The wonders of the wheel

Since my parents have arrived we have been living a very different life in Japan.  Cars, Ryokan, unlimited amounts of snacks, fancy dinners and Onsen towns.  We have seen parts of Japan I think I would never have seen.

We began our journey in Osaka and thanks to my new Japanese NABI (GPS) girlfriend I easily navigated the streets of Osaka and out on our way to Amanohashidate.  We ventured up through the mountains, stopping along our way for Udon and for photo stops.

Amanohashidate is a beautiful place, one of the three most scenic spots in Japan, but we saw a different side of it as it was quite foggy.  In general, it is a small bay where local conditions created a long, thin sand spit that was colonized by pines.  The name roughly translates as `Bridge to Heaven`, which having now been there i completely understand.

From Amanohashidate we ventured along the Sea of Japan coast in Fukui-ken to a small town near Obama called Abo.  We stayed in possibly one of the most beautiful Ryokan I can ever stayed in, ate the most delicious dinner in an amazingly friendly local restaurant, and I slept like a babe after enjoying a beautiful Onsen on their rooftop bathroom.

From there we travelled through Fukui and Awara-onsen on to Kanazawa.

Kanazawa has been another one of my favorite cities! This old Samurai town I fear is often forgotten, but it boasts all the wonders of Kyoto with a much quainter feel and much friendlier people.  We stayed in Guesthouse Pongyi with the WONDERFUL Musaki, who welcomed us into his beautiful home (which is an old Kimono shop from the Meiji (circa 1800)).  We played wonderful Japanese games, slept soundly nested over the Kanazawa canals, then ventured around this beautiful cities old streets before heading onward still to Takayama.

We arrived in Takayama just in time for its most famed event - Haru Matsuri or Spring Festival.  Being nestled in a quite open valley amongst snowy peaks and craggy edifices this town must have been a bastion of spring celebrations as its first blossoms appeared and last snow banks melted.  The long and cold winer this year in Japan meant there were not so many blossoms this year, but the festival was still a magical event.  When describing it to my mum she commented, `So its just like the David Jones pageant in Adelaide` and surprised by the superficial similarities I said yes (if you arn`t from Adelaide you may not understand this reference).  The festival has numerous components, but the most famous is a procession of floats (or Yatai) around the old district of the town.  Each float is individually decorated, and date from the 1600-1880s.  They were each commissioned by local business people and artists to show off the goods of Takayama.

Other components include a puppet show with incredibly old marionettes that sit atop three of the Yatai.  And a town procession where lion-dancers and flutes ring in a new to ensure a successful business year.  I will never forget awaking from our temple lodging to the sound of Japanese flutes and drums rolling past our street as the procession rolls through town.

We have now disposed of our car and are hoofing it about Kyoto for a few days before mum heads home and Alex, dad and myself hit the old mossy trail up in the mountains.

An unexpected surprise

On our way back to Osaka to meet up with my parents we decided to spend one night in the mountains of Hiroshima/Okayama-ken with Emiko, a friend we made on couch-surfer.

After some public transport troubles we arrived in Tojo, where Emiko`s smiling face awaited us.  We stayed with her and her family in a small mountain town surrounded my rice paddies and forested slopes.  Emikos mother joked when we commented that we wanted to walk around the town and see the sights, that the only sites were the train station and the old shrine.  And perhaps, we would become the sight as noone ever came to their town from outside.  However, our single night with Emiko and her family is one of my fondest memories.  A delicious family dinner, then stroll across the road to Emikos Oba-chans (grandmothers) karaoke bar.  Plied on homemade Ume-shu and beer we attempted to learn some Enkai (Japanese `old-time classics`) and enjoyed some K-pop (Emiko I still have that song stuck in my head, and think about you every time I hear it!)

The next day Tojo was celebrating Hina-matsuri (or the Doll Festival/Girls Day) so Emiko took us in to town and we braved the rain to visit some of the local homes and stores to see their displays.  I learnt so much in this visit about Japanese customs, local houses and culture, and about town-life.  Every member of Tojo welcomed us in like friends and shared so many interesting facts about their homes, their jobs, their dolls and their lives.  Tojo is an amazing old castle town that I fear few visit, but rivals more famous towns like Takayama (see later posts).

We were so sad to leave Tojo! We had such a wonderful time.  Sweet breads and Takoyaki filled our stomachs on the long train back whilst we reminisced about all the sweet memories we have from this place.