Jane Horrocks is big in Japan
Jane Horrocks enjoys the trip of a lifetime in Japan – until she loses her children on misty Mount Fuji
AFTER years of beach holidays, my children (now aged 18 and 20) were pining for something a little more adventurous, so it felt like the right time to fulfil my lifelong ambition and say konnichiwa to the Land of the Rising Sun.
For such a big trip, I decided to use a specialist operator. Experts from InsideJapan Tours recommended taking the Golden Route, comprising Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Mount Fuji.
Our first stop in Tokyo was the Asakusa district, home to the city’s oldest temple, Senso-ji.
This was a great introduction to Japan. The atmosphere around the temple’s famous Kaminarimon Gate was buzzing. Incense billowed from a huge bronze urn and visitors queued to get their fortunes told for 100 yen (about 70p).
Our first meal was at the nearby Waentei-Kikko. As we do not speak Japanese, we chose blindly from the menu but the gamble paid off and we feasted on delicious seaweed shots, sushi and blowfish sashimi.
Leaving Asakusa behind for the city proper, we took a Tokyo Cruise on the Sumida River, passing the time eating melon bread and sipping oolong tea. Disembarking, we stepped into our first Japanese garden, Hamarikyu – a haven of tranquillity but just minutes from the commercial hubbub of Ginza. From there, we dropped into the strangest cafe where you can pet and feed hedgehogs (other pet-cafes specialise in dogs, cats, bunnies, owls… and snakes). This was followed by an even more bizarre experience – an hour in the company of bikini-clad, gun-wielding, tank-riding, robot-battling dancers at the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku. Only in Japan.
The following day we went to the huge (and confusing!) Tokyo Station to catch the Bullet Train for our 300-mile journey to Kyoto.
Checking into the Hyatt Regency hotel in the Higashiyama Shichijo district, Kyoto’s contrast to Tokyo was palpable. Our room overlooked a beautiful Japanese garden, with running water and carp. With the help of our guide, we explored the city’s Buddhist Sanjusangendo Temple – Japan’s longest wooden building. The site features 1,000 lifesize statues of the armed Kannon, and 28 guardian deities with crystal eyes.
We then went to Nanzenji temple where, behind its impressive San Mon Gate, the rooms are adorned with gold-leaf murals of cranes and tigers. This was followed by the incredibly striking Fushimi Inari Taisha – a Shinto shrine dedicated to the god of rice cultivation and business.
Our final stop in Kyoto was Gion, home of the ancient and mysterious geishas. Known as maiko when they start training at 16, the women gain geisha status at 21 – but only after they have dedicated 28 days each month to mastering the art of dance, song, poetry recital, and the traditional stringed instrument called a shamisen. Needless to say, my daughter Molly was not tempted to sign up.
After the serenity and beauty of Kyoto came the eccentricity of Osaka. Here, we headed straight for At Ajinoya, a Michelin-starred restaurant where we tried our first okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake filled with whatever you fancy – ours had bacon, prawns and squid, and was baked at our table on a hot plate. Delicious.
Our Osaka guide organised a spectacular day around the Tenjin Matsuri Festival. To be sure we were dressed properly for the occasion, we visited a costume hire company called Wasobi for a traditional cotton kimono and Japanese shoes called geta.
After taking part in a traditional tea ceremony, we were ready for the evening’s entertainment.
A rakugo artist told a satirical story before Master Tsugaru,
the best shamisen trio in Japan, gave a performance. The incredible finale was a procession of beautifully adorned flotillas and a two-hour display of fireworks.
Back on the Bullet Train, we travelled to Hakone, 90 minutes away from Tokyo, and home to Mount Fuji. Here we stayed in the new Ichinoyu Susukinohara, a Japanese inn with spectacular mountain views and a hot spring bath in every room.
InsideJapan had recommended reaching Mount Fuji’s summit in time for the beautiful sunrise. This sounded ideal on paper, but my two children have very different personalities: Dylan is like Road Runner while Molly is more Brian the Snail. The climb, via IN SOME CAFES YOU CAN FEED CATS, RABBITS – OR EVEN SNAKES the Yoshida Trail, started along gentle volcanic paths so we reached one of the lodges on the mountain by mid-afternoon.
We decided to plough on a bit further, but the terrain was suddenly covered with boulders and the paths were steep. And the mist was so other-worldly that I felt like I was on Mars. We finally arrived at the Eighth Station – the lodge before the top – in the dark. It was then that we realised we had lost Dylan. However, before we had time to panic, we spotted him coming towards us – he had reached the summit and was now making his way back down. Road Runner indeed.
Not to be outdone, Molly then sauntered out of the lodge at 11pm, intent on reaching the summit by sunrise. I let her go out without us for three good reasons: Japan is very safe, she was with lots of other people… and my thighs were killing me!
However, with no sign of her the next morning, we went to the police station only to discover she had reached the summit but had then taken a wrong turn and was a two-hour drive away.
On the subject of being lost, we spent our last night back in Tokyo at the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku. From the 41st floor bar – featured in Lost In Translation – we looked out at the amazing skyline. Molly said: ‘So, when can we come here again?’ Both she and Dylan said it was the best holiday they’d ever had and was everything they’d hoped for and more.
I’m already looking at returning for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics…