Ikuko and Jeff decided to take a quick trip to Japan shortly after the new year to visit with family and friends. Although it was a mere 10 day trip, they made the most of it by squeezing in visits with family, visits with friends and even a two day excursion down to the south of Japan to see Hiroshima and to spend a night at a well-known hot spring resort called Yuhuin. As you can see by the map above, it was a busy trip.

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Day 1 (January 18, 2002) - Our day actually began on the 17th when we boarded a plane bound for Tokyo. However, because you lose a day when traveling to Japan, we didn't arrive until the evening of the 18th. Thanks to our good friend Yokoyama-kun, we actually managed to get upgraded to business class on the way so it was a very comfortable flight (as you can see by the picture of Ikuko to the right.) Once we arrived in Japan, we were greeted at the airport by Ikuko's sister Keiko, her husband Mr. Omori and her three kids: Masaya, Chiaki and Mika.
Day 2 (January 19, 2002) - Today, we got up early and saw Mika off to pre-school. Then we headed out toward Yokohama to meet up with some friends but not before stopping at Shin-Maruko station to visit an old favorite ramen shop of Ikuko's. After meeting our friends it was off to spend the night at Akane, a hot spring resort located in a town called Yugawara about an hour south of Tokyo.
Day 3 (January 20, 2002) - After a delicious breakfast, we left the hot spring resort and headed down to the ocean to enjoy the views. On the way back to Tokyo, we caught up with Shinji's parents (who were like parents to me while I was living in Japan) for a quick cup of coffee and some lunch. Later that evening we got a group of about 20 friends together and all headed for a massive feast at a local Korean barbecue restaurant. Afterwards, several of us crashed at Shinji's new office near Toritsu Daigaku.
Day 4 (January 21, 2002) - Another early start and it was off to Ikuko's mother's house in Niigata. On the map above, you'll notice a red line leaving Tokyo and heading northwest. The end of that red line is Itoigawa, a city that lies right along the coast of the Japan Sea right near the border of Niigata and Toyama prefectures. Ikuko's house is another 30 minutes in-land from downtown Itoigawa up in the midst of several mountains. The trip from Tokyo took about 3 hours altogether. Mrs. Kaneko met us at Itoigawa station and after grabbing a bite to eat (ramen again...) and doing some grocery shopping we headed off to Mrs. Kaneko's house in the tiny village of Maki. It wasn't nearly as cold as we thought it would be and the snow wasn't too bad either. I often tease Ikuko about being such a country girl but it truly is a beautiful place to have grown up as you can see from the pictures in Day 5.
Day 5 (January 22, 2002) - Today was just a lazy day of hanging out at Ikuko's mother's house. We slept in pretty late and basically just laid around watching TV, talking, and looking at pictures all day; the stuff vacation's are made of.
Day 6 (January 23, 2002) - Today we got up fairly early again and prepared for the trip back to Tokyo. After packing up, we took Mrs. Kaneko to lunch in downtown Itoigawa and then did some souvenir shopping. Before our train left Itoigawa, Midori and her husband Shin-chan, another couple who are very good friends of ours, stopped by the station to see us off as well. They both live in Tokyo as well but happened to be back in Itoigawa at the same time (Midori is an old high school friend of Ikuko's.) After arriving in Tokyo, we stopped in at Mofo's San Francisco office to say hello to everyone that I worked with during the summer of 2000. It was also a great chance to introduce Ikuko to many of my Mofo Tokyo friends. Later, we met up with several more friends for dinner: Hongo, a photographer; Katsuo, a graphic designer; and his wife Aya, also a graphic designer. After dinner we headed back to Shinji's house to spend the night.
Day 7 (January 24, 2002) - Today it was off to Southern Japan for some time by ourselves. We got another early start and caught a taxi from Shinji's house to Shin-Yokohama station. We then caught the shinkansen (the bullet train) to Hiroshima which took about 4 hours. After arriving in Hiroshima we caught a ferry to Miyajima island which is where the famous Itsukushima Shrine is located. Itsukushima Shrine is one of Japan's "3 great views" (Nihon sankei) and is probably best known for the red shinto gate (known as a torii) which stands in the middle of the water in front of the shrine. As you can see to the right, it was a fantastic place for taking pictures. After catching the ferry back to Hiroshima we went to a restaurant which specializes in one of Hiroshima's specialties: oysters. We called it a night at a local business hotel.
Day 8 (January 25, 2002) - Today, we continued our push south but not before paying a quick visit to Hiroshima's peace park to see the the famous atomic bomb dome and to visit the atomic bomb victim's museum. Although I visited the museum once before more than 10 years ago, the emotional impact of seeing first hand the sheer destruction that man is capable of was no less than it was the first time. Next, we hopped on the train and headed to Shimonoseki (the southern-most city on the main island of Honshu) and stopped for a lunch of fugu or "blowfish." Yes, I'm referring to the very same blowfish that carries a highly deadly poison and that can be lethal if not prepared properly. It was my first time eating fugu and it was absolutely delicious. Of course the chances of anything going wrong are negligible if you go to a reputable restaurant that specializes in fugu so I wasn't very concerned about the dangers. After our luch of blowfish, we crossed into the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, Kyushu, and turned East towards a well known hot spring resort called Yuhuin. If you are starting to get the impression that we enjoy hot springs (and ramen), you're absolutely right! The little ryokan (Japanese inn) at which we stayed in Yufuin was called Mebaeso and it was a very charming little place. Soon after arriving, we took a dip in the hot spring baths and then enjoyed a wonderful dinner before heading back to the baths for one more soak before turning in for the night.
Day 9 (January 26, 2002) - Today we spent most of the day just riding the train back to Tokyo; about 9 hours altogether. After an early breakfast at Mebaeso we hopped on the train and headed west again back toward Hakata. Hakata is, of course, famous for its ramen and, Ikuko being the ramen freak that she is, you can bet that she had a lunch break at a well-known Hakata ramen restaurant scheduled for us. The restaurant was Ippudo and it was fantastic stuff. After lunch it was back to the trains and a very long trip north and east back to Tokyo. We finally arrived in Chiba (where Ikuko's sister lives) at about 7:30 p.m. We stayed up late packing for the trip home, goofing off with the kids, and having fun visiting with Ikuko's sister and her husband.
Day 10 (January 27, 2002) - Well, it was another fun trip but all good things must come to an end. Our plane didn't leave until 6 p.m. which gave us a great chance to do some last minute shopping with Ikuko's sister's family. First we grabbed some lunch at, believe it or not, another ramen restaurant. Ikuko just can't get enough ramen! After lunch we bought more stuff than we had room for in our suitcase and stopped back at Ikuko's siter's house to load up everything and head for the airport. The flight home was shorter than the flight to Japan - about 8 and a half hours - so it seemed like we were home in no time. It was a fantastic trip and we look forward to doing it again soon!