They say a smile is contagious, not in Tokyo.

I have been falling behind in my Blogging and for that I am truly sorry! So two weekends ago I decided that it was about time I visit my friend Anthony in Tokyo. I knew that one of the days he was going to have to go to work, but that was okay with me because I would see him after work and would be able to spend the day exploring the city.

Before I was very apprehensive about going to Tokyo for a few reasons. First of all, I had thought long and hard about where I wanted to live when I came to Japan. I was lucky enough to come with a company that let me choose my region. I made the decision of Kansai and specifically 'near Osaka'. I love where I live in Tarumi/Kobe, but I was afraid that upon venturing into the big BIG city, I my love for my Medium/Large city would pale in comparison and I would be endlessly jealous of my friends in Tokyo.  Secondly, I didn't know how the best and cheapest ways to get there were and how to best utilize the short two day weekend that I would get once I got there.

To comment on my feelings for Tokyo. I have decided that Tokyo and I are going to be acquaintances but could never be best friends. First, Tokyo has way too many people. I felt like, and did, in fact, wait in a line to do everything. If you wanted to get a quick bite to eat...wait in line. If you wanted to get on a train or in a cab.... wait in a LONG line. IF you wanted to cross the street... LINE! It was something that made ME feel antisocial (which is super abnormal for this Chick). There were also so many people just walking on the street. In Sannomiya, where i go to eat, shop and hang out with friends in Kobe, is often crowded; especially on weekends. However, this was just out of this world. The main dilemma I faced here was that people would bump into you and get in your way or cut you off when walking and would not say they were sorry. This is very strange for me to do. I didn't want to stand out in Tokyo more than I already do being foreign so I had to learn quickly how to be impolite! In Kansai, we are very polite and always excuse ourselves when we get in another's way.  

I was told that the personalities of people in Tokyo are different than those in Kobe. That was 100% true. The people here are so lively and friendly. They are often outgoing and very nice. In Tokyo, people either seemed too busy or just plain cold. They say a smile is contagious, not in Tokyo. 

There are two positive things about this mass of a city. One is named Elizabeth, and one Anthony. These are two of my high school friends that I have managed to stay in touch with since our days at our 'beloved' East Lake High School. And to think...we would all end up in Japan. :) Elizabeth is working at Disney Tokyo...which is an awesome job by any standards and Anthony is also an English teacher...that you probably remember from a previous blog when he visited me! :) These two and I reminisced and enjoyed each other's company for many many hours over dinner at Tokyo Downtown Disney. The restaurant was fun, but didn't altogether feel like Disney. Elizabeth was great and is now happily married to a man that I hope to meet soon! She has lived here and in Hong Kong... both amazing... and both she loves. Anthony is still doing well, teaching away in Tokyo. We have a lot in common and always have fun when we get together, so this Tokyo trip was no exception.

Just so you know, from Shinjuku, where Anthony lives, to Disney, took two train transfers and about 1 hour and 30 minutes, and that is just to get across town. WHAT??!! 

On the whole day I had to explore the city I just walked around. I went to Shinjuku-goen, which is the big park in Shinjuku  and here is where I saw some of the first Cherry Blossom trees of the season! They were beautiful and I wish that Anthony didn't have work so we could grab a bento and a blanket and lay peacefully under the blossoming trees. The only strange thing I saw with Shinjuku park was the fact that there were a lot of homeless people. In fact, there was a tent city set up, but there were tons of people just leisurely eating their lunch and taking photos of the trees with a tent city of hundreds directly behind them. If you want to see the photo please ask me, because I think the dichotomy was striking. 

Anthony was a great tour guide though, and on his day off he took me to Harajuku and Mejii Shrine as well as Shibuya to explore and see the busiest crosswalk/intersection in the world. We also rode on the infamous Yamanote line (the busiest train in Tokyo). It was crazy!

Overall, The first trip to Tokyo was a success because I was able to see both Anthony and Elizabeth and explore. So far, my opinion of Tokyo is wavering, but there is still plenty of time for it to redeem itself!

