Japan 2016

Sneha had to travel to Japan on work. We decided to extend her work trip into a holiday. Reyansh and I joined her a few days later. I was a bit apprehensive travelling with the toddler but the little fellow was very well-behaved throughout the flight journey thanks to movies, food and sleep. Handea International Airport reminded me of Singapore airport with sign boards at the right locations with instructions in English and Japanese, clean floors and courteous staff.I always knew Japan was a tech savvy nation and this trip helped me experience some of their tech solutions that made daily life easy. At the airport, the car door near the rear seat opened up as soon as we reached the door. I noticed that the driver actually pulled a lever attached to a motor to open the door instead of getting down from the driver seat and opening the door.

On our way from the airport to our temporary home in Tateishi I noticed the humble nature of the country. Nothing was extravagant. No unnecessary lights and sign boards advertised or glorified the nation or welcomed tourists. The highway was clean and I could hardly spot any garbage. The houses looked simple and the buildings reminded me of the simple Singapore government constructed flats. There was a stretch where I could see the road ahead with a series of traffic lights. The driver adjusted his speed and drove such that the signal would turn green as we approached the traffic light instead of breaking and speeding. Sneha was waiting for us with an umbrella in the rain and Reyansh immediately recognised her and helped the driver find the place. The wooden interiors of our temporary home was tasteful and it had basic facilities for a family to live. The toilet was technology driven with modes for male and female which decided the toilet functions. The toilet seat was temperature controlled based on the weather. The health faucet injected water at different speeds and angles. A musical mode made sure the noise from the toilet was never heard outside. Shitting had never been so much fun. 

Tateishi looked like a small village. The last set of cherry blossom called Yae Sakura covered the road that led to the market place and train station. The pink colored flowers and lanterns looked beautiful and lit up the place in pink. The market place had utility shops, restaurants with electronic menus with prepay option and automated delivery of food on the table, Pachinko slot machines, toy vending machines and old tea stalls. None of the shops were massive in size. They all stuck to each other utilizing the space effectively. Despite the lack of dustbins, the city is clean because most Japanese people carry a plastic bag to carry garbage and dispose it at the right place.

As we approached the train station the gates at the railway crossing started beeping and closing. The automated system closes gates in a synchronous way only when the train approaches the crossing. As soon as the train passes by the gates open thus saving time for people crossing over. In most countries the gates remain closed much before and after the train arrives. However, almost everything is efficient and effective in Japan.

In Japan, it is better to use google maps and find the train routes before heading out to a destination as the train maps are confusing. Suica cards certainly help when you want to use multiple train services. We changed multiple trains and reached Sensō-ji - a Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine. Legend has it that two fishermen found a statue of  Kanon Bodhisattva and the village head built a temple to preserve the statue. Shinto philosophy treats everything and everyone as divine and the shrine is dedicated to the people who founded the temple.

Despite multiple fires and destruction the temple still holds its ground. The shrines in Japan have a small stone tub which gets filled with running water that comes out from a bamboo pipe. Visitors wash their hands and mouth using a wooden ladle before entering the shrine. A lot of devotees filled out prayers on wooden planks and dedicated incense sticks at the temple. However, our devotion was mostly towards our stomach. We tried the Senbei (rice crackers),  roasted chestnuts, soy ice cream, dumplings and the free green tea at a promotional counter. Being a vegetarian was difficult and the language barrier didn't help the cause. However, with my broken Japanese and Google translator mobile app we managed well. In order to find milk for Reyansh I had to walk at least a few kilometers and it helped me burn the calories consumed earlier.

After a late lunch at an Italian restaurant we took a rickshaw ride. A strong man pulled the three of us and showed us the Asakusa area. The ride is a bit expensive but a great way to explore the city. We saw kids playing in a playground which is a rare sight in ageing Japan. The Asakusa area had a stretch where the last of Yae Sakura was in full bloom and we wished the cherry blossom season had not ended so fast. The rickshaw ride ended at the river side where we could see a space ship like boat and a shit like building that apparently looked like a beer mug. 

