Blog #16: Yes, I can drive myself around Japan – even in Tokyo, but driving in Tokyo is not recommended
When I told friends in Japan that I was planning to drive for part of the time that my wife and I were taking my parents to Japan as their 50th-wedding anniversary gift, they said “don’t do it”. Well, I did it anyway, even in that era prior to GPS. It provided an opportunity to experience Japan differently. I rented the car for one week of our 18 days in Japan, departing Kyoto and arriving a week later in downtown Tokyo. For one thing, it enabled me to take the picture shown here in the Edo-period post town of Tsumago early in the morning before tourists would arrive on day trips.
I have never been in a tour group in Japan even though I have been there many times. I’m sure the group tours do a fine job, especially visiting Kyoto, Nara, Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima and perhaps other well-known sights in Japan. In fact, it is pretty easy to go to these locations via public transportation on your own. However, it is definitely good to have a car when visiting other places, even though there are a few points to consider when driving in Japan: driving is on the left side of the road, modern cars are wide compared to narrow streets in many old towns, the traffic around Tokyo, Osaka and other large cities is very heavy, and nearly all signs are in Japanese.
Kōyasan (1992)
The first time I personally drove in Japan occurred when my wife and I took my parents to Japan, as we had offered to take them any place in the world they would like to go as their 50th Wedding Anniversary gift. With a gulp, I acquiesced when my mother said “Japan!”, certainly one of the more expensive places to visit at that time. Besides the usual sights of Kyoto, Nara, Himeji and Tokyo where we used public transportation, I rented a car, against my Japanese friends’ admonitions. I think a few tour groups may go to some of the places I chose to drive, but we didn’t see any foreigners in those particular places. It was stressful for me to drive in some locations for the reasons cited above. We had purchased a bilingual atlas, so my wife could give me driving directions; that worked well especially when we were outside cities. We had also learned some kana symbols to help with sign recognition. All was well except driving out of Kyoto and especially dealing with 8-10 lanes of heavy traffic driving in to Tokyo to return our rental car arriving a little after sunset. Fortunately, I at least had a good feeling for the general part of Tokyo to which we needed to go.
Okunoin Cemetery. Kōyasan (1992).
My first experience was driving south from the congested environs of Kyoto and Osaka to Kōyasan, sometimes referred to as Mount Kōya especially when it was first given in 816 to Kūkai (aka Kōbō Daishi posthumously), the founder of the Shingon branch of Buddhism. I had arranged for us to stay at Henjoson-in Temple, which is one of the temples that welcome visitors to stay, as Kōyasan is an important pilgrimage site. In Blog #8 I showed a photo of my wife sitting on the tatami mats on the floor at dinner there, and I also discussed some aspects of lodging Japanese-style. I show here a picture of worshippers approaching the temple where we stayed. Besides the living style, most notable for me was walking through the streets of Kōyasan and the nearby Okunoin Cemetery early in the morning before the fog lifted when few people were out. The fog muffled sound and evinced a mystical atmosphere. In addition to temples in town, we walked through the cemetery to Okunoin Gobyō, the shrine for founder Kobō-Daishi. Morning found some worshippers at the temples with only a few people in the cemetery initially; there were increasingly more when we walked back into Koyasan.
Himeji-jo: considered by most people to be one of the three most impressive castles in Japan (1992).
Taiko drumming in the evening of a festival beside Himeji Castle (1992).
One of the most interesting castles in Japan, and certainly the largest, is that of Himeji-jo, which I show here. The World Heritage-listed castle, considered by many to be prototypical, is sometimes referred to as the White Heron Castle. It was originally built in the 14th century, but significant changes made in 1581-1618 resulted in the castle pictured. When we visited, a festival was in progress on the castle grounds with loud and exciting taiko drumming in the evening.
The outer shrine (Gekū) of Ise Jingū. The shrines have been rebuilt every twenty years for many centuries (2012).
Actually, it is quite easy to reach Himeji by train from Osaka. Likewise, getting to the Shima Hantō peninsula, almost entirely designated Ise-Shima National Park, wherein lie Japan’s most important Shinto shrines, is initially accessible via a train to Ise. However, visiting the many sites is most convenient in a car. Ise Jingū is the earthly home of the Sun Goddess. The outer shrine is Gekū. The inner shrine of Naikū is located a little more than 5 km away. That is certainly walkable, but visiting the several other sites, is easiest with a car.
The inner shrine (Naikū) of Ise Jingū (2012).
Going southwest from Ise-Shima is another famous area of scenic beauty and historic shrines. The Kumano Kodō comprises several picturesque Buddhist temples and Shinto Shrines, e.g., Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Kodō Taisha, Kumano Nachi Taisha, and lesser shrines) connected via ancient pilgrimage paths. If you have many days and stamina, you can walk, e.g., the famous Buddhist pilgrimage route Daimonzaka. Or, you can do it the easy way by mostly driving and walking a little. I put a picture of Nachi-no-Otaki, the tallest waterfall in Japan and part of Kumano Nachi Taisha, in Blog #8.
Not far away is the area of Yoshino, where the Kii mountains are dazzling with thousands of cherry trees blossoming in the springtime. There are many old ryokan and onsen to experience in this area as well. I enjoyed 300-year-old Ryokan Sakoya and its cedar onsen on a rainy weekend in March, but the cherry blossoms were just barely coming out. The temple of Kinpusen-ji, dating to 1455, has the second largest hall in Japan.
