Having planned every other part of our vacation, today was the first actual tour we were to take.
After waking up at "4:30am", I rolled over for some additional sleep, as we didn't have to leave the hostel until 7:00am, to catch the subway across the city, for our tour departure at 8:00am. At the time I felt like I had had enough sleep and should go down to the computers to update the blog, but decided otherwise. I eventually got up at "6:00am" to get ready and went downstairs to use the internet while Sarah got ready. I passed the grandfather clock in the lobby, which showed the time to be 7:50am, instead of "6:40am", thinking that the clock was not working properly I logged onto a computer, which confirmed the time of 7:50am. I raced up stairs and startled Sarah with the news. Having spent 200,000 Won ($250 CAN) on the tour, we freaked. It appears that Sarah's watch (my watch died back in Tokyo), had lost 1 hour and 10 minutes, somehow. We had caught buses at the correct time back in Sokcho, so it happened sometime between Tuesday evening and Thursday morning.
With wet hair and no makeup, Sarah quickly got dressed and made a phone call to the tour company to inform them that we'd missed our pickup. She was able to find out of another pick-up point, so we hailed a taxi on the street and took off. Sarah had to make another call to the tour company from the taxi driver's cell, as the driver didn't understand the name of the hotel and location, as Sarah stated it. Luckily, the second pick-up point was actually closer for us and the taxi only cost us 4000 Won. With time to spare, Sarah went into the ladies restroom to dry her hair and apply some makeup. Sarah couldn't get a break though, as she was ushered out after a few minutes, as three gentlemen in suits put up a red rope and swept both restrooms. It was unclear, but it seemed as though someone important was going to be coming down to use one of them. Considering this hotel had an indoor golf course, it is possible it was someone of high stature.
Unsure if we were on our originally planned tour or a substitute because of our screw up, we went for the 60km ride north to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone).
The tour proceeded with a three security/passport checks by the ROK (Republic of Korea) military, in order to visit the Camp Bonifas for a briefing and then the JSA (Joint Security Area) where the Demarcation Line separating the two countries is. Unfortunately, as there was a tour on the North Korean side (which happens rather infrequently, 1:15 ratio), so we were unable to go into the conference room, that allows visitors to cross over to the other side. We then went up to a lookout point that allows you to see the Propaganda Village that has been set up on the north side, but of course it was foggy. Being disappointed with the lack of pictures were allowed to take on the tour, we picked up some postcards at the souvenir shop and the photo album (3 group shots) that were taken during the tour.
We were under the impression that we were on the half day tour, as it was indicated that after lunch the tour would be heading back to Seoul, luckily however our English tour guide, pulled us aside and indicated that we'd be joining another group, to go view the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel, the Dora Observatory and the Dorasan Railroad.
The 3rd Tunnel was discovered in 1978 with the assistance of the tunnel engineer who had defected from the north. The decent into the tunnel was very steep and made for a great workout on the way out. The majority of the tunnel was under 6' tall, so the hard hat came in handy, as I knocked my head off of the tunnel several times. Sarah didn't have the same experience. Of note, this is the tallest, but shortest of the 4 tunnels discovered to date. It has been developed as an south "propaganda" site, which South Koreans can visit. The South Koreans must apply to visit the JSA, which can take up to one year to process. The Dora Observatory was supposed to provide another vantage point for viewing the North Propaganda Village, but it was still foggy. The final stop within the secured area was the last train station in South Korea, which was connected to the north in 2000. Unfortunately the North declined to allow the railway to open, so it is basically a new unused train station.
On our way back to the bus, I snapped off a shot of the Dora Observatory. We were quickly confronted by a soldier, who required me to delete the picture. Our tour guide was surprised by the request, but none the less I complied. The tour concluded in Seoul with a stop over at an Amethyst dealer, a popular stop for the Japanese tourists.
We spent the evening eating and I-shopping (window shopping) in Insadong.
5/03/2007
5/01/2007
Puttering around Seoul
It was raining and foggy in the mountains, as we left the Sorak Park Hotel and made our way into town to catch a bus back to Seoul. The taxi driver dropped us off at a different bus terminal than the one we arrived at, but thankfully it had bus leaving for the city.
Young Sun, Sarah's friend from Suwon, was wanting to come into Seoul for the day to meet us again, so Sarah gave her a call before we got on the bus and let her know where and when we'd be arriving.
The bus had a talent/variety show, called Star King, on which captured our attention for the first while of our 3 1/2 hour bus trip. I took a couple pictures of this one contortionist they had on, you'll have to see the pictures to believe what she can do. We then caught up on some sleep.
Arriving in Seoul, we noticed that we were not coming in the same direction that we left. We arrived in a totally different bus terminal, than expected. After tracking down an elusive pay phone, Sara called Young Sun on her cell phone to tell her were we were. Luckily with the great subway system here, we were quickly able to meet up at Dongdaemun Stadium, one of the stadiums used during the 2002 World Cup.
We quickly visited the Heung-Injimun (Dongdaemun) Gate, which is undergoing restoration. Walked over the much talked about revitalized Cheonggyecheon River, which at one time was covered by concrete.
