Japan TR (include JL & CX F review)

[JohnSydney2000]

Tres Diplomatique !!
Well Done

While I also had plenty of bad experience with Chinese flying domestic in Australia (they don't seem to know the meaning of priority lines), I always make sure to remind myself how big is their population before getting upset. Considering there are tens of millions of them traveling overseas these days, how can we expect they will all behave properly (especially when so many of them are probably flying abroad for the first time). It's enough to have a "small minority" of a couple of millions that behave badly to tarnish the reputation of a whole nation.

 

[boomy]

Tres Diplomatique !!
Well Done

Have to, some of them are my best clients

 

[boomy]

Day 10
Nara
Good thing about Nara is it's small size which means all the interesting places to visit are within 30 minutes walk from the train station.
We started the day in Nara Park where the deers are waiting for visitors to come and feed them. People are asked not to bring their own food for obvious reasons and "deer food" is sold in the park for ¥150. The park is huge and there are hundreds of deers roaming around freely everywhere. They are usually very friendly but can get annoyed when you run out of food while feeding them. For this reason (and because they can become aggressive during mating season) the male's horns are chopped off.
Warning signs posted in the park.

Feeding them deer food.

This girl is overwhelmed by the attention.

This one knows where all the good stuff is.

Kids love them.

 

[boomy]

We left Nara Park and walked a short distance to Todaiji Temple. This grandiose building was completed in 752 AD and it's purpose was to host the Great (Vairocana) Buddha. This place is known as one of the most impressive structures in Japan and although it was packed with tourists, it's so big that it didn't feel crowded.
The place was burned and then restored several times during and after wars. Inside there are models that show how each temple looked like during different periods.
The temple.


The great Buddha.

Two smaller Buddhas sit on each side.

Guardian of the Buddha.

 

[TomVexille]

Loving the TR Boomy​!

 

[boomy]

On our way back we made a stop at Nara Hotel. It's a historic hotel opened in 1909 and for years was the premier accommodation in the Kansai region.

This bar hosted many famous guests over the years, from presidents to movie stars.

View from the veranda.

Afternoon tea (or coffee in my case).

 

[Bali Belly]

One of the best TR I have read for a long time great pics and detailed info

once again thank you

 

[boomy]

Before leaving Nara we walked through the shopping arcade and had okonomyaki (I won't upload the dish photos as you've already seen it enough in this TR ).
We picked up our bags from the hotel, crossed the bridge to the train station and took the train back to Kyoto, then connected to the Shinkansen going to Nagoya.
There aren't many attractions in Nagoya for tourists and the reasons we decided to make a stop there are:
A. It's on the way to Takayama and a we thought it's good opportunity to check out another Japanese city for half day.
B. I got a cheap rate at Hilton Nagoya, less then half of what I would pay if staying an extra night in Kyoto or Takayama.

 

[boomy]

Hilton Nagoya
We arrived to Nagoya station late afternoon and took a cab for the short 5 minutes ride to the Hilton. We were invited to check in at the executive lounge (first time in Japan). When we entered the lounge I was confused, did we accidentally reached the Conrad? It looks fancy!

The manager (American) came to greet us and said they just finished renovating the lounge last week. Now I get why we were asked to check in there, they wanted to show off
We received Executive Suite upgrade and detailed explanation of our diamond benefits and were told to contact the lounge directly for any enquiries.
coughtail hour just started so we decided to stay in the lounge for while.

Plum wine for the missus and local sake for myself, couldn't ask for more.

The GM came to visit and we had a chat (apparently the one before him relocated to HSW). He told us they listen to guests who are bored with the standard Heineken beer and Chilean wines on offer at most Japanese Hiltons and they introduced more Japanese beer, sake and plum wine.
I found it interesting that some of the staff were western (who spoke fluent Japanese off course). Usually in Asia only the manager at Hilton is western while the employees are locals. It was also interesting to notice all the local staff could speak very good English and they make sure to walk around and talk to the guests, an assertive approach not common in Asian hotels. We could see the the strong influence of western management here.

 

[boomy]

After having a few drinks too many in the lounge we finally went to check out our suite. When we entered it felt a bit strange, it was almost an exact copy of the suite we got in Osaka!



Even the view was very similar, so weird!
It was actually quite funny because we didn't have enough time to enjoy our massive suite on our short stay in Osaka so now it's like we got a second chance

 

[boomy]

Nagoya
It was still quite early so we went to check out Nagoya at night. The Hilton has good location near the river and 20 minutes walk to the city centre.
We started with some grilled seafood in one of the restaurants that had river view.

Unfortunately the lights reflection from the window didn't allow any decent shots of the view.

 

[boomy]

Later we walked to the city centre which was very much alive, mostly with young people going out to nightclubs and karaoke bars.

Nagoya's ferris wheel.

The TV tower.

Interesting design of a ceiling water feature.


It's closed now so will try to come back tomorrow to check it out more closely.

 

[drron]

Lots for the tourist in Naygoya.
The castle.
Toyota museum.
Noritake factory and museum.Old shopping streets and temples.
And the best for mrsdrron-Arimatsu tie dyeing village just a short local train ride away.built around the old highway to Tokyo with many houses dating to the 1600s.

 

[boomy]

Lots for the tourist in Naygoya.
The castle.
Toyota museum.
Noritake factory and museum.Old shopping streets and temples.
And the best for mrsdrron-Arimatsu tie dyeing village just a short local train ride away.built around the old highway to Tokyo with many houses dating to the 1600s.

I wanted to visit Toyota museum but (much to my gf delight) it's closed on Mondays. I heard the museum is nice but the real thing is a guided tour in the factory, located in Toyota city 90 minutes by train from Nagoya. Hope to do this tour next time when in Japan.

 

[boomy]

Day 11
Nagoya
We had half day to check out the city before catching the train to Takayama.
First we went to visit Nagoya Castle. It was built in 1615 and was completely destroyed by air raids in 1945 during WWII. In 1957 reconstruction started, expected to finish in 2018.

 

[boomy]

Interesting exhibitions inside showing the history of the region before and after the castle was built.




This is a replica of The Golden Dolphin, symbol of Nagoya Castle.

After the originals were destroyed, two new ones were cast in the Osaka mint and put back on the roof.

 

[boomy]

Later we took the metro back to city centre to check out that ceiling water feature we saw last night. It's basically a rooftop park where people can come and walk around.
That's how it looks from the top.

And looking from the bottom.

On the way back to hotel we walked along the river and enjoyed the beginning of spring.


For lunch we tried a Nagoya special - Hitsumabushi, which is Unagi (eel) enjoyed in three different ways, as illustrated in the instruction card we received with our meal.

It was one of our best meals so far on this trip, a must try when visiting Nagoya.

 

[boomy]

That's it, our short stay in Nagoya finished. Time to catch the limited-express Hida train and climb up to the Japanese Alps.

The ride to Takayama takes about 2.5 hours and we expect to get there just on time for dinner in our Ryokan.

 

[Dalescott]

While you have been in Japan, did you try Whale meat. We did, and it was OK. It was part a seafood meal we had, no one in this world does seafood like the Japanese.

 

[boomy]

While you have been in Japan, did you try Whale meat. We did, and it was OK. It was part a seafood meal we had, no one in this world does seafood like the Japanese.

Didn't try any whale meat and never saw it on the menu either. I guess the fish market would be a good place to get it but we were not interested.
Agree the best seafood I had was in Japan.