And then...there was the Garden

The next day, after going to Himeji Castle, I read online that right next to the castle there was a famous and very beautiful garden. I was disappointed that I didn't know this sooner because I had spent so much time for the travel to Himeji that I didn't think I was going to go back so soon. I thought about it and figured, hey, might as well go back, visit the garden on a beautiful sunny day, and pick up another Yukata for my mom. :)

So I packed my day bag and hopped back on the train out of Tarumi and headed west. I got off at Himeji and walked straight over to where the shop with the Yukatas was. I was able to find two that were beautiful. One is a blue pattern and the other is silk with beautiful japanese scenery on it. They were so cheap and I couldn't resist buying both. I didn't know which one my mom would want more, so I figured I would give her a choice. 

Very pleased with my recent purchase, I headed toward the site of the garden, Nishi-Oyashiki-Ato Garden Koko-en. As I approached the entrance gate, I wondered how I could have missed this the first time around. It is not even two blocks away and I am sure you can see it's beauty from the top of the castle where I was just one day earlier. I was not upset, however, because each day is a new and different adventure and you never know what new things you will find or experience. 

I went to the clerk at the counter and paid my 200 Yen entrance fee. I wondered why there was a fee for the garden, since many gardens are free and small. Much to my delight, this was not just one garden, but many many gardens separated by walls and trees. As I approached the first Garden... Tsukiyama-chisen-no-niwa, (which literally translates to the garden with the hill and pond) I was in awe at it's beauty. It had waterfalls and stone bridges and was much larger than I thought the whole garden would be. There were giant carp in the water and it was so beautiful and peaceful. 

Every corner I turned and every new garden I entered was like a new experience and a whole new place. One signified the pine forests which are along the Seto Inland Seacoast (Matsu-no-niwa), one was a Garden of Flowers from the Edo period only (Hana-no-niwa), one had fifteen varieties of bamboo (Take-no-niwa), one was to remind visitors of the nature of the countryside of Japan (Nagare-no-hira-niwa), one was composed of deciduous trees (Natsuki-no-niwa), and two were a traditional Japanese gardens to represent nature on the small scale (Tsukiyama-chisen-no-niwa and Cha-no-niwa). 

The biggest garden, and the first that I went through, was the Oyashiki-no-niwa; the garden of the Lord's House. This garden had many elements. The had a circular spring style to it and had a background of Himeyama forest. The waterfall on the south side of the garden is meant to represent a fall of a deep valley. The fish, Carp, were reaching numbers of over 250.

There was even a traditional Japanese teahouse that served tea and cakes for 500 Yen(Souju-an) as well as a replica of a place where samurais gathered to protect Himeji Castle of attack(Musha-Damari) and a garden of seedlings(Nae-no-niwa).

I sat in this garden on a bench for a long time; what felt like hours. The sun was shining for two days in a row and my skin and my mind were both happy to feel it's warmth. The garden was also fairly empty because of the weekday I visited on, which made it much more peaceful and pleasant. I really felt relaxed and at ease with my thoughts there, which allowed me to write.  I love how inspiring small things in Japan often are. :)

This garden also has a great view of Himeji Castle and was really so beautiful. I am very pleased that I went back to experience this amazing garden. I will be more careful next time I travel because now I fear that if I do not keep my eyes open wide, I could miss something amazing less than too blocks away! 

Himeji Castle Adventure... Continued

Okay, So sorry I have kept you waiting on an update of two weekends ago. I am just terrible like that I guess. Things have been so incredibly busy here I have not had the spare time to sit down and write what I really wanted to say, therefore, no blog up until this point. I apologize sincerely.

So, the first day of my weekend, was Sunday. I decided that I had been really wanting to get out and see Himeji Castle and that I hadn't really been exploring very much in the past week. I got up early, got dressed, and was blessed with a beautiful day. The sun was shining and I was going on an adventure. I had Billy Joel 'The Entertainer' playing on my ipod and I was almost skipping to the train station in anticipation. 

When I got to the square in front of the Japan Rail Station, I noticed a lot of people were there. I was curious so I walked into the crowd to find that they were having a large sale of goods. It was like a multi-family garage sale. Fantastic! I looked around at each families unwanteds and decided that maybe I would come back later to purchase something. Japanese garage sales are much more interesting than American ones. 

