The return to the US was essentially uneventful. We made the three transfers without and drama and settled in to a long (9 1/2 hour scheduled flight to LA. The only aggravation was being held on the ground for more than an hour waiting for a gate after arriving almost an hour early.  Cleared immigration and customs at a walk,  thank you Global Entry. We even picked up the car and traversed LA to get the coach and then to Malibu Beach RV to collapse and wait out jet lag.

After 5 days we set out for a record setting (for us) cross country trip.  As I write we have come 790 miles in two days stopping first in Nevada on top of a mesa outside of Overton, more of a speck on the map with a museum of the Lost Community.  It is also near Valley of Fire SP. It is a great camping place with raw desert and cliffs and buttes in every direction.

Today we resumed driving across Nevada and Utah. We had to stop several times just to gape at the scenery.  We thought after Japan’s incredible volcanic scenery we would be hard pressed to be awed.  Utah, along I 70 is incredible.  We were “oh look at that” and omg so often we had to laugh. I remembered some wonderful Riverside sites near Moab and we headed there guided by Days End,  an incredible resource of free and cheap places to stop over night. I got the wrong road,  but spotted some rvs atop a ridge line and turned into Willow Springs Road where we found a home for the night up a dirt road next to another Phaeton. Getting back to the highway may be interesting,  a disaster if it should rain.

Tomorrow we will stop for lunch in Grand Junction,  CO to vist Malena’s sister and brother-in-law then on to Denver for the night.  I’ll post this now without the pictures,  will add them later.

When we added Hiroshima to our itinerary I thought of so many war memorials and killing fields we have seen recently and over the years.  These have been somber places and there had been no joy in the remembrance.  Hiroshima in my mind is a reminder of the cruelty of the Japanese in their prosecution of the war,  their mistreatment of pows and finally the crushing, merciless blow we inflicted with the only two wartime nuclear explosions ever,  Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which brought an end to the fighting.

I did not envision getting off the Bullet Train into a crowd of baseball fanatics headed to the stadium next to the train station to see their team  the Hiroshima Carps play ball.  I did not envision a train station packed with more people coming to town for a festival. I most certainly did not expect to find the Peace Memorial Park, right next to “hyper zero” overflowing with marching bands,  dance groups,  singing groups and countless celebratory gatherings.  To get to the Peace Park we walked along a covered shopping street and stopped at Anderson’s Bakery for lunch.  This very special bakery is named for Hans Christian Anderson.  It is located in the only building left standing within 360 meters of hyper zero. Well 3 walls and part of a fourth were left and the building was restored. You can read elsewhere about the devastation caused by the one bomb.  Hiroshima had been spared the fire bombing so much of Japan experienced because it was on the target list and the military wanted to evaluate the damage from the bomb. Much of the Peace Memorial is devoted to the prevention of nuclear testing,  a goal that is still not quite achieved in their immediate neighborhood.

The Carp lost 9-4 to Yokahama. They play again tonight.

We went to Miyajima island and to Itsukushima Shinto Shrine founded CE 593 there.  As you approach the Island by ferry you see the Otorii vermillion gate rising 43 feet above the sea bed. This may be one of the most famous sights in Japan. Another contradiction arises.  Over the centuries shoguns,  kings, Emperor’s and would bes have built shrines on this island which is said to bring them victory in combat.  Today the only victory sought there is passing entrance exams.  The shrines are devoted to peace and although the entire Island is a shrine,  it is also a shrine to consumerism.  Approaching the holy precincts is a trip through throngs of shoppers buying everything from food to shoes.  We too shopped. As we left we saw a sign at the exit from shrine area “It was prayed well today. Please return carefully.” Another sign just after that reads “May Peace Prevail on Earth”

Tomorrow,  Monday,  is a full day of touring followed by the beginning of our journey to Los Angeles. We take a bullet train to Kyoto and stay over.  Get up early to catch a flight to Haneda domestic airport,  transfer to Narita by bus,  50 miles,  to catch our flight to LAX. I do expect to write about tomorrow,  or post in any event until we are back on Gwhiz.

Departure time for return to US must be getting close.  I’m counting clean socks to make sure I’m done with hand laundry for this trip.  People are getting just a bit cranky as they are reaching their limit for one more shrine or shop or even restaurant. 

