Professor Gillian Triggs – My Top 5 Places in Australia

Gillian Triggs, Chair of Justice Connect, won enormous respect for her courage and fortitude in defence of human rights in her previous position as President of the Australian Human Rights Commission. This despite being subjected to unprecedented attacks and pressure from government ministers and their representatives.

Professor Triggs was catapulted into national headlines when she released a report on children in immigration detention. Tony Abbott, the then Prime Minister, Attorney-General George Brandis, and the then Immigration Minister Scott Morrison declared that the report was biased, that they had lost confidence in her and that she should resign.

Professor Triggs stood firm. She insisted the report adhered to the law and was objective, and if she were to resign, it would suggest otherwise and would undermine the independence of the commission.

These personal and professional attacks on Professor Triggs sparked a social media campaign of huge support for her which affirmed widespread confidence in her integrity. It also had the effect of making people aware of the existence of the AHRC and led to thousands more seeking its services.

"Human rights are for everyone, everywhere, every day." Professor Gillian Triggs

“Human rights are for everyone, everywhere, every day.” Professor Gillian Triggs

Australia has no Bill of Rights, so the AHRC is the “first port of call” for complaints regarding human rights and breaches of anti-discrimination laws, she says. Its responsibility is to monitor Australia’s performance in meeting its international human rights commitments. And its services are free.

Professor Triggs once remarked that it was ironical that in the year in which we celebrated the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, she came under increasing attack because the Commission drew attention to  “the erosion of our human rights and to the diminution of the checks and balances that preserve our democracy.” For her it was the “year of living dangerously”.

Gillian was born in England, and when her parents decided to emigrate to Australia when she was 12, she was was not happy about having to give up her studies as a ballet dancer at the Royal Academy. But once in Australia, she joined the Borovansky Ballet. At university, she was one of the small number of women studying law. She was part of the burgeoning feminist movement on campus, and with characteristic flair, won Miss University at Melbourne University in 1966.

Gillian Triggs is held in the highest esteem by her peers. In her 50-year career as a lawyer, she has held academic positions such as Dean of the Faculty of Law and Challis Professor of International Law at the University of Sydney. She has also had an international commercial legal practice, and worked with governments and international organizations on human rights law. She was Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law from 2005-7 where she directed social justice projects in Iran and Africa.

This year Gillian published Speaking Up in which shares the values that have informed her convictions and the causes she has championed.  Her publisher, Melbourne University Press writes: ” She dares women to be a little vulgar and men to move beyond their comfort zones to achieve equity for all. And she will not rest until Australia has a Bill of Rights. ”  She has also written five other books, mostly on international law and human rights.

A portrait of Gillian Triggs in Lego blocks appears in a new work by Ai Wei Wei commissioned by the NGV for the exhibition Andy Warhol/Ai Wei Wei. Incorporating more than two million Lego blocks, the cube features portraits of twenty Australian activists, champions of human rights and freedom of speech. (See image above)

 

Gillian’s Top 5 Places:

 

Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park - photo Great Trails Victoria

Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park – photo Great Trails Victoria

Wilsons Promontory, Victoria

True Australian wilderness that has been protected with fierce determination by locals, government and environmentalists. The area is a treasure trove of Aboriginal middens, wildlife and dramatic scenery. The beaches are pristine and ‘Squeaky Beach’ has tiny white particles of sand that record every step.

 

 

 

 

Sydney Harbour & Opera House

Sydney Harbour & Opera House

Sydney Harbour, New South Wales 

One of the most beautiful natural harbours in the world. Every inlet and beach can be explored by ferry or walking.  There is something of interest for everyone. The zoo, local history, the sculpture walk across the cliffs, fishing and sailing, or eating in the restaurants. I took my family visiting from England on a yacht  trip around the harbour for Christmas eve; an unforgettable night.

 

 

Green turtle - photo courtesy of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Green turtle – photo courtesy of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Great Barrier Reef, Queensland 

One of the natural wonders of the world. Snorkelling or diving reveals a magical world of colour and life .  The reef is radiant with fish and marine species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mt.Buller - photo by daz77

Mt.Buller – photo by daz77

Mount Buller, Victoria

Mt.Buller is the beginning of the Great Dividing Range and a stunning change from coastal Australia. The cattle trails through the mountains or the ski runs down the mountain offer spectacular views of an Australia that is unexpected and grandiose. The local wines, cheeses and  fresh produce make it a gourmet’s delight.

 

 

 

 

Great Ocean Road - photo Britannica Kids

Great Ocean Road – photo Britannica Kids

Great Ocean Road, Victoria 

The Great Ocean Road is  spectacular as it winds around the edge of the Australian continent from Geelong in Victoria to the Coorong in South Australia. The coast is rugged and home to vibrant bird and wild life.

 

 

 

 

 

Travel tips:

* Do your homework before you go to avoid the traps and to get the most from your adventure

* Stop to watch and listen rather than trying to do too much; enjoy the moment.

* Pack really wearable comfortable clothes

* If you can, pay extra for good accommodation

* Look up a friend in the area or find a new one; they can introduce you to the best secrets of the area

 

Photo of Professor Triggs by Matthew Syres.

 

 

 

 

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Susie – Women of Oz

MT. KILIMANJARO, KENYA

The most outstanding trip I ever undertook was with a group of 5 women and we climbed Kilimanjaro. It was an amazing, emotional experience. We trained really, really hard. We trained together. We made a schedule. We trained at least once a week, sometimes twice. And we’d go up a thousand steps, and we’d do 5-hour hikes, and we went and did altitude training. So we were really probably the fittest we’d ever been in our lives.

