Story and Photos by John Sundsmo.
Featured Image: Mt. Fuji viewed from Ohsino Hakkai.
Wandering has always been a favorite travel mode for my wife and me. Rather than a scripted itinerary, we usually prefer a more do-it-ourselves mode of travel. However, when we began planning a trip to Japan, our inhibitions got the better of us, i.e., language, customs, culture, and logistics all seemed daunting. So, we decided to tour first, then return in the future to the special places we enjoyed. We chose a British small group tour and embarked on a Japanese odyssey with forty like-minded adventurers who hailed from Australia, Iran, Britain, Canada, and the United States. Unlike the classic Greek heroes’ odysseys, none of our companions were lost during our epic twelve-day tour through Japan.
In Part 1, (described in this post): By bus, we traversed the main Japanese island of Honshu from Tokyo in the east, past Mount Fuji and the Five Lakes District, through the Yamanashi wine region (the Napa of Japan) to Takayama in the Japanese Alps; then through the Nanto arts region to Kanagawa in the west (about 300 miles).
In Part 2: By express train, we traveled from Kanagawa south to majestic Kyoto, the emperor’s home and seat of the shogun governments in the 14th to 15th centuries. From Kyoto, we wandered on the Shimanami Driveway between islands on the inland sea, stopping at the Awagi and Oshima islands and Kotohira on Shikoku Island before finally arriving in Hiroshima. Catching a ferry to Miyajima Island (central in the birth myth of the Japanese Islands, where a god thrust his sword into the sea to create the islands) allowed us to visit the Itsukushima Shrine and its photogenic floating Torii Gate. Our South travels were also about 300 miles.
The phenomenal natural and artistic beauty of Japan we encountered is perhaps best recounted in images taken on our trip.
Tokyo – Lord Kiyomasa Kato (1562-1611) samurai garden at the New Otani Garden Hotel: As a history buff, I read before traveling that three powerful samurai succeeded in unifying Japan in the early 16th century, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and most famously, Tokugawa Ieyasu. After seven hundred years of strife between warring samurai factions, the Tokugawa shogunate established the most extended stability and prosperity in early Japanese history. Among the many powerful samurai of the era, Kiyomasa Kato established himself first as a general with Hideyoshi and later as a key supporter and advisor to Tokugawa. As a renowned castle builder, visiting his personal garden and the site of his former castle complex was a complete accident of our booking at the New Otani Garden Hotel.
The garden was first landscaped in 1603. Over the next two centuries, subsequent samurai lords were granted the castle by the Tokugawa Shoguns and they added to the garden. More recently, a self-made millionaire from a humble background, Yonetaro Otani, acquired the land in 1964. He insisted the traditional garden stay intact before building the New Otani Hotel. The garden is just behind the hotel and was beautifully visible from our breakfast table each morning. The land surrounding the hotel also retains the moat of the original Kato castle. According to a sign in the garden, it covers more than 10 acres, contains over 800 specimen trees, 10,000 flowering plants, waterfalls, ponds with koi, a stone garden, and 42 stone lanterns, some of which date to the 11th-13th centuries. The garden was a real treat. We spent restful time walking and enjoying it as we recovered from jet lag and grew accustomed to Japan-time.
Senso-ji Buddhist Temple and Nishinomiya Inari Shrine in Asakusa, (the oldest district in Tokyo): Our first tour day began with a short bus ride from our hotel to the Senso-ji temple, the oldest in Tokyo (founded in 645AD). Since Shinto was already an established religion when Buddhism arrived from China, the Japanese added a blended form of Japanese Buddhism to their Shinto beliefs. With this religious duality, Buddhist temples often appear in the same complexes with Shinto shrines. Tokugawa established the Senso-ji temple as the seat of worship for the Tokugawa shogunates. Sadly, it was destroyed during the dreadful fire-bombing of Tokyo in World War-II. In the 1950s, it was painstakingly rebuilt using traditional hand-crafting methods. Perceived by locals as a symbol of rebirth and peace, the temple square contains a fire-scarred old tree that survived and continued to grow after that great Tokyo fire.
