Travelogue, Japan Departure

Its hard for me to believe that this is my last few hours here.  Where has all that time gone.  Im sure you readers might be thinking this has dragged on too long and its about time I ended it.  Not a whole lot of time to be able to do much today except for getting some lunch.  I realize that I have been in and out of Tokyo Station alot.  I promise this will be the lat time on this trip

Theres a burger chain from Hawaii called Kua Aina.  It gets good review from a number of sites that I read.  This particular location opens at 1100am.  Other locations open earlier and some serve breakfast as well.

Travelogue, Japan Day 11, Chiba Part 2

Chiba borders the entire eastern side of Tokyo Bay.  As I ride west toward Tokyo, there are a number of inlets from the bay that run inland.

There is another popular stop along the line.  You can see it in the distance.  It is the mountain that you see but it is not Mt Fuji but another attraction that people around the world are familiar with

Travelogue, Japan Day 11, Chiba Part 1

Chiba is located due east of Tokyo.  From said station, the Chuo line will get you out here.  There are a number of things out here.  A few of them is close to Minami Funabashi station.  If you go a few stations down the line, there is a Costco within a long walk.  I have been there by the way.

On one side of the tracks we have Ikea.  The first time I saw this location, I was on my way to Costco.  I always find it interesting to see the little differences between what we have in our neighborhoods and the same things abroad.

Travelogue-Japan Day 9, What To Do Monday

I had not planned anything particular to do today.  Since I had a JR Pass, I could go almost anywhere.  But, I had spent alot of time on trains the last few days that I didnt want a long train ride.  Since I did not see Mt Fuji yesterday from the bullet train, I thought I would get back on to try it again, since I have the JR Pass.

With the Pass, you could jump on most any train including most bullet trains.  You can also make last minute seat reservations without extra charge.  You could even reserve a seat, jump on an earlier train and not use the seat.  Anway, I decide to take the 1 hour ride to Shizuoka on the shinkansen.  When in Japan, I cant help but become a train enthusiast as they become a big part of your daily life.

Travelogue, Japan 3/11 in Sendai Part 2

Continuing on in Sendai.  I didnt really spend much time here.  There wasnt as much to see as I thought.

Loople took us through several areas but not a whole lot appealed to me and I didnt get off the bus until we got back to the station.  A few glimpses of the city motivated me to take out the camera for a shot.

Travelogue, Japan 3/11 in Sendai Part 1

It has been exactly 3 years since the earthquake and tsunami hit western Japan.  I thought it was fitting that I visit Sendai today.  3 years and a month ago, we were heading back to Tokyo by train via Hakodate and Aormori.  I had intentions of visiting Sendai a month before the disaster.  However, I decided to go with the group directly back to Tokyo from Aomori.  Sendai was not as hard hit as the coastal areas.  Sendai airport was flooded.

Tokyo Station bound once again for the Hayabusa to Sendai.  This is 2 trains either kissing or having romantic relations

Here comes the manage a troi.  I mean here comes the Hayabusa.  The bullet trains dont hit top speed until they out outside the city limits.  This series of shinkansen, E5?,  feels faster than the N700 to Nagoya.  Also, when they pass each other, you would hardly even notice it.

Travelogue-Japan Day 8, Sunday Part 3

As I begin to leave the premises, I pass the food court to see how the number of people have swelled over the last few hours.  What used to be some empty seats and tables, an open seat has become a precious commodity.  I can leave now that my business is done

Travelogue-Japan Day 8, Sunday Part 2

The feast continues in the shadows of NHK.  As I was saying, I have not even begun to eat as I make my way through the food court on a nice Sunday afternoon

 I have yet to satisfy my appetite for beef.  This stand had a large hunk of beef for sale.  Highly marbled but probably not wagyu

Unlike the other place, they were cooking up slices of beef on a teppanyaki.  An order included some chicken cooked the same way.

Travelogue-Japan Day 8, Sunday Part 1

Today, Im playing a hunch.  Once I went by Yoyogi Stadium and the NHK Studios.  I got there late in the day, possibly Sunday, and missed out on something as tents were being taken down.  I get up to Harajuku Station and head over the tracks and the past the entrance to Meiji Jingu.  The stadium is over there but a few street carts are parked on the sidewalk.  I think the carts are a good sign.

