Travel: Japan - General
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sotongdaddy:
Totally agreed.Prepare yourself with some simple words or questions.
To me the 3 most important questions are;
1) How much? ikura desu ka? いくらですか？
2) Where is the toilet? toilet can be said as o-te-a-ra-i OR to-i-re-tto otearai / toiretto doko ni arimasuka? お手洗い/トイレットどこにありますか？
3) Can it be cheaper? yasuku dekimasuka? 安く出来ますか？
Please prepare your routes in advance. The train / bullet train you wanna take. There are 20 over paltforms in Tokyo station. Not a joke if you can't find your paltform and miss your train.
Enjoy your trip! 旅行を楽しみしてください。
The website http://www.hyperdia.com is very useful if you plan to take trains during your journey.
The phrase \"ikura desu ka?\" is very useful as it is applicable to buy anything including food, entrance fee, train fares etc. -
Part 1:
Just came back from a 15 days free and easy holiday in South West Japan and Tokyo and Starlight1968 suggested that I share my trip details on Shirakawago, so thot I share a trip report. There are 10 of us on this trip, my family of 5, my sister's family of 3 and my parents.
Day 1: Nagoya to Futaminoura (MEOTO IWA)
We arrived Nagoya in the morning via an overnight SQ direct flight. Went direct to Nagoya Station to catch an early lunch before our onward train to Futaminoura. One of the speciality of Nagoya is Hitsumabushi, an eel dish that is eaten 3 ways. There is a restaurant at Nagoya station that specializes in this. It is simply delicious. Here is how it looks:
Hitsumabushi:
![](\"http://i58.tinypic.com/30n7s74.jpg\")
http://i58.tinypic.com/30n7s74.jpg\">
After lunch, we took a train to Futaminoura and on arrival, we called our Ryokan and they picked us up at the train station. The main attractions here are Meoto Iwa (husband and wife rock) and Edo Wonderland Ise. Our ryokan is just by the sea overlooking this rock. The rock outcrop is best viewed in spring or summer during sunset but our main reason for coming is to take the kids to Edo Wonderland Ise (Bunkamura)
Meoto Iwa:
![](\"http://i59.tinypic.com/mreknc.jpg\")
Dinner was lobster sashimi and grilled seafood at the ryokan. Lobster is a speciality here. You can have your lobster either grilled or as sashimi. We opted for Sashimi. There is Japanese style bath in this ryokan but no onsen as this is not an onsen area.
Seafood kaiseki dinner:
![](\"http://i61.tinypic.com/23igv7k.jpg\")
Day 2:Futaminoura (edowonderland Ise) to Nagoya
After a hearty Japanese breakfast with Lobster Miso soup, we visited Edo Wonderland Ise. This is mainly for the kids as it is a Japanese Ninja/Edo era theme park. A beautiful place and quite fun. There is no crowd as it is off season. It'll probably be better with more street shows etc during peak season. There is a ninja maze, a rebuilt castle an exact replica of the original etc.
Our Japanese breakfast:
![](\"http://i62.tinypic.com/20s69ab.jpg\")
Edo Wonderland Ise:
![](\"http://i58.tinypic.com/2is832v.jpg\")
After this, we took a train back to Nagoya.
To be continued. -
Part 2:
Day 3: Nagoya to Kanazawa
We bought a one day Nagoya tourist bus ticket today. It is like a hop on hop off bus. This morning, we visited Nagoya castle. This is one of the well known castles in Japan. Beautiful architecture and the paintings in the rooms are beautiful.
Nagoya Castle:
![](\"http://i57.tinypic.com/2emq0s5.jpg\")
In the afternoon, we visited the Toyato Commemorative Museum. Tells the story of how Toyota started as a loom maker and become an auto maker. There is an interactive tech area that is like a tech playground for kids and adults alike.
That evening, we took a train to Kanazawa. Bought bento boxes from JR Takashimaya at Nagoya station and had our dinner on the train. Gave us an opportunity to buy the beautifully arranged bento boxes :rotflmao: :evil: ! We actually enjoyed our dinner on the train!
