Japan
By RW Bro Ted Simmons OAM
A treasure trove of delights Planning for a future holiday has always been a dream for the average person and even today’s virus-infected world has not stopped people from looking ahead.
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f travel restrictions are lifted or eased in time, the double possibility beckons of linking this year’s Olympic Games with a cultural and historical tour of present and ancient Japan. The 33rd Olympic Games are scheduled to start in Tokyo on 23 July and will consist of 339 events in 33 sports with more than 11,000 athletes expected from 206 nations. Australia is one of the few countries to have contested every Games and has twice been host – in Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney 2000. A treasure trove of at least 14 cultural and four natural UNESCO World Heritage attractions are spread across Japan, including temples, Mt Fuji, the ancient capital of Nara, Kyoto, and historical Tokyo which would be a logical starting point. There are combinations of half day and full day tours with pickup at your hotel which will take you to numerous attractions. Otherwise, transport by train, bus or taxi makes it easy to become acquainted with Tokyo where a half day tour will visit the Imperial Palace, the Tokyo Tower, gardens, Ginza shopping,
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shrines and even a river cruise. Enjoy a pleasant walk through the Palace East Gardens, visit the inner moat with 15 foot (5 metre) thick walls and pine trees surrounding the 250-acre fortress, the home of the Emperor and Empress. Maybe a 40-minute Sumida river cruise from Hinode Pier to see a blend of old and new Tokyo at Asakusa is more to your liking. Stroll along Nakamise shopping street which leads to Kannon Temple, one of the finest Buddhist temples in Japan. If your timing is right, you could have your photograph taken with a ninja or samurai, swords included. If you prefer a full day tour, an organised visit to Kamakura and Yokohama will include Kotoku-in Temple with the Great Buddha, Hasadera Temple, a lunch stop, then on to Yokohama’s China Town, a visit to Sankelen Gardens and a drive over the Yokohama Bay Bridge before returning to your hotel.
atmosphere in the Special Observatory makes many visitors feel they are floating in space. If you prefer to be closer to the ground, regular events are provided every week on the first floor. There is so much more to see, a tourist could spend weeks in Tokyo. My organised five-day tour started with the impressive Mt Fuji and moved on to Hakone, Kyoto and Hiroshima before returning to Tokyo on the remarkable bullet train. The coach drove along the Chuo Expressway to the Fuji Visitor Centre and continued half way up the mountain to Mt Fuji’s 5th Station, leaving us free to see the vast surrounding areas, clouds permitting. On to the hotel at Hakone for a Japanese-style lunch, an afternoon cruise on the former crater Lake Ashi and a ride on the Komagatake Ropeway to end an interesting day.
Back to the present and to the 333m high Tokyo Tower. A science-fiction like
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