Cabbage Pancakes
As I got off the train the day before in Hiroshima and headed towards the “You Are Here.” map on a wall in the station, I met Ceci from San Francisco. We caught up yesterday after some considerable confusion with the tram and train systems, and with the port of departure for the ferry. We headed out to Miyajima island to see the famous torii gate that occupies a small bay there. Of course, it’s best if you’re there when the tide is in, but we didn’t make it, so here’s a not-so-picture-postcard photo of the O-Torii. Miyajima also has…
Himeiji Castle and X-mas? Lights
On December 2nd, after a couple of days in Kyoto, I headed out on a train to Himeiji Castle on the way to Hiroshima. I only had two hours at Himeiji, but I was able to walk through the castle and had enough time to get my fill. The interior of the tower was genereally quite dark, but the third floor pictured here was more open and well lit. Some of the staircases were very steep, and a bit slick for my socks. Visitors need to talk off their shoes before going inside. They offer plasitc shopping bags to carry…
The Philosopher’s Walk
November 30th was my first full day in Kyoto. I went to three temples on what is called the Philospher’s Walk, after Nishida Kitaro of Kyoto University who used to walk this route regularly. Luckily for me, it was a perfect time of year to be in Kyoto for the changing leaves. Like the cherry blossoms in the spring, getting out to see the fall colors is hugely popluar with Japanese people. There were thousands of tourists and more than 19 out of every 20 were Japanese. The gardens at Nanzen-ji temple were terriffic. The Japanese Maple Trees were in…
In Matsuyama
I’ve made it to the city of Matsuyama on the northwest coast of Shikoku Island. I have a few photos ready to go up, but have a lousy Internet connection. Half the city is probably using it. I spent the last couple of days in and around Hiroshima. I’ll be on Shikoku for the next three days before returning to Kyoto on the 7th.
Chinese Medicine and Mister Donut
I think I’m allergic to Japan. I’ve been getting worse since I got here. This morning I went to a pharmacy and between charades and a phrasebook was able to convey my symptoms. The pharmacist (well, at least he looked like a pharmacist) pulled six different medicines off the shelf and showed them all to me. All of them had five or six active ingredients which seemed a bit much, especially as I have no idea what those ingredients could have been—60mg this, 5mg of that. Who knows? He recommended something he called “Chinese Medicine.” There was 1075mg of the…
To Kyoto on a Bullet Train
Today I hopped on the Nozomi Shinkansen, affectionately called a “bullet train,” and headed to Kyoto. Traveling by train beats the heck out of flying, especially with lots of leg-room, no body-cavity searches at the airport, and really smooth welded rail. It does make me a bit nostalgic for the old days—the clickety clack of the rails, NOT the security check-points. I have not seen a lot of young children in Japan. When I have, they’ve always been with their mothers. This little guy was adorable. In Kyoto Station I found there’s a great tourist information office. Actually there are…
Kyoto Day 1 and a half
I got to Kyoto yesterday. I’ll write more tomorrow. It’s been tough to find Internet access. I had a good day walking the Philosopher’s walk, but I’m totally beat. I’ve uploaded some photos, I’ll link to them tomorrow.
Tokyo: Day Two
I spent today with another Australian, Naomi. She just finished Uni, studying GIS, and she’s spending five weeks in Japan and then going to Europe for two months. She’s been studying Japanese on and off since Grade 7, which made today easy. We went to Akihabara, which the tech-gadget capital of Tokyo, and maybe the world. Interestingly, in the US there is a radio company called Yaesu (Japanese name, must be good) which produced the VX-7R, the best radio ever. In Japan the company is called Standard (English name, must be good). Here it’s the VX-7. In addition to high-tech…
Expectations and Surprises
The vending machines here are great. They have hot drinks as well as cold. Bottles of hot tea are 130 yen (118 yen per USD). The machines are everywhere, but nobody seems to drink anything on the street. I saw one young punk drinking tea on the subway. He must have been some kind of radical. I also saw one Japanese girl eating ice cream while walking down the sidewalk. I have not figured out what side of the sidewalk to walk on. It’s either chaos or beyond my understanding. There’s less order than I expected. There’s also a lot…