We arrived on the third day of the most popular festival of the year, the Shinto festival of Sanja Matsuri. The cultural scene was set for us with local women in beautiful formal geisha attire and men in traditional hakama. Food vendors plied customers with displays of “Grilled Sweetfish with Salt,” “Our Proud Skewers” and even “Homemade Fried Chicken.”
Five Lakes District: Our bus arrived at the Lake District after a 60-mile drive to the south and west of greater Tokyo and Yokohama. Five lakes, Kawaguchi, Yamanaka, Sai, Motosu, and Shōji, form an arc around the northern half of Mount Fuji. At 3,300 ft above sea level, the lakes were formed by lava flows from ancient eruptions of Mount Fuji. Clear snow melts, and rain from the mountain feeds into the crystal blue lakes. We arrived off-season but could see that boating, hiking, biking, fishing, and cool relief from the summer heat of Tokyo would swell the crowds in the summer months. We stayed near Lake Yamanaka and, the following day, took the Hitch Hetchy aerial tramway (known as a “ropeway”) to an overlook of Lake Kawaguchi. We hoped to catch panoramic views of Mt. Fuji from the overlook, but the view was shrouded in fog and clouds to such an extent that Lake Kawaguchi was barely visible.
Fuji-san: Mt. Fuji is such a cultural and holy icon of identity for the Japanese people that an honorific title, Fuji-san, is often used. At twelve thousand feet, the volcano has inspired generations of artists and poets. On a misty, rainy day, our first views of the sacred mountain were at Ohsino Hakkai, where we stopped during a break in the rain to see spring-fed pools of clear waters emanating from the aquafers fed by Fuji-san. Eight springs rise from the Mt. Fuji aquifer and fill ponds and a stream in Oshino Hakkai. Seeing an opportunity for a good mountain view, we paid 300 yen ($2) to enter an outdoor museum of historic old homes and workshops. The views were worth much more. We thoroughly enjoyed a good half hour of photography, with a historic grainery, water wheel, pond and blacksmiths shop in the foreground, a cloud-capped Fuji-san in the distance, and dark rain clouds mimicking a volcanic eruption – very beautiful .
Mount Fuji Fifth Station (2305m/ 7562 ft): The next day was also overcast and foggy as our bus wound its way up the steep two-lane road, and we despaired of seeing the mountain. Breaking out above the clouds, we found a blazing, beautiful early morning at the end of the road, Station Five (7562ft/2305m) for hikers on the mountain. It was a good thing we went up early because an hour after we arrived, the clouds flew in and completely obscured the mountain. With such rapidly changing conditions, despite warnings, it was easy to see how many unsuspecting hikers get trapped on the mountain each year.
Road through the Japanese Alps: Departing Fuji-san, we passed through a sloping, flat western plain, the Yamanashi wine region (the Napa of Japan). We noted the miles of rural houses, each with its own small rice field, and reflected. During the Second World War, the military leadership sacrificed the people to feed the soldiers. Hunger and starvation were rampant. By the end of the war in 1945 only on the farms were people able to feed themselves. With such a recent history, it was easy to see how a rice field became such a symbol of a happy home.
At Hata, our four-wheeled chariot turned into the Hida mountains of the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park (the Northern Japanese Alps) on Hwy-158. We embarked on a hair-raising journey through the mountains on narrow two-lane roads with sharp corners and twenty-four tunnels. So sharp were the turns that the bus frequently had to stop and wait for traffic to clear before using the whole road to take a turn. Sitting in the window seat looking down at a stream far below with no guard rail was unnerving, but a young, skilled driver got us to Takayama in one piece.
