JAPAN (Honshu, Tokyo region).
Monday 30/03/2015 to Thursday 09/04/2015.
Day 1 - Monday 30/03/2015 - Marseille to Tokyo journey.
Flight Marseille to Amsterdam, 09:30-11-25, 1h55, Air France flight AF1820, Airbus A319.
Flight Amsterdam to Tokyo Narita, 14:40-08:30, 10h50, KLM flight KL861, Boeing 747-400.
|---| Overnight flight Amsterdam to Tokyo.
Day 2 - Tuesday 31/03/2015 - TOKYO.
With 38 Million inhabitants, world's largest urban agglomeration. Also world's most expensive city.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo
The park is full of 'Men in Black' !
Day 3 - Wednesday 01/04/2015 - TOKYO.
Harajuku.
Lunch time.
|---| Nishitetsu Inn, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 9800¥/night, ~71€.
Day 4 - Thursday 02/04/2015 - Toky to NIKKO journey.
Pilgrimage town 150km North of Tokyo, home to the World Heritage-listed Tosho-gu temple complex.
Also, Guinness Book of World Records listed for the longest tree lined street.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikko,_Tochigi
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3800.html
Tobu Railway's Asakusa train station.
Tokyo Asakusa train station.
Through the window of the 'Section Rapid' train from the Tobu railway company.
It's a 2h10 train journey from Tokyo to Nikko (10:40-13:01).
Nikko's Tubu railways train station.
The Japan Rail train station is some 100m further along the road.
Nikko National Park.
In the bus from Nikko to the Kegon waterfall (13:30-14:12).
As a matter of fact, the waterfall is the overflow channel of the lake.
There are many souvenir shops around.
Also trout from the lake.
The lake is at walking distance from the waterfall.
Lake Chuzenji, 25 km circumference.
It's not really the tourist season yet...
Still not shaved since Monday morning,
my backpack still not recovered from KLM.
Ryuzu Falls, also called Dragon Falls (inspect the picture).
Return bus, once more perfectly timed, 15:59, exactly on time.
|---| Nikko Guesthouse, Nikko, 2600¥/night, ~22€.
Day 5 - Friday 03/04/2015 - NIKKO.
Mushrooms.
Lunch.
Shinkyo sacred bridge.
Nikko Toshogu shrine.
|---| Nikko Guesthouse, Nikko, 2600¥/night, ~22€.
Day 6 - Saturday 04/04/2015 - Nikko-Tokyo-KAWASAKI-KAMATA journey.
Kawasaki Daishi (Boudist Temple), Kawasaki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_Daishi
Wakamiya Hachiman-gu (Shinto shrine), Kawasaki.
The Legend of Kanamara-sama
Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful innkeeper's daughter.
Alas, an evil demon with sharp teeth had taken a liking to her. The demon had courted the girl, but she had stayed pure, and one day the demon learned that the girl was engaged to be married the very next day.
So that night, the demon snuck into her house and crawled right up inside her! Our heroine, terrified but helpless, told no-one and the marriage ceremony went ahead as planned... but on the night of the wedding, when her new husband tried to perform his conjugal duties for the first time, the demon's sharp teeth went snickety-snack! and the poor man was turned into a eunuch.
Her next husband met the same fate, although the details of how they conned the village idiot into marrying her have not passed down to us.
It was clear that things could not go on like this, and the whole village met to discuss the, shall we say, prickly issue. After extensive deliberations, a candle lit up over the blacksmith's head: "Why not," he said, "why not deflower the girl with an iron phallus?" The metal tool was duly made and tested, and upon chomping down the demon found that it had bitten off more than it could chew; whimpering, it crawled out and slunk off to hide in a dark corner and nurse its broken teeth. The blacksmith married the girl and they all lived happily ever after... except the demon and the two eunuchs, that is.
Capsule Hotel (Kamata).
|---| Capsule Inn Kamata, Tokyo, 2800¥/night, ~23€.
Day 7 - Easter-Sunday 05/04/2015 - KAWASAKI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki,_Kanagawa
Kanamara Matsuri festival.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanamara_Matsuri
How to reach the shrine from Kamata?