Kumano Hayatama Taisha in the rain (2012).
Part of Kumano Hongu Taisha, the central shrine of the Kumano Kodō (2012).
The Buddhist Shrine of Seiganto-ji is in the foreground, with part of the adjacent Shinto Shrine of Kumano Nachi Taisha and the waterfall Nachi-no-Otaki behind (2012).
Bikan district of Kurashiki (2012).
Going west from Osaka and even Himeji in the Okayama Prefecture lies Kurashiki, which encompasses a delightful old section, mostly the Bikan district, that largely originated with prosperous merchants in the Edo period. There are some old merchants’ houses open for touring and some good museums, especially the Ōhara Museum of Art with 20th century pieces to rival any well-known big-city museum. But just meandering along the canal with boats carrying visitors being ferried by paddler reminiscent of Venice is a joyful treat itself. Kurashiki is popular with Japanese visitors, so experiencing it in the early evening or away from summer months is best. Having seen two wedding parties, it is apparently popular for them as well. Fortunately, good local accommodation is available.
Kurashiki is a popular venue for weddings (2012).
Bamboo forest in Kōrakuen gardens (2012).
Not far from Kurashiki is Kōrakuen, dating from the 17th century and generally on the list of top three Japanese gardens. (Japanese love to make such lists.) It is large and has all the usual Japanese garden elements, e.g., teahouses, bridges, lakes, islands, hills, plus a few more. The adjacent castle of Okayama-jo, with its black wood-sided donjon/keep, is incorporated into the undulated landscaping of the garden.
Part of the extensive Kōrakuen gardens (2012).
The Ō-torii welcoming visitors to Itsukushima-jinja, the picture taken with the island of Miyajima behind me and the mainland in the photo background about an hour after sunset.
Isukushima-jinja on the island of Miyajima (2012).
Further west, one can reach the beautiful island of Miyajima about five km west of Hiroshima. Of course, you need a ferry to actually get to the island, but the journey to the ferry terminal is possible via car or train. We stayed a couple days on the island. Clearly, it is very stunning in autumn with leaves turning color. Quite possibly, the torii (or gateway, which I show here) to Itsukushima Shrine is the most picturesque in Japan. With the torii standing in the sea and clearly visible from the ferry, it signals that the entire island is considered a Shinto shrine. With water lapping beneath the crimson-colored beams of the main shrine at high tide, it is quite stunning, maybe even more so at night. However, the other temples and scenery on the hike across the top of Mt. Misen are also alluring as is the peaceful Buddhist temple of Daishō-in on a nearby hill. Note: Itsukushima in particular may be packed with day-trippers, but Miyajima can be magical before and after they are there; midday is the time to be hiking Mt. Misen. Besides some terrific shrines and scenery on the mountain, at places there is also a good view down on the rest of Miyajima as well a view across the Inland Sea to other islands. I admit though that it is entertaining to see the school kids in their class uniforms interacting with the many tame deer and trying to gather for their group photos.
There are a couple dishes perhaps unique to Miyajima. One is conger eel steamed bun. I show a sign from an establishment advertising such a delicacy.
Momijidani on Miyajima. On the path to go up Mount Misen (2012).
Sign in town on Miyajima. Well – conger eel steamed bun always makes me smile! (2012)
Having a car also permitted us to enjoy driving through beautiful mountains with stops for hiking and picnics as we traveled northwest from the Osaka/Kyoto area. I think it is the easiest way to visit the various villages of the Shirakawa-go region, which I featured in Blogpost # 8. Not far away is the “post town” of Tsumago-juku, shown in the picture for the blog blurb, which is surrounded by a beautiful mountain area. We stayed in Tsumago and visited not-far-away Magome, which are both post towns established in the Edo Period (1600-1868). They are two restored villages, still occupied, which are among the 69 post towns of the Nakasendō, the road for communication between the capital Edo (present-day Tokyo) and the previous capital Kyoto.
Going from Tsumago to Takayama entails a scenic mountain drive. San-machi Suji, the old town portion of Takayama, is interesting and has some private houses that visitors can enter. There is also a morning market that I found to have some quite unusual offerings (see photo).
Interesting natural products for whatever ails you at a street vendor in Takayama (1992).
A short drive away is Hida Folk Village, a compilation of old farms moved from various parts of the country. It is made more fascinating by people demonstrating some of the old traditional crafts. Driving through the mountains to Matsumoto with a stop at the hot springs of Shirahone is definitely a good thing. The castle in Matsumoto (see photo) is considered one of the most picturesque in Japan (top three list along with the one from Himeji I showed above).
Matsumoto-jō in late afternoon (1992).
This man has been making sandals by hand for a very long time. Here he demonstrates how to do it in Hida Folk Village near Takayama (1992).
One of the many activities at the Fujiyoshida Fire Festival at Kitaguchi Hongū Fuji Sengen Jinja.
As in many parts of the world, Japan has several fire festivals (matsuri). Some of these occur in less accessible places where a car is useful. The Sagichō Fire Festival, for example, occurs in mid-January in many different places in Japan. I show a picture here from the Fujiyoshida Fire Festival, which occurs in late August, in association with the Shinto shrine of Kitaguchi Hongū Fuji Sengen Jinja. It has been a tradition for centuries. This is also the traditional location to start the climb of Mt. Fuji.