17
Dec

Jiggle Jiggle

By: muttler
japan
kyoto
osaka

 

15/12/2022

Our last full day here in Kyoto. We didn’t have much left to do so to speak. I started the day with a bit of a cycle around the neighbourhood, and then we all got together to do a couple of last temples. First was Rinzaishu-Daihonzan, and then was to the classic Fushimi-Inari and it’s 1000’s of torii gates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We wandered there for a bit, heading up the mountain and away from most the crowds. Lunch was some street food near the temple, before doing a little bit of last minute ceramics shopping.

Madeline and I then decided to head back to Osaka. We wanted to visit Dotonbori to soak up the neon and craziness, but top of the agenda was Rikuro’s Cheesecake. Why? They are one of the new Japanese sweet sensations… Jiggly Cheesecake!

 

 

 

 

 

We were super lucky to find the department store that had them freshly baked with a relatively short queue. Woo! So we waited and saw them in all their glory. And yes, they jiggle! How did they taste? Their appearance didn’t match the taste. They looked like cheesecake but were much more eggy, milky soufflé. But delicious!! We bought two 🙂

It was then off to Dotonbori for some takoyaki before heading back to Kyoto.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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16
Dec

It’s a-me! Mario!

By: muttler
japan
nintendo
universal studios

 

14/12/2022

A break from temples and castles and things today. Universal Studios! I’m not normally one for this theme park… I like the rides but that’s about it. However this was high up on the list of must-dos this trip. Why? SUPER NINTENDO WORLD!

Yep, a whole section of the park dedicated to Nintendo. How awesome is that.

 

 

 

So we jumped on the train to Osaka and embarked on our theme park day. Nintendo World was awesome. Not huge, and quite crowded, and also in some respects needs a tiny bit of pre-reading. Why? On face value there is a couple of rides and lots to look at, but what else? A ‘Power Band’ is what unlocks a bunch more. Obviously you need to buy it (an extra $40) but then it unlocks a bunch of mini-games, quests and things that make the area super fun. Could we find all the coin blocks to punch? Could we find all the power ups? Defeat Bowser Jr?

What we thought would just end up being a couple of hours was half the day. The one downside is that it was focused only on the Mario property (no Donkey Kong, Zelda, etc) but it added to feeling immersed in the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also rode the Mario Kart ride which was so good. A bit confusing to start but then who doesn’t love real life Mario Kart?!?! There was also a Yoshi ride that was a sightseeing type thing. Queues for both were a bit long but thankfully our extra add on pass meant we got through as quickly as we could.

The rest of the park was usual Universal Studios fun. There was Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and a big section dedicated to Jaws of all things!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had ace fun spending the day there and left just after close. If you have even a passing interest in Nintendo, then you definitely need to visit.

Read More It’s a-me! Mario!
13
Dec

OTOBOKE BEAVER!!!

By: muttler
japan
otoboke beaver

 

11/12/2022

So what was I heading off to in Nagoya?

Well, my favourite band of the last couple of years has been an incredible punk-ish band from Kyoto called Otoboke Beaver. Their album “Itekoma Hits” has easily been my most played album of the last few years and their new one this year “Super Champon” is just as good. They haven’t come to Australia and I always dreamt that when we came to Japan that I may be able to luck out and see them live for the first time, after watching ALL their livestreams during the pandemic years.

So of course, what looked like it would happen? They played a show in Osaka just days before we arrived. And then… yep… THREE shows in Tokyo from the NIGHT WE LEAVE (including one with Melt-Banana!!!). I thought I was doomed never to see them. It was crazy just how unlucky I was being.

Then it looked like their MIGHT be a chance. It turned out they were playing a show in Nagoya while we were in Kyoto. Yes!!!

I tried all the things I could to get a ticket but alas I couldn’t as I had to have a Japanese phone number in order to buy a ticket online. Ugh. I was resigned to it not happening.

But what I did was the day we arrived here, I tried my chance in a Lawsons, which has the Loppi machines for buying tickets. And… SUCCESS!!! I GOT A TICKET!!!

 

 

So I left Kyoto and headed back to Nagoya, about an hour away. I got to the venue (a great space on the 5th floor of a nondescript office building), and caught the end of the second band. It was in fact a 5 band bill, all quite different styles. A band called Cinema Staff were OK, a bit of 2000’s emo throwback.

