Yes! Time for more Japan Pics!

The next day we took great tours of Kyoto and Nara, both old capitals of Japan. Tokyo was very modern so it was nice that we got to see more traditional buildings around town.

The countryside was beautiful.

At a stop some kids saw us and were so excited to see foreigners that they stopped and started waving at people on the bus. Like I said, Japan is full of nice and friendly people.

Getting closer to the temple.

On the way there we saw a very old gate. The tour guide said this is the oldest gate in Japan. It was made somewhere around 700 AD.

The entrance to Todaji temple was near a deer park and they let the deer roam around everywhere. There is a legend that when one of the deities came down at this place to help the people of Japan, he arrived riding a magical deer. When he returned to the spirit world he left the deer. The Japanese believed that these deer are actually descents of that very deer, and they can be found roaming freely around the park. It’s actually illegal to hurt any of these deer because of this.

You can buy cookies and feed them to the deer and if you do, be prepared. You will be quickly stormed and attacked. The deer will swarm you and bite until you have no choice but to drop the cookies and run. My wife learned this first hand.

Insanely massive wooden carved statue at the entrance gate. There is one at each end. This one represents the omega or the end.

Todaiji temple. The roof weighs over 2,000 tons.

Inside the temple is a HUGE Buddha. The second biggest statue in the world, just behind the even huger Jesus statue in South America. You can fit 47 people standing up just in the palm of his hand. Crazy.

The Buddha statue is surrounded by tall carved statues that guard Buddha from evil spirits.

Inside they had a model replica of the temple.

This hole is the size of one nostril on the Buddha statue. They say that if you can fit through it, then you were blessed to go to heaven. Guess if your an adult your screwed.

Later that day we went to the stone lantern park.

The park was made up of thousands of stone lanterns. Only a few nights a year do they light them all. Imagine all these centuries old lanterns lit up at once. Something to behold.

After the walk through the park you enter a Shinto Shrine.

Where they still have Shrine Maidens!

After another day in Kyoto we headed back to Tokyo. First day back we went to hippest place in Japan. Harajuku!

This was the place for shopping and fashion in Japan.

Even cooler at night. More crowded too.

Speaking of crowded, next we went to Shibuya, a district in Tokyo containing the busiest intersection in the world. The Shibuya 109 building has been in countless anime and games such as Death Note and the World Ends With You.

Still don’t believe me it’s the busiest? It pretty much looked like that at every light.

Shibuya had a club Sega!

And another Ultraman Ad! Holy crap I love this country!

Shibuya looked a lot like times square, but bigger, taller, and tons of cool and creative ads. That’s typically how shops are in Japan. One store might be on the 3F, but a completely different on the 6TH.

More big bright buildings in Shibuya. At this particular intersection they played video game music during your crosswalk. I think I heard Mario Bros. and Mega Man.

Sadly this ends part 2 of the tour of Japan.

Next time Tokyo Tower and Akihabara, the otaku mecca paradise for people who love anime, music, figures, and video games. Also see the king of monsters himself, Godzilla! You can’t miss it!

]]> http://plushu.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/photobook-of-japan/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:48:36 +0000 Plushu http://plushu.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/photobook-of-japan/

To be found here :

Au Coeur du Ja…

中日

By Plushu

Book Preview

by Nao

yama, san

Yama is a mountain. Most Japanese mountains have the suffix -san, such as Fujisan (Mt. Fuji) between Shizuoka and Yamanashi, Asosan (Mt. Aso) in Kumamoto, Zaōsan (Mt. Zaō) in Tōhoku, Rokkōsan (Mt. Rokkō) in Kōbe to name a few. The suffix –yama is similarly used for some mountains. Some examples are Kurohimeyama (Mt. Kurohime) in Nagano and Wakakusayama (Mt. Wakakusa) in Nara.

Yama also means a peak. The climax, the most important stage, or the critical juncture is called yamaba. Ba is a field.

Your speculation or guess is yama. If your speculation has succeeded, you can say yama ga atatta. Atatta is the past tense of the verb, ataru, or to hit. Failed speculation is described as yama ga hazureta. Hazureta is the past tense of the verb, hazureru, or to miss.

Start from the vertical line in the middle. The vertical strokes on both sides are about the same length.

1. Draw the vertical line from the top center.
2. Draw the L-shaped stroke from the left.
3. Draw the short vertical stroke on the right.

I’ve decided to make the prints myself from now on, rather than having an online service to do them for me. I make them in a local lab that makes fabulous works, my preference is to print them on a material called K-fix, it’s about 2cm thick, light as feather and the print size is very smooth without strong reflections. It also looks good without framing and it’s well-priced.

I still haven’t decided the service I’m going to use to send them and how much it will cost so I’m only going to show the base prices for basic sizes. Custom sizes can be made. All prints are signed. Any additional item is free of shipping costs.

The prices refer to prints on K-fix, prints on canvas are also available, priced –20%.

For orders contact petroszeglis@gmail.com

Gojo is a small city in Nara Prefecture, about an hour and a half from Osaka by train、and is on the way to the famous monastery-mountain Mt. Koya. Well-off the beaten tourist track, it gets few visitors, but if you’re ever in the area, you might want to stop off and see the Shinmachi area, a semi-preserved area with a lot of nice old buildings.

The area has 77 buildings which have been preserved from the Edo Period (1603 to 1868) and 19 from the Meiji Period (1868-1912). It used to part of the Kishuu Kaido, a highway that ran between Wakayama and Osaka. Around 1960, however, a highway was built nearby, and people gradually stopped coming to the area.

In 1990, residents’ group decided to start preserving the area, but, unfortunately, it seems to be a bit of a half-hearted effort. On their homepage, they proudly point out that they’ve gotten the electric company to paint the telephone poles the same color as the buildings.

Shinmachi could be a great attraction if it was preserved a little better, or if there were more tourist facilities, but as it is, I’d only recommend it if you are a real architecture buff or if you were passing  through on the way to Mt. Koya and wanted to stop off somewhere for half an hour or so.

Getting there:
Take the Nankai Koya Line from Nankai Namba Station. Change at Hashimoto to the JR Wakayama Line bound for Nara and get off at Gojo Station. It takes about an hour and 20 minutes and costs 840 yen. The Wakayama Line runs only twice an hour, so there might be a wait at Hashimoto. The Shinmachi area is about 15 minutes walk from the station (click map below for route).

Jag och Bubba bestämde att vi ville ha revansch på de alternativa vännerna i hagen. Därför gav vi oss ut för att leta en gång till. Den här gången gick det bättre.

När båda hade slutat skolan på en torsdag för ungefär 6 veckor sen begav vi oss ut till hagen för att leta schvamp. Vi hade bestämt allting så fint innan.

-Vi skulle ha ett bra ställe att vara på

-Vi skulle ha en sittare

-Vi skulle äta max 30 stycken var första gången

-Vi skulle ha fin dricka och godis att chilla med

Efter en stund i hagen hade vi hittat ungefär 120 alternativa vänner. Då såg jag att Bubba var lite sugen, så jag började pressa honom.

“Du får äta dem nu om du tal allihop!” sa jag till honom.

Då började han självklart att pressa tillbaks. Det slutade med att vi satt på en sten på ängen, utan sittare, utan set&setting och åt närmare 60 råa, nyplockade svampar var. Vi hade puffat lite tidigare, så vi munchade faktiskt på dem. Efter dessa svampar kände vi självklart ingenting direkt, därför bestämde vi att vi ville ha fler. Så det slutade med att vi åt ungefär 15 svampar till var direkt från marken. Med jord och allting på dem.

Då började vi att känna oss smått efterblivna och frånvarande. Då började vi bege oss hem till våra hus för att äta middag med våra familjer. Då, precis när vi hade skilts åt och satt oss vid våra matbord för att äta, kickade effekten in ordentligt. Jag såg till exempel hur riset började lysa som neon och hur gaffeln började ändra form. Allt man åt smakade svamp också, fy fan.

Bubba har berättat att hemma vid hans middagsbord satt han bara och fnissade åt tallriken och sådana grejer. Våra föräldrar och syskon tyckte säkerligen att vi var helt och hållet efterblivna. Jag tror dock inte att de märkte vad som pågick.

Efter maten gick jag upp till min dator för att sitta lite vid MSN. Då såg jag att Bubba var online också. Vi började skriva lite till varandra, här är ett utdrag ur konversationen:

Bubba säger:
fan va detGHAGHAHAHAHafispoahpofj
fan va fnissar åt allt
Matte säger:
jag med! Sven vill att vi går ut och chillar sen, men jag är fan sugen på att se en film eller nåt
Bubba säger:
jaa det gör vi:_O
men vi behöver fa nästan va hemma då hos dig
för iv måste kunna FREaka OIUT
Matte säger:
ja men min källare kan vi vara i
Bubba säger:
HAHAHHA spara denna konversatioen n
Matte säger:
vi går och är ute en stund med sven först
Bubba säger:
men vi måste fixa bra filmer
Matte säger:
hahahahaha jag gör det, jag cpar cpar cpar cpar
Bubba säger:
VI HYR
Matte säger:
mina miner är säkert awesome!
Bubba säger:
HAHAHAHHA ,mijna med.O
Matte säger:
hahahahahaha fett!
men ja, filmer måste vi ha! fan!
Bubba säger:
HAHAHAH JAA
med mycket färg
o INGEN hgandlig
handlingÄ’
Matte säger:
hahahaha! ja men om vi går till macken och hyr (:
Bubba säger:
JAA

Till slut bestämde vi oss för att mötas i byn. Vi ringde även en annan kompis (vi kan kalla honom Sven) för att vi ville att han skulle möta upp oss. Han visste inte vad vi hade gjort tidigare under dagen.

När jag och Bubba träffades kände vi direkt någonting speciellt. Det kändes som att vi två var de enda som förstod allting, och att ingen annan förstod något. Men samtidigt kändes det som att alla andra förstod allting, och att vi två inte fattade någonting. Det var en skum känsla, Bubba kände exakt likadant.

Av någon anledning gick vi till redskapsboden i min trädgård för att bygga en spikklubba av ett jättespik och en planka, som vi sedan skulle gå ner i byn med. Som tur var lyckades vi inte bygga den (vi var för efterblivna). Om vi hade lyckats kanske någon hade råkat dö. Vi hade alla redskap framme och allting redo, men lyckades helt enkelt inte bygga den. Jag vet inte varför. Till slut gav vi upp.

Vi mötte till slut Sven vid busstationen, vi hade planerat att hyra en film för att senare bege oss hem till min källare för att kolla på den. Bubba ville gärna ha en film med mycket färger och ingen handling, som ni kan läsa i msn-konversationen här ovan. Jag höll med honom.

