Neko in Japan: @ N@r@ P@rk (album)

May 9, 2008 
Nara, Japan

In my previous album about Nijo Castle, I mentioned being influenced by a Bobbsey Twin mystery story which was set in Japan. One of the places the twins visited was Nara. Their gracious hostess showed them how they could make the deer bow their thanks after they are fed (you can buy deer cookies in the park to give to these cute creatures).

TIP: 

While most people may tell you that Nara can just be a day tour, my heartfelt recommendation is to spend more than half a day there. I truly feel that Nara’s ancient temples and buildings are more authentic and “complete” (note that Nara was the first capital of Japan).

An overnight stay in this historic and charming city is not even enough for me. In fact, I didn’t even get to see or walk around all of Nara Koen since I grossly underestimated the time it took to just visit some of the sights to see inside the park. The temples and attractions are not just a stone’s throw from each other and you puff along walking from one temple to the next.

Nara Koen’s 1,300 acres of ponds, trees, lawns and temples obviously could not be traversed in 1 day, and with more than 1000 sika deer roaming about, you lose some time too in taking pictures and patting the tame animals.

Beware though! Not all these dear creatures *pun intended* are Bambi-like and they can be quite aggressive…especially if you don’t have deer cookies. You might end up having your edible-looking bag or map munched on with much gusto. *wink*

I literally swam across a throng of schoolchildren romping about the grounds and dashed madly to Todai-ji Temple (the Great Eastern Temple), where one can see the awesome bronze statue of a sitting Buddha.

The temple is believed to be the world’s largest wooden structure. The statue is 53 feet tall, and is the largest in Japan. It was commissioned in 743.

{picture of the Great Eastern Temple}

 

TIP: 

Try to arrive early for your walking tour. If you walk around by 10 am upwards, you will find yourself sandwiched between one tour group or the next, or zillions (it seemed that way to me) of schoolchildren being guided around.

If you have at around 4 hours for Nara, try to visit at least Todaiji Temple, Kasuga Shrine and Kofukuji’s Temple Treasure House.

In the Todai-ji Temple, I also had fun watching adults trying to stuff themselves in a narrow hole in a wooden pillar.

It is said that if you can squeeze through this, its like being assured of reaching Paradise (or was it enlightenment?). Well, if you are a child or at least a thin adult, obviously you would have no problem being ensured a place in Paradise since you would crawl through the hole, but for us heftier ones….well…that is another story!

{the pillar’s hole is the gateway to enlightenment}

 

How to Get There:

Nara Park is just a few steps from the Kintetsu Nara Station.
From the JR Nara Station, it is a 5-10 minute walk.
For me, it was just a go-left from Seikan-so Ryokan, keep on walking for 10 minutes and you will hit it when you see all these stalls selling souvenirs.

If you have a JR Pass, you can arrive in Nara from Kyoto on one of the trains from Kyoto station which leaves for Nara 4 times in an hour. The trip can take 45 minutes to almost an hour. If you don’t have a pass, the fare is 690 yen one-way.
For the luxuriously-inclined traveler – the deluxe Kintetsu Limited Express is more expensive and faster and costs 1,110 yen one way.

Admission:
Only for the temples, entrance to the park is free.

 

– Sep 17, ’08 1:14 AM

Neko in Japan: Jishu Jinja (“matchmaking shrine”) (album)

May 6, 2008

….this shrine is adjacent to the Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan…so while you are inside its grounds, don’t forget to drop by this shrine as it is informative..and who knows..you just might have some extra love charms to tuck into your sash after your visit..

Throughout the year this shrine is chock-full (I wonder why? *ehem, ehem*) with students on school excursions and couples and other visitors who come to pray for good luck in love. *hearts for eyes*

This shrine is dedicated to Okuninushi-no-Mikoto who is known as a god of love or matchmaking..okay..so its the Japanese version of Cupid or Venus?

There is a pair of small rocks placed apart in this shrine. I think these were called “love stones”. (It does sound funny when I repeat it a couple of times…as opposed to kidney stones?).

