Japan in winter…yes, again

[Justinf]

Then it was off to the Tokiwacho temple and shrine complex.
it was absolutely magnificent. Pics don’t do it justice, especially inside, which was magical.

 

[Justinf]

Before this trip I’d come out of retirement to help my local cricket club out with numbers,
Back in the day, I am not ashamed to say I was a decent player, but Father Time catches up and my knee was giving me grief.
those two games had flared the cough up and I was struggling.
So it was back to my room for a nap.
by 5.30pm I was ready to head out again and stumbled across Hub British Pub.
at $15 a pint, I had one and left. Them’s Aussie prices.


across the road there was a standing bar.
never seen one of those but I had to try it. Obviously standing only and only ¥500 for a beer.


after two beers there I tried for an izakaya for some food.
all places were packed and refused me entry. Some were empty so I wondered of it was because I was gaijin.
eventually I found a very small place and had some beer and some fish.


I remembered from my first trip to Japan, someone paid for my beer tab which was around $45. He didn’t tell me and left before I could even know what was going on.
all he said in a note that he gave to the bar staff to be handed to me was “pay it forward”.
so I shouted everyone in the izakaya a drink. There were only seven people in there, but shout I did.
i did it at the end so there wouldn’t be any fanfare but I think they would have loved it.
for my three beers and fish and everyone else’s drinks it was only ¥7000 so no real damage done and I’d finally paid it forward.
back to the hotel and paid ¥2000 for a noon checkout tomorrow as opposed to a 10am departure.
checkin at my Osaka hotel is 2pm and given it only a 30 minute trip, I didn’t want to be in limbo.
¥2000 well spend if you ask me.
tomorrow it’s off to Osaka.
just under 16,000 steps today and my feet and right knee were feeling it.

 

[drron]

We did this same trip a month ago. You r eally lucked out with Mt. Fuji.
I loved the Railway museum but i did learn Japanese 40 years ago a nd still remember the Numbers so I knew when they were built.
Pity you didn't try one of their craft brewery places. pretty decent and they certainly don't mind gaijin.

 

[Justinf]

The noon checkout was a shrewd move.
slept amazing. I’m really liking these hard mattresses.
quick walk to the station and onto the local train at ¥580 and 28 minutes to Osaka Station.



got to the hotel just after 1pm, but gee they don’t budge for an early checkin.
had to wait until 2pm.
Staying at Hearton Hotel Nishi Umeda.
¥22,350 for two nights.
went for a walk and things looked pretty quiet for a Sunday.
eventually it was time to check-in and the room was, yes small, but perfectly comfortable.


My knee was really giving me grief so I bunkered down and rested for a few hours.
by 5pm it was time to head out in search of a beer and some food.
i‘m sure our seasoned travellers on here will know of it but I stumbled across these covered tunnels of entertainment.


I tried a few small izakayas but was turned away so I settled on a damn British pub again, but at least it was happy hour at ¥820 a pint.
After a couple I searched again for a smaller local spot, but for some reason I was struggling.
eventually had to settle on a burger and brewery place.
food and drink there was top notch.


it was time to call it a day.
i had been searching all trip for my favourite Lawson delicacy ‘omelette rice’ with zero luck anywhere.
i was rapt to find it at an obscure store. There were two left and I got both.


Just shy of 22,000 steps today.
osaka castle and shopping for Onitsuka Tiger shoes tomorrow.

 

[Justinf]

Woke up at 5.30am, but managed to get back to sleep after about an hour.
quick trip to Starbucks, which is decent here, and a four-shot latte.
off on the Osaka loop train and four stops to Osakajokoen and then a 1.3km walk to Osaka castle.
I didn’t realise how busy it would be. Was a 15-minute line-up for a ticket. Should have booked online.
the castle and museum were packed.
they had a really good exhibit where there were holograms all around the floor that depicted a different story.
I really would have liked to see them, but the crowds made it very difficult.


even so the castle was impressive.
back into ‘town’ where I couldn’t find the Onitsuka Tiger shoes I wanted.
knee really giving me grief now so I had a very late lunch.

 

[Justinf]

After a couple of hours resting, I headed out and came across a bar that had a ¥440 cover charge and only one beer on tap.
it was nice and quiet, but I didn’t linger.


back out into the night. It wasn’t cold today. Probably 12 degrees, but felt about 16 or 17 in the sun and walking around.
i came across an izakaya and quickly settled in.


I started off with some mozzarella goyoza and some fried chicken.

 

[Justinf]

I passed on this dish.
And I guess the state of the cooking facilities all look like this?

never mind. The food was awesome.
after that I had a warm sake.


decided I liked the goyoza so much, I’d have another, but what I was served was completely different.
this stuff was amazing. Garlic and cheese and torally different to the first thing I thought I’d ordered, but man it was amazing.

 

[Justinf]

finished off with a plum liqueur with soda water, and I could have drank these all night.

total bill came to around ¥2700, which was dirt cheap.
quick trip to the convenience store and wow.



Just under 20,000 steps for today. Very grateful for a noon check tomorrow and then off to Hiroshima .

