Path: news.ccsf.jp!tomockey.ddo.jp!border3.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!postnews.google.com!glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail From: "John W." Newsgroups: fj.life.in-japan Subject: Re: Latest trip to Japan Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:06:47 -0700 (PDT) Organization: http://groups.google.com Lines: 83 Message-ID: <15419952.508.1335272807111.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@ynbr30> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: 173.164.14.186 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 X-Trace: posting.google.com 1335272807 2345 127.0.0.1 (24 Apr 2012 13:06:47 GMT) X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:06:47 +0000 (UTC) Cc: mtfester@netscape.net In-Reply-To: Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com; posting-host=173.164.14.186; posting-account=d_4qMQkAAAAoC3cPt9leEr6UZXdXfvYA User-Agent: G2/1.0 Xref: news.ccsf.jp fj.life.in-japan:170405 On Sunday, April 22, 2012 3:46:31 PM UTC-5, mtfe...@netMAPSONscape.net wrote: > OK, just go back (Mar 29 - Apr from my bi-or-tri-ennial trip to > Japan. We had to book my ticket about 7 months ago (mileage ticket) > so we TRIED to anticipate hanami; missed it by about a week. Saw the > beginnings, but... > I am envious, both that you went and that you were able to use points to get there (and for hotel). Every time I try, I can't. Maybe next time. John W. On Sunday, April 22, 2012 3:46:31 PM UTC-5, mtfe...@netMAPSONscape.net wrote: > OK, just go back (Mar 29 - Apr from my bi-or-tri-ennial trip to > Japan. We had to book my ticket about 7 months ago (mileage ticket) > so we TRIED to anticipate hanami; missed it by about a week. Saw the > beginnings, but... > > We spent a few days in Tokyo (ANA's International Hotel on the border > of Akasaka and Roppongi; the wife got it with mileage $$, so it only > cost us $50/night. HIGHLY recommended at that price.) First few dinners > were yakitori (my favorite Japanese food), first night at Kamakura > yakitori, next night at Nanbantei, both in Roppongi. Both excellent, if > you like yakitori. The hotel also had the only espresso machine I've ever > run into that actually made very good espresso. Nice wine/cocktail/snack > buffet between 5-7, and a very nice breakfast buffet. > > Tokyo was a bit chillier than usual for that time of year, but that > didn't seem to bother most of the young ladies. I saw that short skirts > and high heels seemed to be very much in fashion, and I for one appreciate > that. Made the train rides a lot nicer. > > After a couple days in Tokyo, we went to Izu for a day/night. We stayed > near the Jogasaki bridge, at a hotel whose name escapes me. The bridge was > nice (though why it's such a destination is beyond me) and we got there > by bicycle from the hotel. They actually had a couple bikes for us, with > battery assisted pedalling. Never seen anything like it. The hotel was > nice, and (like everywhere in Izu) had a very nice outdoor tub. I got > to see the sun rise over the Pacific from said hot tub . More unusual, > though the hotel was about 60% occupied, nobody else came out for it. Odd. > > From Izu, we went to Nara, and stayed at the Hotel Nikko near the JR station. > Not a bad hotel, but nothing special. Got to the park, and there were a LOT > of tourists, mostly European and Chinese. I guess a lot of furriners made > reservations for this time of year, while the Japanese were able to time > their visit closer to the height of cherry-blossom viewing. Oh, well, a > nice enough park, but the wife cannot stand the thought of an unvisited > temple or museum within a few miles of us, so we spent a couple hours > visiting those places as well. Todaiji was nice, but I liked it just fine > from the outside, and didn't need to see it inside. Plus, I got tired of > dodging deer poop. Oh well. > > Next stop was Yoshino, where we stayed at the Chikurinin Gunpoen. A very > traditional Japanese hotel (as opposed to traditional ryokan), and over- > priced; however, had the blossoms been in full bloom, it would have been > worth it. Cherry trees everywhere, including a beautiful one just outside > our window. Nice hot tub, too. Again, in the hotel and in the village, > a LOT of foreign tourists, again Chinese and European. Nice to see. We > also got to visit the graves of some of the wife's ancestors, the old > Murakami emperor from the two courts era. Took a long time to find it, > but I guess it's impressive that after nearly 1000 years, it's still there. > > From there, it was on to Kochi and the in-laws. My brother-in-law has > taken over the family coral business, and is now pretty well established > in the international coral business. He has a PhD in marine biology, and > is now the main rep for almost all the jewelers at the various environmental > conferences. Travels a lot. > > Kochi itself seems to be slowly changing. Getting a bit smaller, but > cleaner and a bit more sophisticated. > > That's pretty much it. Always nice to visit, though I didn't get to see the > reefs this year. It was nice to see so many more tourists, too. I always > thought Japan should promote itself better as a tourist destination. It > has a lot to offer (history, friendly people, safety, easy transportation) > if they'd make even a token effort. > > Overall a nice trip. First time I've been to Japan outside of summertime > since I lived there, all those years ago. Tokyo doesn't seem quite as > hectic as I remember it; just as crowded, but people seem more relaxed. Or > maybe it's just me. Can't understand why the hotels offer cable ethernet, but > not wifi, though. Maybe next time. > > Mike