And finally.....Hakodate

Our last night in Hokkaido was the 24th August. We left Sapporo early in the morning and headed to the nearby town of Otaru, famous amongst the native Japanese for the glassware made there. Otaru is famous amongst the foreign expat community in Japan for an entirely different reason - a lawsuit aimed at lifting the ban on non-Japanese from using some of the local onsens. Fortunately, one of those banned from the onsens (Debito Arudou) for not having the right ethnicity, took umbrage and won his anti-discrimination case. Despite such a victory, it is still not yet illegal to exclude customers from any premises in Japan based on race.

After our stop off at Otaru, the bus journey down to Hakodate was actually very nice. Lovely views from the road which followed the coastline south. We stopped off at a couple of places en-route and arrived at our hotel in Hakodate at approximately 5.30pm. Our hotel, the Bourou Noguchi, was very impressive indeed! A great blend of traditional and modern Japan. After arrival, we had to quickly eat dinner and then rush to join the bus once again to experience the night views from the top of Mount Hakodate. This rush meant we didn't have time to eat desert.

And the views from Mount Hakodate were certainly impressive - supposed to be amongst the three best night views in Japan, for which I wouldn't necessarily disagree. However, there were thousands of other people pushing, shoving, and shouting to get a glimpse of Hakodate below. The night view was certainly impressive, the experience depressing. I much preferred the experience of Mount Inasa in Nagasaki when we visited almost 4 years ago. Similar night view, but much more restrained and civilised. I wasn't at all unhappy to get back on the bus and return to our hotel.The room at the Borou Noguchi Hotel was one of the best I have stayed in. As can be seen from the picture, we had our very own hinoki (cypress) wooden bath on our balcony. Soaking in the bath was the usual pleasure and the Western style bedroom and Japanese style lounge were very tastefully done with little expense spared. However, the same problem existed as I experienced in Sapporo the previous evening. By the time we had returned from the night view and had an onsen, it was too late to explore the city of Hakodate (even if I did have the energy from the marathon day we had just experienced). So, similar to the night before, I was in bed asleep by 10.30pm.It was a terrible shame we were all so rushed. I spent approximately 8 hours in the Borou Noguchi Hotel, 6 of those hours were spent sleeping. It seemed to have defeated the purpose of staying in such a lovely place as we never had a proper chance to enjoy all the hotel had to offer. Shame.

Before our flight back to Tokyo the following day (25th August), we still had the chance to spend half a day wandering round Hakodate. I skipped breakfast in exchange for an extra 30 minutes in bed and then split from the rest of the tour and found a quiet watering hole to sit and have lunch with a couple of beers.

In summary, Hokkaido is certainly a fantastic place to visit and I was lucky to have a brief glimpse of what the island has to offer. I would recommend it to anyone. On the other hand, if you want to really understand and have a deeper appreciation of Hokkaido, it would perhaps be best to hire a car and explore at your own pace.

The Scottish Samurai - Thomas Blake Glover

Saturday the 14th of October was the big Nagasaki sightseeing day. I had originally intended to cover all our sightseeing in one blog entry, but I think that the story of Thomas Glover is deserving of an entry all to itself.

I have always had an interest in Thomas Glover ever since I read the book 'Scottish Samurai' in Edinburgh about 7 years ago. In Scotland, I had never heard of this man, but in Japan, he is almost a national hero. As a Scot myself, it is only natural that I have been very keen over the last 7 years to visit Nagasaki and the home of Thomas Glover. It turns out that Glover had a finger in many pies. He set up Japan's first brewery (Kirin), started the first rail line, helped establish the Nagasaki shipbuilding yard, and initially made his fortune as a gun runner. An impressive CV by anyone's standards!!!!

As we started our walk around Glover Gardens, I could faintly hear bagpipes coming through nearby speakers. It was also nice to see that Mitsubishi Shipyard still appears to be in fine health as a number of large ships were under construction or undergoing refits.To be honest, I did not find the inside of the house of much interest. It was small, dingy, and had contents that I have seen many times before in similar preserved homes in Scotland. However, that was all immaterial. I was just pleased to sample the place from where a Scotsman had played a major part in the development of Japan.

A few years ago, I recall reading that some Scots had campaigned to have the wording on Glover's bust changed. On the bust, it said that Glover was an Englishman - obviously incorrect. It was interesting to see the remedial work which had taken place and that Glover is now properly represented at his former home. Click on the picture to have a clearer view of the changes.

We are lucky that there is a Glover House to visit in Nagasaki. When the USA dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, the main target was the shipbuilding yard. However, in a not too unfamiliar example of American precision bombing, the bomb was dropped in a mainly residential area 3.5km away. The luck that saved Glover House saw thousands of civilians incinerated in an instant.

