Return to Tokyo 2006
Several days that live long in my memory as some of the happiest that I spent in Japan in 2006. In Nagasaki I met with Noe and Hugo and we three travelled and hiked the Aso Caldera. Trips to the local supermarket for Waribiki hour (discount hour – 11pm in Most Japanese supermarkets) and a bizarre drunk man on top of the caldera. As I look back I see the day as scenes from a Miyazaki film, a rolling Landscape with a gentle wind and a warm summer’s glow as we undertake our hike. Hugo and Noe went south into Kyushu and I returned North to Nagasaki to fly back to Tokyo (almost not making it as I mistakenly tried to pack my main bag onto the flight complete with a full set of chef knives and was hauled up by Japanese Airport staff for interrogation).
Seb
London 02/09/2015
By this stage in Japan I was beginning to feel the pinch on the pocket book. The 10,000 Notes seemed to be falling through my fingers in an uncontrollable fashion -with travel, food and boarding mounting to approximately £50 a day! I eventually made it to Nagasaki and stole out to the supermarket to get some food – I chose a box of fried tofu as a means o staving off of hunger at a supposedly sensible price only to discover that the tofu fry was an empty shell of nutrition-less husk! I made it to the youth hostel were I met with Noe and Hugo, a travelling duo (then couple) who I was to spend the next few days with. I was very jealous to discover that they were spending a full 5 months in the country travelling around.
We went out to Yoshinoya together and another restaurant on a later night where I hungrily devoured the husks of Edamame beans. A growing lad in Japan with not much money is hard pressed to adapt to the small Japanese portion sizes!
My time in Nagasaki was not very eventful. I wandered the city and took a few shots – getting lost for a time in Chuigomachi – a small zone of the city near the river with a large graveyard complex overlooking the river. I missed out on both the peace museum and the dutch island “Dejima” – famously the only place in Japan to accept foreign nationals throughout the entirely of the “Shut down” that occurred early into the Tokugawa Shogunate period.
The two photos here demonstrate another curious thing of how dirty my sensor was during this time. There is one particularly onerous hair that can be seen in the right of the picture. Compare the two versions. This has made my subsequent edits something of a repetitive challenge to clean!
I did manage to find my way to the monument for the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan – a group who were burned alive in the 1600s for refusing to recant their christian protestations, having been converted by Jesuit missionaries looking to subvert Japan under the sway of Western Powers. The serial subterfuges of these ages where what eventually lead to the expulsion of foreigners from the islands – – – apart from the aforementioned dutch who distanced themselves on religious and political grounds from the catholic camp and were thus able to maintain a unique and lucrative trade foothold in the country for over 200 years.
I was a pleasure meeting Noe and Hugo – a welcome relief from the loneliness of the previous week’s travel through the center of Honshu. We would go on to travel together to Aso-san, climbing the mountain before our paths diverged with the pair moving on south and the call for me to return to Tokyo before I boosted from Japan.
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Seb 28-02-2014 London
Hiroshima, correctly pronounced Hee-ro-shi-ma (not “Hi” as in “him”), is most famous for its fateful part in the termination of the Pacific conflict of WWII. For Japanese children it is an important trip that almost every class makes to visit the city and the museum. There were certainly of young people running around in the museum when i visited – a curious counter point to the horrors contained in the exhibits. The bomb dome stands in the center of town as a permanent monument and reminder.
The city today is a sleepy place – a far throw from the megacities of Osaka and Tokyo and even the touristic bustle of the temple-come-university town of the old capital Kyoto. As a stone step towards the southern reaches it’s well worth a visit to walk around in the cleaner and more open climbs.
Another major attraction of Hiroshima is it’s proximity as a base to explore Miyajima – a beautiful little island a short train ride away. The famous Torii which stands guard is at various times according to the tides accessible on foot and then partially submerged.
Most of my time in Hiroshima was spent getting lost trying to find a Manga library in one of the southern parks – when I found it it was closed – the majority of the photos are therefore from Miyajima.
Have a look at my photo of the “Tanuki” which is spotted whilst climbing to the top of the ropeway on Miyajima. The animal appears frequently in Japanese folklore in various guises as a trickster and shapeshifter.
Another curious thought was that at the same time a future medical school friend of mine was at this very time working in one of the municipal hospitals in the city as a porter. A great way to sharpen one’s Japanese!
