I had a good 12-day cruise around Japan followed by four days on my own in Tokyo. Noble Caledonia operated a nice small ship with large cabins and about 110 passengers. I'd visited Japan in 2000, but not so extensively.
Japan's economy soared up until the 1990s. Since 2000 Japan has suffered through "lost decades" of economic stagnation, with its previously high growth rate falling below that of other major industrialized countries. Since 2021, the yen has lost about 40% of its value against the US dollar. To me, even with a weak yen, prices seemed high — but if prices had been 40% higher, yikes.
Shrines & Temples
We saw many beautiful Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, often together at the same site. Here are a few of my favorites.
Shinto shrines are usually painted a vibrant reddish orange. At the top is the Fujisan Sengen Shrine dedicated to Mount Fuji and located in its foothills. Second is Kumano Hayatama Taisha, an important shrine in Shingu for almost a millenium.
Torii gates near the entrance to Shinto shrines usually echo the same bright
vermilion. This famous one welcomes pilgrims to the Itsukushima Shrine in
Miyajima most dramatically at high tide.
Most temples/shrines required many, many steps, often steep, to get to the
top. Above was the final series of nearly 500 stone steps going up to Kumano
Nachi Taisha.
Gardens & Parks
Most classic Japanese gardens that I had seen outside Japan were small, not
much larger than a tennis court. But Japan has some large ones as well as
sizes on down to small backyard versions, all with the requisite stones,
varied plants, and water features placed in harmony and asymmetrical
balance.
The Ritsurin Koen in Takamatsu was my favorite of the several famous Japanese
gardens we visited. Six serene ponds, teahouses, winding paths, 13 little hills,
varied trees of all shapes and sizes, including 1,400 pines.
The gardens must be spectacular when cherry blossoms are in bloom or when the
Japanese maples start turning into the colors of the koi fish. But in late
April, we got to see a glorious kaleidoscope of greens.
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Surrounded by another beautiful garden, Kinkakuji is a Zen temple in Kyoto
whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. Thus, it's often
called the Golden Pavilion.
Kimonos, Bonsai, Kurashiki, & Sayonara
On arrival in Hagi, we were met by the city's mayor dressed as a samurai
warrior. Unexpectedly, he pulled out this samurai sword and handed it to me, instantly prompting a visceral need to go into a swordsman stance. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Tokyo 東京都
With over 37 million residents, Tokyo is staggering, incredible, mind-blowing. Despite millions more than live in Delhi (32 mil), Shanghai (29 mil), Dhaka (22 mil), and Sao Paulo (22 mil), Tokyo manages to be clean and calm. Very glad I added four post-cruise days to explore Tokyo.
Zipping around Tokyo turned out to be fun after mastering the clever subway system. No need to look for directions to 西船橋駅 😱, for example, or even for "Nishi-Funabashi Station." Basically, all you need to know is that it is station JB-30 on the yellow line (Chūō–Sōbu) on English-language signs everywhere and that is also the way Google Maps will give you detailed directions. 😁
Even without the colors of its cherry blossoms or its autumn maples, Tokyo's Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden was the most beautiful large urban park that I have ever seen.
So many additional interesting things to see in Tokyo and I explored quite a few more but this post must come to end! So I'm sum up by mentioning that I enjoyed strolling around:
- Ueno Park
- Ueno Zoo (with two pandas)
- Tokyo National Museum
- Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
- Isetan Department Store (the big Shinjuku flagship store of the trendy chain)
- Shinjuku station and Tokyo station (the two massive subway and rail centers with extensive underground shopping complexes with a total of nearly 300 stores and restaurants)
- Also the dull Meiji Shrine (dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken from the days when many Japanese worshiped the emperor, circa 1868-1945)
🗽 By Tokyo Bay is this replica of the Statue of Liberty (about ⅙ size), one of three replicas in Japan. It reminded me that despite the fumbling that has characterized so much of US foreign policy, the postwar occupation of Japan (ending in 1952) successfully launched a parliamentary democracy, instituted land reform, introduced education reforms, demilitarized the country, and gave many billions of dollars in aid to rebuild infrastructure and kickstart Japan's economy. With that foundation of political and economic freedom, plus much initial aid, the Japanese rapidly turned their country into a peaceful, prosperous dynamo.🗾
