Sunday, November 10, 2013

Ueno - Ameyayokocho

Ueno was a big surprise.

Ueno is a part of the metropolis that is Tokyo and we had stopped there a night on our way from Asahikawa to Nara.

As the journey was from the centre of Hokkaido to the southern part of Honshu (or south-central), it would have been too stressful to try to make the whole trip continuously. So, we broke up our journey into Asahikawa to Hakodate, Hakodate to Tokyo (Ueno), and Tokyo (Ueno) to Nara. Over two nights (one night in Hakodate, and one in Ueno).

We did not know what to expect in Ueno. More of the same from Tokyo, or Shinjuku I guess.

Then we discovered the Ameyoko. Or more correctly, Ameyayokocho (the full name. Ameyoko is the local short form, just as Akhihabara is shortened by locals to just "Akhiba".)
The street market runs under the railway tracks (up ahead). This was a quiet stretch.

Ameyoko is crowded, messy, chaotic, lively street scene of shops, street food, vendors, and shoppers, both local and tourists. The shops were also an eclectic mix and is one of the most cosmopolitan places in Japan that I have seen. I see blacks (not sure if they are from Africa or the US) touting their goods in Japanese.

I bought a doner kebab (stuffed into a pita bread unlike in SG where it is wrapped in a thin flat bread - like a soft tortilla), from a... Turk? some middle eastern guy. We saw shops selling Chinese goods and Chinese food (and were quite sure they were Chinese. Or Taiwanese).

And I am quite sure there are other nationalities there too. Chinese and Korean are not visible minorities. The kebab fella was quite amused/surprised that I was not Japanese. They could all speak Japanese of course, to do business there.

After I had grabbed a doner as a stop-gap for my hunger, wife decided to try a Taiyaki (fish-shaped "waffle" with sweet bean paste filling - "asuki"?).

Then we decided we would have street food for dinner.

So we started looking around in earnest.

And settled on a street corner stall selling okonomiyaki, kushiyaki, and other food. We had edamame, shishito (sweet green peppers) on a skewer, unagi, maguro (grilled. I think I prefer sashimi), cheese, chicken with shiso leaves, and chicken with onions (all on skewers too).

The okonomiyaki was not Osaka-style. It was more of an omelette with some vegetables.

But it was fun. We like the shishito, it was sweet and spicy.

It wasn't the best food we had, but it was good. It was unpretentious street food. We would like to return.

Here are two blogs I found on Ameyoko, with lots of pictures.

http://www.dannychoo.com/en/post/1514/Ameyoko.html

http://www.dannychoo.com/en/post/25776/Ameyoko.html

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Musings of Restless Mind (MORM) on a Shinkansen.

On Shinkansen (and other express long-distance trains), the notice in front of the seats (over the tray table) goes, "be mindful that the noise (of your keyboard) may annoy other passengers" (or something to that effect).

On the Shinkansen from Shinagawa (Tokyo) to Kyoto, we sat beside a "Salaryman" (in a business suit) who was working on his laptop. (Placed on the tray table).

I glanced over to see what he was doing, and just saw some Windows icons.

The next thing I know, he had shut down his laptop and stowed it away, and listened to his ipod for the rest of the trip (he got off at Maibara).

I wondered, did my casual glance over to see what he was doing caused him to interpret that as "annoyance" at his keyboarding? Thus moving him to shut down his work?

Was he working at some sensitive stuff and so he was disinclined to continue with an inquisitive busybody siting next to him?

Why did he get off at Maibara at about 1 pm on a working day? Did he have business there? Was he sent by his office in Tokyo? Have they not heard of the telephone? Or conference calls? If it were a business trip, presumably the company should pay for the train ticket, but would it cover the costs of an ekiben (did not see him eating one). Or does he live in Maibara and commute to Tokyo for work? Why is he getting off work so early, then?

Or is he visiting his mistress in Maibara? Was he sending an email to her on the train: "On my way. Wear the cat costume I bought you. We'll save the Witch costume for Halloween." (The train trip was on Oct 30).

I wish I could have followed him off that train.

Musings of Restless Mind on a Shinkansen.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Pupuru mobile wifi (MIFI)

This time around I chose the NTT DOCOMO service instead of the EMobile because NTT had wider coverage and I was going to Omoshiroyama and Yamadera where EMobile had no coverage.

The trade off was that the connection speed was slower. 

