Today we cross the alps to the other side. 

Baseball is the top sport here, as we learned when we saw a field full of kids in uniforms on a Saturday morning. “China is not good at baseball,” said Ben. “Even got beaten by Thai. Great shame. 1.4 billion people and they can’t find 11 people to play the game?”

We all laughed.

At a rest stop, we saw monkeys! This shot was taken by Julie. I only saw the baby monkey:

I promise you that’s a baby monkey.

After so much travel in snowy areas over the last few years, Japan is different. I think that her forests are monochromatic.

They have a different feel…

Today was a travel day, but we had two stops that were both interesting in their different ways.

After travelling over hills and dales… (whatever dales are)… we arrived at the town of Takayama Old Town, so called because there are 3 streets that weren’t bombed to oblivion during WWII, and so have a feel of what old-style Japan was like.

The three streets are a mixture of shops, restaurants and other businesses.

Ben took us to the red bridge to anchor us, then we had nearly 2 hours to wander around and see what we could see.

Some people chose to walk from food place to food place, sampling their wares. Me, not being a goody, chose to walk away from the old are at first, because I wanted to see what was along the river.

But of course I ended up sampling something Japanese for lunch. Ben had mentioned that this area was known for its beef, so I decided to try some beef sushi.
I tried to get rid of coins, so I ordered the cheapest one. It wasn’t great. The dot of wasabi was the only thing that saved it. Seafood sushi is definitely preferable.

There were some pretty vignettes.

Plus, Japan is insane about cats. I had to take a sneaky shot of this shop that was almost totally devoted to them.

Now, you know me and my love of useful souvenirs that don’t clutter up the place. Well, it occurred to me that it might be nice, when I’m reading on the couch on the front verandah, to burn a stick of incense. It won’t stink the house up, and it’ll remind me of the temples in China, Vietnam and Japan.

So I bought a little cat incense holder and a couple of boxes of incense sticks. They’ll probably last me for YEARS.

I accidentally took this shot in the incense shop. You can see the useful souvenir I bought in Central Australia last year- my bag.

Then omg guess what happened as we got into the bus?

It began to snow!

I’m going to show you a few shots of the alps I took from the bus. These forests are definitely different than the others I’ve travelled. They have LINES in them.

Tell me I’m not imagining it.

See? It’s not just the soju I bought for old times’ sake and had with dinner.

Anyway, soon we arrived at a fabulous little place.

It was high in the mountains, where the people live in thatched cottages, like in the Cotswolds.

Ok, so maybe not exactly like there.

Shirakawa-go is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it’s only one of two villages that still have the traditional farmhouses, some of which are 250 years old.
Once there were hundreds. Some of these houses are bed and breakfast places, and Ben said people report that it’s very cold. After seeing the snow here, I’m not surprised.

You make your way to the village over a swing bridge made of concrete. Yes, it’s weird and does strange things to your head when a concrete-looking bridge moves under your feet.
We were here on a Saturday and Ben said later that he was expecting it be be jam-packed. The last time he was here on a weekend, the bridge took 10 minutes to get over. But Fortunate Frogdancer ensured that there weren’t too many people at all.

There’s no denying that it’s a picturesque place.

Garrett and Timo were friends we met in Antarctica, and a month or so later, they came to visit me for lunch in Melbourne. A couple of days ago, Garrett asked me to record a birthday message for Timo. Look at all the snow. Of course I had to make a subtle reference to Antarctica!

Look at this snow. I don’t know how people do it.

I mean seriously… it’s the beginning of Spring.

Some joker made an igloo. Bloody cold.

Back in 2018, a photographer called Pierre was on our North Korea trip. After a while, I noticed that he was always facing a different way to the rest of us when we were taking pictures. I asked him why.

”Always take photos of the people, Frogdancer,” he said.

I don’t always do it, but I try and keep an eye open for good shots of the locals. This one was a beauty. The little girl in navy was laughing uncontrollably.

What makes it even better was, when the mum got back to the footpath with her girls, I was able to airdrop that moment to her. She was so happy!

Like, seriously, why do people insist on living in this climate? You can’t tell me that this is convenient.

