Hand Towels, Head Scarves and Handkerchiefs

What to buy in Japan?

Looking for Japanese traditional head scarves I ended up on the Japan Monthly Web Magazine page on "Tenugui" or cotton hand towels.  Everybody is going to get a tenugui, a furushiki, or a pen.

For myself, I'm going to pick up some handkerchiefs.  I haven't been able to replenish my supply at second hand stores or yard sales and making my own handkerchiefs with a rolled hem is a bit daunting.  I have read in multiple places that a handkerchief is essential for Japanese women and it would be kind of nice to have one with the Tokyo subway on it.  BUT I can't blow my nose with it (there are tissues and a particular etiquette for that), just wipe my brow or dry my hands after a visit to the washroom.

In Japanese it is called hankachi (ハンカチ) which leads me to believe that it was originally a European import.  Turns out it was a replacement for the tenugui.  The Tokyo Weekender also claims that the handkerchief is essential since many public bathrooms don't have hand dryers.  "In the warmer months especially, handkerchiefs are available literally everywhere: they come as a freebie with fashion magazines, and rows of designer editions are displayed at department stores."

Or maybe an O-mamori, a Shinto or Buddhist amulet, if I can determine what the ones I buy are for, whether health, money, love, academic success, pets or protection against traffic accidents (maybe instead of trip insurance?).

I would pick up a souvenir apron but the Asians don't allow for large Western breasts.

Comic and Coffee Table Books on Japan

In addition to Tokyo on Foot, I picked up Cool Japan Guide: Fun in the Land of Manga, Lucky Cats and Ramen in the Teen department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (a Librarian had to help me find it...).  It's another graphic version of a Tokyo guidebook and it's great because its chapters cover all the things I'm interested in: Food, Houses, Onsen and Parks, Shrines and Temples and Shopping.  And because it is written for young people without much money its recommendations are "spot on", as the British (whom the Japanese revere) would say.

A few of her tips:
About homes:
'One thing you won't find is an oven!  They just aren't common in a Japanese kitchen.  [oh, oh, Fernando can't bake bread...]

"Most Japanese homes don't have central heating, so devices like the heated carpet and kotatsu are very handy to keep everyone warm. "  BUT she also says "Winter in Japan is quite mild (at least compared to winters in America's Northeast)".

"Another thing you won't see in most homes is a clothes dryer."  [Despite having all that RAIN!]

About trains:
"One thing you have to remember is that while Japanese trains are wonderful, they do NOT run 24 hours!"  (as if we were staying out late at night...)
On the other hand, most combini (convenience stores) are open 24 hours, despite some being 7-elevens...

About hotels:
"Vending machines with beer are something we've seen in every hotel we stayed in [yay], and often the hotels are close to combini too [our is above one].  Usually, the rooms will include slippers and nightgowns/nightshirts, so packing night clothes isn't even necessary!"

I also picked up a coffee table photography book called Tokyo megacity.  I didn't expect much from it but the text is surpisingly informative and it profiles many neighborhoods, beginning with the low city (Shitamachi).  Shitamachi includes Asakusa (asaksa), Ueno, Yanaka, Akihabara and Tsukiji (tskiji) and was where the merchants and artisans lived and is one of the older sections of the city.  The author calls the Tokyo style of architecture "slash and burn" and there is very little in the city that is ancient, also in part due to the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the U.S. firebombing of 1945.

The Upper City (Yamanote) to the west of the Imperial Palace was where the daimyo and their samurai resided but with the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800s I think a lot of them went home.  The author of Tokyo megacity, Donald Richie, divides the area into the Mid City and the High City, probably alluding more to the height of the buildings than to the height of the land.  Our first hotel in Tokyo will be in Shinjuku which is in the "High City" but at least we aren't staying in Shibuya or Harajuku which are the young people's hangout.  I don't want to feel too ancient...

(Travel) Books on Japan

I still like to read print books even though there is a tremendous amount of useful information on the Internet.  Unfortunately when I take out print travel guides on Japan and Tokyo and start reading, I find them extremely boring.  I don't really want to know what museums, shrines, temples, castles and historic locations I should see.  I'm much more interested in everyday life in Japan, the convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores that Japanese visit.  Maybe that is why I like the Japanology documentaries.

I've read two travelogues on Japanese food: Super Sushi Ramen Express which is an entertaining account of a British food writer and his family's stay in Japan (with two boys aged 4 and 6 how can it not be entertaining?); and Rice Noodle Fish, Deep Travels through Japan's Food Culture, whose author takes both himself and his food more seriously and so is harder to finish.  I think I'm prepared for Japanese food although I'll have problems with the slimy soybean natto and dipping things into raw egg.

I picked up a couple of books with short essays on Japan: To Japan with Love, A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur, which contains little vignettes on living in Japan by foreigners; and Living Japan, Essays on Everyday Life in Contemporary Society, a collection of often amateurish short essays by Japanese.  Both books are much easier to read than a Lonely Planet travel guide because they tell stories and aren't just a list of the top 10 sites or the top 10 restaurants where I can only anticipate encountering tourists.

And then there is The Japanese House: Material Culture in the Modern Home by Inge Daniels, a Belgian anthropologist, which is pretty easy to read considering it is a scholarly work.  Contrary to what all Americans think, the Japanese have as much trouble with "stuff" as we do.  The Japanese have a strong gift culture so that they end up with lots of souvenirs and mementos which are hard to throw away and that don't fit into their small houses and apartments. The Japanese Design Institute considers the current state of affairs a "domestic disarray" and since the woman is in charge of the house, of course it is her fault...  What I find most interesting is that after 40 years, the family tears down their house and builds a new one [Correction:  the average is 26 years].

More books are coming:  Tokyo on Foot and Tokyo: A Certain Style.  The latter book "shows how, for those living in one of the world's most expensive and densely packed metropolises, closet-sized apartments stacked to the ceiling with gadgetry and CDs are the norm."

Stay tuned.

Rocket News 24

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia today

I don't know if "yesterday's news" is a thing to brag about but I ran across this site in a Google News search for "Tokyo news" this morning and the news they gather is my kind of news:

Edo era-themed sushi restaurant to bring delicious food, historical decor to Tokyo this month

All-you-can-eat ramen being offered in Tokyo by one of Japan’s most popular chains!

Japanese artist uses newspaper to make immense, life-like sculptures. Whatever you do with your old papers, it’s probably nowhere near as cool as this!

Japan has established itself as King of the Thrones. As long as you are able to find a Western-style toilet.


Cheapo News: The top 100-yen sushi plates at Shibuya’s Uobei Sushi. We visit the Uobei Sushi conveyor belt sushi restaurant and choose our top picks to save you time, money and potentially wasted calories.

