Inspiration from Japan

Sharing some of the most enduring images in my mind from the recent trip to Japan in March/April 2015.

Collage of cherry blossoms against the bright blue skies over Kyoto (by Joanna Yeoh)

Collage of sakura trees along Philosopher's Walk in north Kyoto (by Joanna Yeoh)

First view of Mt Fuji from Lake Ashinoko in Hakone (by Joanna Yeoh)

Magnificent Mt Fuji (by Joanna Yeoh)

Ancient cedar woods around Lake Ashi (by Joanna Yeoh)

Ancient bamboo forests in Arashiyama, west Kyoto (by Joanna Yeoh)

Close-up of cherry blossoms (by Joyce Cheam)

Colourful kois (by Joyce Cheam)

Japan Travel Itinerary - Spring 2015

I had a wonderful time visiting Japan again this spring during the cherry blossom season, and shared the experience real-time via Facebook.  This triggered a host of requests from my friends, asking me to share the itinerary of my recent visit.  Which I'm very happy to do now via this post.

First and foremost, I must thank my wonderful travel companions, Li Ki and Joyce, for all the fun, laughter, patience and hairy moments that come with travelling overseas on our own - especially when we don't speak the language.  I love that we used our strengths to the max!

(L-R) Joyce, Joanna and Li Ki

Now for our travel itinerary…

1) Tokyo (3 days)

Hotel:  Prince Hotel in Shinjuku.  Only 10 minutes walk from the Shinjuku Station which was super convenient to get around Tokyo, and beyond via Shinkansen (bullet train)

Shopping:  Shinjuku is THE shopping mecca in Tokyo with all the major department stores having their flagship outlets here.  I liked Isetan and Mitsui OIOI best.  The range of cosmetics stores was surprisingly limited in Shinjuku.  Head to Harajuku for a dose of cosplay and shopping bargains.  The 5-storey Daiso store there has an interesting range of affordable household gadgets and souvenirs.

Cherry Blossom spots:  Ueno Park is a lovely spot to see the flowers in bloom.  While it was extremely crowded, everyone was relatively well-behaved.  People tend to move along without blocking others from viewing the cherry blossoms.  Lots of cafes and restaurants around Ueno Station for bentos, coffees and ice cream.

Surprise Find:  Roof Garden on Level 8 of Isetan flagship store in Shinjuku.

There's a huge food hall in the basement of Isetan with an amazing range of affordable Japanese and international food - everything from sushi, sashimi, tempura, yakitori, salads, croquette to French pastries, Chinese dim sum, Indian curries and Italian pasta.  We bought our lunch from the food hall and went up to the roof garden for a picnic feast.

Don't be put off by the lift that only goes up to Level 7.  Climb that one flight of stairs to the roof garden.  It's worth it!

2)  Hakone (2 days)

Hotel:  Hotel Okada is comfortable with a choice of western beds or Japanese tatami for sleep.  Choose the tatami.  Opt for the catered Japanese dinners, which are delicious and come in extremely large portions. Every set has 2 main courses with 6 dishes each.   Might want to consider sharing 2 sets between 3-4 adults because we couldn't finish our individual sets.  Breakfast is so-so.

Hakone is one of the best places from which to view Mt Fuji.  This was taken at Lake Ashi.

Getting to and around Hakone is super easy if you get the all-in Hakone Free Pass from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo.  Go to the international travel counter at Odakyu Shopping Centre next to Shinjuku Station and they will sort you out.

The Hakone Free Pass by Odakyu Railways is a special pass for exploring Hakone, and includes: 

1)	One round trip from the Tokyo area to Hakone by Odakyu Railways, unless you purchase the pass inside the free area, e.g. at Odawara, Hakone-Yumoto or Mishima Stations.
2)	Unlimited use of Odakyu affiliated buses, trains, boats, cablecars and ropeways within the Hakone free area.
3)	Discounted admission to selected tourist attractions.

Hakone Free Pass (as of April 1, 2014)
	2-day pass	3-day pass
From Shinjuku Station	5,140 yen	5,640 yen
Purchased inside the free area (e.g. Odawara Station)	4,000 yen	4,500 yen
Reduced rates (almost 75%) apply for children.

3) Kyoto (3 days)

Ryokan (Inn) : Kikokuso is the ONLY place I'd stay in Kyoto.  The Yoshimura family has owned the inn for four generations and the level of hospitality is sublime.  We stayed with the family in 2013 and it was the highlight of our trip!  Grandma Yoshimura literally squealed in delight when she saw us again this time.

Book early to get the room with ensuite bathroom.  The other rooms with shared bathroom facilities are good too.


