As tired as I thought we were, Judy and Courtney have decided to go for another visit to Disneyland. We all eat early, and then walk to the train station. They head off to the Magic Kingdom, and I go looking for the Narita Express ticket office to make sure we can get on the train we need to catch our later flights.

I briefly gave some thought to going out and seeing a little more of Tokyo, but I’ve just “toured” myself out. Back at the room, I catch up on expense tracking, and writing a few blog entries. I think I’m about a week behind. Around 11:30, I go back outside, bored with the tiny hotel room, and walk around the area. Check the link below for a scan of Tokyo Station and the surrounding area.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r98q1a0zo4w6rmm/Tokyo%20Station.MOV

The “girls” get back around 12:45. They had a fun morning, rode a lot of rides, and saw most of what they wanted to see at the park. We organize our stuff, and start on the trek to opposite side of the station for our ride to the airport. We’re better at maneuvering through the station now, so we arrive with time to spare. On the train, it’s a smooth 58-minute ride to our terminal and a short walk to the check-in gates.

We’re going back to Beijing on All Nippon Airlines, and Courtney is headed to DFW on United. The gates are on opposite sides of the terminal, and we say our goodbyes here. It’s been a fun two weeks having Courtney, Brad, and Glenda come for a visit. We’ve seen and done so many things, it’s hard to remember it all. I guess this blog and the photos will help jog our memories.

Back in Beijing, we’re in familiar territory. We can communicate with the taxi driver (better than the ones in Japan), and we’re way too familiar with this airport. Back at the apartment, we roll in the door and crash. Having an ayi like Lilly certainly has its advantages. The apartment is sparkling clean, the dishes we left are washed and put away, and the laundry is finished, folded, and ironed. Nothing to do but go to sleep.

We’re on our own most of today. Our guide is meeting us at 5:30 at the hotel to get us back to the bullet train for the two-hour trip back to Tokyo. We have to check out of our room by 11:00 so we have time to burn.

We made reservations for a Japanese Tea experience. We get a lesson on teahouse etiquette and then watch the girl mix the tea with all the appropriate ceremony, before drinking it. We can’t figure out how they spend so much time seated on their knees. I can barely get into that position, much less try to maintain it.

This is the “correct” way to enter a teahouse

After the tea ceremony, I had initially planned a trip to another popular Shinto shrine. We’ve seen a lot of temples and decide to adjust the plan. We find a small mall area that covers most of our shopping needs. Courtney had seen some notes about a nearby market area, so we walk over to the Nishhi (?) Market. It’s a huge area of covered streets with shops ranging from food, electronics, and souvenir items. It’s a nice way to kill some of the afternoon as we make our way back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, we pick up our stored bags, and relax until the guide arrives. As we start to the train station, we encounter a protest against nuclear power. It’s looks like about 200 to 300 participants, marching down the street. This isn’t the first time in my life I’ve had to adjust plans because of the actions of a bunch of trumpets & drummers.

We board the bullet train for our trip back to Tokyo. This is an Express Train with only 3 stops before arriving in Tokyo. It’s so smooth and roomy.   In Tokyo, we make our way out of the train station and back to the Courtyard Marriott. We pick up our stored bags, and head to the rooms to adjust our luggage for the flights home tomorrow.

We’re up and out early. A guide meets us in the lobby, and takes us out to a bus. We make a stop at another hotel and pick up a large group, and then begin our Kyoto sightseeing.   We start off at Nijo Castle, built by a powerful Samurai leader. There are lots of interesting gardens and rooms to look at.

Check out the pink banner supports.

Nijo Castle gardens

The 2^nd stop is a Shinto shrine. Our guide tries to explain the difference in Shintoism and Buddhism. According to her, Buddhism has one deity, and lots of texts and beliefs. Shintoism has no beliefs or texts, and many deities. Apparently, in the Shinto religion, if you need something, you find the deity you need, and pray accordingly. Large lanterns are everywhere in a Shinto Shrine, donated by individuals needing “extra help” with their problems.

Worshippers burning incense, leaving offerings, praying and ringing the bell, at the temple in the Shinto shrine.