I bought my ticket to Himeji and was on my way. The train ride was long and I had to switch trains once. I do believe it took me about one and a half hours on the way there due to the changeover. No problem. I learned some Japanese on my way and took notes in a notebook. At one point I even dropped my cap to my green tea bottle, which subsequently rolled down the isle and stopped next to an elderly woman's foot. She then proceeded to look at the cap, then back out the window. I wanted to just leave it there, however, my bottle of tea was still full and I wanted to have it to drink for the day. I finally got up the nerve to go over and say 'excuse me' in Japanese and pick it up. It was fantastic because she just ignored me the whole time. Hah

Well, then we arrived in Himeji. I got off the train and headed north. I had caught a glimpse of the Castle on the way into the station and had a perfect idea of how to get to it. It was very easy to see and was sitting high up on a hill in all of it's glory.  When I was walking out of the train station I found my second Cafe Du Monde. I didn't want to stop for a coffee today though, so I just kept on trekking to my destination. 

When I arrived at the gates I was blown away by the beautiful castle that stood before me. It looked so proud and prestigious, which is probably one of the main reasons that Japan named it a World Cultural Heritage spot in 1992. I walked across the bridge over the mote to the castle and in through the gates. This opened up to a huge field that was surrounded in unbloomed cherry blossom trees (sakura). I could tell that this place would be where I wanted to go to see the blossoms once they had bloomed. To the right there is a small zoo. I walked up and on the field, where some families were sitting and having lunch and others were playing soccer and taking pictures. It was a sunny day, which I had not been lucky enough to experience in a long time so I was eager to just sit down and soak up it up. 

Finally, after a few pictures and a little sun, I paid my 600 yen and went into the castle. I was presented with a map of the castle grounds in English, much to my delight, and I headed first to the west part of the castle which boasts the West Bailey Building. This building was built for the Princess and later her and her husband. The long corridor that you walk down had many windows and the ladies quarters, for women that were responsible for taking care of the Princess, was amazing and built all in beautiful wood. This is one of the few castles built mostly of wood, that still stands in mostly it's original form. Most of the other castles had been burned down in the past. This castle was built in 1346. 

After this I walked toward the main building. Here I encountered what my younger brother has been asking me about for months. A Ninja. Yes, that is right, I saw a ninja in Himeji castle. He was dressed in all black and you could only see his eyes. He carried a sword and when someone yelled "look a ninja!" he ran up a wall to their delight. I wanted badly to take a photo with this ninja to prove that he was not just a manifestation, however, I refused to be like the 'stupid Americans' behind me that yelled "look a ninja!" at a beautiful, serene Castle. 

Finally  I made it to the Main part of the castle. There are a few things that are interesting an unique about this castle. First of all, the stone that holds the castle up is very unique. It has what is called a fan curve, which means that they have a slight curve at the corner, appearing like an open fan. You can see this from my photos :). 

The second interesting thing about this castle is that when you look at it, it appears to have only 5 levels, but it in fact had six stories and a basement. 

Also, like many of the castles in Japan, there are small holes in the wall that have more narrow openings on the outside of the wall. They were used to throw rocks, spears, and other objects at people that were attacking the castle or trying to scale the walls. They were made narrow at the outer end so that no one would be able to throw things back at them. 

The view from the top was breathtaking. However, it takes quite a long time to walk up all of the incredibly steep stairs to the top and I feared many times that the tiny older ladies in front of me were going to slip back and fall. Somehow, we all managed to make it to the top where there is a stamp of the castle, a small shrine, and an amazing view perfect for photos. 

After this I climbed down and decided to explore one more part of the castle before I headed out to find something for lunch and to explore more of Himeji. I wanted to see the Harakiri-maru. This place is the building where the samurai performed their ritual suicide. They think that the well in the courtyard area was used to wash the beheaded. It was a small building and I tried to imagine what it must have been like back then. So much honor. Truly amazing. 

Finally I left the castle. I had a snack from a local vendor of takoyaki and then I found a shop where a man was selling used Yukatas, which are like an informal Kimono worn in summer especially for festivals. I was amazed at the price being so low so I bought one that is orange and looks like it has the scales of a coy. It is absolutely amazing, and for the price, what a steal. 

I doubt I will ever wear it out in public, but maybe sometime just for fun! :) 

Himeji Castle Adventure

 Here is the video of my adventure today. Blog to follow tomorrow! :)

My New Hometown

I haven't posted in far to long, so let me fill you in on what has been going on in 

my life. 

