Japan - Day 5 - Tokyo

Japan - Day 5

Today is Sports Day - Sumo and Baseball.  But first we visited the Imperial Place near downtown Tokyo. The palace grounds are right in the middle of the city where the business district is. The main buildings are not accessible and surrounded by moats.  We took a quick picture, then skedaddled.

Our next destination was the Tokyo Conrad Hotel.  Bix wanted to visit it based on the reference in an A Tribe Called Quest song. We had a very pricey lunch and a couple of drinks at this five-star hotel with views of the bay.   

Terunofuji is introduced

From there we decided to head to the opening day of the Sumo tournament. I couldn't get tickets myself directly from the Sumo site, but I got a guided tour through Klook with seats for the afternoon - which are when the best matches are for the day.  Plus our tour guide explained what was going on and how the scoreboard worked, so it worked out for the best.  It was really great to experience the matches live and we could see well even though our seats were in the second to last row in the stadium. Bix was 8 for 9 in picking the winners of the elite matches.

We left just before the final matches which, unfortunately, were with the top-ranked Sumos, including Terunofuju, the only Yokozuna (top) level wrestler, but we had to get to the baseball stadium by 6pm.

The baseball stadium for the Yakult Swallows was not far from Shinjuku, in the Meiji Jingu stadium. We had seats along the first base line which we got in advance through Japanball.com who made the process of buying and receiving the tickets incredibly easy. Bix ate hot dogs and we had a lot of Asahi Super Dry throughout the game. Asian baseball games always seem to be more fun than the games in America. The fans and opposing fans sing songs and cheer throughout the game. 

During the 7th inning stretch, the Swallows fans hoisted small umbrellas. I got some beer-courage to speak Japanese to the young man sitting next to me who was very kind. We talked over the last couple innings and the Swallows won a tight game 3-1 by scoring runs in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings!

Umbrella Party

After baseball, Bix and I met up with his friend from UT who was traveling with a tour group of guys from England, South Africa, and Australia. We hit up Golden Gai one more time, ending up at a tiny bar called RED. where we took up the whole top floor - all 100 square feet of it.  We got home pretty late, but were good to go for our travels the following day.

GO TO JAPAN DAY 6

Japan Day 6 - Nara

 Japan Day 6 - Nara

The four of us packed on an early commuter train

Today we got our JR Passes to start using them on the bullet trains to travel to the cities south of Tokyo. There are several types of bullet trains and our pass doesn't cover the Nozomi (highest class) so we took the Sakura which was second best, with minimal stops. We got reservations since I was already at the JR desk getting the passes, but after that trip, we just used the non-reserved cars, which always worked out fine. 

Watch Out - Deer!

Our first destination was Kyoto and the small town of Nara 30 miles to the southeast.  Nara is famous for its "bowing deer." The deer are trained to bow in exchange for treats. Unfortunately there were no treats (crackers) for us to buy, but the deer were eating grass and leaves so we fed them more grass and leaves.  It seemed like we were the only ones feeding the deer and getting bows, so maybe we shouldn't have done it, but it seemed like they liked leaf and grass treats. We got a lot of videos. There are some temples/buildings/museums to visit in Nara, but we just did deer and left.

Baby

I was really tired and we wanted to make sure our luggage really arrived at the new hotel.  The trackers we put in (Apple air tags) require Bluetooth Apple networks to work and didn't seem to be working well. We traveled from Kyoto station to Otsu which is on the banks of the largest lake in Japan - Lake Biwa. Luckily the Takkyubin service was flawless and our bags were there waiting for us.

The hotel is beautiful and has several restaurants. We were surprised to not see many Westerners there (one?) - the location is great - only three stops on the train from Kyoto to ZeZe station.  And the view from the 38-floor restaurants and even our 19th floor room was amazing. It was a four-bed room and we had free breakfast (well, paid in advance) each morning - both Japanese and Western options. 

Japan Day 7 - Kyoto

Day 7 - Kyoto

Today we wanted to hit the most iconic sights in Kyoto - maybe not all of them, but a couple that held our interest.

First, we went to the Fushimi Inari site. We were going to do it the previous day after Nara as it is conveniently located on the Nara line, but we were too tired. Getting there was very easy - just three stops to Kyoto and a couple to the Inari station.  

Coming off the train there was a large Torii gate and beyond, the grounds. This place is known for having nearly 10,000 torii gates as you walk up a mountainside. 800 of them format a tunnel near the beginning. We made it through the tunnel - about a quarter of the way - before turning back. Getting to the top would be no joke. There were some photo ops along the way and beside the gates there were other statues and buildings in the park.

From the Inari mountain, it is a short walk to the Geisha district to see the traditionally dressed Geisha living and performing the in area.  We decided to skip that area, though maybe on another trip it would be interesting to see them.

Instead, we made our way to Arashiyama in northwestern Kyoto. It's about a 30-minute train ride from Kyoto station.  Once there, we walked toward the famous bamboo forest. We stopped for lunch at Kichi Kyoto, close to the forest, and then ventured in among the tall bamboo area which was a couple block loop.

Kimono Forest

After making our way back out onto the main road, where they were selling ice cream, sake, and other knickknacks, we made a brief stop at the Kimono forest which is a bunch of poles with kimono fabric wrapped around them.   

Continuing across the Togetsukyo bridge, we saw people rowing boats on the wide river right before it cascaded down a series of rocks - very picturesque.

We arrived at our final destination - the Arashiyama Snow Monkey Park. During the winter, the snow monkeys hang out here and the hot baths, but now they were still there - getting treats from the tourists.  BUT... to get there you have to climb a really long hill to the top of the mountain.  It is an arduous walk - Shellie decided to hang back.  It took a good 20 minutes to get up there and we had to rest a couple times. 

There were tons of monkeys at the top and the kids were able to feed a baby monkey.  We took lots of pictures and videos with the monkeys and the great view of Kyoto from so high up.

We went back to the hotel and were rewarded with a firework show off the lake during dinner - we were actually higher up than many of the fireworks.  

What the bird doin'?

Japan - Day 8 - Hiroshima & Fukuyama

Japan Day 8 - Hiroshima

We took the train from Otsu to Osaka (which is only 30 miles from Kyoto) and then boarded a bullet train to Hiroshima the site of the first atomic bomb detonation in WWII. We visited the Peace Memorial and Museum with about 10,000 school kids from Japan. 

The museum was very crowded, but the exhibits were well done and the overall story was heartbreaking. There was a lot of memorabilia from Hiroshima at the time of and after the bombing and we learned the stories of a lot of victims and survivors. 

The message was to learn from and not repeat history.

Hiroshima is a pretty town near the ocean and with mountains surrounding it. There are canals and modern buildings. There's a central shopping street which we drove by. I could see spending more time there - while still a good-sized city it has a smaller city feel.

 We took another Shinkansen (bullet train) just one stop north to Fukuyama where we spent the night at the Daiwa Roynet. Our four-bed suite looked out over the train station to the Fukuyama Castle on the other side. 

View of the Fukuyama Castle from our Hotel Room

Castle at Night

Sunset, just south of the castle

We ate authentic USA burgers and Zima at Boogie Buns, which was a welcome relief from a week of mostly Asian food.

They still have Zima in Japan!

Japan Day 9 - Busted Plans and Osaka

Japan - Day 9 

Our plan for Day 9 was to visit Manabe Island - in the gulf south of Osaka, near Kasaoka. We were going there because of the large population of cats, outnumbering people on the island.  However, when we got to the Kasaoka port, we were disappointed to find out that ferry service to the islands was suspended for high winds. As a cat lover, this was going to be Brooke's special day, so we agreed to try again two days later.

So we pivoted, taking a train back to Fukuyama and the bullet train to Osaka. We decided to do day 11's stuff today. 

Just a quick note about two confusing train stations - Shin-Osaka is where the Shinkansen bullet trains go through.  Osaka station - one stop away - is the hub for all the local trains.  We came into Shin-Osaka and then traveled to Osaka Station.

Our first destination was the Umeda Sky Building - a skyscraper walking distance from Osaka Station. 

One of the key features besides the observation deck is an elevator that connects the two towers in mid-air 40 floors up. We could see all of Osaka from the top floor. It was too windy to go to the outside deck so we just ate ice cream and drank sake from the inside deck and took in the view.

  

  

We decided to skip Osaka Castle due to time constraints, instead deciding to visit the Round1 Stadium in Sennichimae. This is an 11-story multiplex with floors for everything from batting cages to volleyball, tennis, roller skating, mechanical bull riding, and arcade games.  We paid a 90-minute fee for unlimited access and explored all the above (except the bull). 

View from Art Hotel Osaka Bay Tower

We wanted to go to Dontonbori Street - the most famous in Osaka, but decided to do it after dark to see all the lit-up signs.  Unknown to us, it was only a couple of streets away from Round1. So, we took the train to our hotel - the Art Hotel in Osaka Bay Tower. After a short rest, we headed back to Dontonbori for souvenir shopping.

The Dontonbori area is several blocks surrounding a canal packed with souvenir shops and restaurants (and people). We walked around the whole area and bought some souvenirs. We saw the famous Glico runner sign and even ended up walking by Round1. 

Famous Glico Runner Sign

Asahi Super Dry - my favorite
beer in the whole world

The Dontonbori Canal

The Don Quijote Dept Store

On our way to Round1 earlier, Bix spotted a pirate sign for a bar called BeeRush. Shellie relented, knowing we needed to eat, so we went to BeeRush. Bix got shut out of the elevator, so took the glass one next to us. We saw him pass us and then get out on the 12th floor, and then he jumped back in!

