The determining feature of my recent trips has been an attempt to seek the “involuntary wow experience”. You may be wondering what that means. Have you had the experience when you arrive at a place and you utter a wow with no such intention in the first place? It just happens and then you attempt to assimilate and digest the information entering through your senses; visual, auditory, olfactory or kinesthetic. The world heritage site has quite a few of those. Japan has a good many of these, mostly in Kyoto. Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan. I figured I should add Tokyo to the list just because I was going through the airport. I had heard enough misgivings about Tokyo that I planned a short stay there with most of the focus on Kyoto.  I made the reservations to go to Kyoto straight from the airport in Tokyo by the “bullet train” and settled in to wait for it to transpire.

                           The best-laid plans of men and mice…it was not to be. My flight to Tokyo was cancelled by United and they rerouted me on other airlines and I ended up at Tokyo at night rather than my planned arrival in the afternoon. There were no trains to Tokyo at this hour so I had to scramble to find a hotel in Tokyo. The Japan experience had just begun. There is no better way to discover a place than to be lost and with no clue as to what your next move is going to be. I searched for a place to find an ATM. A Policeman very courteously pointed it out to me. Cash in hand I looked for a place to deposit some of my heavy bags at the airport. It cost $50.00 to store 2 pieces and the discovery that you can get your bags delivered anywhere for a price!  I headed out to find the train to Tokyo. Yes, there was one every half-hour and it takes an hour to get to Tokyo. I figured I would search for a hotel in the meantime. I bought a phone card for the vending machine and put it on the payphone. It did not work. A helpful Japanese individual showed me how to tear off the edge to make it work. I called and called, they were all full. The train arrived at precisely the right time to the minute and my car was right at the place where I stood. In Japan you get a train ticket with your car and seat number on them. On the platform, the cars are marked. If you stand at the right spot and queue up, it will stop right in front of you. Talk of precision. The Japanese should copyright that word. During my entire stay in Japan and may train rides, only once did a car stop a yard away from its intended location. I board the train and look for a place to park my suitcase. Another helpful person pointed it out to me. An hour later I arrived at the humongous Tokyo station. Out of the train I looked for the particular exit I was to take. I searched in vain for 20 minutes. Again, a well-dressed Japanese man asked me what was I looking for. I told him and he pointed me in the right direction. This was to happen again and again on the entire trip. I figured I could find my hotel at midnight, given how friendly the people were. I found a hotel in the station for the exorbitant price of $150.oo for the night with a check out at 8 am. I thought I could do better and finally located a cheaper hotel in west section of the city. I was given subway directions. I hopped onto the subway to discover it jam-packed with people, last train of the day. People were indeed packed in like sardines. Yes, they have “pushers” in Tokyo, whose job is to push people in so the doors can close. When the train arrives at the destination, people push with their heads down till they are out of the door!  I was to get off at the 3rd station so I endured the pushing as they made their way. One woman got trampled and looked haggard and tearful after the experience. My subway experience! “Wow”. I landed at my intended destination and proceed to ask for directions on a rainy night, umbrella, guidebook and suitcase in hand. After a few detours and getting directions from many people who went out of their way to help me find the place. I had spent only $50.00 for a small bed in a small room. A bargain for the night!

                       Next day, I was on my way to Kyoto by the “Shinkasen (bullet) train”. The trains travel at a maximum speed of 180 miles/hour with nary a shake or a rattle. My coffee cup and ticket sat on the tray without moving a centimeter for the entire trip in this whisper quiet train rushing through the unending suburbia. Wow.. The European trains are not this smooth. However, if you go to the restroom you have to hold on to the railing! I can not explain this.

 

Kyoto

                 I just wanted to hit the highlights and not all the 14 sites in world heritage. I picked the  Nijo Castle, a home for visiting Shoguns (feudal lords of medieval Japan) that was disappointing in its grandeur. The remarkable feature is the “nightingale floors”. The floors are made of wood that creaks as you walk on it to warn the wary shoguns of an enemy’s approach. It appeared that Shoguns lived like the mafia bosses and drug baron of today in constant fear for their lives! I wandered around the castle wondering they could do better. Next day, I got 3 day rail/bus pass to roam the city at will. The subways not only have spots marked on the platform as to where the door will open but also tell you in precise minutes it will take to get to your station. The buses too are a marvel of technology. You stand at the bus stop and a signboard informs you which bus is 2 stops away, one stop away and in danger of imminent arrival!. I was so fascinated by the display that I took a picture. A casually dressed man was amused and started a conversation and a few minutes later gave me bottle of a Japanese drink complete with a plastic bag to carry it. When I offered to pay him, he politely declined, ”A gift for you”. Wow.. The public buses are another marvel of technology. The bus driver wears white gloves and has an array of instruments and mirrors and a video camera to watch. The video gives him a view of the rear of the bus and some complex cards that he flips periodically and his own climate control system. The next stop is flashed on the digital read out. You can pay with cash or metro card and even get change. Wow..

