Japan: Steakland - Not An Octopus' Garden

Tuesday, June 12, 2018 -

It's our last full day in Japan.  I awake to a promising breakfast of nearly day old donuts from Mister Donut and a Coca Cola.  Dennis and I watch the news coverage of Pres Trump meeting the North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un.  Jokes and opinions fly back and forth across room 2903 at the Kobe Crowne Plaza that morning.

We didn't do anything special or of note that day.  I'm very tired of having to ride trains as my main mode of transportation.  Also tired of sitting in the room.  Dennis, Jack, Sam and I take to the streets to walk around the shopping areas for a while.  The only real plans we have is to eat at a restaurant we found called Steakland; a Kobe steak house of sorts.  The name Steakland has me somewhat concerned.  It sounds too much like Bonanza or some other cheap steak place.  But it's not the $150 steak dinner offered at the hotel restaurant and it appears to be meat.

That afternoon, Jack and Sam opt to stay in the room.  Sam did have to leave about 2pm to meet one of his teachers at his old school.  Dennis wanted to check out another mountain lookout place and left to do that.  I didn't want to go anywhere, but didn't want to stay in the room.  I gathered my iPhone and MacBook, went to the hotel lobby and began writing for this blog.

That evening we went to Steakland for dinner.  But Sam is no where to be found.  I guess he spent time on a beach with a few of his friends from his old school.  But Sam met us at the restaurant.

This appeared to me to be a traditional and authentic Kobe steakhouse.  We were seated with a grill in front of us.  I, as well as Jack, ordered the big Kobe steak meal which came with a variety of other foods.  Including sushi.  The vegetable beef soup was excellent.  In fact, I think it was the best item I had the entire week... and that includes the Mister Donut.  Included with the dinner was likely the oddest thing I had to eat this whole trip.  And that was grilled octopus.  Salty, but tasted ok.  It was all fatty so it was like chewing gum.  And the texture was gross.  I could feel the suction cups of the octopus as I ate it.

We watched the chef cook our meal in front of us.  With Kobe beef, they cut it up in pieces when they cook it.  This way you don't need a steak knife to cut your food and you guessed it...  you're forced to use chop sticks.  I simply gave up on trying to figure out how to use them.  I merely stabbed the piece of meat with one stick and ate it that way.  I swear, Japan is a technology leading, industrialized nation that can't use any metal fabrication to provide it's people basic flatware.  WTF.  At least they gave me a good amount of very good steak sauce.

The meal and atmosphere were mostly good.  The oddest thing I saw at this place was a painting that resembled a woman sitting on a toilet.  I didn't get a picture of it as I thought that might have been a bit creepy if that was the case.

We would be leaving for the USA the next day.  Like Jack, I'm ready to head back to a place where I can carry a conversation with people, order food without having to point at a menu item and have a large ("L size" as it's called in Japan), cold glass of Diet Coke.  I sure wouldn't want to live here, but it was cool to visit.  Like I mentioned before, Japan wasn't high on my bucket list of places to visit, it was interesting to see the enormous contrast in culture and the way of life.  I would consider returning for another visit (we didn't get to see Mt Fuji) if the right conditions are there.

Right now, I'm looking forward to another trip across the Pacific to Tahiti with Buffy later this month.

Here's some more pics:

The Emperor's Garden.

Having breakfast at Eggs & Things

Signage in the subways.

At the top of the mountain in Kyoto, minus Jack.

Japan: Sushi Again?!

Monday, June 11, 2018 -

I awake today longing for the life in a small American mountain town.  I'm really sick of having to navigate your way through a crowd of people to get on a subway and then some train just to get from point A to point B.  The same problem is had in any large city.

Ben is back to work.  Of course Jack and Sam would rather stay in the room on their phones.  Dennis wants to do something.  Dennis is doing pretty good with his bad back. For me, I kind of want to take a rest, but still want to get out of the room and do something.  I'm just sick of getting to places... I really long for Steamboat Springs and getting back into my Dodge RAM.

The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Maiko.

Dennis really wanted to check out the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge; something Jack considered some weird obsession.  It is a tollway bridge that crosses over the Osaka Bay to another island.  Supposedly, it is or at least was, the longest suspension bridge in the world.  Along the supports of the bridge is where whirlpools occur.  These whirlpools are so strong that many boats and ships can get caught in them and become unable to escape.  I suspect these whirlpools happen when the tide moves in and out.

