#Japan16 Osaka etcetera

Waking ag 7.30, I realised I had missed my alarm (it was a buzz from my FitBit) but I had packed the night before so as not to wake the other girls when I left. I put on the like of clothes I had prepared and grabbed my day pack for the short walk to Osaka Castle. The morning was bright and cold, perfect for photography.

Osaka Castle in all its restored glory.

I was gratified to see that the 'Sakura' was much more populous here, and I wandered around the large, star shaped castle grounds, snapping photos of the castle and buildings with cherry blossoms in the foreground. I came across a small monument, where the Priest Rennyo laid his clothes.
Many years before Osaka's first castle, Rennyo was the head priest of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism. He started a small temple on this site, and over the years it grew and grew. Rennyo hung his clothes on a tree by the temple as a token, to help his temple grow. There is now no trace of the temple, and a cat was curled in the roots of the stump that was all that was left of the tree.
Osaka castle itself is now in its third iteration. The first was burnt down by a war. The second was burnt down when struck by lightening. This one has only ever been a tourist attraction, and apparently has escalators inside. (and hopefully fire extinguishers!)

I returned to the hostel, collected my backpack and checked out. Next stop was Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, one of the largest in the world, which is particularly proud of its pacific ring of fire exhibit, which features two fully grown whale sharks.

The aquarium was more humane than Ueno zoo. I saw one small dead fish, and an obese seal, but seals are fat anyway so maybe it was supposed to look like that! The whale sharks were even more impressive than I'd hoped, one coming right against the glass as I stood there. There was an adorable sea otter and a number of cute fighting river otters in a separate enclosure, but perhaps my favourite exhibit was the jellyfish, which were absolutely spectacular as they pulsed against the side of their tanks, stunningly delicate and yet probably pretty dangerous - I was reminded of the movie Seven Pounds.

  

Osaka aquarium also gave me lots of stamps! At one stamp point, a Japanese boy was playing with the stamper, he seemed confused by it, so I let him stamp my book, which made him very happy. His mother thanked me and smiled.

 I walked from the aquarium to the Tenzopan Ferris Wheel, another 'one of the worlds largest...' Large clouds had come in whilst I was in the aquarium, but as my Ferris car rose from the platform, the clouds broke and I was able to get some photos of the city in sunshine. It was a nice relaxing break, and (because it's Japan) I had an uncomfortably upbeat musical accompaniment the whole way around. I had the car to myself, in fact I may have been the only person on the whole wheel, I couldn't understand it!

The impressive view from the wheel, looking back toward Osaka city.

From the wheel I spied a vegetarian cafe, so after a quick stop in a shop for 'kawaii' where I bought presents for my sisters, I treated myself to a vegetarian lunch buffet. The staff all welcomed me as I entered which was nice. They spoke no English but the sign said Y850 all you can eat. That's about £5, and I ate my fill for once! I was pleased to find Osaka living up to its reputation for good food.

After bowing my way out of the vegetarian cafe, I took a subway back to Umeda (quite different in daylight) and rode up to the thirteenth floor of a department store for Kyoto(?!) Pokemon Center! I was very excited. The store was a lot like Debenhams or John Lewis, so I felt a bit silly in my backpack, but I considered this a pilgrimage! I was disappointed however, to find it was just a merchandise shop, but I bought a few more gifts, and hurried downstairs to the station, for my train to Koya San.

My Pokemon Center shopping bag. Pikachu looking even more Japanese than usual!

I asked a lady queuing on the platform if it was going to the station I needed (there were three trains between Osaka and Koya San). The lady told me I was fine, and asked me where I was from, and how I was liking Japan. Japanese people speak very quietly so at times it was hard to hear her, but we chatted on the train all the way to my station. She had lived in Australia for a year, and was now on her way to meet her mother to go shopping. I was sad to say goodbye, but went into the station and purchased my (non rail-pass eligible) ticket to Koya San, for Y1200.
On the way, I realised I had got my dates out by one day, and as I hadn't turned up the previous night, the temple had cancelled my entire booking.

To cut a long story short, I booked the Wakayama 'Dormy Inn' hotel, because it was the nearest hotel with rooms for that evening, and boarded the train for Wakayama. As the train chugged through rural landscapes highlighted in the late afternoon sun, I was approached by a Japanese High School student. he was sat next to me and asked me about my travels. We spoke about Japan, Scotland, Scottish food (I tried and, I think, failed to explain what a haggis was!), and British vs American English (I told him that yes, we can understand each other!) he told me he was a fan of Glee!

