三十三間堂
May 31, 2008
Yamanobe no michi
May 06, 2008
I haven’t been on a good hike in a long while and this, my very first Golden Week holiday, seemed like the perfect occasion. I was eyeing the very scenic 山之辺の道 Yamanobe no michi, or “The road alongside mountains” and was planning out the 16km hike when the woman said she wanted to go too. This changes everything. Frankly I wasn’t sure if I could pull through with the 16km and she being the weakling that she is, would not stand a chance. So, we decided to make it a cycling tour!
We got up early and took a few trains out to Tenri, in Nara. From Tenri station, we rented a couple of bicycles from a very nice old man. He gave us maps, umbrellas, and tips because we were first timers here. The map he gave us was fairly good but like all the maps we saw of the area, it was lacking in details. And much to my surprise, renting bicycles in Japan is unlike back home - you don’t get a mountain bike, nor street bike, but a regular shopping bike with a basket and bell.
I am now going to look for a mountain bike because climbing uphill in a shopping bike is nasty. Gears! Gears! People, gears are a good thing! Gears are your friend when climbing uphill, or going downhill for that matter.
Anyway, since we were on bikes we couldn’t follow the foot path but detoured around some major sites. We stopped at many temples and historical sites. My favorite sites were the kofun, ancient Japanese burial mounds shaped like keyholes, or other shapes. From a distance, they appear like a hill but most of the bigger ones were surrounded by a moat.
The temples were nothing special -typical fare. The one temple I was really looking forward to was the “ruined temple at Nakayama”. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so much “ruined” as it was “dilapidated”. There were a couple of small wooden buildings in a rather dark wooded area.
The road itself is not a road per se. It’s more of a marked trail through a few cities and lots of farmland. It’s not well-marked and we did a few u-turns to find the way. We ended the tour at Sakurai city and stayed the night at a very quaint guest house run by a guy who writes books about the area and of Japanese history.
I thoroughly enjoyed biking through fields and farms and getting much needed fresh air. People were very friendly and greeted you as you biked by. Although it sporadically showered, the rain helped cool us off and it was a much better alternative to sunlight beating down on us.
We went through the entire course in about 6 hours with many stops for pictures and rest. I will most definitely be coming back here and going on foot - there were many sites that we missed including some waterfalls near the mountains.
Goodbye backpack
February 15, 2008
Today I formally say goodbye to my most loyal backpack. I discovered a hole about the size of a bottle cap at the bottom. Given time that hole would grow and grow until all my posessions would come crashing out in a panicked escape.
I bought this Firefly backpack with an orange top and black and gray body in my third year of university in preparation for my trip to Japan. That was in 2000, a whole 8 years ago. Since then, my lovely backpack has been to many places including Canada, America, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Saipan, and many many adventures within these countries.
I had only recently found new ways to make the backpack more useful, using various carabiners (the kind that you can’t use for rock climbing), chains, and clips. The main point of this was to attach my camera to my bag and have it within easy access so that I could whip it out at the first sight of something interesting to shoot. It worked great in Kumamoto a couple weeks ago when I was consistently switching between my camera, an umbrella, and the city map.
Well, today I bought a new backpack - North Face Recon bag - a similar sized backpack with many pockets and dividers and clips. It’s in a nice gray color and I can only imagine the journeys it will be taking me on. It came at a stiff 8500 yen though. My Firefly backpack was a very modest $20 when I bought it. In a commemorative way, I removed clips that were fastened inside the Firefly and plan to stitch them into the Recon.
Goodbye Firefly, I shall be laying you to rest tomorrow by sending you on your last journey beginning from the trash can and ending God only knows where. Very soon I shall be saying goodbye to my pair of very trusty shoes, not as old, but just as worn out and experienced as my backpack.
Kyushu weekend
February 04, 2008
I can finally cross Kyushu island off my list of places to go! A simple invitation from Kyle was all it took for us to spend a short and sweet 2 and a half day weekend in western Japan. I’ve always wanted to visit Kyushu and wished we only had more time to explore more places. We only had enough time to see Kumamoto City, Fukuoka City (Hakata), and Mojiko in Kitakyushu.
The lady took this opportunity to visit some work-related places and thus I had a couple hours on my own on Saturday and Monday.
Kumamoto
I found Kumamoto to be a snug and small little city with its own pace of life. Compared to Osaka, everything seemed much more relaxed. We had our first bowl of Kyushu ramen in a place called Kokutei 黒亭. We waited about 20 minutes before the noodles came - something unheard of in Osaka. In 20 minutes, you would have finished eating, paid, and be a few meters away from the restaurant already.
The lady left me after lunch and I had a nice trek from Kumamoto Station to Kumamoto Castle. It’s not as far as it seems on the map. Along the way I stopped by at a couple of tiny temples. I strolled by a park that look really nice but unfortunately it was being renovated so I couldn’t enter to explore.
The main attraction of the city is definitely Kumamoto Castle. It sits in a beautiful park that is packed with gardens and historic buildings. I also remember the Traditional Arts Museum in very close proximity to the castle. Unfortunately for us, it was a very rainy day and trudging through wet grass and rocks is not fun. Also, the castle is being renovated and access to the highest levels was denied. Admission was lowered from 500 to 300 yen though. The castle is not as enthralling as Himeji-jo but I think it’s worth a visit. The interior, unfortunately, has been gutted and converted into a museum, much like Osaka Castle. The turrets have remained as they are - very cold and worth the trouble of taking off your shoes and walking up the structure.
The only other area we to was the Shimotori Arcade Street, a huge covered shopping area. We had bubble tea there and that was about it.
The ELI people including Kyle and Nate! Raw horse meat was had by all!
Hakata
Hakata, in Fukuoka City, was a much bigger and more metropolitan city than Kumamoto. We didn’t do much here neither except visit the Fukuoka City Museum, Hawks Town, and the Tenjin Underground Arcade.
The museum is quite interesting but my feet were too tired for my brain to effectively absorb the information. The lady seemed quite immersed in it and really took the time to read every little thing. I, on the other hand, just sat back and caught up with a couple of Coast to Coast shows downloaded from the night before. Hawks Town is more for kids, the Dessert Forest is interesting but there were too many kids running around and not enough tables (and too much sugar being dispensed as well). The Tenjin Underground Arcade is quite huge! Lots of people, 99.99% of the stores are women’s clothing.
I did have one gripe with the ramen place called Ichiran 一蘭. First off the line outside the restaurant was split into two lines, one against the wall of the restaurant, and the other, on the opposite wall. So, it looked like one line for the ramen store and another line for some other restaurant or shop. They had to have one staff come out every few minutes and make sure that people weren’t accidentally budging. What a waste of labor.
Next, instead of normal tables and counter seats, they had a really restarted booth system where everyone had their own very tiny cubicle to eat the noodles. In each cubicle was your own personal water faucet to pour your own water, a “curtain” so that you wouldn’t have to see the server, and a small metallic plate on which you can place additional orders. The cubicles were too small for me to really enjoy lunch. I couldn’t seen see my wife who sat next to me because of the divider.
Honestly, in the end, this was JUST a ramen restaurant! They went to all this trouble to make their store unique that they’ve placed this retarded hindrance on their customers. For me, it was one confusing new fad to the next. I couldn’t rely on conventional restaurant practices and had to rely on the staff that was placed in guiding customers from line to cubicle. I don’t think this system even saves on labor as I heard or saw at least 6 people working this tiny place anyway.
So in the end, I didn’t have such a great time in Hakata. I didn’t do enough planning to find interesting places to visit. Plus my feet were really killing me!
Mojiko
This morning we got up early to visit the small port of Mojiko. The lady met another work-related person and went on her way leaving me about an hour in this very beautiful place. I most unexpectedly fell in love and had a great time here. This tiny port town used to be a trade center for many European traders. As such many buildings here are European in style and many of them still stand today. It almost felt like being in a different country and I just wished I had more time here.
Mojiko Station is one of the oldest stations in Japan and probably one of the more interesting ones.
I walked past the Kyushu Railway History Museum and decided not to pay the 300 yen to enter. As far as I could tell, there were a couple of old steam engines and that was about it. I’m not a big train person anyway.
The harbor is beautiful and offers a few shops, restaurants, and cafes. There was a boat restaurant that I really wanted to visit but couldn’t due to the lack of time. You get a great view of a bridge that connects Kyushu to Honshu island as well.
We rode the elevator up to the Mojiko Observation Deck and had a nice time until two dozen grandmothers in a tour came up and made it grandma day. They were quite chatty and ruined the picturesque view, for me anyway.
