Little Raven's World

21 & 22 March Hiroshima, Osaka, Australia

2012-01-13T20:45:00.000-08:00

Originally I was supposed to be heading to Tokyo now, to meet up with Dim, and head back to Australia on the 3rd of April. Because it was not exactly safe or guaranteed that I would be able to get back to Tokyo I chose to head home early. It was not a decision made lightly and I wish I had been able to stay longer. However the promise of a trip to Perth softened the disappointment a little.

This was the very last photo on my camera that was taken in Japan, it seems fitting.

This is sunrise over the mountains surrounding Cairns airport, a gloomy, silent end to my wonderful adventure in Japan, which I will never forget.

20 March Miyajima & Hiroshima

2012-01-13T20:34:00.000-08:00

Another delicious Japanese breakfast, this time with a picture....

We set off early and took the train from Hiroshima to the port closest to Miyajima, then took a ferry. By now I have been on enough trains and boats in Japan that I no longer take photos of them, which means there are quite a few gaps in the photographic record of the day. however I took enough photos on Miyajima to make up for that! Without ceremony here they are, picture of one of the places I have been hoping to visit for many years:

My first glimpse through the misty rain.

The very very famous Torii Gate!

My favourite photo of the whole day, looks just like a postcard. Thank you Ms. Shika for posing!

Seriously bad hair day for me, but a good day for Deer to pose in out photos!

Amid all the chaos of hundreds of tourists sheltering from the rain I spotted this little scene.

The bridge that no one can walk across due to its slope.

Miyajima Special Oysters

Special lunch/bento box from a famous take-away shop near the ferry stop.

Inside was delicious grilled something (not eel, but like eel, I was told)

This temple had the most beautiful garden!

Delicious Mayple leaf azuki bean cakes.

After exploring Miyajima in the rain we headed back to Hiroshima on the ferry and then the train again. Though it was pouring with rain we decided to have a look at the Atomic bomb museum and peace park in what was originally the centre of Hiroshima.

It truly was one of the saddest places I have ever been. For me the saddest part was a wall covered in letters. They were letters sent by the various Mayors of Hiroshima to the head of any nation known to have carried out testing of nuclear weapons, each time a test was carried out. It was absolutely heartbreaking to read their words, and to know that they fall on deaf ears.

After seeing this sobering sight we went shopping to cheer ourselves up a bit. Then we began the search for dinner, we ended up in a tiny little bar which sold... Okonomiyaki of course!

Seafood, noodles, spring onion, cabbage, sauce and seaweed! Delicious!

On the way back to the hotel we had to pass through Hiroshima Station again and found a delicious looking cake shop. We bought a few delights and ate them back at the hotel!

19 March, Hiroshima

2011-12-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

I woke up in what is becoming an oddly familiar room. My 3^rd stay in a 'double' room at Toyoko Inn this trip means that I can fully appreciate just how identical these rooms are. The day began with complimentary breakfast in the foyer, this is always an interesting experience and I try to eat something different whenever I can. Today I had 3 different, unknown, flavours of onigiri (rice balls), miso soup and an oddly nice pasta salad. Certainly not what I would eat for breakfast at home in Australia.

Seeing this view in daylight I began to realise just how Hirohima as a city is characterized by its past. The majority of the visible buildings are the unattractive concrete multi storey type of utilitarian buildings, which admittedly are the norm in Tokyo and the outer suburbs/newer areas of all Japanese cities I have visited. However after being in Kyoto for so long I had become used to the little patches of history popping up at every turn, even in the more modern areas. As everything in Hiroshima was completely destroyed the chance of me finding any visible history seemed unlikely, and I should have been more prepared for this, having visited Nagasaki a few years ago.

After breakfast I went exploring around the surrounding streets, the huge department stores and the station shopping complex dominate, but there was a winding, complex series of alleyways which create a street market, and I found some interesting little shops. I ended up buying some ceramic bowls for gifts from a tiny little shop, where everything no visible from the street was so dusty I doubt if the elderly couple who owned it had sold anything from the back shelves in years. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos.

This exploration had left me not far from where I was to meet my friend Riyo, and a friend of hers. They had flown to Hiroshima from Sapporo, and were meeting me in their hotel (which was a lot nicer than Toyoko Inn). After greeting, we set off to explore some of Hiroshima's famous places.

Our first stop, after taking a tram which made me think of Melbourne, was Hiroshima castle. Here I got the 'visible history' I was looking for. The outer wall and moat that you can see above, was only very recently finished, and seeing it made me realise just how wonderful some of the other castles I have seen on my travels must have looked when they were first built.

When I saw this tree, Riyo couldn't understand why I was so excited and walked up to it. I knew it was a gum tree (eucalyptus) it reminded me of home, and I wanted to know why it was there, inside the castle walls, of all places. The tree was one of only a few on the castle grounds which survived the atomic bomb blast, you can read a bit more about it here (http://www.lang-arts.com/survivors/castle.html )

This is the only photo I have of the main castle tower, and you can see what a popular destination it is. Hiroshima castle's main tower was one of the first iconic buildings rebuilt after Hiroshima was destroyed. It was completed in just 5 years, which I think is an incredible indication of how important the history of this city is to the people who are part of it. Hiroshima is not defined simply as a victim of the immense destructive power of modern warfare, it is a city with ancient history and significance, and a city creating a new future for itself.

