Ok, I didn`t die from Fugu (sorry), but I probably won`t eat it again, and I can`t suggest it all that much either.
Oh well, the last two days of my trip were slower than the rest, but still exciting in their own way. A Kaiseki lunch at Kikunoi, one of the best Kaiseki restaurants in Japan, and it was amazing. 9 courses, each one modern/traditional Japanese, served in our own private room. I got to see the kitchen, 15 people running around in a spotless modern room. The housemade sake was really good as well. All in all, a fitting end to my stay in Kyoto, which was a total of 7 days, kinda. I spent the most time there, but had the most fun to. A combination of a really cultural city with beautiful mountainous surroundings and an awesome local whom I befriended showing me around very much sealed it as my favorite city in Japan.
After the meal, headed back to Tokyo, where I met up with my Aussie buddies from Kyoto. Well, one of them. Paul and Stephanie were both in the hostel, but Stephanie was sick, so Paul and I went to get some ramen and caught up.
The next day, after breakfast where I convinced Paul how awesome natto was and wished them farewell to Osaka, I went shopping. Kappabashi street is amazing. Everything you could want in a restaurant/kitchen, all sold on a mile long stretch of street. Stores that sold only chairs to stores that sold everything but chairs. You wouldn`t believe it unless you saw it. I went to the three knife stores, and at one of them, the guy was really cold to me (and proud of his wares). I asked him why there were so many stores that sold knives, and he basically yelled `We have a factory! They just sell!`
So of course, it turns out that the one Chris recommended was that one. When I came back the second time, the guy saw I was serious and started being really nice to me. The knife better be as good as it looks. It`s nice. Really nice.
Anyways, got some cool stuff there as well, and went down to Shibuya to see the mass of people cross the street.
And cross the street they did. All of them, at once. Every time the light turned green. That was the most amazing part. It was a huge amount of people crossing at once, and once they all crossed and the light turned red, the edges of the sidewalk refilled as if everyone went a few steps, decided they should have been going the other way, and turned around. Time after time.
Walked around there for a bit, found out that Cirque de Soleil is in town (Drallion), saw a guy practice bagpipes in the park (I immediately understood why he was practicing. Good bagpipe playing is difficult to hear, but bad playing is downright torture), and walked to Shinjuku by the time the sun set.
And back into the modern crazy neonness of Tokyo. Being away from it for a while, you kind of forget how manic it gets. So three things happened to me in succession to round out the trip here:
1) Walking around the back streets of Shinjuku, two Japanese guys are walking in the crowd going the other way. One stops his friend, comes over to me and says:
´Excuse me, are you interested in a strip show bar?´
´No.´
´How about a sex massage?´
´iie´ (Japanese for no.)
2) Going on the subway back to the hostel, an old man cuts me off getting on the train, sits down, and starts talking to himself (or all of us) for the whole train ride. I wish I knew what he was saying, because I´m sure it was very philosophical, or at least downright hilarious.
3) Walking to the hostel, maybe 20 feet away, I walk past a guy in a SUV. A girl had just walked by the other way, so he pulls his camera (With telephoto lens), and goes to work. I should have taken a picture, but I was so flabbergasted that I kinda stopped for a second, watched him, made sure what he was doing, and just shook my head in a whole ´whoa, I guess what they say about some people in this country is right.´
Yeah, so a good way to round out the trip. I can sleep well tonight, hopefully, and have a nice long trip tomorrow. See you all on the other side!
Friday, February 01, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Addendum. Because I can.
Yeah, I`m still here, and today was interesting enough to warrant an entry. I`m in Kyoto, hanging out with my tour guide and just enjoying the city. Today we went on a tour of Kyoto university, the streets of Gion, and the real live Geisha Avenue.
Highlights:
-A really good lunch at a place Yuka used to work, with good noodles, great Tenpura, and AMAZING Yuba sashimi. It had amazing flavor, melted in your mouth, and was served with real wasabi. Mmm.
-Green tea parfaits at the `best place in Kyoto to get them.` In addition to the parfaits, the store sold cups for Matcha that were over 100 dollars. Yow. Also, in talking at the place, it was revealed that these stores are frequented by women mostly, because the men are always working. It was basically said to me that women are the ones keeping the economy going, which makes sense. I`ll think more about that later and get to it in the postmortem.
-Kyoto University has the dingiest dorm I have ever seen. It looked worse than the worst part of Animal House. Run down, broken windows/roof, it was ridiculous. 500 yen a month. Amazing.
-Yes, I saw Geishas. The real ones. Walking Yuka to her teaching gig, she showed me the real steet where all of that takes place. Off the beaten trail, where no tourists know about it. And it was definately real. We saw limos with Geishas in them, really nice cars, Geisha walking all over the place, and a creepy guy running around with a telephoto lens. So it must have been real. Cool, because we got lucky to see such a rare sight. We walked up and down the street three times killing 30 minutes, and on the third walk-through, there were none around anymore. So very unique.
-Sushi. 100 yen per piece. I had 24 pieces, including seared Fugu. This was less than an hour ago, so if I drop dead, you will all know what happened. The whole tingling of the mouth thing is right. I feel like I lost feeling in my cheeks right now (I think), but it could be psychosomatic. The whole not really tasting like anything bit, also true. It was chewy, but not really flavorful at all. Oh well, at least that`s done with.
