JAPAN  IN  OCTOBER  1991

INTRODUCTION - Our group,  with me mainly on the sidelines,
developed an X-ray instrument that flew on a Japanese satellite in
late August so the Actons (Loren and Evelyn) were "stationed" there
at the Operations Center for 4 months and we took advantage of this
to visit.  They have an apartment right "on base" in a town called
Sagamihara, which is sort of an hour and a half from down town
Tokyo and 45 minutes from down town Yokohama.  The long time to
Tokyo represents more the complicated route that must be taken to
get there than the distance.  The other central figure to this
outing was Tim Roethig, a co-worker and friend of a couple of
decades who went to Japan a week before we did to work and was to
return on the same day we returned.
THURSDAY - We left the house at 5:30 AM, caught a 7:00 AM plane
from San Jose to LA, and an 11:00 AM Korean Airlines flight non-
stop to Tokyo.  This routing was more painful than United non-stop
from SFO but it was the cheapest deal Dawna could obtain.  Anyway,
the change in LA was easy and the Korean flight was one of the best
I've ever had.  A lot of service, an extremely good meal, drinks
and water being offered all the time, etc; and we had a three seat
set for the two of us so plenty of elbow room.  Arrived Tokyo right
on time, like 1:30 PM (9:30 PM California time), but in the middle
of a typhoon.  Took awhile to get the bag we had shipped through
and then we headed to the special (and nice) train that would get
us on our way to the Actons.  Opps, that train hadn't been running
all day due to the typhoon.  So, we had to take the alternate route
for which we had documentation; it started out by bus (on time) to
Tokyo and took 3 hours rather than 1 hour and 40 minutes to get
there - near gridlock conditions and quite painful considering we
had been on the road for so long.   The bus went to a major
transportation station (Shinjuku) in Tokyo where we folded into the
mob and got a train.  Rode this for a hour and switched trains, and
15 minutes later we were at the Fuchinobe train station at
Sagimahara.  By now rather wet.  Caught a cab to the "base" and
waited at the guard shack a few minutes until Loren, Tim, and
another friend came down and escorted us to the apartment - by now
we were quite wet!  Various friends had been there partying for
awhile as we were supposed to have gotten there a couple of hours
earlier; no one had ever taken 6 hours to get from the airport to
the apartment before!  Anyway, had some snacks, a fair amount of
beer and got to sleep.  AND SLEPT WELL.
SATURDAY - The date line being in the mid Pacific meant we lost a
Friday.  Had breakfast and then I went over to the lab with Loren
to look at the neat data the instrument has been gathering and to
also log on back in California to see how things were going there
and to send E-mail messages to the kids about our whereabouts and
how we could be contacted.   Good fun looking at the data.
Meanwhile, Dawna and Evelyn went a block away to a place called
China Pete's which has china at a very good price and caters to
American money.  In fact, it and making a local telephone call are
the only bargains we found in Japan.  She bought lots, some of
which was decorator stuff by Fitz and Floyds.  We had lunch at a
local place (Tempura for both D & myself) .   Then we five (the
Actons, us, and Tim) took off to a part of Tokyo where they were
having a parade/street faire.  And the rain had almost stopped.
Walked along the path the parade would be taking in a couple of
hours and looked at all the stalls of stuff (mostly food but also
trinkets) eating and drinking as we went - such as liver, chicken,
chicken skins, octopus a couple of ways, potatoes, corn on the cob,
sake, beer, and more ..... each in small portions from stands as we
worked our way to the main shrine.  Which itself was quite nice.
The crowd got thicker, the police kept it organized, and then the
parade rolled up the street.  Many, many, many marchers/walkers in
costumes of various sorts with the central theme being each group
had one or two fellows who were spinning lanterns on the top of a
long sticks (it was called the parade of lanterns or something like
that).  This is a quite physical activity.  The lanterns differed
in construction which added to the interest.  Gradually we worked
our way down the hill, caught the tail end of the parade near the
bottom of the hill, then more trains, then a walk from the station
(25 minutes or so) back to Acton's and then to SLEEP.  A fine
outing.
