Well, we’re fully booked for the August 2009 holiday!
However, 2 people are failing to reply to e-mail so unless they let us know something before May 1 this year,
we’re cancelling their holiday.
Luckilly we have 2 people ready to fill their places!
So, if you wanted to sign up for the holiday, We can let you know by May 3 if you can make it on the list!
Vanwege de vele spam op mijn vorige blog, heb ik maar Wordpress geïnstalleerd.
Alle oude posts komen wel weer terug hoor…
Denk ik 
Ik zal er de komende tijd eens voor gaan zitten.
Het kan zijn dat de vormgeving van dit blog nog wel gaat veranderen.
Dat gebeurt wel als ik een nieuw theme gevonden heb dat minder suf is als het huidige.
Tot dan.
Yesterday Robert Kaj and I visited Kanazawa. It was one of the places on my hitlist, because of a famous Japanese actress being named after the city and it’s supposed historical buildings.
It’s called the Kyoto of the West.
Like Kyoto, the station has (recently) been transformed in to a work of art.
Kanazawa Station with it’s distinctive Torii
Kanazawa Station, inside to outside
Escalator to the subway lines. Please note the flat part in the middle of the escalator
Kanazawa is close to the earthquake region of a few days back and was supposedly hit by a force 5 quake. The results are a staggering piece of plastic coming off a scale model of the station.
We didn’t really see any old buildings, but the trip was 3hours long and we did not have overly long to stay there so we’ve probably missed all the classic goodness. There are 2 Geisha districts still in working order in Kanazawa, which is more then Kyoto. They are supposedly larger too. The reason for going to Kanazawa was actually again one of the Nihon Sankei. One of the most beautiful gardens is supposedly in Kanazawa.
Ken-Rokuen. And it was there!
While we were in the station, we saw some adverts for the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. We decided to visit there too. On walking out of the station, my eye fell on this measly branch in a solitary little tree…
Yes! My first Sakura tree this season with some flowers!
On our way to Ken-Rokuen we stopped at a Doutor (Yes, Doutor, not… Du Tour) coffee shop (Not the Dutch type!) for some Ice Coffee and a cheeze toast (Toastie). You get to throw your own sugar syrup and concentrated milk in this ice coffee. There was a guy there that had already emptied 2 packs of cigarettes while playing on his DS Lite. Anyway, ofter finishing the coffee, we took it upon us to visit a local temple. Well, I wanted to go there because they had a public toilet on the premises and I needed to use it.
The temple had a nice garden.
And a few blossoms in the tree
It also had a rather distinctive entrance gate (not on the side we entered from) which looks totally out of place in a Japanese temple.
The gate.
And the rather bland temple with recorded cheezy music out of speakers.
When we had enough of this temple, we moved on to the museum, which is oposite Ken-Rokuen, as it happens. This was a stroke of good fortune. Now we had the two things we wanted to see at hand.
Impression of a dragon on top of the museum building
Leandro’s pool. You can walk into the exhibit and down some stairs into a blue room with the bottom part of some stairs and a roof of glass with water on top.
On the top end, outside the exhibit, you can look into a pool and see… the people in the blue room! A nifty bit of engineering by Leandro Erlich. He’s famous for his trick art.
In Thurell’s Room you saw an optical illusion of a flat wall
And it was open to the sky… I think…
We sat there for a while, because we were kinda tired.
And yes, I forgot to shave -_-;;
Anyway, it was a nice place to sit in. There was a nice breeze inside the room and it was quite. I could have remained there for the rest of the day with a good book on me.
However, we finally made it to Ken-Rokuen. The garden was indeed beautiful and worth it’s 300 yen entrance fee. I’ve taken quite some pictures there. Here’s a small selection of them.
Water mass with a tea-house in the distance.
Waterfall, about 4m high.
Teahouse
Small island with blooming Sakura
The oldest fountain in Japan
Famous stepping stones in the shape of a flight of geese.
Very long branch of a Japanese Oaktree, supported due to it’s weight
Sakura
Fushigi no somebody
Dinner… ehm… Carp.
Nice river with small bamboo shoots, kept small for the effect.
Yes, proof I saw Sakura blooming
Reality comes close to this oasis of rest and tranquility.
