Day 21: Oodaru Onsen

Our last day in Izu started with Yasu and Angela driving us to Kawazu to spend the day at the Oodaru waterfall onsen.

We stopped off at a pretty beach to grab a bite to eat first. We sat on the sand and watched the surfers catching waves but not until Yasu had built us an impromptu mini bridge over a stream! The wind was very strong and was whipping the sand up against us, pockets and trainers full after 10 minutes!

Kazawu is famous for a hike with 7 stunning waterfalls in a row. The journey there took us high into the mountains and included one of the most bizarre pieces of civil engineering I have ever seen. In order to climb a steep incline the road leaves the mountain side and spirals twice round far above the ground before rejoining the hill. A definite case of function over form but still I found it attractive in a different way.







Once we parked we took a very precarious walk down a looooong set of steep moss covered steps to the first waterfall. OMG! It was stunning. It was quite a long drop, the water was thundering away and a fine mist filled the air.



We slowly worked our way on the challenging path across rope bridges and precarious ledges to the other waterfalls. Each of them were different, some tall, some small and winding but all of them were stunning. We passed a cute shop selling a very random selection of souvenirs and vegetables and also a guy who had spent the last 10 years building his own house and now uses it as a restaurant.

We reached the onsen resort, bid farewell to Angela and Yasu and paid our 1000¥ entry fee. We had to hire special shorts which were in no way flattering, probably the most horrid shorts available, I guess they gotta make sure they get returned!

We entered the resort, again down more steps. At one point we had to cross the public path in our fetching shorts, this happened very quickly! In the resort there were lots of different onsens. One was in a cave with a little Buddha statue, another was very long and lots more were tucked away and hidden in little huts.




The main attractions were the hot springs at the the base of the final waterfall in the line of seven. I can't describe how beautiful the surroundings were, the massive waterfall shining in the sunlight, the cold mist contrasting with the heat of the volcanic water in the pool and stunning greenery surrounding us.




After lounging in the pool and exploring the area for a few hours we changed and made our way to the station for the journey back to Tokyo!

Location:Izu

Day 20: Shimoda

We started the day with a fantastic (western) lunch and then got driven down to a cove where the emperor of Japan has a holiday home. Lots more beautiful scenery and a small walk along the coast and hilltops.




Then, at dusk, went to another onsen, this time right at the top of a hill and outside only. It was a lot smaller and shallow and boy was it off the beaten track! Well worth the effort (of Yasu driving us) to get there.




The water here was noticeably different. Full of minerals and almost oily to the touch and of course it was very hot. The steam was rising up from the water surface into the cooler night air and was lit from behind. The onsen it self although being open had a traditional style roof to protect you from rain which was beautifully carved out of wood.




We relaxed here for a very nice hour then went into town to finish the day off with some more tasty food.

Location:Shimoda,Japan

Day 19: Shimoda

Eager to explore the coastline after last nights experience we woke early(ish) and grabbed a lift to a place lower down the peninsular to start our hike.

En route we grabbed a butty and rice ball each, we decided to eat them on the beach before the hike. I had just opened my rice ball and was starting to eat it when I felt a sharp pain in my hand and was knocked back a little. It took a few seconds to figure out what had happened. A Hawk had flown down from the sky above wanting to steal my rice ball off me. It was now on the pebble beach unopened and spoilt! The bloody bird wouldn't come down again so we stepped back a little and in an instant it came down and grabbed it off the beach and flew away with it tucked up closely to it's body.




Once I manned up and got over the bird attack we set off along the very well signposted hike. We followed the hilly coastline amongst all the interesting flora and fauna and took the spurs off the main route to the sea line or cliff tops where directed.

Throughout the day day the Hawk kept it's eager eye on us to see if we were going to produce more food for it to steal. Bloody bird!

The coastline of Izu is amazing, sharp tree covered cliffs jutting out into the sea, waves crashing up against them next to beautiful sand covered beaches in little coves between the cliffs.




As nice as the walk was we were surprised that there was no one else there, we didn't bump into a single soul on the entire walk. Probably just because the season had started. We were the first customers of the season at the guesthouse.




On the walk back to the guesthouse we stopped off at the cave we went to last night, even seeing our old footprints!




Once we got back Angela and her husband Yasu wanted to take us to the west side of the peninsular to watch the sunset, we picked up a beer from the shop and drove the 25 minute journey. Unfortunately when we got there the fog was obscuring the horizon so we couldn't see the sun but it certainly created some interesting colours across the rest of the sky. Beautiful!




After dusk we went into Shimoda town centre to a traditional Japanese seafood restaurant and ate a selection of fine food including tempura, sashimi, crab and broths. The meal was plentiful and delicious, enjoyed every second of it.

