After sending my 30 kg of stuff off I had McDonalds breakfast which was a wonderful treat then while waiting for the grocery store to open I was there early enough to claim some special discount at an electronics store like Best Buy. I chose the 2gb flash memory for 2400 yen. I could have gotten a PC or nice camera but they were too much. I felt like i won the lottery then didnt even buy the thing. I did however buy some laughing cow cheese and a 3 pack of different types of rolls for lunch/snack on the bus. I bought this cheese out of homage to my good friend Joseph, how i miss her and her crazy Brit ways. She taught me to eat this processed cheese in Aus and I have never looked back. It was delicious but when i decided to try it on the bus i realized that my 3 pack was all in fact cream filled rolls. 2 of the 3 had melon cream filling and the other pack was a mix of chocolate and vanilla. Sucks, and i tried to eat around it with my cheese but the bread wouldnt relent its smell. Jo, the cow laughed.
This bus ride was in Japanese only and a pretty crappy day outside so i slept most of it since I did the 4am thing the night before, but at one stop where i never knew how long we had i made it my mission to find real bread. No sliced bread in this country, it comes as huge texas toast in 3 or 5 packs, so i keep looking and happen upon a bakery at this truck stop like place. Grab a couple garlic butter baguettes and make a run back for the bus. Of course they are waiting on me and give me a unsatisfactory look to say the least. We arrive in Tokyo 10 minutes late thanks to me. The Japanese are a punctual people mind you. Luckily Haruna hadn't yet given up hope and was there to take me to her place. Will be nice not to have to think about where I am going for awhile.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
I am so rich it hurts
Before heading out on the bus for Tokyo I had a few more stops. Saw the earthquake memorial and ate ramen behind a curtain in Kobe after hiking around their favorite mountain and relishing the herb garden. Osaka brought some of the most outrageous styles I have ever seen. The girls want blonde hair really bad. Both the guys and girls havent realized the 80s are over with their big feathered hair. The skirts are short and there are more jewels and gold than imaginable. Busy as and i later learn that Osakans dont sleep. Seems nice.
Nara was pretty much the center of the tourism industry that i have seen thus far in Japan. They have this deer park with hundreds of deer, not bound by any fence or anything but the lure of deer crackers that the people give them constantly. Fatty deer. Saw a giant buddha and tried to climb through a hole in a pole in the biggest wooden building in the world that is the size of his nostril. Didnt make it but a bunch of kids did so they will have good luck the rest of their lives while i am stuck with nothing. Too many temples and shrines and plenty of world heritage sites (same as Kyoto i suppose). Met a Filippino/Chinese girl who worked as a dancer over sushi bowl. Good stuff. Ate squid/pork pancake. Good stuff. That is all.
Nara was pretty much the center of the tourism industry that i have seen thus far in Japan. They have this deer park with hundreds of deer, not bound by any fence or anything but the lure of deer crackers that the people give them constantly. Fatty deer. Saw a giant buddha and tried to climb through a hole in a pole in the biggest wooden building in the world that is the size of his nostril. Didnt make it but a bunch of kids did so they will have good luck the rest of their lives while i am stuck with nothing. Too many temples and shrines and plenty of world heritage sites (same as Kyoto i suppose). Met a Filippino/Chinese girl who worked as a dancer over sushi bowl. Good stuff. Ate squid/pork pancake. Good stuff. That is all.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Where Am I
So getting up for my second day in Kyoto was a sore affair. The mat that i had slept on in my sake haze had not been good for me. Luckily they were out of tatami for that night and since i refuse to make reservations for future nights we will just see how the week progresses. I will let you know ahead of time that it worked out where i had the tatami every night but this one. Saving money is good when you don't really have that much of it. So after unsuccessfully sending my bag away i hung my head in shame, and to avoid the rain. Walked the 30 minutes to the shrine/church to meet Koji and we took off for Tenri. Mind you at this point i thought we were going to Nara which is the old capital and full of world heritage sites but we end up in Tenri with his mom meeting us at the station and all that jazz. Headed straight to the cafeteria for lunch which was ok and provided for me (each day is like that scene in half bakes where they are on the date and he has the money countdown thing in the corner, gotta watch it) then we were whisked away to the lecture room in the new old looking building. Here I learned what it meant to have a joyous life, that all humanity came from Tenri and specifically one 13 part hexagonal wooden pole, and that cleaning is very important. Saw their temple which they called the biggest wooden structure in Asia but i come to find out the biggest wooden building in the world is in Nara only a few km away. Hmm. After lecture and running into Koji's dad we head for the temple. The day turns out to be great and the mountains beautiful. The building really is beautiful and polished and smells lovely. Walked around, met some of the holy men (priests i think) and went on our way. So many people cleaning freaks me out.
Went over to their home to meet the new baby: March, thus named by her grandfather so international people could pronounce it. That's foresight. She was adorable and only 4 months. Met Koji's brother and some friends one of whom came from ATL and was taking time off school at Kennesaw to study Japanese and Tenrikyo. That's the religion/way of life by the way. 3M followers worldwide and a chruch in Atlanta. Amazing and I never would have known but for the rain in Kyoto. The train rides were fun talking about nonsense and Koji looking up every word in the dictionary. Have to give him credit for persistence. Interesting how I find these people.