Day 4: Kanazawa
We bought the Kanazawa one day tourist bus ticket today too. We went to OMICHO MARKET this morning for breakfast. Yummy!
Omicho market and our breakfast:
![](\"http://i59.tinypic.com/2cf4iuv.jpg\")
![](\"http://i59.tinypic.com/kebw4z.jpg\")
After breakfast, we visited Kenrokuen garden, one of the top 3 gardens in Japan.
Kenrokuen garden:
![](\"http://i57.tinypic.com/2eaijj8.jpg\")
Kanazawa castle is just opp Kenrokuen garden. But as we went Nagoya castle which is more well known, we gave Kanazawa castle a missed and just took pictures outside.
Kanazawa castle:
![](\"http://i62.tinypic.com/mmpme.jpg\")
After lunch, we went to HIGASHI CHAYA DISTRICT. This is an old Geisha district, housing the Geisha teahouses. Geishas are still performing and entertaining here at night. We visited KAIKAROU TEAHOUSE (they are called teahouse, but they serve alcohol at night mainly) an operating teahouse at night but open for visits in the day. We paid for a tour of the teahouse and a simple afternoon tea and sweet cake. An interesting shop to visit in this street is HAKUZA GOLD LEAF STORE. They sell things from cakes to ornaments to jewelry plated with gold leaf.
Higashi Chaya District and Kaikarou teahouse:
![](\"http://i61.tinypic.com/s2cwf5.jpg\")
To be continued..... -
The Kaiseiki dinner is such mouth-watering.
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Starlight1968, the food was so good, I don't dare to weigh myself since I got back! :yikes:
Part 3:
Day 5: Kanazawa to Shirakawago.
We took an early bus(8.10am) to Shirakawago this morning. There is no train to Shirakawago as it is a mountainous area. But the bus was very comfortable. The same bus stops at Shirakawago before going to Takayama.
We arrived Shirakawago around 9.30am and was able to check in to our Minshuku. This is a 5 rooms home stay. We took 4 rooms and had the whole place to ourselves. There was no other guest that day. The owner section and guest sections are separated. The guest share common toilet and 2 Japanese style bath. It is one of the old houses within the UNESCO World heritage site. We booked this through the tourism office of Shirakawago. Dinner and breakfast was also part of the package here.
Minshuku Koemon (anti-clockwise: welcome tea and sweet cakes, our room, Kaiseki dinner and the corridor to the rooms)
![](\"http://i62.tinypic.com/2v0kb4y.jpg\")
The Minshuku was fantastic and provided us with snow boots/wellingtons, which was very much appreciated as snow was falling heavily. It was a start of a snow storm in Shirakawago. The next morning, the whole place was covered in deep deep snow! We were glad we arrived a day earlier. A friend was there 2 days before us and from his photo, there was hardly any snow.
The village of Shirakawago, photo from the bridge:
![](\"http://i62.tinypic.com/293dls4.jpg\")
We deposited our bags and went to the GASSHO VILLAGE open air museum. In the museum, there is a sample of the inside of the old houses that you can visit. After walking around the \"museum\" which is really an outdoor walk around the houses and surroundings, we had lunch in the village. This is the Hida beef region. Hida beef is better than the wagyu we know and cannot be exported outside Japan. Our lunch was Hida beef soba and skewers of grilled Hida beef which are to die for! :please:
After lunch we took a bus from the village to SHIROYAMA TENSHUKAKU VIEWPOINT to have a Birdseye view of the village. We were lucky to be there just 15 mins early and had a great view of the village. Within 15 mins, the snow storm came and we could not see anything after that!
Shirakawago:
![](\"http://i58.tinypic.com/2mgnrxv.jpg\")
WADA HOUSE and MYOZEN-JI TEMPLE & MUSEUM are places which we wanted to visit after the view point, but because of the heavy snow, we were freezing and decided to give them a miss. Wanda house is suppose to be give a view of the inside of a typical house in Shirakawago. But we were already staying in one :).
