Remember last night’s friendly izakaya? Well, this morning on our walk (aka, trundle) to the station, we took the route that passed this izakaya so I could get a daytime shot. I did that and we trundled off. A few minutes – and a few blocks – later, we heard a noise, and there, running up behind us, was that izakaya’s owner, with a big smile smile on his face. He pressed into my hands a plastic bag, and said “sake”! Inside was a cold 300ml bottle of sake and two paper cups – ready for our travel to Takasaki. Can you believe it! We were overwhelmed by not only the thought but the obvious joy written all over his face in doing this. And, how on earth had he seen us? What a special start to the day.
Train
The first part of the day was spent travelling on two trains to get to Takasaki. We were intrigued to see on the Matsumoto platform, and at regular intervals, female station employees standing pretty much to attention. It all became clear when a “not in service” train pulled into the platform. The women, all lined up for that train’s doors, hopped on and immediately started cleaning their carriage, including flipping the seats to fact the other direction. As the train pulled out, they were still working. There is still a lot of labour intensive work here – work that we, in other countries, no longer deem worth paying for.
I enjoy the train travel, particularly watching the rural landscape, mostly full of rice paddies that have just been harvested or are about to be so.
Also, we met more rugby followers in Matsumoto, most of them English (including a father and son, and two male friends) but also an Australian couple.
The famous Kannon to Kannon Walk
After two train trips, each lasting about one hour, one in a Limited Express and the other in a Shinkansen, we arrived in Takasaki around lunch time. We dropped our bags at the hotel because, of course, we couldn’t check in, and set off down back streets looking for lunch. Pretty soon we found a tiny little place with a small Japanese-only lunch menu. Undaunted, the owner welcomed us in, pointed to the menu, and named Japanese food. I was sorted when she said sashimi, and Len at yaki sakana (grilled fish). The food was nicely served in a quiet environment with quiet classical music playing – albeit both meals were “sets” – what else could we expect – and therefore included more food that we really needed.
Now, let’s cut to the chase! The main reason for coming to Takasaki – though not our main reason – is to see the Byakue Kannon (White-robed Kannon), which, say the guides, is a huge Buddha (Kannon) statue in Kannonyama. (Remember this name!) At over 40 metres tall, this Buddha is one of the biggest in Japan.
So, given tomorrow is dedicated to our main reason for coming to Takasaki and, given it was a warm, dry day, we decided to “do” the Kannon this afternoon. Google said we could walk the 4.4km (taking about an hour) or bus or get a taxi. We decided to taxi. We got one at the station and yours truly asked him to take us to Kannonyama Family Park. Fifteen minutes and Y2300 later, he deposited us there. But, where was the Kannon? Not even the park map seemed to show it! Then the penny dropped, I had assumed that the Kannonyama where the Kannon is, was the same area as the Kannonyama Family Park. Nope. The Byakue Kannon’s Kannonyama was a 3.9kms walk away! So, with few options available to us, we decided to leg it! Oh well, it was 0.5km less from here than from the station so, win in a way, I suppose! I’m sure some of the Japanese we passed on our cross-country perambulating wondered what on earth these gaijin were doing.
It was a pretty demanding walk, downhill at first but then a good pull uphill, mostly on backroads and minor paths. (You could say it was down one yama and up the other!) It was rather warm, around 30°C, and we walked in and out of shade, but it was all so interesting. We saw parts of suburban, working Takasaki we would never have seen otherwise. Still, thank goodness for those Japanese vending machines you see on corners out in the middle of nowhere. They gave us the hydration we needed.
Eventually, though, we arrived, albeit we first had to run the gauntlet of what we believe is the Ishiharamachi shopping street (though there are a couple of approaches to the Kannon all lined with souvenir shops cum cafes and tearooms so which one ours was, we’re not sure.) Japan.guide.com says that “the area has retained a traditional feel, and is lined with old style buildings. There are many shops selling traditional crafts and foods”. Hmm. It just looked to us like commercial tourism, Japanese style, like you see in the approach to other popular sites like Kyoto’s Silver Pavilion.
Anyhow, the Kannon is impressive, though unfortunately the light, which was coming from its back, was poor for photography. Within the complex, there is a large temple called Jiganin, which we also looked at. This whole complex seems to perfectly encapsulate the whole Shinto-Buddhist synthesis that is common in Japan.
