Wednesday 12 October 2011

Item 99: Ryokan

Ryokan Japan
Location: Wakayama, Japan 

To balance out the hustle of the city, I toured down Shirahama seaside to stay at a Ryokan -a traditional Japanese style B&B. I'm not really a spa girl myself, but having enjoyed the blue lagoon this year I was open to a bit of relaxation and the hotel offered 'round the clock access to it's private onsen spas.

I was escorted to my room where I took off my shoes and opened the sliding doors to the tatami-matted room set up with a low table and tea.

Having done a little bit of research on the onsen etiquette I was quite hesitant to head straight to the spa. I spent the afternoon watching people in the hotel wander around in slippers and yukata, hung out on the balcony to view the panorama, enjoyed a traditional dinner and hydrated in preparation of the hot-spring water.

Finally having stalled as much as I could, I went and changed into the hotel provided yukata and headed to the ladies onsen. The spas are segregated between male and female, mainly due to the reason I'd been avoiding them- you have to bath naked! I left my slippers at the entrance of the spa, chose a basket amongst the shelves in the changing room to place my belongings and then measured up the hotel provided flannel to assess which part of my body to cover. As fast as I could, I stripped down to bare all and raced to the to an open cubicle furthest from any other guests without looking left or right to shower off.

Washed down, I headed to the closest of three pools and into the 40 degree water. Hot hot hot, especially when there's no time to dip in-and-out to acclimatise to the temperature and all you have is a tiny towel behind which to hide.

Realising no one was looking, comfort began to settle in as I relaxed in the water. That was for about two minutes. 

Then I got bored.

For one, if you're in a communal bath, you don't really want to be sitting close enough to your neighbour for common chit-chat. And the temperature is actually quite high to be sweating in for an extended time, even if you hop between pools. 

I called it quits after 15 minutes. My body was revitalised (enough), by the waters and it was back to my room which had been set up with a futon for a good night's rest while I'd been away.

Item 99: Ryokan? CHECK!

Saturday 8 October 2011

Item 98: Dotonbori - Osaka

Dotonbori Glico Man
Location: Dotonbori, Osaka, Japan

Dotonbori is busy with tourists and lined with eateries including street vendours selling takoyaki (octopus balls), and the infamous fugu which is easily identified by a giant puffer fish suspended in the air. 

Visiting this area last week, memories of my visit to Japan in 1999 were recalled.  Along the Ebisubashi bridge suited up men in the midst of winter came up to me and my sister with their business cards each time we crossed. With the language barrier and being our first overseas trip, we weren't really sure what to do. We were young and innocent...and blushed our way past these "suitors".

So this time during my return visit the season was warmer, I thought myself a tad bit more worldly and ready to tackle the bridge. But this time - the men weren't so well dressed and they were handing out leaflets to restaurants! Could I have been so naive to think I was getting lots of expressions of interest back in the day?

Perhaps things have changed in 11 years but I've just done a little search online and the bridge has the nickname of nampa-bashi - "pick-up bridge", so let's leave my younger self to dream a little longer.... 

Item 98: Dotonbori? CHECK!

Friday 7 October 2011

Item 97: Hong Kong - food and markets!!!

Hong Kong Gold Fish Street
Location: Hong Kong 

I finally made it back to visit as was my intention during my last stopover in Hong Kong. Not much more was planned but to eat like a machine and shop like crazy. And that I did.

During the stay, my brunches were filled with dumplings from the dim sum restaurants en-route through the city to the next shopping destination. As I caught up with friends who lived locally and had recently visited Europe, at each meal came the question, 'Why is the food so bad in London?'

Having lived in the UK for the past four years it's still hit-and-miss for me to find a randomly good eatery at a decent price. So unfortunately I had no answer for them, but took their pity as they offered me the last dumpling on the table as I wouldn't "get anything this tasty for much longer".

I also made pit-stops to the fresh fruit markets around Times Square to pick up a pomelo, dragon fruit and guava to add some tropical elements to the holiday diet. This was counterbalanced by the supermarkets that offered peanut butter Oreo's, durian ice-cream, wasabi peas and 'essential Waitrose' (London's home-brand products), that were being sold as high-end British groceries. 

As for the shopping, Hong Kong is filled with many massive malls filled with luxury labels that the population of China's booming economy can't seem to get enough of. Look at the Burberry share price during the current double-dip recession. And then match it to the hoards of day-visitors from the mainland queuing outside the giant LV store. Other malls also have the equivalent high-street brands like Zara, H&M, Uniqlo which for me, are available in London. Consequently the markets took my interest for shopping ventures.

My hotel was based on the Kowloon side of the city this visit. Nice an close to Ladies Market (which sells clothing, not 'ladies'!), where I picked up some standard black leggings for HKD$30 = £2.40! Bargain!! 

The most interesting market during the evening was at Gold Fish Street - lined with pet stores with fish bagged and ready for sale under fluorescent street lights. Tiny turtles for the same price as my leggings were also on offer as were tea-cup dogs for a much higher price, bred no-doubt to fit into the tiny apartments of the bustling city. 

A completely fulfilling visit to the city and please note, no new pets were added to my shopping list.

Item 97: Hong Kong? CHECK