Takayama: In Takayama we visited the Kamininomachi Street Preservation Area with its furui machinami (private traditional houses), galleries, museums, and craft shops featuring local traditional carpentry, lacquerware, and pottery. The district also had a traditional sake brewery, antique stores, cafes, and a corner ice cream shop where we indulged. Historically, the area was important in feudal Japan for its woodworking and hardwood lumber for shrines, temples, and samurai castles. As part of his unification efforts, Tokugawa had many competing samurai castles, like the 16th-century one in Takayama, taken down.
Nanto Farmer’s House and the nearby shrine: Back on the bus, we passed through the Nanto arts region of the Japanese Alps and stopped at what was billed as a traditional “Farmer’s House.” However, historically, it was constructed by a local 16th-century official responsible for overseeing saltpeter (potassium nitrate) production for the Tokugawa shogunate. As a key ingredient in gunpowder and a sign of the official’s importance, the house was constructed with hardwoods, at the time restricted for use only by nobles. The hand-hewn strong beams were blackened by age and generations of cooking fires. With only a central cooking hearth, the house has withstood many cold snowy mountain winters. On the ground floor we found elegant traditional rooms for entertaining guests, upstairs we were told was the sleeping area and above that on a third level were kept mulberry leaves and silk worms that were warmed as heat rose in the house. Later, when we stopped at a traditional paper-making factory, we learned that after the silkworms were done, the remaining mulberry fibers were put into the production of washi paper for use in screens, interior doors, and artworks.
Nanto Region Surprise: Panoramic views in the mountains were completely unexpected and of outstanding beauty.
Kanazawa-a “marsh of gold”: As we traveled northwest from the Nanto region, the lush mountains of the Alps gave way to wide flat river valleys and again it seemed that every house had its own personal rice field. Evening found us in Kanazawa near the western shores of the main Japanese Honshū island, about 300 miles from where we started in Tokyo.
Kanazawa was home of the most powerful and wealthy Kaga-Maeda clan in the 16th century. With merchants, artisans and many samurai warriors, Kanazawa was important to the Tokugawa shogunate in Tokyo both militarily, to protect the West, and economically as one of the largest cities in Japan at that time. The Maeda promoted lacquerware and gold works in addition to sending hardwood lumber South to Kyoto for use by the emperor and East to Tokyo for the shogun Tokugawa. During our visit, we noted that traditional crafts, lacquerware, pottery, and porcelain china have all been continued and the works of the many talented artisans were on display in the local tourist shops.
Gold Leaf factory: Legend has it that a peasant digging up potatoes in a Kanazawa river delta discovered flakes of gold. The area and its mountains became a major gold-producing region for feudal Japanese nobility. Gold leaf has been made in Kanazawa since at least the 14th-15th centuries. During our tour, we visited a traditional golf leaf factory in the Geisha district, where we were given a demonstration of the traditional method for hand-pressing gold between sheets of washi paper and leather, resulting in sheets of gold leaf that are just 1/10,000 mm thick. Gold was widely used in Buddhist temples, where it was meant to “mitigate and purify any pollution or negative thoughts and feelings toward death” (Wikipedia).
Geisha District: Preserving traditional Geisha culture and historic etiquette of tea service, dance and meal service is important to the Japanese, and Geisha is now a respected and honorable career. We were told that the selection process for Geisha education is extensive, and very few applicants are approved for the traditional training. We observed that dinners served by Geisha waitresses in Kanazawa ranged from several hundred to several thousand US dollars per person. Preserved traditional private houses in the Geisha district were elegant in their simplicity of design and construction. That simple elegance overflowed into our views of the street entry spaces where we walked.
Kenrokuen Garden: We visited the large traditional Japanese garden established in 1676 by the fifth lord of the powerful Kaga clan, Maeda Tsunanori. Over the next 2 centuries, the subsequent Kaga lords enlarged and enhanced the garden with streams, a moss garden, ancient stone lanterns, tea houses and a beautiful rainbow stone bridge. Water for the ponds and streams was diverted from the distant Mt. Yamazaki via the Tatsumi water channel and tunnel in the 18th century. The garden was the private domain of the Kaga lords and their guests until it was finally opened to the public in 1922.
