Saga

Saga

Another hectic but enjoyable day. A ride on the 6 sets of escalators to the top of Kyoto Railway Station, a visit by train to the bamboo forest and ice cream at Saga-Arashiyama, monkeys at the shrine and a quick trip to Daimaru shopping centre.

Bamboo grove

River at Saga

Kyoto Station

Rickshaw

Full traditional dress

Monkeys at shrine above Saga

Temples of Kyoto

Temples of Kyoto

Sophie and Will have now seen more temples than they want to see in a life time! We went on our last day tour today, which included Nijo Castle (Shogun residence), Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Temple) and Kyoto Imperial Palace. After lunch we went out to Todaiji Temple and Nara Deer Park. We heard the singing floor boards in Nijo Castle designed with a nail system as a 'burglar alarm' and saw an ice cream vending machine next to a hot drink vending machine. A mixture of old and new technologies near each other. An enjoyable day but we are also looking forward to our own travels tomorrow, on a local rail line out to a bamboo forest.

Nijo Castle

Kinkakuji Temple

Kinkakuji Temple grounds

Outside Kinkakuji Temple

Kyoto Imperial Palace

Will the warrior

Blossoms at Todaiji  Temple

Shrine above Todaiji

Todaiji  Temple

Deer at Todaiji  Temple

Shrine above Todaiji

Blossoms at Todaiji Temple

Mt Fuji, Hakone and the bullet train to Kyoto

Mt Fuji, Hakone and the bullet train to Kyoto

Yesterday, we took a bus to the 4th 'station' on Mt Fuji from Tokyo. A lot of snow on the ground on the way up. Glipses of the top of the mountain through the clouds and a brief moment of sunshine. We also cruised on Lake Ashi and rode the Hakone Ropeway (unfortunately in clouds).

After staying at a traditional hotel in Hakone, to bathe in an onsen (hot spring bath) and sleep on futons on the floor, we caught the bullet train (shinkansen) to Kyoto. Will has overcome his fear of stripping off to use the onsen and is very keen to use the one at our hotel in Kyoto. Sophie has been impressed by the variety of fashion, especially the traditional and modern shoes and hair styles. The bullet train was amazingly fast and will be a huge contrast to our day tomorrow, visiting the temples of Kyoto.

Imperial Palace complex, Tokyo - side view

Mt Fuji 4th 'station'

Mt Fuji 4th 'station'

Will the ninja

Boat on Lake Ashi

Lake Ashi

Above Lake Ashi

Traditional room which converted to our bedroom
 

From lounge room to futons

River at Hakone

Fish shop at Hakone

Bullet train at Odowara

View from the bullet train

View from the bullet train

View from the bullet train - amazing infrastructure

View from the bullet train - industrial Japan

Mt Fuji from the bullet train

Mt Fuji from the bullet train

Mt Fuji from the bullet train

Tokyo

Tokyo

We enjoyed our first day in Tokyo. An organised day tour made it easy to get around. The pictures tell a thousand words! We managed to negotiate the subway to find our way home. Heading to Mt Fuji today!

Blossoms are just starting to bloom!

Japanese lunch with some items cooked by us

Tea ceremony

Traditional building (theatre) in central Tokyo

Sophie meets some girls in Asakusa. Senso-ji Temple and a cherry tree in bloom in the background.

Arrived in Japan

Arrived in Japan

We arrived last night after a 9 hour flight from Sydney and are very excited about starting our day. The view across Tokyo is amazing. There is a little cherry tree in bloom under the expressway and a green rhinoceros on the top of a building nearby. I'll try to post on the blog again tonight!

View from our room on the northern side of Tokyo

0 Days to go

0 days to go

Sophie and Will had a great last day at school yesterday. John had a final morning tea and specially cooked lunch at work, followed by drinks after work. We then had dinner at Sally Shores with Pam, Pete and Nick - no washing up for the last night at home.

We managed to get out of the house by 10am this morning - lawns mowed, house tidied and the last of the washing put away. Then, across to Maitland to catch the XPT train to Sydney!

Will spent a while yesterday arvo practicing soccer bicycle kicks in the front yard and has ended up with a rash on his back - an allergy or ant bites from lying on the grass. I don't know how he will sit still for 9 hours on the plane tomorrow and  I don't think that Japanese quarantine will have seen a rash like it! They may not believe our explanation of a crazy Australian boy rolling around on the grass.

Chair lift from the lads

Nick and Will swap jumpers

Ready to leave home

Farewell at Maitland Station

3 bunches of bananas for our house sitters

Will's interesting spots

3 days to go

3 days to go

Another few hectic days. The kids continue to be involved in their usual number of activities include a birthday party at the pool and a geography excursion for Sophie. Will's athletics carnival was cancelled today but he still has cross country on Thursday. I enjoyed catching up with a couple of friends for a cuppa on Sunday arvo but then headed to Sydney late Monday for work. John is flat out emptying his office and doing a last house tidy. I'm home again tomorrow. We are all looking forward to getting on that plane!

Pool party

From the MLC building