We then went i-shopping (window shopping) at the Migliore complex, where they see how many retailers they can stuff into a building. On the top floor food court, I was shocked to see that the soccer stadium had been paved over inside and had become a flea market. Again, you'll have to see the pictures. Oh Korea!
After some lunch, we made our way to Namdaemun Market for some souvenir shopping.
After a tearful goodbye between distant friends on the subway, we checked back into the Holiday In Korea hostel for three more nights.
We were then off again to meet up with one of Sarah's former students, Jane.
Having not seen her in ten years, we left it up to Jane to spot us in the crowd at the subway stop. The ladies chatted as we made our way back to Myeong-dong for dinner. Jane took us to one of the best dumpling restaurants in Seoul, which we would have passed by, as it looked like any other restaurant in the area. The dumplings were great!
As Spider-Man 3 opened today (opens in North America May 4th), I was lucky enough to convince Sarah to go see it! However, in Korea movie tickets are sold by assigned seats, unbeknownst to us. Luckily Jane was still with us when we purchased the tickets and was able to get us the last two seats together for the showing. It's a Spider-Man movie, so the acting is only par and some of the scenes were a little too comicy, but I got to see it before you guys! :)
Young Sun, Sarah's friend from Suwon, was wanting to come into Seoul for the day to meet us again, so Sarah gave her a call before we got on the bus and let her know where and when we'd be arriving.
The bus had a talent/variety show, called Star King, on which captured our attention for the first while of our 3 1/2 hour bus trip. I took a couple pictures of this one contortionist they had on, you'll have to see the pictures to believe what she can do. We then caught up on some sleep.
Arriving in Seoul, we noticed that we were not coming in the same direction that we left. We arrived in a totally different bus terminal, than expected. After tracking down an elusive pay phone, Sara called Young Sun on her cell phone to tell her were we were. Luckily with the great subway system here, we were quickly able to meet up at Dongdaemun Stadium, one of the stadiums used during the 2002 World Cup.
We quickly visited the Heung-Injimun (Dongdaemun) Gate, which is undergoing restoration. Walked over the much talked about revitalized Cheonggyecheon River, which at one time was covered by concrete.
We then went i-shopping (window shopping) at the Migliore complex, where they see how many retailers they can stuff into a building. On the top floor food court, I was shocked to see that the soccer stadium had been paved over inside and had become a flea market. Again, you'll have to see the pictures. Oh Korea!
After some lunch, we made our way to Namdaemun Market for some souvenir shopping.
After a tearful goodbye between distant friends on the subway, we checked back into the Holiday In Korea hostel for three more nights.
We were then off again to meet up with one of Sarah's former students, Jane.
Having not seen her in ten years, we left it up to Jane to spot us in the crowd at the subway stop. The ladies chatted as we made our way back to Myeong-dong for dinner. Jane took us to one of the best dumpling restaurants in Seoul, which we would have passed by, as it looked like any other restaurant in the area. The dumplings were great!
As Spider-Man 3 opened today (opens in North America May 4th), I was lucky enough to convince Sarah to go see it! However, in Korea movie tickets are sold by assigned seats, unbeknownst to us. Luckily Jane was still with us when we purchased the tickets and was able to get us the last two seats together for the showing. It's a Spider-Man movie, so the acting is only par and some of the scenes were a little too comicy, but I got to see it before you guys! :)
4/26/2007
4/25/2007
4/24/2007
To the Hells!
As we were unable to take yesterday as a lazy day, today started out later than usual (11am).
Having been in the city once with Stacey, I knew that Beppu was famous for its onsens (hot spring baths), but having done that yesterday, we were looking for something else to do.
Sarah had read some unflattering reviews about the Jigoku Meguri (The Hells Tour), but as that appeared to be the only other real attraction to see, we grabbed a bus and headed for the Kannawa Area.
In order to attract more tourists, some of the Hells have added exploitive themes, such as aquariums, zoos and tacky statues. This exploitation was the reason for many of the poor reviews. But when you only have a few hours before your next train, tacky and explotive work!
We began our tour at Shiraike-Jigoku (White Pond Hell) which had the strongest Sulphur smell to it. This is could also be known as the Fish Hell, as its added theme was some aquariums containing Purana and other fish.
Next was the Oniyama-Jigoku, where the forced steam from the spring is enough to pull 1 1/2 train cars. This Hell is also the "happy" home of a variety of alligators and crocodiles. Yeah they were happy alright.
Kamado-Jigoku provided a red demon mascot for pictures and a hot footbath for our tired feet.
The confined and poorly kept animals at Yama-Jigoku, over shadowed the actual beauty of the Jigoku. We caught the lone elephant swaying back and forth, dancing for snacks from visitors. This was the most disturbing Hell we visited.
On the other hand, Umi-Jigoku was the nicest Hell. The 200 meter deep cobalt-blue boiling pond was surrounded by blooming gardens and had a small shrine off to the side.