That`s all for now. I`m not saying goodbye, because things continue to happen in this country, even if I`m not trying very hard.
Aw shucks.
Highlights:
-A really good lunch at a place Yuka used to work, with good noodles, great Tenpura, and AMAZING Yuba sashimi. It had amazing flavor, melted in your mouth, and was served with real wasabi. Mmm.
-Green tea parfaits at the `best place in Kyoto to get them.` In addition to the parfaits, the store sold cups for Matcha that were over 100 dollars. Yow. Also, in talking at the place, it was revealed that these stores are frequented by women mostly, because the men are always working. It was basically said to me that women are the ones keeping the economy going, which makes sense. I`ll think more about that later and get to it in the postmortem.
-Kyoto University has the dingiest dorm I have ever seen. It looked worse than the worst part of Animal House. Run down, broken windows/roof, it was ridiculous. 500 yen a month. Amazing.
-Yes, I saw Geishas. The real ones. Walking Yuka to her teaching gig, she showed me the real steet where all of that takes place. Off the beaten trail, where no tourists know about it. And it was definately real. We saw limos with Geishas in them, really nice cars, Geisha walking all over the place, and a creepy guy running around with a telephoto lens. So it must have been real. Cool, because we got lucky to see such a rare sight. We walked up and down the street three times killing 30 minutes, and on the third walk-through, there were none around anymore. So very unique.
-Sushi. 100 yen per piece. I had 24 pieces, including seared Fugu. This was less than an hour ago, so if I drop dead, you will all know what happened. The whole tingling of the mouth thing is right. I feel like I lost feeling in my cheeks right now (I think), but it could be psychosomatic. The whole not really tasting like anything bit, also true. It was chewy, but not really flavorful at all. Oh well, at least that`s done with.
That`s all for now. I`m not saying goodbye, because things continue to happen in this country, even if I`m not trying very hard.
Aw shucks.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
No title can explain...
Ok, back in Kyoto after the two most strange/interesting nights in Japan. More on that later. First, Hiroshima.
A beautiful city. I didn`t spend much time in it, but I did see the entire Peace Park/memorial/museum/grounds, and it was one of the most moving things I`ve ever done in my life. I met an Australian girl at the hostel (bumped into her 3 times in the morning, and when I saw her getting breakfast at 7-11, she decided we should walk around together), and we walked around the museum together. It was nice to bounce feelings and thoughts off of, because it was such an intense museum. If you are ever in Japan, make it a point to go to the place, because the message is so vitally important.
First of all, they do it correctly right from the start. It`s 50 yen to get in (about 50 cents). In an effort to reach as many people as possible, it is available to anyone, regardless of socioeconomic status. It covers all angles of the tragedy, from political agendas to the science behind the A-Bomb to a whole library devoted to testimonies of survivors along with the name and face of every person who has died as a result of the bomb. There are trees that survived, and are still growing in a corner of the park. There are many memorials, and a few buildings that are a shell of what they once were to serve as a reminder of the damage done to the city. The thing that struck me the most were the many watches and clocks in the museum, all frozen at 8:15 AM, the exact time the bomb was dropped.
There is no anti-American sentiment throughout the museum, the only message is for peace on Earth and the destruction of all nuclear weapons. There are countless letters written by successive Mayors of the city, protesting every nuclear test that goes on. Every memorial is one for peace and rememberance, and almost every inscription uses the word Peace. Instead of focusing on how horrible the event was and leaving that to linger in our minds, every effort is made to show hope for the world, and its future without random destruction.
It is a very emotional place, an important cultural landmark, and exactly the way the whole experience should be handled.
Oh, and it snowed. I think there is a cloud that is following me around Japan and dumping on me when it sees fit. I didn`t walk around much after the museum because of the driving snow, so after getting some noodles for lunch I went to Kobe.
So, Yuka (kindred spirit, fellow traveler) is from Kobe, and she offered to show me around so I could see the pretty sights at both day and night, so I was going to meet her after she got off of work, so we could visit the nearby viewpoint on top of the mountain, to look over Kobe at night.
But we never got there.
I show up to the train station around 5PM, with plans to meet around 8:30. I walk over to get a map of Kobe, and this nice elderly Japanese lady starts talking with me in very good English. She looks like a traveler, and is very nice, so I walk with her to the subway to get into the main area of Kobe.
She works for Ford Motor Company (in Japan!), and I learned that she was just divorced, finished raising her kids, and on her way to Taiwan to see the world. We were a similar type of traveler, and I had nothing to do, so we sat in a hotel cafe, drank unlimited wine (for 2 hours - 10 bucks!), ate some snacks (french food... eh), and talked about everything. Philosophy, literature, culture, food, etc. She was very enlightened, and full of interesting opinions, and I enjoyed talking to her.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered that most Asians have a lower tolerance than most others... but I was drinking too.
She gets on the phone with Yuka and convinces her to meet us at the subway station, and then offered us a floor to sleep on for the night. Nice enough, but starting to get a little creepy.
