Wednesday at Hyakuraku-Sou

Our guide, Chiaki-san, told us that today would be an easy day so we could rest up and get over any residual jet lag. After a good Japanese "set course" breakfast we went for a cruise on the bay surrounding three sides of our hotel.

Our cruise boat loading passengers for a scenic trip around the area.

The hotel is situated on a small point projecting into the bay. This view from our cruise boat shows the hotel with the breakfast and guest fishing area on the west side. The bath is on the east side.

Both of the lower sides are served by an elevator that descends from the first floor about 30 feet. A tunnel leads off to the left to the cave bath and another tunnel leads to the right to the breakfast and fishing area.

Tunnel leading to the cave bath

Tunnel leading to the breakfast and fishing area is about 110 meters long and drops about 20 feet
from the elevator to the  cave proper. 

The cave where breakfast is served has been there for a long time but the tunnel leading to it was carved out by a 77-year old man in the late 1960's over a period of three years. The same man enlarged the cave where the bath is located and carved the tunnel leading there from the elevator. The complex of tunnels and caves is quite impressive.

After the cruise we stopped by a sake factory. The sake master is the younger daughter of the old master. She developed an interest, completed her studies and passed the test to become the new master.

Old style pots to cook rice for the sake make a difference according to the master.

 Back at the hotel we had the option to go fishing from the piers near the breakfast cave. Chiaki told us the tour would pay for cleaning and cooking any fish we caught so about half the group fished. Iko and I caught 22 of the 30 that were caught. The cook cleaned and deep fried them so they were crispy and we could even eat the bones.

Iko taking a break from hauling in fish.

After another good kaiseki dinner, we hit the rack to get a good night's sleep in preparation for another day of exploring.

Haneda to Noto (3)

When I have time I'll check to see the acceptable length of my posts. It seems seven photos are about all I can send with one post. I'll live with it for now.

Here are shots of the English handout I received at the old house. It's a trifold document so the first page is the photo of the house. Bottom photo contains pages 2, 3 & 4 in sequence, followed by pages 5 & 6 on the left in the one just below. If you double click on the photo you should be able to manipulate it including enlarging to a legible size.

This shot of the palanquins is the last I had time for. You'll need your imagination for the rest of the house.

From the old house we headed for our hotel, Hyakuraku-sou, which roughly translated means "One hundred ways to enjoy oneself".

This huge Cypress stump graced our hotel lobby

Throughout our hotel there were alcoves and hidden corners containing antique furniture and artwork of various kinds.

This is the "tokonoma" in our room. The dictionary translates the word as "alcove" but, in Japanese it seems also to have the connotation of a place for art.

Even though our room was on the second floor, and even though we were in a developed area, when we looked out all we saw was an extension of the bay and tree covered hillsides.

After we got settled in, I went for a hot bath in the "Cave Bath", down the elevator about 75 feet and looking over this same view. The water in the cave bath is drawn from deep in the bay, heated and circulated into the bath. It felt very good to soak in hot salt water.

Dinner tonight was kaiseki, the multi-course traditional Japanese dinner I mentioned earlier. I'll devote another post to kaiseki. 

Haneda to Noto (Cont)

I could have spent the entire afternoon in the Tokikuni house, but had to make do with an hour.

The thatched roof was rebuilt four years ago.

After their defeat by the Genji family, the ancestor of the family and fifteen of his retainers were deported by boat to Noto in 1185. In the 1300's he built the first house near this site. That one lasted about 500 years and was replaced by this house in the early 1800's. The 21st head of the family made the decision and it took 28 years to build. Well designed and built, it has withstood the elements and some large earthquakes during the past 200 years.

Garden in the Kamakura style.

The transom carvings of keiyaki (Japanese oak)were taken from the old house and reinstalled here,

Different details on either side of these amazing transom carvings. I estimated the size at 60"x 20"

The family crest is a stylized butterfly.

Next post will continue the story.

Haneda to Noto

Bottled water in the Seattle or San Francisco airports was $5 per bottle. The same size bottle in Haneda was 110 Yen, about $1.00. I hadn't noticed the difference before and I don't know the cause but I found it interesting. Maybe it's because bottled water is allowed through security here whereas the TSA doesn't allow it. Maybe captive customers are the cause.

Most airports have bus loading gates for short local flights. When the flight is called, passengers walk out to the bus, get off the bus near the plane, walk across the tarmac, climb the portable steps and so board the plane.

Haneda has small buildings on the tarmac with entry doors on one side, an escalator inside and two regular jetways attached to the side opposite the doors. Passengers exit their bus, step inside past the ticket checker, up the short escalator, walk out the jetway and board the plane. Seems like a pretty good solution to the problem of limited gates while giving the passengers a little more comfort. What a concept.