Yesterday we traveled by bus to Arashiyama, well we traveled by bus then boat polled up river and then a long climb.  The climb was advertised as 20 steps and then 20 steps then times 5. I didn’t count the steps but the climb was on a par with Potala Palace (without the altitude) or the Great Wall.  At the top was a small Buddhist temple where we had a tea ceremony,  abbreviated,  a reading of a sutra,  with Dvar Torah (in Hebrew Words of the Law-in this case an exegesis of the meaning of the words), and a meditation session.  Upon descending we returned to the boat and the bus took us to a farm where we picked Japanese spinach before heading to a lovelySamurai House where we were taught how to make a vegetarian sushi roll (sushi means vinegar rice and does not refer to the filling) using the spinach. The rest of the meal was delicious,  even our sushi rolls were very tasty.  We returned to the bus for the return to the hotel.

After a 30 minutes rest, most of us reboarded the bus for an optional evening experience.  Our first stop was at the home of two Japanese musicians.  The wife plays Koto and Shamisan, the husband plays bamboo flute.  They explained their instruments and the music and performed both solo and duet.  We each had an opportunity to try the instruments.  Only one of us could get any sound from the flute and Marcie plays flute and still it took her several long minutes to get any sound from it.  I tried a couple of times,  it is much harder than blowing over a coke bottle. I made lots of wind noise but no musical sound.  Our next stop was in the Geisha quarter where we walked through the quartet before arriving at the restaurant.  Out 10 filled the place. The owner/chef is 4th generation.  The restaurant was founded 100 years ago and has been in its current location 70 years,  if I understood him correctly.  It was another meal that cannot be topped.

Today,  May 2, was listed as a free day.  We took the optional tour to Arashiyama, to take a walking tour of two very beautiful gardens and a famous bamboo grove. We traveled by train rather than bus. First we stopped at Tenryuji Temple,  the primary temple of the Renzai School of Zen. It had been destroyed and rebuilt 5 times since it’s original construction in 1339, most of it dates to the 19th century.  However the gardens date back many centuries. I fear our pictures will not do it justice. There is no way to experience the peace and ambience of the place without being there. After the walk through the bamboo grove and the neighborhood we split up.  Four of us went to the Daitoku-ji Temple area where we toured three sub temples and their magnificent gardens.  The gardens are dry stone gardens with gravel representing water and stones of appropriate shape representing mountains, Islands,  turtles,  etc. There are even some trees,  shrubs and mosses incorporated.  Finally,  exhausted,  we caught a cab back to the hotel to put our feet up for a bit. Tonight is the Farewell Dinner for the bulk of the group who leave tomorrow as we go on to Hiroshima with 3 others for three days.

Every place we turn there is a shrine, a temple, a world cultural heritage treasure.  For a nation that is generally not religious,  to hear them tell it,  they certainly have more than enough gods and places to worship them.  The most common religion is Shintoism which seems like animism as there are places of worship for many different gods and objects of worship.  Another major characteristic is syncretism, the blending of worship from more than one religion.  Shinto and Buddaism seem to get along just fine.  We had a lovely home visit,  four of us went to the home of Akiko and Kane (as in Citizen Kane, he said). We were warmly welcomed with tea and sweets after a tour of the magnificent garden.  The house tour began with a stop in front of the Shinto shrine set up in a corner of the living room.  Kane said they pray at this shrine daily for what they want in their daily lives.  In the formal living room we were introduced to the Buddhist shrine set up to honor their ancestors.  Kane said “Shinto is for the living and Buddah is for the dead.” Kane made his living in commercial and residential real estate and was very active in Rotary,  even ascending to District Governor.  Along the Rotary flags he has on display is one from Buffalo NY.

Shinto prayer as we have witnessed seems to consist of making an offering to the local God,  ringing a bell, bowing,  clapping twice,  praying for what you want and bowing again. People buy papers and symbols carved of wood and write their prayers on them and hang them in the shrine.  The major things people seem to pray for are safe delivery of a healthy child,  wealth and good grades. I’m sure this is not the sum as I know we participated in praying for world peace. We have no experience of Buddhist prayer yet.  There are no prayer wheels like in Tibet.

Cherry blossoms!  We missed the massive cherry blossom festival in Tokyo. We have seen thousands of trees in bloom in the mountains.  By the time we leave in less than a week there will be no more cherry blossoms,  but this is a country of gardens and no matter where we turn we see more beauty. This is also a nation of people devoted to design.  Presentation of food in stores and restaurants seems always be beautifully designed to please the eye as much as the palate.  Houses are very simple and design is focused on simplicity while displaying one or two selected objects of beauty. Kane’ s house was a bit more cluttered with display of his carvings and paintings of horses.

