I was really looking forward to this day, mainly because I didnt get to go to Kamikochi park in the Japan Alps to see the Monkeys. While travelling to Kyoto on the highway bus I read about the monkey park in Arashiyama and it was a DEFINATE that we were going to go.
So we catch the train, which takes about an hour, and are soon in beautiful little Arashiyama walking through crowded little roads lined with cafes and shops, follow the map across a bridge and straight to the monkey park.
To get to the Monkey viewing area you have to walk up a steep concrete path up the side of a small mountain (its well worth it). All the way up there are signs about how to behave in front of the Monkeys: Do not show the Monkeys any food; Do not stare at the Monkeys in the eye; etc.
About half way up we start to see monkeys in the trees lazing about and a few just sat at the side of the path watching us pass, they are all so close and totally not bothered by us!
We soon find out why. FOOD.
People come from far and wide to see these mokeys but also to FEED them. There is a constant stream of people all wanting to feed the monkeys.
To feed them everyone gets inside this large hut with chicken wire in the windows. The monkeys put thier arms through the wire and people put food in the monkeys hands, and some of them are getting FAT. All quite wierd. But it soon gets alot weirder.
A load speaker sounds telling everyone (including the Monkeys) that it is feeding time, appaently everything alse is a mid feed snack!
Then, after everyone files outside among the monkeys the load speakers start up again but this time with this wierd cancan music and this guy walks about throwing seeds down which the monkeys go crazy over. The music ends, the man goes away and everyone walks about talking pictures while the monkeys finish off thier food. Odd, Odd, Odd.
We walk around for a while taking pictures of bloated, sleeping monkeys and eventually decide weve had enough and head back into town.
At least Ive finally got to see some monkeys.
We head into a beautiful walk through a bamboo grove (which looks pretty damn like the ones in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon just not as big) then we have a walk around the gardens of Tenryuji temple.
Tenryuji is one of the many World Heritage sites in Japan and is as beautiful as many other temples in Japan. I will add pictures later.
Back in Kyoto we go for a walk, heading to the Gion district to try and spot some Geisha. No Geisha tonight but we do bump into Paul from the Zenkoji. If he hadnt jumped out right in front of me I would have walked straight past him (I was too busy looking for Giesha to be taking notice of what was in front of me, at least thats my excuse!).
We all decide to go for a meal to celebrate our serendipitious reunion. It was delicious.
Thursday 7 May 2009
Wednesday 6 May 2009
Early morning, Lazy day
We get up at about 7.30 for the 8 oclock kicking out and clear our stuff away before heading to tourist information to get them to book us a place to stay for the next few nights. Why do it yourself if someone else is quicker and better at it than you?!
They have us a place in no time a bit out of the way in the north of Kyoto. The Aoi-so Inn
We get there in the early afternoon and get checked in the guy who runs the place is a nice little old Japanese man. I find out later that it does good to be small in this place, I bang my head on door frames about three times a day.
He tells us a bit about the area and some of the stuff that is going on whike we are there and a couple of the things we went to so thanks that man! (cant remember his name! :P)
This place is BUDGET though! Its cheap but you have to pay for everything else. Internet: 100yen for 10 Minutes; Cooking Gas 50yen for 20 minutes; Air con in the room: 100yen for a couple of hours; Hot water in the shower: 100yen for 15 minutes.
Bummer.
We head out and go to the Kyoto International Manga Museum, I like manga, did you get that? The museum is based inside this old school building and in parts of it you can really tell it used to be a school; wide corridoors and doors, big class rooms still with the chalk boards, in some rooms they have displays showing pictures and textbooks from the original school bus for the most part the corridoors and rooms are now lined with manga books. Thousands of them. And on seats that are dotted about randomly there are people reading them, lots of them. Some people are just sat on the floor reading, some are lying down, some have coffee or tea, but everyone is here to read manga. I am also here to see the manga but I cant read it because ITS ALL IN JAPANESE! gutted. Still cool to see all those manga lining the walls though. As far as the museum part goes, there is not much to tell, a couple of rooms explain the french roots of comic art passing to Japan and changing to a very quick turn out of cheaply, quickly made comics for entertainment but thats about it.
We leave here and take a stroll around the Kyoto Imperial Gardens.
