Talk about a day of contrasts. The old and the new.

Didn’t head to Ise today. I am still undecided if it is worth the journey from here in Kyoto. Seems it will be about 2.5 hours each way which is a fair bit to visit a shrine… especially given I am seeing heaps here and will be seeing Nikko (Japan’s primo shrine) before I go home. Hhhhmmm.

So instead I decided to head to the northern area of Kyoto to visit some more temples. These took a bit more effort to get to, but were apparently worth it, so backpack went on the back and off I went. Rather than bus of subway it there i decided to walk it. It was about 6km or so, but when you are wandering past temples and through gardens why wouldn’t you walk? Plus I was in no hurry.

So the first part of my wander was basically the same trek I did on my first visit, the Southern Hagashiyama area (see that earlier post if you want details!). I didn’t really stop at any of the places I had been before… just the odd photo, like the one at the top of the post.

So through that area I wandered, checking out the odd shop along the way. unfortunately the Godzilla mask was way too big (yes I did try it on) so it didn’t get bought.

Seems as though you meet all kinds of characters on your travels too.

So I arrived at my first destination, Nanzen-Ji. This was a pretty cool complex with some nice zen gardens which photos don’t do justice. I did take a moment to sit and zen out and let my mind wander.

From there it was further meandering north, along the Philosophers Path. This was a nice path that wound its way north. I think it would be amazing in season… this time of year it was a bit barren. I felt quite at home there, what with being a doctor of philosophy and all ha ha. Although I would be lying to say I felt any more enlightened whilst on the path 🙂

Conveniently the path ended at my main destination, Ginkaku-Ji, or the Silver Pavilion. Not really too sure why it is deemed the silver pavillion, as the pavilion itself was pretty stock standard. But the gardens and surrounds were gorgeous, with some amazing sculpting of sand in them.

That took me to a bit after lunch, so I decided to contrast my temples with some crazy city action… by heading to Osaka. A bus to the station and then half an hour on the train and I was there. Too easy huh?

Opinion on Osaka seems a bit split. Some people I know adore it, others are nonplussed. To me it just seemed like a big city really. The only thing I knew I wanted to do was wander to Dotombori, which they say is a bit of inspiration of the city in Blade Runner… neon, food stalls, etc.  Quite a contrast from World Heritage listed Kyoto temples.

On my way, I caught sight of this store and my heart skipped a beat…

OH. MY. GOD. A Kit Kat store! I was really nervous going in… was this going to be my mecca? In a word… no. I was stooged. I could see no reason why it should be branded with Kit Kat at all. They didn’t even have any special flavours, not even any of the ones I had found nearby. What a jib.

Anyway, by the time I got there after wandering through some shops and things the sun was starting to set (gets dark early here this time of year, like 5pm or so) and everything lit up. Quite cool. And the area had a crazy vibe. For someone by themselves it is a bit difficult to work out really what to do, but if you were with some people it would be good fun I imagine.

One of the main things I wanted to see was the big neon Glico Man sign. Glico I hear you ask? They make Pocky! If you don’t know what pocky is then tell me and you shall receive.

Anyway, it was great to see it. Seriously, I was quite excited to see the big neon man. Getting a photo in front was difficult but some teenage boys, who were also trying to get photos, helped me out.

By this time I was about done wandering in Osaka. I could easily go back and wander some more there, but I had seen enough for the day. So a bit of a walk back to Osaka Station, another 40 minutes on the train, and here I am back in Kyoto. Tomorrow may be Ise (probably not) or maybe filling some final gaps in Kyoto. Maybe even a trip back to Nara? I will decide in the morning. Exciting!

Oh, my Kit Kat day wasn’t a complete bust. I found these in Osaka Station on my way out. Kobe Pudding. Mmmm… tasty! Another very sweet one, not far removed from the hotcake kit kat actually. And how crazy is this box! Man I love this place.

Hi all. Thanks for the comments that are starting to come in. No doubt some of you are back at work so I hope I can distract you a little 🙂

Sorry for missing a day of posting… hope you don’t think I’m slacking off too much. But last night I was maybe not in the best state to post. No, nothing wrong… just with a few drinks under my belt and a morning of travelling today I thought it best to get some sleep. So let’s go back to yesterday.