More soon!

Every famous picture you have seen of Mt Fuji,  otherwise known as Fuji San,  must have been taken,  drawn,  or painted from in and around this lovely resort area.  As we were approaching, Fuji San played with us showing the snow covered lower slopes,  then revealing the peak and finally for a brief glimpse a clear view of the entire mountain with power lines in the foreground.  Most of the day we could see much of the mountain with the top wreathed in clouds.  It was glorious.  I will append photos soon. 

I have waited too long to write this and memory fails washed away by many trips to the mineral hot springs in the hotel.  We were in a wonderful ryokan, a traditional Japanese Inn, Gora Asahi Hotel, with Japanese rooms.  That means the floors are tatami mats and no footwear is permitted.  There is a single low table in the middle.  We had a separate area near the windows that was carpeted and we could close that off with shoji screens.  We never used the shower room and deep tub as we found the hot springs more to our liking. The men’s side had a locker room where we left our kimono and towels as we entered the bath.  There is a line up of faucets with hand showers and a low stool and bucket to sit on while thoroughly cleaning before entering the bath,  really a pool about one meter deep of hot mineral water that is constantly being refreshed as excess  water sluices over the top and down the drains.  After soaking for as long as one dares, there is a cold bath followed by a return to the shower.  Before breakfast and upon return to the hotel before dinner I reveled in this luxury each day.

In true OAT mode we traveled by all available means of transportation.  We had a bus for the day and took a large luxurious cable car up to the active volcanic area where the ground is covered with yellow traces of Sulphur. We climbed up to the high point where baskets of fresh eggs are lowered into a hot spring for 12 minutes until they are hard boiled and the shells turn black from the Sulphur and iron compounds in the water.  They sell them 5 for 500 yen (about $5). They are very tasty, if you like your eggs slightly sulphorous. The bus then took us down to the lake where we enjoyed a ride on a large catamaran tour boat to a shrine, followed by lunch.  After some more touring we returned to the hotel in time for a trip to the mineral hot springs before dinner.

The next day we boarded a medium speed bullet train for a one hour, one stop ride to connect to a super express,  slower than any bullet train,  for a 2 hour ride to Kanazawa.  This trip was from the Pacfic Coast to the Sea of Japan coastal area.  We have visited markets,  an ancient samurai house,  various crafts people and had several meals including dinner today on our own with another couple.  The trains are impressive.  They are very timely and spend very little time stopped. One had best be prepared to disembark or board when the train stops.  In many cases the stop was only 3 or 4 minutes. Everything is clean and seems very well maintained. Everyone on staff is uniformed with hats and white gloves. 

We are at the New Grand Annex Hotel located in the middle of town,  walkable to most of the sites in town.

First, Kabuki, the performance was led in three chapters or sections which seemed totally unconnected.  Taking Toshi’s suggestion we shipped the first chapter which began at 4:40 and arrived at about 6 for the dance performance which was followed by a play after a 15 minute intermission.  We had picked up English language headsets which provide both a translation and a running commentary explaining the action we were watching.  With out this I would have been totally lost.  We really enjoyed the experience in this very old but recently renovated theater.  Looking at the stage felt like looking at a panoramic image as the stage is very wide relative to the height of the proscenium.  The only unpleasant experience was the total lack of legroom.  For those who know Kilbourne Hall,  there was LESS legroom than the worst seats there.  I was almost unable to stand ayer the performance and I really felt for our companion Howard who is a good 6 inches taller than me.

Today we welcomed three new members to the tour for the main trip Which began today.  We are now at our full complement of 14 for the next 2 weeks. Today was a city tour of Tokyo by bus.  Tomorrow we leave by bus for Hakone, near Mt Fuji where we will be staying in a traditional Japanese Inn.  There will be no Internet service,  also we are expected to dress in kimono which they will provide.  We are looking forward to this experience and will report fully from Kyoto when we reenter the connected universe on Friday.

