Staying in Ryokan Sawanoya

My Visit to Japan - Part 2

I had decided to stay in a traditional inn, a ryokan, while in Tokyo as I don't see the point of being in a foreign country and staying in an international chain hotel.  After a lot of research on the internet (how did we manage without it?) I settled on the Ryokan Sawanoya as they specialise in welcoming guests from abroad and have received very good reviews in various guidebooks and on all the main websites for travellers.  Mr Isao Sawa has even written a book about his experiences as an innkeeper.  This picture and the extract are taken from the website:

" It was over 40 years ago that I became the master of Sawanoya, through marriage to my wife Yoneko, and a quarter of a century has passed since we began providing lodging to travelers from abroad. I’m reminded once again of how quickly time flies.

Throughout those years, my family and I have single-mindedly concentrated on providing comfortable, pleasant and reasonably priced accommodations for guests both from Japan and abroad, to make their stay in Tokyo and in Japan enjoyable. Accordingly, I had neither the opportunity nor the inclination to tell guests about Sawanoya’s and my own history, due to my sincere belief that guests should be the “stars” and the innkeeper a “supporting actor.”

But the passage of time, and the fact that next year I will be 70, made me think that it might be time to tell the story of Sawanoya, particularly to guests from abroad who have been our mainstay customers over the past few decades."

I was delighted with my choice.  The Ryokan Sawanoya is in the Yanaka area of Tokyo, an area that retains a lot of traditional atmosphere and culture.  It was a pleasant walk to many attractions and it was possible to borrow a bicycle had I wanted to venture further afield (and if I could ride a bike!).  It was only a seven minute walk to Nezu metro station for travelling around the city.  

Our room had traditional tatami - straw mat flooring, mattresses on the floor, a low table for taking Japanese tea and shoji - paper sliding screens.  We were each provided with a yukata - robe and a tanzen - outer robe and sandals to wear in the ryokan, but never on the tatami.  We were welcomed by an origami crane on each pillow.  There is a useful and interesting guide to staying in a ryokan at the website of the Japanese Inn Group.

We were made very welcome by Mr Sawa and his family and given plenty of information to help us make the most of our stay.  Even though our room (21) had its own bath we were encouraged to use the Japanese baths on the ground floor of the ryokan.  Public bathing in the onsen is a Japanese tradition that encompasses people from all walks of life and has its own set of rules and rituals.  At the end of a day's sightseeing and travelling on the metro it was absolute bliss to soak in a hot bath looking out at a beautiful Japanese garden, even if we did come out like yude-dako (boiled octopus)!

Tea, coffee, chilled water, cookies and internet access were all provided free of charge at Sawanoya and there were several breakfast options for reasonable cost.  I was sorry that we were not there for one of the story-telling evenings or for a Tea Ceremony or a Lion Dance, we will have to stay longer next time and will be very happy to do so.  We paid 10 080 yen a night for our room, a bargain in my opinion.  

I noticed a very strange effect of the ryokan on me.  Even though I didn't do very well, I found myself trying to be elegant in the room, walking more carefully, with smaller steps and standing upright, doing things in a more gentle way than usual.  I did feel large and clumsy compared to the lovely Japanese ladies in their kimonos but I did catch the feeling of their style.  "Other ryokan are available" but I cannot recommend Ryokan Sawanoya strongly enough if you want a real taste of Japanese hospitality and culture at a very reasonable cost, we will definitely stay there again when we return to Japan.

Surviving in Tokyo - Easy!

My Vist to Japan - 1

I am back in England after a wonderful visit to Japan that I intend to share with you over a series of posts.
I have always wanted to go to Japan but thought it would be essential to go on an organised tour because of the language differences.  Booking a trip to New Zealand I was offered the opportunity of a stopover in Tokyo and thought I'd "go for it".  I am so pleased I did and in fact I wish I'd been there longer and I can't wait to return.
My main concerns with visiting Japan were communication, transport and toilets.  I needn't have worried about any aspect.  Of course I can't speak or read Japanese but I did learn a few basic words and my attempts to use them were very much appreciated by all the extremely friendly Japanese people I met.

Hello          konnichi wa

Thank you         arigato

Delicious              oishii

Goodbye        sayonara

A lot of pointing, smiling and gesticulating took place but we managed to communicate with each other.

The transport system in Tokyo is integrated and very efficient but appears overwhelming.

Once I had picked up a map that showed metro stations by their number and colour (all the lines are colour-coded) I was away.  It was very similar to using the London Underground system only cleaner and much more efficient.  I didn't attempt to use buses and I didn't travel outside the city but would be very happy to do so when I return.  I got the train from Narita airport to Tokyo when I arrived in Japan and again to return to the airport.  It's a journey of an hour on the Keisei Skyliner, longer on the limited express train (but cheaper) and both services run frequently and on time.  The journey from Narita to Nishi-Nippori on the limited express was 1280 yen while the return from Keisei-Ueno to the airport on the Skyliner was 1920 yen.  There are self-service ticket machines at all the stations and they have the option to have instructions in English but when I failed to work the machines on more than one occasion  I found every station assistant I asked to be friendly, patient and helpful.  I even managed to keep my train ticket for a souvenir rather than having it swallowed by a machine by asking the gentleman at the gate.

