Anne, Esther, Audrey and Lee Tuan met again, this time in Japan, along with Esther’s family and friends from Singapore. Lee Tuan met up with Audrey at Kansai airport in Osaka, after flying from Cairns where she visited Julia and Heidi. Audrey arrived from Busan where she visited her former Korean students. Audrey and Lee Tuan had so much to catch up on after two years, and they were soon joined by Esther’s nephew Andrew who flew in from Shanghai. The rest of the group arrived from Singapore and off we went to the awaiting coach, escorted by our guide Beizi.
It was an enjoyable 10 days, catching up with friends and meeting new ones. Service is impeccable in Japan. Impressed with how the rooms were pre-allocated before the guests arrived at the hotel. No delay and no waiting time. The coach rides were filled with entertainment and karaoke on board. Talented and gifted singers from the Ng family shared their love of songs, in Chinese and Japanese, with the group.
Thanks to Kenny and Doris for organising such a wonderful trip. Beizi was helpful and caring, making sure that everything was in order and all needs catered for.
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Japan is a beautiful country with clean environment and refined culture. The infrastructure is advanced with a fast and efficient train system, clean and automated public washroom, and very child friendly. Politeness and Punctuality is the essence of the society. Food is relatively inexpensive and fresh. Delicious Japanese cuisines ranging from Kaiseki (a set of multi-course dishes) to Irori (BBQ served over hot charcoal). Other popular dishes include Shabu shabu, Sashimi, Hidagyu, Unagi, Tempura and Crabs (cooked in 10 different ways). Not to mention sake, wine and Asahi beer of course. A "traditional" Japanese breakfast is served with a piece of Atlantic salmon, miso soup, rice, onsen tamago, nori and Japanese pickles.
Osaka
Strolled along Dojima river and admired the spectacular cherry blossoms (sakura) in full bloom. Cherry blossoms everywhere. It was a beautiful sight in the Sakuranomya Park. Visited the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum. Hakutsuru is one of the oldest sake brewery started in 1743. Evening walk in Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori. Streets lined with hundreds of stalls and shops.
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Kyoto
Bought a 3-day Kanto Pass and took the bullet train to Kyoto. A birds eye view of Kyoto from Kyoto Station. Visited World Cultural Heritage Sites, the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku) and Ginkakuji Temple.
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Leisurely walk in the afternoon in the Gion area. Costumed Geishas were mingling with tourists.
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All dressed up in Japanese attire, Yukata ready for a dip in the hotel onsen, Biwako Grand Hotel. But we had to be in our birthday suits in the water! A delicious set of Japanese meal (Kaiseki) and sake, wine and beer awaiting after the onsen. Good night sleep on tatami mat with mattress and doona.
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Visited Arashiyama bamboo groves with different shades of green from the different bamboos. Lovely sight with sun rays beaming through the bamboo stems. Rode on the Sangano scenic train that wound round the mountain and overlooked the deep river gorge on one side of the train and the white cherry blossoms on the other.
Nagoya
Visited the historic village of Shirakawa-go located in the Shogawa river valley. This region has the heaviest snowfall in winter.
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This region is famous for its Japanese beef called Hidagyu, from black-haired cattle bred in Gifu Prefecture. BBQ Hidagyu for lunch. Japanese beef is sliced very thinly.
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Visited a wasabi farm. Interesting to see how the plants are grown on pebbled bed in sandy drainage soil with cold, crystal clear running water.
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Tokyo
It was a disappointing day at Mt Fuji - cloudy and misty. No sign of Mt Fuji at 4th Station. A hot Japanese BBQ (Irori) in an ancient 140 year building at Yamanachi filled our day. Walked at the foot of the hills and got a glimpse of Mt. Fuji from there.
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Went to the Tsujiki market where the fish mongers were selling fish and other sea products. Shopping at Ginza. Visited Asakusa Temple and strolled along Asakusa Nakamise Shopping Street. View of Imperial Palace from an open space park.
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The conducted tour by Beizi concluded on day 7 and the ‘free and easy’ began for the next 3 days, checking in at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. Anne, Audrey and Lee Tuan visited Shibamata Ancient town whilst Doris took Esther, Nancee, Margaret and Bee Kwan and Zann to the Canal Café with a Sakura setting by the canal.
Nagano
The next day we took a train to Gunma, and stayed at Minakami Hosi Onsen. It’s an ancient ryokan built with 3 different rooms of natural hot spring, one for men, one for ladies and one for mixed. The water temperature and rooms are different from each other. The usage of these rooms is rotated between men and women at different times of the day. One can easily enter the wrong gender’s room by mistake – we did! Confusion arose when the signboards were not changed in time. Guess what happened then…..
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Nozawa
The next day we checked into another Ryokan, Utopia, in Nozawa, a skiing resort. The premises is run by a husband and wife team whose son is a professional snow skier living in Whistler, Canada. How hardworking this couple is, paying the way for their kids living abroad.
Utopia is a highly recommended Ryokan in Nowaza region. The onsens are communal and located all around the area. These are the hottest onsens we’ve ever experienced, so much so that a tap has been connected to cool the water. The Ryokan provides a basket containing a bottle of shampoo for bathing in the onsens out of the building. It seems that Japanese homes in these areas where onsens are available do not have a bathroom. This would save on the electricity and water bills, and is therapeutic at the same time.
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And then it was time to say Sayonara! Audrey and Lee Tuan set off for the airport hotel for an overnight stay before flying out. Anne stayed back for one more night at the Utopia Ryokan. She had a good time playing with the snow monkeys and having her last soothing onsen soak. Doris, Esther, Bee Kwan, Nancee, Margaret, Zann, Kenny and Fefe headed off to Tokyo for another shopping spree.