So, yet another ride on the subways and trains, Dennis and I left to a town called Maiko.  It is a town along the coast just west of Kobe.

We arrive at the bridge and walk around the area.  It looks to be very clean and we're getting a really nice breeze off the bay.  One particular sculpture is close to the bridge.  It looks like a donut.  The description is written only in Japanese and shows a picture of some man.  I joke to Dennis it's a monument to Mister Donut.

For a small admission fee, we were able to walk around underneath the bridge for a ways.  There were some tunnel like walkways and even had a "skywalk" where you can look through plexiglass over the bay.  And it was a clear day and we could see pretty far along the bay.

That night, Ben had made plans for us to go to another sushi restaurant.  He claimed that if we thought the sushi train was good, we'd never want to go back there once we've eaten this sushi.  We were to meet Magoomie, Hanna and Mummi again.  And guess what?  Another round of subway and train riding to get to this place.

When you have to see a man about a donut,
Mr Donut is the man to see!

I ask what the hell is up with their fascination with sushi.  Where is all this great Kobe beef I always hear about?  Why don't we go there?  Maybe it doesn't exist is what I tell Dennis and Ben.  It's all a lie!!  So we go to this place which took some time to get there.  When we do get there, there is a Mister Donut next door.  Jack suggested we should go to Mister Donut for dinner instead.  I kind of liked that idea.

We go to the sushi restaurant and we are seated way in the back at an American sized booth.  However, there are more of us, so we take up 2 booths.  Before long, the ventilation system kicked in and the smell of some sort of bad fish fills the air.  This is really going to suck I think to myself.

A bunch of sushi is ordered.  I maintain being a good sport and try some.  I grabbed one that had conger eel on it.  It was grilled or fried.   Tasted good but it was a tough piece of fish.  But I don't really eat all that much and rather drank my dinner.  Again, I don't understand all the fascination with sushi.  It's bland.  And what's up with all the rice... again, it's bland.  Maybe they like it because it's cheap.  I don't know.

Upon leaving, I said goodbye to Magoomie and her daughters.  We decided to get some donuts at Mister Donut for the next morning.  And lastly, another round of riding the trains and subways to get back to the hotel. And a late night visit to the hotel bar then some more binge watching of "The 100."

Japan: Harbortown

Sunday, June 10, 2018 -

At last, it looks like we'll get a decent breakfast.  Our plans today take us to an area of Kobe known as Harbortown.  It's close to the harbor of Osaka Bay and it is somewhat Americanized.  Ben suggested breakfast at a restaurant called "Eggs & Things."  It was founded in Hawaii.

Jack and his breakfast.

I was able to order eggs overeasy and sausage.  Jack was hungry and ordered the macadamia nut and banana pancakes.  It was all mostly good; the sausage was basically hot dogs.  But breakfast was very much enjoyed.

After that, we didn't know what to do.  Jack and Sam headed back to the hotel to get on their phones and play games and watch videos.  I can't really blame them.  I myself was getting tired of riding subways and trains to get anywhere, basically a big city problem.

Dennis, Ben and I walked around Harbortown some.  We went into the Kobe Harbor Tower to its observation deck.  After that, we went and looked around the maritime museum.  Attached to the Maritime Museum was a museum for Kawasaki.  They displayed numerous products and services Kawasaki produced.  From motorcycles and ATVs to robotics to parts for trains, planes and rockets.  After touring the museum, we made our way to an earthquake memorial to honor those lost in a 1995 earthquake.

Hanging out in Harbortown in Kobe.

Though I was getting tired of walking around, we did walk through Kobe's Chinatown.  Wanting to get a bite to eat, Dennis wanted to stop in some Chinese restaurant.  Outside the restaurant were pictures of the food they serves.  Other than a vegetarian, salad looking dish, none of it looked appetizing to me.  "Are you going to eat anything," Dennis asked me.  "Probably not," I answered.  We then moved along and settled for a Kentucky Fried Chicken to eat at.  At least here I had an idea of what I was eating.

Japan: A Walk in Kyoto

Saturday, June 9, 2018 -

Yea, I know... I kind of left this blog on the back burner that last few days.  But I'm back.