So I come to my third worry - toilets.  I had read on the internet about Japanese-style squatting toilets and the associated rules such as changing into slippers to use them.  Every public toilet I visited had one or two of these toilets but also Western-style toilets too.  In fact they were better than the toilets I am used to.  They have warmed seats, built in bidets and even music!  Bliss!  I couldn't resist taking a picture of the one in the ryokan where I stayed, Ryokan Sawanoya.

I feel quite pleased with myself that I successfully got around, made myself understood (after a fashion) and saw and did the things I wanted to in Tokyo and I would urge anyone thinking of going to Japan independently but feeling a little trepidation about it to go for it.  I can't wait to go back and have a long "next time" list already.

Friday Night Sew-In and Apologies

I'm going to have all my new fabric purchases unpacked and sorted out ready for the next Friday Night Sew-In which is on 21st May.  Pop over to Heidi's blog for all the details. 
Before that I'm going to take a few photos of the gorgeous things I acquired in New Zealand and Tokyo so that I can share them with you. 
At the moment I'm trying to catch up with the blogs I follow.  Can I please make a big apology to all the lovely people who took the time to post comments on my blog while I was on holiday?  I usually make sure I amswer/acknowledge all your comments but I just didn't manage to while I was travelling.  It was lovely to hear from you though so please accept my apologies if you left a comment and felt ignored. 

Home Now and Some Photos of Tokyo

This is the sleeping area of our room at Ryokan Sawanoya.  We were both surprised how comfortable it was to be sleeping on the floor, especially Al with his bad back, but we both slept well each night.  You can see the table where we could enjoy our own little tea ceremony.  Somehow the room made us try to be elegant!

This is the view of the lovely little Japanese garden from our bath and we could even open the window for some cooler air when the hot bath got to us.

And you just had to see these photos - the Japanese toilet.  Wow, I want one, or even two.  Look at the control panel:

I've been moaning about cold toilet seats ever since we got back to England!  Okay, something on a slightly higher level now, this is a lovely statue of Buddha near the Yanuka Cemetery and in a wonderful setting.

Near our inn was the Nezu Shrine and they were enjoying their time during Golden Week with a Spring festival to enjoy the azaleas.  They were amazing.

We didn't take many photographs in Japan.  Their electricity system is different from ours and we would have needed both an adaptor and a transformer to be able to charge the camera battery and didn't think it was worth it for three days.  Next time we will definitely get one and then I can click away to my heart's content.  Here are a couple we did take of the concert we went to.  I've got a little piece of video too to remind us of the music but haven't worked out whether I can put it on this blog.  Any advice anyone please?

Finally, I couldn't have a blog post about Tokyo without some cherry blossom, although it was almost over when we were there.  We did find this tree looking wonderful so I imagine it's a different variety from the usual.

We got back to Lincolnshire yesterday afternoon and the garden isn't quite as much of a jungle as I feared, the house has stayed safe and we had nothing nasty in the large box full of post waiting for us.  (No big cheques either). 

All we need to do now is unpack.....

Oh To Be In England

I'm back from my wonderful trip to New Zealand, Sydney and Tokyo (with half my suitcase taken up with the fabric and other goodies I collected) and it is so lovely to find England in her fantastic Spring display.  We missed the cherry blossoms in Tokyo but have them here.  The bluebells are out and the lilacs, the clematis are scrambling through everything and looking wonderful.  I wish I could add the scent of the blossoms to this post.  I love travelling to foreign parts but it is great to come home too.

Sydney in Photographs

As promised here are some photos from our return visit to Sydney.  These are two of the gorgeous little blue (fairy) penguins in the Sydney Aquarium:

And this is a slighty less attractive inmate:

We visited the Chinese Garden which was an oasis of calm in the middle of the city:

Then there was our trip to the stunning Blue Mountains:

Here's a picture of the double-decker train we travelled on to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains:

The photo above was taken in Darling Harbour shows a lovely combination of old and new that is apparent throughout Sydney.

This is the Observatory, with a time-ball very reminiscent of ours in Greenwich and below is a photo of the view of the Rocks area and the Harbour Bridge from Observatory Hill:

Below is our hotel, the Victoria Court in Potts Point (down the road from the infamous King's Cross) which was a delight of original features including the lovely balconies and beautiful stained glass windows.

These terraces are some of the original building in the Rocks area of Sydney, a great place for a mooch full of cafes, galleries, markets, museums and interesting art and craft places these days.

This is the beautiful dome of the QVB, the Queen Victoria Building, a very classy shopping mall.