In the middle is a huge wall that encloses the Imperial Palace which you need special permission to go inside. Around this wall a few dozen school kids are running laps, they can go a hell of a lot further than I could!
We have a look around the park for a while then go back to the Aoi-so.
They have us a place in no time a bit out of the way in the north of Kyoto. The Aoi-so Inn
We get there in the early afternoon and get checked in the guy who runs the place is a nice little old Japanese man. I find out later that it does good to be small in this place, I bang my head on door frames about three times a day.
He tells us a bit about the area and some of the stuff that is going on whike we are there and a couple of the things we went to so thanks that man! (cant remember his name! :P)
This place is BUDGET though! Its cheap but you have to pay for everything else. Internet: 100yen for 10 Minutes; Cooking Gas 50yen for 20 minutes; Air con in the room: 100yen for a couple of hours; Hot water in the shower: 100yen for 15 minutes.
Bummer.
We head out and go to the Kyoto International Manga Museum, I like manga, did you get that? The museum is based inside this old school building and in parts of it you can really tell it used to be a school; wide corridoors and doors, big class rooms still with the chalk boards, in some rooms they have displays showing pictures and textbooks from the original school bus for the most part the corridoors and rooms are now lined with manga books. Thousands of them. And on seats that are dotted about randomly there are people reading them, lots of them. Some people are just sat on the floor reading, some are lying down, some have coffee or tea, but everyone is here to read manga. I am also here to see the manga but I cant read it because ITS ALL IN JAPANESE! gutted. Still cool to see all those manga lining the walls though. As far as the museum part goes, there is not much to tell, a couple of rooms explain the french roots of comic art passing to Japan and changing to a very quick turn out of cheaply, quickly made comics for entertainment but thats about it.
We leave here and take a stroll around the Kyoto Imperial Gardens.
In the middle is a huge wall that encloses the Imperial Palace which you need special permission to go inside. Around this wall a few dozen school kids are running laps, they can go a hell of a lot further than I could!
We have a look around the park for a while then go back to the Aoi-so.
Playing Pirate in a barrel, Hard Gay Man Impersionations and Singing the theme to Naruto in Kyoto. Japan is GREAT!
We wake up early because of kick out time so we have loads of time before the bus arrives to take us to Kyoto.
We have nowhere to stow our bags so we have to carry them everywhere so we take our time walking around the town stopping at pretty much every shop to look at all the touristy souvineers as an excuse to put down our bags.
After a little while we grab lunch in this little Soba/Udon bar restaurant (one of the little ones with a few chairs around the cooking area, Very Japanese). I have some cold Soba noodles (I love those things!) and Lauren has some Tsukimi noodles, which I make a hash up of reading the Kanji on the first try but with a bit of help we get there.
After lunch we have a couple of hours so we find this little hot spring foot bath thing and just sit there chatting and smiling at the other people as they come to use the pool and leave.
Lauren spots that one of the old ladies at the foot spa is wearing a jacket that says "Je suis le king of pop"! COOL!
The bus to Kyoto only takes 4 hours but the day is getting on so we head to the hostel that I tried getting reservations in by email. Somtimes I hate email. They had no idea who we were and we soon find out that everywhere is booked for...
We have nowhere to stow our bags so we have to carry them everywhere so we take our time walking around the town stopping at pretty much every shop to look at all the touristy souvineers as an excuse to put down our bags.
After a little while we grab lunch in this little Soba/Udon bar restaurant (one of the little ones with a few chairs around the cooking area, Very Japanese). I have some cold Soba noodles (I love those things!) and Lauren has some Tsukimi noodles, which I make a hash up of reading the Kanji on the first try but with a bit of help we get there.
After lunch we have a couple of hours so we find this little hot spring foot bath thing and just sit there chatting and smiling at the other people as they come to use the pool and leave.
Lauren spots that one of the old ladies at the foot spa is wearing a jacket that says "Je suis le king of pop"! COOL!
The bus to Kyoto only takes 4 hours but the day is getting on so we head to the hostel that I tried getting reservations in by email. Somtimes I hate email. They had no idea who we were and we soon find out that everywhere is booked for...
GOLDEN WEEK!
If you dont know about GOLDEN WEEK then be warned! Everyone Goes On Holiday At The Same Time! for one week. Whats with that?!