Well, since it was running towards 16:00 and remember, the journey home was supposedly 3 hours, we went back to the station by bus. Yes, it’s cheating, but we were tired and didn’t feel like walking the same route again. At the station I reserved tickets for the 18:00 Thunderbird to Osaka. The name sounded like the train would be moved along on strings and I had great fears as to it’s speed. When I got the tickets, it appeared the train would be back in Osaka about 30 minutes sooner then the morning train, the Raichou (a rather old express train known under various names in Japan). So appearantly, it would realy move as the thunder.
Anyway, since it was my brother’s birthday I diceded to say hi to him and grab some food. We went to the station department store and of course, on the 8th floor, they had a food court, like most department stores.
We went and had some delicious Gyouza and Chinese food there. The Mabo Toufu I had was really spicy and rather nice. The sauce was not tomato based, but it was sharp and nice none the less.
When we had dinner, we went back to the station and bought some Pino ice cream. I also saw some typical Japanese crisps… Mayonaise flavoured crips, Piri Piri variation. I bought a small bag just for the hell of it.
They were kinda nice. Peppery Mayonaise-like potato crisps. Good stuff.
Well, it was time to board the Thunderbird 44 (In the series they only came to 5) and go back home.
The Thunderbird looked like a “koploper” from the NS and also has those doors that open upfront to add an additional train, which they promptly did, just to impress us that they could
Anyway, we’re back in Osaka now.
On the 26th I went to Amano Hashidate with Robert and Kaj.
Amano Hisidate is one of the Nihon Sankai. The top 3.
Amano Hashidate belongs to the top 3 views in Japan. They are not rated 1-3 but just as best 3.
I have visited Miyajima, another of the top 3, 2 years ago. This small island in the bay of Hiroshima has the famous Torii in the sea (Temple gate). It also sports some imperial, thus holy, dear that you are allowed to feed special biscuits. You are not allowed to harm them though. The island is very busy from 8 till 17:00 so I took myself and my camera there past 17:00 to be able to take all the pictures I wanted in all quietness. If you were, like me, based in Osaka, around 19:08 the last train leaves from Miyajima-guchi.
Last year in August, Mischel and I went to Mishima. Not only is there a bridge to a chalk island, but… there are over a 1000 small rock formations made up of chalk-rock. That’s where the place gets it’s name from.
Mishima was quite forgettable. It did absolutely nothing for me. More beautiful formations can be found in Greece, Turkey or even the UK (Isle of Wight). Miyajima however, was quite beautiful.
So, with mixed anticipation I went to Amano Hashidate two days ago. According to Lonely Planet a 1inch half-page column is more then enough to describe it. Rough Guide takes 2-3 pages. I tend to agree with Rough guide a lot more then LP. LP is written by and for impatient Americans that rather see the venom in things then the beauty. Rough Guide sometimes gets carried away so they come over like backpacking hippies stuck in the sixties. In the end both guides gave me no clue whatsoever as to what to expect. Total crap? Almost heavenly experience?
Well, after having been there, I can report the following:
- It might come over a bit disappointing if you’re expecting huge unkempt nature with canyons and desert etc.
- The water and the beach are among the cleanest most beautiful in Japan I have seen in my 12 visits.
- The sandbar it’s self is a nice change from urban encroachment. Of course, it’s clean like we’re used to here in Japan. However, some of the trees and looking at the construction cars, even more will have to make place for bits of concrete for the tired Japanese to take shelter in against the sun or rain. This really is a pity as I loved the care taken with supporting trees that have become to heavy to stand upright in the loose and shallow ground.
Supported trees
- The view from the top of the surrounding mountain is great! The cable car going up the mountain was OK but rather old. The lift with open seats without any support, running parallel to the cable car looked dinky and you couldn’t have gotten me in there with a shotgun against my head.
On with the rest.
When having walked the short 3.6km trip across the sandbar, you arrive at a street with housing right against it. A bit of a disillusion, as you thought you were in a nice nature preserve for a short while. A quay runs along the inner-bay and gets continuously hit by waves from the choppy waters. Strange enough, the water on the sea-side of Amano-Hashidate was so calm it was almost still.
Choppy waters
Well, after walking along the quay for a short stretch, we walked along the streets towards the cable car you could see going up the mountain. On our way there, we came past a nice looking temple. I was thinking of what to buy for my nephews, as I am their only uncle and thus should spoil them rotten. Then I came upon the temple shop. I decided to buy them traditional munk’s hats. Those conical things from woven rice leaves. Figuring it would be a pain to drag them along the entire time, I decided to buy them on the way down.
