Japan 2010

31/8/2010 - 9/9/2010

Tokyo (Ueno, National Museum, Imperial Palace, Metropolitan Government Offices, Tsukiji Fish Market, Hama-rikyu-teien), Hiroshima (A-bomb Dome, Peace Memorial Museum & Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims), Miyajima, Kyoto (Imperial Palace, Nijo-jo, Arashiama, Kiyomizu-dera, Maruyama-koen, Chion-in, Ginkaku-ji, Ryoan-ji), Himeji, Nara (Kofuku-ji, Todai-ji, Ningatsu-do, Sangatsu-do, Kasuga-kaisha), Fuji, Nikko (Rinno-ji, Tosho-gu, Futarashan-jinja)

Total cost	90 000 ¥ (= 19 500 CZK)
Number of days	10 days
Cost of flight	39 100 ¥ (= 8 500 CZK)
Cost of accommodation	14 100 ¥ (= 3 050 CZK)
Cost of transportation	25 000 ¥ (= 5 400 CZK)
Cost of food	3 500 ¥ (= 2 200 CZK)

Not even one month after I returned from China and I was on the trip again. This time I chose the country I wanted to see the most in past - Japan. Unfortunately, my girlfriend went there also in that time, but with her relatives, so another way. And as nobody else was available, I went there again alone. I think I already got used to and it doesn't make any big problem to me. We will see when I will go to Vietnam or Thailand heh :)

I went with Cathay Pacific there and back just for 13 100 NT$ (which is quite cheap as the Cathay Pacific is one of the best airlines in the World). The plane took off in 1 pm and landed at 17:50, so I spent almost all in plane or airport :(

The biggest problem in Japan, which otherwise works better then Swiss watch, is English. Japanese can't speak English at all and even if they know it, you probably won't understand them. The big plus which thankfully compensate all these problems is that Japan is so well-organized, it is almost impossible to get lost. If you even have a guidebook published 3 months prior to your trip schedule, you are halfway to the victory.

The fist night I spent in Khaosan Tokyo Original hostel in Asakusa district, Tokyo. I chose it because of its very good location. You can get there very cheap way from Narita International Airport and you will also have easy access to Asakusa, one of the important tourist areas in Tokyo. The train takes about one hour. In fact it took a little more in my case, because I didn't take a direct one (direct goes approximately once an hour). On the transfer station I got confused from the transportation in Japan (first and last time), so I missed the first train going to Asakusa.

Kaosan hostel is situated well, but it is partly hidden among other buildings, so if will you ever try to stay there during night, print the map. It will save a lot of time as well as your nerves. I turned the map upside down ( do not expect the top direction means to the north! ) and went the wrong way, but when I found out my mistake, I managed to find it without big problems.

The staff have been very pleasant, they helped me with settling down, gave me several tips about wandering in Tokyo and also gave me a free ticket for Sake in Khaosan Bar just across the Blue Bridge (bridge beside our hostel), where I have met a very sympathetic 30 years old Japanese woman who spoke English (so so :) ). I spent there more than one hour and returned to my room at 22:30. It was almost a bedtime for me as I planned to get up early, but I somehow started to chat with an American roommate and we finished at 2:30 in the night.

I also found out my mobile 5230i is not working as they support only 3G and 3.5G mobile net. I had to switch to my new 5800 Xpress Music (thanks God I bought it in Hong Kong), which fortunately solved the problem. Be aware of this when you are going to Japan, otherwise you will have no connection with the World except you will rent some of the phones on the airport (I expect they are quite expensive).

Tokyo

I woke up at 8 and left the hostel about 9:15. The staff allowed me to leave there my baggage during the day, so I didn't have to take it all the time with me. I went out to explore Asakusa.

The first thing I saw was Asakusa temple Senso-ji, quite overcrowded by tourists. It is nothing so special except the 5 storey pagoda beside it. The backpackers, however, recommended me that place. There are also market stalls on the main road heading to the temple.