We arrived there and we were at the bottom of Kili, and we’re having a group hug, and of course, I burst out crying because it was so momentous. We got to the top, I burst out    crying. It was an emotional experience because it was really, really tough. The altitude was horrendous. We had really bad weather – it rained, it poured – so much so, that the 4-wheel drive that was supposed to take us to the bottom of Kilimanjaro couldn’t make it. So we had to walk an extra 6 or 8 kilometres before we even began.

It was just amazing. When we got to the top, it was the most amazing experience – the camaraderie, the fact that the 5 of us started and the 5 of us finished together. We were always together. If someone was feeling a bit bad, you would help them to put one foot in front of the other. It was just the sheer exertion of getting there. It was the physicality as well as the emotional experience. So physically it was really tough. It took us 5 days up and 11/2 days down or 41/2 and 11/2. It was 6 days, 5 nights.

Was it the most difficult thing you’d ever done physically? Emotionally?

Both. It’s almost like the 9 months of carrying a baby and then finally having the baby. And just being so elated at the top that you forget about all the problems that you had getting there.

Why do it?

Because it’s there. And it’s a challenge. We all love a challenge, and that was my physical challenge. It was a now or never. We were all in our early 50s. I think you need it because you need it for the mental aptitude and the ability to do it mentally ‘cause it’s a head thing. Apart from it being physically difficult, it’s really hard to keep yourself going. There were nights when we didn’t get into to the camp until well after dark, exhausted, fatigued, not even wanting to eat. And you know you’ve got to force yourself to eat. You’ve got to force yourself to do everything because you’ve got to get up the next day and do it again.

Do you think you were mentally and emotionally stronger now than when you were younger ?

Yes, absolutely.

I did a marathon when I was in my early 40s and I only believe I could do it because I had the mental attitude to keep going. When you’re young, it’s not that important, give up, who cares?

Why is it important now?

Because if you don’t do it now, when are you going to do it?

Did it in anyway change your relationship with the other women?

Yes. We’re best friends now, we’re all friends.

Yes, absolutely. We’re really close friends. We’ve accomplished something together and experienced something together that is really inexplicable and you can’t take that back. So now even if we don’t see each other all the time, they are counted amongst my best friends.

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth – Women of Oz

I’d never been out of Australia until about 6 years ago. Well, I thought, it’s now or never. And now I’ve been to over 30 countries.

I say to people who say -“I can’t afford to travel” – I tell them: “Go to the travel agent and book it – and then the money seems to magically appear. That’s how you do it, otherwise you can’t afford to go anywhere.”

THAILAND

The first trip ever was to Thailand. I back-packed north and south with my daughter. We did a trek through the jungle. We rode elephants, and we went down the river. We went to a Thai wedding and I got into the Thai wine and got a little bit merry. Phuket was like    paradise for me. That was probably the happiest trip, with my daughter.

IRELAND

I always wanted to go to Ireland because of my ancestors. Absolutely loved Ireland.

They had the singalong in the pub until 11:00 at night and then the old people would go home and us youngies would stay for the nightclubs.

ENGLAND

I used to look at England on the TV and never wanted to go there, always wet, always raining. And yet when I arrived there, that was my most favourite. When I got there, I had a strong sense of coming home.

NEW ZELAND

In New Zealand, in the morning, they picked me up and I jumped out of a plane. And then I did Level 5, white-water rafting.

USA

In America, I went to LA, went to Las Vegas, and as I’m a marriage celebrant I loved all the corny little wedding chapels. I went to Washington and because I’m a detective, I went to the spy museum, and Maxwell Smart was there. I found that rather amusing.

AUSTRALIA

I’ve also been a scuba diver here in Australia. I’ve dived Mount Gambier – the caves and I’ve dived the Great Barrier Reef, plus the coast of W.A.

I’ve been around Australia twice.

I’m going to Vietnam, Cambodia next.

 

 

 

 

Claire – Women of Oz

MEXICO

The trip I most remember was to Mexico, about 4 years ago. My daughter was working there with Cirque du Soleil. Flying into Mexico City was just unbelievable – flying in and seeing all the poverty That huge population, all living on  the hills with virtually no shelter. I just found that quite incredible. And the experience of being in Mexico city – it was amazing and how they all survived, I just found that quite incredible. I stayed with my daughter for about a month. She was working but we did a few trips around Mexico. But just Mexico city was amazing. The fact that you could get around so easily even though they didn’t speak much English, and I felt safe, and I love the culture, the dancing, the music the whole history of the Aztecs, going to the pyramids and just the people. I just loved it.

What was that the happiest trip you had?

ENGLAND

My mother took me away when I was 17, on a ship over to England for 6 months and then we had a trip around Europe – that was pretty amazing. I guess that was the happiest. It was special because it was the first time I’d been out of Australia. And the fact that Mum did that for me, I thought that was pretty amazing. We met another lovely mother and daughter who were doing a similar thing. I had my 18th birthday in London and we went to see Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev at Covent Garden doing Swan Lake. That was amazing. I remember that as being special.

