Tony - Japan 2024 Planning - Take 2

[Tony Galiani]

Only a few more posts with my remaining pictures but first, I forgot all about this neko.  I am sure it is a requirement that anyone who visits Japan needs one of these.  We picked this up at Tokyo Station on our last day of the trip.  It is solar powered and works a treat.

Cheers,

Tony

Edited November 11 by Tony Galiani
spelling

[Kingmeow]

We went to the Gotokuji Temple in the Setagaya neighborhood of Tokyo.  Tons of Lucky Cats!  😲  You can buy different sizes that have been blessed by the Buddhist Monks.  We bought the smallest size (for luggage considerations) for ¥500.  It doesn't move like yours.  😄

Edited November 11 by Kingmeow

[Tony Galiani]

@Kingmeow -that's great!  Didn't know about that place - which I suppose is a mixed blessing.  It would have been great to go there for our nekos, but on the other hand I could imagine Mira wanting to take home a dozen or so!

 

Tony

[Gunzel]

On 11/11/2024 at 12:22 PM, maihama eki said:

It's almost exactly 3 cm thick and weighs a little over 1 kg. It would be a heavy thing to pack along while traveling. Shipping from Japan to the U.S. wasn't cheap either.

 

On 11/11/2024 at 1:03 AM, Kingmeow said:

These things are unavailable in the US and cost a fortune to mail order from Japan due to their weight.  The both of them combined is just a hair under 4 lbs.!

 

As long as you are OK with secondhand it's worth looking on Suruga-Ya for these sort of weighty items when they are having one of their "free shipping weekends" which seem to run most of the week at the moment (current one ends Thursday). Early on the packaging was a bit hit and miss but lately it has been a lot better, I'd still consider separate orders if you're looking at mixing books and magazines with more delicate items. They don't always have the latest things available, but it will probably turn up eventually.

[Kingmeow]

4 hours ago, Gunzel said:

As long as you are OK with secondhand it's worth looking on Suruga-Ya for these sort of weighty items when they are having one of their "free shipping weekends" which seem to run most of the week at the moment (current one ends Thursday). Early on the packaging was a bit hit and miss but lately it has been a lot better, I'd still consider separate orders if you're looking at mixing books and magazines with more delicate items. They don't always have the latest things available, but it will probably turn up eventually.

 

Are they all second hand or do they have new stuff, say the 2024-2025 Tomix catalog?  That thing weighs a ton!  😃

[cteno4]

18 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

I see a nightmare coming out of this image sometime…

 

jeff

[Kingmeow]

Stephen King?  🤣🤣🤣

[cteno4]

Japanese twilight zone…

 

jeff

[Cat]

On 11/11/2024 at 2:22 PM, Tony Galiani said:

That is a suoerior Lucky Cat!
=^,^=

[maihama eki]

11 hours ago, cteno4 said:

I see a nightmare coming out of this image sometime…

 

jeff

 

Especially if you are allergic to cats like me.

[Gunzel]

On 11/13/2024 at 3:43 AM, Kingmeow said:

 

Are they all second hand or do they have new stuff, say the 2024-2025 Tomix catalog?  That thing weighs a ton!  😃

Some stuff is new, but mostly secondhand. Not seeing any recent atomic catalogues but there are fairly recent Kato ones. 

[Tony Galiani]

Up early even though I played last night so adding a few more trip notes.  Sort of wish I was at Excelsior Cafe having one (or several actually) of their set breakfast items with a latte.

 

Already thinking about my next trip though, to be honest, I was thinking about it while we were in Japan last week.  I hope to get to Kyushu on our next trip though, the more I travel in Japan, the more places I want to see and go back to.  Shikoku was great and I really enjoyed our time there and want to go back so that is on the list ( as well as Hokkaido, northern Honshu, the Izu Peninsula, west Japan and on and on)!

 

The flight versus train thinking has come up.  In doing some preliminary searching, I see there is a flight from Fukuoka in Kyushu to Kochi in Shikoku which might be ideai since the train route is very long.  And I am not so confident about taking the ferry.  This would allow me to get back to Shikoku to ride the Yodo line and see the Shimanto River while saving time - something important to me as my trips tend to be way too short.  Early days planning wise so we shall have to see.

And Tokyo, which just was named the best big city in the world by some magazine, is always an attraction with so many sights and trains stores still unexplored.  Another early thought would be for me to go a week before my wife just to wander around the city and ride trains.  We ended up passing on the Shonan Monorail due to time constraints and trying to blend our interests so my idea could work.

I also like getting a bit off the heavily traveled paths.  We had great experiences chatting with people and that seemed to happen more out of Tokyo.

 

A brief story I forgot to mention was my experience before my attempt to buy our train tickets for Oboke at Takamatsu Station.

As I am rushing to buy tickets for the 9:04. a gentleman approaches me and says:  Ohtani or name of Japanese player I cannot remember.  I did not want to disappoint so I respond Ohtani and this goes on for a few other names, some I recognize and some I do not.  Finally, it is Ohtani or Babe Ruth.  To his surprise I say Babe Ruth - but then I explain I grew up in The Bronx and rode the train past Yankee Stadium frequently.  While not a Yankee fan, I had to take the home side so to speak.  Finally, I break off explaining that I need to catch my train.  Now my wife is a few minutes behind me and when she catches up to me in the station she tells me she was delayed by a Japanese man who wanted to talk baseball!  About which she is clueless - he should have been asking her about hockey.