Another thing I noticed this time was that the battery seem to drain very fast. Not sure if it is a battery problem. Previously, I could turn on the unit several times a day without any problems. This time around, the battery would start to get distressingly low after about 3 hours. Or so it seemed.

Fortunately, this time around most of the hotels had free WIFI, so that took some burden off the MIFI.

I thought the device performed much better on the previous trip. This time around, it seemed a little less reliable. Could be coincidence.

The main reason I wanted it was for coverage at Omoshiroyama, but there was no coverage, and I didn't really need it. I may switch back to Emobile.


Omoshiroyama-kogen Pictorial


As you begin your hike/trek down to Omoshiroyama, this is the view



This is the first waterfall. You get this view even if you turn back now.






Then you see the first "stairs" and the first bridge, across a dam "waterfall. The bridge is about 1 m wide and with no handrails. Do you turn back?

If you do, you miss this view of the waterfall from the other side.

And this view of the way ahead.

Up ahead, you see the 2nd and 3rd bridges. They look sturdy. And even have handrails!
That's not too bad now is it?





If you don't look too closely at the worn wooden planks...
And those gapingly HUGE holes (okay, they are NOT that huge).
Pull yourself together!

Just in time to see this: Yes. You're going to have to walk through that. Yes, it is a waterfall.
Yes, it's washing through the path you have to take. Do you turn back now?

Of course not! You walk right through it! Barefoot if necessary!
(to keep your shoes dry.)

And then you wonder why you bother, because the path just "dissolves" into the river,
and you now have to walk through the water, anyway.
It's as if whoever was marking out the path, just suddenly gave up and said,
"OK that's it. I give up. Just walk in the water."

And when you get through the water to the other side, you find a bridge.
It's a sort of suspension bridge. It sways as you cross.
And the gaps between the planks seems yawningly WIDE.
(But it's not. It's safe. I made it, remember?)

Then you look up and is rewarded with one of the many spectacular views of Omoshiroyama in Autumn.
Then you look down, and see this narrow trail you will have to walk. With the just a rope handhold to keep you from plunging into the icy cold river (yes, it's icy cold. I stepped into it remember?) You notice rather worriedly, that one of the pitons has come off the rock. Did someone cling desperately to the rope as he (or she) dangled perilously over the water?
Or is your over-active imagination painting things more dramatically than it is?

Before you can answer that, you are faced with a fast flowing - practically a small waterfall, really
- stream washing across your path. Yes, we have to cross this too.


And cross it you do!


The occasional manmade object are the only reminders
that you are not lost in the woods.
















Then another waterfall. It is seen only by those who care to venture into the valley, as you have.
It is nature revealing her secret, her intimate self to you. And you feel a little privileged to share this... "intimacy".














The 5th bridge has a warning. "Danger" it says. But you can't read the rest of the Japanese script. So what do you do? You've been trekking for almost an hour. Or more. Do you go back? Of course not! We're not wimps!
So onwards we go...

You descend what seem like temporary stairs that lead
into the water,  apparently.

When you look back to see how far you have come, you see this:

As in life, you can't always see how far you have come. If you have fallen far, you may see where you had started. If you have climbed high, you might see what depths you had wallowed in. But often, all you can see is where you have most recently been. And things in the distant past, remain a distant memory.



Ahead, you see the final (6th) bridge), and one more waterfall to reward your trek.
The last bridge you cross is another suspension-type bridge. It sways.


A series of stairs take you up along the side of the waterfall, up to the road.

At the top of the stairs, you find a road. You turn right to walk down toward Yamadera. About 4.7km.
If you turn left, you walk towards Omoshiroyama-kogen station. About 2 km.
If you look to the hills across the valley you just climbed out of, you will see, if it is the right time of the year, the colours of autumn in the wooded hills.

As you trek down towards Yamadera, the road is narrow and almost apologetic, as it winds,
as unobtrusively as possible, between the trees. The trees seem to part generously to accommodate
the intruding road.

The accompanying blog post to this pictorial is here.



Itinerary by Hotel 0ct 2013

This will also be the short review of Hotels.

20 Oct, Sendai (to 23 Oct)
Hotel Monte Hermana Sendai,
Matsushima, Japan
+ Free Wifi! Works without hassle!
+ near to Sendai Station. Once you know the way, easy to get there. Use the overhead pedestrian bridge/walkway. 
+ Lots of toiletries! Leave your toiletry bag at home!
+ Shopping nearby. There is a pedestrian mall similar to Sapporo's Tanuki-koji nearby. Lots of budget and Hyaku-yen shops. And restaurants!
+ one positive for me is the hot/cold water mixer for the shower & bath. Separate control for temperature, with a safety switch for VERY hot water, and a separate control for shower or bath water flow. No worries about getting temperature right.
= room small. Japanese standard.

