Japan adventure with my travel buddy, Angeline

Japan is trains, subways, bicycles and long walks.

The Japanese love walking. I was told they can walk from one to three kilometers. It’s usual in Osaka from morning till night: foreign and local tourists with their luggage and suitcases rolling traverse the sidewalk either on their way to their hotel destination or the train station.

Bicycles are also a transportation of choice.  Young and old, man or woman, students or the working class including fashionably-garbed women with makeup ride the bicycle. For longer trips, they take the bus or the trains on scheduled trips. Foreign and local tourists with their luggage in tow all walk to take the train.

The Japanese people don’t necessarily need the English language or any other foreign language to survive. It is the guests who need to understand or learn their language.

These are some important notes on my recent trip to Japan with my first-timer travel buddy, my 14-year old daughter, Angeline.

Angeline is being treated for Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) for seven years now.   Her ailment caused her to be delayed in academics with her motor skills badly affected. She's still having a hard time grasping a pen and she hates long walks because she tires easily.

Angeline at NAIA Terminal 3 excited to board her first plane and travel abroad

She was the reason for the Japan travel. Her school, St. Francis School-VSA arts Philippines, was invited to participate in the Rock & Art 2017 Osaka Festival, to showcase their talent in Saori Japanese weaving. The delegation consisted of kids with various disabilities and talents, which is why weaving therapy is included in the special curriculum called  Learning Through the Arts.

The technology is specifically designed to engage differently-abled persons in handloom weaving as a therapeutic rehabilitation for their physical, mental, social, and vocational ability. It features a hand- held lever in place of the treadle in interchanging heddles to lock wefts. The therapeutic handlooms also promote easy weaving comprehension as it only needs eye-hand coordination for its users.

SAORI is a hand- weaving program founded by a Japanese lady, Misao Jo, in 1968 for self-expression and had produced 40,000 weavers in Japan, regardless of age, gender, disability or intellectual aptitude. It was then brought overseas in more than 40 countries including the Philippines.

St. Francis School in Quezon City served as the Saori Urban Handweaving Center with four portable handweaving looms from Japan and Thailand plus 10 new looms designed and donated by the DOST NCR (PTRI) Philippine Textile Research Institute last May 4.

When my contact person in Osaka said she cannot see us upon arrival at Kansai International Airport, I resolved to myself that I should be able to make it to our hotel destination on my own. 

We boarded the Cebu Pacific flight on time at 3:30 p.m. and arrived at Kansai International Airport at 7:30 pm (8:30 pm, Japan time). The long queue at Kansai immigration due to high traffic of foreign and local tourists, held us up for an hour or more. My focus then was to be able to reach our hotel destination which is Sun Plaza 2 Annex. The lady officer at the Tourism Information Counter gave me the precise direction: “Go upstairs, buy ticket and ride the train going to Shin Imamiya Station. From there you only walk 2 minutes and you are in your hotel.”

But the teller gave me tickets for Haginochaya station instead, perhaps because of the misleading address of the hotel in Nishinari-ku Haginochaya. We missed our station and we had to transfer rides four times before we finally alighted.

We made it to Osaka on our own!

With at least 11 train lines plying Japan’s railway, riding the train isn’t as simple as anyone may think, especially for a first- timer in Japan like me. It’s complicated. They have lifts and escalators alright, but to play safe, we had to use the stairs, going up and down, to transfer lines. Imagine my daughter negotiating the long stairs filled with fears and anxiety.

Angeline negotiating the long stairs down to transfer to another train line

I think we rode the last trip to Haginochaya. The railway closes by midnight. The amiable Japanese woman I approached was almost in frantic when I said I’m going to Haginochaya. She alighted from the train we rode together, ran and talked to a train driver in the nearby line to make sure we would be dropped at our destination.

Haginachoya is 'ghostly' and the smallest station in Osaka Kansai, far from the high-tech, well appointed train stations we have seen at the time Angeline and I were doing the 'amazing race' at the railway 

From the deserted Haginochaya station, Angeline and I started searching for our hotel. The only station staff motioned to us that it’s just within the area. We rounded the area several times asking Japanese on bikes and on the bars to help us locate the hotel. The Osakans were helpful and polite when you ask for help despite the language barrier. Using their high-tech mobile phones, they would take time to google the hotel and show you exactly the image and address of the hotel.

Every time Angeline was on the verge of complaining and crying, I would be telling her: “This is Japan. This is your dream to see Japan right? Do not cry. We can make it we would be in our hotel the soonest.” Then we would be chanting together: Hello Japan, here we are!”

Two elderly customers of the last bar we knocked in said they knew our hotel. One of the men took our luggage and offered to see us through the hotel. And they did! That was the longest walk I ever had – and for my daughter who hardly walks long back home.

Our 'midnight hotel.' Thank you for serving us as our refuge. To the Japanese couple we met there
who offered help, thank you so much. I hope to meet you again in the future.