See what I mean??

And if those articles aren't enough, here are a couple more so that we are ready to appreciate the very best aspects of life in Japan:

10 things Japan gets awesomely right

The top 10 instances when Japanese people feel thankful to be Japanese

NHK Videos for Tokyo

I wish all countries had a public broadcasting station like NHK in Japan.  I keep running across programs I haven't seen, like Tokyo Eye 2020, my first episode of which was about stationery stores, a must see for Fernando who always likes to pick up notebooks.

A week or so ago I watched "Home Appliances" on Japanology in which a couple of Japanese housewives go to an appliance megastore (I think it was LLaOx) in Shinjuku (where we are staying the first 4 days in Tokyo) to buy a new washing machine.  What they find is reason enough to go to Shinjuku: the Japanese have every imaginable feature built into their appliances.  For instance, there's a vacuum storage drawer in refrigerators for keeping leftovers -- so they'll last longer than normal...  Small local appliance stores affiliated with a single manufacturer also make "house calls" whenever one of their customers has a problem -- like not being able to work the TV remote.

Most of the Japanology episodes with Peter Barakan are filmed in Tokyo and so are very relevant for our trip in January.  Since they are produced by NHK, the government/public broadcasting company, they are always upbeat, which I find more enjoyable than programs or travel books that are critical.  The obvious episodes covering landmarks of interest to tourists are:
Tokyo Bay (from which Edomae sushi comes and which has been cleaned up since the economic boom in the 60s, 70s and 80s)
Tokyo Tower (the Eiffel Tower-like TV broadcasting tower built in the 1950s)
Tokyo SkyTree (the taller TV and radio broadcasting tower that replaced the Tokyo Tower in 2012 because the new skyscrapers around Tokyo Tower were obstructing its reception.  Both of these have observation towers so you can see Mt. Fuji)
Tokyo Station (the central brick railroad station built in 1914)
Akihabara (the techno/anime neighborhood)
Tsukiji Market (that famous fish market that won't have moved by January because the new governor wants to test the groundwater at the new site which is a brownfield formerly owned by a gas company.)

And then there are those of more interest to me, covering everyday life:
Underground Tokyo (subways, trains and underground rivers, not to mention underground shopping malls)
Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway (not that we're driving but it is interesting to see a completely elevated 2-lane freeway that goes 45 mph)
Tokyo Housing (extremely dense population makes for compact living quarters - and tiny hotel rooms)
Department Stores (these are high on my list of must-sees, especially the food courts and the elevator operators -- remember when they used to have them in California?)
Convenience Stores (The story of their origin from the US 7-11 franchise is interesting and we might be frequenting a lot of them for dinner.  There's one beneath our hotel in Shinjuku.)

And then there are those on food...
Conveyor Belt Sushi (You wouldn't think these restaurants would be good but the Japanese like to automate everything and the story of the problems involved are enough to make you want to eat at one.)
Vending Machines (You can buy almost anything from a vending machine, although I understand that they are supposedly discontinuing beer sales...)
And of course the general ones on Ramen, Udon, Tempura, Bento...

Japan on YouTube

Naturally when I watch Japanology episodes on YouTube, other videos are recommended for me.  Some are better than others but I was happy to find that there are some really unique videos on Japanese street food.  Fortunately they are in English.  Here are a couple of channels:

TabiEats
This is a couple of guys (the main commentator seems to be a Japanese-American from Hawaii) who also have a blog with recipes featuring healthy dishes like Kit Kat pancakes, Mac and Cheese Pies, Okonomiyaki, Omurice and many Yoshoku dishes (Japanese-style Western dishes).  If you thought the Japanese only ate delicate perfectly arranged small dishes of fish and vegetables, this will disabuse you of that notion.  The advantage to them having eclectic undiscriminating tastes, is that they appreciate almost everything they eat, they even feature breakfasts at Lawson and 7-Eleven convenience stores!  I'd rather have breakfast at a French pastry shop like Gontran Cherrier but I might be up to a dinner at a 7-Eleven when we arrive in Tokyo and it's late and every restaurant has long lines.  Perhaps more interesting are their episodes on street food in the Tokyo neighborhoods of Asakusa and Oeno.  He tries to film an episode on supermarkets but they don't like people filming in them.  Sort of like libraries...

Only in Japan
The first episode I watched was Street Food in Shibamata which is a suburb of Japan and is famous for being the setting of a Japanese film series called Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It's tough being a man) featuring an unlucky-in-love character called Tora-san.  Maybe it would be a change to check out the suburbs if we find Tokyo too hectic.  There are also episodes on Vending Machines, Super Escalators and Ice Cream Flavors.
If you like trains, there is an episode on the overnight sleeper car JR Sunrise Izumo Express from Tokyo Station to Izumo on the Sea of Japan and another episode on the Kitaro Family (Pokemon) Train" train in Yonago.

Tokyo Cheapo
Tokyo Cheapo has a channel on YouTube but also its own website offering a downloadable ebook guide to Tokyo.  What does their Shinjuku guide say about the neighborhood?  We'll let you know what we think!

Helpful Websites on Japan

Mandy alerted us to The Cup and The Road, a blog by Athena, a Chinese Canadian, who has a page on a Guide to the Tokyo Subway 1-3 Day Pass.

The 3-day pass costs 1500 yen (about $15) and since most trips cost 200 yen, it is worth the cost if you take 8 trips and it allows you to travel on both subway lines, Tokyo Metro and Toei.  We can buy them at Narita Airport

And we can also buy them at the Shinjuku station, and BICQLO BIC CAMERA Shinjuku East Store, BIC CAMERA Shinjuku West Store, and Laox Shinjuku Main Store.








The Cup and the Road also has a post on the Top 10 Apps to Travel in Japan like a Local.  Of course Athena speaks Japanese so she can use the Japanese Apps better than we'll be able to. She also has a post on My Japanese Diet: 20 Daily Foods (plus a restaurant map) talking about everyday foods that we should probably mark off as having tried, including konbini (convenience store) and supermarket food: "Japan lives off of premade food."

"Eating Tip: Get dinner in the supermarkets after 6pm since the sets are usually at least 20% off! Look out for Life, Isetan, Marunaka, AEON, Atre, Kinokuniya and independent grocers. It’s a great way to try things like nigiri sets and sashimi platters."

Tabelog
Tabelog is the Japanese Yelp, with restaurant reviews browsable by neighborhood, type of cuisine, and cost.  They have an English version, although the user-submitted reviews are in Japanese.  You can look at the photos.

Matcha -- Japan Travel Magazine

This online magazine has articles like "Finding Japanese Souvenirs -- the Best Shopping Spots in Kyoto", "10 Selected Restaurants in Tokyo + Japanese Food Guide" and Japanese Sweets Exclusive To Tokyo Station.