Then we got up to leave. That`s when the alcohol usually takes it`s full effect, right?
Right.
Stumbling out the door, we walk over to the subway station. She was plastered, I was tipsy, but I could still think, so I guided us towards the station. Where Yuka was there to meet us.
Thank God.
This lady (Miki) spoke fantastic English, but strength in numbers was what was needed. We decided to take her to her friend`s house, and then get the hell out of there. Along the way, she stumbled, grabbed my arm, slapped my butt, and generally acted like a drunk person.
We finally got to the area of the apartment, but Miki wasn`t sure where it was, and kept deciding not to make a phone call. She would make us wait in one spot while she wandered around the street, trying to get her bearings. Finally, Yuka got Miki`s cell phone, reached the friend, and we got out of there.
Barely.
I was hugged, pleaded with, cried to, pleaded with again, hugged again, and generally all sorts of freaked out until we were able to say goodbye. And get out of there we did.
Hey Mom, she wants to meet you.
It was raining and late, so the mountain view decided like a bad idea (and that episode was exhausting), so Yuka and I then found a place to stay, ate at an upscale Izakaya (look it up), and had a fun night of food and Karaoke (Her voice: much much much better than mine).
The next day, still raining (saw that the state of the union was going on.. yay CNN in Japan), we ate at an Italian restaurant for lunch, had a burnt creme brulee and a really good apple tart, and walked around Kobe`s pier. Very beautiful, albeit very foggy. There was a cool aluminum fish made by Frank Gearhy (sp?), a gaudy memorial (hehe) to fashion, and a section of pier that was left as a rememberance of the earthquake of 1995. Stunning. Between Aso and Kobe, the strength of Nature and it`s unforgiveness/lack of warning really left an impression on me. Yuka was there, so I was getting firsthand testimony and description of the earthquake, visual descriptions of parts of the city affected and how so, and general information which was very heartfelt and amazing to hear.
Back to Kyoto we went, with the intention of going to one of her student`s (she teaches English and studys it at Kyoto University, don`t remember if I`ve mentioned that before) houses so that he could meet a `real live American.` Until then, I walked around a bit while she went to another student`s house, and burnt my mouth on Takoyaki (totally worth it).
So then we head out to the suburbs of Kyoto, really dark, nice houses, totally different from anywhere I`ve been. And we teaches us some English!
The kid (Hideya) is 14, and was super-happy-fun-excited to meet me. Seriously. He was bouncing around, acting really nervous, and genuinely pleased to have the opportunity to chat with me.
And chat we did, until we started going through his English workbook. Yuka had me run through it with him, and it was all well and good until he made a mistake.
``Explain it to him`` she says.
Um. Not counting you journalists and people well-versed in the intracasies of the English language, you won`t believe how hard explaining a foriegn language is to a person who doesn`t understand it. We take the grammatical rules we know for granted, and when forced to really think about them, finally realize that they make no damn sense. Also, I didn`t come into the lesson expecting to be tested myself. Sneaky girl, that one.
Not that this didn`t stop me. Yuka did most of the teaching, but I had a killer point with the difference between `was` and `did,` explaining how they get different modifiers because one is for action and one is for description.
Yeah, anyways, after the lesson and the tea/sweets brought by Hideya`s mother (and Mikan, which the acid in made the burns in my mouth remember that they were there), we were invited to see his father`s pet project, a wooden shelter totally heated by a central fire. Seriously well-built, very smokey, with a doxun that stood on his hind legs to get warmer by the fire.
And the father, who was well into his umpteenth glass of shochu (I had some of this stuff earlier. Think straight Vodka).
We had a great conversation (with Yuka translating most of it) about the nature of food and the heart, his shelter (which he was proud of with good reason), and the parties he observed and wanted to have. Seriously, he wants me to come over, bring all of my friends, and have a party where I cook for everyone, and then we can all enjoy his new deck, wood burning mini-cabin, and future hot spring in his backyard.
So, if anyone wants to go to Japan, I think we should plan it. Really.
He was drunk, but so hospitiable, and constantly inviting me over, extending all sorts of hospitality, and genuinely being nice (he was drunk, so thus he was truthful) to an American stranger he had never met, and probably not heard too much about. But he said I had a good Aura, so I guess that counts for something.
Anyways,
I think that about sums it up for the adventures in Japan thus far. I have a few more days here, but they shouldn`t be filled with anything too exciting or crazy. I will of course add more if that changes, but I`m going to sign off for now. It has been an amazing trip, worthy of a post-mortem as I`m recovering from jet lag and have the time at all hours of the night to ponder and write some.
Thanks for reading, I hope I`ve been entertaining. Those that know me know how much I hate blogs, so this isn`t going to continue on and become everything that I hate about the internet and our society in general (idea stolen from Tozzi, and a good one it is).
Peace.
A beautiful city. I didn`t spend much time in it, but I did see the entire Peace Park/memorial/museum/grounds, and it was one of the most moving things I`ve ever done in my life. I met an Australian girl at the hostel (bumped into her 3 times in the morning, and when I saw her getting breakfast at 7-11, she decided we should walk around together), and we walked around the museum together. It was nice to bounce feelings and thoughts off of, because it was such an intense museum. If you are ever in Japan, make it a point to go to the place, because the message is so vitally important.
