Japanese Jaunt with a rugby ball. The Final build up. 30th October

We have just a few days to see more of Tokyo before Friday and Saturday's finals. We had to head back to Tokyo station to hand back the pocket wifi that we were renting and book ourselves some seats to watch the last two games.
A closer look at Tokyo station is worth while so here it is.

This is what the original station looked about 20 years after it opened in 1914. It was burnt out after American bombing in 1945 and has quite recently been restored to this condition. What you see here is really a facade with a huge station and attendant shopping and offices behind. The tower blocks on the left are also part of the station complex and define the eastern extent of it. Handling more than 3000 trains a day, it is Japan's busiest railway station.

It wasn't long before we got involved in some rugby related marketing by one of the sponsors. They certainly went to town. This is a mock up of a Shinto Shrine, but a shrine to rugby. The gate is constructed as rugby posts and the bell is replaced by a rugby ball.

The company is Mitsubishi and their huge headquarter building is right by. Here's a statue to the most popular rugby player in this country. Can anyone name him? Answers via the comment space at the bottom of this blog.

We continue to walk west towards the Imperial Palace and gardens. Here's a shot that shows the modern Japan and the traditional one shoulder to shoulder.

This is the gate into the East Gardens which is the only part that the public has easy access to. A bit like the Sistine Chapel, it had just closed by the time we got there.

We also explored the locality where we were staying. This is the Tojo tei house that sits on a bluff overlooking Matsudo city It was the summer house of the man who would be Shogun. Shoguns ruled the country until they lost out to the Emperor at the Meiji Restoration. Akitake Tokugawa had spent time in diplomatic work in Europe in the 1860s and represented Japan at the Paris Exposition of 1867. Unfortunately he ended up on the losing side and was lucky not to lose his head. His skills and diplomatic efforts were respected so he was allowed to live in retirement here where he designed the garden. This shot of the parlour shows the classic features of traditional Japanese house design, only on a bigger scale. The sliding doors and walls giving a very flexible space. The open views of the gardens almost bringing them into the house. The tatami woven reed flooring mats and the very lightweight construction materials which are safe in an earthquake. If Thomas Chippendale had been Japanese we would never have heard of him.

A lovely round window with the central pieces of wood pleasingly asymmetrical.

I found it rather difficult to capture the mood of this garden and do it justice. It's quite European influenced with the use of grass lawns.

To round the day off we decided to visit our local onsen. This is a favourite recreation cum obsession with the Japanese. An Onsen is a hot spring bath. The water comes from a volcanic hot source although the mineral contents will vary. Some minerals are more prized, for health reasons than others. We went to the local onsen with a little trepidation. We knew that they were not mixed, the men and the women having separate areas and that no clothes were worn. As ever in this country we were offered a lot of help.  Once you had stripped off and left the changing room there was a through washing of the whole body, shampoo, conditioner and body soap were all used. This could easily take half an hour, then you had a choice of seven or eight different bathing experiences, for example the jacuzzi one, the looking at the stars one, the trickling water one, the extra hot one, the cold one, need I go on? They  were both inside and outside. It was really about the mind as much as the body. I found it both a stimulating and relaxing experience and can't wait to have another. Afterwards we eat in their cafe. For obvious reasons there are no photographs of this activity, except you  can see the exterior of our local onsen.

Japanese Jaunt with a rugby ball. Tokyo revisited 25th Oct

We now have an apartment for ten days to complete this leg of the adventure. In that time we hope to catch both semi finals, both finals, do some stuff in central Tokyo and fit in a few day trips.
Firstly have a look at our accommodation for the next ten days. It's a fifteen minute bus ride from Matsudo Station which adds time and expense to every trip into town which will be most days. Yagiri station is about 400 ms away but not on a direct line into Tokyo Central Station, so we'll have to work it out.
Here's the apartment.
The front door, toilet, bathroom from the kitchen. The spare bedroom
is round to the left.

Kitchen from the living/bedroom.

Living/bedroom.