Dinner at Toritetsu Yakitori restaurant, and "Fisherman" (in Japanese/Chinese characters: Fish "Yu", Citizen "Min").
From here we took day trips to Omoshiroyama and Matsushima by train.
When we left we Tak-Q-Bin our luggage to Hotel Crescent, Asahikawa.



23 Oct, Hakodate (to 25 Oct)
Hotel Ekimae, Hakodate, Japan
This is a return trip. Been here before and loved the convenience (200 m from Train Station), and the service/atmosphere.
+ Free wifi! This is new. Don't recall having it the last time we were here. Connects easily without fussing with password. Wifi provided by floor, so less chance of slow connection because of other users' bandwidth demand. Was even able to connect to the Hotel's wifi from the train!!! More than 150 m away! Posted a Facebook update or two from the train!
+ Room not big but seemed more spacious than the room in Sendai.
- bath & sink mixer is the "manual" type where you hv to mix hot & cold water to your preference with separate taps/faucet. Hate fiddling with those.
= Wife wanted to see old gentleman at the reception (that looks like a Japanese version of Col Sanders of KFC).  I think she has crush on him.  But (fortunately) he wasn't there the two days we stayed there.

From here we visited Goryokaku, and Onumakoen (by train).


25 Oct, Asahikawa (to 28 Oct)
Hotel Crescent, Asahikawa
+ Big room by Japanese standard. 
+ Bath mixer faucet is the one with separate and fine control
+ Near to Heiwa Dori shopping mall
- Not enough hooks for clothes, in bathroom.
- Insufficient power points for charging devices!!! BIG NO NO!
- Wife unhappy there is no odour eliminator (spray bottle) for clothes. The other two hotels provided.
- No wifi in room, but available in Lobby... But did not actually get to connect.

Reconnected with our main luggage. Coin Laundry on ground floor. Laundry detergent from reception (70 Yen). Convenient. Laundered our past days clothes, change to fresh ones, repacked our small bags. And Tak-Q-Bin our main luggage to the last hotel (Hotel Sunroute Plaza, Shinjuku). The hotel staff was careful to let us know that the Tak-Q-Bin will take 2 days, and so we should not expect it before the 30th Oct. I confirmed that we would only be there on 1 Nov, which is more than enough time for the luggage to get there.

28 Oct, Hakodate (29 Oct)
Loisir Hotel, Hakodate
+ Provided two pillows per person. One soft, one firm. 
+ Even closer to train station than Hotel Ekimae
+ Close to Daimon Yokacho food street
+ Close to Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse/Dock shopping area
+ WIFI in room
- In-room fridge not very cold. 
= room small. Japanese standard. Good use of space makes it quite usable.
= Complimentary bottled mineral water (from some spring). Not necessary, but appreciated.

I have good feelings about the Loisir chain of Hotels. I dunno why. We wandered around the Kanemori/Red Brick Warehouse which used to be the dock warehouse for shipping. Now its a shopping mall. With restaurants.


29 Oct, Tokyo (30 Oct)
Hotel Sardonyx Ueno, Ueno, Tokyo
+ Microwave at floors with vending machines (5, 8, & 11)
+ Close to train stations.
+ Wifi in room. Connected easily with password.
+ Close to Amayayokocho street market. A lively, "organic" night  market with street food.
- Lobby smelled of stale cigarette smoke. (Fortunately, room was fine).
- Manual hot/cold water faucet/mixer
= Room about Japanese standard - i.e. Small.

Dinner was street food. I bought a kebab in a pita bread (sold by a middle-eastern/mediterranean guy who spoke Japanese), PL got a fish waffle - Taiyaki - with Azuki bean paste. Then we ate okonomiyaki with kushiyaki at a street stall - shishito (sweet peppers), unagi, edamame, chicken with shiso leaf (?) and grilled maguro (prefer it raw). Had fun!



30 Oct, Nara (1 Nov)
Nara Washington Hotel Plaza, Nara
+ Close to train station (5 min walk)
+ Along Sanjo-Dori - main shopping street to Nara Park.
+ room seems spacious despite small size.
+ extra pillows in room
+ Abt 15-20 mins walk to Nara Park
+ Easy access to restaurants. 
- No wifi. (In room or Lobby).
- No ice machine - none I could find.
= Could do with more power points for charging devices. Barely adequate.
= Toiletries on request. Reception asked if we needed toothbrush on check in.

