22nd / 23rd October 2002
Arrived at Narita Airport
at around 7pm on 23rd October - one and half hours late on a very rainy night. We left Heathrow late - due to some hold up on the incoming JAL flight. The plane journey on JAL 404 was on a 747 and not that comfortable being 12 hours or so in duration.
Margaret managed better than I thought she might - and me, I slept about 5 or 6 hours, waking to watch the movie "The Skulls" and rehydrate.
The airport involved a further wait - having cleared customs, health & immigration far faster than flying into JFK in New York. The wait was for the next limousine bus to our hotel. Finally a wet one and half hour ride saw us unpacking in The Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa and then hungrily hunting down a restaurant.
We discovered that people eat & finish early in Japan - we had a delicious Italian meal in the foundations of the hotel. This closed at 10pm and we arrived at 9.55pm! Think they only took our order after establishing we would only have one course!
We were asleep for around 11:30pm - having left an order for breakfast at 6.30am in readiness for our first tour that was starting at 7.25am - and standing in our balcony for a few minutes absorbing the Tokyo night skyline from our perch on the 15th floor. Already high from bing built on a hill our penultimate floor was a great vantage point for what is at least at night an exciting cityscape.
Tuesday 24th October
Woke to a cloudy & wet day in Tokyo for our first full day in Japan. Breakfast in the room, which was surprisingly good (Margaret didn't disagree but pointed out that been tired and thirsty may have disguised the quality!). Nevertheless a great coffee ... for being hot & wet and arriving at 6.30am exactly. We were already getting used to the Japanese punctuality.
We were picked up at 7.30am and spent an hour fighting our way on a coach to the bus station near Tokyo JR to join our party for the trip to Nikko, (a small town 80km NE of Tokyo). A crash on the motorway caused even more delay so at around 12 noon we arrived at the Worl Heritage site that is the Nikkō Tōshō-gū shrine
- an architecturally rich complex place. Apparently unique in its mixture between Buddhism and Shintoism. It is called “Mountain Buddhism” and the shrine started as a centre for worshipping the mountain but come into its own when selected by the heir of Ieyasu Tokugawa (the first Shogun of the Tokugawa) to house his mausoleum in the 17th Century (1646). Inevitably it is tacky. Thousands of visitors - lots of Japanese and visitors to Tokyo - plus us visitors from overseas!
I suspect if it had been run by a National Trust type organisation more of the original feel and authenticity may have been preserved. Nevertheless there are some impressive buildings including a pagoda, a large stone torii gate and a shinto shrine.
Objects of curiosity included a white (sacred) horse - the Austrians has presented it to the Japanese - and the mobile shrines (carried during feast days) as well as incense burners, stone lanterns, purification water stands and images of monkeys telling the tale of life (including the Three Wise Monkeys - see no evil; talk no evil and hear no evil!).
We only had an hour here ... the a poor lunch ... moving on to the Chuzenji Lake and the Cascades (a kind of Heber's Ghyll).
Then we set off for 'home'. It took hours - 3 torturous hours on the coach - first queuing don the Irohazaka Driveway - then onto the Expressway - a faster leg than the morning. Nice guide called Sayo.
We were dropped off at the Shinjuku Station - (business transport hub in the world)
and travelled the JR line with a Japanese-Mercian ex Korean War Veteran (and his wife). Failed to get an internet facility - had chocolate - phones the kids and fell asleep exhausted at about midnight.
Wednesday 25th October
An overcast day, with rain the morning. We had the morning free so after our breakfast we walked to the Shinagawa station and took the JR to Tokyo Station to get our rail pass. We then surfaced
Here are the photos of the pages of the book I started ....
