Perfect View of Mount Fuji And Tokyo Ginza

Aloha Everyone,

Mount Fuji is one of the most recognized symbols of Japan. At 12,389 feet elevation, it is also the highest point in the country. Over the centuries, the snow-capped peak has also attracted poets, painters and photographers. Mount Fuji is nearly a perfect cone-shapes stratovolcano often compared to Vesuvius. She lures casual and serious mountain climbers.

At Shin-Yokohama, my Mother was met by Kaori. Her Father is the master teacher of minyoū (Japanese music) with additional expertise with the bamboo flute. My Mother has studied under him and has the only officially recognized branch in The USA. Kaori is also a professional musician and singer and she loves my Mother calling her auntie.

At Tokyo Station, J.J. and I were met by Tomoko, the wife of my late cousin, who came to pick up my Mother's luggage. J.J. and I took a taxi to Hotel Unizo Ginza. My Mother will be staying the remaining 4 days in Japan with Tomoko.

Tokyo's Ginza is most famous as an upscale shopping, dining and entertainment district. From our hotel, it is about 3 blocks away or a 7 minutes walk. Friday after work, streets were inundated with cars and pedestrians.

 

And finally, here are photos of our buffet breakfast selections this morning at Himeji APA Hotel and the interior of Italian restaurant where J.J. and I dined this evening.

Aloha -- Cathi

Himeji Castle, Beautiful, Impregnable Fortress

Aloha Everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving! Today the three of us spent the entire morning visiting Himeji Castle. This is the finest, largest and most visited castle in Japan. It is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, National Treasure and Special Historic Site. For more than 400 years, Himeji Castle has survived WWII as well as natural disasters.

Himeji Castle is located on a hilltop with 83 buildings. It is a beautiful castle with advanced defensive systems. The castle is also known as Hakuro-jō (White Egret Castle) or Shirasagi-jō (White Heron Castle) referring to its brilliant white exterior which resembles bird taking flight.

It took us less than 15 minutes walk from our hotel. We were approached by 4 children in school uniforms. It turned out that they are all 6th graders at Hakuro Elementary School. Intelligent and articulate, their history class assignment is to learn about the castle history and to be able to offer information to visitors.

The children mentioned that there were 7,000 visitors yesterday. However, because there are no secondary activities, most packaged tourists make only a brief stop on the way to Kyoto or Nara. When I told them that we are staying at APA Hotel for 2 nights, they thank us for helping the local economy. My Mother was impressed.

My Mother climbed with us all the way up the Castle Keep. She is very pleased to note that today she achieved over 5,600 steps on her pedometer.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was at Zenya, a seafood specialty restaurant where individual dishes were prepared to order. You watch chefs cook in an open kitchen.

Aloha -- Cathi

To Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture

Aloha Everyone,

Japan is made of 5 major islands namely Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. Japan is also divided into 9 regions and within these regions are 47 prefectures or provinces.

Today we left Tamana City, Kumamoto prefecture in Kyushu and took the Shinkansen to Himeji City, Hyogo prefecture in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hope this map is helpful.

Our 30 minutes commuter train ride was spent watching a pair of young women who sat across from us apply makeup.

A quick lunch at Kumamoto Station before we boarded the Shinkansen Sakura.

Onboard service include vendors who come around with carts loaded with food, drinks and gift items. Always smiling and polite, the vendors bow when they enter your train compartment and bow as they exit.

APA Hotel is a business class hotel. Cozy room and great modern bathroom, here is a collection of amenities including disposable room slippers.

After 3 days of ethnic cuisine, J.J. and I are "Japanese-dished out." For dinner, we walked in gentle rain to an Italian cafe about a block away. While enjoying our pasta dishes, we witnessed a verbal altercation between 2 female customers. Dispute was over one of them engaging in loud telephone conversations.  Rather than asking one or both customers to leave the premise, the manager and the server came  out and publicly apologized to both parties.

The confrontation ended when one decided to leave. It was an interesting study of cultural behavior.

The photo inadvertently captured two of them prior to the incident when I took the interior shot. J.J. suggested that I ask the involved parties to pose for our blog, but I didn't think it was a good idea.

Aloha -- Cathi

Mr.& Mrs. K and Obah-San (105 Years Young)

Aloha Everyone,

Gorgeous day, bright and warm with high of low 70's Fahrenheit. Mr. & Mrs. K came to pick us up at the hotel promptly at 9:00 am. Mr. K. is the only son of my Mother's best friend who passed away many years ago. A retired school principal from Osaka, he and his wife have "adopted" my Mother as their own and treats her royally whenever she comes to visit Japan.

Our first stop, the ancestral cemetery of the Otsuzuki Family. Suddenly, Mr. K pulled his car alongside the road so I can take photos of an ancient warrior ritual performed every November 24th. It was truly fortuitous for us to be on this rural road at this particular time and day.

When I mentioned about my quest for learning Tibetan Buddhism following the teachings of the Dalai Lama, Mr. K offered to take us to Okunoin Of Rengein-Tabjyöji Temple. It is a spiritual place with large well maintained grounds owned by the Kumamoto prefectural  government -- a perfect place to spend a late autumn afternoon/

After being treated to a perfect sunset over the Ariyake Ocean, we dropped off my Mother at her cousin's house and went to dinner at the oyster restaurant famous for their fresh seafoods. Guests sit on low wooden benches surrounding a charcoal burner and cook your own choice of items. I was happy to be able to take photos of this novelty dining and feasted on grilled vegetables.

Obah-San (grandma in Japanese) is my Mother's cousin. She is a healthy centurion and will be celebrating her 105th birthday on February 5th. She recognized and remembered J.J. and me even though the last time she saw J.J. was about 12 years ago. I am grateful to witness the tremendous joy my Mother's visit brings to her. At parting, my Mother promised to be back in early February. She grasped my hands tightly and sang "until February, until February!!!"

Aloha -- Cathi