First of all, they do it correctly right from the start. It`s 50 yen to get in (about 50 cents). In an effort to reach as many people as possible, it is available to anyone, regardless of socioeconomic status. It covers all angles of the tragedy, from political agendas to the science behind the A-Bomb to a whole library devoted to testimonies of survivors along with the name and face of every person who has died as a result of the bomb. There are trees that survived, and are still growing in a corner of the park. There are many memorials, and a few buildings that are a shell of what they once were to serve as a reminder of the damage done to the city. The thing that struck me the most were the many watches and clocks in the museum, all frozen at 8:15 AM, the exact time the bomb was dropped.
There is no anti-American sentiment throughout the museum, the only message is for peace on Earth and the destruction of all nuclear weapons. There are countless letters written by successive Mayors of the city, protesting every nuclear test that goes on. Every memorial is one for peace and rememberance, and almost every inscription uses the word Peace. Instead of focusing on how horrible the event was and leaving that to linger in our minds, every effort is made to show hope for the world, and its future without random destruction.
It is a very emotional place, an important cultural landmark, and exactly the way the whole experience should be handled.
Oh, and it snowed. I think there is a cloud that is following me around Japan and dumping on me when it sees fit. I didn`t walk around much after the museum because of the driving snow, so after getting some noodles for lunch I went to Kobe.
So, Yuka (kindred spirit, fellow traveler) is from Kobe, and she offered to show me around so I could see the pretty sights at both day and night, so I was going to meet her after she got off of work, so we could visit the nearby viewpoint on top of the mountain, to look over Kobe at night.
But we never got there.
I show up to the train station around 5PM, with plans to meet around 8:30. I walk over to get a map of Kobe, and this nice elderly Japanese lady starts talking with me in very good English. She looks like a traveler, and is very nice, so I walk with her to the subway to get into the main area of Kobe.
She works for Ford Motor Company (in Japan!), and I learned that she was just divorced, finished raising her kids, and on her way to Taiwan to see the world. We were a similar type of traveler, and I had nothing to do, so we sat in a hotel cafe, drank unlimited wine (for 2 hours - 10 bucks!), ate some snacks (french food... eh), and talked about everything. Philosophy, literature, culture, food, etc. She was very enlightened, and full of interesting opinions, and I enjoyed talking to her.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered that most Asians have a lower tolerance than most others... but I was drinking too.
She gets on the phone with Yuka and convinces her to meet us at the subway station, and then offered us a floor to sleep on for the night. Nice enough, but starting to get a little creepy.
Then we got up to leave. That`s when the alcohol usually takes it`s full effect, right?
Right.
Stumbling out the door, we walk over to the subway station. She was plastered, I was tipsy, but I could still think, so I guided us towards the station. Where Yuka was there to meet us.
Thank God.
This lady (Miki) spoke fantastic English, but strength in numbers was what was needed. We decided to take her to her friend`s house, and then get the hell out of there. Along the way, she stumbled, grabbed my arm, slapped my butt, and generally acted like a drunk person.
We finally got to the area of the apartment, but Miki wasn`t sure where it was, and kept deciding not to make a phone call. She would make us wait in one spot while she wandered around the street, trying to get her bearings. Finally, Yuka got Miki`s cell phone, reached the friend, and we got out of there.
Barely.
I was hugged, pleaded with, cried to, pleaded with again, hugged again, and generally all sorts of freaked out until we were able to say goodbye. And get out of there we did.
Hey Mom, she wants to meet you.
It was raining and late, so the mountain view decided like a bad idea (and that episode was exhausting), so Yuka and I then found a place to stay, ate at an upscale Izakaya (look it up), and had a fun night of food and Karaoke (Her voice: much much much better than mine).
The next day, still raining (saw that the state of the union was going on.. yay CNN in Japan), we ate at an Italian restaurant for lunch, had a burnt creme brulee and a really good apple tart, and walked around Kobe`s pier. Very beautiful, albeit very foggy. There was a cool aluminum fish made by Frank Gearhy (sp?), a gaudy memorial (hehe) to fashion, and a section of pier that was left as a rememberance of the earthquake of 1995. Stunning. Between Aso and Kobe, the strength of Nature and it`s unforgiveness/lack of warning really left an impression on me. Yuka was there, so I was getting firsthand testimony and description of the earthquake, visual descriptions of parts of the city affected and how so, and general information which was very heartfelt and amazing to hear.
Back to Kyoto we went, with the intention of going to one of her student`s (she teaches English and studys it at Kyoto University, don`t remember if I`ve mentioned that before) houses so that he could meet a `real live American.` Until then, I walked around a bit while she went to another student`s house, and burnt my mouth on Takoyaki (totally worth it).
So then we head out to the suburbs of Kyoto, really dark, nice houses, totally different from anywhere I`ve been. And we teaches us some English!
The kid (Hideya) is 14, and was super-happy-fun-excited to meet me. Seriously. He was bouncing around, acting really nervous, and genuinely pleased to have the opportunity to chat with me.
