Well today was a bit of a nothing day for me.
Spent most of the day bumming around in the hotel.
About 3pm I headed out to see if I could do some shopping. Happy to report I now have gifts for a few lucky individuals. Down to 7000 yen for three days in Tokyo. Every time I tell a Japanese that they laugh. Sounds like its gonna be a bit of a drag in Tokyo with that much cash but hey, the rest of the trip has been good, so glad I did it despite a few hiccups.
Tomorrow I checkout of here and get the shinkansen for Tokyo. Should be in Tokyo by 1pm so will have to try and find some cheap dinner there tomorrow.
So after hanging around the hotel I went out to a few shopping districts to see what sort of gifts I could get for the peeps back home. Found a lovely item for the parents and even managed to get the price down a fair bit from the original thanks to my being foreign. Not THE item I wanted to get but that was well out of my price range. After wandering the shopping districts I had an appointment with a guy called Yoshiaki Minami at a place called Tins Hall which I had a few drinks at last night.
Really nice guy and a retired architect. He now does special effects. He bought me a beer last night and promised to got me a deck of Japanese cards for a game called Hana Huda. They are really quite nice cards but much smaller than the ones we use in the west. After seeing these I thought of someone they would be a perfect gift for so I went and got a deck of more traditional ones. The ones he got me are disney cards as they have an english manual.
I had a few drinks with him again and we struggled through a conversation about the economic situaiton and Japan. He recommended I try a dish called Monja, similar to Okonomoyaki but a Tokyo version. We will see how much it costs. Being an ex-architect he recommended some buidlings I check out while in Tokyo, I am always up for free sights to see and am sure Kate will be quite intrigued by what is in store.
That was about all for today. A couple new pics of crazy buildings but nothing else. Next post will be Tokyo.
See ya.
11.26.2008
Birthday review
Well last night was a bit of a bust. Forgot the place I am staying closes the door at 12. Luckily after dinner and a couple drinks I came back the hotel for some more cash and to head into Osaka central and was reminded on the way out, this was about 10 to 12.
Dinner was average as well. Seems they tempura damn near anything here. Had onion, eggs, beef, prawn, eggplant and potato with Miso and rice. Looked interesting on the menu but turned out pretty boring.
Went for a couple drinks at a place called Tin's Hall which was cool. Got talking to a guy next to me at the bar and he is going to buy me a pack of Hana-Huda cards which apparently are very beautifull playing cards for an old japanese card game. Should be interesting to see and if they are as good as he says may pickup a pack for Kate as we all know how much she loves card games.
Anyhow, gonna see if I can do some shopping today so I can stop worrying about this cash situation.
Bye
Dinner was average as well. Seems they tempura damn near anything here. Had onion, eggs, beef, prawn, eggplant and potato with Miso and rice. Looked interesting on the menu but turned out pretty boring.
Went for a couple drinks at a place called Tin's Hall which was cool. Got talking to a guy next to me at the bar and he is going to buy me a pack of Hana-Huda cards which apparently are very beautifull playing cards for an old japanese card game. Should be interesting to see and if they are as good as he says may pickup a pack for Kate as we all know how much she loves card games.
Anyhow, gonna see if I can do some shopping today so I can stop worrying about this cash situation.
Bye
11.25.2008
Watashi-no Tanjobi!!
Well today is my Birthday in Japan!
Not much of an eventfull day so far. Went to Osaka castle and wandered the park there for a while. Some new pics mostly of the surrounding gardens and park. The castle looked real impressive from outside but as it was a reconstruction after the air raids the inside is modern and designed as a Museum. The museum was a bit of let down again. A number of Japanese only interesting looking displays and an entire floor was closed. Couldn't come back with my original 600 yen ticket either but I'm only here for another full day anyhow.
I will be going back to the park tonight though as it's supposed to be quite a sight lit up.
After wandering the castle gardens and the park I wandered around a zoological park in the area but fortunately didn't pay to go inside. From what I saw from outside, which was most of it there wasn't much worth the 500 yen anyhow.