The next day we visited the massive hundred acre Yoyogi park in the morning. We spent almost the entire day walking in the park, playing with Reyansh, hunting for vegetarian food and cycling. At one end of the park you can rent bicycles after filling up a form that requests many details and ride it along a picturesque route. Lots of families gathered around the fountains and spent the day eating and playing sports like Baseball and Frisbee. Dog lovers had a dedicated section where a pet could express itself and in some cases express a bit too much sexually. There were musicians practicing instruments like the flute and cello

despite the noisy crows.

That evening we walked on the streets of Harajuku known internationally as a center of Japanese youth culture and fashion. Weird would be the word that I want to use to explain the experience. In and around the streets there were many boutique restaurants, coffee shops and fashion stores. The stores sold cartoon character outfits, ghost themed clothes, torn shoes, belts with flash lights, caps with toys on them and weird women accessories. There was a street that looked like a toy land with many Crêpe stores where everything was in pink, yellow and other bright colors. Banners celebrated the 25th year anniversary of the naughty cartoon character Shin Chan. Diaso mall known for thrifty goods had some promotional sale which attracted hundreds of people. The streets were crowded, noisy and weird. But, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  

We spent our last day in Tokyo exploring the streets of Akhiabara - The tech town. After a tantrum session where Reyansh did not eat food we spent time exploring the gadget and electronic stores. I felt the place was a bit outdated and overrated. In an era where online shopping and gaming has advanced and accessible, the Akhiabara area did not offer anything novel. Stores like Sega were definitely outdated. The Yodobashi camera shop did not have any fancy cameras such as the watch camera, spy camera in spectacles or even a pen camera. It had a floor full of home goods with useful stuff such as mini barbecue grill that worked on batteries, search lights that could be fixed on a cap, satellite navigation equipment, etc. It also had a floor dedicated to toys and Reyansh picked up dinosaurs as usual. However, the toy themed stores were too geeky and designed for Japanese cartoon viewers.

The narrow lanes were more interesting. Gamers flocked around and played games on the phone competing with each other. CCTVs, robots, programmable raspberry pi equipment, etc was on sale in small shops. In the evening, we spent some time purchasing vegetarian food items from a large supermarket near Kuramoto stand which boasted of unique Japanese foods and drinks. 

We had a quick bite at a British pub and made sure our toddler was well fed so that we could go for a food eating adventure. After researching on the internet we found out that Yassaya Teppanyaki restaurant at Shinjuku served vegetarian dishes. The staff at the British pub helped us reserve a table at this restaurant . We took a taxi and reached the Shinjuku area which was full of weird themed discos and pubs. Japanese ancient kingdom themed discos and robot themed bars looked offbeat whereas waitresses wearing kinky cartoon dresses coaxing people to enter certain bars was unexpected in Japan. 

Despite being an unconventional area for a family it was still safe and a couple of hookers helped us find the restaurant. The interiors of the restaurant was classy with wooden floor, light music and well designed furniture. The chef took our order and cooked the vegetables like a doctor performing a serious surgical process. He bent and looked closely at each vegetable before turning it or tossing it. A serving of Japanese Sake and Shōchū helped us enjoy our food even better. Visiting the restaurant was worth the effort and made our last night in Tokyo memorable. 

The next day we headed towards Takayama. We were lost in the Tokyo station and a kind gentleman went out of his way and guided us to the Shinkansen (Bullet train) platform. The kindness and polite nature of Japanese people is amazing. Nozomi Shinkansen looked sleek with its snout which helped with aerodynamics. We all have experienced discomfort when seated facing against the direction of travel but Nozomi had adjustable rotator seats to avoid discomfort and motion sickness. From Nagoya we took the regular express train which took us through a more scenic route. The hills, cherry blossom trees, rivers and hamlets along the way reminded me a lot of eastern India. If eastern India had better infrastructure it would have looked like Takayama. We had an early dinner at a French restaurant where an old american couple chatted with us about their first Asian trip, business in USA and bringing up kids. I am sure they weren't impressed by our parenting skills as Reyansh was busy eating fries and watching his own videos on the phone. 

