It sure felt like a waste to me to be in Japan on a business trip an only have a partial day for sightseeing. Our colleagues had treated Randall and myself to a lovely dinner and a drive around Tokyo, pointing out such things as the dark shadows of the Imperial Palace, the bright lights of Ginza, and the foreign faces peppering the crowd in Roppongi. We viewed the city from the Tokyo Tower, being amazed at the sea of lights that seemed to go on forever.
Ginza, Tokyo at night
We considered going back to Tokyo, but decided to maximize time by staying closer to our hotel. Plus, we wanted to see some traditional and natural places, not just the vast crowds of the giant metropolis. A day trip to Narita sounded like a perfect idea!
成田山 Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple
Our hotel concierge suggested Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple (in Japanese it is called 成田山新勝寺 ) and not having other preferences, Randall and I decided to go. The Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Hotel had a convenient shuttle that took us to Narita Station, and it was fairly easy to walk to the Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple from there.
Naritasan Shinshoji 成田山新勝寺
It was worlds apart from anything we had seen in Tokyo! First, there were very few people, but that may have been because it was still early morning. Second, the temple buildings were all intact and old, even back to the early 1700’s, but well maintained. There was a variety of architecture which was really cool, and we practically had the place to ourselves as we checked out all the buildings.
Naritasan Shinshoji Temple
But it was also amazing that behind the temple complex was a big park area called Naritasan Park full of trees and little paths. We walked along some of the main ones and found a couple lakes and pavilions. The giant koi were beautiful as they lazily swam through the water, and on a whim I bought some of the fish food for sale. Suddenly the tranquil scene erupted into a frenzy of splashing water and writhing fish. It was exciting and a little revolting at the same time.
Map of Narita-san Shinshō-ji
We would have liked more time to explore all the paths in the park, but only had time to follow a few before we began to check our watches and calculate the time left before our flight. From Narita Station to Narita airport is only about 10 minutes by train, but we wanted to grab lunch before facing the process of checking in and security.
Naritisan Park in fall
We regretfully left the peaceful sanctuary of the temple grounds and headed back to Narita Station. Along the way we saw a place called Ramen Bayashi with a line in front. Randall approached a huddle of people who turned out to be flight attendants on a layover; they said this was the yummiest ramen that they had ever eaten, and they came almost every time they flew to Japan.
Ramen Bayashi restaurant
Ramen brings back my college days, and I can say with absolute certainty that I would never fly halfway around the world to eat any that I have ever had before. But with that recommendation, we could hardly refuse to join the line and try it out. We took their advice and had the chili ramen, plus Randall had a side of gyoza and I had extra meat added to mine.
Ramen Bayash steaming hot
It was absolutely delicious. The huge bowls of spicy, steaming soup with bountiful noodles was not like any ramen I had ever tasted. Eating it, I realized that I would probably be dreaming about that meal, and would certainly search out Ramen Bayashi on my next business trip to Japan.
Ramen Bayashi gyoza
Sated with both the beautiful scenery and the wonderful food, we collected our luggage from the coin lockers and headed for the train that would take us to Narita airport. I don’t think we could have spent our half day of free time better.
photos by:
Panal Lira &
na0905,
midorisyu,
Dushan and Miae