More Nagasaki adventures to follow soon.

Mount Inasa, Nagasaki

On the evening of the 13th of October, Joep suggested that we all take a cable car to the top of Mount Inasa. I have to say that I felt this was one of the major highlights of our trip to Nagasaki. The views were spectacular! It was very refreshing to stand there and take in the views whilst being exposed to some fairly strong gusts of wind.

There were a number of other people on the viewing platform who were also enjoying the views. Apparently it is a popular place for couples to cement their relationships or for couples to break up. Those who cement their relationships often attach padlocks to the railings which need to be periodically cut off by the local government workers.

The visit to Mount Inasa was an unexpected bonus as it was initially not on my 'things to do' list. I would love to visit again someday. After about 30 minutes at the top, we returned to the cable car for our journey back down the mountain. The views on the way down the mountain were not as spectacular but were very interesting - I could see into the windows of all the houses along the cable car route.

The Nagasaki Wedding

The main reason for our trip to Nagasaki was the marriage of Kentaro (Yuki's brother) to Mika. The wedding took place at the Luke Plaza Hotel. The views from the hotel were lovely. We could see our hotel on the other side of Nagasaki Bay and all the comings and goings of various ships and boats. The weather was also pretty good. I was worried that the temperatures would be too high but it was a pleasant 23C.

The Luke Plaza Hotel must specialise in weddings as we counted about 5 other brides during the course of the day. I decided to keep myself to myself as I did not want to introduce myself to the wrong family.

We all sat around for a while and then headed into a side room where a group photo of the two families was taken. During that time, the families of the bride and groom formally introduced themselves to each other. After that, we were soon directed into the chapel which stood behind the hotel. The chapel looked very nice and had recently been renovated. There was a good selection of kimonos on display and Clara was very proud to wear her dress, along with a necklace and earrings. Joep and I both decided to fly the flag for Scotland and wear the kilt.After the ceremony and photos, we were directed inside for the wedding reception. Everything was done very professionally and seemed quite expensive. As is the case with all Japanese weddings, it was a mix of madcap and emotion. Kenken's friends from university bellowed out good wishes to the happy couple whilst performing an odd looking dancing ritual. On the other end of the scale, the bride and groom thanked their parents for all their care and support over the years. Clara was a little star and behaved very well. I was interested to see her thinking about the events and she became quite tearful at times during the day. I guess she is growing up fast as she was able to fully appreciate the significance of the days events.

My parents seemed to enjoy themselves, even if they were slightly bemused by some of the days events. The wedding finished at around 3pm, so we took the hotel bus back to the New Nagasaki Hotel to unwind. For me, the biggest difference between a Japanese and a Scottish wedding is that in Scotland, the partying lasts until around midnight. In Japan, it always makes me feel a little odd to leave at 3pm in the afternoon, sober and in daylight.

Nagasaki Arrival

Hello to all. I'm really sorry about the delay in writing up the details of our trip to the island of Kyushu, southern Japan. I've been quite busy recently and have not had much spare time.

Anyway, we flew down to Nagasaki on Friday the 12th of October. We were all in good form as we had many things to look forward to during our time on Kyushu. I was especially happy as I would be off work for a total of 4 days.

Once, we arrived at Nagasaki Airport, a bus was waiting to transport us all to the Hotel New Nagasaki. As this is Japan, all the travel details ran like clockwork - no problems and no fuss. The hotel was supposed to be of a high standard and was supposed to be the best in Nagasaki. However, it seemed to me that the hotel was living on its former reputation. Perhaps it was a good hotel in its heyday, but it seemed tired and in need of investment. Don't get me wrong, it was fine, but a bit of a disappointment after listening to all the hype beforehand.

We checked in and I was immediately given cause to grumble. We were all looking forward to a swim in the hotel pool but were upset to discover that: (a) swimming would cost an extra ¥3,000 per person. (b) Children are not allowed in the pool at any time. Not exactly family friendly!! Poor Clara was very disappointed and I can't blame her.

Once we found our room, we got organised and relaxed for a while before we went for a Chinese meal on the 14th floor. The Chinese restaurant (called Torin) is "the best Chinese restaurant in Nagasaki".

The room was fine, but as I said before, it was tired looking. The fixtures and fittings were well worn and the wallpaper was slightly discoloured and beginning to become unstuck from the wall. We were happy enough, but I was starting to wonder what the worst hotel in Nagasaki was like. However, I was content with the view from our room on the 11th floor and pleased with our proximity to the famed Mitsubishi Shipyard.

