Thought-process

Two visits to Japan in quick succession !!

This time it was a 5 day trip. We took the ANA flight from the IGI airport in Delhi at 6.30 pm and reached Tokyo at 5.55 am (Japan time). Our first stop was Kobe. After the immigration check, we had to collect our bags which took some time and went through security check once more as we had to take another ANA domestic flight to Itami airport. The flight to Itami took a little more than an hour. A cab was waiting for us there and we reached Kobe’s Portopia hotel by 11 am. This beautifully located hotel is on an island surrounded by the deep blue Pacific. After checking in by 12 noon, we set out to visit the Kobe mainland using the hotel shuttle. In 15 minutes, we were at Kobe Sannomiya. The first thing we did was purchase ICOCA cards at the metro vending machine. We walked several kilometres taking in the vibe of the city. We browsed through the Sannomiya Centre street where we had delicious blended coffee and sandwiches at Nishimura’s Coffee, a well-known brand here.  We then walked towards the harbour and had a spectacular time by the ocean at sunset and the lights coming on. Of course, we had to remember to catch the shuttle back, so we walked back to the shuttle stop, satisfied with our day out.

On day 2, we woke up late and after a quick breakfast caught the shuttle and were at Sannomiya again in no time. Our first stop was Loft (my favourite stationary store) and spent more time browsing than  buying. Next stop was another Nishimura coffee shop. All refreshed we walked to the oldest shrine in Kobe, the Ikuta Jinja shrine. It is really peaceful here, with greenery and water bodies adding to the calm. We then walked to the cable cars which would take us to the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens in the hills. The cable car dropped us at the hilltop where we had a delicious lunch at Verandah, overlooking the city and the sea. From here we walked downhill to explore the beautifully laid out gardens. Halfway downhill, we were able to get a cable ride the rest of the way down. Then we took a long walk back to our shuttle stop.

This trip was possible because of my husband’s participation in a Haematology conference and this evening we had a dinner invite with all the guests. So, we returned to our hotel, then went to collect the conference kit and amazingly, they had a bag and a name tag for me as well!! We had a gala presidential dinner at the Kitano Club Solo which is very close to the hills we had explored in the afternoon. At night, the city shimmered with the lights and the ocean added magic to the background.

On the third day we set out for the Kobe Animal Kingdom which is located close to the ocean and is about a 30 min walk from our hotel. Being a weekend, the place was full of people, mostly children. This is a wonderful place where several water birds and animals were out in the open, interacting with humans. Parents encouraged their children to interact with the animals and explained about them. Children were allowed to feed the birds with feed provided. I think this understanding and concern for all creatures comes from values instilled by such experiences. After returning to the hotel, Tathagat took off for various meetings and I walked around in the vicinity and it was remarkable how quiet it was.

There was a social gathering in the evening with professors, students, doctors and technicians coming together. As a vegetarian I had to do some searching before I got what I needed to eat! We were back to our hotel room by 8.30 pm and had to pack up. We were leaving the next day for Osaka.

Next day we were up and about early with our suitcases packed and checked out by 11 am but kept our luggage with the concierge. We then took the shuttle to Sannomiya and walked to China Town. What a contrast between the quiet streets of Kobe and this mini-China, choc-o-bloc with people. Of course, it could be because it was a Sunday. As we made our way through the crowd and looked at the goodies in the shops on either side of the street, it reminded me a lot about India, so the crowd did not bother me at all. The cooking aroma of various dishes wafted through the air. I could not resist the rice cakes and the sweet potato shake. On our way back, we walked through the Kobe Motomachi shopping street and luckily got to listen to a wonderful musical performance.

We almost forgot that we needed to be back in time to catch our cab to Osaka. So we quickly walked back to our shuttle stop, reached out hotel just as our cab was pulling into the portico. In 50 minutes we reached Osaka’s Namba ward where we had booked an Air BnB at Sanctuary Residences.

This 5th floor flat at Sanctuary Residences is a small, clean and practical house. I had deliberately booked this one which had three beds because I knew space could be a problem. This worked out fine for us. The neighbourhood was quiet and clean of course. We went out in search for a Food Mart and there we bought some food and stocked the fridge. Had a filling lunch and then walked to the Daikokucho station, the closest metro station 6 minutes away. We got off at Tennoji station and walked to the Tennoji Park which is a beautiful green space with a zoo, a Japanese garden and the Museum of Fine Arts. It was getting dark and the huge park was lit up tastefully. Though it was full of people, there were quiet areas too, with a few shops. The 62-storied Abeno Harukas tower stands tall on one side of the park. Had coffee here at Tully’s. This was only one part of the huge park and a short trip certainly does not do justice to exploring the area. We came back to our room by 8 pm.

Next morning we left for the metro station at 9 am and took the metro to the Sin Osaka station where we reached in 30 mins. We were taking the Shinkansen (Bullet train) from here to Kyoto at 11.40 am. Our tickets to Kyoto had been booked several days ago on KLOOK and since there was time, I decided to book the return tickets as well. This was not the height of tourist season, so I got the tickets easily for the 6.58pm Shinkansen to Osaka.

I was very excited about the trip on a bullet train, something I had imagined since school days. The seats were very comfortable and spacious and the train was whizzing past the countryside. In 13 minutes we were in Kyoto!! I promised myself that the next time I am on a Shinkansen, the trip will definitely last longer.