This is a scale model (so very popular in all Japanese museums) of the original layout of the castle and surrounding town, the section which has been rebuilt is the large square area towards the left. Because of all the water, mazelike bridge system and the elevated design which allowed lower lying areas to be deliberately flooded to cut off enemies, Hiroshima had almost impenetrable defences.

Because it isn't all serious, we had some fun dressing up and posing in front of a photo of the castle.

The view from the top of the castle tower was beautiful, across the park to the rest of the city. I could even see my little Toyoko Inn (below)!

After buying some icecream and walking through the park we ran into Yuichi on a bridge! Of all the people in all of this huge city I happened to meet the same person twice, by accident. As he had no plans, he joined us for a very delicious dinner, which again, I didn't take any photos of. It was a very memorable day!

18 March Himeji Castle and Hiroshima

2011-11-15T16:01:00.000-08:00

On the 18th of March I sadly said goodbye to the lovely Hostel, and to the wonderful city of Kyoto. I gathered together all my luggage and set off for another few shinkansen trips to my next stop, Hiroshima. I decided that as I was going past Himeji (almost) that I should stop and see what is easily one of the most famous castles in Japan. Himeji turned out to be quite an interesting city, and I think I would go back and spend more than half a day there if I ever get the chance. The main tower of the castle was under repair, but creatively the scaffolding had a life sized image of what the tower looked like. The parts that I was able to explore were beautiful and the story of the castle is fascinating, particularly the love story of Princess Senhime who was born in 1597.

*The castle moat and high, sloping stone walls*

*The main tower covered by scaffolding*

*The front gate*

*One of the cats I shared my lunch with*

*View of the moat, looking towards the front gate*

*An old map/illustration of the layout of Himeji castle, it was one of the best designs for defense (apparently)*

*Just in case you were thinking of scribbling*

*The beautiful corridors in Senhime's personal wing of the castle*

*The outside of the same corridor, Senhime's wing*

*Mannequins showing Senhime and her lady in waiting playing a card game. Not only did Senhime marry for love after her first husband killed himself while Osaka Castle burned, she also smoked and gambled, and really liked cats*

*Proof that I was there and that it was freezing cold*

After eating my lunch in the castle grounds surrounded by cats, I went next door to a beautiful garden. It had various garden 'rooms' in different styles of Japanese gardening, with different 'moods'. It was so beautiful, and as usual I took hundreds of photos in an attempt to capture just a little of its beauty.

*Those Koi were HUGE, at least 50cm or more*

*My favourite flower in the whole garden, I wish I knew the name!*

On the way back to the station I spotted this oddity: A statue of a naked man playing the saxaphone...

When I finally arrived at my hotel in Hiroshima it was almost dark, the view was wonderful, as you can see below. I then set off to have the local specialty, Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. In the restaurant I sat alone (as usual) but the lady who owned the restaurant sat another lone traveller beside me, and that is how I made a new friend, Yuichi.

*Yuichi and Me*

17 March Fushimi Inari Shrine and Thousands of Torii Gates

2011-11-14T22:40:00.000-08:00

The 17th of March was my last day in Kyoto, I had originally planned to spend a night staying in a temple, however due to the need to have access to Skype as the disaster unfolded in the Fukushima area I opted to stay another night in the Hostel. My adventure for the day was another iconic destination for tourists who visit Kyoto. Even though I spent a week in Kyoto in 2009, I spent most of that time in Arashiyama and the outer suburbs, and thus missed a lot of the main 'attractions'.

Fushimi Inari Shrine is often referred to in brochures as the Shrine of a Thousand Gates, however when you are there you realise that there are MANY thousandS of torii gates. There are enormous ones that are a few storeys high and tiny ones no bigger than my hand, and they are EVERYWHERE. I spent about 3 or 4 hours walking up and down pathways all around the mountain side and I still did not see every torii gate in the area. The main shrine is said to bring luck or wealth to businesses, so the torii gates are actually donated by businesses who want some luck. I took hundreds of photos and a couple of videos, but as they will probably mostly look the same I will just include a smallish selection of photos and one video at the end.

*An actual photo of me, just to prove I really was there*

*This is my favourite photo, it gives you a better idea of what it felt like to be there, in the forest walking under these bright orange gates that form a tunnel*

*These were mini torii gates, about 20 or 30cm tall, which were hanging on racks*

*View of Kyoto city from the top of the mountain*

*Fox statues are common at Shinto Shrine*

*I walked along the left hand tunnel, and the video of that walk is below*

16 March Traditional Arts Performance in Gion

2011-11-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

On the 16th of March not much really happened during the day, I contacted my travel insurance company, and the airline to try and change my flights without having to pay extra. I also spent a lot of time on Skype trying to reassure everyone that I was fine, and that their entire country was no affected in the same way as the North East. While it will not be remembered as the most enjoyable day that I spent in Japan, it did end well.

