Thursday
23Oct2008
Tokyo
Thursday, October 23, 2008 at 02:49AM There are not many places in the world that run totally counter to expectations, but Tokyo is certainly one of them.
Journal entries of this 2008 month-long trip to Japan are in chronological order.
Thursday, October 23, 2008 at 02:49AM Saturday
25Oct2008
Murodo - Tateyama Mountains
Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 03:54AM While the scenery was quite lovely and we were able to see some spectacular foliage at the mid-levels of our journey today, the journey itself was worth the price of admission.
Saturday
25Oct2008
Nikko
Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 04:39AM Just two hours by train took us into the mountains north of Tokyo for the beginning of the foliage season.
Saturday
25Oct2008
Matsumoto
Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 07:42PM A pleasant three-hour train ride from Tokyo found us in Matsumoto where our guide, Miwako, led us directly to the 16th century Matsumoto Castle
Sunday
26Oct2008
Yamanaka
Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 04:33AM Not only were we met at our train by Jiro Takeuchi, the general manager of our first ryokan, Kayoutei, but also by Kinta from our travel agency, Real Japan.
From that point on we were wrapped in luxury. Gary likened the experience to renting art by the day, because of the elevated aesthetics (and the expense).
Sunday
26Oct2008
Noto
Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 05:20AM After a few different trains and an hour-and-a-half drive, we pulled into our second ryokan, Notonoshu, and immediately realized that there are ryokans and there are ryokans.
Saturday
01Nov2008
Kanazawa
Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 04:12AM (October 29, 30, 2008) Kanazawa is only an hour-and-a-half drive from Noto and its somewhat sleepy resort/fishing village atmosphere. Having escaped bombing in WWII, Kanazawa abounds in historical sights, tucked into a thoroughly modern city of around 500,000 people.
Saturday
01Nov2008
Takeyama
Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 05:28AM (October 29, 30, 2008) About an hour and a half out of Kanazawa, we stopped at Shirakawago Village, 
a community of several 250-year old thatched roofed structures that are now used as shops, restaurants and inns as well as homes.
Saturday
01Nov2008
Ise
Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 07:16PM With a bit of luck and less than a week to go, this may prove to be the only bad pick of our trip.
Monday
03Nov2008
Nara
Monday, November 3, 2008 at 06:20PM As soon as we arrived at the Hotel Nikko Nara just before lunch, the concierge loaded us up with maps and information about this lovely old town, 
the eastern-most point on the Silk Road. Then we set off on one of the charted walks, the Naramachi Course.
Monday
10Nov2008
Kyoto
Monday, November 10, 2008 at 02:32AM After scoring hard-to-get tickets for the Imperial Gardens at Katsura (only a limited number are available by internet, so we had to go in person to the Imperial Household offices) for Saturday, we visited one of the most beautiful sights in Kyoto, the Golden Pavilion.