SUNDAY - Tim, Dawna and I took off after a relaxed breakfast.
Trains and subways to near our main target - a shop that sold
traditional Japanese crafts.  Found a good local "soupy noodle"
spot for lunch and managed to get what we wanted by pointing to the
wax food displays in the window. Walked to the shop, looked around
both it and another shop in the same building, and bought only a
tiny bit of stuff. Walked into a neighborhood called Akasaka which
was supposed to be like "old Japan" but it really wasn't anything
special.  Tried to stumble by a specific pagoda but didn't find it.
However, did find a very nice shinto shrine which was approached by
walking up a steep hillside through many many gates (tori's).  A
fair amount of general activity was going on plus a wedding so we
just watched the action.  Quite nice to see the wedding ceremony
which included a tea ceremony and some dancing as well as vow
exchanging.  A neat stumble/find.  And do they take their TVing of
such an event seriously; not just a camcorder or two but a whole
rack full of video equipment.  Walked onward toward the Imperial
Palace and then around it.  Supposedly the East Garden was open on
Sundays and free bicycles were available.  Turned out to be all
locked up.  And we had probably walked a bit further than our feet
liked by this time.  Caught a subway to the Sinjuku area.  Amazing
conglomeration of stores.   Wandered around one of the giant
department  stores  being  impressed with  lots  of  things  and
especially with the elaborate food store on the bottom floor. What
prices, what beautiful displays, such nice samples to snack on,
etc, etc.  Then walked around the area some (dark by now and lots
of lights) looking specifically for a tempura bar for dinner; and
found one on the 7th floor above the train station.   Oh, yes,
before that we did buy a couple of small things (calculator for
Dawna and travel alarm clock for me) at a massive electronics
store; and we also had a beer at a spot that was somewhat of a
young adult hang out.  The tempura was cooked right in front of us
as we sat at a counter and excellent.  Train to home and again
tired and to bed.  A fine outing and only drizzle not rain to put
up with.
MONDAY - The plan was for D & E & I to go to Yokohama to see the
Silk Museum, perhaps the Doll Museum, perhaps some gardens.  But
before we got on the train I read that these places were closed on
Monday; so we switched gears and decided to go to Tokyo, see some
Kabuki, and make reservations for our outing of the next couple of
days.   It was pouring and we had to walk a bit from the Tokyo
station to the Tourist Agency, the ever-in-hand umbrella is a
necessity.  Got there during the noon hour when the reservation
people were not functioning, so picked up some maps and other
information and wandered into the Ginza area (in the rain) for
lunch.   Ended up having lamb curry at a Indian place which was
quite good and the pan/bread that we got with it was outstanding.
Back to the tourist place, took a number, waited a long time,
finally got to be our turn, interacted for quite awhile to get
accommodations with the bottom line being that the number of places
they could book was limited and did not even include places which
were  in their other literature;  some of which had been  in
literature we had read at the house and thought sounded good.
These were in the town of Ise since our goal was to go to Ise Shima
National Park.  But everything they had connections with were full,
we didn't want to lose our spot in line by trying to call others on
our own, so we took a regular/non-Japanese hotel in an inland town
named Nabori.   The places we had been trying for were small
Japanese Inns so this was a bit of a disappointment although the
idea of being back in the mountains a bit was interesting.  Then
talked to a different person for quite awhile to try and understand
train schedules.  All this took awhile and then we went down the
street two doors to book train tickets at a travel place.  Totally
different world what with an intelligent lady and a computer (the
tourist folks did it all with pencil, paper, and phones) .  Got
everything booked efficiently although in order to not sit in the
smoking section on the outgoing bullet train (Shinkansen) we had to
take first class and pay a fair amount extra. And it was all quite
expensive anyway.   The day was almost over but we trudged off
through the rain to the Kabuki theater and caught an hour's worth
- although the performance lasts for 5 hours you can do a hour or
two worth only with tickets to the top floor.  It was neat and we
would have liked more but it was getting late.  Boy do they go
crazy with the skit in between acts what with fire, smoke, sword
fights, etc, etc.  Then caught trains back to "home", called Loren
from the train station, and met him for dinner at a Korean BBQ
place.  Probably not the place they were aiming for and fine but
not great.   Hard to believe we had spent almost the whole day
either on trains or talking to people to make reservations for the
next outing; but we did.