SINGAPORE

I loved the experience of travelling and working overseas. I would much prefer to do that than do a whole lot of sight-seeing really. Although that’s lovely too. I lived in Singapore for 4 years in the 70’s and that was pretty amazing. In Singapore, just getting to know people from all over the world, an absolute melting pot in Singapore, it was then. Seeing a completely different culture.  And I did some nursing there as well. I just loved the fact that I worked with local people. I had local pay, which as a nurse was very usual. I just think that’s how you get to know how people function.

And had a child there too. My son, my first child, was born in Singapore. And we went back there recently, last October, and found the house where we lived 40 years ago. And the hospital where my son was born and where I worked. That was very special.

What trips in Australia have been special for you?

QUEENSLAND

I suppose, one recent trip in November, when I went up to visit my family in Charleville, in Western Queensland. It’s where our family property has been for 80 years. And I loved going back out there again amongst the Mulga* and the kangaroos. That’s a very special place for me. I just went out there and visited my first cousin who’s still on the place. They have cattle. My cousin’s been there for the whole of his life, 70 years, and they educated their children with distance education before they went away to school. And they’ve managed to battle it out with a 3-years drought. It meant a lot to me because Dad used to take me up there. We took Dad’s ashes back there.

Recommendations: Singapore, California, and Mexico would be up there.

And I did love Spain although it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Spain. And Italy.

*Australian acacia tree native to outback

 

 

 

 

 

Hokkaido – the Northern Island of Japan

 

Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands gives you a sense of space, of wilderness and of untamed nature, thanks largely to its many national parks and large stretches of uninhabited spaces.

In winter, it becomes a wonderland of ice and snow and people flock to its ski resorts or to see the extraordinarily creative snow and ice sculptures of the Sapporo Snow Festival that takes place in Hokkaido’s capital every February.

Autumn arrives earlier in Hokkaido than in the rest of Japan, so you are more likely to see the turning of the leaves here first. But it is also colder than the rest of Japan and can snow in autumn. Don’t be deterred, it’s a wonderful season to visit.

While most visitors arrive in Hokkaido by air, there is a land link to its near southern neighbour Honshu – the Seikan Tunnel which was dug under the Tsugaru Strait. A new Shinkansen or bullet train inaugurated in 2016, passes through this tunnel to link Hokkaido with Tokyo and significantly reduces the travel times.

Unlike the other densely settled parts of Japan, full control of the island by the Japanese central government was only completed after the Meiji Restoration in the mid-19th Century and in 1869 it was given the new name Hokkaido. This control was extended in order to meet a perceived threat of Russian expansion from mainland Vladivostok.

Known for many years by the name Ezo, Hokkaido is home to the indigenous Ainu people and many names on the island have their origins in indigenous languages including that of the capital Sapporo. We visited the Poroto Kotan Ainu village where tourists are given explanations of Ainu culture and can wander through the houses and structures. Less appealing are the few brown bears, significant in Ainu life and ceremonies, that are kept in the village in tiny cages.  A visit to the very informative and well laid out museum that presents the history of the Ainu people is worthwhile.

Of all the wonderful sights and attractions of Hokkaido, its volcanoes and natural hot springs, are the most impressive.

 

 

Noboribetsu

Noboribetsu is famous for its hot springs. A small town in the south of Hokkaido, it is easily reached by train from Sapporo. Set in mountains that are volcanoes, it attracts those who seek the healing and relaxing waters of some of the best onsen in Japan.

When you arrive in Noboribetsu you see a huge statue of a blue demon bearing a black club, like a vision from hell. And indeed when you begin to walk around you seem to enter the underworld. Active ochre-mantled volcanoes spewing plumes of steam surround you. Nearby in craters there are cauldrons of bubbling, sulphurous liquid. Geysers periodically erupt in a shower of boiling water.

The association of this area with hell is understandable but inaccurate. Its stark yellow, pink and green-clad landscape is beautiful. You marvel at the remarkable volatility of the earth beneath your feet. Taking a walk in the light snow of late autumn along the many pathways through the Shikotsu-Tōya National Park, including the one to Jigoku-Dani (Hell Valley) a huge geothermal crater, is exhilarating. There are boardwalks to the geysers and at the Oyunuma Brook, a place where hikers can sit and bathe weary feet in a naturally hot stream.

Afterwards, you can relax in the luxurious onsens of the nearby hotels. Noboribetsu offers a wide variety of natural hot spring waters in which to bathe. The different minerals in the various onsen are said to relieve and cure health problems. The Dai-Ichi Takimotokan Hotel is enormous and may get no prizes for beautiful architecture, but it provides spacious and attractive rooms (especially the Japanese-style rooms), excellent and abundant choices of food, and a multitude of health spas – 35 large and small pools with 7 types of hot springs. There is also a 25 metre swimming pool and waterslide. Our favourite was the women’s open air spa – chill air meets hot bath, a match made in heaven.

Hakodate

The port city of Hakodate, the third largest city in Hokkaido, has attractions that reflect its colourful and turbulent past. It was the first city in Japan whose port was opened to foreign trade as a result of U.S. Commodore Mathew Perry’s expedition in 1854. The Tokugawa Shoguns who ruled Japan, had for two centuries pursued an isolationist policy that prevented foreign countries access to Japan. When Perry sailed into the Japanese harbour with five ships to force the re-opening of Japan, he overturned this policy. Surrender to Perry’s demands dealt a great blow to the authority of an already weakened Shogunate. One consequence was a war in 1869 when Hakodate became the site of the last stand of supporters of the Shogunate against the restoration of the new Meiji imperial authority. The focal point of this stand was the Goryokaku Fort.