När Sven kom gick vi och hyrde en film: Johan Falk (Knappt några färger och mycket handling, hmm?). Vi gick till parken för att ta oss en puff av vår goda bruna vän. Det gjorde vi. Sven hade förstått att någonting inte stod rätt till med oss idag, men vi vägrade att berätta vad. När vi nästan var hemma hos mig berättade vi för honom. Han tog det med en nypa salt.

För att komma till mitt hus måste man gå igenom en liten skog. Precis innan skogen kände jag att något inte stämde. Jag kunde INTE gå in där, där var någonting. Jag kände det, jag var livrädd. Bubba stod längst bak och fattade ingenting, han trodde att jag hade gått in i ett staket när jag stannade så plötsligt (där finns inte ens något staket i närheten, och det vet han mycket väl). Till slut lyckades Sven dra med mig upp till mitt hus, och vi satte oss i min källare. Jag minns inte riktigt om vi startade filmen, men jag tror att vi gjorde det. Vi startade bastun också, eftersom vi kände att vi ville vara där en stund. Efter ungefär 50 minuters väntan var bastun varm, och vi gick in där och satte oss. Jag tyckte att det kändes jobbigt, trång och läskigt, det kändes som att väggarna trycktes ihop. Vid det här laget började Sven tycka att vi var riktigt sjuka. Den som var närmast att snea i bastun var dock Bubba, här är hans version:

“Jag låg på en av bastubänkarna och försökte trycka upp väggen, eftersom jag tyckte det kändes som väggarna trycktes mot mig. Där var varmt, svettigt, jag fick sån jävla klaustrofobi och ville bara ut, men jag kunde verkligen inte flytta mig, för då skulle väggarna krossa oss och vi skulle dö. Jag var livrädd.”

Till slut lyckades vi faktiskt ta oss ut ur bastun, och satte oss i mitt “chillrum” i källaren igen. Då började jag och Bubba få några riktigt skumma idéer. Vi tänkte hur SKÖNT det hade varit att ha ett offer fastbundet vid en stol, och ett bord fyllt med tortyrredskap. Vi kände att vi bara ville tortera någon brutalt, mest för att det var roligt. Samtidigt som vi pratade om detta sneglade vi båda på Sven hela tiden. Jag tror att han började bli riktigt vettskrämd vid det här laget. Till slut släppte vi dock idén. Efter det gick Sven och Bubba hem till sig, och jag gick upp för att sova. Det gick lite sådär i början, eftersom jag såg färgglada trollsländor flyga runt i hela mitt rum. Efter en stund började jag dock strunta totalt i dem och somnade.

När jag vaknade dagen efter mådde jag verkligen piss – psykiskt alltså. Det kändes som en explosion i skallen när jag kom ihåg alla intryck från gårdagen. När någon dag hade gått gick dock detta över, och jag mådde som en prins. Det var en bra dag i hagen!

//”Matte”, med hjälp av “Bubba”, Svisch Svisch

November 18^th

When you tell a traveller in Kyoto that you spent your day at the temples they look at you sympathetically, as if you have just said that you recently had your tonsils out. Much like having your tonsils out, temple-hopping in Japan’s cultural capital is good for you, and you know it’s good for you but its exhausting and painful and by the end of the day you just need a big bowl of ice cream.

There are 13 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kyoto, all but one of which are either a temple or a shrine. They have a temple with a bell it takes 17 monks to ring, a temple covered in gold foil, a temple with 5km of torii and a temple with the biggest gate you have ever seen in your life. They are the biggest temples, the most sacred temples, the best temples but at the end of the day, they are all just temples.

You know what it will look like before you arrive – it will be big and wooden and impressive. There will be a sheltered iron pot out front with incense burning and people will be gathered around grabbing at whisps of smoke and rubbing it into their hair and clothes. There will be the sound of coins bouncing off of wood as worshippers throw their money into a box, ring a bell and clap twice to get Buddha’s attention. You will have to take your shoes off and put them in a plastic bag. So you go, knowing what is in store and wearing shoes with no laces and you ‘oooh’ over this Buddha statue and ‘ah’ that beautiful carving. Then you put back on your shoes, trek 100m up a ferociously steep hill and express amazement over this beautiful carving and that Buddha statue.

It wasn’t surprising then that Giles and Anne (our fearless new travel buddies) gave us that ‘Oh no, you have to have your tonsils removed’ look when we told them that we were heading to Nara to see, you got it, more temples. And it was with heavy, slip-on-shoe-clad feet that we dragged ourselves out there at ridiculous o’clock in the morning, expecting to ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ and wish we had stayed in bed.

What we didn’t know however, and what made the whole trip worthwhile, scratch that, a highlight of Japan, was that Nara is not only a UNESCO-holding, temple-filled tourist mecca, but also a deer park. The park is home to thousands of tame deer who wander around footpaths, chase children with ice cream and lounge on top of sacred Buddha. It made for a lot of fun.

The streets of the park are lined with stalls selling deer crackers and, after realizing that the deer want nothing to do with you unless you have a little something to give back, we bought a pack from the first vendor with thoughts to carrying them with us for the day in case we ran into any super cute fawns. Big mistake. The deer were on to us immediately and, the second the vendor handed them over, they rushed me, nudging my hip, licking my bag and sucking on my coat buttons until I handed over the goods. Terrified, I dropped them and ran (before Gary could even get a picture, much to his dismay.)

