World Travel with Bob: Japan 2019 - Part 1: Japan Land Tour

After months of planning, the date finally arrived for our month in Japan. This was a first time trip for me and we decided to include as many Honshu Island highlights as reasonably possible. Our trip had three components - an organized nine day land tour, an eight day Japan cruise on the Diamond Princess and about twelve days of travel on our own. I've separated a description of this trip into three parts, corresponding to the trip component.

Why An Organized Land Tour?
This trip reinforced the notion that participating in a small (20-22 participant) organized land tour allows you to see and experience more highlights in a short time period than you could alternatively do on your own. There is a lot to be said for not having to arrange daily transportation or hotel reservations, purchase activity tickets and arrange dining at popular restaurants without personally making reservations. In addition, an experienced tour company can provide excellent guide services. The only downside of this type of tour, from my perspective, is that the schedule can be somewhat regimented. With this reservation, I still believe our tour hosted by Super Value Tours was excellent and one of the best ways of visiting Japan.

A Little About Our Land Tour
Our "Japan Classics" tour covered ten days, including time for air travel to/from Japan. The tour provided three nights in Tokyo, an overnight near Mt Fuji, three nights in Kyoto, and an overnight in Osaka. The hotels and dining included in the itinerary were all very good to excellent in quality and service. Two of our hotels included an onsen and one night was spent sleeping on a traditional tatami mat. We particularly enjoyed our stay at the luxurious and service oriented Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, originally constructed in the 1880s and reconstructed several times thereafter.

The dining on the tour included all meals, except for two. The meal formats were Western and Asian hotel buffets for breakfasts and meals highlighting regional specialties. Two dinners were Kaiseki meals, a multi-course Japanese banquet beautifully served via many small plates. For these dinners, we were invited to wear a hotel provided yukata and join in after-dinner karaoke. Two other dinners were teppan style - a "grill your own" experience and, the other, a chef prepared teppan selections.

Our Super Value Tours guide during the tour was terrific. She shared interesting highlights about each place we visited while also sharing information about life in Japan. In addition to being very organized, her attention to detail and service orientationwas was outstanding. These attributes resulted in a very enjoyable trip for travelers. As an example, when we were searching for a restaurant for a dinner on our own in Osaka, our guide actually located us on the street and ensured we reached the restaurant. I think that sums up the attentiveness of Super Value Tour guides.

The tour made use of several modes of transportation, including Shinkansen "bullet" train, buses and, yes, even a 30 person rowboat.

Shinkansen Trains

Below is a brief description of sights and activities that were included during the nine days and eight nights of this tour:

Tokyo Area

Hama-Rikyu Gardens - With the East Garden of the Imperial Garden being closed on our tour day, we headed over to the Hama-Rikyu Garden. This 61 acre park is located where the Sumida River flows into Tokyo Bay. Originally a duck hunting area, a villa used by the Tokugawa shogun family was later added. The property passed to the Imperial Family after the Meiji Restoration and became a city park administered by the City of Tokyo in 1946. We enjoyed a relaxing morning walk through the park and some cherry blossoms were seen.
Harajuku shopping district - A retail area that draws fashion oriented youth. There are several shops located in this area that are dedicated to vintage clothing.

Hama-Rikyu Garden

Shibuya Rail Station - This area is known for large crowds of shoppers and visitors (see below video). Outside the station, there is a bronze stature of an Akita, named Hachiko. This dog loyally and patiently waited each day to meet his owner at the station in the afternoon - even after his owner's death. You might recall a 2009 movie about this story, starring Richard Gere, Jason Alexander and Joan Allen. This movie was set in Rhode Island rather than Japan.

Ginza - While we are not shoppers, we enjoyed the basement "depachika" food market at the Mitsukoshi Department store. This store even has refrigerated coin lockers so that you can store your purchased food items while shopping in other store areas.
Sumida River Cruise, between Hinode Port and Asakusa - This scenic cruise provided a great city view from the river. Not as fast as the subway but much more relaxing. Once arriving at Asakusa, we visited:

Sensoji Temple
Kaminari Gate,
Dempoin Shrine
Nakamise Street

Between Tokyo and Mt. Fuji Five Lakes

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shinto Shrine - This shrine was originally established in 1063 by Minamoto Yoriyoshi. A new shrine was built on the site in 1180 by Minamoto Yoritomo. Yoritomo established the Kamakura shogunate and Kamakura became the capital of Japan during this time.
Hase-dera Temple - located on a hillside, this temple is known for its eleven-headed statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The temple grounds are beautiful, with rock garden, pond and flowering plants.
Iyashi no Sata Healing Village - This restored village of thatched roof houses stands on the site of a past farming area, near Lake Saiko. The original village was destroyed by a 1966 typhoon. The farmhouses are used as museums and storefronts for handicrafts
Itchigo Kubota "Kimono" Museum - After many years of study and experimenting, Kubota revived the art of Tsujigahana by dyeing in a similar manner he referred to as "Itchigo Tsujigahana." This type of fabric dyeing was originally done around 1333-1573. The museum contains displays of his elaborately decorated kimonos created with labor intensive attention and detail. In 1996, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History exhibited 45 of kimonos produced by Itchigo Kubota. This was the first time the Smithsonian exhibited the work of a living artist.

Between Tokyo and Kyoto

Miho Museum - This I.M. Pei designed museum was commissioned by Mihoko Koyama, the founder of the Shinji Shumeikai religion Many of the 300,000 Western and Asian antiquities held by the museum were reportedly purchased by Koyama in the 1990s.
Kiyomizudera "Pure Water" Temple - A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this temple was founded in 780 in the wooded hills of Kyoto. This is a very popular site to visit, so we timed our visit for 6:30am. Walking up the hill, you pass a large wooden stage, Jishu Shrine dedicated to love and matchmaking, Otowa Waterfall, Okunoin Hall and Koyasu Pagoda. Later in the day, we walked through the historic streets of the Higashiyama District to view the traditional shops, cafes and restaurants.
Chourakukan Cafe - Nothing like stopping at an ornate 1909 house for mid-morning tea. This house, designed by John McDonald Gardiner, contains unique rooms decorated in Rococo, Neo-classical, Renaissance and Asian styles.
Gion Geisha and Higashiyama Districts - This is an area that provides walkers with a view of the Yasaka-Jinja Shrine and glimpse of the famous Geishi district and Kabuki theater houses in the Gion area. Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka Streets of the Higashiyama District are historic Kyoto alleys that contain traditional residences as well as many shops, restaurants and cafes in a setting that reflects "Old Kyoto."

Kyoto to Lake Biwa

River Rowboat down Hozu-Gawa River, from Kyoto to Arishiyama - This was the most convenient transit method for our group to travel from Kyoto to Arishiyama as reserved train seats were apparently unavailable. The nine-mile trip provided both views of natural scenery and an experience that was unique to our Japan trip. The flat-bottomed boats were guided by a rower and a person using a bamboo pole to push the boat and keep us away from nearby rocks. Though the ride was fairly tame, there were a few sections of mild white water rapids.
Kinkakuji "Golden Pavilion"- This Zen temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and sits along side a large serene pond. The top two floors of the temple are covered in gold leaf. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, of the third shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, built this structure in 1398. The temple, much larger when originally constructed, has been rebuilt several times due to fire.
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest - This bamboo grove is an icon of the Kyoto area. Known as a serene spot but perhaps not so much by noon. I've read that the best time to visit this forest is around sunrise or sunset when you can wander the paths without many others.
Yuzen Textile Shop - After a full day of travel, we spent time learning about the ancient textile dyeing process. This became a hands-on experience as each person selected a design and painted a small handkerchief. It was a fun and creative way to end a tour day.

Lake Biwa to Osaka

Osaka Castle - The castle has a long history, with original construction completed in 1583. Osaka Castle was intended by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to become the center of a unified Japan; however, his son was unable to defend the castle from the Tokugawa shogunate. The castle suffered from fires and, in 1931 and 1997, reconstruction efforts resulted in a stronger tower with elevator service.
Nara Park - Todai-ji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was one of the seven Great Temples located in the City of Nara. The temple was constructed in 753 The Great Buddha Hall houses the world's largest bronze Buddha image. Records indicate that 2.6 million people participated in creating the temple and worlds largest bronze Buddha image of Diabutsu (over 49 feet high). The blooming cherry trees on the grounds added to the beauty of the temple. While in Nara Park, we observed the many Silka deer. The estimated 1,200 deer are sacred and protected as reflecting the white deer ridden by Takemikazuchi, the god of thunder.
Dotonbori Historic Hozenji Alleys and Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Area - This area has been important to commerce and theater since the mid-1600s. Currently, Dotonbori is known for its restaurants, bars and shopping. The towering brightly lit billboards of Shinsaibashi are reminiscent of New York's Time Square. Once we left the bright lights, we wandered among the smaller and less crowded alleys. We entered Hozenji Senpei, a very small dining shop, and ordered okonomiyaki and beer for our dinner.