After that I went to a chain called Mos Burger, which do Japanese style burgers. They all looked like the standard beef patty in a bun to me but mabye the patty is different. Anyhow I couldn't go past their Takoyaki burger which appeared to be a tempured takoyaki ball on a bun with maybe teriyaki sauce tartar. That's about all I have to say about that.
After that wandered a while longer and found the area I am having dinner. Is somewhat seedier than the underground mall but the prices are better and there is plenty of food around. The seedy bit probably comes from there being a few strip clubs down a side street. I think there might have been a few Kabuki places too as there were guys out on the street in Kimono and the pale make-up etc on.
Haven't met anyone at this place yet either so it may be a solo birthday party but there will be good food and thats the main thing. :>
Oh, doesn't look like I will be trying fugu either as its damned expensive, you can get a small serve for 1000 yen but that is around about how much I wan't to be spending on the entire meal tonight, pity too as that is another classic Japanese food I am going to miss but it does mean I can try a few of the cheaper alternatives, will try and get names for you all and let you know what its like next post.
Bye
Not much of an eventfull day so far. Went to Osaka castle and wandered the park there for a while. Some new pics mostly of the surrounding gardens and park. The castle looked real impressive from outside but as it was a reconstruction after the air raids the inside is modern and designed as a Museum. The museum was a bit of let down again. A number of Japanese only interesting looking displays and an entire floor was closed. Couldn't come back with my original 600 yen ticket either but I'm only here for another full day anyhow.
I will be going back to the park tonight though as it's supposed to be quite a sight lit up.
After wandering the castle gardens and the park I wandered around a zoological park in the area but fortunately didn't pay to go inside. From what I saw from outside, which was most of it there wasn't much worth the 500 yen anyhow.
After that I went to a chain called Mos Burger, which do Japanese style burgers. They all looked like the standard beef patty in a bun to me but mabye the patty is different. Anyhow I couldn't go past their Takoyaki burger which appeared to be a tempured takoyaki ball on a bun with maybe teriyaki sauce tartar. That's about all I have to say about that.
After that wandered a while longer and found the area I am having dinner. Is somewhat seedier than the underground mall but the prices are better and there is plenty of food around. The seedy bit probably comes from there being a few strip clubs down a side street. I think there might have been a few Kabuki places too as there were guys out on the street in Kimono and the pale make-up etc on.
Haven't met anyone at this place yet either so it may be a solo birthday party but there will be good food and thats the main thing. :>
Oh, doesn't look like I will be trying fugu either as its damned expensive, you can get a small serve for 1000 yen but that is around about how much I wan't to be spending on the entire meal tonight, pity too as that is another classic Japanese food I am going to miss but it does mean I can try a few of the cheaper alternatives, will try and get names for you all and let you know what its like next post.
Bye
11.24.2008
241108
Last night was another great night in Miyajima backpackers.
Met an Ozzie couple that were living in Annerley! What are the chances?
No Ton-jiru but got some Ikane, dried squid with another can of O-Sake.
All this while reading about the amazing developments towards the Singulaity.
Big night, talking to the couple from Annerly then some guys from Germay and Bosnia.
Then the host with the most broke out a bottle of Sake he had received as an opening gift. That went round the table and it was great. I actually got some pics of the festivities this time.
After that a very patient Japanese couple were trying to teach me how to use chopsticks properly. We were up until 4 practicing and they were wanting to know where to go in Australia, what it was like etc.
The guy seemed really interested in the Aboriginals and I tried to explain the current situation to them. That kinda dissapointed them but they still want to see the surf and the reef etc.
This morning I was up at 7 and got my train in to Hiroshima with plenty of time to spare. While waiting on the platform I met a guy from Hawaii, we chatted for a while but he had to get his shinkansen back to Tokyo. Interesting story behind that. His mother is native Japanese but removed since the war. This is his second time in Japan, last time he was helping his mother find her birth mother.
His mum doesn't speak Japanese so he was the interpreter. Amazingly they managed to find his grandmother here and then the rest of the family.
Nice story, anyhow for breakfast this morning got my 100 yen pastry and this time it had sweet potato filling which was a surprise.Also surprising was that it was quite nice for breakfast.
