Just some pictures before we're home

Yeah!
To be found on every streetcorner, with both hot and cold tea and coffee in cans.

Our favorite icecream, with layers of chocolate and vanille icecream inside. Jummie :) (good size as well)

The most beautiful walk, on the way back from Aso-san (the vulcano that I wrote about last time, after our camp-night).

(Look for yourself ;))

Hiking in the north of Honshu, near Towada.

The path to the top of the mountain is a bit overgrown... The last few hund

red meters we almost have to crawl through!

Especially for Thierry :)

Almost-group-picture near Tokyo Sea Life Park. Yesterday we made a very nice trip with a big part of Akiko's family and Sae, a friend. Missing here are Yoshiro (Akiko's brother) and Limpeh and Jota, the two kids of Akiko's sister. Here they are:

'German village', the place we went to after the aquarium. The whole place was decorated with lights. We heard there is several German villages in Japan; we wonder why! (There also is a place called 'Huis ten Bosch' near Nagasaki!)

See you soon!

Surprises

Unfortunately no cardreader this time, so pictures will come later, if we find a computer that does have one. Just a short update about the last week. I forgot what I wrote about plans (they changed quite often), so I'll just tell where we went.

A long train trip (more than 5 hours) brought us to Kyushu, the southernmost big island of Japan (there are many small ones even more southern). Some highlights from the last few days:

- An evening in a sake place, together with the two owners and a frequent guest. We had to try from a lot of bottles, one of them a 'secret bottle' of the frequent guest. Interesting! ;) We even got a present: handmade sake cups. Great :) We considered staying one day more in Fukuoka and eating there, but in the end we decided to move on to Ebino kogen, for hiking and camping.

- We ended up in Aso, since that was a place we could reach before dark. The camping that we found after a short walk turned out to be closed, but after some discussion, the owner permitted us to stay for one night. In the end, we were lucky to be the only ones, since it started raining in the middle of the night and water came from all sides. We moved our matrasses (and everything else) to the cooking- and washing up place, were we continued the night. The tent was also very much a seasonal tent... A night we will remember ;)

- In the morning we started off for mount Aso, to the rim of the vulcanic crater that is still alive. It was a pity that we had to take the street (hiking road was closed, end of the season...) , but it was really nice weather and after the top we could take a hiking path to another village, Takamoto. This was a beautiful walk! Mountains everywhere, really. The vulcano that we saw is located, together with 4 other mountains, in a very broad crater, in which we were still walking. It were the last hours of sun, only paths that you cannot find back after a year if they won't be maintained (cut grass). I hope for a cardreader in the next computer :) When we asked the way to a hostel in Takamoto, two women were so kind to walk us there. The owner was already in her pyjamas (it seemed), but she still let us in. People are so friendly and helpful here (maybe I said that before... ;))

And now we are in Nagasaki, in a very friendly hostel. We decided to stay here for some days. Both Akiko and Thierry have gone back to Utrecht. Guys, are you ok? How were your last days and the travel back home?

We heard Sinterklaas arrived last weekend! Hopefully he thought about you all (all who are living in the Netherlands, not that we don't want him to think about others... hmm, complicated)
Take care everybody!

Second week

As promised, pictures of a Japanese 'Western style' toilet. A small introduction. The reason that the part that you sit on (toiletbril, in Dutch) is so thick, is that there's some kind of heater in it. You can adjust the temperature! On the left you see what's hanging on the wall. Here you can choose the program. Until now, I didn't try all, but it's like different showers cleaning you (before flushing). Then, when you flush the toilet, water first comes out of the tap on top, so you can wash your hands with the same water. Very smart!

(Oke, I don't know how to arrange pictures in the right place, so just find out about which picture I'm talking).

Some other great Japanese inventions: all you can eat sushi. Thierry was definitely the winner! Signs in the train station to slow people down... And a capsule hotel (in Osaka)! I made a picture lying in my capsule (you can see my toes). It's like a big wall with holes in it for people :) Akiko next to me, someone else above... really handy! With a locker to put your stuff in and a sauna and onsen (hot bath) room.

After Osaka, we went to Kyoto, were we saw a lot of temples (but not even one-tenth of the amount that is there). From there, Magnus and Joop took the train back to Tokyo, since their flight back home was yesterday (guys, did you arrive well? and how was Shinjuku?). The rest of the group (Akiko, Thierry, Olaf and Marlies) went to Nara, to spend the night in an onsen. Olaf and me were a bit doubtful if that was really a normal thing to do, but as it turned out: YES. A big big room with a lot of soft seats that you can turn flat, and piles of blankets to pick from. There are so many options for sleeping in Japan!

And now we're back at Akiko's parent's place for one day, washing clothes, arranging new plans, enjoying good food and really nice company. :) :) :)

Tomorrow early morning, Olaf and Marlies will take the shinkansen (bullet train, very fast and luxuous, and 'for free' with the Japan Rail Pass) to the north. We just booked two nights in Yasumiya, near Towadako Lake in the north of Honshu (the biggest island of Japan, so coming from Tokyo, we don't have to cross any water). There, we will walk around the lake, try to climb a mountain and maybe play in the snow ;) Another place that we first tried to book, was closing to day because snow had started. After this trip, we will head south, were it's still really nice weather.

