End of Augustus 2001 we made a 3 week trip to Japan with Djoser. The trip started in Tokyo and went south from there. We visited, amongst others, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Here is a travelstory about a great Japan trip.

On monday 27 august we fly at 8 at night with Japan Airlines (JAL) top Tokyo. The entire group is sitting upperdeck , very spaceous. In the seat in front of us there is a screen on which you can see video or play computergames, there are also two channels that display the view from two cameras under and at the front of the aircraft. Very impressive to see our home under us. After the main movie we slept a little. In the mean time it became tuesday 28 august and we land on Narita airport in Tokyo. Our tourleader Antoinette is waiting there for us together with a Japanese lady with a small flag. Oh no, please donīt tell us we have to follow that flag for 3 weeks............
After one and a half hour in the bus we arrive at our hotel. In the lobby of hotel Urashima the group introduces itself to eachother while drinking something. Antoinette gives us some maps and other information and we make an appointment for dinner. At six thirty we will have dinner in the office centre across the street. In the building are beside offices also many shops and restaurants. One can choose at many small counters from all sort of japanese food. We choose sashimi (raw fish) with rice. The Japanese love raw fish and to be honest i liked it too. After dinner we stroll around. Enjoyed the lights reflecting in the river and went back to the hotel. One more beer and it is time to sleep. Absolutely exhausted we said good night. Tomorrow the trip truely starts.

Wednesday 29 August.
At half past seven we enjoyed a great breakfast in the hotel. It is a buffet with japanese and western dishes. So rice, seaweed, raw eggs, pickled vegetables and fish, but also cooked eggs with bacon. This morning we start with a introduction tour by Antoinette. She tells us the does and donīts in Tokyo. First stop is the 46the floor of the Tokyo Shin Hankyue Hotel, a free view point. Next is a lesson in how to take the subway, where to buy the tickets and so on. We drop some people off at the Kabuki theatre. Although it is the last performance for this week we decide not to go. We continue our discovery of Tokyo. It is to early to visit the Sony showroom, so we go for a cup of coffee. And there on the corner of this building we find the Coicorin. The statue has a sign which explains how it works. Just stroke the lovecat and all your wishes will come true. If you want to meet the woman of your dreams just stroke it at the head. Stroke its back and an old love will return. The stumic sections is for loosing weight and starting a new life! In the Sony building you can see an exhibition of the newest Sony equipment. It didnīt take long to see what we wanted to see. And then we move on to the Harumi Pier. From here several boats leave for touristic destinations in Tokyo. We take the boat to Palette Town. Paleete town is an amusementsarea. We only visit the Toyota show. Many new models and if we only brought our international driverslicense ... we could have made a testdrive. Most virtual show costed about €5 and had queues, so didnīt bother waiting. Too the train back to the pier and from there the boat to Asakusa. The most famous there is the Senso-ji temple. A Japanese boy is forced by his mother to practise his english. He asks where we are from, what is our name and can he take his picture with us. After the mother took the shots he is again forced to approach us. This time he had to give us a present. What on earth are they going to do with the pics of all this unknown foreigners? Never mind it was a nice experience. We look around a little bit more and make some pics of the temple. And we decide to walk to the Ueno park. We pass a little temple where worshippers practise walking on fire. Not at this moment though. What we do see is a woman who has many troubles with walking. She is entering her house, takes of her shoes and put on her slippers. One step higher the slippers are again removed and replaced by other slippers. All this while she can barely walk. Tradition must be very important to her. In the Ueno park most things are already closed. (In Japan most tourist spots close at 5) We would like a snack, but the menu is only in Japanese.We are not that to take a gamble. So its the subway back to the hotel. We stop at the foodcentre across the street. After dinner we go sit outside with a drink. At eleven thirty we finally arrive at the hotel. It was a great but a little bit tiring day in Tokyo.

Thursday 30 August
Today we have a Djoser excursion to Kamakura. We leave at nine with the train to Kita Kamakura (north Kamakura). We go to discover the temples on foot, others go to Kamakura station to rent a bike. Near Kita Kamakura is the Engaku ji temple. After a look around and taking some pictures we decide to walk to the Zeni Arai Benten. The map we had was not very clear and soon we are lost. A very helpfull Japanese man offers to walk with us to the temple. The man was with his wife and two grandchildren on his way to the trainstation, but wonīt leave us alone untill we are at the temple. We tell him more than once that we can find our way from here, but no he is not going to the station. When we arrive at the temple he explains to us how we have to wash our money. They say if you wash your money here it will increase. We washed our money, but maybe not enough money,or we had to really believe it ........ any way we didnīt become rich. The friendly man explains to us how we buy a fortunetelling paper. For a small amount of money (50 yen = ą € 0,50)you get a number out of a box. The number corresponds to a stack of papers. The first one is your fortune. When you read it (or let it read to you) you tie the paper to a pole. Our nice gentleman told us it was a good fortune, so we tied it to the pole and didnīt take it as a souvenir. Because we didnīt want to impose anymore, and let the man and his family take their train, we insist on finding our own way to the big Buddha. After five minutes the man comes back and tells us he knows a shortcut. We insist on the taking the mountainroad because we have enough time. Once we reach this road we are glad the old man is not with us anymore, he couldnīt possibly have made it on this slippery and steep path. But all five of us reach the Buddha in good shape. The bronze statue is 13,5 meter high and made in 1252. In 1498 the temple was destroyed by a tsunami. Since then the statue is out in the open, and exposed to the rain and the wind. The last restauration was in 1960. The head was strengthened and the statue was taken lose from its base to made it earthquake safe. We donīt think it is a very great statue and decide to go to the station and have a drink somewhere. This proves to be a difficult task. we find to other temples, but no bars where you can sit outside. We stop at Kentucky Fried Chicken where you can sit outside. At five we take the train back to Tokyo.
Tonight we will meet Yuichi. We know Yuichi from the internet, he also has a page on Virtual Tourist . We have dinner in a sushi restaurant in the neighbourhood of the vismarket. And after that we have a drink in a sake bar in Ginza. It was a great and interesting evening, we learned alot about the japanese customs and culture.

Friday 31 August
It rains, no it poors! After breakfast it is still raining and we decide to buy an umbrella. At the moment we step outside it stops raining. We feel like real japanese now, the whole day carrying an umbrella, but no rain. We first go to the Sumo museum. The big Sumo tournement starts next, by that time we have left Tokyo, so the Sumo museum is the next best thing. There are many pictures on the wall and there are lots of old books. There is no way we can have a look into the stadium. Our trip through Tokyo takes us to the Yasukuni Shrine. The national remembrance place for warvictims. It is very controversial because there are also warcriminals buried here. Close to the shrine is the garden of the emperors palace. On fridays the garden is closed and we have to take pictures from the Nijubashi bridge. After all this old stuff it is time for modern architecture. The Tokyo International Forum is a beautifull shaped glass building. We have a coffee with cake. Looking at the map we see that the Ginza is closeby. So we go to see some departmentstores.Irashaimasu is said by all the salespersons we encounter. And even though we didnīt buy anything, they keep polite and say we are welcome. We want to take the subway back to the hotel, but that is more complicated than we think. To get to the other line we have to go through the īoutī gate, that means the ticket is gone. We take several stations, but always the same. We buy a new ticket, so extra long traveltime and more expensive too. (Later we find out there is a fare adjustment/transfer machine.) After dinner we walk to the Ginza. The nightlife area of Tokyo is very busy and colourfull lighted. We make some pics but canīt find a place to have a drink, everything is full. We end up with a beer in our hotel.

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Part 2 : Japanese Alps
Part 3 : Kyoto
Part 4 : Koyasan
Part 5 : Osaka
Part 6 : Hiroshima
Part 7 : Aso vulcano
Part 8 : Nagasaki