It's raining and 12 in Hiroshima today, according to google last night Osaka is overcast but not raining. It is however meant to be 12 aswell so its definetly getting colder. According to the hosts at Miyajima Backpackers yesterday was the last day of Autumn and I am definetly feeling it.
Gonna be painfull getting off the plane into Australian summer.
On the train to Osaka there was a Japanese lady sitting beside me and we got chatting about what it's like in oz, what I like about Japan and obviously what foods I like so no sleep on the train.
Got to Osaka and it was 11 with rain!! I know the temp as there was a billboard across the street. While looking at my map it dropped to 10! Got two trains to Shin-Imamiya and then had to call for directions to hotel. They provided such great information on the site. Told me which train station to get off at and which exit to leave from then three minutes on foot....
No direction, street or address.
Anyhow worked out in the end and I have checked into my room. The place is a real dive compared to any of the other places I have stayed. Cheap, cause I gave the guy a 10000 yen note he ended up only chaarging me 4000 for the three nights so I now have an extra 50 yen. Unpacked and settled in, still raining. Planned my routes etc, stil raining. Decided not to mope about anymore and caught a train to one of the parks, stil raining. Underground mall! Killed some time in there for an hour or so, all the food got me hungry and it was getting dark and colder, still raining. Came back to hotel and got some cup noodles on the way. Tonight I eat cheap and tomorrow I feast!
Think I might checkout Osaka castle tonight if it stops raining as it is supposed to really impressive by night. They light it up and apparently it shines gold.
No pics from today so far but a few of last night.
Bye
Met an Ozzie couple that were living in Annerley! What are the chances?
No Ton-jiru but got some Ikane, dried squid with another can of O-Sake.
All this while reading about the amazing developments towards the Singulaity.
Big night, talking to the couple from Annerly then some guys from Germay and Bosnia.
Then the host with the most broke out a bottle of Sake he had received as an opening gift. That went round the table and it was great. I actually got some pics of the festivities this time.
After that a very patient Japanese couple were trying to teach me how to use chopsticks properly. We were up until 4 practicing and they were wanting to know where to go in Australia, what it was like etc.
The guy seemed really interested in the Aboriginals and I tried to explain the current situation to them. That kinda dissapointed them but they still want to see the surf and the reef etc.
This morning I was up at 7 and got my train in to Hiroshima with plenty of time to spare. While waiting on the platform I met a guy from Hawaii, we chatted for a while but he had to get his shinkansen back to Tokyo. Interesting story behind that. His mother is native Japanese but removed since the war. This is his second time in Japan, last time he was helping his mother find her birth mother.
His mum doesn't speak Japanese so he was the interpreter. Amazingly they managed to find his grandmother here and then the rest of the family.
Nice story, anyhow for breakfast this morning got my 100 yen pastry and this time it had sweet potato filling which was a surprise.Also surprising was that it was quite nice for breakfast.
It's raining and 12 in Hiroshima today, according to google last night Osaka is overcast but not raining. It is however meant to be 12 aswell so its definetly getting colder. According to the hosts at Miyajima Backpackers yesterday was the last day of Autumn and I am definetly feeling it.
Gonna be painfull getting off the plane into Australian summer.
On the train to Osaka there was a Japanese lady sitting beside me and we got chatting about what it's like in oz, what I like about Japan and obviously what foods I like so no sleep on the train.
Got to Osaka and it was 11 with rain!! I know the temp as there was a billboard across the street. While looking at my map it dropped to 10! Got two trains to Shin-Imamiya and then had to call for directions to hotel. They provided such great information on the site. Told me which train station to get off at and which exit to leave from then three minutes on foot....
No direction, street or address.
Anyhow worked out in the end and I have checked into my room. The place is a real dive compared to any of the other places I have stayed. Cheap, cause I gave the guy a 10000 yen note he ended up only chaarging me 4000 for the three nights so I now have an extra 50 yen. Unpacked and settled in, still raining. Planned my routes etc, stil raining. Decided not to mope about anymore and caught a train to one of the parks, stil raining. Underground mall! Killed some time in there for an hour or so, all the food got me hungry and it was getting dark and colder, still raining. Came back to hotel and got some cup noodles on the way. Tonight I eat cheap and tomorrow I feast!