Then, of course, there are the beaches and the harbour.  We went on the famous Manly Ferry -

and enjoyed a lovely time at the beach where the policemen seem to have a rather good lifestyle!

And we visited Bondi:

Oops, grey clouds in that photo, what happened there?!!  Back to the blue skies in Manly and some interesting art deco architecture and some modern sculpture alongside.

I hope you enjoyed this quick whizz around Sydney, tomorrow - Tokyo!!

Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding

Ha,ha, we got from Tokyo to Heathrow arriving only a few minutes late due to some very nasty turbulence and then we travelled across London on the tube and arrived over thirty minutes late on a two hour journey!!  Daddy had prepared roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and delicious sprouting broccoli, carrots and asparagus for us and after a shower and a nice cup of tea we were awake enough to really enjoy it.  We had a good sleep but feel very battered this morning - it was evening at this time (if you know what I mean) for the past three months! 
Election Day here and the newspapers and television are full of it...  It seems strange that we are back here and yet life is going on in Japan, Australia and New Zealand as normal and without us.  It was lovely to wake to the dawn chorus this morning though and to enjoy a long twilight yesterday and a slow dawn this morning.  I'm going for a walk around M&D's garden now, to enjoy all the spring flowers which all seem to be out at the same time and looking lovely - the bluebells, clematis, forget-me-nots, cherry blossom and lilac to name but a few.

So long Tokyo

We are at the end of our great adventure.  After writing the post last night we went for a Japanese bath.  Quite a ritual attached to it but it was wonderfully relaxing after a day of sightseeing to sit in a hot tub gazing out on a tiny Japanese garden.  The only problem was coming out looking like two boiled lobsters!
Today we have wandered quite randomly in Asakusa and been to a Japanese crafts museum and then to a Shamisen (three-stringed traditional instrument) concert which was interesting although we couldn't understand anything that was said except when a guy sang "Dodoitsu" popular songs of olde Japan translated into English and accompanied on the ukelele!  There was also Japanese dancing by some girls in beautiful kimono.
I will get lots of photos on here in the near future so keep watching and thank you for sharing our great trip with us and for all your comments.  We now have to get packed up ready to leave this oasis in Tokyo for our flight at 10.55 a.m.  So we will be back in Blighty tomorrow afternoon and I have a very special message for Daddy...
Red meat and proper vegetables please :)

Hello Tokyo

We are now back at our ryokan after our second day of adventures in Japan and are feeling very pleased with ourselves and grateful to everyone, particularly Nat, who has given us help and advice.  Our three main worries were communication, transport systems and toilets!  Obviously we haven't learned to speak Japanese but can manage to say "thank you" and with a lot of gesturing and smiling we are getting on fine.  People we have met sometimes speak quite good English and everyone has been willing to help us out.  The transport system appears completely overwhelming.  There is the metro/subway system, the JR (Japanese Railways) and various private railways too but they are all integrated and, fortunately for us, lines are colour-coded and have numbers as well as names.  Some maps have just colours and the names in Japanese and some maps also have an English-equivalent name as well.  It is actually a lot like using the London Underground once we got the hang of it and if we aren't sure about the fare it's possible to buy the lowest price ticket and pay at a fare adjuster machine at the end!  So finally, the toilets!  We read all the instructions but have mainly found Western-style toilets with the added convenience (ouch, sorry) of heated seats and built in bottom-washing.  Al says to tell you it's warm water too.  Quite an experience.
We have been busy making the most of our time here.  Yesterday we visited a clock museum and a Taiko drum museum and shop (guess who chose those).  Today we went to Nippori - Fabric Town (guess who chose that).  We have missed almost all the cherry blossom but we visited the Nezu Shrine yesterday and it is a sea of azaleas, amazing.  Today we went to Ueno Park where there was a lone cherry tree in blossom but the peonies were in their prime at the end of a very long queue to view them (national holiday 2).  I bought a little fabric... but fortunately for my wallet and the risk of excess baggage charges the biggest shop in Fabric Town, Tomato, is shut for Golden Week.

Bye Bye Australia

A quick hello from Sydney Airport where we are waiting for our overnight flight to Tokyo.  Reading the Lonely Planet guide last night and doing a bit of planning - like how on earth to get to our ryokan from the airport - I found I may have made a bit of a mess up as there are three national holidays in Japan in the four days we are there!  I'm hoping it means lots of people will have escaped from Tokyo for a few days and it will be less busy.  I just hope things will be open as they are on bank holidays in England.  Hey ho, watch this space!
We've had a lovely last few days in Sydney.  Today we went out to the "iconic" Bondi Beach and watched some very good surfing while eating some yummy baklava!   Strange, the adjective for NZ was "awesome" while for Sydney it has been "iconic". I wonder what it will be for Tokyo - I hope it's not "closed"!
Time to let another passenger get free internet access...
love and hugs from downunder.