First of all, I have been very busy with classes and school. SO much adventure has been catching up to me, leaving me exhausted. Bummer. I have been trying to catch up on sleep, but for one  reason or another, I never quite can. So maybe I am not actually tired, rather just busy. I should learn the difference. 

Last weekend I decided to go down to the Port of Kobe to check it out. I hadn't seen the Port tower in person yet, well at least not close up. I have been hanging out in Port Island from time to time with a friend and going to Ikea and from the bride you can see the Tower. 

So I took a train to Kobe and decided I would go for a walk near the water. The weather was beautiful, even though it was slightly chilly. I was waiting for a day like this to explore the port due to the fact that a Port always looks better in the sunlight, which we don't get a lot of here during the winter. However, on this day the sun was shining and I was pumped. I walked around a shopping area and everything near the water which is called a number of things; Kobe Harborland, Mosaic, etc) so I am not quite sure what to call it. There is a movie theatre, so I rode up to the third floor to check it out. Prices were normal for Japan and they were only playing Seven Pounds and Mama Mia! for English films, so I decided exploring would be more fun.

I headed back downstairs to check out the bistros and restaurants that line the area. There were also all kind of specialty shops including a real gelato stand and a specialty clothing store for dogs. They just love to dress their pups to the tee. It's crazier than you can even imagine. They have raincoats and fur coats... as if a dog can't get wet and doesn't have fur or hair of it's own. Ha, as all fashion is in Japan, it is about the fashion, never to serve a purpose. Perhaps this is why I see girls wearing shorts and heels in the dead of winter. 

I turned a corner around the side of a restaurant that puts fleece blankets out so diners can eat outside even in the winter, and there it was. Beautiful. Standing tall, bright red, staring right at me. It was much grander in person than I could have imagined. I snapped some photos and headed over towards the small 'amusement park' they have there to check that out. 

After this, I just walked around Kobe. I found a few cool shops and restaurants and an import store that had a huge selection of Diet Dr. Pepper for 117 yen a can ;). I only bought one for the road. I am trying to kick that habit, which is easy if I don't have a can of Diet Dr. staring me in the face. I took my soda pop on the train and called it a day, but not before stopping at Yoshinoya for a gyudon. MMM.

Side Note: There are YOSHINOYA in THE US now! The website says that there are locations in California, New York City, Arizona, and Las Vegas. Make sure to check it out. When I get back to NY we will be frequenting that place.

Fun Facts, Information, and Quotes from Students and friends alike:

This is to all of my AMC friends: I had a student of a beginner level in class the other day during a lesson on movies talk about the movie Australia. When asked what the movie was about, she hesitated and proceeded with  "It's a love story, about... about...ehh... people in Australia." I laughed for about 5 minutes due to the fact that it is obviously not clear to anyone what the heck this movie was even about. Not anyone in the world. I remember the days of people coming into the theatre and asking what that movie was about. I could never really give a better answer than my student. Awesome. This was probably one of the shining moments of the last couple of weeks.

I learned that people in Japan still eat Whale. I knew they did, but somehow I forgot and upon being reminded I was freaked out. Kujira is what is called in Japanese and it can be bought at the supermarket from time to time. It is cheaper than most fish. They asked me what I thought of whale hunting, but swear they don't eat it. They said that their parents used to eat it as part of school lunch and that it was fried, mmm whale fritters. :(

While teaching a lesson in one of my intermediate classes I learned where the term 'best man' originated from. Apparently, it was from a time when men used to go to neighboring towns and kidnap their wives. They would bring a friend of family member that was the largest and strongest to protect them and help them kidnap the bride of their choice. Somehow, over time, this originated into the form that it is today. This one is for you Bryan and Cortney. Hah. I love you.

*** This is the most beautiful and wonderful thing I will ever type in this blog.

I have a student that I teach private lessons to and she is just a wonderful and beautiful lady. She is always sweet and smiling and tells me stories of her family and her life. She has a husband who works away five days a week and a daughter who is away at school, but instead of feeling alone, she loves her independence. I admire that about her. 

