Mongolia & Japan

MONGOLIA & JAPAN SEPTEMBER 1 - 28 2023

 Stu and I were interested in attending a festival in Mongolia where nomadic Kazakh eagle hunters gather and compete in various contests of skill. The festivals are held in September and October in the remote western Altai Mountains region. While the October Golden Eagle Festival is larger, at this altitude it can be bitterly cold in October, so we opted for the Altai Eagle Festival in September, which dictated our travel dates. It’s not possible to fly non-stop from the US to Mongolia. We had considered stopping in Seoul to explore South Korea, but at the time that we booked the flights, SK was requiring Covid testing to board flights, and due to the risk of being quarantined and missing our tour in Mongolia, we decided to connect via Tokyo. As it turned out, the testing requirement was dropped in Korea, but we are always excited to return to Japan. You can also fly to Mongolia via Beijing and more conveniently for Europeans, via Istanbul or Frankfurt. There were so many flight disruptions in recent months that we decided to play it safe and spend 4 days in Tokyo on the way over to make sure that we wouldn’t miss our flight to Ulaanbataar. Then we spent another 8 days in Japan before returning home. While we opted for a small group tour in Mongolia, we traveled on our own in Japan. Mongolia was well worth the effort to reach and we had another marvelous time in Japan.

TOKYO, JAPAN

We flew non-stop to Tokyo Haneda Airport and headed straight to our hotel. We had visited Tokyo before, and we wanted to allow time for any travel delays, so we only had a few things planned. As it turned out the flight went without a hitch and we had plenty of time to relax in our hotel room before dinner. We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental which is conveniently located and offers elegant rooms, outstanding service and excellent dining options. Our room had a breathtaking view of the city and the Sky Tower, and being jet-lagged, we witnessed gorgeous sunrises. On our last morning we even had a view of Mt. Fuji from the breakfast restaurant. We had dinner in the hotel the first night at Tapas Molecular Bar, a gorgeous space with a highly inventive and delicious tasting menu. We especially enjoyed chatting with chef Kento and 4 amiable young South Koreans seated next to us. We had dined here on our last visit to Tokyo and enjoyed it so much that we had to return. We were pleased to find that it still lived up to our high expectations.

The disadvantage of visiting Japan in September is that it can be very hot and humid and the days we were in Tokyo the weather was brutal (October is our favorite month on Honshu). We had expected to just wander around a lot, and though we did walk around some, we tried to spend more time indoors. I had made train reservations online for the second half of our visit and after breakfast we walked over to Tokyo Station to pick up the tickets so we’d be prepared on our return.

After dropping the tickets back at the hotel, we took a taxi to the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Shinjuku-ko, too far to walk even in pleasant weather. It’s very popular, so we had bought timed tickets in advance. We’re huge fans of her work, and while there were some interesting exhibits, we thought the museum was disappointing overall.

The disadvantage of visiting Japan in September is that it can be very hot and humid and the days we were in Tokyo the weather was brutal (October is our favorite month on Honshu). We had expected to just wander around a lot, and though we did walk around some, we tried to spend more time indoors. I had made train reservations online for the second half of our visit and after breakfast we walked over to Tokyo Station to pick up the tickets so we’d be prepared on our return. After dropping the tickets back at the hotel, we took a taxi to the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Shinjuku-ko, too far to walk even in pleasant weather. It’s very popular, so we had bought timed tickets in advance. We’re huge fans of her work, and while there were some interesting exhibits, we thought the museum was disappointing overall. We had never browsed in any of the big department stores in Japan, and the oldest and most prestigious, Mitsukoshi, was just down the block from the hotel, so we decided to have a look. It’s really worth a visit, especially for the areas that sell specialized Japanese wares, such as kimonos, obi and geta. All of the major department stores feature large food courts where you can get hot and cold foods, bento boxes, sweets, pastries and more. It was a food lovers’ paradise! At the urging of a young woman at one counter we sampled amazing dark chocolate from Satie and bought some to take with us. If we’d realized how hard it would be to find elsewhere, we would have gotten more. We picked up small gifts for our guides later in the trip and I bought a couple of Hakuhodo makeup brushes. I had discovered them in Kyoto at their main shop and have been using them ever since, so I was pleased to find them. Service was incredible, you get truly spoiled in Japan.

That evening we dined in the hotel again at their sushi bar, Sushi Shin. It wasn’t the best sushi we’ve had in Japan, but it was still a very good meal.

An advantage of visiting Tokyo in September is the opportunity to visit a sumo stable to view a practice session, which we’d been unable to arrange during our last visit. We booked in advance with Sumo Experience and took a taxi to the stable early in the morning. The practice started at 8 with warm-up exercises and ran until nearly noon. The rank of the wrestlers was signaled by their garments and the higher ranked ones had young apprentices catering to them. The exercises are grueling and the matches require a surprising amount of agility and strategy as well as brute strength. The goal is to push your opponent out of the ring or onto the ground. There was a TV screen above the ring which ran instant replays so the wrestlers could evaluate their performances. It was fascinating and is highly recommended.

We had to leave the hotel too early to have breakfast in the restaurant, so we were served in our room. The choices were limited relative to the bountiful buffet in the restaurant, but still very satisfying.

From the stable I used Uber to summon a taxi and we headed to Roppongi Hills to visit the Mori Art Museum, located in the Mori Tower. There’s an observation deck at the top of the tower, but it was an overcast, day so we didn’t bother checking it out. The collection features modern art and includes luminaries such as Ai Wei Wei, Yayoi Kusama, Tomoko Takahashi, Mariko Mori, Yasumasa Morimura and so much more.

That evening we ventured into the Ginza to try a teppanyaki recommended by the concierge at our hotel. Kaika Teppanyaki is located inside the Barney’s department store so we had to look around for it, and it was worth finding. We’d tried all types of eateries during our last trip but hadn’t gotten to a teppanyaki. We were seated at the counter with the grill embedded in it. They offer different menus and we had ordered in advance, so the waiter took our drink order and the chef started preparing our meal in front of us. His skill was exceptional, so precise, and everything was cooked perfectly from the most delicate seafood to luscious A5 wagyu. It was a very memorable meal.

On our last day in Tokyo we wanted to find a lock for a small foldable bag that we’d brought along, so we walked to Takashimaya. It was still closed, so we continued on to the Ginza just to browse around the shops, and also to locate the restaurant we were going to that evening so we wouldn’t have to search for it later. We found the lock and just cooled off at the hotel the rest of the day. Our final dinner was at Seamon Ginza, a sushi-ya the concierge had booked for us. We ordered the omakase at the counter, which included 5 appetizers, sushi, sashimi and more. It was wonderful!

Our flight to Ulaanbataar was in the afternoon so after a leisurely, extraordinary breakfast we dropped the small foldable bag off with the bell team to send ahead to our hotel in Nagoya. We knew that in Mongolia we wouldn’t need dress clothes, some of the lightweight clothes, nor the gifts we’d purchased, so we decided to leave them in Japan and travel even lighter. Among the things we really appreciate in Japan are the luggage delivery services that allow you to send your bags to your next stop, so you don’t have to carry them around with you. They’re reasonably priced and very convenient, and we knew they were reliable because we used them extensively on our last trip. After our first interaction with the bell team on our arrival, they recognized us and greeted us by name every time afterwards.