Eventually we worked out our own crafty plan and Gary distracted them while I quickly threw correct change at the little old man at the stall and dropped the crackers into my bag before hightailing it. We got away safely but as we made our way through the park, we got a little bored and started to leave trails of cracker crumbs behind us, collecting our very own assembly line of deer.

Oh yeah, and we saw some big temples and pretty stone lanterns. Who knew temple-hopping could be so much fun? Nara – highly recommended for the temple weary.

More pictures of Nara are available in the gallery

I got these photos form S_eneka and decided to do a quick editing. PS. a quick editing, k.

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/content.php?page=milestone

The NARA has put out a 100 Milestone Documents list; and it is a very interesting read.

Here’s the list:

• Lee Resolution (1776)
• Declaration of Independence (1776)
• Articles of Confederation (1777)
• Treaty of Alliance with France (1778)
• Original Design of the Great Seal of the United States (1782)
• Treaty of Paris (1783)
• Virginia Plan (1787)
• Northwest Ordinance (1787)
• Constitution of the United States (1787)
• Federalist Papers, No. 10 & No. 51 (1787-1788)
• President George Washington’s First Inaugural Speech (1789)
• Federal Judiciary Act (1789)
• Bill of Rights (1791)
• Patent for Cotton Gin (1794)
• President George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)
• Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
• Jefferson’s Secret Message to Congress Regarding the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1803)
• Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803)
• Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• Treaty of Ghent (1814)
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
• Missouri Compromise (1820)
• Monroe Doctrine (1823)
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
• President Andrew Jackson’s Message to Congress ‘On Indian Removal’ (1830)
• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
• Compromise of 1850 (1850)
• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
• Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
• Telegram Announcing the Surrender of Fort Sumter (1861)
• Homestead Act (1862)
• Pacific Railway Act (1862)
• Morrill Act (1862)
• Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
• War Department General Order 143: Creation of the U.S. Colored Troops (1863)
• Gettysburg Address (1863)
• Wade-Davis Bill (1864)
• President Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address (1865)
• Articles of Agreement Relating to the Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia (1865)
• 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)
• Check for the Purchase of Alaska (1868)
• Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
• 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868)
• 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights (1870)
• Act Establishing Yellowstone National Park (1872)
• Thomas Edison’s Patent Application for the Light Bulb (1880)
• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
• Pendleton Act (1883)
• Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
• Dawes Act (1887)
• Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
• De Lôme Letter (1898)
• Joint Resolution to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States (1898)
• Platt Amendment (1903)
• Theodore Roosevelt’s Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1905)
• 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Federal Income Tax (1913)
• 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)
• Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 (1916)
• Zimmermann Telegram (1917)
• Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Germany (1917)
• President Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points (1918)
• 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women’s Right to Vote (1920)
• Boulder Canyon Project Act (1928)
• Tennessee Valley Authority Act (1933)
• National Industrial Recovery Act (1933)
• National Labor Relations Act (1935)
• Social Security Act (1935)
• President Franklin Roosevelt’s Radio Address unveiling the second half of the New Deal (1936)
• President Franklin Roosevelt’s Annual Message (Four Freedoms) to Congress (1941)
• Lend-Lease Act (1941)
• Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry (1941)
• Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941)
• Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese (1942)
• General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Order of the Day (1944)
• Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (1944)
• Manhattan Project Notebook (1945)
• Surrender of Germany (1945)
• United Nations Charter (1945)
• Surrender of Japan (1945)
• Truman Doctrine (1947)
• Marshall Plan (1948)
• Press Release Announcing U.S. Recognition of Israel (1948)
• Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces (1948)
• Armistice Agreement for the Restoration of the South Korean State (1953)
• Senate Resolution 301: Censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy (1954)
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
• National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (1956)
• Executive Order 10730: Desegregation of Central High School (1957)
• President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address (1961)
• President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address (1961)
• Executive Order 10924: Establishment of the Peace Corps. (1961)
• Transcript of John Glenn’s Official Communication with the Command Center (1962)
• Aerial Photograph of Missiles in Cuba (1962)
• Test Ban Treaty (1963)
• Official Program for the March on Washington (1963)
• Civil Rights Act (1964)
• Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964)
• Social Security Act Amendments (1965)
• Voting Rights Act (1965)

WINTER GATHERING IPIJ

TAHUN 2009

KEMBALI LAGI!!

JANGAN LEPASKAN PELUANG

DAPATKAN SAHAM DUNIA & AKHIRAT

INI MASANYA

Yesterday I went to Nara! I was in a “man, what do I do today?” mode so I didn’t get going until after 11 AM. Didn’t even get presentable until after breakfast stopped, so I was feeling hungry. Getting there was really easy, I just took the Yamatoji Rapid line from Shin-Imamiya, where I’m staying, to Nara station. I was approached about a tour of the city, which appeared to be a bus tour; I politely declined.

My Lonely Planet guide is showing its age (two years). The places I had marked off as possible eateries were nowhere to be found, presumably closed down. However, I did find another place, recommended by the book, and packed by locals: Bikkuri Udon Miyoshino. I was in the mood for donburi, and they had it. I tried the katsu donburi, which was topped with egg and came with miso soup (almost many dishes do in Japan). It was really good. Katsu is one of my favorites so far, maybe because it’s deep-fried, maybe because it’s just that good.

