Spicy

In the middle of Nagano Prefecture, near Matsumoto and its famous castle, there exists a dream come true for wasabi lovers. The Daio Wasabi Farm is set in a broad valley among the high Japanese Alps, and is the perfect combination of scenery and flavor. To get there, you rent a bike at Hotaka station, and ride a couple of kilometers through rice paddies and corn fields.

We started our visit at the restaurant, with a very wasabi lunch. My meal consisted of wasabi juice and a wasabi croquette, and both were excellent. The green monstrosity you see above was a wasabi beer ordered by Ryan. While this may not catch on for St. Patrick's Day back Stateside, it was actually far more delicious than you might expect. The wasabi flavor was very subtle, but was certainly present. The beer was in fact just a bit spicy, and went down perfectly with a side of wasabi peas.

 

The farm itself is quite a sight to see. Wasabi must be grown in a rocky stream bed of fresh, flowing water. The plants are also temperature sensitive, hence the black shade coverings.

We got to dip our feet in the water, and I took the opportunity to get a shot under the canopy. The water was chill, and very refreshing. However, I can't imagine what will grow downstream of anywhere my feet have been.

Once you are done exploring the paths among and above the spicy little roots, well there is only one thing left to do...

... and that is to have some Wasabi ice cream!

This was actually my second trip to the farm, but I had just as much fun as the first time. It really is a little seen gem of Japan, though I can understand why. Nagano Prefecture is a bit off the Tokyo to Kyoto to maybe Nara or Hiroshima tourist path. Getting to the farm from anywhere that isn't Matsumoto or Nagano City will take a few hours, and would anybody on a ten day trip really want to devote a whole day to wasabi? That said, for anybody who has the time or is in the area, it's a uniquely Japanese experience that doesn't involve a shrine, temple, or skyscraper.

Fushimi Inari- Evening

When I go to Fushimi Inari, I always try and time my visit so that I can make it to the top of the mountain for sunset. The vista over southern Kyoto is always wonderful, and the walk down in the twilight is fun and a little bit creepy.



However, the last two times I've been up to the top I haven't seen much at all. One time it was raining and very dark and cloudy, and once it was so smoggy that the sun 'set' into the haze about 10 minutes before it was due to dip behind the mountains! This trip was the clearest I have ever seen the area, in fact it was so clear that I could see the tall sky scrapers in Umeda, in northern Osaka, which is some thirty miles to the south.



A little closer in you can see To-ji and it's famous pagoda. This 5 story pagoda is the tallest wooden structure in Japan.



This the usual view spot that most people stop at, there are a few benches and a tea shop nearby. However, if you keep to your left and go though a cemetery you'll come out on the actual summit of the mountain, and have an even more expansive view.



I made sure to bring my tripod this time, as often in the past I've forgotten it. Lugging around a tripod is a pain in the neck for sure, but if you want to shoot in low light it is a necessity.



Once the sun had gone down I went back to the summit for a few more night time pictures of the city. Again, this is something I've tried to do before sans tripod, and so I was pretty excited to be able to actually pull off these shots.





Three really isn't a break in the city between Kyoto and Osaka, and in fact there really isn't much break in the city between Hiroshima and Tokyo! On the train it just blends from urban to suburban and back to urban without much in the way of rural. Thats what happens when you squeeze 127 million people into a small, mountainous country.



This was my fifth trip to Fushimi Inari, and it still ranks as my favorite place in Kyoto and Japan.

Fushimi Inari- Day

Every time I am in Kyoto, I try and visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is the head Shinto Shrine dedicated to the harvest god Inari. As Japan has become more industrial and less agrarian, Inari has drifted towards a deity of luck in business. Shrines dedicated to Inari are ubiquitous, and there are thens of thousands of small and mid sized ones dotted about the country.



At Fushimi Inari, over three kilometers of trails snake around the mountain, every step of the way covered in bright red torii gateways. The torii are bought by people and businesses and donated to the shrine for good luck with a business deal or venture.



I love the area because it is so unique, and so beautiful. As well, in a country where it can be hard to get away from the crowds, solitude is not hard to find here. I also enjoy it because I've always liked foxes, and the fox is the messenger of Inari, so the shrine has a great many fox statues.



Of course, in Japanese legend the foxes, or kitsune, are also a trickster characters, capable of changing shape and causing mischief or harm to hapless humans who encounter them. Thankfully, I haven't run into any kitsune yet, but I feel that when walking the lonely pathways of Fushimi Inari after dark it would be prudent to be careful!

Kenrokuen Fall Light Up

A factor in the scheduling of my whole Asia trip was the dates of the Kenrokuen Fall Light up. Four times a year the famous Kenrokuen garden in Kanazawa is lit up for a weekend or two to showcase the season. Admission is free during the light up, and its a great way to see the garden in a new light, so to speak.



Of course, anything worth doing in Japan is worth doing by a whole lot of people, so be ready for crowds. I was far from the only person sporting a camera and tripod, and some of the prime spots had a bit of a line form for the photo. Though without a camera its nice to come and just see the lights and not worry about trying to get that perfect photo.



Every fall these rope supports are strung on some of the trees to protect them from the heavy, wet snow that blankets the area come December.



A musician and singer was playing in the boat house and being piped all over the gardens, lending a very peaceful and traditional feel to the proceedings. Despite the large numbers of people, once you got away from the entrance, the crowd really thinned out, giving room for just exploring the darkened garden on your own.