Air Mongolia was very comfortable, the flight attendants were attentive and congenial, and the food was actually tasty, so we had a nice flight to Ulaanbataar. It took about 5-1/2 hours, but we gained an hour due to the time zone difference.

TOKYO INFO

MANDARIN ORIENTAL 2-1-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku +81 3 3270 8800 - Very highly recommended

TAPAS MOLECULAR BAR - Very highly recommended

SUSHI SHIN by MIYAKAWA - Not recommended

KAIKA TEPPANYAKI 6-8-7 Ginza Chuo-ku Very highly recommended

SEAMON GINZA Sakaguchi Bldg. 6F, 5-5-13 Very highly recommended

SUMO EXPERIENCE Tatsunami-beya 1 Chome 16-5 Hashiba, Taitou-ku 8 am Very highly recommended

MORI ART MUSEUM Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Minato-ku Daily 10 - 6 Highly recommended

YAYOI KUSAMA MUSEUM 107 Bentencho, Shinjuku-ko Not recommended

MITSUKOSHI 1-4-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku Highly recommended

MONGOLIA

ULANBATAAR.  We arrived at the airport around 7:30 pm and quickly navigated customs and immigration. The Chingghis Khaan (aka Genghis Khan) International Airport is new, modern and well-designed with many automated functions. We had carried our bags on so it didn’t take long to find our driver. Although it was only about 48 km/30 mi. to our hotel, the drive took about an hour and a half. There’s virtually no public transportation aside from buses, and traffic in the city moved at a snail’s pace. The population of Mongolia is just under 3.5 million people, of which about 1.6 million live in the capital. We couldn’t help comparing it to Tokyo, home to over 13.5 million people (over 37 million if you count the urban sprawl), yet we were never stuck in a traffic jam there due to its exceptional mass transit system.

We stayed at the Blue Sky Hotel & Tower, a modern skyscraper shaped like a giant sail, that reminded me of the famous Burj Al Arab in Dubai, though far less opulent. Our room was clean, spacious and comfortable and had all of the modern amenities that we needed, so we were pleased. As it turned out, service at the hotel was somewhat substandard, even if you don’t compare it to Japan, but that was common in Mongolia.

We had booked a two-week tour with Blue Silk Travel. The owner is Mongolian, though she lives in the USA, and they have offices in Ulaanbataar and Shaker Heights, OH. For contingency purposes we had arranged to arrive a day in advance, so we had the next day on our own and were meeting up with the group for dinner that evening. We were scheduled to sightsee with the group in the capital, so we didn’t want to visit too much on our own and generally walked around town taking photos and doing some shopping. Ulaanbataar is a cosmopolitan city with modern architecture and stylish restaurants and cafes. We had to buy a few necessities for the ger camps, so we visited the State Department store. We found what we needed, but the best part of it was a Godiva Cafe with luscious ice cream, good chocolates and very good coffee. Mongolian cashmere is inexpensive for the quality, so we went to the Gobi Cashmere House near our hotel and I bought a couple of sweaters that proved to be very useful once we reached the colder areas of the country. The weather in Ulaanbataar while we were there was quite mild and mostly sunny, though we got some rain later in the trip. We strolled around the main square with the Parliament building, Opera, and monumental statues.

As it turned out, we were supposed to visit the Chingghis Khan Museum (which was high on our list of must-dos) the first day of the tour, a Friday, but the agency rearranged the itinerary and changed that to our final day without realizing that a couple of days before that date the museum would switch to winter hours and was now closed on Tuesdays, the day we were meant to visit. We would have gone there on our free day had we known. We were flying out early the next day so we missed out. It wasn’t the only logistical error they made that was avoidable, plus communication was not always clear, and we weren’t always provided with useful information, so for these reasons, we wouldn’t highly recommend this agency, even though we greatly enjoyed most of the tour and our guide.

Our group consisted of 15 adults, 11 women and 4 men, plus our guide, Sara. Most were around our ages though the only other married couple besides us were the youngest members of the group. We met in the lobby of the hotel and walked over to the Choijin Temple Restaurant for dinner. It was an attractive venue and we were impressed with the quality of the food, particularly the salad and vegetables. We also enjoyed meeting our fellow travelers. We eagerly anticipated the start of our tour the next morning.

THE STEPPE (GRASSLANDS).  The group checked out of the Blue Sky and headed off in SUVs, first to Gandantegchenlin Monastery in Ulaanbataar, the center of Mongolian Buddhism. Sara described the history and iconography as we toured the beautiful buildings. Having visited many impressive buddhist temples throughout Asia, it wasn’t among our favorites, but still worth a look. We continued to the Argalant district in the Töv province west of the capital and arrived at the Mongol Nomadic Ger Camp in time for a delicious lunch. The camp is located near Hustai National Park and provides basic but charming accommodations provided with heat and an ensuite shower, sink and toilet. About a quarter of the Mongolian population are still nomadic herders and the best feature of this camp is the opportunity to learn more about these practices and traditions. After lunch we were offered rides on a yak or Bactrian 2-humped camel then treated to demonstrations of key skills, such as building and taking down a ger, threshing and drying meat. They also showed off their legendary horsemanship and invited us to a thoroughly delightful music performance with traditional instruments and unique throat-singing techniques. 

ORKHON VALLEY.  We arose early and caught a glorious sunrise before breakfast followed by a visit to Hustai National Park, famous for a rare breed of stocky wild equine, Przewalski’s horses. We drove around in the park admiring the horses before continuing on to the Elsen Tasarhai Sand Dunes for a short hike then over to our adjacent camp for lunch.

The next ger camp, Sweet Gobi Ger Ecolodge was very attractive and in a beautiful location, though considerably more basic. We shared a “fragrant" outhouse at some distance from the gers, the bed was very hard, there was only a wood-fired stove for heat and no electricity in the ger, though the main dining ger had outlets and generator-powered electricity during specific hours. There was a French tour group staying there as well as ours and the staff seemed to be a bit overwhelmed because the service suffered the first night, though improved after the other group left. The stove didn’t generate heat all night, and it was very cold in the morning. The staff supplied hot towels to clean up with and the second morning we asked them to light our fire before bringing the towels, so it was a bit more comfortable getting dressed. Food was generally pretty good, with lunches and dinners much better than breakfasts. For anyone used to rugged wilderness camping (as opposed to glamping), it would have felt comfortable. The nighttime sky was brilliant.

The next morning, we headed off to Harhorin to tour the Karakorum Museum. Karakorum was the 13th century capital of the Mongol Empire established by Ogedei Khan, Chinggis Khan’s third son and heir, who continued to expand the empire. The museum describes its history and displays a model of the ancient city as well as important treasures and artifacts from the realm. A guide from the museum pointed out the key features and we were free to explore the rest of the collection on our own. After the museum we stopped to admire the stately Imperial Map Monument, a structure built in 2004 on a hilltop with scenic views of the Orkhon River and Valley. Mosaic maps illustrate the astonishing growth of the Mongolian empire through Asia and Europe from the 3rd C BC until the 14th C AD, creating the largest contiguous land empire in history.  

We walked down the hill to the Anja Ger Camp for a tasty lunch. In the afternoon we visited Mongolia’s oldest surviving Buddhist monastery, Erdene Zuu (100 Treasures), established in 1586 by Altan Khaan among the ruins of Karakorum. An important religious and educational center in its prime, it hosted up to a 1000 monks and included 60 - 100 temples. Some temples were ransacked by prior invasions, though the rest of the temples but 3 were destroyed by the communist regime in 1937, who also killed most of the monks. The site was opened as a museum in 1965 and in 1990 active religious practices resumed. The remaining temples are surrounded by a 1.76 km/1.1 mi wall topped with 108 white stupas. Some of the monastery’s treasures were rescued and hidden and are again on display. As we wandered around, storm clouds rolled in, lending a dramatic backdrop to the simple elegance of the buildings. We enjoyed this temple most of those we visited.