We landed late afternoon on Friday,  Tokyo time.  Bus and cab to the hotel took 1 hour 15 minutes.  Toshi, our OAT Tour Leader, met us in the hotel lobby and gave us the instructions we needed to assemble with our group the next morning and some local restaurants should we feel the need to eat.  After sort of settling into our room,  we decided that soba noodles in a quaint restaurant would be the way to start our trip.  Three blocks walk to the left from our hotel brought us to a pre war wooden building nestled among the high rises of the area. They stopped us as we came in the door and presented us with the two English menus so we could figure out what we were ordering.  Actually the English descriptions still left us wondering.  Carol had her “vegetarian notice” written by a hotel desk clerk and I was able to discern a hot soba noodle in fish broth with chicken as a likely choice.  It was wonderful and we soon crashed in our beds and slept, only to be awakened by jet lag and the sound of street repairs that continued until sunrise. Welcome to a very large city.

We began our tour walking from the hotel to a subway to Tokyo National Museum located in Ueno Park and then walking through this very wonderful park to see shrines,  azelia gardens in glorious bloom,  and lunch in an all you can eat buffet that was very nice.  A walk through an old pre war neighborhood introduced us to very compact living arrangements on streets too small for large cars.  I cite pre war often as much of Tokyo was burned to the ground in the destruction of the end of WW II. Very little from that era is left. 

We returned to the hotel to wait the arrival of Sara and her Japanese husband,  mother-in-law and two children.  Sara was a student of Carol’s who we saw off to Alaska to live with an aunt when she was 16. We next saw her in 2002 in San Diego and although there has been continous contact through email,  Facebook and even snail mail we had not seen her in 12 years.  We had a wonderful reunion,  punctuated by the rambunctious behavior of a very over tired 3 year old boy.  We parted with no idea of when we are likely to see each other again.

Sunday brought another day of touring.  We traveled by subway,  train,  monorail,  and local train to Kamkura, southeast of Tokyo on the coast. This is an area that thrives on local tourism and it was a festival weekend so we moved in throngs of people,  mostly Japanese on weekend holiday.  Although there were some reminders that is was Easter Sunday, they were minor and scattered.  We were going to Shinto shrines and temples.  Along the way we had lunch at 0467, one of the nicest restaurants we have been taken to by OAT in our travels. On our return to Tokyo we got off at Tokyo Station which is wonderfully restored and we continued on into the adjacent Tokyo Post Office called Kitte. There I made use of aJP (Japan Post) ATM to provide me sufficient yen to continue the trip.  I had counted on getting local currency from ATMs only to learn that my card would work only at JP ATMs. After one more stop, I believe I am carrying sufficient cash to pay my way. We have already run into circumstances that require cash,  not credit cards.  We bought take out at the Kitte to bring back to the hotel.  I got too much sushi which I enjoyed immensely. Carol found delightful veggies. We set up our dining area in the lobby only to find that this was an unwelcome activity.  However we were permitted to complete our meal.

Our 3rd day started with a walk and subway ride to the fish market.  We walked through aisles and aisles of wonders from the sea. We dodged a wide assortment of vehicles in the aisles transporting goods from vendor to buyer.  Eventually Toshi,  our tour leader,  let us into a cramped restaurant past a long line of people waiting to get in where we were offered a sushi tasting.  This was not to be considered lunch!  Among the items offered was the finest tuna I can ever remember setting tooth to and I never remember being offered scallop as a sashimi,  but there it was and it was delightful. We continued through the list shopping area on to the Ginza. Eventually we scattered.  Five of us returned to the hotel for a break before combining on to a Kabuki performance we had tickets for in the evening. More on Kabuki later.  I must stop and post this.

We were walking along State Street in Santa Barbara this afternoon when we noticed a theater showing Grand Hotel Budapest and when we checked the times we realized we could take in a matinee and have a timely dinner.  So we rushed to get the car from the distant parking lot with a fixed time limit and move it to a nearby lot where you pay for time parked after the fact.  We were in the theater 10 minutes after the scheduled start which meant we missed the first two coming attractions.

Grand Hotel Budapest is a period piece using the convention of a story within a story within a story.  Everything is very stylized and it appeared that great attention was given to details of positioning and direction of action.  There is much tongue in cheek and lines that just seem to come from a different genre altogether.  There are some wonderful bit parts including a minor role by Bill Murray.  Like a fine piece of music the end returns to recapituate the opening theme.  I hesitate to say more,  the time period is from the great war to the beginning of WW II in Europe.

Carol and I really enjoyed the movie and couldn’t leave as long as the Balilika music continued over the closing credits. Do not leave until the screen goes black!
This is the first movie we have seen on the big screen since October anyhow.  We are watching many more movies on our tv using satellite pay per view and Roku for Netflix and Amazon prime.