It was at this point that I realised that I’d walked too far in the wrong direction. Zoom in and you’ll see the people on the suspension bridge. I hot-footed it back. I never want to be THAT person. You know, the one who holds up the whole bus.

Then it was back through the monochromatic hills to reach Kanazawa, which has the train station voted the most beautiful for the last 3 years.

Listen to the guide.

As I was driving through the alps, my sister Kate and I were talking over Messenger. Isn’t technology amazing? Dad’s not doing great…

Dad Joke of the Day:

I took many photos of Mt Fuji today, and this is the best one. It is also the first one.

I would have saved myself so much time and energy if I’d realised that at the time!

“Sometimes Fuji is shy. She hides her face behind the clouds like a quilt. We see the Fuji twice on this trip, so we have a good chance to see her,” said Ben.

Fuji is actually 4 mountains and it has 2 craters. It last erupted 300 years ago, from the crater on the side. It was so large that the sand on the beach is still black. 

There’s an 80% chance that it will erupt in the next 30 years. People in Tokyo have regular drills on what to do when it happens.

Of course, Mt Fuji is big Kami.

Fortunate Frogdancer is on this tour! It’s cloudy, but the top of Mt Fuji can clearly be seen.

We arrived at the museum and raced to the top floor to see Fuji.

I’ve got to admit, I was more moved than I expected to be. It was so beautiful!

After I’d snapped a couple of shots, I went downstairs and watched a 10 minute video about the mountain. They did a good job – it was actually interesting. 

I spent more time in the gift shop looking for a decent souvenir of Fuji than I actually spent looking at her, so after I selected the least hideous magnet, I went upstairs again. Clouds were beginning to sweep across the top of the mountain and it looked very different, even in such a short time.

Our next stop was Lake Kawaguchi, where we were to grab lunch and then jump on a boat to catch the best views of Fuji.

Barbara, Lyn, Robyn and I went to a cafe called ‘ The Apple Pie Lab’ which seriously had the best apple pie I’ve ever eaten. The coffee was strong, too. If you ever see one, you could do far worse than to grab a lunch here.

We wandered around afterward, and discovered this sculpture that an artist who was 101 made. Isn’t it beautiful?

We had a little time to kill before the boat ride and as I walked beside the harbour, I was suddenly filled with happiness. The sun was shining, I was looking at a snowy place with not even a jumper on, I could hear birds in the air and my little black ducks with the white faces were swimming in the water. It was all so peaceful and lovely.

The boat ride on the lake was amazing. The view of Mt Fuji was incredibly impressive. However , I couldn’t get a decent view on my phone for you, and believe me… I tried. In the end, I put my phone away and lived in the moment.

The photos are wishy-washy but the view in real life definitely wasn’t!

This was me thinking I’d left it too late to get a decent shot of the mountain, but it actually isn’t too bad. Anyway, once we were on dry land, we were in the bus and away. It was a full- on driving afternoon.

I slept on the bus after this, but every now and then I surfaced to see the view. This reminded me of the Alaskan/Canadian trip, with snowy mountains by the road. Admittedly, the Japanese ones were smaller and were further away from the road, but the echoes were still there.

A view from the wrong side of the bus. Hey, I can’t be Fortunate Frogdancer ALL the time!

We arrived at Nagano, a town high in the Alps region, at around 4:30.
Ben said that our rooms would be small by Australian standards…

There’s no window behind that curtain.

I appreciate how, despite the lack of floor space, the toilet still has everything I’ve come to expect.

If there’s one thing I’m beginning to appreciate, after being on so many trips, is that if the guide recommends something, it’s probably a good idea to check it out.

I knew that if I went and got dinner immediately after checking in, I was going to end up with lots of time on my hands. Even with writing this post – these travel posts take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours to put together – I’d still be left with nothing but a book to read.

As we drove into town, Ben recommended going to see a “very famous” shrine a kilometres walk from the hotel.

Now, you all know how much I hate exercise. But I thought of my tens of readers and decided to take that walk. It was up a hill, so I hope you appreciate it.

Actually, it was terrific. Always listen to your guide!

As I walked, I snapped a few photos.

I liked the look of this garden. Did I mention that this walk was uphill?

