Hat temple hops and walks the streets of Gion....

Kyoto
I spent the morning in Hiroshima at the contemporary art museum where I saw the famous Ukiyo- e woodblock prints of the famous Hokusai and Hiroshige. Hokusai is most famous for his 36 views of Mt Fuji. The ubiquitous crashing wave in the foreground, and Mt Fuji peaking through the middle. After the museum I took a rail car to the station. There I purchased a very expensive Shinkansen ticket to Kyoto. The lady at the ticket counter said the train would be busy, but I figured I had 40 minuets to line up on the platform and wait, so I’d be first on the train. Boy was I in for a shock 40 mins later when the mecha mecha expensive train pulled up already filled to the brim with disgruntled looking Japanese people. I squeezed my way in (literally) and found a place to stand! Yes that’s right stand....i was going to be standing for the next few hours it takes to go from Hiroshima to Kyoto. Hence my original thoughts of the Shinkansen being the shit-kansen. By the time I got off the train all I wanted to do was find a spot to sit down in the station and rip off my overheated non-breathable rain boots. After composing myself I headed to the lockers to find a place to stash my irritating backpack. Then I made my way to the information desk because clearly I was a little fish, make that tiny fish, in a huge ocean I call Kyoto station. They told me how to get to the right subway train that would take me to Inari stop. I made my way to the ticket machine and successfully bought a ticket. However when I looked at the board to find where I was going I must have looked like a lost puppy, and granted probably on the verge of ‘I’m lost tears’, some man stopped and asked if I needed any help. Thank Buddha!!! He directed me to the right train and all was well :) However when it was time to get off the train....guess who came along. Yes, so now I was in a strange place with a tag-along guide. An unwanted guide at that. So I went to the bathroom, mainly because I had to go, but also because I wanted to shake my new friend. Well he was waiting patiently when I got out. Anyways when I told him I was going for a two hour hike up the mountain where the shrine Fushimi Inari was (Inariyama) he decided to accept my dismissal. Phewf, I was alone at last to take in the atmosphere.

Fushimi Inari shrine is famous for it’s hundreds of red tori gates that lead up and down the mountain. It was dedicated to the gods of rice and sake in the 8th century.

It was not an easy hike (4k up the mountain), and was busy with many tourists, but was nice at the top where not too many climbed. I also got to see a beautiful sunset over Kyoto city. The mountain is lined with fox statues symbolizing the god of cereal grains. The Japanese also see the fox as scared, having mysterious powers.

After that I found my hostel. This time I was in a room with five other girls from Taiwan/ they live in New Zealand. Good thing for ear plugs... and being incredibly tired enough to drown out their chatting. But first I wondered around Kyoto at night attempting to look for a good place to eat. It is kind of lonely eating by yourself. I tried to sit by some good-looking foreigners, but I’m pretty sure they were speaking German. Eh, can’t win them all.

I woke up early and rented a bicycle from the front desk. Armed with three different maps of the city, I had a set goal, and many places I wanted to visit. I set off following the river to Northwest Kyoto. Thank goodness it was another beautifully sunny day, I have been lucky this trip. I passed Nijo palace, but didn’t go in. I wanted to achieve my goals first, and then do extra things. With no troubles I found my first stop, Kinkakuji Temple.

It has a famous Golden Temple that was originally built in 1397, but reconstructed in 1955. The lake in front of it was like glass, and acted as a perfect mirror.

Then I road my bike to Ryoanji Temple. I rode past a museum I originally wanted to go to, but on a clear blue sunny day like this all I wanted to do was be outside. Ryoan-ji is famous for its garden arranged in the kare-sansui style. This means dry landscape style. It is a collection of 15 rocks placed in a sea of sand and small pebbles. It is said that from no matter where you stand you can always only see 14 rocks.

Then I road onwards to Ninni-ji. This was a large complex of several temples. I especially like the five story pagoda dating from the 17th century. Then I rode to another complex called Myoshinji. However this one was confusing, and like a maze where I often got lost and came to dead ends. But the houses were nice, and gardens very serine and calm. It was almost like I was in old school Japan. Then I stopped at good old Lawsons for lunch. Yum, convenience store food!! Hahaha, maybe not the best, but indeed convenient.

