Seki and Shizuoka

2nd last day of the tour.

Breakfast featured sukiyaki: a little hot pot of local beef pieces which you cooked over a flame with tofu and spring onion and some yummy something added.

I walked to Hida Kokubunji temple not far from the hotel before the bus departed. The tree colours are gorgeous. 

I thought this was cute:

We only have one thing on the itinerary today: a demonstration at a Samurai sword blacksmith.

We travel along enjoying incredible autumn colours and views to the snow and a big ski area - it is a clear day!

More tunnels. Apparently Japan has over 10000 road tunnels.

Seki is halfway between Takayama & Nagoya – near where we started our Nakasendō walk – and is famous for producing prized swords; the samurai would get their trusty blades made by master swordsmiths, all beautifully crafted with intricate designs.

The samurai (or bushi) were the warriors of pre-modern Japan. They later made up the ruling military class which eventually became the highest ranking social caste of the Edo Period (1603-1868). Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns, but their main weapon and symbol was the sword.

Photo of the sensei (teacher): a proud man carrying on a long family tradition; he had an apprentice ‘in hand’.

Toyotomi pear: I saw this at one of the rest stops. And a lovely hibiscus rose.

Watched a DVD of ‘Lost in Translation’ on the long drive to Shizuoka. I saw this years ago (I was shocked when MF-san said it was over 20 years ago). I remember loving the film and I just loved all the Japanese-isms that the film shows and which we’ve experienced: “l” instead of “r”; the omikuji (fortune slips) or pieces of paper that visitors tie to a dedicated rack or a tree branch outside shrines; the politeness; the long, long garble of undecipherable words when only a few English ones will suffice; whisky and beer; machines whose instructions you can’t make head or tail of; crazy music and stunts; cute stuff; small bathrooms.

Surprisingly we were in by about 4 pm. We headed out straight away as there was still light and I was determined to find something memorable about Shizuoka.

There were no clues forthcoming from our guide so I Googled and saw that there was a shrine not far away. 

Now, I didn’t necessarily want to see another shrine but I thought we could aim for that and see where the journey would take us.

Well, would you believe: we came across a canal that circumnavigated a huge parkland. 

The sun was setting and the light was lovely. 13 deg C tonight.

As is often the case, there are interesting things to see when you get off the beaten track: a dedicated coffee maker ($A15 a cup! - pass!!); in the parkland was a gathering of locals with lit lanterns getting ready to launch them; and the canal was a moat to the Sumpu Castle.

The castle features what are known as ‘death-box’ gates because attackers entering the courtyard would be decimated by gun and arrow fire from all four walls.

It was all wonderful and such a surprise seeing as we had started off with no fixed agenda.

We arrived back in time for Happy Hour and the group had a happy time with a drink (one per person permitted) plus a bowl of curried meat balls and rice; and icecream - all free!

We enjoyed chatting and afterwards had our (last) onsen; we decided we’d had enough to eat so passed on dining out tonight.

Walked 8 kms.