Not brilliant but quite spacious for the two of us. We arrived on Friday evening and England are taking on the All Blacks in the semi final of the World Cup tomorrow.
Off on the train to Tokyo Station. There's lots of bars on the Heineken list that will be screening the game plus the fanzone with a capacity of 4800. The problem with the fanzone is that it's all standing, so we'll probably check out a bar. Just outside the station we are consulting Google maps when a young Japanese couple offer to help. He leads us to a place that they were going to called Celts which is an Irish bar.
His name is Casey and he grew up in South Wales where his father was working. He attended primary school there and one year of secondary school. So he is Max Boyce's "Welsh speaking Japanee". He joined us for the first half of the England game. We decided to come back here tomorrow for the other semifinal, but this time booking a table in advance. So many thanks to you Casey and your wife for being so helpful in the typical Japanese tradition. Here's the pub.

Actually this picture was taken about an hour before the Wales v South Africa game so the pub is not so crowded. There are a good number of TVs at various angles.
What a wonderful match! England completely dominated the All Blacks in a way that I have never seen before. Thoroughly deserved winners and now favourites to lift the cup. It would be brilliant if Wales could be there to join them in the final.

Let's all raise a glass to toast what was a truly historic performance by England. Most of you will remember the second semi final. A very different game with neither side really getting any ascendancy, tense, bruising and errors of pressure. After a goal each it always looked like a penalty goal would eventually separate the teams and when South Africa went three points ahead with five minutes to go, that was that and my dream of a Welsh World Cup turned to dust.
There is more to life than rugby, I tell myself and come on England.
Monday 28th October is today and the last day of our 21 day JR passes, so we better make use of them for the last time. The only must do thing that involves travelling and we can do in a day is Mt. Fuji.
There are advertisements for day trips on a bus from Tokyo station return at  US$ 150 a head. Or, plan B.  You go to the ticket desk at Tokyo station and reserve seats on the Shinkensen to Shin-Fuji station. Get out and catch the bus to Fujinomiya this takes half an hour and whilst you're there you can visit the World Heritage Site centre for the mountain that looms above you. You could also visit the major Shinto Shrine that is very close before catching the next bus to the Shiraito waterfalls. You now have as good a view of the mountain you could ask for. This first picture however is taken from bus station at Fujinomiya.

The forecast for the afternoon was rain, so we expected the cloud to build up and were happy to get shots like this. There was also a group of Cambodian French Canadians who were sort of tagging along with us because they didn't really know where they were going. One of them took this picture of Helen and me in uniform.

We walked down to the waterfalls. The first one you encounter is the Otodome falls. This is loud and crashing.

The other is a complete contrast. It's name is Shiraito which means threads of silk and you can see exactly why. The width of the fall is about 200ms and the drop about 25ms. Both falls are caused by the same geological conditions and originate as melt water from the snow on the mountain. The two falls are only 400ms apart.

This is the ultimate way to take your selfie. Selfie sticks can be cast into the dustbin of history. You simplify fly your camera laden drone into the correct position for your face and the background you want and bingo. This is just what a guy was doing with this drone.

As the afternoon progressed the cloud shroud diminished. We're to the west of the mountain so the sun is setting behind us and illuminating Fuji in fine style.

All we had to do was to bus back to Fujinomiya and hit the tracks back to Tokyo. The first connection was a bit tight and despite my warning them, the Cambodians managed to dawdle and get split up. I do hope they are back in Tokyo now. The cost of plan B? About five pounds off our IC cards for the bus rides, the rest was free or JR pass.

Japanese Jaunt with a rugby ball Where Eddies dare

Today we are planning to look at some Olympic heritage and and another single subject museum,  namely the Sapporo Beer Museum. Below is the Sapporo clock tower. American styled and financed, and built in 1878 this is Sapporo's oldest building. It was a drill hall for an agricultural college, to help "develop "an island that had been doing perfectly well for centuries as run by its indigenous peoples. They of course were doomed once the Industrial age was thrust upon them. The clock is an American import made by E Howard who went on to found the Waltham Watch Company.

Still in regular use, you will recognize a ski jump venue. This is from the bottom looking up in case you haven't tried ski jumping.

If you do want to give it a go (like Eddie) then this is the view from the top. Believe me it's scary.