It was getting to be a little late in the afternoon, so I decided I would make my way back to the river I followed in the morning, and visit the streets of Gion. If anyone has read ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’, this is the spot. The streets are small, and lined with tiny wooden houses all connected. I really felt like this is real Japan. I even spotted some Geisha, or Maiko walking the streets maybe on the way to an appointment. There were also many hidden shrines and of course, my fav, a five story pagoda! Hahah. Yasaka Pagoda stands at the top of a hill tucked away in Gion.

Shrine in Gion.

Geisha.

As the sun was setting I felt like it had been a beautiful day of Temples and Shrines, and it was time to think about getting the train home to Fukui. I rode my bike back to the hostel, got my belongings and went to the station. After a 3 hour local train ride, I arrived in Fukui just in time to take the last bus home. As the train was nearing Fukui, I looked out the window to see the snow outside building. So it was a great trip, and it definitely regenerated my spirit to be able to endure the many months of teaching ahead of me.

Hat climbs Mt. Misen

Miyajima
So, we awoke after a warm sleep in our hostel bunk-beds. Today we planned on going to Miyajima Island. It is famous for it’s red/orange floating torii gate that leads to Itsukushima-jinja. Jill and I took the bus to the train station where we purchased oishi bagels from a bakery. Up until this point we had had an unblemished record for not getting lost or taking the wrong trains etc. So when we were munching on our bagels happily we didn’t notice the train was going in the opposite direction we wanted it to be going. Oh well, it only made a 25 minute ride, an hour, hahah.
When we reached Miyajima we caught a ferry across to the island. Once on island we walked down the main road where there were yummy vendors everywhere (again). Miyajima’s specialty is oysters, and little maple leaves with cream in the middle. We passed by the largest rice spoon in Japan. The rice spoon apparently originated in Miyajima.

Then we went to see the floating torrii, which during the day isn’t so much floating, but amazing non-the-less. Itsukushima-Jinja dates back to the 6th century. This is one of the three most beautiful spots in Japan (according to lonely planet!). This island is so sacred that women are not allowed to give birth on the island. There were also deer EVERYWHERE, they follow you around in hopes you will feed them. Their horns are mostly cut off for your protection, but some higher on the mountain are in their natural state. They are also very cubby, hahah.

There is also a neat five story pagoda. I loved the pagoda’s this trip. They stand so tall and proud with their pointy Asian architectural designs. It dates back to 1407. Jill and I successfully tried the inverse peace sign which turned out great…soooo different form the regular peace symbol, hahah.

Then we headed up the mountain to the garden Momiji-dani, and various other shrines. We had also decided to go to the very top of the mountain. This required us to either hike, or take a ropeway to the top. So we cruised up to the ticket window and asked for a one-way ticket to the top….all he said was “Where you from?”, hahah, apparently he wanted to show us that to get down took 1-2 hours at a good pace. Annnnd since it was winter, it would be mighty cold, and possibly dangerous. So we opted for the return ticket, and thank Buddha we did because the rope-way took long enough, and was incredibly high. This is a picture of me being really excited about the ropeway trip. Every time we got into a rope-way cart (there were two), the Japanese people who had to take it with us were terrified of Jill and I, you’d think they had never seen two blond girls together before.

When we got to the top, we were in for a great surprise! Monkey’s were everywhere!!!!!!! Little ones and big ones, and breastfeeding babies. They were sooooooooo cute, but also kind of scary. There were lots of warning signs to not look at them in the eyes, or to touch them.

After the ropeway ‘close’ to the top, you were on your own to make it the rest of the way. This next picture is a picture from where we started, and if you look across to the next huge hill, THAT is where we ended up. NOT an easy hike to say the least. It was hard stuff, first downhill, and then uphill. Jill and I had to encourage each other the whole way, hahaha.
This is me barely making it! But so worth it when you get to the top, and see the snow and deer and view of the surrounding islands. We had conquered Mt Misen!!! Then of course we had to go back, which was mostly downhill, phewf!

There was also a cool shrine on the mountain which had a cauldron that Buddhist saint Kobo Diashi lit in around 835, which has been kept simmering ever since. The picture didn’t turn out great.

