Tony - Japan 2024 Planning - Take 2

[chadbag]

7 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

@chadbag - you want The Bass Side:  https://www.mikigakki.com/ec/cmShopTopPageD.html

 

Huge selection of basses and some interesting pedals.  Picked up a Shin's Mighty Boost which is, oddly enough, made in the USA but designed by Shinichi Suzuki, a Japanese sound engineer based in Tokyo.  I needed a clean boost that won't color my sound for some specific applications.

 

Cheers,

Tony

 

Thanks.  I was looking at the site you referenced above.   They have some interesting stuff.  Especially the boutique stuff.  Gives me ideas for basses to build.  

 

Unforgtunately my fingers have developed somse stiffness and periodic pain and I have not been playing a lot recently.  I've never ben a great player but was serviceable but lately with everything have not been playing.  BUt I am always loooking for ideas for new build projects once we get moved...  To add to my 5 or so already being planned.  Next time we're in Osaka I'll be checking this place out.   I need to break out of my routine for SKL lol

 

[Tony Galiani]

Totally beat last night so early to bed and now early awake.  Will post about yesterday's adventures but a couple of quick thoughts.

 

@cteno4 and @maihama eki - in the early days of the interweb I was on a bass (guitar, not fish) forum and a guy from the UK who was coming to my area reached out to ask which was the best bass store as I was excited to shop for basses.  I had to explain that every one of those stores was selling fishing supplies and that bass guitar stores in the US were far and few between.

 

@chadbag - I have similar issues and suggest checking this page out:  https://health.clevelandclinic.org/hand-exercises-for-arthritis

Brief exercises three or four times a day help a lot.  And they also have a page on good foods for arthritis.

 

Ciao,

Tony

[Tony Galiani]

Okay - on to yesterday's experience.

 

After breakfast we headed out to the Osaka Aquarium which was an easy ride from our hotel - as long as you use Google Maps and not Apple Maps for directions.  It was crowded at the entrance with a long line though it moved quickly and we had tickets in about 15 minutes.  (On-line purchases were only available if using a Japanese credit card.). We ended up spending almost three hours there.  It was mobbed with lots of excited pre-school troops as well so that slowed us a bit and, of course, Mira had to take a ton of pictures and videos.  It is reputed to be the best aquarium in Japan and it is really nice though MIra preferred the one in Sumida and my favorite, so far, has been the one in Enoshima.

 

Coffee and snack time after the aquarium as it was almost 2:00 PM.  While there was a Starbucks as well as other options by the aquarium, we tend to try and find local places and there is a coffee shop near the Metro station that we opted for.  It is named 9 Borden after an address in Toronto, Canada that the owner had been to.  We each had a latte and shared a small toasted sandwich and piece of cake.  English speaking staff and a really nice vibe and the lattes and food were good.

On the other hand .... Mira had a latte with Maple and Cinnamon.  I will never get this Canadian obsession with all things maple.   On one of our early trips to her home town, my wife had penne pasta with some sort of sauce which included maple.  All I could think is what had a gotten myself into!  And never mind that the place had not heard the term Al Dente!  As Bret in Corner Gas said - "coffee is coffee flavored".  Enough said.

 

Then shopping time.  Mira headed to a yarn shop in Umeda while I headed to Den Den Town to stop at The Bass Side and then on to Joshin.  Of course this became a bit of a trek.  Using Apple Maps I wandered around and ended up a Joshin - which turned out to be the main office.  Apparently, this happens a lot as the guy at the entrance had a laminated card in multiple languages with directions - which I followed - but in the wrong direction though I figured it out and saw the Joshin building and went in.  To find absolutely no trains - but lots of tech, games, computers, TVs, etc.  I took the opportunity to buy a USB C to Lighting cord but figured my trains search was not going to work out.

 

Then I exited the store and the Joshin Super Kids was diagonally across the street - I had not seen it as I turned to the wrong Joshin.  Okay, try again.  And the fifth floor lived up to the hype.  However, I am trying to be focused so tried to stick with my shopping list.  Unfortunately, they were out of both Kato No. 4 and Kato Wye turnouts.  So I picked up some odds and ends and spent so little as to be embarrassed to mention it.  So back out to get to Namba Station and as I now ignored Apple Maps it was an easy and quick walk.

