Yesterday we started our journey to Japan. On this trip we are accompanied by Stephen and Annette Ball who kindly invited us to join them.
Our journey started last night 25th March when we took a late night flight from Brisbane departing at 11:25pm and arrived into Singapore on the 26th March just after 5am local time. After a three hour transit we used the time to enjoy a hot Milo drink then explore Changi Airport Terminal 2, including the Dreamscape and Sunflower Garden, we flew onto Osaka arriving mid afternoon on the 26th March.
On arrival at Osaka we were at terminal 1 instead of the main terminal number 2, so we had to catch a shuttle train from one to the other – this was our first taste of crowded Japanese trains although it was full of arriving passengers. Once at terminal 2 we passed through immigration, customs and baggage clearance. These three stages took over 2 hours but finally we were outside the terminal and looking for the booth to purchase tickets for our bus transport that was going to take us to within three hundred meters of our hotel. This proved to be the easiest process of the day.
So after leaving our respective homes at 7:30pm on the 25th we arrived at our Osaka hotel at 6:30pm Osaka time (7:30pm Brisbane time).
Today was Beth’s birthday so this particular birthday lasted 25 hours and included approximately 14 hours of flying, airline food, queueing at three airports, several reviews of her passport ( and no-one picked up that today was her birthday) a coach ride into Osaka and a bought dinner of sandwiches and half a banana – Happy Birthday darling – where to next year?
Step total 6708
27th March 2024
Today started with a wonderful Japanese and Western breakfast before we met our tour guide and the group. There are 40 in our group and our tour guide is operating her first tour with inspiring Holidays. Yukino Ogawa has been a tour guide for nine years and has spent some time in Australia so speaks very good English. She occasionally has trouble finding the correct English word when translating her thoughts from Japanese but I have trouble translating my thoughts into Japanese!!
First stop this morning was the Osaka Castle. This is the third castle built on this spot. The first castle built in the 1500s was destroyed in the early 1600’s however lightning struck the gunpowder warehouse in 1660 so the castle we saw today was the third castle on that site.
There are some 2000 cherry blossom trees in the grounds of the castle, however we are a little early to see this years blooming. There was one tree in partial flower and some where the buds are very close to blooming – so maybe next week.
After the castle we ventured into a local shopping area for a look and to buy some lunch. The crowds were tremendous but we battled our way through. We walked as far as we could through the shopping mall then found some very nice food for lunch cooked in front of us. We found a cafe afterwards for a coffee and hot chocolate (and restroom) before returning to our agreed meeting point from where the guide phoned the bus driver and we walked to the pickup point.
That was the end of our Osaka experience and we moved onto Kyoto. There was no distinction between the cities of Osaka and Kyoto as the housing and industrial precincts continued.
Here we visited the Fushimi Inari Shrine. It seems a feature that the busses have to drop passengers off away from the tourist areas so we had a 15 minute walk as a group to the shrine entrance. This shrine featured a series of red archways built very close to each other which made for a lovely walk and some beautiful photographs. Here we also saw ladies dressed in the traditional Japanese kimonos. They were happy to pose for photos. We had about 90 minutes at this shrine before regrouping and walking back to the bus pickup point.
We then made our way to our hotel in Kyoto through peak hour traffic. Tonight we found a lovely, secluded restaurant where the four weary travellers had a nice meal before retiring to our rooms for the night. Today was a 12700+ step day!!!
28th March 2024
Today was a sightseeing day in the Kyoto area and we had glimpses of cherry blossom flowers – a sign of things to come. First stop was the temple complex of the Tofukuji Temples. Its entrance gate is the oldest in Japan and is a National Treasure. This vast complex includes 24 sub-temples and at one of these temples we had to take our shoes off and walk around the verandas in socks – fortunately none of our group had holes in their socks! This temple had four different gardens, each facing in a different direction. The first or Southern Garden was made up of raked stones and large rocks. The western garden had shrubs set in square shapes amongst the white stones the third looked like a chess board with square pavers and green grasses squares. Finally, the fourth garden returned to the large rocks theme amongst smaller white raked gravel. They all relate to various Zen architecture and philosophy which was lost on me, so I’m glad neither of us want to replicate this type of garden at home!!!
