The guy next to me is happily snoring away behind his face mask. I hope he doesn’t do that the whole flight. I might have to accidentally bump into him every now and then to wake him up.
Kansai Osaka International Airport seems to handle a lot of traffic. It’s very crowded and lines are long. But the security and immigration lines clear very fast. It’s the queues to pay for food and goods which are terrible. And there’s not enough seats to sit and drink your coffee and eat your pastry. There’s only one shop selling noodles and a few cafes including Starbucks and Tully’s, all with long queues. Packaged snacks are snapped up in a frenzy; everyone wants some souvenir or gifts. I wanted to buy the Sunctory Whiskey set bought by Chun Way but could not find them so bought two sets of sake in nice porcelain bottles with two tiny cups. One for me, one for my brother.
Getting to the airport was quite easy. After consulting various options on google map and doing a recce last night, we accidentally found an underground shopping mall which leads directly to the Midosuji subway line. We had to walk less than 5 minutes from the hotel and than go underground from a roadside access. From Uema (Osaka) station take four stops to Namba and from there take the direct train to Kansai Airport. Takes about 50 minutes on the last sector and cost about 1,200 yen. I think there is a rapid service but we just jumped into the first train leaving for the airport. There are other options including direct buses from a hotel at the Uema Station.
{I am munching crackers loudly in the hopes of waking up the snoring guy. AirAsia crew is going around selling water. We brought in a stash, like true Asians - crackers, triangular Japanese rice (onigiri), coke, juice - we are set for a long haul. Bloody fella is snoring even louder.}
Getting to the hotel yesterday after getting out of the JR train in Osaka Station was quite confusing. Googlemap is not good for indoor navigation. Maybe I should have done a little homework checking the station floor plan online to find out which exit to take. We were trying to figure which direction to walk and the GPS with google map on the iPhone was showing us weird locations while we were at one exit (we had not gone out of the building yet). So we went to the big map on display near one exit and tried to orientate the iPhone google map to the displayed map to determine which direction to move. I can tell you it’s much harder than you think. We stood there turning our handphone this way and that way, maybe for 3 or 4 minutes. Suddenly some guy speaking Japanese stood beside. We looked up in surprise. I thought he was asking us for directions. Yup, I look Japanese. Oh, it’s a guy in blue uniform.
{12:01 pm - Captain announces he still doesn’t know when they can complete the bag count.}
So, we started talking back in English to the man in blue showing him the location of the Hokke Hotel on my iphone. He understood and fished a folded map out of nowhere and proceeded to unfold it. It was a floor plan of the Osaka Station. We are here, he pointed to the map. The hotel is here, he pointed again. And traced a route through the building. Ah, too fast sir. Please repeat. This time he used his pen to mark our location and lightly traced the walking route on the map and waving the direction with his other hand to show where we should be headed. Ah, so easy if you have your orientation right.
{12:08 pm - Captain says ready for departure.}
{1:30 pm - the plane finally took off at 12:30. If they are this diligent in counting bags why do we still have luggage which don’t follow our footsteps?}
Back to the nice gentlemen in blue. We said arigatou and made our slight bows and he walked slowly away. I fished out my iPhone to record the moment and saw him help someone else in distress.
Seems to me that unbeknownst to us, there are always eyes watching. Real human eyes, not electronic eyes. Maybe that too.
Since leaving Beppu and Kyushu two days ago, we spent one night in the tiny town of Hatsukaichi just opposite the famous Miyajima Island where the Itsukushima Shrine is well-known for the giant tori located in the sea. During low tide you can walk right up to the tori. The JR Pass covers travel on the local train from Hiroshima right up to the island including the ferry.
We arrived at the Miyajimaguchi train station at the odd hour when the hotel shuttle was not operating so we decided to walk the one kilometre to the beachfront Aki Grand Hotel. It was not pleasant, being cold and fouled by the exhaust fumes from fast moving vehicles. When we were almost at the hotel, we spotted a ramen shop by the roadside and popped in for some warmth and some bowls of piping hot tonkotsu soup. I really loved the soup, rich and diverse in flavours; not the sterile taste you sometimes find in chain stores.