 

The plan was to meet my wife back at the hotel and get a light dinner so naturally she missed the free shuttle to the hotel.  "By seconds!" she texted and I refrained from any snarky comments as I was not at all surprised.  Actually based on experience, I would have been surprised if she made it!  I did pick up some excellent Hokkaido potato chips for her from a nearby combini as consolation.

 

Ciao,

Tony

 

[cteno4]

19 minutes ago, Tony Galiani said:

As Bret in Corner Gas said - "coffee is coffee flavored".  Enough said.

One of my all time favorite shows! Bret rules!

 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

And two pictures from yesterday just for fun.

The first is the JR East Inspection Car that was on sale and then 10% off for tax free and another 5% for using a Visa card.

The second is my Greek shirt which is carefully tagged and wrapped in plastic.  Normally, we do not use the hotel laundry service but we are traveling super light and I just did not want to bother with the laundry room for only a few items.  So to the desk with them yesterday morning and I found them in our hotel room when I returned in the evening.  But I did not expect the items to be sealed in individual bags!  More Japanese attention to detail.

Ciao,

Tony

[Tony Galiani]

Okay - a few rants/raves/random trip notes.

 

I was quite pleased with myself for setting up my Tax Free ID on the Japan Entry site.  Overcoming my Luddite and anti-tech attitudes.  But this seems like an idea that has come and already gone.

I am 0 for 4 tries to use it, most recent attempts being at The Bass Side and Joshin SKL.  Both times I showed my ID page with the QR code and both times got a shake of the head.  I thought those high volume places would be likely to use the QR code but no luck.

I think what has happened is that the code is not of any special use since both places had a machine which read the passport info and processed it automatically.  No paper or hand writing effort for the clerks - they took the passport scanned it and were done.

 

We were at Temmabashi Station earlier where I knew it was only one stop on the Keihan Railway to the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaki.  But both map apps offered multi-stop convoluted routes to get there.  Google Maps had the one stop option on Keihan Rwy but it was the third one listed and had the schedule wrong.  To be fair, the apps and info we have at our fingertips is pretty amazing and cannot be expected to be 100% accurate so I am now often double checking options to play it safe.

 

And earlier today, I had a minor traumatic incident - or at least one that is traumatic to a former New Yorker.  It was raining lightly as we waited to cross the street and Mira did not have her hood on.  There was a Japanese woman waiting as well with an umbrella.  She looked at us and after a moment stepped close to Mira and shared her umbrella with her.  I, of course, freak out albeit it quietly and internally.  As a New Yorker, I would have expected a more appropriate action to something like flaunting the umbrella while saying something like "getting wet, huh".  She then walked with Mira to the station sharing the umbrella and we parted once inside.  She had been to Vancouver and Western Canada a number of times and had some English so she and Mira conversed during the walk.  Not the first time people here have been helpful so I made sure to take a picture for Mira.

 

Ciao,

Tony

[chadbag]

Interestng you've had failures using Apple Maps.    I don't remember ever having a problem in Japan.   I guess I'll test it when we go next year (if we make it).

 

Keep up the reporting.  Vicariously spending others money is great fun.

 

Edited October 29 by chadbag

[RS18U]

@Tony Galiani thank you for sharing your experiences, this is great to follow along on your trip.

[maihama eki]

8 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

 

 

When I look at this picture, I think "Japanese people are so friendly ... Wait! I need that Sagawa truck in n-scale!"

[cteno4]

Wonderful little story Tony, sweet. Those are the memories I have of trips around the world that are clearer now in my mind’s eye than image of seeing the taj mahal and the likes decades later. While we travel the world to see things, I think the experiences like this are highly underrated.

Thanks for the vicarious trip, it’s much appreciated!

 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

@cteno4 - So I am not the only one who noticed the Sagawa truck!

Edited October 29 by Tony Galiani

[Tony Galiani]

Okay then - second try to write up Tuesday's adventures as I did something trying to load some pictures and lost everything!  This time, pictures first, then typing!

