Japan (2008): Staying in Nagasaki

One of the things I was concerned about was balancing the budget versus my dream of staying at a ryokan versus the availability of hotels and ryokans during Japan's Golden Week.

Golden Week is usually from April 29 to May 6..it is a national holiday week and this is not a good time to travel because everybody is doing the same thing. It is best to avoid this time  to travel as Japanese all tend to take their holidays between similar dates.

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. Usually they are two-storied wooden buildings and the very good ones are horribly expensive, i.e. 35K to 60K yen per night may be the price for the very good ones with marvelous gardens and personalized service.

However, most of the books I read said the same thing: try a ryokan at least for one night's stay. Of course, not all may like the idea of sleeping on the floor even if it is on tatami mats, and sharing a public bathroom (for the more moderately priced ryokans) but due to some good timing and luck (try practice in a real onsen hehehe!) I was all mentally ready to experience it.

Inevitably, I got stuck on the problem of the May 5 – 6, 2008 accommodations.

Where and which ryokan to stay in for those days which would not leave me penniless?
My next choice was a moderately expensive or business hotel to stay in but  I didn’t like the idea. I decided to change my strategy and opted for a ryokan in Nara instead of my first goal of experiencing it in Kyoto.

For Kyoto, since I didn't want to run myself ragged trying to get to the hotel when I knew I would be dog-tired at the end of the day (with all the Kyoto walking), I opted for a hotel near the Kyoto station.
One could go for a hostel, a capsule hotel, a business hotel or even a dormitory...but I was thankful enough to have an assortment of lodgings during my Japan trip.

These ranged from the very cute and lovable apartment in Nagasaki of my friend Benjie and her hubby Joy (who worked in Nagasaki for some time), to a moderately priced inn in Osaka, to a more expensively priced hotel in Kyoto, to a traditional ryokan in Nara, and finally to the comfy and cozy houses of my classmate's Sir Boboy's siblings Helene and Lisa in Tokyo (they kindly sheltered me from the rain and winds and tried to stuff me with food every minute or mealtime *grin*).
I could swear that I only gained weight in Nagasaki (where Benjie also tried to fatten me up) and Tokyo where the sisters probably thought I lost weight with all my running around.

NAGASAKI

Spectacles Bridge

(Above: one of the most photographed items connected with Nagasaki City 

is the Spectacles Bridge or Megane-bashi and you can "see" why)

My long-time friend and fellow Technologies Benjie and her hubby Joy stayed at a very charming apartment at Leo Palace 21.

I was amazed and fell in love at how the place was designed..and I loved going to sleep by climbing up a ladder to the room above the entryway....of course that meant I robbed Joy of the chance to sleep side by side with his wife as we could not fit in that place without some elbows and knees sticking to another :-)

Aside from the ubiquitous warm toilet seat with the bidet or whatever the term may be for the convenient splash of water from a pole which pops out after one pees or poos (excuse me), I at last again met a bathtub where I could soak my aches away (the last time I had an encounter with a bathtub was in Westin Cincinnati last year where I soaked for a good while since an officemate gave me bath salts from Japan).

Leo Palace seems to have built a name for itself in having all these chains of apartment houses all over Japan. They have the right idea.You can see  their name paraded on  baseball players' uniforms on television.
For my blogs or albums connected to this city, check out the following links (I may add more later as I complete my Japan travel series, so please just check those tagged as Japan travel in the other sections of my site).


http://cuh888.multiply.com/photos/album/106/Neko-chan_in_Japan_Nagasaki_-_Leo_Palace_and_Intro
http://cuh888.multiply.com/journal/item/45/Neko-chan_in_Japan_The_Tastes_of_Nagasaki
http://cuh888.multiply.com/photos/album/108/Neko-chan_in_Japan_Nagasaki_-_Glover_Garden



And also listed below are some of my friend Benjie's links for her Nagasaki visit:

http://eslogon17.multiply.com/photos/album/21/Nagasaki_City
http://eslogon17.multiply.com/photos/album/22/Showa_Hotel_and_Mt._Inasa
http://eslogon17.multiply.com/photos/album/23/Shakuji-tei_at_Shofukuji_Temple
http://eslogon17.multiply.com/photos/album/24/Peace_Park_and_Nagasaki_Atomic_Bomb_Museum
http://eslogon17.multiply.com/photos/album/25/Nagasaki_Tall_Ship_Feastival


Arrived in Fukuoka May 1, 2008 approximately 7:30 pm.
Left on a bus for Nagasaki  from Fukuoka  approximately 9:42 pm Japan time.
Arrived Nagasaki  past midnight of May 2, 2008.


