Narita Stopover
By Annette Freeman
ITWPA Member
Twelve hours in Japan -- what would YOU do? Traveling via Narita Airport in Japan can mean a convenient route or airfare savings, but can also result in a long layover in an airport two hours or more from the center of Tokyo. Here’s how I spent a 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. layover.
First, I checked into a day room at the Narita Rest House and took a shower. The Narita Rest House, despite its attractive, traditional-sounding name, is in fact a cheap, run-down airport hotel. Never mind -- the room had a shower and a bed, and one of those amazing over-engineered Japanese toilets.
Refreshed, I headed off with a guide, Kaoru, and a cheerful driver, both pre-booked through WAK Japan.
We made our way into Narita City, our object the local temple known as Naritasan. This is a principal Shingon Buddhist temple, founded in 940. It is an impressive complex of buildings and gardens approached by several long and formidably steep staircases. By chance, we had fortunately arrived on the day of the annual fire-walking ceremony. Naritasan is dedicated to a deity named Fudōmyōō, who is associated with flames, which allows the monks to play with fire quite a lot.
The main ceremony involves the lighting of a sacred fire. It seems that if you wave your belongings in the general direction of the flames, they absorb some spiritual potency, so the ceremony ends with the monks carrying armloads of cheap handbags and waving them in the flames before returning them to their pious and hopeful owners. Outside, since this was a special day, other monks were lighting a large bonfire and performing various rites of chanting, dancing, and fierce-sounding invocations around it. Later, they would walk on the dying embers.
Kaoru and I then wandered up a nearby street where vendors were getting ready to quell the appetites of the faithful with a variety of unidentifiable foodstuffs, including a kind of jellied eel, the local specialty. Seeking refreshment, we walked down a small alley leading off Omotesando Street, opposite the Narita Tourist Pavilion, and found a lovely little tea garden complete with koi pond and red parasol umbrellas. Kaoru helpfully ordered some Japanese tea (strange sludgy stuff) and sweets (a red bean paste thingy), which I drank and ate, feeling quite Japanese. Well, a tiny bit.
After this interlude, we set off with our cheerful driver to Sakura City, about 30 minutes away. Our goal: the National Museum of Japanese History. Once inside, Kaoru and I wandered through the galleries on the early Paleolithic age through the Nara period (8th century); daily life up to the 16th century including the Heian court and everyday lives of samurai and a wonderful model of 16th century Kyoto; and the culture of the Edo period up to the 18th century. Kaoru kept exclaiming (in a refined, Japanese kind of way), “This great treasure!” and “Look here! This very famous!” We found marvelous scrolls that had been preserved for centuries buried in metal canisters; detailed, painted screens showing life in ancient Kyoto and Tokyo; and some very well-preserved ancient pottery.
This is indeed a great museum, though very rarely visited because of its distance from Tokyo. It was a busy Sunday at Naritasan, but there was hardly anyone in the Museum. Not only is the Museum worth a visit for its contents, but it also sits in a beautiful botanical park known as Sakura Castle Park. Sakura Castle, of which some remains still exist in the park, was founded in the early 1600s. Sadly, a mere stopover did not give enough time to explore -- maybe next time.
Then it was back to the Narita Rest House for a few hours of shut-eye (and another look at that amazing toilet) before the next long-haul flight leg.
If you’d like to purchase this article for your publication, click here to contact the author directly.
Twenty minutes by road from Sandakan is the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. The Centre rehabilitates orangutans of all ages. Some are just small babies orphaned when their mothers are killed by hunters. Others are adults, forced from their jungle homes when the vegetation is destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations. The baby orangs are kept in a nursery and hand fed. Those too young to hold their own bottles are taken home at night by the staff. These orphaned youngsters must learn to climb, swing, and build nests along with other life skills normally imparted by the mothers. 
Feeding takes place at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily and entry is 30 ringgit (approximately US$9.50). Lockers are provided free of charge because it is forbidden to take sunscreen, backpacks, or insect repellent into the jungle. An elevated walkway leads visitors a few hundred meters into the jungle to a feeding platform. At the appointed time a khaki-clad keeper will climb onto the platform and spread out his bucket of fruit and vegetables. 
The arrival of the orangutans is signaled by the snapping of branches and the mad swaying of the tree tops. They swing down from the jungle canopy via vines and branches onto the platform and help themselves to the fruit provided. Some are carrying young, the babies clinging firmly to their mothers’ hairy backs. Some sit and eat their fill on the platform while others carry off bunches of bananas in their feet to enjoy in solitary pleasure in the branches of the nearest trees. The primates generally feed for about fifteen minutes before they swing off into the tree tops.
Don’t be alarmed. Upon arrival at Stilts Backpacker’s hostel you will be asked to lock up any tasty treats on your person. But the fast-footed bandits here aren’t to be feared -- the playful and mischievous monkeys make the experience at Stilts in Diani Beach.
Just across the street, guests can stop by Forty Thieves Beach Bar for happy hour, lounging on the white sand and turquoise water that make Mombasa so famous. If the friendly locals selling jewelry and toys get too overwhelming, take a camel ride down the beach.
There is no gift shop, visitor center, or delicately maintained landscape, just a sign displaying a map of the trails and a schedule of ranger-sponsored activities. But you can catch a glimpse of local wildlife including deer, cottontail rabbits, muskrats, chipmunks, butterflies, garden snakes, many birds, and more. Or join a park ranger for a free “Island Safari,” usually on weekend mornings. The safari takes about one hour. Reservations are not required, but it is suggested to call ahead if your group is more than 10 people.
A 17-foot bronze statue of President Theodore Roosevelt stands at the center of a Memorial Plaza. It is surrounded by four granite tablets, each reaching more than 20 feet tall. The tablets are inscribed with quotes representing Roosevelt’s philosophies regarding The State, Manhood, Nature, and Youth. Soothing sounds from two fountains fill the air as you listen to the quiet peacefulness of your surroundings and reflect on the history all around you.
Today directional travel east to west or west to east in the U.S. is simply a drive on one of the Interstate highways. But older people might remember Route 66. You can’t be in a hurry if you would like to explore the old route. It is accessible along busy Interstate 40. Take every exit possible to see the signs and old buildings, and don’t forget your camera. Here are some highlights, starting in Oklahoma…
Lucille’s in Hydro, Oklahoma, was built in 1929. It was first named the Provine Station in 1934. The building has an over-the-drive design and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Conoco Gas Station and Café in Shamrock, Texas, is a distinctive tower building built in 1936. This is an excellent example of a gas station/diner of the 1930s. Listed as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1994. 
Tee Pee Curios in Tucumcari, New Mexico, was built in the 1940s as a gas station and was doing well until Route 66 widened. Tee Pee Curios had to give up its gas pumps for the road. It is a very distinctive building design. 
The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona, is a unique set of teepee rooms. They were built in 1950. There are 
This portion of old Route 66 is a step back in time. The little town of Oatman, Arizona, originally called Vivian, came into being in 1902. The name was changed in 1909 to Oatman. Oatman was bypassed in 1953 by the new alignment of Route 66. Be careful because there are donkeys everywhere and they are protected.
Located in Needles, California, the Wagon Wheel Restaurant was built in the 1950s as Lynn’s Broiler. It became the Wagon Wheel Restaurant in 1978. 
Many, many small fish attack my feet and feverishly nibble at my ankles, toes, and soles. I gaze into the tank of water into which my legs are dangling and watch with great interest, because the Dr. Fish attendant assures me the fish are only cleaning my feet. “There is nothing to worry about,” she says in English. “This is safe and hygienic and does not hurt.”
Before entering the sterile water I must wash and dry my feet so as not to contaminate the tank and tiny fishes. I will do the same when my thirty minutes (about US$22) are up. Fascinated, I watch schools of these little fish attack my poor, weary, travel-tired feet. The tank faces the street and suddenly I am the center of attention as throngs of onlookers watch the frenzied feeding on my feet.
Locked between mountains and the Gastineau Channel, Juneau is a great portal for visitors to be introduced to the rugged and beautiful “last frontier” state of Alaska. With a population of 31,000, Juneau is a cross between a city, a frontier town, a cruise ship destination, and small town America, all of which you will experience within minutes of each other. 
The Mendenhall Glacier is an ideal place to set the naturalistic stage for your visit to Juneau. Caught in a deep valley between tall granite outcrops, the glacier presents a breathtaking sight, with its bluish-gray cliffs and tall ridges of ice snaking down from a huge ice field. Sunk into the top of a small butte and surrounded by Northwest evergreens, the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center is an ideal place to view the glacier. Only a 15-minute drive from town, it’s the oldest visitor center in the U.S. Forest Service, and one mile from the huge glacier that dominates the vista.
The next day we launch a kayak from Above & Beyond Alaska Company’s Kayak Center into the eerily quiet Mendenhall Lake. The calm waters are shrouded in lacy curtains of mist as we slowly paddle our way toward the glacier, about two miles distant. We silently glide among oddly-sculpted icebergs, some the size of small cars or large houses, as they loom up around us. Their colors change from blue to green to white depending on their depth and size. It’s like being in a giant ice-filled margarita glass, with a rim of forest and mountains.
It would be gross touristic negligence to visit Juneau without going on a whale-watching excursion. To see these behemoth 45-foot-long denizens of the deep erupt 15 feet or more from the water in a feeding frenzy is more than spectacular. It is, simply put, a sight that must be seen to be believed. Captain Greg of Weather Permitting Alaska takes us out in his aluminum boat to show us these enormous creatures, telling me that he guarantees a whale sighting.
Back in Juneau, we take the Mount Roberts Tramway to the top of the steep, 2,000-foot-high mountain of the same name, and catch a breathtaking view of Gastineau Channel and Douglas Island far below us. This panorama of absolute seclusion is a powerful reminder of how Juneau can only be reached by boat or plane -- there are no roads leading into Juneau from the mainland. We visit a half-blind eagle in a shelter, walk along the hiking trail for a while, and watch an informative movie, Seeing Daylight, about Tlingit Indian legends, culture, and language.
Much of Juneau’s history revolves around its gold mining days that started in 1880, so you’ll find plenty of gold mining museums and tours here. Tucked away in a rugged mountain valley behind Juneau, the Last Chance Mining Museum is absolutely crammed, floor to ceiling, with thousands of old pieces of gold mining equipment ranging from small to enormous. The gadgets make the museum look like the setting for a Steampunk Convention. 
The Alaska State Museum, a white concrete building with art nouveau decorations sculpted into its walls, is only a ten-minute walk from the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, and is equally impressive. Although not as focused on mining as the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, it gives a polished, in-depth recounting of the state’s history and natural history, including Native Cultures, History Galleries, a For Kids Only section, and much more. 
The Juneau Steamboat Company Harbor Tour, ably led by Captain John L. George, is a low-key summary of the Juneau gold rush heritage. You sit inside a turn-of-the-century, wood-fired passenger steamboat as it chugs sedately along the Gastineau Channel at 3.5 knots. Wearing a black vest complete with silver watch chain and captain’s hat, Captain George regales you with tales of how these steamboats were a common form of transport back in the day, ferrying miners and their families across the channel. 
On a recent trip to San Francisco to attend a conference, I found myself trying to decide what to do with my free time. Instead of the typical tourist things in the city, I decided on a wine-tasting trip to the Tri-Valley area and a trip to Sausalito. 
The next morning I walked to the Farmer’s Market at the docks in front of the Tower at Union Station. The morning was cool and bright and the Farmer’s Market was one of the best I have seen. The vegetables were brilliant in color and the flowers jumped out at you. The people were interesting as well. It was full of couples, people on bikes, people with their pets and children, all milling around, sampling the strawberries and grapes and drinking coffee. There were vendors selling everything from trinkets to original artwork along with the food. Inside Union Station, all of the vendors were open and there wasn’t anything to want for -- from organic, locally grown and pressed olive oil to homemade hot chocolate so thick and rich you just had to have more.
I was on my way to catch the ferry over to the town of Sausalito. The ferry ride was brisk and windy but it offered great views of the Golden Gate Bridge (with some of the peaks already in the fog) and a nice view of the infamous Alcatraz prison -- a trip for another day. The view looking at Sausalito and up at the mountains, with the homes built into the sides, is as breathtaking as the view of the bay looking back at San Francisco. 
I arrived early to catch the ferry back, so I sat and watched the sailboats and kayaks in the bay. The best part of the return ferry was the entertaining employee with the megaphone who, in an excellent effort to entertain all of us waiting for the arriving passengers to exit, gave detailed and colorful instructions on how, when, where, and why to board the ferry. He really seemed to enjoy his job and his timing was perfect.