Tokyo Cheapo

Lots of articles, a Youtube channel, and information on events.  One can begin with the Tokyo Cheapo 101: Beginner's Guide to Tokyo.  They also mention the Seven Lucky Gods  (Shichifukujin) Pilgrimage to Shinto Shrines that is done in a few neighborhoods in Tokyo from January 1-10th, such as in Nihonbashi, Yanaka and in Shinjuku.  It might be an interesting walk to do.

Undoubtedly there will be more to come.

Seasoning the Seasons

NHK TV has a series called "Seasoning the Seasons" (Exploring the Four Seasons of Japan) and they have one episode on winter, in which they visit Echizen, northwest of Kyoto and feature the special foods that become available in winter, like smoked persimmons, taro, sake and Echizen crab from Ishikawa (not Kyoto).  We'll have to keep an eye out for those foodstuffs.  We also watched an episode on Hosenji, a neighborhood of Osaka.  Now, have I watched the one on Udon or not?  I've watched "Udon" on Begin Japanology...  Good gravy.  Does this mean I have to make another list to keep track of them?

Most of Seasoning the Seasons feature destinations outside of Tokyo and so they don't have much that is immediately useful for our trip in January.  There is one on Ekiben, the bento boxes they sell at train stations that vary by region, but I can't find a video for it on YouTube, which apparently is one's only option.  We watched another one on Kyoto: The Enigmatic Entertainers of Gion about the geishas, or really the maiko, the young girls training to become geishas.  Wasn't "Maiko" the name of that Japanese restaurant we used to go to on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley?  That was Willy's first time eating out, although he really didn't get to eat since he was only a few weeks old.

Too few of the episodes are online.  I'm waiting for Boris Popov to upload the latest episodes to YouTube...

Moving On: PASMO and SUICA Cards

Now that we have our plane, hotel and AirB&B reservations, we can move on to more mundane topics like public transportation.  Our hotel is one that Juan and Mandy stayed at and liked in January 2011.  It's on the edge of the red light and nightclub district in Shinjuku so we'll see how two sticks in the mud survive in such a dynamic surrounding.  There's a Shinto shrine in the next block so hopefully that will balance out the environment.  Shinjuku is in west Tokyo so we'll need to take subways/trains to the other areas and we want it to be easy so we'll buy a SUICA or PASMO card so we don't have to buy tickets every time.  We'll be in Tokyo more than a week and we can use the cards at their many convenience stores as well.

The Japan Guy blog has posts on what the PASMO and SUICA cards are,  how to get them (even a personalized one that can be reissued if lost),  and how to use them.  How do you return the card and get your 500 yen deposit back?  He doesn't cover that but JREast has a page on its Suica card that tries to explain it.  Fortunately the information is available in English.  The cards can be used on the trains and the subways and the buses.  There are also unlimited one-day tickets for the metro, metro & train, or metro-train-buses but I don't know if we'll be using them that much.  I would like to walk a lot, to see things, even if it is January...  And if it is clear, maybe we can see Mt. Fuji.

NOTE:  Mandy sent me a link to a blog about the 1-2-3 day passes that has convinced me we should get two 3-day passes when we are there.

Begin Japanology Programs

I'm having trouble keeping track of the Japanology Programs I've already watched so this is a list of the Begin Japanology programs available.  Yes, the X means I've watched it.  Or think I did.

Season 1

x Ep 1 - Bento
x Ep 2 - Miyazawa Kenji (Japanese poet and author of fairy tales)
x Ep 3 - Lacquerware (a mini)
Ep 4 - Rakugo
x Ep 5 - Tsukiji Market
x Ep 6 - Yoshoku (Western Style Cuisine)
x Ep 7 - Kyudo (Way of the Bow - Archery)
Ep 8 - Tea Ceremony Architecture
x Ep 9 - Dagashi-ya (Japanese Sweet Shop)
x Ep 10 - Nihon Buyo (traditional Japanese dance with a fan)
x Ep 11 - Abacus
Ep 12 - Ryukyu Kimono
x Ep 13 - Bamboo
x Ep 14 - Shirakawa-go (world Heritage village with thatched houses)
x Ep 15 - Fireworks
Ep 16 - Hanging Scrolls
x Ep 17 - The Tale of Genji: Part 1
Ep 18 - The Tale of Genji: Part 2
x Ep 19 - Matcha
x Ep 20 - Tokyo Tower
x Ep 21 - Dashi
Ep 22 - Oribe-yaki (pottery)
Ep 23 - The Colorful World of Utagawa Hiroshige (mini)
Ep 24 - The Seven Gods of Good Fortune (not available)
x Ep 25 - Sushi
Ep 26 - Mikoshi (portable shrines)
Ep 27 - Yuzen Kimono
x Ep 28 - Buddhist Statues
x Ep 29 - Hot Springs
Ep 30 - Fish (not available)
x Ep 31 - Tatami (straw mats)
Ep 32 - Castles
x Ep 33 - Miso

Season 2

Ep 1 - Nishijin-ori
Ep 2 - Kyoto Lacquerware
x Ep 3 - Sake
Ep 4 - Katsura Rikyu
Ep 5 - Bonsai
x Ep 6 - The Four Seasons
Ep 7 - Hina Dolls
x Ep 8 - Nagasaki
x Ep 9 - Five-Story Pagodas
x Ep 10 - Cherry Blossoms
x Ep 11 - Chopsticks
x Ep 12 - Aizome (Indigo dye)
Ep 13 - Bunraku
Ep 14 - Kiriko Cut Glass
x Ep 15 - Traditional Folk Houses
x Ep 16 - Tea Ceremony
x Ep 17 - Soba
Ep 18 - Origami
Ep 19 - Imari Porcelain
Ep 20 - Folding Fan
x Ep 21 - Kaiseki Cuisine
X Ep 22 - The Sounds of Japan
Ep 23 - Masks
x Ep 24 - Satoyama - The Japanese countryside of rice paddies where people live in harmony with nature, creating an oasis for wildlife.
Ep 25 - Kendo (Sword fighting)
x Ep 26 - The Fragrances of Japan (scented woods)
x Ep 27 - Spinning Tops
x Ep 28 - Rock and Stone
x Ep 29 - Ink Brushes
x Ep 30 - Tsukemono
x Ep 31 - Dogs
x Ep 32 - Ramen
x Ep 33 - Rice
x Ep 34 - Shinto Shrine
Ep 35 - Festivals
x Ep 36 - Shinkansen (Bullet train)
Ep 37 - Gagaku (ancient imperial court music and dance)
x Ep 38 - Marriage
Ep 39 - Shogi (Japanese board game like Chess - also in Jap Plus)
x Ep 40 - Nabe Cuisine (Japanese Hot Pot)
Ep 41 - Sword