The rocks are believed to tell the fortunes of love and you can see many visitors trying it out – one has to walk from one rock to another with one’s eyes closed.

If you arrive safely or get to the other half of the pair of rocks without any hitch, then this means that you will fall for each other or you will find your good match. If you need to be assisted by someone else to reach the rock, you will need to have some other advice to have your wish granted.

All kinds of good-luck charms for a good match are sold here. But.. you can aksi buy other charms such as for a happy marriage, success in passing an examination and even for the easy delivery of a child (I see this sometimes in anime).

Free admission. Shrine closes at 5 pm.

You will just be tempted to buy all these charms being displayed on the place hehehe…and no I didn’t buy..coz for me, everything in Japan is expensive!

– Jul 2, ’08 7:51 PM

Flowers @ Huis Ten Bosch (1 of 2) (album)

May 4, 2008 (Sunday)
Huis Ten Bosch
Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan

I had earlier posted in the video section somewhere on this site, a preview of Huis Ten Bosch as well as a couple of video clips of their fireworks show which was the “highlight” of the visit.

Suffice to say, paying a visit to this park was one surprising activity since I never expected to see something like the Netherlands in the middle of Japan. There is a lot of work which went into setting up this park, not the least of which was planting and caring for the very beautiful and colorful flowers dotting the landscape.

Try as we must, even if we went there early and were one of the first to queue for entering, we were not able to attend all the rides and shows, there simply was not enough time.

The castle replica as well as the IFX theater were all we could try since the time was consumed by picture-taking and ooh-ing and aaah-ing over the various sceneries, not to mention examining the exquisite glass and crystal items, bells and whatnots at different museums and stalls, eating one of Nagasaki’s famous fare: the champon, posing for the cartoon-style drawing of Benjie and yours truly as well as sailing around the bay, clambering over sails, gatecrashing a wedding party’s picture-taking attending of fireworks etc…to name a few of the activities we indulged in.

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Information below taken from official site:

* Carillon Symphonica *

Japan’s first museum dedicated entirely to bells is housed in this recreated 17th century clock tower. Japan’s first bell museum has bells and carillon from around the world, especially those from Holland, on display. A carillon is a group of bells of different tones that are struck with a hammer to create melodies. The first thing you see upon entering this museum is the 9 meter carillon tower which houses 37 bells. A truly significant collection composed of ancient bells that were used to drive away evil spirits.
Location: Museumstad

* Von Seibold Museum *

A museum of the lives of the Dutch on Dejima. They have recreated in actual size part of Dejima, Nagasaki, the only place in Japan open to contact with the outside world during its period of national isolation.

Take a glimpse into the life of Von Siebold; a physician of the Dutch trading company and the first person to establish and help advance western medicine in Japan. This is your chance to learn more about how the cultures of Japan and Holland came together in Nagasaki.
Location: Museumstad

* Glass Museum *

Breathtaking, elegant glassworks and a chance to see one of the finest chandeliers in the world. During the Edo period in Japan glass was known as “giyaman”, which is said to come from the Dutch word “diamant”. They have brought together glass works from around the world to this museum of fine art.

You can find this museum inside the Stadhuis, which was modeled after a Dutch town hall, located on Alexander Plein. The hall chandelier, with a width of 2.2 meters, height of 3.5 meters, and weight of 750 kilograms, is made of glass so crystal clear it would be impossible to recreate it in this day and age. Wedding ceremonies are performed on the third floor.
Location Binnenstad

* Porcelain Museum *

Imari Porcelain is loved the world over. You’ll find beautiful examples of Imari porcelain on display and can learn all about its history. They have recreated a German Palace’s glorious Porcelain Cabinet which is filled with porcelain from the Orient. Approximately 3,000 pieces of fine porcelain from that time are displayed creating a sensation of power and wealth. Come learn of the history and roles that porcelain played in exchanges between the East and West through our displays of Imari and Chinese porcelain brought to Europe by the Dutch East India Company.
Location: Spakenburg

Missed this:

* Teddy Bear Kingdom *

This museum is a wonderland of heart-warming, delightful and extremely rare teddy bears. Don’t miss this museum of teddy bears loved by people of all ages.
Come experience our world-class collection of 1,500 teddy bears including the world’s largest teddy which weighs 500 kilograms and is 3.6 meters tall, rare antique teddies from the 1900 ~1950’s, specially designed teddies created by world-class artists and teddies from the most famous makers in the world.