Presently he left the train, and I eventually arrived in Wakayama. I was surprised to see lots of signs in English - more so than Osaka. I found out later this was because being a port and airport town, Wakayama sees a lot of tourists coming from Shikoku to Koya San to complete the 88-temple buddhist pilgrimage.

The Dormy Inn hotel was bizarrely smart and well ordered compared to the kooky hostels and run-down Ryokan I was used to. There were two onsen for each gender, and when I got to my room on the seventh floor, I almost cried with happiness. It had all the mod-cons. A bathroom to myself, a double bed, a TV, and pajamas included! I had to tear myself away to photograph Wakayama castle at sunset.

I had the castle to myself, and it was surrounded by cherry blossom. I took close up photos of it and of the (uninspiring) cityscape under the colourful sky. I smugly felt that this hiccup had worked out for the best.

You wait all week for a castle, and then two come in one day!

 All of the eateries in town had no room for one person, so instead I went back to the hotel to console myself in the Onsen.

The onsen here was on the second floor. It was not cloudy, and lacked the mineral scent of Hakone. I doubted it was a hot spring at all, but it was none the less soothingly hot. Presently a Japanese lady and her daughter entered the room and washed themselves (onsen procedure is to clean and rinse yourself before you get in). The daughter got into the same onsen as me, but her mother went outside, so she left too. I felt a bit put out, as part of the onsen experience is that it's communal. I moved to the Sauna, and then to the cold bath (not as bad as I expected) and then, as I left, they moved to the bath I was in originally. I decided not to take it personally!

I used the facilities to wash and dry my clothes, pre-packed my bag as I had the night before, and bought and drank a strange fruit juice-cum-milkshake from an over-engineered vending machine before returning to the Onsen again! This time it was absolutely packed. This was it! Group naked bathing time! ...I know it's weird. I didn't actually feel self conscious at all, and it was nice for us all to calmly soak together. Afterwards I treated myself to a foot massage that included my legs. It was nice, and I felt very relaxed.

#Japan16 Lost in Hakone

I left Khaosan Kabuki Hostel with a heart almost as heavy as my backpack (which, believe me, is less comfortable than it looks!) . I could happily have spent another day in Tokyo, it is an enormous city, which unlike London or Glasgow which seem to shrink, it only seemed to get bigger the more you explored it.

Me and my baggage leaving Khaosan Kabuki Hostel

I journeyed to Tokyo station, from which I grabbed a bento box brunch, and had the pleasure of seeing the train cleaners bowing to a shinkhansen as it pulled into the station, before boarding it, turning the seats, and thoroughly cleaning it within ten minutes. They moved fast, and looked fantastic in their pink uniform with a Sakura print. I'd seen a video of this on youtube beforehand, so I was quite excited by it. All the more so because I then boarded the shinkhansen myself and settled down in one of the newly clean seats!

My pickled vegetable brunch, mm-mm!

Despite being able to travel at more than 200 mph, the shinkhansen didn't feel any faster than a normal train. It was a bit smoother though, and much brighter and more comfortable. As the train left the city, I caught my first glimpse of a misty Mount Fuji. I was so excited!

Shortly after, we stopped at Odawara station, where I collected four stamps in black, red, and purple, and I bought my misleadingly named Hakone Free Pass for 4000y. This allowed me to board the local train into Hakone-Yumuto station, from where I got a mountain railway up into the hills for Gora. The mountain railway is apparently the only full size one of its kind in Japan, and features three switchbacks up the hill, which is cool but takes absolutely ages. Everyone on the train was dozing, myself included, luckily my destination was the terminal.

A brief flicker of the fantastic mountain scenery

from Gora (where I got another stamp!) I took the 'cable car' (funicular railway) directly up the mountain, stopping at Naka-Gora for my Ryokan. There were a lot of lost tourists wandering around consulting maps and smartphones, but I happily made my way directly to my destination, thanks to the numerous maps they had sent me, besides the fact it was a straight walk down the road directly out of the station.

Suirinso Ryokan has a deceptively modern exterior, but inside was not only traditional, but old and worn in a less romantic sense too. Regardless, I was very impressed, not only by the array of slippers available, the fast food vending machine, and the free ice lollies, but also the traditional style rooms with Tatami mat floors and kneeling chairs, which I peeked at through paper doors on my way to the toilet.

Having used the facilities, decanted my sightseeing essentials into my day-pack, and stolen a yogurt flavour ice-lolly, I boarded the funicular again and visited the Hakone Open-Air Museum, an art gallery (predominantly sculptural) set into the beautiful hillside. I was very happy here. I saw no less than three Henry Moore statues (I had studied his work at school, but I got a much better understanding of it in person) besides an impressive number of fascinating and thought provoking artworks, the symphonic sculpture (a cylindrical tower of stained glass with a spiral staircase inside, which illuminated beautifully in the afternoon sunshine, and a large gallery dedicated entirely to original Picassos!

