It's nearly over!

The countdown's begun....the time for us to leave Japan is getting closer and closer and closer!  

Tomat te kudasai! 

 Stop the clock.....we want a bit more time!!

A farewell party in Tokyo with Linda, who goes the day before us, started the show. Perched on the 50th floor of La Tour Shiodome Building, Hamamatsucho overlooking the bright lights of the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo, we reminisced about our experiences and adventures in Japan. It's not easy leaving this country.....it's such an endearing place!

Linda had said bring something to eat but don't bring too much alcohol.  Unable to carry alcohol in our freight home (company policy!!) it has to be used up! Obviously no one listened....she ended up with more than she started with and we ended up taking ours home again. There was whisky, sake, plum wine liqueur, Danny's special margaritas, beer, white wine, red wine and more sake!  And food...well it was ridiculous how much there was....Japanese, Indonesian, Mexican, Indian, Louisiana American and......! So much delicious food! Oishi desu! It's a sad time as the team breaks up and sees people heading in all directions....PNG, Australia, America and, of course for us, retirement!!  Naturally, the Japanese workers will remain in Japan as well as some expatriates for a little while longer. Thank you, thank you Linda for hosting such a great night!

Rumiko san you are such a sweet lady and I wish we didn't have to part.......there are so many more Japanese Hash Runs left in me! Maybe one day we will meet again in Alabama if we all visit Danny there!

For me, the next very sad farewell was with my beautiful language teachers, Ritsu san and Toshiko san. Hoping to see early cherry blossoms they had planned an outing isho ni to visit the Miura Peninsula but unseasonably cold weather has delayed the start of the blossoms. Instead, they decided to take me on an outing to Ofuna, just south of Yamashitacho, where they promised to show me some places that usually only the Japanese go. Ofuna is in the city of Kamakura but, interestingly, half of the Ofuna Station is in Kamakura city and the other half is in Yokohama. A silly fact maybe but a fact nonetheless!

We'd arranged to meet at Yokohama Station on the Tokaido line platform at car one by 10am! As it's such a crazily busy station you need to be very specific if you want to guarantee meeting up. Once in Ofuna we caught a taxi to Taya no Dookutsu (Taya Cavern) which is actually in Yokohama, but closer to Kamakura both geographically and historically. The cavern is in the precinct of Josenji Temple, Sakae-ku, Taya-machi. From about the year 1200 to 1700, Shingon Buddhist monks gradually excavated this underground maze of tunnels to an imposing scale as a site for spiritual training. The Shingon Mikkyo sect was a Japanese sect who practiced mystical Buddhism. Disciples of those times would fast for twenty one days, sit in religious meditation and dig in the cliffs by hand. There are a total of seventeen caves. After paying an admission fee we were given a candle on a wooden holder outside the entrance which we then lit  inside the doorway. Damp, silent corridors led to small, domed meditation chambers with walls and ceilings carved with fantastic creatures and Buddhist images. Finally, we found ourselves in the spring room with a great turtle and birds carved on the walls. 

Taking photos was prohibited so this shot has been imported from the internet.

The  cavern is carved out of a solid sheet of clay stone rock. This solidity enabled the cave to survive the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 with only minimal damage.  The total length of the cavern is 1500 metres but only 400 metres is actually open to the public. Many passages, although visible, are blocked off but it is easy to see that the caves are like a spider web. 

Fortunately for me, I had two excellent tour guides, Toshiko and Ritsu, who stopped and explained the meaning of the carvings in each chamber. Even they had difficulty reading a lot of the information and for me there was certainly nothing in English. In the spring chamber we placed an index finger in a small stream of water coming from the wall. It's believed that if you have a part of your body you'd like fixed then with the index finger you rub the water on the site and you will be cured. Toshiko rubbed it on her head to make her brain better able to think! I rubbed the water on my thumb which I'd injured skiing....I guess time will tell!! It's amazing that this incredible place is not on the normal tourist itinerary as it is so old and fascinating. A hidden Japanese treasure!

This photo shows the stream of sacred water where we dipped our index finger!

After leaving the cave, Toshiko and Ritsu took me to a delightful Japanese restaurant popular for its soba noodles. Soba noodles are made from buck wheat, most of which is produced in Hokkaido. I chose soba noodles with vegetables and tempura, Toshiko had chicken, vegetables and soba noodles and Ritsu chose wild vegetables and soba noodles. Naturally, green tea accompanied the meal. Totemo oishi-i desu ne!! We sat at a large wooden table looking out into the garden. 

Each paver outside was carved with an item on the menu. This was my tile depicting 'Soba noodles with tempura'.

