Grey Nomads

Kobe, Himeji Castle (& Okonmiyaki)

yasuko — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:22:00 GMT

Kobe, Himeji Castle, (& Okonomiyaki)

It’s quite a long time since we were in Kobe and it took us a while to get our bearings. We were looking for our favourite little Okonomiyaki shop where we used to go 35 years ago, but we couldn’t find the right little alley the first night and had to settle for a lesser alternative. The unique atmosphere of Kobe is still pretty much the same except that there seem to more and bigger and better shopping arcades around Sannomiya station and more miles of underground shopping and dining areas.

We had more luck the next day and walked in the right direction and finally found the little place we were looking for. It was pretty much the same and was being run by the daughter of the old owner that I first met in 1964. He’s still alive and well – now retired - and his daughter is keeping it going in the same old way. It’s a tiny place with seats for 8 diners inside around the hotplate counter plus a few more outside where you can wait when it’s busy. The flavour is still the same but the price has gone up since it was featured on a TV food program a few years ago. We had lunch and went back again for dinner.

We didn’t have any major schedule in Kobe so just had a quiet time. We dropped in to the K.R. & A.C (sports club) where I used to play rugby, but there was nobody there we knew and there was no rugby game on, so we didn’t stay long. It was the opening day of the Autumn Sumo tournament, so I stayed in and watched some Sumo on TV while Yasuko did a bit more shopping.

We had a late (9.20 pm) flight leaving for the trip back to OZ the next day, so we spent our last day visiting Himeji Castle, which is heritage listed and is entirely built of timber with white plaster walls. The plaster is also supposed to act as a fire retardant. The castle dates back to 1609 and was completely dismantled and rebuilt piece by piece during the Meiji period in the 1950’s. It is 6 stories high built on a high stone foundation on the top of a hill and covers a very large area. It was originally surrounded by 3 moats, the outer moat encompassing what is now the main part of Himeji City. We climbed right to the top which gives a great view of the surrounding area including a beautiful Japanese garden next to it.

We visited the garden called KO Ko-en and had some quiet relaxation before the long flight home. We got to the airport in plenty of time for the compulsory body search (artificial hips), which in this case was gently carried out by an attractive young (female) security guard. Life does have some compensations. The (Jetstar) flight (as usual) was about one hour late. But we arrived safely and Rosie & Sylvia picked us up at the airport and drove us home. It's nice to be home again.

Gallery: Kobe & Himeji Castle

yasuko — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:34:00 GMT

Food & Culture

Shizuoka & Kyoto

yasuko — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:01:00 GMT

Shizuoka & Kyoto: (Temples, Shrines & Maiko-san)

We took the Shinkansen about one hour to Shizuoka to meet Nobuko Kawashima, another of Yasuko’s friends, and hopped off the train long enough to have some delicious sushi, a cup of tea and a chat (they did the chatting). Then we got back on the train for the one and a half hour trip to Kyoto.

The traditional atmosphere of Kyoto is obvious as soon as you get off the train. We went to the central shopping district around Hankyu (private) Railway terminal and the usual cluster of department stores and endless arcades. Yasuko did a bit of shopping and we dined in one of the many traditional Japanese restaurants (one with tables and chairs).

Next day we went on an adventure tour riding down the Hozugawa rapids. The ride to the top is in a converted coal train which follows the river up and then transfer by bus to board the small boat handled by a crew of three. The boat trip was originally used for cargo transport but is now just for fun. It seems like we can’t escape the drought wherever we go. Our boatman said the river was down by about half a meter and the trip time of nearly 2 hours is now about double what it is with normal water levels. It was a fun trip, but unfortunately the colour change is a bit late this year due to the warm weather, but still very pretty with a few thrills for good measure.

In the evening we went to the Gion (geisha) area and hung around for a while hoping to catch one of the geisha or maiko-sans coming out of their houses, but we had no such luck and went for beer and unagi (eels) instead.

Before leaving, we kept up with our divinity and visited the Kyomizu (Buddhist) Temple. The temples are closer to heaven because they are built at the top of the highest (and steepest) hills, so it’s good for the body as well as the soul. To keep our divinity levels even we also went to Yasaka Jinja (Shinto Shrine) near the Gion area. Yasuko went to do a bit more shopping and was lucky enough to find a Maiko-san on her way to the shrine and managed to get a quick photo.

Then it was back to the station for the one and a half hour trip to Kobe.

Gallery: Shizuoka & Kyoto

yasuko — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:34:00 GMT

Culture

Yokohama & Yakitori

yasuko — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 12:43:00 GMT

Yokohama & Yakitori (Friends & Food)

We got off the Shinkansen at Shinagawa (Tokyo) and took the local train to Kannai (Yokohama) – avoiding too many changes. At 4.30 in the afternoon it was almost dark and threatening to rain – back home again. Our first stop was our favourite Yakitori restaurant, next door to (the famous) Isezakicho shopping street – back home again - then a short walk back to our hotel near Chinatown.

Next night, Yasuko’s best friend (like a sister) Yoko-chan had invited us to stay over at her home at Fujisawa, 30 minutes away by local train. Daughter Yuriko, who had visited us whilst on her honeymoon in Australia 2 years ago, was home for the weekend and Yoko regaled us with some delicious food – too many items to mention. We also picked some fresh kakis (persimmons) off the tree in their garden.

