Day 18, July 10

Off to a cafe run by a couple from Seattle called Curio which had vegan options. Very different to our previous Japanese breakfasts. Tess and I had Hommus and Baguette, Tara had Granola and Gerard managed to get his peanut butter and jam toast.

Then off to the fish market for a look around. We jumped on a bus from here and went to the Higashi Chaka district, this is the old part of Kanazawa. It was quite a steamy hot day but we soldiered on. Kanazawa is famous for its seafood (most of it raw sashimi style) and gold leaf. We went to an 1820’s tea house called Ochaya Shima Ochaya meaning tea house was actually a place for customers to be entertained by geikos (like geishas) as they drank sake.

We found a little restaurant that had a sake tasting and Gerard had some sashimi. I was served some snacks with my sake tasting but I have no idea what they were – tasty though.

We walked from there to find some lunch. We fond a trendy pizza place and brewery for lunch for us then it was off to Tess’s favourite restaurant (Los Angeles in Kanazawa) for another vegan burger and choccy cake.

After a bit of a hot walk we were in the Kenrokuen Gardens, very pretty Japanese gardens.

Back to the hotel for a little rest then out to dinner to a little restaurant in a residential area called Restaurant & Inn at Sushi. He was very accomodating for Tess’s Vegan requirements. We had the biggest oyster I have ever seen here along with some really interesting sushi and some more sashimi for Gerard.

Croquettes of all sorts.

Oyster ranging from $12 each to $22 each – they are very large!

The ice works at the market.

A very large fish head for sale.

Lots of crabs of all sorts.

A street in Higashi Chaya District.

This is the oldest fountain in Japan and it works by natural pressure caused by the difference in the levels of two ponds.

We saw an owl in the tree.

The trees are often held up by big posts. This helps them stand up to the heavy snow falls in winter.

Tara off to the Onsen.

Very large and very hard to eat with chopsticks!

The vegan sushi caterpillar!

Day 17, July 9

Well another interesting and delicious Japanese breakfast then Tara and I had one last look around town and a quick run down to a small fuit and veggie market. Then it was off to the station to catch two trains to Kanazawa. We checked in after a quick lunch at the station and then walked to have a look at the Gyokusen Inmaru garden. Tess found a Vegan burger restaurant so we went there for her dinner whilst the rest of us had baked potato chips and a drink as a snack before our dinner. I had my second glass of wine for the whole trip there. There is not a lot of wine other than sake around Japan.

We then went in search of a restaurant for us. This was our most daring restaurant where there was no English at all on the menu and they spoke very little. The outside of the restaurant is very unassuming and you would not know it was a restaurant. We ventured in and again it is a mother and son team. The son handed us 3 pages (I think hand written) of Japanese characters and told us that was the menu and the drinks list. They looked lovely but we had no idea which way was up let alone what was written on them. Anyway the waiter managed to say “sashimi, tempura and chicken” words which we recognised so that was what we ordered. Tess was a little disgusted at the sashimi that Gerard ate. The meal was delicious and it was a lovely experience. The people here are all so nice!

Day 16, July 8

Breakfast was included in our Ryokan stay. And what a breakfast it was! A Japanese style breakfast with all sorts of things. Rice, miso soup, fish, egg, rice tea, tofu, pickled this and pickled that as well as a hot dish cooked over some hot rocks. The dish is called Hooba Miso, grilled spring onions and shiitake mushrooms with miso served on a hooba leaf. It was served in our own private dining room. Whilst at breakfast our futons were put away and our table and chairs returned. Off to the market first up we we ate some Hida beef and some sweet eggy marshmallow type things.Then a look around the old town Takayama and on to a bus to Hida No Sato an old folk village where 30 buildings were all moved from different parts of the Hida region. They are preserving the traditional houses and lifestyles to pass their precious cultural heritage on to the next generations.

Tess found a Tex Mex restaurant with vegan options for lunch, The burgers were great! Very hip kind of place. Then it was off to Takayama Showa Hall which is a retro museum. We experienced Pachinko. This is a mechanical game a bit like a cross between a slot machine and a pinball machine but you play with and win little steel balls that are then swapped for prizes or tokens. It is illegal in Japan to gamble for cash so you then take your tokens away and cash them in for a fee at another premises. Japan’s Pachinko market generates more gambling revenue than that of Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore combined!

Dinner was in another small restaurant run by a mother and son. It was like a Japanese style tapas with vegan options and some more Hida beef for Gerard and I.

Photos from around old Takayama.

Hida No Sato folk village.

It was very interactive at the folk village.

Our Ryokan is behind the big tree.