Munk’s hats
As we reached the cable car and lift, I was tempted not to go up the mountain, because, at that time, I had only seen the chair lift and not the cable car. Since you will only catch me in a chair lift when I am dead, I almost wished Kaj and Robert a nice time on top. But then… Yay! A cable car! So, I could visit the top too!
Cable car and lift
So Aiming for the top, up we went! The view was spectacular! Flabbergasted is the wrong word for it. So let’s not use that. The view was great. Yes, I do have to agree with the Japanese on two of the tree best views of Japan. An additional thing you can do there, besides eating roasted squid and buying souvenirs, is throw mini clay-pidgeons at an iron ring. 3 pieces for 100 yen. If you throw them all through the ring, it’s supposed to bring you luck! With my aim, I didn’t even try ^^;;
View of Amano Hashidate
We tried a Sofuto cureemu (softice) on the top before going back. On the way up, Kaj and Robert had to wait for me, because the Cable Car only runs every 15 minutes. While the chair lift, of course, runs continuously. However, the cable car is faster and I got in the cable car, the same time they got in their chairs. So I was down faster! I have some video footage of the climb down.
Birds of prey. Do you know what they are?
After having picked up the two hats, we proceeded to the ferry terminal to take the easy route back instead of crossing the sandbar yet again. It was so cool we did that, because two girls of about 4 were throwing small bits of cookie into the water behind the ferry. This attracted the seagulls so I rummaged around in my backpack, finding an old Melon Pan. I gave this to the girls who dug into it whit gusto, throwing chunks of it overboard, attracting a beautiful bird of prey. According to Rene’s comment in Kaj’s blog it may be a sea eagle (Osprey) but those have much more white. They were beautiful birds. That’s all I know for sure. If you can point out what they are, let me know.
After returning to Osaka by a direct Express train, we went into Yodobashi Umeda. Visiting the restaurant floor there, we dined on Shabu Shabu for about an hour of the alloted 90mins. all you can eat feast.
This set us back 2750 yen each. Quite cheap for Shabu Shabu. We went home after that and went to sleep. Except that I wanted to finish the new Hollows book by Kim Harrisson. It kept me up till 4am and irritated because still nothing much has been resolved after finishing the book. Tomorrow, we’re visiting Ken-rokuen, one of the 3 most beautiful gardens in Kanazawa.
I’ll write that up this evening. Now, I’m going out for a bit.
But before I go…. “Gelukkig hebben we de foto’s nog…”
Most of these were taken by Kaj with my Camera, seeing as he forgot his and it gave me the opportunity to film stuff instead.
Bridge to Amano Hashidate, it can turn on an axle to let ships pass into the harbour
Highspeed roudtrip boats
Dried Fugu (Blowfish) on a rack.
Freshly caught squid and octopus
I used to order stuff from Amazon Japan quite a lot.
Just because they have great offers, sometimes 22-25% off when you get their pre-orders.
Their site contains more and more English, their customer service rocks!
Why? Why did I stop ordering from them?
Why, when they have such a great price policy? Why, when their shipping rates are rather low and affordable?
Why indeed?
Well, their shipping options are: DHL airmail or DHL Worldmail.
The Worldmail option, is the one I usually go for. Comparable to SAL, according to Amazon, your stuff gets deliverd to a location on your continent or country and then gets handles by normal postal services. Then it enters the lotery to see if you have to pay taxes or not.
Recently, DHL has taken it upon themselves, to deliver these packages themselves instead of using our great TNT services here in Holland. The first package took 4 weeks, was delivered after a bumbling call about a TAX number, which I as a normal person do not have, of course. Then the package was delivered and I heard nothing about it.
Feeling like a nice dude, I contacted DHL. They got back to be and after a few days, I received a bill to pay for importing (5 euro, a reasonable fee) and 19% tax on my 4800 yen items. Reasonable too.
And, 19% tax on my €89.40 shipping fee.
I go @_@ and try contacting DHL again. They do not reply or respond to e-mail.
Meanwhile, another worldmail package ships from Amazon and arrives overnight instead of in 4 weeks.
I tell Amazon about this. While they give me a standard mail about tax rules etc. I receive another letter from DHL claiming €94.40 shipping fee (I actually paid 1800 yen (100 yen = €0.68 ).