Today, per Ben's tour guiding expertise, we are going to take the train to Kyoto to look around.  Kyoto is roughly north-northeast of Kobe.  It is a very old town, to the tune of thousands of years old.  It used to be the capital of Japan and the Emperor's palace is located there.  

Sam, Jack and I about to head up the so-called mountain.

At the train station, we are greeted with more confusion.  Apparently we were to meet one of Ben's co-workers in Japan and her daughters.  I did not know this until we were just standing around for what seemed to me, no reason at all.  Ben's co-worker is Magoomie (believe me, I'm trying my best to remember the names, let alone trying to spell them correctly) and her daughters Hanna and (I think I heard right) Mommi or Mummi.  They were extremely nice and they could speak English a lot better then most of the population I came into contact.

After taking a couple different trains to Kyoto, we make the walk through town.  It is a narrow street filled with people all heading to what will look to me to be some tourist trap.  There are a number of stores with souvenirs and even kimono rentals.  The destination we are headed is a long climb up the mountain (remember, what they call mountain and what I call mountain are two different things).  There's some sort of religious significance on top of this mountain.  Many people will wear their kimono and other gear to pay their respects.  I can't believe people wear these hot looking clothing all the way up in the sun and humidity to do this. 

"Comrade" Dennis with his hat from the
 Imperial Japanese Army.

Of course, we stop for ice cream first before making this hike.  Dennis realized that he did not bring a hat and didn't want to sunburn his head.  He managed to find a vendor selling hats.  The hat he purchased said 'Japan' on it in big letters and was of a style of what a soldier would wear in the Imperial Japanese Army.  Dennis' name became "Comrade" for that afternoon.

We all walked with the other masses of people through these red wooden posts in a large forest.  I commented we are being herded in for slaughter.  By the looks of these wooden posts, this is a tourist trap; I don't see any long lasting historic structures other than some rocks.

We keep heading up.  Along the way were some vending machines and cafes where you could get a bite to eat or drink.  Jack commented that there had better be something spectacular at the top otherwise he wasn't going to leave his room for the rest of the trip.  Jack is not too big on physical exertion... kind of like his Grandpa Dick.  So at one particular stop, Jack decided not to go up any further.  I forgot to look up what the elevation of the top of the mountain was, but I'm going to guess it was about 1,200 ft.


We finally get up there.  Not much to look at.  There was a small line for people to look at what I considered a mound of rocks.  According to Ben, there was some sort of religious significance to them.  There was a makeshift table in front of it where items could be placed.  I bought a water, we took a few pictures and then made the trek downhill.

The hardest thing for me going up was the humidity; temperature was not bad if you were in the shade.  And again, I'm surprised there are no bugs.  To me, it seemed others were breathing hard trying to manage the uphill climb.  Being from Colorado, I didn't seem to have as hard a time.  Even walking down which should be much easier, I heard someone behind me having issues.  He was breathing real hard, counting, "1, 2, 1, 2... ok now... 1, 2, 1, 2," and so on.  I thought, "if this guy is having this hard of time walking down, how the hell did he get up here?"

Being herded in.

We met up with Jack.  I said that he really missed out by not going to the top.  I also told him that at the top, they were giving away FREE, UNLIMITED data for his phone and computers.  Earlier, he bought a sim card to get data in Japan, which he used up with his game playing.  He didn't exactly buy my story.

Once down the mountain, we stopped in a convenience store to get a snack and/or drink.  I made some comment to Jack which I don't remember what it was.  Jack's response: "My life is slowly being drained every day I stay here."

The final tally.

We've done a lot of walking at this point.  According to my exercise app, we had climbed 62 flights of stairs.  But we weren't done yet.  Now we headed to the Emperor's Palace.  This entitled another lengthy walk.  We get to the Palace and I make the comment that it looks like a fairgrounds.  We also noticed the groundskeepers, raking the rocks to make them look nice.  They probably didn't even consider using modern motorized equipment to do this.

We had to run to the entrance as they were about to close for the day.  We were the last group to go in.  I wasn't real impressed with the palace.  It was interesting to see how they made the roofs (looked like some kind of thatch) and the Emperor's garden was beautiful.  But other than that...

It was now a long walk back to the train station and to head back to the Crowne Plaza.  At least we stopped at a Tony Roma's for an American dinner before heading back.

