Day 2 - June 25 - Kauai

We took a boat tour to see the Napali coast from sea.  We met in the tour office to get registered first thing in the morning at 7:00 am.  There were 14 people in the group and all of them were from various cities in the States, except the two of us.  We were given a small dry bag to store all of the belongings that we do not want to get wet.

We boarded the zodiac boat, sitting on the rim inside the boat, without backing, and had to tug our feet under a rope and hold onto the rope along the seating, to ensure that we would not tumble into the ocean during the high-speed cruise. We were warned numerous times that we would get wet and were told to dress accordingly.

The view of the Napali coast was absolutely stunning.  Some of the cliffs were over 3000 feet tall and were just one steep sharp drop off from the top to the sea level, as if someone had used a very sharp axe and chopped the face of the mountains off.  We saw mountains and valleys created from ancient volcanic activities that have now been heavily eroded, resulting in many sharp ridges and deep gullies.  There are waterfalls everywhere as well as numerous sea caves.  A big school of dolphins swam next to our boat and all of us got so excited from the sighting.  We tried to take some pictures but was impossible due to rocking movement of the boat as well as our seating positions which were partially blocked by the top cover of the boat. One thing we did learn about dolphins is that they mate whole day and every waking moment of their life. Given that a dolphin pod consists of one male and many females, I think being a male dolphin is either the best blessing or the worst curse!

The boat dropped us off at a secluded bay to snorkel for about an hour. We brought our prescription goggles so that we could see the fish.  The bay was deeper than the beaches we had been snorkeled before but it came with many different types of fish, many were quite big in size.  The boat tour also included a simple sandwich and a bottte of water. The nourishments were well appreciated after the exciting early morning activities without adequate time for breakfast.

We went back to our hotel to refresh and rest a bit before driving to the Hanalei Bay for dinner.  Along the way, we also visited the Kilauea lighthouse, the most northern point of the Hawaiian archipelago. To our disappointment, the Hanalei Bay area was less equipped than expected and only had a few restaurants.

The hotel offered a compliment cocktail drink. We took advantage of the offer and sat in the courtyard restaurant to enjoy some singing and music from a local musician.  Quite a relaxing night!

We ended the day, Kauai style, watching the starry night by the beach and listening to the wave crashing onto the shore.  We even caught a glimpse of a shooting star!

Day 1 - June 24 - Kauai

After landed in Honolulu at night and stayed at a hotel close to the airport, we flew to Kauai next day in the early morning to start the four day adventures on the last major Hawaiian island that we haven't visited. 

The once a week Farmers' Market was a must do thing and we happened to arrive just when it was about to open.  By the time we got there, we're surprised that many people (locals and tourists) were already waiting under a tent, with bags in hand and ready to rush to their favourite spots to grab the freshest produce, fruit, baked goods, and other local products.  I had never seen so many people eagerly waiting for Farmers' Market to open.

We wanted to buy some papayas and other local tropical fruits. The papayas were tree riped and golden looking. We also got some local grown longan as well as Mountain Apples (蓮霧) and bananas.  All of them were incredibly fresh, sweet and ripe, like honey, particularly for the papayas.

We dropped off our luggage at Marriott Resort hotel and then immediately drove to the Napali Coast.  There were a number of trails for hikers, from 2 miles to 14 miles.  We chose the shortest, called Kakalau trail, as we wanted to come back before sunset to do some snorkeling at the Ke'e beach.

Parking was a nightmare - very limited spaces available at the parking lot.  Many cars had to park on the side of the road while police was having a field day in giving out parking tickets.  All cars parked on the road side must be off the pavement or else a ticket would be waiting for you at the end of the day.  The officer had no empathy - ticket was issued even if the tires were only slightly touching the pavement.  We ended up finding a parking spot that was almost in the next town and had to walk back very far to start our hike.

The hike was moderately challenging.  It was uphill climbing immediately and then up and down along the way.  The trail was slippery at times due to wet ground from the rain.  Our goal was to reach the first beach at the end of the first hiking section, for about 2 miles.  However, we had about another 30 minutes to hike and decided to turn back as time was running short and Richard really wanted to do the snorkeling.

As if to make it up for our far far away parking, we managed to find a parking spot that was next to the shower and only few steps from the beach for our snorkeling session.  We saw many different types of fish and did not have to swim far to do that. 

It was a very long day and we squeezed in many activities.  Another prime example of Commander Wu's travel itinerary.

Day 17 - Tokyo

We went back to the Tsujiki fish market to sample the various local delicacies.  This was our 3rd time there and it's partly due to Mei who joined us two days later did not have the opportunity to visit the market yet.  However, some of our favourites (e.g., gigantic scallops with sea urchin on top or fresh salmon sashimi) were sold out by the time we got there.

After a delicious sushi lunch at the fish market, we went back to the hotel to retrieve our luggage and took the local express train to Narita airport. Much more economical choice compared to the JR Narita Express or the Airport Limousine bus.  Richard has become an expert in local subway and train network system now towards the end of our trip.