Goryokaku Fort and Tower

 

Goryokaku Fort Hakodate

Don’t miss touring this area. Its chief attraction is the five-pointed star shaped Goryokaku Fort modelled on 16th Century European citadel towns and completed in 1864. Its thick stone walls are surrounded by a moat and the 1,600 cherry trees planted in its grounds make it an extraordinary sight in spring. It’s an impressive sight in any season and can be best appreciated from the observatory in the Goryokaku Tower nearby.

The new Goryokaku Tower was built in 2006 as an observatory in order to give visitors excellent perspectives onto the Fort from a height of almost 100 metres. It also has a very well-presented graphic exhibition of the dramatic events that shaped the history of Goryokaku from the arrival of the American fleet until the surrender of rebels to the forces of new Meiji central government in 1869. This narrative has all the excitement and adventure of hopeless causes with its larger-than-life characters and doomed heroes. Indeed a bronze statue commemorates the handsome and dashing young rebel leader who was shot and killed in a final assault by rebel forces.  The Tower also has a cafe and Observatory shop.

Well worth a visit is the reconstructed Hakodate Magistrate’s Office (Hakodate Bugyosho) in the Fort’s grounds.  The original office was the Edo Shogunate’s administrative centre for the Ezo (Hokkaido) region and was dismantled after its collapse. In 2010 after a four year effort, it was reconstructed just as it had been using the exact same materials and traditional Japanese techniques that had been employed in the original structure. Craftsmen skilled in traditional Japanese carpentry, plastering and roof tiling were brought in from all around Japan. You cannot help but admire the superb craftsmanship and attention to every tiny detail of this beautiful building. A fascinating video of the rebuilding process is part of the exhibition.

Foreign Quarter

 

View From Motomachi, Hakodate

Walk up the hillside from the port and you are in the Motomachi neighbourhood. The area provides a wonderful view over the port and bay, and is a snapshot of times past. Impressive Western-style houses set in beautiful gardens, churches – the Russian Orthodox Church and other historical missionary churches, including Anglican and Catholic – as well as public buildings such as the Old British Consulate were built here at the foot of Mount Hakodate by the foreigners from Russia, China, the UK and other Western countries who came to seek their fortune in the newly-opened Japan of the mid-19th Century. At night, the churches and buildings are illuminated. Of particular note is the Old Hakodate Public Hall. It’s worth going for a wander at dusk and then walking to the near-by Mount Hakodate Ropeway station to take the cable car up the mountain to see the spectacular night view of the city and peninsula.

Old Hakodate Public Hall

 

Night View from Top of Mt. Hakodate Ropeway

 

Morning Market

Hakodate is famed for excellent seafood. This bounty can be seen at the morning market (Asaichi) which is very near the JR Hakodate railway station. Some 300 stalls are spread across four city blocs selling the freshest and most abundant variety of seafood and other produce. Restaurants in the market tempt visitors to taste their specialties. The market is held daily from 5am to 2 pm.

Another interesting area where you can wander and dine in the evening is around the red brick warehouses next to the port. They have been re-developed into an attractive area of restaurants and shops.

Sapporo

 

Sapporo Beer Museum

Sapporo, Hokkaido’s capital, is a thriving pleasant city of almost 2 million people set on a grid pattern that is easy to navigate. Below the city centre, there is a network of underground shopping malls, plazas and public transport that make it possible to live and go about business in the city without suffering the extremely cold winter. For this reason it has attracted many retirees from other parts of Japan despite the colder climate.

Sapporo is probably best known around the world as the original home of its eponymous brand of beer. Indeed, you can order a variety of beer available only in Sapporo at the Sapporo Beer Gardens, which is part of the Sapporo Garden Park where you can also visit the Sapporo Beer Museum.  All these refurbished red brick buildings are part of the former brewery.

Sapporo gained worldwide attention for hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 1972, the first in Asia. Winter is still an important season in Sapporo because of the annual Sapporo Snow Festival held in February and its astonishing mammoth ice sculptures.  Skiing is also an attraction because of the availability of ski jumps in the city and its proximity to the Niseko ski resort.

There are plans to extend the bullet train service from Tokyo that presently stops at Hakodate to Sapporo in the next few years. At present, most people arrive in Sapporo by air.

Related posts:

Onsen in Japan

Geisha in Kyoto, Japan

Autumn in Japan

Notes on Japan

Ryokans in Japan

Japan’s Brilliant Bullet Train

 

Japan’s Brilliant Bullet Train

TRANSPORT IN JAPAN

If you decide to travel in Japan using public transport you will be pleasantly surprised. It’s efficient, punctual, comfortable and clean. The train system, that includes Japan’s brilliant bullet train as well as its  regular  trains, is excellent. The subway is fast, frequent and user-friendly. Over short distances, taxis are reasonably priced and very clean. It’s worthwhile to have your destination written in Japanese to show the driver since many do not speak English.

TRAINS

Remarkably, Japanese trains have an annual average late arrival time of only 38 seconds! They reach most places you are likely to tour in Japan and can be supplemented by buses or taxis.

The bullet train or Shinkansen that connects major centres, is a marvel. Travelling at up to 300km per hour, this sleek, white, green or red serpent of a train is whisper quiet and provides a smooth ride when you are inside. Outside, it appears as a rush of wind if you’re lucky enough to catch it passing at full speed.