And chat we did, until we started going through his English workbook. Yuka had me run through it with him, and it was all well and good until he made a mistake.
``Explain it to him`` she says.
Um. Not counting you journalists and people well-versed in the intracasies of the English language, you won`t believe how hard explaining a foriegn language is to a person who doesn`t understand it. We take the grammatical rules we know for granted, and when forced to really think about them, finally realize that they make no damn sense. Also, I didn`t come into the lesson expecting to be tested myself. Sneaky girl, that one.
Not that this didn`t stop me. Yuka did most of the teaching, but I had a killer point with the difference between `was` and `did,` explaining how they get different modifiers because one is for action and one is for description.
Yeah, anyways, after the lesson and the tea/sweets brought by Hideya`s mother (and Mikan, which the acid in made the burns in my mouth remember that they were there), we were invited to see his father`s pet project, a wooden shelter totally heated by a central fire. Seriously well-built, very smokey, with a doxun that stood on his hind legs to get warmer by the fire.
And the father, who was well into his umpteenth glass of shochu (I had some of this stuff earlier. Think straight Vodka).
We had a great conversation (with Yuka translating most of it) about the nature of food and the heart, his shelter (which he was proud of with good reason), and the parties he observed and wanted to have. Seriously, he wants me to come over, bring all of my friends, and have a party where I cook for everyone, and then we can all enjoy his new deck, wood burning mini-cabin, and future hot spring in his backyard.
So, if anyone wants to go to Japan, I think we should plan it. Really.
He was drunk, but so hospitiable, and constantly inviting me over, extending all sorts of hospitality, and genuinely being nice (he was drunk, so thus he was truthful) to an American stranger he had never met, and probably not heard too much about. But he said I had a good Aura, so I guess that counts for something.
Anyways,
I think that about sums it up for the adventures in Japan thus far. I have a few more days here, but they shouldn`t be filled with anything too exciting or crazy. I will of course add more if that changes, but I`m going to sign off for now. It has been an amazing trip, worthy of a post-mortem as I`m recovering from jet lag and have the time at all hours of the night to ponder and write some.
Thanks for reading, I hope I`ve been entertaining. Those that know me know how much I hate blogs, so this isn`t going to continue on and become everything that I hate about the internet and our society in general (idea stolen from Tozzi, and a good one it is).
Peace.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sean`s guided tour of Kyushu, part 2
Alright,
So breakfast at the hotel was just as good as the dinner, very traditional Japanese, and I finished everything (much to the surprise of the lady manning the little dining room... Gaijin don`t eat pickled gobo!), and we checked the status of the mountain.
All lights were go at the bus station, so we went to the top. Walking up the hill from the last bus stop (we decided not to go the tram route, it`s always more fun to walk) was otherworldly. There were many sections of the mountain, all with different landscapes. Some were made totally of black nutrient rich mud, some stratified hills of different type of rock/soil, and the crater itself, really hot water, steaming like it was going out of style and as blue as a rare jewel.
A rare jewel that is looked upon as a holy mecca of Korean Scripture, and the entire country takes turns going to see it. Yeah, there were that many tourists. I mean, all of you know how much I dislike Koreans, especially the food, but my tour guide (actually able to tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans), informed me of the local customs and differences in tourist density from the different countries.
Ate lunch at a coffee shop on the recommendation (well, they said there was nothing else around) of this bakery, where we went in just to admire the beautiful pastries (as one can do all over Japan), and they immediately offer us cake and tea, just for coming in. The cake was good, so we bought one... good marketing. (and, as a side, the oven it was baked in was amazing... very advanced, very shiny) Then we took a bus to Yufuin.
Ok, I have the train pass, I know. I was informed by my travel advisor that the bus would be the better choice, logistically. After the trip, I will tell you, it`s the better entertainment choice too. The package is outstanding. All buses seem to have a built in tour guide system, informing you of the history/landscape/etc of what you see (in Japanese, so bring someone who knows the language), but if you are real lucky, you can hear the elusive `song of the highway` sung over the speakers. Continuing with the 70s theme, these people designed a scenic highway, and then sung a song about it in country-western time to promote it. Funny to begin with, even better when someone tells you what the words mean.
But no, boys and girls, the fun doesn`t stop there. For no extra cost, you can sit up front when it`s just you and the bus driver, and have a philosophical conversation where out of the three of you sitting there, only one person actually knows what is going on. It was a great talk that went on through Yuka`s translation, involving the idea that everyone is always thinking about sex; the bus driver wants to be reincarnated as a beautiful girl, but in the meantime will settle for a robot to carry him up and down the stairs (Alan/Sherri, I didn`t start the robot conversation, I swear); whether it`s better to be rich or happy; and all sorts of other topics over the course of an hour or so. In the end, it was better that Yuka was there, or else the bus driver thought I would strangle him.
So we get to Yufuin, and go to the hotel. The whole town is closed at 7:30 when we get there, and the reason is because the town is an Onsen town. The water is dug up in spades there (Ha! Get it?), and it permeates the entire town. Steam rises from random vents in the town, there are fountains of hot onsen water where you can rest your weary hands midway through a day of shopping at the myriad shops selling honey and glass sculpture (foot baths too, but I won`t slight those because I did one), and so many shops where you can sample different pickles, misos, soy sauces, and various other goodies. A spa town, where people relax in really hot water, but wait outside a cake shop for 45 minutes to get some roll cake that is supposedly amazing (don`t know, didn`t try, don`t ask).
