Travels of a Camel Racer

A day of adventure! Just Iris, Gary and I on our own trying to find our way to the Bamboo Forest. We bought tickets for Saga Arashigama Station at Kyoto and boarded an express train. 4 stops that should be easy! Well it should have been if we hadn’t been talking and I only noticed the station as we pulled out of it. Ah well, off at the next station. As the train pulled in, stopped and the doors opened we all jumped out only to realise the “station” consisted of a concrete slab on each side of the line and nothing else. The line went across a deep valley at this point with a fast flowing river running through it. View from the train on the Sagano Line We swiftly hopped back on board. The next station was some way down the line through some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen in my life (and a couple of very long tunnels!) This line is called the “Romantic Train Sagano Line”. We got off at the next station which was a town, crossed the line and got the next riain back to Arashigama...

 Odd sort of a day today. It was supposed to be a full day walking tour of Kyoto but the itinerary seemed very “flexible” once we started. We began by catching the Number 12 bus to Nijo Castle, which was better than I expected. I would have liked to have spent more time there and indeed had planned to go there tomorrow and spend most of the day there. As ever the rain kept starting and stopping in torrents and that curtailed our “plans” as we only visited the main castle and not the adjoining palace. Nijo Castle Nijo Castle Gate to Nijo Castle We took a lovely walk along the canal lined with willow and expensive houses to the tube station. Then we took a “tube” from Nijo Station to the Higashijama area where once again it started raining. We started at the Yasaka Shinto Shrine and then Chion-in Buddhist Shrine before strolling down Shijo-Dori for lunch.  Yasaka Shinto Shrine Yasaka Shinto Shrine We then all met up again at Yasaka Shrine for a lovely walk through Eastern Gion a...

Last night’s rain seemed to have subsided when we got up this morning and it promised to be a good day. However that changed when we got to the train station. It all changed when we found the trains had all been cancelled as the rain had washed away the rails somewhere. It took 2 hours to get us sorted and installed on buses bound for Fukuoka. The journey was about 2 – 2 ½ hrs then we went to the train station to pick up a direct rain to Kyoto bypassing our stop at Hiroshima. It was a weary bunch of travellers who finally arrived at Tokyo Inn Gojon in Kyoto at about 4pm. I just dropped my bags off and headed to Higashi Hongan-ji Temple. What an amazing place. The structures were huge and so impressive, although just as impressive was the metal structure covering the Amida-do (Buddha Hall) which is being restored.  Higashi-Honan-ji Temple - Amida-do Higashi-Honan-ji Gatehouse Cranes! I bumped into Keith, Iris and Gary and we wandered down to the train station to go up to the roof ga...

Woke up today to very heavy rain. After a lovely buffet breakfast we set off on a walking tour of the Southern bit of Nagasaki, first visiting Dejima. The rain kept starting and stopping all morning but at least it kept the temperature down. After Dejima we went to Glover Park which was absolutely beautiful. I only wish the rain had held off long enough to be able to sit in the gardens but it did feel as though we were constantly dodging in and out of the buildings to avoid the rain. Nagasaki from Glover Park Nagasaki from Glover Park There was one particular part with a statue of Puccini Madame Butterfly and a lovely pond where they played the Aria from Madame butterfly which was very atmospheric, but again I felt as though I rushed through it. After glover Park a group of us, Mary, Nicky, Suzanne, Keith, Gary, Iris and myself took the No1 Blue line tram to Ohashi Station wand went to the Peace Park. From the moment I saw the remains of the Urakami Prison this felt like a very spe...

