2024 May Japan Part 2
On board the Diamond Princess, we had opted to upgrade to a Balcony cabin to try to minimise Keith’s compromised immune system exposure to recycled air. As a concept, this seemed to work as he didn’t get sick! I’d done a lot of homework, reading up on each of the ports the cruise was due to stop at – and in general figured that we could do our own thing, with a little help from Lonely Planet.
After one full day at sea, the first stop was at Aomori – best known for its spectacular Nebuta Matsuri summer festival. The highlight of the festival is the daily parade of enormous lantern floats, flanked by large taiko drums, musicians and dancers. The Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse is an exhibition facility including displays of the actual floats used in the festival. The building itself was an architectural masterpiece featuring red steel ‘vertical blinds’ sheltering the exterior walls of the building.
The next stop was at Sakata, a medium-sized city located in the fertile Shonai Plain which is known for its high-quality rice. The city grew as an important stop along the coastal shipping route that connected Hokkaido with Osaka. A local merchant family, the Honma, came to dominate trade in the city and accrued a vast fortune that made them wealthier than some of the country’s feudal lords. As a result, the family developed close ties with the local lords and had a number of lavish buildings built. Some of these buildings still stand today along with museums and other attractions. It was fascinating to stroll through the area, despite it being a drizzly day. When the ship was due to depart, the locals put on a wonderful display of local dancers and some ‘mock’ samurai fighting.
We arrived at Toyama the next day – about halfway down the west coast of Honshu Island. This was the one stop where we had booked to join an excursion to Inami and Gokayama by coach.
Inami is a small town with a Buddhist temple, Zuisen-ji, founded in 1390. After sustaining severe damage in a fire, the temple’s wooden pavilions were reconstructed in the middle of the 18th century under the supervision of Maekawa Sanshiro, a master wood sculptor from Kyoto. The many carpenter artisans and their apprentices who worked with Sanshiro eventually settled in Inami and continued to hone their skills there. From a small religious town in Toyama’s forestry mountains, Inami thus became the Japanese capital of wood carving. The shopping street leading to the entrance of Zuisen-ji temple is lined with beautiful traditional architecture houses, all decorated with wood carvings – and about twenty sculptures of cats ‘hidden’ in the townscape. Wood carvings are everywhere, from the bus stop entirely made of wood, to the beautiful old-fashioned telephone booth. Most of the buildings have workshops where visitors can watch the artisans working on the sculptures, seating on a tatami floor. We bought ourselves a beautiful small turned-wood salver.
The coach then continued to Gokoyama, known for its traditional gasshō-zukuri houses and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The gasshō-zukuri houses of are characterized by a steep thatched roof that resembles two hands joined in prayer. This architectural style was developed to withstand the weight of the region’s heavy snowfalls in winter. The houses are large, with three to four stories constructed between the low eaves and were historically intended to house large extended families. The roofs are supported by stout oak beams and lashed together with rope, without using any nails. The steep pitch allows snow to easily slide off. The enormous attic space under the roof was used for cultivating silkworms, while the areas below were often used to produce arts and crafts like Japanese paper and nitre for gunpowder. Due to its secluded location, Gokayama has maintained a very traditional lifestyle and culture. It was fascinating to stroll through the village.
The next day took us to Busan in Southern Korea. It is the economic, cultural and educational centre of southeastern South Korea. Lonely Planet recommended we visit Gamcheon Culture Village, a vibrant enclave in the heart of Busan. We joined another couple from the ship and caught a taxi – the driver recommended dropping us off at the top of the village so we could stroll down the picturesque, terraced streets. Once a hilltop slum, over the last couple decades it’s become a bustling, artistic community. The mosaic of brightly painted homes and steep winding alleys offers a unique visual appeal that even led to its nickname, the Machu Picchu of Busan. Each corner reveals whimsical murals and sculptures, a reflection of the village’s effort to blend art with community. Not only is Gamcheon a feast for the eyes, but it’s also a significant tourist attraction, drawing visitors from around the globe – it was packed!