Our host from Yashuda pension home picked us up in his shuttle van. The shuttle van helped us a great deal traveling from our home to the town center. The room we stayed had attached bathroom that made noise like a jet engine and woke up everyone in the neighborhood. Three beds in the room were so closely stacked that even placing two suitcases was hard. So, we used suitcases as bed barriers for Reyansh to sleep and created some space.It seemed like an old government-run guest house. But, the owners were extremely kind and provided us with vegetarian food, packed food for our toddler for our morning trips and even put cartoons for him. They took care of all our needs and we were glad we chose a home like this instead of a hotel. The home had a shoe rack to place outdoor shoes and use the home footwear provided by them. It had a nice dinning area with simple decoration and a seating area to relax. A few children books kept Reyansh occupied for sometime.

The next day after a delicious breakfast we took the shuttle to the town center. The Noshi bus service had tour tickets to different places. We took tickets for Kamikochi and got into the bus which was not surprisingly technology enabled. The bus driver used hand gestures that kept updating a screen that displayed bus stops and ticket prices. GPS system in the bus connected to the panel and highlighted the bus stops on the panel. While I was busy appreciating the bus system, Reyansh was asleep and Sneha was doing a doctorate research on the pamphlets. In the middle of the journey, Sneha changed plans and we headed towards Shin-hotaka rope way. Along the way we saw schools where kids played football on a mud ground and not green turf, numerous barber shops for some reason, ski villages closed for summer and farm land on the banks of Miyagawa river.

The double-decker cable car climbs over 1000 meters up the side of the Hotake Mountain Range, which includes Oku-Hotakedake, Japan's third highest peak, with a stop between two rope ways. As we went higher and higher the vegetation changed and snow-capped mountains were visible. There was an observation deck on the peak and a walking trail through the snow. With a few Japanese air force jets and helicopters flying the place seemed like a snowy battle field. Initially, Reyansh complained that the snow was too cold but after throwing a few snow balls he started enjoying the snow and as usual did not want to leave the area. 

During our descent we stopped at the Onsen (Hot spring) perched between the hills. Luckily, there was no crowd and it didn't feel weird entering the water naked. Fortunately or unfortunately. there were separate sections for men and women. The water felt hot when it touched the body and it took Reyansh a few minutes to settle into it. The flakes due to steam and heat looked like paper bits, the hot water eroded the stones, the steam made you sweat but once we got used to the temperature we enjoyed the experience . The view was not great because of the walls but the private bath experience was wonderful. A huge man entered the Onsen and my little kid stared at the big man without clothes. It was time to leave before my kid asked too many questions or got too curious about human body parts. Tired and hungry we bought some sesame rice crackers with soy sauce to survive. But we more than compensated that night as our owners made wonderful baked casserole and hot soup. 

The next day we went for an adventure on the rail tracks called Gattan-Go. Nohi bus service arranged for a bus ride as well as a taxi pick up to this ingenious adventure destination.

Two mountain bikes were modified and attached to form an open carriage which worked just like a rail bogey. The gears were adjusted suiting the elevation of tracks before we started pedaling. The motor on the mountain bike made cycling easy. The ride through tunnels and discarded stations with views of hills, river and bridges was memorable although Reyansh's crying spoiled the mood a bit as the little fellow wanted to play with pebbles instead of being seated in the middle of the carriage doing nothing. However, once we returned to the Gattan Go office, he spent time playing with toy trains and sipping Ramune - marble soda. Sneha and I stepped into a coffee shop next door thinking our boy was grown enough to play on his own but we were mistaken. Reyansh was once again in tears. That night we had another feast as our owners made tempura and other Japanese vegetarian dishes. Of course, we woke up the neighborhood again! Thanks to the toilet flush.

It was our last day in Takayama. We visited the Shirakawa-go and Ainokura UNESCO world heritage villages. Due to the bad weather a lot of tourists must have dropped out of the trip and so the entire tourist bus was available to us. Two guides helped us understand the area and we took our own sweet time at every stop. The tunnels through the hills has improved connectivity and shortened travel time. An interesting pattern seen in the tunnels is the lighting. Every few kilometers a light pattern flashes on the roof of the tunnel. Rainbow colors or a colorful design pattern lights up the tunnel to counter driver fatigue and driver boredom. We reached Ainokura, the smaller and less commercial of the two villages, after a two hour ride from Takayama. The slight drizzle created a mist around the straw covered houses, rows of tulips brightened up the dull weather, the frogs in the ponds made sounds in unison with insects, the temple at the edge of the village welcomed visitors with a beautiful straw based structure and the colorful shop boasted of curios never seen before. We had healthy Japanese powder tea, kelp tea, and rice crackers in a well constructed restaurant followed by unhealthy fried sweet potato in a road side shop. The road side shop used a mini rain and waterfall fed canal as a source of water to wash utensils & clothes and chill soft drinks. We wanted to spend the entire day in this beautiful village however it was time to visit Shirakawa-go. We stopped on a hill to have Japanese Bento in a simple restaurant. The food included a nice vegetarian egg plant on a hot grill, local ginger, sea weed based soup, rice and Udon noodles. The restaurant was decorated with posters, postcards and pictures and one could hardly see the wall. The entire Shirakawa-go village could be seen from the hill top despite the rain. We marched on foot and reached the village after crossing a narrow dangling bridge where people had to lean over the bridge and move umbrellas over their heads to give way to each other. As a result there were a couple of umbrellas that landed up in the river.

The village was more touristy and there were museums that gave an insight into the lives of people living in Gassho-style houses . The houses look small from outside but only when I reached inside did I realize the size was massive. The straw thatch is replaced during summer in a community event and the kitchen smoke is used as an insecticide. Despite the rain we walked around and let Reyansh play outdoors with pebbles and sticks. The last bus took us back to Takayama. It was time to head to Kyoto.

We never expected delays in Japan but the connecting train to Nagoya got delayed by ten minutes which meant we had to run to catch our Shinkansen to Kyoto. Sneha carried Reyansh on her shoulders while I carried the two suitcases and sprinted towards the platform and made it seconds before the train left the platform. An american couple followed us just to realize they entered the wrong train. However, they reached Kyoto without being questioned by the ticket collector. The ticket collector's protocol was unique. He wished people on entering and exiting the car. Such politeness and good culture is unheard off in modern times. From Kyoto we took a train to Uji. We stayed at a place that was a mix of Ryonkan and hotel. It helped us experience the best of both worlds with a nice view of the river, hills and a temple. 

Next morning, we attended a Tea ceremony. The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of Matcha, powdered green tea. There is a protocol for drinking tea. The tea cup had to be in a specific position so that the artistry on it was visible. There is a technique to lift the cup and place it appropriately after finishing the tea. Luckily, we did well but Reyansh was upset that he could not participate in the tea ceremony and had tears in his eyes. But, giving him a candy solved all our problems and we proceeded to visit the the Byōdō-in, a Buddhist temple. The Japanese 10 yen coin shows the Phoenix Hall of this temple. 

We did not spend a lot of time in the temple and headed towards the Fushimi Inari-taisha. The noticeable feature of this temple is the magical, seemingly unending path of over 5000 vibrant orange Torii gates that wind through the hills behind shrine. The shrine is famous and people pray here for prosperity by writing prayers on replicas of the gates of the shrine. The large bells have cloth strings attached so that anyone can ring the bell and invoke the lord. The process to pray was documented in a pamphlet and it helped tourists. After visiting the shrine, we enjoyed our walk in the bamboo forest and ate some street food where we tried orange juice in an orange rind, chestnuts and roots of a plant dipped in spicy powder. 

Later that evening we visited Gion district which has many buzzing restaurants and pubs. However, it is known for its Geisha town more than the party scene. Geisha is respected in Japan and we were fortunate to spot one. Our rickshaw puller requested us to bow our head and not click any photographs. The Geisha is an entertainer and undergoes a lot of training in a Geisha school and sacrifices normal life to entertain others . Their influence over the Japanese socio-political scene has drastically reduced in the past century, but they are treated well and live in a colony surrounded by commoners who work in other professions. Our rickshaw puller spoke English and helped us appreciate tourist spots such as the Buddhist pagoda and tea shrine. It is in this tea shrine that the first tea in Japan was created. 

The next day we canceled all our plans and decided to spend the entire day in Uji. We walked to the Mimuroto shrine and trekked a hill. That night Reyansh shocked us by eating more than usual at a British pub. I guess he was happy not eating food at Saziera which had been our food joint for almost every meal. After Fish and Chips, he ate vegetable sticks and consumed celery, carrots and cucumber. He asked for more food and dug into our pasta. Sneha and I were scared and surprised to see him hog. To give us company an elderly Japanese gentlemen joined our table. He discussed the past, present and future of Japan where stress and success has taken precedence over family and fun. 

Next day, we traveled to Mount Koya. It is also known as Koya San and considered a spiritual hub. Legend has it that Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism, threw his Sankosho (a double ended, three-pronged Buddhist ceremonial tool) from China towards Japan. He came across his Sankosho stuck in the branches of a pine tree on Koyasan and started construction of the Garan, Koyasan's central temple complex. The pine tree, that caught the Sankosho, is still growing there. The journey to Koya San involved changing at least seven trains and the route seemed dull. It felt as if we were in a concrete jungle most of the time. But, the route became scenic once we started nearing the hills. The busy towns gave way to valleys, rivers and hills. The spectacular funicular from Gokurakubahsi to Mt Koya climbed close to a thousand meters at almost a fifty degree inclination. The inclined funicular carriage climbed the hill with the help of reinforcing cables on the track.

We reached Saizen-Inn, a Buddhist guest house, late afternoon. We stayed in a typical Japanese style room with Tatami straw mats that kept the floor warm, translucent sliding doors (Shoji), an alcove (Tokonoma) with instructions to tourists requesting them not to use it as a storage area , low tables and futon. There was an old kerosene heater in the room that kept us warm. It seemed like we were a good fifty years back in time despite the room television and internet access. 

The area outside the guest house was beautiful. The central temple complex has huge buildings and space. The sun light reflected on the grand orange dome and the gold lamps, the religious flags fluttered in the wind and the bells on top of the central complex rang continuously. 

The guest house had shared bathrooms accessible only in the evening and high tech toilets thankfully accessible anytime. Early dinner at five in the evening meant we had to stack our room with some food from the nearby food store. The vegetarian dinner had an overdose of Tofu and sea weed. Interestingly, alcohol was not prohibited at the guest house. While Sneha and I did enjoy the meal, Reyansh did not touch it and wanted to have Singapore food by which he actually meant home food. We forced him to have some food and it ended in a vomit session. 

Later that evening I had Bath in the Sentō, a communal bathroom. There are cubicles for each person and a common bath tub. Naked men having bath all around me was discomforting. I spent less than a minute having bath and went back to the room. We went to bed early that night as we had a prayer to attend the next morning. Morning prayer without bath was unusual for me. The rituals and chants reverberated through the corridors and reminded me of temple rituals in India. Instead of rushing we spent a major part of the morning in the guest house. Reyansh found a friend and the boys ran around, picked stones, played with twigs and almost fell into a fish pond. Later, we roamed the streets and hoped to find a place that would serve us some spicy food. I joked that we would find a restaurant that would serve Channa ( chickpeas ). Surprisingly, we found Bon on Shya, a fusion restaurant that was serving Channa and rice as the food of the day. We spent a few hours eating food and sipping hot coffee while Reyansh kept himself busy with the toys and books. In the excitement of eating spicy food I forgot my windcheater. Bon on Shya and Saizen Inn coordinated with me and the windcheater was couriered to me a week later. We walked around for a bit and then headed towards the airport. It was time to go home. 

The super fast train from Tengachaya station to Kansai Airport had a start wars theme. The train crossed a bridge over the ocean to enter the man made island that hosts the Kansai airport. The ticket collector bowed and requested us to alight. That moment summed up Japan. Scenic beauty, technology and courtesy. A country can be modern but preserve old traditions. People can be ambitious but courteous. Government can succeed if people do their bit. A nation is like Sarubobo, the faceless Japanese doll. The owner of the doll needs to imagine the face. The imagination represents the emotion which leads to action. Japanese have definetly imagined their doll to be better than the rest of the world.