Voyage Junkie

Kobe is a half-hour from Osaka by rapid train, the same distance as Gifu to Nagoya, so we traveled to Kobe twice over our short trip.  We went the first evening as an extension of our nori-hodai  tickets and explored the pier pictured to the left.  Kobe is a true port city, and this is only one of many piers.  This one seems mostly for tourism now, but before the earthquake in '95, we think it was used for business also.  Now on one side there is a big memorial park with amazing statues and dedications to the quake victims.  There's also an incredible hotel that looks like a ship.  Below, Matt and I pose in front of the view of Mosaic, a fun shopping, entertainment, and eating pavilion. We loved Kobe so much on our first night there and we were excited to visit again.  Kobe is known for its old Western-style houses (remember: port city; all the foreigners used to live in Kobe back when foreigners were first openly allowed in the country at the start of the Meiji era).

On our second day of adventure in Osaka, we decided to head south to the port.  It was remarkably sunny and hot early in the day, so we were very happy we had chosen to spend the day inside various attractions.  First on the list: Osaka Maritime Museum, a huge glass globe structure set out on the water across from a working pier.  Talk about visually stunning!  We arrived at the subway station and took a leisurely walk to the museum entrance, marveling at the glistening water, port activity, and fish jumping out of the water.  To the left is a photo of a Chinese ship being unloaded.  On the far right of the photo are three cylindrical towers.  They are trash incinerators, making power for Japan out of trash.  You can't see it in this picture, but their tops are golden, and they shine beautifully in the sun. To get to the museum, you walk underwater, where you can see through into the sea at various points.  The museum itself is a spectacular, 4-story affair with many kinds of e

For our first day in Osaka, we decided to see historical sites.  We had quite a day rushing around trying to see everything on time, mostly because Osaka is a crazy city that is impossible to navigate.  At every turn our maps would be wrong, showing sites in completely different places than they were in reality, causing us to wander in circles.  That was the most frustrating part of Osaka for us.  Osaka is definitely the most oddly laid-out and confusing city we've visited.  That's not to say it's all bad.  We met some nice people, were upgraded for free in our hotel room (they threw in a kitchen, dining area, big TV, and washer), and the subway system is actually very fast and direct. We were able to visit an inordinate amount of sites because we bought day passes to the city.  For 2,000 yen a day we could ride the subway as much as we liked and visit 27 sites for free.  There were also 15 sites we could visit at a discount, and coupons to use with certain city business

With our extremely long summer vacation, Matt and I decided to take another trip, this time south to the cities of Osaka and Kobe.  We again went via nori-hodai , passing through Kyoto on the way to and from Osaka.  For purposes of time and space, I'll consolidate our two Kyoto outings in this post, then move on to talk about the main part of our vacation. On the way down, we visited two temples just a short jaunt from the main JR Kyoto Station.  Walking north we quickly ran into the Higashi Hongan-ji , or "Eastern Temple of the Original Vow."  Apparently it is in the top few largest wooden buildings in the world.  In any case, it is quite impressive.  We weren't allowed to take pictures in the site, so I can't wow you with the inner glory of the temple.  I can, however, show an aerial view of the complex taken from an online tourism site and wikipedia: You can see just how awe-inspiring the structures are, even from the outside.  If you google for images o

Yuko sensei sitting with many obi . The holiday Obon  is a traditional Buddhist celebration honoring deceased relatives.  It is customary to return to your hometown and pay tribute to ancestor's grave sites, as the spirits are said to return during Obon .  It is celebrated for three days around August 15th, though the specific dates differ across Japan.  In Gifu prefecture, Obon  was celebrated August 13-15, and we took part in the festivities. Obon  is attributed to a Buddhist monk who learned his mother was suffering in a realm of hungry ghosts.  He began a series of sacrifices to free her, and as he did so, he realized all her selflessness and sacrifice to him during her lifetime.  When she was finally freed, he danced for joy. Close to Gifu, there is a large city named Gujo, famous for its summertime all-night dance festivals.  During  Obon , there are special dances performed to welcome and honor the spirits, in the tradition of that first monk dancing for joy at his m

Recently we traveled to Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture. We spent our day at the two main shrine complexes, called Kotai Jingu  (Inner Shrine, or Naiku ) and Toyouke Daijingu (Outer Shrine, or Geku ), located 6 kilometers away from each other in adjoining towns.  There are 123 other shrines in the city, all connected to the Naiku  and Geku .  This is possibly the most famous group of Shinto shrines in Japan.  The high priest or priestess of Ise Shrine must come from the Japanese imperial family, a tradition that has been held since the late 7th century.  Establishment dates for the shrines vary, but most put it during the reign of Emperor Temmu (678-686), with the first ceremonial rebuilding done by his wife, Empress Jito, in 692.  Yes... every 20 years, the shrine buildings are rebuilt following ceremonial codes. The shrines are built following the architectural style shinmei-zukuri , which dates to the Kofun  era (250-538).  It's characterized by simple, antique lines.  In the p

Night life in Shinjuku. We just got back from Tokyo on Sunday, and boy was it fun!  It was our second journey to the magical city since living in Japan.  This time we stayed with our friend Preston (from our CO days) and his girlfriend Junko.  They are both really fun people and they showed us a lot of night life along with cool museums and one of the most famous shrines in Japan. We bought really cheap nori-hodai (all you can ride) tickets from the main train company and made a nearly 12,000-yen trip (or 7,000 yen, if you can get Economy tickets) in 2,300 yen.  It took us 7 hours by local and rapid trains, but we got to stop in the city of Shizuoka for lunch where we met a Japanese man who trained in Thai cooking in Thailand.  So cool!  When we arrived at Tokyo Station we had a few hours to fill before meeting Preston after work, so we walked through some haute couture shopping districts until we found ourselves in Shinbashi, at dozens of restaurants and shops housed under the