Itsukushima Shrine -Itsukushima-jinja is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima - popularly known as Miyajima, best known for its "floating" torii gate. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
The Itsukushima Shrine at high tide, when it appears to float on the water
The shrine was "devoted to the worship of goddesses to whom Kiyomori owed thanks, he felt, for his success in life." Originally it was a pure Shinto shrine "where no births or deaths were allowed to cause pollution. Its treasures include the celebrated Heike Nōkyō, or 'Sutras dedicated by the Taira House of Taira'. These consist of thirty-two scrolls, on which the Lotus and other sutras have been copied by Kiyomori, his sons, and other members of the family, each completing the writing of one scroll. Kiyomori lavished great wealth upon Itsukushima, and he liked to show the place to his friends and colleagues, or even to royal personages..." The shrine was designed and built on pier-like structures over the bay so that it would appear to be floating on the water, separate from the sacred island, which could be approached by the devout.
Near the main shrine is a noh stage, which dates from 1590. Noh theatre performances have long been used to pay homage to the gods through the ritual acting out of key events in Shinto myth.
The dramatic gate, or torii, of Itsukushima Shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions, and the most recognizable and celebrated feature of the Itsukushima shrine,[6] and the view of the gate in front of the island's Mount Misen is classified as one of the Three Views of Japan (along with the sand bar Amanohashidate, and Matsushima Bay). Although a gate has been in place since 1168, the current gate dates back only to 1875.[1] The gate, built of decay-resistant camphor wood, is about 16 metres high. The placement of an additional leg in front of and behind each main pillar identifies the torii as reflecting the style of Ryōbu Shintō (dual Shinto), a medieval school of esoteric Japanese Buddhism associated with the Shingon Sect.
The torii appears to be floating only at high tide. When the tide is low, it is approachable by foot from the island. Gathering shellfish near the gate is also popular at low tide. At night, powerful lights on the shore illuminate the torii. The torii gate is accessible from the island during low tide. On September 5, 2004, the shrine was severely damaged by Typhoon Songda. The boardwalks and roof were partially destroyed, and the shrine was temporarily closed for repairs.
Kinkaku-ji - literally "Temple of the Golden Pavilion", officially named Rokuon-ji literally "Deer Garden Temple"), is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It is one of the most popular buildings in Japan, attracting a large number of visitors annually. It is designated as a National Special Historic Site and a National Special Landscape, and it is one of 17 locations making up the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which are World Heritage Sites.
at around 7pm on 23rd October - one and half hours late on a very rainy night. We left Heathrow late - due to some hold up on the incoming JAL flight. The plane journey on JAL 404 was on a 747 and not that comfortable being 12 hours or so in duration.
Margaret managed better than I thought she might - and me, I slept about 5 or 6 hours, waking to watch the movie "The Skulls" and rehydrate.
The airport involved a further wait - having cleared customs, health & immigration far faster than flying into JFK in New York. The wait was for the next limousine bus to our hotel. Finally a wet one and half hour ride saw us unpacking in The Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa and then hungrily hunting down a restaurant.
We discovered that people eat & finish early in Japan - we had a delicious Italian meal in the foundations of the hotel. This closed at 10pm and we arrived at 9.55pm! Think they only took our order after establishing we would only have one course!
We were asleep for around 11:30pm - having left an order for breakfast at 6.30am in readiness for our first tour that was starting at 7.25am - and standing in our balcony for a few minutes absorbing the Tokyo night skyline from our perch on the 15th floor. Already high from bing built on a hill our penultimate floor was a great vantage point for what is at least at night an exciting cityscape.
Tuesday 24th October
Woke to a cloudy & wet day in Tokyo for our first full day in Japan. Breakfast in the room, which was surprisingly good (Margaret didn't disagree but pointed out that been tired and thirsty may have disguised the quality!). Nevertheless a great coffee ... for being hot & wet and arriving at 6.30am exactly. We were already getting used to the Japanese punctuality.
We were picked up at 7.30am and spent an hour fighting our way on a coach to the bus station near Tokyo JR to join our party for the trip to Nikko, (a small town 80km NE of Tokyo). A crash on the motorway caused even more delay so at around 12 noon we arrived at the Worl Heritage site that is the Nikkō Tōshō-gū shrine
- an architecturally rich complex place. Apparently unique in its mixture between Buddhism and Shintoism. It is called “Mountain Buddhism” and the shrine started as a centre for worshipping the mountain but come into its own when selected by the heir of Ieyasu Tokugawa (the first Shogun of the Tokugawa) to house his mausoleum in the 17th Century (1646). Inevitably it is tacky. Thousands of visitors - lots of Japanese and visitors to Tokyo - plus us visitors from overseas!