At around 6pm, we made our way to Torin for our Chinese food. I guess the food was ok, but not what you would expect from the best Chinese restaurant in Nagasaki. There was a good deal of seafood (which I hate) and more disappointingly, no sign of beef with black bean sauce, a long term favourite of mine. Despite, my silent grumbling and griping, I refused to be bullied into a bad mood and enjoyed the building excitement for the days to come. By the time the meal was over, I had the wind in my sails and was unwilling to call it a night. I had read in a hotel brochure about the Moonlight Bar. The naming of the bar conjured up images of lofty views over Nagasaki, with city lights blinking invitingly at me from a distance. When I searched for the bar, I was puzzled to discover that it was not on the top floor, but on the second floor. Despite being a little disappointed at the realisation that I would not after all be lording it over the population of Nagasaki, I was still looking forward to viewing the comings and goings of people on the streets outside. Amazingly, the Moonlight Bar had no chance of ever seeing moonlight as it was a room without any windows!! I was led to a small child size seat and waited for my parents to arrive.

We all ordered a small beer (300ml) and were given a bowl of nuts to nibble on. Mum, Joep, and I discussed the days events and talked excitedly about the wedding the following day. After 30 minutes or so, my parents asked for the bill. ¥4,300 (about GBP21)! Any thoughts of staying for another beer evaporated quicker than the money in Joep's wallet.The folks returned to their room while I ventured out onto the streets of Nagasaki, determined to find a place that sold beer at a reasonable price. I initially went to a restaurant across the street but soon grew tired of watching the fish swim around in their tank. I asked a few people where I could find a bar, and none of them knew. Nagasaki is a pretty small city and I decided that the people I asked were either extremely ignorant, or were not long term residents of the city.

After wandering around and watching the trams pass, I hailed a taxi which took me on a 5 minute journey to the Nagasaki nightlife area called Shianbashi. I went to a pool bar which was large, but virtually empty. Two customers were playing 9 ball and I watched their progress (or lack of) as I supped my bottle of Kirin. After a short while, they kindly asked me if I wanted to play them. No quarter was given and I wiped the floor with them. They left after the bar after a 40 minute whitewash. The old magic is still there.

After chatting to a few other customers and bar staff, I came to the conclusion that I probably knew more about Nagasaki than they did. Eager not to feel a hangover on the wedding day, I walked back to the hotel at about midnight, looking forward to the wedding the following day.

Road Trip

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our planned trip to Nagasaki at the last minute because of a typhoon. It was a shame but I will visit Nagasaki one day - I really wanted visit the old house of Thomas Glover, a famous Scot who once lived in Japan and who was instrumental in making his adopted country one of the world's leading industrial powers.

Instead of Nagasaki, we drove to many places to the North West of Tokyo (around the area marked with the blue arrow). We saw so many places, but only for a very short time - it feels like I never actually went to these places at all. I have to say that my patience was wearing slightly thin at being in the car for between 8 and 10 hours each day. Clara was well behaved though and never complained, although she did ask if we could make more stops to the many beaches we passed during our epic journey. Still, I am lucky to have seen more of Japan, however brief our stops were.

We stayed in a very nice hotel at a place called Hida Takayama. Hida Takayama has some old style Japanese streets which have wooden houses and shops. The area was quite charming and Clara really enjoyed her 15 minute rickshaw ride. The area seems to be famous for selling wooden goods - I was quite tempted to pick up a few nice pairs of chopsticks but some were quite expensive. After our tour of the 'old town', we retreated back to the hotel and Clara decided she wanted to paddle in a small stream outside our hotel (while Yuki was doing more shopping).

The next day, we drove to an extremely famous town in Japan called Shirakawa Go. This town is also a World Heritage Site and makes frequent appearances in calendars on sale in Japan. It was lovely to see, but the weather was scorching and there were so many tourists around. I would love to visit the town again in winter - I'm sure the houses would look fantastic when they are covered in a layer of snow. After Shirakawa Go, we travelled up the Noto Peninsula and stopped off at more picturesque places. Senmaida was lovely and it was interesting to see all the tiny rice fields (terraced) there. Terracing is said to exist so that the local people (for many generations) could make most efficient use of their land. It is said that the smallest rice field can fit under one farmer's hat. The other main highlight of the trip was visiting the seaside and looking at an island called Mitsukejima. This island has the nickname Gunkanjima - Warship Island in English (for obvious reasons). Our final destination was Nagano (the place which held the 1998 Winter Olympics). Nagano seemed nice enough and I hope to go skiing there one day in the future. Nagano is famous in Japan for the wine produced there. I also noticed another local product which is not as appetising - honey with a massive bee (which looks like a wasp) floating in the jar!!

After our short visit to Nagano, it was time to make the relatively short journey back to Tokyo. In Tokyo, I went to Ochanomizu Station to look at the many ski shops there and I also met a couple of Japanese friends who I knew in Scotland. It was time to return to Shimogo.