TUESDAY - We (D & I) took off, after a fine breakfast, on our
outing; stopping by a 7-11 to xerox some pages from a couple of
tour books.  Evelyn was walking to the station with us to buy a
paper and carry back the books.  Regular train to near Yokohama and
then the Shinkansen to Nagoya.   Riding first class  (remember
yesterday's story) was mighty fancy what with soft seats, much
service, and being in a dome-like car with super views of the
fields, streams, mountains (only the base of Fuji), blue sky,
manicured tea bushes, rice drying, fish farms, etc, etc, all out
nice clear and large windows.  Arrived exactly on time (10:41) and
caught our train at 11:10 with no problems.  Not as fancy but still
quite nice.  Rolled down the peninsula and arrived at the transfer
station at 12:10 and caught our 12:14 other train; just amazed at
the timelines of these trains.  The whole sequence had also been
very relaxing once we got on the series of trains with reserved
seats as compared to the local Tokyo trains and subways where you
are standing and crowded most of the time.  This train climbed back
into the interior (almost to the Nara/Kyoto area) with lots of
views and tunnels.  Arrived at our town, checked into the hotel,
were told the room wouldn't be ready until 3 PM, and went to a
small place for some "soupy noodle" lunch.  Only ourselves and one
other customer in the "cafe" which had about 6 tables.  Walked the
town, a real farm community type feel although not tiny by any
means; and fresh mountain air and sunshine.  Peaked in stores and
people's yards.  Saw folks making soji (?) screens and tatami (?)
mats, checked out a shrine, etc.  Checked into the hotel, walked a
bit more, back to the hotel, bathed and rested a tiny bit, and then
had dinner. Tiny spot with us being the only customers and had our
favorite, eel over rice (unangi) with some beer.  To bed, early for
a change, and a good nite's sleep.
WEDNESDAY - Up fairly early, walked a bit more of the town, picked
up a pastry for me, back to the hotel for some tea in the room, and
then to the train station for our 8:44 train to Ise. Got there in
less than an hour, bought some "lunch" food (Japanese style), and
then walked to the lesser of the two major Shinto shrine areas.
These two shrines are the most reverent in Japan and all Japanese
are to go there at least once in their lives, etc.   Not elaborate
but quite nice and serene (although still quite a lot of people).
Took a taxi to the more major shrine which was about 3 miles away
and we didn't have a map appropriate for finding it.  Much larger
than the first and a lot more people, but again rather modest and
peaceful.  An aspect of this shrine is the sacred river which runs
through it and everyone cleanses themselves in it; but not they do
not submerge themselves like the Indians.   Began walking back
towards town/train but down a more interesting and smaller street
than the taxi had taken - shops & eating places, etc.  A parade was
approaching and we watched it; meanwhile nice ladies had given out
tea.  Various kids were walking along with in two lines holding
onto two ropes.  As we meandered against the parade grain we ran
into all ages of folks also holding onto the rope and eventually a
great cart that was being pulled along by this several hundred yard
long pair of ropes. Wooden wheels and axles creaking away and atop
the cart was much food stuff, especially rice.  Good fun to stumble
upon & later we read some literature that explained that day was
the celebration of the fall harvest (basically Thanksgiving) and a
real big deal at 10 PM in the shrines.  Another chance coincident
and perhaps why it had been hard to book a Japanese inn in the
area.  Walked some more, had a picnic of sorts, walked further, and
went into a pearl shop (not Mikymoto but similar - this is the area
for them) .  Dawna thought the prices much too high so continued the
walk along some nice streets and some just routine streets.