How to get  from Fukuoka to Nagasaki by bus:

As I obviously didn't want to try for a taxi ride to the train station to get to Nagasaki (not to mention my JR pass was only good for 7 days, I chose the bus). I asked Joy for directions and luckily it was easy enough for me since the last stop of tbe bus is in Nagasaki so no fear of me overshooting my destination. I felt bad though as they had to stay up for me since my flight was delayed. But I wanted an adventure, so I told Joy not to fetch me from the airport anymore as it would be a waste of good yen.

Get a bus ticket from the machine dispenser near the stalls for the  bus and cellphone rentals. Ticket costs 2500 Yen if memory serves me right. Go out of the  airport exit and turn to your left.  Stop #2  will be the bus for Nagasaki, but wait for it to arrive by  the schedule printed on your ticket or else there will be another bus  bound for another place in that  area :-)

- May 17, '08 12:18 AM

Neko-chan in Japan: Fantastic Fukuoka!

May 1, 2008: Philippines -> Fukuoka -> Nagasaki 

Our flight through Philippine Airlines Manila to Fukuoka was delayed, We finally left Philippine airspace approximately 4:30 pm and I got through Fukuoka airport Immigration and Customs past 8 pm. I was seated next to a friendly and kind Japanese man. I first noticed him chuckling when I complained in the dialect to the stewardess that I was really hungry and my stomach was throwing embarrasing sounds. 

The stewardess was kind enough to offer me peanuts after takeoff. The Japanese guy had also called my attention to help give a warning when a woman in the lavatory didn't lock the door and people kept trying to get in. Three of us passengers seated near each other kept telling people not to get in the lavatory for the next 10 minutes. Wahaha! 

After our dinner, when the Japanese noticed I was perusing through my Lonely Planet Japanese phrasebook, we struck a conversation and he was giving me tips left and right which proved to be very useful to me later..especially the one about it being Golden Week and for me to make a reservation and exchange for my coupon as soon as I got to a JR Station. 

Working past midnight every night for the last 2 weeks had taken its toll and I snored the rest of the flight away, waking up just in time to pull the rented cellphone and queuing up for Immigration and Customs. 

In attempting to make a call, I found a problem. I was tired and mad and hungry, however I was in Japan at last. 

Link on getting your own phone and using it in Japan plus my phone problems at first in: 
http://cuh888.multiply.com/journal/item/44/Kitty_Trail_Japan_2008_-_Calls 

Carrying only some ensaymadas and cheese rolls from "Mary Grace" didn't put me in any trouble with Customs so I passed through easily enough, After pulling my bag (which was already kindly set on the floor instead of going around the carousel - how nice!), I proceeded to the Information Center, got some Nagasaki brochures, asked for the bus schedule (got pointed to the other stall) and then went to check their toilets. I also set my watch by 1 hour ahead since I was now officially on Japan time. 

Going to the JR Station was already a bit late and would require a taxi, plus I planned for only 7 days use of the JR Pass so bus was definitely the way to go. The bus departures schedule and stall was near the cellphone rentals stall. 

The bus journey from Fukuoka to Nagasaki would take more than 2.5 hours and would be departing from Fukuoka airport by 9:42 pm. The ticket cost 2500 Yen.That was the first breakup of my first 10K yen bill. The in-charge showed me how to push the bill through the machine, push the button for the amount and get the ticket and change. There! Easy as pie and my first introduction to how things work in Japan for tickets. This is how it usually is for bus and train ticket dispensers as well as vending machines. 

The bus stop stand would be #2, which was left of the usual exits from the airport terminal. I moved out of the arrival area through one of the numerous exit doors and stared at the vending machines. I was a bit hungry already but I could only see rows and rows of drinks. 

I called Joy, said a hi to Vanjie and told both of them that I was on the way to Nagasaki on the next bus and told him to please have some leftovers for me as I would probably be arriving past 12 midnight (Priorities you know).

Luckily the last stop of the bus would be in Nagasaki and I would be thrown out by that time even if I could not recognize the place or the characters announcing Nagasaki bus stop!

I went out and waited with a group of young men at the bus stop. I knew that Fukuoka also had nice places to visit but sadly I could only see it that night, since the next time I would be passing by would be on my way to Osaka, and I would probably have a few minutes only to make the train transfer. 

Your luggage will be hoisted over with some help by either the driver or one of the bus company's employees so don't worry about hauling it into the luggage area under the bus (although maybe they just do it for foreigners because I certainly didn't see them help put the luggage in for the other Japanese on the bus). 

The bus started off on time and after plugging my Ipod earphones, I alternated between snoozing fitfully and staring at the passing countryside on the way to Nagasaki. 

Places to check out if ever one has time to visit Fukuoka again: 

- Fukuoka Castle and Ohori Park - its location allows you to see views of Fukuoka 

- Shofukuji Temple - believed to be the oldest Zen temple in Japan 

- Tochoji Temple - on the second flooor is Japan's largest seated wooden Buddha 

- Kushida Shrine - Fukuoka's oldest shrine


Kodak V803 cam.