In the Shade of Cherry Blossoms…

...we had a wonderful and unforgettable honeymoon! When Luigi suggested Japan as a destination I was a bit puzzled; in my childhood dreams I imagined my honeymoon in the shade of palm trees on some Caribbean beach but I admit I was thoroughly won over and we could not have chosen a better country! On our own we booked the return flight Rome-Tokyo, while for the travel itinerary we relied on Jalpak in Rome which also took care of all the hotel bookings.

The itinerary was this: departure 8 April from Rome and arrival in Tokyo on the 9th, from the 12th to the 14th Hakone – Takayama, from the 16th to the 18th Shirakawago – Kanazawa, from the 18th to the 21st Kyoto then on the 22nd Hiroshima, on the 23rd and 24th the beautiful island of Miyajima and finally back to Tokyo where we stayed until 30 April (the departure date) except for the 26th when we moved to Nikko where we slept one night, plus day trips to Nara and Yokohama. The climate is similar to ours but the best period to visit Japan I think is certainly April/May… the period of the 'hanami'... the Japanese custom of contemplating the spring flowering of the cherry trees which are of a spectacular beauty!! I admit we suffered a bit from the heat (except two stormy days) and I don't dare think what levels the humidity reaches in July or August.

At first impact the cities are not the best… chaotic metropolises with tall buildings, narrow and very close to each other… practically many balconies look onto the interior of the home in the building next door..a sadness! On the one hand there is a country projected into the future where everyone always holds a mobile phone or the inevitable iPod, the high-speed 'shinkansen' trains that take you anywhere, skyscrapers lit from morning to night with scrolling signs or mega screens projecting adverts, practically an open-air comic… on the other hand, however, there is a country deeply tied to Japanese tradition.

You go back centuries in front of imposing Shinto temples, red wooden or stone torii, immaculately kept zen gardens or bamboo forests, ancient merchants' houses, sake cellars and you expect to meet a geisha (spotted one!) or a samurai at any moment! The trip was undoubtedly demanding but well organised and we managed to see a lot... thanks also to the 21-day Japan Rail Pass (there is also a 7 and 14-day one) which I strongly recommend getting because it is extremely good value and indispensable. It is the pass for the JR (Japanese railway network), purchasable only outside Japan and to be validated on site, and it guarantees travel on the spectacular shinkansen that cover the whole territory, on local JR trains and, in Tokyo, use of the Yamanote line (a circular line that touches all the points of interest).

With a good guide you get your bearings well but you always need to fix landmarks because, especially in the big stations (practically cities within cities), it is easy to get lost. English is spoken poorly but honestly the Japanese people we met didn't speak it very well either, although they did everything to make themselves understood in order to help us! Wherever you go it is a chorus of "Ashimase!" and bows (it is their welcome), the girls are very beautiful and have turned the leg warmer into a fashion, you see them around either fully made up from head to toe or dressed in elegant kimonos or like a cartoon..legendary!! The food was the sore point...

I, who have no problems and even eat stones, lost only a kilo, Luigi as much as 5!For breakfast there are chains like Starbuck and with 5€ a cappuccino and a cake save your morning, at lunch we managed by buying the ingredients for sandwiches, fruit or sweets at the supermarket chains Familymart or Lawson which you find on every street corner as well as the drinks machines with the inevitable green tea. For dinner we got by with a pizza (you have to go to Tokyo - Roppongi Midtown - to the legendary Neapolitan pizzeria 'Napule' of the Japanese 'pizzaiolo' who has won the award for best pizza since 2006 and you will also meet the legendary Antonio from Naples who made us feel all the Italian warmth!) or the very good grilled Kobe beef or some indecipherable broth.

The impact with sushi was not very positive but it is certainly worth trying, as are miso or soba, buckwheat noodles cold or in hot broth accompanied by fish or vegetable tempura. Few restaurants have the menu in English but in any case you find either fake reproductions of the dishes or photos. We stayed in 3-star hotels at an average price of 120€ a night without breakfast (better not to have it in the hotel... too expensive!) honestly separate beds are better because the double is as big as a single! The bathrooms are tiny but functional... the toilet is legendary...heated seat with all little buttons to wash and flush. Linen changed every day, free internet connection in the room if you had a personal computer, otherwise many hotels charge 100 yen for 10 minutes.

Although the hotels were all near the main stations I must say we always were comfortable, they are safe cities and in the evening you walk around without worry. Speaking of stations...they close around midnight and so from eleven in the evening onwards it is a frenzy of people rushing for the train carriage! In enchanting Miyajima we slept in a ryokan...the typical traditional Japanese structures with tatami on the floor, rice-paper walls...they are truly beautiful but a bit too expensive.

They are also equipped with onsen..public thermal baths...an experience to have but you need to follow some rules and be careful with the temperature! They are separated between men and women, since you are naked you can go directly dressed in the yukata (a cotton robe you find in every hotel/ryokan you go to!), you shower before entering and then you immerse yourself in this boiling water!!More than ten minutes you can't stand it!! All in all definitely a great trip...

Japan has so many, many beauties to discover...even walking through the little alleys of the cities is interesting...a truly unique culture and people and in any case there really are a lot of Japanese people!!!All tidy, the same and precise...even too much...and wherever you go everything is spotless..on the street smoking is forbidden (except in the smoking areas where you see dozens of 'smoking' people near a single ashtray) and you don't find a single piece of paper on the ground even though there are no rubbish bins! Businessmen all have their nice suit jacket and trousers and the inevitable briefcase, students all in uniform...Too perfect...and maybe it's all an appearance since in the evening these perfect businessmen and many girls walk staggering from too much alcohol!