Japan - Tokyo and Snow Monkeys

I flew from China to Tokyo and had 2 days before meeting my new travel buddy, Nancy.  I took the time to rest and catch up on everything including my photos and blog.  During the 2 weeks in China, I didn’t have access to most news and no Facebook.  Remember, I’ve been traveling non-stop since 25 Sept and it was now 1 November; I was tired. 

We met up on the 4^th, and spent the next few days together, touring Tokyo.  While she’s a very nice woman, and I enjoyed hanging out with her, at the end of the day, I thought I would much rather just travel on my own.  Our travel styles are very different and when you are with another person, there are compromises you have to make to be fair.  To be honest, I simply didn’t want to compromise.   I’m not sure she got my reasoning, but I guess there’s not much I could do about that, it certainly wasn’t personal.

I hadn’t done much research on Tokyo specifically, so I’m sure there are things I missed, but I did go to a shopping area that I had heard about; Nakamise.  It’s filled with shops selling typical souvenirs, both high end and junk.  There were many shops selling fans of all shapes and sizes as well as kimonos and other traditional clothing for men and women. There were plenty of booths selling street food, many I couldn’t identify.  I tried a few; some good, some bad.  One was Daifuku, which is a small round mochi (rice cake) stuffed with, in my case, chocolate.  I met two Filipino sisters in line who got one filled with sweet red bean paste.  We shared bites, I liked mine better.  I also tried the Asakusa Ice Cream Burger, which was basically a scoop of really good ice cream sandwiched between two, not so good rice wafers.  Lastly, I tried some seaweed Senbei (rice cracker).  The first bite was pretty good, like a cross between a potato chip and thin cracker.  I got tired of the taste after a few bites.   For more on the shopping street and especially the street food, here is a blog post I found.  http://www.omnomnomad.com/2015/12/05/yummy-tour-of-nakamise-shopping-street-asakusa-tokyo/

At the end of the shopping area we came to the beautiful Sensoji Temple / Asakusa Shrine. Sensoji is said to be one Tokyo's most colorful and popular Buddhist temples.  It was much more interesting and interactive than those I saw in Thailand for example. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple. 

When you walk through the huge archway, called Thunder Gate, and the first thing you see is a fortune station called Omikuji.  I should say, the first thing you hear, because there is a large metal cylinder with small wooden sticks inside.  You give it a few shakes (very loud) while making a wish.  One of the sticks comes out a small hole in the bottom.  The stick has Japanese characters on it, which you match to the characters on a drawer.  Inside the drawer is a sheet of paper with either good, bad or indifferent luck.  Mine was bad, which you are supposed to tie to a nearby pole to get rid of. 

The next station you come to is incense.  In Buddhism, incense burns away negative qualities within in order to reveal your pure self.  You buy a pack of about 10 thin sticks, light them all at once and stick the bundle in a huge urn with sand.  As you can imagine, the smoke is quite thick, and people walk up and waft the smoke to them as a means of purification.

Next is the water station.  You dip a wooden dipper in the water and pour it in your hands, washing them and your face.  You’re not supposed to drink the water, but most people took a sip. 

You finally make it to the temple where you find some worshipers praying and a lot of people milling about taking pictures.  Unlike other temples I’d visited, it didn’t look like you could go inside this one.  Instead, everyone stood outside on a porch. 

I also visited Shibuya crossing, said to be the busiest intersection in the world.  I’m not so sure about that, but there were a lot of cross walks.  Not only from corner to corner as you usually see, but two went diagonally through the middle of the intersection, from NE to SW and SE to NW.    It looked like an oncoming invasion as the light changed and people swarmed out from all directions. 

My last stop was the Edogawa Ward Natural Zoo.  This was just a neighborhood zoo with no entrance fee.  They had a great squirrel monkey exhibit.  There were about 30 of the small monkeys inside an enclosure and they were very lively.  There were a few babies, but it was hard to tell who momma was, as one would approach a female with a baby clinging to her and literally steal the baby.  I sat back and watched them for a while and finally got up close to get some pictures.  Suddenly it seemed like half the troop scrambled to get right in front of me.  They were hanging from the bars all vying for a position to get a better look.  They certainly didn’t seem to pay any attention to the Japanese people, even the few with big cameras.  I can only guess that I looked really different, maybe it was my red hair.

I left Tokyo and headed to the small town of Yamanouchi, near the Jigokundani Snow Monkey Park.  If you are not familiar, these are Japanese macaques; the only species who live in a snowy climate. They are famous for soaking in hot springs, thought to be the only monkeys in the world who do so. 

