I recall our family on a winter’s evening sitting around the open fire, and when the soot in the back of the fireplace sparkled as it caught fire, we were always told it was the Japs and Germans fighting.

Decades later a longed-for encounter with modern Japan, with its Mt Fuji, Cherry Blossoms and the Shinkansen (Bullet train), somehow found a place on my bucket list. And Teddy’s fascination with Japan also stretches back many years.

Every year he visits Japan Day on the Auckland waterfront, so the decision to visit Tokyo for a game of Super rugby between The Auckland Blues  and the Japanese Sunwolves in the 2018 season was a no-brainer.

After leaving Hong Kong for our second week of our Asian adventure, we arrived at Narita Airport, about an hour’s shuttle away from downtown Tokyo. My first thoughts as we travelled towards the city was the enormity of the expansive roading network. I envisioned Auckland’s Spaghetti Junction on a ginormous dose of concrete and steel steroids!

Our travel agent had booked us into the  Shibuya Tokyu REI Hotel which we were pleased to find was only a five minute walk to Shibuya Station. (We did find out quite soon that the trains in Tokyo are a breeze to navigate!)

But I never realised that I would be so fascinated with a pedestrian crossing. Shibuya is a trendy shopping district in Tokyo and plonk in the middle and in front of the Shibuya Station is reportedly the world’s busiest intersection, the Shibuya Crossing.

We joined the throngs navigating the crossing a number of times as we headed off on our many train and subway journeys.  

Sensoji Temple – Asakusa

The day we arrived we ventured out on our first train excursion. It was a dwarfing experience negotiating the vast Shibuya Station, most of which covered several blocks of underground Shibuya, but we eventually found the Ginza Line and were transported to Asakusa Station where we’d been told we would find the Sensoji Temple.

We were feeling really travel-brave by this time!  

The Kaminarimon Gate offers a welcome to the Nakamise shopping street filled with shops offering an extensive range of Japanese craft items, food stalls and street food. The street frames the Sensoji Buddhist Temple in the distance. 

The atmosphere surrounding the Temple oozed its own character with the smoke filled Jokoro, a large earthenware incense burner, where visitors embrace the smoke’s healing powers; learning your fortune or Omikuji which is written on a rolled up strip of paper; flowering cherry blossom trees; groups of Japanese ladies clad in traditional dress; and the never-ending throng of tourists with their cameras, clicking, posing, and basking in the ambience of the moment in time.

Mt Fuji

The top of our list of things to do in Japan was to visit Mt Fuji. A two hour bus trip saw us journey through the countryside and head towards the majestic mountain. In my mind I felt the warmth of the sun warming my face while breathing the rarified mountain air, and observing a view to behold.

But nope, not at all.

The mountain was covered from top to treeline in dense cloud with a snow storm raging at the summit. We shrugged off our bitter disappointment with a short cruise on nearby Lake Ashi, and a ride on the Mt Komagatake Ropeway which spoiled us with sweeping views across the Haukone National Park.

The journey back to Tokyo fulfilled one of my greatest wishes; the chance to travel on the Shinkansen (bullet train).

The train was luxurious, quiet and very very fast.

Disneyland Tokyo

If there is a Disneyland, Teddy has to go.

Thursday was our opportunity to compare Disneyland Tokyo with the real McCoy in California. We’d been to Annaheim in 2009 so there was a nine year gap from one to the other.

Now confident in our well honed navigating skills, finding our way to our destination was a breeze.  I was struck immediately with physical presentation of the complex, fresh in appearance, the Japanese quest for perfection flooded from every building, every street, every garden. Although Tokyo Disneyland has been operating since 1983, it oozed a certain sparkle of polished perfection. 

The Imperial Family’s Gardens

The next day was our chance to visit the centre of Tokyo and explore the expansive East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. With just a ten minute stroll from the Tokyo Station, the gardens offered a degree of serenity and tradition against a backdrop of high rise cityscape.

The Imperial Palace itself, which is surrounded by moats and massive stone walls, is not open to the public as it remains the residence of Japan’s Imperial family. But there is full access to the historic grounds of the East Gardens.

It felt surreal as I wandered around the magical gardens filled with Cherry Blossoms, Japanese Maples, and a raft of other colourful and well maintained vegetation.

It was a tiring afternoon but well worth the visit and all the walking that we did.

The Rugby finale – Blues vs Sunwolves

After a week of tripping and trekking, walking  and clicking, we gathered our cameras, flags, Blues attire and boarded the train on the Ginza line and started our journey from Shibuya to Gaienmae. Our destination, Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.

Walking along the street to the stadium, Teddy and I melded with a crowd of Sunwolves supporters making their way to the game. Dressed in our own supporters gear, we were a wavelet of “blue” in a giant sea of “red”.

We were immediately struck by the friendliness of the Sunwolves supporters. We felt a bit like Rock Stars with all the smiles and waves aimed at us.

Even in the stadium, we proudly waved the New Zealand flag as our Blues ground out an eventual win.

Homeward Bound

Our holiday was soon over. We had both fulfilled a secret wish to visit Japan and would spend many hours reflecting on the experience.

As we departed Narita Airport and headed homewards, Teddy pointed towards the window of the plane. I looked below to see the summit of Mt Fuji peeping through a bed of cloud. I felt that the mountain was trying to bid us farewell but I’m sure I also sensed its call for us to return again one day.

  END