From the temple we drove further into the countryside to visit a nomadic family and join them for dinner. We snacked on yak cheese and fried dough then helped make Buuz, a traditional steamed dumpling stuffed with mutton, and enjoyed them while getting to know the extended family living in the camp. Our hosts also demonstrated how they make vodka from wheat in their homemade still and offered us a sample.

ULAANBAATAR.  We had a quick early breakfast and piled into the SUVs for the drive back to Ulaanbataar. Traffic was fierce once we reached the city’s outskirts, so we went straight to a late lunch at Greyseed Restaurant, a stylish and sophisticated space with fabulous food. We feasted on grilled vegetables, salad and tender beef kebabs. It was our favorite meal in Mongolia. We checked into the Blue Sky Hotel and had a brief rest before meeting the group to walk to a nearby auditorium for a performance by the Tumen Ekh Ensemble, a cultural show featuring wonderful folk music, singing, dancing and eye-popping contortionists. Two young women accurately hit bullseyes with bows and arrows held in their toes while balancing on their arms with their legs bent backwards over their heads. It’s hard to describe but amazing to watch. The show was a major highlight of the tour for us. We were still full from lunch and had a brutally early start the next morning, so we skipped dinner and just headed to bed after the show.

DALANZAGAD - SOUTH GOBI DESERT.  Due to an airline schedule change, we met in the hotel lobby at 3:30 am in order to catch a short flight to Dalanzagad, capital of the South Gobi Province. The Gobi doesn’t look like the Sahara, Namib or Arabian deserts with vast vistas of towering sand dunes, it reminded us more of scrub deserts such as the Mojave or Death Valley, though Sara advised us that you can find dunes in some remote sections.

Dream Gobi Lodge was the most comfortable of the ger camps we stayed in. It felt more like a basic hotel than a ger camp, however while it didn’t feel like camping, it still brimmed with local character and offered a serene wilderness experience since it was about an hour and a half drive from the town. We appreciated being able to have some laundry done. They even had WiFi available for a minimal fee. Breakfasts and dinners were good.

We had landed very early so we went for a hike in scenic Yolyn Am Canyon, a great way to rouse ourselves after the dearth of sleep and the plane ride. We scanned the high cliffs for a glimpse of Siberian Ibex, but all we saw were vultures and adorable pika, small furry mammals looking like a mix between a rabbit and a mouse. From there we returned to Dalanzagad to visit the Gobi Museum of Nature & History. Much to our disappointment it was closed. Sara advised us that it was a special closing, however I checked the website and saw that it regularly closes on Tuesdays, so it was another miss by the agency’s admin team. Instead we walked over to a nearby elementary boarding school and were graciously welcomed to visit and meet some of the faculty and students. We were impressed by the facilities and charmed by the endearing, polite, well-dressed students. It’s clear that they study English and we had a look in their modern and well-equipped language lab and library. It confirmed our suspicion that the Harry Potter books really are read everywhere.

Lunch was served at the Goviin Bayanburd 1 Ger Camp. The takeaway breakfast we ate on the bus on the way to the airport was inadequate, so we were ready for a good meal. Because of the mixup with the museum, after lunch the group discussed how this might impact our itinerary the following day. Some members of the group still wanted to visit the museum, so Sara offered some alternatives. Stu and I had been interested in the museum, however it would have entailed a 3 hour round trip drive from the lodge on bumpy roads, so we were less enthusiastic about it. In the end, with some small compromises, everyone was more or less satisfied. The itinerary was reworked to allow a small group to leave early to visit the museum in the morning while the rest of us visited a local farm, and we all met up afterwards, so no one had to miss seeing the Flaming Cliffs or the opportunity to meet a local family and ride Bactrian camels. In the end we were fine with our choice. The farm, owned by the family of one of our drivers, was a delightful surprise. Thanks to a system of drip irrigation, they grew rows and rows of tomatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, cantaloupe, herbs and more. The owner kept picking fruit from the fields for us to sample. The tomatoes were richly flavorful, but the cantaloupe was sensational, juicy and sweet as candy.

We met up with the rest of the group at Goviin Bayanburd 2 Ger Camp for lunch. Afterwards we stopped at Tugrugiin Shiree where the marvelous fossil of a velociraptor and protoceratops locked in combat was discovered in 1971. There is a model of the fighting dinosaurs at the site, but the actual fossil is in a museum in Ulaanbataar that we didn’t visit.

The best was yet to come. The main attraction for us in the Gobi was the Flaming Cliffs, the area where Roy Chapman Andrews discovered the first dinosaur eggs during an expedition in 1923 sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History. On site we watched a grainy black and white film shot during the expedition that captured the remarkable discovery. Dinosaur fossils are still found in the cliffs and as we explored them Sara encouraged us to look for dinosaur eggs, which were more easily found than we would have expected. The sandstone cliffs are gorgeous, reminiscent of the red rock formations in the U.S. southwest. A series of boardwalks make it easy to navigate the cliffs, plus you can scramble around off the boardwalks. Our drivers parked at the bottom of the cliffs, and we hiked down so they could show us some dinosaur fossil fragments embedded in the stone. We also visited an area near the cliffs where sculptors are creating a monumental caravan of Silk Road traders on camels which is visible from the cliffs and for miles around. The sculpture is not yet finished so we got to see some of the work in progress.

We ended the day’s activities with a visit to a local family and took a short ride on Bactrian 2-humped camels before dinner at Dream Gobi

ULAANBATAAR After an early breakfast and long drive to the airport, we flew back to Ulaanbataar for another overnight stay. We drove out to see the 131 ft./40 m. tall Chinggis Khaan equestrian statue at Tsonjin Boldog, about 54 km. / 33mi. east of the city. The complex was erected in 2006 to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Mongol Empire. You enter the complex via a monumental arched gate which features fierce bronze Mongolian warriors on horseback glaring down at you. The memorial perches atop a hill with panoramic views of the countryside. The statue is fashioned from 250 tons of stainless steel and is the largest equestrian statue in the world. The 2- story round European style base of the statue symbolizes Chinggis Khaan’s conquest of the West. The base houses an archaeological museum, portraits of the Khans and a gigantic traditional boot, as well as shops, a restaurant and a business that encourages visitors to dress up in traditional garb for a modest fee. I couldn’t resist the urge to impersonate a Mongolian Empress in a resplendent brocade robe. A guide described the history of the dynasty and then we were free to wander around on our own. We ascended through the head of the horse to a platform affording a close-up view of the stern ruler. We had lunch at the restaurant on site, and while the setting and views are memorable, the food was among the worst that we had in Mongolia. Luckily dinner at Veranda, an Italian restaurant in UB near our hotel, was very good.

