Thursday, October 1.
Flight to Dubai. Moved in at N.K.'s place
Friday, October 2.
N.K. Gave me a city tour this morning. That took place in his Porsche on four track highways in between the high-rise buildings.
We went to the Palm peninsula. (Palm Jumeira) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Jumeirah
We passed the highest building in the world, Burj Khalifa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa
We saw the only seven-star hotel in the world: Burj-el-Arab. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Al_Arab
Later in the afternoon I went on a Desert Safari alone. First, we had a race on the sand dunes with four track vehicles. Later we entered a nature reserve where we saw Oryx antelopes. Finally, a barbecue dinner was served at a Bedouin camp.
Saturday, October 3.
We went to Abu Dhabi, which is the Capital of the United Arab Emirates.
We were there to see the Grand Sheikh Zayed Mosque.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Zayed_Mosque
My flight to Japan departed 02:00 Sunday morning.
Sunday, October 4
Landed late at Tokyo Narita airport. There was nobody to pick me up despite the promise of free transfer. Before I finally reached my hotel the remainder of the group had left for a welcome dinner.
Monday, October 5
Met with the group at breakfast. This day was scheduled for sightseeing in Tokyo.
The first place was the Asakusa Kannon temple (Senso ji) located in the neighborhood of our hotel. It is supposedly the oldest temple in the town.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asakusa
Then we sailed down the
Sumida River to the Hamarikyu Garden. Here we ended in a Tea house in the
middle of the garden.
We took the metro to the
Shibuya Cross, and from there we walked through many streets to the Yoyogi
Park. Here ended the official tour and we did find our own way back to the
hotel.
Tuesday, October 6
I went on the excursion
to Kamakura to see the great Buddha Statue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dtoku-in
Rudyard Kipling wrote
about the statue in his poem: The Great Buddha at Kamakura.
http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/buddha_at_kamakura.html
We took the train to
Kita-Kamakura and from there we hiked over the mountain to the shrine.
After the visit, we went
onto the beach before we ate lunch and then, returned to Tokyo.
Wednesday, October 7
We drove in a bus from Tokyo to the shores of Lake Ashino. From there we sailed across the lake to a place where a rope way took to the top of a mountain. Here we had a wonderful view over the lake and to the Mount Fuji.
On our way to our guesthouse we made a stopover at a very old tea house. The guesthouse had hot bath from natural hot springs. We all had a half hour single bath.
The Danish Nobel laureate Johannes V. Jensen (1944) sailed in 1907 close to Japan. From the ship he saw Mount Fuji and it inspired him to write the essay Fusijama.
http://www.ponty.dk/fujiyama.htm (danish)
Thursday, October 8
We went by bus to the Odawara train station, and from there we took the Bullet Train Shinkansen to Kyoto. We were sightseeing in this city for the rest of the day.
First, we visited the Buddhist Temple Kenin ji.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennin-ji
Here you find two famous
paintings of Rajin the god of thunder and Fujin the god of the winds.
Then we visited the
Geisha temple near the Geisha quarter Gijon. Later in the day we went on a tour
in the Gijon quarter with the local guide Peter Mackintosh. We had dinner in a
traditional Japanese restaurant. Peter Mackintosh returned after dinner with a
Geisha and she were dancing for us.
Friday, October 9
This day were reserved for sightseeing in Kyoto with a local Japanese guide.
The first stop was the Nijo Castle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nijō_Castle
The second stop was
Ryoanji temple and Zen garden.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryōan-ji
The third step was the
Golden Temple Rokuon ji
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkaku-ji
The fourth step was the
Bamboo Forest (Arshiyama) outside town.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arashiyama
We did not get across
the river. On the other side there should be a flock of monkeys.
Saturday October 10 (my
birthday)
This day was free
without any preplanned tours. I spent most of the day in the Imperial Garden
which surrounds the Imperial Palace. In a corner of the garden was an old
historic tea house. There was an admission fee but no service of tea.
In the evening we went
first on a bar and then onto a restaurant. They sang the birthday song for me
and I received two gifts. A candy box and a bottle of Sake.
Sunday October 11
We went up very early in
order to catch shinkansen to Hiroshima. Today Hiroshima is a modern city. The
only place worth seeing is the Peace Memorial Park and the Museum. We were
there for close to five hours. Then we took the shinkansen to Nagasaki.
The Children’s Monument
Here is always origami
folded Paper Cranes made by children and sent to this monument.
The Crane is a symbol of
peace.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Peace_Monument
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_and_the_Thousand_Paper_Cranes
The Museum
Among other displays in
the museum is a fraction of a wall with an imprint of a human being destroyed
during the bombing: The shadow on the wall.
Near the Museum is a
small grove of trees. They are all offshoots from a tree that survived the
bomb.
The Dome
Most of the buildings in
Hiroshima was built of wood. They were all destroyed completely. One building
(with a dome) made of stone is raising as a ruin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial
Monday October 12
This day was reserved
for sightseeing in Nagasaki. Her is more to see than there was in Hiroshima.
We started visiting the
Dutch trading post called Dejima. European traders were limited to this small
island. They could not get into the country during the Edo period. Dejima lies
today at a distance from the harbour waterfront.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dejima
The next visit was
Glover Garden. It lies on a mountain slope with a wonderful view over the
harbour. In the garden you find, among other things, the house of Madame
Butterfly. Nearby is two statues. The first is of the composer Giacomo Puccini,
the second of Miura Tamaki in the role of Madame Butterfly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glover_Garden
We had lunch in
Chinatown afterwards and the official tour ended here. The afternoon was free.
I went alone to see the Atomic Bomb epicenter. It lies in a small park. Nearby
is a greater Peace Memorial Park.
Tuesday October 13
We went by train from
Nagasaki to Sasebo. From the station we walked down to the harbour and to a
boat which took us to Hirado. It is a small island northwest of Nagasaki. We
landed in a small harbour on the west coast of the island. We were met here by
our local guide. On our way to the Japanese guest house we visited first Hoki
catholic church and later the Christian museum. Here is a greater concentration
of Christians than there are in the rest of the country.
Our Guest house was
equipped with hot baths like the ones we experienced in Hakone. We all had a
hot bath before we met for dinner dressed in kimonos.
Wednesday October 14
This day was reserved
for sightseeing on Hirado and the lesser island Ikitsuki connected by a bridge.
We started on the lookout point Kawachi Pass. Then we went to the Obae
lighthouse with a view over the Shiodawara cliffs. We crossed the bridge to
Ikitsuki and visited the Whale museum. We ended in Hirado City where we visited
the castle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirado_Castle
The very last visit was
on a Sake factory where we could taste samples.
Thursday October 15
We left Hirado and drove
to a small harbour near Kujukushima. This is an archipelago of small islands
also called the ninety-nine islands. We sailed between the islands for an hour,
and then we drove to Sasebo. From there we took the train to Fukuoka.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kujūku_Islands
The afternoon was free,
and I went to the Shofuku-ji temple which is the oldest Zen temple in Japan. In
the evening we had a farewell dinner in an open air restaurant close to the
river.
Friday October 16
The Japan visit had
ended, and I took a flight to Tokyo. Here I waited 7 hours on my plane to
Dubai.
Saturday October 17
Landed 04:45 in Dubai
Airport.
I spent the rest of the
day in the old city where you find all the souk's. I bought Christmas gifts
there.
Sunday October 18
I went to see the
museum, and I had time to buy more gifts.
Monday October 19
Returned to Denmark.