Day 15, July 7

We had a light breakfast of toast and vegemite at our Air BNB then off to the bus stop to wait for the bus to Nagiso. A lovely Japanese man came to drop off some recycle cans and newspapers that go to a school and he sat with us until the bus came. He chatted to us in his limited English, he was a bit of a character. We thought he was catching the bus as well but he just waited with us to make sure the bus arrived for us and that we knew how and where to get on! The transport system here is amazing, trains are to the absolute minute – we have not come across one train that hasn’t arrived or left the platform on time. Even the bus arrived at 7.44am. From Nagiso we caught a train to Nagoya then another train to Takayama. We arrived in Takayama about 1.30. Normally here in Japan you cannot check in before check in time (which is usually 3 or 4pm), even if the room is ready! Fortunately the lovely couple that own the Ryokan we are staying in were only too pleased to let us check in early. A Ryokan is a very traditional old Japanese guesthouse. Our tatami (Japanese floor matting) rooms were set up with a low tea table and cushions on the floor. They served us tea on arrival and then whilst we were out the tables and cushions removed to make way for our futons to be laid out, so we came back to freshly made beds. This Ryokan also has private Onsens so you don’t have to bath in the nuddy with everyone else!

Lunch was at one of the few places open after 2pm. Tara and Gerard had udon and soba soupy noodles, I had shaved ice with condensed milk (not the healthiest of lunches) and Tess had nothing. There was nothing vegan as all the broth had fish in it which is often the case over here. Then it was off to a vegan restaurant that Tess found so that she could eat. Home to the Ryokan for a short rest then off to dinner. We went to a lovely husband and wife run restaurant called Heianraku. It was really good. Gerard and I had a sake tasting of 3 different sakes and they really understood what vegan was so Tess was able to have a very delicious meal as well. The restaurant only seats 12 people and is run by a husband and wife, very friendly welcoming people. The wife also gave the girls a bit of an origami lesson after dinner. We met some other Australians there and it turns out the one of them knows someone who went to school with Gerard! The Watts from Balmoral.

Takayama.

The private Onsen

Our riverside room.

Day 14, July 6

Today was our first day with no trains, trams, buses, or planes since we have been in Japan. We walked part of the Nakasendo Trail going from Magome to Tsumago. It is 8.5kms and takes us 800m above sea level. It meanders through some really beautiful mountainous country side and some very old post towns. The original old feudal path ran from Kyoto to Edo (now called Tokyo). We dropped our bags off in Magome before we left and they were taken to Tsumago for us to pick up when we arrived.

Along the way is a building that is over 200 years old which now houses a tea house offering free Japanese tea and Japanese lollies to walkers.

There were old water wheels and villages and many parts of the path were cobblestone. We walked through Hinoki cypress and Japanese cedar forests, Bamboo forests and many water falls.

We had lunch when we arrived in Tsumago at a little local restaurant that served Gohei-Mochi which are rice balls on a stick with a delicious sesame and walnut soy sauce.

Dinner was cooked by our hosts in our Air BnB.

The official start of the walk.

Beware of the Bears – these bells are all the way along the walk for us to ring and keep the bears away.

A torii gate entrance to Jippensha Ikku Monument along the way.

Our Tea house stop.

A 200+ year old weeping cherry tree.

Tess being a weeping cherry tree.

Tara being a very tall Hinoki cypress tree.

3.7kms to go.

The male waterfall.

The female waterfall – not sure why the are called the male and female waterfalls but they are jus next to each other and one is bigger then the other.

Down town Tsumago.

Our lunch spot.

We went for a walk after lunch to some old castle ruins – couldn’t really find the ruins but a great view.

This was our dinner cooked by our host, buckwheat soba noodles served cold with Japanese radish, pickled veggies of all sorts and crickets! We have never eaten crickets before but they were really crispy and tasty!

Day 13, July 5

It was a very early start today, starting with a half hour walk with our suitcases to the Sinjuku Express Bus Terminal to catch a 7.20am bus. We arrived in Magome around midday – well not actually in Magome as it turns out! The bus dropped us at a service centre outside Magome so we had about another 30 minute walk to get to our Hostel. Again with our suitcases but this was very hilly! Beautiful scenery though, through lots of rice paddy fields. Magome is a very picturesque village in the mountains. We had steamed buns for lunch and there was even a vegan one for Tess. The hostel is very friendly and we are in the special “school master’s room” apparently. We think it is a school camp most of the year.

We took the courtesy bus to the Onsen where Gerard, Tess and Tara bathed in the nuddy in the natural hot spring. Males and females have separate bathing areas and swim suits are not allowed. We dined in the restaurant there before catching the courtesy bus back to the hostel. It is strange walking around in bare feet in a restaurant, no shoes allowed inside in this part of Japan.

This was an unusual thing to find amongst the rice paddy fields.

This is the steamed bun shop showing the big wooden steamers.

They love Hydrangeas here and this is the most beautiful one I have seen!