I was particuarly fascinated with the flooring in the toilets. Handmade tiles depicting animals, flowers and shapes were laid randomly to create a beautiful mosaic floor. Initially, I think Ritsu was a little surprised at my interest but she soon understood why I was taking photos of the toilet floor!

After lunch we caught another taxi to the Kenritsu Flower Centre Ofuna Botanical Garden (Ofuna Flower Centre).  The flower displays were lovely and we spent a very pleasnt time wandering through each of the different gardens and hot house displays.

Ritsu san inspects the buds!

Toshiko san enjoys the beautiful fragrance!

A very unusual plant!

Next we headed back to Ofuna Station area. Most of my visitors will recall the large white statue, known as Ofuna Kannon, that stands on a hill to the west overlooking Ofuna.  The gentle and merciful expression attracts the faithful, passersby, and even the eyes of passengers aboard the nearby trains. The statue is 25.4 metres high, 18.6 metres wide, and weighs 1,915 tons. An image of Amida rests atop the forward part of Kannon's head beneath the hood. A smaller image of this kind is generally called kebutsu, the image which a Buddha manifests in order to save sentient beings (that is living beings with consciousness that have the ability to see or feel).

We passed through the station and wandered down the busy street on its eastern side where we made a few small purchases in yet another Japanese china shop and enjoyed a delightful Japanese afternoon tea.

Arriving back at Yokohama Station, it was a very sad final farewell for the three of us. I found it hard to turn and walk away from my lovely Japanese friends, Ritsu and Toshiko. In fact, I actually turned back for one last hug and then made my way through the busy station with tears rolling down my face. I'd had a really lovely day.  

Watashi no tomodachi arigatou gozaimasu!

Shiga Kogen....one last snow adventure!

Our time in Japan is drawing to a close and greedily we are absorbing as much as we can. It's a time to do last minute shopping, a time to reflect on the places we've seen and the places we wish we'd seen, as well as a time to be organising the packing and shipment of our belongings home. Living in a foreign country has given us the opportunity to experience so much....so many places, so many people, so many taste sensations, so many experiences! We feel so very lucky to have lived in such a wonderful country!

With the number of weekends dwindling, we must make the most of every moment. With this in mind, we decided to make one last trip to the snow. We considered Hokaido but the airfares were fairly pricey and from all accounts it's a little more Westernised. With Steve using a couple of his 'holiday' days we chose to take a four day trip on the main island, Honshu. Rather than going with Tokyo Gaijins we decided to go it alone and plan our own trip. With the assistance of non English speaking staff at Tsurumi Station, Steve managed to organise the whole package. 

Destination....Shiga Kogen. Mission....skiing and snow monkeys!

Shiga Kogen, 250 km's from Tokyo, is a cosy ski resort nestled in the heart of the Joshin-etsu National Park in Nagano Prefecture. Famous for its grand scale ski terrain, amazing panoramic views and powder quality snow, Shiga Kogen is the ultimate destination for the keen skier and snowboarder who is in search of the best powder snow. Consisting of 21 ski fields and about 75 lifts, gondolas, ropeways and tows, Shiga Kogen is by far the largest ski resort in Japan. One lift pass covers all 21 fields and free shuttle buses link each field so the opportunities are endless! Apart from the 3000 metre Japanese Alps, there is the World famous Jigokudani Monkey Hot Springs, where wild snow monkeys can be seen bathing in the natural hot springs.

Yakebi where each of the runs terminate at one of the Prince Hotels.

Our package (66,000¥/ $760.00aud/person) included return fares on a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagano, return bus fares from Nagano to Prince Hotel East in Shiga Kogen, 3 nights accommodation, breakfasts and dinners, 20% discount on our ski gear hire and 10% discount on our 2 day lift pass. We left Ishikawacho Station at about 7.50am to catch the 9.20am Shinkansen in Tokyo. We arrived in Nagano at 11.05am and promptly caught an 11.15am bus. We arrived at our hotel, Prince Hotel East, just before 1.00pm. Prince Hotel has 3 wings but each one is separated by about a kilometre. There were no other shops or buildings, just our hotel and two lifts at the foot of the fields. It was an absolutely amazing location totally surrounded by the spectacular Japanese Alps. Our room had a large picture window overlooking the ski fields and to the rear were the craggy alps. We could not have wished for more. We were quite literally 'blown away' by it all.

The view from our room!       Honto! .....Hai!

The view out the back! It doesn't look real but it is!

Our room 5th from the right on the top floor and the dining room on the far left.