After that, I spent about 30 minutes by walk, crossed the Ueno line of the local train and emerged in Ueno-koen, the park where the shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu have been defeated in 1868. The place itself is a small hill not more than 2 meters high, but the battle has had big historical importance as it means the end of shogunates in Japan. Paradox is that one of the important commanders in this battle, Saigo Takamori, later fought and died in the open war for maintaining samurai traditions. He is also called "the last true samurai". (If you wonder about the name similarity with the movie Last Samurai, it is based on that event, however it hasn't too much in common with the real history.)

I also visited the Tokyo National Museum just across the road. The Lonely Planet marked it as "must-see" and it was really worthy despite the price (600 ¥ = 130 CZK). Among the permanent exhibits you could see i.e. the process of making Japanase swords and its history. That is something everybody would expect, but it was really interesting. Even though the samurai have been definitely the finest swordsman of all times the original weapon always connected with him, the katana sword, originated in 15th century (massively produced even since 17th century). From 11th century samurais used another kind of a Japanese sword called tachi and before that the Chinese straight swords had been used (beginning with the bronze age, which started in Japan the 3rd century AD (quite late huh)).

About 12:30 I took the Chiyoda MRT line to Niubashimae station, the nearest one to the Imperial Palace. I wasn't able to find the entrance to the gardens at the beginning and I was a little disappointed. Later I have met some security staff, asked them and they - with their Japan English - told me something like "go in door the door next there go please", so when he said it the third time and pointed by his hand I understood that the next gate is the entrance for tourists.

The Imperial Eastern Gardens are the Lonely Planet must-see ... and honestly, I have no idea WHY. These gardens are quite boring, you can't see anything special and there isn't even a view over the palace.

Quite disappointed again I went back to the MRT, when I finally saw the postcard like view! That is the only (however stunning) view really worthy to come here - the Imperial Palace over the riverbank behind the series of bridges. These who know The Last Samurai could see it in the movie several times :)

When I took enough pictures I returned to the MRT and to my hostel, where I picked up my baggage and headed to Shinjuku. My bus to Hiroshima was leaving in 3 hours, thus I decided to visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices. I had been checked in the entrance and then took a lift upstairs free of charge. This building offers probably the best view over Tokyo, but the numerous boutiques which make the mirror image in your lens totally destroy it as it is not allowed to go outside.

The bus to Hiroshima departed at 22:30. I checked-in one hour prior to departure. It was the first place where people were able to speak (real) English. The trip to Hiroshima itself took about 7 hours, so I slept quite a long time.

Hiroshima

I arrived to Hiroshima pretty soon at 6 am, even though the bus should arrive at 8. I used this chance to change my schedule and see more. I put my baggage to the coin locker on the railway station and took the train to Miyajima, where I changed for the 10 minutes long cruise by ferry.

The Miyajima island is famous for several things. First, despite its location close to Hiroshima city the island is unharmed. Second, it is a famous place to spot (not so wild) deer, as they descend the hills and walk within the village buildings almost like local inhabitants. Nonetheless, the last and most important reason is the Itsukushima-jinja, shrine, whose entrance gate (torri) "floats" on the sea.

I took the shortest path directly to the famous torri. However during that time it had been the low tide, thus the torri was actually standing on the beach. During the low tide it is possible to approach the torri and so I did. It is definitely very nice one among all the other gates, but the thing making it famous is its "floating" during the high tide. The high tide was expected at 15:36, so what should I do till that moment?

It was obvious I can't wait here so long, but I can spend several hours on the island so the tide will increase and maybe the torri will already float. I took the tourist map in the Information Center and took a look. Misen Mountain was a recommended spot - hmmm maybe it is not a bad idea. I already half expected to go there before, so it wasn't difficult to decide. As the map didn't offer anything better, I headed to the highest local mountain peak.

The mountain has 560 m, which can be done by the cable car or the hiking trail. Of course I didn't take the cable car, it was expensive and for losers :) but I have to say, climb the 560 meters during such a hot weather (35 �C) was a heroic deed. I felt so exhausted on the top, I needed to take a break to catch the breath. In that moment an old man ran around me with humorous smile "the youngsters are all the same, just games, games, games and then they can't finish even the 100 meters from the cable car by walk" - but I didn't go from the cable car granddad :/

There was a viewing platform and several temples (and shrines) on the peak. I visited several of them before I descended via the second hiking trail down. There I visited a Buddhist temple and returned to the sea coast to check whether the tide is already high enough.