As we climbed out I got a long shot of Mt Fuji. Since we were headed almost due west, I hoped to get a better shot as we passed nearby. Sure enough, as we got closer I had a good view with the top third of Fujisan clad in a mantle of snow. By the time I got my phone out, we entered a high cloud layer just enough to obscure the mountain. Oh well, missed the photo but have a special mental image. Sometimes I think the mental images better since they are favorably edited over time, resulting in great memories.

Fujisan from over Tokyo

We arrived at cruising altitude just in time to start back down, and soon landed at the small Noto airport. First stop in the Noto area was in the town of Wajima, famous for lacquerware, where we toured the Wajima Urushi Craft Museum.

Many exquisite pieces of locally made lacquerware on display

While stopped in Wajima, I walked down a side street where an old house caught my eye.

Nearby there was s small lantern surrounded with another local product.

One of the feature attractions during local festivals is the "kiriko" a kind of float that is carried on the shoulders of young men. Here in Wajima we visited the Kiriko Museum where the best of the old kiriko are retired.

In the photo on the right, the kiriko on the right is an old one, now retired. It is four meters high and when carried, it weighed 2 tons and required fifty young men to carry it.

Here's a a copy of an old photo showing that same kiriko in action. The newer kiriko are smaller so power lines over the streets don't have to be lowered to prepare for their passing.

We stopped for a traditional Japanese lunch and then made our way to the Senmaida terraced rice paddies where more than one thousand terraced paddies stair-step down the hillside to the ocean, just as they have for thousands of years. This area has been designated a Global Heritage Site (GIAHS) because, although these kinds of terraced paddies were common in Japan for many years, as farms have become mechanized, paddies have been consolidated and the small terraced paddies requiring all manual labor have become a thing of the past.

At night the fields are outlined with solar powered LED lights.

Next on the itinerary was a visit to an old residence of one of the rulers of this area, Kami Tokikunike. This is another well-deserved Heritage Site. I find it amazing that some of the old wooden buildings survive this long. This house was built in the early 1800's over a period of 28 years to replace the original built around 1300.

I've reached the allotted length set by Blogger so will continue on the next entry.

Haneda

Haneda Airport has been repeatedly awarded top ratings as the cleanest airport, according to the industry group that awards such things. I agree it is very clean. Today we moved between terminals on the free shuttle. There was no graffiti, no stray papers blowing in the wind and the insides of the terminal buildings were spotless. Overall, I was impressed with the cleanliness and quiet.

We stayed last night in the Royal Park Hotel in the International Terminal. It was very quiet in our room. This morning I discovered one reason. The window was double glazed with about ten inches of space between the outside pane of glass and the one on the inside. I couldn't tell how thick the outside glass was but the inside piece looked to be about one-quarter inch thick.

While waiting to check into our hotel for tonight we wandered around the terminal buildings. The central atrium of the International Terminal is open with escalators to the six floors.

Photo taken from the fourth floor with two floors above us. 

The second and third floors are devoted to arriving and departing passengers with shops around the edges. The fourth and fifth floors have restaurants and souvenir shops, and the top floor has more shops and restaurants but also has an enclosed observation deck.

The plastic representations of each restaurant's specialties are getting more realistic.

We checked in to our new hotel at 1400 and got settled in. It's always a struggle the first couple days adjusting to the time change. Three o'clock in the afternoon here is eleven at night back home so the eyelids get droopy and if we aren't busy the temptation is to take a nap, but that's not the way to defeat jet lag. We need to stay awake during the day until our bodies can make the transition across time zones.

To help stay awake, I decided to make a cup of coffee in our room. I found a new way to brew real coffee instead of the usual instant. To keep it fresh, a packet of ground coffee was sealed in a metallic pouch. There were instructions in Japanese, of course, but I could follow the diagrams.

By following the instructions, a single cup brewing system unfolds.

The packet had cardboard handles that unfolded into an ingenious filter that fit onto a cup. Water heated in the quick electric pot and poured over the grounds resulted in a pretty good cup of coffee.

Filter brewing an individual cup of coffee

Dinner tonight was a good western style meal. From tomorrow, we'll be eating kaiseki, the traditional multi-course Japanese meal. More on Kaiseki later.

Tattoos and Yoga Tights

Outbound from Seattle to Tokyo, we flew Alaska Air 1076 to San Francisco then Japan Airlines Flight 1 to Tokyo (Haneda).

Our flight from Seattle was 45 minutes late but we had a 2 1/2 hour layover in SFO so, despite the late arrival, we still had time to exit security, catch the Air Train to A Terminal, clear back through security and get to our gate in time.

While waiting for the flights and people watching, I found myself thinking about fads and sheep.

When I was young, tattoos were for sailors, and bikers and other rebels. In the past 20-30 years, it has become a fad to ink up one's body. From hearts and stars, girlfriend's names and other small tats, the fad has progressed(?) to larger tattoos covering whole limbs or even bodies.

I think as the moderating influences of family, community, church and school have declined in our society, what started as a way to show independence or even rebellion, has morphed into a movement of sheep following their bellwether.