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Seb 28/02/2014 London
After the ski season I returned back to my old room in Wimbledon heavy with the experience of the 5 months past. Towards the end of the season I was plotting how best to pass the next 4 months and I settled on the idea of travelling – a “round the world” ticket in fact. So a little into May I embarked on the first leg of the journey – the long hop from London to Tokyo.
In truest fashion I did not book a hotel – I had no fixed arrangements planned – my journey was a blank structure pegged out with the target stops of where to get to by what time but no clear plans for the in-between.
On May 16 2006 I sat down next to a couple in a triple row aboard my direct London to Tokyo flight. I took the window seat and began avidly digesting Lonely Planet’s “Japan”. The man of the couple, Goto-san, introduced himself to me and throughout our 11 hour journey we discussed a number of things. I said that I was interested in potentially learning some Japanese so he began to teach me some basic Hiragana and advising me how best to approach the language. It was apparent that Goto-san and his wife were all part of a large tour group who were spread among the back of the plane where I was interpose as a single (soon to be) Gaijin. I recall approximately 8 or so hours Goto-san and I were stretching our legs at the back of the plane when he stated “we have been discussing…. we would like to invite you back to our home in Tokyo”. I was quite surprised on one level but then again on another the way the conversation had been flowing it seemed quite a natural recourse. I gladly accepted and we spent the rest of the trip discussing my plans for Japan – what would be best to engage.
When we eventually touched down – I was very glad of Gotosan’s assistance. My heavy luggage and the extreme culture shock of meeting Japan face first was enough to leave me very bewildered. He practically pushed me about the exit station guiding me through the process (which would have been completely indecipherable to me) of which ticket to buy and where to stand. The three of us traveled across Tokyo by some nefarious route which I now can barely recall. Eventually in the evening of the next day we made it to Gotosan’s house.
Gotosan’s wife went to prepare some food and I was installed in the family lounge – a downstairs room adjacent to the front door. Goto-san instructed me to take a shower. I recall in some bemusement (and probably a little bit of rational fear) – him walking in when I was naked into the shower room to show me how the shower and bath worked. Par for the course for Japanese who despite intense cultural form are rather unabashed about nudity.
Eventually – exhausted I fell asleep on the futon Masae had prepared for me in the downstairs room all the while questioning – “what have i got myself into?”…. There I was – touch down in Tokyo – my first trip to Japan.
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My days in Tokyo are not very clear to me down 8 years have passed however I recall spending time with Gotosan as my guide for the city. Each day we would plan out our trip across the city with his suggestions based on things I raised from my reading in Lonely planet. All the while we had long discussions and I tried my hand at learning a few Japanese words. We traveled to Tsukiji Fish market After a few days and when Gotosan had appointments of his own to keep I traveled out alone and tried my new Japanese on the unsuspecting as I attempted to find my way around the urban labyrinth that is Tokyo-for-the-uninitiated.
One particular anecdote which I have dined out on for many years is my confounding of requests to ask people if they spoke English. Some how – perhaps because it is proximate in its sounding I got into my head that “Ichigo ga hanasemasu ga” was the correct sentence to ask people if they spoke English. The reactions I got were priceless…. ranging from bewilderment, to anger to outright hilarity. Whilst I realised that most people don’t speak English I thought perhaps that they might be slightly more accepting of my attempt to communicate that I was finding. I was confused and put out… later that evening I spoke with Gotosan about my trouble. He and Masae laughed in a very polite fashion and told me my mistake… Broken down this literally means “Strawberry do you speak?” – I had supplemented the word “EIGO” for “ICHIGO” changing the sentence from “do you speak English” to “do you speak strawberry”?
Towards the end of the week Gotosan and I visited Fujisan. Unfortunately I was too early in the year to permit for it to be climbed. I achieved in frustration a partial circumnavigation (perhaps one 10th of the way around before doubling back on myself. Gotosan and I then clambered down through the woods to pick up the bus back to Tokyo.
I also picked put a suitable travelling lens 18-200mm which would be my trusty lens for the next 2.5 months until sustaining a crippling break in New Zealand only to be fixed on my next trip to Japan in 2007. The photos from the Matsuri are taken on the first day of owning this lens.
As I had only 3 weeks In Japan in total I was keen to travel elsewhere in the country during the time. I sketched out a basic plan of places I wanted to visit. Gotosan very kindly accompanied me to the Bullet train – the Shinkansen – and I began the first section of my first properly independent journey since having left London some days before. I whipped out of Tokyo on my way to 14 days of independent adventuring in Japan.
– – – – 14-02-2014
Seb Roberts: Life as It happens 