Even though it was just 12:30 the torri had been already "floating" on the sea, so I took several pictures, visited the shrine itself and went back to the pier to catch the ferry back to mainland. On the way there I have met a snack shop completely sieged by deer, standing and laying all around. One of them had its head inside the snack shop window and the salesman was talking to it. I wonder what they discussed? Maybe something like "Hello, plateful of grass and mineral water please!" :D

When I landed on the mainland I took a tram back to the Hiroshima. It took about one hour, but it made the stop directly beside the A-bomb dome and the single ticket was also much cheaper (about 60% of the train, 220 ¥ = 50 CZK).

A-bomb Dome is probably the most famous structure in Hiroshima. Built by the Czechoslovak architect Jozef Letzer the building survived the A-bomb explosion 6th of July 1945 (one among approximately 7 buildings). Even though everybody died inside and almost everything burnt down, the walls stand there till now. Later the building have been put on the list of the UNESCO historical heritage. Too late I realized that visiting Hiroshima with the T-shirt with big "danger - nuclear material" sign on my breast is not a good idea, but nobody complaint. (For further explain the sign means "I am nuclear physicist and I am proud on that". It has nothing to do with A-bombing).

It was almost 16:30 when I entered the Peace Memorial Museum. To be honest, the museum is not suited for people who can't see too much suffer, but I think everybody should visit it once in their life. Their point of view to this and the World War II altogether will probably change a little. It is definitely a very precious experience and I won't forget it.

Later in the evening I also managed to visit (for a while) the Hiroshima Peace memorial Hall for A-bomb Victims. Pictures and names of victims, who died during the bombing or on (in)direct consequence) are present in the big hall in the center.

Before I caught another bus to Kyoto I have sat on the riverside and took several night pictures of the A-bomb dome.

Kyoto

The bus arrived to Kyoto really soon again. I was already eating my breakfast in Kyoto Railway Station at 6:30 and preparing to go to the hostel. As the hostel opens in 8 am, I have to spend the hour and a half somehow. The Higashi Hongan-ji was just on the way and opened 24 hours a day, so it was a perfect stop for one hour or so.

The building is one of the largest wooden structures in the World, but except that it doesn't offer too much. There were prayers inside, so I didn't enter and took a walk on the pathway around the main building area. After one hour with my full backpack I felt tired and I was happy I can finally go to the hostel to take it off.

The K's hostel is located just 10 minutes from Train Station and the staff is really kind. I put there my baggage and recharged phone (as my battery died last night) and then I took MRT to the Imperial Palace, because I was in a hurry. Have to say, there is probably no more expensive MRT in the World (220 ¥ = 50 CZK) for 2 stations is really tough.

I came to the Palace at 9:36 and I was lucky I have got the last ticket for the tour with English guide from 10 am (otherwise I would have to return at 2 pm or skip the Palace). The guide spoke fluent English, I was really surprised! She told us a lot of things, but the palace itself wasn't so great as I would expect from the palace in a city, which had been a capital for 1000 years.

In conclusion, the palace itself is nothing special. On the other hand gardens are beautiful. And the park? Oh god, don't go inside, there is nothing!

The next stop was the famous castle Nijo-jo, located just several minutes from the Imperial Palace. It was an estate of one of the most powerful Shoguns of 16th century. Here you can see the big difference between Shoguns and Emperor. Almost 800 years Japan suffered for being divided among small shogunates, each ruled by one of Shoguns, fighting each other. The only reason why Emperor and Shoguns can live together was that Emperor has the loyalty, but no power and wealth. That was in possession of Shoguns. The last of Shoguns gave away in 1868, when his army had been defeated by the Imperial forces on the Ueno-koen (viz before).

The castle itself was great, the main hall wonderful and the nightingale floors so cool (nightingale floor is producing low register voice whenever you will stand on it - it is almost impossible to get rid of the noise, so the secret infiltration into the castle is much more difficult).

