The Jukebox Clan Does Japan

[Pushka]

Just wondering how live this is? . Leaving next week and starting to think about the down jacket I wasn’t going to take.

 

[Steady]

Just wondering how live this is? . Leaving next week and starting to think about the down jacket I wasn’t going to take.

Same, Same

 

[jukebox333]

Just wondering how live this is? . Leaving next week and starting to think about the down jacket I wasn’t going to take.

It's about 24 hours behind!

Fine dining was last night.

Tokyo weather was wonderful the day we arrived, then a cold front came in and temps plummeted.

By early next week when we reach Kyoto, it's forecast to be 24C there.. but I have nights in Matsumoto and Naraii where the overnight lows will be sub zero.

We did not expect snow or sub zero nights... But did pack a little warmth for our 5 days across the mountains

 

[jukebox333]

Thursday morning. Another miserable Tokyo day, I'm sorry to say. Grey skies, cold soaking rain.

Oliver and Lily have taken off on a planned 1-day adventure of their own, hiring a Toyota GR Yaris and heading to Mt.Haruna, emulating the trials of the anime character Initial-D. It's a thing. I did watch a YouTube so understand the back story, and the appeal for driving enthusiasts.

Today was going to be a floating day for the rest of us; I did have a rental car booked for the day, just in case Fuji co-operated, but cancelled that when it was plain she would not. Instead, we've spent the morning bringing laundry up to date, and recuperating. Levon is on the mend now, so he should be right in a few days.

Oliver's across a number of Japanese group chats, and with the strong "must get to work" culture here, there was a highly recommended local phramacy medicine we used to fight this flu thing:



Save a screenshot and show them it, and they will dispense to you. It does seem to combat the chest/throat infection pretty well after two days or so.

Also helpful, paracetemol and ibuprofen look like this:



I'm still contemplating an evening out for some last night photography. If the weather doesn't turn worse, I'm up for it.

 

[rbjhan]

hiring a Toyota GR Yaris and heading to Mt.Haruna, emulating the trials of the anime character Initial-D

I'm not much of a manga/anime fan but even I know this

 

[rbjhan]

Ah yes Fujisan is fickle to say the least.
I was thinking about booking one night in Nihondaira hotel, but then what happens if we can't see Fujisan?? There's nothing else to do.....So instead I'm going to book an onsen ryokan somewhere else.

 

[jukebox333]

Ah yes Fujisan is fickle to say the least.
I was thinking about booking one night in Nihondaira hotel, but then what happens if we can't see Fujisan?? There's nothing else to do.....So instead I'm going to book an onsen ryokan somewhere else.

Absoloutely. Luckily, I'd Google Mapped ahead of time, saw that nothing was open for meals after 6pm anywhere near Shoji Mount, so had prepped the crew that we were in for a 30 min each way trip for a meal. Fearing some may be crowded, I had about six map pins ready, but we got lucky with the first one.

 

[jukebox333]

I have mentioned we did Japan as a young family back in 2008.

That was a short, and very vanilla trip.

But there are great memories from it, some worth recreating...



He's even got the curry on his face...

We didn't get them on the day, but I see on the Google reviews that Alps Curry in Tokyo Station is actually still using the same pattern dishes today!

And back at Yaesu Terminal Hotel...

 

[rbjhan]

Tsujiki was just a big toursit trap

FIFY.

 

[rbjhan]

Absoloutely. Luckily, I'd Google Mapped ahead of time, saw that nothing was open for meals after 6pm anywhere near Shoji Mount, so had prepped the crew that we were in for a 30 min each way trip for a meal. Fearing some may be crowded, I had about six map pins ready, but we got lucky with the first one.

So the place you stayed, they didn't serve meals?

 

[jukebox333]

So the place you stayed, they didn't serve meals?

They did - we took breakfast there, an extra ¥1,100 pp which seemed like a smart move:

The happy couple, an hour after the proposal:



It was a great introduction to local breakfast selections.

Dinner was an additional ¥4,400 each, and I'm a tight cough and it felt like there were better choices and variety back in Kawaguchico. Our izakaya feed was ~¥12,000 including drinks for five of us.

精進マウントホテル【公式HP】 | 富士山眺望の宿 精進マウントホテル公式HP 東京都内から2時間弱の山梨県富士五湖の一つ精進湖にある宿泊施設です。客室からの富士山や精進湖の絶景と、手作りの美味しいお料理、親しみあるサービスが人気。富士山の写真撮影拠点・合宿研修施設としても好評です。

...

shojiko.com

 

[rbjhan]

They did - we took breakfast there, an extra ¥1,100 pp which seemed like a smart move:

The happy couple, an hour after the proposal:

View attachment 438065

It was a great introduction to local breakfast selections.