And that was our nice weekend. We hopped on the bullet train and back into the Osaka grind!
Hong Kong - a Leung affair
November 16, 2007
My parents and sister came over to Japan for a brief stint and after exhausting them on walking tours around Kansai, we all headed over the Hong Kong to meet family we haven’t seen in over a decade. Hong Kong continues to clean up its streets and image and customer service remains sketchy at best.
This time however I met so many relatives on my dad’s side and they all exhibited the kind of kindness and hospitality that could not be beat. They made our trip wonderful and I am glad I got a chance to meet so many of them. I got a chance to meet some younger cousins as well.
With the brilliant site called Facebook, I can now keep in touch with them.
Pictures:
Hong Kong
The big family banquet
I’ll write a more detailed update later… feeling a bit lazy at the moment.
Kiyomizu-dera
October 05, 2007
I went with my new buddy Gerard to see Kiyomizu-dera; one of the more beautiful and famous places in Kyoto. That temple sits on the side of a mountain and some of the structures are over 1200 years old!
The lack of updates is intentional. I have been going through a tough time at work. I’ll keep it brief but last month my salary came two weeks late and the company always seems to be on the brink of bankrupcy with staff salaries having been late for months now, teachers being evicted from their apartments because the company has not paid the rent, advertisers not having been paid, and branches being closed.
This has led to a mass exodus of teachers all over the country and floods of rumors coming in every day. The company has not exactly been forthcoming with any news. This is the worst part - being kept in the dark when motivation and confidence is at an all time low.
I am not having a fun time at work. It’s like climbing a mountain everyday just to get there and climbing it again to stay. I have some plans but basically I’m going to ride it out and try to get on the dole.
Travel Tips
August 19, 2007
To not make my travel logs even longer, I took out the travel ideas and tips from our Thailand and Cambodia trip. Enjoy!
Get some good travel guides on these places. I used the Lonely Planet series for both Thailand and Cambodia. The Thailand book is excellent while I found the Cambodia book to be not as useful. The layout for the different sites in Angkor was a bit confusing - I actually relied on the lady’s shitty Japanese travel guide because it had better maps and more details on each site within the Angkor Thom walls. Look around for a better guide.
Begging / Tourist traps
Not that you’ll be doing any. I honestly did not see any beggars in Bangkok. The ones in Siem Reap were often victims of the land mines. Also, I noticed some kids put on really good sad, puppy dog faces only to giggle and laugh with their friends the second we walk off. I gave out $1 like candy because… well, it’s $1. More commonly though, you’ll meet people selling trinkets and crap to dumbass tourists.
In Siem Reap, they were strategically placed at every attraction in the Angkor area. It did get quite annoying because you hear “You wan cold drink?” / “Postcard $2.” / “OK You come back later. My name is Tiger.” very often. Best not to get mad at anyone because they’re just trying to make a living. I am a dumbass and I politely turned each person down while the lady adapted much quickly and just ignored people.
The guidebooks suggest to give food to the kids. The lady gave some Japanese gum to a really tiny kid and when she tasted it, she reeled in disgust. Perhaps it was too sour or sweet. Another little girl called the lady a liar, “嘘つき” after she turned down whatever crap she was trying to sell. The lady is not so popular with children.
In the old market, the remorque-moto drivers ask you if you need a ride… constantly. It gets old, very fast. Massage parlors also hound people too.
As a professional English monkey I found very interesting language aspects in Siem Reap. People often dropped syllables or letter sounds. Sohkong, our taxi driver, had trouble with ‘S’ sounds. I heard, “Are you Japanee?” from many locals and in my head I added the final “ese”. Other things: “ehcuse me” / “do you wan massa lady/sir?” (massage).
Books
Not so sure about Bangkok but in Siem Reap there were a couple used bookstores in the old market with a fairly good selection. I finally gave in to the resistance and picked up the Dan Brown books for cheap there. Everywhere else, you had kids selling really good replications of travel guides. I picked up a Lonely Planet Vietnam for $5… and I still overpaid. Most kids around the temples were pawning these off for $1 or $2. I neither condone or condemn the use of photocopied books. The quality is rather good for photocopies though.
Currency
Thailand has a well established economy and uses the Baht. Cambodia, on the other hand, runs mostly on US dollars but change less than a dollar is given in riel (roughly 4000 riel to 1 USD). There is a 5% value added tax in Cambodia and I forgot if there was a sales tax or not in Thailand. There are currency exchanges everywhere in the places we went to and the rates were much better than in Japan. Our hotel gave the worst rates - go to the market places and smaller counters for better deals.
Faux Pas
The feet! The feet are considered the lowest part of the body, both literally and culturally. Pointing your feet at people, at Buddhist statues, or at monks seems to be frowned upon. The head is regarded as the higest part of the body (both literally and culturally again) so touching people there is bad. It seemed like people shook hands as much as we did but we mostly met locals who were used to foreigners. The locals in Siem Reap often did the “wai“. I guess it was best to return it.
In Thailand, there are many pictures and paintings of the king. Stepping off the airplane, one of the first signs I noticed read, “Long live the king!” As described in most travel guides, one must show respect and reverence when speaking of the king. Joking about the royal family is not funny. I kind of noticed this when I asked our guides some questions about the king. Their answers always put the king in good light. Hold off on political opinions until later I guess.
My books kept going on and on about “losing face” in Asia and to avoid becoming angry in public because it demonstrates a sign of weakness. I found that to be crap. Feel whatever you want to feel. Certainly haggling for prices was much easier when you had a big smile on though.
Food and dining
Bangkok has all kinds of restaurants and fine cuisines. At times it was like walking around Hong Kong with all the hustle and bustle on the streets. Siem Reap, on the other hand, is a much smaller place but there are many restaurants still. Most in the old market offered service in English while other restaurants had at least menus in English. There are cafes and western cuisines but don’t expect any McDonalds in Siem Reap - something I very much appreciated.
Getting around
We had a friend take us around Bangkok but taxis and tuk tuks were everywhere. From what I can gather, it’s best to establish a price beforehand and stick to it. The guidebooks are packed with warnings about shams. Siem Reap was much the same but I found the drivers were much more enthusiastic about taking you around - everywhere you went you had people in the remorque-motos hounding you for rides. We met our taxi driver, Sohkong, on the first day and for about $25 a day he took us around everywhere and waited for us. He also gave us brief descriptions of each place.
Visas
Most people can get a 30 day travel visa to Thailand without filling out extra paperwork. Cambodia sells travel visas for $20 a pop. You need to bring a passport photo there or else they’ll charge you more to take a picture. The paper work for the visa can be found in the Siem Reap airport but we got ours early in the airport in Bangkok (S-something airport).
Voltage
In both Thailand and Cambodia it’s supposedly 220V but there are some quirks. In our hotel in Cambodia though, they had both plugs available - a very handy and intelligent option. Best to bring an adapter just in case.
Weather
HOT. Luckily (relatively speaking) we went during the rainy season so the bouts of 30-35 degree, full hellfire sunny days were broken up with quick and powerful showers. The rain really cooled the streets down but did nothing to lessen the humidity (up to 80% I hear). My shirts were literally drenched after walking around for an hour. Dress accordingly but be warned - it is frowned upon to visit temples in shorts, skirts, basically anything other than long pants. Some temples were much stricter but usually they had clothes to lend out. Best to bring your own I fathom.
Cambodia: Part 2
Note: click on the thumbnails for a bigger and clearer picture. You can also skip my commentary and head directly to the pictures too.
This one’s a long one so here’s a convenient link for you.
Cambodia: Part 1
August 04, 2007
Note: click on the thumbnails for a bigger and clearer picture. You can also skip my commentary and head directly to the pictures too.
We spent three fully packed days in Cambodia and because I don’t have the energy or memory to write about all of it at once, here is the first part.
July 16
When we last left, I had just mentioned that we got on a very small airplane from Bangkok and flew to Siem Reap. The flight only took about an hour and a half but the turbulence was rather strong. During the flight I got to witness a conversation from the dumbest sounding girl I have ever seen. To stereotype her as a Valley High girl would increase her intelligence too much. Even the guy she was talking to was doubting himself… “Is this worth getting into her pants… is this worth it.”
I digress. Dumbasses aside.
Cambodia is without a doubt the most amazing country I have ever been to. It is also the poorest country I have ever been to. I will most certainly not get into Cambodian history here but the years of Khmer Rouge rule, then French, and now corrupt governments and corporations has definitely taken its toll. The infrastructure for the average person is unbelievably limited. For the average tourist though, there’s everything you need and more.