Went over to their home to meet the new baby: March, thus named by her grandfather so international people could pronounce it. That's foresight. She was adorable and only 4 months. Met Koji's brother and some friends one of whom came from ATL and was taking time off school at Kennesaw to study Japanese and Tenrikyo. That's the religion/way of life by the way. 3M followers worldwide and a chruch in Atlanta. Amazing and I never would have known but for the rain in Kyoto. The train rides were fun talking about nonsense and Koji looking up every word in the dictionary. Have to give him credit for persistence. Interesting how I find these people.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Rainy Night In
Kyoto is how it goes. Well not only night but also day. My only shoes, the sweet as 991's i found at Plato's for $15 are probably ruined. Well i now know that they aren't but they do smell really bad. I let them dry for 4 days or so but that just wreaked havoc on my feet and the people around me - ended up rubbing the tops of my feet off because of walking with wet straps and as for the other folks in the hostel they got a nostril full. During the day after my buddy Chuck left and I had found the new hostel, inn rather - the Cheapest. Literally called the Cheapest Inn. Got a bed and headed out. Earlier in the day I figured that I should go ahead and send all my stuff home that I didn't need. great idea right and for only 13000 yen it could be mine. That and 2 months. Ended up doing it but not after having mathematical equations equalling 2m explained and drawn for me multiple times. They are real sticklers over here because my bag ended up being (length plus circumference) 2m and 4 cm. This did not pass the test of course and multiple people held up big x's in front of their bodies. No go. That is until the last day in Kyoto and I desperately wanted to rid myself of them so i scavenged for boxes in the garbage and found some suitable ones. Packed all my stuff in and duct taped the hell out of em. We will see how far they make it.
Back to Tuesday though. Walked around in the rain for hours and my new North Face (that would be in quotes if i could find them) was leaking and bleeding everywhere. My new Gore Tex Arc Teryx jacket wasn't much help either. I happened upon a temple and was taking a picture when this guy comes out and asks if i would like a tour. Always wary of spending money on crap I say no but he invites me in and I figure he wants to practice some English. We perform the Tenrikyo practice with clapping and praying for a joyous life. Sounded good and the guy was pretty cool and I somehow ended up agreeing to go to Tenri with him the next day to see the town and the temples and the mountains there.
After spending a number of hours waiting for the rain to die down enough to make it to the subway from the YHA hostel I finally did and the kinda gay host guy was pretty glad to be rid of me and my stinking ways i am pretty sure. Made it to the Inn and since I had reserved the tatami course (read: woven mat bunk bed in the open with a light directly above, but good price at only 900 yen after i had spent 4800 for the previous night) i had no place for my things. Side note, the second i arrived my new China original Samsonite suitcase broke in many ways. The handle to pull it and the handle on top. The next day the other handle, the inside lining and some screws fell out. The one thing that stayed true were the zippers. Hella fine. Don't know why i am writing all this but i find it somewhat amusing and i am now remembering the hellish walk with overweight bags in the rain and my new umbrella blew back in the wind and nobody helps the poor white kid obviously in need, so sad it is.
Finally settled i figure i need a beer or better yet some tonic for the gin i bought at the airport. Bombay for $11 isn't too bad. Found grapefruit water instead and headed to the park i found when looking for the Cheapest. Listened to ipod, looked at lonely planet, ate some chips, and was asked to join some old men drinking sake. Things always work out. One out of three of them knew some English so we talked as much as possible and they were all retired half artists and one was A Little Famous in Japan. Many people came through including some high schoolers, dog walkers, firework shooters, a lady who gave us rice cakes, and others I'm sure. Ended up being quite a night hearing their stories and talking and listening to them talk. At any rate the sake was flowing and it wasn't raining on the walk home. I think the mat was almost bearable that night.
Back to Tuesday though. Walked around in the rain for hours and my new North Face (that would be in quotes if i could find them) was leaking and bleeding everywhere. My new Gore Tex Arc Teryx jacket wasn't much help either. I happened upon a temple and was taking a picture when this guy comes out and asks if i would like a tour. Always wary of spending money on crap I say no but he invites me in and I figure he wants to practice some English. We perform the Tenrikyo practice with clapping and praying for a joyous life. Sounded good and the guy was pretty cool and I somehow ended up agreeing to go to Tenri with him the next day to see the town and the temples and the mountains there.
After spending a number of hours waiting for the rain to die down enough to make it to the subway from the YHA hostel I finally did and the kinda gay host guy was pretty glad to be rid of me and my stinking ways i am pretty sure. Made it to the Inn and since I had reserved the tatami course (read: woven mat bunk bed in the open with a light directly above, but good price at only 900 yen after i had spent 4800 for the previous night) i had no place for my things. Side note, the second i arrived my new China original Samsonite suitcase broke in many ways. The handle to pull it and the handle on top. The next day the other handle, the inside lining and some screws fell out. The one thing that stayed true were the zippers. Hella fine. Don't know why i am writing all this but i find it somewhat amusing and i am now remembering the hellish walk with overweight bags in the rain and my new umbrella blew back in the wind and nobody helps the poor white kid obviously in need, so sad it is.
Finally settled i figure i need a beer or better yet some tonic for the gin i bought at the airport. Bombay for $11 isn't too bad. Found grapefruit water instead and headed to the park i found when looking for the Cheapest. Listened to ipod, looked at lonely planet, ate some chips, and was asked to join some old men drinking sake. Things always work out. One out of three of them knew some English so we talked as much as possible and they were all retired half artists and one was A Little Famous in Japan. Many people came through including some high schoolers, dog walkers, firework shooters, a lady who gave us rice cakes, and others I'm sure. Ended up being quite a night hearing their stories and talking and listening to them talk. At any rate the sake was flowing and it wasn't raining on the walk home. I think the mat was almost bearable that night.
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