By Otsuki
Kyoto temple stay - highlight of our trip
My husband and I stayed at a temple on a hill overlooking Kyoto two weeks ago. It was the most memorable experience of our 16 days in Japan. I highly recommend anyone seeking the experience of staying at a temple to go there. Our room looked out at Kyoto and the mountains. In the early morning, I heard the deep ring of a temple bell ring. The temple provided a Japanese breakfast which was prepared by the wife of the head priest, Rev. Yuasa and it was delicious and lovingly prepared. Prayers were at 7 AM. The walk down to the main street from the temple is picturesque. We saw two women dressed in kimonos walking up to the temples. Mrs. Yuasa speaks English and reservations can be made by calling her at: 075-561-8781. The name of the temple is: Hiden-In. Location is in the Sennryuji complex in Kyoto.
Matsushima highly recommended
I had no idea that viewing the islands of Matsushima would be so beautiful from reading the guide books. I went there because I was looking for family records of my great grandfater who was born in Sendai. Basho, the Buddhist haiku poet wrote about Matsushima and it is still very beautiful. We stayed at Hotel Matsuhima Taikanso which has the best view of the islands and is well worth the price. We had a panoramic view from our room which was Western and Japanese style with modern interiors. The hotel sits on a hill removed from the noise and traffic of the town below. Matsuhima is where the older Japanese go because it is one of the three most famous views in Japan. The oysters are famous and I have never tasted such sweet, suculent oysters before. Seafood is the speciality in Matsushima and there are restaurants that specialize in oysters prepared in many different ways. I liked the raw oysters. The Shinkansen from Tokyo to Sendai is about two hours and then you transfer to the local train to Matsushima which is about a 40 minute ride to the train station close to the bay. There are boat tours of the islands and a beautiful zen temple as well as a museum of the samurai Date clan in the town. The hotel has a website: www.taikanso.co.jp. I think it is under rated by American guide books. The Japanese restaurants in the hotel are first rate and serve Sendai regional food.
Outstanding service JR rail pass
We bought the JR 14 day Shinkansen Green rail pass and it was fantastic. We travelled on the trains from Tokyo to Aizu-Wakamatsu, Nakasendo - town of Tsumago, Matsushima in Sendai, Niigata and Kyoto, Nara over a period of 14 days with smooth, efficient and outstanding service. The Shinkansen trains are very comfortable, very clean and very fast. It was my first experience on the Shinkansen and now I understand why it is the best way to travel in Japan. All of our reservations were made when we first arived in Tokyo at the JR ticket office in the Shinjiku Station. The agent who made all of our reservations was first rate and knew how to schedule our trip. She also made our hotel reservations and so all we had to do is get to the train station with our tickets. She gave us all the train schedules of the trains we would take. I don't think that American travellers know about using the JR travel office for their train and hotel reservations. Especially making hotel reservations from the US is frustrating if you want a quick response. The JR travel office has direct access to the reservation system and so it is the easiest way for tourists to arrange both train and hotel reservations. The only down side of the JR system is the lack of English language train schedules for travellers. Any of the JR rail passes are an outstanding deal.