Our final morning stop is the Golden Pavilion, a beautiful building and garden area. The pavilion itself is covered with gold leaf, and was built as a worship/rest area for one of the early emperors.

Lunch is a Japanese dinner. There are lots of vegetables and tempura fried shrimp and chicken. Although I’m not in love with the foods, yet, the flavors are good. I’m probably still going for a burger, a steak, or a pizza first.

Kyoto residents, dressed in traditional kimonos, going about their daily business

The afternoon involves traveling to Nara, a city that was the center of Japanese power and culture before Kyoto became prominent. The temples we visit today are in an area where deer wander everywhere. The Todai-ji Temple is the largest enclosure for a Buddhist statue in the world (according to our guide). It’s definitely huge, and we’ve seen some big temples since we’ve been in Asia. We finish up the tour at another Shinto temple. It contains over 2000 lanterns around the grounds.

Some of the Nara deer.

Lanterns everywhere

These are also lanterns, lined up everywhere

We are dropped back at our hotel after the hour trip back to Kyoto. There has been some talk about geishas (women entertainers) and their training. We get a hint about where and when to go see them. They seem to be elusive. They begin work at 9:00pm, so they’re arriving at the clubs between 8:30 and 9:00. Judy and I gather our energy (Courtney is too beat), and head to the Gion District, finding the street where the clubs are located. We arrive early, and feel like paparazzi lurking around with our cameras.

The main street for geishas in the Kyoto Gion district.

These two walked right by me (bumped into me, actually) while I was trying to spot some more coming down the street

We eat early and begin the walk to meet our tour for the day. We left some luggage stored at the hotel. We’re coming back here Sunday night, but each of us has a small bag for our two nights in Kyoto. It’s no easy walk to the bus station where we’re meeting the group. It’s on the other side of this huge station, and again the signage takes us time to decipher.

Finally on the bus, we are transported to another bus station where everyone previously picked up is split into the appropriate tour on other buses. Eventually we pull out, headed for Mt. Fuji. After a 2 hr. bus ride we get to the base of Mt. Fuji. As we drove into sight of the mountain, the guide begins discussing the odds of us seeing the top of the mountain. He tells us the top is only visible about 30% of the time. Today is not going to be one of the clear days. As our guide says, “She’s shy today.” I showed our guide a picture I took as I flew over Japan in April on my trip back to the US to help mom & dad move. It turns out I’ve seen the top of Mt. Fuji already. Check the picture below.

The bus travels halfway up the mountain to the 5^th station. Any further up requires a hike. It’s fogged in, damp, and slightly cold. We’re not dressed for cold mountain weather. It’s a nice break from the heat and humidity at lower elevations. Back at the bottom of the mountain, we eat a nice Japanese lunch before heading back out on the afternoon section of the tour.

The next stop is Hakone. It’s a touristy town similar to Ruidoso, with lots of vacation homes. We take a cable car up a mountain, come over a ridge, and swing out over a hot springs area. There are springs everywhere, and sulpher extraction spots. The sulpher is extracted, and the hot water is piped down the hill to dozens of hotels/resorts that don’t have their own hot spring. Soaking in a hot spring is the prime draw for this area, and a hotel without a hot spring wouldn’t survive.

At the bottom of the hill we board a ferry for a short cruise across Mt. Ashi. It’s a small natural mountain lake. It’s supposed to have tremendous views of Mt. Fuji, but again, “she’s shy.”

Denny’s is everywhere.

Rice is growing everywhere.

After the cruise, back on our bus, we travel to Odowara, where we unload at the train station. It’s “bullet train” time! There are 8 of us going to Kyoto. The other 28 people and our guide head back to Tokyo. A tour rep meets us and takes us to the platform where we meet our train. We arrive early,   sitting quietly talking, and suddenly a train roars through, and I mean “roars” through. It goes through so fast it took us a minute to process what happened. A few minutes later another goes through the same way, going in the other direction. Apparently these are “Express Trains” that stop at only a few of the largest stations. Check out the short movie link I attached.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q1u2g3whuxtptst/Bullet%20Train.MOV

Finally our train arrives and we board in a hurry (the doors don’t stay open long). The cabin is roomy and comfortable. When the train starts rolling, it’s hard to believe we’re going over 200mph. It’s so smooth. In Kyoto, we’re met by another tour rep. She walks us out and puts us in a pre-paid taxi for the trip to our hotel. This is much different than the small Beijing taxis. These are much bigger and the passenger doors open with a switch the driver controls. Drivers are dressed in black suits with white shirt and tie, and wearing white gloves.