Next we moved onto the Kinkakuji temple better known as the Golden Pavilion because the top two storeys are covered with gold and there is a golden phoenix built on the roof. The pathway to view this temple was a one-way path that took us around the bank of the lake where the temple is built so there were some nice photo opportunities with reflections and water views. The path continued to climb up the hill at the back of the temple then we completed 65 steps down before turning left to find the bus park. We saw a group of tourists following a Holland America tour group board so there must be a Holland America cruise ship nearby. There were so many tour groups in these attractions that we were glad it was a one-way path and our guide takes the time to give clear instructions and makes sure we all understand. It is amazing just how many buses are parked at these tourist attractions. We are always being reminded of our bus number and which parking bay it can be found at.
By this stage we were feeling a bit peckish so our next highlight included a lunch stop before more walking and exploring.
On the way our guide was talking about Japanese dishes that she liked to eat. With her accent some of the group thought she was talking about eating ears and they were trying to work out which animals would surrender their ears for human consumption. Of course, we have all given pig’s ears to our favourite dog so I guess their thoughts were going down that track. Eventually the message got through that she was talking about Eels! At be we will get a chance to try them sometime in the next few weeks.
Today we were taken to the town of Arashiyama near our next attraction where there was a feast of food shops to review before deciding on lunch. We choose a shop that sold steamed beef buns (Annette and Beth) and hot dogs (Stephen and Richard). Japanese hot dogs are not quite the same as the Aussie variety but still very tasty and I’m sure more nutritious!! To add to our dining experience we all enjoyed an icecream made up of vanilla and chocolate flavoured icecream – yum!
After lunch we walked to the nearby Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. We walked through the Bamboo Forrest which was very interesting because it had long straight shoots of bamboo but also a lack of any life at all in the Forrest. No bird calls or other animal noises although we did see a sign that warned people not to feed the monkeys. At one stage there was a slight breeze blowing through the Forrest and I could hear the soft rustle of the bamboo. The pathway through the bamboo Forrest lead us up to the top of a hill before Deen ding down the complete the walk alongside the Katsura River to the bus parking station for our return journey to the hotel.
Today’s activities had us returning to the hotel soon after 3:30 so it was nice to have a rest before our search for an evening meal. Tonight we tried the Saizeriya Restaurant and Café. They had lovely hearty meals at very reasonable prices. This restaurant was recommended by one of our tour party when we met them last night.
Total steps today 11000+
29th March 2024
After another lovely breakfast we checked out of our hotel and said goodbye to Kyoto. We travelled on the highways which were lovely and smooth and some of the engineering of the overpasses and roadways was amazing. We passed through built up areas but also some market garden areas and eventually some bush so we are now getting out of the cities and into the country. After about 90 minutes we passed over the longest suspension bridge in Japan and pulled into a truck stop for a photo looking back over the bridge.
Continuing on e travelled over a second suspension bridge that crossed the Naruto Strait onto Shikoku Island. The Naruto Strait is famous for whirlpools that are created under the bridge by the incoming and outgoing tides. We walked along an observation walkway that went below the road level of the bridge to see the current and water rushing through. Although we were not there to witness the whirlpools, we could see some small ones forming and there was ample evidence of a strong current.
We then head for Takamatsu, on the north coast of Shikoku Island. This port city was to be our lunch stop and the place for the rest of todays activities.
After lunch we visited the open-air museum of Shikoku Mura. This museum displays several types of heritage houses from Japan’s history. It was nice to wander amongst the houses and the grounds.
Next stop was the Ritsurin Garden and another opportunity to see the illusive cherry blossom. We had been catching glimpses of them today so our hopes were high. The gardens are lovely and the landscape included ponds and several types of pine trees, all in all an exquisite traditional garden. We did see some cherry blossom trees in full bloom so mission accomplished and we can come home!!! But wait there is more….
