We were supposed to visit Fushimi Inari shrine but the kids were too tired to get up on time. However, as we had purchased tickets to the TeamLab Biovortex installation, we still had to go to Kyoto. Lacking enough time to hike Fushimi Inari, we decided we’d visit another temple instead and chose Toji temple. Jenn and I had never visited before and it is located very close to both Kyoto station and the TeamLab installation.
The temple is known for its 5-story pagoda, but the treasure halls also had an amazing array of statuary. Photos of the iconography were prohibited, of course, but even Rowan was impressed by the quantity and quality of the idols. To date, it was the largest buddha Rowan had seen at probably around 12 meters tall.
We grabbed some ice cream, some goshuin, and then it’s off to the Biovortex!
One of our staples when we visit Japan is the momiji they made on Miyajima island. It is a fluffy confectionary stuffed with a creamy bean paste filling in a variety of flavours. But cruelly, it must be consumed within 10 days of purchase! And that is why none of these delightful treats have ever made their way back to Canada to share. It is certainly not because we are gluttons who cannot be trusted.
I guess the island is also kind of well known for its world heritage status, iconic red torii gates, and numerous prestigious shrines and temples.
But most importantly, the have so many ice cream vendors in so many different flavours. Momiji! Ice cream! Momiji! Ice cream! Plum wine! Ah, a sacred place indeed.
The weather was drab for our visit, the entire island blanketed in a thick fog. And true to form, getting the kids up and out the door early had proved a challenge, so we didn’t arrive at the island until almost lunch. We had come to visit this day because there was a special parade being held. With less than a couple hours until the parade started, we decided to explore the shopping arcade and main streets around the island.
Miyajima has a lot of souvenir shops along the main drag, and we had an enjoyable time shopping. The shops don’t quite compete with Kiyomizudera in terms of variety, but they have a lot of local specialty products that aren’t found elsewhere.
Eventually it was time for the parade to begin and we staked out our positions. The parade was lead by a local high school marching band, followed by a variety of performers in period costumes. The parade route traveled down the main shopping arcade in clumps, and the regular pedestrian traffic did not abate while it happened. It was rather unlike parades at home, where the streets are closed off when the parade happens.
The parade itself was shorter than expected: the time window was about 2 hours, but I guess that included all the stuff happening at the shrine. The parade managed to pass us by in about 40 minutes. So we left to explore more of the island.
When Jenn and I visited before, we had never ventured far beyond the red torii gate at Itsukushima shrine. Because, well, momiji and plum wine. But this time we went further along to visit two additional temples: Daisho-in and Daigan-ji.
To reach Daisho-in we ventured through Momijidani park. From the park, you can either take the ropeway or walk up the mountain to the observation point on the peak. But due to crowd levels, the ropeway was reservation-only and fully booked by the time we had arrived, and the walk up the mountain would take longer than we planned.
Plus, the fog! Remember the fog? I know I mentioned the fog. We were certain that any stupendous views of the Seto Inland Sea would be obscured by the heavy mist that yet lingered. Rather than spend several hours on a strenuous hike up and down a mountain for limited views, we instead headed through the park to Daisho-in temple.
The temple was incredible. We loitered a long time. There was a lot to see, and the tranquil ambience was incredible.
Daigan-ji was situated basically beside Itsukushima shrine and they seem somewhat conjoined. There was not as much to see here, aside from collecting our goshuin stamps.
By now the tides had retreated and we were able to walk out to view the torii gate up close. But though the water had retreated from the beach, it redoubled its efforts from the skies! Rather sodden, we made our way back through the shopping arcade to get more ice cream and momoji, and a bottle of plum wine I’d spied, before boarding the ferry and heading back to the mainland.
The last time we visited Okayama the castle was still under reconstruction, so we toured the gardens. So a highlight for me on this trip is getting to visit the castle.
We decided to walk from Okayama station to the castle rather than taking the tram, since the expected travel time was only a few minutes longer. The walk was pleasant enough but entirely urban.
The castle and garden are separated by a river and serviced by a fancy new footbridge. It is possible to rent canoes or paddleboats along the river, and there was at least one boat tour operating from the city park where we arrived.
The castle is a replica with the usual museum stuff inside. But wow! Since it’s a fairly recent castle the museum inside was incredible. Aside from the second floor, photography was prohibited. But the castle had teamed up with a local historian to create a series of videos with tidbits of history and geography through out the museum. There were three significant historical figures in the history of Okayama castle. They had the usual selection of armour and swords and garments, of course, but the all the walls were essentially color coordinated historical reports for each personage, making it easy to determine in which period the stuff belonged. And more importantly, in addition to the text, every wall was a mural, done in historical style, representing the events being discussed. So even with paltry japanese skills, you could figure out what was happening and when. It was extremely well thought-out.
The second floor was basically a photo op floor. They had a palanquin that you could sit in, model horses, you could try on armour, measure yourself against the shogun, etc. Very fun stuff.
And ice cream!
