Trip to Japan September 19th to October
2cnd.
To all our friends, who joined us during the two weeks of our travel to
Tokyo and the mountains of Nagano Ken. Here are the pictures and impressions I
tried to fix to that homepage for an everlasting memory.
Schedule of our visit to Japan in
September 2001
Our arrival in Narita was at 8:55 am. Shigeru
Sakuma picked us up at the exit of the
airport and gave us a ride in his VW Golf to his house in Niza Saitama Ken.
There his wife Mineko and daughter Fumiko were waiting for us to have a welcome
drink and lunch with us. After we had a short rest, our first sight seeing tour
started. Shigeru showed us Heirin-ji Temple in the close neighborhood with lots
of stone lanterns. When we came back we could enjoy the first Japanese dinner,
which Mineko prepared. For the remaining day we stayed at our host family's
house exchanging each other and went to bed earlier as usual.
Shigeru got up early that morning to pick up a small bus at a rent a car
station to get all family members and guests into one car. We visited a
traditional Washi (Japanese paper)
manufacturing in Higashi Titibu Mura Saitama Ken. There we could try to become
familiar with Washi production by trying to create some Washi post cards
decorated with flowers and leaves from the park outside.
In the evening we went to Tokyo by train to meet our
friends and former
colleagues at 7 o'clock in a Kushibar called Nambantei (03-346-1351) close to
Yoyogi park.
Travel to Matsumoto
and stay at Minshuku Ikku for 3 nights.
Saturday
22nd
Monday
24th
Our plan was to enter the mountains
as early as possible, but still dreaming at 5:15 we didn't realize, that we got
on the wrong train and had a involuntarily sightseeing through the Kiso valley.
Anyway we came back to Matsumoto around 12 and arrived in Kamikochi at 1:30
pm. Finally at 5:30, exhausted, but just in time when supper was announced to
be started, we entered the Yarizawa lodge.
In the morning 5:30 the wake up call
reminded us to our challenge this day, and very soon the room where meals were
served was filled. As usual in public Japanese accommodations we had miso soup,
fish with rice and green tea for breakfast. The indispensable cup of coffee for
gaijins we prepared ourselves with our gas stove I brought in my rucksack when
we were half an hour apart from Yarizawa lodge on the way to Yarigadake. The
following route to the peak was packed with impressions of the natures variety.
Along the Azusa river we could see how mighty the river may swell in spring,
when snow and ice carry rocks and big trees down the valley to Kamikochi. Now
it was a harmless creek that gargles down the mountain and only peeled trees
across the river bank told their story.
When noon came closer the sun warmed up like in midsummer and we started to
take off our jackets and pullovers. Our skin soon started to get burned, and as
closer the peak moved, we more often took a break for taking some pictures or
just to enjoy the mountains atmosphere.
Not finally on the peak, but at the last hut we had lunch. With our stove we
prepared cup noodles and shared a Salami which we brought from Munich. After
that we finally were eager to reach the 3180m high peak of
Yarigadake. The last 30 minutes were almost a
perpendicular climbing. Ladders and ropes fixed to the rocks helped to get
safely to the peak.
After that great experience with a 360 degree panorama view with marine blue
sky and temperatures of 18 degrees we started to walk back to Yarizawa lodge
which we reached at 5 o'clock.
Same procedure as last day. 5:30
breakfast and coffee outside on the way to Kamikochi. Descending back to
Kamikochi wire Taisho Ike and Kappabashi.
Due to running out of money we started to negotiate with a taxi driver who
brought us for less money compared with public bus lines to Shirahone Onsen.
There we stayed at Ryokan Ebisuya which has an inside as well outside hot
spring bath. We also could enjoy a delicious traditional dinner and breakfast
there.
When we started to head back to
Matsumoto, we remembered the reasonable fee of the taxi the day before and
started to talk to taxi drivers again. In the end we got a cheaper ride to
Matsumoto with one stop at a coffee shop, which a bus driver never would have
been agreed. A friend of Brigitte, Yaeko_san runs the
shop and takes care of her mother who is the owner and lives there in the
remote mountains. We invited the taxi driver to have a cup of coffee, so we
could exchange and update ourselves with Yaeko_san.
Around noon we arrived at Matsumoto Station and started immediately to reach
the post office to get money there from the cash dispenser. We were lucky, both
cards, mine as well Roland’s were accepted and saved us to run into trouble not
being able to pay for the tickets to Tokyo.
When we had our purses stuffed with
money again, we called Mitsuko_san, who took care of our heavy luggage when we
were in the mountains. She had some time left till her next classes with
English students and gave us a ride to a close sushi restaurant, where we had
lunch together and afterwards visited the Alps Park at a hill in the North of
Matsumoto. Around 6 pm we left to Musashikoganei to meet our former neighbors
and close friends the Katoh family Satomi, Yukarichan, Shun_chan and Hiro. We
already could here the voices of the two children Yukari_chan and Shun_chan
calling our names when we reached the house they were living. It was a great
welcome and for the rest of the day we had a lot of things to tell and listen
to the news of the children and their parents.
Friday morning we had breakfast with
Satomi, Hiro and the children already left the house for work and school. So we
took time and left to the nearby architectural open air museum park. In this
park we could find a good segment of the Edo time architecture of Tokyo. In the
evening we met Satomi’s parents, who
live in Saitama. We had dinner together and Yukarichan and Shunchan entertained
us with their violins.
The next day we were invited to see
the family of Junichiro, a colleague of mine who joined me while I was working
in Shiojiri 5 years ago. Before we reached the house of the
Toki family, we dropped by at the families friend, in
a pottery shop, where we could try to do some pottery and got an explanation
and overview into the work of a potter. Then we met the Toki family in front of
their house in Shimoguisa in Suginami Ku and left to a nearby restaurant to
have lunch together.
The same day in the evening we had
an appointment with Mrs. and Mr.
Stork in a Sushi restaurant in Azabuchuban. If I am
thinking about the past time living in Japan, my ideas are always linked to Mr.
Stork, who always had an ear for me when I was in need to have some help. It
was a pleasure for Brigitte and me to talk about our common missions like
Saitokinen festivals in Matsumoto, or the numerous company and society events
we could join in Tokyo.
For Sunday Satomi booked a travel by
bus to pick mandarins in the Izu peninsula.
The ride in the bus mostly was escorted by rain, but fortunately when we
reached the mandarin groves it was dry and we could have break outside. After
we had lunch in a traditional old restaurant we had the chance to buy some
Omiyage for that who had to stay at home and couldn't come with us. After that
we had a walk to the shore, were we could breath the sea air and took some
exercise for our feet.
Monday
1st Oct.
The last day before leaving Japan ,
we went for sight seeing to Akihabara and Ginza. The electronic town with the
tiny small shops for all you need for electronic works always is worth to
visit, and Ginza gives a good outlook for goods, you never can afford to buy
due to the incredible high prices.
Tuesday
2nd
Two taxis were ordered, to get all
our luggage to the station of the orange line where we took a train to Tokyo
station. Satomi and Junichiro escorted us to the airport by Narita Express,
where we arrived around eleven. Departure to Munich was 1:30 PM