After this there were forty tired tourist, one tired guide and one very good and alert driver, so we headed to our nearby hotel before getting some dinner and settling in for the night. Tomorrow, we have an early breakfast and early start … but wait I’m getting ahead of myself……
Step count today, even though we spent a lot of time in the bus was 11500+
30th March 2024
As I said yesterday an early breakfast this morning in preparation for an early departure. Today there was a lot of bus travel, so the step count today won’t be setting any records.
Travelling on the roads gives one an appreciation of the highway development work. Road builders set the altitude of the highways and then continue at this level and when coming to a mountain they continued straight through. I lost count of the number of tunnels we travelled through today.
First stop today was a visit to the Ishiteiji Temple in Matsuyama, one of the 88 pilgrim temples made famous by a monk who made a pilgrimage between all 88. These days people still undertake this pilgrimage some on foot and some on bicycle. After this stop it was a short drive to the town of Dogo Onsen. Here we stopped for lunch and at 12 noon we gathered to watch the animated clock which comes into action on the hour.
Back on the coach again we started our journey to the port city of Misaki. On the roads today we stop at roadside stops, mainly as a comfort stop. The stop this morning had full service including a convenience store. This afternoons stop was a roadside stop where the store was replaced by several banks of vending machines. Seems like you can get lots of things from vending machines in Japan. This afternoon several of our group purchased hot coffee in a can from the vending machine.
This afternoon it seemed like the clouds rolled in off the sea. Our guide explained it wasn’t cloud but pollution. She called it yellow sun as it originated from another country across the ocean that had a large population due west of Japan.
At Misaki, we boarded a ferry to the town of Beppu, on Japans third largest island of Kyushu.
The process of boarding the ferry was interesting as the bus drives onto the ferry fully loaded and we get off the bus to enjoy the ferry lounge areas. At the end of the journey we rebooted the bus before docking and drive off. We had a similar experience crossing from Vancouver Island to the Canadian mainland.
The ferry ride was approx minutes and from there it would be another hour drive to our hotel, so all in all a long driving day today but if we want to see Japan we need to do the miles.
After such a long day we just had a quick meal, visited a nearby supermarket and retired for the night.
For those interested today’s step count was 5300+
31st March 2024
On our tour we met a couple from Hobart. Helen is a retired Anglican minister and her husband Ray has worked in the Anglican Church as an accountant, so it was lovely to sit with them at a table of six for breakfast on Easter Sunday.
It might seem ironic, but we spent this Easter Sunday morning in hell!!! Let me explain.
The area around Beppu and Kyushu Island have many thermal pools. In fact many private homes have their own steam baths. Two of these public pool areas are on our agenda today.
The Hells of Beppu are hot springs that steam somewhat violently. Each ‘hell’ that we visited were distinctly different. Because of the minerals in the ground the first one we visited was a blood red colour. At this pool there was an opportunity to have a a foot bath in the warm water from the thermal pool. We all enjoyed dipping our toes in the water. The second contained a series of three pools the first being green in colour the second being turquoise blue and the third a deeper red that we had seen before. The second site also had beautiful gardens including several cherry blossom trees in flower.
Travelling south we stopped for lunch at another roadside stop. This one had a bakery as well as several other eating places, but we bought from the bakery including a melon roll – Japanese traditional bakery food for this area.
We continued our journey reaching Nagasaki mid afternoon. Our first stop was a visit to Glover Garden, for an insight into Nagasaki’s cosmopolitan past. This open-air museum has nine buildings from all over the city that were relocated here as well as lovely gardens and views over the harbour. It was quite a climb to reach the garages but in some of the steeper parts they had installed automatic walkways that took some of the hard work away. Next to the Glover Gardens was Oura Church, said to be the oldest church in Japan. This church had survived the bombing of Nagasaki that ended World War 2. Some adventurous people from the group climbed the long steps to visit inside the church but the author was happy to photograph the steps and look at the internet photos for an inside view.
