We spent two weeks in Japan. The Japan Rail Pass for tourists is a fast and affordable way to see a lot of the country. We went to Tokyo, Kanazawa, Takayama, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Mt. Fuji.
Tokyo
I really wanted to see some weird stuff in Tokyo. For our 3 day stay here, we didn’t take in any religious, cultural, nor historical sites, we just walked around a lot.
The first place we went to was the Harajuku district, the fashion center of Tokyo. Not only were there hundreds of tiny boutiques with styles ranging from $10 to $300, the locals walking around were dressed over-the-top fabulous. I thought I would see maybe 1 or 2 Lolita girls, grown women who dress like Victorian dolls, but I saw so many. Other women dressed in wild asymmetrical garments that looked like someone randomly took scissors and cut a square out of the hem of a skirt or shirt. No matter the style of clothing, every outfit was accessorized with platform shoes , whether they be Mary-Janes, loafers, boots, or sneakers.
We walked down to the Shibuya Crossing, the famous Tokyo intersection used in all footage about Japan, Tokyo, technology, busy lives, city population growth, etc. It was teeming with tourists and a few locals maybe? It felt like the locals avoid the area because it’s so busy with tourists.
Search for Western Sushi
We walked back to our hotel, had a rest, then went on a tiny adventure for dinner. We wanted what I call white person sushi, which is just sushi rolls, not delicate exquisite fish gently laid upon the finest bed of rice. I don’t know anything about seafood and my taste is just not refined enough. We found a place called California Rolls, and took the metro there with just a couple of stops. When we got out of the station, there were 3 or 4 police buses and an officer on every corner, but other than that, not a soul around, and we were surrounded by dark empty skyscrapers.
We got to the address, which was of course down the stairs into the basement, down a hallway past a large blue tarp covering an empty cement room stripped bare for a renovation, and at the end of the hallway, a door with a table in front of it, a menu on the left, and a sign reading, please knock to order.
Josh knocked, and the door slid open revealing a Japanese woman ready to take our order and a guy in the kitchen behind her ready to make it. Take out only. You stay in the hall by the blue tarp and wait. It appeared to be something like a ghost kitchen for Uber Eats. You were not supposed to actually come there.
As we were waiting for our food, we could hear a group of somewhat loud Americans trying to navigate to the same place, proving their strategy to gain business from Westerners looking for familiar Sushi rolls was working.
There was nowhere to sit and eat, and it was raining, and there were cops everywhere for some unknown reason, so reluctantly trudged back to the hotel to eat.
Tech ‘n’ Sex
The next day started with a visit to Akihabara, Tokyo’s tech district with huge buildings dedicated to electronics, claw games, capsule toys, Anime, and sex shops. This is where all the Maid Cafes are located, which we were curious about, but it sounded like it works best if you speak Japanese. I also visited some 18+ floors and was introduced to Hentai, which is like cartoon porn, and initially created to skirt censorship laws, but now is around because people like that flavor. I had no idea. Just like the big consumer electronic show in Las Vegas, tech and sex always go together.
Check out these futuristic Japanese technology specimens!
Recreation
We walked from there to the Tokyo Dome to catch the 2pm baseball game. We first went to the ticket office that was selling tickets for future games at about $20, but we were directed to the window to buy “last minute” tickets for today’s game. The lowest price option was about $110 per person, we kept blinking at the laminated paper in front of us, counting the number of zeroes, thinking there was some mistake. We didn’t end up going, and we still don’t understand why the tickets for the immediate game cost so much.
After a little lunch in the sports pub, watching three innings, we started walking to the Museum of Modern Art, but got distracted by a roller rink at the Tokyo Dome. We did a little skate sesh with some foreigners dressed as Lolita Girls and some old guys who like to groove, and of course small piles of children falling down in front of us.
Ninja Restaurant
That night, we got as dressed up as we could to go to the Ninja restaurant I made reservations for at least a month in advance. I’m a sucker for gimmicks. I thought it was going to be kind of like dinner theater with a ninja story or show, or fights or something. It turned out to be like eating a six course gourmet meal with small portions served by a waitress in a ninja costume who does some fun little chemistry demos and plays harmless jokes like serving the main course on a giant plate with a tiny amount of food on it, then coming back with a little bit more tiny food and saying, you didn’t think that was all of your dinner, did you?
Also, you are seated in an old timey prison cell and then a magician in a ninja costume does a couple of card tricks at your table before dessert.
Kanazawa
We took a very fast train to the west coast to Kanazawa, a small city with features like art galleries, museums, a huge park with a castle and moat, Japanese garden, and temples. There were several traditional Japanese style hotels with a hot spring onsen, which is what we booked for our two nights there.
The hotel was a very unique experience. You remove your shoes as soon as you enter the lobby and place them in a locker. The front desk staff are all wearing yukatas (cotton kimono robes). As we checked in, we were informed of some local taxes we needed to pay, such as a hotel tax and a hot springs tax. I said, “Yeah, so about that, I’ve read online that maybe tattoos are a problem in the hot springs.”
The clerk nodded and put a paper in front of me with the rules for the onsen and pointed out the rule stating “drunks and tattoos” are not allowed. Then she got out some beige stickers and asked how many I would need. There was a very awkward conversation about how many tattoos we had, how big they were, and where they were located on our bodies. I was too shy to say how many we would need because we would basically clean out their entire stock so I just took what she handed me and went up to our room. She was embarrassed, I was embarrassed, we were holding up the line.
I had read about people being asked to cover up at waterparks and beaches, but I didn’t think about the nakedness of hot tubs in hotels and that they would let people book there and not let them use the facilities.
I had never stayed in a place like this. Guests were just silently walking around barefoot in provided matching pajamas and spa basket. It felt a little bit like a cult.
I kept doing mental cartwheels trying to figure out how to be able to use the onsen. What are the consequences of dipping in the bath with tattoos? Get kicked out of the onsen? Of the hotel? Just get side-eye from the grannies? What if I go at like 1 in the morning? I couldn’t stand the vulnerability and shame of being 86’d while buck naked.
I just accepted the fact we were not getting in and focused on having a great time at all the interesting and beautiful sights around town.
We walked around the Kenrokuen, a Japanese garden, used the grounds of the Kanazawa Castle and Oyama Shrine as a shortcut through town, aimlessly wandered through Nagarachi, the Samurai district, and even took in the Modern Art Museum.
Kanazawa had the best vegetarian restaurants in our experience. Life-changing meals. The town felt small but very hip. We went down to the kind of gritty bar district in search of a possible punk rock club and that is where we got our biggest tourist rip off price for one drink each. When travelling, sometimes the rip off comes when you least expect it.
Takayama
We had a little bit of a language issue with our train ticket and accidentally missed our train in the morning, so we got to Takayama a lot later than we planned. They seem to have trains going every 20 minutes except the next one we needed was three hours later. The good news was that we had time to check out the city of Toyama and have lunch.
We took the most beautiful train ride into the mountains. It reminded me of Idaho. Crystal clear rivers tumbling over boulders at the bottom of steep majestic mountains covered in rich greenery and tall trees. No visible wildfire damage anywhere. How do they do it?
We found our way to our traditional Ryokan Japanese inn, dropped our stuff on the tatami floor next to the futon mattress there, and came back to the front desk to rent some bicycles.
The woman wearing a yukata with wooden flip flops and socks showed us to the bicycles and I confirmed the direction of the Hida Village, and she said, “That is far! And it closes in an hour and a half.” To which I responded with a big grin, “Yeah, that’s why we are getting bicycles instead of walking.”
Off we went, driving hard on our single gear bicycles. Most people ride on the sidewalk in Japan, but that makes me feel weird, so we just pedaled as fast as we could in traffic. We turned up a steep hill, and I huffed and puffed until I just got off and walked the rest of the way when we got close enough. The mountain views were spectacular.
The Hida Village is a collection of old homes from the 1800’s from different regions of central Japan. It’s kind of like moving houses and town halls from different parts of California gold rush country and putting them together as one tourist attraction.
Takayama reminded us of an upscale mountain town. We learned quickly after riding back down into town that if you want to have dinner, you should have made a reservation through your hotel. Even if the restaurant was totally empty, they told us they were booked for the night. We got some grocery store sushi, drinks, and dessert, and sat on the floor at the short table in our room Japanese style and had a private dinner.
Our ryokan provided yukata robes to wear to the onsen, and, o happy day, they allowed tattoos! It felt like this “traditional Japanese inn” was very much for foreigners and I was definitely okay with that. We had a relaxing evening in the baths and a good sleep.
Hiroshima
We took a beautiful morning train ride down through the mountains and along the east coast to Hiroshima. We arrived during the evening rush hour at the station, and the escalators were packed with commuters and tourists waiting in line just to get down the stairs. I wonder what it is like to live in a touristy area, but your commute is slowed by people who are only here to see the site of one of the worst single atrocities in the history of the world.
First, Baseball
We quickly dropped our bags at the hotel and walked to the Mazda Zoom Zoom stadium to watch the Hiroshima Carps baseball game. The tickets were regular price, like $15ish. The format is similar to Korea with cheering all through your team’s at bat, but just a bit more subdued. In the 7th inning, the fans blow up balloons and then let them go. We took leisurely strolls around the park, sat with the megafans who cheered the loudest, and ate Japanese junk food.
The MVPs of the game were the tiny Japanese women with kegs of beer on their backs and pads on their knees. They were hustling up and down the stands, and had to kneel on the concrete to fill up spectator’s cups.
The Museum
We were up bright and early the next morning to get to the Peace Memorial Museum right when it opened to avoid the crowd. It is located near the hypocenter of the bomb. The area is an enormous park with very few structures so there is still a feeling of vast emptiness in the middle of the city. We saw a sign indicating the memorial museum was underground, so down we went to take it all in.
We visited four rooms: a tomb-like silent room, a room with screens showing photos and names of the victims, a theater showing a documentary about the role of the weathermen during the bombing, and how their meticulous documentation provided invaluable information about the immediate effect of the bomb, and a library of books and personal records almost all in Japanese.
After taking in as much as we could, we took a break in a nearby cafe. We talked about how the museum was impactful, but seemed pretty small for an event of such magnitude.
After coffee we by chance walked by the actual museum, The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Musuem. We had spent the morning in the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall underground, which was different from the museum everyone travels to see…So we got to see both.
We shuffled through the dimly lit narrow museum with hundreds of other tourists and uniformed Japanese middle-schoolers. We shifted from one foot to the other while looking at horrifying photos, reading heartbreaking stories, and observing the torn or burnt clothing with black stains from the acid rain. Almost everyone was silent except for the tourists’ little kids crying. Judgement from me: Maybe not the place for a four-year-old?
I can’t come close to describing what we saw and the stories we read. It was all very heavy. What was unique for me on this trip, is seeing the photos in Saigon of what the U.S. did to Vietnam just a generation after what we did to Japan. It is stunning what the US military is willing to do to civilians as collateral damage.
Himeji Castle
On our way from Hiroshima to Kyoto, we were advised by a friend who used to live in Japan, to stop off at Himeji Castle. That was solid advice. It was great to wander up through the multiple levels of the castle, think about the samurai and vast armory of swords and spears hanging on the walls. Again, I love walking around these places without shoes (as required), feeling the warmth of the well worn wood on my bare feet. The views were spectacular from the top of the castle.
Kyoto
This city has so many attractions, I wish we could have stayed a little longer. There are many beautiful temples and gardens, a geisha district, a samurai district, and a castle in the middle of town.
One Million Vermillion Torii Gates (maybe 1,000 actually)
The first evening we arrived, we walked to Fushimi Inari Taisha, an ancient Shinto shrine with 1,000 torii gates winding up a mountain. We got there about 90 minutes before it got dark, and I needed a snack before marching up the mountain. Fortunately, there was still one little shop open and it was selling one of my favorite Japanese foods, Inari. They are like little pillows of deliciousness. It is just rice packed into deep fried tofu with salty sweetness, but they are so good.
With a couple of Inari in my belly, we began the gentle ascent up the mountain. Because it was later in the day, there weren’t a ton of people, but it was kind of slow going because we were waiting for people to get their “candid” video from behind as they walk alone through the vermillion gates, and maybe there’s a twirl…opf, didn’t do it right…take two, let’s do it again. Walk walk walk, just me alone walking through the gates…no one else around…
Look, I’m always about people doing what makes them happy. Some people drink themselves to death so if your thing is doing Instagram videos of your travels, fine. However, it does get annoying after we have to wait for the fifth person to get the perfect shot. Also, here’s a photo of me with no one around, heh.
At some point, Josh and I lost patience with the other tourists and took a trail off to the right, exiting the tunnel of orange to enjoy a beautiful hiking trail around the side of the mountain.
We came upon some men with man buns wearing yukata robes and wooden platform flip flops slowly shuffling along the trail. When we caught up to them, we discovered they were Westerners doing a photoshoot. It was unusual to see men doing something like this.
We were being bombarded by aggressive mosquitos, and we wanted to get higher up on the mountain, so we doubled back and started charging up the stairs through the hundreds of gates. Because it was dark now, all the Instagrammer folks were done filming for the day. It was way past dinner time so we didn’t make it up to the top, but we did get a nice view of Kyoto.
Day of Sight Seeing
The next morning, we boarded the metro and then a city bus to see Ryoanji Goryonoshitacho and Kinkaku-ji. Ryoanji Goryonoshitacho is a vast garden with a bare zen garden centerpiece. It really works. The rain was coming down forcefully, and the tourists just sat mesmorized by the patterns of the water cascading down the wall, off the roof, and the few rocks in the garden.
Kinkaku-ji is a gold leaf temple in the middle of a serene pond. Gorgeous.
We planned on seeing more temples and the castle, but it was pouring rain and we wanted to have some time to relax before the Geisha event we signed up for months ago.
Geisha Experience
We made it to the Geisha experience exactly on time, thanks to the cab we jumped into after getting on the wrong bus going the opposite way we needed to go.
The tour included a short walk to the Geisha district, where young women live in boarding houses to learn traditional songs, dances, and games. At night, they get dressed up in gorgeous kimonos and put on traditional make-up to go to different areas of the city to entertain tourists or locals.
After the short walk, we returned to a cute little bungalow and a geisha performed a dance for us, played a game with us involving a song and sneakily passing a coin around, and then we got to ask her some questions about her choice to become a geisha.
After the show, we walked back through the ancient neighborhood, and onto a busy street where we had some Balinese food because they had good vegetarian choices.
More Japanese Stuff
Our last day in Kyoto was unstructured so we cruised a big shopping area, spontaneously joined a samurai and ninja museum tour, put in great effort to find a Japanese massage, and finally figured out how to easily get vegetarian udon noodle bowls from the numerous cheap and fast shops on every corner.
The samurai and ninja museum tour was great for introductory information. We learned that katana swords are really only good as a last resort as they get dull very quickly in battle. They told us you can only hack up like 3 people before the blade is too dull.
We got to throw some plastic ninja stars, which I started out strong with accuracy, but then when it counted and we were being scored, my stars just bounced off the target and fell on the carpet.
Mt. Fuji
The next morning we left early for a long trek to Mt. Fuji. The road to Fuji from Tokyo is pretty direct and quick. The road from Kyoto to Fuji is less so. We took a small local train with just a handful of people as far as we could go, and it was fun to be with some Japanese tourists who excitedly started talking when the giant mountain came into view.
We transferred from a train to the bus station which had one ticket window, and it was closed for lunch hour. Out here, almost no information was provided in any other language besides Japanese. There was a picture of the lit up symbols on a bus taped to a pillar with the text underneath: Mt. Fuji. I memorized the symbols: up-side-down cross, pitchfork, and oval with a line through it and we sat and waited and watched different buses come through, but none with the symbol combination from the photo.
The ticket window opened, we got our tickets, and soon the right bus came. It was a local bus for regular folks, so we stopped quite a bit along the way. After about 90 minutes of winding up a curvy mountain road, with a couple of detours around some small lakes, I pushed the stop button and we got off at an empty intersection close to our Fuji view hotel.
Josh and I spent a lot of time in our hotel room staring at the mountain. The light changed the colors and textures of the mountain as the sun set.
We borrowed some bicycles and rode along a beautiful lake into town to get some dinner and drinks. We loved the vibe of the area. Very chill and quiet.
Our last night in Japan was in a small Tokyo hotel without visible human employees. The check in process was done through a computer with a robot standing by. This hotel was a compromise between a regular hotel and a capsule hotel. We sat on the bed and watched sumo wrestling on TV.
The next stop on our Summer tour from Tokyo was Boise Idaho USA.
Casey Space 
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