- Take the private Keikyu Main train line from Keikyukamata station (different from the JR Kawasaki station) to the Keikyukawasaki station (also different from the JR Kawasaki station)
- Change for the Keikyu Daishi line towards Kawasaki Daishi.
- The temple is about 100m from the station.
Day 8 - Monday 06/04/2015 - HAKONE.
100km South of Tokyo, famous for the hot springs, the natural beauty, and the view on the nearby Mount Fuji.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone,_Kanagawa
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3800.html
Shinjuku-Hakone Freepass
How to reach Hakone from Kawasaki (only the motorized steps) :
1/ Kawasaki (JR Stn) to Shinagawa (JR Stn) with the Keihin-Tohoku commuter line Train (blue).
2/ Shinagawa (JR Stn) to Shinjuku (JR Stn) with the Yamanote commuter line Train (green)
3/ Shinjuku (Odakyu Stn) to Hakone Yumoto (Odakyu Stn) with the Odakyu romancecar Long Distance Train, 9:27-11:05, 1h38.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odakyu_Electric_Railway
4/ Hakone Yumoto to Gora with the Hakone-Tozan Mountain Train, 0h40, elevation 108m-553m, max 8% slope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone_Tozan_Line
5/ Gora to Sounzan with the Hakone-Tozan Cablecar, 1.2km, max 20% slope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone_Tozan_Cable_Car
6/ Sounzan to Owakudani with the first section of the Hakone Ropeway, elevation 767m-1044m, 1.2km.
7/ Owakudani to Togendai with the second section of the Hakone Ropeway, elevation 1044m-740m, 2.5km.
8/ Togendai-Ko to Hakonemachi-Ko Boat cruise on Lake Ashi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ashi
9/ Motohakone to Yunessun-Mae with the Hakone Tozan Line Bus number 'H'.
10/ Yunessu-Mae to the hotel with a free Shuttle Bus.
Day 9 - Tuesday 07/04/2015 - HAKONE.
Bad weather.
Petit Prince museum.
Hiking from Sounzan to Mt Kanmuriga, (1409m), Mt Kami (1438m) and Mt Komagatake (1327m).
Hakone-Jinja shrine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone_Shrine
Pola Museum.
A beautifully housed museum presenting a fine selection of paintings from impressionist to modern periods.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pola_Museum_of_Art
Paul Cézanne, four women bathers, 1877-1878.
Paul Cézanne, 'Harlequin', 1877-1878.
|---| B&B Pension Hakone, Hakone, 2800¥/night including breakfast, ~23€.
Day 10 - Wednesday 08/04/2015 - Hakone to TOKYO journey.
Thursday 09/04/2015 - TOKYO to Noumea journey (New Caledonia).
Flight Tokyo to Noumea, 12:30-23:05, 8h35, Air France flight AF4021, Airbus A330-200.
|---| Overnight flight.
Monday 30/03/2015 to Thursday 09/04/2015.
1 € = 130 ¥
1 US$ = 118 ¥
1 US$ = 118 ¥
1 ¥ = 0 76 € cent = 0.84 US$ cent.
Japanese Time = European Summer Time + 7 hours.
Japanese Time = European Summer Time + 7 hours.
Day 1 - Monday 30/03/2015 - Marseille to Tokyo journey.
Flight Marseille to Amsterdam, 09:30-11-25, 1h55, Air France flight AF1820, Airbus A319.
Flight Amsterdam to Tokyo Narita, 14:40-08:30, 10h50, KLM flight KL861, Boeing 747-400.
Departure delayed by 2h25, from 9:35 to 12:00,
due to bad weather conditions in Amsterdam.
Managed to still get the connecting flight to Tokyo,
loosing my luggage (recovered 3 days later).
Managed to still get the connecting flight to Tokyo,
loosing my luggage (recovered 3 days later).
Cherry tree blossom forecast for Tokyo. A near perfect hit.
|---| Overnight flight Amsterdam to Tokyo.
Day 2 - Tuesday 31/03/2015 - TOKYO.
With 38 Million inhabitants, world's largest urban agglomeration. Also world's most expensive city.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo
JR Narita Express, the train from Narita airport to Shinjuku station (4000¥ return).
For a first Tokyo visit, less confusing than taking the complex subway !