The Okura Hotel Kyoto is an old, established hotel with lots of style and tradition. It’s a real contrast to our Tokyo hotel. The room is large and we’re asleep really quickly. It’s been a long day.

Today is Disney day! We start out early after breakfast, walking to the train station. We take a short ride (6 stops) before arriving at the station for the Disney Parks. Courtney had already purchased our tickets for “Disney Sea.” It’s supposed to be the most different of any of the parks in the Disney system. We ride the resort train around both parks before getting off at our entrance. The park has been open for 5 minutes, and the big initial crowd has already rushed through, headed for whatever Fast Pass they need.

We enjoy a few rides and shows, taking in as much of the park as possible. The lines early aren’t bad, and we ride pretty much everything we want without too much waiting. Naturally, there are great live music groups playing throughout the park, keeping guests entertained. The various themed areas are decorated really well, as expected. Judy and I spend the hot part of the day in a “Big Band Show”, and then take in some caffeine on the patio of a small café. It’s so nice and comfortable. We spend lots of time just watching people go by. One of the most striking things we noticed was how many of the teens and even some older are dressed as twins or multiples. Some groups as large as six are all dressed alike, and they’re not school groups in uniform. There are some crazy costumes. We have a blast watching them go by.

Courtney heads home around 2:30 to rest, with plans to return at 6:00 for the evening activities. Judy and I plan on leaving pretty soon, but keep finding things to do, and we don’t walk out until 7:00 pm. Back home, we pack for our tour tomorrow to Mt. Fuji and 2 nights in Kyoto. We need our sleep. No matter what you do, Disney parks require lots of walking, and we traversed the park several times.

The Beijing Airport is looking way too familiar.  No problems checking in and we arrive at our gate after security and customs with an hour to kill.  The flight leaves on time, and arrives a little early at Tokyo Narita Airport.  It’s a long ways into town, and I decided to try the Narita Express Train, the fastest route to downtown.  It takes almost an hour, with only one quick stop at another terminal.

The Tokyo Sky Tree. This photo was taken from the Narita Express train headed into town.

Now we get to find our way out of the station.  Tokyo is the largest city in the world, so it might be expected that the train station is HUGE!  We arrive on the 5^th basement floor.  There are many escalators to maneuver through, with all our luggage.  I’ve deduced our exit gate, but it’s a serious hike to finally get there.  It took us time to figure out the signs.  Now that we’re out of the station, where’s our hotel?  The website instructions were vague, and the street signs are not in English.  One would think the Marriott Courtyard Tokyo Station would be close?  We finally stumble across a sign for the hotel, and walk into an office building?  Over in one corner is a small elevator with the “Courtyard” symbol.  The lobby desk is on the 4^th floor, and after checking in, we move back to our rooms on the 3^rd floor.

Courtney’s room in the Beijing Courtyard was really big and nice, with lots of amenities.  Our rooms in the Xi’an Sheraton were huge, and new.  We are now in the smallest rooms I’ve ever seen.  Cruise ship rooms are bigger.  I guess this is a rehearsal for our cruise in July.  We started reading some of the online reviews on the hotel, and apparently, these are “par for the course” in Tokyo.  Man, these are little, and expensive.  Oh well, “when in Rome.”  When you check out the room pix below, notice the electronic command center by the toilet seat.  It’s pretty complicated and delivers all kinds of “services”.  This was not uncommon in many of the washrooms in Japan, and some included even more “activities”.

Tokyo Courtyard Marriott. It’s kinda tight!

Check out the “control panel” beside the toilet seat

This was actually one of the simple “toilet control panels” we experienced in Japan.

