Two Geisha apprentices
Jetstar did it this time. They advertised return airfares from Sydney to Osaka at a very cheap rate. $1371 for both tickets all inclusive. (taxes etc)
So we looked at what timeshares we could get in Japan. Thankfully there was a week available in Beppu in late October. So we booked the accomodation, booked the air fares and then started planning the trip. Although we knew nothing of Japan as it was never on our radar, we decided there’s no time like the present. We surfed the net expentensively before we went and booked a couple of nights stay in Osaka, a weeks accomodation at the timeshare in Beppu and 2 nights in a traditional Japanese room in Hiroshima. All other details were left to our imagination when we got there.
The original plan was to get the train to Sydney but the night before we left, we perused the rail timetable again and decided it was cutting it too fine to take the train and make the connection. So we decided to drive down in ‘the bullet’ which is Rebecca’s 18 y/o Volvo. It did exactly that, it went perfectly. Goes at 120klm without a problem and never missed a beat. $1500 well spent. We caught the plane from Sydney to Coolangatta, went through customs, then flew to Osaka without a hitch.
We arrived in Osaka late evening and found the local train from the airport into the city where we then changed to the subway to take us to the xxxxx Motel which we booked on-line. It was a fair and reasonable hotel, clean and friendly in a decent neighbourhood. Our first Japanese meal was in a local Cafe accross the rooad from the hotel. It was fairly bland but a nice change.
Day 2 in Osaka was a day of discovery. Find out what there is to do, how to do it, where and when was the best time etc. We decided the first place to visit was the Osaka Castle. This was a fascinating place in the heart of Osaka. A castle surrounded by a moat. it was reminiscent of the medieval castles of England etc. It has a history that is best read in wikipedia, suffice to say it is a magnificent structure and well worth a visit. We also spent some time at the Osaka Museum of History and whilst there were not many signs in English, it was well worth the visit.
We both enjoy exploring a city by the local transportation systems whether it be bus, tram, subway, ferry and train. Osaka is well equipped for the tourist to explore by all these methods. We learned the subway system and how to read the signs. We spent some time looking for the Willer Bus Company office to collect bus tickets we had booked on line for our trip from Osaka to Hiroshima. We found on this, our first visit to Osaka to be a very pleasant experience with most things being user friendly and the people were very hospitable.
We left Osaka after two days by a very comfortable Willer Coach. 
It left on time and we enjoyed a pleasant coach trip to Hiroshima. We found our accommodation on a site called Wimdu. Its not a site we had used before but proved to be excellent. We booked two nights in a Tatami, which is a traditional Japanese room where you sleep on a Futon on the floor. The Tatami was owned by an enterprising young lady called Miiko. She owns it and rents it only to people who meet her criteria. You apply for the accommodation, give your details and circumstances and she decides whether she will accept your booking.
We did explain our age and that we would prefer a real bed. She was good enough to arrange two Futons each so we decided to give it a go. She accepted our booking and over the weeks prior to travel, we exchanged many emails and she also became a sort of travel agent for us. She organised and paid for coach tickets for us from Hiroshima to Beppu. In getting to Hiroshima, she gave us very explicit instructions on how to get to the Tatami from the coach depot. We followed the instruction on getting onto the local street cars and getting off at a specific stop near Hiroshima Port, walk two blocks to find a key, then walk another block to get into the Tatami. It all went like clockwork which was amazing for we two Aussies in a non English speaking country. The Tatami is like nothing we had ever experienced before. It is a very basic room with minimal furniture. It has a small kitchen and a small bathroom and that is about it. Miiko had arranged for 4 Futons for us and also had some traditional Japanese dress available for our use. There was a small table in the middle of the room where you ate sitting on the floor.
It was May and the nights were cold but the Futons kept us warm albeit very close to the floor which gave us some aches and pains. Of course after we arrived at the Tatami, we organised our gear and went for an hour long walk around the suburb. It was a fascinating walk as we were walking down back alleys and looking into peoples lives (backyards, shops etc). We of course did a Reccy for where we would eat that night. We found a great little place that had a capacity of about 15 people. It turned out to be an Hiroshima Pizza Restaurant. Not the Pizza you find every where else in the world but a special concoction of cabbage, bacon, egg, and 4 or 5 other ingredients that go to make up a most magnificent meal. Sitting abreast the table that overlooked the ‘cooks’ hot plate was a remarkable experience.
The following day we spent in Hiroshima City. We visited ‘ground zero’ where the A bomb did its thing. We went to the memorials and museums that have been very well put together by the Japanese people. It is quite a moving place to visit. The Peace Bell and the monuments to the children who lost their lives is something special. Several hour wandering through the museum brings a lump to the throat.
