Kyoto, Osaka e Nara

The Shinkansen fast speed train is amazing. Within 2 hours of leaving Hakone, we arrived at Kyoto - the traditional homeland of kimonos and geishas. Of all the Japanese cities, we were most enamoured with Kyoto (L hopes to move here in future) as it was a beautiful blend of old school and modern conveniences. I think we are also both old souls who must have lived in Kyoto before. The grand city is best explored on bicycle (cheap rental rates and flat wide roads) or by public transport. We spent a whole day riding our elegant bikes all over town - and got lost a couple of times, poking our heads into quaint UNESCO heritage decorated temples and shrines, and on my part, hoping to catch a glimpse of koyo (the changing of seasons where the maple tree leaves turn a deep shade of red).

Be warned; Kyoto cannot be explored entirely in 1 day, nope not even 3 days as we found out. (I wondered how some friends only set aside 1 day trip in Kyoto, such a shame, cannot lah). Just Gion alone is worth a day and night to investigate. The renowned geisha zone was a hotbed of tourists as everyone is on the hunt for geishas which are more easily spotted in the evening (we laughed at a bunch of American students who were beseeching the Jap policemen in slow, loud English and in broad daylight "wheeereee can we seeee the Geeei-shas?").

In the day, it's best to take a stroll across the Kamo river and spent some time at the traditional teahouses sipping on fragrant green tea and chowing down on macha mochi with azuki beans. At night, while searching for a decent ramen joint, we tried to peep into the private KTV clubs and kaiseki restaurants manned by sharp-looking bouncers in black. Very often, some burly drunken Jappy businessmen would roll out with 2 perfectly coiffed Japanese ladies (some in modern dresses, mostly in ornate kimonos). Are they high class escorts or modern geishas? It's totally fascinating to second guess what goes on behind the screens.

Can you see from this picture - why did the geisha cross the road?
To get away from the shutter-mad crowd!

After Kyoto, we spent a night at the ancient imperial city of Nara, which is incidentally celebrating its 1,300th anniversary. Woa-hor. My sis was in Japan around the same time as me for the Goddess' Golden Light trip and I can imagine the kind of ancient knowing energy they were tapping into. Nara is kinda sandwiched between Kyoto and Osaka so it can be easily visited on a day trip from either city. Famous for its deer park (where these sacred creatures are allowed to roam freely and terrorise people - ok I made it up), it is infamous for its mascot Sento-kun - a smiling Buddha boy with deer antlers - a controversy given the violent reaction when it was first unveiled. Even my Jap friend 'Yuka Maya' who was normally quite reserved and sweet made a face and said it is not kawaii neh. I thought it was rather cute, given that I like deers and Buddha. Strangely it also bore an unlikely resemblance to Luigi (both have kind blue eyes, compassionate aura and bald heads). We toured the tiny city's temples and pagodas on foot, and even saw Nara's oldest tree. Tourists also fed biscuits to the greedy deers (not me), which are not afraid to nudge and jostle you for food. I was thinking what'd happen to the roadkill? Sento sashimi? 

Post Nara, we can't wait for Osaka - Japan's hungriest city, where the 2 Yukos were already anticipating our visit. It was great to see them after 2 years since Perugia. Osaka's vibes are more toned down, casual and the city's easy to befriend as we walked from the main train station to our hotel in the throbbing Dotonburi district - the very heartbeat of Osaka where people-watching is entertainment indeed. Every lane is filled with cafes, eateries and shops - it seemed that no one really sleeps nor stops eating here. Street food is at its best and cheapest at Osaka, with affordable fast food inventions like L's favourite takoyaki balls and sizzling okomomiyaki pancakes sold at every corner. We also walked into a couple of "love hotels" that were in our area and saw from the automated check-in panel that they have large thematic kinky rooms. Hilarious. I even spotted a porn DVD vending machine on our walkabout!  

On the 2nd night, Yuko1 insisted we stayed at her family home at Kitano, a sleepy cosy town smacked between the bermuda triangle of Nara, Osaka and Kyoto. Perhaps this was her attempt at returning the favour (when she last slept over at Pozzuoli) but hey, we won't say not to Japanese hospitality. Her folks were supremely charming and open, and our exchange was almost comedic as the Yukos translated our Italian conversations to Japanese and comedic English. It was her brother's birthday and (funnily) at our request, her parents had organised a takoyaki party in honour of us (L was over the moon). Takoyaki is the steamboat equivalent here - almost every household has a takoyaki pot and recipe. Needless to say, we had a ball of a time (pun intended haha) as we churned out plates after plates of tako stuffed with octopus bits and cheese, washed down with Japanese birra. The temperature dipped and was chilly but we slept snugly in their family tatami room. Arrigato, amici! 