As undeveloped as Siem Reap was, I was most pleasantly surprised by how happy and how warm the people were. The few people I had a chance to speak with were welcoming and helpful and more than happy to share stories about the city, the country, and the history. I am in their debt.
From the airport, we got a taxi and met our driver, Sohkong. Sohkong is a very short man in his early thirties who only recently became a taxi driver. He used to work in a hotel but for reasons he didn’t get into, he left the job and now makes a living as a driver/tour guide/history teacher (to tourists). Sohkong’s English is at best at a lower intermediate level and the poor guy can’t say certain syllables - “s” sounds that were not the first syllable were often dropped, eg. “Japanee”. It took awhile before I could understand him while the woman never quite understood anything he said (nor could he understand her). We paid $5 to get from the airport to our hotel; the Sokha Angkor Hotel.
What a beauty. I guess it’s one of the higher end hotels but really, even though it’s more expensive than most hotels around, it is still financially cheap compared to anything in Japan. The staff all spoke very good English and were all very polite. They catered to every need.
Right before he left, Sohkong asked us if we needed a taxi driver during our stay in Siem Reap. For $10 a day we would basically charter the taxi for all of the Angkor area and if we wanted to go further, we’d pay a little more. I think some people negotiate prices but it’s $10 people! We gladly accepted his offer and collapsed in our hotel room.
In the afternoon we walked around the area around the hotel and found nothing but a few crappy souvenir shops. It’s weird but there are very distinct souvenir shops for different Asian cultures. The Korean shop we went to sold clothes and trinkets and the two Korean girls there tailgated us and explained to us what we were looking at. We quickly left because if they got any closer we’d have to swat them off our backs. The Chinese shop had a big floor filled with jewely showcases, that were in turn filled with very cheesey gold and jade jewelry. I can see old Chinese women flourishing with the tacky jewelry but not us, we are hip and trendy twenty somethings. (I like silver and platinum myself).
We got sick of those crappy stores pretty quickly so we returned to the hotel and got ourselves a remorque-moto. I have no idea what that means but I guess it’s from the country’s French influence back in the day. Just think of a small covered carriage for 2-4 drawn by a motorcycle. It’s Cambodia’s version of the tuk tuk. Our driver, Bun Thorn, reminded us of Daniel, so we secretly called him Daniel because when Bun Thorn first told us his name, I heard “Putin” but wasn’t sure.
We first asked Daniel to take us to the landmine museum. He muttered that it had moved away - and I guess far enough that he didn’t want to go in a remorque-moto. We eventually did go to the landmine two days later and it was quite far actually. We then decided to go to the war museum. That really sucked ass. For $3 we got to see some local commander’s collection of old military junk thrown around a backyard. I would avoid that place.
While driving there though I noticed how crappy the people have it compared to the tourists. The main street where the hotels are were paved and nice but the streets leading up to the museum were not paved, had huge potholes, and no street lamps. The houses on the side were made from literally anything people could fine. With the 500% humidity and the 30-38 degree temperatures, I am sure it wasn’t comfortable.
Things were looking grim as we just wasted time in a junkyard. We then decided to head to the Old Market - the foreigner hang out. Things suddenly got much better! The Old Market is a small part of town with many trendier stores. The market itself is a covered area where people sit around and try to sell you anything - fake jewelry, fake Angkor Wat relics, photocopied books (I kid you not), crappy toys, whatever you don’t want! One clothing store even sold mp3 songs directly to your Ipod - they had a huge catalog of hundreds of music albums for download. I’m sure the recording industry would have a field day there. It was fun to walk around though. I bought a fake Lonely Planet Vietnam book for a friend and admired the quality for the $5 book (I still overpaid). I stocked up on some other used books and went my merry way. The other stores around town sold pretty nice arts and crafts - stuff I would buy and decorate my apartment with. The bars and restaurants were nice as well.
The annoying thing about the Old Market is the endless stream of solicitation from the remorque-moto drivers and the massage parlor workers. The drivers all park by the sidewalk and anyone who looks anything like a traveler is asked if they need a ride. There are dozens of them parked on the main street. The massage parlor workers, although not as many as the drivers, are annoying in their own way too. “Massaaa, lady? Massaaa sir?” Here people dropped “ge” syllables. The lady learned to ignore everyone very quickly while I was too polite, I had to politely decline each and every time. Aargh.
After that we had dinner in a really shady restaurant near the hotel and dropped into a coma at the hotel.
On the next instalment: a birthday boy climbs a tall tower.
Thailand
July 27, 2007
Note: click on the thumbnails for a bigger and clearer picture. You can also skip my commentary and head directly to the pictures too.
July 14
Bangkok was to be our stepping stone onto Siem Reap. The lady’s company has a branch in Bangkok and she has been corresponding with people there for years. She’s also known Japanese nationals who have been sent there for five year stints as well. While she’s been communicating with them via phone and email, this would be her first time meeting most of them face to face.
Bangkok is about 6 hours away from Osaka but Bangkok Airways made it much easier to bare. They have personal entertainment units in each seat. The remote control doubles as a phone and video game controller. You can choose when to start any of the dozen or so movies available. Also you can even customize playlists from the different music tracks but as always, the music selection was sketchy, at best.
When we got there, the heat and humidity really hit. It was at least 30 degrees when we arrived around 6:30pm and the humidity was around 80% supposedly. The lady’s friends jokingly told us that in Thailand, there are three kinds of weather: hot, hotter, and hottest. They weren’t kidding.
Her friend Parinya picked us up from the airport and took us to our hotel. It was an awesome hotel with a great lounge with live Thai music. The service was excellent and it was located in a very interesting part of town - Siam Square. Right away you can notice the different bars and clubs and the presence of foreigners. Some of the rather shady looking clubs had scantily-clad girls sitting outside in rather… provocative ways. They all called out to guys… in Japanese. Unfortunately I now know what Japanese travelers do in Bangkok.
Afterwards, about half a dozen people from the company and some family members came out and met us for dinner. We went to a nice Thai restaurant near the hotel and having that beer after a long flight really hit the spot. Unfortunately my stomach wasn’t in the best of shape and I couldn’t enjoy all the awesome Thai food that was placed before me. The spices were making my stomach scream for toilet. We thanked them for their most gracious visit and dinner and we parted ways.
Later that night the lady and I walked around the area. I noticed a lot of people hanging out on the streets. Some of them sat in make-shift food stands and ate and drank. Others just sat on the street speaking, or trying to pawn off crappy goods. Everyone seemed pretty relaxed. To our surprise, I saw a guy walk by with a baby elephant in tow! Unfortunately I couldn’t set up my shot right so it came out too blurry and dark. After that we were too tired to do anything else and the scantily clad ladies were calling out so we headed back to the hotel and got some good rest.
July 15
We got up early and had breakfast at the hotel. I must say I am beginning to fall in love with these hotel buffet breakfasts. They serve a bit of every kind of breakfast I can think of and offer limitless portions. More importantly a hot cup of coffee is just soothing to a wary traveler, especially one with stomach issues already.
Parinya met us with the company car and he took us around town. We drove past many neat looking places - the current palace grounds, the city spire, many gold-colored buildings, and many huge pictures and paintings of the King. Of course the roads were full of cars, motorcycles, and the infamous tuk tuk - imagine a motorcycle and a horse drawn carriage had an extramarital affair: a tuk tuk would be its illegitimate lovechild.
Eventually we survived Thai traffic and ended up at Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. I think Phra Kaew means golden mountain if I remember what Parinya said. The main attraction is the big golden spire in the middle of the area. There are several pavilions in the complex and reconstruction continues in several parts of the temple. The Grand Palace is no longer inhabited by the royal family but I guess they move around every few years.
Thai temples really differ from Japanese temples in a few big ways. Thai temples tend to be much more colorful than the humbling colors of Japanese temples. The carvings and decor seem to be more outspoken and bold, with statues in man kinds of positions, whereas the Japanese counterparts seem to be more reserved. It was also interesting to see influences from different cultures. Noteably Guan Yu statues protect a few buildings.
When we finished it was only noon but the sun and the humidity was beating down hard. We had a nice lunch and Burin joined us along with a couple of other very friendly and smiley people and then visited the National Museum. Unfortunately most of the buildings in this complex were not air conditioned. This made for a very uncomfortable stroll through stuffy buildings. I was too exhausted to even take pictures here. The artwork and historical pieces were very nice to look at but the only thing on my mind was, “get out of this heat”. We put up the white flag and asked Parinya if we could move on.