Japan: The Bullet Train

June 8, 2018 -

I think today’s activities will be the highlight of the trip for me.  We plan to take the bullet train, or what the Japanese call “Shinkansen,” down to Hiroshima.  There we plan to take in the Peace Museum and see another other sights from the Aug 6, 1945 atomic bomb dropping.

A screen capture of my iPhone while riding the bullet train.

It took some time in deciphering how to get tickets and departure times.  It was a little more expensive than we expected.  But we are in Japan so we were determined to do it.

We get on board and it’s reminiscent of an airplane.  And very clean.  Unfortunately, and especially for Jack who always wants to sit, there were no seats.  We took a spot to stand next to the smoking booths.  Yes you read that correct.  Smoking booths.  My mom and dad would have loved this.  They have special booths where people can smoke on the train.  They must have had very good ventilation systems inside of those as I never smelled any second hand smoke.

The train rode incredibly smooth.  You would get some bumps and movement when it would accelerate or turn, but for the most part, very smooth.  I’ve had more turbulence on an airplane.

We disembarked from the shinkansen and hailed a cab to take us to the Peace Park and Museum.  I sat in the front seat of the very small cab.  The driver drove in a very odd fashion.  We would come to a stop and he’d put the car in neutral and pull the parking brake.  When the light would change, he’d put it in drive and release the break.  He kept doing this all the time.  He might save a yen’s worth of fuel, but it will cost thousands of yen for the repair to the wear and tear on the transmission.

The taxis are very clean here in Japan.  Taxi drivers wear dark, conservative suits with white gloves.  A far cry from what kind of cab ride you’d get in downtown Chicago.

The park and museum were well worth the trip I thought.  Of course with our luck, the main building of the museum was closed for renovations.  Still, I enjoyed the visit.  It is all located pretty much to ground zero where the bomb detonated.  I had joked that I wish I had a geiger-counter to check on radiation.  One building in particular is called A-Bomb Dome.  It was a dome building that partially withstood the blast.  I’m sure some reinforcement was in order, but was allowed to be kept standing to show the aftermath of the bomb’s dropping.

Inside the museum was a room that gave the effect as if you were walking the streets of Hiroshima right after the explosion.  Also in the room was a lighted display of the entire area, displaying an arial view of Hiroshima before, during and after the dropping of the a-bomb.  The museum also showcased artifacts found in the rubble and the aftermath.

I found Hiroshima to be cleaner and more modern than Kobe.  Granted it was rebuilt after 1945, but still.  This is another observation I’ve had with Japan.  The road and train infrastructure is very good.  But then I look at the buildings and many of then just appear to be run down.  The roofs look to be old; dirt or rust streaks run down the sides of the walls.  Ben was explaining something earlier regarding the way they value buildings here.  I didn’t totally understand, but it was something to the effect buildings will depreciate within 20-30 years depending upon what building it is.  Then it is only worth what the land is worth.  I find it hard to believe market prices don’t dictate this.  

The A-Bomb Dome.

Our plans that evening was to meet with some friends of Ben and Sam, at what I believed was going to be their apartment.  This will be interesting, I thought.  Japanese residences are not very big.  I was already getting tired of small, cramp restaurants and places.  We were getting ready to leave the hotel to meet with Ben at the train station.  Unbeknownst to me, Sam was to take a red suitcase along with him to drop off with these friends of theirs.  Sam had to run back to the room to get this.  “What does he have to get?” I inquire.

Dennis explained that it was a suitcase full of bibles that they brought over from the US for these people.  “What?” I thought, also picturing a bunch of hot Gidian bibles from hotel rooms in a suitcase.  So now I’m sizing up the situation: meeting some people in a small apartment to hand off a pile of bibles which will likely turn out, they don’t drink, have no alcohol, it’s hot in the room and serving questionable food items.  My immediate future does not bode well for me.

It turned out we met them at an un-authentic Hawaiian restaurant for dinner.  Though small, it was not hot, they served beer and I ordered the surf & turf.  The owner had a little dog in the restaurant (and I haven’t seen too may pets here) wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt.  The company of Ben and Sam’s friends was very nice and we all had a good time.  At the end of the night, the owner was playing his ukulele with their kids.  I never did find out what the bibles were for.  Not sure I want to know.

Now it was back to the Crowne Plaza to binge watch some more of "The 100" on Netflix... and drink beer.

Japan: The Sushi Train

June 7, 2018 - 

Japanese rest room stall at a train stop.  Sure glad I didn't have to go!