I was a bit sad to be saying sayonara to Fujiko and Yoshi. They had treated me SO well. They couldn’t do enough for me and I am really appreciative of that. I hope I can return the favour some day soon back home. So I left their house to check in to a hotel in Nagoya, where Glen, Ayako, and I were going to meet with more friends of theirs for more… yep, eating. We were apparently heading to a small izakaya that was highly recommended so even though I had been eating non stop, I was pretty excited.

After a quick bout of shopping, we all met up and off we went. And holy crap.

This place was tiny. It had one booth which we were in and a counter and that was it. So did that mean it wasn’t that good? NO WAY.

Like the night before I sat back and food just came in copious amounts. So did the beers, and then the sake. And like most my trip there was not much english to be spoken, but some keywords like “Ghibli” can be understood by all. And boy did we have some laughs.

With the amazing food, the beer and sake, and the amazing hospitality of everyone (especially Ayako and Glen themselves) life really is too good.

Nothing too wacky eaten. Highlights were definitely the miso eggplant and tempura sweet potato. Mmmmm.

So with a fair few drinks under the belt it was time to say goodnight. Masato was waiting his mum and dad, and I had to settle back in to my hotel. It was a bit odd saying see ya to Glen and Ayako and will be a spin out to think when I next see them it will be in Berwick.

So that brings me to this morning. Woke up feeling good, so got organised and jumped on the shinkansen to Kyoto. Ah Kyoto, how I adore thee. It is such an amazing place it was a delight to be back. Astro Boy was missing from the front of the train station which was a bit disappointing, but greeting me in the station were 3 different flavours of Kit Kats, one of which I hadn’t tried (Cinnamon Cookie). So of course I bought it as well as the black tea flavour. Ah Kyoto, you are too awesome.

Being about 10am it was bit early for hostel check in, so dropped the bag off and went exploring. The main temple I was keen to visit this trip was Fushimi Inari. I have no idea how I missed it last time, but it is one of the more famous, boasting over 1000 torii gates along a path in the woods. So it was straight there.

Now, how busy the train was should have been an indicator, but it was crazy there. New Year celebrations were still in force with lots of people as well as markets. I can’t imagine what it must have been like a few days ago (Wikipedia says that they had 2.6 million during a New Year a few years ago). So with the masses I wandered up the hill to the main shrine to rung the bell and make some wishes.

Once up the hill a little bit that is where the amazing part of this area starts. Thousands of donated torii gates of different sizes form a series of paths through the hills, and makes a walking track of about 4km. It is so hypnotic walking through the torii that I couldn’t help but start walking and not stop. I was going to try counting but realised pretty quickly it would be quite futile.

Each turn becomes a photo moment, with the light streaming in in different ways and making it a great experience. At times you can be the only one, although with so many people it was a very very rare occurance.

Along with the torii, thousands of statues of foxes are dotted along the path and at the many hundred small shrines throughout the hill.

They are very cool too, with some looking well worn with their moss coverings, or knitted hats as it were.

Oh, there is the odd frog too.

So what I thought would be an hour long visit became a 3-4 hour wander doing the whole circuit, ending up back at the start. And just as I arrived back snow started to fall. Unfortunately it wasn’t cold enough for the snow to stay, but in the hills in Kyoto, temples and shrines as backdrops, and snow. Not bad hey.

So with some takoyaki from a market stall I headed back to the hostel. What was just going to be a stop for an hour or two then out for a wander has been a night of staying in chatting to other travellers. No rush to head out in the city… I had some folks and kit kats to keep me company 🙂

Oh, and here is what I have been eating…

Black Tea… I like this one. The tea is not strong, but you certainly know it is black tea in the chocolate.

Cinnamon Cookie… is cinnamon alright. Not too overpowering but I am not the biggest cinnamon fan. Certainly some bits in there that are the cookie too.

Green Tea “Air In”… I found this in a convenience store walking back to the hostel. Meant to be a green tea kit kat but with chocolate around the outside like an aero bar. OK, but the aero part was not really to aero.

Rilakkuma Hotcake… this was the big find. Apprently quite rare (Google doesn’t show much of anything about it) I found a limited edition box at a store in an underground walkway mall thing under Kyoto station (Just in case you haven’t worked it out Rilakkuma is a very popular bear character here… but I’m sure you did). Tasty! Very sweet, but definitely pancake with maple syrup tasting.

So that is the epic two day post, where in some respects I didn’t really do that much. Tomorrow might be a trip to Ise, I’ll see how the mood takes me…. Sayonara!

