What an amazing 24 hours we have had!
We picked up our very generous house-sitter on Friday ( thanks Jenny!) and introduced her to the menagerie that she will be in charge of, poor thing. Maisie responded by jumping up at her, while Bridie decided to prove that she is the hairiest short- haired cat in the world by shedding about a kilogram of fluff all over her. We also introduced her to our favourite park, cafe and local shops and gave her a run-down on the best way to see Brisbane and the best things to see. I am biased towards South Bank and the art galleries, so she is apparently off in her favourite "lady frock" to be a lady who "does the galleries" once we are gone.
Saturday, we took the illogical route to Japan: 4pm we caught a plane to Sydney, then at 10 ( not 9 as was intended), we headed for Japan by flying over Brisbane and Hamilton Island. I was relieved that we had no large neighbour aggressively taking over our personal space, the seats were less uncomfortable than usual, the only screaming child quietened down quickly, the staff were pleasant, there was no aggressive lout on the flight, and we could get Asian meals. I even managed to sleep a bit. Nevertheless, in spite of the flight socks, I swelled up and developed "cankles". So attractive!
Narita airport was a revelation! It is so clean, orderly, polite and efficient, that I felt like I was in one of those Science Fiction films about a brave, new, world. Kept waiting for the bad guys to arrive. They didn't. Everyone was helpful and polite - so different to the treatment I have had at Sydney airport. We followed the advice of our friends and got our JR ticket for travelling around Japan at a discount stamped, left our bags with the courier who would transport them to our hotel, and sat down to people watch while we waited for the train to the city. Bob was impressed at a man who carefully
looked for, found, and cleaned up the tiniest scrap of paper with his white gloved hands, and saluted each train driver and guard who sped past. Pride in your job and your position, plus incredible cleanliness! Amazing! And the train arrived exactly when we were told it would . Brilliant!
The trip to Tokyo was mesmerizing. We passed groves of bamboo forests and triffid-like vines which appeard to be trying to choke the earth and trees faster than they could fight back. There were tiny pockets of rice paddies in between and towns and villages nestling into the natural landscape. The houses had echoes of the old style while using new materials. Then, from about Chiba on, the landscape got more grey, urban and ugly - we were in a city.
We were a bit overwhelmed by Tokyo station, so we went for a walk to explore the area. We were trying to get a tea in a cafe and we also tried to order what we thought was a Japanese special sandwich as a snack from the very blurred picture menu, and ended up with a $7 cup of coffee and a $2 serving of miso soup, a boiled egg, a ham, lettuce and mayonnaise sandwhich and a cup of green tea. Serves us right for not knowing the language.
Rather than face the subway, we decided to explore Ginza, which is very swanky, terribly European boulevard in feel. We moved on to explore the splendid Imperial gardens, which provide an amazing contrast to the big global style of the surrounding city. We were impressed by the huge stones which have been meticulously used to construct the solid and imposing walls which protect the palace. We admired the enormous koi carp in the moat, kept off the plush, carpet -like grass under the bonsaied trees, were enchanted by the white swans and herons. Lots of pen and wash artists took advantage of the views to create little landscapes. We crossed the moat and entered the public areas of the grounds through the most massively solid wood and iron doors I have ever seen. The small collection of art works from the Imperial palace had some charming scrolls - mostly depicting animals and plants. My favourite ones were a large, amusing scroll of a group of monkeys by Kawabata Gyokusho, and an amusing portrait of a sleeping boy by Nagasawa Rosetsu. The gardens are composed of little
pictures : a "wild" wood with flowers like harebells, a mixture of deciduous trees, and glades, an iris garden with ponds and a stone lantern, various shelters, a lodge with carefully pruned bushes, but a rustic little bamboo gate. The excitement came when I tried to remember how to use a squat toilet without getting wet, while wearing wide sailor pants. So glad there were no cameras.
Getting tired, we headed for the avenue which circles the moat and almost regretted not bringing our running outfits. Locals of all ages were pounding the tarmac using very odd, shuffling, jogging styles on the whole, but managing to efficiently pack in the kilometers nonetheless less. One group gathered to joke under the statue of an old dignitary in their assorted, bright and stylish running outfits, making the old man look rather anachronistic and unimpressed.
Returning to Tokyo station, we managed to buy the wrong ticket, get lost and confused, and get helped out by about four, non- English speaking locals who understood us as little as we understood. One guard kindly refunded our money. Another directed us to the subway, which we found after getting lost in a flower show.
We finally made it to Tawaramachi station and found our hotel. Our room is small ( not really enough room for luggage to be stored, bu well appointed, with an ensuite, which has been an adventure in itself. I have finally experienced my first heated seat and apparently I can even get a showere from below while sitting on it. The showere turned out to have warm water and the facility to have a freezing one from holes in the ceiling. Joy!
In the afternnon , we wandered towards Asakusa
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