Location: Bruekelen

– Jun 14, ’08 8:39 PM

Going back after the Onsen (album)

May 3, 2008 Saturday
Nagasaki, Japan 

After we returned from Ioujima Island, our schedule was not really fixed since either one of Joy’s bosses may come over for dinner or there was a friend of his who wanted to meet him.

In the end, we did some grocery shopping at the store across the couple’s apartment, ate dinner cooked by Benjie, then left Joy behind to sleep as Benjie and I went off for a walk. I do not blame Joy as after wallowing in an onsen, the body feels deliciously relaxed, and I would be rolling in bed myself if not for my being curious about their neighborhood.

We dropped by a 24/7 store (can’t remember the name..was it “Family Store”?) where I hoped to get the “hentai” manga that an officemate of mine wanted to have as souvenir when he found out I would be going to Japan.

I was a bit self-conscious poking around the stands, but in the end, all I could find was a magazine, not the manga kind which I think he would have wanted. Oh well, I got it anyway, and since it was taped I really could not see what was inside but the cover was suggestive *grin*

While in the store, we bought a couple of onigiris (rice balls), pastries, breads, chocolates and drinks which we would be bringing along to the next day’s early trip to Huis Ten Bosch (posted a video preview in the Video section somewhere on this site).

We then dropped by a couple of pachinko (gambling game in Japan played on vertical pinball machines) places and posed. I thought they would not close but as 11 pm neared, we managed to catch the last dregs of the players.

Afterwards we walked back and it was the first time I could remember walking a street in the dead of the night and feeling safe. I didn’t even have to skirt along the edges of shadows. I couldn’t imagine myself doing this at some places in Manila (I’d probably walk in the middle of the road) but all along the street we had strolled you could see evidence that people here pretty much left things as is – from cute pots of gorgeous flowers, to umbrellas and other stuff outside which would probably be gone in a wink in other places *wink*

We strolled along until we reached their harbor near their apartment where Benjie and I talked about different topics and marveling on how funny it was…both of us never thought we would be strolling one night in Japan and doing all the things we have done – from dining on Japanese cuisine, strolling around parks and dropping Japanese phrases, to the latest activity of going bare as we dared visit an onsen. We had a good laugh over that one.

There was some reminiscing and updating, and even plans for their next trip as Joy was going to Vietnam. I hope they do spend their Christmas in Vietnam with their children and I hope in the future I could spend more visits abroad in the company of old friends and acquaintances like what I was doing at that time.

I felt a pang that time was so short and that I would be leaving Benjie’s delicious home-cooked meals to continue on my trip alone (I gained weight!), but it will be an adventure and more tales to share with friends later. I was sorry too that I could not buy food which I could bring back to the Philippines as my journey would continue for more than a week yet….

P.S. I think some pictures are still displayed on their sides..weirdly I cannot fix it even if I have rotated them already, they return to the original one. Oh well, I will try to repost later by using pics which are already aligned correctly…in the meantime have fun angling your head…

– May 28, ’08 11:17 PM

Iojima Island: Dare 2 Bare in an Onsen 1/2 (album)

3rd of May 2008, Saturday
Nagasaki, Japan

I was obsessed with the thought of wallowing in an “onsen”, probably due to many onsens featured in my favorite animes and manga.

An onsen means hot springs in the Japanese language. The term though usually describes the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. Onsen were traditionally used as public bathing places, and its still quite prevalent in Japan.

Baths may be either public run by a municipality or could be private, often run as part of a hotel, ryokan or B&B – hmm….I just remembered I had to pay bath taxes at a ryokan in Nara.

