Kawana (Fuji Course)

We were fortunate to be able to play the Fuji Course here at Kawana, twice during our stay.  The photos below are a mixture from both days.

The course opens with a downhill par four, and what an impressive view it is that you receive on the tee.  No I am not talking about Gary Jones, I am talking about the vista behind him.

Geoffrey Knight fires away from the first tee.

Kawana Resort was created by Baron Kishichiro Okura.  Baron Okura was the son of one of Japan's wealthiest businessmen.  He studied at Cambridge in Britain, and upon his return to Japan wished to create a country estate like the ones he was fond of in England.  He purchased 500 acres here on the Izu Peninsula and got to work.

Initially he built a rustic lodge on the site, but soon asked his friend Komyo Otani (Tokyo GC) to build a golf course.  The course was created and named the Oshima, for a volcanic island off the shore, opening in 1928.

Michael Merrett intently watching his tee shot from the par three 5th, under the close supervision of Ake, our caddy.  Ake is the boyfriend of my caddy from yesterday, Emi, and he is a golf pro.

I mentioned Charles Hugh Alison in the Kasumigaseki post.  It is here that he makes another appearance.  Work had commenced on his design at the Tokyo Golf Club, and Alison made his way to Kawana for some R & R.  By this stage, it was no longer a modest lodge, but now a first class hotel.

Baron Okura wished to have a second golf course on the property, and Alison was the man tasked with it's design.

Alison was impressed with the land, and devised plans on how to deal with the rocky site, and how to place soil where it would be able to stay. Construction here was delayed to begin with, and the course only became complete in 1936, over 5 years after it was designed.

The course is often referred to as the Japanese Pebble Beach, mainly due to the brilliant stretch of holes, 11 - 16.  This is the approach into the par five 11th.

On a very clear day, Mt Fuji is visible to left side of the fairway.  Unfortunately, we were not blessed with favourable conditions on either day, for that to eventuate.

Biviana Gilson fires a great drive down the par four 12th hole, beautifully avoiding the cliffs on the inside of the dogleg.

Here is Emi, our day one caddy, working with the caddy buggy.

This is a better view of the left side of the 12th.

It was becoming very warm and humid as we approached the dogleg right par four 14th.

This warmth allowed our friend here to come out for a sunbake.  He even posed for a photo on his way back into the jungle.

The par five 15th hole is one of the most spectacular holes in golf.  An elevated tee encourages you to swing freely, but beware of the left side.

Wendy Pullar sets up for her drive on 15.

And Nola Faure successfully negotiates the tee shot as well.

The view from the tee of the par three 16th, looking across the 15th green and down the coastline.

The tee shot from the par four 17th.

The tee shot on the par four 18th.  The landing zone here, like on many other holes, is only about 15 metres wide.  The building visible behind the green houses a stained glass gallery, and an Italian restaurant.

The entire group on the 18th green today.  The Fuji course deserves it's place in the top few courses in the country, even if the Korai greens and their grain, would take a lot of getting used to.  We had some great scoring today, Greg Gilson claimed the men's prize on 38 points, and Jenny Jones won the women's event on 34 points.

Emi and Ake, our two brilliant caddies, recommended their friend's restaurant to us for dinner.  A recommendation like that was too good to pass up, so we invited them to come along and have dinner with us there.  If you are ever in this area, make sure you visit Hana Goyomi in Ito, it was marvellous.

Not only was the food great, Sashimi and Shabu Shabu, but it was much cheaper than what you pay at the resort.

They company was pretty good too.  A great way to end our time at Kawana.  Tomorrow we undertake a tour of the Hakone area, and Mt Fuji.

Kasumigaseki Country Club (East Course)

Today we started our move southwest, and played our first course of the tour, Kasumigaseki Country Club, and the highly regarded East Course.

Kasumigaseki East was built in 1929, on the land of Shohei Hotchi, after designs were created by Kinya Fujita and Shiro Akaboshi. It only took eight months to build, and opened for play as a 6600 yard par 72, in September of 1929.

In December 1930 a man by the name of Charles Hugh Alison arrived in Japan. Alison was the assistant to the legendary designer, Harry Colt.  Colt was engaged by Tokyo Golf Club to design the new layout for their forced relocation, but, he was concerned about the travel, and sent his assistant (Alison) instead.  Although not initially received well by Tokyo GC, the move to send Alison would become a defining moment in Japanese golf.

This will not be the last time you see the name Charles Hugh Alison on the blog for this tour.  He was only in Japan for a 3 month period, and this short visit influenced Japanese golf design in a way that Mackenzie's short visit to our shores defined Australian design.

Alison surveyed the course at Kasumigaseki in December 1930, at the request of designer Fujita, and his design suggestions were acted upon. His large sinuous bunkers, became known as "Alisons" and many were constructed here. He was responsible for the redesign of holes 9, 10, 14, 17 and 18.

The course is lined with thousands of pine trees, however the wild typhoons of the past month, have destroyed over 150 of them, as seen above.  There is a lot of work being done on the removal and clean up of the affected trees.

A view of one of the expansive bunkers.