Next stop was the hotel and as we walked through Chinatown from the bus drop off point we went back there for our evening meal.
Steps today 8400+
1st April 2024
Today a full day in Nagasaki and a very somber morning. Today our first stop was at the Peace Park which is near one of the two sites of the atomic bomb explosion in 1945 that forced Japan to surrender.
Today the park has several statues that commemorate the happening and look towards peace.
The first statue we saw was the peace statue a ten-meter statue erected to commemorate the 10th anniversary. The final exhibit was the Peace Fountain.
From here we walked to the park that marked ground zero of the explosion. There are a few more statues plus a remnant of a cathedral wall that at the 5pm was approx 500 meters from the hypo-centre.
Next stop was the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb museum where there were more displays both static and video showing the events and the results. The final section gave an account of the current world situation showing which countries are considered to have nuclear weapons.
Lunch today was at the wharf area however some of the group found the food hall at a nearby shopping centre more convenient.
Our guided walked those of us who wanted to go back to the hotel by early afternoon so we could have a restful afternoon as the next two days are going to be long days.
2nd April 2024
Today was a golf day ….. an early start but a day mostly of driving. We stopped every 60 or 90 minutes to allow all to stretch their legs and the 12 o’clock stop coincided with lunch. We were on a mission to catch the 2:30 ferry to Miyajima Island. The island is famed for the freely roaming sika deer and just offshore we’ll see the ‘floating’ vermilion torii, (shrine gate) which becomes partially submerged at high tide. It marks the entrance to Itsukushima Shrine, which was first built in the 12th century. The gate is not supported be any foundations as it sits on the seabed using its own weight and design.
After visiting the island we returned on the 4:15 ferry to the mainland and our patient coach driver for the final leg of todays journey to Hiroshima. Our original itinerary was to visit the peace park today and the island tomorrow, but there is a threat of rain tomorrow so the visits were changed to give us the opportunity to visit the island in clear weather.
Tonight we continued our culinary tour of Japan by eating tea at an Irish Pub just across the road from our hotel.
3rd April 2024
Another somber start to the day for two reasons. Firstly because today is a rainy day and secondly because of the sites we visited this morning. The rain started overnight and was forecasted to continue all day. This caused a change to the order of activities. The plan was to visit the Peace Memorial hall first however as we drove past the Peace Park the driver found a parking spot right near the monuments so we could visit them first even though it meant getting out the umbrellas and taking photos with one hand on the camera and one holding the umbrella. We saw various monuments including the remains of a building that was at the epicentre of the explosion and others that had been erected since the bombing, including the Children’s Peace Monument, dedicated to the children who died as a result of that day. Dispersed amongst the monuments were cherry blossom trees in flower and a bed of colourful tulips. We were in the Peace Park at 8:15am and heard the chiming of the Peace Bell which tolls at that time each day to commemorate the time of the bombing.
From here we drove the short distance to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and spent 90 minutes walking through the museum which proved quite emotional. We heard several quiet cries from the visitors including several local people. This museum focused more on the effects of the atomic bomb on the people in the area while the earlier museum at Nagasaki focused on the physical damage caused. The topography of the area here in Hiroshima is much flatter than Nagasaki which is more mountainous, so the effect was more widespread.
After the museum we were back on the bus for our two hour drive to our lunch stop for today at Okayama before a further 90 minutes to our next adventure through Himeji Castle. Our guide promised us that there would not be too many visitors because of the weather, however there were still a lot of buses there with tourists that like us had to follow their itinerary regardless of the weather. We followed the line that led to the main keep of the castle which was built in 1601 and is one of the oldest surviving Castles in Japan. There were some lovely gardens around the castle grounds with cherry blossom trees and even in the rain it made for some lovely photos. Due to time constraints we were unable to view the inside rooms of the castle.
Returning to our group meeting point our next journey was by foot from the castle grounds to Himeji Railway Station. We took the opportunity of some free time to grab a bite to eat as w knew it would be a late arrival at our hotel tonight.
