Japan

On October 12th, typhoon Hagibis (category 5) hit Japan and caused devastating damage. We were fortunate that our vacation could proceed as planned, but it was on the "wet and wild" side with plenty of rain from above and below. We were also a bit early for the autumn season, and any leaves that had already changed colors were knocked down by the typhoon.

Osaka

October 15h to 18th

Fortunately, the transportation from Tokyo to Osaka was open and operating again by the time we landed. The announcements of cancellations and detours due to flooding showed us how lucky we were.

Our stay in Osaka was overshadowed by rain clouds, and the only sunny day we had was spent at Kōya-san. Despite the bad weather, we didn't postpone our visit to the castle, and we took the required photo at the same spot as previous visits. What started as a coincidence has now become a tradition.

Kōya-san (Osaka)

October 16th

Informally, a group of mountains south of Osaka is referred to as Kōya-san. Originally, the name was the nickname of a local Buddhist Kongōbu temple, which encompasses the entire plateau with numerous sub-temples.

Either way, I fell in love with this place on my first visit to Japan - luckily, we had a day of sunshine that we took advantage of to walk through the ancient graves and get our shoes really dirty.

Kaiyūkan (Osaka)

October 18th

The aquarium in Osaka is one of the largest in the world. In the center of the building is a huge tank that houses two whale sharks and manta rays, among other things. Additional tanks and exhibits are arranged around it: seals, penguins, giant crabs, an exhibition on the Arctic, and much more.

Trip to Hakuba

October 18th to 21st

As with every trip to Japan, visiting the host parents was also on the agenda this time. We arrived late on Friday, were packed into the car early Saturday morning, transported to Hakuba (with many stops along the way), well-fed, and then repeated the same game on Sunday backwards. On Monday morning, we were then put on the bus to Kawaguchiko at a slightly less early time.

Kawaguchiko

October 21st to 26th

The weather gods were slowly getting merciful, so we at least had one day of pure sunshine in Kawaguchiko. The other days were a mixture of rain, fog, and clouds. The viewpoints seemed to be used to this kind of weather: at one place you could buy a retouched photo of yourself in which Mt. Fuji was copied in, as it was rarely visible behind all these clouds.

We arranged our day program according to the weather: shrine in the rain, park in the sun - and anything near the hotel was visited when it stopped raining.

Kitaguchi-hongu (Kawaguchiko)

October 22nd

As so often, a path lined with old stone lanterns leads to the shrine. This shrine is also surrounded by thousand-year-old cedar trees. It was a proper autumn day, just like we know them in Switzerland. Nevertheless, the high fog together with the rain gave the facility a mystical atmosphere - sometimes this kind of weather can be quite beautiful.

Hakkai Park (Kawaguchiko)

October 23rd

New day, new luck, better weather. The weather forecasters were right, and we had beautiful blue skies. So, it was time to wake up early and hop on the first bus. First stop: Hakkai Park - ironically, we knew nothing about it, but it was right at the station where we wanted to get off.

The park consists of a small water feature with Koi fish and a hut with a waterwheel. In the background, you can see Mount Fuji, mainly its freshly snow-capped white peak. This was the first time this fall/winter that Mount Fuji got a white peak.

Oshino Hakkai (Kawaguchiko)

October 23rd

A small village in picturesque surroundings with eight ponds and a view of Mount Fuji. It is located between the lakes of Kawaguchiko and Yamanakako. The eight ponds have inflows from Mount Fuji, which filter the water so that the ponds have very clear water.

From Hakkai Park, it was less than a ten-minute walk to this spot. However, unlike the park where we were alone, there was a lot of hustle and bustle with many tourists here.

Yamanakako Hananomiyako (Kawaguchiko)

October 23rd

A flower garden that is famous for photographs featuring a sea of ​​flowers in the foreground and Mt. Fuji in the background. The park is planted with flowers that bloom from spring to autumn, ensuring that the necessary plants for the famous photos are always available.

During our visit to the park, we could watch as clouds from the sea slowly moved closer to Mt. Fuji and gradually surrounded it.

Iyashinosato (Kawaguchiko)

October 23rd 

The village was destroyed by a landslide in 1966. 40 years later, it was reconstructed, including the traditional thatched roofs, and is now a museum village. Visitors can not only learn about traditional Japanese crafts but also buy related products on-site.

We were lucky with our visit, as it only drizzled on and off, but didn't rain heavily. One of the present artisans made small figures that could be found all over the village. At his shop, he handed us seeds with which we could feed the curious sparrows from our hands (and we bought a kappa cup).

