New Arrival

Went out to buy a dress... and came back with... err... NEW PUP!

Aaaaaah! So cute! No name yet though....

Pup with Gem...

...and now he's stealing chewtoys from his other big brother, Comet.

Sleepy pup!

Ten Top Things to See, Do and Eat

We started off our blog by identifying the things we were most looking forward to in Japan. I was really nervous about the trip because I had dreamed about going to Japan for such a long time and I was a little afraid that I might be disappointed.
Was I disappointed? - Not one bit, in fact my expectations were surpassed. What an amazing country - we have only had a glimpse of its landscapes, shrines, temples, markets, homes, transport, culture. The thing that impressed me most was the people - everyone we met was friendly, welcoming and helpful. People are obviously proud of their country, culture and heritage.
Would I go back? - In an instant! Hokkaido in winter, south island beaches, monkeys - there is still so much to see.

Top Ten
As you can see this is closest I got to posing with Minnie Mouse wearing a kimono! However we visited Tokyo Disneyland during the festival of Tanabata and Minnie and mickey were dressed accordingly so not bad!
Feeding tame deer - well I certainly got to feed some deer - how tame they were is debatable!
Ringing the Peace Bell - hope it keeps ringing - one day maybe we'll listen.
Staying in a ryokan - what can I say, this was a brilliant experience. I felt like an empress, we were really well looked after and had the ultimate Japanese eating experience.
Mt Fuji - remained shrouded in mist but we did catch a glimpse from the train. The volcano experience was great.
Bento box - yes and quite a posh one too.
Stone samurai - well worth the effort of seeking them out.
Maiko - not only did we see maikos, we saw lots of people, men and women wearing their summer yukatas.
BUYING JAPANESE THINGS - OH YES!
Eating - this was a mixed bag - from the carefully prepared meals at the ryokan, remember the abalone - the wonderful vegetarian meals in the temple, meals cooked before our eyes in lively bars, street food stolen by marauding deer to wasabi peas - this was an amazing experience.

You'll remember that I didn't want to meet Godzilla - well thankfully I didn't.
I didn't want to see bears in pits - I didn't. Did see puppies in pet shops - not good - we hope they will be liberated soon.
I didn't want to eat octopus - well actually I did - I was unaware of what it was at the time but have to admit it was good! I also tried eel - cooked- very adventurous, sniffed suspiciously at abalone. On the whole I surprised myself and tried quite a few things I didn't think I would - so eating was good!

Heading Home

Shinjuku sky-scrapers in the morning

Views from the bus to Narita Airport. More high risers.

Overtaking the train.

The Rainbow Bridge.

Arriving at Narita.

A nervous flier.

Next stop Paris.

A Different Tokyo

Shirakawago - Kanazawa - two train connections to Shinjuku, Tokyo

Shinjuku is electric, from ground level shops selling games, gadgets and gizmos, to mid level neon flashing advertising, to ovehead sky-scrapers leading the eye to an electric blue evening heaven.

A place of wall to wall people.

Yakitori kitchen. Busy, casual, fast, delicious......and good beer.

Calum outside the yakitori.

Shirley in electric avenue. Our last night in Japan. Sayonara!

Shirakawago

From Kanazawa we travelled by bus to this UNESCO World Heritage village - Shirakawago, hidden in the mountains. We are going to use that word again - amazing! Below is the bridge we had to cross to get to the village. It was like being in an Indiana Jones film - the bridge bounced, the river boiled below and we held on tightly.
This was taken after another intrepid trek to the view point in the blazing heat.
Above is the house that we stayed in - view from the back. Calum at the front door.

This interesting ornament was spotted in the koemon, yes it's a snake - lots of them about in ornament form but happily none were seen in the flesh.

We went out for an evening stroll - nothing was open.

The hearth in the dining room.

To stay in this village was an absolute privilege. It is a real, working, living place. There were lots of pictures taken when it was snowy in the winter time. Thatching the roofs is a real community event - people come from all over Japan to help.

We wrote a haiku -

Hidden valley

Rapid river

Wood and thatch

Smoking hearth

Welcome inn!

Kanazawa

At the end of another busy day Dad searches for a Scooby Snack. What we found were delicious pork dumplings!

Dad's art photo of the day.

One of mum's many art photos of the day.

Shirley outside the Ochaya Shima geisha house. This was well worth the effort of finding it!

A lantern inside geisha house.

Many lanterns inside geisha house. Shirley spotted this photo opportunity and Calum was in there camera at the ready.

Just in case visitors to the geisha house get too excited by the many photo opportunities.

This is Shirley's favourite shot of the day - by Shirley.

Geisha house kitchen .... what no dishwasher?

Geisha district - Higashi Chiya.

Samurai district - Naga-machi Buke Yashiki.

Shopping opportunity.

Calum outside the Myoryuji Temple also called Ninja Dera. This temple appears to be two storeys high - in Edo period buildings could be no higher than three storeys.

This building really has four storeys, seven layers, 23 rooms, 29 staircases and lots of secret passage ways, traps and escape routes.

We had a guided tour - in Japanese - but the nice ladies hunted around for an English language tour guide so we could ooh and ahh with rest of tourists when we were shown the secret stairs, escape routes concealed by sliding doors and the hari kari chamber.

The menu from left to right - local stew with noodles, pork and half a boiled egg, pork dumplings with Japanese coleslaw, rice, dipping soup and more dumplings. Calum points out that this was for sharing in case anyone should think it was all for him!

Green tea ice cream.

I have reflected all day on why I was moved to try this Japanese delicacy. I mistakenly thought that icecream, being loosley classed as confectionery, is universally sweet and that this sweetness would balance the smokey, bitter taste of Japanese green tea. I was wrong! The flavour of green tea was loving replicated in this icecream.

The photographer played it safe and enjoyed his vanilla icecream.

Old Japanese building on pond.

Who could have taken this photo?

Some people show no restraint.

Kenrokuen Gardens - scene of green tea icecream and two beers incidents.

The maestro captured the rainbow.