JR Narita Express (Picture stolen from the internet).
For a first Tokyo visit, less confusing than taking the complex subway !
The Hotel, only 10 minutes walk from the Shinjuku train station.
Near the Shinjuku station.
The hotel lobby, with an extremely polite and very helpfull staff.
The hotel room. Small, but comfortable and very, very clean.
Shijuku East: Shinjuku Garden and the Tokyo Government Offices.
Office women having picnic in the parcs.
Also 'Men in Black'.
The park is full of 'Men in Black' !
View on Tokyo's metropolitan government office.
There is indeed some similarity with Paris' Notre Dame cathedral.
There is indeed some similarity with Paris' Notre Dame cathedral.
No, these blue squares aren't swimming pools.
Tokyo's underground, very clean and disciplined.
However, very complex due to the multiple operating companies.
View from the observatory on the 44th floor of the government office.
Souvenir stuff sold on the observation platform.
Shinjuku Gyoen garden.
Cherry tree blossom.
Delicious food (sic).
More delicious food.
However, very complex due to the multiple operating companies.
Souvenir stuff sold on the observation platform.
Shinjuku East: Shinjuku Gyoen Garden.
Dinner.
Shinjuku by night.
Shinjuku nightlife streets.
|---| Nishitetsu Inn, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 9000¥/night, ~ 65€.Day 3 - Wednesday 01/04/2015 - TOKYO.
Harajuku.
Harajuku station.
Harajuku, Takeshita Dori.
The fashion shopping street for teenagers, mostly girls.
Togo shrine entrance.
Togo Shrine.
Togo Shrine.
Togo Shrine.
Wedding pictures
Managed to obtain the lady's smile and her attention.
Managed to obtain the lady's smile and her attention.
Shibuya.
Along Meiji Dori.
Tower Records, seven floors of music CDs !
Shibuya crossing.
Shibuya crossing.
Lunch time.
Again, difficult to make a choice between all these delicacies.
Or maybe this 'Italian' food?
Or this 'American' burger?
Or here from this 'French' bakery (see the picture below too)?
That's what they sell as being French bread.
With Hachiko, the loyal dog.
After his boss died, for nearly ten years
he was still awaiting every evening his boss at the train station.
Find your train and the fare on the big panels above the slot machines, then...
...Use the slot machine.
On the screen, select the amoint to be paid (as read from the previous panels), and pay
On the screen, select the amoint to be paid (as read from the previous panels), and pay
(the helpful button 'English' is in the upper right corner of the touch screen).
|---| Nishitetsu Inn, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 9800¥/night, ~71€.
Day 4 - Thursday 02/04/2015 - Toky to NIKKO journey.
Pilgrimage town 150km North of Tokyo, home to the World Heritage-listed Tosho-gu temple complex.
Also, Guinness Book of World Records listed for the longest tree lined street.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikko,_Tochigi
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3800.html
It's a 2h10 train journey from Tokyo to Nikko (10:40-13:01).
The Japan Rail train station is some 100m further along the road.
Arrived at the Kegon waterfall, with a height of about 100m.
my backpack still not recovered from KLM.
|---| Nikko Guesthouse, Nikko, 2600¥/night, ~22€.
Day 5 - Friday 03/04/2015 - NIKKO.
Yutaki falls.
Hiking to Yuotomo.
Mostly in the snow.
Lake Yunoko.
Sulphurous hot water springs.
Here the water is captured for the different onsen (public baths).
Mushrooms.
Lunch.
Lunch picnic.
The Kanman historical walking route.
The path trodden by the priest Shodo, the founder of Nikko.
About 5km.
Shinkyo sacred bridge.
The sacred bridge over the Daiya river, built in 1636.
According to a legend, Shodo Shonin crossed the river here over two snakes.
Map with Nikko's world heritage sites.
Nikko Toshogu shrine.
The cedars are 400 years old.
Five-storied pagoda (1650).
Sacred warehouse, in the rain.
The three monkeys.
Don't listen, don't look, certainly don't tell.
Kimono girls.
Not clear for these japanese tourist why these bottles of beer...
The famous sleeping cat.
700¥ to pray for the cat.
