Let's Learn about Japan!

My lovely friend Ai gave me 'The Illustrated Guide to Japan - Daily Life & Society' (JTB). It's a book about everything possible in Japan. I have found some things I thought I would share, from what I have read...

On December 31st in the Akita Prefecture (state) 'Young men dressed as demons in fearsome masks enter people's houses yelling, "Whoop, whoop, naguko wa inegaa?" ("Are there any whiny children here?") to warn children against laziness' It's called Namahage. - I do wonder how well that would work in Australia....I am thinking about returning to work in Australia wearing a demon mask.

Did you know that Japanese people rarely wear loincloths in daily life??? Nowadays loinclothes are for climbing up ropes hanging down from the temple roof during the Yanaizu hadaka mairi festival in July.

In Japan they actually have a name for a certain type of single person...the Parasite Single! These are apparently single people who earn steady incomes but remain living with their parents...charming isn't it?!?!

Kyoto

Kyoto is one of my favourite cities in Japan. I have to admit that I loved almost everything about Japan, so I would probably say that about every city I visited, if I was honest. While over in Japan I did become quite interested in photography because of all the interesting sights there were. It did make me a better photographer and made me appreciate that you can find interest and beauty all around. 

Some weird statue of a dog chasing a guy in front of a restaurant, I'm guessing to prove how yummy the food is. He was anatomically 'correct' too, which you see if I had taken 3 steps to the right.

This is gravel that has been shaped this way, it was just so amazing some of the structures they had made.

The tree has fortunes tied to it that people didn't like. If you have a fortune that is negative you can tie it to the tree and pray.

The view from the Kiyomizu temple

The Kiyomizu temple

Byodion, Phoenix Hall. This is what is on the 10yen coin.

The Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) in Kyoto

Ai and I again packed our bags for another adventure. This time to one of her favourite places, Kyoto.

We stayed at Goju Guesthouse. It was a cute little place and a nice place to stay. 

Our beds in the Backpackers, just drag them on the floor and unroll. It was heaven for me, it was thicker than my normal 'futon' at home! 

The Golden Pavilion: kinkaku-ji

The Silver Pavilion: ginkaku-ji, it was intended that it would be covered with silver leafing (similar to the Golden Pavilion), but it was soon realised that it was going to be too expensive so it remained the way it was.

T is for t-shirt

Usually I can figure out what they mean but not this one....

Ueno Park and Zoo

I spent the day riding around on a bicycle in the busy city of Ueno. I was terrified I was going to plow right into someone because people were all over the footpaths, where it is common to ride your bikes.  It is not particularly a normal thing for me to do back home because I hate riding on the roads, so I was really apprehensive but had a smile on my face when a friend suggested we hire bikes...yay :)

Aside from the absolute terror that I would knock over someone, Ueno was a beautiful place to see. Gorgeous park and the zoo was so big I was unable to see the whole thing.

Click here to read more information about the Ueno Zoo

Shizunami Beach

My friends wanted to show me a decent beach. Let's be honest, I'm Australian, pretty much any coast you drive to where I come from, you'll find a decent beach. I wasn't used to stepping onto black 'sand'. I appreciated the thought and in general, Shizunami beach was a great place to swim. I did miss the golden sand, but we had a good time. 

Lake Tanuki & Otodome Waterfalls

We went on a road trip, after deciding it wasn't beach weather. My friends and I squished into my little car and we found the waterfalls and Lake Tanuki thanks to my Japanese friend's directions. It was a great day and the waterfalls were so beautiful. 

N is for Noodles

The kids from my kindergarten had a sleepover and the other teachers and I were there to help. When I arrived, parents were setting up this contraption using bamboo, crates and a hose. I had no idea what were going to be using them for. It looked like a makeshift waterslide.

 There was a bowl waiting at the other end. 

Noodles were pushed down the bamboo pipe with water from a hose. If you were fast enough and coordinated, you could catch them with chopsticks on the way down. 

Those not caught ended up at the bottom of the 'slide'.

Then you put your noodles into your soup to eat. 

Abekawa Fireworks

Went to a fireworks show in Shizuoka, on the Abe River (Kawa). They really go all out here, they went for 2 hours and were so pretty. The whole atmosphere was just amazing. Food everywhere and masses of people walking through the city to get to the river. Girls dressed in kimonos shuffling and kids carrying balloons. I just wish that I had a better camera to capture it all.

Golden Week in Miyajima

We left home on Friday morning at like 7.42am on a bus to Shizuoka Station to catch the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima. Arrived at Hiroshima at about 12.40pm and then had to catch the train to Miyajima-Guchi and then the ferry to Miyajima, an island.

Miyajima

Miyajima is known for its Torii Gate, one of the most popular places in Japan to photograph. It's a big orange gate in the water. Even if you don't know what it is, you have probably seen it.

We walked out to the gate through the water the whole time trying not to get my skirt wet but also trying not to show too much....turns out if we waited about another hour we could've walked out to it on the sand, but our way was much more fun. We started posing because we realised we would've been in at least 50 other people's photos...all the better I think.

We had great weather and watched the sun setting over the Torii Gate, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Our hotel was a room with two mattresses on the floor and no shower, but the owner was very sweet and brought us green tea. The weird thing about our hotel is that it had a curfew, we had to be inside by 10pm. It seems the whole island had a curfew, everything shut at about 7pm. I choose to believe something magical was happening on the island of Miyajima after 10 that we weren't allowed to see..something to do with all the deers that wander around.

To top off the no shower thing, there was only a Japanese style toilet...I have done the squatting thing, I'm over it..I want the western style toilet! I was so sleepy in the morning, it's easier to just take off your pants when you're in that state, especially with the whole near miss incident a few days before...I was playing it safe!

So after that we decided to cancel the second night and stay in Hiroshima...

The day we left Miyajima though was great, we went on this rope way, and we saw the coast and the islands, mountains, and when you get to the top there are cute monkeys everywhere, so it was all worth it. Everything about the island is just beautiful!

Cherry Blossom Festival

This was my first trip into the city. It was a fantastic atmosphere with people all around the city and inside Sumpu Castle. There was entertainment, food and of course the main attraction, lots of cherry blossom (sakura) trees.

My home: Asabata

Asabata is the name of the place I am living, what will be my home for the next year. I am still exploring it but I love it so far.