And then sadly we had to leave the island as the sun was setting, and Jill had to get back to Osaka that night. But it was a great day, possibly one of the coolest places I had been in Japan.

But of course I cannot forget the Oyster story. As embarrassing as it may be, it was funny. So all day Jill and I had been hitting the food stands to try the local cuisine. At the end of the day Jill had to try the famous Oysters before we left. So she ordered regular oysters and I ordered deep fried ones. The guy pointed to the pile in front of the window, so naturally I thought he had indicated that I take form the pile, AND since this is what we did in Chinatown the day before, I thought nothing of it. Yes they were cold, but still quite delicious....so we were eating away when a guy rushed out and took it from me, and said no, no. Jill and I burst out laughing knowing that I had just started to eat the ‘sample’ oyster which had probably been out since early that morning. Because Japanese people think anything remotely embarrassing is entirely mortifying they quickly came out with not one, but two orders of the hot deep fried oysters. So yes it was a little embarrassing, but I did score us some extra famous oysters, hahaha. Although I was a little scared of getting food poisoning, I was totally fine :)

It was very sad saying goodbye to Jill, my travel buddy, but we had to part ways. I was left to fend for myself. It is a totally different experience traveling on your own, but also a very rewarding and reflective one. With my i-pod as my only friend I headed back to the hostel for a good ‘team’ bath, and warm sleep. I say team bath because the hostel only had a public bath and a high school just happened to be staying at the hostel that night too. So basically I had to get naked with a bunch of giggling teenage girls, and bathe. At this point in my life though I am very comfortable with myself, and could not have cared less. Squeaky clean I headed for my book, and bunk bed.

Next stop.....kyoto!

Hat rides the Shit-kansen... cough cough

Kobe-Hiroshima

So Jill and I arose mighty early on Thursday morning to get our trip to Hiroshima started. We began by taking a local train to Kobe, a city not far from Osaka. Kobe is famous for Kobe beef. It is also famous for the major earthquake that occurred in the 90s (I think). We first decided to buy our ticket to Hiroshima, you know get it out of the way. We were quoted for a regular train $50 and 5 hours long…or the super fast Shinkansen which would take only one hour and cost $95. Well, time not being on our side, we bit the bullet and paid the big bucks for the famous Japanese Shinkansen. We then left the station and headed for Kobe’s Chinatown called Nankinmachi. A colorful and eclectic street filled with vendors selling all kinds of yummy food. After pigging out there, we headed for the harbor front. It was a beautiful sunny day. The only thing holding me back was my extremely heavy backpack and cursed umbrella (I would have thrown away the umbrella, but it is a really good one, and in my town you need this friend, hence hanging onto the stupid umbrella throughout the whole trip even though it didn’t rain a single day).

After some water front action, we headed back to catch the Shinkansen to Hiroshima......Jill and I were waiting on the platform and we heard 6...5...4....and we whipped out our cameras expecting the train to come speeding in......hahahah, no no, it was no countdown at all, but we think we overly get excited when we hear countdowns because the New Years countdown was such a blur. One time in Miyajima we asked a guy to take our picture in front of a shrine. All was going well until he started a countdown in Jap-english and all hell broke loose, we were both on the verge of tears because the countdown made us laugh. We look way too excited in the picture…I think we did a re-do minus the countdown…just a simple cheesue. Anyways, we got onto the Shinkansen, and could only find seats in…wait for it… the dreaded smoking section. YES that’s right, people can smoke on any train, even when you pay $100 for a one-way hour trip. So needless to say we smelt great when we got off.....Thus I have re-named the train the Shit-kansen. Thank Buddha it was fast though.

When we got to Hiroshima, we immediately took the street car to the central bus station and ditched our bags in a locker. Then we found our way to the A-Dome. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site, deemed important because it is one of the only buildings left after the atomic bomb ‘little boy’ was dropped in 1945. The building stands like a skeleton out of the rubble. It is also lit by dim lighting at night to add to the dramatic aura surrounding the site.
Close to the A-Dome was the Children’s Peace Memorial Park. There we saw the monument to Sadako. Sadako was a little girl who survived the atomic bomb when she was 2 years old, but then died from Leukemia as a result of the effects at age 12. But before she died she started making paper cranes in her efforts to make a wish. There is a legend that says if a person folds 1000 paper cranes they can have a wish. Sadako wanted to run again. But sadly she died before she finished. But now there is a monument to her in the park, and people from all over the world send and make paper cranes in her honor, and to honor the other children who died in the bomb. The colorful picture is one of many bunches of paper cranes that people have made for her.