Another point of interest are the Daruma dolls, which can be seen around the temple complex, mostly in the souvenir shops. They originated in Takasaki, and are hollow, round, traditionally red objects. They are believed to bring good luck to their owners.
They say – well, no, I say, – that every trip needs a little mishap or two to make it interesting. This, I hope, is ours as, fortunately, we were under no real pressure this afternoon, and all it cost us was a wasted taxi ride. Still, l learnt a lesson about not making assumptions (when will I stop learning lessons I wonder.) I do appreciate what a good sport Len was about it all.
We returned to Takasaki by the bus, which took about as long as we would have had to walk, but we were past walking (for a while) by then.
Dinner
We both wanted a light dinner, so decided to check out the yakitori themed place, Denzo, we’d seen on our walk back from the station. It was ok, though the female server seemed to have the traditional Japanese discomfort serving English-speakers and would giggle (out of nervousness, we realise) rather than try to enter into the fun of engaging with us. We came to realise that, unlike most yakitori and izakaya places we’ve been to, this one had a particularly young vibe. That was probably it. It was all pleasant, but in that efficient rather than friendly way.
Anyhow, we started by sharing a selection of four yakitori skewers, after which I had a delicious fried tofu dish, and Len had a karaage. We were not late and got home in good time to work on this blog.
And some Stills…
Last night’s izakaya in the daytime 
Traditional buildings in Nakamachi, Matsumoto 
Our lunch spot, Takasaki 
The lunch menu. Takasaki 
Len’s yaki sakana – lunch 
Sue’s sashimi – lunch 
A fairly busy manhole cover, Takasaki 
In Kannonyama Family Park 
Manhole cover, Takasaki 
Are we there yet? Nearly, says map-reader Len 
Running the gauntlet of shops up to the big Buddha 
Byakue Kannon 
Temple Jiganin 
Lanterns on ceilings over verandah at the temple 
Souvenir shop and teahouse 
Len at the teahouse component 
Fungus (in second Kannonyama area) 
Daruma inspired mural near Takasaki station. 
Inside Denzo cafe, Takasaki 
Sue’s fried tofu, Denzo 
Daruma guarded drink vending machine, Takasaki
And some Movies…
Click here to view today’s video clips
Today’s Challenges …
- Getting from the wrong Kannonyama to the right one
- Keeping hydrated
I love that I keep seeing the little white paper lightening bolts! One day they were for the Frog Festival but what were the ones on the 16th – do you know? I did look up the manhole covers, which I adore! I found that in 2004 they were stolen not just in Japan but in many places and sold for scrap metal to China (if I remember correctly). The ones in Japan are such lovely artistic pieces – how fun to see and gather them by photo as you go. Reminds me of the Pokemon cell phone rage that the young and old in CA enjoyed when I lived there. It was a cool way to get people outside and walking with their phones. Of course, being the queen of flip phones I do none of that – just admire others enjoying the portable technology benefits.
My favorite today was included in the video of your walk to the Kannon Buddha. It was the part where Len was in front of you rather than behind and you playfully skipped down the path like Judy
Garland on the yellow brick road in the Wizard of Oz. Made me smile and giggle! I would say you BOTH had a great attitude about the taxi destination mix up. I also like the part of the walk with the
Cosmos flowers. The orange ones are just like some in my very own backyard. They are new for me, as in the past, I have only grown the pink, white, and raspberry colored ones. These grow so tall and wide and have tons of flowers. I am currently collecting the seeds as the flower petals fall to the ground and the seed head dries!
You two are truly having a wonderful trip! Me too!
No, I don’t Trudy. I wondered if they just hadn’t taken them down yet or whether there’s some specific practice about how long they are left up.
I didn’t know that about manhole covers being stolen. Wow! Glad you enjoyed my skipping. Better than my ungainly walk! I nearly took a still shot of the flowers. They were so colourful and cheery. Good luck with your next plantings.
Don’t think I could cope with walking that distance in 30-degree heat. You two really are fit.
As to when will you stop making assumptions|learning lessons, Mrs Gums – the answer is never, of course. Because you, like me, assume sense and logic where there is none, and blithely leap off the jetty into a foot of water. :\
Your manhole-cover collection must be without peer by now. 🙂
I liked your Little Red Riding Hood approach to walking around verdant corners.
