Hong Kong / Japan / Singapore... Hongpan! - March and April 2025 - Page 4

Here is the Singapore airlines lounge at Hong Kong airport, it is great compared to the lounge they let me into in their home country as I mentioned above. Also they had Beerenberg jam from Adelaide.

I love to walk the full distance around Hong Kong airport, and I had just enough time to do it, I was excited.

This is not my plane, thankfully, as I do not fancy flying United Airlines, but it is a great view with the mountains.

Here is my plane, an Airbus A350, which you can clearly read on the side to be sure.

Singapore was a bit damp, but after a refreshing sprint through an airport with my laptop and camera and other assorted mildly heavy things, I arrived at my gate just before boarding started. That is my Boeing Dreamliner.

The departure gate area, I had no time to take any photos in Singapore other than this.

I was surprised when I did board that there was no one else onboard yet, and it stayed relatively empty. When they opened the door 5.5 hours later, 1.3 million sneezes escaped into the atmosphere.

This is the inside of the stupidly named Rapi:T alpha symbol, whatever you do, name your things so that they do not come up in internet searches, it is the best way to keep customers to a minimum. Other than whatever I type for the 2 hotel pictures below, I typed the rest of this full days update sitting on this violently swaying fancy train.

My room. I have stayed here before. It is the Sotetsu Fresa at Namba station, and until a week ago, it was about $100 a night, but now thanks to liberation day, $110 a night. Trump increased the price of my holiday.

And no long day of travel is complete without a bathroom photo, the photo you have all been waiting for, a bathroom.

Here is Kawachi-Nagano station from about where you get on the bus to Takihata dam.

The dam itself is nothing to write home about. I suspect it is nicer at other times of the year as there is parking for about 5000 cars.

This is the nicest public toilet I ever saw in Japan, I suspect it is brand new. Those are my fellow hikers who were on the bus with me, performing a series of stretches.

From the very start, the hiking trail was standard Japanese style, and quite different from the Hong Kong style trails from a couple of days ago.

Out of the forest, and it was dead looking.

There is always more forest being rotated.

I always appreciate some good tree roots, even if they are trip hazards.

Before too long I broke out of the forest and it was dead grass and a staircase to the summit.

Despite today being 'sunshine', it is grey and polluted.

Osaka is down there somewhere, the south of Osaka anyway.

The summit area had a couple of other people, I poorly framed this photo.

I enjoyed my caloriemate block on this bench.

That is the way I had come from.

It is me, unshaven. Do I look tired?

The summit area was mostly flat, with what appears to be the rusty ruins of an old ropeway nearby.

This is the view in the other direction, down the hill to Kimitoge station.

Back into the forest.

The trail down was more developed than the trail up, I suspect there is a lot more logging activity on this side.

I followed a logging track for a while, but that goes down to a different town without a station, there was however good signage pointing to turn down the staircase to get to the station.

Nice staircase.

I suspect that yellow truck has not moved for about a decade.

Then I broke out of the forest, at Kimitoge station. Blossoms everywhere.

I guess I had come down in that direction from somewhere.

The station seems very remote, but surprisingly trains come every 20 minutes or less. That is a cool looking older train going in the other direction. From here the train goes direct back to Namba, right where my hotel is. So today's hike was very convenient, but only because the bus came on schedule as promised, which seems to at least happen occasionally.

This is the area outside the front of my hotel, Takashimaya department store on the right.

Some sort of setup for the 'Festival of lights in Osaka 2025'. There are a lot of seats.

Osaka is all in on hosting the expo. I urge them to curb their enthusiasm, and maybe take a trip across the water to Yeosu in South Korea, the expo area there is now so abandoned it is now in danger of collapsing into a hole, but at least they got a bullet train station which meant I went there to gawk at the rusty former expo site.

Octopus or dragon, the choice is yours. It gets dark here later than I thought.

Dotonbori, from the edge, too busy to go and see the glico man.

I had pre determined that my dinner would be ramen. The next challenge was to find out if it was still possible to find ramen for 1000 yen. Success. It was good too, the noodles in particular were great.

I crossed back over Shinsaibashi, far from Dotonbori, still busy.

The back streets were easier to navigate.

And the back streets off the back streets, also known as alleyways, were very interesting.

Here is the other side of Dotonbori, seen from even further afar.

So many tourists.

I then found an area I had not been too before, kind of wedged between 3 different areas over near den den town.

There were a lot of big restaurants in this area.

And for my final shot tonight, the road to den den town.
My challenge tomorrow morning is to not get to where I am going too early. The greatest challenge to date.

Behold, the Keihan railway station at Uji. I had to change from the subway to the Keihan main line at Yodoyabashi, then to the Uji line at Chushojima, which was only one of about 10 ways to get there. But all the connections were fast, and all up it takes about an hour and 15 minutes.

After getting off the train at Uji, here is the view from the bridge. Hmm, nothing too special.

This statue has some form of significance, let me have a look and see what... A statue of novelist Murasaki Shikibu. Now is probably the time to announce that Uji is also famous for the highest grade matcha tea powder in all of Japan, I ate no matcha flavoured ice cream or ramen in Uji.

Here is the tourist street, hmm, also nothing too special. It is nice enough, if you like matcha ice cream, but I feel it is over-hyped.

Who thought I was joking about matcha ramen?

Now for a heap of photos of the main attraction here, which charges $7 entry (cash only) which I feel was exorbitant, Byodoin. It is world heritage listed for its matcha themed ramen and ice creams.

They even coloured the lake with matcha.

There were a few blossoms in the garden, it is a relatively small garden, so take your time.

More blossoms, more temple.

The public toilets within the temple grounds are also a famous grave. Seriously.

Here is the entry / exit area, it was refreshingly not too busy.

Next up is some bridges across a little island in the middle of the river. It is mostly man made and gravel covered.

An ancient reinforced concrete pagoda.

More bridges, the red is not as red as many other red bridges.

More of the rather unusual long skinny island.

Here is one of the other temples in the area.

I started to climb up a hill, and was greeted by this cool torii gate scene.

The path up to the lookout area was wide and under appreciated by the masses.

There were however a few old folks at the top, who seemed happy to see me.

Lots of blossoms for the blossom lovers.

And finally, the view from the top. I have made the most of it, around to the right from here it is really quite industrial.
Now to do my laundry, which I already did, but did so after taking this photo and completing the train journey in reverse back to Osaka.

On my way to the street, I passed a concert venue, huge line, only females. Probably some Korean statutory rapist / wife beater appearing.

On my hunt for the start of the shopping street, I crossed this bridge and appreciated the sunset view.

Hmm, this is not what I call the start of the covered shopping street. It is uncovered. I will walk down it, but I will not start measuring.

OK, Tenjinbashi-1, start the watch!

Inside was mainly flags advertising the upcoming expo, I expect the Osaka mayor will end up in prison over its staging eventually.

I used my per diem to stop for dinner right at the start of my journey, I left my watch running while I ate, it probably added 10 metres onto the distance. The covered shopping street had hundreds of places to eat (not exaggerating).

Part 2 starts here, I allow a gap in the covering for main roads.

Time for part 3, I am standing under a large highway.

It got a little busier, but it was after 7pm, I think a lot of the non eating places closed at 7.

The next section got narrower. This kind of made it seem busier.

The final section widened up again.

Hmm, am I at the end already? I stopped the watch to check there was not more hiding somewhere over the road.

There was not, this is UNCOVERED, and so not counted.

So checking the watch, 1.84km! This is well short of the 2.6km claimed online to make it the longest covered shopping street in all of Japan.
Now, there is a competing claim, in Takamatsu, and as luck would have it, I will be in Takamatsu in November, where I shall repeat this ridiculous process. Until then, direct your fury about false Shotengai length claims to the Teninbashi-Suji Progress Association, fax number available on request.