Reserve seats and use it as much as you can. Like most trains, platforms are marked to show where you are to wait to alight your reserved carriage. You will have 30 seconds to get on or off. Don’t worry, you can actually do it in time.

We travelled on the newest Shinkansen line, inaugurated as recently as March 2016.

This sleek, green bullet train travels from the port city of Hakodate in the northern island of Hokkaido to Tokyo, with stops on the way that include the city of Sendai on the main island of Honshu. More than 50km of the journey is in a tunnel at a depth of 100 metres under the ocean between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. Our shiny new green train was connected at the rear to an equally shiny red bullet train, so it was actually 2 trains that together were hurtling above ground and under sea.

It’s worthwhile and saves money to buy a Japan Rail Pass (JR Rail Pass) if you intend to use the trains. This pass allows you to go on most trains and Shinkansen (but not trains privately operated) and other transport such as the JR Miyajima Ferry. For more information about obtaining the pass and a user guide see JR Pass.

 

SUBWAYS

Tokyo and Kyoto, the two cities in which you are most likely to use them, have excellent subway systems. On first descent into the stations, they may seem daunting with their myriad of lines and destinations and their banks of ticket machines, but help is at hand. Signs appear in English as well as in Japanese. There is often an information booth. A subway map in English is available at these booths. There are usually attendants on hand at all stations who will help you get your ticket at the machine and direct you to your train. They won’t necessarily speak English, but if you know your destination, they are remarkably helpful despite the language barrier. Again, if you plan to use the subways more than a very few times, it’s worthwhile getting an IC card for unlimited travel. See www.japan-guide.com for more information.

 

TRANSPORT FROM/TO TOKYO AIRPORTS

Of all the options – trains, taxis, buses and shuttles – the fastest and most economical to and from the airport is the train. Narita Airport (see http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2027.html for all transport options) is 60 kilometres from Tokyo and a taxi to central Tokyo is very, very expensive. You are much better off getting a train to central Tokyo and then if necessary, a taxi to your hotel.

The same is true of Haneda Airport. Although nearer central Tokyo, a taxi ride there from Haneda can cost over AUD$100. For your transport options from and to Haneda see http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2430.html.

A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE ROAD

It would be remiss to talk about transport, especially trains in Japan, without mentioning that every train station or subway offers a choice of take-away food and drink. The larger stations have cafes, eat-in or take-away restaurants, bakeries and shops. Some even have department stores attached. They are in essence shopping arcades. Many of the restaurants are excellent and of good value. Even the most remote station will have a vending machine that offers hot and cold drinks.

Or if you rushed to hop on the Shinkansen without having time to buy a little something for the road, fear not. A hostess will appear in your carriage with a food and drink trolley from which you can make a purchase. You are never very far from food when travelling in Japan.

Related posts:

Onsen in Japan

Geisha in Kyoto, Japan

Autumn in Japan

Notes on Japan

Ryokans in Japan

Hokkaido – the Northern Island of Japan

 

The Pleasures of a Japanese Toilet

 

The pleasures of the Japanese toilet are gaining worldwide attention. The BBC in its news today, made an announcement about toilets in Japan. And recently the New York Times ran a feature story on Japanese toilets. Why toilets would qualify as news might puzzle many – but it would not surprise those who have been to Japan.

Japanese toilets are quite ingenious.

When you arrive in Japan and head for the first toilet you can find in the airport you find that it is impeccably clean, as are all toilets in Japan almost without exception. But you are stopped in your tracks by an electronic panel next to the loo with a dazzling array of symbols. There is so much to read! Do I need a user manual to go to the loo in Japan? Not really, but often you are stuck in the toilet because it’s hard to find the flush button in the dense display of options. Especially since often they are only in Japanese. Welcome to the Toto!

It is claimed that once you experience the Toto commode/washlet, you will never again be satisfied with a regular toilet. First, the seat is heated, a surprising comfort that never wanes. Then you have a varying number of functions depending on the model. The Japanese have combined in one what the French made separate – a toilet that is also a bidet with special features. You can choose a front or rear spray, the temperature of the water and length of cleanse. You can vary the water pressure. Some have an air-purifying system that deodorises during use. Many have air dryers to finish. While others also provide music or a sound button that plays warbling birdsong or gushing waterfalls to discretely cover your sound.

Panel of Japanese toilet

 

These toilets are ubiquitous throughout Japan, especially in hotels, restaurants and airports as well as private homes. They often exist in public conveniences as a Western-style choice alongside the traditional, squat toilets seen elsewhere in Asia.

It seems that the manufacturers of these hi-tech toilets have finally realised the difficulty the dizzying array of options presents to foreign tourists. So they have now jointly agreed to standardise and simplify the symbols on the toilet panels and reduce them to only eight new pictograms.

Press Conference of Manufacturers of Japanese toilets announcing new
toilet symbols- January 18th 2017

New symbols on Japanese toilets

Travellers to Japan, seduced by the temptations of the Toto, have been known to return home determined to find and install this triumph of toilet technology in their own homes. None of them seems to have regretted it.

Related posts:

Our Top Places in Japan

Ryokans in Japan

Japan’s Brilliant Bullet Train

Onsen in Japan

Geisha in Kyoto, Japan

Autumn in Japan

Notes on Japan

The Pleasures of a Japanese Toilet

Hokkaido – the Northern Island of Japan

 

 

Ryokans in Japan

 

Western-style hotels or  Ryokans – traditional Japanese inns?