Courtyard Beijing, Courtney’s room

Xi’an Sheraton

After unpacking, Courtney is ready to head out to Tokyo Disney.  Judy and I walk her over to the train station where she’ll commute to the park.  When she leaves, we wander around trying to get our bearings, before heading back to the hotel, and finding dinner.  Courtney checks in later with us, and she’s having a blast.  When she gets back to the hotel at 10:40, she wakes us to let us know she’s safely back.  It took me quite a while to come out of my stupor to figure out what was going on.  It took me no time to get back to sleep.

The Tokyo version!

After a big breakfast at the Sheraton, we meet our guide and driver. Today is “Terra Cotta Warriors Day.” Our first stop is the Provincial Museum where we get all the information about the various dynasties based in Xi’an. The last was the Tang, prior to the 1300s, when the Ming and Qing Dynasties were based in Beijing. It’s hard to keep track of them all. It does however help us understand more clearly about the Terra Cotta Warriors.

Next stop is the kiln demonstrating the process used to create the figures in similar fashion to the originals. It’s run by the government and has numerous items for sale. This is similar to the “Jade Factory” in Beijing, and the “Ginseng Factory” in Seoul. It’s a required stop for tour groups licensed by the government. We don’t have to buy anything, but there are some nice items for memorabilia. They aren’t going for my skilled bargaining technique developed in Beijing. It’s “their way or the highway.”

Finally, we head out to the Terra Cotta Warriors, the main purpose of our visit. The site is about 40km outside of Xi’an. There’s a large, and newly developed shopping area as we walk to the gates. Inside one of the shops is a farmer (that’s how he’s described to us), one of the original four, that found the “Warriors” in 1974, while digging a well on their farm. He is signing books. This is a job the government has allowed him to have (instead of continuing to farm, I guess). The various founding farmers rotate in and out, taking turns at the autograph desk.

One of the farmers who discovered the site digging a well in 1974. Now he earns his income signing his autograph.

From the gate, it’s a long way to the buildings housing the pits. It doesn’t disappoint! It’s massive! There are three huge pits (inside buildings). There is still digging going on, as well as restoration of the figures. There is only one figure, out of all those currently found, that didn’t need any restoration, and he’s displayed in his own separate case.

Standing in front of the pit #1 building.

IT’S HUGE! THIS IS PIT #1 of 3.

Excavations and restorations are still ongoing.

This is the only figure that didn’t need restoration. Some of the color is still obvious on his back.

After the visit, we get a late lunch, and then make the long drive back to the airport. Our two-hour flight arrives in Beijing at 7:30. A driver is waiting for us, and hustles us out of the terminal. When we get home around 8:15, after dropping Courtney off at her hotel, we start the turn-around packing process. We have 5 nights in Japan, and the flight leaves tomorrow morning at 9:00 am. Traveling is hard work!

We’re at the airport early for our flight to Xi’an. Our itinerary says it’s scheduled for 6:30am, but we can’t find it anywhere on the digital “Departures” board. We’re not even sure we’re at the correct terminal, but the ticket counter checks us in, and takes our luggage. We walk to the gate on our boarding pass, still pretty confused. It says now that we depart at 9:00 am. We have a lot of time to kill. Later we notice our gate has changed, so we pack up all our assorted junk and make the transition. By the time we finally board, we feel like it’s been a full day. Several other passengers experienced the same confusion we did.

It’s a two-hour flight to Xi’an, and our guide meets us at the gate. Of course, we’re two hours late. Our driver picks us up, and we begin to see the sites of Xi’an. Our first stop is the Drum Tower and Bell Tower in the center of the city. These are not as tall as the Beijing versions, but the restoration is much better. Overall, we begin to notice the city is a little cleaner, and calmer than Beijing.

Our next stop is the Xi’an City Wall. It’s been restored the entire circumference of the city (about 17 kilometers, I think she said).   It’s wide enough to drive a truck on. It’s amazing to look at, realizing the size of the entire project, and when it was built.

Last on our list before our hotel and dinner is the “Wild Goose Pagoda”. It’s an active Buddhist temple. I’ve seen pictures before we arrived, but witnessing the actual size of the building is impressive. Xi’an was the imperial capital of China for a thousand years, before it moved to Beijing in the 1300’s, so there are many important buildings.