Breakfast at Kohi-Kan.
Lunch at Wild Boar Man Restaurant in Nara Park. Had Oden, Yakitori, and Onigiri.
Dinner at Okonomiyaki place without English name. (Something "Family" restaurant, as in run by some family, not that it is family-friendly.


1 Nov, Shinjuku (2 Nov)
Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, Tokyo
+ short walk from train station.
+ near to lively night life area. Kabukicho within walking distance.
+ Lots of food and shopping in area. And Nightlife. Wish wife wasn't with me! Could try out the "Soapland" (tip for single guys... or married guys who has escaped!) :-)
+ Chose this hotel to be closer to the Airport limousine Bus Service pick-up point. Then learned from the hotel reception that the front of the hotel is a pick-up point! That's really convenient! Cost seems higher though. If you go to the central. pick-up point, the tickets are only 2000 yen per person. From the hotel, it is 3000. I guess you pay for the convenience, and I think it was worth it, not having to drag the luggage to the bus station. (about 600 m away.)
+ Wifi in room and lobby. No trouble connecting.
+ Reception Staff spoke excellent English.
+ Extra pillows in room.
+ Was offered free membership and late checkout (1 pm).
- No prominent signs or landmarks to locate hotel. Was a bit of luck finding the hotel. Also some Google map search and location photos research ahead of time. But in general, roads in Japan tend to be confusing, and in Tokyo, it is especially confusing.
- Room small and cramped. No space for luggage.
= Barely adequate powerpoints for charging devices.

Reconnected with luggage.


Saturday, October 26, 2013

Descent into Omoshiroyama-Kogen - The Definitive Guide

I am intrigued by the name "Omoshiroyama".

The "kogen" suffix usually indicates a park or nature reserve.

I had understood "omoshiro" to mean "interesting". "Yama" means "mountain" if I am not wrong.

So I am planning to hike from "Interesting Mountain Park" to Yamadera.

"Yamadera" means Mountain Temple, if I am not mistaken.

The Chinese characters for Omoshiroyama reads as "Face/facade"-"White"-"Mountain/Hill" (Mien Bai Shan), or "white face mountain".

Omoshiroyama trail is not exactly difficult,but it poses some challenges. So if you just want a casual trek with no mess and no fuss, this trail is probably not for you.

But if you like a little challenge, this could be interesting.

Firstly some expectations.

Expect to get your feet and possilbly other parts wet. This may also mean your footwear, and socks.

Expect to take a little more time.

Expect your experience to be quite different from mine.

Expect the unexpected.

----

We trekked through the trail on 21 Oct 2013. It was a Monday, the day after a very wet day in Sendai, which may also have meant a wet day over Omoshiroyama. We were prepared to cancel the trek and try the next day if necessary, if the trail was too "bad". 

For example if the river had overflowed it's banks and the trail was washed out.

It didn't seem so when we looked over the start of the trail, so we decided to carry on.

The pictures are in this post.

Footwear

Based on other blogs, we had expected the trail to present some  challenges, so I wanted to be prepared with proper footwear.

I was planning to bring running shoes, and a spare, but in the end, decided to tough it out with just the running shoes. 

My eventual advice would be to use a trekking sandal, with socks as an options. The socks are to keep your feet warm when they get wet. There's a good chance they will get wet.

Also advisable to bring a change of clothes, including footwear.

And of course the usual trekking/hiking gear you take along.

Overview of the trek.

The trek route will take you down to the river approximately parallel to the road and railway track, before rising back up to the road. The river route is about 2 km of footpaths, sometimes wandering into the river bed, followed by an easy 5 km walk along a single lane road which is mostly downhill to Yamadera.

At the Omoshiroyama-kogen train station (no staff on duty, so don't expect to ask for directions there), cross the bridge over the tracks, and the river) and you will see the river (left of the bridge) and a path down to the river.

Another blog had mentioned that this station is so secluded, it doesn't even have vending machines! Which is true. So if you were planning to stock up on drinks just before the trek, do it before you get to Omoshiroyamakogen.

The First Bridge

You will come to the first bridge across the river. It is a simple bridge about 3 feet/1m wide. No railing. It may be one of the better bridges you will cross. Keep that in mind.

There is a steep metal stairs leading down to that first bridge. If it looks unsafe to you, turn back NOW.