Then we went to the Peace Memorial Park. We had to pass by The Flame of Peace. The university lit the flame and will only extinguish it when all atomic bombs are destroyed. We also passed the Cenotaph. Then we went into the Peace Memorial Museum. Here we saw disturbing pictures and items of war. They had a huge diagram of the city pre-and post bombing. They also had watches on display that had stopped at the exact second the bomb exploded above Hiroshima.
Cranes
After all that we had worked up a serious appetite and decided to go to the Okonomiyaki village. Okinomiyaki is my favorite dish in Japan, so you can imagine my excitement. And Hiroshima has a unique way of crafting this mecha mecha oishi meal. Then we had delicious crapes….always welcome in my books. Since it was dark and we were tired we headed back to the bus station to find our hostel. Our hostel was in the middle of nowhere, and a mighty hard hike up a hill to get to…but they had free green tea in the common area, and warm beds.
Hiroshima Castle

Museum

Next day.........Miyajima!!!!!!!!

The next pictures are of Hiroshima castle tower, and Hiroshima Contemporary Art museum, where I saw an amazing exhibition on Japanese Edo period wood block painters. UKIYOE à la carte: The World of HOKUSAI, HIROSHIGE, KUNISADA, KUNIYOSHI, and Others.

Hat heads to the big city....Osaka

I started to pack my bags just as the snow began to fall upon Fukui. My New Years break had finally arrived. The hat and i were super pumped for our upcoming vacation. The morning of the 31st arrived quickly. Before i left, my thoughts went as so.....this mini trip across Japan is supposed to revive my spirit in this rainy town....i needed to get my travel legs back, it had been forever since I've packed a backpack. I have been accustomed to daily life in Japan. Now it is my turn to be a tourist again....only trouble was the ridicules snow falling from the sky. As i left my house the morning of the 31st, i passed a beautiful cab, which i know for the small fee of $15 would take me to the station dry and happy, HOWEVER this was not going to be the start i wanted for my journey. So sadly i passed it and walked 20 minutes in the pouring rain/snow to the closest known bus stop and made it just in time to catch the bus to the station. Good old #12. As the train chugged on south through the mountains i slowly watched the snow melt, and the sun come out.

I met my friend Jill at the station. We met before leaving Canada, and have stayed in touch while being in Japan. But this was the first time we were going to be seeing each other for more than a couple hours. It was New Years Eve!!!! So no time was to be wasted in formulating a brilliant plan for the night. We went to her apartment in Kita Shinsaibashi. Surrounded by nightlife and trendy spots, definitely one of the coolest places in the city to live. We hit a burger joint for dinner. I must say, i am still getting used to people being able to smoke any place they like. Basically if you leave the home to eat you end up smelling like an ashtray. After buying ample supplies of food for the next day and alcohol for that night we headed home to get ready for the night.

The place we went for New Years was called Cosmo Tower (World Trade Centre), the highest tower in Osaka, and second highest in Japan. So we basically danced the night away at the very top where there was a 360 degree view of the city. Jill and i decided that we had in fact found each other for the countdown....but details will never be known...hahahah. So many random pictures of people we will never know the identity of.
Jill and i at the top!!!

This picture pretty much sums up the night, hahahaha

After the New Years party at WTC, we made our way down to the subway, and went to Dotombori area where we found the dirtiest after hours club called 'Heaven' in the basement of some building. Marvelous!!! We danced to the wee hours of the morning with our new friends Yui, blondie, and beautiful hair...and not to forget their friend who tried to make us believe he was a Japanese language student/ artist from Vancouver/ gay prostitute in Japan. First two of course the only believable information.

