Notes on a fortnight in Japan

My partner and I were fortunate to enjoy a fortnight exploring Japan for the first time in June. As expected, and as all our friends warned us, it was the kind of trip that quickly became habit-forming - even while we were mid-holiday it was obvious that we would have to return for a second Japan trip, not to mention possibly a third. Of course, we're hardly original in our choice of destination - everyone seems to have been venturing to Japan in the past few years. The exchange rate helps; at 85 yen to the New Zealand dollar, we were able to afford decent, if not elaborate, comforts and not worry too much about the budget. 

Between us, my partner was probably equally excited by the prospect of feeding the deer in the Nara Deer Park and shopping up large in the famous Japanese art supply shops, and I was motivated by the rich opportunities for big-city street photography and the chance to finally ride the Japanese shinkansen high-speed trains. And we were both excited to take advantage of the exchange to shop for clothes at Muji and Uniqlo, neither of which have deigned to open in faraway New Zealand. 

Our time in Tokyo was brief at the beginning of our trip, with only the first Sunday available before we departed. Our accommodation was a tiny room on the 21st floor of the APA Hotel Ryogoku, which had impressive views over the Sumida River. We spent a delightful Sunday in Ueno Park, which is the one place I'd actually been in Tokyo, on my whistle-stop visit in transit many years before. We savoured the exhibits at the Tokyo National Museum and enjoyed walking and people-watching in the park.

Chinese stoneware, 7th-8th century

The next morning we made our way during rush hour to Tokyo Station for the Shinkansen to Osaka, a swift two-and-a-half hours in overcast weather (no Fujiyama sighting). Osaka was to be our base for the next four nights, staying in the pleasant Citadines Namba hotel - a much nicer room than our Tokyo stopover. We joined the throngs admiring the lively restaurant district around the Dotonbori Canal, with plenty of garishly illuminated advertising signs: feisty octopi, belligerent sushi chefs, and a sinister Japanese clown who's been banging his drum since the 1950s. On our second day the rains hit Osaka, but we still managed to enjoy visiting the City Museum of Fine Arts and the Shitennoji Temple. On our third day the sun returned, and the day was devoted to ambling and shopping north of Dotonbori near the Shinsaibashi-suji boulevard, including the Kawachi art supply shop and sampling the lovely wares of the Studio Ghibli shop. Our final day was spent on a busy daytrip by Japan Rail to nearby Kyoto, using our handy Suica cards, and taking in the sights of Nijo Castle and beautiful Kinkaku-ji (the Temple of the Golden Pavilion) on the hottest day of our trip.

Dotonbori lights, Osaka

Our next destination was only an hour away by train, and was a pleasant interlude after the bustle of Osaka. In leafy Nara we stayed at the beautiful and peaceful Miroku Hotel on the edge of the lovely Deer Park. On our day of arrival we met the park's tame deer for the first time, and relished the inspiring artworks at the Buddhist Sculpture Hall. Then on the following day we donned our best (and only) walking shoes for a mammoth day exploring the deer park, during which Mia was able to befriend  plenty of politely hungry deer (they exchange bows with you), and soak in the majesty of the Todai-ji Daibutsuden, the hall of the Great Buddha. Plus we caught a brief but exciting glimpse of a Japanese badger at the Todai-ji Nigatsu-do Buddhist Temple.

Feeding the polite but hungry deer in Nara

From Nara we boarded a local train to cross metro Osaka from east to west, ending up in the port city of Kobe. Staying in the Tokyu REI Hotel on Meriken Rd in the business district we had two days to explore. The City Museum had a diverting collection of ancient bronze bells, pre-European maps and artefacts from early 20th century Kobe business life. We also had lunch at a nearby minimalist cafe, which served me up the world's titchiest ham and butter sandwich. The following day we took the famous gondola up into the hills behind the city to visit the Nunobiki Herb Gardens, admire the view over Osaka Bay (rainclouds permitting) and wander back down the peaceful garden trails to the big city.

Nunobiki Herb Gardens gondola

Finally we boarded another Shinkansen for the two and three-quarter-hour journey back to the capital to round out our trip. We stayed in a quiet, pleasant little backstreet hotel called The Hideout near Uguisudani station at the northern end of Ueno Park, and enjoyed exploring the local eateries sprinkled amongst the winding alleyways. Our first full day back in in Tokyo was spent exploring the bustling shops of Shinjuku, including the holy retail pilgrimage sites of Muji, Uniqlo, Tower Records and the Sekaido art supplies shop. The following day started with an amble around the bookshops in the Jimbocho district and a bite to eat in a lovely, serene cafe bookshop, the Book House Cafe. Then we flipped the crowd switch to check out the world-famous 'scramble' crossing outside Shibuya station, followed by a walk up to Harajuku for the MoMA Design Store and a stroll around peaceful Yoyogi Park. On our final day in Japan we walked through Ueno Park to the Metropolitan Art Museum for the 78th Annual Women’s Art exhibition, and enjoyed an artwork with netball hoops that I scored a goal in. (And won a polite round of applause from the gallery attendants). We rounded off our stay with a relaxing wander through the park, savouring the atmosphere of a myriad food festival stalls before we collected our bags and made our way to the Narita Skyliner train from Keisei Ueno station.

Shinjuku station commuters