Day 12, July 4

More sight seeing in Tokyo today, which means lots of subways and train rides again! Shinjuku Station is apparently the busiest station in the world with over 2 million people going through each day. The stations are like little cities themselves. Tara had found a good breakfast spot at Shinjuku station, but do you think we could find it? After about an hour of trying we gave up and settled for a bakery. Our sightseeing started with fish markets in Tsukiji, then it was off to find “kitchen street”. This is a street full of anything you might need if you owned a restaurant – except for fresh food. Lots of kitchenware shops and the highlight is all the fake plastic food shops. They were quite amazing – from a plastic bottle of Moet in plastic ice to a big fried rice wave in a wok. The fake dishes seemed to range from about $60 to over $100 for a simple dish.

Next it was off to Tokyo Tower, very similar to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. We then sent Tara off on one train to our hotel room and Gerard and I caught 3 more subway tains to go out to Disneyland to pick up Tess. Tess hadn’t eaten much in her 2 days at Disneyland so was starving when we met her. She had her sights set on a vegan ramen restaurant in Tokyo Station. It was 9pm and the thought of trying to find this at Tokyo Station didn’t thrill me. Amazingly we found it quiet quickly! Happy Tess.

A street in Sunjuku near where we stayed.

All fake!

More plastic food.

Yep! More fake food!

Day 11, July 3

So, we took Tess to Tokyo station to meet up with her friends for the Disney Land trip. We had breakfast at Tokyo Station and eventually found Tess’s friends. Tokyo station is massive and goes for kilometres with many many exits and entrances, like over 50 of them.

Our first stop was a French tea shop where Gerard had a sesame latte. It was very nice made out of black sesame seeds. Then it was off to The old Tokyo town.

We did lots of walking and found a nice little restaurant for lunch. Note to self though- if there are any English words then google them before ordering – I ended up with what looked like the Japanese version of steak tartare – only it was raw tuna mince with raw egg served over rice – not my taste! But I did enjoy the plum sake with soda over ice.

We passed through some cemeteries and many temples on the way to the Tokyo National Museum. We had a look through the museum before purchasing a brûléed crêpe ice-creams from a food van outside the museum. They were cake and ice cream in a crepe cone with a brûléed custard top – oishii! (Delicious)

Then it was off to hit the bars of Shijuku. Our first one was a Japanese themed bar called Incubator. Drinks were served in test tubes and beakers and you could pop on lab coats if you chose! Our next bar was run by Monks, Gerard ordered a cocktail called Mugen-Jigoke (never ending suffering in hell). It was a petty groovy place.

Then it was time to choose a restaurant for dinner – how does one choose when there are over 11,000 restaurants in the district? (According to trip advisor)

We walked down a few side streets and just picked one – you can’t tell from the outside what is on offer as it is all in Japanese, but fortunately a lot do offer English menus once you get inside. We ended up in a Mongolian Bar-b-q restaurant specialising in Australian Lamb in Japan – would you believe it? It was delicious and we cooked it on our own bar-b-q’s on our tables.

Walking through old Tokyo we cam across this shop making ricecake slabs.

Japanese Cemetery

Raw fish and raw egg for lunch

Brûléeing the ice-creams.

Our brûléed Ice Cream

Outside the museum

We swung by Akihabara

The mad scientist at the Incubator

The bar run bar Monks

The front of the restaurant for dinner

Day 10, July 2

After our buffet breakfast we caught the Shinkansen to Tokyo. We came across an Eataly store at Tokyo station. Gerard and I had been to one in New York so we were keen to go there for lunch. Fortunately they had a vegan dish for Tess. We did a self check in on a screen at the hotel then went of to Shibuya crossing. It is a massive pedestrian crossing where 7 roads meet. Then it was off to a sushi train for dinner – it was worth the 1 hour wait in a queue to get in!

Breakfasts are unusual in Japan!

Day 8 July 1

We had a lovely day today but very tiring and long. We went to meet with Chihiro who was an exchange student we hosted 6 years ago. It took three trains to get there and she took us to a local restaurant for lunch. Lucky she was there to help us order as we didn’t know what anything was. It was all very nice though. Gerard and I had a spicy udon noodle bowl which was served cold which surprised us a bit but it was very nice! Chihiro was very happy we met with her and she gave us all a little letter that she had written for each of us.

Then we caught some trains and got to Nara. They have a lovely park land with many, many tame deer roaming. We saw the Daibutsu (Great Buddha) at Nara’s Todai-ji Temple. The bronze Buddha is 16 metres high and weighs 500 tonnes. It is housed inside the largest wooden building in the world that dates back to 798. It was very impressive!

I dont know how many trains and busses we caught today, but it was a lot! We went back to Osaka and found an almost vegan restaurant for dinner. Then back on the train again to see the lit up streets of Osaka.

This was a knife shop in Nara where I bought a beautiful handmade knife.

Tess managed to find a vegan black sesame ice cream. It was a bit nicer than the tofu skin ice-cream we had the other day.

Many people dress up in kimonos to visit the shrines and temples.