for today is to close in in Tokyo. Owen is happy to be on a train and heading toward the city.
Odawara
We had a very comfortable evening at our hotel in Odawara. Are hotel is attached to the train station so it was very convenient.
We bathed, did laundry, had an easy ramen dinner and watched TV.
It was a great way to regroup before Tokyo.
TV
We have not watched much television at all in Japan. I seem to remember during my last visits, television was everywhere and on all of the time. Cars even had television playing.
This trip, I have noticed that television is much less ubiquitous than it was. Maybe smartphones have changed the television watching habits of the Japanese.
During the little television watching we have done, I notice again how interested, borderline obsessed, Japanese are with food. Over half of the programing showcases food, food preparation, and food production.
It does not surprise me that the only Western show that I have seen is translated British Baking Show.
This reminds me of one of the presentations during the Food Summit I attended during my last visit.
The theme of one of the Japanese groups was the concerning decline of traditional Japanese cuisine.
I am sure that it was a legitimate concern, but I can mot imagine the Japanese losing their appreciation of food, traditional or otherwise.
We started our day with a beautiful homemade breakfast. Then our host showed us off by praying for us and sounding his conch shell-like horn to the mountains.
We had such a nice stay.
Buses again. This time to the second and third of the trinity of holy shrines: Kumano Hayatama-Taisha and Kumano Nachi-Taisha.
Kumano Hayatama-Taisha
At this shrine, we saw the first recognition of the Women’s World Cup even though Japan is doing really well.
Kumano Nachi-Taisha
This is really the gem of the three shrines. It hosts the tallest waterfall in Japan (Ichi-ban our taxi driver tells us), a pagoda, and a beautiful shrine.
I made a special prayer at each monument. One was for a great school year this year and the other for forgiveness for losing my shit on Owen when we couldn’t find the correct bus while we were melting away in the blazing sun.
There are both Shinto shrines as well as Buddhist temples at Nachi-san
It’s possible to climb through this celebrated tree
Kii-Katsuura
We are now in the seaside town of Kii-Katsuura. It is so pretty here and it is on the sea. It also seems deserted. There are only a few families staying here. It must be a bustling reaort sometimes. I don’t know if we’re here during a down time or if these smaller places in Japan are rotting away from lack of tourism.
They have a beautiful bath here and it is set up for large groups of people but there is no one around.
The tone for the day was set at dawn. Owen and I had slept well.
We didn’t have any miles to make or really any schedule at all other than the 11 o’clock checkout time which we took advantage of.
Our inn was more of a youth hostel. It was busy with young people. They were preparing for their hikes. I took advantage of the outdoor personal onsen.
We were staying in an onsen village. It’s one of the oldest in Japan. It was deserted. I guess it is not the traveling season, at least not for hot springs.
It understand why because of the heat.
There are many inns and restaurants around but they are all shut up. The only place with life was our hostel / inn. We looked for a breakfast spot but had to settle for a bowl of rice and an instant coffee back at the hostel.
We are way out in the mountains. It is very remote here. It is nice to change our pace. It is also nice to be away from people for a bit. It is also a little boring and things are not convenient.
Buses come infrequently. We have waited around for buses for hours now.
We have another night of country living. We’ll definitely be ready to return to a faster pace.
Kumano Honshu-Taisha ⛩️
In this region of Japan, there are three major shrines. They are collectively called the Kumano Sanzan. The series of pilgrim trails that connect these shrines is what brought us to this area. The symbol that is used throughout the region is the “Three-legged Crow”. There is a myth about the Three-legged Crow guiding the first emperor of Japan through the “impenetrable Kumano mountains is the Japanese creation myth.”
We stopped by our first of the three grand shrines: Kumano Homgu Taisha.
After a nice visit to this lovely shrine, we had another long wait for our bus. We spent our time in a nice restaurant and had a curry and chai tea.
Our wait staff were two junior high students who the restaurant owner explained to me were doing a “work study” type of program. They were so cute, nervous and hard working.
My magical phrase, “Otsu kare sama desu” (“Thank you for your hard work”) brought a round of applause from the the other patrons. Thank you Hisashi-sensei.
Farmhouse
We took two buses unbelievably even further into the mountains.
We wound up in the tiny town of Koguchi.
This nights stay was my toughest reservation to make. I had “applied” to a travel agency some four months ago and only heard back that we got the reservation a week before we came to Japan.
We made a call to be picked up
The Kumaano Farmhouse was an amazing stay.
The guesthouse is part of a family farm. The owner and his wife farm the land and work as hosts. The meals we were served were primarily home grown foods.
The place was so nice and so fun. I am glad we didn’t hike there as originally planned so that we could enjoy ourselves instead of just trying to recover.
Owen had a great time playing in the stream
The evening was beautiful.
We had a very special meal prepared for us.
We saw Starlink fly over again
We each enjoyed several baths in the outdoor onsen.
Today was all around, a tough day. We had a long, difficult hike in very hot and humid weather.
Our plan was to do 11 miles and hike right to our inn. Ultimately, we hiked 8.5 miles and took two buses with an hour ling wait for each bus. Owen and I were both at our wits end and at each other’s throats. We both agree that the beauty surrounding us was not enough to compensate for the struggle today.
I am so relieved to be lying in our air conditioned room after taking a bath. Once I recover, I will buy a beer and write about the day.
Morning
Owen woke up early. He said that he didn’t sleep very well. It is unusual for him to be up before I am. In hindsight, we should have opted for a 6 am breakfast instead of seven.