I think part of the fad also might be some people's desire to highlight their skin as canvas where the tattoo artist can ply his trade. I'm not sure they will be so proud of that canvas when it stretches or develops wrinkles.

Today I noticed a fair number of shapely (and some not so much) younger women wearing various iterations of T-shirts with black yoga tights. I think they are yoga tights since they stretch skin tight from ankle to upper midriff, showing off Ms. Hardbody, at least the lower two-thirds.

I'm not sure what to think of this. Maybe another way to flaunt old cultural norms? Maybe a way to express equality with those men who travel wearing shorts and tank tops? Maybe a way to transition from almost exposed upper body to almost exposed lower body as a way to attract attention?

Maybe I'm too old to understand. However, it did cross my mind that one day we might see full body tattoos in place of clothing, with a unisex G-string, color coordinated to match the individual's tattoos. To express individuality, of course, never to attract attention or prurient interest.

The eleven hour plus flight to Tokyo soon got my mind off other people's bodies. Even though the JAL 777 had more legroom than normal and we were sitting just behind the partition separating steerage class from business class where we had even more room to move our legs, eleven hours of immobility makes creaky joints cranky.

Departing SFO Saturday around 1600, we arrived in Tokyo Sunday evening about 1930 thanks to the International Date Line, tired but happy to stretch our legs.

Fairbanks Riverboat Discovery

September 14, 2018

After the gold dredge we took a short bus ride to the banks of the Chena River and the Riverboat Discovery landing.

Discovery III tied up at the Athabascan village

First stop was the communal dining room where were sat down to a "miners' lunch" of salad, beef stew, sauteed veggies and a brownie for dessert.

After a shopping opportunity, we boarded the riverboat and set off down the river to the first attraction, a float plane taking off and landing on the river next to us. We listened in on the two way communication via radio between the pilot and our captain.

We admired riverside properties and stopped to watch the dogs at Trail Breaker Kennels, owned by the late Susan Butcher and her husband Dan Monson. Susan won four of the races in 1986, 87, 88 and 90.

Enjoying a beautiful day on the Chena River

Typical Alaskan commuter. One out of 76 Alaskans have private pilot's licenses

Dog team starting a practice run

Back from their run the dogs are waiting to be released so they can take a swim

On down the river we came to the confluence of the Chena and Tanana Rivers before tuning back  up the river to stop at the Athabascan village. The village consists of replicas of Indian buildings from the steamboat age when there were many such villages along the river.

Typical dwelling and cache

Replica smokehouse

Ceremonial robe weighs 23 pounds

Chugging back up the river on a real sternwheeler

 Back at our hotel by 1700 we were a tired group after the day's interesting activities.

 

Fairbanks Gold Dredge #8

September 14, 2018

Today was so interesting and busy I'll break my update into two parts. First we'll visit the gold dredge.

The station for the replica Tanana Valley Railroad was just beyond one of the above ground sections of the Alyeska Pipeline. The pipeline is worthy of a blog entry by itself but I'll leave that for another day.

Alan group makes their way to the pipeline attraction

At the approach to the station there was a signpost showing the way to various destinations.

The train made its way through various static exhibits of old gold mine equipment, while an old timer and his daughter entertained us via CCTV from the front car with songs from the period.

Drag line bucket in operation

These pipes pushed water into the frozen gravel to thaw the ground in preparation for the dredge

Our narrator soon was replaced by an old timer and his daughter singing and playing the old songs.

 The old dredge was an efficient machine processing some 6,000 cubic yards of material every 24 hours to produce an average of 4,000 ounces of gold every two weeks.

The old dredge is stately even at rest

We got a chance to pan for gold with success guaranteed for everyone.

Denali to Fairbanks

Sept 13, 2018

It feels good to be drafting an update in real time.

Spent a good part of the day yesterday taking advantage of the good WiFi available in the McKinley Lodge lounge. Speed was good enough to post pictures without error messages or time outs. Yea!!

This morning after baggage pickup, we checked out of the room and moved to the lobby to finish bringing the blog up to date. Got done just before we loaded buses at 1400,

We headed north towards Fairbanks, gradually descending from about 1500 feet at the resort to 446 feet in Fairbanks. The lower elevations brought even more yellows and golds in the aspens along the road.

Swivel-head passengers catching the sights along our route to Fairbanks

We stopped for a rest break at Nenana, known for wagering on the date and time of the annual ice breakup on the Nenana River and, depending on weather, in some years for being milepost #1 of the Iditarod Race.

After our break we loaded up and listened to our driver spin tales of the wilderness all the way to our hotel.

These transfer days are the slow days of our tour. Travel with Alan tries to make them as interesting as possible but there's no getting around the necessity of transporting a large group of people from one main attraction to the next. Nansea has worked with our drivers to provide interesting stops along the way to break up the transfers and the slow days let us older people recuperate from the busy days at the main attractions.

Tomorrow's a big day so we took it easy today.