AngieP
Intern
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2007
- Posts
- 79
Just back from beautiful Japan and wanted to share a few experiences with you all! Flew Melb-OOL-Narita with Jetstar - apart from the surly check in staffer at 5am it was pretty good. Had to be a bit assertive at OOL checkin to get the 44A&B seats I had preselected and paid the additional $$ for to get the leg room but it ended up ok thanks to a bit of shuffling on the computer. Off to Narita - 9 hours later arrived to warm weather and limo bus into Tokyo. Stayed at the Shiba Park which is a bit of an Aussie hang but hey its in a good location near Hamamsutcho station on the JR green line and has some good cheap places to eat nearby. Very quiet street and virtually no traffic noise during the night. Spent the next few days seeing the usual sights - Ginza, Tokyo Tower, Meiji Shrine, Harajuku - fun! Tokyu Dept Store 'Food Show' at Shibuya was fabulous - spent nearly two hours there checking out the food, tasting a few things, watching the demostrations etc - great fun. Monday rolled around and off we went to Kusatsu 2.5 hrs away on the Limited Express train - first day of our JR Rail Pass. Kusatsu was terrific - we were virtually the only westerners in this very Japanese onsen resort town. Beautiful surroundings and lovely hot spring baths. Stayed at traditional inn Naraya which is highly recommended - expensive but oh so worth it! Kaiseki meals in our own private dining room wearing traditional clothes - heaven. Good futons and lovely tatami rooms. Visited Mt Shirane and did a bit of a hike through the alpine trails - leaves starting to turn for the autumn weather which was cool at 6,000 ft! Then it was off to the Kiso Valley to the old town Magome on the Edo trail - the typhoon hit us here so no hike to Tsumago as envisaged - just a little trot up the track until it was too wet to continue. Another night in a traditional tatami room with a great onsen dip before dinner! You do sleep well when you've been sight seeing then onsen then dinner! Next day headed to Nagano for a brief visit to Zensoji Temple - beautiful before heading to Osaka and Mt Koya for our buddhist temple stay at Rengejoin. What a hightlight! Temple lodgings are a great way to experience the buddhist side of Japan - I recommend two nights at Mt Koya but take only a back pack and leave your big luggage at ShinOsaka station where there are 3 day lockers at 600 yen per day. The cemetery is an amazing place - the trail through it is 2km long! The cemetery at night with the lamps light is an amazing sight. Headed off next day to Miagjima Island Hiroshima and the A Bomb Dome museum - well worth the visit - Hirsoshima reminded me of Melbourne - trams, nice parks, good food! Then back to Kyoto for three nights and days of beautiful temples, Nijo Castle, a Mailko (apprentice geisha) experience which was wonderful and lots of last minute shopping - all hail the wonderful dept stores and also the little shops as well. Last day spent at Kansai airport surrounds - did the Rinko Premium Outlets for a couple of hours which filled in a bit of time whilst waiting for the 9pm Jetstar home. All up Japan is a wonderful place to visit - being a bit travel savy makes it more enjoyable - you need to do your research so you have a pretty good idea of where you are going and what you want to do. Our 7 day JR pass worked well and we always got a seat on the train - even Shinkansen (bullet trains). Am already thinking about next time! So if two middle aged ladies from country Victoria can find their way around without getting lost then you can too! Several times we were thanked by people for visiting Japan! Great customer service, food, gardens, travel - fun!