It was past midnight when we arrived at the hotel and the reception area was already closed. We had to wait till 7 a.m. before we can get the key to our reserved room. My main concern that moment was for Angeline to rest and get much- needed sleep after a strenuous day from the railway’s mini amazing race to our hotel. So after feeding her with a hotdog bun and hot cup noodle from the nearby Family Mart, I made her sleep on the four seats put together – at the hotel lobby.

With the elevator at our back, practically all the guests that came and went saw us. One Japanese couple approached me and offered to book us in the nearby hotel so we can properly rest and sleep. The woman hardly spoke English but she tried to communicate with me. “We concern (about you and daughter),” she said. She even tried to offer money to pay for our hotel nearby but I refused so she offered to buy us a drink, but again I thanked her saying we just had dinner.  

When I told her we are staying at the hotel for six days and that I’m willing to wait for 7 a.m. she replied they are staying at the fourth floor, perhaps indicating her willingness to help us just in case I changed my mind. Luckily her husband assisted me with the wi-fi password of the hotel so I was able to communicate with my contact person.

It was almost 2 a.m. when my contact person picked up my call through the FB’s messenger. She said she would go down to give our key. But we never met... We were at the wrong hotel!

It was the longest midnight of my life as my daughter lay asleep dead tired.  While she was sleeping I couldn’t help but shed some tears thinking if I made the right decision to travel to Japan on our own, or if I really need to travel to Japan in the first place. I cried because I felt guilty of compromising the health of my kid, that we should not be in a pitiful situation like this – sleeping on the  lobby (the hotel's smoking area) on a makeshift bed and that I was giving my kid a sad memory of Japan.

On a positive note, I realized that being with my daughter was a big consolation in itself. I couldn’t imagine myself staying on the lobby alone. With her, I had all the reasons in the world to take refuge in that cold and cigarette-smelling lobby. If Hotel Sun Plaza II has a CCTV showing a modern Madonna as midnight guest on August 23, that must be me and Angeline.

Angeline up by 5AM ready to look for Sun Plaza 2 annex

At 5 a.m., I woke her up and we started rounding the area to locate our hotel. We stopped by the Family Mart for some breakfast and coffee. We failed to locate our hotel so we went back to the Sun Plaza II to wait for a staff to help us. An hour later, a utility staff showed up to clean the lobby. Showing him the address, written in Japanese by the information officer in Kansai Airport, the man led us to the main gate of the hotel and to the main street. Pointing to the left side of the street, Sun Plaza 2 annex is on the other side of Sun Plaza 2 some 300-500 meters away.

The Tourism Information Officer at Kansai airport was right: Sun Plaza 2 annex is just 20-50 steps away from Shin Imamiya station exiting through the JR line. Shin Imamiya Station is actually at the back of our hotel. Exiting the JR line, Sun Plaza 2 annex is the third hotel from Shin Imamiya station. Haginochaya station, where Angeline and I exited, is three stations away from Shin Imamiya so imagine how far we had walked to reach our hotel.

Our contact person was still sleeping when we knocked on her door. And finally in our hotel room, we slept the sweetest sleep of our life some 2000 miles (by plane) away from the Philippines.

At Sun Plaza 2 annex with Ma'am Becky

Angeline and her instant friend, dancing partner at the hotel lobby

Angeline and I woke up at lunch time invigorated and spirited. Setting aside the 'bad dream' we had, we decided to enjoy our first day at Osaka roaming around the area, buying food from the nearby 24-hour grocery just ahead of Shin Imamiya Station and walking past our hotel to the nearby subway station to look for other establishments of interest.

Osaka by night. Japanese walk with their luggage in tow in the spacious
 sidewalk of the highway. I couldn't get good photos of them as it is discourteous
to take photos of them without their knowledge.

Osaka by night. Bicycles are properly parked on the sidewalk

  

At night, Angeline enjoyed dancing with Peppero, Sun Plaza hotel’s signature talking and dancing robot greeting guests at the lobby which is packed with amenities including unlimited supply of drinking water, cube ice, hot & cold coffee, and hot & cold green tea (macha).  

We survived the subway!

My good friend from Osaka, Leona Nepomuceno, the attache and director for West Japan of the Philippine’s Department of Tourism, invited us for lunch and to visit the DOT Osaka office on August 24.

Hindi kami naligaw! She was happy about it

Angeline and her new Japanese friends, Chinatsu Matsubara and Yui Yamada at DOT Osaka

Through the messenger, she gave us this detail: Take the Midosuji or red line on the subway. Get off at Hommachi, five stations away from the station nearest your hotel, the Dobutsuen-Mae Station. At Honmachi exit at gate 7, then exit at St. Regis Hotel. Look for Tsuraya Gold Building and Honmachi Dis Building with the Its More Fun in the Philippines signage would be next.”

