We had never been to Japan. It was time to go. NOTE: italicized sections are by Susan.

Japan Air Lines takes about 14 hours to Tokyo. We uncharacteristically flew business class. It was very comfortable. We could lie down to sleep in privacy.

The trip was arranged by insidejapantours, which we strongly recommend. They managed all our hotels (breakfasts included) and many train tickets, with designated reserved seats. We were traveling with Jordy Bell and Steve Jacoby, with whom we visited Ireland in 2017. The other Steve handled all the train tickets, for which I was very grateful.

In our 3 weeks, I learned a great deal about today’s Japanese:

—They are extremely polite and helpful, particularly when you get lost;

—They wait for green lights before crossing streets, even when there is no traffic; when the light is green, you hear a loud noise like angry birds;

—They do not sound their horns;

—They leave their bicycles unlocked on sidewalks;

—They never litter. You can find more garbage on a few NYC blocks than in almost all Tokyo;

—They bow a lot, and smile. You should too;

—They speak a foreign language and write in strange symbols. Do not assume that English will be spoken, even in big cities. Konnichiwa means hello; aritago means thank you;

—A translation app is very useful. So is a GPS;

—Many of them are school children in black-and-white uniforms and hats, carrying enormous backpacks.

—Cars are usually white or black.

—There is virtually no tipping. (In contrast, a Brooklyn shop has a jar labelled, “Tipping is not a city in China.”)

Our itinerary took us north from Tokyo. If you are looking at a map: Nagoya, Kyoto (with Osaka), Naoshima, Kaga Onsen, Kanazawa, Nagano, back to Tokyo. Train travel was very comfortable, which was good because we boarded a great many trains. Many of these were the famed Shinkansen (bullet trains). They do go very fast, and smoothly. They leave exactly on time—don’t be late. To avoid wrestling with our larger luggage, we three times had it shipped ahead to a farther destination. We did fine with just our carry-ons. A good thing. One trip required five trains, a ferry and two jitney rides. All rides went smoothly except the first. We had settled into our reserved seats when two very polite Japanese ladies informed us that the seats were theirs. We were on the wrong train! Luckily it was heading for the right destination, and there were a few empty seats. The bathrooms on the trains had tiny potties and surfaces for babies to sit on while parents used the toilet.

Susan had rented a gadget that gave us full internet access. I was able to follow the World Series inning by inning. But my interest was nothing compared with that of the Japanese, for whom Shohei Ohtani is a big hero.

Susan was especially interested in Japanese textiles. Here’s her account:

Susan had been preparing for Japan it seems forever—especially exploring dyeing and weaving opportunities, both hands-on and museum viewing. She has developed a really passionate interest in indigo dyeing; be careful when entering the 4th floor of our apartment NOT to knock over the indigo vat! But turns out, there is a lot of other natural dyeing going on too, and she had extensive lists of possible visits. Luckily for the rest of us, only a few of them were actually available. The morning after our arrival in Tokyo we took the subway to a small studio and shop where Susan participated in dyeing a shawl with the (apparently) special indigo used by Japanese dyers. At the end of this experience she gave the teachers a scarf she had dyed with flowers from our local park. Our next natural dye adventure was at the Shibori Museum in Kyoto (there are apparently many of them throughout the country) where Steve resisted the opportunity to fold and dye yet another scarf (adding to our enormous collection of naturally dyed textiles). But probably for both of us a wonderful experience was visiting Ohara, a tiny rural town 1/2 hour from Kyoto. Through the powers of FaceBook Susan had “met” an American woman, resident in Japan for 22 years and married to a Japanese man with a young daughter. Jen was interested in going with us to do Persimmon dyeing in this beautiful area which we reached by taxi. The teacher spoke little English, which didn’t interfere with his teaching as he demonstrated what was needed. And was very comfortable using google translate on his phone. It certainly was helpful to have a fluent Japanese speaker with us. Again, Susan gave him a scarf dyed in Sumac from the Brooklyn Bridge Park. She got a lovely email from him thanking her for this gift which was apparently unexpected but greatly appreciated. Thanks to Jordy we had the wonderful opportunity to visit Tetsoya Noya and his wife Dorit, in a Tokyo suburb, easily accessible by train. Tetsoya is an internationally acclaimed printmaker--known for his unusual technique that includes photography, particularly of his family and those close to him. Look him up on Wikipedia to learn more about him and Dorit. Despite my fears that we might have a kosher meal (Tetsoya having converted to Judaism when he married Dorit, the daughter of the Israeli ambassador to Japan years ago) we had a delightful lunch with all the sushi we could possibly eat. And a fascinating afternoon in his studio. AND thanks to Steve Jacoby, we had the opportunity to visit the Nagoya University School of Medicine where Steve’s grandfather, Leonor Michaelis, was on the faculty from 1922-1926. (This is another “look at Wikipedia opportunity.) He left Berlin where, as a well-qualified but Jewish scientist, he knew he would never get the jobs for which he was eligible so he took his wife and two teenage daughters to Japan. Steve’s family has always maintained a relationship with the Medical School; his sister had visited earlier this year. They were happy to show us around and talk about the ground-breaking work done by Dr Michaelis. It was certainly an unusual experience for us and we were glad to have had the opportunity for this visit.