Everyone pours out of the big cities to the country side or the historical towns/cities leaving thousands of empty homes, Thousands of booked up hostels and lots of waiting time on the motorway(the GOLDEN WEEK traffic jamswere on the news)!
So there is nowhere to go right now, except that the guy running this place has another hostel around the corner where we can sleep in the common room after it shuts! Bless him and Bless Futons!
We have to wait untill it shuts at 11 and we have to be up and out before it opens at 8 but awsome.
We stay up and have a chat with some of the other people staying at the hostel and before long the guy on the front desk at this place (Tour Club Hostel, its not a tour club its just called that) comes in and says "Its a full house night, everybody gets free sake!" WOOP! FREE SAKE! Bless Nick (Thats his name)
He comes in to drink with us and we start playing a game of Pirate in the barrel, the one where you stick little plastic knives in the barrel and if you hit the wrong hole the pirate pops up. Pirate pops, take a shot.
Nick does a couple of impressions of a Japanese comedy character "Hard Gay Man", hes pretty good at it! and we sing a bit of the ending theme to Naruto Shippuden.
Everyone goes to bed Sake Happy.
BACHIKOI!
If you dont know about GOLDEN WEEK then be warned! Everyone Goes On Holiday At The Same Time! for one week. Whats with that?!
Everyone pours out of the big cities to the country side or the historical towns/cities leaving thousands of empty homes, Thousands of booked up hostels and lots of waiting time on the motorway(the GOLDEN WEEK traffic jamswere on the news)!
So there is nowhere to go right now, except that the guy running this place has another hostel around the corner where we can sleep in the common room after it shuts! Bless him and Bless Futons!
We have to wait untill it shuts at 11 and we have to be up and out before it opens at 8 but awsome.
We stay up and have a chat with some of the other people staying at the hostel and before long the guy on the front desk at this place (Tour Club Hostel, its not a tour club its just called that) comes in and says "Its a full house night, everybody gets free sake!" WOOP! FREE SAKE! Bless Nick (Thats his name)
He comes in to drink with us and we start playing a game of Pirate in the barrel, the one where you stick little plastic knives in the barrel and if you hit the wrong hole the pirate pops up. Pirate pops, take a shot.
Nick does a couple of impressions of a Japanese comedy character "Hard Gay Man", hes pretty good at it! and we sing a bit of the ending theme to Naruto Shippuden.
Everyone goes to bed Sake Happy.
BACHIKOI!
A couple of days in Matsumoto
We leave Takayama on the bus heading for Matsumoto.
The bus took about 2 and a half hours with a couple of breaks and went right up to Matsumoto Station, so no fuss. After getting in we left our packs in a coin locker, had some lunch in a place called Sukiya (its a chain food store, the food doesnt look too great at first glance and its cheap but it is surprisingly really good!) and then had a look around town. By this time alot of stuff had shut but there were a couple of big stores to walk around and it was nice to just get the lay of the land.
We spent a couple of hours just playing around in a big store with loads of CDs and books and clothes and stuff. We spent a little while playing on the arcade games on the top floor and I won a Stich watch which I gave to Lauren (I already have a watch and Lauren squeels every time she sees a stich thing because hes cute. There are a lot of Stich things in Japan!)
After a few hours we are picked up by Jim, a friend of a friend that we were introduced to through emails, and went back to his house for a good nights sleep.
The bus took about 2 and a half hours with a couple of breaks and went right up to Matsumoto Station, so no fuss. After getting in we left our packs in a coin locker, had some lunch in a place called Sukiya (its a chain food store, the food doesnt look too great at first glance and its cheap but it is surprisingly really good!) and then had a look around town. By this time alot of stuff had shut but there were a couple of big stores to walk around and it was nice to just get the lay of the land.
We spent a couple of hours just playing around in a big store with loads of CDs and books and clothes and stuff. We spent a little while playing on the arcade games on the top floor and I won a Stich watch which I gave to Lauren (I already have a watch and Lauren squeels every time she sees a stich thing because hes cute. There are a lot of Stich things in Japan!)
After a few hours we are picked up by Jim, a friend of a friend that we were introduced to through emails, and went back to his house for a good nights sleep.
