Nijo-jo Castle

When I was in Kyoto, I visited a Palace called Nijo-jo. Of all the things I saw in Kyoto, this was by far my favorite. It was originally built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. It was completed in 1626 by the third Tokugawa Shogun. Its a clear example of traditional Edo period style building design, with lavish paintings and carvings everywhere. Its a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and when I went there I understood what all the whooplaw was about.

Complete with a large scale garden in shoin zukuri stype, in the center of the pond stands one large isand- the island of eternal happiness. My favorite part about Nijo-jo had to be the wall paintings. Photography is prohibitted inside, but I snuck a shot to illustrate how ornate everything was inside.

There are over 3,000 paintings in the building, including works fom the Meiji Period. Of the total, 954 were designated as Important Cultural Properties in 1982. The walls are all painted gold, and elaborate tigers fight on the walls set against beutiful landscapes of mountain peaks and cherry blossom flowers.

Another cool aspect of the Palace is that the floors are built intentionally to squeak and groan. They are called "Mockingbird Floors" and were used to let the Tokugawan Shogun know when people where walking about his crib.

Kyoto

Last week was a holiday for students and business men alike in Japan. It's called Golden Week, and it really is a little golden ray of sunshine in anyone's schedule.

I decided to head down to Kyoto, a World Heritage Site, and home to most of Japan's most famous temples and art.

I took the night bus to save money, which I did, but the ride sucked. It was 6 hours in total and I couldn't sleep since I was fighting against the AC pumping right next to me and the lights on overhead.

Once I got to Kyoto though, I had forgotten all about the bus trip. It was only about 7 in the morning and we weren't able to check into our hotel till about 11. I found a park and lay down. sleeeppp finally.

I visited tons of temples and art galleries, and I saw plenty of Geisha and Maiako while I was there. Its like all of the stereotypes of Japan are alive and kicking in Kyoto. Its kind of strange though since it feels so manufactured and manicured. The forests are all beautiful and the temples are great, but every corner you round there is a booth set up selling kaitai charms (cell phone charms) or post cards. I thought it was hilarious when I saw a man sweeping, with a broom, the forest floor to keep it clean. While it was beautiful at the temples, I could plainly see how much work went into preserving and capitalizing off of these places. Don't get me wrong, I loved it- I was totally a tourist walking around in awe, but I was also very aware of how much this city depended on its tourists to come and see their National Heritage Destination.

Pictured above is The Golden Temple. I loved it.

Morning Trains...

morning train to school:

This I was running late when I woke up in the morning. I'm usually pretty good about getting up and down for breakfast, even if I don't have a morning class that day, but on Monday I slept in.

After running frantically down the stairs and out the door, I was soon shuffling from my dorm to the station. This walk usually takes 15 minutes, and I pass a whole bunch of residential buildings, a small grocery store called Maruetsu, the answer to all my chocolate cravings, and many a hair salon. The walk is usually a nice way to wake up, the city streets are so alive at 8 in the morning, you can't help but emerge from sleep when walking over a bridge covering streams which have little turtles in them! its great. Plus you have to dodge all of the cyclists, so if you were half asleep you run the risk of getting plowed over.

Speaking of getting plowed over, the station at 8 in the morning is a world unto itself, complete with its own "every man for himself" mentality and set of rules. Businessmen, students, kids, women on their way to work, everyone catches this morning train. The stations are absolutely packed.

Today I realized that there are actually people hired by the JR called "pushers". These men do exactly as their name suggests. When the train is packed to the rims, the pushers shove people back and push more people on. Once those people are on, the pusher does it again, pushing people in so the doors can slide over their bodies and seal it up.

Everyone on the train is miserable in the morning. Its hot here, its humid here, most of everyone is wearing a suit and are physically sweating drops right next to your own face on account of them being so close. I could smell what people had for breakfast, coffee, tea, egg... you catch my drift. Its like all the disgusting aspects of people come out. Plus people can be assholes when they are just another business exec in a crowd.

Needless to say I made it to class on time. I usually just close my eyes and wait for the announcement "sugi wa Tamachi, Tamachi desu". Sweet relief. Now I somehow have to wiggle my way out of here...

Mochi

its the best thing i've ever eaten.

Its pulverized rice, which turns into a kind of really thick paste, and then inside of these delectable little balls they put different things. My favorite is the red bean paste, which is exactly what it sounds like. mushed up red beans sweetened, its really tasty. After all of that they are rolled in what i assume is icing sugar. yummmmm

My favorite part about mochi, besides saying the word itself, is when you find an entire red bean inside.

I looked around, and I know that you can also get these in Canada. Go forth! find mochi, eat it. its really yummy.
(p.s. for all you anime fans out there, this is what Sen eats when she is sad in Spirited Away. it makes her feel better. and its the truth, they really do!)

Gunma!

My friend Rosie is in Japan, teaching English to native Japanese people in a program called JET. I felt really comforted knowing that I knew at least one person in the country before coming here, even though she was a good two hours away from me once all is said and done.

When I got to Gunma, Rosie walked me to her car and we drove a bit further to her prefecture called Annaka. The difference between Annaka and the Japan I had been seeing was immense, I could hardly believe it was the same place. In Tokyo, I'm used to bustling crowds everywhere, signs and tissue packages being pushed at me and shuffling along streets full of shops. In Annaka I was exposed to blossoming rice paddies (do they blossom?) and forests. Rosie lived right beside Mount Myogi!
This is the view from her apartment!

We climbed a section of the Myogi-san, and I was surprised to see elderly Japanese people up there! They were decked out to the nines in hiking gear; hiking sticks, bear bells, hats, reflective tarps, gators and hats with scarves to cover their necks. Its funny because Mount Myogi is too small to do anything more than a day hike, so they were probably only up there for a couple of hours!

Myogi had Stone Arches called gates carved into it, leaving the huge rock peaks hollow. I am pretty sure that they were engineered gates, but they were beautiful.

We hiked for a couple hours then went back to Annaka. On the way out for Soba (the best noodles ever!) Rosie and I stopped for an Onsen! It was my frist time at a public bath, and at first I was more than a little shy. However in ten minutes I was having the most relaxing hot tub outside looking over the mountains in the foreground. It was an amazing trip.

Garbage Bins, where are they!?

One of the weirdest things about Japan so far is the lack of garbage bins.

In Canada, wherever you go, you are surrounded by garbage and recycling bins. This ensures that people don't littler, it encourages proper disposal of waste etc. Plus, once you have a gum wrapper, a useless flyer or something of the sort, all you want to do is get rid of it and stop carrying it around.

In Japan, there are no garbage bins. Not on the street, not in the library, not on campus, not in train stations etc. I mean, you can find one if you really look, you might have to hold on to an old pop can for twenty minutes before you can find the right garbage bin for it. At the library today, I had to change floors to throw away a scrap piece of paper!

It goes against the rumors of efficiency... don't you think? at least the Japanese have a really advanced (and confusing) recycling procedure. You have to divide your garbage into approximately 5 different things where I live: burnables, recyclable paper and cardboard, garbage with food on it, garbage without food on it, bottles, plastic and glass... there are probably more but I am unaware of them.