Walked around during the next day, after going to the onsen in the hotel (of course), and grilling some meat over some fire (yay wagyu!). There was a lake that steam rises from constantly because it is warm on the outskirts of town. Very cool at night, almost eerie. During the day, full of all sorts of lucky fish that get to relax in a mineral hot tub 24-7. You really should come to Japan just for the onsen, it`s worth the plane ticket. Trust me.
Took a bus tour of the `Hells` of Beppu, a very cool touristy thing involving really hot springs with different mineral compositions, so they appear colors, do cool things, or just breed crocodiles in Winter in Japan. More of a picture thing than a talking thing. I wish we had more time, but it`s hard to pack it all in, and I regret nothing. I`ll just have to come back.
Anyways, left Yuka on the Shinkansen at Hiroshima, and here I am. Went to an Okonomiyaki place for dinner, best one I`ve had in Japan. The squid was perfect, and they put more cabbage in it than I`ve ever seen in one place, and then squished the mountain down to a pancake. Impressive.
So, I got lucky, I paid for a dorm, but they filled it, so I`m in a triple by myself, and I can sleep. Which I`m going to do.
Tomorrow, feeling terrible for being American.
So breakfast at the hotel was just as good as the dinner, very traditional Japanese, and I finished everything (much to the surprise of the lady manning the little dining room... Gaijin don`t eat pickled gobo!), and we checked the status of the mountain.
All lights were go at the bus station, so we went to the top. Walking up the hill from the last bus stop (we decided not to go the tram route, it`s always more fun to walk) was otherworldly. There were many sections of the mountain, all with different landscapes. Some were made totally of black nutrient rich mud, some stratified hills of different type of rock/soil, and the crater itself, really hot water, steaming like it was going out of style and as blue as a rare jewel.
A rare jewel that is looked upon as a holy mecca of Korean Scripture, and the entire country takes turns going to see it. Yeah, there were that many tourists. I mean, all of you know how much I dislike Koreans, especially the food, but my tour guide (actually able to tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans), informed me of the local customs and differences in tourist density from the different countries.
Ate lunch at a coffee shop on the recommendation (well, they said there was nothing else around) of this bakery, where we went in just to admire the beautiful pastries (as one can do all over Japan), and they immediately offer us cake and tea, just for coming in. The cake was good, so we bought one... good marketing. (and, as a side, the oven it was baked in was amazing... very advanced, very shiny) Then we took a bus to Yufuin.
Ok, I have the train pass, I know. I was informed by my travel advisor that the bus would be the better choice, logistically. After the trip, I will tell you, it`s the better entertainment choice too. The package is outstanding. All buses seem to have a built in tour guide system, informing you of the history/landscape/etc of what you see (in Japanese, so bring someone who knows the language), but if you are real lucky, you can hear the elusive `song of the highway` sung over the speakers. Continuing with the 70s theme, these people designed a scenic highway, and then sung a song about it in country-western time to promote it. Funny to begin with, even better when someone tells you what the words mean.
But no, boys and girls, the fun doesn`t stop there. For no extra cost, you can sit up front when it`s just you and the bus driver, and have a philosophical conversation where out of the three of you sitting there, only one person actually knows what is going on. It was a great talk that went on through Yuka`s translation, involving the idea that everyone is always thinking about sex; the bus driver wants to be reincarnated as a beautiful girl, but in the meantime will settle for a robot to carry him up and down the stairs (Alan/Sherri, I didn`t start the robot conversation, I swear); whether it`s better to be rich or happy; and all sorts of other topics over the course of an hour or so. In the end, it was better that Yuka was there, or else the bus driver thought I would strangle him.
So we get to Yufuin, and go to the hotel. The whole town is closed at 7:30 when we get there, and the reason is because the town is an Onsen town. The water is dug up in spades there (Ha! Get it?), and it permeates the entire town. Steam rises from random vents in the town, there are fountains of hot onsen water where you can rest your weary hands midway through a day of shopping at the myriad shops selling honey and glass sculpture (foot baths too, but I won`t slight those because I did one), and so many shops where you can sample different pickles, misos, soy sauces, and various other goodies. A spa town, where people relax in really hot water, but wait outside a cake shop for 45 minutes to get some roll cake that is supposedly amazing (don`t know, didn`t try, don`t ask).
Walked around during the next day, after going to the onsen in the hotel (of course), and grilling some meat over some fire (yay wagyu!). There was a lake that steam rises from constantly because it is warm on the outskirts of town. Very cool at night, almost eerie. During the day, full of all sorts of lucky fish that get to relax in a mineral hot tub 24-7. You really should come to Japan just for the onsen, it`s worth the plane ticket. Trust me.
Took a bus tour of the `Hells` of Beppu, a very cool touristy thing involving really hot springs with different mineral compositions, so they appear colors, do cool things, or just breed crocodiles in Winter in Japan. More of a picture thing than a talking thing. I wish we had more time, but it`s hard to pack it all in, and I regret nothing. I`ll just have to come back.