Kyoto:

In part, another big, modern city. But it does have many temples and extensive, beautiful gardens. https://www.triptojapan.com/blog/10-most-beautiful-kyoto-gardens

The great attraction is the Temple of the Golden Pavillion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkaku-ji Very grand and beautiful. The grounds are always crowded. There are many Shinto shrines.

difference between Buddhist and Shinto shrines: https://www.google.com/search?q=difference+between+buddhist+temple+and+shinto+shrine&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

Osaka:

Feels like one enormous shopping center.

Naoshima Island:

Very resort-like. Stayed at luxurious Benesse House. Its restaurant served two big dinners: one more or less French, the other Japanese. Many courses. The hotel is also a museum.

Kaga Onsen

We stayed two nights Japanese style.”The ryokan consists of 44 pure Japanese-style guest rooms and 4 guest rooms with open-air baths....

Guests with tattoos may not be permitted to use the property’s public bathing areas or other facilities where the tattoos might be visible to other guests.” NOTE: tattoos are sometimes an indication of membership in a criminal gang.

Accompanied by Steve Jacoby, I donned the room’s white robe (worn left fold over right—the reverse is for corpses). Protocol: once in the bathing area, discord the robe and anything else you may have been wearing. Then sit down to wash yourself under a shower. (Susan reports that Japanese women may take 15 minutes to do this.) Then into the tub. The water is pleasantly warm.

Kanazawa

“The finest landscape gardens in Japan.”

None of us had a great interest or more than very passing knowledge about the gardens for which Japan is famous. But, thanks to the guides we had hired in Tokyo, Kyoto and Kanazawa, we did visit several of the most famous gardens. One of the first things we noticed in Japan (especially in Kyoto where our lovely hotel was in a quiet neighborhood) was that the smallest piece of property had a garden; it might be a few yards in size but there was some interesting arrangement of plants, rocks, statues. All to the owner’s personal taste.

We visited well-known gardens in Kyoto and Kanazawa. Kenroku-en in Kanazawa is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. The name literally means “Garden of the six sublimities,” referring to spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, antiquity, abundant water and broad views. It was not secluded, as it is a very popular attraction. We did not see the notable fall colors because, it was unseasonably hot so trees had not yet changed colors. But most striking to us was “artificiality” as many tree limbs are bent and made to grow in what we might consider “unnatural” manners. We also were aware of the Japanese love of moss as we had learned from our guides. A lot of fountains, artificial lakes and ponds--a lovely way to spend a morning.

In Kyoto we visited an entirely different kind of garden, a Zen rock garden, Ryoan-ji Temple. In addition to some gardens at the temple that were simply sand raked in subtle patterns, there is the famous rock garden with 15 carefully arranged rocks on a bed of white gravel. A very quiet, contemplative experience.

Nagano

The Zenko-ji Temple was originally built 1400 years. Today it is the high end of what is effectively a giant shopping mall. The temple is big and impressive. Underneath the main hall is a completely dark circular passageway. Avoid if claustrophobic. You walk clockwise, with your right hand on the wall, which you cannot see. You may search for a “very special key” in the wall. If you find it, you will go to Buddhist paradise. I did not find it.

Back to Tokyo for another Japan Air business-class treat.

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