Eventually got back to the train station area, went into a neat
looking building that clearly served food although nothing was
displayed in the window, and ended up sitting on the floor and
eating Japanese style.  The marinated squid salad was so good Dawna
ended up getting "some to go" for the Actons; and the meal was also
excellent.  Dawna had sushi and I had tempura; plus the usual beer.
Then the train to Nagoya, right on time as always, and from there
the bullet train to Shin Yokohama and the regular train "home."
All went well.  It is simply amazing that a bullet train leaves the
station every 5 minutes which means if you were in a plane looking
down you'd see 20 of them spaced evenly apart racing between Nagoya
and Tokyo!  Our train had 16 cars and each held 100 people so 1600
per train and 20 trains means 32,000 folks were moving on this one
not overly long railroad line.
THURSDAY #2 - Up at 4:15 AM and out the door by 5; the objective
being to partake of a two day outing to the Nikko National Park
area.  Actons had made all the arrangements previously.  This area
is about 100 miles north of Tokyo, which meant we had to cross
Tokyo to get rolling.  Thus the 5 AM departure time from the Actons
in order to catch the fast train at 8 AM from a station on the
north side of Tokyo; taking a train and two subway lines to get
from "home" to the major train station.  The Nikko area is always
popular because of the very elaborate Buddhist shrines that are
there and at this time of year it is also very popular due to the
trees showing their fall colors.  In addition, and by coincidence,
there was a major festival (March of 1000 Samurai) going on this
day.  Thus having all reservations made in advance was needed, as
Evelyn had accomplished.  Anyway, the last 1.5 hour train ride was
quite relaxing, we got to the station and then wandered up the main
street doing some looking/shopping along the way. Had a coffee and
sweet and then got to the area where the parade was to end (it
started at the main shrine) just as the first of the parade was
reaching there.  Watched all the costumed folks, some on horses,
march in and then went inside an enclosure and watched the
activities.  It was basically a ritual harvest thanksgiving deal
and really neat to watch.  Included some dancing and music as well
as formal type of ceremony.  Surprisingly uncrowded and relaxed in
terms of viewing.  Many of the locals began eating picnic lunches
so we did likewise.  Cheese I had gotten in Amsterdam which was
really aged and good, some nice California wine we had brought
over, salami, and bread.  Great atmosphere and meal but did start
to drizzle by the time we finished eating.  The activities ended
and we caught the bus towards our mountain Inn at Yumoto-Spa.  Bus
was packed and steamy, rain got moderately heavy, so seeing the
countryside didn't work out very well as we wound through the
mountains.  Stopped (according to plan) and a very nice waterfall.
Raining continually by now, debated awhile, but then continued with
the plan of walking through the countryside about 4 miles to our
Inn.  Idea was to see beautiful country side, color in the hills as
we walked in the valley/semi-swamp, and for the Actons to do some
birding.   Only the first was possible, but it was fun to plow
ahead.  Saw a super waterfall, Yudaki Falls, fairly near the end of
our wet march.  Arrived at the Inn muddy and wet, changed into our
yukatas (housecoats/robes), had tea and cheese cake that was served
in our room as soon as we arrived, took super hot baths (men in one
spa and women in the other) Japanese style, and felt like new
people.  Niped a bit on sake and whisky and then went down for our
fancy meal.   Quite an elaborate/traditional spread that was
displayed elegantly.  Can't list half the items but included sushi,
soup, smoked fish, boiled meat and vegees, tempura, rice, tea, and
various vegetable items.  A couple of Australian girls who were
working there to learn more about Japanese Inns in order to work in
one in Australia owned by the same person, spent time at the table
with us explaining a few of the items and generally chatting.  They
were really eager to talk English since only a couple of other
non-Japanese groups had been there in the last two months.  In fact
they ended up helping us by getting some of our wet clothes dried
in a drier and we invited them to the room for some drinks and
chatting before bedtime.  Meanwhile, while we were eating our room
was transformed into sleeping capabilities (on nice mats on the
floor) for the 5 of us.  And did we ever sleep well; a nice feature
being that when one woke up in the middle of the night the rain was
no more.