Another day, another quest for food.  I have found that the Japanese do not believe in breakfast.  Most stores and restaurants don’t open until 11am.  Even if you do find some sort of Japanese breakfast, it’s likely a cup of noodles with a raw egg on it.  Jack, Sam, Dennis and I wonder endlessly in search for some kind of breakfast.  I figured Sam would have known of some place but didn’t.  He claimed he normally ate at home when they lived here.

It was this morning when Jack suggested we look for a flight to go home early.  He was already tired of Japan.  His biggest gripe was he was hot all the time.  That’s true.  He’s a big kid and was sweating quite a bit.  I totally get where he was coming from.  In a number of places in Japan, it only what they call “mildly air-conditioned.”  I would look around and you’d see Japanese people wearing jackets and long sleeved shirts and such and not be sweating.  Escape from the heat was a major reason I left Illinois.  Though we made fun of Jack, Dennis was already compiling a list of “What I Hate About Japan,” with the number one item being no air conditioning.

Anyhow, we managed to find a coffee shop that served breakfast.  And I’m talking eggs over easy and bacon (despite the bacon nowhere to being crispy).  

After breakfast, our plans were to get back on a train to a manmade island in the harbor to a Harley-Davidson shop.  Dennis needed to get a Harley shirt as a souvenir for his brother in law.   It was warm and humid during our walk to the Harley store.  But we were all entertained by Jack’s dislike of the climate.  

Once Dennis picked up the shirt we headed back to the hotel and then left again to ride a cable car up to the Nunobiki Falls and Herb Garden.  This was right next to the Crowne Plaza.  The cable car would take you up to the top of what everyone called the mountain (this peaked at 1,200 ft in elevation… this is NOT a mountain).  At the top there was a cafe and herb garden.  A hiking path could take you back down, which Dennis and I did and bought the one way tickets.  Jack and Sam bought the 2 way tickets.  They didn’t want to walk down; they need to get back to the room to be on their phones.

Dennis and I took some other paths that we thought would give us another view of the Nanobiki waterfall.  The climb was steep and turned out, only gave us a partial view of the city.  In the woods of these paths, the humidity was pretty high and we were working up a big sweat.  I have no idea how Dennis’ back was going to feel the next day.  If I knew we were going to be doing this, I would have brought my hiking shoes.

Probably the biggest surprise with Japan I now realized with all the woods around me and sweating buckets was… no bugs.  And we’ve encountered a good amount of rain too.  Very seldom have I seen any bugs.  I did see one mosquito… and that was inside McDonalds.

For dinner that night, Ben was finally able to join us.  He planned to take us to what his family called “The Sushi Train” and was one of their favorite places to eat.  I have no idea what the place is truly called.  It might even be the Sushi Train.

Jack riding up the gondola at the Nunobiki Falls.

I really don’t know what to expect from this.  I’ve never been a sushi fan.  I think the only sushi I’ve tried was in Florida one year and from what I remember, smelled horrible and tasted the same.  But I figure sushi in Japan and sushi in the US are different.  So I planned to go into this with an open mind and give it a try.

We get there and get a booth.  The actual “train” is a conveyor belt that delivers food to your table.  There were two belts.  One was loaded with sushi of different types of fish and ran to all the different booths down an isle.  The second was one where you special ordered an item off a kiosk at your booth.  As you finished your plate, you would then dump the empty plates down a slot to who knows where it went then.  The atmosphere of the restaurant was that of an all you can eat buffet place.  Cheap.  We’d tease Jack that he probably likes this restaurant because of how the food comes to you and you don’t have to get up.

I really don’t know what the fuss is all about with sushi.  I tried it.  It wasn’t horrible, taste bad or have bad texture or smell.  But it was bland.  The fried shrimp was pretty good at this place, along with the large bottles of beer.  Ben explained that while the sushi at the Sushi Train was good, but he knew of a better place to get sushi.  And he added that once having sushi at this other place, you’ll never want to have sushi at the Sushi Train again.  With sushi for me, the only place to go from here is up.

Japan: What's For Lunch?

June 6, 2018 -

Today we just walked around town and explored.  And I need to keep and eye out for souvenirs  for Buffy and a liquor store to purchase a certain whiskey for my brother in law.