Think I might checkout Osaka castle tonight if it stops raining as it is supposed to really impressive by night. They light it up and apparently it shines gold.
No pics from today so far but a few of last night.
Bye
11.23.2008
231108
Well last night was a blast. Probably the most fun I have had in Japan yet.
Ton-Jiru is awesome and there was so much of it!
I ate like a king and the beer at the hostel is quite possibly the cheapest in Japan.
150 a can which is very cheap, normally its like 300. Had this one called Chu-Hi, made by Kirin.
Not sure if it was beer as they were calling it o-sake and it didn't really have any fizz to it.
Lemon flavored so very enjoyable. They also had little nibbles which were Imake, dried squid and Anago, teriyaki style eel served cold.
Went great with the drinks. Made friends with a few of the people staying here. One Japanese guy from around Suzuka shared his sake with me and this california guy.
It was our first time so he found that quite enjoyable. You have a bit of the dried squid and a mouthfull of sake and that's the way you do it.
Gotta say Sake is allot easier to drink than I expected. Doesn't burn like vodka but warms your belly.
After that moved down the table and got chatting to another aussie! We managed to figure out how best to describe AFL to the Japanese.
Ended up as 'a combination of basketball, soccer with your hands and takling like rugby'.
One Japanese guy called Akira, yeah like the anime, was surprised they don't wear protection in rugby or AFL.
After that these girls were showing off some fans they bought with pop stars on them.
These guys are from a group called SPal and apparently they are the Japanese backstreet boys, many laughs.
Then we got talking about the pronounciation differences in english and there were many laughs from various poor trnslations.
Anyhow, after all that fun missed my initial train from Miyajima to Hiroshima but there were plenty of others so I didn't miss the shinkansen to Himeji.
Thinking I might go over to Miyajima again tonight and get a gift for Kate.
It's perfect for her and I am sure she will love it.
Well Himeji was great. On my way to the castle they had another food fair which was such a tease but I managed not to buy anything.QQ
After this I went to the castle and Koko-en garden. Himeji castle was very impressive. All those stones hand laid, crazy.
After that I went over to Koko-En garden which was gorgeous. Unfortunately half way through my camera battery died.
You missed the bamboo groves, pine forest and seedling garden. Nothing in the seedling garden really being autumn but the rest was gorgeous.
There were three ladies there playing the lay down guitar things, sounded like Shamisens but wider note range. Really set the scene.
After that headed to a few shrines but they all wanted about 500 yen admission which I cannot afford anymore.
Saw pretty much everything there was to see from outside anyhow. Headed home after that and had my instant noodles.
Tomorrow I am off to Osaka and should arrive there by 10:30. I have been advised to try TakoYaki there as its the home of TakoYaki.
I will see if I can get any for cheap but I am allowed one extravegance there and then its all Tokyo.
Bye for now.
Ton-Jiru is awesome and there was so much of it!
I ate like a king and the beer at the hostel is quite possibly the cheapest in Japan.
150 a can which is very cheap, normally its like 300. Had this one called Chu-Hi, made by Kirin.
Not sure if it was beer as they were calling it o-sake and it didn't really have any fizz to it.
Lemon flavored so very enjoyable. They also had little nibbles which were Imake, dried squid and Anago, teriyaki style eel served cold.
Went great with the drinks. Made friends with a few of the people staying here. One Japanese guy from around Suzuka shared his sake with me and this california guy.
It was our first time so he found that quite enjoyable. You have a bit of the dried squid and a mouthfull of sake and that's the way you do it.
Gotta say Sake is allot easier to drink than I expected. Doesn't burn like vodka but warms your belly.
After that moved down the table and got chatting to another aussie! We managed to figure out how best to describe AFL to the Japanese.
Ended up as 'a combination of basketball, soccer with your hands and takling like rugby'.
One Japanese guy called Akira, yeah like the anime, was surprised they don't wear protection in rugby or AFL.
After that these girls were showing off some fans they bought with pop stars on them.