FRIDAY #2 - Up and the SUN WAS OUT.  Both Eve and I took small
walks before breakfast and then we all had breakfast - another
fancy and traditional spread what with fish, soup, salad, boiled
tofu and a great sauce, salad, a sweet egg thing, rice, etc, etc.
Like the night before all laid out beautifully.  From my non-vegee
point of view both meals were something I'd only go for once per
decade, but certainly fun to do it that often and part of the whole
(quite expensive) scene.  We then took off for a hike for a couple
hours, climbing up a ways to gain a nice view back at the resort
and the lake it was on and also the various fall colors; much
better in the sunshine than in the rain needless to say.  Met a fun
fellow from Australia who was spending two weeks walking in Japan
and then 4 weeks in Indonesia to celebrate his 50th birthday.  We
sent him to talk to "our" two girls at the hotel.  Caught the bus
back to the Yudaki Falls, took some pictures, had a coffee and some
snacks; mine being to eat a small fish (like a trout) which they
were roasting on a stick; which seemed to be the local thing.
Bussed on back to the larger lake (Chuzenji) , walked a bit, bought
some beer and some ham and combined these with what we had left
from the day before and had a picnic at some tables overlooking the
lake and in the sunshine.  Relaxing.  Then bussed back to Nikko and
the major attraction (Toshogu Shrine).  It was build by the top dog
shogun of the Edo era and is overwhelmingly ornate but fun. A five
story pagoda that was great and a huge quantity of carved features,
most often painted, and often of birds or flowers. See/Hear/Do No
Evil Monkeys being at item "everyone" has heard of.  D & I and Tim
then went into a less major but nice shrine (fine Buddahs to see up
close) while E & L went towards the train station with a planned
shop to buy a carved wood audio tape chest they had looked at the
day before.  To the train and away we went at 4:40 PM.  Arrived at
the north Tokyo station a bit after 6, walked around, picked a
dinner spot, ate, caught some more transportation and home and to
bed.  A good fun outing, more expensive than might have been if one
had known how to book something other than a "Hyatt", but certainly
a neat experience and fun to share with others.
SATURDAY #2 - A day to not ride the train.  Slept in a bit, had
another more-elaborate-than-needed breakfast, and then Loren, Tim
and I went to the lab to work/play.  Dawna went to China Pete's and
bought more stuff while Evelyn worked around the house.  Then they
went off to Machida (so they did ride the train but only 10
minutes) to look at stores, buy some groceries, and have a good
Chinese lunch.  For lunch, Tim and I went to a "soupy noodle" place
that was quite good; and we went to the train station and bought
tickets for our (D, T, and I) trip to the airport on Monday.
Played, really watched Loren play, with the fine data the rest of
the afternoon.   That evening we went to a spot that served
relatively Western food and even had some (expensive) German wine.
Dawna and I had halibut - her's was in a sauce and mine was deep
fried like.  The meal was quite nice what with corn soup starter
and a mellon sherbet and coffee at the end.  L & T went back to do
some work and we did some planning for tomorrow's outing to
Yokohama and I did a little typing on the trip letter.
