Oxalis Holidays Newsletter November 2008

Welcome to the November 2008 newsletter from Oxalis Holidays!

It's been a busy autumn. Not content with travelling to Japan, I've been to Italy, Wales, Sweden, Denmark, and next week, the USA. I will be in New York for the Thanksgiving holiday with my American relatives. Even though I was born in the UK, I hold a US passport and I just love it how everytime I enter the US the immigration people say 'welcome home'.
When I enter Japan, the immigration and customs staff always seem relieved that I speak Japanese. They visibly perk up when I say my 'konnichiwa'. Of course now they have those evil fingerprint scanners immigration takes longer.
Well, I spent two weeks in Japan this October, travelling the country to speak to the owners of the ryokan, minshuku and hotel we use our on tours. For me it is very important to keep a good relationship and learn about changes (and ouch! price rises...) from them directly. I also search out new destinations, new ryokan and keep my knowledge up to date.

This time I had the bright idea of taking videos of destinations to put on the website. But taking a good video is not as easy as taking good photos, especially on busy streets. So I have a lot of unedited video that I need to sit down and sort through.
I stayed this time at the Yoshimizu Ryokan in Kyoto, which we use for some of our tours. I always love staying there as it has wonderful service and the most amazing location in the eastern hills of Kyoto, just next to Chion-in temple. My favourite room is in the back, as immediately in front of the windows is the bamboo forest, and I get the most restful nights' sleep there! They also have a ryokan in Tokyo, and are renovating an old farmhouse in the north of Kyoto Prefecture to make into a rural ryokan for those wanting to see rural Japan.

From Kyoto I travelled to Shirakawa-go with its thatched houses, and then down to the Kiso Valley. One thing that always strikes me when travelling to those lovely villages is how different they are when daytime visitors go home. It's like having the places all to yourself after about 4 or 5pm, as they are completely quiet and even the locals are off the streets preparing dinner.
When I talk to the owners of the small ryokan and minshuku, they tell me that fewer and fewer Japanese are staying overnight when they travel. Many people now just do day-trips, helped by the constantly-improving road and rail system. It's particularly chronic with the young, who seem to spend all their money on their mobile phones. I am therefore glad to bring them some foreign customers!

In this issue:

1. What Matt is up to
2. Photo competition
3. Accommodation spotlight: Magariya
4. Destinations spotlight:Takachiho
5. Tailor-made trips
6. Photos on Flickr
7. New staff introduction

Accommodation Spotlight

If you have been on one of our tours, you will know we often stay at small, family-run inns, as they provide fabulous food, and a wonderful, personal service. Magariya, a small minshuku (inn) in the Tono Valley fits the bill perfectly, being run by three members of the Kuraoka family. Kuraoka-san bought the old 'magariya' farmhouse from a relation who owned it but had moved to a newer house. The traditional L-shaped house was taken apart, and moved to its present location. Originally, horses lived in one wing of the house, but now the horses are gone, and Kuraoka-san shares the house with his grown daughter and son. They only have 5 rooms, but each has been decorated with an eclectic assortment of antiques including 1950s posters, books, farm implements and other interesting items. The Tono Valley is famous in Japan for its connection with Japanese folk tales, documented in the early part of the 20th century by a researcher from Tokyo, and the folk-tale theme is ever-present. The lovely old building is the real attraction, adding to the warmth of the welcome from the Kuraoka family and their meticulously-prepared meals.
In the evening, they light a small fire in the irori (sunken hearth) and grill iwana (char), a river fish common in Japan. The dinner here focuses on seafood and local vegatables. The selection of food is just amazing, and it keeps coming! A lot of Japanese cuisine never makes it out of the country, and that is because of the lack of availability of Japanese varieties of vegetables. The shiso tempura is one of my favourites. Shiso is a delicate leaf, related to mint but with a very unique flavour neither sweet nor savoury. You may have eaten it with sushi, and it's popular in Japanese restaurants wrapped around sour Japanese plums (ume). Cooked in tempura batter and then dipped in the sauce it is simply wonderful!

Magariya is in the Tono Valley in Iwate Prefecture in the north of the main island of Honshu. It takes about 3 hours by train from Tokyo to Tono and the minshuku is a short ride from the town by taxi.

Destination Spotlight

The Japan Destination Spotlight for this newsletter is Takachiho in Miyazaki Prefecture. Takachiho is associated in Japan with the creation myths that are connected with the Japanese Imperial Family. According to these legends, the Imperial Family traces its roots back to the first recorded Emperor, Jimmu, who was born in Miyazaki, and set out on a voyage which eventually took him to Asuka near present-day Nara, where his burial mound now stands. For many Japanese, Miyazaki is the cradle of their civilisation, and you can find many sites throughout this part of eastern Kyushu that are associated with the myths. There seems to be some truth behind the legend of Jimmu's voyage from Miyazaki, but Takachiho's part is perhaps more difficult to prove. According to the Kojiki chronicles, Jimmu's great-grandfather was the god Ninigi-no-mikoto, himself grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu-no-Omikami. Amaterasu is associated with Takachiho Gorge, in the famous Cave legend, where she went off to sulk in a cave after a prank by her brother. Being the sun-goddess, as she entered the cave the world was plunged into darkness. In order to tempt her out again and bring light back, another goddess named Uzume did a dance for the other gods outside the cave entrance. The curious Amaterasu peeped out and the cave door was shut quickly behind her.

The dance, known as Yokagura, are performed nightly at the Takachiho shrine in the town just above the gorge. They are a highly condensed version of dances that go on for several days and are traditionally played in local houses, and depict this and other stories from the creation legends. Although Takachiho is in a fairly remote part of northern Miyazaki Prefecture, the beautiful gorge and strange rock formations do attract some tourists. A path has been cut along the deep gorge, and you can also rent a small rowing boat to inspect the rocks up close.

Most people who make the trip to Takachiho do so as part of a longer trip in Kyushu. Takachiho is several hours drive south of Mount Aso in neighbouring Kumamoto Prefecture, and several hours north of Miyazaki city. There used to be a railway from Nobeoka on the coast but the line was damaged in a typhoon and hasn't been repaired yet. Too bad, as it was apparently a spectacular ride.
It's worth driving here, and taking some time to see te beautiful Miyazaki countryside.

We visit Takachiho on the Land of Fire tour.

Tailor made trips

We offer the option of creating a private, fully customised trip for individuals, families and small groups. We'll carefully create a tour based on your budget, your choice of destinations, accommodation, and focus it on your interests. Our expert guides can show you aspects of Japan that would normally elude the independant traveller. Get in touch for more details!

Share your photos on Flickr and Facebook

I don't have much time for social networking sites, but I do love uploading my photos and seeing those taken by our customers on their tours. I've been using Flickr almost since it started and I find it to be the best place to save photos. You can mark which photos you want everyone to see, and which to keep private. We have an Oxalis Japan Photo Pool, and you can add your favourite photos of Japan to our pool and see those from others.
Flickr Japan Photos

For those of who using Facebook, we have a new Facebook page. Come along and show your photos, make a comment, become a fan, or just take a look...
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