Yes, that is how I remember Japan from my earliest
memory, where a flamboyant Joy Mukherjee was chasing the beautiful Asha Parekh
in the roads of Tokyo in a Hindi film with the same tittle. I had heard many
tales of the beautiful gardens of the country as a child, as a neighbouring
aunty spent a few years in Tokyo. Ever since, I imagined Japan to be a
picturesque country straight from the sketchbooks. For last few years, it was in
my wish-list to visit this country of my childhood dreams during the time of
Cherry Blossom. Last year we planned, but it didn’t materialise, as I realised
that to hit the Sakura bloom (cherry blossom), one need to plan well in
advance, as the tourist influx is maximum during that period. Sakura is a very
delicate tree that remains in full bloom for a very short time (no more than
ten days) and it doesn’t bloom at the same time in every city. It is grossly
regulated by a particular temperature and moisture. Anyway, the blooming starts
from south and spreads in the northern parts gradually spanning for a period of
about a month. Hence, one must plan for Sakura visit during the period of March
end to first week of May and choose the places to visit according to the dates.
We planned our visit this year during the Songkran
time (from 13th to 20th April), as that week was holiday
season in Bangkok and made bookings well in advance, in January. The itinerary
was two days in Tokyo, one day in Kanazawa and four days in Kyoto. As per
weather predictions, in Kanazawa we were likely to view Sakura in full bloom,
though one can never predict such things accurately. Anyway, Japan has much
more to offer than Sakura and my itinerary was driven more by the rich cultural
heritage and the gardens.
On 13th we reached Narita airport past
noon and expected to reach our hotel at Hamamatsucho in the afternoon not
before 3PM, as it would require an hour of train ride and a change of track in Tokyo
station. To our surprise, the entire process of walking out of the aircraft to
reaching hotel happened in one and half hours, such orderly was everything;
Japan’s immigration is definitely the most efficient and fastest of all the
countries I have so far visited across the Globe.
That evening we went to the Ueno Park which was
right across the Ueno station, this place had a Museum and a wide spread
Garden, our aim was to visit the Park, for trying our luck on Sakura. As we
walked on the path inside, a line of Sakura trees came into sight with a blend
of red and white flowers, they were past their peak. The Sakura flower turned
into red post full bloom. There was a surprise awaiting us, as we took a right
turn; a Sakura tree at its best form came into sight. I was mesmerised by the
sheer beauty of it, a very different experience from any full bloom tree I have
ever seen before; it also gave me a relief that even if I don’t come across another
one like this, my dream was fulfilled.
Next day morning we got our Japan Railway pass
from Tokyo station in exchange of the 7 days voucher we already purchased in
Bangkok. We also booked our Tickets for the forward journeys to Kanazawa, Kyoto
and return to Tokyo and Narita against the pass. After that we headed for the
Imperial Palace which was either a long walk or a short taxi drive from the
station, we opted for the easier option, as I was already feeling tired from
standing in a long queue at the railway counter (for some reason, the usual
efficiency of managing crowd was lacking here). I wasn’t too keen to visit this
place, as it wasn’t included in my original itinerary, but agreed as my husband
insisted. As we got dropped at the crossway, it took some time to figure out
which way the Palace would be and I was eyeing at a café thirstily; but in a
magical moment we forgot everything and crossed the road towards an enclosed
roadway. It was simply breath-taking! The entire trail of the road was adorned
with a line of full bloom Sakura trees, not a single tinge of red nor a leaf to
distract. We spent a long time sitting beneath them on one of the benches lined
up to enjoy a pleasant day. It was hard to leave the place, but we ultimately
extracted ourselves to visit the Palace from outside, as it wasn’t open for
Public. Next we went to the Shibua crossing; a seven road crossing famous for
its liveliness and numerous eateries and shops.
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| The Palace |
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| Shibua |
Next day morning we took an early train to
Kanazawa in the Shinkansen line, it was my first bullet train ride and we had
first class tickets, as our pass was for first class. The train came from some
other destination and stopped at Tokyo station for about ten minutes, during
that time the Railway staff thoroughly cleaned the coaches and changed
direction of the seats for upward journey; there was still enough time for the
passengers to board. I was already amazed by the speed of the staff, the speed
of the train and the Wi-Fi inside just added to it. Mt. Fuji was wonderfully
visible throughout the journey of two and half hours which passed like a dream.