 

Our hotel is on an island in the Okawa/Dojima/Tosabori River.  (It has multiple names depending on where you look on the maps.). There is an esplanade with planting and art alongside the river and a rose garden at the east end so we decide to walk there.  Rain was forecast for late morning so this seemed like a good plan and we sauntered along, enjoying the setting, the views and (for me) getting some modeling ideas.  I like the contrasts in height and age of the buildings along the south bank on the other side of the river.

 

We had not planned to go to Osaka Castle but after Mira mentioned it for the eighth time, I took the hint and suggested we walk there - roughly one mile from the end of the island which connected to the mainland via a nifty spiral ramp and brige.  When we got there, we decided to circumnavigate the castle on the outside - about a 1.5 kilometer walk.  The west side, near the main entrance, was busy with tourists but the east side was very quiet and had great views of the castle keep and moat as well as the gardens.  Cue Mira to take several hundred pictures.

 

Time for coffee after that so we headed to the Keihan Railway's Temmabashi station and on the way met the gracious umbrella lady.  At the station, we opted for Toraja Coffee as we like to go local when possible.  Lattes for each of us and they were very nice.  The sweets - donut for me (I know, surprise, surprise) and cake for Mira were okay but not as good as the coffee which was their own Arabica blend.  For a brief moment I thought about buying a pound of their ground coffee to take home but since that always seems to get flagged by the airport security machines, I decided to give it a pass.  (Coming home from Canada with Whitney Coffee, I put it in a separate bag so when it gets pulled, I can easily show it to the security people.)

 

After that, one stop on the Keihan Rwy to MOCO - the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka) for a pleasant time viewing Japanese, Korean and Chinese ceramics.  Then back to the hotel for a brief rest and on to JR Osaka for a light dinner and to purchase tickets for our trip to Takamatsu.  Long line to purchase from a human but I was gratified to see it was not only oldies like me but plenty of young people bypassing the machines to buy at the ticket counter.  Back to the hotel to pack for our train ride on Wednesday.

 

Ciao,

Tony

 

[chadbag]

For history, Osaka-Jo (Osaka Castle) is actually very interesting.  Big battles at the start of the Tokegawa regime.  Lots of dioramas and stuff.

 

The castle itself is a recreation.  They talk about that inside as well (or did when I went there ages ago -- been there a couple times but not in recent visits).

 

[Tony Galiani]

I thought it would be fun to post a picture of our ride while on the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Okayama so I took a picture as it arrived, got on the Shinkansen free Wi-Fi, used Air Drop to get the picture from my phone to my iPad, wrote a few comments then went to upload the image - - nada, zilch, nothing.  Everything froze up and I had to give up.  So now we are at our hotel in Takamatsu so here it is.  It has been an interesting day which I post about in more detail tomorrow.

Cheers,

Tony

[Tony Galiani]

Wednesday was an interesting day and I have also compiled some travel and modeling notes so may need two posts.

 

We left to catch our ride mid-morning - hotel shuttle to JR Osaka, then one stop on the JR line to Shin-Osaka, smooth connection for the Shinkansen to Okayama where we caught the Marine Liner over to Shikoku.  Once again someone tried to help us at the stairs in JR Osaka - Mira was trying to get her bag up the stairs when a woman rushed over to assist her.  Mira convinced her she was okay but once again we were surprised by how helpful people can be.

 

The ride over the Seto-Ohashi bridge was a highlight of the journey.  And for me, not so much Mira, was seeing the large JR freight yard on the line past the bridge as well as a neat PW train outside of Takamatsu station.  Low ballast wagons with diesel shunter in a white with green paint scheme.  Looked pretty fresh and I wanted pictures but could not react quick enough to get any.  In my ideal world I would go back there and some pics but I think we have to go to the Art island - my priorities are not the same as Mira's.

 

We are in the JR Clement Hotel which is across from the station.  It is a bit more puffed up than I would normally prefer but it is close to the station and the view from the room is pretty good - both the Seto Inland Sea and JR Takamatsu station.  Evening and morning views of the sea and a morning view of the station below.  On the negative side, I have to walk past Mister Donut and the hotel's impressive Bake Shop each time we make the trip.  I am planning to stop at Mister Donut (and maybe the bakery) later today.