Cherry Blossom Viewing:  For my favourite spots, read this blog post.

With Grandma and Grandpa Yoshimura outside Kikokuso

Food:  You MUST try the keiseki (imperial set) dinner at Kikosuko.  It will be the most beautiful and delicious meal of your entire trip.  Mrs Yoshimura is so beautiful and graceful in her kimono, you will be thoroughly spoilt by her hospitality.

 

Honke Owariya is one of the oldest soba shops in Japan, dating from 1465 - when Kyoto was the royal capital.  The set lunches are reasonably priced and the cold soba is delicious.  There are 2 branches and we've tried both.  I think the original one is better.

From there, you can walk to Nishiki Market which has a good array of Japanese foods for sale.  Good place to pick up tea, seaweed condiments and Japanese pickles. A little touristy but still worth a visit.  Lots of macha (green tea) desserts to try.


4) Osaka (1 day)

Osaka is just a 30-minute train ride from Kyoto so it's easy to do a day trip.  If you're flying from Kansai Airport in Osaka, you can store your luggage in the lockers at the train station and see the city in a day before heading to the airport.

Shopping/Sightseeing:  Dotonburi is the place to see and be seen.  If nothing else, come and take a photo with the giant crab.  The other shop signs are quite outlandish too.

Food:  The only reason we come to Osaka is for the food, especially okonomiyaki, which is a delicious egg omelette stuffed with seafood, pork and vegetables.  Mizuno in Dotonburi is very popular and rightly so.  They cook the okonomiyaki on a grill right at your table, and it takes every ounce of willpower to wait for the food to cook and avoid drooling.  Just keep yourselves occupied by taking lots of photos!

For fans of takoyaki (grilled octopus balls), you'd be happy to know that the dish originated in Osaka too.  I'm told the stall opposite Mizuno is quite good (sorry - I don't like the taste of takoyaki so I really can't vouch for any vendor)

Market:  Try Kuromon Market for an authentic experience of a Japanese market.  Lots of fresh fruit, sushi, sashimi and Japanese pastries to try.  I personally found it more authentic than Nishiki Market in Kyoto and the stallholders seemed friendlier too.  Iburi Coffee House is a cute little 1920's art deco shop serving great coffee, hot chocolate and waffles.  This market totally rocks because they provide a large seating area for tourists to eat their takeaway meals while enjoying FREE WIFI.

Sakura Springtime

What an absolute delight it is to experience Japan during the sakura (cherry blossom) season!  We were so blessed to arrive at all the main attractions just as the flowers came into full bloom, and experienced perfect springtime weather.

Here's are my three favourite Hanami (flower-viewing) spots:

1) Philosopher's Walk, Kyoto *

This is a beautiful path along a canal lined with hundreds of cherry blossom trees.  It's a 2km walk from Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) to Nanzenji that's so breathtakingly beautiful, it's almost surreal.  It was so hard to just put down the camera for a minute and take in the splendour of the moment:  the pink blossoms against the blue skies juxtaposed against the natural green plants that lined the canal.

2)  Gardens at Tenryu-ji Temple, Arashiyama (Kyoto) *

The Tenryu-ji temple was established in 1339 by shogun Ashikaga Takauji, and presided over by the eminent Zen master Muso Soseki.  This is a World Heritage Site and there's a 500yen fee to get into the gardens, which I highly recommend because the cascading cherry blossoms create walls of fragrant pink flowers every where you turn!  I'm told the autumn scenes are equally stunning.

3) Around Hakone *

Hakone is an area famous for its hot springs, located about 100km away from Tokyo.  The mountains, bridges and streams provide a very pretty backdrop to the cherry blossoms that dot the landscape.

Photo courtesy of Khaw Li Ki, which was taken on a moving bus.  Well done Seester!

* Please click on the individual links for more travel ideas and information from Japan-Guide.Com

Fuji-san

Mount Fuji - the beautiful mountain that has inspired so much of Japanese art and literature.

Very grateful to have seen it in all its splendour from the Hakone Ropeway, and managed to snap these amazing shots with my humble iPhone6.

Enjoy…

Reflections of Japan

Every journey yields its own epiphany and Japan is no different.   

It was my first visit but I've fallen completely in love with the Land of the Rising Sun.  There is so much to admire in her people, culture and cuisine.  

Perfection in every action and incredible attention to detail

The gardens are set out in pristine order.  The shinkansen (bullet trains) arrive and depart on the dot.  Plastic bags are used to cover shopping bags made of paper.  Cushions are discreetly re-arranged whenever a guest leaves the lobby.  Excess umbrellas are removed from the stand so that nothing juts out.  Purchases are gift-wrapped in pretty paper.