Anyways, left Yuka on the Shinkansen at Hiroshima, and here I am. Went to an Okonomiyaki place for dinner, best one I`ve had in Japan. The squid was perfect, and they put more cabbage in it than I`ve ever seen in one place, and then squished the mountain down to a pancake. Impressive.
So, I got lucky, I paid for a dorm, but they filled it, so I`m in a triple by myself, and I can sleep. Which I`m going to do.
Tomorrow, feeling terrible for being American.
Kyushu in the wintertime... or: A tale of two onsen
It`s not really a tale of two onsen, it just sounded good.
Ok, I`m in Hiroshima after a good long vacation from a vacation. Get ready for a long post.
So I went to Osaka a few days ago, met Yuka and her friend Lisa, and saw the pretty fishes. That aquarium is very very nice. It`s huge, well put together, with fish and amphibious life from all over the world, and the most active group of marine mammals that I`ve ever seen. The otters were cleaning themselves and playing constantly, the seals and sea lions were going around as if they had caffeine in the water, and the dolphins were playing to the crowd like it was a 24 hour free tuna festival. The whale shark was quite amazing, as was the whole big tank. Schools of fish with their mouths open following the whale shark for protection; A huge manta ray gliding around like a plane; 3 Mola-Molas just awe-inspiring; huge spider crabs attacking the glass; rockhopper penguins (those who have been to the NE aquarium know how much I like them.. although you couldn`t hear the yelling at this one). All in all, a really cool aquarium. While in Osaka, I found out my companions had never been to an IMAX film, so we saw deep sea (seen it before, but don`t tell them =P), and rode the world`s largest ferris wheel. This was my first ferris wheel, but the girls were the ones freaking out when I shook the car. Very cool though, you could see all of Osaka harbour (very pretty with the setting sun, don`t worry, have a picture), and a good part of Osaka proper even though it was kinda cloudy.
Then Lisa left us, and Yuka and I took a shinkansen to Hakata, in Fukuoka.
Let me explain something before I go further. I know this trip hasn`t been immaculately planned (I think that only has one `m`), but I have been giving a great deal of though to where I eat, where I go, how I`m going to sleep, etc... However, for these three days, Yuka planned everything. I don`t really have maps of where I was, and I was much less aware of what I was doing before I was doing it, and that`s totally cool. Much thanks to her for everything, and don`t worry, when she comes to America (where she won`t need me as a translator since she`s so good at English), you all can meet her.
Anyways, that being said, I followed my personal tour guide/interpreter/food taster to our ryokan in Fukuoka. This place was a National Cultural Treasure, with an awesome onsen, a cool Japanese Garden (that I only heard about, didn`t actually see, but I`m positive it was cool), and a crazy nice traditional Japanese bedroom. Comfy, cozy, too bad we only stayed the night.
However, for food, hands down the best ramen I`ve EVER had. Referred to this place by the ryokan host, it was a tiny ramen house with broth made from pork bones (you`re lucky, I forgot the Japanese for it, so you don`t have to look it up... ton-something), and it changed my life. The taste lingered (and I brushed my teeth, thank you very much Sharms), and it was so flavorful and delicious that it was impossible not to remember it. I had a native with me though, so the banter was totally different. The menu was explained to me (Thank god, it was all in Japanese), and I got to play `identify that food` as the staff brought out tupperware to learn the english names of various veggies (`bean sprouts`), however, it was different to have a bunch of people talk about you without actually talking with you. I tried understanding, and it really wasn`t bad because I didn`t feel threatened or anything, but it was weird having a person go `this guy is american, this guy is a chef, etc...` (No offense Yuka, just spouting how it went). I got to chime in a whole lot though, so I guess I shouldn`t complain.
We went to a Gyoza shack too, very homey, crispy product, but not as mindblowing. Seemed like a popular pub place.
The next morning, we went to Aso by train. The trip involved a switchback (very cool bit of railway fun), and amazing views. Aso is a city in a large area created by a volcano (I keep forgetting that word too...think cities in a crater, surrounded by mountains, and with one huge volcano still active in the middle), and it is breathtaking. Seening smoke spew from this mountaintop kinda close to you while you sit on a bench in a small town waiting for the bus (which is even timely in small cities.. go figure) is beautiful. However, getting to the top is not possible all the time, so they constantly monitor the deadly gasses to figure out when all the Koreans (and the 5 other tourists) can gain access to the top. Yeah, not a huge amount of American presence here, but its ok.
Anyways, the gasses were bad the first day, so we went to the volcano museum, watched a movie about Aso in the 70s (complete with camera zooms, wonderful clothes, and the best soundtrack this side of a middle school filmstrip on ancient mayan civilization), and had some ice cream in the cold (again). We walked around the hills around the top of the volcano (the museum is near the top, and even has a live camera you can control to see the stupid tourists that ignore the warnings about asphyxiation), and it was beautiful.
