Oxalis Holidays Newsletter September 2008

Oxalis Holidays Newsletter September 2008 Welcome to the September 2008 newsletter from Oxalis Holidays! Summer is always a quiet time for us in Japan, but a busy time in the office as we prepare for the autumn tours. I myself will be travelling around Japan in October, doing research for upcoming tours. It's of course a highlight of my job, getting out and hitting the streets and trails to find new restaurants, ryokan and family-run minshuku. One thing that is important is that I explain to prospective accommodations what type of tours we operate. Many of these places very rarely have foreign guests, and don't have English-speaking staff. They can be apprehensive about welcoming a group of foreigners, so I need to explain that we have a bi-lingual tour leader with the group who can translate and explain the food and facilities to our guests. Another thing that I need to explain is that our guests go on trips over one or two weeks. That is unheard of for Japanese tourists, which rarely last more than 2 or 3 days. So I need to explain that our guests are travelling for 14 days or so and that entails certain needs such as washing laundry, etc. If you have ever looked at a Japanese tour brochure, all the pictures are of food. That is because these places sell themselves in Japan as weekend retreats for friends, couples and companies looking for good food, a hot spring bath and a lovely view. Well, that is part of our job, bridging the gap between cultures! We love to bring our overseas guests to small, family-run ryokan and minshuku that are a little out of the way. They consistently serve the best food, and have the best service. Many of you will be reading this in North America, Australia, Switzerland, Germany or Croatia, as well as the UK. Even though we are a UK-based company, 75% of our guests are from outside the UK. Now, since the British Pound has just taken a dive against most currencies, our trips are now about 10% CHEAPER! Of course that's bad news for us, as we pay for our tours in Yen, but let's look on the bright side. If you have a tour booked for later this year or next you can save some money by paying the remaining balance now. Of course I cannot predict what will happen with the Pound, and the Pound may get even weaker, you are certainly getting a deal if you are paying from outside the UK. I just thought you'd like to know! Something else I'd like to mention is that I will sending this newsletter out every 1-2 months. Some of you who signed up may be expecting to receive it less, so if you'd rather not get our (slightly) more frequent emails, then you can instantly remove yourself from this list at this address: http://www.oxalis-adventures.com/newsletter.php	In this issue: 1. What Matt is up to 2. Accommodation spotlight: Ota-ya minshuku 3. Destinations spotlight: Yamakawa Sandbaths 4. Winter tour! 5. Spring tours filling up 6. Last chance to save money!
Accommodation Spotlight I like writing the 'Japan Destinations' and I thought it would be nice to write about accommodation too. There are so many lovely places to stay in Japan, no two the same. And since I have been travelling in Japan for 22 years and been to every part of the country, I know a few good places. This month I'd like to introduce Ota-ya minshuku in Shirawaka-go. Ota-ya is run by three generations of the Ota family, who live in the small village of Ogimachi in the Shokawa Valley. Deep in the mountains of central Japan, in an area known as Shirakawa-go, the village is known for its gasshozukuri thatched houses. I have stayed at several of these houses, and the one run by the Ota family is certainly the best. Mr Ota often makes an impromptu demonstration of the local folk instruments after dinner. His wife, their daughter, and sometimes granddaughter, demonstrate the min-yo folk dances. The food is exceptional; most of it home-grown and organic. Their tofu steak is - wonderful. In the winter when the village is covered in a blanket of snow, they have a wood-burning stove with miso soup and rice to help yourselves to. For some reason, I have only ever been there in the winter; it's my favourite time in the mountains. One of their most important jobs in the winter is to clear snow from the roof before it gets too heavy, and the snow does get deep in Ogimachi!
Destination Spotlight The Japan Destination Spotlight for this newsletter is Yamakawa in Kagoshima. Right at the bottom of the southern island of Kyushu, you wouldn't be exagerating to say that Yamakawa is off-the-beaten-track. The south of Kyushu is dominated by the two prefectures of Miyazaki and Kagoshima. The larger of the two, Kagoshima extends from the volcanoes of Kirishima down to the hot spring town of Ibusuki and Yamakawa. Ibusuki is the well-known for its sand baths, where hot spring water bubbles up on the beach. There are ryokan and hotels where you can soak, covered in hot sand. My favourite place is Yamakawa, a small fishing town to the south. It sits right at the mouth of Kagoshima Bay. I must admit it is a simple affair. There is a path leading down to the beach, and a small building where you pay the entrance fee and shed your clothes. You then wear a simple cotton 'yukata' robe and get buried up to your neck in hot sand. It's an original experience, letting the hot sand radiate through your muscles, but what makes it special is the setting. This beautiful beach sits below tall cliffs and you can gaze out to sea and look over to the Osumi Peninsula on the other side of the bay, totally undeveloped. Nearby there are some interesting and though-provoking sites. At Chiran, where you can see the bukeyashiki samurai houses, there is a museum dedicated to the 'kamikaze' pilots of the Second World War. It was from here that they left on their one-way journeys, as this is the nearest place on the Japanese mainland to Okinawa where much of the fighting was taking place. There is a small museum, with photos, artefacts, and most touchingly, letters written by the young pilots on the eve of their departure. Kagoshima Bay is also the scene of an earlier 'war', the so-called 'Anglo-Satsuma' war. This involved the bombardment of Kagoshima by British warships in 1863, following on the from the 'Namamugi incident' of the previous year. This occured in what is now a suburb of Yokohama, on the old 'Tokaido' highway that once linked Tokyo and Kyoto. Four British merchants were travelling by horse, when the procession of the father of the Daimyo (feudal lord) of Satsuma (as the Kagoshima province was then called) marched by, a thousand-man strong. The foreigners failed to dismount when ordered to, and were then attacked for showing disrespect. One man died, and two were seriously injured. The British and much of the foreign community in Japan were appalled. A year later British warships sailed into Kagoshima Bay and demanded reparations. After a short war, the British prevailed, and the Satsuma clan paid damages. They then opened trading relations with the British. We visit Kagoshima on the Land of Fire tour.
Winter tour! Our redesigned Snow Country tour is scheduled for nex January and February. Experience the beautiful countryside of Japan under a blanket of snow. Enjoy warm sake, a soak in a hot spring bath, and dinner around a warm 'irori' (sunken hearth). It's one of my favourite seasons in Japan! Learn more
Spring tours filling up! Our April tours are filling up, with just a few places left on the Land of Fire. So don't leave it too late... Contact us for more information
Last chance for 2008 prices in 2009!! We are still offering the opportunity to book one of tours in 2009 and pay the 2008 price! That is a good saving, and even better for our non-UK based guests who will pay the weak Pound price. As long as you book and pay the deposit by September 30th, we will offer you the 2008 price. Book now!

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