These guys are from a group called SPal and apparently they are the Japanese backstreet boys, many laughs.
Then we got talking about the pronounciation differences in english and there were many laughs from various poor trnslations.
Anyhow, after all that fun missed my initial train from Miyajima to Hiroshima but there were plenty of others so I didn't miss the shinkansen to Himeji.
Thinking I might go over to Miyajima again tonight and get a gift for Kate.
It's perfect for her and I am sure she will love it.
Well Himeji was great. On my way to the castle they had another food fair which was such a tease but I managed not to buy anything.QQ
After this I went to the castle and Koko-en garden. Himeji castle was very impressive. All those stones hand laid, crazy.
After that I went over to Koko-En garden which was gorgeous. Unfortunately half way through my camera battery died.
You missed the bamboo groves, pine forest and seedling garden. Nothing in the seedling garden really being autumn but the rest was gorgeous.
There were three ladies there playing the lay down guitar things, sounded like Shamisens but wider note range. Really set the scene.
After that headed to a few shrines but they all wanted about 500 yen admission which I cannot afford anymore.
Saw pretty much everything there was to see from outside anyhow. Headed home after that and had my instant noodles.
Tomorrow I am off to Osaka and should arrive there by 10:30. I have been advised to try TakoYaki there as its the home of TakoYaki.
I will see if I can get any for cheap but I am allowed one extravegance there and then its all Tokyo.
Bye for now.
11.22.2008
221108
Well well peeps I have checked into Miyajima Backpackers and it is a great place. Whish they had availability for my whole stay in Hiroshima. Right on the shore three minutes from the station and awesome staff. The place is 22 days old and super clean. Tonight they are putting on a Ton-Jiru party which means free Japanese food! As you have guest this dish involves pork cause you all know they use Ton for pork, Tonkotsuten ramen is pork and prawn, this Ton-Jiru looks to be a Shabu-shuabu type deal. Pork stock with various vegetables and forms of soy bean in it. Gonna be tasty! Unfortunately I had already heated the pack of super good instant noodles I had been saving but this Ton-jiru dosn't seem to involve any meat so It may not be too filling for me.
Went over to Miyajima island today after doing some laundry and it was very beautifull, unfortuantely I hadn't realised today is the weekend so it was packed with families doing the tourist thing. That wasn't the worst part though. As you head up to each shrine the streets are lined with FOOD VENDORS! So muh tasty food and I didn't buy a single thing :> very proud of that, just hope all this sacrifice pays off in Tokyo.
Took lots of pictures and saw a Tanuki, I have no idea what to call it in engish as I have never seen one of these things before in real life or otherwise. Kinda like a racoon but without a tail?
Oh and started the day real well. Checked out of Hiroshima and into my new place and realised I had left my leather jacket in Hiroshima, first train back and they had it waiting for me. Needless to say I was extremely gratefull to them and will never leave anything behind again.
Tomorrow up early for Himeji. Should be nice as long as the weather is as good tomorrow as it was today.
Bye for now
Went over to Miyajima island today after doing some laundry and it was very beautifull, unfortuantely I hadn't realised today is the weekend so it was packed with families doing the tourist thing. That wasn't the worst part though. As you head up to each shrine the streets are lined with FOOD VENDORS! So muh tasty food and I didn't buy a single thing :> very proud of that, just hope all this sacrifice pays off in Tokyo.
Took lots of pictures and saw a Tanuki, I have no idea what to call it in engish as I have never seen one of these things before in real life or otherwise. Kinda like a racoon but without a tail?
Oh and started the day real well. Checked out of Hiroshima and into my new place and realised I had left my leather jacket in Hiroshima, first train back and they had it waiting for me. Needless to say I was extremely gratefull to them and will never leave anything behind again.
Tomorrow up early for Himeji. Should be nice as long as the weather is as good tomorrow as it was today.
Bye for now
11.21.2008
211108
Well Fukuoka looks interesting but not enough time again! Fortunately it is the last day trip I am doing.
Everytime I show up at one of these places for a daytrip and get the map I find a good couple weeks worth of things to see and do.