At around 5:30pm as a group we moved onto platform 11 at the station for our next ride to Osaka. This trip was to be aboard the 17:52 train to Osaka – using a bullet train!! While we waited for our train one bullet train went past the station and it was travelling so fast that it was nearly gone before anyone could see it. It certainly left some of us breathless as the noise was loud but gone in a few seconds.
Our train arrived and we all clambered aboard and found our designated seats. The ride was fast. Using a speedometer app I tracked the train at 270 kph and another of our group tracked it at 302 kph in a different section. The normal train timetable (stopping all stations) for this route is 1 hour and 25 minutes – our trip took less than 30 minutes.
After arriving at Osaka station we walked the short distance to where our bus was parked and we drove a little slower to our nearby hotel.
Steps today – despite a lot of driving – was 9590+
4th April 2024
Another early start this morning saw us leaving our hotel at 7:30 with the promise of another long drive ahead. After two hours we had our first comfort stop then another 90 minutes to our lunch stop. The roads today were still good quality but there were some repair crews working on sections. Lunch today was at Amagozen another roadside rest area with a convenience store.
Lunch finished it was then only a short drive to our first visit stop in the town of Kanazawa. The Kenrokuen Gardens, started in 1620, was a lovely Japanese garden that included trees, man made lakes and gardens, water features such as fountains, waterfalls and windy paths. There were also lots of cherry blossom trees as well. One feature of the garden was no grass. The green grass area was made up of moss and we even saw gardeners picking through the moss in what we think was a weeding exercise. Other gardeners were on the top of ladders in the trees meticulously pruning the tips of the tree branches so they had just the right look.
Back on the bus again we drove into the town of Kanazawa and to the Higashi Chaya District, famous for its well- preserved wooden teahouses. We spent a little over 90 minutes here as some of the group had an optional extra activity to do here.
After this we drove to the nearby Nagamachi Samurai district for a walking tour and visit to a samurai home, however all the homes available to visit were closed.
After checking into our hotel we explored the nearby area for food options and found a Japanese place for tea. The four of us ordered different meals of pork, chicken, pizza and mussels plus a Japanese dessert that we are sure our grandchildren will love when we present it at home. Icecream with chocolate sauce and a surprise crusty treat at the bottom of the glass.
Total steps today were just short of 8500.
5th April 2024
A reasonable start today of 8:30am and a cold wind blowing today, as we headed for a small historical village of Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Japanese Alps. It was a two ½ hour drive so there was a comfort stop after about one hour.
The wind had abated when we arrived and we had an hour to explore this little village. Being in the alps the village, some houses had steep pitched roofs and some were thatched while others were a more traditional timber and over time iron had been added. As well as the houses there was the mountain scenery in the background and the higher peaks still had the remnants of the winter snow covering.
Next we headed further into the Japanese Alps region for our lunch stop in the city of Takayama. We visited the beautifully preserved old merchant district with quaint, old latticed wooden buildings and in particularly Sannomachi Street, with pretty homes, restaurants and souvenir shops. There were some optional extra tours as a part of this stop, so we had about four hours to explore the older part of town as well as getting our lunch. We found a lovely upstairs restaurant that served great food. Because we had a longer stay here, we decided to make this our main meal of the day to save us having to explore too far afield from tonight’s resting place.
From here it was another two-hour trip over the mountains and through countless tunnels including some beautiful snow scenes as we continued through the alps reaching an altitude of just over 1300 meters and an outside temperature of four degrees – back to the Antarctic!!
Our final journey was to the town of Matsumoto. Due to traffic conditions slowing this final leg of our journey we reached our hotel a little later than planned, however a quick trip to a nearby convenience store gave us something to eat for tonight.
Steps today 8500.
6th April 2024
Todays departure was 8:30 but there was no bus waiting. That was because the first attraction this morning was within easy walking distance from the hotel. Completed about 1593 Matsumoto Castle is also known as ‘Crow Castle’ because of the black exterior. The first thing you notice about the castle is the wide moat and today we saw the backdrop against the Japanese Alps with one mountain having a touch of snow. The castle was home to the Ninja Warriors and there were some characters walking around the castle grounds this morning.