Dinner was an additional ¥4,400 each, and I'm a tight cough and it felt like there were better choices and variety back in Kawaguchico. Our izakaya feed was ~¥12,000 including drinks for five of us.

精進マウントホテル【公式HP】 | 富士山眺望の宿 精進マウントホテル公式HP 東京都内から2時間弱の山梨県富士五湖の一つ精進湖にある宿泊施設です。客室からの富士山や精進湖の絶景と、手作りの美味しいお料理、親しみあるサービスが人気。富士山の写真撮影拠点・合宿研修施設としても好評です。

...

shojiko.com

Ah yes dinner is actually where ryokans make the most margin....
If there are reasonable choices nearby I'd book breakfast only plan too....but my reasonable obviouly doesn't include a long drive

 

[jukebox333]

Quick live post this morning; we're onboard the 7:20am express Shinkansen to Nagano.

Of course the weather in Tokyo today is beautiful.

@Pushka if you are here next week, and the sun is out, you will have a magic time. We're passing through the northern suburbs of Tokyo and there are blossoming Sakura everywhere. I actually think the Sakura-navi app runs a little premature, in that it calls "full bloom" maybe a week earlier than when the trees look their best.

Not sure if they'll show it, but tried to capture some trees from passing the train:





And of course, we can see Fuji in the distance... Looking magnificent



Sigh...

 

[rbjhan]

Interested to see if there are any sakura in Nagano, they tend to be behind Tokyo though....

 

[markis10]

I often check the Shonan Enoshima Monorail webcam and today looked good

Mount Fuji Live View Camera | Kamakura-Enoshima Shonan Monorail

These beautiful mount Fuji photos were taken in 10 minutes intervals by the camera set on the 5th floor at Shonan Enoshima Station of Shonan Monorail. These are uploaded from 4am to 8pm.

kamakura-enoshima-monorail.jp

 

[jukebox333]

So, last night Wendy's flu bug had hit her pretty bad, but Levon was on the mend, and he joined me for a last swing thru Shinjuku for some night photography.

Nothing abnormnal to report, just the usual tourist suspects; Omoide Yokocho, the 3D Cat, Godzilla, Golden Gai. Moderately interesting, but once again, I have ticked the box, so don't see a need to revisit in the future







Tori laneway near Shinjuku....




And I couldn't help myself, one last view of Sakura-dori Ave, Yaesu:

 

[jukebox333]

Travel day today - Tokyo to Nagano

Shinkansen was as fuss free and reliable as always - and as I reported before, Fuji taunted us with climpses of what might have been...






We were in Nagano by 8:40am and another seamless rental from Nissan-rent-a-car and we were away by 9am, headed for the Jigokudani Yaen-Koen Snow Monkey Park.

This was a bucket list thing for me - I can't explain why, other than the look of misery on these creatures trying to escape the cold, has always captivated me.

It's a muddy, sloppy 1 mile hike at this time of year - do it any later, and you risk it being so warm the monkeys aren't interested in bathing. It was cold today, so we were set. Despite four coaches out front, there were no lines, and only a moderate gathering of people, so it worked well.

Wendy's lurgi was hitting her hard, so relucantly, she stayed with the van.





Avert your eyes, kiddies...



I really dispair for these animals. The number of ignorant tourists shoving cameras within 10cm of the beasts faces, only to have them bare teeth, snarl, or lunge at the holder. People are just selfish and cruel.

 

[jukebox333]

By the time we got back to the van it was noon. Wendy was feeling a lot worse, and this time asked to be taken to a doctor at some point today. We were headed for Togakushi Shrine, on the opposite side of Nagano, so I made the call that getting her to medical care en-route was the best choice.

We located the Red Cross Hospital and dropped Wen off - she insisted we continue, and we would collect her on our return.

But things didn't quite work out that way.

I later found out that on admittance, she went for xrays and tests, as was diagnoised with severe respiratory infection/moderate pneumonia, and admitted into the ECU, one step down from intensive care.

Discussing her case with the doctor this evening, she is on oxygen, and IV antibotics, but is expected to be under care for 5 days at least - up to 14 days.

There's nothing I can do - she only is allowed 3 hrs/day visitors, and we discussed the "doomsday" scenario of one of our mothers becoming ill, and agreed the other person needed to just solider on. Travel insurance should pick up the costs, but it breaks my heart to now not share all this hard work with my partner.

Not the end to the day I had been anticipating...

 

[drron]

Fuji wasn't really trying to taunt you. It took me 40 years and a 100 visits to Japan until she revealed herself to us. It was also our fourth stay at Fujikawaguchiko last year.

 

[Pushka]

People are just selfish and cruel. And instas are stupid as well.