Akiko and Thierry are still discussing plans... Time is becoming shorter for them; Thierry is leaving on Thursdag and Akiko on Saturday next week. Ah, probably they'll to Yokohama and Hakone (I just hear! :)) In Yokohama there's a big China Town, and in Hakone there's Onsen.

Well, that's it for now. More interesting pictures are on Olaf's camera (and on those from Magnus and Joop), so maybe more later...

Take care everybody! Looking forward to hear from Joop and Magnus!

Trip part 4, Osaka and Kyoto

Hi all,
Here are the latest hostel arｒangements for the later part of the trip. Let's call it part 4:

Osaka 31st Oct to 01 Nov
We booked 1 night at the Asahi Capsule Hotel :) they even have an onsen, I couldn't resist.
Sanity check ok: the beds are 200cm long and there are women rooms. I say it's a go, go, go!
http://www.asahiplaza.co.jp/capcel/english.html

Kyoto 01st Nov to 03 Nov and beyond

Night 01 to 02 remains to be booked: decision pending - but probably Nara (1h from
02 to 03 is already booked in Kyoto Bola-Bola
03 to 04 is already booked in Kyoto Bola-Bola （Arashiyama)
Night 04 to 05 was cancelled in Kyoto Bola-Bola (50% cost. ah too bad!): Joop and Magnus will go to shinjuku in Tokyo for their sake last night. For the rest of us the whole of Japan is still open for grabs: Shinjuku with the boys? Hakone with the girls ? :)

...Still work in progress for now

For the far away readers who might wonder -- what happened in part 2 and 3:

Part 2
We just came back from 2 night sin Oshima island in the bay of Tokyo. Great fun on a volcanic islet, bathing in these boiling hot onsen in open air under the prickling rain and waking up to a grand view on the smoking cone... What a relish. If you add to that an adventure on the return boat a free night in the best class hotel, nothing can beat Oshima. Great people, great location, unique (stinky) fish speciality, and well not to forget our brazen luck! :-P

No pictures for the moment, the cameras are with the other members of the trip.

Part 3
We split the group temporarily to accommodate different plans in al limited timing:
Our world adventurers Olaf, Joop and Marlies have ridden towards the setting sun in Hiroshima for 2 days of discoveries.
Magnus, vigorous gentleman viking, went to greet a gracious Norse young lady in Nagoya
Akiko and Thierry are now back in Tokyo to attend the long anticipated wedding of Akiko's brother :)
We will reunite on Oct 31st at 4PM in front of the Osaka castle.

See you all very soon ;)
Japan touristos

Tokyo time...

Finally the real thing!

:)) all 6 are there. Take-off 22nd Oct from Amsterdam 11hrs flight in a huge 747-400. Great service from the staff with wake-up call every 10 min (in case you wanted to sleep a bit or watch a movie...). Finally we land, tired, happy and excited.

Akiko leaves us on our own for 24hrs: ah, the real feeling of being in Japan. Shit we can't talk, read, find toilets... help! lots of fun :)

First day 
We spent  the day in Narita city. We did not really know where our "Narita Airport Hostel" was; it took us a couple of hours and much help from the super friendly locals to figure that one out, hehe. Great city, loved it and would recommend anyone for a first stop.

(fancy a sweet beans cake hot from the shop!)

(Narita temple writings on the gate... 1000 years of history. Can't really read any of it though ;-)

Second day
Izumi house. We were treated to a a family trip and dinner to a local Bath house and we owe Kazuo san (Mr Izumi) so much for the great treat. Soaking in 40 degrees water with sauna, outdoor bath and a cold pool. Finish with a good scrub and a superb dinner. What a way to connect to Japan. That did great for our bodies and minds after a long flight and a first night on the (fairly hard) futon beds at the hostel.

Third day
Increasing our debt to our hosts, Kazuko san (Mrs Izumi) drove us down to Tsukiji fish market at 3AM local time (indeed!).
The car was a bit short so Akiko and Thierry had to sit in the trunk and pretend to be dead meat when we saw police forces. With the early hour and lack of sleep that was not too difficult. 

We managed to join the last tour at 4.30AM to see the Tuna auction. We were the last ones admitted that day (no more than 140 visitors in two rounds of 70)

Some waiting time for visitors was included in the package, hehe.

<= up to 250 kilos of tuna for each beast... The stock was sold out in 30min tops

The third day was extremely long and packed, and totally fitting for a Tokyo experience:

4h30AM queuing at the Tuna Auction

6h30AM breakfast with all sorts of fish (Kaisendon, here on the left), 

7.30AM shopping at the fish market, 

9.30AM first coffee of the day and much appreciated...  Haaahhh coffee.