We went to the subway but took the upward direction going to Maruhan, an imposing building offering a variety of entertainment amenities like pachinko parlors, bowling alleys, golf driving ranges, amusement facilities, cinemas and other leisure-related businesses. We also found our favorite Daiso store which is just across the street from Maruhan. After some stroll within the area, we decided to go down again and ride the subway. Taking extra care not to repeat our first train experience, I counted the train stations and listened intently to the voice over direction so I wouldn’t miss Hommachi. Before exiting St. Regis, I asked a young executive for direction. Luckily, he speaks English and he saw us through the DOT building in Hommachi, Osaka.

We had a pleasant lunch over a hot Canshu ramen at the famed Ippudo of Osaka, almost a kilometer away from the DOT office. Since Angeline was complaining of long walk, Leona decided that we take a cab on our way back to Sun Plaza 2 annex. It was a short taxi ride, or perhaps it was just because there is no traffic in Osaka. Our taxi fare amounted to JPY 1720 for a 20-minute ride of a clean and immaculately white- covered seat taxi driven by a senior citizen.

Saori Osaka

The train ride from the JR line to Saori headquarters at 5-13-4 Nakano-cho Miyahojima-ku proved to be another challenge. But traveling with Saori Philippine delegation for the first time, I threw my worries away and let the teacher-in-charge take the trouble. We had two transfers before finally alighting the nearest station.

A newly- married Filipino couple assisted us in locating Saori office, a happy place for Japanese with various disabilities to express their creativity through weaving and music. Our kids joined the Saori weaving workshop, met and interacted with their Japanese counterparts, and did final practice for the next day’s presentation. After a snack of pansit and sinigang which the Japanese enjoyed, we took a smooth train ride back to Sun Plaza 2 annex.

The Philippine delegates to Rock & Art Osaka 2017 Festival

Angeline with Gale and Patty

Angeline and her modeling partner JM

Mentors and parents

The following day, the Philippine delegation wowed and rocked the Saori Osaka headquarters with their modeling, cultural dance and drum number by JM with Angeline leading the audience to a merry dance. We went back to our hotel fulfilled and happily- looking forward to a tour in Kyoto the following day.

Hello Kyoto

After the two-day festive event, it was time to roam and explore Osaka. Our group booked earlier with Klook through the website and we got the Kyoto-Arishiyama-Nara Park-Todaiji Temple tour. We survived the train ride from the JR line to Osaka City air terminal (OCAT) where our Limon bus travel service was waiting. In a jiffy we were in Kyoto.

Located in the western outskirts of Japan with the mountain across the Ōi River which forms a backdrop to the district, this former capital of Japan, on the island of Honshu, is famous for its numerous classical Buddhist temples, as well as gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines and traditional wooden houses. For a better feel of the place, we rounded the Higashiyama District where the streets are lined by small shops, cafes and restaurants which have been catering to tourists and pilgrims for centuries. These businesses retain their traditional design, although many have been renovated through the years, according to our tour guide, and they continue to serve customers today, selling local specialties such as Kiyomizu-yaki pottery, sweets, pickles, crafts and other souvenirs.

The Nandaimo gate leading to Kodaiji Temple

From Higashiyama, our group is transported to Arashiyama, a nationally designated Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty. We stroll around its famed Bamboo Grove and take photos to our heart’s delight. After a leisurely walk of the 500 meter cool bamboo path we proceeded to Kyoto Station to ride the train going to Nara Park where deer and reindeer roam and interact with tourists. But the highlight of the tour at Nara is the Kodaiji Temple which was constructed in 1605 in memory of Toyotomi Hideyoshi by the great political leader's wife. It features temple halls, gravel and landscape gardens, teahouses and a bamboo grove.

We missed the temple as Angeline already complained of the long walk under the summer heat of Japan. We contended ourselves with picture-taking of the gigantic all-wood structure called Nandaimo gate leading to Kodaiji Temple and taking refuge from the heat of the sun by sitting under the shady trees of Nara Park while cooling up with a soda drink. After which we took the Limon bus to OCAT, rode the train to JR line and rest for the night. The next morning would be our flight to Narita International airport to visit relatives at Chiba Prefecture, a one-hour land drive to Japan’s famous Tokyo. 

Our trip to Japan was made possible by Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) which has the most extensive network between Japan and the Philippines, linking Tokyo (Narita), Nagoya, Osaka (Kansai) and Fukuoka to Manila. The 61-strong CEB fleet has an average age of 4.96 years and is comprised of three Airbus A319, 36 Airbus A320 and eight Airbus A330. Between 2017 and 2022, CEB expects delivery of seven A321CEO (Current Engine Option), 10 ATR 72-600 and 32 Airbus A321NEO (New Engine Option) aircraft.

CEB flies daily to Osaka at 3:30 pm.

(To be continued… Our Chiba, Japan adventure)