 

After a short break, we headed out to Ritsorin Garden - an easy two stop ride on a JR Shikoku 1500 Series DMU.  The garden may not be to everyone's taste as it is very Japanese in style with very few flowers but it is very beautiful and carefully maintained with lots of intriguing vistas.  We were wandering around when things got even more interesting.  We start hearing sirens and PA announcements in Japanese.  A little later we hear more announcements in Japanese then in English:  a wild boar has been seen entering the garden and warnings to be careful and so forth.  We keep wandering around and then later the announcement is repeated.  We keep on and then .... another series of announcements that everyone is to leave the garden.  Meanwhile, we see police in helmets and with clear shields moving into the park.  We head to the north gate which is closest to the JR stop and can hear the police beating sticks in an effort, I am guessing, to scare the boar away.  A garden worker sees us and joins us, walking ahead scanning the bushes and undergrowth as we go to the gate which is closed and barred.  Staff open it so we can leave and so off to the station.

 

To be continued as we need to head to the ferry.

Tony

 

Edited October 30 by Tony Galiani
grammar

[brill27mcb]

13 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

I thought it would be fun to post a picture of our ride while on the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Okayama so I took a picture as it arrived, got on the Shinkansen free Wi-Fi, used Air Drop to get the picture from my phone to my iPad, wrote a few comments then went to upload the image - - nada, zilch, nothing.  Everything froze up and I had to give up.  So now we are at our hotel in Takamatsu so here it is.  It has been an interesting day which I post about in more detail tomorrow.

Cheers,

Tony

 

When you approach the speed of light, things don't behave as expected...

 

Rich K.

[SL-san]

6 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

wild boar has been seen entering the garden

Wow...well at least you can call the Ritsorin Garden BOORING!  We visited the garden in October 2013 (in light rain) but didn't have such a unique experience as you.

Hope you enjoy Naoshima as much as we did.

 

Graeme

[cteno4]

A boaring day for Tony…

 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

Okay, back from Naoshima so time to finish reporting on yesterday's fun.  Your not so intrepid travelers were outside the north gate of Ritsorin Gardens when I paused my reporting.  We had spent several hours there, not quite as long as we planned but a good time so back to the station stop to head back to the hotel and some sort of dinner.

 

The Kotoku Line is on a single track viaduct at this point so, remembering the recent discussion about these viaducts on the forum, I took some pictures which I hope to post at a later date.  The viaduct is definitely concrete but I am not sure about the side panels which may be concrete with some sort of cladding.  I need to study my pictures a bit more.

 

There is nothing else to do at that location so we went to the station and I hoped to maybe see a train or two since we had 30 minutes to wait for our train to JR Takamatsu.  We just missed one southbound train but did catch a second one about five minutes before our northbound single car train arrived.  

 

After we used our Suica cards at the entrance - there is no gate, just two mounted sensors, one for exiting passengers and one for those arriving to catch a train - we went up the stairs where there was a couple from Sidney, Australia waiting.  They too had been expelled from the garden and were on their way to Osaka via Takamatsu.  We spent a pleasant time chatting with them about our travels both there and on the short ride back to Takamatsu.

 

Once there, we headed to our hotel for a short break.  But not before Mira took videos of all the illuminations on the Takamatsu Sunport complex.  We were pretty tired so grabbed a quick bite at the station before heading back to the hotel to rest and for me to check my e-mail (and to be pleasantly surprised by some music invites).

 

Ciao,

Tony

[cteno4]

Big questions is did you succumb to Mr donut?!

 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

@cteno4 - I did not!  But there was a good reason which I will explain in my notes about our visit to Naoshima.  Heading to the breakfast room shortly where I will type up yesterday's trip report.  So stay tuned!

Edited October 31 by Tony Galiani

[Tony Galiani]

Yesterday, we went to Naoshima after breakfast in our hotel's spacious dining area.  Was surprised to see a JR Freight truck drive by carrying two containers - now I wish I had not misplaced the Tomix model I had.

 

Our hotel is just across from the port so an easy walk to the ticket office and dock.  Cash only for tickets and we could only purchase one-way tickets - they do not sell round trip fares.  Once in line, another couple behind us starting chatting but unfortunately in Japanese.  However, the gentleman in line behind them spoke English so we ended up in a three way conversation about where we were from and where we were going.