The final stop on our walking tour (6 of 8 Hells) was at the the bubbling gray mud ponds of Oniishibozu-Jigoku.
With a couple of hours until the train, we decide to make our way down from the Hells to the Hyoutan Onsen for a sand bath. After a brief detour (ok we missed the unmarked street, we were supposed to turn down), we arrived at the onsen, deserving of a hot bath. The sand baths are uni-sex, so Sarah and I were able to muddle through it together. Thankfully we were alone. For the uneducated, a sand bath consists of digging pit deep enough into the sand, in order to cover yourself from neck to toe with very warm/hot sand. After that 15 minute experience and a vigorous shack down, we split up for a regular bath, outside while it began to shower.
The train from Beppu to Fukouka/Hakata was only three cars long and of course the car we were assigned to had a heating issue. After a half hour nap, I woke up soaked. Unbearable, I eventually was able to communicate with the conductor and he made an adjustment, however I spent the majority of the trip in another car.
The Japanese Ryokan Kashima Honkan, a traditonal Japanese hotel, was a welcome change for our last evening in Japan.
Having been in the city once with Stacey, I knew that Beppu was famous for its onsens (hot spring baths), but having done that yesterday, we were looking for something else to do.
Sarah had read some unflattering reviews about the Jigoku Meguri (The Hells Tour), but as that appeared to be the only other real attraction to see, we grabbed a bus and headed for the Kannawa Area.
In order to attract more tourists, some of the Hells have added exploitive themes, such as aquariums, zoos and tacky statues. This exploitation was the reason for many of the poor reviews. But when you only have a few hours before your next train, tacky and explotive work!
We began our tour at Shiraike-Jigoku (White Pond Hell) which had the strongest Sulphur smell to it. This is could also be known as the Fish Hell, as its added theme was some aquariums containing Purana and other fish.
Next was the Oniyama-Jigoku, where the forced steam from the spring is enough to pull 1 1/2 train cars. This Hell is also the "happy" home of a variety of alligators and crocodiles. Yeah they were happy alright.
Kamado-Jigoku provided a red demon mascot for pictures and a hot footbath for our tired feet.
The confined and poorly kept animals at Yama-Jigoku, over shadowed the actual beauty of the Jigoku. We caught the lone elephant swaying back and forth, dancing for snacks from visitors. This was the most disturbing Hell we visited.
On the other hand, Umi-Jigoku was the nicest Hell. The 200 meter deep cobalt-blue boiling pond was surrounded by blooming gardens and had a small shrine off to the side.
The final stop on our walking tour (6 of 8 Hells) was at the the bubbling gray mud ponds of Oniishibozu-Jigoku.
With a couple of hours until the train, we decide to make our way down from the Hells to the Hyoutan Onsen for a sand bath. After a brief detour (ok we missed the unmarked street, we were supposed to turn down), we arrived at the onsen, deserving of a hot bath. The sand baths are uni-sex, so Sarah and I were able to muddle through it together. Thankfully we were alone. For the uneducated, a sand bath consists of digging pit deep enough into the sand, in order to cover yourself from neck to toe with very warm/hot sand. After that 15 minute experience and a vigorous shack down, we split up for a regular bath, outside while it began to shower.
The train from Beppu to Fukouka/Hakata was only three cars long and of course the car we were assigned to had a heating issue. After a half hour nap, I woke up soaked. Unbearable, I eventually was able to communicate with the conductor and he made an adjustment, however I spent the majority of the trip in another car.
The Japanese Ryokan Kashima Honkan, a traditonal Japanese hotel, was a welcome change for our last evening in Japan.
4/23/2007
Dogo Onsen
Today we decided was going to be a lazy day. We were wanting to just lounge around the spacious hostel, catch up on uploading pictures and updating the blog. Unfortunately, everyone is kicked out of the hostel at 10am, no matter if you are staying another night or not. So although, I`ve caught up on the blog entries, our pictures are only up to us passing Mt. Fuji on the bullet train.
We however made the best of the situation and found some 500 Yen lockers to dump our packs in. Although we found the English translations the best here in Matsuyama, coming across English is hard to come by, especially in the restaurants. We ended up having to take our server to the front window plastic food displays for both our breakfast and lunch.
We also took a bath in the Dogo Onsen, Sarah`s first experience in a public bath. We both survived, with only one of us giving a show to someone of the opposite sex.
Fully relaxed from the hot bath, we boarded the JR for Yawatahama which passed through a couple of the towns Stacey frequented when she was on the island teaching English. At the port we grabbed the ferry bound for Beppu. As we were deboarding after the 2 1/2 hour ride, Sarah struck up an English conversation with a Japanese woman, who was nice enough to offer us a ride to the Beppu Station, just a couple of blocks from where we were staying. The woman must have seen our Canada flag luggage tags, as she mentioned that she had visited Vancouver and Banff a few years ago.
Luckily we didn`t have her drop us off here at the Beppu Guest House, as it is the most rundown accommodations we`ve stayed at.
I can`t upload any new pictures on this stop, as the sole computer is running Windows 98 and it doesn`t support our USB SD Card Reader. Oh well. At least I`m now caught up on the blogs.