Good fortune smiles upon me as my hunch pays off and there are a number of tents set up indicating an event of some kind

Travelogue-Japan, Day 7 Nagoya Part 3

Continuing the rest of the tour.  More views from around the observation deck.  After a while, I forget which way Im looking at.  There are no picture illustrations to show what I am looking at so theres no reference for me to take a picture to remember later.

Some of the moat still contains water but the portion of it directly next to the castle was bone dry.

Travelogue-Japan, Day 7 Nagoya Part 2

I love military hardware.  The weapons, armor, and suposrt systems are the first things I seek out when at a museum.  Nagoya had a better display of these items than Osaka Castle.  These are tskubas or the hilt of a sword.  Some are ornate in design like these.

There were several lengths of bladed weapons at the time.  I think this is a wakizashi, or a short sword.  The katana was the longer of the 2 swords worn on the samurai's sash.  I forget the name but there is a japanese sword longer than a katana.  A tanto is much shorter than a wakizashi and is like a dagger.  This  is a finished blade but the sword is not finished

Travelogue-Japan, Day 7 Nagoya Part 1

Today is Saturday.  I have made reservations for a seat on the Tokkaido Shinkansen bound for Nagoya.  Because of the JR Pass, the extra charge for the reserved seat is included but is only good for the Kodama or Hikaru trains.  The Nozomi will cost extra.  A few cars are set aside with non-reserved seats which are first come first served.  Since Tokyo Station is a terminus, getting non-reserved seats on an outbound train should not be an issue.  Coming back, even from a stop along the route, there is usually a few empty seats.  Due to my reservations, I will be boarding at Shinagawa.  A number of kiosks sells bentos in the station.  I pick up this beef bento and a can of miso soup for an early lunch during the trip.  The beef was fattier than I expected but tasty nonetheless.  The miso soup is as good as those you find in the vending machines,s arcastically meaning it sucks.  The soup tasted horrible and they used konyaku instead of tofu.  Konyaku is used in alot of these canned offerings because it will not absorb additional liquid.  I thought, maybe, this can would be better because they were selling it out of a kiosk and not out of a vending machine.

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Travelogue-Japan, Day 6 Kusatsu

I am heading up to Gunma today, specifically Kusatsu.   Its an area that my bus tour passed yesterday.  To get there,  2 limited express trains leave from Ueno Station and take you to the closest station, Naganoharakusatsuguchi.  Yes, it is a mouthful.  This is the easiest route and second fastest way to get there.  They skip a number of stops but it still takes 2.5 hours to get there and the early train leaves at 10:00am.  2 limited express trains return to Ueno with the later one departing around 3:40pm

The scenery from the tracks seem more appealing than the scenery from the highway.  Like the day before, we pass many of the same rivers/streams, villages/cities, and mountains

Travelogue-Japan, Day 6 Ameya Yokocho(ameyokocho) Morning and Night

Just south of Ueno Station is another collections of shops and stores around and the under the train lines.  I am at the station a bit early for a long train ride out later this morning.

With some time before the train departs might as well take a look around.  Unfortunately, most of the shops are closed at this time of the morning.  Like alot of places, they may not open till 10:00am

Travelogue-Japan Day 5, Bus Tour Part 3

This post is about snow crabs, strawberries, service area, and a sunset.  The snow does not let up as we begin to make our way back to Tokyo.  Part of the package includes a lunc at this place.  That mound by the bus is a large igloo like structure.  A small entrance leads to a small unlit room kitted with a few benches.  As small as the room was, imagine how thick the walls were.  I would imagine several yards thick.  More than enough to keep the weather out and the warmth in.

Our little group was brought to this place for lunch

This alone would have been good enough for a satisfying lunch.  Pickles and some gelatinous stuff in the bottom left.  To the right, a bowl of soba noodles.  A flask of hot soup stood at the table to be poured on the soba.  Vinegar for dipping in the top right.  And, snow crab legs and amaebi, raw sweet shrimp.  The crustaceans were refillable as part of the all you can eat.  I believe I had 2-3 additional servings of the crab.

There is also wappa meshi.  It is rice topped with crab.  this too refillable

A nice warming nabe rounds out the meal.  Fugu and mushrooms are the highlight of the stew.  Some patience is required as the everything needs a bit of time to boil and cook before ingesting.  When the flame goes out, you can go to town.  The soup was really nice when combined with some of the wappa meshi.