While on the walking tour of Gion we had been shown a large theatre in which traditional performances were held. I decided that given how much I enjoyed the Maiko dances in Atami, that I would like to see some other art/music/dance styles as well. I cannot remember the name of all of the different performances, and I may have some wrong, so please correct me, if you know the correct terms.

*The streets of Gion on a rain soaked night*

*Bunraku Puppet show*

*The beautifully painted/embroidered stage curtain*

*Tea Ceremony*

*Two Geiko playing Koto*

*Ikebana, Flower arranging*

*The 'Hayashi' band for the 'Noh' play*

* Noh actor*

*The Noh performance*

*Another style of play, a comedy*

*Maiko dancing*

15 March Exploring Gion

2011-11-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

On the 15th I went on a guided walking tour of Gion with a lovely girl from the Hostel. She showed us some of the wonderful old streets of Gion, the 'Geisha District' (In Kyoto they refer to the traditional performers as Geiko, rather than Geisha though)

*Filling up the daily shrine/temple quota*

*Our friendly guide explaining that the characters above the doors list the names of the Maiko (apprentice) and Geiko.

*Some ladies in Kimono*

14 March Kyoto Imperial Palace

2011-11-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

Before Tokyo was the capital city of Japan, the center of Japanese power was in Kyoto. The Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle were the two main articulations of this power, and both remain, virtually untouched by time, in the center of Kyoto. During World War 2 when many Japanese cities and cultural sites were destroyed Kyoto was spared, and for me, the untouched nature of the city is a large part of its appeal.

On the 14th I hired a bike from the hostel and set off along the river. It was a beautiful day and the river was looking very beautiful. I found the Imperial Palace without much difficulty and booked myself in for the next group tour, as this is the only way you can access the inner areas of the Palace grounds. While I waited for the tour to start I ate lunch at Mos Burger, and then explored the beautiful outer gardens of the Palace.

*The Emperor's Gate, no one else was allowed to enter this way, not even the Empress*

*It doesn't show up well, but that was real gold, sparkling in the sunshine*

After the tour I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at Nijo Castle, as the plum blossom was flowering there, and I had heard there were beautiful paintings inside. It did not disappoint, and I think I enjoyed it even more than the Palace, as you were allowed to walking inside the castle, and there were many girls in Kimono who were walking in the gardens, making me feel as though I had been transported back in time. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take photos inside, but you can see some photos here: http://www.rohm.com/rohm-saijiki/nijoujou/4_coseup/closeup_01.html

*The front gate*

*The amazing carvings inside the gate*

13 March Omihachiman Festival

2011-11-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

Near the edge of Lake Biwa (Biwako) is a smallish town called Omihachiman. While it is certainly not a tourist destination, I had found a small entry on a Japanese festival website which mentioned that it has a festival on the 13th of March. This was the same day as the famous Fire festival in Nara, which is a HUGE tourist event, for both foreigners and Japanese people. I was very tempted to go, but decided that as I had already been to Nara, and as I was alone that I might have more fun at a smaller local event. So off I went to Omihachiman. The train journey was an event in itself, as I had to take a local train, and saw many interesting sights out the window, however as it was a local train I felt too self concious to take any photos out the window.

Eventually I arrived at the station. Now, normally I make sure I have a map and lots of information before I go anywhere this time I had no map, no idea where the festival was, or what time it started. I later found out that it was at Himure Hachiman gu Shrine, and the festival is called Sagicho (burning) festival. I wish I had known about the 'burning' part of the translation, as when everything seemed to be winding down on dusk I went home, missing out on what looks like (from photos on other people's blogs) a pretty fun night. But anyway the day was a LOT of fun. I enjoyed having no idea what was going on, being spoken to by Japanese people in various states of intoxication. The atmosphere was wonderful, and it was so nice to be amongst people who were so happy and having an amazing time. For me this just emphasizes the fact that even when there is a disaster, life goes on for those who are not directly affected.

Since I didn't really know what was going on you can make up your own mind about the events of the day from this selection of the 280 photos I took. One thing I did understand was that all the floats have a Rabbit on them, as it this the year of the rabbit.