After visit of the castle I took the train from the station near by to the Arashiama, located in north-west area of Kyoto and one of the premier sights of this city. An English speaking tourist office employee outside the Arashiama Railway Station gave me a map, which was very helpful.

There are three major sights in this area. The first is the Bamboo Grove, which covers the major part of not inhabited area. You can walk on several roads and pathways in the midst of the grove and enjoy the greenery around you. However for me the grove was small disappointment. I saw even some pictures on National Geographic, but in the end it was not so great as they said.

The second sight is Okochi-Sanso villa, a villa of famous actor usually playing Samurai roles in 50's and 60's. The garden is exactly the one you will imagine when somebody say "ideal Japanese garden" :). It was a great time there and I even get a cookie and some kind of a cold tea, which tasted like it would be from grass (I hope it wasn't ganja :D ).

The third one is a temple Tenryu-ji, dating back to the 13th century, with beautiful gardens and many halls. During the sunset it is a very nice place.
When I returned to my hostel I moved to my room and took some rest. At 19:30 I went out again to explore Gion and have something really good for dinner. In the first case I failed, I didn't find anything interesting there and a little disappointed went to the central Kyoto. However in the second one, that was a symphony of senses :) I visited one of the Lonely Planet picks - the Sushi bar just in the Central Kyoto and enjoyed it a lot. The price was 150 ¥ / plate (= 33 CZK), which is not bad. Seven plates was enough for big dinner.

The next day I had a big plan to manage two daytrips in one day. It was a tough quest as all the monuments in Japan usually close at 5:00 (why Oh My God!). I woke up at 7:30 and at 8:30 I have been already after breakfast and on my way to Southern Higashiyama.

There were several guys trying to join me on the way, but all of them were pretty slow and thus I got rid of them :)

Before long I reached the first sight, Kyizomizu-dera. The fine five storey pagoda is pointing out on the small peak and it is visible from all over the quarter. However it is not the pagoda or monastery which makes the place really interesting. It is Tainai-meguri just under the pagoda. It is a labyrinth of tunnels under the main temple building, which you have to pass in complete darkness. All the trip symbolize the womb and getting out the new rebirth as better person. I cannot claim I really changed since then, but the experience is really strange, unique and chilling - the total darkness devours you and there is nothing you can use as a hint except your touch.

Just several meters beside is also an enchanted spring. Whoever will drink from it should be wiser and whatever else :) I drunk one cup of the refreshing clean water and then prayed to do not get a diarrhea :D

When I got out of the temple complex I headed down the slope among the old-style buildings from 17-19th century, where I bought several traditional snacks instead of lunch and saw at least 2 geishas. Several minutes later I reached another temple complex and a park with the oldest tree in Kyoto. It is a well-kept park good for picnics, however it hasn't too much more to offer.

After a while I came to the Chion-in. It is (another) temple complex (if you feel bored already, just skip rest of the Kyoto, this city is all about temples). This one is famous for its biggest bell in Japan, whose weight is 74 tons. All the temple is in the traditional Japanese style, completely made by wood. Even though the Higashi Hongan-ji should be the biggest wooden structure, I am not sure whether this is not bigger as well as others in Kyoto's surroundings.

The daytime approached the 3 pm and I found out it is the highest time to run the north to catch the chance to visit the Ginkaku-ji, one of the most famous spots in Eastern Kyoto. I went with the top speed north through the Path of Philosophy (a walkway along the canal which uses to be great walking trail during the cherry blossom, however in September it was quite boring :( ).

Just in front of the entrance to the Ginkaku-ji my phone ringed and my parents called me. Really just in time, just when I am rushing to the last sight of the day to manage it before closing! I spent almost 15 precious minutes talking with them and then entered the place also called Silver Pavilion.

The Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) had been a refuge villa for one of the Shoguns and it supposed to be covered by silver. That really never happened, however the sight has atmosphere of its own even without it. Wandering the beautiful gardens was great, especially after all day rush among other sights. I still had 1 hour and thus I could enjoy it :)

The way home kind of more difficult then I originally expected as the stupid bus came after one hour and reached the Train Station in another one. (If I would walk, I would be there faster, damn.) However, I was really a little tired, I managed to walk about 15 km plus sights' visits. I took a rest and then headed to the downtown with one roommate from Switzerland who was willing to join me. We ate in the same sushi shop, because after 9:00 there was almost everything closed (Don't ask me why, but it is a general problem of Japan, be aware :/).

Himeji

The next day I planned to go to Himeji. Maybe you don't know it by name, but if I would show you just one good picture, it is more than probable you would know. It is the finest Japanese castle and one of the few remaining castles all over the Japan. It was constructed in the 16th century and successfully used like a defence point as well as an estate. The typical color is white! That makes it very strange. The castle look very clean, which is against our general belief of medieval dirty rat holes from Europe.

There is a direct train line from Kyoto to Himeji, both local train and fastest shinkanzen. And because it is also one of the shortest distances possible to take via shinkanzen, guess which one I chose :) The ticket price was 4 800 ¥ (= 1000 CZK), but I decided to try it at least once in my life :).

The first thing you will register is that there is nobody in the train. God, is it even efficient to use shinkanzen when there were just 2 persons in the wagon including me? The next one is the total silence. You can't hear any noise from outside and the only thing you really hear is the air-con in the train. The speed is great, but from the train you will not notice big difference. The train arrived to Himeji in 40 minutes (120 km from Kyoto, with 3 stops, each for 5 minutes).
When I arrived to Himeji, I went directly to the Information Center. That time I started to regret I went there. The staff explained me the castle is under reconstruction and it is not open for tourists. I can enter just the gardens. Of course I didn't turn back, but I made me really disappointed. The reconstruction started in 2009 and it will be finished in 2014, so if you plan to go there in this period, reconsider it, it is not worth to travel there, there is nothing else to see but the casle.

As I was already there, I decided to visit at least the gardens. On the way to the castle I made a stop in local udon (noodle) shop (M-n-me) and tried the one most recommended (it is surprising it was not the most expensive, just 550 ¥ = 120 CZK). It was really delicious, I can only recommend it too, but don't ask me the name of the food :)

The entrance to the gardens had a concession as the main keep had been closed. The price was 400 ¥ (= 90 CZK). I took the offered map and went through the all places opened for public to see as much as possible. I have to say it was not bad, but when you go to the place which is your favorite sight in the country and it is closed, it really makes you angry.

I took the local train back to Kyoto. Of course, this time I cannot enjoy the luxury of shinkanzen, but even this one was very nice. It took 2 hours to reach the Kyoto Station. Afterwards I took the MTR to the northernmost part of Kyoto to visit the Ryoan-ji (Gold Pavilion). If I said before about something it is one of the must-see sights in Kyoto, this one is the number one!

I had only one hour (again) and (again) the phone ringed in my pocket when I had problems to catch the breath as I was trying to make a new World record in run for 5 km. This time I didn't respond. Even though I arrived to the place 20 minutes before closing!

The Golden Pavilion was splendid! The shining yellow structure is pointing over the small pond and makes the perfect mirror image on its surface. It is not possible to go around all the pond, but you can go around the major part. Really great! And the 20 minutes was exactly enough ... huf :)
My day ended in the downtown Kyoto again, this time in the local famous noodle shop with 300 years tradition (Misoka-an Kawamichi-ya). Their ramen noodles were excellent, but also quite small for the price 800 ¥ (= 180 CZK).

Nara

The last day in Kyoto I made another trip outside the city. This time to Nara, the first permanent capital of Japan (before the capital moved due to religious purposes every time the Emperor died). There is a direct train from Kyoto to Nara too (just local, 40 minutes), so I used it.

Nara has a big park (Nara-koen), full of deer which you can feed with special deer biscuits. Do not eat the biscuits yourself, they are not suited for humans. I have to warn you as I saw some misguided tourists doing so :)

The park is really overcrowded with temples, shrines and other religious stuff. Some of them are really awesome, others are just so so.