SUNDAY #2 - After another of those large western breakfasts by E
D and E and I went to Yokohama.  Walked a ways from the train
station to the Sankein Gardens and had a good time seeing them.  It
is an area where in about 1920 they moved in historical "houses"
from various parts of Japan and have them on display in a nice
garden setting.   Many tea houses and many folks having tea
ceremonies in them —— thus lots of nice looking kimonos and a good
feeling to the whole place.  Only saw half of it because we wanted
to go to the Silk Museum.  Caught a bus, and we two went to the
Museum and E headed home (she'd seen it before) .  A very enjoyable
museum in terms of learning all about the process of making silk as
well as the huge economic impact it had on early Japan; plus seeing
lots of very pretty silk stuff.  Walked to a subway and called our
friends the Wadas - they had lived in Cupertino for 4 years or so
(after 5 years in Canada) and Dawna was a good friend of Kazumi.
We had been in contact with them about visiting and arranged it for
this day.  Took the subway and a train to get to their home - an
apartment in a high rise building which itself is one of several
around a small garden area.  Nice but small and amazing that it
cost more than they received for the house in Cupertino in our
neighborhood when they sold it less than a year ago.  Lots of fun
chatting about the Cupertino neighborhood and Japan and then a fine
meal - Shobu Shobu.  This is where one has thin Kobe (expensive!)
beef and quickly cooks it in water that is boiling at the table and
dips it in a sauce.  Then a variety of vegetables and tofu are
dealt with the same way, then back to some beef, then the both that
has been building up for an hour of fun has noodles added to it and
you have soup.   All this with constant sake and discussion.
Excellent.  Trains to home, bought some beer along the way because
Evelyn was having various people dropping over (a major meeting was
to take place the next day so people were arriving, some of whom
were old friends) .  Got there but the party had stopped early when
people went out to eat and/or work.  Packed, with it being a real
challenge to get all of China Pete's stuff into a condition where
we could carry it.  Then I went over to the lab for a couple of
hours and then to bed.  Loren was tending to stay at the lab until
4 AM or so ..... but that's a different story.
MONDAY #2 - Tim and Len (a good friend from England) came down for
another of those western breakfasts, and then D & I & T headed off
for the airport; taxi to train to train, the latter being the
special train to the airport which hadn't been running when we
first came to town in the typhoon.  Quite comfortable trip.  At the
airport we had lunch with D and I having Unagi (the eel over rice
we like so well).  And onto our Korean airline plane; again we had
three seats for the two of us and again it took off on time and was
an OK flight.  Only OK because too warm and the meal was not much
better than typical airline rather than as good as going out.  Also
special service hasn't much interest when the main thing one is
trying to do is sleep.  But even then they were always available to
give you a drink and when it did come time to wake up we got a full
breakfast with some interesting (Korean I suppose) sausages; in
contrast to the typical roll one gets when waking up after a flight
to Europe on an American carrier.
SUMMARY - We had a good time,  with much of the fun being
interacting/sharing with Loren, Evelyn, Tim and others.  The down
side of this is that it is harder to be a tourist with more people
and more points of views and needs.   Japan is expensive, no
question about that, and one spends a surprisingly large amount on
transportation for every time you turn around it is another few
dollars (like about $6 to get to Tokyo from the Actons - one way)
and there are few bargains to shop for (other than China Pete's).
On the other hand part of the expense was that this time around we
were maintaining a certain amount of American ways, like having
coffee, where before we did much less of this, like drinking only
tea.  The main feature was mobs of people and the shear volume of
full trains, packed subways, packed stores, etc, etc wears one out.
You can certainly see why the Japanese tend to close their eyes on
subways to shut out the rest of the world for a little while.
Kyoto is probably still the place to go when visiting Japan but it
was fun to have outings to Ise Shima and the Niko area since we had
spent time in Kyoto 16 years ago.  Speaking of years ago I think,
even discounting how old memories improve with age, that things
were more relaxed and friendly back then and the average Japanese
person was much more interested in interacting with us than this
time around.   It was fun, by the way, to read our 16 year old
travel letter while on the plane going to Tokyo this time.