I knew this place would be awesome when I saw this.

How whimsical!

This is a close-up of the statues in the first gate.

Then there was a row of shops. Luckily for me, most of them were already closed for the day. The Art shop was shut. Phew! I still haven’t quite recovered from buying the silken embroidered piece from Hoi An 2 weeks ago.

There was something fabulous here that I didn’t notice until I was on my way out…

Looking back the way I’d come. It was getting cold and I had to tuck my hands into my sleeves to try and keep them warm. But I was very glad I’d come.

Walking up towards the last building.

These buildings were all original. They’d escaped being bombed in the war.

Look at his expression! I’d find a place for him at home in a heartbeat.

This was a sneaky shot.

How could I have missed seeing the cat?? 😂😂

I may have quickly stepped into traffic to take this shot. I like the way the buildings relate to each other.

And another echo of Canada. I was reminded of Banff when I saw the mountain at the end of the street.

I bumped into Lyn and Barbara at the supermarket and we bought our dinners. I’ve demolished mine, and I’ll finish my little bottle of sake while I finish my book.

Tomorrow it’s another early start.

I’m enjoying this tour. Even though it’s a large number of people, everyone is chilled, on time and agreeable. There’s no one who’s annoying.

Unless… oh god!… maybe this means that it’s ME??? 😳

Dad Joke of the Day:

This morning I woke up and I could see Mt Fuji from my hotel window. I was so excited. We travel to see her tomorrow, but even if the weather turns bad, I’ve seen her with snow.

Today was an optional tour, costing around $100 AUD. It was money well spent as far as I was concerned. I have no idea what to see here. If you were a more independent traveler, or had friends you wanted to catch up with, then the flexibility to choose would be great.

Our first stop was a Buddhist temple.

Shinto temples, like the one we saw yesterday, are empty. Buddhist temples are very different.

It’s very common in Japan to believe in both religions. Buddhism came from China, originally from India. If people believe in the same faith, it’s easier to control them, so the government built lots of temples.

In olden days, if you were sick, you’d go to the temple first. Buddhism explained everything, which was a comfort to people before science. As we walked towards the temple proper, I could smell the incense so strongly. Lighting incense, then waving the smoke towards where you feel I’ll, is a tradition from the oldest times that still exists today.

During the Meiji restoration, there was a resurgence of nationalism and they tried to ban Buddhism because it came from China. They tore down a few temples but met with great resistance from the local people. After all, it had been here, entwined with Shintoism, for hundreds of years. So they separated the two religions, which is how it is today. 

China is intolerant of other cultures. Ten years ago, it was safe to wear Japanese kimonos on the streets. Now, people will point and question why you are wearing a different culture’s clothes, which is a bugger for Chinese kids who like anime. If you don’t take off the clothes yourself, they might “help you “. Ben is from China, so I believe him. “It’s a worrying sign,” he said. “It’s very bad.”

Here is one of the two shoes that are periodically made for Buddha. The Japanese believe that he is very, very big.

Pagoda has a huge column suspended from the top floor to absorb earthquake tremors. The Japanese learned how to do this centuries ago.

This temple also has its fund-raising efforts.

You can buy little fortune-telling things that tell your luck. If it’s bad luck you can leave it here and Buddha will cleanse it. If it’s good luck though you can bring it home with you. Isn’t that convenient?

Before he set us loose for a half hour’s free time, Ben took us to see the koi. He told us of a lovely custom.

Buddhism famously believes in reincarnation, where, depending on how you behave in your current life, you may come back as a human or an animal. On October 15 every year, people go to the market and buy a fish and then return it to the water. It might be your grandmother or your brother…

As I was walking around, I noticed lots of young women dressed in traditional clothes. Was this a thing that people did? Was this a special day?

Later, as I was walking back through the market, I saw rental shops for the clothing. Apparently, it’s a thing for young people to do.

Just like the churches in Europe, you can light a candle. I lit two, wishing with all my heart that Mum and Dad would stay upright and breathing for years to come.

Look up! Something Scott taught me in England…

After I battled my way through the crowd, I bought a good fortune charm for my Christmas tree. That’s Japan done!

