Land Of The Rising Sun In 48 Hours

The day after returning from Penang, I joined Nuch's flight to Japan. Except for my trip home in April, this will be my last trip in a while as it's time to get back to work.

We left around 10 pm Bangkok time and arrived around 6am Japan time, where we were the first to greet the rising sun.



We stayed at the Narita View Hotel, which is close to the airport and convenient for flight crews who have no need to go to downtown Tokyo. Fortunately, there's a small town not far from the hotel that can give you a quick taste of life in Japan outside the city. It's also the home of the Naritasan Temple.



Nuch waiting for the bus to Naritasan Temple.


The town is filled with small gift shops and places to eat.

Although restaurants have menus, most of them have plastic displays in the window.

I knew that Hello Kitty was big in Japan, but Hello Kitty Bananas??

On my list of things to do was eat some genuine Japanese noodles. So, that was our first stop.

We also tried some Octopus Balls as an appetizer. We weren't expecting much - just a unique snack that we couldn't find in Thailand, but what we got was a little more than we expected. The way Octopi are prepared makes them appear alive on the hot pan.



To finish our meal, and warm me up on a cold day, we stopped by a Saki Bar. I know it sounds cliche, but Saki just tastes better in Japan. (that's a joke, btw)

After warming up with some Saki, we headed towards Naritasan Temple. Nuch had been here before, so she was my tour guide. This temple is very famous.


Here is the entrance to the temple.

Here is Nuch in front of the main temple. Inside is Japan's equivalent to Thailand's Emerald Buddha. We couldn't take pictures, but once inside you had a chance to say a prayer and make donations for good luck - a theme that popped up everywhere inside Naritasan Temple.

Outside the main temple was this board with small wooden blocks hung on it. Each with a handwritten message. I'm told it's for good luck and good Karma.

This was taken just inside the Temple Entrance. Nuch is standing next to giant pot where incense is burning. The smoke billowing out is supposed to be lucky. To ensure good luck for yourself, stand next to it and use your hands to waft the smoke into your face. Don't inhale too much.

Also, at the entrance is the good luck holy water that you poor on your hands.

The holy water spouts from the mouth of this small stone-carved dragon. The engraving to the says "Hot Dog" - the literal translation of 'Dragon' into English??

Just when I thought there's no way to be more lucky, we came across the lucky turtles. Here you make a wish and then toss some coins onto the rocks where the turtles are sunning themselves.

With all the good luck we'll need for a while, we headed to the temple gardens. Unfortunately, the last days of winter were still with us and the Sagura trees had yet to blossom. That being said the leafless trees and rock-garden monuments made for a peaceful late winter's walk.

And that was about it. For dinner we ate at the hotel where I had cream of corn soup and some lasagna. Once again, with Nuch's short layer over there was not time to do much. 1 day is enough to get a taste, but not nearly enough to fill your appetite. I did enjoy the cool weather - about 40 F, and it was interesting to see the organization and attention to detail in all aspects of Japanese life. This may be best personified in their toilets.

Remote-controlled bidets where you can adjust both temperature and water pressure. What more can a man ask for?