A lot of prayers. The successful business-monks must be happy.
Climbing a steep pathn one reaches the inner shrine (Ieyasus tomb).
Monk's sake barrels.
Many sake breweries offer such sake barrels (30-40 liters) to the shrine.
Many sake breweries offer such sake barrels (30-40 liters) to the shrine.
Monks seem to be the same everywhere.
They have the local elections with a lot of mutual respect for the 12th of April.
|---| Nikko Guesthouse, Nikko, 2600¥/night, ~22€.
Day 6 - Saturday 04/04/2015 - Nikko-Tokyo-KAWASAKI-KAMATA journey.
Land space is rare and costly.
Cars are parked on multiple levels.
... also bikes.
Kawasaki Daishi (Boudist Temple), Kawasaki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_Daishi
This man was so kind to walk during 20 minutes with me to help me find the temple.
He was talking all the time, in what I believe to have been japanese.
He was talking all the time, in what I believe to have been japanese.
Quite obvious that their two prayer wishes are similar.
Sweet souvenirs stalls outside the temple complex.
Little-monkey show.
Indeed, tomorrow there will be the fertility festival (Kanamara Matsuri).
Fertility amulets attached to a temple wall.
The Kanamara-sama.
The Legend of Kanamara-sama
Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful innkeeper's daughter.
Alas, an evil demon with sharp teeth had taken a liking to her. The demon had courted the girl, but she had stayed pure, and one day the demon learned that the girl was engaged to be married the very next day.
So that night, the demon snuck into her house and crawled right up inside her! Our heroine, terrified but helpless, told no-one and the marriage ceremony went ahead as planned... but on the night of the wedding, when her new husband tried to perform his conjugal duties for the first time, the demon's sharp teeth went snickety-snack! and the poor man was turned into a eunuch.
Her next husband met the same fate, although the details of how they conned the village idiot into marrying her have not passed down to us.
It was clear that things could not go on like this, and the whole village met to discuss the, shall we say, prickly issue. After extensive deliberations, a candle lit up over the blacksmith's head: "Why not," he said, "why not deflower the girl with an iron phallus?" The metal tool was duly made and tested, and upon chomping down the demon found that it had bitten off more than it could chew; whimpering, it crawled out and slunk off to hide in a dark corner and nurse its broken teeth. The blacksmith married the girl and they all lived happily ever after... except the demon and the two eunuchs, that is.
Capsule Hotel (Kamata).
A first experience with a "Capsule Hotel" overnight,
all conventional hotels near Kawasaki being full or largely overpriced (>500€/night).
At the Capsule Hotel lobby, nobody speaks english.
So they systematically involve a call center translator to communicate.
First you must leave your shoes in a locker and exchange them for a pair of slippers.
After payment, you can exchange the shoe-locker key for the capsule key.
Your shoes are thus kept as a hostage.
Your shoes are thus kept as a hostage.
With the capsule key, you can open a lugage locker next to your capsule,
where you find towel and pyjama.
The "Capsule" inside, with a complex dashboard.
|---| Capsule Inn Kamata, Tokyo, 2800¥/night, ~23€.
Day 7 - Easter-Sunday 05/04/2015 - KAWASAKI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki,_Kanagawa
Happy Easter !
Kanamara Matsuri festival.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanamara_Matsuri
How to reach the shrine from Kamata?
- Take the private Keikyu Main train line from Keikyukamata station (different from the JR Kawasaki station) to the Keikyukawasaki station (also different from the JR Kawasaki station)
- Change for the Keikyu Daishi line towards Kawasaki Daishi.
- The temple is about 100m from the station.
Opportunistic-businessmen stalls around the temple.
Selling colorful suggestive candles
T-shirts, towels.
Suggestive scarves.
Procession items have are ready for the parade.
Travestite making her selfie.
Hotel room.
Crazy Japan... this ridiculously short escalator is followed by a long staircase.
(on top of that, it is used to descent, see the short movie here below ).
|---| Hotel Fine, Kawasaki, 7000¥/night, ~59€(on top of that, it is used to descent, see the short movie here below ).
Day 8 - Monday 06/04/2015 - HAKONE.