We had one last request before heading back to the hotel. There is a huge reclined buddha statue in Wat Pho - made famous by Streetfigher 2 (remember Sagat’s level?) and the many Japanese travel shows to Thailand. We just had to see this very comfortable-looking buddha.
Even though it was so hot it was well worth the visit. The statue is huge. You can see its toes just tower over me. There was also a ritual where you pick up a pot of copper coin-looking pieces and slowly but methodically throw a few of them into these pots lined against the wall. Your goal was to have enough
After that we were done. Parinya and Burin dropped us off at our hotel and we exchanged very fond farewells. I honestly felt my experience in Thailand was so fantastic because of these guys. Thank yous!
July 16
Waking up early again and enjoying another great hotel buffet breakfast, we make our way to the airport and get on a a tiny airplane, the smallest I’ve ever been in, with propellers instead of those big barrel shaped engines. The ride itself wasn’t too bad but turbulence really hit the plane. There were no cool personal entertainment units in each seat and I think there was only one washroom too. No matter! We were about to embark on the next leg of our trip: onward to Cambodia and onward to Siem Reap!
Thailand and Cambodia: Introduction
July 21, 2007
Back in my living room now with all the creature comforts I take for granted and expect daily now, I’m trying to collect all my thoughts from this nearly one week trip. The lack of sleep yesterday-today, slight diarrhea, and a general sense of malaise after being in an airplane is not making it any easier.
I think this trip really opened our eyes to a part of the world that we’ve only ever heard about or seen in pictures or on TV. For me I think the way I see life and people will never be the same and I mean that in a very positive way.
Wat Phra Kaew
Some folks in Thailand showed us a level of hospitality that I would almost never expect from people in Canada or Japan, without having them expect something back. Cambodia was definitely the poorest country I have ever been to. Even so, we visited Siem Reap, a fast growing city and I know people there probably have it better than people in the rural areas. There too, people seemed to treat each other, and treat tourists with a much higher level of respect than we would to them, I think.
Ad on a remorque-moto
Unfortunately we only had the chance to visit Bangkok and Siem Reap. Had we had more time and had the woman been more adventurous (and less reliant on her crappy Japanese guidebook), I would’ve loved to visit other areas that people keep touting about. In a way though, the two cities were opposite extremes and seeing the contrast made for a very interesting trip.
I’ll post more details on Thailand and Cambodia individually. I’m still sorting through all the pictures I took and looking for gems. The hardest part is trying to match the names of places with the pictures and remembering tidbits that happened there.
We’re back!
July 20, 2007
Ta Prohm
Wow. What an intense trip. More to come.
Thailand and Cambodia
July 13, 2007
Off to Thailand tomorrow and then Cambodia on Monday. Be back on Friday! Woohoo! 11 days of not working. Pictures and updates to follow.
The Beach
April 09, 2007
Totally forgot about this place until I started playing with my camera. The woman and I went to Suma near Kobe last year to get the last rays of sun in September. The aquarium there was lame but the dolphins were… lame.
Important notice for Canadians living or traveling in the Kansai and the Kyushu areas
March 29, 2007
From Mainichi News
Important notice for Canadians living or traveling in the Kansai and the Kyushu areas
As publicly announced in January, all consular services currently performed by Canadian consulates in Osaka and Fukuoka will be transferred to the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo as of April 2.
Canadian citizens living or travelling in the Kansai and the Kyushu areas can reach the Consular Section by using the following coordinates:
You can reach the Consular section by:
Telephone at (03) 5412-6200;
Fax at (03) 5412-6289;
E-mail at tokyo-consul@international.gc.ca;
Mail at Attn. Consular Section, Canadian Embassy, 7-3-38 Akasaka Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-8503
Canadian Embassy Announcement
LinkMarch 29, 2007
Suma with the tsuma
September 11, 2006
It has been a year already and what a fast year it has been. In this one year span, I proposed, planned it, got hitched, moved, got promoted, and did more studying in Japanese than my last two years combined. I am tenacious at remembering milestones and dates in our relationship but the most important one is our ‘we began dating’ anniversary - it’s our Thanksgiving Holiday in our relationship calendar.
This year we had a short getaway in Suma, a very minor place in Hyogo next to a beach. The wife found a cheap ryokan in front of the beach and off we went. Unfortunately on Sunday, it began raining on the way there so we fast forwarded our plans and went to the Suma Aquarium.
In a nutshell, don’t bother going. Visit the more expensive, but infinitely better Osaka Aquarium instead. At 1,300 yen, the main attraction at Suma Aquarium was probably the dolphin show. It’s always nice to see a dolphin show but this one was rather plain. The fish exhibits were plain. It was just something to do.
We stayed at the Sea Pal Suma hotel. This place must have been so five-star at one point. Now, it just reeks of the 70s in a bad, musty way. The carpets, lighting, and ceiling designs were straight out of Scarface. The staff were super friendly though and the dinner was great. It’s your standard Japanese food dinner (small portions of a few different dishes). Our traditional Japanese room was massive with a very nice view of the beach. That night we bought some drinks and snacks and snuggled. What better way to celebrate six years of knowing and loving each other than by “utilizing the rotating heart-shaped bed to fullest extent“?
This morning we woke up and had a crappy breakfast consisting of a confusing mix of traditional Japanese breakfast food and instant continental style breakfast. I wasn’t sure whether to mix the powder scrambled eggs with my steamed rice or my boiled sausages with the tsukemono. The weather finally cooperated and we spent the morning just sitting on sand and relaxing. Even the morning sun was enough to slightly singe my skin but it was worth it.
Tokyo Disneyland and Disneysea
July 02, 2006
The lady and I, along with another couple, embarked on a three day Disney weekend. The magic I felt as a kid when I went to Anaheim is definitely gone but I still enjoyed the busy sites and amazing planning at Disneyland and the beautifully constructed sets at Disneysea. I favor Disneysea over Land because a lot of care was made in the design of the sets. It really felt like I was walking through a European city or into an Arabian complex at times. Disneyland had parades every 5 minutes and characters and bubble text all over the place. All told, a very tiring but satisfying weekend away from work and the bustle of real life.
Possibly the most exciting ride at Land
Somehow I seemed to remember the rides in Anaheim were exciting and scary. Not anymore. Every ride we went on ended too quickly and offered more yawning opportunities than thrills. Even the coasters were a bit weak. At the coolest-looking ride, Journey To The Center Of The Earth in Disneysea, you can see the car drop from outside. During the ride we went down a quick fall and the lady turned and asked, “Was that the big drop (that was seen from outside)?” I replied, “No, that was just a warm-up drop. The big one is coming soon.” Right after that, the car pulls in and we have to get off. From outside the ride seemed a lot more exciting.
They built a volcano!
The weather was as agreeable as it could be given it was late June. We had a nice cloudy day, a sunny day, and then a cloudy/sunny/rainy day to finish. On Friday, I think the average wait for every ride was about 30mins, on Sunday, that shot up to about 100mins. I can’t believe Japan’s population is going to shrink. The number of kids at Disneyland on Sunday was just mind boggling.
Surprisingly concession prices were not bad. I didn’t feel any more ripped off than I normally do. Be prepared to buy extra drinks - standing in a line for an hour in the humidity really takes it out of you. I would also suggest a smoked turkey leg (400yen) at Disneyland. They were good eating.
Journey To The Center Of The Earth - [download]
Open-air Museum of Old Japanese Houses
May 01, 2006
In keeping with my wish of trying to go somewhere new at least once every two weekends, the lady and I went to the Open-air Museum of Old Japanese Houses. As boring as that sounds it was something to do. When you spend three years in Osaka, every little thing that even remotely sounds interesting becomes interesting.
Fortunately, it turned out to be quite interesting and it offered a stroll through Ryukuchi-koen, a gem of a park in the middle of Osaka. The park was big enough to hold a lot of people enjoying 花見 parties. The museum is really a park in itself with old farm houses brought over from all over the country. These houses were often over a hundred years old. A lot of the houses were built to house a big family - up to and over 20 people living in the same complex.
Most of the bigger structures had huge thatched roofs. Sometimes the thatching was quite thick and waterproof. It didn’t stop a lot of wasps from making homes inside though.
Details
The museum was a nice quiet get-away from the bustle of downtown Osaka and at 500 yen admission, it beats a McDonalds lunch. Ryokuchi-koen Station on the Midosuji Line - follow the signs inside the park.