Some of the things that surprised me in Japan was that people drive on the left hand side of the street like they do in Great Britain.  I guess I never really thought about it.  Another thing that kind of surprised me was that the people here are not as bi-lingual as I thought.  I think they know some English or they understand it a good deal.  But in speaking it, it’s very broken English.

As we explore, I see first hand just how small and cramp things can be.  Restaurant menus are small and the portions even smaller.  Speaking of restaurants, Jack and Sam were getting hungry and Sam brought us to some soup place.  You order a meal ticket out front and then present that ticket to the counter.  The menu was only in Japanese and only consisted of 2 items.  Noodle soup with pork and noodle soup with extra pork.  This place looked bad to me, but when in Japan…  I ordered the soup with extra pork and then go in.  

Enjoying a delicious lunch in Kobe, Japan?

It smelled horrible.  Tons of steam was coming out of the kitchen.  How sanitary was this place?  There were tables, but no real chairs.  You had to sit on this bench with your legs crossed (“Indian style” we called it in kindergarten, if that’s even politically correct anymore).  I wondered how Dennis was going to deal with that with his back issues.

I got my bowl of soup and sat down.  Campbells Soup does not have anything to worry from this restaurant.  While the noodles were mostly flavorless, the flavor it did have was not good.  The pork reminded me of pork I had at a fondue place in Peoria that, surprise, surprise, went out of business.  I had huge problems in trying to eat this slop with the chop sticks.  I looked over and saw Jack finishing up his bowl, drinking straight from it.  I thought about doing the same, thinking it might make it easier than using chop sticks.  I couldn’t manage it however.  I kept thinking about throwing up.

We eventually headed back to the room where Jack and Sam played video games on their phones.  Dennis and I drank beer and binge watched a program called “The 100” on Netflix.  For dinner, Jack and Sam stayed in while Dennis and I succumbed to going to McDonalds.  

To get to the nearest McDonalds, we would take the subway from the Shin-Kobe station to the Sannamyia station.  Rush hour was well over and we easily took seats on the train.  We were sitting there minding our own business when I see a young Japanese guy come in from another car and starts to talk to me.  I trouble understand what he was trying to tell me.  He finally points to a pink sticker/label on the car window.  The car was for women only.

I saw the sign and noticed it was pink.  I even wondered why that was.  But I never bothered to read it.

The whole subway ride is for one stop.  It lasts less than 2 minutes.  But we moved to the next car in time to exit off.

For whatever reason, we opted to walk back to the hotel.  We stopped at a Family Mart store.  Family Mart is a convenience store at about every intersection in Japan.  Kind of like seeing a Walgreens in downtown Chicago.  It was here that I purchased a Japanese nudie magazine just for the novelty of it.  I thought it somewhat ironic that you could purchase a pornographic magazine at a place called Family Mart.  Turns out the magazine pretty much had a R rating at best.  All the good stuff was blurred out.  I guess the Japanese are not as promiscuous as thought.  Another lesson learned.

Japan: Himeji Castle

June 5, 2018 - 

You’d think after the long day I just encountered, I’d be sleeping in the next morning.  This was not the case.  I woke up around 4:30am.  I laid around trying to get back to sleep, but finally surrendered an hour later.  Ben had to go to work at 6am.  They don’t even give him a day to deal with jet lag.  And if that is not bad, he was looking at pretty much a 12 hour day.  That has to suck.

For everyone else, we were now in a quest for food.  We walked around some but just settled for some good ol’ American McDonalds.  Sam was our guide for today and suggested getting on the train and to head to Himeji to see the Himeji castle.  He claimed that once you see this castle, we wouldn’t need to see any others.

When someone says the term castle, I usually think about the von Ludwig castle in Germany; the castle that inspired the Walt Disney castle.  This looks nothing like that.  However, it was still cool to see and walk thru.  There were many floors, or ‘keeps” as they called them.  The stairs were very steep and he had to be careful not to hit your head going up or down them.  That was more so for Jack.

Sam explained why the castle was build the way it is; mainly for defensive purposes.  There were plenty of places where rocks could be thrown down on invaders and doors when they shot arrows out.

On our way back, Sam suggested a stop at Suma to eat at his favorite hot dog place.  Making our train stop, the first establishment we see was a Mister Donut.  Yes, a Mister Donut; just like we had growing up.  In fact the logo was still the same.  Dennis mentioned he saw one when we were riding out to Himeji.  I figured it was likely a name coincidence.  Nope.  This looks to be the original chain donut shop.  Japan is sounding better and better.