100km South of Tokyo, famous for the hot springs, the natural beauty, and the view on the nearby Mount Fuji.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone,_Kanagawa
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3800.html
Shinjuku-Hakone Freepass
How to reach Hakone from Kawasaki (only the motorized steps) :
1/ Kawasaki (JR Stn) to Shinagawa (JR Stn) with the Keihin-Tohoku commuter line Train (blue).
2/ Shinagawa (JR Stn) to Shinjuku (JR Stn) with the Yamanote commuter line Train (green)
3/ Shinjuku (Odakyu Stn) to Hakone Yumoto (Odakyu Stn) with the Odakyu romancecar Long Distance Train, 9:27-11:05, 1h38.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odakyu_Electric_Railway
4/ Hakone Yumoto to Gora with the Hakone-Tozan Mountain Train, 0h40, elevation 108m-553m, max 8% slope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone_Tozan_Line
5/ Gora to Sounzan with the Hakone-Tozan Cablecar, 1.2km, max 20% slope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone_Tozan_Cable_Car
6/ Sounzan to Owakudani with the first section of the Hakone Ropeway, elevation 767m-1044m, 1.2km.
7/ Owakudani to Togendai with the second section of the Hakone Ropeway, elevation 1044m-740m, 2.5km.
8/ Togendai-Ko to Hakonemachi-Ko Boat cruise on Lake Ashi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ashi
9/ Motohakone to Yunessun-Mae with the Hakone Tozan Line Bus number 'H'.
10/ Yunessu-Mae to the hotel with a free Shuttle Bus.
Awaiting the romancecar train (step 3/ from above list).
The Hakone-Tozan mountain train (step 4/).
The cablecar of step 5/.
The Ropeway of step 6/.
Owakudani trail warning message.
Owakudani trail.
Some sulfurous springs and fumes are exploited.
People sells black coloured eggs (kurotamago), boiled in the hot acid water.
Funny, to let the Hydrogen Sulfide H2S (responsible for the rotten egg smell
of the gaz emanations) react with the Iron (Fe) of the eggshells into
black Iron sulfide (FeS). Easter eggs on Easter Monday !
Eating these eggs would add 7 years to your life.
Funny, to let the Hydrogen Sulfide H2S (responsible for the rotten egg smell
of the gaz emanations) react with the Iron (Fe) of the eggshells into
black Iron sulfide (FeS). Easter eggs on Easter Monday !
Eating these eggs would add 7 years to your life.
Mount Fuji appeared for a few minutes !!!
The next section of the Ropeway (step 7/)
(with fragments of Mount Fuji in the background).
Disneyland style crossing of Lake Ashi (step 8/).
A selfie by the captain of the pirate vessel.
Once more Mount Fuji tried to appear at the horizon.
Dinner.
Hakone and Mount Fuji, how it should have been... (picture stolen from the internet).
|---| B&B Pension Hakone, Hakone, 2800¥/night including breakfast,~23€.Day 9 - Tuesday 07/04/2015 - HAKONE.
Bad weather.
Rainy and foggy weather !
Visit canceled.
Hiking cancelled.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone_Shrine
Pola Museum.
A beautifully housed museum presenting a fine selection of paintings from impressionist to modern periods.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pola_Museum_of_Art
Funny Japan. Umbrella lockers.
Presenting the 'Cézanne: Pioneer of Modern Art' exhibition.
Marvelous building.
Paul Cézanne, Portait of Antony Valabergue, ca 1874-1875.
Tsughara Foujita, 'Birthday' (1958).
Day 10 - Wednesday 08/04/2015 - Hakone to TOKYO journey.
Surprised by morning snow in the hotel.
The steam comes from the hotel Onsen (natural hot water spring).
"Robbie, thank you available on terrace until midnight", must be understood as
The Lobby can be accessed through the terrace until midnight
(confirmed by Japanese tourists).
Flying angels painted on the temple roof.
No doubt, this is Japan : oLiginal Tulips.
|---| Nishitetsu Inn, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 9400¥/night, ~79€.Flight Tokyo to Noumea, 12:30-23:05, 8h35, Air France flight AF4021, Airbus A330-200.
Tokyo, Narita Airport.
|---| Overnight flight.
Destination : New Caledonia.