Moving right along into Nara Park. I knew there would be deer, but holy crap there were a ton of them. They’re completely used to people, and vice-versa, and there were many stands set up selling treats for the deer for Y150. There’s lots of temples, so I won’t go through the details of all of them, you can check out the photos for that. I’ll just mention the interesting bits. At Kofuku-ji Temple, there were vending machines made out of recycled tea, how cool is that?

There were rickshaws set up all around the park, which was cool, there was the odd person taking rides, and it was fun to watch them go by as the runner conversed with the passengers, presumably describing local landmarks. I saw a restaurant flying the French flag, maybe that’s somewhere Angelica and Kenzo might want to go. Just follow Nobori-Oji east past the Nara National Museum.

There was some sort of food festival going on, so I took a look around. It was pretty small and seemed to be centered on an outdoor restaurant with a huge line, so I didn’t bother sticking around. You may notice in the photos I took many pictures of the waterways. I don’t know why, but I just like waterways.

That’s about all, really. It was pretty but became more of the same after a while. Maybe I should have gone into the temple but everything was really busy and I just didn’t feel like crowds.

Giant Buddha at Todaiji Temple, Nara

So far I’ve spent a lot of time talking about what there is to do in Osaka, but this time I want to give a quick overview of places that can be visited as day trips from Osaka. It is, in fact, the perfect city for this, because of its central location and its function as a transportation hub for the Kansai area.

The obvious destination is Kyoto, which is by far the most popular tourist destination in Japan among both domestic and international tourists. Then is nearby Nara (the imperial capital  from 710-794, before it moved to Kyoto), which like Kyoto is home to a number of famous temples and shrines including Todaiji, Koryuji, and Kasuga Taisha. I prefer Nara over Kyoto because it feels more genuine and is not as crowded. Kobe is known as a pleasant, cosmopolitan city with an international feel–I recommend the waterfront Meriken Park, which is a romantic hot spot at night. Then there’s Himeji, with its soaring castle that is more famous and impressive than any other in the country.

Wakaura Tenmangu Shrine, Wakayama City

If you’re looking for something new, why not try Wakayama City? It has a number of gorgeous old temples, some great food, and lovely beaches and hot spring areas. Iga, one of the two great ninja towns of Japan (the other being Koga in Shiga Prefecture), is located in Nara Prefecture and features a ninja museum that you’re sure to get a kick out of. Kumano Kodo, a pilgrimage route that has been celebrated since ancient times, has recently become popular after being named as Japan’s newest UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Yoshino is famous for its autumn colors and spring cherry blossoms, and also has a number of lovely old ryokan and baths. Further east is Ise Shrine (in eastern Mie Prefecture), the most important Shinto shrine in Japan. It is connected to the imperial family, and it has been rebuilt every 20 years on alternating lots using the same architecture and materials since the beginning of Japan as a unified civilization.

Ninja train, Iga

Yes, there are even ninjas inside the ninja train.

Heading north from Osaka, you will find Uji, which is famous for it matcha powdered green tea, and also for Byodoin, a graceful temple that is meant to be an earthly re-creation of the Buddhist paradise (you can find it pictured on the ten yen coin). Fushimi-Inari Shrine is a complex winding its way up a mountainside, featuring paths lined with thousands of bright-orange torii gates that create an impressive tunnel-like effect. The Lake Biwa area is also a treasure trove of great places to see and delicious foods to eat (read about my journey around the lake here).

There are more options available, but the places listed above are all great destinations for day or weekend trips out of the city. With the autumn leaves reaching their colorful peak, now is the perfect time to experience the many faces of the Kansai region.

Here are some pictures of my show that starts the 14th.

After two consecutive days of bustling Tokyo, our next destination would be a lot quieter in comparison. On 8 September, we began our quick-stop tour of western Japan, moving from city to city with more speed than a Kenyan sprinter on…speed. Naturally, I’m not going to cover all of the exciting places I visited in one go, so stay tuned for the other four parts after this one (yes, this is a ten part ordeal, be amazed). Having spent a week in and around the buzzing centre of the country, I was beginning to think that nothing outside Tokyo or Yokohama existed.

I was filled with considerable anticipation, then, when it was announced that we would be travelling deep into the unknown hill-country of Shizuoka. Of course, it wasn’t unknown at all, but I liked to think it was, like I was some sort of intrepid Anglo-Irish explorer, conquering the terrain of some utterly alien new land. In writing that sentence, it has become clear to me that I need to start reading/playing less fantasy lest I sound like a total psychopath. Regardless, on our drive from the suburbia (I use the term suburbia very lightly, as it doesn’t seem to exist in Japan) of Kanagawa, there was plenty a beautiful sight to behold, and most of it to the soundtrack of Pokémon, as during our four hour drive to our mountain lodgings, I don’t think H.’s mix-CD was changed once. I now know the lyrics to two of the said cartoon series’ opening themes, as of course for me to have known them beforehand would have been absolutely preposterous…ahem.