The rest of the trail may be even more scary or worrying. Even if it looks safe to you -barely safe - understand that it will get worse. Or it will look worse, but it is still safe enough. 

Well, I survived.

But this first bridge will help you decide to go on, or go back. 

The Third Bridge

There should be a waterfall after the third bridge. Or not. Like I said, we trekked the route the day after steady rain in Sendai. The rain may have extended to Omoshiroyamakogen. So when we stood on the third bridge, we could see a waterfall - rolling down the rock face right next to the path we were to cross. I do not know if the waterfall is a permanent feature, or a temporary one. If it were a temporary waterfall, maybe in drier weather, it would not be there, and you can cross that rock face (there's a footpath/ledge carved into side of the rock, with railings.) without any concerns.

But on that Monday in October, there was water cascading down the near vertical face, and washing over the footpath. We discussed if we should go through that waterfall-washed footpath, or turn back.

Well, you know we went on. 

But with some preparations. 


Walking on (well, through) water

I decided to do it barefoot. Taking off my shoes and socks, walking briskly through the water-washed ledge, and on to the other side, where I put on my shoes again (sans socks).

The rushing water sprayed from the uneven rock face, splashing against us (our clothes got wet on one side) as we made our way through, but surprisingly the path was not slippery (to my bare feet).

This was not the only time I went barefoot to keep my shoes dry. Prescient or just practical, I re-shod my feet after the walk thru the waterfall, sans socks. My consideration was purely practical. There were no suitable place to put on my socks properly, and my feet were wet. I figured no point getting socks and shoes damp, as I put my damp feet in my shoes. I saved my socks for later (dry socks in damp shoes wouldn't be all that bad.

I would go barefoot several more times. Once was when a small waterfall/rapids washed over our path (again!). (We saw a fish -about 20 cm long- trying to swim against the current but being washed down the small shallow, rocky rapids.)

I believe in "normal" times (not after a day of rain), the "rapids" would have just been a small stream. And Trekkers might just have needed to step over the stream.

But instead our path was "overrun" by the rapids. I crossed that stream barefoot as well.

PL's shoes were wet by now, and she decided there was nothing to be gained from going barefoot. So she crossed in her light running shoes. 

We found ourselves wading into ankle deep water a few more times. The trail at times would run into the river bed. Maybe in drier times, the water would not run as high, and the edge of the river would be dry. But that day, we waded through the river at 4 or more points.

It was disconcerting at times to find the path trailing off, until we saw that the path pick up again for the  river bank a few metres forward. And we realized that the trail dipped onto the river bed. Which meant getting our feet wet again.

Most of the time this was a short wade thru ankle-deep water. The water was cold, but not so cold that 10-15 seconds of immersion would be painful. But after a while, it could get very uncomfortable. And at the last few points where I had to wade thru the river bed, the path consisted of small stones and pebbles which were painful to walk on. It would have been good to have footwear.

PL fared better in her shod feet. Even if her shoes and socks got wet. The wet socks warmed up and the shoes drained off rather quickly.


What? Me, worry? Safety precautions

In my opinion, the trek is not unsafe (I made it through ok), though it may be a little disconcerting, and it requires some "courage" to take to some of the bridges. (If you have a fear of heights or other phobias, this may not be for you).

But I am not particularly brave, and I take calculated risks. So while there are some risks of falling and slipping, death or serious injuries are unlikely, but discomfort, distress, and loss of dignity may ensue. 

Still some precautions are prudent.

The bridges are sometimes just planks across the water with no handrails. This can be scary, but it is relatively safe. Some are suspension-type bridges which sways quite a bit. Again, disconcerting and maybe even scary, but safe.

Some of the wooden planks on the bridges look worn, rotted, and even unsafe. They are fine. (Or were when I went through the trail.) The gaps in the planks where the wood has worn/rotted away are disconcerting but you will need to have the feet of a 4 year old to step through those gaps. Again, scary, but looks worse than it is.

One of the bridges near the end had a warning, and some notice in Japanese which we could only partially read (we could read the words for 'Danger' in Chinese, but not the rest). But at that point, what were we going to do? We had trekked for an hour. We weren't turning back so close to the end!

We crossed that bridge, and we were fine.

I would advise taking the bridges one person at a time. I don't believe it is absolutely necessary, but why tempt fate? Also leave your infantile friends at home. You know, the ones who will jump on shaky bridges, sway the bridge to scare their friends, and generally feel the need to scare everyone so they can feel good about themselves. Yeah. Him.

At the end

At the end of the river trail, the river goes on, but the trail climbs up, through a drainage tunnel (metal mesh footpath provides good traction, and a dry path), and continues on up to the road. You may feel the need for a torch in the tunnel as it could get quite dark. I used the one in my Nokia. But PL plowed on ahead without one. 

At the top you will find a one lane road with no road markings. Head to the right, downhill towards Yamadera. You are about 2 km from your starting point (Omoshiroyamakogen), and about 5 km from Yamadera. (You will see a few signs along the way marking your progress.)

We took a little over an hour to cover the 2 km River Trail. And about another hour and a bit to cover the walk on the road to Yamadera.

So less than 3 hours, more than 2. About 2.5 hours. 


Was it worth it? And how difficult was it?

Let me answer the second question first. 

I'm not athletic or fit. I'm overweight (about 20 kg over weight), and no one will describe me as skinny. I had a mild heart attack in 2006, and all the medical problems of modern times - diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension. I have them all. I don't exercise regularly except for a lot of walking (to and from my workplace every working day). 

And I made that trek.

On the plus side, other than weak knees, I'm otherwise in good physical shape (round is a shape). Not much stamina - enough for steady walking, but not running or jogging.

So physically, the trail was not difficult. 

No need for upper body strength (e.g. rock climbing).

Was it worth it? 

From my pre-set objective, no. I wanted to see and photograph autumn colours on that trail, which was to have been beautiful at that time of the year (late Oct). But the trees were mostly still in their greenery, with only spotty changes in foliage colours. So I didn't get what I wanted.

But no trek is ever a loss. 

We saw waterfalls. The scenery was still beautiful. There is a sense of victory in challenging and surviving every difficulty along the trek. And we got some exercise. 

So there's always that. 


If you wanna try it...

If after reading the above you are still game to try, good for you!

But here are some suggestions.

The best footwear would be sandals. You may want to use socks but that's optional. But do bring a change of footwear, and clothes. 

A towel to dry yourself off may be good, but that really depends on the water situation - high water level in the river, waterfalls in your path - or in a worse case scenario, someone falls into the river, or otherwise gets soaking wet. Then again, preparations are always for the worse, not for the best.

Sunset was around 5 pm or earlier during our trek. Find out and plan accordingly for your trek. It was cool during our trek - about 16°C I believe. So we had light jackets. I do not know if flash floods, or rising waters after a storm are hazards, but you should probably not trek during a rain.

If you are used to "safe" parks and walks, these may be new considerations for you. Japan's approach to these "adventures" seems to be that, if you want to take these risks, you should look out for yourself. The West (US & Canada?) approach is more protective, more paternalistic, almost a nanny state. If the wooden planks on the bridge is a little worn, the place would be closed for maintenance. 

While on the trail, we saw no other Trekkers or other people. So the trail is rather secluded. So one more precaution - tell someone where you are going, and what time you intend to be back.

Give yourself more time. If you rush and the conditions are good, you could probably make the 2 km trek in 45 minutes, and the road walk in less than an hour, but give yourself ample time. But 3 hours should be quite comfortable and the pace quite leisurely.

(Making the river trek in an hour would mean an average traveling speed of 2km/hr. This is quite slow for a road walk, but reasonable for dirt trail or uneven paths. Once on the road, a 5 km/hr speed is faster than leisurely.

So 2 hours is doable, but it is anything but leisurely and assumes no incidents or other delays. Three hours is more reasonable.)

[this post still subject to edits and alterations. ]






Friday, August 16, 2013

Learning Points and future plans

General points
- Stay a few days. Most places were interesting enough to stay more than a few days.

- Less is more. Go to fewer cities. Spend more days there.

- Remember rush hours in cities. Avoid travel on subways during the morning rush hour unless your travel plans involve experiencing the fabled "Train pushers" of the Tokyo metro.

We are planning a return to Japan in October to see the autumn colours. The plan is for a hike from Omoshiroyama-Kogen to Yamadera. This will be a day trip from Sendai.

After that, we may just travel up to Hakodate (by train) and visit Onuma Park. Perhaps Autumn colours would be nice there too.

Then we plan to go up to Asahikawa again, to re-visit the Izakaya with the spicy gyoza. And perhaps visit our friend, Cowboy. :-)

Then we will head down to Sapporo for a day or two, before heading back to Tokyo/Narita for our flight back.