Season 3

x Ep 1 - Sentou (bath houses)
Ep 2 - Karuta
Ep 3 - Taiko
Ep 4 - Cram School
Ep 5 - Light
x Ep 6 - Footwears
Ep 7 - Monkey
x Ep 8 - Soy Sauce
Ep 9 - Tuna
x Ep 10 - Fusuma (sliding doors with decorated paper)
Ep 11 - Pearl
x Ep 12 - Todaiji (Bronze Buddha at ancient capital of Nara)
x Ep 13 - School Lunches
Ep 14 - Geiko and Maiko
x Ep 15 - Robots
x Ep 16 - Wasabi
Ep 17 - Women's Fashion Magazines (Just a mini of shots)
x Ep 18 - Izakaya
x Ep 19 - Apartments and Condominiums
x Ep 20 - Towns and Neighbourhoods
x Ep 21 - Tempura
x Ep 22 - Subways
Ep 23 - Hairstyles
x Ep 24 - Home Appliances
x Ep 25 - Roof Tiles
x Ep 26 - Miniaturization
x Ep 27 - Silk
x Ep 28 - Soybeans - and products like tofu, miso and natto
x Ep 29 - Curry
x Ep 30 - Dams
x Ep 31 - Hotels
Ep 32 - Radio Calisthenics
x Ep 33 - Ekiben (railroad bento lunches)
x Ep 34 - Bridges
x Ep 35 - Earthquakes
Ep 36 - Chrysanthemums
Ep 37 - Cameras
x Ep 38 - Hiragana (one of the Japanese phonetic alphabets)
x Ep 39 - Udon
x Ep 40 - Money
Ep 41 - Nishikigoi
x Ep 42 - Volcanoes
Ep 43 - Firefighting

Season 4

x Ep 1 - Mochi Rice Cake
x Ep 2 - Watches and Clocks
x Ep 3 - Fugu Blowfish
Ep 4 - Haneda Airport
Ep 5 - Kagura Dances
x Ep 6 - Snow
Ep 7 - Pollen Allergy
x Ep 8 - Sashimono Woodwork
Ep 9 - Cranes
x Ep 10 - Kitchen Knives
x Ep 11 - Fishing
Ep 12 - Armour
Ep 13 - Judo
Ep 14 - The Life of Taro Okamoto
Ep 15 - The Life of Osamu Dazai
Ep 16 - The Life of Kenzo Tange
Ep 17 - The Life of Hideko Maehata
x Ep 18 - Toilets
Ep 19 - Lifts (not available)
Ep 20 - Motorcycles
x Ep 21 - Unagi Eel
Ep 22 - Japanophiles - Ilan Yanizky
Ep 23 - Japanophiles - Silvain Guignard
Ep 24 - Japanophiles - Stéphane Danton
Ep 25 - Japanophiles - Dorothy Feibleman
x Ep 26 - Plastic Food Samples
x Ep 27 - Insects
Ep 28 - Traditional Japanese Mathematics (not available)
x Ep 29 - Bicycles
Ep 30 - Chusonji
x Ep 31 - Seaweed
Ep 32 - Charcoal
x Ep 33 - Rain
Ep 34 - Golf
Ep 35 - Shipbuilding
Ep 36 - Japanophiles - Bruce Huebner
Ep 37 - Japanophiles - Noelke Muho
x Ep 38 - Japanophiles - Matt Alt
Ep 39 - Karaoke
Ep 40 - Holidays
x Ep 41 - Red Sea Bream
x Ep 42 - Shopping Streets
x Ep 43 - Chickens and Eggs

Season 5

Ep 1 - Ekiden (relay races)
Ep 2 - Batteries
x Ep 3 - Cafes
x Ep 4 - Hot Water Bottles and Pocket Warmers
Ep 5 - Ikebana
Ep 6 - Excavators
Ep 7 - Woods & Forests (not available)
Ep 8 - Japanophiles - Dhugal Lindsay
Ep 9 - Japanophiles - Richard Emmert
Ep 10 - Japanophiles - Art Lee
Ep 11 - Japanophiles - Philip Harper
Ep 12 - Kabuki
x Ep 13 - Wild Vegetables
Ep 14 - Horses
Ep 15 - Massage Chairs
x Ep 16 - Shikoku Pilgrimage
x Ep 17 - Regional Fast Food
x Ep 18 - Department Stores
Ep 19 - Kimonos
x Ep 20 - Aquariums
x Ep 21 - Confectionery
Ep 22 - Dolls
x Ep 23 - Moss
Ep 24 - High School Baseball
Ep 25 - Planetariums
Ep 26 - Japanophiles - Adam Booth
Ep 27 - Japanophiles - Dave Spector
Ep 28 - Japanophiles - Euan Craig
x Ep 29 - Shamisen
Ep 30 - Crested Ibises
Ep 31 - Abalone
x Ep 32 - Tokyo Station
x Ep 33 - Tokyo Skytree
x  Ep 34 - Tokyo Bay
x Ep 35 - Potatoes, Taros, and Yams
Ep 36 - Name Seals
x Ep 37 - Mushrooms
x Ep 38 - Vending Machines
Ep 39 - Scissors
x Ep 40 - Satsuma Mandarins (the kind grandma has)
Ep 41 - Gift-giving
Ep 42 - Mapping Kyoto Streets

Season 6

x Ep 1 - Sumo
Ep 2 - Bathroom Scales
Ep 3 - Enka
Ep 4 - Small Factories
Ep 5 - Japanophiles - Azby Brown
Ep 6 - Japanophiles - Ernst Seiler
Ep 7 - Japanophiles - Yasokichi Konishiki
x Ep 8 - Ume Plums
x Ep 9 - Storehouses (historic earthen buildings)
x Ep 10 - Wagyu (Japanese beef)
Ep 11 - Uniforms
x Ep 12 - Rice Cookers
x Ep 13 - Burial Mounds
x Ep 14 - Stationery (Pens, mechanical pencils, tape, craft knives)
x Ep 15 - Bread
x Ep 16 - Pine Trees
x Ep 17 - Parcel Delivery
Ep 18 - Pro Wrestling
Ep 19 - Strawberries
Ep 20 - Calculators
Ep 21 - Television
Ep 22 - Lake Biwa
Ep 23 - Expressways
Ep 24 - Beer
Ep 25 - Japanophiles - Mike Harris
x Ep 26 - Japanophiles - Karl Bengs - A German trying to revitalize mountain communities in Japan
Ep 27 - Japanophiles - Kenny Omega
x Ep 28 - Shakuhachi (bamboo traditional flute)
x Ep 29 - Convenience Stores
Ep 30 - Used Books
Ep 31 - Women's Nylons
Ep 32 - Remote Islands
Ep 33 - Characters and Mascots
Ep 34 - Grapes
Ep 35 - Makeup
x Ep 36 - Ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints)
x Ep 37 - Buses
Ep 38 - Parties and Gatherings
x Ep 39 - Conveyor Belt Sushi
x Ep 40 - Pets