By the time we’d reached the bottom of the hill it was nearing lunchtime and the Lonely Planet recommended a visit to the Jagalchi Fish Market, the largest fish market in South Korea. Each booth of the market is run by an older woman – they seemed tolerant of foreigners ogling their fishy goods and snapping pictures without purchasing anything. Fishy water and maybe some fishy guts cover the small umbrella-covered alley that winds through the market. Nearby, fresh fish restaurants vied for those wanting to enjoy a good lunch or dinner after eyeing all the produce. We eventually settled on a particular restaurant and were persuaded to order the banquet. Well, what a banquet it was! Platters of starters (including some octopus suckers that were still sucking!), followed by a hot soup, then a whole fish – all washed down with local beer (for the men) and Coke (for us women). It was a slow amble through the busy downtown area back to the ship – and a siesta before sailing at 7pm.
Our next port was Nagasaki, an important port city on the island of Kyushu. Thanks to its proximity to the Asian mainland, Nagasaki has played a prominent role in foreign trade relations for many centuries and was the most important of only a very few ports open to restricted numbers of foreign traders during Japan’s period of isolation. In more recent history, Nagasaki became the second city after Hiroshima to be destroyed by an atomic bomb towards the end of World War II.
We took a local tram to the Nagasaki Peace Park, a tranquil space that commemorates the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, which destroyed a significant portion of the city and killed tens of thousands of inhabitants. The complex is comprised of two parks and a memorial museum. In the centre of the complex is the Hypocentre Park with a simple, black monolith that marks the explosion’s epicentre. Not far from it stands a damaged pillar of the former Urakami Cathedral which was destroyed in the blast. On the hill above the Hypocentre Park stands the sobering Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. Next to the museum stands a memorial hall for the victims of the atomic bomb with a strikingly modern architecture. The hall is located mainly underground, and its design involves water and light. North across the street from the Hypocentre Park lies the Memorial Park that contains the iconic Peace Statue, a large fountain and various other memorials presented to the city by various governments and groups from across the world. There are also monuments for the Korean and Chinese victims who died in the bombing. Keith and I were pleased that we’d been to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park – we felt that it was much bigger and more informative than Nagasaki. For the other cruise ship guests, this was to be their only encounter with the Atomic Bomb memorials.
Returning to the city, we walked to Dejima, a man-made island constructed in 1636 to segregate Portuguese residents from the Japanese population – and control their missionary activities. A few years later, the Portuguese were expelled from Japan, and the Dutch Trading Station, formerly located in Hirado, was moved to Dejima. The Dutch were restricted to Dejima during Japan’s two centuries of isolation – as the only remaining Westerners allowed in the country. Today, Dejima is not an island anymore, as the surrounding area has been reclaimed in the 20th century. However, a number of Dejima’s historical structures remain or have been reconstructed in the area, including various residences, warehouses, walls and gates. It was fascinating to see inside the buildings and the different architectural styles.
The next day was spent at sea, so we enjoyed relaxing before getting dressed up for a formal evening, including photos, dinner and a show. Despite travelling with just a carry-on suitcase each and a backpack each, we still managed to pack outfits for two formal evenings!
The penultimate port was Shimizu, the nearest port for visiting Mt Fuji. A lot of the passengers opted for this excursion – and we were pleased we’d been there prior to the cruise. It would have been a long excursion – and no guarantee of actually seeing the mountain, which is regularly covered with cloud.
Instead, Keith and I opted to stroll around the town – and enjoyed discovering local temples and cemeteries. There were also a lot of soccer-themed statues and displays which we found strange. Later research revealed that Shimizu S-Pulse is a Japanese professional football club, formed in 1991 as a founding member of the J.League (‘Original Ten’), which began the following year. Since the game turned professional in 1992, they are one of the most prolific and consistent performers in cup competitions, having made no less than ten final appearances: five times in the Emperor’s Cup and five times in the League Cup. This explained the town’s obsessive displays and statues!
Back at Yokohama the next morning, we disembarked and had all day to get to Tokyo airport for our return flight to Brisbane. All-in-all, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Japan – and were particularly pleased that we’d taken the extra time to explore the inland highlights of Honshu. If all we’d seen had been from the cruise, we would have missed so much.