Ryokans in Japan have been described as national treasures. These traditional inns for travellers are located throughout the country. You can stay in Western-style hotels throughout Japan, but you would be missing out on very memorable and pleasurable experiences by not staying in a ryokan. Many hotels also offer you a choice of Western or Japanese-style rooms. The latter are similar to a room in a ryokan. These rooms tend to be larger than Western-style rooms which are often tiny.

What to expect in a Ryokan

When you enter the rooms in these ryokans, you remove your shoes in a small ante-room and put on the slippers provided. Tatami or densely woven straw mats cover the floors. The sliding doors (shoji screens) and windows are made of wood and paper.

The rooms are usually spacious and light with minimal furnishings. An atmosphere of serenity seems to emanate from them.

There is always a low wooden table with legless seats and cushions or just the  cushions for seating. Often rooms have an alcove attached in which stand comfortable low armchairs. When you first enter the room, there will be no bed or mattresses on the floor. It is only while you are having dinner in the dining room of the ryokan that staff come, move the table aside and set up futons with quilts on the floor. You can always ask for an extra futon if you want more cushioning between you and the floor. Pillows often have something in them that feels like small beans which adjust to the shape of your head, but are not particularly comfortable. All rooms have kettles or thermoses with hot water, a teapot and cups and supplies of Japanese green tea. Every implement is beautifully presented.

Most ryokans have en suite toilets and showers but it’s worthwhile to check before you book.

Kaiseki-style dinners

One of the most comfortable ryokan we stayed in was on Miyajima island, just across the strait from Hiroshima. The best rooms in the Miyarikyu Ryokan have views looking out to the sea and the sunset. You can watch the wild deer of the island wandering undisturbed on the street below. While the rooms in the ryokans are very clean and simple, the food can vary from quite basic to outstanding. The better ryokans provide breakfast buffets with a wide array of both Japanese and Western food. It’s worth trying the Kaiseki-style dinners at least once in the best ryokans. These are banquet-like meals in which a seemingly endless series of courses arrive of local delicacies and the best the chef can offer.

Yukatas

When staying in ryokans or hotels in Japan, you do not need to bring pyjamas. Sleepwear, usually a yukata – a unisex cotton kimono – is provided, as are toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoos and generally razors and hairbrushes too.

It is particularly pleasant to put on a yukata which often has attractive patterns and colours. A traditional jacket is also provided to wear over the yukata. The yukatas serve both as pyjamas and leisure wear. It is perfectly acceptable to wear the yukata to breakfast and dinner in the dining room, where everyone else will also be wearing the same yukata.

There is a very strict rule governing how you put on the yukata. You must always fold the right half against your body and then fold the left side over it so that it is on top and then tie it with an obi – a beautiful wide band. Folding the opposite way with the right on top is frowned upon as it is the way Japanese dress the dead.

Shukubo – Buddhist temple guest lodgings

Even less sophisticated ryokans provide a very good level of comfort. We spent one night in a shukubo, the guest lodging of Shojoshin-in, a Buddhist temple monastery in Koya-san. Koya-San is situated in forested mountains south of Kyoto. It is the world headquarters of the Shingon School of Buddhism whose founder in 816 was Kobo Daishi, one of the most important religious figures in Japan, who is said to be buried in Koya-san. The town has 110 temples and is a magnet for pilgrims. Which is probably why when we arrived at this remote spot after taking several trains and a funicular up the 650 metres to get there, we were stuck in a traffic jam in the town centre. There are many shukubo of varying degrees of comfort available in Koya-San for pilgrims and visitors. Many are listed on the Koyasan Shukubo Association website.

Shukubo lodging of a Buddhist temple monastery in Koya-san Japan – womangoingplaces.com.au

We assumed that the monastery would be quite austere, but were surprised to find the traditional style rooms comfortable, with heating, facilities for tea, wifi and a TV. Dinner was a strictly vegetarian meal with no meat, fish, garlic or onions according with their strictures – but sake was served with dinner on request. Although Western toilets were available, all toilet and bathroom facilities are shared and not en suite.

Most ryokans in Japan have onsen, varying from small and basic, as in the above shukubo, to elaborate and luxurious with a large choice of pools and optional features such as massage and treatments.

We highly recommend staying at least once in a ryokan as part of a memorable Japanese experience.

Related posts:

Our Top Places in Japan

Japan’s Brilliant Bullet Train

Onsen in Japan

Geisha in Kyoto, Japan

Autumn in Japan

Notes on Japan

The Pleasures of a Japanese Toilet

Hokkaido – the Northern Island of Japan

Onsen in Japan

Japan’s ubiquitous volcanoes frequently cause land and sea to shudder. But they are also the source of the healing waters of the Onsen in Japan. These are the public bath houses all over Japan that are often supplied with mineral water drawn from hot springs in volcanic craters.

Onsen have been part of Japanese life for millennia.

One of the great delights of visiting Japan is staying in ryokans – traditional inns – with Onsen. Although most ryokans have public bathing areas, not all are built around hot springs.

The most memorable hot spring Onsen we visited was in Noboribetsu on the northern island of Hokkaido. It is an area called Hell Valley because it brings to mind a picture of the underworld. Rumbling, sulphurous clouds of smoke and vapour spew from numerous volcanic craters and caves. Pools of bubbling mud, geysers and streams of burning hot water cover the landscape. We stayed in the ryokan,  Dai-Ichi Takimotokan, on the site of the original Onsen set up here 150 years ago. The thermal waters here are said to have special healing properties. For this reason it is an area popular with not only Japanese, but also with South Korean and Chinese visitors. There are many ryokan and Onsen in the area.