A lot of the art was very easy to enjoy

My plan had been next to get the ropeway (an actual cable car) down to Lake Ashi, so that I could get a cruise as included in my free pass. However, the ropeway was closed due to heightened volcanic activity in the area (don't worry Mum!) so I had to get a bus. "no problem" I thought, clambering onto a tourist bus (also included in mh pass) which was going the right direction. The scenery was spectacular, and once I got a seat, (most people got off at the same stop, about half way through the journey) I really enjoyed the ride. The bus driver was a character, announcing to all his passengers as he checked each mirror every time before he pulled off. He too wore a smart peaked cap, shirt and tie, and little white gloves.

Finally the board at the front of the bus showed that we were approaching our final stop. To our dismay, we arrived at Gotemba outlet centre. I spoke to the bus driver as I got off. "Togenda?" I asked him. He told me I should have changed where everyone else got off. I gesticulated to ask if I could stay on the bus "next bus four" he told me. I hopped off and thanked him, and settled down for my four minute wait. I made several bad assumptions here.
1) this is not Tokyo, therefore public transport would be not as frequent and prompt
2) the queue of four schoolgirls at the stop did nor mean a bus was due
3) "four" did not mean four hours, but 4pm. It was ten past three.
I realised this with only five minutes until the bus was due, when the queue was forty or more people long, and my lack of sleep had started to catch up with me in the form of shivering cold. If I had realised earlier I could at least have walked around the outlet, although from what I saw it was just a disappointing version of the Swindon designer outlet.

At 4pm, I rode the bus to Sengoku, hopped off, and waited for the Togenda bus, shivering with exhaustion and feeling pretty miserable. When the bus finally arrived (10 minutes late. Where do they think this is? England?!) I cheered up at the prospect of potentially getting some good sunset shots of Lake Ashi and Mt Fuji. I had given up on getting traditional dinner delivered to my room at the Ryokan, but found that if I got off the cruise at Hal way point, there was a restaurant in the information guide, which offered vegetarian adjustments to the dishes. As my bus pulled in at the lake, I was dismayed to see that the last boat had just left the dock. It was pulling away as the bus halted, and the gate to the jetty had closed. The last ferry was supposed to be at 5pm, but it was 4.35.

I was freezing and feeling very miserable. My day had not turned out at all as planned, almost entirely consumed with travelling. I got on the next bus, even though it would only take me to Hakone-Yamote station (at the foot of the long mountain railway) but the bus was stuck in terrible traffic. At the station I grabbed a plastic pot dinner and a cream cake just like the night before, and sat jn the cafe watching trains rumble in and out of the station. It was surprisingly pleasant until they started playing One Direction background music!

I rode the mountain railway up to Goya, but the funicular had closed for the night. The station master advised me to wait for a taxi, but I was in a bit of a fluster, and knew I could almost see my station from here, so I decided to walk it. As I started up the hill, a Japanese lady called up to me "No, stop, you can't walk! Too far!" I thanked her but insisted that I wanted to. I only had my light backpack, and these shoes didn't hurt, so I determinedly scrambled up the steep road. I got to my station easily, but there was no bridge or underpass. I looked down at the cable track. I had seen someone jump across it earlier in the afternoon, and it seemed to be the only way across, but I have a strange fear (and recurring nightmares) about train tracks, and I know that I wasn't supposed to... I walked back and forth along the platform to make my mind up, then walked back down the hill to the nearest underpass. With google maps leading the way, I began to walk along the block to my Ryokan, when I heard a car approaching. As it slowed down, my heart began to race, but I turned to recognise the lady from the station. She wound her window down "I worry about you." She told me, beckoning for me to get in. Her daughter watched me with interest from the back seat. I got into the car. She introduced herself, as did I, and asked me where I was staying. It was a very short drive to the Ryokan and I thanked her repeatedly. I know it isn't appropriate to tip in Japanese culture, but they do like gifts. I wish I'd thought on my feet but I was too exhausted.

Luckily when I entered the Ryokan, a little old Japanese lady was just tidying the reception area. She gave me a tour and then I headed straight down to the onsen bath, just as three Japanese ladies were leaving. In a way this was good because I didn't feel self conscious. The water was cloudy and smelt of rocks and minerals. It was naturally hot from the spring so the effect was like a bath that never gets cold. It was the best thing all day. I got an early night, sleeping on the futon I prepared myself with a pillow of sand(?), and slept in my Yukata robe.

My Japanese room, complete with tatami mats, kneeling chair, and paper door.