Turning Japanese, I Think I'm Turning Japanese

      One thing about Japan that is quite unique, is how absolutely safe you feel in a large city like Tokyo.  Not only are the Japanese, very quiet, polite and incredibly helpful, they seem to inhabit a different world.  School children have their wallets on the outside pockets of their school rucksacks in the underground, clearly visible for everyone to see, bicycles are left in stands everywhere without locks , and people leave their belongings on chairs (wallets,  hand bags) or against walls in public places like train stations  whilst they go for a wander or to the toilet.  Extraordinary! I think the pickpockets that frequent the Geneva-Verbier train would have a field day here.

     I think the only place I felt slightly uncomfortable was in the red light district part of Shinjuku, where we went to the Robot Restaurant, and that is because everyone on the street seemed to be foreign or underworldly!

Robot Restaurant

     That restaurant was quite an experience!  A bit random, perhaps.  It was a sensory attack, the music, pretty Japanese girls in various shiny and colourful bikinis, and huge robots from Japanese movies to Kung Fu Panda with sharks and dragons, It's all very Japanese, and is interesting to watch.  The crowd were mainly tourists or salarymen (interesting Japanese description of male office employees) and OL's (office ladies, again a Japanese description of PA's) going out with some visiting clients/friends. The show girls were obviously chosen for their looks and you must love their enthusiasm. They seem to enjoy their singing and dancing (even if it must be their third show of the night) as if they were trying to win the X factor. The “dinner” was just a bad bento box so just go for the show.

Sumo

   

  Spending the morning with the Sumo wrestlers, watching them train, was unforgettable. Even if they are massive, once you watch them train, you can observe those large Sumo thighs are incredibly muscly and strong.  The torsos, though obviously full of fat layers, are probably necessary cushioning against the full body weight impact and lunging speed of another Sumo.  It was extraordinary viewing at close range and they are so flexible!

Taiko Drumming

     I had never heard of it before, but Anna and I turned up at this traditional Japanese drumming lesson not knowing what to expect. It was highly recommended so we thought we'd give it a go. We had a young Japanese instructor, who was “hot” as my daughter described him since he was visually appealing,  full of enthusiasm, and did not speak English.  So we just followed what he did, even if kept explaining everything in Japanese. He did manage to say, “in 4 counts” which was all that mattered.  It was fun, good exercise, and quite a novel experience, drumming in tandem with choreography.

Matsumoto

     The military Matsumoto castle is a must see, old and wooden and straight out of the Last Samurai. Their Museum of Art showcased local resident but world famous Yoyoi Kusama. Her light installations are absolutely brilliant and her multimedia paintings wonderful.  In Matsumoto, Mr. Honda also has a watch museum, which houses a large collection of 18^th and 19^th century and modern timepieces, which he collected throughout his lifetime and then housed and donated to the city when he died.

Ryokan

     We are now staying at Tobira Onsen Myojinkan which is a traditional (but Relais Chateaux?!) ryokan on the outskirts of Matsumoto. The Japanese might have invented the first spas, with their Onsen (hot spring baths believed to have medicinal qualities) and traditional Japanese inns in the middle of nowhere.  You can have hot then cold plunge baths, infinity pool baths, private baths, etc.

     The combination of a variety of baths and multi-course dinners in a beautiful setting is a recommended experience.  We believe we’ve died and gone to heaven. You needn’t even bring any clothes since a) you need to completely wash and then go naked into the onsen whether alone or not and b) you are provided with kimonos for lounging, eating and sleeping in, which have pockets so you don't even need a handbag!

Kaiseki

     Speaking about eating, I think now we are in day 4, we are getting beginning to make inroads into the various Japanese cuisines.  We have had a variety of meals: yakitori (grilled skewers basted with a sweet soy concoction), tempura (battered prawn and vegetables), yakiniku (grilled slices of meat on a small grill at your table), noodles (wonderful soba or udon noodle soup with side dishes), and tonkasu (breaded meats like schnitzel).  All very good and we’ve been feeling like beached whales after each meal.

     Last night we had kaiseki.  It’s all beautiful to look at, interesting, and quite challenging to the uninitiated. I think every restaurant has their idea of what the haute cuisine full of different varying courses should be, but we didn’t know what most of the dishes were and quite a lot of the flavours were quite alien and unfamiliar.  If you want to try this, don't forget to order a bottle of sake to gulp down those unusual flavours, since green tea will burn your mouth and water just won't cut it.

   

  Finally, it’s interesting how the Japanese are so clean (already mentioned in last post) and neat.  When you enter ryokans and restaurants, you remove your shoes and put on slippers .  Then if you go to the bathroom, you need to change them for another pair of just bathroom slippers which you remove when you leave the bathroom.  I guess it’s in the let’s keep everything spotless and clean mode that they apply to everything.  And it’s only polite that when you remove shoes or slippers, they need to be neat and facing outwards. Everything must look the same!

It’s 3 am and I am off back to the futon (I keep thinking I will go through the paper walls so best avoid too much sake).  Tomorrow more onsen!