The Wedding: Behind The Scenes (3)
March 14, 2006
The third day in Hawaii was with my family. Daddy rented a car and Victor was the pilot. For some reason he thought it would be a good idea to make me the navigator. Well I wasn’t going to tell him how dead wrong he was but oh well. We did some exploring around Waikiki and Honolulu but mainly did a few touristy things.
Chinatown
If two streets slapped together counts as a Chinatown, then yes, this was a Chinatown. If selling the same crappy ‘Chinese’ wares like fake jade statues, two dollar paintings and plastic slippers count as a Chinatown, then yes, this was a Chinatown. If reconstituting frozen food with equal amounts of MSG counts as a Chinatown, then yes, this was a Chinatown. I’ve seen better.
This sign made up 5% of Chinatown
Pearl Harbor
For some reason I thought it would be a giant “They surprised attacked us so we don’t like them” place but luckily I was wrong. It was an educating experience for many. For me, I’ve read history books already. Really, standing on the memorial doesn’t give you any extra feeling as only chunks of the Arizona are visible. The movie (Tora! x3, not the one with Ben Assface) and the gallery were much more informative.
On the boat ride there
Diamondhead Crater
A fairly minor hike that even my parents could do it was a nice escape from the touristy streets of Waikiki. I spoke with a nice lady from Johannesburg who was there for some research conference. At the top I snapped some nice shots of a rainbow shining into a valley.
The people of whom I have genetic ties to (Victor excluded)
The perpetual rainbow
Our hotel is the building next to the pink glob in the middle
The rest of the day was spent driving around, eating, shopping at the big mall (I need my books and video games damnit), and listening to my family bicker amongst themselves. It was good to be with them after so long again and good to catch up. I should really get on this Skype thing that everyone’s been talking about.
Our Wedding: Behind The Scenes (2)
March 09, 2006
Sunday, January 22
Eri’s makeup lady came fairly early in the morning and morphed her into wedding mode in only about an hour. For me it took ten minutes to change and get ready. After getting ready we got into our limousine to take some pictures by the beach. The photographer spoke a strange combination of English and Japanese. Regardless of his language ability though the pictures we got look damn good. Just being around a pro let me pick up a few tips for my own picture-taking ability.
A quick shot in front of our hotel
The lady on the beach
Finally it was off to the chapel. We got there earlier than everyone else and were quickly rushed into the minister’s office. There we got a crash course on the ceremony. Screw rehearsals, we watched yet another video and were told to basically relax as there would be people there giving us hints and stuff along the way. The minister came in and had a quick chat with us. He was a really nice fellow who radiated kindness.
The ceremony itself went without a hitch. Kenny the ceremony photographer was damn good as well and also let loose a rather annoying, but entertaining personality during the picture session. It was a rather tiring process being led around and being told where to go, when to stand, when to sit, when to smile, when to take the lady’s hand, when to look up up down down left right left right (B A select start) and while I would never forget it, I was glad when it was over. I bet that sounds horrible to some of you but I don’t need some two hour procession to prove to anyone how I feel for my lady. I just hate formalities when really they mean nothing compared to the big picture.
It was pretty cool to be in a limousine. I had never been in one before save for the small cadillacs that take people from airports to hotels. This was a stretch limo and let me say, I can get used to it. Our driver was an old Japanese man who kept talking to us. I was so tempted to close that window that separates the driver from the passengers, you know, like in the movies. I just didn’t want him to stop the limo and make us walk in retaliation.
We had our lunch banquet at a nearby reception hall. Food was actually pretty good. I couldn’t help but feel rushed as the waitresses and the lady in charge kept dropping us hints like, “Yes the food is finished now” or “Yes the taxis are waiting for your guests”. OK OK lady. Let me enjoy a few more moments with my friends!
Later on that day I got to spend a fleeting moment with Dennis at the bar with my other chums. Not realizing it at the time but Dennis is probably the longest running friend I have. What is it now, 12 years?
People I barely know
That night for the first time ever, both our families got together for a nice dinner at the Top Of Waikiki revolving restaurant. Service was dismally slow but surprisingly the prices were rather reasonable
Anyway, still later on that day I spent the evening with the lady and we’ll just leave the details out. (We had sex.)
The Wedding: Behind The Scenes (1)
February 12, 2006
I was going to write a huge update and then put it up all at once but it’s taking me forever to find the time and writing juices to do it. I’m splitting it up instead into more manageable chunks. Here’s day one of a play by play recap of the emotional rollercoaster that we will forever call our wedding day! I’m writing this purely from my point of view, maybe one day when the woman realizes how much fun blogging can be, she can write her side. Included are pictures I took during my trip. The professionally done wedding photos will be put up in a different album.
Himeji Castle: The White Heron
January 03, 2006
One of the few remaining historical structures that wasn’t firebombed in WW2, Himeji Castle was built in 1346 and was consequently upgraded by the Toyotomi and Tokugawa Shogunate as a defensive fort against local Daimyo uprising. Today it is regarded as Japan’s most spectacular and well-preserved castle. The castle is also known as the White Heron due to the white plaster used on the walls and because it’s supposed to look like a heron in flight. Those guys were smoking something good when they thought of that. It is also another UNESCO world heritage site.
Uji… bless you
December 28, 2005
Uji is a sleepy town in Kyoto that is rather boring. The main attraction for us 1-day excursion warriors is Byodoin (Phoenix Hall), a UNESCO World Heritage site, built by the once powerful Fujiwara clan in the early 11th century. Byodoin was a Fujiwara residential hall was converted into a place of worship after Fujiwara no Minamoto passed away.
Today the Phoenix Hall sits in a small quiet park as an example of architecture withstanding the sands of time. For a structure that is supposedly over a 1000 years old, it looks remarkably well preserved. Admission into the park is 600yen and includes admission into the museum which holds examples of the 52 bodhisatvas worshipping the Amida buddha. To get into the Phoenix Hall itself will cost an additional 300 yen and you must join guided tours. Tours start every 15 minutes.
Byodoin
This was a nice place to visit but aside from Byodoin and a couple of other shrines (Ujigami Shrine is another UNESCO site but was not at all spectacular to behold), Uji is a rather boring city. If you can’t see yourself making the 40 minute trek from Osaka to Uji, just flip over a 10yen coin and you’ll see Byodoin. As suggested by Mike, you can definitely fit in Fushimi Inari Taisha and make it a more interesting trip.
Ujigami Shrine
Directions
From Kyobashi station, take the K-Limited Express Train on the Keihan line to Chushojima station (390 yen / 27 mins). From Chushojima, take the Keihan-Uji line to Uji station (14 mins). You can also reach Uji using the JR Nara line as well.
Minoh
October 30, 2005
Minoh Park proved to be a nice afternoon getaway from the city. Located about 30 minutes away from Umeda, the park has a nice waterfall and a few other points of interest. Admission is completely free.
Aichi 2005: Expo
September 25, 2005
The theme of this year’s expo was the environment and was located in Nagoya, Japan’s third largest city. Our trip started with a night in Nagoya as we enjoyed some local Nagoya delights.
The start
Early in the morning, we got there about two hours before the gate opened and there were about two hundred people already lining up at the North Gate. The reason people wanted (and needed) to push every minute was because they used a really stupid system to get into the more popular exhibits. You line up for a ticket that gives you the right to line up for the exhibit at a certain time. Those pre-tickets were given at certain times and always ran out really early. This only encouraged people to run and trample over everyone. There were online bookings but these closed way in advance.
Once the gates opened people slowly filtered through the gates. Each person had their bags searched but I’m pretty sure I could’ve snuck in a barrel of plutonium as the gate attendant didn’t quite seem awake. We were stuck for a few minutes because this 80+ year old man decided it was a good idea to bring a suitcase. From here we had a full day of exploration ahead and here are some of the highlights of our day.
The expo mascots
Canadian pavilion webcam
June 26, 2005
It’s us on webcam from the Canadian pavilion at the Expo. Look for us on the 5-6pm link, second picture. A full write up of the Expo to come.
EDIT - 2005/09/21
Because they’re going to the photos off when the expo ends, here’s a copy I saved.
Fushimi Inari Taisha
May 10, 2005
It’s been awhile since my last day trip alone and seeing how on my lovely 4 day weekend I had no plans, well, yeah.