After a walk in the surrounding National Park through the unearthly landscape, it is a treat to then step into an Onsen and sink into the mineral rich sulphur baths for as long as you can stand the temperature of  38-40 degrees celsius. You can also relax in the steaming outdoor bath, surrounded in autumn by snow-covered trees.

 

Hell Valley Noboribetsu Hokkaido Japan – womangoingplaces.com.au

 

Even in a smaller and simpler ryokan in Hakone, south-west of Tokyo on Honshu, the Onsen was the highlight of our stay at the Yajikitano Yu Ryokan.

If your hotel or ryokan does not have an Onsen, there may be Onsen available at a general public facility, for example, in Matsuyama on Shikoku, the famous Dogo Onsen, thought to be the first Onsen in Japan. Or you can go to a neighbouring hotel wherever you are staying and use the Onsen there for a fee.

Onsen vary from luxurious to basic, but they are well worth the experience.

 

Etiquette in an Onsen

There is a particular procedure that governs correct behaviour in the Onsen.

Some Onsen are mixed, but we were only in those in which men and women are divided into separate areas. You take off all your clothes and place them in a basket or locker, and enter a large room with rows of stools, individual shower hoses, mirrors, soaps and shampoos. You are given a small white towel/washcloth with which you scrub yourself and rinse off until you are thoroughly clean.

 

Noboribetsu-Onsen Dai-ichi Takimotokan, Hokkaido Japan

 

Then you walk naked into the adjoining area where there are pools of different sizes and temperatures. These pools are strictly for relaxation, not for washing. In the beginning you may feel awkward without clothes or a swimsuit, but you quickly get over it. You take with you the small towel which you used to wash yourself. It is considered unhygienic and therefore offensive to allow this washcloth to touch the water of the relaxation pools. So some fold it and balance it on their heads, while others tie it stylishly into a kerchief around their heads.

Many Onsen have saunas and also provide hair dryers, skin lotions and other beauty products. If the Onsen has an outside pool, try it, possibly after you have sampled the inside pools. They are usually set in a secluded area made to appear as natural as possible with rocks and greenery.

Even though rooms in most ryokans have an ensuite toilet and shower, bathing in the Onsen is quite a different and more blissful experience. It is certainly an essential experience of Japan.

 

Related posts:

Our Top Places in Japan

Geisha in Kyoto, Japan

Autumn in Japan

Notes on Japan

Ryokans in Japan

Japan’s Brilliant Bullet Train

Hokkaido – the Northern Island of Japan

The Pleasures of a Japanese Toilet

 

Fabian Dattner – My Top 5 Places in Australia

” You have to have a beard to be a leader in Antarctica.” It was this statement that sparked the indignation and the imagination of Fabian Dattner and led to an unprecedented expedition of 75 women scientists to Antarctica in December 2016.

Women and Leadership

Fabian, a partner in consulting firm Dattner Grant has had 30 years experience in leadership training, both internationally and with Australian government, corporate  and not-for-profit organisations. She has authored 3 books on leadership and is one of Australian’s best-known entrepreneurs, speakers and executive instructors.

So she was well placed to notice first-hand the paucity of women in executive positions. This prompted her seven years ago to set up Compass, a training program specifically designed to equip women with leadership skills. And it was during one of these Compass courses in Tasmania, that women scientists, many of them working in polar science, expressed their distress at repeatedly being passed over for leadership in favour of men.

Women in STEM

Indeed, only 9% of leadership roles in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in the world are held by women. This is remarkable given that women constitute the majority of undergraduates, graduates and Ph.D students in science.

What Fabian heard from the women working in polar science made such an impression on her, she had a vivid dream that same evening in which she was taking a group of them on a ship to Antarctica. The next morning she consulted with Dr. Jess Melbourne Thomas, an Antarctic Marine Ecological Modeler, who agreed that such a project would be feasible. From that point on they both began planning and within 6 weeks the project received the endorsement of the CEO of the Australian Antarctic Division who described it as a “ brilliant idea.”  And Homeward Bound was born.

2016 Homeward Bound expedition of women scientists in Antarctica

Homeward Bound

Support from global figures streamed in, including that of Dr Jane Goodall, primatologist and environmental campaigner; Dr Sylvia Earle, global leading Marine Biologist, explorer, author, and lecturer; and Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The project went viral with thousands of women in science applying for the 75 places on the first Homeward Bound 19-day expedition to Antarctica in December 2016.

These scientists all strongly identified with the twin goals of Homeward Bound as stated by Fabian. The first: to promote women with a science background into leadership and decision-making positions. The second: to increase the impact of these women on climate change and the sustainability of the planet.

The 10-year objective of Homeward Bound is to build a world-wide collaboration between 1000 women in science. Fabian believes that these women, acting together, can be a more powerful force of global leadership on these vital issues.  “Our individual brilliance is not as powerful as our collective cleverness, “ she says.

The 75 scientists who took part in the first expedition came from countries around the world. They represented a wide range of fields –  marine science, climate change ecology, biodiversity conservation, astronomy, geology, zoology and neuroscience – to name just a few. They represented a wide range of expertise – from Ph.D students to professors. And they represented a wide range of ages – from women in their twenties to women in their seventies.