World War Two had a huge impact on Japanese golf, and Kasumigaseki Country Club.  Occupying forces took control of the nation after the war, including all of the golf courses.  It wasn't until 1952 that they were returned to the clubs.  This meant a lot of reconstructive work to reopen in September 1952.

Geneveive Morgan playing her second shot on the par five 8th hole.

Wendy Pullar plays her approach into the par 4 9th hole.

The view back down the 9th from behind the green.  It is here that we start to see Alisons influence.

The par 3 10th hole, showcasing the first of the "Alisons" constructed.

We got our first look at the Japanese caddy system, and in particular the caddy carts. Wendy and Genevieve are pictured with our caddy, Yonehana, and the cart.

They are pretty impressive,  They are motorised, fit four bags, and have places to store drinks, headcovers, sand, rubbish, umbrellas, you name it.  Yonehana was brilliant, and ran around after the four of us with ease.

The club has a very proud tournament history, hosting the Japan Open, on four occasions, including in 2006 when it was won by Australian Paul Sheehan.  It also hosted the 5th "Canada Cup" (now called the World Cup), in 1957 which was won by the home team.

In 2010, the club hosted the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, which was won by a bloke by the name of Hideki Matsuyama.  You may have heard of him.

The next tournament to be held at the club is the golf tournament for the 2020 Olympics, something that the club is very proud of.

Kasumigaseki was a tremendous way to commence our golf on the tour.  A very pleasant walk, good weather, and a well presented course.  After golf we made the 3 hour drive down to our location for the next few days, the Kawana Resort in Ito.

Dinner for most was at the traditional Japanese Restaurant on site, Inakaya.  A tempura and sashimi dinner, in the 300 year old country house.
The next two days we will be playing the Fuji course here at Kawana.  Some will play it twice.
Congratulations to today's winners, Geoffrey Knight and Sharon Marks, who both scored 34 points.
Another congratulations to Nola Faure, who celebrated her birthday.

Welcome Dinner & Tokyo Tour

The tour commenced on Monday night at Kyubei, the Sushi restaurant at the Keio Plaza Hotel.

It was a great was to commence, an Omakase dinner.  Omakase means "I'll leave it up to you chef".  This had a few of us a little nervous, none more than me.

The chefs however, were very kind to us, with the selections being very tame, and very enjoyable. The very skilled sushi chefs are shown in action above.

Our sushi chef joined in for a photo, this was after he had read through our itinerary, and was very impressed.  A very nice evening, and a good welcome to Japan for all.

This morning we met up with our local guides Kiyo and Yasuka, who showed us the sights of Tokyo for the day.  We started at the markets.  Disappointingly, the historic Tsukiji fish market closed permanently on Sunday just gone, after 83 years, and the new market does not open until Thursday.

This meant we visited the outer markets.  Michael Merrett is weighing up the ganstroenterological benefits of the dried squid above.

One of the vendors creating the Tamagoyaki Omelette.  An interesting process involving layering and pressing as they cook.  This vendor put the omelette on a stick, and customers walked around looking like they were eating an egg ice cream.

There were many items tasted along the way. Omelettes, Green Tea, Green Tea Ice Cream, but no one seemed to jumped in and make the most of the boiled crab brains offered here. Yuk!

The group is pictured outside the Kabuki-za Theater in Ginza.  This theather is the principal venue for the traditional Kabuki drama form here in Tokyo. It is very traditional, with men playing the roles of women, and some marvellous costumes.  The style would certainly be an acquired taste, and I think would take a long while to acquire. Worth seeing though.

The youth have really embraced the traditional costumes of the past.  There were many young women dressed in their impressive Kimonos.

This is a tough way to may a living.  Good for the quads and glutes though.  Human powered rickshaws.

The entrance to the Sensoji Temple area.  This entrance is called the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate). This gate houses four statues.  Shinto gods Fujin (god of wind) (left) and Raijin (god of thunder) (right) are show above.  On the other side of the gate are Buddhist god, Tenryu and goddess Kinryu.

After a stretch of market style shops, you are met with another gate, the Hozomon or "Treasure House Gate".

It is believed that the smoke from this incense burner (Jokoro) has a healing effect.  Wendy Pullar and Genevieve Morgan are at the burner to get some healing, along with our guide Kiyo.  Wendy is getting the smoke on her head, as it is said that by healing your head you become smarter.

A view of the smoke from the Jokoro, and looking back at the Hozomon from the step of the temple.

Next to the temple is the Sensoji shrine.  Before praying at the shrine, you must purify yourself.  This process involves using the ladle to pour the water over your hands, and then using your hands to cup water into your mouth to purify it.  Biv Gilson and Sharon Marks are shown "purifying" themselves.  Sharon did mention that she may need more water!



Photos are not permitted in the temple, but this is it's impressive facade from near the shrine.  The temple has been here since the year 645, but needed rebuilding after the area was decimated during World War 2.

A really enjoyable day seeing some very interesting sights in Tokyo.
Tomorrow we rise early, and make our way to Kasumigaseki Country Club, and play the host course for the 2020 Olympic Games Golf Tournament.