Yesterday I went to Fushimi Inari taisha in Kyoto for a nice stroll through countless torii gates and the chances to see countless statues of foxes. Inari is the god of harvests (or something like that) and is worshipped in hopes of bringing bountiful rice harvests and what not. Foxes, as crafty and cunning as they are believed to be, are the messengers of Inari and are thus honored with the statues. I always thought the torii gates symbolized the entrance into a sacred ground (ie. a temple) but I’m not too sure what a walkway with so many torii is supposed to mean.
Hong Kong
February 27, 2005
It’s been nearly 10 years since my last trip to Hong Kong and I have a very different perception of the city now. One reason is the different company this time: I traveled with my more adventurous girlfriend instead of my shopaholic mother and sister. Another reason might be that HK is now a PRC SAR instead of being a British colony. Or maybe I have just changed so much in the last decade and have gotten used to many things in Japan that make HK seem so distant and different. Regardless of what the reason is, I’m still at a loss on how I felt the trip went. There were certainly many excellent moments but there were many very frustrating times as well.
Our flight
We were on Cathay flights and for the first time ever, I got to enjoy movies on those individual television screens for each seat. Service on our flight there was bismal, at best. Flight attendants kept hitting me on the shoulder as they walked down the aisle. I wasn’t leaning out of my seat, it’s just those seats are so narrow that my muscular shoulder stuck out. I got hit about three times, each time letting out an, “Ow” to let them know they had hit me. No apologies. I should’ve figured this was a preview of things to come.
Our hotel
We stayed at the Langham Place Hotel in the middle of Mong Kok. It was the best hotel I’ve ever been in. It was luxury beyond imagination. For what we paid, this hotel was the best thing about our trip. Our room was an “Executive” - a beautiful 5-star with a king-sized bed, plasma TV, IP phone system hooked up with the hotel, and a huge marble floor bathroom, plus free DVD rentals downstairs. If the hotel were in a better location (ie. closer to the bay), it’d have been perfect. As it is, it’s connected a mall and a subway station is minutes away.
Differences
I have to say, HK was definitely different. There were way more police and security guards everywhere. Sometimes they travelled in pairs and sometimes alone but in nearly all major buildings and places, there was someone keeping an eye on the place. HK seems to have wanted to clean itself up too, literally. The streets were much cleaner and there was a noted amount of garbage cans. There were some places with garbages cans every 5 meters!
Also, the weather was fairly nice. Although it was very smoggy and cloudy for the first two days, it was a very comfortable 18 degrees. It was rather humid for early February as well. Osaka, in comparison, was a freezing 5 degrees. The last day was perfect - sunny and clear.
International
Maybe it was the fact that it was a British colony for over a century. Maybe it’s an important port to many countries. Whatever the reason is, HK is definitely very internationalized. There were English signs everywhere. My favorite was this cardboard sign put up by construction workers with black markers - it had English on it before Chinese: “Road closed. Turn right Nathenial Road”. They spelled Nathaniel wrong but it was quite impressive regardless.
Many of the people spoke Cantonese, Mandarin, English, and Japanese - that’s 4 distinct languages. Usually they worked in businesses where they relied on travelers.
Shopping
For some reason, everything thinks of HK as some sort of shopping haven. I beg to differ. It’s a well known fact that there is so much pirated crap that it’s impossible to shut it all down. I didn’t buy any pirated stuff. Come to think of it, I didn’t buy much except for an Old Master Q comic (which I’ve since misplaced) and souvenir okashi for friends and coworkers. I didn’t want to go through fake dvds and shit.
As for brand name things, it’s true that some of it is much cheaper. Eri found a Tiffany ring that was about 300 bucks cheaper than Osaka. She didn’t buy it.
Our friendly tour guy did take us to this very shady shop that his “friend” owned. This guy only sells fake shit and only sells to friends and friends of friends. The door opened inwards and was locked by some switch on the wall - we were stuck in there. The both of us had this empathic bond that told us we ‘had’ to buy something from this guy. Eri relented and bought this fake Vuitton key holder. It was shady. I was all ready for fight or flight in that ’shop’.
We went through “Ladies’ Street’ in Wanchai as well. Imagine those night markets open in Vancouver summers. Imagine a thousand more people. Imagine each stall sells the same crap. Imagine all this crap is useless and ugly (but very cheap) - this was shopping. I saw this thing, I can only describe it as a rubber doll sitting on a plastic toilet that dances when you turn it on. I think humanity would’ve benefitted more if that product was not made.
I’ve reaffirmed my disdain towards shopping in Chinese establishments.
People
Oh boy, this wasn’t my favorite part of my trip. First, there was a huge difference on how people treated us - first, when they saw me as a Japanese traveler (we were in a Japanese group of 10 others), they were extremely rude. The restaurants we went to on this tour was seriously out to rip us off. The dishes they served were shit and they charged so much for drinks. Then, when I spoke Cantonese, thus letting them know I understand all the remarks they make, boy, service 180. They treated much better and even smiled. Restaurant service is definitely shit in HK. There was one dimsum place we went to where the servers glared at you just because you’re looking at them in hopes they come refill the tea. It was also here where they put Eri and I in a table way near the back but none of the dimsum carts ever made it over. In fact, most of the clumped near the middle and just chatted. The one bitch in charge of the white radish cake cart was a super bitch. I went over to her and ordered a plate. She, without even looking at me, just nodded and waved me away. SHE WAVED ME AWAY!?!?!?! In the end, she never gave us our damn dish of white radish cake. We left that restaurant eating maybe 5 things - I was thoroughly pissed.
On the subway, there was this old guy who kept gawking at my girlfriend. That really ticks me off. I don’t mind people looking a little, then looking away but some people just gawk. It’s rude and dangerous (I may flip and bulldoze through them). When we got off, this guy got off as well and walked a little ahead of us. Then he grabs the ass of some old woman in front. Fucking hell. Unfortunately he was too far up and it was too crowded. There were MANY gawkers on the streets which really pissed me off. I am proud that my girlfriend is attractive enough to be gawked at but it makes me so steamed sometimes.
Then, here’s my favorite story about people… on the bus to Lantau to see the big buddha, we were scared that we might not make it back in time for a reservation. I remember this bus takes awhile because I took this bus a long time ago. I asked this teenage girl in front of me how long this bus took. She replied, “I don’t know” - that’s fine, she wasn’t rude or anything, I would’ve just asked another person. THEN her mother leans over and mutters, “Don’t tell him, don’t tell him!” I was speechless. I have no idea why she would not want me to know. It’s not like I seemed like a foreigner - my Chinese sounds perfect. I was flabbergasted on why someone would have such strong negative feelings for helping others… I was asking a simple question!
That’s not to say all people in HK were like this. We had some excellent service in our hotel. We also had dinner at the Chinese restaurant in the Peninsula Hotel - the service was exquisite. Unfortunately, both these places were very expensive places and much like many Chinese establishments in Vancouver, there’s a direct correlation with price and quality of service.
I think I’m too used to the service in Japan. Even mom and pop stores are super nice to customers. To be perfectly honest, I left Hong Kong feeling quite ashamed of being Chinese - I don’t want “my people” to be a bunch of selfish, money grubbing assholes. I think I lean way more towards just being Canadian now than ever.
Summary
I definitely dislike HK people more. I do like HK overall - it’s a lively, international city which made me miss home a lot. I wish I had more time to go to better restaurants than the one this tour went to. I wish I could go shopping for real and buy things which have a purpose for a bargain. I think one day I’d like to live in HK for a longer time so that I can understand it more. All the things I disliked on this trip were fairly superficial - I want to see what makes this place work inside.
Suggestions
Definitely visit the Hong Kong Science Museum. The section about the 3+ years of Japanese occupation during the war was very interesting, seeing how I’ve been living in Japan. The museum is huge and only costed a few bucks to get in.
Avoid the subway during rush hour or you’ll be pissed off like me. Although I have to say, people did wait for others to get off the train before rushing in - something which Japanese people don’t follow that rigidly.
Tip! I forgot about tipping and had to be reminded. Although the service definitely doesn’t warrant a tip sometimes.
If punks stare you down, just stare them back down. You’re a lot bigger and badder than them anyway. Be careful that some of those punk ass guys may actually be girls; fashion in HK is definitely an area people can work on and this is coming from a guy who lives in Japan. Oh yeah, compared to Japan, people are much uglier on average. Seriously! I’m no Tom Cruise but… gyah!
Don’t visit the peak if the day’s cloudy - you seriously cannot see shit. In the building at the peak, avoid everything that costs money. They’re all shitty stores selling shitty souvenirs. If you must buy shitty souvenirs, go to Stanley instead - it’s cheaper.