 

Once on the boat, we realized seating options were gone but as we looked around the couple we had been "chatting" with made gestures for us to come over.  He insisted on giving up his seat for Mira and then the young lady next to him got up for me.  I really did not want to take her seat but felt I should as she was so nice.  Our translator was not around so I got on my phone and found Google Translate to type a thank you note in English for translation into Japanese which I then showed to the couple.  Nods of appreciation.  Then a few minutes later I noticed that the man, who was standing nearby, was typing into his phone!  He then shows me a message indicating no problem, he was happy to stand as he walks 10,000 steps a day to help maintain his waist and legs.  Then a second message that yesterday he had climbed 1300 steps at a nearby mountain.

 

We were on the fast boat so after only 30 minutes and a few splashes (since we were outside), we arrived at Naoshima.  We had not really planned what to do so our first idea was to head over to the Red Pumpkin for the obligatory photo session and to help take some couple pictures for a few others.  We ended up talking to two women who were on a reunion tour - one was from Sydney, Australia and the other from York, England and the had both worked at an International School in Tokyo before they retired.  It was a fun conversation and I was also very impressed with them - they were both older than us (so late 70's / early 80's), were full of energy and had also rented bikes to tour the island - and real bikes, not e-bikes!

 

We decided to head to one of the museums which was about a 30 minute walk away which was no problem until we reached the point where it started uphill.  Oh well.

Lots of interesting details for me to observe as well as scenic vistas.  Passed one garden with cans on top of short poles - is that supposed to keep birds away?

Anyway, when we got to the museum we found out it as reserved entry and the next slot was not until 3:30 in the afternoon so that would not work.  We sauntered down the road which had a very nice linear garden to the museum parking lot where we realized we could catch a free shuttle down to see the Yellow Pumpkin.  And from there take the 100 yen island bus back to the port.

 

So on to the pumpkin where we arrived just before a tour bus - phew! - so the queue for photos was short.  Once again a quick photo session and Mira taking photos for another couple.  I then spotted some odd items - I mean contemporary art! - further along the shore.  Another photo session for Mira, more couple photos and, unfortunately, Mira spotted the museum gift shop so a stop there and items purchased as well.

 

On the island bus back to the port though we still had a few hours before the next boat and tickets could not be purchased until shortly before departure time.  I found a coffee shop back up in the town - Akaito Coffee - where we had excellent milk coffee, Mira had cinnamon toast and I had a piece of excellent chocolate cake - for only 250 yen (less than US$2)!  They had some local products they made (the owner had been in the fabric and denim industry) and we purchased two denim place mats.  Happy to buy local and help with the island revitalization.  And spent more on them than on our coffee and treats!  And for sure the shop took Visa!

 

We caught the slow boat (60 minutes) back to Takamatsu port and enjoyed the ride.  Unlike our Greek ferry trips, this boat had clean comfortable seats, clean windows for the view and inexpensive vending machines where we got some OJ.  Back in Takamatsu we were pretty beat so just a quick stop at the tourist info booth and back to our room to rest bypassing Mister Donut (which is in my plans for later but we shall see).

 

Ooof - this has gotten a bit long!  Anyway, it is supposed to rain later today but we have decided to take the train to Oboke Gorge.  If nothing else, we can enjoy the scenic ride and visit another local coffee shop.  If weather permits, we will do a short walk or river ride there.

 

Ciao,

Tony

 

Edited October 31 by Tony Galiani
grammar

[Gunzel]

If you really want some denim you can pop back over the Seto-Ohashi bridge to Kojima. They even had a taxi done up in denim when I visited a few years ago. 

Edited November 2 by Gunzel
speling

[Tony Galiani]

@Gunzel - thanks.  The cafe owner had a little write up on the menu explaining where he worked but I could not remember it.  Kajima sounds like the place.

[kuro68000]

That coffee brings back so many good memories! People don't associate Japan with coffee but when you think about it, it's exactly the kind of thing that Japanese people would spend a lifetime perfecting. Local independent coffee shops are almost always worth a visit. The only danger is that they assume you like American coffee and make it really strong and bitter like Starbucks.

 

So cheap too, even for Japan. They probably haven't changed their prices in decades.