Every meal is served to please the senses: arranged in dainty dishes, cooked to perfection.  Every egg is boiled with the orange yolk still slightly runny.

How do they do it?

Interesting practices and sense of humour

Cooking shows that feature only one ingredient.  Females made up to look like dolls - no such thing as the au naturale look here.  Everything kawaii (cute) is cool.  Even adults wear Hello Kitty boots and raincoats. Drugstores every 10 meters feature every type of cosmetics and row upon row of fake eyelashes.  In every colour.  Kinda creepy.

Beautiful travel companions

I have to say a big THANK YOU to my two travel companions, Julina and Li Ki, for the endless hours of shopping, mad scrambles for trains, sharing of desserts, testing of cosmetics, sampling of strange foods, sipping of coffees, silly conversations, giggles and laughter.  It was indeed a pleasure to be your mama san.  Sorry my business development skills fell a little short of expectations :P

  

4th generation innkeepers

It's not often that a traveller can set foot into an inn and feel as if they've stepped into their grandma's home.  That's exactly the sense I got when we arrived at Kikokuso Ryokan (Inn) in Kyoto.  The all-embracing warmth and genuine hospitality of the Yoshimura family is what really made the stay so special.  It has to be personally experienced to be believed.

The ryokan has been in the family for four generations and the current owners are preserving the 140-year tradition of caring for their guests with great pride.  Every meal served, every bed made,  every bath drawn, every slipper laid out is done with the guest's sole comfort in mind.  And every act is accompanied with a gentle smile and respectful bow.  It tells a tale of timeless grace.

Mrs Yoshimura is a very special lady.  Her demeanour and manners are from a bygone era and she is always immaculately dressed and groomed.  Her friendliness more than compensated for the halting English conversations we had.  Here she is showing us the book where she is featured as one of the leading lady innkeepers in Kyoto.  

Here is Mayu Yoshimura, the daughter-in-law, preparing green tea for us on our arrival at the inn.  She was very friendly and chatty, eager to find out about our lives in Singapore.  For some reason, she thought I was a nurse!

Entrance to the ryokan

Lovely Japanese garden viewed from the dining room

Kaiseki

"Kaiseki" is a traditional Japanese multi-course dinner, which Kyoto is well-known for.  This is the highest form of food art, with perfection on every plate - both in terms of sight and taste. Words will add nothing to this highly sensory experience, so please just sit back and enjoy the pictures.

Our beautiful hostess and ryokan owner, Mrs Yoshimura, dressed in a traditional kimono, presented each kaiseki dish.  She explained the use of seasonal ingredients as well as the sequence in which the dishes were to be eaten.  I was (and still am) in total awe of her grace, feminine manners and ability to kneel and bow with perfect precision!

Dish 1 (Clockwise): Radish in sesame sauce, anchovy, fish jelly, fish paste, snail

Dish 2: Sashimi

Dish 3:  Grilled prawn with yuba (Japanese yam)

Dish 4: Sawara (Spanish mackerel) with pickled ginger shoot

Dish 5: Tempura of fish, lotus root, okra and shitake mushroom

Dish 6: Sliced conger eel and pickled cucumber salad

Dish 7: Rice & miso soup 

Dish 8: Dessert of peeled Kyoto grapes and kiwi fruit

Kyoto

Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan for over a thousand years and history is evident on every street corner. The city is dotted with palaces, castles, temples and shrines and is often considered the cultural seat of Japan.

We arrived in Kyoto just ahead of tropical storm Lipi and it rained the entire time we were there.  Although we didn't do justice to all the historical sights, we bravely battled the elements to visit a few special spots.

Here we are at Nijo Castle, the home of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  The most fascinating feature of this castle are the "nightingale" floorboards, which "whistle" every time anyone steps on it. Frankly, I thought is just sounded like regular creaking. Just think of it as the earliest known form of a burglar alarm system :)

We spent quite a lot of time at Nishiki Market, the Kitchen of Kyoto, because there were so many interesting ingredients, cooked food and tempting desserts. And also plenty of shade to keep us dry!  I ended up buying two special Japanese kitchen knives for my sister and I to try out our Iron Chef skills.

The Gion district is a historical area dating back from the Middle Ages, which is now more well known as the home of the geisha.  In spite of the inclement weather, we were very fortunate to spot a geisha leaving her home on the way to work.  While she was protective of her privacy, I couldn't pass up the photo opportunity.  Happy to have witnessed yet another cultural icon of Japan.