Autumn in (Post-pandemic?) Japan
やっと日本に帰ってきた! After 2 years of COVID-19 and closed borders, we were finally back in Japan. Unlike our London and Paris trip, we were mask-on almost all the time. Despite the recent changes in Japan's mask-wearing rules, which now no longer mandates mask-wearing in most circumstances, it's still the etiquette to wear one and almost everyone in Japan continues to mask-up.
For 3 weeks from late October, we travelled Aomori (IG stories) and Nikko to catch the fall foliage and do some (easy) hiking, and then revisited some favourite spots in Tokyo (IG stories). Will probably post more at a later date. (Hmm, I say that each time, and somehow don't follow up on it. Sorry.)
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| Oirase Keiryu, Towada-Hachimantai National Park, Aomori Prefecture (IG) |
Our 1st week was in Aomori (IG stories), we re-visited Aomori and Hirosaki, and headed further north to the Cape Tappi and Jusanko area. Cape Tappi was an impromptu, unplanned visit (IG reel) inspired by manga/anime Mashiro no Oto. While Jusanko was rather underwhelming (IG), we did enjoy shijimi clams (the area's specialty) and had a nice time at Takayama Inari Shrine, known for its winding senbon torii (IG, IG reel).
Since I mentioned Mashiro no Oto, I was also reminded of 2 other anime, as Hirosaki is the setting for Flying Witch. And we were in Aomori Prefecture, which is also well known for Oma tuna, reminding me of episodes 54 and 55 of Yakitate!! Japan, in which Azuma has to use the local specialties of Oma in his bread baking match. Hubby half-jokingly suggested that we drive to Oma to eat Oma tuna, but it was a pretty long drive from where we were, being located on the northern tip of the Shimokita peninsula in northeastern Aomori.
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| Fujita Memorial Park, Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture (IG) |
Our main reason for heading north to Aomori was actually to catch the autumn foliage around the Towada-Hakkoda area of Towada-Hachimantai National Park. We also did some hiking in Oirase Keiryu and Shirakami Sanchi, Japan's UNESCO World Heritage virgin beech forest. (By the way, Shirakami Sanchi inspired the setting for Mononoke-hime.)
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| Lake Towada, Towada-Hachimantai National Park, Aomori Prefecture (IG) |
We were a little late for the autumn foliage in the Hakkoda mountains (IG). In fact, at the summit of the ropeway, it was -2oC and it snowed. However, it was perfect timing at Oirase Keiryu. The autumn foliage there was beautiful, and this part was the highlight of this trip (IG1, IG reel, IG2, IG3, IG4).
When we set out on this trip, I originally thought Shirakami Sanchi would be the highlight, but unfortunately it rained on the day we were supposed to go, and several trails were closed. We did have just enough time for the shortest trail (IG) but it wasn't much time and, to be honest, Shirakami Sanchi was more physically challenging than we had anticipated. So I have to pen this down for another trip.
The 2nd and 3rd weeks, we spent in Tokyo, with a 3-day trip to Nikko (IG stories). While it was a little past peak autumn foliage around parts of Nikko (IG reel), the ginkgo were only turning in Tokyo. We leisurely revisited some favourite spots, checked out the toy scene a little bit, made our pilgrimages to Akihabara and Junie Moon Daikanyama, and did some shopping. We didn't just revisit old favourites. This time, I managed to get tickets to the Yayoi Kusama Museum for Kusama-san's latest EVERYDAY I PRAY FOR LOVE exhibition (IG). We also made it to the Hie Shrine and Sanno Inari Shrine's senbon torii (IG reel). It was close to Shichi-Go-San, so the shrine was crowded with kimono-clad kids and their families.
We also made a quick half-day visit to Yokohama. It was originally supposed to be a full day visit but things didn't quite go as planned on that day. But we still managed to spend some time at the Yokohama Doll Museum (IG) and to catch 1 performance of the moving, full-scale RX-78-2 at the Gundam Factory (IG).
Hubby and I have been to Yokohama before (here) but not to the doll museum. At the doll museum, we caught a special exhibition, Shoujo Nostalgic, which featured various Showa era vintage toys and Voguemont/Bradley dolls. That exhibition is a sight for vintage doll lovers... My good friend (you know who you are) would have been in vintage toy heaven. The highlight for me, however, was the display of dolls by renowned Japanese doll master Hirata Goyo II (IG). Besides his Friendship Dolls for the 1927 Japan-US gift exchange, Hirata-san is best known for his iki ningyou and sousaku ningyou. It was a privilege to see his amazing dolls in person, the expressions of each doll, the details in even the smallest one... It comes as no surprise that Hirata-san was accorded Living National Treasure status in 1955, one of the 2 first doll-makers to hold such status.
In hindsight, I regret not planning our trip more carefully and going about it too leisurely. But I certainly don't regret how we spent our last day in Japan. We'd left totally open for contingencies or so we could just do whatever it was we wanted. We decided to spend the afternoon at the Imperial Palace East Gardens (IG, IG reel). The East Gardens is one of my favourite gardens in Tokyo. It was still early for the autumn foliage in the East Gardens, but I have fond memories of the gardens' beautiful autumn foliage during our 2016 visit.
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| Babasaki-bori, Marunouchi, Tokyo (IG) |
From the East Gardens, we walked to Gyoko-dori where we were able to admire the ginkgo lining Gyoko-dori and Babasaki-bori changing into their characteristic bright yellow-gold. Peak autumn was still some time away, but the ginkgo were already a beautiful sight to behold. Gyoko-dori is one of the best spots in central Tokyo to catch the autumn foliage, especially with the Meiji era Marunouchi station exit at the end of the path (posted here).
We had a great time, and honestly it was hard to board our flight home at the end....
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