We however made the best of the situation and found some 500 Yen lockers to dump our packs in. Although we found the English translations the best here in Matsuyama, coming across English is hard to come by, especially in the restaurants. We ended up having to take our server to the front window plastic food displays for both our breakfast and lunch.
We also took a bath in the Dogo Onsen, Sarah`s first experience in a public bath. We both survived, with only one of us giving a show to someone of the opposite sex.
Fully relaxed from the hot bath, we boarded the JR for Yawatahama which passed through a couple of the towns Stacey frequented when she was on the island teaching English. At the port we grabbed the ferry bound for Beppu. As we were deboarding after the 2 1/2 hour ride, Sarah struck up an English conversation with a Japanese woman, who was nice enough to offer us a ride to the Beppu Station, just a couple of blocks from where we were staying. The woman must have seen our Canada flag luggage tags, as she mentioned that she had visited Vancouver and Banff a few years ago.
Luckily we didn`t have her drop us off here at the Beppu Guest House, as it is the most rundown accommodations we`ve stayed at.
I can`t upload any new pictures on this stop, as the sole computer is running Windows 98 and it doesn`t support our USB SD Card Reader. Oh well. At least I`m now caught up on the blogs.
4/22/2007
Peace Memorial Park
Fittingly it rained as we solemnly toured the many memorials and statues lined throughout the Peace Memorial Park.
The Peace Memorial Museum clearly illustrated how devastating and resilient mankind can be.
After lunch, we split up for two hours, while I took a journey across the city to visit the Hiroshima Manga Library and Sarah shopped along the covered Hondori Street. The Library was something again, that I didn`t have time to visit on my last trip. Instead, I chose to visit the Hiroshima Transportation Museum to the north of the city, which ended up disappointingly having only miniature trains, planes and automobiles. The Library was just that a public library filled entirely of Manga (comics). A treat for me!
We departed from Hiroshima Port on a ferry destined for Matsuyama at 5pm.
When we arrived at Matsuyama Port, we were forced to take a taxi. Luckily Sarah was able to convey, after some intense discussion, that we wanted to go to Dogo.
2800 Yen later, we were outside of Dogo Onsen, the oldest onsen in Japan. It took us some time to gain our bearings, but after a steep climb in the dark, we arrived at our most unique accommodations yet, Matsuyama Youth Hostel, for some well deserved rest.
The Peace Memorial Museum clearly illustrated how devastating and resilient mankind can be.
After lunch, we split up for two hours, while I took a journey across the city to visit the Hiroshima Manga Library and Sarah shopped along the covered Hondori Street. The Library was something again, that I didn`t have time to visit on my last trip. Instead, I chose to visit the Hiroshima Transportation Museum to the north of the city, which ended up disappointingly having only miniature trains, planes and automobiles. The Library was just that a public library filled entirely of Manga (comics). A treat for me!
We departed from Hiroshima Port on a ferry destined for Matsuyama at 5pm.
When we arrived at Matsuyama Port, we were forced to take a taxi. Luckily Sarah was able to convey, after some intense discussion, that we wanted to go to Dogo.
2800 Yen later, we were outside of Dogo Onsen, the oldest onsen in Japan. It took us some time to gain our bearings, but after a steep climb in the dark, we arrived at our most unique accommodations yet, Matsuyama Youth Hostel, for some well deserved rest.
4/21/2007
Miyajima Island
We got another early start this morning, leaving Kyoto Station @ 7:42am and arriving in Hiroshima just after 9:30am.
Hiroshima`s street car system seems to be the most efficient (ok, easiest) way to get around the city, though it could use some modernization and cleanup.
We checked into the J-Hoppers Hiroshima Trad Guesthouse (converted hotel), then were off for Miyajima Island for the day.
We got to the island for lunch, where we feasted on a could of rice dishes with egg (raw, according to Sarah) and a huge serving of sushi, including Sarah`s favourite Octopus and Eel. : )
We visited the Senjokaku (Pavilion of 1000 mats) and got a close-up look at the 5 storey Pagoda next to it, something I didn`t have time to do on my last visit.
Next was the Itsukushima Shrine, where we were lucky enough to witness a traditional Japanese wedding.
We started up the trail, that Stacey and I had previously climbed, to find out that it was closed for extensive restoration after the damaged caused by a typhoon last year. The entire base of the path appeared to have been washed out, as well as, areas further up. So we added an extra kilometer to our hike, by having to walk to another trail.
The trail we ended up on was 2.5km long ascending to the peak of Mt. Misen which stands 523m high. Needless to say Sarah enjoyed the beer from the dilapidated look-out point at the top. Sarah has now joined the ranks of Stacey (2), Paul (1) and myself (2) who have ascending the mountain.
We arrived at the ropeway 15 minutes before it shut-down for the evening. Paul and Stacey missed it on their climb. Ha, ha!