Onsen are a central feature of Japanese tourism often found out in the countryside. The natives talk of the “naked communion” due to the onsen’s atmosphere – breaking down barriers and getting to know people in the relaxed homey atmosphere of an onsen inn. (Initially, I admit was a bit dubious as to how I could be relaxed without a stitch on, marching around the baths with only a hand towel perched on top of my head, but after this experience, I must say there’s truth in it hehehe!)

Well, of course you go naked, honey!

Joy and Benjie made one of my fondest wishes come true by arranging a trip to a natural onsen at Iojima Island, and together with some of their friends we gamely trooped to this resort.

Some of them were old hands, like Erika who shed clothes, went to wash and soak without batting an eyelash or even flapping a towel. There are separate baths for men and women, and we women stayed longer on our end….as Erika, Rose, Benjie, Tey, Juliet and the other female children tried out one bath after another. For the men like Joy, Darwin and Edmund and their respective sons…well, some hilarity did happen with the young ones being reluctant to bare it all, leading one father to chase his son outside before remembering belatedly that he was in the buff..hehehe…

It wasn’t that expensive actually. With 1000 Yen, which includes the round trip fare, as well as for wallowing in the onsen (you can drown in unlimited supplies of shampoo, body shampoo and rinse), it was well worth it. If I had known it would feel that good after soaking, I’d have asked us to stay overnight if we had gone there on Friday…oh well, at least I have experienced going “butt-nekked” in an onsen.

Pictures below show our going together to the island, first having a picnic before venturing into the bowels of the spa and going commando.

– May 23, ’08 11:52 PM

Neko-chan in Japan: Nagasaki -> Glover Garden 2/2 and Dejima Wharf (album)

After finishing all the emails at a manically rapid pace that made Benjie look at me questioningly, I managed to reduce the workload enough that all I needed was approval from the US and then the responses could be sent off to the client. However, since these would only be given to me around 10 pm upwards (meaning I had to come back before that time) I certainly wanted to make use of the gap and do my first round of sightseeing…and eating out 🙂

Around 4 pm and upwards off we went, with empty stomachs and a repeat visit for Benjie and Joy to Glover Garden.

Most of the pictures here will show me with my newly discovered boyfriend – Mr. Tri Pod. I definitely spent more than an hour here with all the posing and stopping…I don’t think I saw all the houses and exhibits, but if only for the sweeping view of the harbor, I definitely would recommend readers to visit this place.

After partaking of my first drink from the vending machine, I had the crazily whimsical idea of dropping in my 5 peso coin as it was mixed with the yen coins I had accumulated. I think the machine was shocked that somebody dared do it that it didn’t give a reaction, not even returning my coin at once….*grin* After some knob turning though, it did spit the coin out disdainfully.

As a souvenir, I bought a tiger’s eye bracelet from one of the shops. Although I did want to buy some more Nagasaki souvenirs, thinking of the higher prices here made me think twice. Consequently I wasn’t able to buy the usual t-shirt or articles with Nagasaki’s name or famous items on it.

In the evening we managed to squeeze into on an eat-all-you-can restaurant to combine lunch, afternoon merienda and dinner, and it was Joy’s treat so I must thank him for the first eating out experience as I was stuffed like a sushi roll afterwards.

Even with the short time given to us (*sigh* I had to go back for the rest of the work to be finished or followed-up plus I had the usual late night phone conference), I think we still managed to do justice to the meal, to have the restaurant’s attendants say that these “gaijin” are matakaw.

Photos are from my 2 cameras (Finepix and Kodak) and Benjie’s Canon. Domo arigato gozaimashita!

– May 19, ’08 1:17 PM

Kenrokuen Garden via V803

Kanazawa, Japan, November 8, 2010.

Kanazawa is one of the overlooked  jewels of tourism in Japan- except for the locals, who flock to it as they know its beauty.

The somewhat remote location, and the off the beaten track (it takes time to get there from Tokyo for instance) , has perhaps been a factor of a lower number of foreign tourists.