Season 7

x Ep 1 - Persimmons
x Ep 2 - Nighttime Scenery
x Ep 3 - Ise Jingu - The greatest Shinto shrine in the city of Ise in Mie prefecture
x Ep 4 - K-cars - The sub-sub compact cars that made Japan an auto power and allowed Japanese families to afford a car.
x Ep 5 - Japanophiles - Nancy Singleton Hachisu - The author of Japanese Farm Food and Preserving the Japanese Way
Ep 6 - Japanophiles - Chris Hart
Ep 7 - Japanophiles - Rogier Uitenboogaart
x Ep 8 - Railways
Ep 9 - Pianos
x Ep 10 - Squid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic6fiwCIzmg

Lunch On!

I know, I know.  I haven't finished the 300 plus episodes of Begin Japanology and Japanology Plus but thought I might look at NHK's "Lunch ON!" series, which is meant to offer insights into working people of all kinds by looking at their lunches.  Would only the Japanese thing of that?

I started with "Lunch at the Kyoto Woodblock Studio" (Season 2 Episode 4) where the staff (about 15) take turns cooking lunch and have to stay within a 2,000 yen budget (plus any leftovers in the fridge).  Fernando says he prefers the Japanology programs -- maybe he misses the narrator Peter Barakan.  But they have one on "40 Years of Lunch Together at the Balloon Factory" and who could resist that?

As I was looking over the NHK schedule of English language programs, a few more caught my eye: Kawaii International (on Japanese Pop culture), Cool Japan (in which foreigners look into something Japanese, like Beans) and Dining with the Chef, which they offer on our local PBS Create TV channel.  Looking for the Bean episode on YouTube I stumbled across another NHK series:  Your Japanese Kitchen, the most popular episode evidently being "shabu shabu" -- the Japanese version of hotpot.  Yes, we are really immersing ourselves in Japanese culture...  Now, if only I could find some of that slimy natto.

Oh oh.  I ran across another NHK series: Core Kyoto.

Chromecasting Japanology

A couple of days ago, Fernando asked me why I wasn't "chromecasting" my Japanology programs to the TV.  A lot of extra work, if you asked me.  But after seeing the greatly improved picture quality on the TV, I was a complete convert.  I had assumed the picture quality would be the same -- isn't it coming over the same wire?  But the full-screen YouTube video on my MacBook Air is really pixelated and indistinct.  When it is transmitted to the TV, it is perfect.  Thus I won't be watching any more episodes on my laptop.  Poor Fernando.  Now not only does he have to watch Rick Steves and Lidia Bastianich, but he's got a couple of Japanologies a day to contend with as well.

Naturally I've been choosing episodes he might like:  the Abacus, Sento (Japanese Bathhouses), A Trip through Akihabara (the electronics section of Tokyo), Sumo, Mt. Fuji, Making and Cooking Rice (he fell asleep a quarter through that one).  I'm really having trouble remembering which ones I've seen so it is good that I'm writing them down, although I'm not quite sure what is the best way to keep track of them.  They have two versions of Sento and rice, a Begin Japanology one and a Japanology Plus one.  In any case, I'm making good headway.

Japanology Plus

So after Begin Japanology, the season went to Japanology Plus, described as: "Going a step further from our previous series BEGIN Japanology, host Peter Barakan visits experts in various fields to show Japanese culture from a new perspective."  It also generally has a little clip with Matt Ault, an American translator in Japan who adds a bit of youthful enthusiasm.

Let's see if we can find all the episodes so we don't miss a choice one that isn't pulled up by YouTube in the preview column.  They have a list on the TVDB but the episode numbers often don't coincide exactly with the numbers on YouTube.  I'll x the episodes as I watch them so I remember...  Eventually I'll link them all...
OH Golly!  After all this work, I come across: Japanology TV where they list all the programs of both Begin Japanology and Japanology Plus and link to most of the videos.  Ah well, I still can check off the ones I've seen here.  There are 252 Begin Japanology episodes and 79 Japanology Plus episodes with new ones being produced every two weeks, so if I watch one a day, I should have most of them watched by the time we go to Japan...