There were no monkeys to be seen, but we ran into three Canadian gentlemen. When I asked them where they were from one of them said Cambridge, near Toronto. They had to make sure they said Cambridge, Ontario, when we said that`s where we were from. Of all the places. They were brought over (1st class) by Toyota for meetings and work on the Corolla and had the weekend off to tour the country (all paid for). We took the ropeway down with them and had a good chat.
As we were walking back to catch the ferry, the tide was out and people were walking out to the torii gate. After some coxing, Sarah and walked out and got some unique shots.
It began to shower as the ferry departed the island.
Another full and tiring day ended with a stroll back to the Hostel, through the Peace Memorial Park.
Hiroshima`s street car system seems to be the most efficient (ok, easiest) way to get around the city, though it could use some modernization and cleanup.
We checked into the J-Hoppers Hiroshima Trad Guesthouse (converted hotel), then were off for Miyajima Island for the day.
We got to the island for lunch, where we feasted on a could of rice dishes with egg (raw, according to Sarah) and a huge serving of sushi, including Sarah`s favourite Octopus and Eel. : )
We visited the Senjokaku (Pavilion of 1000 mats) and got a close-up look at the 5 storey Pagoda next to it, something I didn`t have time to do on my last visit.
Next was the Itsukushima Shrine, where we were lucky enough to witness a traditional Japanese wedding.
We started up the trail, that Stacey and I had previously climbed, to find out that it was closed for extensive restoration after the damaged caused by a typhoon last year. The entire base of the path appeared to have been washed out, as well as, areas further up. So we added an extra kilometer to our hike, by having to walk to another trail.
The trail we ended up on was 2.5km long ascending to the peak of Mt. Misen which stands 523m high. Needless to say Sarah enjoyed the beer from the dilapidated look-out point at the top. Sarah has now joined the ranks of Stacey (2), Paul (1) and myself (2) who have ascending the mountain.
We arrived at the ropeway 15 minutes before it shut-down for the evening. Paul and Stacey missed it on their climb. Ha, ha!
There were no monkeys to be seen, but we ran into three Canadian gentlemen. When I asked them where they were from one of them said Cambridge, near Toronto. They had to make sure they said Cambridge, Ontario, when we said that`s where we were from. Of all the places. They were brought over (1st class) by Toyota for meetings and work on the Corolla and had the weekend off to tour the country (all paid for). We took the ropeway down with them and had a good chat.
As we were walking back to catch the ferry, the tide was out and people were walking out to the torii gate. After some coxing, Sarah and walked out and got some unique shots.
It began to shower as the ferry departed the island.
Another full and tiring day ended with a stroll back to the Hostel, through the Peace Memorial Park.
4/20/2007
Higashiyama Walk
We began the Higashiyama Walk from the base of the Kiyomizudera (Pure Water Temple), which is another UN designated World Heritage Site and trying to become one of the 7 New Wonders of the World. (http://www.new7wonders.com)
This was by far the most impressive stop of the trip, thus far. It was also the biggest tourist trap.
While taking in the view of Kyoto, we were literally cornered by a small group of students, doing an English assignment, which required them to ask us some questions about why we were visiting Japan. With the hundreds of other Japanese students visiting the temple, we were wishing for some sort of sticker to indicate we had already been interviewed. However, to our pleasure that was the only group that stopped us.
We continued our walk sampling some local sweets, pickles and green tea ice cream.
After a brief stop at the Heian Shrine, we caught a bus to Ginkakjui Temple, then made the long bus ride across the city to see the Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavillion), which we had missed on the 19th. Both of these temples are also World Heritage Sites.
In the evening, we strolled another area of the Gion district and spotted several Geisha as they made their way to their respected Tea Houses. It was like being a paparazzi photographer, trying to get shots of the ladies as they ran through the streets.
With the beautiful sunny weather and the vast historical sites, we wished we had planned to have stayed in Kyoto another day.
This was by far the most impressive stop of the trip, thus far. It was also the biggest tourist trap.
While taking in the view of Kyoto, we were literally cornered by a small group of students, doing an English assignment, which required them to ask us some questions about why we were visiting Japan. With the hundreds of other Japanese students visiting the temple, we were wishing for some sort of sticker to indicate we had already been interviewed. However, to our pleasure that was the only group that stopped us.
We continued our walk sampling some local sweets, pickles and green tea ice cream.
After a brief stop at the Heian Shrine, we caught a bus to Ginkakjui Temple, then made the long bus ride across the city to see the Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavillion), which we had missed on the 19th. Both of these temples are also World Heritage Sites.
In the evening, we strolled another area of the Gion district and spotted several Geisha as they made their way to their respected Tea Houses. It was like being a paparazzi photographer, trying to get shots of the ladies as they ran through the streets.
With the beautiful sunny weather and the vast historical sites, we wished we had planned to have stayed in Kyoto another day.
4/19/2007
Goodbye Tokyo (Rain), Hello Kyoto (Sunshine)...
We departed Tokyo on a JR Shinkansen (bullet train) @ 7:36am on another overcast morning.
To our surprise and happiness, after the disappointment in Hakone, we were able to clearly see Mt. Fuji, as we sped past in the train.
