Japan – Love in Tokyo

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 13^th to 20^th 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 13^th 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.

The Palace

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. 

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 17^th 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. 

A shrine in Geisha quarters

Hiashi Chaya

Kanazawa Station

Tea house

The alley

Gold Imprinted

Displays in the Museum

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.

Distributing Sake

Performance

The Garden

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.

Shoren in Temple

Temple garden

Chion In Temple

The Temple entrance

Kodai Ji Temple

The Old quarters

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 9^th 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.

Todai Ji Temple

The Ashoka Pillar

Next day morning again it was planned to be a day for city tour; we took a day pass for the local Bus service for that. Our first stop was the Kinkaku-ji Temple and the famous Golden pavilion. The excellent Golden structure in a small lake looked surreal in the reflection of the morning Sun, it was worth facing a large crowd, the hilltop surrounding was serene and devoid of tourists; we enjoyed sitting by the forestry set up there for a while. Then we walked down to the nearby Ryoan-Ji Temple and the Zen rock Garden. It was one of the most spectacular gardens of Kyoto and for some reason, not hounded by the tourists. The place was a photographer’s delight with its varied colourful landscape. We came across a vegetarian restaurant midst the garden named Yodofu Umegaean; it was a private enclosure with the most picturesque garden I came across in my entire trip. We sat on the floor in traditional Japanese set up overlooking the garden; a full bloom Sakura tree was dominating the view. It felt surreal and took us back to a different time zone; it wasn’t hard to imagine myself sitting with a cup of steaming tea dressed in Kimono and enjoying a peaceful morning all by myself. Post lunch we went to the Tenryu-ji Temple in Arashiyama, by narrow gauge train, the Arashimaya area was on a hilly terrain very close to the mountain. It was lovely to just walk around the area, such was the landscape. The temple and its garden was nice with the backdrop of the mountain, it gave a feeling of some hilltop monastery. From the north gate of the temple we entered the famous Bamboo Groove which was a popular photo stop for both tourists and locals. There were some more shrines and old quarters that the local Rickshaw pullers offer to show to the tourists. We walked around for some time and then went to the bus stop to take a coffee break and then took an hour of bus ride to reach the Kyoto station.

Kinkakuji Temple

The Golden Pavilion

The Zen garden

The yodofu restaurant

Entrance of the restaurant

Tenryuji Temple

The Landscape at Arashiyama

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