Akemashite omedetou!

Happy New Year (obviously). Well, sorry I didn’t post yesterday, but being New Year’s Eve and all, there was more important things to do. Like eat. And eat. And drink. And eat. And watch crazy Japanese TV. And eat. And… well, I’m sure you get the picture by now.

So let’s go back to the start of yesterday when I said goodbye to Taka at Guesthosue Shinagawa for the time being and hopped on the Shinkansen to Nagoya, where according to plan I was met by Ayako, Glen and Masato.

One of my absolute favourite things in the world is meeting up with friends in other countries. It really does remind you how small the world really is. And is just awesome fun to boot.

Before we headed to Ayako’s folks place we went to the top of the Nagoya Observation deck to check out Nagoya from high above. What a sprawling city Nagoya is (3rd biggest in Japan so no surprise I guess). From there though we jumped on a train to just out of Nagoya, to Jokoji, which is where Ayako is actually from. A nice spot in the hills which will be a pleasant way to spend a few days before being a tourist again.

So this is where the family experience really begins. I was greeted completely warm heartedly by Ayako’s folks, Fujiko and Yoshi. And it was awesome.

Neither speak English, but that didn’t stop them both talking up a storm to me. From my end it was just big smiles and speaking back, with quite a lot of aragato’s thrown in since I tend to be being treated non-stop.

And this is where what will no doubt be my lingering memory of my time in Nagoya… food. And more food. And even more food. You are no doubt seeing a theme in this post.

After about 10 minutes of being settled in to Fujiko and Yoshi’s house, the food began. Some great Japanese indoor barbeque. Mmmmm. So this is where my belly got filled and has continue to be kept full until right now as I type.

To walk off the food (and get ready for the next round) we did a quick walk up the big hill close by to a nice park and lake. A really steep walk, but was nice to stretch the legs and work off the food.

We were greeted with this sign, which I found funny, but is warning against being in the park alone and to watch out for sex offenders. Not so funny really anymore!

What was more creepy was this crazy statue we found. Not even Ayako could explain the significance of the eyeball. Really odd, but cool at the same time.

So then it was back down the hill to home and for round 2 of food. Or more like Round 2a, then 2b. This kept going through our New Year’s Eve as we just kicked back and ate and drank and watched crazy Japanese TV.

You know the stereotypical nutso Japanese shows? Well, it was that. First of all we watched a traditional variety singing show that Ayako was quite excited to see again.

Glen and I basically had laughs at each act, as each act got a little more outlandish. So much fun. But the best fun came when we switched to some insane comedy show. We were greeted with this…

Yes, it is what you think it is. Canned air was being inserted up the you know where in order to elicit farting to make the contestants laugh. Yep. And even though Glen and I couldn’t understand a thing were were in hysterics. Food, beers, and laughs… a good recipe for New Years.

So the pumpkin hour arrived and we started with the traditions… more food. Soba noodles to be precise. Yep… eating more food at midnight. Holy moly, I was bursting at the seams. But so great.

I was hitting the wall, so it was bed time. And I slept like a log with full belly dreams.

Up this morning about 8:30am and I was greeted with this…

Yes, it  is what you think it is. More food. While it is always a lot of eating, this food in particular was tradtional New Year fare. Really odd having prawns, fish, and vegies for breakfast, but who am I to break tradition. And there was morning sake to go with it. That was a first. But again, when in Rome (or Nagoya for New Years)…

The morning was spent having a soak in the tub and getting freshened up when Ayako’s sister and brother-in-law Erina, Yasu, and little Arisa arrived for more tradition. Lunch. But didn’t I just eat? Well, yep. But it was time for more eating.

The pic at the top of the post was part of the awesome lunch. The same as for breakfast but with heaps of sushi to go with it. Mmmmm. So very full, but couldn’t… Stop… Eating.

We all needed to walk it off, so headed back up the hill to visit Jokoji Temple to celebrate the New Year.

A nice but strenuous walk took us to the temple to make some wishes for 2012.

I have had a stellar last year or two and I reckon 2012 will be up there as well. Life is pretty awesome.

In the trees were messages of good will and it really is a nice way to start the year.

Oh, and Kit Kats. That’s a pretty sweet way to start the year too 🙂

Mind = Blown.

