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After spending a great deal of time spouting useless advise here, I
finally made it back to Japan.

First impression: as always, love the place. Breezed through Kansai's
immigration; about thirty minutes from plane touchdown to getting in
father-law's car. Very little traffic on the drive to Himeji, though as
usual the sheer number of smoke stacks between KIX and Kobe is
staggering.

Himeji, as usual, was the center of the trip; it's where the inlaws
live, so that takes care of lodging. My first morning I woke up
incredibly early (4 am), watched some mindless early morning TV
(interesting to see infomercials in Japanese), and when it got warm
enough I took my morning walk (something I only do in Japan, it seems).
I went to Otokoyama and the area west and north of the castle; having
been to most major tourist spots in Kansai I find it more refreshing to
wander around and see what I can see.

On day two we went to Arima onsen near Kobe/Takarazuka. Honestly, for
the money I wish we had gone to Kinosaki on the Japan Sea coast. The
cost of train travel to Arima isn't that much less than Kinosaki, and
part of it is on the Kobe Dentetsu, where your JR pass is useless. It's
a nice enough onsen town, and we had a wonderful lunch and bought some
delicious pickled veggies, but the onsen are fairly far apart, a fact
more noticable because it was pouring down rain. The one we chose was
recommended by the tourist board; apologies, but I can't recall the
name, and neither can my wife. Which sort of sums up the experience,
actually. We ate and bathed there, and for my wife, son (5) and I the
dining/onsen experience cost nearly 7,000 yen. The food was great, but
with a lot of great restaurants in Japan I was still hungry when we
finished. And the bath was tiny.

One great thing about traveling with a young child in Japan: trains are
free (until they're in elementary school).

Day three saw us at Shoshazan (Engyoji Temple) north east of Himeji.
Truly fabulous, and though I swear I went there 12 years ago I didn't
remember a single thing about it. We took the bus from the station and
rode the tram up the mountain. From there we walked the standard course
through the temple complex for nearly three hours. One of the priests
talked with us for a long time about the problems they're having with
sugi (pine) pollen. It literally fell from the trees in buckets, like a
yellowish snow. The priest said they clean the temple every morning,
but honestly it could use constant cleaning; but that's not pracical,
he said, so they make do. I chose to walk back all the way to Himeji
station; it took about an hour and a half, but I walk fast. It's very
clearly marked and isn't a hard walk.

The next two days were mainly spent shopping, visiting, etc., and
nothing exciting happened. However, I did make a trip to Mt. Hiromine,
a truly nice hike to a smallish shrine (Hiromine Jinja). From Nozato
station (two away from Himeji on the local line) the hike up took about
an hour, though again I hike fast. It was challenging, though. From the
station head west and you'll see a sign at a major intersection for
Hiromine Shrine. The road will split with the main road/sidewalk
turning left and the road to Hiromine going straight. I strongly
suggest turning left and immediately turning right on a small road that
goes through a residential neighborhood. This road parallels the road
to Hiromine (and eventually intersects with it), and also takes you by
a small shrine that's fairly nice. When this small road meets the main
road to Hiromine, look up and to your left and you'll see the hiking
path. When you get to the path's end, you'll be at Highland Villa
(visible on the mountain from Himeji proper). There's a sign for
Hiromine Obersvation Platform (or some such). Unless you just like to
climb steps there's no reason to go there. Follow the road up the hill
and it will end at Hiromine. From the Torii (gate), I suggest taking
the hiking trail to the right on the way in, but it probably doesn't
matter since the small road straight ahead gets you to the same place
and you can go one, return on the other. The shrine itself isn't super;
there are truly better in Japan. However, it is very isolated up on the
mountain, and most likely you'll be alone (unless you go on a holiday).
More intesting than the main shrine is the area behind the complex.
Proceed up the mountain and you will see a series of old, abandoned,
collapsed houses. In my mind these homes are ancient, though in reality
they're probably post WWII. Still, I found them very interesting.
Continue past these and the trail splits. Go left and you'll get to a
small shrine on top of the hill. Go right and you'll get to a small
garden, where if you're lucky an old man will be farming; I stopped and
talked with him for nearly an hour. It was fascinating. But he didn't
speak a lick of English. He informed me that the trail beyond his
garden (note there's no house in site; I assume he works for the
shrine) goes to the middle of nowhere and it's exit isn't anywhere near
a bus or train stop. I saw some mountain bikers on the path, so I'll
investigate that option the next time I'm in town.