Homeward Bound journey on Ushuaia – photo Ute Hohn-Bowen

Prior to sailing, the participants took part in 12 months of building connections and teams. Once on board, part of the day was devoted to training led by Fabian, in leadership and strategic skills. There was a major science symposium at sea, with each of the scientists presenting her field of expertise, and there were group discussions of the most up-to-date climate change research and other key issues facing the planet.

Up to five hours each day were spent exploring the extraordinary beauty of Antarctica in 16 different landings and in meeting Antarctic experts. A film crew was present on Homeward Bound and recorded the entire expedition.

Antarctica- photo Fabian Dattner 2016 Homeward Bound

Why Antarctica?

Why was Antarctica chosen as the context for this project?

“ Because Antarctica is the engine of the planet, “ says Fabian. In Antarctica you can see some of the fastest and most breathtaking results of climate change to be seen anywhere on the planet, she said. It provides a dramatically visual early warning system of where we are headed.

The next Homeward Bound expedition, due to leave on February 2018,  has been flooded with applicants.

“ We are looking for women who are worried about what is happening to the planet and who think they can make a difference, “ says Fabian.

Homeward Bound funded the first expedition largely though global crowd-funding projects. Now they are seeking to provide scholarships for women in science who cannot afford to fund their own participation in the expedition.


WomanGoingPlaces supports the objectives of Homeward Bound in strengthening the collaborative participation of women scientists at the highest levels of decision-making. And we encourage our followers to support these scholarships. For further information see the Homeward Bound website.


Fabian’s Top 5 Places

Antarctica

 

Antarctica – photo Fabian Dattner 2016 Homeward Bound

Antarctica is not a place I felt at home, Antarctica was a place I was in awe.

The icebergs are not what anyone imagines an iceberg is about, they’re huge, they’re like a city building. They are behemoths and from then on in you’re in a spellbinding environment

Antarctica has the lowest biodiversity on the planet.

There are two things on the surface, tiny little bits of green – an Antarctic grass and a tiny bit of moss. And this vast ice scape. And you’ll be walking through snow and ice and there is a rock, and it’s not like you see it everywhere by the way, you need a biologist to point it out to you. There’ll be tiny beads of water and in that there is a teensy weensy bit of gloop and in there are the larval stages of this wingless fly. And that’s it.

But in summer, in the water and under the water, is a majesty and a magic that is incomprehensible. The largest biomass in the world is there. Krill, and on the back of the krill come the whales and we saw humpbacks. And there are times where you’ll see the whales working as teams to move the krill into a circle and then they move in and eat. We saw Minke Whales dancing with the boat. We saw Leopard seals. We saw Weddell seals, we saw Chinstraps and Adelie penguins. You see lots of ocean-going birds, birds that have traveled obscene distances to breed because the water is so rich.

[Under the Antarctic Treaty system Australia maintains sovereignty over the Australian Antarctic Territory.]

South Coast Walk, Tasmania

It’s a fly-in-walk-out walk. You fly out of Hobart on a 4 seater for an hour and you land on a little airstrip in the middle of nowhere in some wilderness. The plane flies off and you begin a walk. And you’re walking along the South West coast, for about a 100 kilometres. You’re walking through forest that is largely untouched on such a narrow path and you have a heavy pack on your back.  Light filters through the grand trees onto the green landscape and it is so beautiful you can’t talk. If you’ve loved Lord of the Rings, it’s like Lothlorien where the elves live.

It was one of the hardest walks I’ve done and one of the most beautiful. It is right up there with one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

Coral off Lord Howe Island – photo Lord Howe Island Tourism Association www.lordhoweisland.info

Lord Howe Island would definitely be one of my favourite places. With the bleaching of the Barrier Reef it is actually probably one of the most southern ends of diverse coral that you’re going to see. There hasn’t been any bleaching there. And diving there was just stunning. It’s this tiny little isolated island in the Pacific Ocean and you have to go quite a long way to get there. If the weather throws you a kilter, you can’t land. There are only 300 people that live there and there’s quite a restricted tourist population. You can only get around on bicycles. I love the beautiful wilderness and the places that human beings haven’t desecrated. There is pristine water to dive in. Just pristine water.

Kakadu, Northern Territory

Kakadu escarpment Northern Territory – photo auswalk.com.au

There’s this walk, not a complex walk anyone can do it, but you go up past an extensive area of Aboriginal rock banding which is in itself haunting. It’s 50, 60 thousand years old. But the most memorable part is getting to an escarpment where you have a 360 degree panoramic view of the best of Australian outback with not a single building as far as the eye can see in any direction. And I remember the epic part about that was coming to the top and a big Texan came up behind us and he’s standing next to me in his stetson hat and he says “ I don’t know why people rave about the Aboriginals –  I can’t see that they’ve left anything here” (in Texan accent).  And I said, “ No, they’ve left us this beautiful, beautiful space.”

Flinders Ranges, South Australia

Flinders Ranges South Australia – photo australia.com

We went to quite a remote area in the Finders Ranges. It was during the drought. So it was a very desolate dry hard space. But in a way that parts of Australia can be so epically beautiful. We saw rock wallabies and it’s very rare that you see rock wallabies in the wild. They move across the rock scape in the way foxes move at night in your backyards – in a ghostly, almost don’t touch the ground way. And we were in a very remote spot walking and I suddenly looked up at a desiccated dry mountain top of rocks and something moved and there they were. So that was one of the heart stopping moments of wilderness for me.

 

 

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