But let’s start back at yesterday. When I left you all I was contemplating what to do with the evening. Well I did wander to Akihabara for a couple of hours, mainly just to soak up being back in Tokyo. It was nice to just wander and not be on the lookout for photo opportunities or even to buy stuff. I just wandered through the toy stores and old school video game stores looking at what I may buy before I head home. But I just did that for a bit then wandered back to the hostel to get some shut-eye.

So, this morning I got to have a chat with Taka, the owner of Guest House Shinagawa where I am staying. He remembered me from when I was here last (18 months ago now) which was really nice, and he seemed genuinely touched I was back. Speaking with him I started to get a sense of the bigger toll of the earthquake earlier in the year. He said the whole year has been really quiet for him and he had months where he had virtually no one staying. He said it has only picked up the last couple of months because of a few major events moving to Nov/Dec. So that made me extra glad to be back amongst my Tokyo friends.

So what did I do with my day? Well, I was thinking of visiting the Ueno area, most famous for its park and the National Museum which I visited last time. But also it has a well know outdoor market with food, fish, and other shops. I also got wind that it had… yep… kit kats. So off I went.

The market was chaos. Taka warned me it would be busy with people buying up for New Year, but it was crazy. A fun experience I must say, jostling among the crowd looking to buy their crab and octopus. But would it all be worth it? Well… no. I found the stores rumoured to have the Kit Kats but alas it was just some standard ones, nothing wacky at all. Oh well.

A little downbeat at the Kit Kat bust, I decided to wander park in Ueno for a bit. I came across this statue of a samurai and his dog, which is quite fetching. The samurai is Saigō Takamori and he lead a doomed rebellion against the government. I need to find out more about his dog though.

Next, since I was close and had not been, I decided to head to Asakusa, a more “traditional” part of Tokyo, with temples, shrines, and tourist markets. This was pretty fun actually. Again really crowded but I imagine it always is.

Wandering the markets I came across a “Hot and Sweet Sake” vendor. “What would that taste like?” I asked myself. So I got some and boy was it tasty. Hit the spot perfectly on the chilly day. Mmmmm.

It was interesting that at one point I got the glimpse of the old shrine with Tokyo Tower in the background. Sums up Japan perfectly… the mix of old and new, always in close proximity to each other.

On my way back to the hostel I decided to follow another Kit Kat lead, this time at Tokyo Station. BINGO. There greeting me in one store was a shelf full of Kit Kats. The only bummer was that they were all flavours I had eaten before and not too wacky. Given I have 3 weeks of travel left I decided to only buy one small box (Chili… of course) as travellers and stock up in the few days I am back in Tokyo before I leave. At least I can rest easy knowing they will be mine…

Anyway, so then it was back to the hostel to freshen up and head off for my big reason for doing a couple of days in Tokyo so early… BORIS. No, not a person, Boris the band. They are my favourite Japanese band so I was crazy excited to find out they were playing in Tokyo just after I arrived. So with the help of Ayako and her mum to help secure me a ticket (thanks Fujiko!) I was all set.

Now first odd thing. Doors opened 5pm. Support on at 6pm. Boris on at 7pm. For a club show. Man that is early! But I liked the sound of that… easy to get home. So off I went to Daikanyama Unit, which I found easy enough. Holy cow it was small! Not much bigger than my back living area! I knew Boris were not particularly popular here in Japan but this is smaller than where they will be playing in Melbourne next year. All the more exciting for me!

So at 7pm on the dot, Boris wandered on stage to completely blow my mind over the next 2 hours. Oh man, they played the almost perfect set and sounded amazing. I was giddy!

I got the 3 songs I was itching to hear (Pink, and Rainbow and Farewell gloriously for the encore) and they played my favourite of the new tracks. Their 15 minute version of Aileron was one of the most glorious things I think my ears have ever heard. Ah… so happy… and it was only the second day of my holiday.

The other not odd but different aspect to the show was the crowd. I knew Japanese crowds were meant to be reserved, but given Boris are loud and raucous and alternative, I wasn’t expecting the crowd behaviour. A smattering of polite applause after each song was all Boris got for their efforts. Then, the demand for an encore came with some more polite applause in unison. Odd, but a nice different experience!

So that’s it. Sleep now, then on to the Shinkansen tomorrow morning to head to Nagoya to meet with Glen, Ayakao and little Masato for some good times.

Have a great New Year everyone! I am not sure when I will post next as I will have limited internet access while staying with Ayako’s folks. See you in 2012 🙂

… Matt