After a walk in the park Yuriko and her husband Shin-san drove us back to Yokohama to meet (former partner) Bo Hansson at the Y. C. & A. C. (sports club) where we watched the end of a rugby game from the sideline, beer in hand – nothing has changed. Bo and Yasue took us for a delicious meal in Chinatown which is bigger and brighter than we remembered.

Yasuko went up to Tokyo to visit more of her friends while I looked around Akihabara electric district. It’s easy to get lost in the streets and arcades and hundreds of stores. One store, Yodobashi Camera, is 7 stories high, covers half a block and sells almost everything electrical. It (the district) has to be seen to be believed, but despite the temptations I didn’t buy the 12 megapixel camera (or anything else).

We weren’t finished with the food delights. Next night we went out with another former colleague, Yuki Oigawa and his family for some fantastic shabu-shabu and sukiyaki. Son Keisuke spent a year with us in Brisbane when he was a teenager and went to our local high school at Coorparoo, so we had lots to talk and laugh about.

We had a spare day so we had the brilliant idea to go to Hakone and get a close(r) view of Fuji-san – fatal error!! It was cloudy all day and we couldn’t catch a glimpse of Fuji-san, so we went to the hot spring instead and had (yet another) bath.

Last day in Yokohama we walked around our old district, through the park, and past the school. The little stores in Motomachi shopping street have all turned into boutiques, so it’s window shopping only. We met and had dinner with Yoko’s (younger) brother Yuzo who appears to have forgiven Yasuko and Yoko for their endless teasing when he was just a little boy and they could push him around.

Next it’s off to Shizuoka and Kyoto. The main thing about Yokohama is that although there have been some new developments, everything (and everyone) is still the same.

Gallery: Yokohama & Yakitori

yasuko — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:40:00 GMT

Friends & Food

Shabu-Shabu & Hot Springs

yasuko — Sat, 3 Nov 2007 11:39:00 GMT

Shabu-Shabu and the Hot Springs

Yasuko’s old school friend Kimi and her husband took us out for Shabu-Shabu at a local restaurant just around the corner from the family home, which was very impressive. Typical of older style Japanese restaurants, it was quite plain on the outside but very ornate and comfortable on the inside, and the food was superb. (See photos).

We warmed up for the trip to the Beppu hot springs by going to the local hot spring at Nango with Yasuko’s friend Kimi. The drive up through the hills was very pleasant, passing through country villages with lots of orange persimmons on the trees, and the trees starting to change colour for autumn. We all felt better after the hot spring bath and cooled off with some beer and soba (buckwheat noodles).

There are lots of restaurants, bars and other entertainment around the old family district and we said goodbye to the family with a round-table Chinese dinner where they all promised to come and visit us in Australia soon and we promised to come back to Nobeoka again before too long.

Beppu is a traditional hot spring resort town and we stayed in a traditional Japanese Ryokan (Inn) with tatami mat floors and slept on futons which the staff lay out for you each night. It’s only 2 hours by train, again through some pretty countryside, and the in-house hot spring bath was ready upon arrival. The rooftop bath-house has a number of pools at different temperatures including an outdoor bath with ocean views.

Next day for a change we went to Yufuin, a small resort town a little further into the countryside, where we hired a private bath-house rather than go to the public baths. Then back to our Inn and enough time to get into the big baths again before dinner.

After so many baths, if “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” – then we should be feeling Divinity coming over us soon – especially with (most of) the hotel toilets having bidet facilities including seat warmers. Not to be outdone we had a final hotspring bath in the morning before leaving for Yokohama. On the train our seat was equipped with a power outlet for running the laptop, so we were able to catch up with our journal enroute.

Gallery: HOT SPRINGS

yasuko — Sat, 3 Nov 2007 11:05:00 GMT

Traditional

Gallery: Ayu & Shabu Shabu

yasuko — Sat, 3 Nov 2007 10:51:00 GMT

FOOD

Off to NOBEOKA

yasuko — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:57:00 GMT

Off to NOBEOKA

Got away from Brisbane (Jetstar again) and had the first of many delays – about half an hour late taking off – no reason given. But we caught our flight in Sydney ok and then waited on the ground for another 45 minute delay due to a battery malfunction - but better on the ground than in the air – and we arrived in Osaka (KIX) at 9 pm only 30 minutes behind time.

Yasuko had researched our connections very well and we took the local (private) railway to Namba in the south of Osaka passing through Hagoromo where we lived for a while when we were building ships in Sakai (near Osaka) (about 35 years ago). A bit of nostalgia, but we didn’t stop the train. We took the subway to our hotel near Shin-Osaka station on the shinkansen (bullet train) line, ready for an early start in the morning for the 7 hour trip to Nobeoka.

It’s pleasant and comfortable riding the trains in Japan especially the shinkensen, where they deliver food and drinks to your seat. But we hadn’t remembered how many tunnels there are. There are lots of mountains in Japan and they just go right on through them plus under the water across the strait to Kyushu. Still, the countryside is pretty and the villages are interesting as you speed along – better than flying.

Arrived in the afternoon and visited the family – some of them anyway – and had some yakitori and sake to get in the mood. Next day there was a Matsuri (festival) in the street just across from our hotel, so we spent a few hours soaking up the culture and had some more yakitori and beer and sake.

It’s Ayu (river fish) season and we had some wriggling-fresh from the river which runs by the back door of the family house. The fat females with the roes cooked inside them are the specialty of the local restaurant.

Spent the next couple of daze visiting all the old friends and relatives , then it’s off to BEPPU hot springs for some a R & R.

Gallery: Nobeoka

yasuko — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:47:00 GMT

Back home in Nobeoka