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Sayonara Japan and South Korea

4/14/2018

By the time you read this, we'll home. Well, almost... Stan, Shirley, Randall and I returned to Tokyo for a few more days. It's been an amazing trip. It was called: SOUTH KOREA & JAPAN: TEMPLES, SHRINES & TREASURES and it lived up to its title. We've visited countless temples and shrines, even stayed overnight in a Buddhist monastery. We stayed at the shore enjoying the traditional hot baths overlooking the bay and observed the Ama pearl divers. Our group of travelers walked dozens of miles, ate innumerable bowls of rice and persevered to travel another day.

The second day of our post-trip we toured some of the islands on the Inland Sea. The islands are cherished by the Japanese because of their beauty and the traditions they have maintained. This beautiful area is fairly remote and has a mild climate, making it perfect for citrus.

We were dazzling by the architecture of the Kosanji Temple, which was built by a steel magnate Kozo Kosanji (1891-1970) to honor his mother, and took more than 30 years to build.

Entering Kosanji temple

Roof detail at Kosanji Temple

One of the highlights of the day was lunch. It was delicious, but the setting, a young couple's home, was the main event! This couple and their children endured the 2011 Tokyo earthquake then moved to Ikuchijima Island where they opened a bike shop and restaurant in their home. They are enjoying an alternative lifestyle far from the madding crowd.

Our host and hostess in front of their home/bike shop/restaurant. In addition to being a wonderful cook, she is a professional jazz singer and her husband a bike mechanic and string musician.

Our hostess in front of her wedding kimono.

On our last day we took a ferry to Miyajima, an island that was once worshiped for its spirituality. Here Mount Misen—climbs to more than 1,700 feet and overlooks the beautiful Seto Inland Sea. We viewed the grandeur of the Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, which was founded in AD 593 and is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is considered one of the finest examples in Japan of the unique Shinden architecture. The famed gate to the shrine, the torii, rises from the seawater, its vermillion-colored pillars extending more than 40 feet above the seabed.

The famous "floating" torii gate

Sake barrels often line temple entrances. Sake manufacturers donate them. It secures blessings. It's good advertising too!

500 small Buddha statues line the path up the hill at the temple. Many wear tiny knitted caps.

Randy strikes the temple gong

We enjoyed one more wonderful final dinner with friends. We said a sad goodbye and made plans for a post-trip party and future travels together.

Another spectacular dinner - this time with cooked fish - yeah!

Terri is presented with a fan as a "thank you" from OAT.

Pat and Judy selecting from a vending machine - one of my favorite memories of Japan. They are everywhere dispensing inexpensive hot and cold drinks.

Sayonara for now.

The blogs will return with our next trip - TREASURES OF ITALY in September.

Hiroshima

4/9/2018

This Genbaku Dome has been left standing as a reminder of the devistation of the Atomic bomb damage.

Hiroshima is a modern city on Japan’s Honshu Island. It was largely destroyed by an atomic bomb during World War II. Today, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park commemorates the 1945 event. In the park are the ruins of Genbaku Dome, one of the few buildings that was left standing near ground zero.

This is a sobering site and an excellent reminder of the horrors of war. We spent about an hour going through the museum and another hour visiting with Mr. Lee a survivor.

The bomb dropped at 8:14 AM, August 6, 1945.

We saw many photos and objects from the devastation. This tricycle seemed "to say it all".

Mr. Lee was badly burned by the blast on his way to work. He's much younger than his 90 years and kept us spellbound with his story.

As a Korean immigrant, Mr. Lee was given a Japanese name he was required to use in his younger years.

Sharon and Mikey waving goodbye to us in Kyoto. We were sad they weren't joining us on our post trip.

Another sumptuous meal. This time it was kushiage, deep fried skewered meet and other delicacies. Delicious. We were ready for cooked fish!

Our itineary - last stop, Hiroshima, in the south west part of Japan.

Kyoto

4/9/2018

For centuries, Kyoto was revered as the capital of Japan, and although Tokyo is the country’s modern capital, Kyoto is still a center of art and culture. The city was untouched during World War II and boasts a historically preserved landscape of lantern-lined streets, traditional wooden teahouses, and typical Japanese designs.

Our first stop was Fushimi-inari, one of the most popular shrines in Japan. Located at the base of Mount Inari, this eighth-century structure is composed of five Shinto shrines that were built to honor Inari, the god of rice. It's a photographers dream with a magnificent tunnel of an estimated 10,000 red torii gates, which line a 2.5-mile route up to the mountain.

The beautiful red torii wind their way up the mountain

Front entrance

We walked through the tunnel of torii

Our second stop of the morning was the sprawling Nijo Castle Complex. The grounds, in the city center span nearly 70 acres and are home to multiple palaces, gardens, and water features. Among the most storied of its properties is Ninomaru Palace, which boasts “nightingale floors,” wooden floorboards designed to chirp a birdlike noise if intruders entered.