 

[Justinf]

Once again quite grateful for a noon checkout. Didn’t have to pay extra this time, it came with the price.
quick walk to Osaka station and then a one-stop train ride to Shin-Osaka for the Shinkansen to Hiroshima.
and again I opted for green car but probably should have just booked the normal reserved seat as the carriages were very lightly loaded.
bought a bento for the trip, which was just under and hour and a half.
watched episode 4 of the final season of Peaky Blinders.


settled in and the time went quickly. I really like the Shinkansen. Comfortable and pretty relaxing.

 

[Justinf]

Once at Hiroshima station it was a four-stop trip on the streetcar to my Air B&B.
was in a terrific location. Did some washing immediately, but I’m a bit worried that my clothes aren’t going to dry in time.



I had pre-paid this and it was around $100 a night for two nights.
after washing and a shower I headed out and I was really surprised at how close I was to all the action.



just a short walk and I came across this amazing little izakaya bar. It was tiny, but everyone was friendly. Reckon 7 people would have had the place full.

 

[Justinf]

Entertainment was via transistor radio.


after a couple of beers, I went to another place for some dinner.
started with an omelette of some sort. Was good.


finished with some grilled tuna, which was sublime.


quick walk back to my pad and looking forward to tomorrow already. Lucky I packed my rain jacket. Top temperature of 13 and some rain forecast.

 

[Bronnie]

I was really hoping to get any kind of view of Fuji, but I didn’t expect this.
i was later told by a mate, that in his dozen times doing this trip, he had never seen better views than what I saw.
bucket list item completed.

View attachment 368669


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Fabulous views and photos

 

[Justinf]

Bit of rain around today so I stayed in until around noon and then off to the Hiroshima peace museum and park.
Wow.
This was single handedly one of the most moving and stunning exhibitions I have ever seen.
Since being a late diagnosed adhd and I now realise why I don’t really like museums or galleries.
My attention span lends itself to moving too quickly between exhibits and therefore I don’t take nearly enough in.
I get restless and move on.
Not with this.
I read every single word.
Had to stop to compose myself.
The museum was absolutely amazing. Sad, haunting, informative and ended in a positive note about a new beginning.
I didn’t see any no photo signs but nobody was taking any.
You could hear a pindrop. That’s the level of respect everyone showed. Usually you get one or two, but not here.
I did get this before I went in. I’ll try and attach the video.

 

[Justinf]

The park itself had some wonderful monuments including the atomic dome.

 

[Matt_01]

The reason I wanted to do Sapporo again is for the winter festival, where they build ice sculptures as big as houses.

We did that festival in 2019 and loved it. If you get the opportunity/ time the train to Otaru and then onward to the Nikka Distillery is well worth the trip. In the winter the canals are lit up in the evenings.

 

[Justinf]

We did that festival in 2019 and loved it. If you get the opportunity/ time the train to Otaru and then onward to the Nikka Distillery is well worth the trip. In the winter the canals are lit up in the evenings.

Perfect. I was planning on doing that but now I definitely will.

 

[Justinf]

Had a very late lunch at Nakau which I think is a chain place and was about 50 metres from where I was staying.
You order on a screen and take a number and the food comes out very quickly.
I had some udon curry and apple juice and I reckon it was about $7 max. It was really good. Hit the spot.



A quick nap and I headed out to my favourite standing bar.


The guy who runs it - I think I might have already mentioned this - brews his own coffee and mixes it with sochu and I liked it so much I ordered one and asked for a pic.
He set it all up for me.




Back to Nakau for some beef, egg, cheese and rice.




Pretty early night.
Had a 12.40pm flight to Tokyo tomorrow and then a connecting flight to Aomori.
High drama was to follow.

 

[Justinf]

Woke up super early and got my act together.
Why are Japanese airports so damn far away? It’s nearly an hour by bus.
Got the streetcar to the bus station and got the 9.45am bus to Hiroshima airport.



Flight to Tokyo Haneda was on time.








Today I was on a JAL Boeing 767 and it was lightly loaded.







Flight time was one hour and three minutes to Haneda.
I received a message from JAL that heavy snow in Aomori might mean my flight might need to turn back to Haneda due to low visibility.
Safety first hey?

 

[elanshin]

Had a very late lunch at Nakau which I think is a chain place and was about 50 metres from where I was staying.
You order on a screen and take a number and the food comes out very quickly.
I had some udon curry and apple juice and I reckon it was about $7 max. It was really good. Hit the spot.

View attachment 369388

A quick nap and I headed out to my favourite standing bar.

View attachment 369389
The guy who runs it - I think I might have already mentioned this - brews his own coffee and mixes it with sochu and I liked it so much I ordered one and asked for a pic.
He set it all up for me.


View attachment 369390

Back to Nakau for some beef, egg, cheese and rice.


View attachment 369391

Pretty early night.
Had a 12.40pm flight to Tokyo tomorrow and then a connecting flight to Aomori.
High drama was to follow.

Try not to slip too much in Aomori. Lots of snow up there.

 

[Justinf]

Try not to slip too much in Aomori. Lots of snow up there.

I’m the slip king. Walking so slowly it’s embarrassing.