October 31, 2024: Welcome to our October cocktail hour. I’m so happy you’ve dropped by during my favorite month of the year: for the crispy cool weather, for all the autumn stuff (like pumpkins, pumpkin spice latte, apple desserts and cider, to name a few of my favorite things), for visiting wineries and for walking outdoors under crimson & gold tree canopies. Today of course is Halloween, and though I’m not really into it, I do enjoy seeing the decorations in people’s yards. I suffered through an extremely long summer in Japan and Bali, but once I got home from Japan on the 18th, I fell right into my favorite season, and my 69th birthday soon followed.
At this point, I’m so over Japanese drinks, although I did fall in love with plum wine and soda, which I’ll be happy to offer. I also have Prosecco, a variety of beers, soda or seltzer water.
To celebrate my last visit EVER to Japan, I wish you “Kanpai (乾杯!)” which means “dry the glass” or “bottoms up.”
How are things going as we are fully in the midst of fall? Have you read any good books, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any fall getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you enjoyed the simple things in life? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been battered, or alternately, uplifted by any news?
The first day of October, Mike and I dove fully into |*Kyoto*|, starting with Kinkaku-ji, the Zen Buddhist temple known as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. It was hot, as it was every day, so I bought a fan which I carried everywhere with me. We then walked about a half hour to Kyoto’s famous rock garden, Ryōan-ji, or Temple of the Peaceful Dragon. I dragged Mike on the cutest train imaginable, the purple Randen Historic Tram, which tickles me pink (or purple!). In Arashiyama, we ate lunch, found kimono-clad girls on the Togetsukyo Bridge, and waded through crowds in the famous bamboo forest. We wandered through Tenryu-ji, founded in 1339. We topped off our exhausting day with okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and plum wine with soda, then finally enjoyed our free welcome drink at our hotel, Sakura Terrace The Gallery.
Our second day in Kyoto we walked uphill through the infinite torii gates of Fushimi Inari Shrine. Again, there were hordes of people, and it was sweltering, especially as it was all uphill. After that exhausting ordeal, we tried unsuccessfully to go to Ohara, which my friend Graham had highly recommended, but we couldn’t fit on the two buses going there. We then went to Nishiki Market AFTER eating lunch at a German-type restaurant, a big mistake, as one is supposed to sample the great variety of food at the market. We were so exhausted, we got convenience store food and ate dinner in our room, finally going down to the lobby to enjoy another free welcome drink (for me, always a gin and tonic).
It rained our third day in Kyoto, but of course we still went out and walked along the Philosopher’s Path at the foot of the Eastern Mountains. We wandered around the beautiful Ginkakuji, the Silver Pavilion (it doesn’t actually have a silver pavilion) and its moss and rock gardens. After all that, we were looking forward to the covered arcade of Nishiki Market, and this time we sampled waygu beef, eel, shrimp tempura and sake. We ate our last Kyoto dinner at the cozy okonomiyaki restaurant.
Our next destination was Tokushima on the island of |*Shikoku*|. I had been determined to walk the first 10 temples of the 88-temple pilgrimage, spread out over 2 days. It turned out we were too exhausted and we ended up finishing only 7 of the 10. I’m certainly glad I didn’t attempt the full 88-temple circuit. I wouldn’t have made it, for sure. It didn’t help that we both got sick with head colds and all-over aches and pains.
While we were in Shikoku, on October 5, our granddaughter Allie had her first birthday and Alex and Jandira took her to the Atlanta Aquarium for a memorable birthday.
We headed to |*Okayama*|, right across the Seto Inland Sea on the only train bridge that connects Shikoku to Honshu. From there we had a number of day trips planned, but we were feeling pretty wiped out from traveling in general and from Shikoku in particular, and we didn’t find the areas very exciting. Our first day trip was to |*Bitchu-Takahashi*|, where we visited the interesting Takahashi Folk Museum, the Raikyuji Temple (once the residence of a local feudal lord), the large Haibara Samurai Residence from the Edo period, and the Orii Samurai Residence with its rather eerie lifesize dolls. Actually, this was my favorite of the places we visited mainly because there were hardly any people here.
Our next day trip was to |*Kurashiki Bikan Historical District*|, where we took a rickshaw, wandered around the weeping willow-lined canals, and climbed to A Chi Shrine. We spent the afternoon in the public onsen in our hotel and ate Indian food at the nearby shopping mall.
The last day, we took a train and ferry to |*Naoshima*|, an island in the Seto Inland Sea known for its many contemporary art installations and museums. We were frankly a bit bored by the whole thing; the best part was riding rented e-bikes all around the island (except where prohibited by the museums).
I wished I had taken Mike to Hiroshima and Miyajima (a little further south of Okayama), even though I’d been to both of these places in 2017. I was trying to see new things in Japan on this trip, but I had discovered many great places when I was there before and wished in retrospect I’d just taken him to the places I loved.
Our final destination was |*Kyūshū Island*|. We took the Shinkansen from Okayama to Kokura and rented a car, a Toyota Yaris, to explore the island. Again I was amazed at Mike’s ability to drive on the left. Luckily the island is not that crowded, so the traffic was generally not too bad (except in Yufuin). From Kokura, we drove to |*Beppu*|, where we visited the Seven “Hells,” (jigoku), hot springs presented in a touristy way that are for viewing only.