Once the meal had settled we moved on to a traditional volcanic spring bath house called an onsen. This onsen was set in an old style wooden building dotted with decorative statutes and dimly lit. There was a large deep very hot pool, a few shallower hot pools all fed directly by the spring in the corner and then a cooler pool for dipping into between boiling yourself! There was also an outside area which I found disappointing compared to my memory of the onsen I went to on my last Japan visit. Nonetheless it was a very nice experience and relaxed me greatly!

Following the heat and relaxing experience of the onsen we went to a local Shimoda bar for some excellent homemade ice-cream and beers. A great end to the night!

Location:Shimoda,Japan

Day 18: Journey to Shimoda

Up early today for our trip down to the Izu peninsular. We packed our bags, grabbed some lunch and jumped on a train for the journey out of Tokyo.

We changed train on a few occasions, each time boarding a slower 'more local' service. We stopped off en route at Ito for a coffee and butty and made it to the guesthouse in Shimoda at about 7:30 in the evening.

As we are in the country side when we went for an evening walk to orientate ourselves, the stars in the night sky were so bright. Prof Brian Cox would say there were billions and billions!

After grabbing some convenience store food and a few Chu-Hi's Angela, Neils friend and guest house owner where we ware staying, took us for a night time walk to the beach. Wow!

The dark was very dark, the blackest black. You could only mark the horizon out by the light coming from the fishing boats in the far distance. The lighthouse cast it's beam briefly across the beach every 20 seconds. The sea was roaring away in the dark without us knowing where it was. The very feint silhouette of large lava rocks could be seen pointing out of light from the beach.

Angela took us to a cave in one of the lava rocks. We had to crawl along the sand under the jagged rocks for a few meters until it opened up into a massive open cave with the sea roaring in at the front. Amazing! A very memorable moment!

Really looking forward to the hike down the peninsular tomorrow!

Location:Izu

Day 17: Kylie

Today was all about a little Ozzy woman who goes by the name of Kylie! We were slightly later than planned at waking up but still made it to meet friends near the venue at 2.

The arena is situated about half way round Tokyo bay in a prefecture called Chiba. A lot of Chiba is made from reclaimed land and suffered quite badly from liquefaction during the main quake and aftershocks. This is evident in abundance when walking around the streets as lots of pavements are different heights and hasty repairs have been made with tarmac.







We grabbed some lunch and joined the queue outside the stadium. As fair as the Japanese seem to be they were calling out entry to the standing area in ticket number block, so the people who bought their tickets first had the choice of running to the front and claiming some space. Despite the fact that our ticket number wasn't too low we managed to grab a decent plot about 5 people from the front. Result!

The venue wasn't as big as the O2 so seemed a little more intimate than I'm used to and it was great to be so close to the stage.

The support acts were a couple of exceptionally rubbish DJs, a stupid woman who never smiled but wore a rubbish outfit and an over the top guy who aspired to be a Hip Hop DJ but failed miserably. We named him 'DJ Technical Trouble' as the music stopped a couple of times and he blamed it on technical trouble!

Not long after 6 the temperature was soaring, the rubbish DJs had left and the technical crew had set the stage, the lights dimmed and it was time for the main show!

After the usual build up from the on screen visuals, building of the music and the dancers entering and twirling round a bit, two angels entered the stage to introduce Kylie as she rose up on a giant gold shell to the title track 'Aphrodite'




I can't remember the exact running order or exactly what she played but she did a well balanced mix of older and newer songs. Spinning around, confide in me, on a night like this, two hearts, can't get you out of my head, get outa my way, wow, i believe in you, what do i have to do, slow, better the devil you know etc. The girl has a good back catalogue to choose from and she also sang the Eurthmics classic, There must be and Angel!



There was a section which just seemed to be about the male form, lots of stunning visuals and the dancers almost performing a gymnastics routine! All I can say is she knows her target market well!




We were treated to some of the very old Kylie tracks including 'I should be so lucky' which went down very well!




The gig ended in a massive crescendo with Kylie disappearing into the stage surrounded by all her semi naked dancers to All The Lovers after the glitters cannons had exploded all over the stage and audience! Perfect! Loved it, massive emotional high!




All of our group were amazed with the show and we went to the pub to break it down and comment, plus the fact we were parched and needed a nice cold beer :)

Location:Tokyo

Day 13-16: Carnage

So you may have noticed the blog went a bit quiet. Not cus I wasn't doing anything but more the fact that this was definitely a party hard time!