Springs Beppu
We were lucky enough to have Miiko arrange our tickets from Hiroshima to Beppu by coach, prior to us leaving Oz. Again the coach from the main bus depot in Hiroshima was comfortable and on time. After about 90 minutes of travelling south along the highway, we made what we thought was an unscheduled stop at a dock. We arrived and sat for about 15 minutes, thinking we were waiting for other passengers. Then, the driver started the coach up and drove it into the bowels of a ferry the was docked about 100m away. We didn’t know it but our coach trip from Hiroshima to Beppu was going to be coach/ferry/coach. It was a pleasant deviation for us, not having been on a bus in a ferry before. The Ferry arrived on the other side of the bay about 90 minutes later and we set off for Beppu on road again. We arrive Beppu late afternoon and didn’t have a clue how to get to the Resorpia Time Share which is perched high in the hills of Beppu. After a few minutes of broken conversation with one of the bus depot staff, he put us in a taxi, told the driver where to go and within 15 minutes we were there. Hotel Resorpia is a very nice Hotel overlooking Beppu. We had a small room with minimal inclusions but after our time in Hiroshima sleeping on the floor, the queen bed was a welcome site. The facilities of the hotel were quite good, especially the Onsens on the lower ground floor. One for women and one for men. An Onsen is a large communal bath. Beppu is renowned for its natural springs and people come from everywhere to go to them. A lot of people go to the general public Onsens that cater for mixed bathing. The bathing is of course – naked. The Onsens in our Hotel were not natural spring however they were the next best thing to it. On our second day we decided to try them. Its somewhat disconcerting, bathing naked with 12 other men in a very lage bath that is only 2ft deep. Wendy went into the ladies Onsen and tried to get in with her swimming costume on….she was abruptly told…get your gear off. Once we overcame our shyness, it became a daily, if not twice daily event to have an Onsen bath and think nothing of our modesty. Hotel Resporpia has a good restaurant which we only tried on one occasion. That night we decided to order the ‘special’ of the day. It turned out the main one was a soup with one very large fish head swimming in it, along with some noodles and onions etc. We enjoyed the meal but left hungry.
We explored Beppu as we do all the places we go. We were lucky in this instance in that the Hotel has a free shuttle to and from the CBD, so we were able to go into the main drag, work out a game plan for the day and the next day and plan accordingly. The was a very informative tourist booth at the main bus deput/railway station and we used them very well. Of course we walked the streets taking in the culture and marveling at the Japanese way of life. Of course it is similar to ours but different in so many ways. We especially liked the food. Allan liked the sashimi whereas Wendy preferred other delights. Our breakfasts were ones of innovation. We didn’t feel like eating seaweed and Miso for breakfast so we self catered in the room. There wasn’t a kitchen so boiled eggs in the kettle, a little yoghurt and a cuppa was the order of then day.
We did a day tour of the hot spring that are littered throughout Buppu. Most are that hot you cannot touch them, some boil eggs on the spring and sell them, there are too many different types of springs for me to remember suffice to say they are very interesting and we had a splendid day visiting them.
The next day we picked up a local bus that took us to Shifu. It is a little village in the mountains about 90 minutes by bus and it basically catered for the tourist. The main attraction was the very fit lads that would Rick-saw you around for and hour for a small fortune. The town reminded us of Morpeth in the Hunter Valley where the locals sold their produce at inflated prices. Having said that, it was a great day outing and would recommend it. Another outing in Beppu was a day of walking the streets to get a feel for the joint. Of course the walking was also part of our keep fit campaign ( which sometimes goes by then wayside when you are on holidays) We decided we wanted to go back to Osaka by Ferry. So we walked to the Ferry terminal and booked ourselves a cabin, which, for the price should have been the Presidential Suite but is was just a four berth cabin to ourselves with hard beds. The ferry was fascinating. The nightlife was where Japanese girls same in English, the restaurant sold mass produced food and the locals drank beer until they fell asleep.
We really enjoyed the ferry trip, it had everything. Entertainment, food, drink, drunks, great views leaving Beppu Harbour and similar view in the morning of Osaka Harbour.
On arrival in Osaka for the second time, we found the train station and made our way to a hotel somewhere in the city. It was The Hotel Chou but it wasn’t an hotel it was actually a backpackers hostel which we like to do. Once we had established that we didn’t want to sleep on the floor, we had a very good room with a comfortable bed, good wifi and the hostel services were very accommodating. On our second visit into Osaka we arrived for the first Tuesday in November so on the Sunday before, we started looking for somewhere to watch the race. There are two Aussie places in Osaka that we thought might have it. One was called Outback Steakhouse and the other was Captain Kangaroo. Hopeless the both of them. Neither opened before 6.00pm and they didn’t close till early AM. We think they were actually nightclubs. Hence we missed the race. On day 3 in Osaka we did a day trip by train up to Kyoto. It is a very user friendly place. We walked the streets, went through a Temple and the gardens, had a nice meal and returned home that night feeling weary. Kyoto is well worth a visit, a day trip is not enough.
Our trip had come to an end and we flew out of Osaka with many good memories of Japan.
I summation, we both liked Japan. It is user friendly, the people are tremendous and they will do anything for you. The way of life is fast, the culture is fascinating and the transportation system is tremendous, albeit very expensive. We loved the food, the people and culture but we both agree, we won’t make a special trip back to Japan. It lacks something (or at least we didn’t find it). It lacks that something that would drag you back. In comparing Japan with other countries we have been we would go back to most other countries before Japan. We still have a lot of unfinished business in India, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Tibet and then into Laos, Sikkim, Bhutan…
Goodmans Travels 