Luigi's perfectly cooked tako balls - bravo!

Ciao Giappone

It has been more than 10 years since I was last in Japan on a 1-night stopover to Beijing with my beloved granny and all I can remember is 1) how cold it was 2) the campy, kawaii and fun Disneyland and 3) how good everything tasted, especially the short-grain Japanese rice. This time round, we went for a well-deserved vacanza and also to meet up with some of my Japanese classmates from Perugia. I was expecting it to be cooler in October but Yuko3 said they had a very hot summer so 'koyo' (changing of colours of leaves) would be delayed till November. Bummer.

For our first rainy weekend in Tokyo, we stayed in the thumpin' Shinjuku area that glimmered with billboards and was brimming with youthful energy. The mood was simply electric. The food was of course amazing. We indulged in a steaming bowl of ramen everyday (from Nogata and Ippudo to no-name hole-in-wall joints) and snacked at every chance at the heavenly departmental food halls and wolved down fresh sushi at the Standing Sushi Bar. If you are not into food, you're at the wrong place.

On our first night, Yuko brought us to a fantastico tofu kaiseki restaurant, Umenohana, in Ginza (they have many branches) and we feasted on sublime multi courses of exquisite tofu creations - in soups, disguised in a cheese gratin, etc. The second night, we met her Italian-speaking amici for an all-you-can-eat/drink shabu shabu dinner in the thick of Shinjuku. We also paid extra for 90mins of all-you-can-drink - good value considering we can easily knock back 3 Sapporo and a shochu lemon for the road.

Tokyo is quite big so we had to make the most of each day even though we'd be spending 5 days in the citta. As the appointed tour guide, I made sure we devoted time to each section - West (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Roppongi), East (Ueno) and Central Tokyo (Ginza). Sunday was the best time to visit Meiji Shrine in the heart of the lush Yoyogi Park as there are usually a few traditional weddings in procession, followed by a jaunt to Harujuku, a mecca for the young, the bold, beautiful, ugly and weird. You can just spend your whole day people watching - it's much more entertaining than tv or movies.

Japan is quite fascinating in the sense that its general population seems serious, reserved and traditional but at the same time, there's the other side which is edgy, dangerously mad and unpredictable. There are age-old customs and rituals but yet there is plenty of room for making new rules, progression and originality. Maybe people are so polite that they would not criticise the daredevils. Maybe people can't take the suppression that they snap and break free in search of their own identities. Perhaps Singapore will be like this in time.

It is also the epitome of consumerism - everyone is decked out from head to toe in luxe brands, heavy with mascara-ed lashes to blonde hair and hanging onto a bevy of handheld gadgets as seen on the train. Packaging is everything but they also pay attention to quality (we're talking about food here). They obviously love their seafood - judging by the sheer size of the Tsukiji fish market which is a great haunt for food lovers and chefs. I have been to many fresh markets but this one is the mother of all fish markets. The tuna auctions are a major attraction and start at 4am but we only managed to get there at 7.15am after a short stroll from the boutique Hotel Gracery in Ginza (great location, lovely room for its price).

There are all kinds of live fishes, shellfish, hairy crustaceans, sacks of ikura and fishcakes. I actually felt sorry for the much prized tuna as they laid frozen, covered in straw mats with just a sliced portion of their tail end that exposed their bright red bloody flesh. I remember seeing these gigantic petrified creatures hauled up in  huge fishing nets and being speared up by the fishermen on telly. Blue fin tuna are becoming an endangered species, so let's consume less of them to give them a chance. After Tokyo, we also spent a night at the quaint lil' hot spring town of Hakone.

This was our 'Japan Hour' fantasy come true as we lapped up the gorgeous tatami room with a private hot spring bath in our balcony, followed by a full-on 8-course gourmet dinner. Luckily we wore our loose yukata robes! Sleeping on the floor (despite the bellowy comforter) takes some getting used to but after a hot soak, it's not hard to drift off. We couldn't wait for Kyoto, Nara and Osaka!