A little messy from the crab but my hunger was more than sated.  We head off towards Numata and the weather begins to clear and the snow ceased to fall.  This destination is farm that allows you pick your own fruit.  We have these kinds of farms in California but the twist is that this is a timed all you can eat fruit picking.  They do this around the year when different fruits and produce are in season.  During this time strawberries and the draw.

In the gift shop,  there are a number of items available from gifts to produce.  Here they are making an apple baum kuchen.  An apple, peeled and possibly baked, is incased in cake batter and baked.  Then another layer is added and baked.  This is repeated several times.   When you cut into it, you see all the layers of cake and the apple in the middle.

But the real treasures are in the greenhouses ahead.  

We are lead into rows upon rows of strawberry plants grown above ground with the berries hanging off the sides.  Different groups are lead to a different section so as not to ravage any particular area and keep fruit available to those who come.

This is a variety called Yayou Hime that was developed in Japan.  It is only available in Japan at the time.  For 30 minutes, we can pluck and eat as many as we like.  This is more than enough considering the lunch we just had.  Go ahead, take your pick.  You want to cradle the berry, invert, then push down as the stem releases.

A cup is provided for you for your waste.  The ripe berries are sweet, tender and juicy.  These dont have a very bright strawberry flavor but it was very good in combination with all its other features.

The flesh is soft and the berry can be ripped in half to view the insides

Unlike some varieties, the red does not go through the whole berry with the insides being primarily white.  In the time allotted, I wasted a few minutes taking pictures but conservatively estimate 25-30 berries devoured.  Most of those were of this size though I may have had a few that were smaller but no less enjoyable

The berries, I thought, really put a nice end to the trip.  The day is nearly done and our journey turns back to where we started.  We alight at another service area for a few minutes for human waste disposal.  I had no need but I wanted to peer inside to see what they had inside.

This was more impressive than the other one we stopped at in the morning.  There is a produce market in addition to a souvevir/gift shop.  Locally grown and sourced vegetables freshly picked.   Too bad I couldnt make use of any of it.

The food court is larger and has more offerings.  Not enough time to scout out the individual stalls as I was still trying to take it all in.  Also, they had free brown and green tea on tap.  Both iced and hot to suit the weather or your wants.

On the road again.  The setting sun in the land of the rising sun.  Its dark before we get back into the outskirts of town.  Some traffic slows down our progress as we are eventually half an hour behind schedule.  I didnt have any pressing appointments so the delay was of no matter.  A second stop at Shinjuku Station made it easier for those of us who had to walk to the hotel meeting point from said station much earlier this morning.

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Travelogue-Japan Day 5, Bus Tour Part 2

The tour continues through the snow storm that greeted us when we emerged from the tunnel into Niigata.  Im sure this is no picnic for the truckers that have to take their loads through this area. Just like the Sierras on a bad day.

I can barely see some of the hotels and resorts that service a ski resort somewhere among these mountains.  I can barely see if there is a ski resort somewhere here.  Im glad to be in a nice warm bus with someone else driving

Along the way, our guide points out that in this town, they have restored a portion of the old Edo Highway.  The facades of the buildings have brought back to their past glory.  The snowy white accents add that nice touch to the look of the street.

Though the snow is falling and the weather is cold, water is flowing down the streets.  One might think it was from the snow melt but its not.

Geothermic water  is piped through channels in the streets and sidewalks.  The waters help to melt the fallen snow and keep the pathes free and clear.  We are suffering through a drought and having this ample supply would be a godsend for California.

We finally arrive at the snow play area.  Its not quite what I thought it would be.  It was just a small hill in the middle of a small town.  Free usage of sleds were provided inside.

A market on the grounds sold local products.  I was told one of the main commodities is rice.  with an abundance of rice, there is an abundance of rice products.  With rice flour, sembei(rice crackers) can be made in a number of ways.

Another way many people like to enjoy rice is in sake.  They have that here as well.  Samples and tastings were not offered but all offerings seemed to be priced just under 2000yen.

Just outside, icicles formed along the railings near the entrance.  It was on the bottom rail so I had to get down pretty low for the shot.  You probably couldnt tell

I bought this variety pack of sembei.  They were irregulars of several types so many of them were broken.  I tried to take a picture of it but had a hard time trying to get the in close item and background at the same light level without over or under exposure.

As mentioned, the little play hill to which to slide from.  There were some small children in our group and a baby.  They had some fun before we departed for an all you can eat lunch  of snow crab and amaebi.