We decided to visit the snow monkeys on our first afternoon but, due to a slight 'lost in translation' experience, we aborted our trip halfway when we found the monkey park would be closed by the time we reached it. It was disappointing but what could we do but take the one hour bus trip back to the hotel. We chose to have dinner at the Chinese Restaurant at Prince Hotel West. As it was a couple of km's down the road we caught the free shuttle bus, not realising that the hotel actually had its own mini bus to shuttle guests between the three wings. Our meal ticket entitled us to a nine course banquet. We were unsure what to expect but any doubts were quickly allayed. We were, indeed, treated to an amazing meal. Each beautifully presented course was a taste sensation of subtle flavours and accompanied by a description given in broken English by our friendly host. He explained that the menu was a 'corraboration of Chinese and Japanese'! It was certainly like no other Chinese meal we've ever had and even included shark fin soup. (We definitely have our own views on the custom of killing sharks for their fins but tonight was not the appropriate forum to take a stance.)  We felt we wouldn't need to eat for a week. It had been a long day and, once back at our hotel, we were glad to 'hit the sack'! Tomorrow we had some serious skiing to do!

After breakfast on our second day we quickly organised our ski gear hire and lift tickets eager to hit the slopes. (ski set 7200Y/$83aud/clothing 5600¥/$64 each for 2 days and 9000¥/$102 each for 2 day lift pass less 10% so $45 per day!!) We started by taking the gondola outside the hotel to the top where we had a variety of runs to choose from. We spent the day happily catching different lifts and experiencing many of the runs. The views from every angle were so stunning that one could be forgiven for taking hundreds of photos. 

That's the hotel down the bottom!

Steve was in his element and confidently tested his skills. Initially, I was a little hesitant having lost my confidence after a couple of spectacular falls in early January. Fortunately, I was soon zooming down the slopes with a satisfactory amount of skill. I mean what choice did I have with 'himself' enjoying high speed most of the time. It snowed for a few hours during the morning but by mid afternoon the sky had cleared and the powder coverage made the runs a little more forgiving. The snow was excellent and the slopes were wide and not at all busy. In fact, I would say very quiet. We certainly didn't have to queue on any of the lifts. 

We stopped at Prince Hotel West for an udon noodles and ramen lunch. At one stage during the afternoon Steve and I parted ways when I missed a fork on one of the runs. He went one way and I the other. Mmmm!! This could be tricky finding each other. I caught the lift at the spot where I had ended up and kept an eye out for Steve. When I was nearly to the top I saw Steve searching 'off the track' places for me. I called out and waited at the top for him to arrive. Steve had imagined that I'd gone off the track and crashed into a tree or something. Oh 'ye of little faith!' 

Contemplating my descent!

For dinner that night we opted for a delicious silver service meal in the restaurant. As is always the way in Japan the service was impeccable. On Saturday, we made an early start and headed off to see the snow monkeys. We left early so we could be back by early afternoon to squeeze in a few hours of skiing. We checked and double checked the bus timetable to be sure there were connecting buses and we would get there. From where we stayed at Princes Hotel East it took about one hour on a bus and then another 30 minutes to walk the 2.4 kms from the Kanbayashi bus stop. The walk to the park entrance was very pretty, as was the walk through the park.

Oops!!

Jigokudani Yaen Koen (wild monkey park) is the only place in the world where monkeys bathe in hot springs. The Japanese Macaque can be seen roaming the park but, of course, the main attraction is to see them taking an onsen. The surrounding scenery was quite picturesque and apparently the ground is snow covered for one third of the year. It was another perfect opportunity to take many photos.

As it turned out, after our visit to the snow monkey park, we had only left ourselves 2.5 hours for skiing. The ski lifts all stop at 4pm so we had no time to waste. We really went for it and managed to get in eleven runs. Not bad considering we only did nine the day before. We were like 'kids in a candy shop' and just couldn't get enough. Using the gondola and hi speed lift at our hotel we were up and down those slopes all afternoon. With so many runs and combinations of runs available there was no risk of becoming bored, but I must admit in the end we found a favourite one which we repeated quite a few times. It was two very exhausted 'snow bunnies' who reluctantly returned their hire gear at 4.30pm. 

After a soak in the hot tub and a lazy couple of hours spent reading and dozing, we enjoyed another beautiful silver service meal in the restaurant overlooking the ski fields. The hi speed lift was operating under lights and the antics of snowboarders and skiiers was the night's entertainment. Our last morning was spent taking in all the scenery and just enjoying the ambience of the resort. We were sad to catch the bus back to Nagano for our 3.15pm Shinkansen departure. Back in Tokyo we caught a typically overcrowded train to Yokohama then Ishikawacho and were back in the apartment by just after 6pm. 

Wow!! Another memorable Japanese experience! I will remember the gorgeous, snow covered Japanese Alps and monkeys that love to enjoy an onsen for the rest of my life.  Our time in Japan has certainly been enriched by several 'fun filled' skiing adventures !  

Subarashi desu! Mata arigatou gozaimasu!