A race around Japan

[Buzzard]

Here in Hue Vietnam there is a Japanese TV channel, NHK World Japan.
Mostly in English but subtitled where necessary.
There are stories about regional Japan, railway stories and even Sumo Wrestling.
It's a pleasure to watch and makes me want to go back.

 

[trendwhore]

Here in Hue Vietnam there is a Japanese TV channel, NHK World Japan.
Mostly in English but subtitled where necessary.
There are stories about regional Japan, railway stories and even Sumo Wrestling.
It's a pleasure to watch and makes me want to go back.

Also on Youtube too, it's great.

Train museum is awesome right? Such great stuff there

 

[love_the_life]

Time to wrap-up Hakone. This place is seriously beautiful, and great for those looking to get out of the big cities that Japan has to offer. Yes it was a somewhat touristy, but if you plan your days carefully you can avoid the masses quite easily. While I didn't do the sums, I would highly recommend the Hakone Freepass - it's essentially your single ticket to unlock the region. There are options to go further towards Kawaguchiko and Mount Fuji, but I didn't have the time.

One thing that I would call out about my time in Hakone - myself, and a number of people I met, struggled to find restaurants to eat at. A number were closed for some reason. The first day I was there was a public holiday (Respect for the Aged Day), but I ran into the same issues on the second day, so I question whether that was the issue. I would recommend choosing a hotel that has a restaurant, so at least you have a contingency.

I ended up having my last dinner at Hakone Kitchen & Bar - a very small restaurant with just 4 tables. The beef was tasty, and thankfully the raw chicken was sold out.

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The hotel I stayed at, Hakone Yutowa, was in a great location and conveniently located a short walk to Gora station. This place is massive though, so if you're after a personable stay at a ryokan, this isn't for you. The facilities were top notch though, with male and female public baths, plus two private baths that could be used for 30 minutes at a time (these could not be reserved, but on both days I never had to wait more than 15 minutes). Snacks were offered from 3-7PM, while drinks and desserts were available from 7-10PM. There were a number of lounges to relax in, and an outdoor area with a foot bath and a gas fire. Breakfast again was a mix of Western and Asian fare. My room, a standard twin room, was thankfully a little larger this time.
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Next stop, Nagoya for the F1. I'm not 100% sure if I'll need daily updates, but stay tuned. If anyone has restaurant recommendations for Nagoya, please let me know!

When we were in Hakone a few years ago, we found most of the restaurants catered to day trippers and were not open in the evening, In addition, the few that were open were cash only. Luckily the 711 had ATMs.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Days 7 to 10 - F1, Suzuka Circuit

And we're back to regular programming! Nagoya, the closest city to the Suzuka Circuit, was my base for the Japanese F1 Grand Prix. The circuit is 60km south of Nagoya, with a couple of public transport options available. The first is a 50-minute train on the Kintetsu line down to Shiroko and then a 20-minute shuttle bus to the circuit, and the second was a JR train to Suzuka Ino station and then a 2km walk to the track. On paper, neither sounds shocking, but add in the masses of people, lines and the heat, and it all become tiresome from an accessibility perspective. Luckily I met a Chinese fella at the track on the first day, and he had a driver who was taking him from Nagoya to the track (and back) each day, and he offered for me and a couple of others to join him at no charge. Score! The traffic was often gridlocked meaning the travel time was similar to the public transport options, but the comfort of being in an air-conditioned car was second to none.



Enough of that, now onto the racing! Once again, I missed the release date for tickets (there's definitely a pattern here), so I had to splurge on an F1 Experiences package which came with a number of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Expensive, yes, but worth every dollar.

On the Thursday, I went down to the track to collect my tickets and credentials, before entering the main gates and wondering around the track. The track itself is truly one of the F1 calendar, offering long high-speed straights, hairpins, consecutive S-turns and chicanes. The elevation changes and banking only add to the appeal of the track. The Japanese are also some of the purest motorsport fans out there. While they do have their local hero in Yuki Tsunoda, they support the full gamut of drivers and teams, and have done so for a long time.

 

[trendwhore]

Decent trek to the track from Nagoya! I stayed in Tsu last time I went to Suzuka which was great for location but terrible for anything else

 

[CaptainCurtis]

On the Thursday afternoon, the package I had purchased included a pit-lane walk and a drive around the track on a flat-bed truck. It was truly amazing to see both of these up close - an experience I would recommend to any F1 fan.

The Aston Martin safety and medical cards



The view down the pitlane - hard to tell from the picture, but the straight and pitlane are on a downhill, which contribute to high max speeds and make the first corner incredibly exciting.



Some of the cars and garages up close

 

[CaptainCurtis]

A few more from the pitlane - those that follow F1 closely may notice that the Mercedes and Aston Martin teams were running practice pitstops while we walked past. I have some videos that I'll try post later.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Lucky to see some pretty big names in the sport. They were looking pretty relaxed, as Thursday did not have any actual racing.