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| Mt Fuji |
The heritage city of Kanazawa, a foothill town was dreamlike too with its
beautiful landscape and quiet surroundings. We headed for the famous Geisha quarters
at Higashi Chaya district after an early lunch and settling luggage at the
hotel which was very close to the station. Here I want to mention that we opted
for hotels in every city close to the Railway station that gave us huge
locational advantage. In the alleys of the Higashi Chaya district time stood
still in 17th century where Geishas still entertained distinguished
guests in the teahouses in the evenings. In the daytime tourist were allowed to
roam around this UNESCO site and even enjoy tea at a few who offered so. A lot
of teahouses offered merchandises ranging from handicrafts to herbal
toiletries. We spotted a poster in one of the walls announcing Geisha private
show for a week during Sakura, one of the dates coincided with our visit; we
tried our luck for online tickets and actually got it for that evening in the
most famous Kaikaro teahouse. We went to the Gold Leaf Museum on our way back to
the hotel; the museum displayed the traditional techniques of Gold leaf imprint
of ancient Japan and its modern evolution. In the evening we went back to the
Geisha district, by then all the teahouses were closed for tourists.
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| A shrine in Geisha quarters |
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| Hiashi Chaya |
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| Kanazawa Station |
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| Tea house |
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| The alley |
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| Gold Imprinted |
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| Displays in the Museum |
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| The Landscape |
The closed
door Geisha performance (with a limited audience of about 25 people) started
with raising a toast and drinking sake and then came the most charismatic
performances and the engaging interaction with the chief Geisha of the house
Lady Baba. It was an experience of a lifetime and worth every dollar we spent
on the tickets. Next day morning we went to the Kenrokuen Garden and the
adjacent Kanazawa Castle Park. This garden is considered to be the third most
famous garden in entire Japan and it proved the case surpassing my imagination.
Not only the blooming Sakura but other plantations and their arrangements
around water bodies created a picturesque landscape depicting sense of
aesthetics of highest order.
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| Distributing Sake |
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| Performance |
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| The Garden |
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| The Castle Park |
We took an afternoon train to Kyoto which was a
two hours journey in the local JR train. We reached Kyoto in the evening,
checked in the hotel and went out for a stroll and a laid back dinner.
The next morning we started around eight in a local
bus and went to visit the temples; starting from Shoren-in Temple, the biggest
temple that housed school for Japanese Buddhism, then Chion in Temple, a
pilgrimage place for Chinese tourists. We stepped inside the neighbouring Maruyama-koen Park; Cherry trees were still in
bloom there, we enjoyed coffee at a beautifully set up café within the
premises. Our next stop was at the Kodai-Ji Temple, in Japan not only the
temples, but the adjacent temple gardens were worth a visit for their natural
beauty. After visiting the temple we walked into the Ishibei-koji street, from
here started the old quarters of historical city of Kyoto, there were walking
streets interlinked; young girls mostly tourists, dressed and decked up in Kimono
(courtesy to the Kimono rental studios) strolled along adding some more flavour
to the old world charm of the locality. From here we walked into the Gion area
which was the Geisha District of the city. This area was much larger than
Kanazawa and held the anthem of rich heritage, though somehow looked a bit
commercial in comparison to the other one. There was a cultural centre where
regular group performances were held by trainee Geishas for the tourists.
Our next plan was a day trip to Nara which was an
hour ride in local JR train (the JR pass covered all local train and bus rides
from the JR company). The road from railway station to the Nara Park was so
mesmeric in terms of landscape beauty that we already felt happy for the
decision of taking the day trip. As we approached the park, hundreds of deer
came in sight gathered around. They were uninhibited, eating out of hand faithfully;
it was like an industry with so many stalls selling Deer fodder. We approached
the Todai- Ji Temple as our first stop. This was world’s largest wooden
structure, a 9th century wonder built in traditional Japanese style
of architecture. Though the original form of seven storey structure wasn’t
there anymore, but what remained was still awe-inspiring in our eyes. After
spending some quiet time around the temple ground we had a hearty lunch in one
of the traditional restaurant and then headed for the Park. The Park was
beautifully done up with many shaded resting places to enjoy the view and spend
some time; the deer were a constant company everywhere, especially when loaded
with food. We spent rest of the afternoon there enjoying the moderate weather
and soothing breeze.
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| Todai Ji Temple |
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| The Ashoka Pillar |
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| Tenryuji Temple |
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| The Landscape at Arashiyama |
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| The Bamboo groove |
On our last day in Kyoto, we had a train in the
afternoon, so the morning was well spent on a lazy stroll, enjoying coffee
sitting by the road and doing some last minute shopping. As we bid farewell to
Kyoto, with that our Japan trip also came to an end; the spell of Sakura and
the mesmeric landscapes lingered in my mind for a very long time. This trip
would remain in my memory like a fairy-tale dream; a dream that never ends,
even after one comes out of sleep.
***
All photographs of this blog are personal property of Mr. Dilip Pal. Copyright (c)dilippal 2019
Copyright (c)ananyapal2019
ALL RIGHT RESERVED