*A mostly girls float*

*Two floats doing battle*

*The result of the clash is that they become stuck together*

*So many delicious festival foods!*

*I took a cable car up to a Temple on top of the mountain next to where the festival was taking place*

*View of the festival from the cable car, the shrine is in the middle to the left of the main street, the top, mostly red, section is the floats, and the lower, mostly yellow, section, is the food stalls*

*View from the top of the mountain, in the cable car*

*It was very crowed with hundreds of people and only one foreigner (me)*

*Float crossing the river*

*Another float in front of what I thought was a church*

*Beautiful view along the river as I walked under a bridge*

*Chaos of the crowd and clashing floats*

*The Himure Hachiman gu shrine*

*This was one of my favourite floats*

*Elementary School students with their smaller sized float*

*A Small museum filled with 'Hina Ningyo' Royal family dolls for the 'Dolls Day Festival'*

*Float carried by Elementary school student*

*The last float I saw, with a tired guy resting against it*

*The wonderful sight when exiting Kyoto Station*

12 March Exploring Kyoto

2011-11-14T17:12:00.000-08:00

The 12th of March was a difficult day, it was hard to leave the hostel, as so many people were contacting me to see if I was okay, and I was watching BBC news to find out more about the earthquake and tsunami. Eventually I realised that if I didn't leave I would just become more upset, and since I was here I should probably do some exploring. This is what I found on my twilight walk to one of the most famous (and beautiful) Temple complexes in Kyoto, Kiyomizu Dera:

*Traditional and modern, the temple streets and the big city*

*Beautiful garden at the entrance to the Temple*

*That entire sign is made from fresh flowers, he was choosing them one at a time*

*This tiered graveyard was even large (I think) than the one in Tokyo*

*Fresh orange juice and a custard cream puff, I love temple street stalls*

*The main entrance, 2 girls in Kimono are almost at the top of the stairs*

*The most beautiful view of Kyoto city at sunset*

*Temple built on stilts*

*Shrine entrance and fortune tellers' stalls*

* Kyoto Tower at Sunset, From a bridge near the Hostel*

Arrival in Kyoto and the day of the Earthquake

2011-04-12T23:46:00.000-07:00

I was quite sad to leave Takayama, I had grown to tolerate the green tatami mats and anyone who has read my previous posts will understand how much I love the river and the town surrounding it. But I had to go to Kyoto. Continuing my journey on the Wide-View train to Nagoya I was once again amazed by the stunning scenery.

--- My some-what bedraggled reflection inside a tunnel---

Somewhere between Nagoya and Kyoto, while I was on the shinkansen, or perhaps while I was taking a photo of these cakes in Kyoto Station:

Japan was rocked by the huge earthquake I'm sure you have all heard about.
Kyoto is a huge distance away from the epicenter and I didn't feel a thing. In fact I didn't even know it had happened until after I had checked into my hostel (K's House Kyoto, which is AWESOME by the way) and realised that I had missed calls and lots of text messages from worried friends and relatives back in Australia.
So that was the end of my first day in Kyoto. The rest of my night was spent sending emails, text messages and talking on Skype, while watching BBC news as the disaster began to unfold.
While I was not effected directly it is a terrible thing to have happened.
If you are interested in donating money to the relief effort the Japanese Red Cross Society is a good organisation: http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html
Otherwise with a little bit of research I'm sure you can find something in your own country or area.

Takayama Highs and Lows- 10 March

2011-04-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day. I'm not sure how well it will come across, as there were quite a few things that happened which didn't warrant a photograph. Oh well, if you are just reading this blog for the pictures then you will miss some of the experience!

--- Minshuku in the snow ---

--- Yet another photo of the river ---

--- My borrowed, rusty bicycle ---

--- Ancient tree, forgotten the name, will add it if I remember ---

After making up my daily temple and shrine quota I decided to see where this bike could take me, and headed off for the Takayama historical village.

--- Notice that all the rocks are exactly the same shape? Snow reveals all ---

--- My footprints ---

The historical village is centered around a man-made lake. All the buildings are original farm-houses and country-style dwellings that were bought and moved to this location, in order to preserve the local cultural heritage. You were allowed to go inside all of the buildings (after taking off your shoes) but it was difficult to take picture as it was very dark inside. I spent nearly 2 hours here, exploring the houses and the grounds.

--- 'Hina-Ningyo' Doll's Day statues ---

--- A white swan! ---

After leaving the village and eating a delicious bowl of ramen for lunch (only 700yen!!) I remembered that there were more castle ruins at the top of the mountain. This marked the beginning of the low point of my day. Though the hike was beautiful, the photos below are evidence of that, I frightened myself stupid because I was so alone. Also I didn't realise just how much snow there would be, in some places it was higher than my knees! But for some reason I kept going and did reach the ruins at the top.

--- No this isn't a weird angle, that path is just really really steep ---

--- View from the ruins. While taking this photo I realised that if I slipped, a very real possibility, no one would ever find me. Sobering thought. ---

To try and calm myself down I went to an art gallery/museum. At 1300yen entry it was probably the biggest waste of money ever. There were 3 things in the entire collection I actually liked:

If you ever go to Takayama, don't bother going to the Museum of Art.

--- My purchases for the day ---

After the disappointing museum I rode back home and came across a giant warehouse store which sold all manner of wonderful things that might cheer up a girl. So after spending a while wandering around I bought the over-the-knee socks you can see in this picture. The other things are some silk fabric pieces I bought on my way up the mountain.

To finish off the day on a high note I had some really delicious vegetables at a tiny little Izakaya. The owner was a lovely lady and we had a really lovely conversation before I headed home for bed.