x Episode 1: Public Bathhouses in Japan - Sentō 銭湯 (4/3/2014)
x Episode 2: Having Some Delicious Ramen
x Episode 3: Mt. Fuji
x Episode 4: The Japanese Chess Shogi (remake)
Episode 5: The Great Story of the Cherry Blossom
x Episode 6: A Trip through Akihabara (A neighborhood of high tech wizardry and pop culture in Tokyo)
x Episode 7:  Wagashi (Wagashi (和菓子) is a traditional Japanese confectionery which is often served with tea, especially the types made of mochi, anko (azuki bean paste), and fruits. Wagashi is typically made from plant ingredients.)
Episode 8:  The Great Story of the Shinobi Ninja
x Episode 9:  Making and Cooking Rice
Episode 10: Castles
Episode 11: Japanophiles - Elizabeth Suzuki
Episode 12: Japanophiles - Everett Kennedy Brown
Episode 13: Japanophiles - Carolin Eckhardt
Episode 14: Going Wild For Karaoke カラオケ
x Episode 15: The Latest Bento Trends 弁当 (new version)
x Episode 16: Bamboo (new version)
Episode 17: Taiko Drums
x Episode 18: World's Largest Fish Market - Tsukiji Market (new version)
x Episode 19: Festivals
x Episode 20: Beautiful Japanese Gardens
Episode 21: The Art Of Origami 折り紙
Episode 22: Japanese Buddhist Statues
x Episode 23: The Roots of Japanese Yokai Creatures (bizarre creatures and supernatural phenomena in Japanese folklore which are today often featured in video games, anime, and manga.)
x Episode 24: Shinkansen (Bullet Train)
x Episode 25: Lessons for Life (The Japanese love to take lessons and develop new skills.)
Episode 26: Japan's Robotic Superpower (Japan is a robotics superpower with 300,000 industrial robots - more than any other country - and it is also known for its anime-like humanoid robots.)
Episode 27: Sports Days in Japan
Episode 28: The Living Works of Art: Bonsai
x Episode 29: Preparing the Most Delicious Sushi
Episode 30: Through the Eyes of a Geisha
x Episode 31: Japanophiles - Bartholomeus Greb (begin 2015 season)
Episode 32: Japanophiles - Ivan Vartanian
Episode 33: Japanophiles - Alex Bennett
x Episode 34: The Seikan Tunnel (between Honshu and Hokkaido)
x Episode 35: Snow Country
Episode 36: The Unique Japanese Comedy
x Episode 37: Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway
Episode 38: A Season of Change (spring, graduation, entrance ceremonies)
x Episode 39: Waste and Recycling
x Episode 40: Period Dramas (Plays, movies and TV dramas that depict Japan as it was in the eras up to the samurai times are called "jidaigeki", literally "period dramas". The original period dramas were kabuki plays.)
Episode 41: Weight Loss Industry
Episode 42: Dams
x Episode 43: Izakaya (also visits Kakuuchi - a liquor store where you can drink)
x Episode 44: Craft Beer
x Episode 45: Fermented Foods
x Episode 46: Umbrellas
Episode 47: Job Hunting
Episode 48: Japanophiles: Amir Takahashi
Episode 49: The English Conversation Business
Episode 50: English at School
Episode 51: Shrine & Temple Carpenters
Episode 52: Bunraku (Puppet Theater)
Episode 53: Kids' Summer Holidays
Episode 54: Swimming
Episode 55: Haunted Houses
x Episode 56: Onsen (Hot Springs)
Episode 57: Japanophiles: Andrew Mancabelli
Episode 58: Cameras
x Episode 59: Wrapping and Packaging
x Episode 60: Tokyo Housing
Episode 61: Japanophiles: Adam Zgola
Episode 62: Kombu (Seaweed)
x Episode 63: Hotels and Inns
x Episode 64: Tidying Up. Long before Marie Kondo there was Nagisa Tatsumi who wrote the "art of discarding". Peter Barakan also talks about Marie Kondo, who is cuter and so probably was tweeted more.
x Episode 65: Mt. Takao
Episode 66: Japanophiles: Maud Archambault (begin 2016 season)
x Episode 67: Silk
x Episode 68: Underground Tokyo (aired 1-28-16)
x Episode 69: Earthquake Preparedness
Episode 70: Japanophiles: Jorge Cabeza Fernandez
Episode 71: Japanophiles: Pico Iyer
Episode 72: Okinawa Dance

SEASON 2
For some reason, in April of 2016, after 3 years of programs, they decide to begin "Season 2" and these are the ones currently being broadcast.

Episode 1: Whiskey
Episode 2: Quest for Perfect Skin
x Episode 3: Bladed Tools (scissors and knives)
Episode 4: Family Crests
x Episode 5: Breakfast
Episode 6: Footwear
Episode 7: Running (6/2/2016)
Episode 8: Emoji 2016-06-16
x Episode 9: Ekiben 2016-06-23
x Episode 10: Bicycles 2016-06-30
Episode 11: Kimono 2016-07-07
Episode 12: Kokeshi Dolls 2016-07-28
x 13: Shinise: Long established businesses
14: Japanophiles: Rezaul Karim Chowdhury (A Bangladeshi soba master)
x 15: Toilets (8/18/16)
x 16: Bridges (8/25/16)  (Very interesting engineering)
17: A Nation of Singers
18: Restoring Castles
19: Volcanoes
20: School Club Activites
x 21: Smells
22: Paper
23: Japanophile Paul Lorimer: pottery
x 24: Katsuoboshi (12/1/2016) (shaved smoked skipjack tuna)
25: Day Care for Kids
26: Sweets & Snacks
27: Hairdressing
28: Japanophiles: Carine Lafitte
29: Noh Theater
30: Moving Services
31: Okinawan Karate
32: Sleep
33: Tokyo Rail Network
34: Denim
35: Japanophile: Randy Channell Soei
36: Japanophiles: Zoe Vincent
37: Buddhist Altars
x 38: Driving Schools in Japan
x 39: Curry
40: Cafes

Japanology Episode 2

I've watched my seven Japanology videos on YouTube and have learned that I don't have to eat raw fish for breakfast but can have coffee and thick toast, that it rains a lot in Japan, that the Japanese have a love affair with vending machines, that most regional fast food contains offal, and that I'm going to enjoy visiting the Department Stores -- they will be a trip back to my childhood only better because they all have food basements like the City of Paris.

Now I need to choose another seven for next week: May 28-June 3
x Seaweed
x Fermented Foods (I think I'll stick to pickles.)
x Tsukemono Pickles (pronounced skeh-mo-no) (Begin Season 2 Ep 30)
x Bicycles (Beg Jap Seas 4 Ep 29)
x Unagi Eel
x Udon
x Having some Delicious Ramen (Japanology Plus Season 1 Episode 2)

And here are the videos for June 4-June 10:
x Rice (Begin Japanology Season 2 Ep 33)
x Tsukiji (Skeejee) Market (Begin Japanology Season 1 Ep 5)
x World's Largest Fish Market Tsukiji Market (Jap + Season 1 Ep 18) - Surprisingly hardly anything was repeated in this second video of the market.
x Traditional Folk Houses (Begin Japanology Season 2 Ep 15)
x The Shikoku Pilgrimage (Begin Japanology Season 5 EP16, 2012-05-03) Very similar to the Camino de Santiago.  88 shrines in 50 days.
x Ramen (Begin Japanology Season 2 Ep. 32)
x Shinkansen (Bullet Train) (Begin Jap Season 2 Ep 36)

Fourth Week:
x Japanophiles: Matt Alt (BEGIN Japanology Season 4 Ep 38) Matt Alt is an American translator and expert in Japanese yokai.  He and his wife have published Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, which is reviewed in "Choosing the Best Yokai Books for You" and which the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has.
x The Roots of Japanese Yokai Creatures (Jap + Ep 23)
x Wagashi (The Jap Plus Ep 7 on traditional sweets made of rice flour, sugar and adzuki bean paste.)
x Dagashi-ya (Beg Jap Season 1 Ep 6 on the good old-fashioned sweet shop of the post-war years) Dagashi meaning junk sweets.  This video puts a positive spin on them.
x Confectionery (Beg Jap Seas. 5 Ep 21 2012) The Japanese take on Western Pastry.
x Cafes (Begin Jap Season 5 Ep 3)
x Potatoes, Taro and Yams (Begin Jap Seas. 5 Ep. 24)

Fifth Week:
x Tatami Mats (Begin Jap Seas 1 Ep 31)
x Yoshoku (Western style cuisine.  Beg Jap Seas. 1 Ep 4)
x Shopping Streets (Beg Jap Seas 4, Ep 42)
x Soba Noodles (Beg Jap Seas 2 Ep 17)
x The Fragrances of Japan (incense) (Beg Jap Seas 2 Ep 26)
x Silk (Beg Jap Seas 3 Ep 27)
x Matcha (Beg Jap Seas 1 Ep 16)