We were greeted at Kyoto Station with our first sunny / warm weather, another pleasant surprise.
After about a 15 minute hike from the station, we dropped off our packs at our new accomidations, K`s House Kyoto, and were quickly out again exploring.
Mistakenly thinking we were closer to the Nijo-jo Castle than we actually were, we began treking the city. After some realignment, we hopped on the Kyoto subway system.
Nijo-jo Castle was beautiful. Unfortunately I wasn`t allowed to take any interior shots, because of the fragility o the interior artwork. Sarah was intrigued by the chirpping floor, which was built to sound like Nghtingales in order to notify of intrusions to the castle.
After the castle we grabbed the JR train, to the northwest end of the city with the intent to visit the Kinkajui, Ryoanji and Ninnaji Shrines. The distance from the train station and early closings of the Shrines limited us to visiting only the Ryoanji Shrine and Zen Garden (the most famous in Japan), which is designated as a World Cultural Site. To spell it out clearly, we paid 1000 Yen to view 15 rocks.
We then headed back into the city in hopes of seeing some Geisha, as we walked the narrow streets of the Gion district. We just saw a bunch of tourists.
To our surprise and happiness, after the disappointment in Hakone, we were able to clearly see Mt. Fuji, as we sped past in the train.
We were greeted at Kyoto Station with our first sunny / warm weather, another pleasant surprise.
After about a 15 minute hike from the station, we dropped off our packs at our new accomidations, K`s House Kyoto, and were quickly out again exploring.
Mistakenly thinking we were closer to the Nijo-jo Castle than we actually were, we began treking the city. After some realignment, we hopped on the Kyoto subway system.
Nijo-jo Castle was beautiful. Unfortunately I wasn`t allowed to take any interior shots, because of the fragility o the interior artwork. Sarah was intrigued by the chirpping floor, which was built to sound like Nghtingales in order to notify of intrusions to the castle.
After the castle we grabbed the JR train, to the northwest end of the city with the intent to visit the Kinkajui, Ryoanji and Ninnaji Shrines. The distance from the train station and early closings of the Shrines limited us to visiting only the Ryoanji Shrine and Zen Garden (the most famous in Japan), which is designated as a World Cultural Site. To spell it out clearly, we paid 1000 Yen to view 15 rocks.
We then headed back into the city in hopes of seeing some Geisha, as we walked the narrow streets of the Gion district. We just saw a bunch of tourists.
4/18/2007
Hakone & Mt. Fuji
We took a day trip to Hakone to see Mt. Fuji and to escape Tokyo. Yet another very early start to the day! (4:30am)
As we made our way into the mountains by train, the skies were clear and it looked like a beautiful day was ahead of us. On our way to the Mt. Fuji lookout, I spotted an Open Air Museum that looked intriguing, so we decided to make a pit stop and look around. The museum turned out to be this huge art gallery with several unique works of art from Henry Moore, Carl Miles and Picasso.
As the museum took so long to go through, by the time we got to the Ropeway to the Mt. Fuji lookout the clouds had rolled in, so there was absolutely nothing to see, except for the falling snow. We, sorry I however, enjoyed a unique treat of black eggs.
After the lookout we descended to Lake Ashi, which we crossed in a Pirate Ferry. We completed our tour walking through the pouring cold rain and along a magnificent Old Cedar Pathway.
As we made our way into the mountains by train, the skies were clear and it looked like a beautiful day was ahead of us. On our way to the Mt. Fuji lookout, I spotted an Open Air Museum that looked intriguing, so we decided to make a pit stop and look around. The museum turned out to be this huge art gallery with several unique works of art from Henry Moore, Carl Miles and Picasso.
As the museum took so long to go through, by the time we got to the Ropeway to the Mt. Fuji lookout the clouds had rolled in, so there was absolutely nothing to see, except for the falling snow. We, sorry I however, enjoyed a unique treat of black eggs.
After the lookout we descended to Lake Ashi, which we crossed in a Pirate Ferry. We completed our tour walking through the pouring cold rain and along a magnificent Old Cedar Pathway.
4/17/2007
Tsukiji Fish Market, the Sony Building, and the Imperial Palace...
We visited the Tsukiji Fish Market in the very early morning. The maze of vendors, customers, equipment and fish made for an overwhelming experience. We were glad to escape to the shops and restaurants outside the main selling area. Breakfast consisted of some kind of rice dough pastry mixed with broccoli, shrimp and Sarah`s favourite, Octopus.
We then walked up to the Ginza district in order to visit the Sony Building. Unfortunately we arrived a little after 9am and it didn`t open until 11am. We toured around the district and finally were able to walk into a 9 storey mall that had opened at 10am. We were somewhat out of place wearing our backpacks and hiking clothes, while wandering by Louis Vuitton and Gucci stores. The roof offered up the pet store, outside golfing lessons, vending machines and of course a shrine. When we finally got to tour the Sony Building, it was a bit of a let down. There wasn`t that much that stood out, as being out there technologically. But they`re still at least a few years ahead of us on certain gadgets.