We awoke this morning to an almost clear sky and a beautiful sunrise. This was always going to be a long day of travelling and we started with a 6pm bus journey to the Toppy Ferry at Miyanoura for a 7am ferry. Then after a 2 ½ hr ferry trip back to Kagoshima we were taken by taxi to the stations where we boarded the 10:50 Kyushu Shinkansen. What an absolutely beautiful train.  The seats had wooden back and arm rests and were upholstered in gold and blue. The window blinds were bamboo and the floors looked like polished tiles. It reminded me of an art deco style.  Kyushu Sakura Shinkansen In typical Japanese efficiency style we had 1 minute to get off the train and 3 minutes to cross the platform and join the connecting train to continue our journey. We changed trains at I think Tomi. We then travelled for another 1 ½ hrs before changing trains again one last time at >>>>> before disembarking at Urakami Station, Nagasaki where we were taken by taxi to our hotel, ...

 I was woken up at 5am with what can only be described as the sound of a torrential downpour beating against the window. After breakfast we boarded the bus to take us to the South of the island to our allocated viewing spot in the town of Onaida. The rain had abated somewhat when we got there so things did look hopeful. Although we intended to stay on the bus until things got a bit better we were told to get off as the bus couldn’t stay close. So we offloaded and made our way onto the sports field. It was very hot and humid and the drizzly rain wasn’t unpleasant really. The only unpleasant things were the thick black clouds rolling in off the sea and gathering over the mountains. The winds were very strong and the lower layer of cloud was moving very fast. I counted 4 different cloud levels at one time; high, thick rey blanket, slightly lower and darker cumulus looking clouds, then 2 layers of dark, grey, fast moving rain clouds. Eclipse Observing Field, Onaida By about 8:30am th...

An early start saw us taking a 7am train to Haneda for a 9am flight to Kagoshima. Things got a bit hairy when the plane half of the group were on develops faults before take off which meant they had to change to another plane causing them to be delayed by about an hour. When we arrived at Kagoshima it was raining quite heavily. A 40 minute taxi ride took us to the “toppy” landing where we boarded “Toppy5” for a 2 hour trip to Yakushima. I slept most of the way on the plane and hydrofoil and so arrived at Yakushima feeling dreadful. However the place just changed that almost immediately. The rain had stopped by time we arrived and it was very hot. The only way I can describe my first impression of the island is that it looked like the island off Jurassic Park; green, high mountains with deep clefts totally covered by trees.  Ferry Terminal, Yakushima This was the first time I’d got the “buzz” I’d been waiting for since getting to Japan. This was what I expected. We spent the afterno...

 Slightly cooler day than yesterday but still extremely hot. We took the train to Kita Kamakura. Before starting the Great Buddha Hiking Trail we visited Tokei-ji Temple. This used to be a Buddhist nunnery. Absolutely beautiful and peaceful. I would have liked to have spent more time there just contemplating and relaxing but onwards and upwards. Tokei-Ji Temple Tokei-Ji Temple Tokei-Ji Temple The Trail was absolutely beautiful with a few difficult bits but nothing too bad. We saw forests of huge bamboo and somesort of bird of prey and a beautiful view over Kamakura Bay.  Great Buddha Hiking Trail Great Buddha Hiking Trail Great Buddha Hiking Trail We took a slight detour to Zeni-arai Benten Shrine where I washed my money. Then we carried on to the end of the trail and found ourselves on a busy road with lots of souvenir shops! The Great Buddha was actually just off the main road.  We had a lovely lunch in a tiny little “eating establishment” (you couldn’t call it a rest...

Walking tour of Tokyo today. First a proper visit to Senso-ji Temple then a short walk to the River for a boat trip to the fish Marketwhere we disembarked for a wander through Hama Detached Palace Garden where we had tea in Nakajimu Tea House.  Senso-ji Temple Boat trip down Sumida River and Rainbow Bridge Nakajimu Tea House We then got a train out from Shirodome to Harajuku. Here we wandered around the Harajuku district taking in the sights and sounds of the youth culture before going to the Meiji Shrine.  Meiji- Jingo There wasn’t quite the gathering of teenagers on the Meiju Bashi that we were told there would be but the ones we saw were certainly dressed extravagantly. After Meiji, 2 further trains took us back to the hotel.