              My next destination was Kinkokuji temple.  It is a Shinto shrine set in the middle of a pond and covered entirely by gold leaf. The scene is so breathtaking that every one wants to get their picture taken in front of it and that can take a while. The Japanese are inveterate photographers carrying their huge camera with attachment lenses and tripods clicking away. For once I felt comfortable with my 2 camera and several shots. I believe if the Japanese never sold a camera out of the country they would still have a thriving business.  As you wind your way out to come to this section where you can buy amulets for practically everything; safe driving for 150 Yen, rich for 500 Yen, good health by the blood group for 250 Yen, pass exams for 150 Yen etc. etc. It always amuses me to see people doling out money for their fortunes to change for mere pittances. The wishing well full of pennies point to a God that can be bribed and will do your bidding for measly sums. As long as it makes you happy!! On to the Zen temple Ryoanji that has this site for contemplation. There are 7 small stones or rocks spread over this immaculately scrubbed sand. I could find little peace in this somewhat busy, noisy place. I wandered through the Zen garden that was disappointing in that it had few parallels with the Chinese Gardens in Suzhou that are far more intricate, beautiful and awe inspiring. The Japanese garden with its carefully carved spaces and flowers and ponds and green moss left me wishing for more. And I did find it in the Heian Shrine. That is indeed another WOW experience. The setting is grand with this huge arch in a Japanese way that looks like a huge Chinese character that leads to the main compound with several structures of finely crafted wood buildings in red and green. I took pictures and pictures. The obligatory cherry blossom tree was surrounded by a rope fence that had many a people’s wishes and hopes neatly tied in a piece of paper. The shrine was crowded with Japanese on a weekend. This shrine as well as the temple mentioned before date several centuries ago but they are renovated periodically and kept in immaculate condition with fresh paint. As much as they love their antiquities they keep them looking new!  More was ins tore for me as I headed to not to be missed Cherry blossom garden next to it and part of the shrine grounds. You are greeted at the door with a colorful display of Cherry blossoms in blooms in Pink and white all over. Most people are just thunderstruck at the beauty of the colors that they just stand at the door admiring the view and crowding out the incoming visitors. I wandered the garden in a daze. Cherry blossoms bloom in late March and April and I had specifically timed my trip for that. I was indeed rewarded by a magnificent display everywhere. I saw children and adults in gardens everywhere. They must all take a week off during spring. Cherry blossoms have 150 varieties and actually came to Japan from Asia Minor. As the legend goes, a goddess dropped the seeds from Mount Fuji all over Japan. They did come to US from Japan via Lady Taft to Washington DC. The first batch planted on Potomac died but the second one survived. 

                 I had seen the pretty shrines but I still wanted to see a castle. It was not a difficult decision since the one see is Himeji Castle. It is a one-hour train ride from Kyoto on the bullet train. I arrived at the station and was buying a paper when I saw a train arrive. It was 1:29 PM and my train was to leave at 1:33. I hurried on and walked to my seat to find someone else sitting in it. I asked the gentleman if he was in the right seat only to be told that may be I was on the wrong train and I was. I tried to get off but he doors had closed. I found the conductor who told me the doors couldn’t be opened once they are closed and I would just have to get off at the next station. I wondered what was going to happen tot his trip of mine. The conductor assured me in broken English that I could get off the train at the next station and take my train on track 21. Now that’s what I call precision! Wow…

                        Himeji Castle is straight out of the movie Ran. You see it way up on a hill beckoning you. The approach is lined with cherry blossoms. Families had gathered all over with plastic mats on the e ground. Drinking eating and talking. There were groups of single young men and old women drinking and singing and exchanging songs with each other. In Japan it is forbidden to travel alone! The castle is surrounded by the obligatory moat up a hill to a stunning white castle that looks like it could fly away on its wings. I took the “route” through the guardrooms. They could throw stones, boiling water, shoot arrows and guns from concealed holes to keep the invaders out. The whole castle has windows with bars on them. Not a nice view from the castle. It would seem that the Shoguns and their women lived behind a prison wall. It also had the Hara-kiri basement (suicide chamber) in the basement for those shamed for losing a battle or crossing some moral line. The whole castle was reconstructed in 60’s using original techniques and it too looks fresh and new. I get tired of climbing the wooden stairs and decided to skip the upper floors. There wasn’t much to see. Their art form did not inspire although it was of better quality than any I had seen in Japan.