Takayama- 9th March

2011-04-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

Another day another place to explore.
While my afternoon walk yesterday had taken me to some interesting places I still hadn't reached the area of the town that Takayama is most famous for; the original wooden buildings of the shopping district.
While it is now fairly tourist-friendly (read: commercialized) it wasn't nearly as tacky as I expected. I assume there must be some strict rules for the businesses which operate out of these wonderful old buildings, as there are no signs in English and the items for sale are mostly very traditional, small scale items, rather than the mass-produced plastic souveniers you can buy closer to the river.

I didn't really take many pictures, I was too busy being fascinated by the different stores, but this gives you a good idea of the 'feeling' of the district:

--- Looking a bit gloomy, as it was about to snow ---

Takayama is situated in a valley and the town is spread either side of the river, the old town on one side (where I was staying) and the 'new' town on the other (where the train station is). The result of this is that the river has become a central point for me, helping me orient myself, it is also very pretty. After eating lunch I decided to walk up one side of the valley to find the ruins of a castle that were marked on my map. The view from the top of the ridge was wonderful. It was at this time it began to snow quite heavily!

--- The walls of the castle ruins ---

--- The graveyard which now occupies the castle grounds ---

This picture give you a good view of Takayama, the straight line across the centre is the river and the grassy area on either side of it. The huge clump of tress you can see on the opposite side of the river is at the Shrine I visited yesterday (I did say you could see them for miles) and it gives you some indication of just how HUGE those tress were. To the left of the trees you can see more modern multi-storey buildings, these are in the area surrounding the train station.

My next port of call was a museum which houses the ceremonial 'floats' which Takayama is very famous for, there were a few on display (I was informed that different ones are displayed at different times) and they were very impressive.

Takayama- A Town of Nostalgia

2011-04-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

After indulging in some shopping at Toyama station (I bought a dress, lace socks and some shoes) I caught the 'Wide-View' train to Takayama. The scenery was amazing, if you are ever in this part of the world I highly recommend you take this train trip, as it is the most spectacular thing you can see for free (if you have JR Pass).

--- The Emerald water ---

Once I arrived in Takayama the friendly staff at the tourist information office phoned the Minshuku I was to stay at, and the owned came to pick me up from the station. My room is quite nice, traditional style. Though for some reason I took an instant dislike to the pale green tatami mats.

Following my tradition of exploring each new town I visit on foot, I set off to wander Takayama with my map in hand. Some of the interesting things I cam across include:

--- It is impossible to show just how HUGE these trees were, you could see the for miles around---

--- Bad fortunes left on the trees ---

--- The Minshuku where I stayed ---

--- I love this photo, it's my favourite I have taken this whole trip ---

Toyama

2011-04-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

Though I wanted to spend the day in my hotel room recovering the cleaning lady shouted at me through the door until I left. So i was forced to explore Toyama. It is a strange city. Very very industrial and commercial.
Here are a few of the interesting things that I saw on my long, meandering walk around the city:

--- Glass fish inside a glass bag ---

--- Art Blob ---

--- Unidentified bird, there was a nesting pair ---

--- Tomato spaghetti with salad and suspicious soup ---

--- World's most kitsch decor! ---

Good-bye Sado!

2011-03-12T04:10:00.000-08:00

As much fun as Sado Island was, I was fairly sick with a cold, and on the day we left Sado I mostly slept. I have only 2 photos for the whole day.
First is the light house we saw, you cont tell but it was absolutely POURING with rain, we ran to the lighthouse, took a photo and ran back to the car!

My other photo for the day is the inside of this ferry (photo of the outside of the ferry was taken the day before):

It turns out that 'non-reserved' seats means that everyone has to sit on the floor. We hired blankets and I did some more sleeping!

Sado Island 6th March

2011-03-12T04:04:00.000-08:00

Dimitri says this blog needs more random amusing Japanese stuff. The problem is, I don't really notice that kind of stuff! But i did notice this:

Yes, the hotel wall has a built in vending machine for both ice and tea, but what really amused me was that tea is free and ice costs 100yen. Japan is a topsey-turvey world.

Anyway, After so much fun snowboarding I was a bit sad to leave Naeba!

--- Me in front of the Naeba Prince Hotel ---

It was about -18 degrees when we were snowboarding and about the same when this photo was taken while walking to the bus stop.

--- Yuki always wears appropriate footwear ---

Have you ever wondered what Japanese people wore on their feet in the snow? I had, and then this creepily-lifelike mannequin answered my question. This was in Echigo-Yuzawa station.

--- For this there is no explanation ---

--- Welcome to Niigata, where cabbages are grown in the shape of trees ---

I couldn't take a photo of the boat we were on, for the obvious reason that we were ON it, so i took a photo of the brochure, that's just as good right?

--- Our little Sado Island hire car---

Once we had picked up the hire-car we drove to a 'Toki' Park. Toki are these special birds. Unfortunately the ones that were alive were a little too far away for a good picture!

--- Midori the dead Toki ---

Next stop on our Sado island adventure was a old gold mine.