Awaji-shima & Tokushima: Bridges
January 17, 2005
On the last two days of the year, the woman and I went on a little road trip. It was our first getaway in a few months and the first time we took the car out for more than a run to a restaurant or her house. Due to time limitations and end of year closures, my earlier idea to drive to Hiroshima was scrapped and we had to settle on a much closer, Awaji island.
Arashiyama
November 13, 2004
I triumphed! I survived a whole excursion by myself - train ride and all. Here it goes. Again, I’m going to be quite descriptive for other travelers or myself (in case I want to go back). Here goes:
Start
So I started fairly early this morning to beat the crowds. After a nice train ride, I was at Arashiyama with a cool crisp morning at my beckoning. I really hadn’t planned what to do here. There are so many temples and interesting looking things in the area.
The first landmark you’ll see is the Togetsu-kyo bridge. Supposedly this is a nice looking bridge but I found it to be ugly. The Hozu-gawa river on one side is beautiful while the other is blocked and fairly dry - lots of ugly weeds and crap growing there. Before the bridge, there was an interesting looking thing: the Iwatayama Monkey park. I was going to come back here on my way back but I was too tired. I’ll save that for next time.
Heading straight after the bridge, I saw a street filled on both sides with restaurants and stores selling souvenirs and sweets. I think the specialty in the area is matcha - green tea. Green tea tastes like green tea to me but some of the sweets looked really tempting. It was fine in the morning but be careful at around noon till 4pm - it gets really crowded. I’d probably go through the small streets the next time around.
There are literally more than a dozen temples around the area. I’d pick up a map of the area before starting. I grabbed a drawn map from the Hankyu station and it suited me fine but it’s not the best.
I basically did the Tokai Shizen walk (Eastern Ocean Natural walk). It’s the same walking tour described in the Lonely Planet. Before that though, I made a trip straight north and a detour to the east. Here’s what I saw:
Tenryuu-ji
I didn’t pay to get in here but it’s listed as a UN heritage site. 500 yen admission by the way. Tenryuu-ji (Sky Dragon or Heavenly Dragon temple) is apparently some important zen temple or some spiritual stuff.
Seiryou-ji
The big giant gate drew me in. At 400 yen, the main temple building is boring - old paintings, a buddha statue, old people. In the back though, there’s a beautiful garden with a wooden, covered walkway that was quite relaxing.
Daikaku-ji
About a 10 minute walk from Seiryou-ji (head east and follow the turn) resides a former palace turned temple. I don’t know what’s inside because the admission is a whopping 800 yen. Instead, I went to a little lake right beside it called Osawa-no-ike. I had to pay 200 yen for some reason. I’m wondering if those old ladies just set up tables there to collect for their own wicked purposes. Anyway, this lake was supposed to have been used by some emperor for boating. It was a nice stroll. There was also a big bamboo grove that was very beautiful.
After this, I made it back to the bridge and found a place for lunch. Be careful about prices - expect to pay 200-300 yen extra for lunch sets. This is a touristy place. The place I went to had shit service too; a first for me in Japan.
Kameyama-koen
“Turtle Mountain Park” was definitely worth it. It’s tucked away in the corner of the map right beside the river. Along the river, you’ll see people eating bento box lunches, rowing rented boats, and some trying to skip stones. In the park, be sure to get to the lookout towards the western end - it offered a nice view of the river from a high vantage point. Apparently you should be careful of monkeys here, says some signs, but I didn’t see a single one. Too bad! There were some old people painting though. That was quite exciting.
Skipped Temples
After the park, I headed north along some nice streets. A stroll through Ookouchi Sansou offered another bamboo grove. This place was packed with tourists and stupid drivers who wanted to squeeze through the already crowded road. Come here when it’s quiet! After that, the streets offered stores selling more souvenirs, crafts, and food.
I stopped at but did not pay to get into the following places: Joujakkou-ji, Nison-in, Takiguchi-dera, and Giou-ji. My guidebook had little to say about these places except they offered some nice scenery. Each place costed about 400 yen each. Nison-in had this long stone stairway that looked interesting.
One thing that did looked fun was the Sagano-Ningyou-no-Ie (Sagano Dollhouse). It was closed today but from what I can tell, it’s either a place that makes dolls or a museum for dolls. Either way, I’d love to go back to see it.
Adashino-Nembutsu-ji
My last stop of the day. This place is really interesting. From my understanding, my guidebook, and the English sign, a long time ago, a bunch of people without families died. Their bodies were collected and dumped here probably. To commemorate this, they made small stone figures here and each yeah, they light a thousand candles. Well, no candles today but the stone figures were quite interesting. It’s 500 yen to get in and you’re not allowed to take pictures here. (Didn’t stop me).
After seeing this place, some sights I saw today suddenly made sense. I saw these creepy altars with stones wrapped in cloth placed on them. Some even had faces painted on them and names written on the front. It was so creepy. I’m guessing now that people around here use these stones to honor the dead.
After seeing this place, I headed up north slightly and saw a bit torii gate. The signs showed Atago-Torii and Kiyotaki at 2km and 1.3km respectively. At this point, my legs were feeling numb so I turned back.
That’s it! I got on the train, picked up some KFC, and enjoying the evening, triumphant over never traveling alone. See my pictures!
Suggestions:
Don’t make my mistake: don’t visit on weekends. The morning was fine but by afternoon, there were lots of people. Avoid the main street that runs from the Hankyu station to Seiryou-ji temple - it was packed and I couldn’t find a restaurant without a line at noon. The pristine views just weren’t the same with so many tour groups and old people bumping around.
I’d pick and choose which temples you want to pay to get in. If you plan to visit many, you’ll be surprised how fast the cost will mount up. Expect to pay between 300-800 yen for admission for adults.
Renting a bike might make a lot of the traveling easier. I saw prices ranging between 800-1200 yen for the day. Be warned that some of the streets are fairly sloped - those basketed street bikes won’t make it without quads of mega steel.
Directions:
From Umeda, take a limited express train on the Hankyu-Kyoto line (platform 1 / 390 yen) to Katsura. It’ll take about 30 minutes. At Katsura, take a local train on the Hankyu-Arashiyama line, don’t worry about fare adjustment; the 390 covers your way to Arashiyama. This last part will take about 5 minutes.
Buna Ga Take Goten-san Hike
November 07, 2004
We met at a crispy 6:30am on Saturday at Yodoyabashi and took the 6:40 limited express train on the Keihan line heading towards Demachi-yanagi (450). Laura literally made it in the nick of time. She’s always late for everything everytime, always. We got off at Sanjo in Kyoto about an hour later and took the #10 Kyoto at 7:45am bus to Bonmura (990yen), which was about another hour later. Be forewarned that this busride is rather bumpy and does sway a fair bit - take your car sickness pills beforehand if you’re easily nauseated.
Our purpose? We were going to hike up Buna Ga Take mountain (1200m) and take another path down in a big loop. It would’ve taken 6-7 hours.
From the title and from the many dead giveaways already, you’ll have realized that the hike didn’t go exactly as planned. First, it was listed as a “medium” in Mike’s Lonely Planet Hiking book and I guess this book was written for people who are more athletically conditioned than I am in my present state.
Basically we got up the peak of the first mountain (Goten-san) in about 3 hours. I gotta say, Mike’s endurance impressed me. He barely broke a sweat and was waiting for us many many times. I did alright I guess but I had to stop fairly frequently to let my poor quads rest. When we got up to the top, we were treated to a fairly nice view. It was great to get out of the city and breathe clean air and not see concrete for miles and miles.
At the top, Mike decided to go reach the peak of the second mountain (Buna Ga Take). I think I would’ve gone with him but I don’t think Poora (stands for Poor Laura), was up for it. I decided to stay with her and go back down. As chivalrous as this sounds, I also didn’t go because I know the extra mountain would’ve limited the power left in me to go back down.
It’s been roughly 2.5 years since my last hike but I still remembered that although going down is a lot faster, it’s just as dangerous (if not more) as going up. We got back down in 2 hours after a nice lunch at the peak. The saddest part? Mike reached the second peak and came back down and caught up with us right as we got to the foot of the mountain.
I’m glad we didn’t get stuck up there as the skies really darkened quickly. I didn’t want to have news crews and company staff waiting for me at the bottom… I think the saddest thing though was the dozen or so other hikers who warped by me. Actually the saddest thing is that the average age of those hikers who warped by me was probably 50. Mike made a good point that it’s retired folks who have the time to frequently go hiking and therefore be in better shape than lazy lards like me.