So, in class last week, I asked her favorite flower. She said it was a carnation. This was almost shocking to me, because with all of the beautiful flowers in the world, why would she choose a carnation? I asked her why and this was her response. " I like carnations because they look very weak and fragile, but they are the strongest flower." This statement was so poetic, so beautiful that I literally sat there and contemplated its perfection in its simplicity. As time went on in the lesson, I realized that the carnation is her. She seems so fragile, so sweet, but she is a strong woman. I told her this and she responded with "it is like you too, like us". I was almost moved to tears. So amazing. I can't even say anything more about this without getting chills. This truly was so important to me. 

With that amazing story, I will leave you for now. Don't worry, there will me more adventures to come. This is not goodbye... merely a see you later....

Kyoto and the Weekend: Part Ni

Sorry about having to continue this entry and leave you hanging on my adventurous weekend!

After we hiked through the absolutely amazing bamboo forest, we came across the other side of the shrine. We came out at an end with a ton of mini shrines and people praying and burning incense. The shrines were so interesting because even though much of them all looked the same, they all had something a little bit different. Many of them had food on them or drink, which was placed there as an offering. They all had some sort of Fox statue, some had many(as in my photos from my last post; hundreds of foxes).  As we walked further down the mountain back towards the front of the shrine, we saw more and more mini-shrines. 

We realized that we had been walking this shrine for a couple of hours and wanted to try to get some other site in before everything closed at 4pm. That is the only downside of Kyoto and the historical castles, temples, and shrines; they all close early!

We hopped back on the JR train to Kyoto station where we tried to figure out the city bus system. To our frustration, we couldn't figure out how to buy a ticket. We went to an information center in the Kyoto Station, which is the most beautiful train station I have ever seen. There was a man there who spoke English and he suggested that since it was already 3pm, we probably wouldn't make it to the Golden Pavilion, which was one of our top choices. The only place that would be open later, until 6pm, was Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist Temple. This was one of the other places of interest that we discussed, so we thanked the man and hopped onto the number 100 bus towards our destination.

When we arrived at our stop, we saw no real direction to where we were going so we decided to walk uphill. We knew that this Temple was famous for a night view so it had to be up the hill. We knew we were in the right place when we started to see the streets narrow and the crowds grow. Everyone was eating ice cream, despite the wind and chill in the air, as well as various snacks on sticks. And then we rounded a corner of the street and there it was, standing tall, the gate to the Temple. It was beautiful as the sun was shining on it, setting in the west, and a single plum tree sat to it's right with it's flowers in full bloom. 

We walked up the steps and couldn't help but feeling amazed as we turned to the west and saw the amazing view we had of the city. Everyone that had told us that this Temple had the best view of Kyoto was dead on. It was simply breathtaking. 

Next, we paid our 300 yen entry fee and walked through the Temple. We saw the Holy fountains and watched as people washed their hands in it's water. We walked around the Temple and stared at the amazing view. This is when, for both of us, it really sank in how amazing this all was.

That is something that I have noticed. On a day to day basis, it doesn't always feel like Japan. Even with the language barrier sometimes, it just feels like I am home. But on certain days, special days, you feel something unique. It all just clicks. "I am in Japan. Look at how beautiful this is. I really am so fortunate to have this opportunity."

Another awesome thing about visiting all of these historical places in Kyoto is that they are intertwined in the modern aspects of the city. You can be shopping in a department store of walking out of a McDonald's and right across the street there is a temple or a shrine that is thousands of years old. The juxtaposition is mind-blowing. Plus the simple fact that all of these historical sites are far older than the United States. It's a very humbling and surreal experience. 

When we decided that we had spent enough time looking at the view, the Temple, and the garden, we headed back down towards Gion. Gion is the only place in Japan where you can still see the Geisha and Meiko if you are lucky walking to work between the hours of 4pm-630pm. We thought we would head down this way to try out one of the restaurants that seemed to be abundant in this area. On our way down the hill, we passed a Takoyaki stand. Takoyaki is famous in Osaka and is simple some sort of flour mix with octopus (tako) on the inside. They are octopus balls (not literally, but you know what I mean). They put sauce on the top and then fish flakes and parsley and finish them off with a toothpick so you can eat them while you walk. I still had not tried them and Anthony was in an adventurous eating mood for once, so we purchased some to try it out. They were soft and strange tasting. Not terrible, but probably not something I would fancy frequently eating. 

