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Kevin and Joannie on tour
Back at the Ryokan Eishinkan, we were both feeling queasy though we hadn't swapped this info with each other. It was nearly 24 hours since we ate the meal at Oshima and had not eaten much since. On reflection we think there might have been some fish or shellfish stock in the meal which had made us ill. (When the hostess had brought the food to the table, the spinach had fish flakes on it - a common dressing in Japan.)
Neither of us wanted to stray far, and it was raining as well. To be truthful, neither of us are city fans. We prefer scenery. On the internet we identified a Mexican restaurant, Salsa cabana, in a back street nearby. It was a tiny place with two tables, and a breakfast style bar. The kitchen was in one corner and the whole place was about the size of a one car garage. Three people were working there. There seem lots of these tiny places tucked away in Tokyo, and one wonders how they sustain themselves.
We only had a light tea - guacamole and tortilla chips, followed by cheese quesadillas, and then headed back to the inn where there was the delicious smell of home made cakes.
For breakfast the host had prepared us a salad with a delicious sesame dressing, home made bread and cakes. We walked to Yotsuya station and negotiated the railway sysyem in to Tokyo where we caught the Shinkansen to Nagoya.
When the Shinkansen pulled in to the platform, there was a small army of women in pink who got on board, turned the seats around and cleaned the train. There were marks on the platform showing where to queue and everyone seemed to abide by this.
It was a sunny day and we chose seats on the side we would pass Mount Fuji. However, as we have learnt from previous holidays, volcanoes can be shy creatures and are often covered in cloud. Today Fuji-san was no different. We got the briefest of glimpses only.
It took just over 2 hours to get to Nagoya, and our hotel was about three minutes walk from the station. It was blazing hot.The Hotel would not check us in until 3 and so we wondered what to do. After a beer at a cafe on Sakura-dori, we decided to use our rail pass to visit Ena, where Joan used to live. The suburbs of Nagoya seem to go on forever, but eventually the mountains came in to view. Tajimi, Toki, Mizunami...these were all places Joan knew and had worked in. Eventual Ena Mountain was on the skyline. Disembarking at Ena, the area around the station had been regenerated, but the road layout was familiar and we wound our way up the hill to Kagami Heights where Joan had had a flat. There had been some changes but the town was still surrounded by beautiful mountains.
Nostalgia fest over, we walked back through the old town with its narrow streets and wooden buildings, bringing back more memories. We shopped at Valor, where Joan used to shop. In the old days, one had to walk past buckets of live fish and sea creatures when one entered the store. Occasionally a squid would try to escape. But now it is less raw an experience. As night fell, we caught the train back to Nagoya.
Back in Nagoya we checked in to our room. Initially we had a pokey room with no working LAN connection, but didn't give it much thought as we wanted dinner.
We headed out to the Marriot Hotel Towers where there are a group of restaurants and cafes on the 12th and 13th floor. Unable to read the menus, and slightly wary of eating somewhere that might not grasp vegetarianism completely, we settled for a pizza, which tends to be the safest bet wherever we are in the world. We ate outside overlooking the city and all the new skyscrapers which have grown up since Joan was last here.
Back at the Hotel, the room we had seemed to have gotten smaller and we realsied it was only a single bed. We had booked a double. Reception were great, and explained in Japan sometimes singles are sold for double occupancy, and this was the case with us. Despite the hotel being fully booked they found us another room with a bed with 6 inches more space and a larger living area. Though the bed was still tiny, the extra space made the experience less clausterphobic. Plus the internet LAN worked and so hence this blog!
Neither of us wanted to stray far, and it was raining as well. To be truthful, neither of us are city fans. We prefer scenery. On the internet we identified a Mexican restaurant, Salsa cabana, in a back street nearby. It was a tiny place with two tables, and a breakfast style bar. The kitchen was in one corner and the whole place was about the size of a one car garage. Three people were working there. There seem lots of these tiny places tucked away in Tokyo, and one wonders how they sustain themselves.
We only had a light tea - guacamole and tortilla chips, followed by cheese quesadillas, and then headed back to the inn where there was the delicious smell of home made cakes.
For breakfast the host had prepared us a salad with a delicious sesame dressing, home made bread and cakes. We walked to Yotsuya station and negotiated the railway sysyem in to Tokyo where we caught the Shinkansen to Nagoya.
When the Shinkansen pulled in to the platform, there was a small army of women in pink who got on board, turned the seats around and cleaned the train. There were marks on the platform showing where to queue and everyone seemed to abide by this.
It was a sunny day and we chose seats on the side we would pass Mount Fuji. However, as we have learnt from previous holidays, volcanoes can be shy creatures and are often covered in cloud. Today Fuji-san was no different. We got the briefest of glimpses only.
It took just over 2 hours to get to Nagoya, and our hotel was about three minutes walk from the station. It was blazing hot.The Hotel would not check us in until 3 and so we wondered what to do. After a beer at a cafe on Sakura-dori, we decided to use our rail pass to visit Ena, where Joan used to live. The suburbs of Nagoya seem to go on forever, but eventually the mountains came in to view. Tajimi, Toki, Mizunami...these were all places Joan knew and had worked in. Eventual Ena Mountain was on the skyline. Disembarking at Ena, the area around the station had been regenerated, but the road layout was familiar and we wound our way up the hill to Kagami Heights where Joan had had a flat. There had been some changes but the town was still surrounded by beautiful mountains.
Nostalgia fest over, we walked back through the old town with its narrow streets and wooden buildings, bringing back more memories. We shopped at Valor, where Joan used to shop. In the old days, one had to walk past buckets of live fish and sea creatures when one entered the store. Occasionally a squid would try to escape. But now it is less raw an experience. As night fell, we caught the train back to Nagoya.
Back in Nagoya we checked in to our room. Initially we had a pokey room with no working LAN connection, but didn't give it much thought as we wanted dinner.
We headed out to the Marriot Hotel Towers where there are a group of restaurants and cafes on the 12th and 13th floor. Unable to read the menus, and slightly wary of eating somewhere that might not grasp vegetarianism completely, we settled for a pizza, which tends to be the safest bet wherever we are in the world. We ate outside overlooking the city and all the new skyscrapers which have grown up since Joan was last here.
Back at the Hotel, the room we had seemed to have gotten smaller and we realsied it was only a single bed. We had booked a double. Reception were great, and explained in Japan sometimes singles are sold for double occupancy, and this was the case with us. Despite the hotel being fully booked they found us another room with a bed with 6 inches more space and a larger living area. Though the bed was still tiny, the extra space made the experience less clausterphobic. Plus the internet LAN worked and so hence this blog!
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