With the snow storm outside, we were glad we were able to enjoy a hot bath before our delicious dinner.
Day 6: Shirakawago to Takayama
After a sumptuous breakfast, we checked out at 9am to catch the 9.30am bus to Takayama. It is the same bus that travels from Kanazawa to Shirakawago to Takayama that we took the day before. The bus ride was just short of an hour.
On arrival at Takayama, we checked into our Ryokan and went for a walk at Takayama old town. It was still snowing but not as heavy as in Shirakawago. There is a shop in the old town selling takeaway aburi Hida beef sushi. The queue is long but so worth it! I'm salivating just thinking about it now!
Takayama Old Town:
![](\"http://i61.tinypic.com/w7hm2s.jpg\")
After the walk and some shopping around old town, we went to Ajikura Tengoku for lunch. This restaurant is near the bus station and serves delicious 5th grade (the best grade) Hida beef! It was the best meal we had the whole trip. The beef melts in your mouth and price is very reasonable. Cheaper than what you get in Singapore and so much better! Must try if you visit Takayama. DH was just saying that he wants to go Takayama again just to be able to eat at Ajikura again!
Lunch at Ajikura:
![](\"http://i58.tinypic.com/f6g5f.jpg\")
After lunch, we took a bus to the Teddy bear Eco Village. Frankly for adults or older kids, it is a waste of time. Small place. But the 2 girls (6 and
loved it. We tried to do some thing for everyone in the group on this trip since our ages range from. 6 to 74!
Teddy Bear Eco-Village:
![](\"http://i62.tinypic.com/2ko35w.jpg\")
We had yet another great Kaiseki dinner at our Ryokan tonight. There was of course Hida beef, eaten shabu shabu style or on the hot plate.
![](\"http://i59.tinypic.com/mtnpzk.jpg\")
To be continued..... -
Hi Dnls_mum
The photo of the village of Shirakawago is similar to what I have seen in the guide-books.
My time of travel isn't the time for snow and yours was just perfect timing.
The travelling part isn't easy with bus ride into the mountainous area.
Congrats and you have done it!
With kaiseiki dinner almost every night, maybe it is better not to think about your weight -
starlight1968sg:
Hi Starlight1968, thanks! Traveling by bus definitely was not easy. We saw people with big luggages having trouble at Shirakawago as the thick snow meant they cannot roll the bags. We actually sent our large luggages via TA-Q-Bin from Nagoya airport to Kanazawa. When we arrived at the airport. We had prior to departure packed small cabin bags for our first 2 nights. Makes train travel easier. Then at Kanazawa, when we got our big bags, repacked for the next 5 nights and sent our bags from Kanazawa to Tokyo. This way when we were travelled by bus to Shirakawago, Takayama, Shibu Onsen, etc, it was much easier. There are no luggage space in the buses for short distance travel too. I definitely recommend using TA-Q-Bin to deliver big luggages between the big cities and just take small cabin bags for bus travel. It made our travel much easier!Hi Dnls_mum
The photo of the village of Shirakawago is similar to what I have seen in the guide-books.
My time of travel isn't the time for snow and yours was just perfect timing.
The travelling part isn't easy with bus ride into the mountainous area.
Congrats and you have done it!
With kaiseiki dinner almost every night, maybe it is better not to think about your weight -
Haha, Shibu Onsen in Yudanaka?
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starlight1968sg:
Haha, Shibu Onsen in Yudanaka?
Yup! To enjoy the onsen and see the snow monkeys! Will get to that soon. -
Dnls_mum:
OMG, one of our most memorable experiences but some years ago. That posh ryokan and its kaiseiki dinner, plus the lonely walk to Snow Monkey Park...starlight1968sg:
Haha, Shibu Onsen in Yudanaka?
Yup! To enjoy the onsen and see the snow monkeys! Will get to that soon.
I can't wait to read your trip to revive my memory.
My dh always rem the price paid on top of the unique experience.
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