First up Max Verstappen (Red Bull)



Christian Horner (Red Bull team principal), Stefano Domenicali (CEO Formula One Group) and Sergio 'Checo' Perez (Red Bull)



Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine)



Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Mercedes)

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Last few from the pitlane walk



Next up was the drive around the track. An amazing way to experience what the drivers do, albeit at a much slower speed. A number of the pit crew and media folks were running a lap of the track (Natalia Pinkham from Sky) - great exercise, but way too humid.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

My package included tickets in the Main grandstand for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Main grandstand runs parallel to the start/finish straight and pitlane, and provides a great view of the start, finish, pit stops and potential overtakes. It also had a view up towards the final corner, where Logan Sargeant had his big shunt in Q1. On Friday, ticketholders were allowed to sit in any grandstand, so I used that as an opportunity to explore the track, and took a liking towards the first turn and the subsequent S turns.

I didn't take too many pics from Friday to Sunday, but here's a sample of what I have.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Race day

 

[CaptainCurtis]

F1 Wrap-Up

What a great weekend! The Japanese absolutely love their motorsports and the Suzuka Circuit is probably one of the top 5 tracks on the F1 calendar. My observation was that the majority of spectators were Japanese - either local to the area, or Japanese domestic travelers. There were very few international spectators, perhaps 5%. This made it a very different experience from other F1 races I've attended. The crowd were respectful, they never booed and while there was alcohol, it was nowhere near the level I've seen at other events. When I would leave my seat for the bathroom or to purchase food, I would leave my bag unattended at my seat. I would never even contemplate doing this at other circuits.

Drinks were reasonably priced at ¥800 for a large Heineken. There was a huge range of food options, all very well priced relative to sporting events I have attended in Australia and abroad (e.g. Singapore). I wouldn't have paid more than ¥1,800 for a lunch.

The location of the track was a major downside. While I lucked out with the driver, it would still take 1.5-2 hours to reach the track. This made for early starts and incredibly long days. The heat was relentless. I'm not sure that I would need to attend Suzuka again - not because I didn't enjoy it, but because I guess I've now ticked it off and these downsides would be hard to justify for an experience I've already had. Next up will probably be a race in Europe.

 

[Seat0B]

Starting to find the language barrier much more difficult outside of Tokyo. Staff at restaurants speaking minimal English, and just speak to you in Japanese even though it’s clear you don’t speak the language. Interactions such as checking in and purchasing tickets for a train, for example, are getting harder. How quickly can duolingo sort me out??

I studied Japanese at uni for 2 years in early 1980s and then did not go to Japan until 2010 bu which time I had totally forgotten most of it. I did a bit of private revision, but it didn’t help much. A couple of years back, I signed up for FluentU and I love using it. I’ve learnt heaps, with an 10 minute per day target practice time, and do feel a bit more capable each visit, but I is a slow and steady process for sure. I know you were only joking about the DuoLingo but if you wanted to go to Japan again and learn a bit of language, you could try the apps. They do work.

 

[Seat0B]

In Kanazawa, Ninjadera (Ninja Temple) is interesting. Tours only in Japanese (when we were there) but folder with English info passed around. Fascinating place. Some info here Ninjadera (Ninja Temple)

when we were there in February, you had to go to the Tour Center (on your left as you face out the main station entrance to the big torii sculpture thingy) and book a place for the Ninja Temple tour.

 

[Seat0B]

instructions.

The Japanese on this says “do not run, OK” which makes the intention clearear!

ETA: no mention of safety in Japanese. They must think the only way Westerners will comply is if we fear for our safety

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 11 - Takayama

After a busy weekend, it was time to move on to the next destination. Truthfully I didn't really experience all that much of Nagoya, so perhaps I could have stuck around for a few extra days, but I was once again excited to get out of the big city. Nagoya Station was well and truly heaving, with the Monday morning work population intersecting with the mass of tourists moving on to their next destinations after the racing weekend. Takayama is north of Nagoya, situated in the mountainous Hida region of the Gifu Prefecture. My ride for the morning was the Hida limited express from Nagoya direct to Takayama, along the Takayama Main Line which ultimately continues on to Toyama. The trip was operated by an HC85 series train, recording a top speed of just over 100km/h.





There were some beautiful views as we passed through the regional mountains, often referred to as the "Japanese Alps".

 

[CaptainCurtis]

The train arrived into Takayama Station a few minutes late, just after 11AM. First stop was my accommodation, Hotel Wood Takayama, to drop off my bag. Yes you guessed it, no chance of an early check-in.

Having skipped breakfast to navigate Nagoya Station, my first stop was lunch. Kyōya had come highly recommended for its setting within a restored Japanese country house (unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take any photos), and its delicious food. I went for the Hida Beef on Vegetables set meal, which came with a punchy soy and vinegar dipping sauce, mixed vegetables, miso soup and rice. At ¥2,500, it wasn't cheap, and perhaps wasn't the best first exposure to Hida Beef, but it was nonetheless tasty and filling.



Next up was a visit to the Takayama Shōwa-kan Museum, which offers an opportunity to walk through a number of interactive exhibits portraying life during the Showa period (1926-1989). The displays transported you back in time, scratching that itch to understand life during 20th century Japan. I would definitely recommend visiting if you're in town.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

A few more from the museum.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Then a short walk to Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine. The Shrine is perhaps best known for its exhibition hall which displays a number of the floats from the Takayama Matsuri (i.e. festival). There's a ¥1,000 admission fee, which I didn't think was worth it. The Shrine itself was beautiful, as always, blending into the cityscape perfectly.

 

[trendwhore]

Oh that museum looks awesome. Don't worry too much about skipping on Nagoya, not missing alot