That's part one of the report. I probably have work to do so later I'll
post a report on Hikone, near Shiga.

John W.

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Xref: 127.0.0.1 rec.travel.asia:182746

In article <1112105726.802422.27750@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>, John
W. <worthj1970@yahoo.com> wrote:

> After spending a great deal of time spouting useless advise here, I
> finally made it back to Japan.

[snip]

> That's part one of the report. I probably have work to do so later I'll
> post a report on Hikone, near Shiga.

Thanks for the useless advise and additional observations. :-)

Apparently you're covering a number of areas you've been to before,
what with your in-laws living in the area and all. Overall did you find
that you'd like to get back more often, or that it had changed in any
meaningful way?

--
Thank you and have a nice day.

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gtr wrote:
> In article <1112105726.802422.27750@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
John
> W. <worthj1970@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > After spending a great deal of time spouting useless advise here, I
> > finally made it back to Japan.
>
> [snip]
>
> > That's part one of the report. I probably have work to do so later
I'll
> > post a report on Hikone, near Shiga.
>
> Thanks for the useless advise and additional observations. :-)
>
> Apparently you're covering a number of areas you've been to before,
> what with your in-laws living in the area and all. Overall did you
find
> that you'd like to get back more often, or that it had changed in any
> meaningful way?
>
This was my first visit to Japan in four years, so that's probably why
I stayed fairly close to home, so to speak. But in general I prefer to
do more localized traveling. For example, just West of Himeji there is
a very blue collar neighborhood of small factories that almost
exclusively cleans clothes (corporate uniforms, etc.). Those factories
use these giant (3 meters diameter?) wooden drums to wash the clothes,
and walking around that neighborhood gave me a sense of Japan very few
people get, including Japanese. Those folks have a hardened look about
them, and many of the homes there are old and in poor condition; I took
a picture of one that had completely fallen apart, like it had just
given up. To me it's a metaphor for the folks in that neighborhood. And
always these neighborhoods contain small shrines that, to me, are in
some ways more fascinating than the larger temples/shrines of Kyoto
because these still mean a great deal to the local communities; you get
a similar feeling walking around farming areas where all of a sudden
there's a stone monument or a small shrine with incense wafting over
the fields. Also, I find that the people I meet in rural or blue collar
areas assume I speak their language and don't try to communicate in
what they assume to be my language.

If possible I would go to Japan more often; unfortunately I simply
can't afford to. My wife goes back annually, but after buying a ticket
for her and our son that stretches our budget pretty tight. But if
someone were to offer me a job in Japan making a decent salary, I'd go.
There's simply so much I want to learn.

John W.

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John W wrote:


> [ ... ] One of the priests
> talked with us for a long time about the problems they're having with
> sugi (pine) pollen. It literally fell from the trees in buckets, like a
> yellowish snow. The priest said they clean the temple every morning,
> but honestly it could use constant cleaning; but that's not pracical,
> he said, so they make do.

That's cedar pollen. Didn't you wonder why so many people were wearing
surgical masks? ;-)

--
Dave Fossett
Saitama, Japan

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Dave Fossett wrote:
> John W wrote:
>
>
> > [ ... ] One of the priests
> > talked with us for a long time about the problems they're having
with
> > sugi (pine) pollen. It literally fell from the trees in buckets,
like a
> > yellowish snow. The priest said they clean the temple every
morning,
> > but honestly it could use constant cleaning; but that's not
pracical,
> > he said, so they make do.
>
> That's cedar pollen.

I stand corrected.

> Didn't you wonder why so many people were wearing
> surgical masks? ;-)
>
A friend of mine works for a prefectural government's office as a
researcher and he said there's a growing belief that it's not simply
the pollen but the pollen combined with pollution that's the problem.
People who live in areas with lower pollution levels don't typically
have the allergy, while urban areas are generally more affected.

Personally I think the whole sugi allergy situation is kind of
fascinating, since it's such a home-brewed problem.

Oh, and I'm re-posting (not cross) this to fj.life.in-japan since those
whiners say there's nothing to talk about.

John W.

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