Quoting from our garden entry brochure, “The name comes from a passage describing Koen Garden (lake garden) in the classic Chinese ‘Rakuyo-Meienki’ (Rakuyo outstanding gardens). It says that although it is difficult to combine all six excellent elements in a garden, it has been achieved in this Koen Garden. The six excellent elements are: i) Spaciousness – spacious areas; ii) Artifice – human skills are involved; iii) Watercourses – abundant water supply through streams, ponds, and waterfalls; iv) Seclusion – secluded and quiet; v) Antiquity – able to feel nature from ancient times; vi) Panoramas – commanding fine views”. Viewing the works of centuries was an absolute delight to the eyes and the spirit. We spent several hours in the garden and left reluctantly. The fine, commanding, lordly panoramic views fit the garden’s goal of being a strolling garden – then and now.
Nomura House and Samurai Garden: In the 15th century, the powerful Maeda clan of Kanazawa recruited leading samurai warriors from across Japan. For security, the lords created a samurai district near the castle in Kanazawa, next to the Onosho Yosui canal. The status of a samurai was identified by the type of gate allowed at his residence. Few original wooden gates or properties have survived, but many have been painstakingly restored and replicated to the period. We walked through the samurai district and stopped at the Nomura House, the former site of the home of samurai Nomura Denbei Nobusada. Many feudal estates were destroyed during the Meiji Restoration, and land was distributed to the people. Kubo Hikobei, a local industrialist, purchased the property during the early 1930s and moved a traditional private house from his home village of Daishoji to the site. Part of the front entry wall is original to the 15th century period, as is the pocket-sized elegant rear garden of the Kobori Enshu style with its small waterfall, winding stream, bridge of cherry granite, and 400-year-old Myrica plant. Our guest brochure pointed out that the “guest alcove” in the Jyodan-no-ma chamber (drawing room) was made of paulownia wood, and the nails were hidden with black persimmon wood. The room was paneled in Japanese cypress and finished in rosewood and ebony. Each sliding door had a grand landscape drawn by Sasaki Senkei, one of the foremost Japanese artists – all very beautiful with elegant simplicity of line and form.
Our 300-mile journey across Honshu island exposed us to the natural beauties of the Five Lakes Region, Mount Fuji-san, and the Japanese Alps, as well as the creative traditional artisanry in shrines and temples constructed using just simple hand tools. We were struck by the simplicity and beauty of traditional interior and exterior designs we encountered in even the small villages that we visited. Cleanliness and simplicity were evident in homes, gardens, and people. We greatly appreciated what we experienced of the apparent uncluttered, purposeful Japanese lifestyle and culture.
While the mountainous regions of Japan, Takayama, Nanto, and Kanazawa, were historically important for their raw materials. Next, we headed south to the cultural center of Japan, home to centuries of emperors and the feudal center of shogunate governments in the 14th and 15th centuries. Our next stop was Kyoto, described in Part 2 of this series.
IF YOU GO: We were surprised to see signs in English at all the major train stations, but in the smaller villages, all the signs are in Japanese. We downloaded the Google translator app and used its camera function, which, when pointed at a sign, gave the English translation on the screen of our iPhone. For cell phone wifi, we had been told that the service provided by US carriers could be dicey in Japan, so we had a Japan-Wireless hot-spot device delivered to our Tokyo hotel and it was waiting for us when we arrived. (Departing Japan we dropped it in a postal box at our last hotel.) The service was excellent, well-priced, and worked well with the iPhone map function. One mistake we made was not carrying an extra cell phone charger battery or printed map while walking. What with taking photos and using the map function for directions, the phone battery died and we were lost without a map or translator. It took a while to find a convenience store where a helpful clerk spoke English and pointed us in the right direction. While the trip could have been done in our usual do-it-ourselves style, it is unlikely we would have had the same immersive experience as we encountered on the tour with our highly professional guide Yama-san.