We returned to the hotel mid morning and our bus was waiting so we headed towards Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko. Our lunch stop today was another roadside stop with a convenience store and while we were having lunch our guild told us that if we went around the back of the building w would be able to see Mt Fuji in the distance. Naturally the entire bus group was around the soon taking snaps. We are eager to take every advantage of a sighting as the mountain is often covered in cloud.
Continuing on towards our goal we had to travel over a mountain range before arriving at Lake Kawaguchiko then onto the Fujisan World Heritage Centre. This was classed as a museum and had some wonderful displays about Mt Fuji, including a 3D video shown on individual headsets. There was an observation deck to see Mt Fuji but unfortunately, she was hiding behind cloud.
Next stop was actually on Mt Fuji, so we started the climb, fortunately in the bus to the fourth station which was as far as the road was open. This station was at 2020 meters. The summit is 3776 meters. From this station we were about the cloud and could see the summit of the mountain so there was much excitement and once again lots of gigabytes were used up by our group.
Returning to ground level, or actually 850 meters above sea level, we found our way to the hotel which is just across the lake with views of the mountain and again the summit was visible from the entrance and even every room in the hotel faces the mountain so we have wonderful views tonight.
Tonight because there isn’t a lot of options for self purchased dinner the tour included a dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Steps today approx 6800.
7th April 2024
This morning we woke to the spectacular sight of a 99% clear view of Mt Fuji through our hotel room window which gave us opportunity for many photos. I took a time lapse video over an hour of video which compressed into 30 seconds of video. We went outside to take more photos before breakfast then it was back to the room to close our cases and checkout of the hotel. With such a wonderful background we posed for a group photo before boarding the bus for a short drive around the lake to our first activity of the day. We took a 20 to 30 minute cruise on Lake Kawaguchi which gave us great views of Mt Fuji from the water.
Following this we visited Itchiku Kubota Art Museum to learn about the revival of the lost art of Tsujigahana silk dyeing for kimonos, thanks to the artist Kubota Itchiku. There were also lovely gardens and a view of Mt Fuji from the tearoom, however the cloud was starting to cover the mountain. By the time we left Lake Kawaguchi the cloud had completely obscured the mountain so we have been truly blessed to have stayed at the hotel that we did and to see the views early in the day.
Then it was onto Tokyo, with one last lunch stop at a roadside service centre – this one was the busiest and biggest so far.
Understatement of the tour …. “Tokyo is a busy city”. We arrived in the city fringes of the 38 million resident city nearly as soon as we left the lunch venue. We reached the residential high-rise area first, then started seeing some skyscrapers, traffic interchanges that were about three levels high before we reached our next destination which was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building which had an observation floor at the top of fourth four other stories. From the 45 floor we could get an overview of the city which stretched to the horizon. On a clear day you can even see Mt Fuji, but although sunny this was not a clear day – anyway we have seen the mountain.
After an hour taking in the views we returned to ground level, which in Japan is always called level 1, and proceeded by bus to our hotel. One the way wed passed an area with lovely cherry blossom trees and the clouds were unbelievable.
Tonight we visited an old friend for dinner. In America we ate at Denny’s Family Restaurant, and we found one about three minutes walk from the hotel, so that was our evening meal sorted and perhaps a return visit tomorrow night for our final dinner, but that is for tomorrow’s blog.
Steps today 5270+
8th April 2024
Today was our last tour day before w all go our separate ways tomorrow. There are some of the group staying a few extra days and some doing other things before they reach their homes.
Not far away from our hotel and still in the suburb of Asakusa we visited another temple built in the seventh-century. Called the Senso-ji Temple it is the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan – so we were warned that it would be busy- busy!!! Our guide wasn’t wrong. We had to leave the bus in a designated bus parking area so our guide led us on foot through the crowds, past the massive bowl of burning incense, through the markets and onto the famous front gate, know as Thunder Gate. We were then given free time to explore the area including the markets that were starting to open and find our way back to the meeting point that Yukon had showed us on the way in. This has been the ritual at a lot of the attractions we visit, so we are getting good at returning before or at the allotted time.