The centre is an attraction for school parties and tourists. Whilst we were there we saw a number of be-suited businessmen. Maybe they were doing some sort of bizarre management training involving a no snow ski jump. The mind boggles. Do have a look at the brilliant autumnal colours it's the acers that give the really vibrant yellows and reds. Bottom left of the landing area is the Olympic Museum. It tackles the Olympic spirit as well as having artifacts from the 1972 event. There is also a ski jump simulator which proved to be something of a damp squib. Apparently I made 88ms and Helen made 91 but I'm not sure the machine was quite right.

Another obviously western influenced building, if you look closely you will spot the brick laying is English bond. It started life as a textile mill in the 1880s but at the turn of the century became home to the Sapporo Brewery company. The red star is their logo 

This brewery claims that it is the only one in the world that grows all its own barley and hops. This rather fine stained glass window makes the point with the blue representing water but I'm not sure about the last ingredient, yeast.

A large brewing vat at the start of the walk around Museum.

At the end of the self guided tour you get the chance to enjoy the product at a bargain price. Yes they do make an alcohol free beer.

We finished the day with dinner on the day with a dinner on the second level up from where the legs join the tower. 

This is the view from our table looking down the Odori gardens. In the distance the illuminated building stretching across the park is the old Court of Appeal and further on, standing almost alone is the ski jump that we visited this morning. 

Next morning it was time to head back to Tokyo. The railway runs alongside the coast as you can see there was a good breeze blowing. 

Japanese Jaunt with a rugby ball. North to Sapporo 22nd Oct

You can't get a direct train from Kanazawa to Sapporo in one day. The Shinkensen does not run after midnight so a break in the journey at a hotel is needed to avoid being on a platform for 6 hours through the night.
We decided to make it Aomori which was a couple of stops before the train had a rest for the night.
People who have familiarity with the fruit trade in Spalding may have heard of Aomori in the context of Fuji apples. Fujis are the large pink apples that we import from Japan and Aomori is the centre of the growing region. Continuing in the morning we were heading for the Seikan tunnel. This tunnel connects the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido beneath the Tsugaru straits it has a total length of 53.85 kms including a 240m deep and 23.3km undersea portion. Completed in 1988 it is the deepest and longest undersea tunnel in the world.
This is the fine beast that took us through that tunnel and I timed it at 25 minutes.

The Island of Hokkaido has not always been Japanese territory prior to 1869 it was referred to as Ezo and had its own indigenous people called Ainu. Colonialism increasingly led to development to detriment, as ever of the local population. The islands immediately north of Hokkaido were invaded by the Russians after Japan's surrender in WW2 and as a result neither country has signed a peace treaty ending that war between each other. Sapporo is nearer to Vladivostok than Tokyo and lies on the same line of latitude as Marseilles. It's the proximity of Siberia that makes it such a fine winter sports venue. It was the Winter Olympics of 1972 that was the making of Sapporo. A huge investment in facilities and infrastructure was made. An underground shopping mall was created on a vast scale. Two linked towns, Pole and Aurora meet at right angles and have around 160 retail outlets between them. Above all this is a city built on a grid system. It has it's own Champs Elysees, Odori Park which starts with the TV tower, which is the centre of the city, and is laid out for 1.5 km in a western direction. We walked the length and admired the statuary. 

An in and out fountain. 

This is my favourite, it has both visual and tactile qualities and at the same time is functional as a fun slide. It is entitled Black Slide Mantra. The kids loved it too.

Something more traditional but I was more interested in the effect of light. 

Finally my favourite photo. This modern bronze lady clad in jeans appears to be posing contemptuously in front of the old Court of Appeal while surrounded by a rose garden. Reflections are still visible in the pond at her feet. 

As well as the permanent businesses in the underground mall, there are lots of stalls that pop up. We bought a spoon from this handcrafted woodware stall. 

We also got some jewellery from the lady running this stall, who also took the photo. 

There is an observation hill on the edge of the city. A couple of cable cars get you to the top. The autumnal colours were about at their best and here frame a Shinto cemetery. Similar to Christian cemeteries plots are defined with individual headstones for separate family members. Square stone posts seem to be the favourites. 