And cold. So we went back to the hotel, and had a wonderful meal cooked by the staff. Sorry, I mean sliced by the staff and piled on a plate so we could cook it ourself. Nabemono-look it up. I am not even complaining, however, since it was more food than we could eat, and the quality was fantastic. We gourged ourselves (first meal in Japan I couldn`t finish), hit the onsen (which, being near the volcano, was actually natural mineral-rich water), and crossed our fingers that the summit could be reached the next day.
And it could, but I`ll start a new post to break it up.
Ok, I`m in Hiroshima after a good long vacation from a vacation. Get ready for a long post.
So I went to Osaka a few days ago, met Yuka and her friend Lisa, and saw the pretty fishes. That aquarium is very very nice. It`s huge, well put together, with fish and amphibious life from all over the world, and the most active group of marine mammals that I`ve ever seen. The otters were cleaning themselves and playing constantly, the seals and sea lions were going around as if they had caffeine in the water, and the dolphins were playing to the crowd like it was a 24 hour free tuna festival. The whale shark was quite amazing, as was the whole big tank. Schools of fish with their mouths open following the whale shark for protection; A huge manta ray gliding around like a plane; 3 Mola-Molas just awe-inspiring; huge spider crabs attacking the glass; rockhopper penguins (those who have been to the NE aquarium know how much I like them.. although you couldn`t hear the yelling at this one). All in all, a really cool aquarium. While in Osaka, I found out my companions had never been to an IMAX film, so we saw deep sea (seen it before, but don`t tell them =P), and rode the world`s largest ferris wheel. This was my first ferris wheel, but the girls were the ones freaking out when I shook the car. Very cool though, you could see all of Osaka harbour (very pretty with the setting sun, don`t worry, have a picture), and a good part of Osaka proper even though it was kinda cloudy.
Then Lisa left us, and Yuka and I took a shinkansen to Hakata, in Fukuoka.
Let me explain something before I go further. I know this trip hasn`t been immaculately planned (I think that only has one `m`), but I have been giving a great deal of though to where I eat, where I go, how I`m going to sleep, etc... However, for these three days, Yuka planned everything. I don`t really have maps of where I was, and I was much less aware of what I was doing before I was doing it, and that`s totally cool. Much thanks to her for everything, and don`t worry, when she comes to America (where she won`t need me as a translator since she`s so good at English), you all can meet her.
Anyways, that being said, I followed my personal tour guide/interpreter/food taster to our ryokan in Fukuoka. This place was a National Cultural Treasure, with an awesome onsen, a cool Japanese Garden (that I only heard about, didn`t actually see, but I`m positive it was cool), and a crazy nice traditional Japanese bedroom. Comfy, cozy, too bad we only stayed the night.
However, for food, hands down the best ramen I`ve EVER had. Referred to this place by the ryokan host, it was a tiny ramen house with broth made from pork bones (you`re lucky, I forgot the Japanese for it, so you don`t have to look it up... ton-something), and it changed my life. The taste lingered (and I brushed my teeth, thank you very much Sharms), and it was so flavorful and delicious that it was impossible not to remember it. I had a native with me though, so the banter was totally different. The menu was explained to me (Thank god, it was all in Japanese), and I got to play `identify that food` as the staff brought out tupperware to learn the english names of various veggies (`bean sprouts`), however, it was different to have a bunch of people talk about you without actually talking with you. I tried understanding, and it really wasn`t bad because I didn`t feel threatened or anything, but it was weird having a person go `this guy is american, this guy is a chef, etc...` (No offense Yuka, just spouting how it went). I got to chime in a whole lot though, so I guess I shouldn`t complain.
We went to a Gyoza shack too, very homey, crispy product, but not as mindblowing. Seemed like a popular pub place.
The next morning, we went to Aso by train. The trip involved a switchback (very cool bit of railway fun), and amazing views. Aso is a city in a large area created by a volcano (I keep forgetting that word too...think cities in a crater, surrounded by mountains, and with one huge volcano still active in the middle), and it is breathtaking. Seening smoke spew from this mountaintop kinda close to you while you sit on a bench in a small town waiting for the bus (which is even timely in small cities.. go figure) is beautiful. However, getting to the top is not possible all the time, so they constantly monitor the deadly gasses to figure out when all the Koreans (and the 5 other tourists) can gain access to the top. Yeah, not a huge amount of American presence here, but its ok.
Anyways, the gasses were bad the first day, so we went to the volcano museum, watched a movie about Aso in the 70s (complete with camera zooms, wonderful clothes, and the best soundtrack this side of a middle school filmstrip on ancient mayan civilization), and had some ice cream in the cold (again). We walked around the hills around the top of the volcano (the museum is near the top, and even has a live camera you can control to see the stupid tourists that ignore the warnings about asphyxiation), and it was beautiful.
And cold. So we went back to the hotel, and had a wonderful meal cooked by the staff. Sorry, I mean sliced by the staff and piled on a plate so we could cook it ourself. Nabemono-look it up. I am not even complaining, however, since it was more food than we could eat, and the quality was fantastic. We gourged ourselves (first meal in Japan I couldn`t finish), hit the onsen (which, being near the volcano, was actually natural mineral-rich water), and crossed our fingers that the summit could be reached the next day.
And it could, but I`ll start a new post to break it up.
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