Following the castle, we visited the garden. Kouraku-en is not nearly as amazing in winter as it is in spring and after Shukkeien garden, it felt somewhat barren. We still spent close to two hours wandering the paths, everyone free to explore at their independent leisure. A new addition is the crane enclosure – and apparently several times a month the cranes are freed to wander the grounds independently.
On the way back we decided to take the tram, and so we took the underpass to the trolley and discovered a cool fountain area and a flea market.
After the gardens we walked over the Hiroshima castle. My understanding is that the castle is being decommissioned at the end of March due to necessary upgrades. It is uncertain when it might open again (although the castle itself will still sit prominently in the skyline, people won’t be able to go inside). Since our timing was opportunistic, I decided we could take a tour.
The castle is a replica, obviously, since the original was destroyed during the atomic bombing. It was rebuilt as a symbol of resilience in the aftermath. The interior is a museum that mostly features notable historic events, costumes, and details on the building of the castle. The castle was very busy, I suspect due to its impending closure, and the exhibits were a little dated. Probably the most interesting exhibit for me was the detailed process on how japanese swords are fashioned. There is a good view of the city from the top floor of the castle, but like most of the exhibits along the way, it was far too crowded to stop and take photos.
Outside the castle we stopped at the Gokoku shrine and got our goshuin books stamped, before traipsing off to the Peace Park.
We toured the park and the museum with the kids. Photography is prohibited in the museum, but it’s really something that has to be experienced in person anyway. And it was not any easier for being our second time through.
It was early evening when we finished the museum visit so we decided to go find some dinner. We found a Royal Host nearby and attacked the drink bar with single minded ferocity. Also, sundaes!
Originally our plan was to take the ferry from Matsuyama over to Hiroshima, but we instead headed back to Osaka and took a day off to do laundry, get groceries, and give the kids a day of rest. This pushed our visit to Hiroshima back by a day, but we went nonetheless.
Our first stop on the itinerary was Shukkeien gardens.
Shukkeien gardens was a quiet, hidden gem when we visited some twenty years ago. Now there are signs everywhere leading to the gardens and, ugh, tourists. Even so the style of garden makes it easy to find quiet places to sit and appreciate the beauty.
The garden itself is built around a very large pond. The widest point is traversed by a moon-shaped stone bridge, and the pond is home to many koi and turtles. And opportunistic pigeons. Small sachets of koi food are sold at the gate for 100 yen. The kids had fun taking photos of the garden, and Locke had a knack for finding and photographing the fish. The park is bordered on the outside by one of the many rivers in Hiroshima.
There is a colorful flower garden near the entrance, but as we were visiting while it was still technically winter, it wasn’t as abundant as it will be in a few weeks. It was surprising to me how much the kids enjoyed the garden, and we managed to spend a couple of hours simply touring the grounds.
We stayed the night in Matsuyama at the Dogo Funaya onsen. We booked a Japanese style room, but opted out of the dinner since it was unlikely the children would handle a traditional teishoku course. We were given a thorough tour and explanation of the room, then we dropped our bags and went to explore the area.
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The main point of interest nearby in the evening was the local shopping arcade. My goal was to try the specialty mikan cheesecake…but the store was closed on Tuesdays. With tremendous sorrow, a heavy heart, and an empty belly, we carried on.
The other other main point of interest in the area is Dogo Onsen. It is an old, traditional bath house that apparently served as the inspiration for the interior in Spirited Away.
We grabbed some dinner in the area, then settled into our rooms. My main objective was to check out the hot springs in the hotel. The granite room was open to men in the evening, so I visited there. Rowan joined me, and we luxuriated in several of the baths together for about an hour. We tried the tepid pool first, then the warm indoor pool, followed by two outdoor pools. Thoroughly luxuriated, we returned to our rooms to sleep. The next morning the baths opened up at 5 am, so I headed down to check out the Hinoki bath. Similar layout of baths, but the hinoki room also included a sauna. Of the two, I definitely enjoyed the granite room best.
The stay included breakfast and it was fancy! But sadly I didn’t grab any photos! Rowan declared that onsen ryokan were the best, and we should stay at one every night.
After breakfast we visited a couple of the local shrines and got a photo of Dogo onsen in the daylight.
Originally we were going to visit Hiroshima directly, but I read conflicting information as to whether we could simply walk onto the ferry or not. Deciding on simplicity, we returned to Osaka via the way we came, never having once tasted a delicious mikan no-bake cream cheese cake.
Our visit to Matsuyama came about entirely by error. When trying to psych the kids up for places to see in Japan, I had looked up Matsuyama instead of Matsumoto. And it looked amazing! And the kids really, really wanted to go.
It’s an original castle, one of around 12 remaining in Japan, so it ticked some boxes for me, as well. The downside was…it’s on Ehime, an island separated from the mainland by the Seto Inland Sea. Getting to Matsuyama from Osaka is a minimum 4 hour trip. There wasn’t really a feasible way to get to and from the castle in a single day and still explore the area.