Anyway, the time came. I respected the venue wishes for no mobile phones or photos, as did the whole crowd. That in itself was awesome.

The band soundchecked a couple of songs (including Yakatori!) before launching into the set.

It is one of the greatest hours of live music I have ever been part of. The band was everything I could have hoped for. Equal ferocious and hilarious. But seriously, the 4 of them have to be 4 of the most talented musicians on the planet…. it is insane how technically amazing they are. Yoyoyoshi on guitar, Hiro-Chan on bass, Kahokiss on drums, and Accorinrin on vocals.

It was a dream. Probably at least 20 songs in about 50 minutes. I could not stop grinning the whole gig.

Then to cap things off, the girls met about of a dozen of us after the show and were super happy to pose for photos. I had some really sweet and fun chats with them all, mostly in very broken japanese from me and broken english from them. But it was THE BEST.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I’ll stop gushing. Along with King Gizzard, no other band has probably helped me get through the past few years, and to see them and meet them was just something else.

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13
Dec

Wandering Kyoto

By: muttler
japan
kyoto

 

11/12/2022

Today was about having a bit of a settle in day as well as getting Madeline familiar with Kyoto, so we headed off to Kiyomizu-Dera to introduce her to one of the major temple complexes, to get used to both the temples and the crowds. Thankfully things still seem a bit on the quieter side.

I won’t go on too much about our day… it was a combination of temples, snacks, and then just some wandering in the city. I also had something else on the agenda for the evening in Nagoya which meant I had to run off mid afternoon. More of that in another post….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10
Dec

Back In Japan!!

By: muttler
japan
travel

 

Konnichiwa everyone!

We’re back in Japan!!! Third times a charm so they say, and this is the case for this trip. After the disappointment of not being able to go for the Olympics in 2020 and 2021, we finally made it back. Back at the start of the year Kate and I booked our flights assuming we would be able to enter the country imminently. We booked for December as a nice end of year treat. Lucky we waited so long as the borders in Japan only opened late October, but that is fine with us as come December, we were all go!

For this trip we are joined by Madeline, Kate’s sister, which makes a nice change as we get to play tour guides for a couple of weeks, exploring Kyoto and Surrounds, Hakone, and Tokyo. So follow us on this 2 week adventure 🙂

Our Friday was a long day of travel. Flight changes meant we flew over through the day, and then had to try and get through immigration as quick as possible, get our rail passes, and then on a train to Kyoto. There was a chance we would miss the last train, but thankfully (teething issues with their new requirements aside) we got through reasonably smoothly, and made our way to Kyoto.

 

 

We arrived at about 10pm, and thankfully we could self check in to our apartment home we had for the week. A gorgeous and spacious traditional style home was waiting for us, which made a lovely change from the small rooms we were used to here in the past. It even had a lovely courtyard for some additional serenity. The night was just winding down after a big day of travel and getting some rest.

Being the early morning person I am, I was up at about 6:30am so headed off for a walk. I wanted to try and secure some tickets for things that I couldn’t do from outside Japan. First was the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, and sadly, I had to be a Japan resident with local mobile phone. Foiled. But I was successful on the second, tickets to a gig in Nagoya for Sunday night. Yassss! Finally I would get to see my current favourite Japanese punk band, Otoboke Beaver! But that will tomorrow’s post.

Once the girls were up, we got ourselves organised and decided to jump on the train to Nara. We thought it would be a fairly relaxing way to settle in, get fresh air and stretch the legs without being too much travel. So we headed back to the station, on the train, and off we went.

Nara is basically wandering to temples and being chased by deer. That makes it sound not that interesting, but it really is a delightful place. It has an air of calm and peace, even when there are hordes of people. Thankfully, not that many there, so our wandering was pretty relaxed.

We did the ‘typical’ circuit visiting the main temples and sights. So here is a bunch of pics of temples, deer, and Japanese maples. Oh, with some food thrown in obviously!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the apartment and I get to finish the night with a boozy version of one of my favourite Japanese sodas. Yassss! Tomorrow a day exploring Kyoto and then off to Nagoya for some rockin’ out.

 

Read More Back In Japan!!