 

Anyway, a few more pictures - shrine in Ristorin Garden, cab view from the Sunport Nanpu Relay Go (my new favorite train name!) and  local at Oboke.  It arrived before our return train and waited for it to pass.  I noted the driver took a nap in the cab while waiting for our late running Nanpu.

 

I also must say I really appreciate the opportunity to post to the group.  I am reliving my trip in the best way possible.

Thanks,

Tony

[Tony Galiani]

Too large to fit in the last post so there they are.

[Kingmeow]

Geez Tony, thinking about your next trip already???!!!!  OK, guilty!  🤣  I'm still trying to catch up with things at home.  Probably by next week I can sit down and formulate my post about finding my father's birthplace along with pictures.  I have not forgotten.  The Japanese people were so helpful and friendly when I tell them the story of what I was trying to do.

 

Yeah, Tokyo never disappoints!  I can spend weeks there even thought I grew up in NYC and now despise the place in my latter years.  (I used to love it when I was younger.)

[Tony Galiani]

@Kingmeow - looking forward to your posts and was happy to get a sneak preview when we met.

 

I understand about NYC though I still miss it sometimes - and direct flights to all over the place would be nice.

 

I am a bit frantic to make these trips while I still can.  Just wish I could sort out a longer stay but my music interests make it a a bit of a challenge to travel.  Though I am not complaining - I am seriously lucky to be able to pursue both.

 

Ciao,

Tony

[kuro68000]

Ah, the random Japanese guy who wants to talk to a random foreigner thing. Considering how many times it's happened to me and people I know, it must be somewhat common.

 

Had one young lad at the public bath wanting to chat, just after Japan opened after being closed due to the pandemic. One time I bought a Hokuto no Ken t-shirt and an old guy on the train started telling me how he loves Hokuto no Ken pachinko. A couple of taxi drivers have done it, one of whom spent some years in Germany. Random businessman waiting for a lift in Osaka wanted to know what I thought of the city, so I told him we have a similar 2nd city called Birmingham and the people there have an unintentionally comedic accent too.

 

The best was was in Nara where I was talking around the temple complex when a group of very young school children formed a line and walked past all saying "hello" in English. Later a couple of slightly older ones asked me to write my name and where I was from in their notebook.

Edited November 14 by kuro68000

[maihama eki]

I've had a lot of cab drivers want to talk about baseball - Japanese players playing in the MLB. They know the players better from afar than I do living in the U.S.

 

Ohtani's picture is everywhere you look in Japan right now. He must be making a (another) fortune off of product endorsement in Japan.

[Tony Galiani]

There was a pop-store in Tokyo Station selling Ohtani items the last few days we were there and it seemed to be doing great business every time we walked by.

Tony

[Kingmeow]

23 hours ago, kuro68000 said:

Ah, the random Japanese guy who wants to talk to a random foreigner thing. Considering how many times it's happened to me and people I know, it must be somewhat common.

 

That NEVER happens to me and I wished it did.  Often it's random American guy who wants to talk to a random Japanese local to know more about who they are and their culture.  But my wife gives me the evil look when I attempt to do that!  Stop bothering the locals!!!!!  🤣

 

Yes, Japanese school children always say Hi to try to strike up a conversation with us.  We always go for it!  I think they are trying to practice their English.

 

21 hours ago, maihama eki said:

I've had a lot of cab drivers want to talk about baseball - Japanese players playing in the MLB. They know the players better from afar than I do living in the U.S.

 

Ohtani's picture is everywhere you look in Japan right now. He must be making a (another) fortune off of product endorsement in Japan.

 

Ohtani and Seiko ads were all over the place!  He is everywhere!!!!

 

20 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

There was a pop-store in Tokyo Station selling Ohtani items the last few days we were there and it seemed to be doing great business every time we walked by.

Tony

 

Itoen green tea bottles at the convenience stores when I was there had free bottle covers (nylon lycra with draw strings) attached to every bottle.  I wanted to get one for my son but realized he's a Yankess fan so that wouldn't go over too well.  🤣

 

BTW, when I was there and before the Dodgers took the series Itoen green tea had another promo going on.  They had a series of 6 train related (Shinkansen, steam, Dr. Yellow, etc.) bottle covers, one free with every bottle purchased.  My sister-in-law was in Japan at the same time and has a knack for finding these things.  Knowing that I am a train nut she bought 6 bottles, each with a different bottle cover so I can have the entire set.  What a nice girl!  😁

 

I will post pictures when I get around to it.  Right now washing machine just broke after 25 years (GE) so off to Home Depot...

 

 

Edited November 15 by Kingmeow

[cteno4]

12 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

 

That NEVER happens to me and I wished it did.  Often it's random American guy who wants to talk to a random Japanese local to know more about who they are and their culture.  But my wife gives me the evil look when I attempt to do that!  Stop bothering the locals!!!!!  🤣

 

Yes, Japanese school children always say Hi to try to strike up a conversation with us.  We always go for it!  I think they are trying to practice their English.