I suspect if it had been run by a National Trust type organisation more of the original feel and authenticity may have been preserved. Nevertheless there are some impressive buildings including a pagoda, a large stone torii gate and a shinto shrine.
Objects of curiosity included a white (sacred) horse - the Austrians has presented it to the Japanese - and the mobile shrines (carried during feast days) as well as incense burners, stone lanterns, purification water stands and images of monkeys telling the tale of life (including the Three Wise Monkeys - see no evil; talk no evil and hear no evil!).
We only had an hour here ... the a poor lunch ... moving on to the Chuzenji Lake and the Cascades (a kind of Heber's Ghyll).
Then we set off for 'home'. It took hours - 3 torturous hours on the coach - first queuing don the Irohazaka Driveway - then onto the Expressway - a faster leg than the morning. Nice guide called Sayo.
We were dropped off at the Shinjuku Station - (business transport hub in the world)
and travelled the JR line with a Japanese-Mercian ex Korean War Veteran (and his wife). Failed to get an internet facility - had chocolate - phones the kids and fell asleep exhausted at about midnight.
Wednesday 25th October
An overcast day, with rain the morning. We had the morning free so after our breakfast we walked to the Shinagawa station and took the JR to Tokyo Station to get our rail pass. We then surfaced
Here are the photos of the pages of the book I started ....
Itsukushima Shrine -Itsukushima-jinja is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima - popularly known as Miyajima, best known for its "floating" torii gate. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
The Itsukushima Shrine at high tide, when it appears to float on the water
The shrine was "devoted to the worship of goddesses to whom Kiyomori owed thanks, he felt, for his success in life." Originally it was a pure Shinto shrine "where no births or deaths were allowed to cause pollution. Its treasures include the celebrated Heike Nōkyō, or 'Sutras dedicated by the Taira House of Taira'. These consist of thirty-two scrolls, on which the Lotus and other sutras have been copied by Kiyomori, his sons, and other members of the family, each completing the writing of one scroll. Kiyomori lavished great wealth upon Itsukushima, and he liked to show the place to his friends and colleagues, or even to royal personages..." The shrine was designed and built on pier-like structures over the bay so that it would appear to be floating on the water, separate from the sacred island, which could be approached by the devout.
Near the main shrine is a noh stage, which dates from 1590. Noh theatre performances have long been used to pay homage to the gods through the ritual acting out of key events in Shinto myth.
The dramatic gate, or torii, of Itsukushima Shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions, and the most recognizable and celebrated feature of the Itsukushima shrine,[6] and the view of the gate in front of the island's Mount Misen is classified as one of the Three Views of Japan (along with the sand bar Amanohashidate, and Matsushima Bay). Although a gate has been in place since 1168, the current gate dates back only to 1875.[1] The gate, built of decay-resistant camphor wood, is about 16 metres high. The placement of an additional leg in front of and behind each main pillar identifies the torii as reflecting the style of Ryōbu Shintō (dual Shinto), a medieval school of esoteric Japanese Buddhism associated with the Shingon Sect.
The torii appears to be floating only at high tide. When the tide is low, it is approachable by foot from the island. Gathering shellfish near the gate is also popular at low tide. At night, powerful lights on the shore illuminate the torii. The torii gate is accessible from the island during low tide. On September 5, 2004, the shrine was severely damaged by Typhoon Songda. The boardwalks and roof were partially destroyed, and the shrine was temporarily closed for repairs.
Kinkaku-ji - literally "Temple of the Golden Pavilion", officially named Rokuon-ji literally "Deer Garden Temple"), is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It is one of the most popular buildings in Japan, attracting a large number of visitors annually. It is designated as a National Special Historic Site and a National Special Landscape, and it is one of 17 locations making up the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which are World Heritage Sites.
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