After leaving Beppu, where we stayed for only one night, we drove to |*Yufuin*|, an onsen town in the mountains. It was a cute-looking town but was overrun by tourists for some three-day weekend holiday. The “shopping street” had nothing worth shopping for. We had paid for half-board at Yufuin Onsen Wafu Ryokan Tsuenosho, which meant we were subjected to two dinners and two breakfasts, all of which were comprised of very weird and unpalatable stuff. Though artistically presented to us in our tatami room at our low table, the Kaiseki (a traditional multi-course Japansese dinner) was a marathon to be endured. The worst thing was that the whole ryokan experience cost us an arm and leg, and since we stayed two nights, we had to eat this way for 4 meals (breakfast and dinner). The famous Kinrin Lake in the town was more like a pond without much of interest. The best thing we found in Yufuin were the grasslands, Tsukahara Highlands, outside of the town.
The highlight of Kyushu was the |*Mount Aso *|area. After leaving Yufuin, we stopped at the beautiful Park Oike, an off-the-beaten-path moss-covered forest and freshwater spring from which people could drink. This was the only cold day we had on our trip. Finally, I got a taste of fall. We also walked on some grasslands at the Mount Aso Visitor Center. The whole area reminded me of Ecuador’s Andes (except that Ecuador didn’t have crowds of people), which I loved. We enjoyed the nicest of the four ryokans we stayed in during our travels in Japan, and thankfully NO food was involved. We visited the crowded and touristy Takachiho Gorge in the rain and then visited a bizarre shrine only 3 minutes from our ryokan, the Hogihogi Shrine, known for bestowing luck on those who bought lottery tickets. It had a weird fun house on the grounds, with strange stuffed animals stuffed into corners.
Finally, we started making our way slowly back toward Tokyo so we could fly home. We drove to see the Usuki Stone Buddhas, another out-of-the-way place south of Oita which was worthwhile. The Mitsujoin Rice Terraces, near the Oita Airport, were nothing to write home about. We stayed in Hiji, the closest town to the Oita Airport, and flew back to Haneda on Thursday morning, October 17.
We took the train from Haneda to |*Yokohoma*|, a city south of Tokyo that I visited several times when I lived and worked in Japan, and I took Mike to the beautiful Sankeien Garden which exhibits a number of historical buildings from across Japan. I wish we had spent more time around Yokohama because I would have taken him to Kamakura and Enoshima, south of the city.
We flew home from Tokyo Haneda on Friday the 18th at 3:45 p.m. and arrived home before we left Japan, at 3:20 p.m. that same Friday. We were utterly exhausted and we still haven’t quite recovered from a way-too-long trip. I can’t tell you how sick I was of eating Japanese food and living out of a suitcase.
Of course we’re fully into election season here in the U.S., most of which I tried to ignore while traveling. My attempts to avoid all the rancor were not very successful, as I couldn’t stop myself from looking at social media and getting infuriated over all the idiotic, fascist and greedy Trump supporters in this country. Of course, my November cocktail hour will have the final verdict, I hope, and of course I’m wishing for a Harris/Walz victory. If Trump wins, I will be ashamed to call myself an American, and I hope I can keep away from this country for much of the time he is in power.
As soon as Monday the 21st rolled around, I went to cast my vote early for a 100% Democratic ticket, especially Harris/Walz. There the Democrats asked me if I wanted a Harris/Walz sign, which I gladly accepted and put in my yard, right on the corner, where everyone can see it! If anyone dares to touch it, I can easily get 5 more and I’ll put them ALL up!
On a walk around Herndon, Virginia, I found a lot of Harris/Walz signs, Halloween decorations and fall colors.
My 69th birthday rolled around on Friday the 25th. I almost always get a beautiful day for my birthday, and this was no exception. Mike took half the day off and we stopped at Puccio’s in Leesburg for sandwiches and took them to Three Creeks Winery in Hamilton, VA. The winery sits in a beautiful spot where three creeks converge, and Mike drank a Cab Franc while I had a Viognier to accompany our sandwiches. It was a perfect birthday although Mike keeps reminding me I’m beginning my 70th year. So what!? That birthday is still a year away, and by the time I turn 70, he’ll be 71 going on 72! 🙂
We extended my birthday celebration by going out to eat Thai food at Vienna Thai and Bar, where I enjoyed white wine and a green curry with shrimp.
Over the month, the kids sent us some family pictures, which helped us feel connected to the family while traveling.
During the time we were in Japan and once I returned home, I read three books, bringing my total to 42/52 (and putting me behind on my annual goal). I loved all of them: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki, and Beauty and Sadness by Yasunari Kawabata. We didn’t watch much TV while traveling, but in the few places we had Netflix, we watched the Turkish series Zeytin Agaci, aka Another Self and the Greek series Maestro in Blue, and finished On the Verge (just okay). Once we got home, we finished Atlantic Crossing and the most current season of Emily in Paris; we continued watching Grantchester, Pachinko, Trying, Shrinking, Lincoln Lawyer, Another Self, Maestro in Blue, The Bear, and Modern Family.
I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the last two months of the year.
~ wander.essence ~ 
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