Surviving miles of long-winding and often treacherous roads, we eventually arrived at our ryokan, a traditional Japanese-style inn. Nestled deep in the hills, ‘idyllic’ would have been putting it lightly. Indeed, as the title of this post suggests, I really did feel like we were some sort of travelling samurai, stepping backwards in time to a now sadly dwindling Japanese Japan, with paper walls, sliding doors, futons and the like. Aside from my unfounded nostalgia and the obvious impracticalities of using paper walls and mats for flooring in a 21st century world of skyscrapers and bullet-trains, it was fantastic nonetheless. Taking off our shoes at the entrance (as is typical in Japanese houses), we were escorted to our room. Sliding the highly ornate door aside revealed a large open space with nothing but a table and some small cushions for us to sit ourselves down on, an alcove by the window adjoined.

Up the road from the ryokan.

Setting our bags down and helping ourselves to a rather pungent, yet equally delicious sweet rice-ball thing, we decided to bathe. This particular ryokan was of the hot-spring variety (more sausage, folks!), though this time it was a  private affair, so the three of us had a bath to ourselves. For any reader that’s just joined in this epic tale, nakedness is something that the Japanese take with a pinch of salt and a degree of gusto, and rightfully so. I think it’s high-time that the Europeans and Americans got off their high-horses of prudery and realised that, well, every man has a penis and every girl has a vagina. Unless you are transsexual and therefore have the best of both worlds. Either way, big bloody whoop. Inconveniently for three heterosexual males, our outdoor grotto bath was shamefully romantic, perhaps best suited to couples, rather than rabbles of young men. The water was hot indeed, whilst the overpowering odour of sulphur made soaks of more than five minutes difficult.

More of the ryokan's scenery. No bathing men, sorry!

Returning from the bath-house to our rooms, adorning some traditional Japanese robes in the process (think tailored dressing-gowns), we were quickly ushered into an adjacent dining room where supper had been delightfully provided for us. It was the real deal – sushi, sashimi, tempura, you name it. Salmon, tuna, squid, shrimp and chicken (the cooks had angelically taken it upon themselves to rustle up some meat for the duo of European palates) accompanied by pickled vegetables, all washed down by a pint of very refreshing beer. It was a mouthgasm, and that was putting it lightly. Stomachs full, we lumbered back to our room to find that while we had been eating, the small table that had once graced the centre had now disappeared and laid down in its stead were futon, Japanese bed-rolls. Considering the handiwork of magical Japanese elves (and not the inn staff), I collapsed into…well, not sleep, actually. It took absolutely sodding ages for me to venture off into the realm of slumber because of my ridiculously hard pillow; so hard was it in fact, that when I woke up in the morning, I had more knots in my shoulder muscles than a suicide-bomber has virgins in Paradise.

A scroll in our room, supposedly to ward off evil spirits.

Sadly, we had to make a quick exit if were to get to Nagoya (our next stop) on schedule. We had a huge and hearty breakfast; traditional meals are hard to differentiate in Japan.  Breakfast has miso soup, as does supper. It has fish and meat too, not unlike supper. And of course, the ubiquitous pot of rice is on hand at any meal you care to imagine. Fresh fruit was pretty much all that defined our morning meal from the food we had eaten the night before, though it was still thoroughly delicious. If there’s one thing the Japanese have certainly mastered, it’s the culinary arts.

Breakfast.

Thus it was over; we exchanged our yukata robes for our t-shirts and shorts, our wooden sandals for our shoes, our welcoming, slightly uncomfortable futon for our travel-bags and headed for the entrance. The ryokan keeper pounced on us from the desk (in a nice way, you understand, not in some sort of angry lioness way) and demanded we take a free gift back with us. From amongst paper-fans, cloth and chopsticks, I took a  black and gold floral wash-bag, something that my father now uses to keep his Fixodent and dental-floss in. Nice.

Out into the mountain, we hit the road.

I’m currently traveling Japan – landed in Tokyo where we had a few amazing days sightseeing. Then went to Gifu, and from there we have arrived in Osaka. Today we are leaving the beautiful house of our hosts and will be heading towards Kyoto, which I think will also be pretty amazing.

I’m very much looking forward to Kyoto as according to my friends, you can buy lots of fabrics there. I bought some fabrics in Gifu which you can see below:

Silk Kimono

This is a silk kimono in a beautiful purple colour. It was only 525 Yen (which is less then 4 pounds!). It is an old kimono, and it has a few spots that are torn – that’s why it is so cheap. But the fabric is amazing, and for that amount of silk it is a great bargain.

Red Butterflies Fabric

I bought this cute butterfly fabric in the same shop as I bought the kimono. I like bargain bins…

Hemp Pattern Fabric

Yesterday we went to Nara, which is the oldest city in Japan. Next to the huge amount of temples, shrines and other fantastic things we went to the old city center where you can buy very interesting things. It is of course very touristy, but if you look in the right shops, you can find very good bargains. In one shop I found this traditional hemp-leaf patterned piece of cotton which was very reasonable priced.

I have been looking in many bookshops in Japan for books on making fashion for men. I love the Japanese style of clothing, and there are tons of books for women on fashion and how to make the most amazing garments. But I can’t find any for men! Does anyone know of any good titles? Please get in touch if you know of any.