All over Japan you can find onsens, a community bathhouse fed by hot springs.  It is forbidden to wear bathing suits, although as tourism picks up, you can now find some that allow it.  Traditionally men and women bathed together.  Now it is more common to have separate baths or different hours for women and men, except in rural Japan where you still find mixed bathing.  Men can cover themselves with a washcloth sized towel while out of the water and women can use a full-size towel.  Most onsen’s will not allow you to enter if you have a tattoo.   Originally, the ban was to keep out gangs, who’s members often had elaborate tattoos.  Now you will find some that allow you in if you cover the tattoo with a bandage.   

My hotel was a small traditional Japanese hotel, (futon on the ground and pillows to sit on) with a lovely onsen. Luckily for me, when I went for a soak, I was alone. I forgot all about the tattoo ban, so double glad no one else was there.  (I have a small tiger on my right shoulder blade). There was a woman's only bath, and the water was very hot, hotter than a jacuzzi I’m sure.  There was a door leading to a bigger bath outside where the water was warm, but not hot. The weather was a bit chilly and rainy and the contrast to the warm water was wonderful! I had done a lot of walking and my knees were killing me, but the pain just melted away after a few minutes soaking in the mineral water.  As I sat there, I realized the outside must be co-ed, as a door led from the men's bath as well. I got out just in time, I passed a big bus load of tourists headed in.

You see many people walking around town from one onsen to another, dressed only in their yukata, which is like a kimono robe. In the lobby an older man sat on a couch talking on his cell. He wasn't paying attention to his robe and I got way more then I bargained for when I glanced his way. Unlike the Scotsman and their kilt, I know what he (wasn't) wearing underneath!

My first day in town it was raining, so I just wandered around a bit.  The second day was beautiful and sunny, so I headed to the monkey park.  The entrance fee was about $7 which I thought was cheap, but then realized there were really only 2 places to visit.  One was a spot by the river where the monkeys were foraging just a few feet from the trail.  I realized later, the park puts out seeds and nuts at this spot for the macaques to find.  There are signs everywhere warning visitors not to touch or interact with the monkeys and under no circumstances are you allowed to have any food or plastic bags, which the monkeys recognize as containing food and will steal.  People were everywhere taking pictures and the monkeys just went about their business as if we weren’t sticking cameras 2 feet from their face.  A little farther along the trail, you come to a hot spring pool and there were a few monkeys relaxing in the hot water.  Honestly, the look on their faces were shear bliss, exactly the look on a human’s face doing the same thing.  It was very interesting to be in the park and be that close to them.  A squabble broke out, which turned into a full fledge fight with blood drawn and everything, right in the middle of the crowd of people.  It was as if we weren’t even there.  The monkeys, who are not that big, walk where they want, and the people just move out of their way. 

The village was pretty small, with not a lot of restaurant choices.  I’m sad to say, I don’t really care for Japanese food, the only Asian country I can say that about.  I tried one place that had a grilled meat choice and it was pretty good, but once was enough.  There was a Thai restaurant, but it always seemed to be closed.  I stumbled on a bar that served pasta and it was surprisingly good.  I read an article recently that said Japan was embracing Italian food, specifically Naples style pizza.  I can attest to that as I’ve seen, and tried, a few pizza places and they are spot on!  There is just no pizza in the world that taste as good as Neapolitan pizza, with it chewy, stone oven taste.  The Thai place was finally open on my last night, how exciting!  I could see (and hear) they were Thai, so I greeted them in their language and I got a blank look.  I’m no linguist, but it’s an easy word and I know I said it right.  Usually when I greet people outside of Thailand, they are very happy to hear me speak a few words.  Actually, they looked a bit surprised to see me even come in.  At first I thought maybe it wasn’t a restaurant, but they handed me a menu and seemed friendly enough, just surprised.  I ordered my take away and said thank you in Thai, again, a blank look.  Oh well.  Once home I dug into my prawn Pad Thai.  It was good but had a different taste.  I put my glasses on for a closer look, big mistake.  There were hundreds of teeny, tiny shrimps.  Now I love shrimp, but this was the entire thing, head and all.  Honestly, I probably couldn’t taste them at all, but I am a really picky eater, and its rarely due to taste.  More like texture or just the thought of it.  Nope, for dinner I had the last half of my bag of chips. 

 

Next stop Kamakura with all its temples and beach vibe.

 

Link to Photos - https://photos.app.goo.gl/WFH9bP2wjSLbmpLC9