At most I ever paid only for even the first beer in any bar I went into in Japan on every trip. Within a very short time folks were over asking where from and wanting to get better at English slang and just seemed to enjoy something different in the small places I would usually pop into for a short relax in the evening. I would usually have a book with me to read thinking I’d have a beer and relax for 30min reading but never happened. Very fun times and was able to get them talking about Japan and their culture/lives and then we would contrast to mine. Always interesting and many laughs.

 

When traveling in a small town in India all the kids would see a tourist and yell “Hello Buffalo!!” I asked around and finally found out many years ago some tourist had taught some kids that the polite way to greet foreigners was with that line and it stuck!

 

jeff

[kuro68000]

I think Ohtani is one of those classic human stories that Japan seems to love. Everything from Train Man to the JR employee who did all the coloured duct tape signage while they were renovating Shinjuku Station. They all do their best and master a skill, making something extra-ordinary of themselves.

 

I remembered another example. I was in a cafe in Tachikawa waiting for my wife, and a middle aged couple sat next to me started asking about where I was from and what I was doing in Japan. The wife actually spoke really good English. Another time I was sat next to a Japanese woman on the plane, and didn't say much during the flight. We then ended up on the same platform, I think it was at Narita that time, and started chatting in a mixture of Japanese and English.

 

A few times people have mistook me for being Japanese as well... It seems incredible because my Japanese is really bad, but I think my accent must be decent. The first time I was at a bus stop in Tomioka and an old lady asked me to look out for the number 53 bus for her. I noticed she had some cat treats in her bag and we got chatting about all the neighbourhood cats she feeds. I told her I did the same thing back home, and it was only when she asked me where that was that she realized I was not Japanese. Okay it was dark and she clearly couldn't read the numbers on the busses, and it was a very simple conversation... I was quite pleased anyway.

[Tony Galiani]

A few last shots:  MOW unit on the Dosan Line, the interior view of our ride back from Oboke and the view from the Yamanote Line platform at Tokyo Station.

 

I missed shots of the SL plinthed at the station just past Maragume as well as the rake of Chiki's loaded with rails at the same station.  When we were walking to Oboke Gorge, we saw another Anpanman train, this time in yellow.  But the last car was a 2700 series unit in the Japanisme livery.  Quite a contrast and hoping to post a picture of that but I need to wait until the Princess of Procrastination  sorts her several thousand photos.  Maybe in 2025 .....

 

Working away on plans for next year!

Ciao,

Tony

 

[Ekiben]

On 11/14/2024 at 4:25 AM, Tony Galiani said:

I see there is a flight from Fukuoka in Kyushu to Kochi in Shikoku which might be ideai since the train route is very long.

 

Thanks for the great trip report and pictures. I'm glad you enjoyed Shikoku. As for your next trip, the ferry between Beppu (Oita) and Yamatahama (Ehime) isn't really too intimidating, especially as the terminals are located relatively close to train stations on both ends. If you take the overnight sailing, they even let you sleep in until a decent hour before kicking you off the boat! By using this ferry, you could easily travel from Fukuoka to Oita, across to Shikoku, then onwards to Kochi via the Yosan, Yodo and Dosan lines. You could break up the trip by stopping in Uwajima, going slightly out of your way to visit Matsuyama, or finding a place to stay somewhere along the Yodo Line. A Shikoku Rail Pass might be worthwhile, and I'm not sure if you can buy it in Yamatahama. They can, however, be bought in the US prior to departure. The countryside in that part of Japan is extremely off the beaten path and the vibe is very laid back.

Edited November 16 by Ekiben

[Tony Galiani]

@Ekiben - thanks for the info and suggestions.  I will look into that ferry.  I have been following Solo Travel Japan and his ferry videos and while I like the concept (and have done something similar in Europe), I am a bit intimidated by what seems to be the lack of English language info on things like boarding passes and menus.  I am going to revisit STJ's videos though.

 

In any event, I am enjoying your posts on your Shikoku trip and taking notes for future reference.  And looking forward to more posts about it.

 

I also need to do more research about the Shimanto River.  We have gone kayaking in the past and I am thinking I would like to try that on the Shimanto.  A bit concerned that we may be aging out of such adventures but pictures I have seen make it look possible.  In France, you can kayak down the Gardon RIver and then be picked up to be returned to the starting point.  So hoping to find something like that and a place to stay nearby.  We shall see.

 

Cheers,

Tony

[Damo Jr.]

Hi Tony,

We're talking about a July trip next year and having watched a lot of Solo Travel Japan as well, I'm hoping to take a ferry as part of the trip.    The idea of using it as both travel and accomodation really appeals and I think's a good value proposition.    The idea would to be a long journey (12hrs or so), mid-trip for some rest and a chance to do laundry whislt appearig the next day at a new location, rather than 3/4 of a day lost to traveling.    I've started looking from here https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2355.html then to the companies sites, as I wouldn't mind doing Hokkaido.   The Otaru-Maizuru route looks the right length and get's us down to Kyoto.