Chasing Cherry Blossoms Mar/Apr 2023

[rbjhan]

For the view?

How many times do they change the water?

A lot of ryokans will switch the male/female bath so guests can try everything.

No idea about changing water.

 

[drron]

We really liked Lake Biwa. Even the Marriott had baths in their rooms and also great views of the lake.

 

[rbjhan]

We really liked Lake Biwa. Even the Marriott had baths in their rooms and also great views of the lake.

Stayed in Biwako Hotel before, was nice.

 

[goldenhorn]

Kiosk and bag drop for J, the horror
View attachment 323183

Lounge was okay I guess?
View attachment 323184

And breakfast hard to fxx_ up...
View attachment 323185

Boarding time finally
View attachment 323186

I ordered the Japanese meal, brave or foolish?
View attachment 323187

Was not bad, actually.
View attachment 323188

Not a fan of the sandwich though...
View attachment 323189

Overall, uneventful flight which is a great thing!

Ha! I was in the exact same seat and flight on March 13. Snap!

 

[rbjhan]

Ha! I was in the exact same seat and flight on March 13. Snap!

That would have been a bit early for sakura? Did you see any?

 

[goldenhorn]

That would have been a bit early for sakura? Did you see any?

Yes. There were some but most where about to burst on our arrival and when we got back to Tokyo on our last day (23 March) they were in full bloom. So amazing in the major gardens. I totally get what all the fuss is about now.

 

[rbjhan]

Yes. There were some but most where about to burst on our arrival and when we got back to Tokyo on our last day (23 March) they were in full bloom. So amazing in the major gardens. I totally get what all the fuss is about now.

Ah yes I was too late for Tokyo.
Did go to Naka Meguro in early April, but nothing left...

 

[RooFlyer]

Slippers are a problem as the Japanese have much smaller feet than me. There are always none in my size

Like the cardigans on JAL

_____________

Are the onsen, like the ones in post #55, chlorinated? Or maybe ozone, which wouldn't small as much? If no sanitiser, do they have 'health' issues?

 

[rbjhan]

Like the cardigans on JAL

_____________

Are the onsen, like the ones in post #55, chlorinated? Or maybe ozone, which wouldn't small as much? If no sanitiser, do they have 'health' issues?

Ha ha ha, although the temperature generally is set quite high I never feel like needing it...

 

[rbjhan]

Again, Kissho's shuttle bus going back to Kaga Onsen Station is not matching the JR Thunderbird to Kyoto/Osaka...But I got lucky! Bus left at 9:55, we pulled into the station at around 10:15.
I was first off the bus, made a mad dash to the ticket machine then ran all the way to platform, just made the 10:19 Thunderbird! Not a single minute to spare

I wasn't going straight to Kyoto though.
That morning's plan was to see some more cherry blossoms in Fukui 福井.

Fukui is probably the least popular prefecture out of the 3 in Hokuriku region. And the capital city (also named Fukui) doesn't really have any major tourist attractions.
But during one of my planning sessions I discovered there's a famous Sakura spot not far from city centre. So I put my bag into a locker, grab a map from the tourism info office and went.

It's about 10 mins walk from JR Fukui Station.


Close up shot


Sakura tunnel!


Imagine all these lanterns lit up at night...




Lots of food trucks.

 

[Quickstatus]

Like the cardigans on JAL

Like the QF JimJams

L/XL is one size fits most except me

 

[rbjhan]

Like the QF JimJams

L/XL is one size fits most except me

You can always try the day time flight with no PJs

 

[rbjhan]

Back to city centre for lunch.
Nodoguro again


The restaurant was quite empty! Such a contrast to Kanazawa and Kyoto later on...

 

[rbjhan]

Back at the tourist info office they highly recommended Fukui Castle Ruins, since I had some time, decided to give it a go.

Cherry trees were planted all over.




Not much left of the castle though... there's an ugly concrete building now, the local government office


So, it used to be like this:


Only the moat, some stone foundations left now...


I hope they can rebuild it some day.

 

[craven morehead]

The rain was quite heavy so I didn't want to leave the station building for dinner.
Picked a gyutan restaurant in the shopping mall below my hotel.
Did I say I love gyutan?
View attachment 323389

Rice porridge.
View attachment 323390

Salad
View attachment 323391

The food looks devine

 

[craven morehead]

Getting off Hanayome Noren at Wakura onsen station. After the exit I immediately saw the shuttle bus from my ryokan, Kagaya.
Well I actually booked Kagaya Bettei Matsu no Midori, but they share the shuttle bus
The driver explained that the bus would make 4 stops, Matsu no Midori was the 2nd one - holy cough I understood all of it, glad all my work is paying off

*Kagaya is very famous in Japan. Later in Kanazawa I mentioned to some people that I went to Wakura onsen and their first reaction was, did you stay in Kagaya?

The day before when I phoned them to book the shuttle bus, within one minute they figured out who I was - quite surprising since I just mentioned I had a reservation for that day and wanted to booked the shuttle.
As soon as I walked in the reason became clear: I was the only foreigner that day They even dug out some flag for me!
View attachment 323691

Check-in was done in the lobby
View attachment 323692

Obviously they used Wajima nuri lacquerware!
Matcha was not served here because there would be a tea ceremony later on.
View attachment 323693

My room was the entry level 12 tatami Japanese room.
View attachment 323694

With beds and ocean view!
View attachment 323695

Minibar was free.
View attachment 323696

2 very fine beers in that mini-bar

 

[rbjhan]

Arrived at Kyoto Station, holy sxx_ there were sooooo many people.
I went to the tourist info office and immediately saw this!


Yep, that's how bad things were. And just in case anyone asks how to wing it in Japan, don't do it. Not during peak season anyways.

My hotel was booked in October last year. So I got a relatively good price. 54K Yen for 4 nights, twin room, 7 mins walk from Kyoto Station.
Onyado Nono Kyoto, yes that's the same brand as the one in Kanazawa. You can clearly see from the decor here.


View was not bad!


This is actually quite a large hotel, but designed well and I didn't feel it.


Bought a matcha jelly set from Nakamura Tokichi.


The public bath here is excellent, certainly the best I've seen in a business hotel.
Highly recommend.

 

[rbjhan]

I was tired, so decided to go to the Gyukatsu place nearby. Damn that was a big mistake! Even though the queue was not long, it moved very slowly....ended up waited for about 1 hour

Matcha beer, why did I order this?!



Gyukatsu, not bad but certainly did not warrant an one-hour wait!


Free ramen again

 

[RooFlyer]

View was not bad!

But not much of a car-park though.

 

[rbjhan]

But not much of a car-park though.

You want carpark I heard?
Edit: That yellow brown building was Onyado Nono Kyoto.