Our day in Buellton, after a lovely time with Marty and Barbara seemed to be turning into a catch up day, do the laundry, do some reading put the finishing touches on the 2013 taxes take a walk around the very large and lovely RV Resort.

During the walk we noted a row of vintage Airstream Trailers. A tech was walking from one to the other with tools and as we stopped to chat he mentioned that the line was all rentals and had been recently refurbished. As most were not occupied he told us we could feel free to wander through those with open doors.  As we walked through them we saw that each had been completely redone to a theme and they were quite intriguing and would be a wonderful place to rent for a someone who had showed up without their own RV.

We met another couple, seemingly younger than us, wandering through the rentals as well. It turned out that they travel in a modern Airstream and were also quite interested in these.  Further conversation revealed that they actually travel separately and meet in the campground.  She drives the truck pulling the Airstream and he flies his 1929 “New Standard” biplane.

We passed the sign for Harmony as we drove south on CA 1, otherwise known as PCH or the Pacific Coast Highway.  We had elected to drive it from Monterey south to LA putting us on the lane closest to the ocean and the passenger in the navigator seat staring down into the waves many times.  Anyhow Harmony, pop 18 got my mind working.  How harmonious were those 18 souls? Do they sing great harmony? Is it a religious group.  Then of course for those who play with Jewish numerology, 18 combines letters that are Chai which means life.  That would seem to make Harmony a life affirming place.  I suppose I could continue to play with this, and may in the future, but mudslides, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, including Congress keep dragging my focus elsewhere.

Contrary to accepted opinion and many blog posts, driving CA 1 in a 36 foot motorhome is not completely foolhardy, for that matter, other than the occasional idiot that just must go faster than 35 mph, it is a very pleasant drive.  I will concede that it focuses the attention of the driver miraculously.  We only had one scary incident and it related to two cars, of the ilk suggested above, who passed us at a high rate of speed over a double line, actually around a double blind curve.  I really didn’t give a damn if they wanted to kill themselves, but certainly did not want to be a party to the mess.  Fortunately there were no oncoming cars for at least 10 seconds!  There really is no place to bail out.

We had set out from Alameda Elks Lodge which we used as a stopping place to visit with our niece Minda and her husband Will.  We had a lovely dinner at their house with Minda’s friend Prea during which we learned that Minda is a expecting a boy in September.  Since both our boys called while we were there, they too learned the great news.  The second night we went out to a neighborhood restaurant that was very nice.  While in the Bay Area we also visited with Marlene who had been with us on the Baltic portion of our trip. We drove to her home in San Rafael and had a lovely evening with wine, cheese and a delightful meal.  I really enjoyed the Halibut from Alaska.  It is so nice to make new friends who share so many interests.

We had committed ourselves to driving down CA 1 because we enjoyed the northbound trip three years ago on our way to Alaska.  First we stopped near Monterey to sightsee along Cannery Row and spent two nights at Marina Dunes RV, our most expensive nightly cost so far this year, but we did get laundry done as well as sightseeing.  Would consider staying there again if the weather were better, although getting in might be tougher, as it is we could only get two nights there.  Although we considered the San Luis Obispo Elks Lodge, we did remember that the parking is right next to US 101 and just a bit noisy, so we decided to stop at Morro Bay State Park.  When we arrived, with no reservation, we learned that the only sites available were dry camp (no water, electric or sewer) for $33 a night!!! Thank you California.  We took a site for two nights because we enjoy the area.  We were sung to sleep each night by an owl in the trees near our coach.  Never did see it.  We actually did very little because it poured on and off.  Drove into town one day to pick up some groceries and check out a Radio Shack for a replacement temperature sensor for our 9 year old Radio Shack remote thermometer.  For a wonder, even to the store manager’s surprise, they had two on the shelf.  I bought both although I really only need one.  They work with our old base station.

Onward to Solvang, actually Buellton where Flying Flags RV is located, just down the road from Solvang.  We went to the home of Marty and Barbara Goldstein who we traveled with in the Baltics.  Marty does dogs in bronze and that is just one of the galleries that represents him.  We had a lovely cocktail hour with them and dinner at Firestone Barrel  House (close anyhow).  We will spend Thursday touring this area and catching up on some other stuff before moving down the road a wee bit to Santa Barbara Elks Lodge.  We have come up this way a couple of times and never been able to get a reservation.  This time we have five nights booked.  On Sunday we will meet yet another couple from our recent travels even as we are preparing for our trip to Japan in 2 weeks.