ALTAI MOUNTAINS - ULGII Our flight to Ulgii in the far western Bayan-Ulgii Province was scheduled for 6:20 am departure, so we met in the hotel lobby at 4:20 am. This region is one hour behind UB, so although the flight was about 2 hours long, we gained an hour and arrived very early. We didn’t see all of Mongolia, but of the areas we visited, this region was the most wild and majestic. It borders areas of China, Russia and Kazakhstan and most of the inhabitants are ethnic Kazakhs and speak that language. The Altai range includes most of Mongolia’s tallest mountains, so the views of snow-capped peaks, crystal blue glacial lakes and vast plains are awe-inspiring. At an altitude of 1,710 m/5,610 ft., it was quite a bit colder than the other places we visited.

The Bayan Tsambagarav Hotel is in the heart of Ulgii, the largest town and capital of the province, which straddles the banks of the Khovd River. Its population is less than 30,000 people. The hotel is named for the province and nearby Tsambagarav Mountain and National Park. Although the hotel is new and modern, the local infrastructure is limited so it lacked some basic amenities, such as reliable hot water. Still, the experiences we had in this area were well worth any minor discomfort, and we met some people who had stayed in ger camps without any running water or heat, so this was definitely the better choice. We were joined by Zaya, the owner of Blue Silk, who had flown over from the US.

Most foreigners visiting Bayan-Ulgii come to learn about the nomadic Kazakh eagle hunters, a fascinating tradition dating back 2,000 years, and we were no exception. Men adopt a female Golden Eagle chick, provide shelter and food, and train her to hunt small animals, such as rabbits and foxes. The eagle keeps the meat and the hunter uses the skins for garments, necessary during the brutally cold winters. After 8 years, the hunter releases their eagle into the wild to assure the survival of the species. Hunters usually train their sons once they come of age. I had practiced a bit of falconry with a Harris Hawk and was very interested in seeing it done with the considerably larger and more powerful Golden Eagles.

Many visitors to Mongolia have the seen the documentary The Eagle Huntress, which relates the tale of a teenage girl, Aisholpan Nurgaiv, who yearns to be a renowned eagle hunter like her father, Rys, and who follows her dream with the full support of her family. While Stu and I had not seen the film, we were familiar with the story and just about everyone else in our group had been inspired by it to visit. Zaya surprised the group by bringing us to the Nurgaiv home for lunch, where we met Rys and his cheerful wife, Alma, as well as one of his sons, his daughter-in-law and a couple of grandchildren. We didn’t meet Aisholpan who was away at college in Kazakhstan. She hopes to continue her education in the U.S. We shared a spread of traditional homemade dishes while talking with Alma and Rys with Sara translating. Rys is an impressive, well-respected man who now serves as a judge during the festival competitions. I asked him if an eagle ever returns to visit after being freed and he just laughed. He also told us that they can have very different temperaments and personalities.

After lunch we drove to a remote mountain valley south of Ulgii to see the Hatuu petroglyphs, most created during the Bronze Age (2000 BC - 700 BC), though some date as far back as the late Pleistocene (11000 - 6000 BC) through the middle Holocene period (6000 - 4000 BC). In addition to the petroglyphs, there are stone monuments and khirigsuur, stone graves with a central mound and a round or square stone enclosure, from around 2000 - 1000 BC. They reminded us of the stone passage tombs in Ireland at Newgrange, though far less developed. We hiked up the hillside to view the petroglyphs, which primarily featured animals and hunting scenes. It was a beautiful setting and we spied Siberian ibex bounding around the mountaintops in the distance. While snow leopards live in these mountains they are rare to find. We had dinner that evening in Ulgii at Pamukkale, which is billed as a Turkish restaurant, but the food wasn’t like any Turkish cuisine that we’ve had, nor was it very satisfying. The dessert was the best part of the meal.

ALTAI EAGLE FESTIVAL The first day of the festival was sunny and while chilly still milder than expected, and we felt a little sorry for the eagle hunters in their heavy fur coats that afternoon. However, there was light snow the following morning and the temperature had dropped significantly. We dressed in layers and were comfortable both days. The festival site was in a stunning location overlooking glacier-fed Lake Tolbo and the snow-capped Altai Mountains. We were surprised and pleased to find that Blue Silk had set up a private heated ger at the festival for our group to hang out and dine in. They also provided a private outhouse for our group, which was very convenient. In addition, Rys and Alma’s son and daughter-in-law joined us there both days and Rys and Alma came by to greet us. Some of the eagle hunters came over to our ger to pose for photos before the competitions began. They wore elaborate fur and/or embroidered robes and fur-trimmed hats. We weren’t given information regarding the activities schedule, so we wandered around and found a good spot to watch the action. A tour leader from a different group ended up providing us with some relevant info since he had a printed schedule. There were more locals than tourists in attendance, often multiple generations of family, and they had set up gers and barbecues around the site. There were also stands selling homemade crafts and garments. It’s clearly an important cultural event and a point of great pride in the community. Locals enthusiastically cheered on their favorites during the contests.

The festivities began when contestants, some on horseback, dancers, and musicians paraded onto the playing field, where they posed for photos. Arrayed in colorful silky costumes, the dancers performed a traditional folk dance then invited observers to join them in a free style jam.

The emcee made various announcements, then the games began. The first competition was the eagle calling contest. The hunter’s eagle was released from a high peak overlooking the field and the hunter on horseback had to call her to them. The winner was determined by how quickly the eagle reached the hunter. We expected that every eagle would go to their hunter, especially since they had a piece of meat for her, and the determining factor would be speed, but it requires even more skill to train the eagle than we imagined. Some eagles didn’t even fly off the mountain, some meandered awhile before finally alighting on the hunter’s glove, and some just flew off into the mountains and the hunter had to track them down and retrieve them. The hunter only had a brief amount of time to entice them and when eagles took too long to respond it was an automatic elimination from that round. The second contest was similar, except that the hunter dragged a rabbit or fox skin to lure their eagle and some hunters were on foot while others were on horseback. As before not all eagles took the bait.

We overheard another tour leader advise their group that there was an archery contest in an adjacent field near the parking lot, so we headed over there. There were male, female and child archers who had to hit a small target on the ground at a considerable distance. There was a ridge of dirt with a row of targets behind it, then another ridge and another row of targets, so the archer had to shoot low enough to hit a target while clearing the first dirt ridge. Those who hit targets in the second row without touching those in the first row were the most impressive, especially since the targets seemed to be aligned one behind the other, so they couldn’t shoot between those in the first row to reach the second.

We returned to the ger for lunch which was prepared by a well-known Mongolian chef. The meal was delicious, however, it ran a bit long and the next event had started before the main course was served, so timing could have been improved. In this contest, a man on horseback tries to kiss a woman also on horseback and she tries to whack him with a buggy whip to keep him away. Stu referred to it as the “whack-a-husband” competition but the Kazakhs call it Kyz Kuu. It was a humorous display of equestrian skill. Some of the female tourists went looking for buggy whips at the crafts stands after that.

The program ended and we went for a walk down to the lake with Nan, a member of our group. It was farther than it looked, but an easy and enjoyable jaunt. We dipped our hands in the lake, which was not as frigid as we expected. We had been told that we’d have dinner in the ger, so we expected to have plenty of time. On our return we were met by another group member, Monica, who advised us that the group would be leaving soon and dining in town since the festival ended earlier than our tour leaders expected. She continued on to round up others who had also gone for a hike and we returned to the ger. Eventually the plan changed again, and we ended up dining in the ger. Nearly everyone else at the site had packed up and left by then, so it was peaceful, and we were the last to depart. Dinner was excellent, and we’re sure that it would have been far better than any meal in town, plus the walk was lovely, so we were happy to stick to the original plan.

