Author: phil

We are in a lovely hotel overlooking the Peace Memorial Park and had a quick look last night after the temperature had cooled off. We were quite peckish after trying lots of Japanese cuisine so grabbed a burger in Kembys micro brewery pub. It is odd and feels odd to be eating in an ostensibly American sports bar in Hiroshima but the food and hospitality was fabulous and the beer super tasty. Jenni and Susie played pool and we unwound from travelling. At this point the appetite for blogging left me so we held over until today.

This morning we were up early to catch a boat ride from the Memorial Park to the Torii gate . The Torii gate is a famous shrine entrance that sits out on the waterfront and at high tide the supports are covered in water so it appears to be floating. The gardens surrounding the Torii gate were fab and hot again but we saw Koi, waterfalls, beautiful bridges and pools. We grabbed breakfast, a combination of western ham and cheese toasties and fresh roasted coffee and memiji pastries which were rather fabulous. Such a lot of shops and all good quality stuff, not too much tourist tat. We also found a shop selling studio Ghibli merchandise including lot of “My neighbour Totoro”.

The gate was fab but also there are wild deer mooching around and the boat ride getting there hit my boat buttons. I love the harbour around Hiroshima.

This afternoon we split up to achieve several goals. Lunch, anti histamine for big bug bites, baseball apparel from the Hiroshima Carps team and a photo expedition for me. I will let the pictures tell the story but there is nothing but future hope or peace to remark about the H-Bomb and its effects. The building you can see is the only one left standing at the blast epicentre. It was left as a memorial untouched since the blast with minor renovation to make it safe. It is harrowing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial

In the evening we went to an Okonomiyaki restaurant. It is curious that in Japan a good restaurant will only do one dish, albeit with different toppings or styles. So you have to prepare and agree where to go and confirm everyone wants that food before you go out.

Okonomyaki is a pancake really with corn starch, noodles and vegetables with a little pork, often topped with an egg and a special spicy sauce. They do vegan options if you don’t mind the shared grill and it was super tasty. However it was also super filling. I made the mistake of ordering a litre of Asahi Dry draft beer and had to neck it down like a greedy hobbit (the glass was huge) because you shouldn’t stay too long when there is a queue outside to get in. How full was I? My goodness!

We are doing a lot of travel today. The temporary pause at the hot springs was an eye of the storm moment, but a beautiful one. It was also fab that the temperature in the higher altitudes was a blessing. The Japanese breakfast is stunning. Highlights and lowlights, you choose. Squid with fish roe, a smashed dried mackerel, miso, fish custard, pickled vegetables, melon, coffee…

Checking out from the hotel we ambled into town towards the station, it was not too late in the morning so lots of people about and many tourists leaving and arriving. We narrowly missed the RomanceCar express so caught the standard Hakone train back to Odawara. Arriving into Odawara we needed to get a series of Shinkansen. The ticket office took 20 mins straight to sort 15 seat reservations on three trains. It would have taken us an hour to fight with it. The total time on trains was over 4.5 hours but in a rather cool act of planning our ticket angel orgsnised it so we never had to change train platforms for our journey!

Needless to say I was in bullet train heaven. So many trains and so fast. Here are some of the pictures we took on the way and the end of day 4. We also discovered that apple juice is not always apple juice. Konjac is a jelly based drink. It is quite weird and not refreshing really but it is sort of juicy. However it warns that it is in fact less than 10% juice.

We moved to Hakone today from Tokyo and so it was up sharpish with breakfast in our room. I have discovered the best drink ever, Chinese pear juice, it’s the best! Just so much fragrance and flavour and massively refreshing.

After leaving a spacious 85 mins to get to the station for the inaugural Davies shinkansen trip I managed to blow a significant portion of it going in the wrong entrance on the subway and cancelling all our cards.  The stress was palpable.  We eventually got through to Ueno and made the change to overground trains to Tokyo central station.  However the train was not leaving for 10 mins leaving only 13 mins to navigate to the bullet train. Have you ever seen five stressed jet lagged English folk move like a blur in 38 degree heat?  Now you have.  We boarded the train with minutes to go and got sat down.  It was a class 700 Komada 711 train to Shin-Osaka but we were only going 3 stops 30 mins to Odawara.  Here we got off and bought Hakone Passes to enjoy the highlands activities and sort train fares for the region.  We are now checked in at Hakone and have left our luggage before a steep rail ascent with 3 switchbacks as the height is too much for the train to do in one go.  It reminds us of Ecuador and Peru.

A quick stop for more curry after the cable car overlooking a sulphurous crater half way up the volcano and a craft cider called. Lots of local breweries to try the wares from. Following the cable car as it is called here we went on a cable car as we would call it (here called the rope walk). And immediately after that a cruise. Everything is back to back and is included in the Hakone free pass. Finally a bus back to check in proper and what do you know, we are on TV! They are filming segments about Hakone and they must have thought let’s grab the 5 sweatiest Brits who have just stomped up a Hill in 95% humidity and film them saying “Hakone is number 1!”

