Hong Kong
As I said in post 41, the second part of the Japan trip was a Windstar cruise from Hong Kong back to mainland Japan, through a string of islands. We flew from Kyoto to Hong Kong and were to spend only one night in Hong Kong, therefore, we figured we would just use our charge cards instead of cash. We walked to the taxi stand, only to read signs saying cash in HK$ only – no credit cards. We went to the ATM and took out enough HK$ for the taxi. Once in town, we tried to go out to lunch, but no place would take out credit cards or US$s. Locals have a special credit card to use, otherwise it is HK$ currency only. We ate at the hotel, it was easier.
We only had one free morning in Hong Kong and we walked to the M+ museum. On the way we saw the Opera House and some of the city. The museum was just OK, but there was a park next to it, overlooking the water and we relaxed.
We took out more money from an ATM for the taxi to the port terminal. Unfortunately, Windstar changed its embarkation port without informing all of the passengers. We arrived at a deserted port. Our taxi driver called around till he found someone that knew English, who told us to stay at this port and we would be met. I paid the taxi and soon I saw a young woman walking toward us, who would provide transportation to the other port. That was good news because we didn’t have enough local money to take another taxi. She was looking for other lost passengers and about 20 minutes later, we went to the other terminal. Just part of travel angst.
Windstar: Japanese island tour:
Passover Seder on Windstar:
Passover began on our second night on the boat. That morning at breakfast, we overheard 3 people talking about arranging for a Seder at the dining room. We asked if we could join them. Fellow passenger, Dee worked with the kitchen and did a great job of organizing the Seder and the food for the ritual meal. We had lettuce, salt water in a carafe, horseradish, chopped up apples and nuts for the charoset, parsley, egg and chicken bones. They gave us crackers to use as Matzah. One participant downloaded a Haggadah on his iPad and the 9 of us took turns reading. We said the prayers, sang, ate the ritual foods, ate dinner and sang some more. We were in the main dining room; therefore, we received a few stares from fellow passengers. It was a wonderful, memorable Seder.
Taiwan
We booked an excursion to a tea tasting and a walk on an old store filled street in Taipei. The tea tasting was held in a Japanese era tea house (1920). It was a lovely house with a really sweet garden. It had the sliding doors and large windows. There is a very calming Zen feeling to have sliding doors rather than our normal doors. I won’t describe the tea ceremony except to say that I enjoyed it and I learned that Oolong tea is fermented 60%, while black tea is fermented 100%. Which is why Oolong tea has less caffeine and tastes a bit bland to my palate, which is used to black tea.
The old shopping street walk was fun. Most of the shops sold food items such as many varieties of nuts, dry mushrooms, dried shrimp, and Chinese herbs. There were also beautiful but pricy tea pots, both pottery and metal ones and some other local merchandise. We ate Taiwanese buns bought on the street and then Jerry saw strawberries covered by bean paste and sticky rice. We bought a few and they were awesome. We wished we had bought more of them.
The Japanese Islands
We found the Japanese islands disappointing in that all but Tomonoura were built up and modern. I will only write about Taketomi, Nagasaki and Tomonoura. We had skip Okinawa because of gale force winds. This was to be the highlight of the island cruise, but weather did not cooperate.
Ishigaki/Taketomi:
Ishigaki was boring, therefore, we decided to take the 15-minute ferry to one of the smaller islands, Taketomi, that is known for its beautiful red roof houses and oxen carriage rides. Once off the ferry, we caught a bus into town (5 minutes). The bus stop was just a driveway. It was rainy; therefore, the oxen carriage rides were closed. We wandered around the island for a bit looking at these interesting red roofed houses. Then we walked back to the bus stop, but with no dry place to wait and no schedule, we decided to walk back to the ferry station instead of waiting. It was a wet walk because the wind picked up and the umbrella was useless. By the time I got back to the ferry station, my pants were soaked but my raincoat kept my top dry. We were happy to get back to the ship.
Nagasaki
We were greeted by an 8 person drum group playing at the port. Most of the drummers were women. It was lots of fun to listen to them. We bought a one-day tram ticket and received a great map and went touring.
Our first destination was to Hamano-Machi Arcade, a covered shopping area that had some 600 stores. The market was covered by a beautiful ceiling and the shops were fun. We wanted to use internet, therefore we went to a coffee shop and had tea. The staff were so charming and didn’t care how long we took to get emails answered.
I am not much of a shopper, but I did find a small back pack in a resale shop, that has worked very well. I use a small backpack inside my large backpack as a day bag and for the items that I want during flights.
Back on the tram, we went to the Suwannee Jinja shrine – one of many shrines on the island. We carefully climbed many, uneven steps without railings.
Up on top, there were some lovely statues including one of a horse, and the usual guardian lion/dogs. The buildings in the shrine were beautiful, especially the roofs. Locals were coming to the shrine to pray.
We walked down from the shrine, carefully, and back to the tram. A few stops took us to China Town. This is the oldest China town in Japan. It is small, consisting of just one street – two blocks long. It had mostly high-end restaurants, which I imagine would be busy during the evening.
Back on the tram, we went to the cathedral area and the Glover Garden. The garden itself was closed for the night, but the area was fun to walk through. Great use of public transportation.