Next stop was a food market called Tsukiji Outer Market, where we could buy some lunch. The third stop of the day was also an opportunity to get some lunch as well. The Tuuskiji area had a lot of street food vendors and we ere allocated some free time here too, but we couldn’t find anything that we liked so we settled for a caramel icecream in a cone. I think this area was even more hectic than the crowds at the temple.
Our third and final stop for the day was the most craziest place in Tokyo and somewhere where I hoped we would visit. I didn’t recognise the name from the itinerary as it was listed as the Shibuya area, but when we arrived I recognised it. You may have seen that crazy intersection in Tokyo where people are crossing the road from all sides at once – well that was it. We joined in the crossing parade for one crossing with our tour guide before being let loose for some time exploring. This place is also called Shibuya Scramble Crossing and it is a people watching persons wonderland. Someone from the group said that we saw more people today than in the entire previous 14 days combined!!!
We all returned safely from our explorations around Japan’s busiest pedestrian crossing and drove back to our hotel one last time as a group.
Getting out of the coach we all said our goodbyes to our driver, guide and new friends before returning to our rooms to do start our final packing. After two weeks on the road and relocating nearly every day, we are used to living out of our cases and not much gets disturbed in them each day.
Dinner tonight was again at Denny’s and the walk back to the hotel brought the step count for today to a fraction over 8700.
9th & 10th April 2024
Call out the bugler and trumpeter because today our theme is the Last Post.
Our 8th April started rather early, I am sure you all know what it is like to lie there waiting for an early alarm to go off. Ours was set for 5am and a second set at 5:05. With our guides advice we planned to catch two taxis because one Tokyo taxi wouldn’t fit in four adults,four large cases and four smaller carry bags. There were several parties heading to the airport for early and mid morning flights so our wonderful guide had walked to the train station the previous afternoon, taken photos of special landmarks for us to watch for then made a story board of what we could expect to see and in what order as we arrived at the train station, bought tickets and made our way onto the platform. She was waiting in the hotel foyer very early this morning with her photos and notes so each departing group could photograph her notes then Yukino spoke to the taxi drivers in Japanese so they knew exactly where to take each ride. Today was supposed to be he first day off in 15 days!
With that sort of planning everything went smoothly with our group of four so by 6:35am we were all seated on the Narita Airport train and we arrived at the airport exactly on the scheduled arrival time of 7:23am.
It was raining in Toyo this morning so we welcomed the under cover walkway from the station platform to the Airport Terminal. We found the checkin counters for our Singapore Airline flights to Singapore and Brisbane and swoon had completed all the formalities to check our cases through to Brisbane.
With early checkin times these days there is always a wait between check-in and flight boarding, so after passing through immigration and security there was time for some breakfast and last minute shopping before making our way to our departure gate.
Our flight left Tokyo at 11:10am and arrived at Singapore 5:20 local time. We then had just under four hours to wait at Singapore. Fortunately, there is a lot to see at Singapore Airport so the time quickly passed as we looked at the Crystal Garden, Butterfly House, bought and consumed a drink and generally wandered.
Time came for our flight to Brisbane and we boarded a little after 8:45 and left the airport right on schedule at 9:30. Dinner was served on this flight but because of some turbulence the cabin crew couldn’t get the meals distributed on schedule so it was early hours of Wednesday morning before we were eating. Then a few hours of cabin darkness for those who could sleep before a early morning snack and arrival into Brisbane just before 7am.
Our brother-in-law was there to pick up four weary travellers and deliver them to the right homes – no Japanese needed!!
We trust you have enjoyed following us on our journey through Japan and we are thankful for the many kilometres we have safely travelled.
Sayonara.
PS. Steps on the 9th April. 7370+
Richard & Beth Morse 