Doing some last minute checking on schedules, we took the 3:40 shuttle to the train station and walked to catch the 4:10 ferry to the island. The ferry leaves every ten minutes but between 9 am and 4:10 pm, the ferry will swing closer to the tori for photo opportunities. But it was still too far away. The shrine sits on stilts and its a pleasant walk along the wooden corridor. Most of it must be admired from afar. I did snap some photos (from afar) of two young ladies undergoing some blessing ceremony by some priests. It got dark very quickly. And cold (of course) and shops started closing. The flood lights came on to brighten up the tori and gave me the opportunity to put my camera on long exposure using the granite bench and lanterns for support. Not brilliant but still pretty.
 |
| 30 second exposure. Itsukushima tori, Miyajima |
 |
| Guess who photobombed me? |
 |
| Optical illusion, the tori is further than it seems. |
 |
| Taken by a young Canadian man on working holiday with girlfriend or wife |
 |
| Pau stall |
We enjoyed the onsen at Aki Grand though it was not spring water (I think). My wife came out thrilled about the pool on the outside. She said she enjoyed alternately exposing her body to the cold air and then dipping into the hot water. I looked at her puzzled. Ah, the men’s onsen does not have access to any outside pool, I said. We stood outside the onsen debating why. A very old lady who works in the onsen stopped to chat and in surprisingly understandable English explained that the slots for the two onsen are switched between the men and women so that both get to enjoy the outdoor pools. Damn, why can’t they just make both pools the same? I recalled we encountered the same strange arrangement in Hokkaido. My wife thinks this was the best onsen during this trip. So, early next morning I got to enjoy the outside pool. I think by far still the most memorable was the onsen at the tiny guesthouse in Hakone where you can book half hour slots and enjoy it with your partner in private.
The hotel in Miyajima seemed practically deserted. The guests must be quite shy and like to hide in their rooms. I had the whole big onsen to myself in the morning (there’s one inside pool and two outside pool or tubs). At late breakfast, it was just the two of us. Breakfast was not particularly good - cold to match the weather.
But I must make a note of the extent the Japanese will go to make you welcomed. After our quick lunch at the ramen shop, we pulled our luggage up the steep slope of the hotel driveway. One of the staff saw us from a distance and quickly brought out a trolley and came out to greet us and insisted on taking our bags on the trolley despite my wife's protesting that we it was no problem pulling our own bags. Later, the same man pushed the trolley to our room, giving us a brief tour of the hotel - down there is breakfast; over there some shopping; we have public bath on 5th floor; you can wear the yukata to the public bath; and I forget what else. The hotel is designed somewhat like EQ in Penang with an open air corridor but I commented to my wife that despite the cold, it felt very comfortable inside the hotel along the corridors.
In almost all the public baths we have been to, it is always a very old lady (never a young lady or man of any age) who takes care of the baths. One morning, there was this extremely old lady bent over the sink, using a piece of sticky tape to meticulously pick up hair stuck to the sink. She completely ignored my presence as I walked in naked after my bath.
Japanese take their public baths seriously. They prefer to take their bath here after a hard day’s work. They will wear the yukata or the pyjamas provided by the hotel to go to the baths or to go to certain floors where the ice and vending machines are located. The Osaka Hotel said it was okay to go to the bath in the PJs but pleaded with guests not to wear it to breakfast. Many who stay in hotels are on business trips and get a good soak before bed. They scrub themselves thoroughly and then soak for maybe a few minutes and they are done. Only crazy foreigners like us soak a long time. I did encounter a few men who did not follow the protocol - they merely scooped a few buckets of water from the hot tub and splashed it on their mid-sections and then when straight into the pool.