We went to the hot dog place first with plans to stop at Mister Donut for dessert.  I order 2 hot dogs as Sam told me they would be small.  All portions of food and drink are small in Japan.  The waitress seems to be in some disbelief that I want 2 hot dogs and needs to confirm it.  I somehow manage to do this.  The meal was ok.  The hot dogs are just different in Japan as they are in the US.  In both countries, you have no idea what’s in a hot dog.  In Japan, they have a thicker bun and place a lot more toppings on it.

Now on to Mister Donut.  Again, they were good, but a bit different than what were used to in the US.  I noticed the selection to be a lot less than what we had at Mister Donut.  But that was a long time ago.

We retuned to the Crowne Plaza to rest and get cleaned up to eat later.  I decided to take a nap which then turned into going to bed for the night.  I woke up about 5:30 and was too tired to even get up.  I did awake again around 10pm and figured the day was done.  I got up to take my contact lenses out and call it a night.  Jet lag was in full force.

Japan: The Arrival

June 4, 2018 -

My flight was to leave at 7:45am MDT from Denver to San Francisco.  Buffy dropped me off at Denver International (DIA) almost an hour and a half before my flight.  I really hate leaving out of DIA..  The TSA there has no clue.  On average, it is at least 45 minutes to get through security.  And whatever disinfectant they use in the rest rooms… it stinks bad.

Anyhow, as we drive in, I notice that there is not much traffic.  I might be lucking out I thought.  I get out of the car, grab my bags, say goodbyes and then was greeted by the lengthy line at the sky cabs outside the airport.  I hear that the lines are worse inside.  So I stand in line outside waiting to check my bag.  After nearly 20 minutes of waiting, word down the line was that they were only checking bags for domestic flights.  Not international.  A few others as well as myself was concerned.  I asked a United employee who was returning a number of carts about where to go.  She acted like it was a little known secret and came close to me and a couple others.  “Go to the last door down the sidewalk,” she said in a low voice so that everyone didn’t hear her.

Off I went.  I figured I could stay in the current line with no idea if they can take me, or go inside where I know they can.  I go into the last door and the only line for international I see is for the United Premier Club.  I am not a Premier member, but I get in line anyway hoping I might luck out.  Two women were in front of me bound for Cancoon.  They inquire about what line they should be in if they are flying economy.  They are told to go around the corner.  They left and of course, I needed to follow suit.  I started talking with these women who told me a similar story of what I just went through.  The line was long, but moving at a very rapid pace.  I might make it just yet.

I get to the end of the line to the kiosk to check my bag.  I punch in my name/flight info and I am told I am past the 60 minute deadline to check bags for international flight.  I was to see an agent.  I’m eventually let to wait in another line.  Fortunately, it was not long.  Behind me however, the line was growing fast and with very upset people; some hot with anger to a women who broke down in tears.  

Talking with others and overhearing the comments, their stories were similar to mine.  One comment in particular was that the reason DIA was so overwhelmed was that it was the first summer travel day.  That may be.  My thought was DIA/United likely realized this.  Yet when you looked around at the empty counter desks and lack of staffing, the term “mismanagement” came to mind.  I know I wouldn’t want to be a United customer service rep that morning.

I finally get to an agent and didn’t even have to tell him my story.  He knew things were all messed up.  He re-routed me direct from Denver to Tokyo and then a connection to Osaka.  The overall re-arrangement would get me to Japan 3 hours later than originally planned.  Maintaining a positive attitude, I told myself things could be far worst.  However, I didn’t have a seat assignment and I know was traveling to a country, culture and language I know very little about.

I arrived at the gate after a 30 minute effort getting through security.  This is a speed record for me at DIA.  I asked the agent about my seat assignment as the flight was nearing.  I was third in line and they would be calling my name before long.  Forty minutes later, I re-inquired about my seat assignment.  Oh yeah, they are working on it and they’ll call my name in about 5-10 minutes.  I knew I better stay on top of these people.  Eleven minutes later, after they’ve been boarding for some time, I again ask about my seat assignment.  “Oh, here it is,” the agent says with some surprise in her voice.  I noticed about 3 other boarding passes laying there, no doubt for others waiting.