Bien le bonjour ami lecteur. Aujourd’hui je prend enfin le temps d’écrire cet article que j’ai en tête depuis longtemps. コケコッコ! C’est le cri de notre symbole national entendu depuis le Japon. Et oui c’est loin, alors notre “cocorico” est un peu altéré. Pour autant tu vas voir que la langue de Michel Galabru (bah oui pourquoi toujours Molière??) a su se faire une place dans les rues japonaises. Elle est un gage de raffinement et c’est donc naturellement qu’on la retrouve sur les devantures de restaurant, magasin de mode et autres denhrées commestibles. Evidemment la plupart des japonais ne comprennent pas du tout ce qu’ils lisent, ce qui donne parfois place à quelques non sens, fautes d’orthographe et autres poésies. Voici donc une séléction de clichés de ces parfums de France au Japon, mélange aussi improbable et merveilleux que mon couple…

On commence par une chaîne très présente partout où je suis allé. Pour y avoir mangé, je ne le recommande pas particulièrement. Mais il y a beaucoup de lieux où la carte de la French touch est jouée. Alors…

Voilà par exemple “La Terre saison”, ça veut pas dire grand chose, m’ai c’est joli.

Parfois on peut croiser quelques mélange français-anglais…

Comme ici au pied du Fuji-san :

Et quand on sort des restaurant et cafés, on peut toujours chercher de la France dans les commerces…

Et puis on a divers magasins de vêtements ou autres…

La suivante je cherche encore le sens du sous titre…pour info c’était une maroquinerie…

Et puis parfois, on cherche une réponse qui ne vient jamais, comme cette enseigne qui porte un nom français bien connu sans aucun rapport apparent…c’est devant l’entrée de Namba Parks à Osaka, si quelqu’un peut me dire ce que c’est exactement, car c’était fermé lors de mon passage…

Et puis je vous ai gardé mon préféré pour la fin. A la fois poétique, touchant, ridicule, maladroit, léger… tout ce que j’aime :

…bien sûr!

I took a walk down to Nara today to ut my show notice postcards around Naramachi. It was about a 20 km. walk. I found the best display I have seen yet in a city run place. I have pictures. The base is a large square with 6 pieces in it. As you approach it tiny fish scatter around. It has live fish in the water which is about 5 cm. deep. Very interesting and neat display.

I took a rest in front of Gojunoto for about 30 minutes. The video,  here, is of a scene that suddenly appeared behind my. The priests seemed to be moving some items in the procession. There is sunlight that got into the video. Sorry about that.

The summit of Mt. Fuji.

Having completed our trek up and down Mt. Fuji, with my leg in a degree of controlled agony, my eyes almost cemented together through lack of sleep and my underarms more malodorous than twelve-hour roadkill, getting naked in a Japanese hot-spring (onsen, in the native tongue) was not my idea of relaxation. I couldn’t have been more mistaken.

The onsen was basically a public bath-house. With my prudish English streak in overload, I felt bloody uncomfortable about climbing into some massive communal bath with my Crown Jewels exposed for the entire orient to see. This, of course, highlights the typical male ego; no one really wanted to look at my member, for they were of course washing themselves and not rampantly drunk homosexuals bent on assailing my genitalia (though I’m positive an old fellow kept eyeing me from the jacuzzi…). After a somewhat timid first soak, it was relatively easy to feel, well, at ease, though I’m sure it would have been a lot worse if the bath-houses hadn’t been gender divided. Oh, that would have been dreamily awkward…

Me big European man…

I do apologise, I was…fantasising…

Ahem.

There were several hot baths (some incredibly hot) and one extremely icy cold bath that I suppose had some sort of cleansing, homeopathic healing thing that my increasingly hippie mum would probably buy in for. I lasted about twenty seconds in the sauna before I felt like my body would implode. How can anyone breathe in those damn things? I thought I was experiencing some sort of mild heart-attack. The outdoor bath was certainly the best, despite the view of several Japanese men sunning themselves on the loungers. With such fine Japanese weather, the cooling breeze and the warm water would’ve easily put me to sleep. Regardless, it was an experience I wouldn’t forget, and one that become twice more familiar in the coming week.

We left the onsen at around two o’clock in the afternoon and got back to Tokyo at about four, arriving at H.’s an hour and a half or so later. As I lay down in my room, I was aware that my leg ache was still very much there; trying to ignore it, I closed my eyes in a vain effort to sleep, but to no avail.  The pain was too overpowering. Considering my options, I knew I would have to act. Realising a trip to the doctor would be in order, I told H. and was whisked off to the local hospital.

Early comments from the hospital receptionist said that any sort of x-ray or scan would cost upwards in the region of €500. With only about €350 left, ‘concerned’ would have been putting it lightly. A young chap saw to me; he was extremely polite (with truly awesome hair) and H. did all the translating for me. The doctor was left rather puzzled – he gave no ultimate diagnosis, as I seemed to have no pain in the areas he expected me to have any, and pain in the areas he didn’t. After climbing Mt. Fuji, it was also pretty difficult to pinpoint exactly where the ache was coming from. He said I had a 1% chance of having developed DVT (in my hypochondria, I had linked my dead-leg incident on the plane to my shin) but considered it very unlikely at my age; eventually, he said it may have been the side-effect of some sort of flu as I appeared to have a mild fever. Bizarrely, he overlooked the glaring yellow bruise complete with matching lump on my lower leg, instead prescribing aspirin and heat-wraps. Being a startling delightful fellow (or more likely thinking, “Haha, you dumb fuck, get travel insurance next time!”), he charged nothing for the consultation.

Considering my mind had been put at ease, I immediately felt better. A little internet research in the evening revealed that my ache had probably been caused by a bone bruise. The bruise itself would disappear in days, but the lump could remain for months or more. Indeed, it’s only been this month – the start of November –  that I have noted its more-or-less complete absence. Funnily enough, I still get the odd pain there, depending on the weather. Frightfully unspiffing of it. Still, I rather preferred that over an aneurysm or tissue-eating necrosis.