The Next Day...
We leave the house at about 11 (taking advantage of the fact that there is no kick out time!) and meander through Matsumoto untill we reach Matsumoto Castle. It is a beautiful Building from the outside, especially since the rain has finally stopped and we are blessed with a warm day!
Even with it being hot outside, however, inside is FREEZING! How anyone lived in this castle (and they did) I will never know! The wind blows a gale through the entire place, turning it into an ice box. It is cool inside, with explainations about the tactics of samurai and a few weapons that would have been used, but is otherwise a little plain.
Also had a look around Nawate Street (Frog Street), they really love frogs. loads of staues and signs n stuff about frogs. The whole lond street is lined with little market stall type shops selling antiques, I really want an ink well but they are really expensive.
Also had a look around Nawate Street (Frog Street), they really love frogs. loads of staues and signs n stuff about frogs. The whole lond street is lined with little market stall type shops selling antiques, I really want an ink well but they are really expensive.
After this we head to Matsumoto Art Museum and see some instalations by the artist Yayoi (somthing) which were really cool, and some Japanese caligraphy art. We found a small natural spring next tto a small graveyard and had a sip. The local Sake breweries are known for useing this water to make thier bevvies so it should be ok. It was very refreshing.
Jim got home from work around 7 and we went out for a meal.
He ordered these little fish that are cooked when pregnant with loads of eggs (there is more eggs than fish meat) which turn out to be delicious then we get quite drunk on Sake.
The next day I vomit quite alot, sleep lots and dont see Jim as he has to go to work again.
Jim, I am really, really sorry!
We catch a bus back to Takayama and stay for another night at the Zenkoji Temple Inn.
Rain in Shirakawa-Go
We have to get out of Takayama. Because it is raining again and there is a place nearby that you can get to by bus that sounds LOADS more interesting.
Shirakawa-Go is a little village in a remote part of the Japanese Alps that was founded by a clan after nearly being wiped out during a war with another clan.
I will fill in the details later when I have more time but thats the general gist of it.
They decided on this remote place so that they wouldn`t be easily found if anyone wanted to finish the job, and they could just have a nice peaceful life in the mountains, pretty much cut off from the world.
Fast foward to today and many of the original buildings remain and are still in use! There is also an outdoor museum of some heritage buildings which were moved to the site to avoid being destroyed by the building of one of the many dams in the area. You can go inside every building and no area is off limits, you`re pretty much left to your own devices, no one bothers you, you are just trusted to follow the rules on the signs. At each of the buildings you have to take off your shoes before going in and each building has a little display to keep you interested.
We just stayed in and around these older buildings because of the masses of tourists in the town proper. Its not just in London that there are loads of Japanese tourists. There are loads of Japanese tourists in Japan as well.
The little village museum is great, you can spend ages just walking about taking pictures, it seems that the whole place is incredibley photogenic. I`ll throw some pics up soon so I dont have to discribe them.
After pottering about the village in the rain for a few hours, we got some lunch and did a bit of souvineer shopping. We found these tins of sweets that are shown in this Studio Ghibli film called "Grave of the Fireflies" (great film but really depressing!) and I got all excited before buying a couple of tins!
Shirakawa-Go is a little village in a remote part of the Japanese Alps that was founded by a clan after nearly being wiped out during a war with another clan.
I will fill in the details later when I have more time but thats the general gist of it.
They decided on this remote place so that they wouldn`t be easily found if anyone wanted to finish the job, and they could just have a nice peaceful life in the mountains, pretty much cut off from the world.
Fast foward to today and many of the original buildings remain and are still in use! There is also an outdoor museum of some heritage buildings which were moved to the site to avoid being destroyed by the building of one of the many dams in the area. You can go inside every building and no area is off limits, you`re pretty much left to your own devices, no one bothers you, you are just trusted to follow the rules on the signs. At each of the buildings you have to take off your shoes before going in and each building has a little display to keep you interested.
We just stayed in and around these older buildings because of the masses of tourists in the town proper. Its not just in London that there are loads of Japanese tourists. There are loads of Japanese tourists in Japan as well.
The little village museum is great, you can spend ages just walking about taking pictures, it seems that the whole place is incredibley photogenic. I`ll throw some pics up soon so I dont have to discribe them.