Hakone

October 26th to 28th

Our journey to Hakone was a bit more adventurous than planned: the typhoon had brought a lot of water to this area, which had caused some washouts and landslides. However, we were extremely lucky not to have traveled from Tokyo. So we had the bus to ourselves along with another couple - but on the way back to Tokyo, we were packed in like sardines.

The weather was doing its best, and our hotel was fantastic with our own onsen attached to our room and excellent traditional dinner.

PS: The pirate ships had Roman figureheads at the bow, and on the deck, you could take photos with Napoleon or pirates.

Hakone Gora Park (Hakone)

October 26th

After our unusual journey and checking into our hotel, we decided to visit the Hakone Botanical Garden. The garden was opened in 1914 and is the first garden in French style in Japan. Apart from that, the garden offers many different facilities such as the tea garden and several tropical greenhouses.

The special thing about this garden, especially in the greenhouses, is the way various decorations have been incorporated. For example, one greenhouse had many beetle statues integrated into it, and in another, the plants were planted in artistic pots.

Hakone-en Aquarium (Hakone)

October 27th

The special thing about this aquarium - besides the fact that we stumbled upon it and it wasn't planned - is the water tank in the center of the main building (similar to the one in Osaka, but much smaller) where a diver feeds the animals, including a ray. We definitely didn't know about the little teeth that rays have or what their mouths look like - now we do! But there were also other exhibits, such as those of turtles and amphibians. A small aquarium, and expensive compared to Japanese standards, but it was definitely worth it!

Tōkyō

October 28th to November 1st

The journey from Hakone to Tōkyō was cumbersome, but great effort was made to make it as comfortable as possible. We were certainly glad to see the traffic jam on the other side of the road and not be stuck in it.

Our last days of our vacation in Tōkyō were rather relaxed. I was slowly but surely getting tired of returning to the hotel soaking wet. If the weather cooperated, we still went outside for fresh air. So, we took a day trip to Kamakura in good weather this time.

Kamakura (Tōkyō)

Oktober 30th

One fine day, we made our way to Kamakura. Part of the day's goal was to see what had changed in the last 7 years.

The first thing that stood out was that there were many more tourists! This was something that had been following us throughout the vacation. A large part of the tourists must have been rugby fans. This put a bit of a damper on us, and we tried to avoid the main attractions. This led us to go on a discovery tour instead of replicating our previous visit.

Lastly, something humorous: I checked in daily at home to say "yes, we're still alive, no, we haven't drowned (yet)." But since this quickly became boring, my signs of life were packaged in funny "fun facts" that we came across during the day - it started as a joke, ended up as a collection of funny texts. They were edited at home and are now included in my photo album or here:

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe Catch a tiger by the toe...   After taking the cake during my first public bathroom visit in Japan and not being able to find the button (or rather, the sensor...), I have since become an expert at figuring out how to convince the toilet to flush. This year, the challenge was drastically reduced: the "flush" button is clearly and frequently labeled as much as possible (in this case, a whopping five times!). Only a flashing neon sign was missing - but we don't want to overdo it!

Historical Retouching Cover-up work in ancient Japan   Retouching and enhancement is not a modern invention. No no no, the ancient Japanese could do it too. How did it come about? Did a child drop mom's cup, and dad helped cover it up and turned it into a "look what I made for you"? Anyway, the ancient Japanese repaired cracks and chipped corners of bowls and cups by adding a cute kappa figure to them.

Playing Chess on the Lake Shore Path or walking like a child   A normal lake shore path - whether paved or muddy - would be too boring and ordinary. No, the lake shore path along Lake Ashi (Hakone) was paved like a kind of cobblestone. But that's not enough, no, the pattern looks like a chessboard. Still not enough? The black squares consist of about 9 small black stones each, while the white (gray) ones are a large stone. Still not enough. After all, we are in Japan. The trees "on the way" were not cut down, but the path was laid "around them": let go of hands, one to the right, the other to the left, say hello to the tree, bye-bye tree, hands together again and off we go.

Botany A mystery in every foreign language   It's true that botany seems quite simple at first glance, as plants tend to look the same in every country - at least those that we know from home. But have you ever tried to figure out what kind of plant it is when it's only labeled in Japanese? In those cases, taking a photo and Googling it at home seems like a good idea, right? Well, not really. Even Google can't always identify if the plant is a "Los Angeles", an orchid, or a carnivorous pitcher plant - and it's not even certain that the last two options are mutually exclusive. So, the only solution is to keep your eyes open, your mouth shut (there might be bugs around!), and your camera ready!

 

Seal Grooming a new career path opens up   Even seals want to be pampered from time to time! It must be incredibly taxing on the finger and toenails of seals. Saltwater is everywhere, and that dries out anyone's nails! And if they become brittle, how can they still enjoy scratching themselves properly? Exactly! The career path of "seal grooming" should be introduced urgently, otherwise, it would be animal cruelty!

 

Acrobatic praying mantis A lady has to stay in shape somehow!   What shall a poor, helpless praying mantis do when she wants to cross the street in peace? She of course uses the local network and walks (or rather move hand over hand along the net) herself across the spider web that was kindly spun from one side to the other. And while she's at it, she does a few pull-ups to stay in shape. Unfortunately, we couldn't reach the spider to ask about the local fees.

Bus Travel in Japan a unique adventure   Despite looking old and worn out from the outside, the buses are clean and well-maintained on the inside - complete with parquet flooring! Passengers always board the bus from the back, and pull a ticket with the current number (similar to zones). When it's time to get off, passengers exit in the front and pay the fare to the bus driver in exact cash or with an IC card, based on the ticket number pulled earlier.

Arctic crabs love their little leaf very much   Cute little crabs in the Arctic cling to their leaf. No matter what happens! Leaf too big? Nope, now way, that can't happen! Who dares to claim such wicked things. As long as one can hold on to it, everything is fine. Headstand and backstroke have never harmed anyone - not even a crab.

Tschitti Tschitti Bang Bang Driving in Japanese Style   A brief summary of the differences in driving between Japan and Switzerland: As we get into the car, we notice the first difference: the dashboard is equipped with a larger screen - and pretty much every car has one. More information? No, it's an built-in TV with all sorts of programs (from anime to shopping shows). Apparently, it works, because there's not a single unnecessary left-lane driver to be found! Although speed limits and minimum distances are also interpreted as friendly hints, driving is also calm: no honking, flashing, or other aggressive behavior. A brief look at the environment: hybrid cars were the most common everywhere we went. Pure gasoline cars were a rarity.

Water in Action! Impact of Typhoon on Fishermen   Fortunately, we were still safe in Switzerland when Typhoon "Hagibis" hit Japan. It is considered the most devastating typhoon in 60 years. We arrived in Japan just a few days after the typhoon, some trains were delayed and certain buses had to take detours. Otherwise, we didn't feel any direct effects. But when we arrived in Kawaguchiko, we could see impressively how much water the typhoon had brought: Boat docks and trees were submerged in a way that was clearly unusual - no normal tree can grow or survive in such deep water.

Angry Weather Gods or why the weather frog loved the basement   We did not pay enough tribute to the weather gods, they were angry and upset - or our message was not clear enough, but we do not define this amount of rain as "good weather". It could be described as a deluge. You put on your raincoat, rain pants, and open your big umbrella... and you're soaked after 5 minutes.   To illustrate: Each of the three layers (underneath the raincoat) was completely soaked. or The water ran down your arms (inside!) and into the jacket pocket. Nemo would have felt right at home there.

Picture Puzzle reading and understanding was yesterday   To be able to buy fruits and vegetables in a foreign country, language skills are usually not necessary. Apples are apples, bananas remain bananas, and tomatoes are tomatoes. Wrongly assumed, Japanese fruit displays look like ours, but what is displayed on them is not recognizable - and the prices are very good for our circulation. If a pear suddenly is round and looks like a Boskop apple, only about twice as big, then one quickly loses sight of reality.

Turtle Hunt Strange or rather spooky?   Who doesn't know the alligator snapping turtle: powerful jaws, anyone who is too dumb learns the lesson the painful way. But who can claim to have made acquaintance with a pig-nosed turtle, which pressed itself against the glass like a little child? Double oink-oink nose! Or observed how the neck of a long-necked turtle (a very fitting name, by the way) kept getting longer and longer and even longer?

Halloween Everywhere, but not so scary   From day one it was clear: Japanese people love Halloween! Decorations were hung, placed, and positioned everywhere, really everywhere. However, the decorations are not really scary. They are rather cute, or how else can you describe a bush that has been trimmed into a mouse wearing a witch hat over one ear and a scarf wrapped around its neck? Or in aquariums. All the small aquariums were decorated for the occasion - animal rights activists in Switzerland would have had a fit. Oh, and of course, bakeries know how to take advantage of the occasion too.