The Inkling Volume 3

Mrs morson does
\Japan
As many of my colleagues and students know, I dislike Christmas (apart from its culinary delights), I adore travelling, I like
things that work as they should, and I absolutely love food. Going to Japan for two weeks at Christmas seemed, therefore,
like the perfect destination for a complete getaway.
Arriving at Narita Airport in Tokyo at 10am, after a 12 hour flight, on Friday 22 nd December, I was delighted by the distinct lack
of any tinny Christmas jingles and twinkling fairy lights. Having smugly navigated our way to Shinjuku Station (the world’s
busiest transport hub), booked all our reservations for the train journeys over the coming days and practised some of my
Japanese, we were confident the way to the accommodation would prove equally stress-free.
Alas, no.
Words cannot describe the sprawling behemoth that is Shinjuku station. It boasts over 200 exits and is used by more than 4
million people each day. A dozen or so exits and a few cross words later, we finally managed to dump our bags, eager for the
culinary adventures Tokyo’s Friday night had in store. In fact, much of the trip was planned with food in mind. Some of the
more adventurous of Tokyo’s offerings throughout our initial two-day stay included: yellow fin tuna neck, salmon belly, whale
meat sashimi (I avoided this entirely) and fugu (the potentially poisonous fish unless it’s prepared by a very well-trained
chef). It was a little disappointing in its exoticism: it tasted just like scampi.
After two days of eating our way round Tokyo, we boarded the much-anticipated Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Japan’s
cultural capital: Kyoto.
Miss Muir had visited Japan a couple of years ago and she recommended the must-see sights around this magical city.
Dotted around the city are numerous Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, lending it a much calmer, more reflective
atmosphere than the frenetic Tokyo.
On Christmas Day we visited the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine (dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice), and walked the 4
kilometres or so through the mountain path lined with thousands of bright orange torii (gates): a very tiring but incredibly
worthwhile hike! Another Kyoto highlight was travelling to Arashiyama (another gruelling mountain climb) where we had the
chance to feed wild monkeys: this was a little daunting given my experience with a particularly aggressive wild deer on a day
trip to Nara a couple of days earlier…
Kyoto proved the perfect base for travelling to Osaka – think Times Square crossed with Piccadilly Circus – and Nara – home
to the world’s biggest Buddha and some pretty fearless deer. In Nara, around 1000 deer roam free in the parks surrounding
the city and they are famous for bowing. This had to be seen to be believed. I bought some of the special deer biscuits,
excited to witness this spectacle. Turns out, the reason they bow is because they want their food, and as I found out, if they
don’t get their food quick enough, those with antlers can turn nasty. One particularly hangry deer spotted my biscuit (it didn’t
even bow) and chased after me, antlers-first. Screaming, I dropped the biscuit and ran, much to the amusement of my
husband. Despite this, Nara was the highlight of the trip for me.
After a stay in the ‘Japanese Alps’ we headed back to Tokyo for NYE, as
home time loomed ever closer. The end of our trip was quite calm as much
of Japan shuts down for New Year, a time when people return to their home
towns, spend time with family and welcome in the New Year with midnight
visits to shrines and temples. We did, befittingly, end the trip in the way it
started with some of the best cuisine Japan has to offer. We might not have
had roast turkey and all the trimmings, but the sushi was a pretty good
substitute.