Japan Tour 2025: Day 8 Museum and a trip to Gion

 

By the numbers

20,384 steps

15.61 kms

Level of Chaos: Strange foods

I raced downstairs for breakfast only to find I didn’t have my breakfast ticket, but my receipt. That really does not help me in anyway, but I was able to return and have breakfast. The plan for the day and I wanted to make sure I was not late, was to visit the Samurai ninja museum and then later in the evening Gion for an experience with a Geisha. The news on my phone said there was a Typhoon forming off the coast somewhere and would arrive on the 25^th. No idea how true that is, but all I know was that it had been raining outside recently. I was heading to the subway to catch the train to the middle of the city as I was going to the museum. I will say there are some things I see in a vending machine and I decide to get it even though I have no idea what it is. Turns out it is a Mentaiko is a Japanese delicacy consisting of pollock roe (often called cod roe) that has been cured and seasoned, typically with chili peppers, making it spicy. Was spicy.

 

Mentaiko

I ended up being a bit early so had a slow wander around the block and found a shop I wanted to visit when it was open, a stationary shop called Travellers. I wanted to see what they actually had and I was after a proper stamp book. I was still getting used to the new update my phone had done in the middle of the night as I thought I had better do it. At times I would swipe for photos and it would take me to the unlock screen, or with the camera open, it would change the settings. When it was close to opening, I ended up standing outside the museum with several other people. It started getting darker and darker, suddenly the heavens open and it pours. I was able to get shelter across the road and only moved when I knew the museum was open. The first part of the museum was a tour through the displays and a little bit of history. They had samurai armour from one of the last battles around the 1800s and it did involve firearms. I did notice several of the armour had dents in their chests and they were from bullets. I asked about those and another was pointed out where there were slash marks on the chest of another. It was explained that the hair styles were functional at the time too as they could be used as padding for the helmets. Some of the masks had beards as they were usually kids around 12 and if they didn’t have facial hair then they would be targets. It was pointed out that ninjas were really farmers and they would come out at night. They had a whole different set of rules to the Samurai, and some of the samurai families became business owners as they were wealthy and some we know today like some popular car companies. We could float around the museum once the tour ended, but there were other tours going through after us as well.

 

When I left I ended up at the Travelers Company and was looking through what they have. They seem to have quite a bit for their custom diaries as you can apparently add to them. The idea is to add thoughts and everything to them, although I would use it for stamps, but learn to do the travel diary type thing. Still its interesting. The next place I headed to was Nijo castle. I wasn’t heading inside as I didn’t want to see another castle at the time. There was a little stream across the road that I had seen a video of online. I followed some of it even though it had gotten a bit hot, it was really humid and I was sweating buckets, also I didn’t want to get caught if it started raining again. The stream had some of the foundations for the meat that I would guess was part of the castle. I did a lap and then returned to the station where I ended up back in my room to cool off and have a shower before heading out for the Geisha show.

I caught the tram out to the Gion area again, but I wanted to have a look at the Sanjo Ohashi bridge that was once part of the important road in Japan between Edo and Kyoto known as the Tokaido road. There is a stone pillar that is meant to be part of the bridge. It would take weeks of walking along the road between Kyoto and what is now Tokyo. I started to make my way to where I had to be and came across a canal that was on the maps so I started taking photos and some guys started copying me. Though I was also reading the signs using Google translate. I ended up at the Geisha experience where I had to be, though I was sweating at the time. It was good to stop and cool down. We were given instructions that we couldn’t post pictures of the Geisha online as her image was protected. When the lady came out she was one of the apprentices called a Maiko and she couldn’t speak English and the host translated for her. She had become one of the trainees at around 14. They train in everything musical and even sing. We got to play a game and even see her do one of her dances. It was interesting to see and it wasn’t long before the show had ended and we were on our way out as another group came in. I decided to make tracks and get back to the room as it was starting to rain and I didn’t want to be out there in the dark if it starts pouring again.