The view from the top is pretty spectacular. Definition is lost towards the horizon, but the sea is to the left as Sapporo is a port and you can make out the river and bridges in the city. 

Our hotel is a tall white building left centre of this photo. I expect that you will find that information really helpful. 

Japanese Jaunt with a rugby ball 5 won two to go. 20th Oct

It's crunch day for Wales and our last in Kanazawa. We have run out of time in our accommodation and we can't extend by another day so I must book a hotel near the station for one night to allow us to watch both the Wales v France and South Africa v Japan matches. In the morning we shall be heading north towards Sapporo. Because we are staying here an extra night we have to rebook our tickets. Whilst doing this we discovered that the route has been altered because of damage to the track by the recent typhoon. On asking when the track would be repaired, the answer was 25. I thought six years, must be very serious but of course I wasn't thinking Japanese. The answer was in four days time!
A short taxi ride took us to our overnight hotel. By pure serendipity we discovered that the only other public place screening the rugby live in the city was the Irish bar. This is next door bar one to our new hotel.
There's time before kick off so we can head into the town to visit the large indoor market.  Called Omni-cho market it is a bustling warren of fishmongers, greengrocers, restaurants and clothing shops. Have a look and check the prices. There's 140 Yen to the GBP, so Y1000 is about £7. Oh and you can see Helen in the first picture modelling her blue body condom. Maybe that's why all the punters seemed to have mysteriously disappeared.

This shop specializes in oysters. I buy them at Brancaster. The big ones are about 50 pence each.

The prices are per oyster, not per kilogram. The crabs are a bit pricier.

Here is a stall that specializes in wild mushrooms. We bought a boat shaped slice of melon for Y350, the whole melons were on offer for between Y1200 and Y1600.

You can also shop in malls such as this. Gucci's is on the immediate right. Prices were however a little higher.

From here we walked to the beautiful Gyokusen Inmaru gardens. These were originally private gardens for the castle and begun in 1634 but by the Meiji period they were abandoned. Reconstruction was started in 2010 and took 5 years. They now perform a son et lumiere every weekend evening. Spending time just listening to the music and concentrating on the garden and light was very rewarding.

This is a wider angle shot than the one above which is covering the centre area between the purple illuminated walls. Obviously the camera is struggling with the available light and the focus is not crisp but I hope it conveys the atmosphere. 

A little bit earlier in the day Helen was tempted by the latest craze in this creative city. It is exactly what it looks like. Soft scoop ice cream with sweets attached and covered in a sheet of pure gold leaf. Gold is of course inert. That means it does not react with anything. It does not taste or smell, neither is it ingested, it just passes through. Gold is however a recognized food additive (you may have encountered "Gelt Wasser" vodka) and has an E number which is E175.

Talking of creativity the city has erected some interesting sculptures. Here is an example. I called it "don't get your knickers in a twist ", other suggestions are "the Brexit knot", "just a runaway line", "Ouch", and "Knot a good idea". Well done the suggesters, any other comments are welcome. 

I said at the start that it was crunch day for Wales who are due to play France in the quarter finals of the World Cup. So it was back to the Irish bar and the crowds. Entry charge was Y1000 for which you got in, a drink and a bowl of nibbles. We squeezed in and next to us was a group of French supporters. Also in the bar were a couple of South Africans,  an English pair and an Aussie. I was the only Welsh. The rest were all Japanese fans. The game was very tight with the French starting much the better but the Welsh fought back. A French sending off should have blown it for them but they hung on. It was wasn't until the last few minutes that Wales scored a converted try to earn a one point victory. Bravo La France quelle domage! I was treated  like  a hero in  the pub. High Fives all round as if was personally responsible. What a relief. 

There was also Japan v South Africa and again all the Japanese supporters were incredibly excited and enthusiastic but sadly the almost inevitable outcome occurred. Japan went down bravely and gave the Boks a real run for their money. What a wonderful effort from a team who gave everything they had and played the most exciting and skilful rugby. Now Wales will get their two more matches but which final will it be?