No Geisha were spotted in Gion, and no restaurants either. That is another cultural difference I have found very difficult in Japan. If you want to eat something, say perhaps a late lunch/early dinner, you can't unless you want fast food or take out. There are no restaurants that are open until 5 or 5:30 in most cities and they close after lunch. So we were in Gion at the wrong time. We decided to walk around until we found something that looked both appetizing and affordable and after walking for what felt like days, we decided to go to a 280 bar. 

This is another interesting experience in Japan. Everything is 280 yen on the menu. This includes all alcohol and food. You choose a lot of small portions and share. It is awesome, especially when you want to try new things and not spend a lot of money. We tried all sorts of yakitori and I even had a mango beer! 

Next, we hopped on a train to take us to Osaka where we walked around the 'famous' (haha) Yodobashi Camera. This is the largest department store for electronics. You think BestBuy is big, BestBuy has nothing on Yodobashi. This place is probably 15 times or more the size of Best Buy with over 7 floors of items. It is way too overwhelming to just browse and you would surely get lost for days. 

We walked around Namba, tried our luck at some UFO machines, Took a few photos down by Dotonbori and were on our way back to my Tarumi apartment, but not before a quick stop in the local 24 hour Yoshinoya for a gyudon, nami size*! What an amazing visit.

Gyudon-(beef and rice bowl...japanese fast food. Very thin sliced beef with onions and broth...so SO amazing) 

Nami- Medium/ Regular. 

Kyoto and an Old Friend :)

This weekend was full of exciting surprises and adventures. More Pictures to come in the morning. 

First of all, my good friend from high school, Anthony, lives in Tokyo teaching English also. We didn't know each other was coming until we were already here. He arrived in Tokyo two days before I arrived in Osaka. We have been trying to plan a trip to see each other ever since. On Saturday I get a e-mail message on my phone from Anthony saying he is going to catch the Shinkansen after work on Saturday to visit! I was so excited to see and old friend and to get to explore the Kansai region with such a good friend. 

After work on Saturday I came home and got things ready. Then, I went to the Shin Kobe station, which is where the Shinkansen lets off in Kobe, to wait for him. Sure enough, right on time he comes off the train! I was so happy to have him here visiting! We went to the pub so he could meet some of my friends and it happened to be one of their birthday's, so we stuck around and celebrated on the 7th floor. I love that pub.

The next day, we decided we wanted to go to Kyoto to get some history and visit a shrine or two and maybe a rock garden. Anthony had been to Kyoto once before when his older brother had been teaching English here a couple of years ago. However, he only went once place, Nijo Castle (see previous post). This was a perfect coincidence because that was the only place in Kyoto that I had been also, so we knew that no matter what it was going to be a new experience for the both of us. :)

The first place we decided to go was Fushimi-Inari Taisha. This is one of Kyoto's oldest shrine and it honors one of the goddess of agriculture and prosperity. There are over 40,000 mini shrines representing Inari here. There are also foxes all throughout the shrine. This place is amazing and it dates back to the 8th century. Some of you might recognize it from it's pictures above because of the 10,000 orange torii that make up tunnels all through the shrine. They were featured in the movie Memoirs of a Geisha (Kyoto is the only place in Japan where there are still Meiko and Geisha; and no, they are not prostitutes).To walk the full path around the entire shrine, and through all the torii, will take a minimum of two and half hours. It's worth it. This shrine offered breathtaking views and the tunnels were just so unreal. 

It was surrounded by a bamboo forest and when Anthony and I saw a trail that went off the beaten path, we had to follow it. Mind you I was wearing a dress and blue ballet flat style shoes, but if you know me well, you know that shoes won't stop me from hiking through a little muck to explore! The scenery was amazing on the trail and we couldn't help but feel we had found a lost land and that we were really experiencing something special that other visitors missed out on.

This shrine was also interesting because there were not many foreign tourists which made it much less crowded and much easier to enjoy.

I have so much more to say about this beautiful place but I must refrain. Lesson plans await, as does prepping for classing and meetings. Please check back for the continuation of my weekend story...One more Shrine and many more adventures. Check back tomorrow. :)