I have to say, the Japanese don’t seem to mind mixing religion and commerce. The market, right outside the temple, was doing a roaring trade.

I didn’t buy this bag, but maybe I should have.

I DID buy this dachshund key ring for Georgia.
Scout is her favourite housemate, after all.

Zoom in on this dog’s cheek. Can you see the crocheted flower? 😂

I liked the contrast of the traditional figure in front, with the huge tower behind.

I’m not exactly sure why these cats are shaped the way they are. They remind me of something…?

This looks like a fabric shop, doesn’t it? But it’s paper.

Here is a sculpture that the Japanese affectionately call’The Golden Poo.’

It’s supposed to symbolise the eternal flame of life that burns within us all… but yeah. Giant golden poo.

Our next stop was the old fish market. I didn’t expect to enjoy it all that much, but it was great! It helped that I had the freshest salmon and scallop sashimi for lunch for around $6. Talk about living the life!

This place was packed with tiny shops, some selling ingredients while the rest were selling all sorts of things to eat. Barbara and Lyn called out, “We’re coming with you, Frogdancer!” as I set off in search of lunch. Ben had directed most of the group to a shop that sold a very popular beef stew, but to my way of thinking, if you come to a fish market, you really should eat fish.

The only exception to this is if you go to a banana market, in which case you should stay on the bus and avoid all contact with that disgusting fruit.

Barbara and I chose to eat sashimi, which was absolutely delicious, especially the scallops.

Lyn doesn’t eat fish market, so when I saw these rice dumplings dipped in soy glaze, she dove right in.

Before we got off the bus, Ben warned us about checking the prices.
“People think that because it’s street food, it’s cheap,” he said. “That’s not always the case.”
With Japanese yen, you wipe off the last two digits and you’ve got a good swap for the Aussie dollar. Now admittedly, these strawberries were almost as big as my fist, but I’m not paying $12 for one!

Look at the marbling on that steak!

Afterwards, we had some time to kill before going back to the bus, so we walked a block to see a shrine that had an early flowering cherry.

Our next stop was a garden that reminded me in some ways of the Butchart Gardens in Canada. It’s centred around a lake and it’s very beautiful, though in a very different style to the Canadian one.

It’s called the pure and clean garden. It used to belong to the founder of the Mitsubishi company. He used to hold meetings there after he bought it from an old samurai family early last century. He donated it to the government to become a public garden.

It was a lovely place to wander around.

I still have Wanda with me.

We were set the task of finding the three wise monkeys. They were here, amongst these very old sculptures.

In the group chat, this was posted with the caption, “Found them!”

This park is all about the rocks. The Mitsubishi guy shipped back rocks from all over the world to place in the garden. As I was stepping along the beautifully manicured trail, it occurred to me that these boots and I have stepped on many different trails; from cobbled streets in London to the rough climbs in Central Australia to the carefully crafted paths in Japan.

How wonderful life is!

And just like that, we were off to something completely different.

Godzilla, anyone???

Today we went to Shinjuku, Tokyo’s biggest station, where an average of 3.6 million people A DAY commute. It must be hell during peak hour.
We were here to see Godzilla, the 3D cats and the red light district.

This is only part of it, it was the silliest and most impressive thing I’ve seen.

And here’s a bar advertising the young men available for women to buy a drink for them.

Prostitution is illegal here, and the conservative attitudes coupled with the insane work/life imbalance means that some weird things are big business here.

“Liquid business” is huge. This is a description of bars where men and women go to flirt and talk with gorgeous young things who get them to buy drinks at hugely inflated prices. There is no sex involved… yet to lonely people these liquid workers can seem like a boyfriend or girlfriend.
The first time you go to a place, you can choose which girl to see. After that, every time you go back, you have to see the same girl. You can see how people will feel like they have a relationship with that person after a while.
Apparently, it’s acceptable for married people to do this. After all, they’re only talking…

It’s a bit sad.

Some more of Ben’s Fun Facts:

Fermented beans for breakfast is a traditional dish. . “You try once. Once is enough!!”

Curry with rice. The Japanese curry is sweet. 