After pottering about the village in the rain for a few hours, we got some lunch and did a bit of souvineer shopping. We found these tins of sweets that are shown in this Studio Ghibli film called "Grave of the Fireflies" (great film but really depressing!) and I got all excited before buying a couple of tins!
Rain in Takayama
To get to Takayama we catch a bus which takes about 4 and a half hours struggling up windy mountain roads, over bridges across huge drops, past several dams and through tunnels under mountains.
One of the tunnels was 11 kilometers long (it had a sign)! We were in there for so long, and there were even forks in the tunnel road, that it made me think of the dwarves from LOTR (geek) and Lauren thought that we were going to pop out in ToonTown like in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".
Even though the ride was long it didnt feel it because we were having fun and when we weren`t talking the views were amazing!
When we arrived in Takayama we had a bit of a job finding the hostel. I saw the description and booked it straight away.
We were staying in a buddist temple called Zenkoji Temple Inn which had decided to earn some extra income by converting some of the rooms into dorms, as it could no longer run on donations alone.
We checked in and, as it was already quite late and they had a 10 o`clock shut down, we just stayed in and went to bed.
The next day it was still raining so I bought a cheap umbrella and went around town anyway!
We had been told by everyone we asked about Takayama how beautiful it was and amazing and cultural. First impressions were that it was just a bit of a drab little mountain town.
I might be a little biased because it was raining, and because it was in the Japanese Alps it was really cold but really in town theres not much to see but some old buildings and some little museums.
So after looking at the old houses we went to the museums :P
Most are your usual museums with things in glass boxes but there was one that, when you first go in, just looks like a wierd eclectic collection of stuff that some strange old person just never wanted to throw away! It turned out to be awsome! In one room some old toys and arcade games, in another the room is set out like an old class room with jars of formadahyde with disected animals in, and elsewhere posters and film memoralbelia and cans and bottles and old docters equipment and shoes and cooking utensils and signs and medals and uniforms and cars and loads andloads of just wierd interesting stuff. No explaination, Just Stuff. it was great!
We also found a nice heritage house and talked to a ukranian/American who talked really loud!
When we get back to the hostel I sit in the common room for a while and get chatting to some people who have been traveling together for a little while: Paul, Tom and Tanya and after dinner Me, Luaren, Paul and Tom decide to go out for a drink and try to find a kareoke bar. On the way out we meet a woman called Beralina who is old enough that people think that she is my mum but she is cool enough to come out with us when we ask in passing and she was a really fun lady to go to a bar with!
We start off in a small bar for one drink but end up in a tiny karaoke bar with about 15 seats total and there are three Japanese people who are already Very drunk and who seem to LOVE karaoke!
There are marakas and things on the bar so we join in by playing those for a while, then one of the japanese guys is so happy to hear me talk in Japanese that he buys us Sake and feeds us some pickle stuff! Awsome! After a little while everyone is singing Karaoke until too soon it is closing time and we have to go back to the hostel. Awww.
One of the tunnels was 11 kilometers long (it had a sign)! We were in there for so long, and there were even forks in the tunnel road, that it made me think of the dwarves from LOTR (geek) and Lauren thought that we were going to pop out in ToonTown like in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".
Even though the ride was long it didnt feel it because we were having fun and when we weren`t talking the views were amazing!
When we arrived in Takayama we had a bit of a job finding the hostel. I saw the description and booked it straight away.
We were staying in a buddist temple called Zenkoji Temple Inn which had decided to earn some extra income by converting some of the rooms into dorms, as it could no longer run on donations alone.
We checked in and, as it was already quite late and they had a 10 o`clock shut down, we just stayed in and went to bed.
The next day it was still raining so I bought a cheap umbrella and went around town anyway!
We had been told by everyone we asked about Takayama how beautiful it was and amazing and cultural. First impressions were that it was just a bit of a drab little mountain town.
I might be a little biased because it was raining, and because it was in the Japanese Alps it was really cold but really in town theres not much to see but some old buildings and some little museums.