Last night at the hot tub in the Osaka hotel, I even did the lotus pose in the tub and attempted to do deep breathing, which was difficult because of the flow of water. I guess I was getting bored. In fact, I got up after about 10 minutes and waited for my wife at the lift lobby, sitting in lotus position and doing deep breathing. This onsen was small and felt a little overcrowded with a steady stream of guests coming in. The ladies pool was quite deserted though.
In Beppu, one man brought his toddler daughter into the pool. All the men were stark naked, but no one objected. I noticed the little girl was slightly curious, looking around as the men walked about, not particularly focussed on any part of the body. The polite thing to do of course to avert the eye and not stare, especially around the mid sections. I was slightly curious too so I let my eyes roam especially as they walk past inside the pool, with me sitting and them standing. None were standing at attention, all well behaved and deflated. None of them seem to groom their private bush, allowing lush growth.
 |
| Tontoksu ramen, really good, 10 minutes walk from the Miyajimaguchi train station. |
 |
| My view while taking a leak |
Many hotels in Japan have damn early checkout time of 10 am. We took the opportunity leave for Hiroshima to take in the sights. Well, it was just the Atomic Bomb Museum and memorial, really. We left our two big pieces of luggage, my backpack and another bag in one huge locker for just 1,000 yen. The modern lockers uses electronics to secure the locks. You can use a cash card to pay and unlock; or you can pay cash and use a printed receipt with QR code to get your luggage back. We took a picture of the stairs beside the lockers and noted it said South Exit.
Checking with tourist info just outside the exit, we discovered that we could take the buses looping around town, free. Thanks to JR Pass. Haha, yes, we don’t dig deep into all the benefits of the pass.
{2:17 pm - the food trolley is making the rounds. The air steward had earlier spoken over the PA system thanking passengers for being patient while waiting for the bags to be tallied. And he said to pay attention to the good-looking crew, as a diversion I guess - I presumed he meant both sexes. So I stared at the crew - some are pretty, others not. Their tight-fitting red outfit are still a sight to behold but I think they need some instructions on how to wear their equally outrageously red winter overcoats. Spotted them near the immigration checkpoint - some of them looked sloppy}
Hiroshima greeted us with blue sky and bright sunshine. Still cold, of course. Great for some pretty pictures. The museum maybe one or levels better than the one in Nagasaki. Hiroshima is probably more accessible and definitely attracted many more visitors. The civic design of the park outside is also a notch or two better.
 |
| The famous Atomic Bomb Dome in the right ... |
 |
| ... this is the hypocentre (epicentre) of the atomic bomb dropped by the Americans ... |
 |
| ... admired from across the river |
After viewing the famous bombed out dome from across the river, we proceeded to walk through the shopping street intending to walk all the way to the Hiroshima station (despite having the free ride available). We stopped for fresh orange juice near the river (very nice) and then coffee and some snacks at the franchise cafe from which we had bought a set of croissants at the Canal City in Hakata. My wife love the one with white chocolate in it.
 |
| Lunch in Hiroshima ... |
 |
| ... this was the same franchise at the Canal City Mall in Fukuoka where we bought the very nice croissant ... |
 |
| ... after watching a spectacular light and sound show projected on the glass window of the Grand Hyatt in front of the fountain. |
Arriving back at the Hiroshima station, we got a little confused. The sign said South Exit but it looked different from the one we had boarded the bus earlier in the morning. After frantically walking around, we decided to head into the station to reorientate ourselves. Almost instantly we figured out where the lockers were. We had asked the staff at the gate for the location of more lockers and he had pointed us in the direction. Having locked the bags, we were trying to figure out where to take the tram to the Atomic Bomb Dome. Then we discovered we could take the bus for free right where were standing. When we walked back from the town, we ended up on the opposite side of the building. So, the sign I took saying South Exit was actually pointing to the South Exit, not saying it was the South Exit. So, who’s fault is that?
