I returned last week from an amazing trip to Japan. I have to say it is an interesting country and the people are lovely and very polite.
On our first day in Japan we did a city tour of Tokyo which included an authentic rickshaw ride through the streets, which is always a good way to get the feel of a place and a lot of fun. We felt like royalty with all the locals stopping to smile and wave has we went speeding past.
We had a trip to see the Imperial palace, the main residence of the Emperor of Japan, which we are not allowed to enter although we were lucky enough to see a practise run of the Emperor’s carriage and all its entourage coming out of the palace grounds. The day also included a visit to the Asakusa Sensoji Temple where we witnessed an impromptu Shinto ceremony of a local family.
The evening was spent on the Sudima River, aboard a yakatubune boat where we were served a lovely meal with alcohol. This turned into a karaoke session and was a lot of fun.
The next day we travelled to see Mount Fuji on our way to Atami and we were lucky enough to see the mountain. Apparently she is only visible 50% of the time so we extremely lucky. We had a lovely boat ride on Lake Ashi. Here we tried to glimpse another sight of Fuji but she decided to hide from us. A night was spent at Atami and most of us visited the natural thermal springs where we bathed together (I might add you have to bathe naked (not mixed)).
Day 5 was our day for the bullet train and it is a rush we just made it in time. It is very exciting you only have 90 seconds to board before the doors close. We shared the carriage with a party of Japanese school children who wanted to practise their English. We didn’t mind helping them out they were very well behaved and very polite. Our destination was Kyoto which is a lovely part of Japan and an afternoon tour was included. We visited the Golden pavilion covered in pure gold leaf and paid a visit to some beautiful Japanese gardens. This was all finished off with a visit to Gion district which is famous for geisha’s. We were lucky enough to see a real geisha; apparently it is very rare to see them in the afternoon. There are a lot of women walking around in kimonos but most of them are not genuine geisha.
We spent three nights in Kyoto and I would have liked to have spent longer. A visit was made to the sake museum and we were given a sample to try. We also visited the Fushimi Inari shrine with contained lots of stone foxes en-route through lots of orange shrines. We finished off the afternoon at a Japanese tea ceremony. The ceremony was interesting and the owner was a very proud 16th generation owner of the tea company. He was proud to show us how to correctly make and drink the tea. But I have to say that the tea was horrible to drink and most of us left it.
Day 7 we visited the historical city of Nara and visited the Todaiji temple which contained a huge bronze Buddha statue. The temple is set in a beautiful park full of deer. The deer are very tame and when they approach you they bow twice which is very sweet to see. It is their way of asking for food. The afternoon we visited Osaka castle which is beautiful.
Day 8 was our second day on the bullet train to Hioshima. After arriving we headed straight to Miyajima Island which is very scenic as it has a floating shrine. We were lucky enough to see a wedding whilst there which was very beautiful. The island contains lots of little shops and stalls selling local food.
That evening we had a go at okonomiyaki making which they call Japanese pancakes. We sat in tables of four with a table which contains a hot plate and we mixed all your ingredients together and cooked it. It is our equivalent of bubble and squeak, very tasty.
Hiroshima was our visit for day nine where we paid a visit to peace memorial park and the a-bomb museum. It is a very moving day and some of the group were moved to tears.
We finished the day by visiting a local canal area which contained lots of little shops. It was a lovely picturesque place and we could have spent a lot longer there.
Day 10 we travelled to Kobe a pretty port area. We visited Himeji Castle which dates back to 1333. We did tour inside the castle and climbed seven floors to the top. There is a lovely view from the top of the castle.
This was our last evening in Japan and we had the chance to eat Kobe beef. Kobe beef is a speciality of the area and the cattle are extremely well looked after. Every day they are given a massage and beer to drink as well as being fed on good quality feed. The beef is beautiful and is cooked in front of you on hot plates. It was a lovely way to end our holiday.
Overall this is a fantastic holiday the Japanese people are lovely and we had some wonderful guides. I have to say a special thank you to our tour manager Alison Bisset who did an amazing job. She is very professional , well organised and a lot of fun.