So after looking at the old houses we went to the museums :P
Most are your usual museums with things in glass boxes but there was one that, when you first go in, just looks like a wierd eclectic collection of stuff that some strange old person just never wanted to throw away! It turned out to be awsome! In one room some old toys and arcade games, in another the room is set out like an old class room with jars of formadahyde with disected animals in, and elsewhere posters and film memoralbelia and cans and bottles and old docters equipment and shoes and cooking utensils and signs and medals and uniforms and cars and loads andloads of just wierd interesting stuff. No explaination, Just Stuff. it was great!
We also found a nice heritage house and talked to a ukranian/American who talked really loud!
When we get back to the hostel I sit in the common room for a while and get chatting to some people who have been traveling together for a little while: Paul, Tom and Tanya and after dinner Me, Luaren, Paul and Tom decide to go out for a drink and try to find a kareoke bar. On the way out we meet a woman called Beralina who is old enough that people think that she is my mum but she is cool enough to come out with us when we ask in passing and she was a really fun lady to go to a bar with!
We start off in a small bar for one drink but end up in a tiny karaoke bar with about 15 seats total and there are three Japanese people who are already Very drunk and who seem to LOVE karaoke!
There are marakas and things on the bar so we join in by playing those for a while, then one of the japanese guys is so happy to hear me talk in Japanese that he buys us Sake and feeds us some pickle stuff! Awsome! After a little while everyone is singing Karaoke until too soon it is closing time and we have to go back to the hostel. Awww.
Giant Golden Poops in Asakusa.
After getting back from Hakone we only have one night before we have planned to catch a highway bus to Takayama in the Japanese Alps.
We check in to Khaosan Guesthouse (original, There are three in Tokyo) in Asakusa, which is really nice. Free internet, soft beds, four room dorm, big TV with some DVDs. Perfect to just sit and relax a bit.
We have a look around a local market and temple. The temple is stunning and the crowds are pretty stunning too, I quiz a Japanese woman who is giving a tour about Japans slightly confusing religious beliefs and she seems as confused as i am.
Shinto shrines have Buddist iconography, Buddist Temples have Spirit guardians, both have a lot of incence and everyone practices both anyway!
I go off to book the bus for the next day which takes a long time traveling and trying to explain what I want with a mix of my broken Japanese and the ticket office mans broken English. This has really helped my survival in Japan. Most people know a small amount of English so a bit of Japanese goes a long way!
By the time I get back to the hostel Lauren has watched the whole of the Matrix but I feel very relaxed after my wondering around the underground stations of Tokyo so we decide to go for a drink in the Asahi office building which is 5 minutes away from the hostel.
I`ll put a picture in eventually but the Asahi building is in Asakusa right next to this giant statue of what is suposed to be a flame. It looks kind of like a giant golden poop and is unmissable.
The offices have a cafe on the 23rd floor where you can enjoy a coffee (in Laurens case) or one of Asahi`s very tasty beers (for me) while enjoying a great view of Tokyo. I had been recomended Asahi Black by Gibbs, so I had that. I want more.
We check in to Khaosan Guesthouse (original, There are three in Tokyo) in Asakusa, which is really nice. Free internet, soft beds, four room dorm, big TV with some DVDs. Perfect to just sit and relax a bit.
We have a look around a local market and temple. The temple is stunning and the crowds are pretty stunning too, I quiz a Japanese woman who is giving a tour about Japans slightly confusing religious beliefs and she seems as confused as i am.
Shinto shrines have Buddist iconography, Buddist Temples have Spirit guardians, both have a lot of incence and everyone practices both anyway!
I go off to book the bus for the next day which takes a long time traveling and trying to explain what I want with a mix of my broken Japanese and the ticket office mans broken English. This has really helped my survival in Japan. Most people know a small amount of English so a bit of Japanese goes a long way!
By the time I get back to the hostel Lauren has watched the whole of the Matrix but I feel very relaxed after my wondering around the underground stations of Tokyo so we decide to go for a drink in the Asahi office building which is 5 minutes away from the hostel.
I`ll put a picture in eventually but the Asahi building is in Asakusa right next to this giant statue of what is suposed to be a flame. It looks kind of like a giant golden poop and is unmissable.
The offices have a cafe on the 23rd floor where you can enjoy a coffee (in Laurens case) or one of Asahi`s very tasty beers (for me) while enjoying a great view of Tokyo. I had been recomended Asahi Black by Gibbs, so I had that. I want more.
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