I’m slightly ashamed at my fitness level after seeing my performance today. Still, it was a good wake up call and I had a great time and worked my legs harder than any time before in Japan. The ride back was rather long but I got home and enjoyed a good long sleep. I’m hoping to go again.
See my pictures.
Southern Honshu
September 27, 2004
It’s been a glorious 4 years with the woman and this year we decided to take a short three day getaway to the southern tip of Wakayama prefecture to relax. The area is reknown for its rugged coastal areas, nice beaches, and hot springs. Hopefully this will be more of a mini travel guide for the things we saw with some details of the trip sprinkled in for my own memories.
It was very pleasant to escape the busy atmosphere of a giant city like Osaka and escape into the quiet, serene surroundings of Wakayama. While the temperature seemed a bit hotter, there was always a nice ocean breeze that went far in cooling us off. It may have been the relaxation but I noticed people there seemed more polite and laid back than the big city folk.
Additional Resources:
- Pictures from my trip
- JNTO information about the region
- A list of sites to see
- A nice page to help you plan your travel route
Day 1 [Osaka - Shirahama - Kushimoto]
We started early Friday morning with a quick breakfast and then boarded the “Ocean Arrow” express train from Tennoji station and about 2.5 hours later, we arrived at Shirahama station. Shirahama (literally, “white beach” - we’ll get back to this) is a cozy little town of 20,000 on the south western tip of Wakayama. At the station, it’s quite apparent this is a tourist town. There were immediately omiyage (souvenir) stores lined up with older women who “irrashaimase” you to death. There were people greeting us and suggesting we get on the bus. We eventually bought day passes for this bus - we paid 1250 yen for a 2 day unlimited pass (highly recommended if you’re going to stick around in Shirahama). You can also rent Nissan compacts for 5000 yen a day, bikes at the station, or just plain walk around. We had lunch in one of the few random restaurants.
Shirahama was going to be our transit station although we were going to come back tomorrow. But for now, we boarded the Kisei train to get to Kushimoto. This time, the train took about an hour and offered a lot of scenic views of the forests, hills, and seaside. The ride is rather bumpy so caution to those who get sick easily.
The reason we went to Kushimoto was because the woman booked us a small cottage at a hot springy place. We were picked up at the station by a man who walks like a chimpanzee. He was really friendly and seemed funny (as far as my Japanese can tell). He took us and another couple to his establishment. His place was really just about 10 wooden cottages probably built by him out of old wooden containers and a lot of blue and pink paint. In each of these cottages was an open-air bath tub. The place also faced the Pacific and was so out of the way that you couldn’t even spend money if you wanted to.
We immediately stripped naked and had a nice hot bath. The monkey dude did a pretty good job with the cottages which included a nice bed with a mosquito net, a sofa bed, coffee table, washroom, and a nice TV. The woman and I quite enjoyed the place. After a quick nap and a walk on the beach, we had a BBQ dinner in front of the sea. The dinner would’ve been perfect had only the stray cats not sat around begging for food. I gave some scrap meats to a black cat I named “Kuro” only because he seemed to have sustained some sort of injury. (Kuro means “black” - how imaginative huh?) Pitiful Kuro got a few mouthfuls of beef while the other cats got burnt vegetables.
This was about when four vans pulled in with sweaty, tired, TV crewmen from a neighboring establishment. They were filming at a better hotspring location but that location couldn’t accommodate so many sweaty, tired men. The monkey dude’s place could. Anyway, they were loud and parked RIGHT in front of us, blocking the ocean view. I hope their show flops.
After dinner, the monkey dude let us soak ourselves in the public pool privately. I got to go in the woman’s bath! A rare privilege I’m sure. After an hour long soak, we headed back and fell asleep watching Babe 2.
Day 2 [Kushimoto - Shirahama]
Getting up bright and early, we had breakfast in front of the ocean. Monkey dude (and family) made sandwiches and served us iced drinks. It wasn’t extravagant but he’s really nice. I saw monkey dude run here and he even runs like a monkey with his arms swaying by his side.
After breakfast, monkey dude drove us somewhere and dropped us off. Here we were at the most southern point on Honshu island. There was a tower with a 360 degree view on the top of the surrounding area. Admission 300 yen. Not worth it because the rest of the tower was filled with really weird carnival stuff like funny mirrors, OLD arcade games, weird paintings and yet another souvenir store. The cool thing though was that with admission, you get a certificate saying you’ve visited the most southern point on Honshu island. However, looking at a map of Japan, this point doesn’t mean shit. It’s like driving 50 clicks and saying, “I’ve driven the fastest speed possible… without breaking the law”. Anyway, scratch this place off from my list of things to do before I die.
From there, we took a bus back to the station and a train back to Shirahama. We got there around noon and this is where we started visiting interesting sights.
1. Sandanbeki
I’m not exactly sure what the name means but this rock cliff was pretty cool. There’s a cave system underneath where supposed pirates stashed their loot.
2. Senjojiki
More rock formations but this time in the shape of a “thousand tatami mats”. This place reminded me of the Grand Canyon for some reason. Too bad so many dipshits wrote their stupid name into the rocks, thus destroying the natural beauty of the place.
3. Shirarahama Beach
Here’s where the city name of Shirahama comes into play. The beach is filled with white sand and is quite nice to relax in. According to the Lonely Planet, this white sand was imported from Australia because the original stuff washed away. Regardless, it would’ve been nice to come here for swimming or jetskiing.
4. Engetsudo
This is a small rock “island” probably about a 100 meters away from shore. It has a strange shape - it somewhat looks like the Chinese character for yen - hence the name I suppose. In the winter, you’re able to see the sun set right in that little hole thing on the bottom. That would’ve made for a fantastic picture. We actually just drove by on the bus while I snapped half a dozen pictures here.
By late afternoon, we got to our hotel. It was aptly named “Seaside Hotel”. While it has regular hotel rooms (ie. Western rooms), we stayed in the Japanese rooms. This place was a hybrid normal hotel and ryokan (traditional Japanese inn). Our room was a big 8-tatami mat sized room with a big table and two low chairs. There was no bed.
Here’s the procedure. From the front desk, a lady comes and takes you into your room. While you sit down and take a breather, she prepares green tea for you. You have the tea, she rambles on a bit and then leaves you alone. Around dinner time, you’re supposed to put on the robe in the closet and go to the dining area. While you’re eating, someone will go back into your room and prepare the futon so that when you return, you can go right to sleep.
Well dinner was quite nice. We were served a tiny portion of many kinds of food including sashimi, nabe, pickled stuff, rice, soup, tempura, and a slice of pineapple for dessert. While eating, some idiot drank too much or wasn’t used to drinking and I guess passed out. The woman beside him went into a frantic calling of his name and an ambulance was called. Idiot. Curtains for Day 2.
Day 3 [Shirahama - Osaka]
Sleeping in a good futon can be a very comfortable experience. Note to self: buy a good futon. It took the combined mystic strength of me, the sun, the moon, and all magical creatures on the western plane of existence to wake the woman up and make her get ready. We had a very traditional breakfast at the ryokan - you know the stuff; rice, miso soup, fried fish, eggs, bits of meat, pickled stuff, and tea.
Day 3 was to be a big difference from yesterday’s sight hopping. We explored the wonderful placed called Adventure World! Admission 3500 yen. Rides and some attractions cost extra.
The place is quite huge but once you’re walking around through the exhibits, you realize that it’s just made up of a few big areas filled with little actual stuff. In the first two hours, we managed to watch the dolphin show, the whale show, gawk at the very cute pandas and have lunch and walk around a bit.
We spent a lot of the time in Safari World - first a free train ride around the area that put many people to sleep. Then we rented a golf cart looking thingy and drove through the herbivore area and took pics of animals up close. We finished the day with a ride called Safari Jeep Rescue, 2000 yen / person. This was pretty cool. At 4pm, the animals are to be herded back into the shelters and this was a ride where you could go along and see the lions, tigers, bears, cheetahs, and such up close. I got some pretty good pictures of animals that could’ve torn me to shreds all in the safety of an SUV with magic glass windows.
A word to the wise - these extra jeep rides and what not at Safari World area really limited in seating numbers. Go to the counter right when you get there (opening time’s 10AM) and sign up. When we got there at 12′ish, everything else was booked already.
Phew. That’s it. After that we got on buses and trains and got ourselves back in Osaka. What a weekend.
Picture time
August 14, 2004
Some pictures from yesterday.