Then, by stroke of fortune, I happened to win a bursary through my employment. It was enough to defray most of the costs of staying at a ryokan in Matsuyama. And had the added benefit of letting the kids experience the whole ‘ryokan’ experience, which we otherwise would not do with our month-long house rental. It was set!
And so Tuesday we packed an overnight bag and began our long journey to Matsuyama. The train ride was the longest of the trip for the kids, but after the flight, it seemed fast and luxurious. The scenery was gorgeous as we travelled along and we spotted some very interesting sites along the way.
Arriving in Matsuyama station, we stowed our bags in a locker, and began the hike up Matsuyama. First, we explored the third bailey – it features an elaborate garden in spring, but it was winter still. We saw the gardeners making preparations for planting. Regardless, it was an interesting spot to visit.
Then, we had to climb the mountain. There is a ropeway and/or chairlift option to the middle peak, but it was on the other side of the park. Because we had walked over from the station, we were on the wrong side of the mountain to use it. And so, we had the choice – walk around the mountain, or walk up it. We decided to walk up it.
It turns out reaching the ropeway top is the halfway point. So we walked some more. And some more. And some more. We eventually reached the castle gates. Whereupon we had another 15 minutes of walking to get into the castle. But it was totally worth it.
This castle is amazing. Soooo amazing.
In many ways, it was similar to Matsumoto castle, in that it’s still largely in its original shape, so what is on display is the castle itself. There is the usual assortment of historical artifacts along the interior route: ceremonial robes, swords, paintings, rice scoops, and so on. But they were simply window dressing to the castle itself. The architecture itself, the woodworking details, the elaborate clay tiles, the fantastic stone drops and murder holes…all were very much at the forefront of the display.
We had genuinely warned our children that adventures feature lots and lots of walking. But like all good children they rolled their eyes, knew better and simply ignored our sagacious wisdom. Then complained that their feet were tired. Why, we had hardly done more than 18,000 steps (mostly uphill) the day previous, and already they were fatigued?
Our tentative plan had been to visit Miyajima and Iwakuni on Monday, but given the mumbles and grumbles of the assembled persons and their dire lack of footly fortitude, we opted instead to visit Osaka aquarium. It was the thing the kids were most looking forward to on this trip, and it was super close by, so we wouldn’t have to activate our rail passes yet.
I feel like the aquarium had changed somewhat from our first foray here, but it has been 18 years since we last visited. I may simply be misremembering. Regardless, it remains impressive.
We opted to purchase the audio guides for the children, which purported to provide additional audio details about exhibits. Alas, it was wasted on my children, whose knowledge of marine biology is uncannily deep thanks to our very competitive games of 20 questions. Locke dutifully listened to all the audio guide had to provide, but I think he had more fun playing with the guide itself, as opposed to the superficial information it provided.
What I found particularly enjoyable about this visit was the maturity level of my kids. When we visited zoos and aquariums while they were younger, they would try to see as much as possible, as quickly as possible. This time, they were content to stop and watch exhibits for considerable time before moving on. It made for a leisurely and enjoyable experience.
All in all we spent three or four hours at the aquarium, then finished with a visit to the cafe. We all decided to try to ‘eel’ hot dogs.
Upon completion, the kids immediately asked if we could go visit again before we head home. And I suspect we will.
Our family was split 50/50 Sunday morning whether to wake up on time or to sleep in. While we waited for the others to arise, Locke and I decided we would go explore around the station.
Without a particular destination in mind, we simply wandered the area in a rough circlespheresquarerhomboid lopsided dodecahedron. The area is substantially residential and the most notable feature was probably the schools. Each school is three stories tall, and it’s built on an elevated grade roughly a floor above street level, so they tend to tower over everything else in the area.
We did, however, come across the occasional shrine or park as we traversed. The weather was gorgeous and clear, but a little cool.
After our walk, we reunited with our wayward layabouts and set off for Kyoto. Destination: Kiyomizudera.
We took the Keihan line to near our destination, then walked along the canal. It is still early in cherry blossom season, so the canal was a little bare. Still we found one or two brave trees starting to bloom.
We have visited Kiyomizudera on every trip to Japan. Many of you have used chopsticks sourced from these very stores! It’s chaotic, colorful, and a definite tourist trap. As in, it has every possible knick knack a person could possibly want and at price points intended to shake every final coin from your wallet. Rowan and I picked up our goshuincho from a little shop, Locke browsed the ties, and everyone bought chopsticks as we made our way up the street.
Arriving at the top is the namesake temple. I’ve posted about it before, so I’ll spare the details. But today we were here for Seiryu-e! An ancient festival (started in 2000) featuring an 18 meter dragon paraded from the temple and through the streets. The dragon is purported to be one of the four guardians of Kyoto. And it happens to bring in the tourists, too!
Alas! We only took video! But here is a screenshot of the dragon being paraded from the temple to the main square. They also played actual conches to announce the parade! How cool is that?
