Return to Asakusa

With typhoon Melor fast approaching we decided to visit Senso Ji Temple (one of Tokyo’s most ancient) to ask for good fortune. However …

After purchasing our fortunes for 100 Yen we found to our dismay

That the both of us were shit out of luck.

So what could two gaijin down on their luck do?

Pray for dear life of course.

Otherwise this fellow might have his way with us

And that would be no good. Just ask this dude under his foot.

So we inhaled the sacred incense

Lit a candle

And paid our dues in the temple

Before visiting a Buddha

Or two

We felt good afterward and enjoyed the art on the temple ceiling

They brought some peace to our troubled souls

And so did the Heineken on the train ride home.

Melor hit that night, and we can only assume our prayers were answered

As the next day was bright and beautiful.

Gubbernatorials

Along with every single junior high school in Tokyo, we visited the Tokyo Diet Building—home of the Japanese Diet (think of it like Canada’s Senate). Though we weren’t allowed too many pictures inside, we still got away with murder. As there was a typhoon approaching, conditions for picture-taking were less than optimal. Nonetheless, we marched around half of old Tokyo—through Hibiya Park, the Imperial Palace grounds, and later on around Roppongi Hills—in the sopping sogginess.

The boys on the train, awaiting all the political delights.

Inside the Diet, we were met with traditional government activities.

And many, many Japanese schoolchildren.

Outside the Diet, the weather was misty.

But we soldiered on to Hibiya Park (one of Tokyo’s oldest)

Even in an oncoming typhoon, the civic workers continue to toil

“You’re not Romulus sucking on the teats of the mother wolf!”

Eventually, we found our way through Nihombashi to the Imperial Palace.

Which was, of course, closed to visitors. But notice the lovely park! And Tokyo Tower in the background.

We finished the rainy day near Yasukuni Shrine—the infamous house of Japan’s war criminals (and heroes, for sure. But the criminals make the news way more often)

Later that night, we were attacked by spiders in Roppongi

…and enjoyed the lights of Tokyo Tower up close and personal this time.

Mmm … Fooood

The food has easily been one of the top highlights of our trip. Whether it’s udon, Korean barbecue, curry or a piping hot rice bowl from a vending machine—we just couldn’t stop eating.

Shabu shabu in Gotanda (homebase).

More kick-ass oysters in Miyajima (this time in ponzu sauce).

The second culinary highlight of Miyajima: okonomiyaki.

Kick-ass oysters in Miyajima.

Good natured sushi chefs in Hiroshima.

That delicious sushi has to come from somewhere. Tsukiji fish market is one of those places.

According to Metropolis Magazine (Tokyo’s English alt weekly) of the 60,000 tons of top grade tuna caught worldwide, 80 per cent of it is consumed in Japan.

All you can eat/drink (in 90 minutes) Korean barbecue. Five stars bitches!

Vegetarian udon in Kamakura.

Meals from vending machines. Tempura, curry or soba oh my!

Tokyo style okonomiyaki in Yoyogi.

The smallest chicken wings in the world.

And of course nothing beats a home cooked meal. Especially M-san and Ken’s Persian delights.

Up In Smoke In Tokyo

Japan has quite a different view on smoking. After a while one gets the impression that the Japanese might be stuck in 1950s America where salary-men wear suits everyday and chain smoke in afterhours izakayas, all while upholding the traditional values of the perfect nuclear family. After all: in Japan you’re allowed to puff away in restaurants, hospitals, on the train, in airports and even in Tokyo Disney (well DisneySea anyway, but more on that later). What you’re not allowed to do is smoke while you’re walking in public. In fact the local government has gone to the trouble of posting anti-smoking haikus on public ashtrays. Please enjoy:

OHMYGOD Cleetus! There’s a temple in the water there!

To lighten our hearts after the heavy (but with heavenly sushi) visit to Hiroshima, we departed for Miyajima—an island town in Itsukishima which houses the famous floating torii (basically it’s a shrine gate stuck  in the middle of the water). If there were ever any reason in your entire life to leave your house, just once, go to Miyajima and eat an oyster. For the gods’ sake, leave now!!

On the advice of the sushi chefs in Hiroshima we headed to Miyajima in search of its famed oysters and okonomiyaki.

The ferry ride across the inlet was breezy and full of others on similar quests.

Upon our arrival the floating torii of the Itsukushima Shrine greeted us.

As we follwed our map

We found that the torii wasn’t the only part of the shine surrounded by water

Fish and other creatures like to live in the shade under the shrine’s walk ways.

The island isn’t very big—its giant red pagoda is visible from pretty much everywhere.

By the time we finished exploring the nooks

And crannies

We figured it was time to find some lunch

We made our way into the market place and soon came upon our prize.

Oysters!

Obviously we had seconds.

After the seafood appetizers, we moved on to our main course.

The best damn okonomiyaki on god’s green earth.

After washing up it was time to bid the island fairwell and hitch the Shinkansen back to Tokyo.

8:15AM, August 6, 1945

It’s not exactly easy to describe touristy sites of Hiroshima—it’s kind of like trying to talk about visiting Auschwitz. You don’t feel like taking a lot of pictures. It’s hard to make jokes about the quirkiness of the Peace Memorial Museum layout… but we’ll try anyway.

Soonafter we arrived on the Shinkansen at Hiroshima station

…we found immediate reminders of the historic signifcance of the city.