Our clothes were still damp with sweat from the day before so it was nice to let them dry out a bit anyway.
We had a very nice breakfast made and served by our host. We packed our bags including our “bento” lunches which were also made and packaged by our host. Then we hit the road.
We ran into a couple from Taiwan who came up the trail from behind us. They were giddy with excitement for the day. They were especially eager to collect the stamps available at each of the shrines.
Owen wanted to get ahead of them so he took off ahead..
I started the morning with hiker’s euphoria. I was on top of the world. What could be better than backpacking in Japan?
After an hour or so, I started worrying a bit about Owen. I know I shouldn’t have. The trail is extremely well marked.
We were hiking down roads and I realized there was no one out there. I never saw a car, or a bus, or even another hiker.
We were way off the grid and we had not had cell service all day.
Then I started getting hot. The trail left the road and started climbing. I started to sweat. The trail climbed more and I sweat more.
The Heat
I soon became soaked with sweat. I mean drenched, head to toe. It was as if I had jumped in one of the nearby streams.
Then the signage began to get confusing.
I had no idea how far Owen was ahead of me.
I know that the heat and exhaustion were a part of it, but I became unnecessarily anxious about Owen.
Lunch
At the top of a climb, I stopped to eat some of my lunch.
Bless the woman who packed this meal.
I ate one of my rice balls and most of the rest. I drank down a liter of water. I began to feel better and worry less.
Detour
i was feeling better until the detour. Apparently, part of the mountain cracked in a typhoon in 2011 and there has been a semi-permanent detour that skirts around the trouble.
Well it was a bitch to climb.
It was exposed to the sun and it was a unending staircase straight up… and up.
Owen was waiting for me around the third flight. He told me that he figured I might be worried about him. I was so tired and sweaty that I barely felt relief. I grunted my gratitude ungraciously, put my head down and kept climbing. I don’t have any pictures of the hellacious climb because in my fugue state, I didn’t notice anything around me. Owen did his best to coach me up the mountain.
At the top, we did our best to dry off, drank some water then plodded down the other side of the mountain.
I caught up with Owen because he had stopped along a gorgeous stream. We thought it would be a excellent spot to take a break, swim, and eat the rest of our lunch.
I jumped right in but then noticed that as soon as I emerged, I was set upon by very colorful “deer flies”. Owen was jumping up and down and racing up and down the river bank. He was howling in frustration, pain, and annoyance.
I dried off as quickly as possible. Ate my remaining rice ball and tried to catch up with him down trail.
There is a local superstition that “Daru” attack pilgrims in this section. Daru are supposedly snake like demons that cause aches snd pains in pilgrims. One is supposed to save some of his lunch in order to help sustain energy if attacked. I didn’t care, I ate every grain of rice.
When I once again caught up with Owen, he was feeling poorly. I asked if he noticed the sound in the last section of forest and he said that it has scared him a bit and that I sounded like to forest was laughing at him.
It was a very creepy section of forest. We had also been absolutely alone in the wild for hours. The ruins of a village did not cheer things up.
I could tell that Owen was fading. He was very cranky. It was time for me to be strong for him.
Endless Hike
We still had four miles to go. It was difficult to be positive about our situation. Then I realized that we could cut our hike short by taking an alternate trail that led to a bus stop.
We both agreed we needed to bus our asses out of there.
We still had a lot of climbing to do.
The climbs and descents were relentless. I again started to despair.
Finally things started to mellow out. The trail wound alongside a pretty stream and we found a cheerful shrine.
There was a long walk still ahead but we eventually made it to the bus stop.
Buses
We took two buses to make it to our inn. Each bus was over an hour wait. We didn’t mind the waits we were so relieved.
No info…
It became clear at the bus stop that in general, people are nit hiking the trail right now. We felt so fortunate that a bus even showed up so far out.
Hostel
We made it to our inn which is more of a youth hostel. It must be one of the only places in the area because the four other we have met on the trail, are all here.
We ate bento box dinners, took an onsen bath, and drank some beer (not in that order).
We also were able to do our laundry.
After a “team meeting” over dinner this evening, we decided to stop hiking. It is not a good time in this heat. We are not even enjoying the beauty around us.
Instead we will hang around in the mornings, travel by bus to the incredible shrines in the area, eat well in restaurants, shop at vending machines and convenience stores, and have fun together.
Today we start hiking the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage trail.
Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage
We will jump onto the trail right outside the front door of the inn.
The trail should be well traveled. It goes through villages along the way. It does not look to have a lot of elevation change.
The day is partially cloudy and a little cooler. We feel blessed.
Let’s go have an adventure!
Our host saw us off with a hearty “Buen Camino”. What a guy.
Hiking
We are at this moment on the bank of beautiful stream cooling off from our wonderful morning hike.
We have a mile and a half to get to where we are staying tonight and it is only 2:00 so we have some time “to chill”. We’ll stop at a cafe to eat and have a drink before pressing on.
Backpacking in Japan is even better than I imagined it would be.
We’ve made it to our “inn” for the evening.
It is the most humble of our stays (and the cheapest), but it’s charming.
I’m writing from the roof-top deck.
I’ll try to write about our day on the trail later tonight. We’re about to have dinner, I’m exhausted and two beers in but I’ll see what I can do.
I think the hike will be described well in pictures:
There is a “passport” stamp system for the Kumano Kodo but it is in disrepairI often find blur jay feathers while I’m hikingOwen would have liked to spend all day herebroken pottery is common to find on the trail