--- Some Mannequins demonstrating a Meiji era water pump ---

---More mannequins demonstrating a festival to ask the gods for the rock to become softer---

That was a real bar of gold, and with weighed about 12kgs. If you could pull it out through the small hole you would get a present. Needless to say it was probably impossible.

I'm feeling pretty Japanese, peace sign AND a mask. This is an Edo-era mining train, don't think i was really supposed to be in it. Again, Yuki made me do it!

I really love this photo. I'm not really sure why. The countryside was just so beautiful in the afternoon light, and it was so so quiet. We were almost the only ones in this section of the mining park and the rest of the country-side was silent.

I really love the huge variety of textures and colours that the Japanese mountains have.

After the mine we went for a drive along the far West coast of Sado Island. The sun was setting and it was so spectacular.

--- Our beautiful room, with a view of the sea ---

Then after an AMAZING dinner we were lucky enough to see some traditional Sado Island dancing.

Naeba Snowboarding and Suspicious Onigiri- 4th March

2011-03-04T03:57:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is snowing so much here.
Had a brilliant day today, snowboarding, and then I went to an onsen, and ate some weird onigiri.

Yuzawa, a Double-decker Shinkansen, and SNOW- 3 March

2011-03-04T03:06:00.000-08:00

--- Double Decker Shinkansen ---

--- The View from my room on the 21st floor ---

--- Yuki and I with our 'Collagen Nabe' ---

--- Yuki made me do it ---

So this is Nagano- 2nd March

2011-03-04T02:54:00.000-08:00

After an uneventful morning I arrived in Nagano, an odd city, seemingly obsessed with its 1998 glory (it was host to the Winter Olympics). There are posters and signs etc everywhere proudly displaying the olympic logo. The only attraction in Nagano I was interested in seeing was the huge temple, Zenso-ji I think it was called.

This is my little Ryokan room, it is so awesome!

Snow Monkey, Hokusai and Onsen- March 1

2011-03-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

Today was expensive, busy, freezing and the most fun I had had so far.
Sarah and I set off at 9am, driven to the monkey park by the lovely ryokan owner.

--- Us at the enterance to the monkey park ---

To get to the monkey onsen you have to walk through the forest, this was a wonderful experience in itself.

--- Pine Forest in the Snow---

When then proceeded to take literally hundreds of photos. I liked the baby monkey the best. Here are some photos.

After finally dragging ourselves away from the cuteness, we walked back into town, through some narrow streets, got a bit lost, bought some hot chocolate in a can from a vending machine and eventually found the station. Where we headed off to Obuse.

When we got to Obuse it began to pour with rain. Neither of us had umbrellas, but sensible Sarah has a rain coat. I put my hood up and we wandered off in search of lunch. We couldn`t resist the smell of a tiny little restaurant, where we ordered a lunch set, despite having very little idea what it would contain, aside from `hot noodle`. It turned out to be one of the most delicious meals I have had so far. Udon noodles in soup with assorted tempura type things on sticks. We demolished it before I could think to take a photo.
We then headed back out into the rain and to the temple which has a painting by the famous Japanese artist Hokusai on the ceiling. It was so beautiful, and HUGE, definately worth the long walk in the rain. We wern`t allowed to take photos inside, and it was raining too much to get a picture of the outside!

On the way to try the local speciality (chestnuts) a lady felt so sorry for us she stopped her car and gave us her umbrella. I was a bit overwhelmed at her generosity. We ate chestnut cakes in this funny little cafe.

--- Chestnut Cake ---

Upon returning to Yudanaka we went to an AMAZING onsen. It was outside, all made of rocks and it was snowing while we were in the hot water. The perfect ending to a really wonderful day.

--- The Onsen ---

Temple in the Rain and SNOW! 28th Feb

2011-03-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

Before today I had thought the weather had been `cold`, oh how wrong I was. Today was FREEZING. It was raining when I woke up, still pouring after breakfast, but I was still determined to see at least one shrine in Atami. So off I went on another bus. The bus driver had to be convinced that I did actually want to go to the shrine, in the rain, at 8:30 in the morning.

--- The Shrine ---

It was actually very peaceful to be there totally alone in the rain, all I could hear was the rain falling through the trees. At times like this I really wish I had learnt more kanji. There seemed to be a really interesting story about the 2 dragons which were everywhere around the shrine. I must remember to find out what it was one day.

--- The Dragons ---

After the temple it was back on the shinkansen and off to Nagano. Somewhere between page 52 and 68 of my book it began to snow outside the train. It was really wonderful to watch the scenery become coated in more and more snow as we travelled higher and higher. Needless to say I took about 80 blurred pictures of snow out of the window.

--- Things you can order in the Shinkansen catalogue ---

From Nagano I took another train to Yudanaka, which is a small town which seems to be famous only for being near the snow monkey onsen. At check-in I met Sarah from London. She is really lovely and we decided to go exploring together and get some dinner. We found a giant statue and a bell that guarantees happiness.

