Shinkansen back to Tokyo (29 September 2023)

From Tokyo Station switched Shinkansen to Takasaki Station (Gunma Prefecture) for the Japan No. 1Tonkatsu Curry Rice at Restaurant Ponchi.

 

View from Shinkansen on the way to Gunma.

Way to go: (Train ride covered by JR pass)

1. Board Hokuriku Shinkansen for Kanazawa Station.

2. Get off at Takasaki Station (after 3 stops) and exit via West Gate for JR track, Ryomo Line.

3. Get off at Maebashi Station and exit via North Gate and go to Bus stop (50A) in front for Fujimi Onsen. Board bus and then get off Jotomachi 2-chome (54A) next to Gunma Bank and walk forward till road junction leading to Sakutaro Bridge on the left. [Pay ¥200 coins or use Pasmo card]

4. After crossing bridge, turn left and continue along Hirose River till you reach Benten Dori and Ponchi is just across the road.

  
In the bus.                                        Stop 54A                                        Hirose River with willow trees.

 

 The 100-year-old restaurant.           The tonkatsu curry rice!                Current month calendar.

From Ponchi's website:

〒 371-0022 群馬県前橋市千代田町3-3-18　弁天通り商店街

☎ 027-231-2333 

The restaurant "Ponchi" was opened in 1920 by the first chef who visited Gunma and fell in love with the area, moving from Tokyo. Since its establishment, it has been loved and nurtured by many customers, including locals.

The fourth-generation chef will show off the skills he honed at a hotel in the city center, serving up nostalgic curry, crispy cutlets, perfectly grilled hamburgers, and hearty sauteed dishes that have been passed down through the Taisho, Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa eras.

Tuesday is closed, so check its website for the updates on closures and holidays and operating hours.

My review: 5-star (easily one of the better ones I have eaten, the cutlet, curry & omelet in all) It is worth the total travelling time of 220 minutes (2 ways between Tokyo and Ponchi in Maebashi-Gunma).

Return trip to Tokyo - just reverse the process. Will I do it again, certainly! 😋😋😋😋😋

 

Use JR Pass to travel to southern most part of Japan reachable by Shinkansen.

 28/09/2023 (Day 2)

Woke up early to walk around Osaka, starting with the map of all trains centred around this huge city.

 

 Daiso, the place for Made in Japan affordable sauces and condiments. Went to several places but could not find warabi mochi-ko (わらび餅粉) that even the Japanese said is hard to find but kinako ( きな粉) is available in most places.

Bought eki-ben (lunch-box) at Shin-Osaka station before boarding Shinkansen to the southern most station reachable at Kagoshima, Kyushu. Simply enjoyed these eki-ben for the varieties of various items in 1 box which you can have for around ¥1,000!

     

The Shinkansen, just like a bullet! And the Colours of Autumn in a box - Yumilicious!!!

 View from bullet train.

 Tourist map just outside the Kagoshima station.

 A landmark outside the station, a good meeting point.

 Took a stroll around the station and came to this canal that leads out to the sea and Sakurajima is in the background.

 

The notice board at the park along the canal is interesting, featuring poems written by Lord Jisshin in the year1545, purportedly for the people to learn & live morally. They were displayed on 12 granite pillars erected in the park with inscriptions, each poem beginning with one of the 47 

 Japanese characters (but we learned in language class that there are 46?) The photos taken were from 2 faces of each pillar (so 24 poems only). Must check when I make a trip to Kagoshima again in the future and will know which character is omitted in the modern hiragana. Perhaps, if someone reading this blog post happened to be there can help to share. :) 

  

  

  

  

It is interesting to note that there is modern church building nearby, within the park. Just wonder if the poems were penned after he was exposed to bible teachings (bibles) brought in by the missionaries or the Portuguese traders around 1543. Similarities in the Holy Bible:

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬-‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Trip back to Osaka: Bought eki-ben for trip back on Shinkansen.

 

Travel in Japan using JR pass before price hike! (Effective in October 2023)

 

That was a whooping 70% increase in price but I got my pass in August 2023! Have to decide on the places in Japan to cover in your next trip to determine whether it is worth to buy JR-pass or just return tickets from city to city. 

You can check in the following website: https://smart-ex.jp

https://smart-ex.jp by registering as a member free of charge, providing essential information which is protected under PDPA (Personal Data Protection Act.)

26/09/2023

 

Depart from Singapore Changi Airport on SQ638.

27/09/2023 (Day 1)

The rising sun broke forth from the horizon a couple of hours before arrival at Tokyo Narita Airport.

  

Q to redeem JR-pass together with Narita Express ticket at Narita service centre then move to a platform for ride to Tokyo Station. (All these within 2 hours from touch-down, so convenient.)

  

After transferring a number of JR & local trains (additional minimum costs), arrived at Central Bible College, Toshima-Kamagome to meet a pastor friend. Rustic campus for learning and encountering God, the Creator of Heaven & Earth & everything within.

  

After handing him gifts from Singapore and my main luggage, traced the route back to Tokyo station for shinkansen trip to Gunma Prefecture for the Number One Katsu Curry in Japan - Restaurant Ponchi (〒371-0022 Gunma, Maebashi, Chiyodamachi, 3 Chome−3−18 レストランポンチ).

Took bus from Maebashi Station after arrival at Gunma by Shinkansen and reached bus top in front of Gunma Bank near the restaurant.

Enroute, was the spring water stream lined with willow trees, so tranquil.

 The renowned 103 years old restaurant, a favourite curry rice go to for the father of modern Japanese poetry, Sakutaro Hagiwara, who was born in Gunma.

 The operating days and hours so that there will not be any disappointment for potential customers.

 

Back at Tokyo Station from trip to Shin-Osaka station.

 Home-cooked Japanese dinner prepared by my mama at her home in Mishimaoka-Ibaraki. So enjoyed it!

Short trip to Tokyo

31 Oct. 2019 (Thursday)
Having reserved the wifi router from (CR) Changi Recomends, I received email reminders to collect the router before going thru’ immigration but with group check-in & photo-taking at 6.00am this morning, I remembered only when I was inside.

The good news was CR has another counter inside T1 for last minute application of their services. There, I got my router @S$14.00 for 5 days unlimited use. This is good option for affordable access to wifi in Japan. As it was a company incentive trip we used air-conditioned coach from point to point so need to consider JR pass.

Snow started to cover the peak of Mt Fuji.

                

Tokyo Tower Night & Day

 

Kappabashi the place to go for heart-shaped chiffon cake trays.

 

Ameyoko for seasonal fruits and Japanese titbits.