The next day we received a schedule for the events and also discovered that there were foldable stools in the ger that we could set up by the field so we didn’t have to stand all day. It was cold, so we appreciated the heated ger to warm up in. The first and most anticipated competition of the day was the tug-of-war, a Kazakh tradition called kokbar. Two men on horseback try to wrest a decapitated goat carcass from each other (you read that right, a headless goat). It had to be very heavy and they usually held the reins with one hand and held onto the goat with the other, though at times neither hand was on the reins and often the horses would be galloping during the struggle. The horsemanship was incredible, especially since no one fell off their horse. The victor would then twirl the goat above his head and toss it. The emcee invited any equestrians in the audience to join the competition. We all encouraged a skilled horsewoman in our group, Beth, to join. She was the first woman to ever compete in the tug of war, and she won, though her opponent clearly went easy on her. However, it is still challenging to remain seated on a moving horse while pulling a goat and we were proud to cheer her on.

The next horseback riders had to pick up an object from the ground while galloping and, of course, not falling off the horse (Kumis Alu). It was exciting to watch. Lunch was terrific again and this time it was better timed so that we didn’t have to miss anything. There was a musical interlude with a local musician and his son playing the dombra (lute-style instrument) and singing. Female equestrians demonstrated their prowess by forming perfect figure 8’s. They seem to be judged on the speed with which they executed the figure and its precision. Spectators were invited to help raise a ger or simply watch and learn how it’s done. The big finale was the announcement of the contest winners and presentation of the prizes. Afterwards some of the eagle hunters stopped by our ger and we had the opportunity to hold a golden eagle. I got to hold the winning eagle from the eagle calling contest and was surprised at how heavy she was, about 13 lbs./6 kg. It was a thrilling experience to be so close to such a magnificent raptor. We had dinner in the ger and were again pleased by how good the food was, especially considering the limited cooking facilities.

ULGII.  Our flight back to Ulaanbataar wasn’t until the afternoon, so in the morning we visited the Bayan-Ulgii Provincial Museum. The most interesting artifacts were the Bronze Age carved deer stones and stone statues representing human figures. There was also a collection of traditional instruments and some beautiful embroidery, which is a specialty of the region. After the museum we visited an embroidery factory to see how embroidered garments are handmade. The workspace was bright and airy and the workers seemed comfortable and proud of their creations. Most of our group bought an article of clothing, and I found a handsome black jacket with an eagle embroidered with gold thread on the back, a fitting souvenir. We had a decent lunch at the hotel then checked out. Before going to the airport, we drove to a lookout point overlooking the town and surrounding area. From the parking area it’s an easy climb up a couple of sets of stairs to 2 covered lookouts and the views are wonderful. We got back to Ulaanbataar in the early evening and by the time we made it to the hotel it was fairly late. We were tired and skipped having pizza in the top floor Blue Sky Lounge at the hotel.

ULAANBATAAR  On our way to the Chinggis Khaan National Museum we passed through Sukhbaatar Square with its enormous statue or Chinggis Khaan in front of the Government Palace. The square is named for the communist leader of the 1921 People’s Revolution, Damdin Sukhbaatar, who’s army secured Ulaanbataar and announced Mongolia’s independence from China. There’s a heroic statue of him on horseback in the center of the square. When we reached the national museum we discovered that it closes on Tuesday during the winter season so we visited another history museum nearby which was mildly interesting. However, with the spare time we were able to visit the Museum of Fine Arts, which showcases a fabulous collection of paintings, sculptures, costumes and carvings, including many works by the revered sculptor, Zanabazar. A museum guide explained the meaning of the most important pieces. This visit mitigated our disappointment a bit since it turned out to be our favorite museum in the capitol.

We had a very good lunch at Broadway Obsidian Restaurant, then walked over to the Choijin Lama Temple Museum. The temple complex is in the center of the city, steps from the Blue Sky Hotel, and we had views of it from 2 of the rooms we occupied. It was built in 1908 and managed to escape destruction during the communist regime to be designated a cultural museum in the 1940's. While it never resumed its religious function, its six temples contain an impressive array of Buddhist artifacts, including fantastic masks, costumes, statues, paintings and carvings.

We had time leftover to walk with Pat and Beth to see the whimsical Beatles Monument in a small square opposite the State Department store. It was a beautiful sunny day and people were out enjoying the weather and eating snacks from the food and beverage carts that lined the square. Our final dinner in Mongolia was at the Silk Road Bar & Grill. While the Ulaanbataar restaurants, and some of the ger camps, served beer, wine and cocktails, I stuck with bottled water throughout the trip, so I can’t comment on the wine selection, but the food was very enjoyable. When you travel with a group, you eat the set meals selected for you, so our experience of the restaurants was limited. The next morning the driver picked us up at the hotel at 4:45 am and we caught our flight back to Tokyo without incident.

MONGOLIA INFO

ULAANBATAAR -- BLUE SKY HOTEL - modern, clean and comfortable, service variable, decent breakfast, perfect location

CHOIJIN TEMPLE RESTAURANT - conveniently located, good food

GREYSEED RESTAURANT - stylish and modern with excellent food. Our favorite restaurant in Mongolia

VERANDA RESTAURANT - upscale with tasty food

SILK ROAD BAR & GRILL - attractive space and very good food

TUMEN EKH ENSEMBLE - wonderful cultural show with singing, dancing and contortionists. A major highlight of the tour.

ARGALANT-TOV - MONGOLIAN STEPPE MONGOL NOMADIC GER CAMP - charming accommodations with ensuite bathroom, electricity and heat. All of the ger camp beds were hard but acceptable. Terrific cultural demonstrations, lovely people and good food.

RASHAANT, BULGAN - GOBI DESERT SWEET GOBI GER ECOLODGE - Very basic. Our least favorite accommodations, though still a step up from wilderness camping. Wood-fired stove for heat, no water or electricity, outhouses. Beautiful location, good food except for breakfast.

ANJA GER CAMP - LUNCH Delicious lunch

BULGAN, OMNOGOVI - SOUTHERN GOBI DREAM GOBI GER CAMP - most comfortable ger camp with a pool, laundry services, ensuite facilities in ger, heat, electricity and WiFi. Gorgeous location, good food, nice team.

GOVIIN BAYANBURD 1 GER CAMP - LUNCH - lovely dining ger with good food.

GOVIIN BAYANBURD 2 GER CAMP - LUNCH - large, attractive dining ger, also good food. The camp looked nice but we don’t know what facilities were provided.

FLAMING CLIFFS - must-see attraction in Mongolia

BAYAN-ULGII - ALTAI MOUNTAINS BAYAN TSAMBAGARAV HOTEL ULGII - New, pretty hotel. Though lacking services, it’s the best choice in the area. There’s a great coffee shop with beautiful views on another floor of the building that isn’t affiliated with this hotel. Breakfast at the hotel was not great but you can get a better breakfast at the coffee shop.

PAMUKKALE RESTAURANT - not recommended unless the meals they serve groups are much worse than those you can get by ordering individually. Dessert was the highlight.

ALTAI EAGLE FESTIVAL - exceeded expectations. The people were welcoming, the setting was spectacular and the contests were engaging. Well worth traveling this far for a unique and highly enjoyable cultural experience. Blue Silk did a great job with the ger and the food, but we can’t compare those to what other tour groups offered.