Before we left the Hiroshima Station we had gotten our Shinkansen tickets at the counter. The girl peered at the small print and then proceeded to print out the itinerary. It seems to be the SOP - make sure the customer knows which train he is picking. I looked at it - it said Nozomi. Oh, so I guess no restrictions for this pass.
Osaka was our last port of call. My wife was able to do some last minute shopping for gifts at the underground shopping mall (Whity, I think). We said goodbye with some simple cheap udon (cost 410 yen per bowl) at the street which seems to be only populated by restaurant after restaurant sprinkled with karaoke joints, one sex-toy shop with a uniform guard in front and many adult entertainment joints. They seem a bit shy in Osaka. Over in Fukuoka, the Nakasu area where our hotel was located had many shops (some just tiny shoplots) plastered with pictures of scantily dressed girls inviting customers to “clubs”. In Osaka, they have similar shops but with curtains at the door and others offering “free information”. These I presume are where the men out for some fun shop for their preferred place of entertainment before they are led to the actual locations. Over in the Dotonbori area in our earlier walks, the scene is more open and on the streets. I even saw middle-aged women standing by the roadside along with all the young chicks. I don’t suppose anyone would just stand in the cold watching the people go by.
 |
| Nice cheap udon in Osaka |
We were in Japan for weeks. Generally we have stayed healthy except for the slight fever and sore throat. Standing on the scale in Beppu in my birthday suit, I weighed 56.2 kg, a little less than my 57 kg. My wife says her weight also went down. We walked more than 360,000 steps in the last three weeks, equivalent to more than 280 km. The legs are holding up, no extreme pains in the joints or muscles - just little aches. The onsen has helped relief the pain on my right sole. My arms ache a bit - I think from carrying the bags up and down crazy flights of stairs at train stations and also holding on to the overhead straps in the trains.
Photographs wise, I would not say it was a fabulous outing but then I am not one of those photographers are are totally focussed on getting it right with detailed planning for lighting and location. We did not catch the full impact of fall colours but perhaps we had seem enough previously and so this was a little subdued. Memories are such that when we look back we will be selective. We will remember mostly the nice ones.
Food, we enjoyed quite a bit of noodles. They were good. We also had at least three runs of beef steak. We chose moderate prices and modest sizes. We had great sushi and sashimi and some nice curry.
Family Mart, Lawson and 7-eleven were our faithful companions. We had many rounds of highballs with Sunctory Whiskey in the hotels and apartments. They were also places to rely on to top up our diminishing cash. Thankfully, Maybank allowed online activation for overseas ATM withdrawal when we got blocked.
Weather was a small downside for the entire trip. We thought we would still be able to see more of the fall colours and that the weather would be mild. And the downside of that downside was that I appeared in the same jacket in almost every picture. We brought along a few sweaters but they were useless at single digit temperatures with strong winds. We were introduced kairo by Mervin, tiny packs of heat you can buy at convenience stores.
The climax could very well be awarded to Universal Studio Japan in Osaka for providing a magical ending to the two week trip for Jillian and Chun Way. My three children read the first Harry Porter book when they were still kids more than 10 years ago. Chun Way was playing catchup on the run up to the trip and even during the trip working to finish the first three books, reading from the iPad even while riding the subways and trains. I thought he was studying for an exam.
It was a fun trip. We need to reduce the weight of the big luggage but it can only happen for trips in summer or spring.
When’s the next trip to Japan? Give it five years, I would say.
Japan 5.0 - over and out
{3:00 pm, 30,000 feet above the South China Sea}
{The plane landed an hour late in KLIA2 and I ordered my first Grabcar ride from the airport to Kepong Baru}
{This post is for Janice Lee, who seems to be an ardent follower of my blog. She asked for more.}
More photos in Googlealbum Miyajima, Hiroshima & Osaka
Main Page Japan 5.0
Posted in Kepong Baru
No comments:
Post a Comment