When we got out of the elevator into a dark hall the chandelier flickered and there was thunder. We found an unmarked door and went indie to a small waiting room and a guy jumped out of the curtains and scared us. He sid he'd be right back and then another lady jumped out of the curtains and scared us again and took us into the restaurant/bar.  There were video games and fancy drinks and Italian food - pizza/pasta. It was a bizarre mix, but we had a great time. We got to our hotel late, needing to get up early for Universal Studios the next day.

It's BEE - RUSH!

Japan 10 - Universal Studios Japan

 Japan - Day 10

Today we got up early and after breakfast we headed to USJ Universal Studios Japan. We thought we were getting there an hour early, at 8am, but people were already in long lines going through the gate and some people were riding the rides. 

I had pre-bought tickets (very affordable) and the exorbitantly expensive four-ride Express Pass which got us access to Mario Land, which you can only access with an Express Pass or getting there first thing before the timed entry starts.

Unfortunately, a couple of key rides (Flying Dinosaur, Space Fantasy, and Sinbad) were closed. We did a 4D Concert featuring My Hero Academia because there was no wait, then headed to the back of the park to do the Minion ride before the lines got long.

We waited another 50 minutes to do Jaws, which Bix had fond memories of as a child, and then headed to Harry Potter World. We ate a quick but good lunch of Fish and Chips before our timed Express entry to the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. This turned out ot be one of our favorite rides of the whole trip. We skipped the Flight of the Hippogriff coaster due to the long wait time and headed to Mario Land.

 

The "Pipe" entrance to Mario World

Mario World is really cool looking on the inside - like you're in the game.  We were able to get on our ride earlier than our Express pass time. It's an augmented reality ride where you shoot Mario enemies by looking at them and pushing a button on your steering wheel. You get a score at the end. I did horribly because I shot the friendly creatures too much. 

The Hollywood dream coaster was shut down unexpectedly so we wandered around a bit until it was back up and used a fast pass for that one. It was a fun ride. We went forward, but based on your position in line you may end up riding it backward. 

Get Dizzy in this Video

We had to kill a lot of time before our last express entry so we went to a pub featuring free refill drinks from 3-5. We killed a few beers there and still weren't at time, so we wandered around a bit until we could go on the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba XR Ride. 

This was a combo roller coaster and VR ride where you rode on a "train" where anime heroes battled in front of you and top of the train. We all thought it was worth the wait and one of the best rides of the day.

Photobombed
Hello Kitty

We went home and Brooke and Shellie went to bed and Bix and I found a single hotel bar/restaurant open past 8pm and ate there.

Japan - Day 11 - Manabeshima

 Japan - Day 11 - Manabeshima

Today was the makeup day for Brooke's Cat Island visit. If you saw on Day 9 the ferry to the Kasaoka islands was shut down due to high winds - we were there and I can tell you it was very windy!  I had originally planned to visit Aoshima which is across the bay from Hiroshima, but it would have been an all-day trip to try to get there and to the next city.  Turns out even this closer location was.

We took our time checking out of our Osaka hotel instead of leaving the hotel at 6:30am and trying to take the 9:10am express ferry. By the time we got on the bullet train down to Fukuyama and up to Kasaoka, it was time for the 11:20 ferry which was more of a commuter option, landing us on Manabeshima at 12:30.

The other downside to taking the later ferry is that we had to wait until 3:30pm to return and there's pretty much nothing to do for three hours.

Upon landing, we found three cats on the street right away. They were pretty rough and scraggly, but people had been feeding them. We spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out how we would get back - the ticket was one-way and there was no ticket office on the Manabeshima side. I used my "Caveman Japanese" to talk to some other travelers to learn that you pay on the boat coming back.

We decided to kill some time with lunch and found a great place Moto Cafe only a block away from the "port." I thought the curry rice was delicious and the proprietor was delightful and very kind. She confirmed that we pay on the boat to return.  

We spent the next couple of hours wandering the main road up to a park. We saw a total of six people who lived on the island - two at the cafe, one lady tending a garden, a guy fixing boats, a police officer (cush job - there can't be anything going on there), and two guys that were burning some type of vegetation at the park - seaweed(?), and a crazy delivery driver in a very tiny car.

On the way to the park we played with three more cats and then saw one reclusive one at the park.  Seven total.  So eight people, seven cats. So the cats may outnumber the people, but neither appears to be very high. In fairness, we only saw a small part of the small island, so there could have been many more cats hanging out at the other port or on the opposite side.  

It's a very peaceful but somewhat boring island - you can stay here - there are a couple of places, but expect a very simple vacation.

We left at 3:30pm - bought tickets aboard, and then eventually made our way to Tokyo and the Disney Hotel Tokyo Bay Maihama. (By the way, there are two of them next to each other and we were NOT at the one called Tokyo Bay Maihama First Resort).

Coming all the way from Kasaoka, it was after 10pm by the time we got to the Tokyo Bay hotel and we went to sleep right away.  Disney Sea was the next day.