One night we went to Artys, it filled up very quickly so we went to a nearby snack bar. If you're not familiar with the snack bar concept imagine someone's lounge, then imagine they put a massive bar down the middle leaving room for about 10 people at the bar and maybe 6-8 on the seats at the end. Then imagine some cheesy disco lights a laser and a Karaoke machine! Job done. Because they are so small you can get to talk to other easily.

There was no-one else when we went in so we ordered drinks (which as the names suggest you get snacks with) and brought out the Karaoke machines.










You soon figure out the screens to select to search by artist or song in English! The usual tracks came out, Tinie Tempha, Meatloaf, Gaga, Kylie. Then because there was no one else there and were getting progressively more drunk I went off default, Katy Perry, hot and cold rocked it, Justin Timberlake was a disaster, then a few Fergie songs which were surprisingly good. Some dance tunes came out, everything by Cascada I think and some Black Eyed Peas, Queen, INXS and even Sam Sparro. More people came in so we were tag teaming the machine with a couple of kids heavily into K-Pop and some salary men at the end of the bar. I peaked at Rihanna, Only Girl in the World. When I say peaked (as my classes know) I mean belted out and sounding loads better than I thought it was)

This was a fantastic night, I loved getting to practice new songs and making new friends!

Another night was a friend of Neils was having a Nomihodai party in a basement in Evisu. This is a drink all you want party, the deal was 3 hours for 3000¥ which considering a normal drink is about 500¥ isn't great value. The break even point was 6 drinks, working had I got 7 but I'm sure I could have got another in! Grrrrrrrr.

We were chatting to a Japanese girl at this party and got the typical Japanese over reaction when telling here we were all gay, but it was just for show. We had a good bit of banter for a few hours but when it came to leaving I got slightly miss handled by her as she groped up my arms, chest, abs and other parts. I couldn't leave quickly enough!

Another night was down to the 'should be illegal' Long Island Ice Teas from the Hub. Lots of fun and mega headaches to deal with the next morning.

I love Tokyo :)

Neil was working for an afternoon on one of these days so I attempted to navigate Ikebukuro for shopping. I did OK picking up a few random things like LAN cable (don't ask, it's cool) and some clothes and trainers. I got lost a thousand times, if anyone were watching my route they would have had a good old laugh, and navigating the station on my own took an exceptionally long time. But it was fun and I made it back in one piece!

There continues to be noticeable quakes during my stay, about 1 or 2 a day, but they haven't been as strong as the one I felt in the morning last week and I guess I'm getting used to them. There have been about 600 so far this month. Last month there were 890!

Location:Tokyo

Day 12: Ushiku

Today we wanted to do some more sightseeing and thought it would be a good idea to include a Daibutsu (large Buddha statue) for some culture. Last time I was on holiday here we spent a day at Nokogiriyama which included an interesting mountain walk and a beautiful Diabutsu so it would have been pointless going there again. Kamakura is a popular tourist destination in Tokyo with a 20m high Diabutsu but last week when we were googling the sky tree we also found a Diabutsu at Ushiku that was listed as one of the tallest structures in Japan at 120m. And because size does matter we made the decision to go to Ushiku!

On a normal journey Ushiku is about an hour and a half from Tokyo but we made a mistake 'forgetting' to get off a train on a certain line that magically changes into another line. We only found this out about half an hour of travelling down the wrong line so that added another hour to the journey, but we had a adventure.

In Ushiku the Diabutsu is a fair old journey from the station, there is a bus that runs but we just missed one and the next one wasn't for another hour and 20, luckily we found a very nice Indian curry place and managed to fill our faces for 1000¥ with some of the best curry I've had in a while.

We made it to the bus in time and were starting to wonder wether all this hassle was worth it. After about 20 minutes or so we saw the Buddha on the horizon, it was bloody massive!




Instantly we could see the journey was definitely worth the hassle! It took another 10 minutes or so to get there, when we did we found out that the last bus back was in 23 minutes which makes no sense as the site was open for another 90!

After paying our admission and picking up a taxi number we entered the beautifully crafted gardens that the Diabutsu sits in. The figure of Buddha was enormous and and awe inspiring, it's difficult to describe the size of the figure ands it's difficult to gauge because it's in open surrounds but it is chuffing massive!








After admiring the the statue from the outside we made our way to visit the inside, just as well as the heavens opened! There were prayer areas and lots of information about the Daibutsu all through the inside, including a massive room full of little golden Buddha's.




We then took the lift all the way to the top of the statue to get some great views of the surrounding countryside.




Once we'd taken in all the Buddha sites and info we called our cab back to the station and went back to Tokyo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushiku_Daibutsu

Location:Tokyo