Only the East Gardens are open to the public on the Imperial Palace grounds, so we only made a brief stop.
Finally with two hours until closing, we arrived at the National Museum park. Tired and not really wanting to visit anything else, we forced ourselves through a couple of floors at the National Science Museum.
It was definitely a full day of cramming in as much as we could!
We then walked up to the Ginza district in order to visit the Sony Building. Unfortunately we arrived a little after 9am and it didn`t open until 11am. We toured around the district and finally were able to walk into a 9 storey mall that had opened at 10am. We were somewhat out of place wearing our backpacks and hiking clothes, while wandering by Louis Vuitton and Gucci stores. The roof offered up the pet store, outside golfing lessons, vending machines and of course a shrine. When we finally got to tour the Sony Building, it was a bit of a let down. There wasn`t that much that stood out, as being out there technologically. But they`re still at least a few years ahead of us on certain gadgets.
Only the East Gardens are open to the public on the Imperial Palace grounds, so we only made a brief stop.
Finally with two hours until closing, we arrived at the National Museum park. Tired and not really wanting to visit anything else, we forced ourselves through a couple of floors at the National Science Museum.
It was definitely a full day of cramming in as much as we could!
Sensjoi, Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Rain
Sarah and I were amazed to see how slow the city is to wake up on a work day. There were very few vehicles on the road and only a couple pedestrians, as we made our way towards the Sensoji and the Asakusa area. We were expecting the busyness of Toronto, but instead found it to be more like Hagersville.
We decided to begin the day at Denny's, in order to slowly adjust our diets. A good choice, as our waitress spoke fairly good English and our Japanese, unfortunately, might as well be non-existent. Mmmmm... orange yoked eggs.
The Asakusa Kannon Temple and surrounding grounds were quiet, but slowly came to life as people stopped for a prayer on their way to work and school. I got a good laugh out of watching a couple of the children going into the Kindergarden, which is located in the Temple grounds. One grabed the exterior gate with both hands, as their mother dragged them in screaming.
On our stroll back to the hostel, to grab someone's sweater and mittens, we were lucky to dodge a shattering fluroescent lightbulb, which a garbage man accidentily missed throwing into the garbage truck. He had an excuse though, as the trucks aren't any bigger than a mini-van.
After some frustrating searching and the best pastry/donut ever (Mister Donut) , we grabbed the subway to the Shinjuku shopping district. This is were we got to see the true Tokyo, with skysrappers and wall to wall pedestrians. We grabbed passes for our trip to Hakone on Wednesday and then began the argeous search for the JR Travel Service Center, where we picked up our JR Rail Passes for full train and ferry service for the rest of our trip.
Wanting to escape some of the hustle of the area, we walked to the Skinjuku Gyoen, one of Tokyo's largest parks, where it proceeded to start raining heavily. After a few pictures of traditional gardens and cherry blossoms, we made a dash for the subway to Harajuku.
Harajuku is the center of Japan's most extreme teenage fashion styles and cutures. Unfortunately with it raining so much all we really got to see was umbrellas, though I'll admit there were also alot of mini-skirts/shorts and heels. Just no pictures, sorry guys! They seem to sacrifice comfort for style, as we constantly saw them staggering and tripping, because of the heels.
After fighting for space on the subway during rush hour, we slowly made ourway back to the hostel, where I suggested we take a nap before dinner. Dinner never happened! Hey, I was up early blogging!
Check-out the web-site for some pictures.
We decided to begin the day at Denny's, in order to slowly adjust our diets. A good choice, as our waitress spoke fairly good English and our Japanese, unfortunately, might as well be non-existent. Mmmmm... orange yoked eggs.
The Asakusa Kannon Temple and surrounding grounds were quiet, but slowly came to life as people stopped for a prayer on their way to work and school. I got a good laugh out of watching a couple of the children going into the Kindergarden, which is located in the Temple grounds. One grabed the exterior gate with both hands, as their mother dragged them in screaming.
On our stroll back to the hostel, to grab someone's sweater and mittens, we were lucky to dodge a shattering fluroescent lightbulb, which a garbage man accidentily missed throwing into the garbage truck. He had an excuse though, as the trucks aren't any bigger than a mini-van.
After some frustrating searching and the best pastry/donut ever (Mister Donut) , we grabbed the subway to the Shinjuku shopping district. This is were we got to see the true Tokyo, with skysrappers and wall to wall pedestrians. We grabbed passes for our trip to Hakone on Wednesday and then began the argeous search for the JR Travel Service Center, where we picked up our JR Rail Passes for full train and ferry service for the rest of our trip.
Wanting to escape some of the hustle of the area, we walked to the Skinjuku Gyoen, one of Tokyo's largest parks, where it proceeded to start raining heavily. After a few pictures of traditional gardens and cherry blossoms, we made a dash for the subway to Harajuku.
Harajuku is the center of Japan's most extreme teenage fashion styles and cutures. Unfortunately with it raining so much all we really got to see was umbrellas, though I'll admit there were also alot of mini-skirts/shorts and heels. Just no pictures, sorry guys! They seem to sacrifice comfort for style, as we constantly saw them staggering and tripping, because of the heels.