When I arrived it was raining so I hopped a train to the furthest destination hoping it would fine up in the meantime.
Got to a place called Saitozaki and the weather had improved a little. No more rain but overcast with the wind.
Better the wind than rain. This place is out on a little spit with two seasidde parks on it. I went the cheaper of the two.
The place was nearly deserted presumably due to weather and the season.
Was a nice little park, had an amusement section and the rest was gardens and an animal farm.
Wandered the gardens and animal farm for what ended up being three hours! This park is huge, like an island of its own.
I imagine it would have been gorgeous in spring/summer and was still very nice at this time of year.
Found the Kangaroos in the animal park, wallabies but hey. I also saw some prairie dogs!
Very uncooperative, kept hopping up on their hind legs when I wasn't ready. Spent a good 10mins trying to get a photo of that.
After this had to hop two trains back to Hakata which is the name for the central station in Fukuoka.
Wandered the streets, got my return seat and had a bowl of what I am guessing is called "super-insano chilli and tofu ramen" for 630.
This stuff had my eyes watering and my nose running and was still incredibly tasty. The first really spicy food I have had here.
After that wandered a little more, wanted to buy a local delicacy of the hakata area called Karashi Mentaiko which is cod roe pickled in chilli.
Unfortunately the cheapest I could find was for three egg sacks at 1020 yen. Asked if they had singles(hitotsu) but they did not.
By then it was time for my train back to Hiroshima with the sun setting on a now fine day.
All in all a nice little trip out but again not enough time. The train back is the nicest yet.
Big plush seats that you dont have to recline to be comfortable, power point included and a 1min tune before anouncements.
Because I have the rail pass it didn't cost any extra for these comforts either. Pity its only a 1hr trip back.
Not many new pics as the colours were all washed out or something from the patchy light.
Tomorrow I relocate in Hiroshima, go to Miyajima Backpackers in Miyajima-guchi so I should only need to do a ferry ride to Miyajima island.
This too is covered by the rail pass as there is a JR ferry service.
Bye for now
Everytime I show up at one of these places for a daytrip and get the map I find a good couple weeks worth of things to see and do.
When I arrived it was raining so I hopped a train to the furthest destination hoping it would fine up in the meantime.
Got to a place called Saitozaki and the weather had improved a little. No more rain but overcast with the wind.
Better the wind than rain. This place is out on a little spit with two seasidde parks on it. I went the cheaper of the two.
The place was nearly deserted presumably due to weather and the season.
Was a nice little park, had an amusement section and the rest was gardens and an animal farm.
Wandered the gardens and animal farm for what ended up being three hours! This park is huge, like an island of its own.
I imagine it would have been gorgeous in spring/summer and was still very nice at this time of year.
Found the Kangaroos in the animal park, wallabies but hey. I also saw some prairie dogs!
Very uncooperative, kept hopping up on their hind legs when I wasn't ready. Spent a good 10mins trying to get a photo of that.
After this had to hop two trains back to Hakata which is the name for the central station in Fukuoka.
Wandered the streets, got my return seat and had a bowl of what I am guessing is called "super-insano chilli and tofu ramen" for 630.
This stuff had my eyes watering and my nose running and was still incredibly tasty. The first really spicy food I have had here.
After that wandered a little more, wanted to buy a local delicacy of the hakata area called Karashi Mentaiko which is cod roe pickled in chilli.
Unfortunately the cheapest I could find was for three egg sacks at 1020 yen. Asked if they had singles(hitotsu) but they did not.
By then it was time for my train back to Hiroshima with the sun setting on a now fine day.
All in all a nice little trip out but again not enough time. The train back is the nicest yet.
Big plush seats that you dont have to recline to be comfortable, power point included and a 1min tune before anouncements.
Because I have the rail pass it didn't cost any extra for these comforts either. Pity its only a 1hr trip back.
Not many new pics as the colours were all washed out or something from the patchy light.
Tomorrow I relocate in Hiroshima, go to Miyajima Backpackers in Miyajima-guchi so I should only need to do a ferry ride to Miyajima island.
This too is covered by the rail pass as there is a JR ferry service.
Bye for now
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