We get checked into our hotel (a Sheraton). It’s a new hotel, with the nicest rooms we’ve ever stayed in, anywhere. They’re huge, with so many conveniences. It’s hard to leave, and we’re worn out, but we have tickets for a dinner show. We unpack and relax an hour before heading back out.

The dinner is a “Dumpling Banquet”, with many different kinds of traditional dumplings, from the Xi’an area. There are some unusual looking dumplings, but they are really good. The show is called a “Tang Dynasty Show”. It’s based on the costumes and traditions of the Tang Dynasty. The show is well done with lots of colorful costumes, sets, and beautiful, as well as athletic, dancing.

The drive home afterwards is gorgeous. The City Wall is lit the entire length. As impressive as it was during the day, it’s even more impressive at night.

SATURDAY, 6/21/14

The first order of business today is to get Brad and Glenda to the airport for their return flight to the US. The driver picks them up at 9:00 am, and I join them, just to make sure they don’t have a problem. There aren’t any problems, and they quickly disappear through the first security area, bound for their gate. We hate to see them go. We’ve had a blast showing them around.

Judy takes Courtney out for another round of shopping at Yashow, including a snack at Crepanini, and later, lunch at Homeplate BBQ. She’s getting to visit all of our haunts. We relax in the apartment when they get back, until we get hungry. We want to make sure Courtney gets a chance to try some Peking Duck. We walk to a nearby restaurant, specializing in traditional style, and give her the full treatment. It’s great!

SUNDAY, 6/22/14

I’m late getting to these daily posts because we’ve been so worn out after our touring, and there is more touring to come. I’m actually writing this riding on a bullet train from Mt. Fuji to Kyoto (Friday, June 27).

Today is Courtney’s last chance to see Beijing (or at least what we know of it). We get her over to the Ladies Street Mkt., and the Flower Market for more shopping (or at least looking). We have so much stuff, when we finish, we have to go back to our apartment before we head back out. We taxi to Solana for a very late lunch, and some time walking around the huge mall area, then back to the apartment.

We organize our plans for our early departure tomorrow (4:30 am). I’m going over to Court’s hotel to check her out, and Judy’s going straight to the airport. It’s going to be an early morning, so we finish our packing and head to bed.

Day 3 is a big walking day. Judy and I join the kids at their hotel for breakfast. Then we’re picked up and head out to the Great Wall. It’s a clear, blue-sky day. We ride a cable car to the top (Tower 14). From there, Jonathan walks with us to Tower 6, describing history and interesting footnotes as we walk. It’s mostly downhill, but one of the interesting design aspects is the steps and walkway are not consistent in their spacing or height. This was done to make it difficult for an army to move along the top. It also makes it difficult for tourists with sore knees to traverse it.

We finally get to Tower 6, and get a chance to ride a toboggan to the bottom. Judy is ready to get another ticket up, just to ride the toboggan, but maturity (and fatigue) wins out. At the bottom, there are a few aggressive vendors, and the family gets a chance to test their bargaining skills for some knick-knacks.

Lunch is at a beautiful little restaurant called “The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu”. Michelle Obama and her daughters ate here when they came to this section of the wall in April. The food is really good, and the dessert at the end was a welcome treat.

Our final tour stop is the Summer Palace. Jonathan took us thru a gate not used heavily by tourists. It required a longer walk, but most of it was through a beautiful garden and it was restful, in spite of the walk. The kids hike to the highest temple, but Judy and I opted not to join them. We made the trek to the top last fall, and didn’t “feel it.” (actually we were feeling it….in our legs)

The Summer Palace gardens.

The Summer Palace. It’s a pretty solid hike to the top.

When we get back to the van, the kids want to the get the full market shopping experience with some aggressive vendors at Yashow. It’s Friday afternoon, and the traffic is terrible, but we finally arrive. An hour later we walk out with a varied collection of Chinese memories. We won a few, and lost of few of the bargaining battles, but had a blast. We finish off the evening with a meal on the roof terrace at the Blue Frog. We taxi home and day 3 comes to a quick end on a pillow. Our legs have had it!