Front entrance - no photos allowed inside the castle

Cherry blossoms are nearly gone, but the photo vignettes are still here.

Another beautiful garden - note the rain clouds.

The double blossom cherry trees are still in bloom

The day was not over. Our last adventure of the day was a stroll through Gion, the Geisha area, to our Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant.

Geisha are highly skilled entertainers who appear at high-end dinners, private parties and special events to add a special touch to the proceedings. They are NOT prostitutes, despite various silly rumors and portrayals in certain books and movies. Rather, they are ladies who have trained for years in the traditional Japanese arts to become the perfect entertainers.

Kyoto is the heart of Japan’s geisha world. In Kyoto, however here, fully-fledged geisha are properly called geiko (pronounced “gay-ko”). Young ladies, usually between the ages of 15 and 20, train for five years to become a geiko. During this period, they are known as maiko (pronounced “my-ko”). Knowledgeable insiders estimate that there are about 100 geiko and 100 maiko in Kyoto. Other cities, like Tokyo, have some version of geisha, but they don’t usually undergo the strict training that defines Kyoto’s maiko and geiko.

Charming doorways lead to secret places

Mikey and Sharon will be leaving for home tomorrow. The rest of us continue on for 3 days in Hiroshima and the Inland Sea area.

Correction: Yesterday I reported there are 70 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto. There are 17, not 70. 17 and 70 sound very much alike with a Japanese accent, so I misunderstood our guide's explanation.

Toba to Kyoto

4/8/2018

The sun came out and the view from our hotel was spectacular at sunrise.

Yesterday was a travel day from Toba to Kyoto, Japan. We sadly said goodbye to our beautiful hotel and view.

We stopped on the way in Nara to visit the Todaiji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple includes a 52 foot high bronze Buddha. Construction started in 728 and the statue was completed in 751. The statue was created with 8 castings and weighs about 500 tons. It is housed in the world's largest wooden building.

Todaiji Temple

The 52-foot Buddha at Todaiji temple

During dinner we enjoyed a traditional maiko (geisha in training) dance demonstration.

A lovely bento box dinner.

Dinner with a maiko - charming

Kyoto is home to over 70 UNESCO World Heritage sights. We won't seem them all, but did enjoy a great day of sightseeing in the Arashiyama district, an area in Western Kyoto famous for its scenic beauty and historic artifacts. Our discoveries today included Tenryuji Temple, an important Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple that dates back to 1339, the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, OkochiSanso—a five-acre mountain villa previously owned by a famous Japanese actor, and Kinkakuji Temple, also known as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion.

Kinkakuji Temple, also known as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion

No matter where we looked the views were spectacular.

Modeling my uchikake

Kyoto is a traditional city, many people wear the traditional dress. I had my hopes set on finding a uchikake, traditional wedding kimono, to display on my dining room wall. Our guide Helen told me about a shop where I might find one. She was right - they had several. Kathy, Pat and I picked our favorite. We found it surprisingly affordable. Expect to see it hanging on the wall next time you come to our house.

Meanwhile, our friends on the 3/27 departure date learned to wrap bottles and books using colorful square cloth. The instructions below create a carrier for two wine bottles, no clinking.

3/27 departure group learning traditional Japanese fabric wrapping

Instructions for wrapping two wine bottles. The knot at the top is a simple square knot.

Pearls

4/6/2018

Our group at the Toba Grand Hotel in our yakutas.

After breakfast, we head to Mikimoto Pearl Island, the birthplace of pearl farming. The pearls here are collected by ama, “sea women,” who free dive without a breathing apparatus. Though most famous for pearl-gathering, ama also dive for octopus, lobster, sea urchins, and other marine delicacies along the coast. Museums on the island represented how the pearls are cultivated and the story of Mikimoto, who invented the process.

Ama demonstrating pearl diving

Judy poses under one of the last cherry trees still in bloom

Next, we headed to a nearby island where we meet with the local ama for a discussion about their profession and lifestyle. We joined them for lunch in their simple warming shack and we get to taste the seafood the divers caught.

Ama preparing our lunch

Seafood grilled for lunch

Later in the afternoon we stopped to visit a family of women farming pearls where we had hands-on experience harvesting pearls. The process starts with baby oysters that are raised in cages lowered into the sea. When they are about three years old, a round shell nucleus is inserted into the oyster for the pearl to grow around. At about five years old the pearls are harvested from the oysters. During this five year period the cages are raised and cleaned every two weeks. The process is long and tedious and many of the oysters do not produce. This family has been doing this type of work for a few generations, but this is probably the last generation to do it. Culturing pearls has evolved over the years, but the process was first developed in about 1890 or so. Several of us left with pearl jewelry. It was fun to purchase here and it felt right to support them and enjoy the results.