The Japanese know at least as much as all western countries about horrid tourism, it seems: they can destroy a place with crappy touristy things just as well as any of us can ! Sighh …
I wouldn’t say we “really are fit”, M-R, but more that we are fit enough. I love your description of assuming sense and logic! Interestingly, the engineer with me, never assumes anything, whereas I do expect sense and logic! It seems counter-intuitive, but probably it’s not. Fortunately the foot of water wasn’t too disastrous.- this time.
I’m glad you liked my little skip, ungainly as it was.
As for crappy touristy things spoiling beautiful places, I remember being shocked the first trip. But I suppose it makes them human!
We always say that if we were at home for whatever the length of the trip, something — often more than one thing —would go wrong. And so there will also be times on holiday when things go wrong, and it’s best just to consign it to experience or to make a joke of it. As you do…
I can never understand people who go on and on after wards about what went wrong, without ever recounting the things they loved about their trip.
You won’t have seen this unless you’re accessing the ABC online, but there is an Australian couple suing some hapless tour operator because there is a drought wherever it was in Europe and the river water was too shallow for their cruise boat. So part of their trip was by bus. I’m not very sympathetic about this, because I reckon I’ve had the ultimate disappointment when the Paris museums were on strike for the whole week we were there (and it was our first, long-awaited trip to Europe) but we made the best of it, and had the most wonderful time doing other things. And enjoyed our grand entrance to the Louvre even more when we finally got there five years later!
Totally agree re things going wrong Lisa. You have to expect them, and you have to make stories out of them and enjoy the story, even if initially it can be rather distressing.
France, it seems, regularly has strikes. Last time we were there – 2013 – there was a train strike and we were planning to train up from Barcelona – via Figueras – to Avignon, where we were spending 4 days. What do do. In the end, with the advice of our Figueras friend (whom I’d met via the internet bookgroup), we trained to the border, and got a taxi over to the little town, Cerbère, on the other side, and had a really interesting time. The Avignon people told us they’d only charge us for that night if they couldn’t let the room, which they could. So reasonable. And such a fascinating experience at the taxi-recommended hotel in Cerbère. That experience was one of the treasures of the holiday. (We are checking ABC online, sometimes, but I hadn’t seen that story.
See, that’s the thing: you discover something else that you’d never have encountered if not for the problem:)
Yes, unfortunately some people don’t seem to see travel as an adventure but rather as something you can control. It’s all a state of mind, isn’t it.
Oh, I just loved the story of the Izakaya fellow running to give you a bottle of sake for your trip. The day may have been a bit warm 30 degrees, but the pictures look lovely and I enjoyed hearing of your treck from Kannon to Kannon. What do you usually buy from the vending machines? In summer I always get cold green tea or barley tea. No diet coke for me because I hate the taste of it in Japan. Your touristy teahouse looked delightful. I wanted to be sitting there too. What an incredibly good deal of 1020 yen for your set lunch meal and it wasn’t all that voluminous with two side dishes of vegetables. Can you imagine being able to eat sashimi at a sit-down restaurant for 10 dollars anywhere in the U.S.?? I’m assuming not Australia either.
I’m glad you loved the izakaya fellow story Carolyn. Today we bought some omiyage from Tomioka (because he and his off-sider found the quickest route there for us) and mailed it. We hope we got the address right, but the PO fellow seemed happy with what we wrote to fingers crossed. We hope the izakaya man gets the same thrill we did. He had the biggest smile on his face.
Len buys all sorts of things at the vending machines – he’s an experimenter – but mostly for me it’s a plain pocari sweat, sparkling water, or, occasionally, iced tea.
We would love to have had you sitting there with us Carolyn! And yes, I thought the price was amazing. It wasn’t all that voluminous but probably more rice than we need. I can’t believe that I got that nice serving of fresh fish, and rice and miso and the veggies for the price it was. As you say, not in Australia either. (For us with our current exchange rate it’s more like $15 but even at that, you still wouldn’t.
omg that sake story!!!! FEELINGS!
All the feelings, exactly, Hannah. What an absolute thrill it was to have him do that.