Sixth Week
x Persimmons (Beg Jap Seas 7 Ep 1)
x Waste and Recycling (Jap Plus Seas 1 Ep 39)
x Mochi (Rice Cakes) (Beg Jap Seas 4 Ep 1)
x Abacus (Beg Jap Seas 1 Ep 11)
x Sumo (Beg Jap Seas 6 Ep 1)
x Making and Cooking Rice (Jap Plus Seas 1 Ep 9)
x Mt. Fuji (Beg Jap Seas 1 Ep 3)

Seventh Week
x A trip through Akihabara (Jap Plus Seas 1 EP 6)
x Sentou (Japanese Bathhouses) (Beg Jap Seas 3 Ep 1) This earlier Begin Japanology episode is a bit more interesting than the Japanology Plus one on Sentou.
Karuta (Japanese Cards) (Beg Jap Seas 3 Ep 2)  Halfway through, the video starts stuttering
x Seikan Tunnel
x Onsen (Thermal Baths)
x Underground Tokyo (Jap Plus Seas1 Ep 28)
x Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway
x Moss
x Convenience Stores (Beg Jap)
x Tempura (Beg Jap Seas 3 Ep 21)

Japanology

Penny turned me on to this YouTube channel about Japan, especially about their foods.  I see that there about 7 seasons, some with 41 episodes and that will certainly keep me busy.  Juan had watched one on mushrooms that he liked a lot so that was my first episode.  I feel that there should be an organized way to view them in sequence but it is not obvious on YouTube.  They are produced by NHK World, which is the international service of NHK, Japan's public broadcasting organization.  On NHK World's website they also offer Easy Japanese with lots of audio.

So here is my first week schedule of Japanology programs to watch:
Bamboo
Vending Machines
Rain
Regional Fast Food (Beg Jap Seas 5 Ep 12)
Breakfast (to see if they have alternatives to raw fish...)
Department Stores (are they really magic kingdoms?)
Conveyor Belt Sushi

Heck, after watching all the Japanology videos, I won't even have to GO to Japan!

Japan next? Tokyo, Kyoto and Hakone?

I thought I better post something before a year lapses since my last post, April 29, 2015, about the weather on the Camino.  And I should post something about our 2 weeks on the Camino (I had left it for something to do over the winter when I couldn't garden but other things got in the way...).  Since last April we have traveled in the U.S.: California, Boston, the Outer Banks; but I don't have to prepare for those destinations like I do for a foreign country.

Mandy says we need to go to Tokyo and Kyoto and to Hakone to see Mt. Fuji.  I have no concept of the layout of Japan so a nice map would be the first step, to see which towns are near each other.  I have no bucket list of things to see and check off but would like gardens, markets, kitchenware and handicraft stores.  I want to walk the streets and wander through neighborhoods, eat the food, but not in 4 star restaurants, only in little noodle joints, or on the streets, where we can afford it.

Three weeks later:  As you can see I didn't get very far with this post.  But now I'm reading Juan and Mandy's Insight Guide to Tokyo from 2004.  It's a little dated because it talks about the effort to move the government offices outside of Tokyo in case there is an earthquake.  One of the 3 locations suggested is Fukushima...

Current Must-Do in Tokyo
Kappabashi Market.  This is where they have the fake food shops but also the restaurant supply stores.  Bento.com has a list of the various stores he found interesting: Tanaka for lacquerware;  Kondo and Okuda for bamboo products; Hashito for chopsticks; Kamata for knives; Propack for everything; and Maizuru for plastic food models, including souvenirs like magnets and keychains.  This was written in 2005, it looks like, so that's not much better than the Insight Guide.  I hope things don't change much in Japan...
On the same website (dated 2004), Yukari Pratt has a list of tools for the Japanese kitchen, like strainers, bamboo colanders, wooden lids, graters, and brushes, which she says make great gifts for gourmet friends.  It looks like I better take a big suitcase.

Antenna Shops
Prefectural "antenna shops" are retail stores that specialize in food and other products from a specific Japanese prefecture or city. Set up by local governments and located in Tokyo and other major cities, they are meant to promote an appreciation of regional foods and crafts, and encourage tourism."  Bento.com has a map of antenna shops in Tokyo and you can browse through a list of them with descriptions.  You can click through to their websites and then have google translate the Japanese for you: "Black of cartilage of pig chili soy sauce boiled (65g) and finished with a soy sauce taste of perfect Kagoshima classic knob of rice or potato shochu black pig cartilage."

Must-Do in Kyoto
Bento.com also has a section on the Nishiki Market in Kyoto, with a list of recommended shops, such as Aritsugu for knives and strainers, Dintora for Japanese spices, Fuka for fu (wheat gluten), Takakuraya for pickles, and Yubakichi for yuba (tofu skin).  They recommend following up with a visit to the nearby food floor of the Daimaru Department Store.  Department stores seem to be alive and well in Japan, with food courts in the basements, like the old City of Paris in San Francisco.  Or was that just in 2004??

The Rain in Spain

Galicia is supposed to have lots of rain - that's why it's green like Ireland - so we better plan on getting drenched once a day.  We've bought ponchos although I meant to waterproof my old windbreaker and the CampDry I bought dissolved the lining in the small area I tested so I didn't "waterproof" the rest of it.  We also have waterproof pack covers for our big backpack although they are overkill for the little ones we'll be carrying.  Here's the descriptive forecasts for the area.  Since Sarria and Santiago are only about 100 km apart the weather forecast should be pretty similar for the towns in between.  Weather Underground doesn't have the forecast beyond Friday May 8 so that will be a surprise.

Leon - Friday May 1 to Sunday May3

Sarria - Sunday night, May 3 to Tuesday May 5

Melide - Wednesday May 6 to Friday May 8

Final Itinerary

Friday, March 27th we got the email part of the CaminoWays Holiday Pack with the hotel information in it.  The accommodations are pretty much the same as they were in the first itinerary except for the casa rural in Ventas de Naron and the hotel in Santiago.  So now we can put together the itinerary for the whole trip except for the train back to Madrid.

Thurs April 30 (Day 1): Flight to Madrid from Pittsburgh via Philadelphia

• Leave Pittsburgh on US Airways Flight 4571 at 10:15 am, arriving Philadelphia at 11:25 am.
• Leave Philadelphia on US Airways Flight 740 to Madrid at 6:45 pm. (Yes, it's a 7 hour layover!!  What are we going to do for that amount of time?  You can only walk for so long.  Maybe we can take a nap somewhere on the floor.  At least we shouldn't miss the connection.)