Tomonoura
Tomonoura made this cruise worthwhile. It is a very small fishing village nestled under the mountains. It has charming old houses and authentic Japanese culture. Walking this town was marvelous. The towns folks greeted us with excellent maps. At some stops, Junior High kids were prepped to give us a canned description. They read their script, but did not know enough English to answer any questions. Our cruise key cards enabled us to enter all the museums.
We visited the Nunakuma Shrine, which was well worth the many steps it took to get to it. There were lots of beautiful buildings and lots of flowers but the cutest were ceramic figures in turquoise of various small and large animals. They were imbedded among the annual flowers.
Next was the Komatsudera Temple with a large gorgeous Buddha statue. This is the first temple that I was able to go into on this trip. Most of the temples were closed and the one in Kyoto had an hour-long line to get in. I took my shoes off and walked on the rush mats and looked at the sacred books, and the magnificent Buddha and really felt I was in a sacred place.
We proceeded to the Ota Residence. This cluster of structures were once home to the Hoeishu breweries. Two women performed on a Japanese harp and flute. The harp is played on the lap, has 13 strings and is tuned by little bridges between the board and the strings. The score bore no resemblance to our musical notations. The concert was a delight. Then in the courtyard, we were treated to Macha tea and some kind of sweet. I was not crazy about either but was glad to try them.
Finally, we went to the Fukuyama City Tomonoura Museum of history and folklore. It was up on a high hill, like a Shrine, but was housed in a modern building. The best part of the exhibition was the Japanese harp that was out in the open, available to try. What a treat.
All of the above were wonderful, but it was wandering the streets and seeing the very cute houses and looking at the fishermen boats in the water that made today a 10. We spent over 4 hours walking and climbing up and down. It was great to get back in the tender and be greeted by a yummy Japanese/American lunch buffet on deck. The sun was shining so bright that I was able to be in a t-shirt.
Osaka
I took the boat excursion to visit the Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine and the Osaka castle.
The Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine dates back from the 5th century, but has burned down a few times. The main shrine now is from 1810. I say the main shrine because there are many, many shrines in this complex; different shrines are for different purposes.
For instance, in this complex, there is the Omoto-sha shrine, where you pray for matrimonial success or the Tanekashi-sha to receive blessings in conceiving children.
To get to the shrine, we crossed the Sorihashi Bridge. If there is sunshine – which there was – you can see a perfect reflection of the bridge in the water and it forms the shape of a drum. The bridge is a bit tricky to cross because it has small difficult steps (there is an easier bridge but this was more fun).
We were lucky to be there when a priest/monk was praying/singing.
The buildings are simple. The roofs are made from the bark of the cypress tree and put together with bamboo rather than metal nails. The bamboo does not rust. The buildings are painted orange. It is a vibrant color and expected to keep evil away.
Osaka castle was built by Hideyoshi Toyotomi in 1583. It fell into disrepair and was rebuilt in 1931 with public funds.
This was not a European type castle, with furniture and turrets. It was used for defense. The top floor (8) allows the visitor great panoramic views. In the old days, before the high rises, they could probably see for miles on a clear day and scope out invaders. The Japanese, don’t usually use furniture. Beds are just futons that are rolled up in the morning. Therefore, I don’t believe, even the original castle had “living” rooms. The reconstructed castle looks like a castle from the outside, but inside there are numerous exhibits including fabulous holograms and beautiful wall hangings. We had a leisurely walk through the beautiful grounds on the way to the castle. The cherry blossoms were past their prime, but still visible. Other flowers were blooming and the sun was shining which made it lovely.
In the afternoon, on our own, we went to the Aquarium, which was walking distance from the boat. This aquarium is fabulous. The visitor starts by going up a very long escalator and then walks through the exhibits going down a 1-kilometer (.6 miles) ramp. Some tanks covered multiple levels and others were unique to that level. The fish came from various places in the world and some were totally new to me. I watched King, Adele, and Macaroni penguins on land and in water. The dolphins were jumping around, doing their flips, the sharks, seals, rays, swam gracefully. The coral reef fish were a delight.
Tokyo
We booked a half day tour from the drive from the boat to the airport – 5pm flight. The cruise company handled the tour beautifully.
We went first to the Imperial Palace, but since the emperor lives there; visitors are only allowed a few times a year –not the day of our visit. We could only visit the grounds and the lovely bridge in front of the palace.
There are 2,000 pine trees on the grounds of the palace. The emperor is basically a figure head. He was also a figure head during the Edo period (1600 to 1868 of the Shogun reign). Then he became powerful until WWII, when democracy was brought in.
Next stop was an hour at the Hama-Rikyu Gardens. Originally this garden was the family garden of the Tokugawa Shoguns. It reverted to the emperor when he took control and he donated it to the public after WWII. Some restoration was necessary but mostly it is still the peaceful, lovely Japanese garden with blossoming trees and bushes (most cherry tree varieties were done but some were still blooming), including wisteria and azaleas.
Final Comments:
1. Everything is so clean here. Your credit card is handed to you on a tray. Silverware is put on stands rather than the table and baskets are available for purses so that they don’t sit on tables or floors. They also have mask envelopes so that the mask doesn’t sit on the table.
2. Although I did see one eastern toilet (squat), all places have clean western toilets as well.
3. The cherry trees were even more beautiful than expected, as was the sight of Mt. Fuji.
Nili's Adventure 