I write Amazon Japan again, explaining that indeed I agree to paying taxes and know about their rules, but that this is outrageous.
They investigated this and came with the following reply yesterday:
The tax occurred for order 2 which I was investigating
about was correct. Customs policies vary widely from country to
country; you may want to contact your local customs office for
further information if the extra amount occurred to your orders
are still not understandable.However, we have concluded that the tax for order 1
should not be paid by you this time. Therefore our appropriate
department has managed not charging you the extra.We sometimes ship out orders via International Express with our
regards and it does not cost you any extra shipping fee. However
please note that it is unfortunately not predictable when
happens. However please note that there is a chance that you
would have to pay for the custom fee for items shipped via
International economy shipping as well although it has not
happened to you in the past, because you are importing products.Your understanding would be much appreciated and thanks again for
shopping at Amazon.co.jp.
Ehmmm right… So I get to pay extra because:
* They chose to ship me overnight as a “courtesy”
* They can’t say when and if they will do so again (quite likely, there was another shipment delivered in 2 days time a few days ago).
* Because THEY send me stuff in a way I have not requested, I can pay up to 100% more of the value of the things I order because for some reason, Amazon chooses to send me mail by courier while I pay for land mail…
So, I have now cancelled all my orders (40.000 yen worth) and await further replies from them.
Hopefully, one day I can make use of Amazon again. For now… well.. I just had to cancel everything, thanks to DHL with it’s ridiculous fees.
Oh, FYI,
I have send Amazon a reply to their mail though…
Dear Sir,
I understand you need time to check these issues, I thought the reply
was speedy, like I am used from Amazon customer services.Regarding the tax for order 2, how should I proceed with DHL?
I received their bill, which I have not yet paid. Should I discard this
bill or inform DHL? DHL does not respond to, or awknowledge my e-mail
transmissions to them.Regarding order 1, I am rather disappointed with your result
about this shipment. Just because you upgrade my shipping options, as a
courtesy over which I have no control, I get to pay 2350 yen extra over
the normal import and shipping taxes.I do not feel like paying 2300~5000 yen extra per order because, as an
extra service, you send me items in a fashion I have not requested (And
I do mean extra above the normal 19% sales, shipping and import tax).This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the way taxes are set
up in my country. It has everything to do with the fact that DHL
calculates taxes over a fee of 12.000+ yen shipping instead of 1.800
that I actually paid.I do not consider this “service” you offer a courtesy, I consider it
unjust, harmfull and inconsiderate.As you are not able to asure me this will not happen again, and recent
delivery by DHL seems to continue to be overnight express mail instead
of the requested 4 week mail, I have no other option left then to cancel
most of my remaining orders that are not first press versions and order
elsewhere.
I am still hoping on a different reply from Amazon.
I order about 200.000 - 400.000 yen worth from amazon Japan each year.
I guess quite some people order from Amazon Japan and I think this will cost them quite some customers.
I did try my verry best to contact and deal with DHL. However, they refuse to reply.
Unfortunately.
Hello and welcome to this totally useless Blog.
My name is Niels Viveen and here you might be able to find some of my ravings ideas and hopefully a travel blog.
This weekend I am going to Enschede to visit the Abunai convention.
We hope to get some more folks there to join our holiday in March.
Or people that want to visit Anime 2007, one of the evens organised by Stichting J-Pop.
Time to go back to work and do something usefull for a change.
Tonight, I am starting the update on the new schedule for our March trip.
We only have 6 subscribers now, so Australia will probably be cancelled.
I will be working on a Japan only schedule tonight.
You know, I have to write this somewhere because it really pisses me off.
We from Shiranai spend hours and hours on creating a cool holiday and a comprehensive guide for the holiday.
The last trip we did had 20 people tagging along with 2 guides, me included.
During the holiday they were all going, wow, nice of you guys to do this and even without a profit!
All the people on this holiday were mostly positive about the entire trip.
However, NONE of them can take 5 minutes off, now that they are back in their homes, to write a tiny bit of a review for our site. Guess what that does to your overall enjoyment of organising holidays like this with the weeks of preparation that it takes to create the guidebook and schedule and reserve and book the trip?
Well, I’d better not get in to that now. I’d like this blog to remain an all ages one.
The holiday in March might well be the last I will be planning, if the response after comming home remains this low.
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