Fri May 1 (Day 2):

• Arrive Madrid 8:20 am if we are on time and don't have to return to Philadelphia again an hour into the flight.  
• Take the Pink Metro Line 8 to Nuevos Ministerios; switch to the Blue Metro Line 10 towards the Charmartin Train Station (37 minutes total).  
• Take the 2:40 train to Leon or switch to an earlier train (10:30, 11:05) depending on when we land. 
• Check into Hotel El Rincón del Conde (118.80€ for 2 nights) on a pedestrianized street in the Barrio Humedo in the city center with wifi and private bath.

Sat May 2 (Day 3): Explore Leon

Sun May 3 (Day 4): Leave Leon and take the 10:15am ALSA bus to Lugo, arriving at 1:30pm (17.54€ apiece) and then the 1:45pm Monbus to Sarria, arriving at 2:15pm (3.70€ apiece).  The trip from Leon to Lugo goes through some of the towns on the Camino that we will be missing: Astorga, Ponferrada, Villafranca del Bierzo, Piedrafita do Cebreiro.  Lugo looks like an interesting town but I don't think we'll have time to linger, although we could take the 4:35pm bus instead and walk around.
In Sarria we stay in the Alfonso IX Hotel.  It has a sauna and swimming pool, and Wi-Fi Gratis as well as free parking.  Too bad we don't have a car...

Begin walking.  The hours are based on 30 min and 20 min miles.

Mon May 4 (Day 5):  Walk to Morgade (11 km/6.6 miles) (2.2-3.3 hours)
CaminoWays: Casa O Foilebar, a casa rural in Paradela which is 8 km south of Portomarin.   We give them a call from Morgade (I hope our phones work) and they come pick us up and then deliver us back to Morgade the next morning.  They don't mention wifi.

Tues May 5 (Day 6): Walk to PortoMarin (9 km/5.4 miles) (1.8-2.7 hours)
Stay in Pousada de Portomarin, again a run-of-the-mill hotel.  I wonder if they have any redeeming qualities like a good pilgrim's menu and a good breakfast buffet.  It appears to have wired Internet access (how do we connect an iPhone/iPad?).

Wed May 6 (Day 7): Walk to Ventas de Naron (11 km/6.6 miles) (2.2-3.3 hours)
In Ventas de Naron there are no accommodations so we'll need to call the casa rural where we have reservations, Casa do Campo in Monterroso, and they will come pick us up, as it is 8.5 kilometers off the Camino.  The casa rural in the sample itinerary was the Pazo de Ludeiro which had been featured on the Paltrow/Batalli/Bitman TV series so I'm sure the prices and demand for it went up.  Casa do Campo is also family-run and small.  It doesn't have a website so we can't check that out but there are reviews on TripAdvisor which are very positive.  No mention of wifi however.

Thu May 7 (Day 8): Walk to Palas de Rei (11 km/6.6 miles) (2.2-3.3 hours)
Stay at Complejo la Cabana  (69€)  Looks interesting and it has wifi in the common areas.

Fri May 8 (Day 9): Walk to Melide (14 km/8.4 miles) (1.8-4.2 hours)
Stay at Hotel Carlos 96, again not a very interesting hotel that's across from a Peugeot dealership but at least it is supposed to have wifi.  We anticipate having plenty of time to explore the city and eat pulpo.

Sat May 9 (Day 10): Walk to Arzua (14 km/8.4 miles) (1.8-4.2 hours)
Stay at  Casa Teodora Pension  This is on the Camino and looks nice and even has wifi in the rooms.

Sun May 10 (Day 11): Walk to Rua (16 km/9.6 miles) (3.2-4.8 hours)
Stay at O Acivro, a casa rural right on the Camino that offers wifi.

Mon May 11 (Day 12): Walk to Santiago (19 km/11.4 miles) (3.8-5.7 hours)

In Santiago we are lodged at a contemporary hotel in the business district south of the historic city center: Hotel Gelmirez, not at the Hospedería San Martín Pinario near the Cathedral, as in the sample itinerary.  Hotel Gelmirez has a public parking lot in front of it in case we are driving and it is near the Galician regional parliament.  That's somewhat disappointing but we are only there one night and then we transfer to a small 3-room hostal up by the cathedral.  The Gelmirez is a 3 star hotel and I like to stick to 2 stars because they are less sterile.  But I'm sure there won't be any bedbugs...AND it has free wifi.

Tues May 12 (Day 13): Santiago. Check out of the Hotel Gelmirez and check into Pension Acibeche, a 3-room establishment over a store.  It has wifi.  Explore the city and the Cathedral.  Get our compostela and make sure we make it to Mercado de Abastos, although we won't be buying anything to cook -- unless they cook it right there in front of us, which I understand is a possibility.

Wed May 13 (Day 14):  Take the 9:05 Renfe train to Madrid, arriving at 2:56 pm.  Check into Hotel Clement Barajas (62€) near the airport.  With free wifi and airport transportation.

Thurs. May 14 (Day 15): Flight to Charlotte 12:35 pm.  Arrive 3:51 pm.  Flight to Pittsburgh 10:09 pm.  Arrive 11:26 pm.  Yes.  Another 7 hour layover.  That's what happens when you use AAdvantage miles.  Maybe we could go into Charlotte for dinner.

Trains to and from the Camino

I wrote this post at the beginning of March.  I'm still waiting to make reservations for the last leg of the trip from Santiago de Compostela to Madrid.  Renfe still doesn't have the schedules for that route and date.

Our flight to Madrid gets in at 8:20 am on Friday, May 1st.  But with our experience with flying US Airways to Rome in November, when both flights were 3 hours late, I want to allow plenty of time to catch the train.  The high speed trains to Leon are at 11:05 and 14:40.  When we flew to Madrid in 2007 with a 7:35 arrival time, we had made reservations for the 14:05 train to Pamplona and were able to change them to the 9:50 train.  That time we went first class and there was hardly anyone else in the car so I'm hoping that maybe we can do the same thing this year although it is May 1st so the train could be crowded.  At least if we go first class where there are fewer passengers, it should be easier to get an earlier train.  So we are on the first class car (117 euros for two) of the ALVIA 04141 train that leaves from Madrid's Charmartin station at 2:40pm and arrives in Leon at 5:40.
Here are the stations along the way:
Segovia (3:11pm); Valladolid (3:50pm); Palencia (4:30pm); Sahagun (5:04)

I'll have to wait until March 13th to make the reservation from Santiago de Compostela to Madrid since they don't take reservations more than 2 months in advance.  They have a 9:05 train that arrives at 14.56 (2:56 pm).

Here's a map of the train routes.