Immediately after entering the area you will encounter the Kofuku-ji temple, moved to Nara in 710 from Kyoto. Its 5 storey pagoda is the second largest in Japan (just by few cm) and it is worth a look. There is also a museum of Asian religions for a small fee, which has just English names of objects, however even though is worth a try. You can combine it with the temple and receive 100 ¥ discount.

The highlight of the area is the largest wooden structure in the World called Todai-ji. It is really a marvelous piece of work and I was happy to see it on my own eyes. There is a statue of Buddha inside (called Daibutsu-den) 18 meters high, sitting on the lotus petals. Really cool!

Other sights were also interesting, however in comparison with Todai-ji just a poor substitute. Ningatsu-do and Sangatsu-do were two temples on the far east part of the park with nice wooden carvings, however the inner parts were under reconstruction. The balcony of the first of them can offer a fine view over all Nara. Nevertheless there is no spectacular view to admire.

The last place I have visited there was Kashuga-kaisha, fine shrine situated in south-east area. Even though it cannot offer so much like Daibutsu-den, it was a nice place with a lot of religious stuff free to see and touch. There was also a 4 meters long katana sword with is smaller brother (wakizashi).

After that I returned back to Kyoto and finished my day in the sushi restaurant I had visited the first and second day of my stay there. I will not forget it - cheap and very tasty! :) Then I went directly to the bus station to catch my bus back to Tokyo.

Fuji

At first I really didn't plan to go to Fuji this day, but on my way to Tokyo I checked the weather forecast and found out the weather next day will suck a lot and thus trip to Fuji would be really waste of time and money. For that reason I decided to go there that day. The bus stopped in Shinjuku, where the train to Fuji start its journey.

I locked my baggage to the coin locker, bought a ticket and took my local train. (The train is slower and more expensive than bus, however you have to make a booking for the bus in prior.) It took about 2 and a half hour to get to Kawagochi-ko station (town under the Fuji Mountain). I had to change once for local train colored with childish Fuji pictures.

I took the local map in the Tourist Information Center (on the right side after you leave the station) and went up to the near hill to see the Fuji from the viewing platform there. I was not able to find the hiking way uphill, so I was forced to take a cable car (just one way, to find the way down will be much easier). I have met a sympathetic foreigner (his ancestors were from Japan) and we traveled together part of the day. He took for me several nice pictures. He had a lot of photography gear, he was obviously a photographer enthusiast.

The view from the platform was really good, however the view from the very peak in the midst of the forest was even better. The Fuji behind the trees was very nice. Nevertheless, the view was not so great as I expected. It was probably due to the absence of snow on the top :( the volcanic cone was bare, brown and even so the visibility was perfect (which is REALLY rare there), the view was not stunning.

Note for these planning to visit Fuji: it is highly important to check the weather forecast before you will go to Fuji and go there only if the weather is very good or even excellent. Otherwise you won't see much. My French friend Frank went to Japan in July 2010 for 4 days. He spent one day on the trip to Fuji and he didn't FIND the mountain because of the thick clouds devoured it!!! He saw just the shape when he was returning by train back to Tokyo.

I descended the mountain alone as the guy bought the return ticket, but we have met each other once more on the boat cruising the Kawagochi-ko lake. The cruise was definitely nice, but it didn't offer much more then what you can see from the platform. Choosing just one is good enough.

When I returned back to the train station, I found out the first bus back to Shinjuku with available seat is going at 17:10. Because it was much cheaper then the train (almost 2 times), I decided to wait. Bus as I had a lot of time, I also decided to reach the actual entrance to the Fuji hiking trail to the top.

After one hour I didn't find anything more than a parking loot and I had to turn back as the bus was going in 50 minutes. When I reached Shinjuku (also faster, just hour and half), I took the MTR to Asakusa. Yes, I was accommodated in the same hostel like before:) I finished my day with another free drink in their bar!

Nikko

I woke up early to go for a trip to Nikko (temple complex 200 km north-west to Tokyo). There is a Tobu-Nikko line going directly from Asakusa to Nikko with change for local small train (the second train takes 5 or 10 minutes). It is quite cheap (1350 ¥ = 400 CZK) and also comfortable. The trip takes together about 2 hours including the local train.

