JAPAN ADVENTURE

WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY, 2/3 MAY 2018

HERE WE COME JAPAN!

We woke up early Wednesday morning to start our 2018 adventure, beginning in Japan. Jim’s secretary, Laurie, picked us up at 0600 and took us to the airport. After flying to San Francisco we got stuck on the tarmac for almost an hour. By the time we got off our plane our flight to Osaka would already be boarding, so we ran to the gate in the international terminal. Everybody had been boarded when we got there. I knew the flight was not very full and asked if we could “upgrade” to a seat with more leg room. The lady taking the boarding passes was ready to tell me no way, but there was a male gate agent standing there who asked for our boarding passes and gave us “complimentary” seats in the Economy Plus section. We were very grateful.

After an uneventful 11 our flight we landed in Osaka on Thursday at 1500. Customs was a breeze, Jim’s checked bag made it, and finding the bus to take us into town to the hotel was painless. We checked into our room at the Ritz Carlton, where Hank had made reservations, freshened up, and headed out to walk and find some food in order to stay awake. Hank & Linda were scheduled to arrive until around 2200, but their flight from Tokyo was an hour late, and by 2030 I was hammered and gave up and went to sleep.

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FRIDAY, 4 MAY 2018

WALKING THROUGH AN OLD CAPITAL

 

Jim and I woke up early this morning. Having no idea when the Fortneys might wake up we walked to the train station at 0700 and had a breakfast of Udon noodles that were delicious! The Fortneys were ready around 0800. We walked back to the train station and stopped at Starbucks where they had some breakfast. Then began the adventure of figuring out how to buy train tickets to Nara. It was a little rough at first but Jim & Hank figured it out, and we were soon settled on a train for the 1 hour ride to Nara, the capital of Japan back in the 8^th century.

Nara Park was a short cab ride from the train station. After wandering through the many street vendors, stopping for some street food, and visiting with a few of the park’s 1200 deer, we visited Todaiji Temple. It is the world’s largest wooden building and inside is Japan’s largest bronze statue of Buddha.

After a walk through the park the next stop was Kasuga Taisha, Nara's most celebrated shrine known for its many lanterns. 

A 1 mile walk took us to Kofukuji Temple, which used to be the temple of the Fujiwara, the most powerful family clan in the 8^th century.

 

Sake Barrels

We then wended our way back to the train station and caught a train back to Osaka.