As you can see in some of the photos, by and large the weather was very clear, and the water was literally as still as glass. It did sprinkle a tiny bit for a few minutes, but it wasn't even enough rain for me to worry about my camera.



This was far from my first trip to Kenrokuen for a light up, but every time it seems so magical, it just never gets old.

Tokyo Bits and Bobs

Walking from Asakusa to the Tokyo-Edo Museum was not one of my brightest ideas. I never really got lost, per se, but there was a stretch where I was a might bit bewildered. Luckily, I made it to my destination without too much trouble, and the museum itself was totally worth it. Split up into two halves, the first covered the founding and growth of the old Tokugawa capital Edo. The second was devoted to the modern history of Tokyo, from the late 1800s to the present day through redevelopment, earthquakes and war. I was very impressed with the displays and the contrast between old and new in Japan's capital.




The next day I want to do something free, so I started off at the Yebisu Beer Museum. The short trip through the history of Yebisu and Sapporo beer was interesting, but the highlight of course is the tasting room. I sampled a premium pilsner, which was quite delicious and had much more complexity than the standard issue Asian lager.



Tokyo can be an overwhelming city, even for those who are familiar with it, so I was glad to make a stop at Meiji Jingu. Right in the middle of the city, near the hip Harajuku shopping area, the shrine is an oasis of calm. While it is always busy with tourists and visitors, the area is large enough and green enough that you don't really notice.



Another thing I like to do when I am in Tokyo is stop by the Nikon office in Shinjuku. They offer a sensor cleaning service that is free if you are still under warranty, and only about 10 dollars if you aren't. As my precious D-80 does NOT have a self cleaning sensor, I find this an excellent way to make sure my photos are dust spot free. (Saves time in photoshop later)



After picking up my camera, I was just a few blocks away from the Tokyo Metropolitan Building. One of the tallest in the city, the building has two (free) observation lounges perched at the top of the towers.



I had never actually made it to the top before, and I find myself wondering why not. The view was fantastic, and it was far less commercial than Tokyo Tower to the south. Located at the bottom of the elevator was an excellent tourist information area, making the whole thing a must see for any first time visitor to Japan.




Looking out over Tokyo I am always struck by how massive a megaplex it is. I have more photos that I took from the Metropolitan building, but most are HDR, so when I have them processed, they will get a separate post. Also, people may notice a new tag, Free Japan. Posts with this label will point to something that is absolutely free, proving that while Japan may be expensive, there are wonderful experiences to be had even on a budget.

Early Morning Senso-ji

One of my goals on this trip was to see things that I hadn't gotten around to yet. During my two years in Japan I saw a lot of sights, but there is always more to see and do, especially in a city as large and dynamic as Tokyo. One of the places on my list was Senso-ji, the largest most famous Buddhist temple in Tokyo.



The story of Senso-ji, also called Asakusa Kannon, starts in the 600's when two local fishermen find a golden idol of the goddess of mercy, Kannon in the nearby Sumida river. The temple was built to enshrine the statue, and over the centuries grew to its present dramatic size and popularity. The temple did burn down in the war, and the current buildings are concrete reconstructions.



I found that one of the downsides of starting my day before 5 am was that by 8 I had been up for hours, and yet little was open yet. Senso-ji was almost empty, the myriad trinket vendors lining the entrance street all locked up and silent. Even when I walked over to the nearby Kappa-dori, home of the plastic food and restaurant supply stores I found that early Saturday morning was not a busy time for them.



After a fair amount of aimless meandering, I walked back through the temple grounds close to noon, and found that things had picked up remarkably. There was some sort of festival in full swing, so there were street vendors with snacks and drinks on offer, and booths set up to display chrysanthemum flowers.



I had intended the trip to Asakusa to take up a full day of sightseeing, but I had done all I needed to do, and it was barely noon! I felt that a walk to the Edo-Tokyo Museum was a good idea, even though I didn't really have a map, nor a good sense of how far it was...

Tsukiji

The Tsukiji fish market is an overwhelming riot of sounds, colors, smells and speeding mini trucks. This is not your typical tourist market, indeed large tour groups cannot visit and during the busiest season all tourists are banned.



However, for those that brave the very early morning wake up call and the chaotic market traffic, the reward is a look at the largest wholesale seafood market in the world. Around 2,000 pounds of seafood a day passes through Tsukiji.



The area is built rather like an onion, with a surrounding district of shops forming the skin, and then layers of supplementary shops and stalls selling a wide variety of non seafood items mixed in with sushi restaurants. The actual market occupies a large area in the center. The Saturday morning that I was there was a popular one, as many tourists and Tokyoites had come down for a taste of the freshest sushi you can find, leading to lines that ranged from long to staggeringly long.



The best reason to make the trip is the sheer spectacle. From lobsters to live clams to squid to slick silvery fish to massive frozen tuna, every sort of sea creature you can imagine, and a few you probably can't, makes an appearance. I was most impressed by how the frozen tuna are handled, as if they are big red frozen fish logs, saws and all. I certainly never thought I would see a fish fed into a band saw!



I really enjoyed my early morning visit, though I did have to be careful not to get too wrapped up in my shot composition, as the carts, both motorized and not, won't stop or slow down for anybody.