When I was in the local train to Nikko, I suddenly heard Czech language. One young boy came to me and asked me, if he can sit there with me. "M��e�" (You can) was my answer in Czech :) He looked really shocked, he obviously didn't expect it. He was there with his family, which came to visit him at the end of his exchange program in Japan. All of them were kind quite kind ?

We chat for some time, but later each of us went another way (because they took a bus to Nikko temple complex area and I went by walk. 30 minutes in rain going uphill, however it is still better than standing 25 minutes on the rain waiting for bus, pay 400 ¥ (= 90 CZK) and be there exactly in the same time.

I climbed up to the first temple and bought the ticket including all the major sights in the area. The first temple wasn't too interesting, except the 3 big statues hidden inside the temple.

Close to the first temple was a 5 storey pagoda, which was not the highest but probably most beautiful I saw. Among the trees, partly covered by moss, with dominant dark red color the pagoda was eye-catching.

After climbing another set of stairs I emerged on a small platform with typical old Japanese houses. Their purpose was probably still religious, but it was not temples. One of them had a story carved to the wooden walls where monkeys took the roles of humans. The most famous carving "hear no evil, say no evil, see no evil" is well-known even abroad. I also met there the group of Czech again. The guy translated us the description from Japanese, which turned to be different from English quite a lot :D

Just beside the structure I entered another temple. There was a cat's tomb or mausoleum behind the temple, however you had to pay additional fee. I decided I will go there despite the price. The ticket collector asked me for the money, but when I started collecting 500 ¥ by 10 ¥ and 50 ¥ coins, he waved his hand and told me to go in (or at least I think so, I didn't understand at all). Great, I saved 100 CZK, not bad :)

The tomb itself was just one of the array I saw so many times all over the World. Just the fact it is not a tomb for human being but a cat made it so strange. It was raining, the mist was all around and the tomb seemed to be a little mysterious in my lens. I took several shots, some of them weren't bad.

The last temple in the far west corner of the complex was a moss-covered set of buildings and ancient stone lanterns along the stairs going up to the main hall. There was some sort of exhibition and discussion all in Japan, so I even didn't take a look as everybody was angry when I entered and the floor started to squeak.

On my way back I bought just some snack in 7-11 and caught the train back to Asakusa. And because I had to book this night separately (before it was full), I received another ticket for one free drink in the Khaoshan Bar, so I enjoyed Sake even my last day in Japan - for free :)

Tsukiji Fish Market

In the day of my departure I woke up really soon, but it was not because of the early flight, but because I wanted to visit the famous Tsukiji Fish Market. I left my hostel at 6:30 and left my baggage there (I agreed on it with the hostel staff day before). At 7 am I was already on place.

I entered the market by big hall where a lot of strange vehicles crossed my way and sometimes it was not far from accident. I saw a recommended sushi shop and I decided to try it! Of course it was expensive, but where else you can try the really fresh raw fish in sushi then in the biggest fish market in the World? The fish had been caught just few hours before I ate it and it went directly from the ship to the restaurant and on my plate :)

Later on I wandered through the market and took several funny photos. Where else you can see a quarter of fish 2 meters long held by two men walking in a line like they would have some lumber for construction? :) Huge fish, shells, oysters, crabs, shrimps, lobsters and all the weird stuff from the sea all in one just here! It was one of the best experience in Japan.

When I got out of the market I asked for directions in the local police station. We communicated mainly by using our legs, hands and face impressions, however I really found the building exactly where the policeman told me it should be - respect.

Before I entered the building, I went to the local park Hama-Rikyu-Teien. It turned out it was a refuge area of Shoguns during Edo period and one of the most beautiful places in Tokyo. I spent there almost two hours, walking according to the electronic guide's advices (the guide was for free).

The last thing I did was going up to the local business center building to its viewing platform in 45th floor. I could see the Tsukiji Fish Market as well as the Hama-Rikyu.Teien under me and I felt really sad I have to leave this place, even so I was looking forward back to Taiwan.

I returned back to Khaoshan Original, picked up my baggage and took the train to Narita International Airport. At 19:30 I was already back in Taipei.