After fighting for space on the subway during rush hour, we slowly made ourway back to the hostel, where I suggested we take a nap before dinner. Dinner never happened! Hey, I was up early blogging!
Check-out the web-site for some pictures.
4/16/2007
And Away We Go...
After leaving the house on Saturday morning at 6:00am (Thanks for the ride Adrianne!), we arrived at the Tokyo International Hostel at 6:00am Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, a full 24 hour door to door journey.
The flight from Pearson was delayed by a 1/2 hour, for some undisclosed reason, though Sarah says that no flights appeared to be leaving during that period of time. I was already having a nap!
We arrived at O'Hare International Airport late, providing us with just enough time to leisurely walk from the one end of Terminal 1 to the other and board our flight for Tokyo. Another 1/2 hour delay was experienced when a heat sensor from one of the engines needed to be replaced. Great!
The 13 hour flight to Tokyo, afforded us the time to catch up on some of the movies (Blood Diamond, The Holiday, and Happy Feet), as well as some extremely uncomfortable sleep!
Japan appears to be about a month ahead of our spring, as grass is green, the trees have leaves and flowers are blooming everywhere. The 1 hour train ride from Narita International Airport into Ueno Station showed us that we weren't in North American any longer.
Trying to buy a simple Tokyo-Metro ticket for 160 Yen ($1.50 CAN) became my biggest challenge of the day! Having read the maps and watched others purchase tickets from the vending machines, I stepped up to the plate. Inserting 1000 Yen bill, I selected 2 tickets for 160 Yen each. A "pass" for 3000 Yen popped out, then an alarm on the machine and a light started to flash. Not sure what had transpired, I quickly walked away, knowing I didn't have what I wanted, but not knowing what I had either. Sarah and I watched from a safe distance as a couple of people walked up to the machine and were unable to get it to work. In less than 1 1/2 hours, I had already wrecked something. Luckily we picked another machine and got the proper tickets. The "bonus" pass will definitely come in handy.
We arrived at the hostel by dusk, freshened up and went out for a tour of the area. We got our first laugh, venturing into the first floor of a four storey mall, where we saw a brand of baby clothes called "Laugh & Cheap". That brought up one of Sarah's memories from teaching in Korea, where a young female student was wearing a t-shirt that said "Just do me!", trying to innocently copy Nike's "Just do it!" advertising. Ah, the art of translation!
We gained our next experience, walking back towards the hostel, as an older gentlemen was watering some of those nice blooming flowers mentioned earlier.
Finally, we chose a 180Yen Noodle restaurant for our first meal. Luckily for us, we also pointed to the right dishes to eat!
As it's 4:30am, I better head back up stairs and grab another hours sleep, before todays adventures begin!
The flight from Pearson was delayed by a 1/2 hour, for some undisclosed reason, though Sarah says that no flights appeared to be leaving during that period of time. I was already having a nap!
We arrived at O'Hare International Airport late, providing us with just enough time to leisurely walk from the one end of Terminal 1 to the other and board our flight for Tokyo. Another 1/2 hour delay was experienced when a heat sensor from one of the engines needed to be replaced. Great!
The 13 hour flight to Tokyo, afforded us the time to catch up on some of the movies (Blood Diamond, The Holiday, and Happy Feet), as well as some extremely uncomfortable sleep!
Japan appears to be about a month ahead of our spring, as grass is green, the trees have leaves and flowers are blooming everywhere. The 1 hour train ride from Narita International Airport into Ueno Station showed us that we weren't in North American any longer.
Trying to buy a simple Tokyo-Metro ticket for 160 Yen ($1.50 CAN) became my biggest challenge of the day! Having read the maps and watched others purchase tickets from the vending machines, I stepped up to the plate. Inserting 1000 Yen bill, I selected 2 tickets for 160 Yen each. A "pass" for 3000 Yen popped out, then an alarm on the machine and a light started to flash. Not sure what had transpired, I quickly walked away, knowing I didn't have what I wanted, but not knowing what I had either. Sarah and I watched from a safe distance as a couple of people walked up to the machine and were unable to get it to work. In less than 1 1/2 hours, I had already wrecked something. Luckily we picked another machine and got the proper tickets. The "bonus" pass will definitely come in handy.
We arrived at the hostel by dusk, freshened up and went out for a tour of the area. We got our first laugh, venturing into the first floor of a four storey mall, where we saw a brand of baby clothes called "Laugh & Cheap". That brought up one of Sarah's memories from teaching in Korea, where a young female student was wearing a t-shirt that said "Just do me!", trying to innocently copy Nike's "Just do it!" advertising. Ah, the art of translation!
We gained our next experience, walking back towards the hostel, as an older gentlemen was watering some of those nice blooming flowers mentioned earlier.
Finally, we chose a 180Yen Noodle restaurant for our first meal. Luckily for us, we also pointed to the right dishes to eat!
As it's 4:30am, I better head back up stairs and grab another hours sleep, before todays adventures begin!
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