Shinkansen
Today was a day of travelling.
The alarm went at 6:30 and we were out of the house shortly after 7:30. The story of how we found ourselves on the Shinkansen bullet train is uninteresting, so I will not recount it here. Suffice to say that bento boxes were bought, and the train was not missed.
Early in the journey, Fuji-san came into view, grew, then shrank into the distance.
Despite having booked seats two apart, we were able to negotiate with the various owners of that seat along the way, to swap so we could sit together. How cute. Much of the way, Japan is flat, with mountains on the horizon. Later in the journey we crossed some hills, and saw some terraced agriculture.
The change in Okayama went without a hitch - with six minutes between arrival and departure, this part had worried us. We enjoyed our bento boxes on the second train (Debbie with some reservations about certain elements). In Hiroshima we switched to the local service, on which a grizzled man attempted to engage us in conversation. This experience set back my confidence in my Japanese, since all I could really make out was “soccer” and “beatles”. John Lennon and George Harrison are both dead, it seems. I learned this through the miracle of sign language — a finger drawn across the throat.
The aim of all this was to get to the island of Miyajima, and soon enough we were on the frequent ferry onto the island. The first impression was the hundreds of tourists streaming onto the ferry, many of whom are gaijin. Filthy gaijin. From the mainland ferry port, we could already see Miyajima’s famous “floating” torri shrine gate. Other ferry riders probably got a better view from the top of the ferry, but we had heavy suitcases we didn’t want to drag up stairs.
On landing, the first thing we did was phone our hotel. No — our ryokan. While we waited for our shuttle bus, we noticed the many deer frolicking with any tourists who happened to have food on offer.
We were bussed to the ryokan, which is big, clean, smoothly run and Japanese looking. We have a 20 tatami mat room, which is big enough for a family of eight in Tokyo. We stood around wondering what to do next, when the maid came back in with a yukata (the thing you thought was a kimono when James Bond wore one in Dr No) saying “I bring you extra large”. Debbie made as if to accept it. “No, for him” said the maid.
We sat and enjoyed the calm, compared to Tokyo and our journey. We have a view of forest outside. Without a botanist’s analysis, I can say it looks distinctly Japanese.
Approaching our allotted dining hour, we went to brave the ryokan’s hot baths. This meant splitting up, as the baths are segregated by sex. There was a solitary man in the men’s side, who didn’t communicate with me beyond a nod, but there was the sound of much chattering coming from the ladies. My companion left shortly after I entered, and with little to do but sit around being wet, I got bored before Debbie — which is a good thing since
I had the room key.
Not much later, our dinner was delivered to our room. This is a very fancy ryokan — our hotels in Tokyo and Osaka were unexpectedly good value, so we blew the budget somewhat on Miyajima — and our dinner was a 12 course kaiseki feast. At least, it’s the tourist version of it. Kaiseki is meant to be the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine, in which every detail of preparation, presentation and location is carefully controlled . I suspect this ryokan churns out several of these meals every night.
Nonetheless, it was a sumptuous feast, and a feast of novelties - with various wriggly and tentacly elements to test Debbie’s tolerance to the limit. It took four visits just to bring all the food to our room. All this was eaten cross legged on cushions at a low table on the tatami mats of our room. Tomorrow, we get it again! Will it be different?
With the meal done — and by the end I was loosening my yakuta belt — the staff came to clear away the food and turn our dining room into a bedroom.
Despite spending most of the day sitting on trains, we’re tired out. I hope our futons are as comfy as they look, because I hope to sleep well tonight.