This is a super posh hotel and comes with a welcome reception from literally all the staff, drinks, a tour of the rooms and then each has its private hot spring bath overlooking the mountain. THIS is the holiday bit and it is fabulous. Jenni had a snooze and I stayed in the hot spring for as long as I could without passing out. We will be collected for dinner and are wearing traditional dress. This could be fabulous, hilarious or humiliating, maybe all three 🙂

For me quite an inauspicious start as I managed to get dehydrated and then sick in the hours up to the 9am scheduled bike ride. Jenni took over with the 10% contribution I would have made and had to sort the directions, a train journey, topping up contactless travel cards and keep up the spirits of three jet lagged children. I slept.

The bike ride was fab though and while it was in the mid 30s temperature wise, the team put in a sterling effort. Tokyo was made for cyclists. You can cycle on pavements, roads, up one way roads the wrong way etc. Overall people are just more geared up for it. We have seen so few cars. It is like the whole of the city is how London now is with the ULEZ zone.

Below we have the entrance to the Atago shrine, Zojoji temple garden with figurines representing children lost through miscarriage and more recently prayers for healthy children.

This afternoon, we then grabbed a bite at a restaurant where commonly you enter the dish you want on a ticket machine in the lobby and then pay. You hand the ticket to the chef and then they bring it to you when it is ready. We have so many etiquette pieces to learn that sometimes they overlap themselves and you find yourself simultaneously in the way, not doing the right thing, bringing the restaurant to shut down status with 5 people. It is amazing we got any food at all but everyone was trying so hard to help and we were so grateful to finally eat something.

After lunch we went on a cruise up the river. A company that the cycling team spotted on the way back. It was another “guess the script” occasion but we did eventually get on the right boat. The sky tree was a popular photo subject from the river.

The temptation to go back to the hotel was strong with the people who didn’t sleep off their sickness but we managed to cajole everyone into a visit to the sky tree tower. Some waiting and shopping and waiting later we got in the cramped lifts and were treated to a spectacular sunset overlooking Mount Fuji. We were so expecting not to see it at all, so to see it on our first day suggested the holiday has gotten off to a fabulous start. We grabbed some food in the food court on the way out and mulled over the day. Some real tired and sore folk now so a train back to the hotel completed the festivities.

The sunrise on the morning of our flight to the land of the rising sun was spectacular. The advantage of getting up earlier to reduce jet lag resulted in a very prompt departure. We are checked in and having a nibble of breakfast in the lounge. So far so good.

A quick update on some of the things we have coming up on the trip….

Cycle tour of Tokyo – tomorrow morning!
Cooking lesson in Kyoto
Team lab in Tokyo
Spa in Hakone


We will be taking in the Kyoto skyline, visiting the memorial in Hiroshima, seeing the Osaka fireworks festival and getting to almost everywhere by Shinkansen.

It feels like we have less than half the luggage of everyone else here today. I don’t think the lounge was expecting a whole family. The army of single road warriors had an air of disapproval wafting across. No speaking is the norm isn’t it, but is it because that is respectful or because people don’t want to talk to other people before they fly. Maybe it was because it was 07:00.

We were undeterred however and as the crescendo of work life is deadened by elevator Muzak in the lounge and a glass of bubbly is duelling with a handsome breakfast brains appear to be repairing themselves. Children who have hardly said a word are remembering the art of communication and quality time together as a family. We need this!

Next stop Abu Dhabi for a plane changeover.

Jumping onto the local sorng tao buses yesterday we were dropped off at the impressive South Gate to the city wall of Chiang Mai. It was to be the start of a full on tour of the city centre which which had thus far failed to achieve despite staying nearby for over a week.

We approximated the lonely planet walking tour but focused on some key objectives.

1) a shop selling items made by street children to begin our souvenir hunt.
2) lunch at the blue diamond cafe
3) escaping the heat at the air conditioned cultural museum
4) visiting the Wat for monk chatting
5) finishing souvenir buying in the night market

Ihave to sau that given we have a young family, they have really come along during our trip. If we had asked them to walk this much in one day back in June it would have caused a cacophony of wailing before we were even half way round.

Lunch was delightful, I had a handsome tuna and avocado salad washed down with hill tribe coffee.

Walking to the cultural centre we were acutely aware that Chiang Mai is a traveller haven and on those streets the backpackers are in the majority.

Following a top up on the history of Chiang Mai and the Lanna Kingdom we felt that we were going to expire before the day was done

We therefore made a stop at Central Plaza Mall because we all thought the afternoon/evening activities would go more smoothly with a rest and an ice cream.

Chatting to the monks was neat and we spent nearly an hour discussing the teaching of meditation, objectives and moralities.

By the time we got oto the night market we were hungry and my nemesis awaited. There is a food court procedure here that I will never understand the benefit of. You cannot buy food with cash. You have to convert cash to coupons and then spend the coupons. It is utterly pointless in this age and I spent 30 mins dancing between stalls, cashier booths and the separate place to purchase drinks. I will not miss that element of Asia at all.

The night market was fairly predictable so I will close to say we had a full and fulfilling day.

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