A port known for its military contingent, Hiroshima was a unique and carefully chosen target

for the world’s first nuclear bomb attack (thanks, USA)

Though the atrocities in its history are well known, Hiroshima’s beauty and friendliness is a better indication of the city’s spirit.

The city has taken on a desingation of Peace, not war.

Paper cranes (remember Sadako?) are everywhere

The sole architectural reminder of Little Boy is the A-Bomb Dome, a hall in the old entertainment district

…the old exhibition hall now stands as a sombre memorial of the bomb victims (hibakusha).

60 years later, Hiroshima has regained its fervour—complete with friendly sushi chefs offering tasty recommendations for our next leg of the journey.

Red Like Fox…

Our third day in Kyoto was short (according to the Shinkansen booking it was also considered our first day in Hiroshima), so we woke up bright and early to catch a large, mountainside shrine at the southernmost tip of Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Shrine, famous for its abundance of foxy statues and vermillion gates. And when we say “abundance” we really do mean it.

These clever fauna are said to be middlemen for messages between the gods and the devout. The fox sculptures numbered in the hundreds.

In fact the only thing that out numbered the Inari were torii (gates). Visitors hiking the trails pass through tunnels of them.

They go on …

and on …

and on …

and on …

and just when you think you’ve reached the end …

there’s more.

Foxes aren’t the only animals that call Inari home. There are cats …

giant freaking spiders …

and tourists, of course.

It was a good 2Km hike, but before we we carried on to Hiroshima

We decided to catch a few more torii

And inari. Kawaiii desu!

Getting Crazy in Kyoto

Of course, this was just Day Two…

Our first stop in Kyoto was Kinkakuji Temple. AKA the golden temple.

Here’s the golden temple without the peanut gallery.

Upkeep of the golden temple grounds doesn’t pay for itself.

Fortunately donating to the cause can be turned into a game.

Our next stop in Kyoto was Nijo Castle, home of the Tokugawa shogunate — the last shogunate in Japanese history.

Nijo castle was renovated and expanded in 1626 including the Ninomaru Palace. There’s no photography allowed within the palace, not even of its ceiling tiles.

Or wall paintings.

Or hallways.

But the gardens are fair game.

After our shenanigans at Nijo it was time to clear our conscience at Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

And we weren’t the only ones. Apparently swine flu isn’t a concern for people drinking from the communal shrine cups.

They say the famous love stone at Kiyomizu-dera can help point one toward true love.

Just ask these two horn dogs we ran into later that night.

Another good place to find companionship is the Gion district, where the Geisha run wild.

However, finding them can prove difficult. They weren’t down here.

Or in here.

And when we did see one she was quite determined to deprive us of a good angle.

So, we were forced to ambush her…

Twice.

Geisha hunting is tiring work so we decided to round off the day with some tasty horse sashimi before hitting the hay.

The Chronicles of Nara

After joining Fawnda in in Tokyo we embarked upon a four-day trip to the south of Japan. First stop: Nara.

Enroute to the land of sacred (and mischievious) deer.

Pretty self explanatory.

After a short jaunt through the lovely city of Nara we reach Todaiji Temple, home of the world’s largest seated indoor Buddha — according to our guide book anyway. More on this in a moment.

Coincidentally the aforementioned Buddha is housed in Daibutsuden Hall — the largest wooden building in the world. Also note the traditional Japanese pose courtesy of the weird dude in the foreground. Peace to all.

Without further adieu: the world’s largest seated indoor Buddha. He’s made of 437 tons of bronze and took five years to cast.

If you were curious (and we know you are), the hole this Japanese student is climbing through is the same size as the Buddha’s nostril. Also note the traditional pose.

Here is one of the sacred deer of Nara. Beware: they have a sweet tooth for paper. Shortly after this photo was taken a pack of the miscreants ate our tour map.

We would have been mad about the map incident, but just look at that face.

Let’s go onsen! In Shimoda…

Last weekend, Ken, M-San and I went on an overnight trip to Shimoda—a beachy resort area on the Pacific coast. The city was where Commodore Matthew Perry (yes, that’s his real name) first landed and established American trade agreements with Japan in 1854. Consequently, many things in Shimoda—which kind of has that same mountain town atmosphere you could find in, say, Canmore, AB—are Commodore Perry themed. Plus, it’s a hotspot for traditional Japanese onsens: the hot baths where you enter fully naked (sorry, no pics of those, folks!).

First, a ride on the shinkansen—Japan’s famed bullet train.

In the 2+hour ride, we actually got to see the city end for a while.

Our hotel was rather traditionally styled (as was the food).

…and the clothing!

After visting the onsen, we stayed in for some fun and games.

Which got a little competitive.

Did I mention there was sake last night?

Our hotel, in the light of day.

Our view of the beach was spectacular.

I mean REALLY spectacular.

Crystal waters, white sand…

…and many surfers

It was a very hot day out in the sun

But everyone was having a good time

The waves were ample, too.

Looking back at the hotel one last time

We set out to explore the town—with many dangers of its own.

But it was mostly a quiet, quaint country town.

With its fair share of traditional sights.

…hidden in the trees too.

Look! It’s Matthew Perry.

Alongside other familiar visitors.

And some not so familiar fruits (?).

I wonder how much it costs to park a boat?

Heading back to the train station

M-San took a nap in the kiddie car on the ride home!