At the Kyoto station, we took the Karasuma line (green) and got off at Karasuma Oike station. A 4 min walk from here and we were at The Traveler’s Factory, a must visit premier stationary store located in the SinPuhKan shopping complex. I bought the Traveler’s Notebook bound in leather and Brass bookmarks. The place has a relaxed vibe and the greenery around the area really pulls you. We walked through a beautiful part of the city and reached the Nishiki market which is also known as Kyoto’s Kitchen for the eatables being sold here. It was quite a wonderful experience going through this market place, taking in the colours and the smells of vegetables, fruits, fish, dry food. Tathagat had cherry blossom sake and I had strawberry with chocolate. Amidst all the hustle bustle, there is a 1000-year-old temple in a corner that seems untouched by noise. This is the Nishiki Tenmangu shrine dedicated to the deity of learning. We moved to another quiet place for lunch at Ain Soph, where we had a delicious burger and sweet potato pancake.

A 8-minute walk from here took us to the Shijo bridge over river Kamo. This is a very busy bridge with pedestrians and vehicles, connecting the commercial Shijo-Ohashi area with the historical Gion district. Before we turned into the Gion area, we caught a glimpse of the famous Minamiza theatre built in 1929 offering the traditional Kabuki form of Japanese theatre. We walked towards Ichiriki tei in the Gion area. Ichiriki tei is a well-known historic tea house around 300 years old, where traditionally men in power were entertained. Even today, entry is by invitation only. We walked to the beautiful Yasaka shrine, once known as the Gion shrine, and a 10-minute walk took us to the peaceful historic Zen Buddhist Kennin-ji temple. We also took in the beauty of the centuries old Yasui Konpira-gu Shinto shrine with the quirky enkiri enmusubi stone which apparently fosters good relationships.

We walked along the Higashiyogi Dori road passing the impressive Heian Jingu shrine with its red torii gate. Sitting atop a hill is the beautiful Buddhist temple Kiyomizu-dera, which we could see on our way to Ninenzaka. This narrow ancient cobblestone path is lined with traditional Japanese buildings and shops selling all kinds of Japanese items. We could see women moving around wearing kimonos and carrying the typical Japanese umbrellas. This path is actually an alley way and has been preserved as if frozen in time. It gave me the feeling of walking into a different era.

We walked around, going up and down several paths and getting lost and finally emerged close to the Shijo bridge area and reached the Gion-Shijo station. We took the metro to the Fushimi Inari shrine and to see the 10000 gates (toris) which is a 2 hour climb up Mount Inari. Sadly, we had to give the gates a miss. By this time it was getting dark and we had to catch the Bullet train on time. So off to the Inari station we went and got on a train on the Nara line and reached Kyoto station at 6.10 pm. Our Shinkantsen was to leave at 7.58 pm so we had coffee and relaxed a bit. We reached Shin Osaka in 14 minutes and then took the Mido Suji line back to Daikokucho. I loved how we navigated through various areas with ease. We discovered an Indian restaurant named Payal close to our Air bnb and had a long conversation with the owners over the delicious meal.

The next day we hadn’t planned anything in particular in the first half. So, we took off via the metro to Namba but once there, I was completely lost because the metro station opened up to a huge mall which is further surrounded by other malls and I lost my bearings! I took a long time locating Loft which was quite huge here. Once there, I bought a lot of stationary stuff and had coffee and sandwiches at Tully’s next to it.

We then walked towards the bustling Dotonbori canal area which is beautiful and vibrant with colours and designs all over the buildings along the river Umezu. There are innumerable restaurants and is known for its vibrant nightlife. As we crossed the road, we entered a quiet lane in Dotonburi and had lunch at a coffee house. From here we walked to the Don Quijote store and this is just the place to get all the knickknacks you would want to buy as gifts.

Our next destination was the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan at 6.15 pm and it was a 35 min ride by train. So we left Namba at 4.30 pm taking the Midoshuji line till Hommachi from where we caught the Chuo line to Osaka ku. A 10 min walk from the station took us to the aquarium which is located next to the ocean.

The walk inside the aquarium was like diving straight into the ocean. A lot of work has gone into creating this water world with marine animals from all the oceans of the world. The lights were suitably dimmed in the huge aquariums so it seemed like being underwater. This certainly was a dazzling world, so calm and peaceful. Moving out of this immersive experience took an effort. We left at 8.15 pm and took the same line back till Daikokucho.

Something funny happened on our way back. The GPS showed a different route to Sanctuary Residence which I assumed was a shorter way. So we walked for 10 min and reached the SR building which wasn’t ours! We turned back and walked for another 10 min before we reached our place. On the way we picked up our dinner from the Family Mart. I must thank Family Mart for being a savior with our food at all times.

Dinner over, we packed our bags, cleaned up the rooms and sorted out the garbage. Finally, slept at 1 am and was awake at 3 am. The Uber was at the door by 5 am and we reached Itami airport at 5.25 am. Three other passengers were waiting outside the locked airport doors!! I have never seen an airport shut before! They opened at 5.45 am and at 6 am they began checking in. The ground staff were kind enough to change our tickets from the 8 am flight to the 7.05 am flight to Tokyo Haneda. We reached Tokyo by 8 am and had enough time to freshen up, take a nap, have a leisurely breakfast, buy some chocolates and roam around before we boarded our flight at 11 am (Japan time) and landed home at 4.30 pm (IST).

Coming up next – Taiwan!!