Beautiful hair and myself at 'Heaven'

After the club we said goodbye to our new friends, and made our way home through Namba. We stopped in at Namba shrine on the way home at around 6 am. Jill was thirsty, and proceeded to drink the holy water at the entrance, hahaha. Then we went up the shrine steps, threw in some money and then rang the bell, and clapped twice, and then preyed....ahahah, i preyed for Jill, hahaha. There were tons of other drunk people there, so we weren't the only ones. We went home and polished off some noodle bowls, and didn't get out of bed the next day till 5pm. Good New Years i'd say.

The next night we were invited to her friend Yukiko's house for traditional Japanese New Years food. It was great to experience true Japanese life and food. We ate something called Osechi. It is pre-prepared my her mother. Each different food had a meaning, and the way you ate it was important too. It is basically all the freaky things one sees in the grocery store and avoids. And it was all mecha mecha oishi (really really delicious). Even the tiny little silver fish were yummy.

After that we went and walked around Dotombori. And we went to the hotel where i stayed my first night in Japan. All a very different feeling going back the spot where this journey first started. The next day, Jan 2nd, i went with Sandy (another girl from Canada) to the Osaka Aquarium. We saw lots of fish etc....We also went to a 18century Russian exhibition at the Suntroy Museum. That night we went to a 280 bar, and then to a couple other places. We also met up with Yui, and new friend Benjamin (both Japanese with British accents) A 280 bar is a bar/restaurant where everything costs 280...pretty ike teru if you ask me. In Osaka i also saw Triangle park in Amerika-mura....however no time for Osaka castle.

Next up...Kobe and Hiroshima....

Bye, Bye Becs

These are the people i work with everyday. We had a photo shoot, and this was taken with my camera. Takumi, and Grace.

These next pictures were taken at the Akioshi near ekimae. It was that last night i got to see Bec's. So sad :((((((

Aoi

At Bears.

Singing.....

More singing to a sleeping Gou......... hahahah. Bec's and i had way too many long island ice teas. And for some reason decided they needed to be super super strong. Gou fell asleep for hours. We totally lost track of time and left the bar at around 5 am. Luckily i had my trusty bike to get me home. Work was not fun times the next day.

School Christmas party

My school had a Christmas party on December 17th. It was at an Italian restaurant. Which generally means Japanese food with a twist of Italian influence. The night was pretty fun. Alot of Japanese was spoken. So although i was with tons of people, i sometimes felt incredibly alone. That teamed up with Christmas music can make anyone feel lonely. After the restaurant we went out to a bar in the Katamachi district.

Keiko.

One of my fav. students, Masato

MMMMMMMMMMMmmmmm mini burger....

My saturday boys. Takaji, and Akira

Who knew Santa was Japanese?

Christmas came and went. And to be honest, it was great!!! I thought i'd be all lonely without friends from home or family to play with on Christmas, but it was okay, and i survived.

I had to work on Christmas day, but it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. I just had two great days off. On my first day I went to a museum with my Japanese friend where one of my students runs a children’s program. Her kids were putting on an actors studio Christmas show. Of course every single person was Japanese, and the play was in Japanese, nevertheless still really cute. And I got to have my picture with Santa, who knew he was Japanese? I played badminton the next day at a place called Kinkou no Mori, which means sports forest. And then of course I had to rent a Christmas movie for Christmas eve, and pop a bottle of red. On Christmas morning I got up early and biked to the gym where I am a new member, yeah yeah!! funnily enough it is the place where I have felt most at home here. It is in this really fancy hotel with a pool, and onsen, and yoga studio etc. (it is my Christmas present to myself).

My Christmas corner....with muffy and my stocking a'la Lesley, and S-in-S

At Angleland Fukui.
Japanese Santa....

Amber and i in front of the giant tree in town.

I am super excited for New Years holidays! I have 10 days off, where I intend to travel around quite a bit. I am going to Osaka (big city) for new years to stay with my friend Jill, and hit the crazy Japanese clubs. I have to dust off my high heels, seriously they have grown cob webs. Then on to Hiroshima for two nights to see the sights and go to Miyajima. And then to Kyoto for one night. Should be fun, and so so so expensive, oh well.

My new apartment is really cute, it feels more like home now that I have decorated it. I will put up pictures ASAP.

Well I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas with family and friends, and I am thinking of everyone a great deal this holiday season!!!!!!!!!!!!