NAGOYA JAPAN

We landed on time at Narita Airport in Tokyo and though it took a while to get through the line at immigration, we were still early for our train. I had allowed extra time in case of delays. We hopped the Narita Express to Tokyo and transferred to the Shinkansen Nozomi (the fastest bullet train) to Nagoya, arriving just before 6 pm. Nagoya station is huge and busy but we didn’t have much trouble locating the Nagoya Marriott Associa, which is right above the station. Despite that, we never heard the trains from our room. Since we were leaving by train early in the morning, it was a convenient place to spend the night. We ordered bento boxes on the train, so we skipped dinner. The bag that we’d sent ahead from Tokyo 2 weeks earlier was delivered to our room. We packed a bag with our cold weather clothes and checked it at the hotel since we were returning in two days. The Marriott was a good choice, clean, comfortable and well-appointed, and we had great views of the city. Service was personable and attentive. Breakfast the next morning was excellent in a bright room with city views, not at the level of the Mandarin in Tokyo, but lots of delicious choices, both Western and Asian.

KATSUURA.  Nachikatsuura is a small town on the southeastern coast of the Kii peninsula, due south from Kyoto. I had reserved seats on the Limited Express Nanki train to Kii-Katsuura, the last stop on this line. The ride was just under 4 hours, but very pleasant. There was WiFi (as on all trains in Japan), clean toilets, comfortable seats and plenty of space. Some of the views were beautiful, especially as we neared our destination at the end of the peninsula. It was pouring rain when we arrived at the station and we were met, as pre-arranged, by a man from the hotel we had booked, Kumano-Bettei Nakanoshima. It was too early to go to the hotel, but he collected our bags, pointed out where we could catch the ferry to the island where it’s located, and drove us to a small building on a pier which contained some food stalls and shops. We browsed around and decided to buy lunch at a tiny sushi bar. We took our meals to an indoor seating area with a view of the harbor, though in better weather we could have sat on a deck outside. The sushi was meltingly fresh and flavorful, though the pieces were quite a bit larger than we’re used to in Japan, closer to US sized. The sushi was surprisingly inexpensive considering the quality and quantity. We checked out some of the shops and by then the rain had let up, so we boarded the complimentary ferry and headed over to the island, only about a 10-15 minute ride through a scenic sound. As we approached the 80-year-old hotel we were surprised at how modern the building looked, an esthetic that continued in the stylish lobby and other public spaces, which had been recently renovated.

The hotel had contacted me a few weeks in advance to find out when we would arrive and to set up meal times, ferry schedule, etc. so they were ready for us. I booked a standard room with sea view and was pleasantly surprised at how spacious it was. The elegantly spare room was furnished with beds rather than tatami mats for sleeping, lots of storage space and a balcony with gorgeous views of the inlet. The large bathroom had a toilet room, tub, shower, and vanity. As is customary, we were provided with yukata (cotton robe), obi (sash), geta (slippers) and toilet room slippers. Room rates include breakfast and dinner, snacks and beverages set out for guests in their rooms and the lounge, and use of the shared onsens (hot mineral water baths). Although we had a tub in our room, it wasn’t an onsen, so for a small fee we reserved one of 2 private onsens, which offered a large changing room, shower, towels, toiletries, hairdryer and two onsen tubs, one indoors and one outdoors on a secluded stone deck, both with views of the cove. The first night we enjoyed the onsen after dinner under a canopy of stars, and the second night before dinner. The shared onsens were in lovely settings as well. The first day we just chilled in our room enjoying the scenery until we donned our yukata for dinner. We had a perfect table by the window with views of the sea and privacy screens between tables. The kaiseki dinner was made with fresh, seasonal, local ingredients, artfully plated and expertly served by gracious young men and women. We were very happy to be served a different menu the second evening so we had a chance to try a wide array of mouth-watering dishes. The multi-course Japanese breakfasts were served in the same serene dining room and were also delicious.

The following morning we had reserved the ferry back to town and the hotel arranged for a taxi to take us to a section of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route on Nachi Mountain which features temples, a pagoda and Japan’s highest waterfall, Nachi Falls (133 m/.7 mi). The entire route spans 70 km/43 mi and presents a challenging multi-day hike over mountain passes and through forests. We just explored a very small segment, starting at the 4 km/2.5 mi Daimon-zaka trail which begins with steep stone steps winding up through a forest of towering old growth cedar trees. One massive pair, referred to as the “husband and wife trees”, are about 800 years old. We arrived early and only met one other visitor on the trail, a young man who quickly outdistanced us. It was raining lightly and the stones were a bit slippery, so we took our time.

Approaching the top of the stairway, we passed through the first Torii gate, a feature of Shinto shrines marking where one passes onto sacred grounds. There can be multiple Torii, such as the spectacular series of Torii lining the path leading to Fushimi Inari shrine near Kyoto. The first building that we encountered was Kumano Nachi Taisha, a Shinto shrine established about 1700 years ago, and various outbuildings. It was still raining a bit so we visited the nearby Treasury Hall which displays religious and historical artifacts. As we exited, we heard the sound of a drum and walked over to the shrine to see a young woman beating a large one suspended inside. She and a Shinto priest then began to practice a worship ritual, which we observed from outside the shrine. We saw a statue of the 3-legged crow, Yatagarasu, a servant of the sun goddess Amaterasu-no-Okami, who is said to have alighted in the spot where the shrine was built. We were amused to find a whimsical ceramic representation of the 3-legged crow among the items in our hotel’s gift shop. The views of the mountains, forests and valleys from various vantage points around the site were breathtaking. A sprawling camphor tree with a hollow in its trunk, reputed to be close to 1,000 years old, grows beside the shrine and is considered sacred.

A short walk from Kumano Nachi Taisha we found the Buddhist Nachisan Seiganto-ji Temple dedicated to the goddess of mercy, Kannon. Seiganto-ji was first built during the 4th C, intentionally burned down by a samurai in the mid 1500’s, and reconstructed by a shogun in 1590. The temple complex consists of an ancient wood temple and a colorful 3-story pagoda which overlooks Nachi Falls. The pagoda was also destroyed by fire but wasn’t rebuilt until 1972. We couldn’t enter the temple, however we were allowed to climb up the pagoda and enjoy the magnificent vista of the landscape and Nachi Falls. There are a few artifacts in the pagoda, but it’s mostly interesting due to the views. From there we walked down to Nachi Falls. There are great views from the lookout point, however, if you’re willing to pay a minimal fee you can walk to 2 closer platforms. We decided to go for it and felt that it was worth the cost. We could have taken a bus back to the train staton in Katsuura, however we called Nakanoshima and they summoned a taxi for us, which arrived surprisingly quickly. We decided to have sushi at the same place on the dock before taking the ferry back to the hotel. That evening we enjoyed a restorative soak in the onsen and another marvelous kaiseki dinner. We packed up overnight essentials in our small bag and had the hotel send the larger bag onto our hotel in Ise Shima.

NAGOYA JAPAN.  The next morning we boarded the Limited Express Nanki back to Nagoya, where we stayed at the Marriott Associa again. They wouldn’t check us in before 3 pm, so we checked our small bag. We also arranged to have the bag with our cold weather gear that we had checked previously delivered to Hakone, our last stop before heading home. Although we travel light, it was still easier not to carry the larger duffels.

