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We had all sorts of advice and stories before we went about how difficult it would be to visit Japan but we have to say that most of them were not consistent with our experience. We had a terrific time there and Japan has rapidly risen through the list of countries that we plan to visit again soon. I had the opportunity to visit two leading molders and meet with three material suppliers to the industry. Rotomolding in Japan is not a large industry, but there are some interesting things happening there.
Hideo Sekiguchi of Shiina Kasei and his colleagues treated us to a wonderful evening of Japanese food and entertainment in Yokohama (including lots of saki!). We are looking forward to a return trip to see how their developments proceed. On the more relaxing tourist side...
There are not many signs in English in many parts of the cities that we visited but it was never difficult to find someone willing to help with directions or advice. Wherever we went the Japanese people were extremely friendly and helpful. This is downtown Yokohama on a typical street with shop advertisements rising 7 or 8 stories for all sorts of small enterprises.
We actually began our trip down in Osaka which is almost 400 miles southwest of Tokyo. We traveled on the Shinkansen - the famous bullet-trains which travel at 300km/h (almost 190mph) - very comfortable but very expensive! This is Osaka Castle in the heart of the city. It is not the original building (which was burned down a couple of times over the last few centuries) but it was spectacular nonetheless.
While in Osaka, we had the chance to visit Kyoto to the north where the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu, built Nijo Castle as his official residence. Constructed in 1603, it is currently celebrating it's 400th anniversary with some special displays. It is a World Heritage Site and is in very good condition.
This is the main entrance gate to Ninomaru Palace within the grounds. It is kept in semi-darkness inside to preserve the original wall paintings.
There are a whole series of buildings and temples within the grounds. This is the Honmaru Palace which is within the fortified inner moat of the grounds. The gardens are beautiful and full of ancient decorative trees.
On a lighter note, Pachinko is a national pastime that is absolutely everywhere. It is a form of gambling that involves using steel ball-bearings in a kind of pinball system. It seems less harmful than typical Las-Vegas style slots but it appears just as addictive!
On our way out of Japan en-route to Hong-Kong, we asked the pilot to swing by Mount Fuji. He literally banked the aircraft around the mountain for a spectacular view through the clouds. We had passed it twice on the bullet-trains but always in the dark - I think we had the best possible view in the end. |
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