Richard wanted to check out the ANA lounge at the airport and he was not disappointed.  It offered made to order soba or udon noodles along with sushi and stir-fried noodles.  He was also impressed by the Kirin beer - 4 dedicated machines for the draft beer. 

The flight home was much shorter than expected - took only 8 hours!  Definitely worth another visit to Japan!

Reflections:

The top things I liked about this trip:

1) Cleanliness of the country
2) Shinkansen and the punctuality of the train system in general
3) Food and the freshness of sushi and sashimi
4) Hotels Richard picked and the amenities they provided
5) Surprisingly, two items on top of our best food experience are also a bargain compared to North America: the fluffy light cheese cake only available in Osaka and the frozen premium ice cream bars from local supermarkets
6) Onsen in the sea at Yukashima and foot onsen on Sakurajima island

7) More take in the views and less take pictures to immerse into the culture and experiences

Things that were disappointing about this trip:

1) No garbage bin on streets
2) Smoking still allowed in restaurants and hotels
3) Too touristy in Osaka and Tokyo areas
4) Living standards too high - aka things too expensive
5) Terrible toilet paper (so weak that it disintegrates in your hands - bad!) but super strong food napkin paper (so strong that it absorbs neither water nor grease)!

6) Kobe - expensive hotels, people smoking everywhere, dirty (!) and first time seeing garbage on the streets in Japan and some local pedestrians not obeying traffic signals!

Day 16 - Tokyo

After many days, we were back to Tokyo to stay overnight and fly back home tomorrow evening. The Gate hotel is centrally located in the Asakusa area with a great view to the Tokyo Skytree.  Richard experienced the very complicated subway system in Tokyo this afternoon when we had to switch from the Shinkansen to the local subway to get to our hotel. Despite getting to the right station, we were told that the tickets we got from the machine were from a different company. Apparently, the four subway lines that served this station are operated by two different companies.  It was a good thing they refunded the money for us to buy the right ones.  It was unfortunate that different subway lines are operated independently by different companies and they are not generally interchangeable unless you have a pass. Very confusing, especially for tourists.

Since we arrived in Tokyo earlier than planned, we decided to check out the Ramen museum in Yokohama.  This museum is totally different than what I had expected. It was more of a tourists trap than a museum. The setting was a replica of the early eras of 50's or 60's but the focus was on selling different types of ramen noodles.  We tried one that featured tuna fish.  The soup was very tasty.

Our hotel is just across from the popular Kaminarimon area with many shops and restaurants to trap tourists' dollars.  We settled for a place which offered a bento box dinner with tempura, BBQ eel, and sashimi.  Quite an assortment!

Day 15 - Kyoto

The Kyoto City transit offers a day pass for bus or subway for 500 yen.  We took advantage of the offer and used the bus to tour various parts of the city and shopping districts.

The Gion area is well known for its preservation of the traditional Japanese style housing and viewing geisha.  Nowadays, much of the area has been converted into commercial businesses attracting tourists' dollars.  We were there too early in the morning before the shops and restaurants opened, but we saw two geisha walked by.

The Kinkakuji Temple is known as the golden temple.  The entire temple is beautifully arranged and well laid out with the typical Japanese style garden.  It's the best we had seen in Japan so far.

We finally had a chance to try the Conveyor Belt sushi.  Last time in Osaka, the line up was ridiculously long.  The one here in Kyoto has multiple floors.  We were a bit confused initially as no one explained the logistics.  We also missed some selections as we didn't know that there were more pages on the menu.  The prices were very reasonable (108 -  198 yens per order, with one or two pieces of nigiri). The quality was also quite good.  This completes the list of different kinds of food we want to try for this trip!

Day 14 - Kyoto

The Torii tunnel at Fushimi Inari Taisha was just as I had imagined it to be but much longer.  We only hiked up to the mid loop and decided to turn around as we had a full day of activities ahead.  Richard was extremely happy to see his given name (納) written on every Torii gate!

The path leading to the Todaiji Temple in Nara was full of deers and these creatures were trained to sniff food from tourists.  They would bow their head and expect a reward.  At such a time, tourists would feed them a waffle cracker.  Sometime, they may get frustrated for not getting the goodies and snatch whatever is in the trust's hands, including maps and eat it.  They would fight with you if you try to stop them from chewing the paper. 

The Todaiji Temple houses the Great Buddha and it is considered as one of their treasures in Japan.  It was initially built in the Mara (710-794 AD) but had been rebuilt a number of times due to fire and other natural disasters.  The current structure is 1/3 smaller than the original.

We visited the Bamboo Path near Arashiyama in the late afternoon but it was a disappointment as the area was not as scenic nor as peaceful as we expected. We left shortly after and took the Shinkansen back to Osaka (the journey only takes 12 mins) just to buy the cheese cake that was so yummy that we had to try it for the last time.  The cake was freshly baked and we literally devoured the entire cake in a matter of minutes before looking for a place for dinner.  We finally settled for a restaurant that specialized on cold soba noodles.  It was really good.