We didn’t have a lot of free time to sightsee, so we decided to have a late lunch at a tonkatsu restaurant in Meitetsu department store adjacent to the station. Nagoya is well known for a special miso sauce that they serve with tonkatsu (fried pork cutlets), so we wanted to try it. Misokatsu Yabaton is a popular restaurant and there was a long line to enter. This seems to be common as we’d also waited on a long line at the katsu restaurant in Kyoto station during our last trip. However, as in Kyoto, they’re extremely efficient. A young man came around with menus and soon afterwards took our order, so by the time we sat down inside after about a 25 minute wait, our food was delivered fairly quickly. It’s a large space and we were the only Westerners, which we took as a positive sign. We ordered the highest quality pork with 2 sauces, the traditional katsu sauce and the Nagoya miso sauce, along with salads, and the meal was inexpensive. The katsu was marvelous, light, crispy, tender and succulent, and we enjoyed both sauces. We didn’t need dinner after that, so we browsed around the neighborhood a bit before checking in and hanging out at the hotel.

SHIMA.  I had read about the famous female free-divers from the region, called Ama, and we were keen to learn more about this tradition, which informed our decision to visit the area. The most sacred Shinto shrine in Japan is located here, so I had arranged tours to visit the Ama as well as the shrine.

We had time for a quick breakfast before catching the Kintetsu Limited Express to Kashikojima in the Mie prefecture on the Shima peninsula.  The entrance to the Kintetsu line was just opposite the passage from the hotel to the train station, so it was super convenient. This train is not operated by Japan Rail, so it’s not covered by JR passes, and though I’d reserved seats online, we had to pick up the tickets at Nagoya station. Time went fast on the 2-hour ride to the Ise Shima peninsula.

A representative from our hotel was waiting for us in the station. When we reached the parking lot we were very amused to see that he’d left the vehicle running with the rear hatch open, clearly unconcerned that anyone might steal the car. Among the many things we love about Japan. It was about a 20-minute drive to the hotel.

Stu and I had stayed at several Aman properties, mainly in Asia, and we enjoy the elegant design, peaceful atmosphere and exceptional service that they provided, so we booked three nights at Amanemu. After meeting the manager, who relayed important information about the facilities, we hopped in a golf cart and were escorted to our suite. Although everyone offered us rides in the cart after that, the distances weren’t great and the weather was beautiful, so we preferred to walk. We couldn’t have been more pleased with our room. It was the last in a row of single-story accommodations and featured a huge patio with comfortable seating and a lovely view of a garden and Ago Bay. We could also enjoy the view from the deep soaking tub and shower. After unpacking, we decided to take a walk off property to Sunset Beach, only about 1.5 mi./2.4 km away. We passed a resort on the way with lots of families enjoying outdoor activities. It’s an attractive beach, though we didn’t stay for the sunset. Upon returning to the hotel, we decided to take advantage of the complimentary tea in the lounge, which is served with tasty snacks. We also had some light snacks and beverages in our room to tide us over to dinner.

There’s so much to like about the Aman hotels, and while food is generally very good, they’re not known for superior cuisine. Amanemu might be the exception. It’s in a somewhat secluded location and we didn’t have a car, so I had made reservations for us to dine in-house. All of the meals were outstanding, and the dining room had beautiful views of the bay. They offer set kaiseki menus or you can order a la carte with both Japanese and Western choices. The first and third nights we had set menus, but after a substantial lunch the second day, we had a lighter dinner that evening, though still chose Japanese dishes. Breakfasts with multiple courses were included, though we paid for dinners. We tried a Western breakfast one day and while it was very good, we preferred the Japanese menu.

We had time to relax after breakfast the next morning before going off to meet an Ama for lunch. Our guide was friendly and informative and told us about the 2000 year history of these women who dive for seafood, fish, and formerly pearls, without scuba equipment. In the past they wore only white canvas coveralls with hoods, though now they usually wear wetsuits. The tradition had been passed down in families, though recently there are fewer young women taking on the challenge.

The Ama we met was delightful and shared stories of her adventures, including having been a guest performer at SeaWorld in San Diego for a time. She was no longer young and still loved diving, even though the water can be quite cold. While we chatted, she grilled and served seafood to us that she had harvested that morning. The abalone was writhing on the grill, but it was without doubt the most fresh and tender abalone we’d ever eaten. There were also squid, scallops, periwinkles and fish, all perfectly cooked and delicious. I asked her about dangerous encounters while diving. I had imagined that perhaps sea lions or otters might contend for the shellfish, but she said the moray eels were the most threatening. Considering the size of some of these eels and the sharpness of their teeth, it makes sense, and it turns out that sea otters, who love abalone, are only found around Hokkaido. We presented the gifts we’d purchased in Tokyo to the Ama and our guide and then toured a small museum on the site about the Ama with various artifacts and photos.

The next morning we arranged for our large duffel to be delivered to Hakone. A guide picked us up at 10 am to visit the Ise Grand Shrine, or Ise Jingu. While we could have taken a taxi or bus to go on our own, the site really requires context, so having a guide is highly worthwhile. Located in a sacred forest it is the ancestral shrine of the emperors of Japan. We had learned some about Shinto on our previous visit, and this guide shared even more knowledge. Shinto is a nature-based philosophy which values purity/cleanliness, harmony, respect for nature and family, and altruism. Kami are the spirits, or gods, that represent different aspects of nature and life, including the household. There are millions of Kami. The complex has two main shrines. Naiku, the inner and most sacred shrine, is dedicated to Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and Goku, the outer shrine, is dedicated to Toyouke, the food goddess. Only the emperor, empress and Shinto priests are permitted to enter the shrines, though worshippers may be allowed on the grounds around the shrine, which are surrounded by high wooden walls, for a fee. There are also about 145 other shrines throughout the site dedicated to various Kami. The Shinto belief in cleanliness explains why bathing is so important to the Japanese. Our guide also told us about the toilet Kami, Kawaya, so now we know why toilets are always kept so clean. If you’re wondering why there is a toilet god, there’s a connection to fertility since human waste had been used as fertilizer and therefore promoted agricultural success. Shinto is about life, so rituals concerning death, such as funerals, are usually reserved for the Buddhist temples, and happy events are celebrated at Shinto shrines. While Shinto is specific to Japan, many Japanese observe both Shintoism and Buddhism.

Ise Jingu is a popular Shinto pilgrimage site and we saw very few foreigners. We entered the shrine complex via a towering Torii and were instructed to bow upon entering. One enters on one side of the gate and walks on one side of the road to allow the Kami to pass through the middle. Just inside is the Chozuya, the station where you wash your hands and mouth scooping the water with a wooden ladle. There’s a proper order to this that our guide demonstrated for us. It’s customary to visit Goku before Naiku and there are rules about which side of the road and bridge one uses for each shrine. At the Torii in front of shrines, you bow deeply, raise your arms and clap 3 times, say a prayer, clap once, and bow again. While many festivals and rituals take place at Ise Jingu, there were none the day we visited.

Though the site dates back to 4 BC, many of the structures are new construction since the two main shrines, the Torii, Ujibashi Bridge and some other buildings are rebuilt every 20 years. The style of the grand shrines reminded us a bit of the hats worn by Imperial Samurai, though they’re made of cypress wood and modeled after traditional rice granaries. They’re very plain except for gold ornamentation on the roof. You can just get a glimpse of the tops of Goku and Naiku beyond the high walls. It’s about a 5 km/3 mi. walk from the outer to inner shrine through a beautiful landscape and our guide stopped to explain some of the other shrines along the way, some very small, as well as pointing out the treasury and rice storage buildings. Near Naiku is a large prayer hall, Kaguraden, that is far more ornate than the sacred shrines. Naiku houses a sacred mirror that is a manifestation of Amaterasu which was brought there by a Japanese princess in 4 BC. We also stopped on the banks of the Isuzugawa River to cleanse our hands with the water, which is considered to be sacred.