Sure enough, seat 17E… right in the middle.  I did luck out on that though.  I was right behind first class and there were no seats in front of me.  So I could get out very easily.  And the two guys I was sitting next to were pretty cool.  We all ordered beer and it was kind of like talking with guys in a bar.  And the Stellas’ were free!!  From this point, the travel was incident free.

It was an 11 hour flight.  I managed to get some sleep.  We arrived in Tokyo where now I was going to have to figure out how to go through their customs.  This was not difficult as the signage also had English with them.  I had to go through their security again for my domestic flight to Osaka.  DIA can learn a lot here; no where near as long.  And I got to keep my shoes on.

The only real confusion I had was with the flight numbers.  I eventually figured out that my UA7997 flight number equated to a different number for the local Japanese carrier.  All is well.  I used the What’s App app to communicate with Dennis.  I was told to grab a bus from the airport to the Sannimoyia train station in Kobe.  Well, I guess I figure that out when I get there.

Arriving in Osaka without any frustrations, my bag seem to be the last to be unloaded.  Getting the bus and then cab ride to the hotel was incredibly easy to do.

It was about 7-7:30 pm and you could tell that it was almost dusk.  I was confused as I figured the sun would set pretty much the same time it does in the US.  Thinking about it, I realized that depending up where Japan is within its time zone, along withe the fact they are likely not using daylight savings time, this is probably correct.

At long last, the Crowne Plaza was in sight.  A very tall building that appeared as an oasis after my long, long day.  I went to the front desk to see if Dennis had already checked into my room.  I then get a phone call from Dennis using Ben’s phone.  “This better be good.  I’m charged $2.50/minute with this international plan,” I answered.

The call lasted less than that.  Dennis said just come up to the 29th floor.

Trying to eat with chop sticks.
Not exactly a talent of mine.

I meet them at the elevator on the 29th floor.  My first comment to them was, “Where the fuck am I?”

I dumped all my stuff off in my room and we went out to walk and get something to eat.  Ben brought us to some small little Japanese restaurant down some alley.  I thought about ordering a Diet Coke but reconsidered.  I decided on the large, Kirin beer, which was a liter in size.  Turns out I had no choice in the matter.  For whatever reason, Diet Coke is not available in Japan.  Ok, this is a major strike against this country.  How am I going to survive!?  They do have Coke Zero, so I can get by for the time being.

Everyone else opted for water.  Ben did all the ordering and I don’t even remember what all he ordered.  They bring it out and place it on a hot plate that was built into the table.  The food was actually quite good, albeit my difficulties using chop sticks.

I looked around the place and noticed a man at another table.  He was smoking a cigarette.  Something of which you don’t see all that often in the US anymore.  We all finished up and headed back to the hotel.  It was one long day.

Japan

I haven’t used Blogger for several years but thought to bring it back to chronicle my trip to Japan.  Before blogging about this adventure, I should perhaps present a backstory and introduce the cast of characters.

I know very little about Japan and its culture.  I can think of a number of places I like to visit before Japan.  In early May, Dennis asked if I’d be interested in going for a visit this June sometime.  

A friend of ours, Ben and his son Sam were planning a trip in June.  Ben is employed at a multi-national corporation which shall remain nameless, where he and his family lived in Kobe Japan for 3 and a half years.  He needed to make a return visit on business.  Dennis, Jack (and Jack is friends with Sam) and I were invited to “tag” along.  I thought this might be a great opportunity to go as we’d have a tour guide of sorts to help us get around. 

Over the years, there are those that always raved about Japan.  So, the five of us are set to visit the Land of the Rising Sun.  We made our arrangements to leave on June 3.  Everyone was to leave out of Chicago and connect in San Francisco to Japan.  Since I’m in Colorado, I was going to meet everyone else in San Francisco, and then all five of us would fly straight to Osaka from there.

Three weeks before the flight, Dennis encounters a bulging or herniated disc.  So the trip was now in jeopardy for the three of us.  While his back improved, Dennis still had pain in sitting down.  Still determined to go, he and Jack amended their arrangements up to business class.  That way Dennis could lay flat on the way out.  Meanwhile, I wasn’t that determined to spend the four-digit expense to move to business class.  But since my original seat was between Dennis & Jack, I opted to relocate next to the rest room in an aisle seat.

June 3 arrived and it was time to go!

All dates and times are Japan time/date.