--- Bell Tower---

--- My Traditional Room ---

Geisha, Cable Cars, a Castle and a lot of Blossom- 27th Feb

2011-03-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

I had my very first proper Japanese-style breakfast of the trip.
Unfortunately as enough people were already staring at me I wasn`t game to take a photo of my food.
I ate onigiri (rice ball things), miso soup and assorted pickled things. It was all delicious.
I took the bus, which was great as I got to see Atami properly. The foreshore is very beautiful and I can see why it is such a popular destination in Summer.

--- Atami foreshore ---

I then went to a Geisha house and saw some traditional dancing, complete with Shamisen players, drummers and a very very old lady singing. It was a completely amazing experience. I was given green tea and little mochi sweet cakes to eat while sitting on the floor to watch which really completed the whole `out-of-this-world` nature of the experience. I was also the only person there under 65.

--- Geisha/Maiko dancing ---

--- Me with one of the Maiko ---

After the dancing I headed for the next attraction, a cable-car or `rope-way` as they seem to be called in Japan. The view was amazing!

--- Amazing view of Atami ---

--- Remember, you don`t want to hurt their feelings ---

At the top I asked the ticket lady to take my photo, assuming she would get the lovely scenery in the background. After she freaked out because the flash wasn`t on (I had to turn it on before she would even ATTEMPT a photo) she took what is possibly the worst photo ever.

--- Scenery you say? Oh yes I see it now ---

There was a castle on the top of the cliffs that looked pretty spectacular from afar. Up close it was a little worse for wear. Inside there were some interesting samurai armour, various scale models of famous castles, traditional paintings, and the seemingly obligatory amusement section complete with table-tennis tables, car racing games and pinball machines. Needless to say the latter section was by far the most popular.

--- Outside the castle ---

At this point I decided to try for a little more `calming` experience and took the bus to Atami Baien, which was billed as a `blossom park`. I expected a small area with a few trees and some grass. In actual fact it was a huge area high up in the mountains with hundreds of blossom trees, a waterfall, a river, at least 2 different museums, a restaurant and about 30 different gift stalls. there were also a LOT of people there. Far more than I had seen anywhere else in Atami, actually aside from the amusement section of the castle and the geisha show I had hardly seen anyone.
The park was really really beautiful. I could show 50 photos of how wonderful it was, but here are the highlights.

--- Atami Baien ---

Fish Market(Again) to Harajuku to Atami- 26th Feb

2011-03-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

Today was a strange day, I think days when you change places always are.

My day began at 4:15am with my second attempt to go to the Tokyo fish market.
This time Kamilla and Thea (From Denmark) came with me, we took a taxi and arrived at 5:05am. Still managed to miss out on the tours, so we just snuck in. We saw quite a few interesting things before someone discovered us and kicked us out. Then we just looked at the shops. I found this. Unfortunately not for sale.

--- Fish Market---

It seemed to be the appropriate thing, so we ate sushi for breakfast

--- Sushi Breakfast---

Then home to bed, because as you can clearly see I needed the sleep!
After checking out of the Khaosan hostel (which was a great place to stay and I highly recommend it) I left my luggage and headed for Harajuku. On the way I had to change trains at Ueno station.
Upon seeing a mass of teenage girls armed with cameras crowded around a series of screens I naturall felt I should join in.
This is what I saw:

--- Samurai Type People ---

It was some sort of advertising thing for a certain region/town in Japan, they were handing out brochures.
It got a bit weirder, as there was a giant plush thing... I think it was a blueberry, but I can`t be too sure.

--- Giant Blueberry ---

After that i did actually make it to Harajuku.

--- Harajuku ---

After picking up my luggage I headed off on yet another Shinkansen to Atami.
My bed in the business hotel is the hardest thing I have ever had the bad fortune to sleep on. It is even harder than the floor in Paige`s room.

Imperial Palace Gardens 25th Feb

2011-03-01T20:33:00.001-08:00

Today nothing much happened, I went to the Imperial Palace gardens, it was rather hot. I watched the sunset in Asakusa.

Imperial Palace Gardens

Sunset in Asakusa

24th Feb "Every-body wants to go to Japan"

2011-03-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

So, the 24th of February.
It began with my mostly unsuccessful attempt to see the famous Tokyo fish market.
I arrived at about 6:30am which I thought was early, but it turns out you have to be there at about 4:30 to get a spot in the tours, or after 9 when one section is open to the general public. I did see some interesting things, as there is a huge market filled with lots of unusual groceries, but it wasnt what i had been expecting, and i couldnt find enough to keep me amused until 9, and it was freezing and raining. The only fish photo i have is this one of a giant tuna.

--- Tuna ---

After the market I dont remember what i did, but after THAT I met up with: Laura, Veronique, Gabbi, Maxine and Shanti. They ate breakfast and I ate lunch and eventually we headed off to Ginza to an amazing 8 storey stationary shop. So amazing. No photos allowed! But this is Ginza.