Beef wasn’t eaten until the Meiji restoration. Beef comes from working animals, so for an agricultural society, it’s too expensive to use cattle for eating. They ate fish almost exclusively.

Now, Japan’s wagyu beef is the best in the world. The farmers bring up the cattle to feel no stress. For 2 years, the cattle are fed feed mixed with leftover sake products. They definitely feel no stress!

Horse meat is considered a delicacy and is eaten raw.

See the squares on the roof of each balcony? They’re designed to be able to be pushed through in case there’s a fire and people need to escape. I never would’ve noticed them if Ben hadn’t have pointed them out, and yes. They’re everywhere.

The city of Tokyo has been destroyed twice. In 1923 there was an earthquake and typhoon on the same day. Then, WWII.

There are two professions that are the living history of Japan – the geisha and the Sumo wrestlers.

There has only been one foreign geisha and she was Australian. She came here to make a documentary about the geisha year she can they allowed her to run a geisha house.

Girls who decide to become a geisha have to lead a very traditional lifestyle. They cannot even hold a mobile phone. The hairstyle is very elaborate and takes 1.5 hours to do and it gets done once a week. They have to sleep on a very high pillow. “ They say you get used to it after 2 weeks.”

Contrary to what some people think, a geisha is not a call girl. She sings and dances only.

If you become a champion sumo, you are now Kami and people can worship you. You don’t live as long as most people, though. The life expectancy is 60, due to the weight and diet.

Tomorrow we head out of Tokyo to see Mt Fuji up close. It’s been an action-packed two days and I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have.

Dad joke of the day:

Our plane was bang on time to Tokyo, but then we had to wait 2 hours to pick up people from Brisbane, who were delayed because of the cyclone. It was ok… I found a quiet corner and read half a book.
It’s called ‘Fourteen Days’ and is edited by Douglas Preston and Margaret Atwood. It’s good. Over 30 different writers have written a story and they’re interwoven into one narrative. Only at the end can you find out who has written which story. Already, I can’t wait to find out!

Ahhh, travel! I’ve never seen this in an Aussie airport.

Here are some snippets about Japan that our guide told us on the way to our hotel:

Less than 50% of the land in Japan is habitable. The whole of Japan is 5% the land mass of Australia. And they have 130 million people, as opposed to our 26 million.

8,000 convenience stores in Tokyo. 

7/11 atms are the best places for money.

Cut 2 zeros off the yen to get the Aussie dollar value.

Toilets are designed to be in the strongest part of every building. You can even drink the toilet water… this is designed to be helpful in case of earthquakes. You need water to survive…

Sashimi is raw fish. Sushi is with rice.

Mt Fuji is a third again higher than Kosciusko. It nearly killed me to climb our mountain- no way I’m trying Fuji!

One thing I noticed was that Japan drives on the correct side of the road! This was a nice surprise.

I had my first taste of the toilet culture in Japan when I reached the hotel. Warm toilet seats! And I’m already a fan of the bidet function. When my ensuite toilet needs replacing, I’m getting a Japanese one!

80% of trash here is burned, to provide heat.

38 people are on this trip. This is the largest group I’ve been on. I met a couple of people, Barbara and Lyn, who invited me for breakfast. Later, I walked to the nearest convenience store and met some more people in the group. That Aussie accent is very distinctive!

The photo is from a wedding we saw at the first place we visited, called the Meiji Shrine.

There are vending machines everywhere, even at a sacred place like this.
“There are even vending machines at the top of Mt Fuji!” said Ben, our guide.

You can see I had Wanda with me, jut just in case, I bought the afternoon tour with cash so I could get some small notes and coins. They have both hot and cold things.

Vending machines don’t take 5 yen coins, but the shrines do. Kami will take the coins!!

The gateway. These are obviously like doors, so instead of knocking – there’s no door – you bow. The 3 round gold discs over the top are chrysanthemums, which are an imperial sign.

For a sacred place, there was an awful lot of commerce going on. These wooden things are where, after paying a fee, you tie them under this one of two sacred trees and they stay there for a day.

Here’s a view of both trees.
Shinto. Only in Japan. There are more shrines than convenience stores here. Kami is like fate. After so many disasters, Shintoism developed. Kami can be happy or angry. They also believe that Kami lives in the toilet, which is why, as a mark of respect, toilets are kept clean.