10.30 AM traveling to Asukasa to visit a great temple complex,

 <= Asakusa temple alley: Joop and Magnus trying hard not to stand out among locals. Good job guys :)



Meeting up with friends of Akiko (Sae and Ikuko) at Akihabara: a lot of Electronics, sounds, lights and funny girls...


Piece-meal in Akihabara Electric city:

A rice burger at Moss Burger

Spending 1000 Yen in 2 minutes of smoke and outrageously loud noise at a random Patchinko. Boy, we are so good !!!

Playing kiddies dinner at a Maid Cafe (already lost a sense of time). Akiko found the link to our hang-out: http://maidreamin.com/en_index.html  
And we thought we had seen it all about embarrassment...

...17h30 uh? How did that happen...

 Moving on to Tokyo tower, having a nice look at Tokyo by night! 19h00 (I guess)

 Tokyo tower by night. We'll show you inside only hehe.

The full group that day!

Thierry - Ikuko - Olaf - Marlies - Magnus

        Akiko - Hunk Joop - Sae

Ouch, forgot it's Halloween... 

Nevermind: Tokyo tower provides!

The same group again. Plus, who's that dude in the middle ? Well that's Halloween after all

Time to go home at last. 

Traveling back to Izumi house: rush hour, 1,5 hours in the metro, falling asleep every 5 min on the neighbourg's shoulder, not my fault she looked very comfy.

Finally we're there. And yes, we were expected :-)


Wrapping up a great day we were treated (again) with a lovely meal made by Kazuko san and a lovely and HUGE bottle of Sake from Kazuo san (2 litres of Sake, drunken in style in a traditional wooden measure hehe). Off to bed, well toured, well fed and well drunk at 11h30. 

Total sleep time since departure approximately 6 hours.

Enjoy the party!

Today we took some much needed rest and took some time to plan our trip ahead. Tonight we will leave for the Izu islands! Joehoe! Got to post this now, we leave in 20 min....!!! urgh -- is it 15 already? !!!

Kyoto Hostels

Akiko shortlisted below some affordable hostels in pure Japanese style.
Kyoto: 3 nights from Nov2 to5

We need to move fast for the bookings as many exciting ones were already fully booked. Kyoto is popular...
Guys and girls, please have a look below and let us know and rank form 1 to 7 so we can pick the people's choice.

Deadline is tomorrow 7PM, sorry guys for a short deadline: hostels are getting booked by the minute ;)

Hostel Kingyoya
Chita 
Ikoi-No-ie
Ichiensou
Bola-Bola
Guesthouse BON
Yahata-Inn                           

Akiko & Thierry

Don't forget the Bribes!

Hi guys and girls

We had a nice little all-you-can-eat Sushi dinner with Joop on Sunday in Arnhem and now I am ready for the real thing, Yey!


Here are a few random things for the trip planning:

- Baggage:
We are going to walk around. Some days on a hike. Maybe it's good if we all have a back-pack for ease of moving around. Although for hiking I would prefer if we leave our heavy stuff at a hostel and just move in loops for the day. What do you guys think? On a side note I am planning to use the launderettes when I run out of clean change :)

- Rail Pass:
Joop gave us the link But I think we're all done? http://www.jrpass.com/
We ordered ours yesterday and they should be in our hands by tomorrow I think. Looking forward for this little flavor of vacation.

- Hostels
Hostels in Kyoto might be a bit tricky to arrange at last minute, and we want to book fo 6. We will try to look into it by this week-end Akiko and I. We mean Japanese style hostels of course ...

- Bribes

A few days at Akiko's parents are worth a little bribe:  for example something really delicious from your country. Please post here in the comments what you plan to bring so we don't duplicate
:-P :-P :-P


Take care
Thierry

2 weeks away from Tokyo bay

Hi Japan trippers

With only 2 weeks to go it is now time for last preparations.
Hehe it looks like my second blog page is not being used very much, I think we're all pretty busy wrapping up our things before vacation time :))

I'll go there and post a few reminder tips today
Have a look when you can

Thierry

Let's get rolling

Hi all,

Thanks for all the comments on the site! I always wanted to try that and it's the perfect opportunity I needed :))  I think there is a way to activate the links on the site, I will try and look into that this week.

Tips on the organisation of contents:
The idea was to log our inputs on page 2 "tour planning", and page 3 "On tour" would be for our posts during the trip (e.g. maybe a daily contest for the best picture to add with a few comments - could be fun). Page 1 is more for general updates.

I tried to add a search  window but it doesn't seem to work well. So it's probably better to tag our posts like I did for this one.

Take care all,
Thierry

Opening note

Hi guys and girls

We started a blog for this trip. It will be easier to keep track of the planning decisions and interesting links. And also keeping in touch among ourselves and posting news and pics to family and friends.

So far we'll be a group of 6 and our main travel period will be 2, 3 and 5 weeks from the 22nd Oct. Yes 2 lucky monkeys could take 5 weeks off hehe... ;)

See you all on the blog.
... and don't forget to feed the fish!

Thierry & Akiko