The weekend passed lazily. D., disappeared off for a few hours to meet some of his work-camp friends in Tokyo (he had been in Japan a month prior to my arrival), and H. and I traipsed about the local vicinity, checking out the large, sprawling malls and arcades. My gods, do the Japanese know how to shop. And play arcade games. And drift RC cars.

Arcades in Europe *seriously* need to catch up.

Frightfully moreish Japanese snacks.

A Nakagawa mall, with its own RC racing track. Oh yes.

My leg was recovering well and I felt spritelier than I had before. We spent our idle hours planning the next week’s agenda – Nagoya, Nara, Osaka and Kyoto were all on the cards. It was going to be very busy, indeed.

for quite awhile now, i’ve been wanting to do more traveling within japan. i’ve been to kyoto, hakone, and climbed ft. fuji. and i went to choshi for new years! that counts, right? for quanitity’s sake, i want it to count. that pretty much includes all noteworthy traveling i’ve done outside the greater tokyo area. so i jumped on the opportunity to head down to kansai for a couple of days when my friend, chris, suggested on doing so.

the trip was chock full of new experiences (from the places we visited to our methods of transportation.) i took my first shinkansen (bullet train) ride, which transported us from tokyo to shin-osaka station. only took a couple hours, which was rather irrelevant since i slept from point a to point b.  i guess i recall the train being quieter than the normal ones, but i never had a problem sleeping to begin with. long, long ago, my good friend, ned, told me that when you sleep during a car ride, it gets you there faster. if you’ve ever taken road trips or public transportation with me, then you know i’ve taken ned’s sentiment to heart.

we took it easy the first night, settling into a newly made friend’s apartment. dan also works for geos. the next morning, we hit up nara park. after buying senbe (rice crackers) to feed the most domesticated deer i’ve ever seen, we walked around the park getting bit and charged by the impatient, hungry ones. it’s simply been too long since i’ve stepped in deer excrement. thank you, deer.

afterwards, we went to the todai-ji temple to see world’s largest gilded bronze buddha and crawl through a pillar for good luck. the size of the hole in the pillar apparently matches the size of the buddha’s nose. why crawling through the pillar brings good luck is unbeknown to me, but it’s hard not giving it a shot after overhearing some ladies in the corner mumbling “there’s no way that incredibly attractive foreigner could fit his ultra muscular, van-damme-like body through that pillar. he’s too manly!” well, i proved them wrong!

that night we went to a dance club in osaka, only to observe how much people don’t dance in dance clubs in osaka.

dan stayed behind the next day to work on law school applications, while chris and i went to osaka castle and kobe. if i were japanese, i would’ve been even more appalled by the castle. the outside is terrifically pleasant to photograph. the clear, sunny day even helped it out. it’s all dandy until you see the state of the art elevator shaft. and that’s only where the shafting begins. i’m no japanese history buff, nor can i even begin to guess what the true interior of a 16th century japanese castle should look like, but this looked like every other museum i’ve seen in the country. polished wooden floors, white drywall, and eight floors of stuff i could see at other museums. the only bright side of venturing inside was the view of the city from atop.

we left and went to kobe. first, we tracked down the city hall building to get a sky top view from there. after a few pictures, i glanced at one of the shelves to see this:

wikipedia later informed me that the two cities agreed to a “cooperation and friendship” affiliation in 1986.

later on, we walked around the harbor area enjoying the various views.

did i eat ”kobe beef?” i ate beef in kobe. problem was, i underestimated how much money i would spend up to that particular point in the trip, as well as how filling our chinese dumpling lunch would be. so by the time we were hungry, it was the much feared ”dinner time.” the japanese term for ”dinner,” in regard to eating at a restaurant, directly translates to ”you’re financially moronic for not eating sooner.” so i made it a point to stuff down a reasonably priced, sliced beef dinner before leaving.

later on, we reluctantly boarded our night bus to return home just in time to teach the following day. it was a nice trip, and well worth it.

here’s a link to my photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chriseury/sets/72157622736375586/

Starring : Nara Rohit, Vedika, Sayaji Shinde
Music : Mani Sharma.
Director: Chaitanya Dantuluri.
Watch Online : Click Here For Megavideo Link

I went to the Nara Aozora craft fair over this past weekend. It is the fourth time I have been there and probably the last. There really isn’t any selection process as far as the organizers trying to have a unified theme or overall strategy. If you are able to lug your crates to the site I think you are able to participate.

I went with my wife, she was selling jewelery she makes, see here. She is a very good seller and sold 20 times the amount I did. I have a lot to learn from her. One thing I noticed is she is very excited about what she sells and isn’t afraid to share that excitement with those who come up to look. I on the other hand am more excited about the process of making and firing and have a certain disconnect with the object that results so appear somnambulant next to her. It is easy to write and to dissect that I have that quality but even easier to say it is something to change if I want to sell a lot of my work. My next chance at selling is a gallery show I have coming up from the 14th. of November in a gallery in Nara.

© gaijineye photography

© gaijineye photography

Gaijineye Photography は、2010年4月より、日本国内に拠点を移し本格的に活動を開始いたします。

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From April 2010, Gaijineye Photography will be based in Japan;

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