For those visitors who want to see perhaps the best-preserved major Edo-period city in the country (along with Takayama), it is one of the best places to visit aside from Kyoto of course.
Well, for Kyoto, I’d recommend it if you have only a short period of staying in Japan, but if you have more time, take 2 days off at least to visit Kanazawa.

Kanazawa is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Crafts and Folk Art.

Kanazawa cuisine is famous throughout Japan. Go for its seafood,  since this area lies in the sweet spot of the hot south and cold north currents. The quality of food is so high, that essentially you’ll be munching on good food regardless of the price.

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Kenroku-en Garden (兼六園)/Finepix

 

Kanazawa, Japan, 8th November 2010 –  The most famous sight in Kanazawa! The Garden of Six Attributes is considered one of Japan’s Top 3 gardens.

Make sure if you are in the vicinity, not to miss this particular garden….and you can also visit the castle which is quite near it.

While not completed in its final form until the waning years of the Edo Shogunate, it still represents one of the peaks of Japanese strolling garden design.

The way in which water is piped from many kilometers upstream to fill its ponds and bubbling streams before going on to fill the castle moats is one of the great engineering feats of the Edo period.

During cherry blossom season, entry to the park is free and it’s open and lit up until 9 PM.

Quick Ueno Romp at Night

Ueno Park, November 6, 2010 – After a whole day of walking around Nikko, I decided my legs could still stand to try a quick visit to Ueno Park.

There’s no hardship as Ueno Station is one of the usual stops on the train system.

Ueno Park is well known for its cherry blossom viewing and there’s lots of folks trawling the park, yes even at night so I felt pretty safe. I wish I could visit during the day though.

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Japan (2008): The Tastes of Nagasaki

I was introduced to Nagasaki last Christmas through one of their delicacies – a “kasutera” (originated from “Castilla“) or castelle which my friends Benjie and Joy gave me.

Picture from the internet. “Kasutera”.

The “kasutera” pound cake was introduced by the Portuguese in the 16th century and is still alive and kicking today as a traditional sweet of Nagasaki.

 

While there may be other castelle cakes from other regions, it remains something associated with Nagasaki itself. As I’ve always liked pound cakes from my Sara Lee days, the kasutera for me was totally addicting (I loved the “matcha” or green tea ones) as it was light cake.

Here is a link I found which has pictures and a recipe: http://www.justhungry.com/2006/08/oyatsu_and_kasutera_castella_a.html

I was also taken with the colorful wrappings for these cakes…I’ve yet to download the picture I had taken of the green tea castella I had bought from Huis Ten Bosch. That one had a nice wrapping to it, while the other one I gave as pasalubong (gift)  and which I promptly forgot to take a picture of beforehand.

I will include it later and edit this post.

If I didn’t have to go around from one station to another, I’d have bought a basket of these home with me as they were a perfect accompaniment to my very occasional cup of tea – be it English breakfast, oolong, green tea (yum, the layers of flavors!) or even milk tea which is already sweet. My weakness…*salivates*

“Shippoku”, which is the city’s most famous food is delicious full course meal that combines the cuisine of Japan, China and Europe.

You have to have at least 1 more person with you if you plan to dine on this kind of food – it may include dishes like sashimi, fish soup, seasonal delicacies which may be boiled, fried, vinegared etc. {picture in this page taken from another site was I was unable to book a reservation at one of the recommended restaurants}

Picture from the internet. Sample meal.

“Champon” and “Sara udon” are very hearty Chinese dishes (and not expensive, to boot!).

I had a taste of the former in Huis Ten Bosch and this thick Chinese noodle is served as a soup with meat, seafood and vegetables.

Picture from the internet. “Champon”.

We had to queue for some time to get into the restaurant and I was afraid it was going to be a commercialized version, but like most restaurants in Japan, the soup turned out to be very good and filling – the perfect food to eat for a hungry tourist going around and around. The also had udon which we didn’t partake of…. and I’m afraid the picture I have here is of the packaged kind only.

“Karasumi” or dried mullet roe is a seafood delicacy prized by gourmets. No comment since I hadn’t eaten or seen it.

– May 18, ’08 3:55 PM