Tokyo

                   Now it was time for the teeming Metropolis Tokyo complete with its Starbucks and huge department stores and vending machines. You can buy almost anything in vending machines- drinks, hot coffee in cans, photographic film, ice cream, coupons for food in chain curry restaurants and even rice. The Electric town Akihabara distracted me. It has numerous department stores 8 floors high with electronic gadgets, TV’s, mobile phones, radios, computers etc. I was in Gizmo heaven and it took up 2 days. Thanks to the recent slide of yen I bought digital camera, watch and a bold pressure cough at prices cheaper than mail order. I wandered looking for the gadgets to come. A neat surprise was the DVD navigation system that has a map on one half of the screen and a 3D view of the street on other half. I can’t wait for it to get here. Computers however were underpowered and some models I had not seen before. Digital TV’s of 62-inch screen no thicker than a picture frame for a cool 2.5 Million yen. Japan also has the new I-mode 3 G phones that are everywhere. I believe it is compulsory for every young woman to carry a pink phone with her be constantly playing with while ridding a subway. They all seemed intently looking at the tiny screens and pressing tiny buttons with their thumbs in rapid succession. You know the Japanese love their gadgets. Talking of gadgets the best was in my hotel. I decided to stay at a Japanese Ryokan. It is a couple of rooms with Tatami mats on the floor complete with a small table and cushions on the floor and a separate Tearoom. The best surprise awaited me when I went to the toilet. I sat down on the seat and it felt warm. I jumped up only to realize it had hot water circulating in it. There was a row of dials on the side.   I dared not touch one while sitting on it. So I got up and pushed them nothing happened. I then dared to sit down and push the one with a drawing of a fountain on it. It squirted water at just the right spot! Wow…

                            I had to do the cultural tour of Tokyo so I went to the National museum. Several buildings housed different arts but overall quite disappointing. I learned that Japanese got their language, arts and religion from China and were essentially imitators in the shadows of a giant. The Shanghai museum on the other hand blows you a way while this museum did little for me. Amazing that a nation that did not find its identity till the 16th century was to one day conquers parts of China. History may yet repeat itself as Japan falls victim to its rigidity and inability to change. The Japanese banks are rated just above Argentina and a collapse is not too far way and they may come under the domination of China if China can survive its domestic political chaos that is inevitable with free markets. But you would not know the financial peril they are in from the streets in Japan.

                    I ventured to Ginza the shopping haven. Huge department stores lined up next to each other with exorbitant prices. I was on the equivalent of 57th street in Manhattan. I figured I should do some people watching. I found a cheap coffee place and sat by the window. Over the next hour, I watched hundreds of people go by and did not see a single young well-dressed Japanese woman. They all seem to be wearing ill fitting clothes a size too large for them. Their hair and general upkeep reflected more of harried, overworked, and underpaid big city women. The men on the other hand looked better in their business suits. The only well dressed women were over 60 that seemed to be able to afford the right clothes and get them fitted.

                   I wandered over to Nissan show room. The future of cars is here and it is coming next year. If you haven’t bought your new car yet, wait till next year. The car has a complete redesign that they have needed for a long time. Seats will be like aircraft seats each with its individual climate control and entertainment system complete with a DVD and a navigational system. The new design makes them a SUV and a car at the same time. In a crash and the door handles would recede and the seat will mould itself to your hips moments before the crash. I can’t wait, can you?

                      It would not be appropriate if I failed to mention the place of Zen in Japanese society. They have turned Chinese Zen version into something their own. It is immersion in the current activity with total absorption, attention to detail, subservience to the established rules, cleanliness, politeness and exaltation of poverty. The materialism of modern day Japan has robbed it of the ancient spirit but it still lives on in Japan in ways that are striking in their keen sense of aesthetics. And now some haiku poetry inspired by the Zen vision:

 

Gossip grows like weeds

In a summer meadow.

My girl and I

Sleep arm in arm.

 

No, the human heart

Is unknowable.

In my birthplace

The flowers still smell

The same as always.

 

 

Autumn evening----

A crow on a bare branch.

 

An old pond---

The sound

Of a diving frog.

 

Wild goose, wild goose,

At what age

Did you make your first journey?

 

No one spoke,

The host, the guest,

The white chrysanthemums

 

 Travel Tips

 When to go: Late March early April

 Itinerary: Tokyo 2 days

               Kyoto 5 days side trips to Nara and Himeiji

Hotels: Kyoto stay around Shinjo Street

            Stay at a Ryokan

 Transportation:

Forget renting a car. There are few signs in English. Taxis cost an arm and 2 legs.

Rail Pass: Whatever your length of stay get a rail pass. It even allows you free on Tokyo tourist destinations. A bargain. 

Pack light or leave bags at storage at airports 

3-day rail/bus pass in Kyoto is a bargain 

Eating out:

Restaurants can be expensive, Check out basements of department stores, fast food curry, noodle shops.

Carry Tissue- there may be none in restrooms