--- Ginza ---

Then we went to Shinjuku in search of coloured wigs and other novelties. Maxine and I ate delicious pork ramen with Salary-Men and the others ate... I dont know what. We all tried on awesome wigs and hats... and I bought fuzzy ear things!

--- Hats Etc. ---

We stayed in Shinjuku until after dark, and it really is spectacular!

--- Shinjuku ---

Riding My Bike- or- 100 Temples & Shrines in a Day

2011-02-23T01:18:00.000-08:00

23 Feb:
Yet another random breakfast, 'Hotto Keeki' (Hot Cakes) filled with butter and mayple syrup, and an onigiri (rice ball). I promise to stop writing about breakfast as soon as I eat something normal.

Anyway! Today I rented a bicycle. Something I havn't done in Tokyo before and was more than a little apprehensive about, since the traffic in Tokyo is crazy. But it only cost 200Yen (about $3) so why not give it a try! All bicycles in Japan seem to have baskets and look like something my grandmother would have ridden in the 1940's. Mine was red. I loved it.

--- My Bike at a temple ---

--- My Bike after it got impounded because I parked it in the wrong spot ---

--- A Random Building with a Man on it ---

I had a vague notion to ride from Asakusa to Ueno, and then ride around the park looking for interesting things. On the way to Ueno I found quite a few interesting things, including a very cute dog, a lovely old temple (unfortunately it seems I took more photos of the temple CAT than the actual temple, so just use your imagination)

Ueno Park is huge and so beautiful. I will definitely come back here when Dim arrives and some of the cherry blossom trees are flowering. There were a lot of interesting things in Ueno Park, including, but not limited to: A man walking his cat, a man with a pet rabbit in a special house on the back of a scooter, a man doing interpretive dance to music while juggling, oh and there were a LOT of amazing temples and other things.

--- The Dove has a flame inside it which is from the Hiroshima atomic bomb ---

--- Asking someone to take my picture was scary! ---

--- This statue is more than 400 years old ---

While in Ueno Park I also went to a Tokyo culture and history museum. I was given a free guided tour by a lovely old man. I managed to take his picture.

--- These buildings are INSIDE the museum, and you are allowed inside them ---

Another place I visited which was recommended by the tourist information office was this wall:

--- A Wall ---

Now, I know that I often like things simple because they are old, this wall was not one of those things. It's a wall. Sure it is very old, but... it's a wall. There isn't even anything awesome behind it, just someone's house. The guys who were building a house opposite the wall looked at me like i was crazy because I was taking photos of it (or it may have been because I am a crazy gajin girl in a cape, on a bike)

The only other thing of note today was this important message for all you mothers out there:

This sign was in the bathroom. It was 'Caution, drop!' that really made me laugh. Of course you shouldn't drop your baby, but does it really need 4 illustrations (there was another sign next to it as well)??

Anyway, last photo for today is of a Final Fantasy be-decked shop. I didn't go in because I was worried my bike would get impounded again and then I wouldn't be able to find it.

Land of the Rising Sun

2011-02-23T00:17:00.000-08:00

My first glimpse of Japan was like a scene from a movie, the sun was setting behind the mountains, the coastline was shrouded in mist, and little lights were flickering on boats and in houses. So beautiful.

From the airport I took a bus to my hotel for the night. Waiting for the bus I realised just how FREEZING it was. Luckily I had my cape. I hid in it and looked like Grug. Here is a photo to prove it.

---- Grug photo----

My hotel in `Rinku Town` (a random seaside town about 10mins from Kansai Airport) was so beautiful. Everyone was really nicely dressed and looked rich. I looked like Grug, or possibly Grug on drugs, because I had been awake since 4am... but anyway.

--- View from my window towards Kansai Airport ---

22 Feb: After a thoroughly random breakfast I investigated Rinku-Town. Of course everything was closed because it was about 8am, but the giant ferris wheel was pretty cool.

-- Ferris Wheel--

--- Shinkansen ---

My next adventure involved changing trains 5 or 6 times to get to Tokyo. On this trip i discovered some things: There are a lot of cabbages in Osaka, smoking carriages on trains are NOT a good idea, Mount Fuji really is very beautiful and impressive, and I like Japanese food (even when I don`t know what it is).

--- Mt Fuji ---

The hostel I am staying in is in Asakusa, which is a rather historic part of Tokyo. To get there I have to `walk over the blue bridge`. When i read the directions online I was worried I wouldnt be able to see the blue bridge... I needn`t have worried. >.>

-- Blue Bridge---

I went for a bit of a walk to visit some of my favourite places in Asakusa.

Oh and I also went to an Arts and Crafts Museum that I found. This was my favourite picture*

And so ended my first full day in Japan.

And so my adventure begins

2011-02-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

How are you supposed to start a blog?
I feel like there should be some sort of amazing fireworks.
All I have is a mediocre post, but I promise it only gets better from here.
I am going to use this space to upload photos and anecdotes from my trip and keep in touch with people.
So despite it's current mediocrity you can look forward to some wonderful Japan-trip related stuff.

Skeptical face is skeptical of the quality of this blog...