 We exited the shrine complex and crossed a bridge to Oharai-Machi street, a charming shopping area teeming with shops, restaurants and handsome ancient buildings. We strolled among families, school kids and dog walkers and stopped in various shops to sample their wares or ogle their products, such as the lustrous pearls at the Mikimoto store. We treated ourselves and our guide to rich homemade vanilla ice cream, chocolates, and luscious crispy potato croquettes that she recommended we try. The area specializes in a local style of sake brewing so I tasted some. It wasn’t my favorite type of sake, but I was happy to have sampled it. When we returned to Amanemu in the late afternoon we presented the final gift we’d purchased in Tokyo to our guide. If we’d had another day we would have visited Mikimoto Pearl Island to learn more about cultured pearls and to see an Ama diving demonstration. Although Ama are no longer used to dive for pearls, the tradition is still celebrated.

Mikimoto Pearl Island to learn more about cultured pearls and to see an Ama diving demonstration. Although Ama are no longer used to dive for pearls, the tradition is still celebrated.

HAKONE. We had an early train the next morning, so the hotel packed a breakfast for us that we consumed in transit. It was disappointing to miss the excellent hotel breakfast, but we had about a 5-hour trip (4 hrs. on trains) and we wanted to have some free time in Hakone. We took the Kintetsu Ltd. Express back to Nagoya and transferred to the Kodama Shinkansen to Odawara. I had allowed about a half hour to transfer in case we had trouble finding the platform since Nagoya is a huge station, but we had plenty of time to spare. On the train to Hakone, we caught a classic view of Mt. Fuji. I’d chosen seats on the best side of the train to catch the view just in case it was clear enough, and we lucked out. The ryokan arranged for a taxi to pick us up in Odawara and it took over a half hour to get to the inn from the train station. Traveling on narrow mountain roads, it was the slowest traffic we experienced during our time in Japan. We could have taken a train from Odawara to Gora station, however, we traveled on these local trains during our last visit and they can be crowded and a bit slow, so we opted for convenience.

For our last night in Japan we wanted to stay close enough to the airport to get there easily, but we didn’t want to spend another night in Tokyo. In 2016 we’d spent 2 nights in Hakone and enjoyed it enormously, so it was an ideal place to end our trip. Since we’d done most of the sightseeing we were interested in previously, we thought it would be perfect to choose a lovely ryokan and relax in the facilities for our remaining time. The ryokan we stayed in the last time was nice, but this time I chose Gora Kadan, a renowned one with its own hot springs, built on the site of a former summer villa of the royal family. Since we stayed just one night we booked an elegant room with its own outdoor onsen, which we used three times, so it was definitely worth having. The ryokan is quiet and secluded, located up on a mountain surrounded by old growth forest, yet walking distance to the train station.

We were happy to see that both of the duffel bags we’d sent ahead had arrived. I had hoped to check in early, but our room wasn’t ready, so we left our overnight bag and my backpack and accepted a lift to the nearby Gora Open Air Museum. The museum had been a highlight of our last trip and since the weather was glorious we thought it would be fun to revisit. As it turned out, the museum is a short distance from Gora Kadan so we just walked back afterwards. We recognized much of the art, though there were new installations, and after several hours on trains, it felt good to stroll around the grounds and admire the sculptures. By the time we returned to the ryokan our room was ready and we met our room attendant, Kim-san, a charming young Korean man who took care of all of our needs during our stay. Mr. Kim served us an excellent Kaiseki dinner and breakfast in the privacy of our room at the times that we specified. We had some free time after checking out since our flight was in the evening, so we visited a nearby garden and browsed around in the shops around the train station. There wasn’t a very straightforward way to get to Haneda Airport from there, and since we were carrying both of our larger bags again, we had pre-arranged for a car service. The trip back went smoothly and we arrived home loaded with wonderful memories of Mongolia and Japan.

 JAPAN INFO - KATSUURA, SHIMA, HAKONE

NAGOYA - NARITA EXPRESS TO TOKYO STATION NOZOMI SHINKANSEN TOKYO TO

NAGOYA - NAGOYA MARRIOT ASSOCIA 1-1-4 Meieki, Nakamura-ku Comfortable and well-appointed hotel situated over the Nagoya train station. Service was personable and attentive, especially at the bell station. Breakfast the next morning was excellent in a bright room with city views

MISOKATSU YABATON in Meitetsu Dept Store 9th fl. 11 am - 10 pm Scrumptious tonkatsu in a lively, popular setting. Inexpensive.

KATSUURA - LIMITED EXP NANKI 1 NAGOYA TO KII-KATSUURA

LIMITED EXP NANKI 4 KII-KATSUURA TO NAGOYA KUMANO-BETTEI NAKANOSHIMA Katsuura 1179-9, Standard Twin w/Sea View, includes breakfast and dinner. Lovely, well-equipped, newly renovated island ryokan-like hotel with spacious rooms, gorgeous views, luxurious baths and excellent restaurant. Exceedingly kind and attentive service.

DAIMONZAKA WALKING TRAIL - Uphill via stone steps flanked by towering cedar trees. You can drive or take a bus closer to the shrine, temples and waterfall, but the walk is a peaceful way to approach them.

KUMANO NACHI TAISHA - Simple, elegant Shinto shrine in idyllic setting

SEIGANTO-JI TEMPLE & THREE-STORY PAGODA - Ancient Buddhist temple with rebuilt Pagoda featuring stunning views of Nachi Falls.

NACHI OTAKI (NACHI FALLS) - Japan’s highest waterfall. There are different viewing platforms allowing you a close look at the falls.

SHIMA - KINTETSU LIMITED EXPRESS NAGOYA TO KASHIKOJIMA LTD. EXP ISE-

SHIMA LINER AMANEMU 2165 Hazako Hamajima-cho Shima-shi 517-0403 Mie +81 599 52 5000 Sora Suite Rate included breakfast and pickup/dropoff at Kashikojima Station - Sheer luxury. Peaceful location, excellent food, superior service.

AMA HUT EXPERIENCE - 2.5 hour excursion to tour the Ama Museum and have lunch with an Ama (female free-diver). Translator necessary. Delightful experience learning about this 2000 yr. tradition. ISE JINGU GRAND SHRINE - GEKU & NAIKU - Most sacred Shinto shrine in Japan in a lush forest and river setting. A guide is helpful because there aren’t any signs for interpretation and the history and worship practices are very interesting. OHARAI-MACHI STREET - Wonderful street with ancient buildings, shops, food stalls and restaurants. You can have a terrific light lunch just snacking at the various stalls, or sit down for a meal. HAKONE - GORA

KINTETSU LIMITED EXPRESS - KASHIKOJIMA TO NAGOYA KODAMA SHINKANSEN NAGOYA TO ODAWARA

GORA KADAN 1300 Gora, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa 250-0408 +81-460-82-3331 - Matsu Superior Tatami Room Room rate Includes, private onsen, breakfast and dinner - One of the best ryokan we’ve experienced in Japan. An oasis of peace and relaxation. They are known for their spa services, though we didn’t try any. Delicious food and outstanding service.