This was part of the shrine that was not destroyed by bombs during WWII.
There was a book written in the 7th Century to worship the royal family. It was required reading before WWII- not today! It supported the whole “fight to the death for your emperor “ thing.

14 years ago yesterday, the quake that caused the tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear accident happened. The shrine was packed. Missed it by a day!

Emperor Meiji was the first emperor to live in Tokyo, which was then called Edo, breaking a thousand years of tradition. Anyone who has read James Clevell’s ‘Shogun’ would know that the Shoguns had the actual power in Japan for centuries, with the Emperor being kept as a figurehead in Kyoto.

The samurai class came to power in the twelfth century, and didn’t give it up until the mid nineteenth century.

Meiji was brought back to power after Westerners came to Japan, and the country basked in economic good times. So naturally a shrine was built to celebrate him.

3 1/2 million people visit this shine here for the five days of New Year.

There’s also a temple for the car, you drive it here and then ask the priest to make it safe before you drive on the street. This is the first place you go to after your purchase.

Protective amulets, anyone? You can buy them here, but they only last for one year. You’ve got to come back and renew them each year…

What a disheartening job. It’s being walked over even as he’s doing it.

Next stop was Tokyo Tower, to see the view. The only interesting snippet about this place was that the orange tower is actually made from melted US tanks after the Korean War.

The view was nice, though.

I had ramen for lunch. Beautiful!

One guy on our tour had pizza. Seems odd to come all the way over here to get Italian food, but there you go.

There was no way I was expecting to see cherry blossoms in Japan, but Fortunate Frogdancer strikes again.

80% of the trees in Japan are of a later blooming cherry, but we were taken to see a street with an earlier blooming one.

Before the samurai times in the 12th century, they preferred the plum. Confucius praised bamboo, pine tree and plums for having strong spirit.

Needed a Japanese identity- you might have a short life, but you can be beautiful and memorable.

We had thirty minutes here, so I walked around in the rain.

Look at the skyscraper looming in the background!

The Emperor’s palace. It’s surrounded by pine trees, each one differently shaped by bonsai masters. Pine trees are evergreen- the symbolism isn’t subtle.

One of the three tragic samurais of Japanese history.

He saved the life of the emperor, just before 700 years of Shogunate rule started. So for 700 years he was reviled as a traitor. When the Emperor came back into style, suddenly he was a hero!

Half of the area is open to the public, but the emperor’s family still lives here. This is as far as you can get. It was very pretty.

But look at this duck! Remember the ducks that live on the lake at Lake Crackenback, where I stayed in November after the Crazy Road Trip? It’s exactly the same!

A yellow plum.

Yeah, I don’t know what it is, either.

The famous “loyal dog” statue in Japan is the bronze statue of Hachikō, an Akita dog, located outside Shibuya Station. I pinched this sentence from a website because I couldn’t remember his name.

He accompanied his owner to the station every morning and waited for him at night. Unfortunately, one day the owner collapsed at his desk with a heart attack and never made it home. His dog waited every day for him for the next 10 years.

Here’s me, hoping Scout loves me that much.

Then it was time for The Scramble… that famous intersection where 5 streets meet. Here’s what it’s like to cross the road.

And here’s what it’s like from above.

Random facts we were given as we drove an hour back to the hotel.

14 million people live in Tokyo. 

800,000 people vanished from the population last year. Haha! I made that sound like a science fiction novel, didn’t I? The population declines every year. Median age in Japan is 50. The fertility rate here is 1.2.

Nappies for adults sell more than nappies for babies.

Women are expected to give up their jobs when they get married. The economy is not great and so the incentive for women to have kids isn’t high.

Marriage here doesn’t sound all that wonderful. Women can’t work, while men are expected to stay at work for hours longer than we do, with drinks, dinners and karaoke after work being an expected thing. Men have far less personal time than women. I don’t know how they would have a meaningful relationship with their wives and children.

But all is not lost. If you get lonely, you can hire a girlfriend for a whole day and hold hands- 40,000 yen.

Dad joke of the day: