Monday, August 21, 2006
All Other Days
So I took a lot of pictures, but I couldn't find the time, the internet connection, or both, to blog on a daily basis. Therefore, you'll have to settle for this massive picture dump of the rest of my trip, now that I'm back in the states. By the way, you can click on the pictures below to see a bigger version, if you're interested.
Anyways, starting on Day 4...
Here is a breakfast we had at Denny's. Sarah had salmon, rice and other Japanese breakfast items while I had French toast. Why no Grand Slam breakfast, you ask? They don't have it in Japan! I know, it's crazy.
We found a little garden called Happy Terrace. Naturally, we put on our happiest of faces...
Here is some river in Kyoto. I don't know what it is called, but I'm sure you could look it up if you're interested.
Making our way toward one of the many temples in Kyoto...
Standing outside a temple
Walking up a narrow Kyoto street to see another temple.
This temple was very orange. I think it was to celebrate the god Elmo-san, creator of all Elmo-like creatures and Tang.
There are often fountains outside of the temples allowing you to wash your hands and get a drink before entering. This is done as a cleansing/purifying ritual, so do NOT treat these pools as a giant urinal, because they frown on that.
Japanese mountains and such
Looking past the temples down on Kyoto
So I found these ladies in traditional Japanse garb, and they allowed me to take my picture with them in front of a golden temple in Kyoto. They then asked to have THEIR picture taken with me, (maybe they thought my outfit was as unique as I thought theirs was).
They took Sarah and my picture as well. Notice that the Japanse love holding up two fingers when they get their picture taken. I think it is because two is their favorite number. Or maybe because it's a peace sign. But I'm leaning toward the "favorite number" hypothesis.
Instead of wishing wells, they had a pile of stones which you could throw your change at. I wonder if this was just a way for the groundskeeper to scam visitors into contributing an extra few bucks...er, yen.
Here we are on the imperial palace grounds in Kyoto.
They have a ton of convenience stores in Japan, just like the US. They call them "Cobeenies". Don't ask me why, (it's not that I don't know, it's that I don't feel like telling you).
Arcades are very popular in Japan. Here I am playing a drum video game.
We next made our way to Nara, which is an ancient city known for its beatiful temples, shrines and park grounds. Here is a pond filled with turtle, and a five story temple off in the distance.
The temple, close up.
Here I am, standing in front of the supposedly largest all wooden building in the world. In it sits the largest Buddha in Japan. Oops, I gave away the ending.
The giant Buddha, from the side.
There's me, for comparison's sake. And keep in mind, I'm 8 foot 3.
Taking in the sites of Nara from up in the hills.
In Japan, if you get thirsty, don't bother looking for a water fountain. They are all about the soda vending machines, which are everywhere. Furthermore, the soft drink market is highly fragmented, meaning there were about a thousand different Japanese sodas for me to try. Here I am, "enjoying" a BubbleMan II, (notice I put "enjoying" in quotes, because I didn't really enjoy it. It was disgusting bubble gum flavored soda).
Here I am, trying to ring an ancient and priceless bell with my head.
Sarah likes showing off her biceps. I then told her she wasn't so tough, but she then ripped my arm off and blugeoned me over the head with it. I learned a valuable lesson that day.
Here is a bullet train in black and white. Although, a color picture would also show the train in black in white, (since the trains are in fact, mostly black and white). Sorry to waste your time with that commentary.
The bag below had lots of weiner dogs on it, with the words "It is a friend WHOLLY. Nature and those who live". Pure ridiculousness.
Our next stop was Hiroshima. Here is the a-bomb domb, which was a few meters from the spot where the first atomic bomb, (used on people) went off.
There was a children's memorial nearby, setup to commenorate the children who died from the bomb, (either from the initial explosion or the lingering radiation).
People honor their memories by folding paper cranes. Here is some artwork made from thousands of different colored cranes, preserved in glass casings.
We next went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Don't you think that if you were going to make a big sign for the entrance to your major museum, you'd use some sort of spellcheck?
Here I am, across the river from the a-bomb dome.
Next, we bulleted it over to Osaka. Here is an Osaka subway station.
"Cigarettes: smoking clean & tender heart". What kind of saying is that?!
I wanted to spend one nigh in a capsule hotel for the experience. For those of you who don't know what a capsule hotel is, it is basically a room filled with a series of stacked coffin. You can then rent out a coffin, (and have access to the communal showers) for a nominal fee. What fun, you must be thinking. Here is the floor containing my capsule.
Here is my capsule. The bottom of the capsule is a thin mattress, but the ceiling has a TV built into it. I might not have been comfortable, but I did get to watch a lot of free japanese television.
Here I am trying some egg dish out on the streets of Osaka...
and then we went shopping in the rather large shopping district.
Sarah, donning her capsule hotel provided outfit, and using her left hand to symbolize her favorite animal, (the bunny).
Many bathrooms in Japan do not have Western style toilets. Here is one such non-Western toilets, which some call "squatters", but I call, "gross".
Another view from inside my capsule.
The next day, I decided to go climb Mt. Fuji. Here is a picture of Fuji as seen in the Tokyo airport:
Sarah had already climbed it two years ago, so I decided to go it alone.
I had to take a bullet train back to Tokyo, where I boarded a bus in Shinjuku station.
There I met another solo climber named Jen, (the one on the right in the picture below).
We started climbing around 10 pm at night, with the hopes that we would be able to get to the top in time for the sunrise.
While Tokyo was sweltering 90+ degrees all trip, Fuji got really cold as you climbed higher. Good thing I never go anywhere without a spare winter outfit in my pocket. Here Jen and I huddle below an awning as it rains on us halfway up the mountain.
"Don't throw a stone". Since I'm never one to disobey signs, I gentally rolled a few boulders down the side of the mountain after seeing this message. After all, I always try to follow the rules.
You can start to see the sunrise above a sea of clouds, (we're about 12,000 feet up at this point).
Almost at the top.
Finally, we made it. Here is what the volcanic crater of Fuji looks like.
A picture of Jen and me at the top.
The top few thousand feet have no vegetation or wildlife, only dark volcanic rock. And tourists.
Peering out over Mt. Fuji's rim.
Standing at the top by some dude trying to sell me trinkets. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation and hunger cannot be remedied by trinkets. I considered kicking him in the groin for being so thoughtless, but my leg was too tired. Plus, maybe he values his groin. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't give in to that urge.
Looking down on one of the stations below.
What goes up, must come down. I must say, walking down was a lot less exciting.
The next day was the eve of Sarah's birthday. My new Fuji friend Jen met up with us for some drinks back in the Tokyo Hilton we were staying at.
We then met back up with Jolian and Kojiro, (the guys we met earlier that week) for some clubbing, Japanese style.
Sarah and Jen
Jolian, Kojiro, and me. I forget if we were doing "Silly faces" photos, or if they couldn't maintain a sober expression for the picture. Either way, the result is below.
Kojiro and Jen
Sarah standing outside the Hilton, holding an entire leftover pizza that a restaurant refused to wrap up to go. This was very frustrating. I convinced Sarah to wrap the entire pizza in a newspaper, (which is what she's holding). Call me principled, or call me cheap; either way, the result was newspaper pizza for a snack later that day.
The view of Tokyo from our room, (this part of town is called Shinjuku).
This guy was playing an arcade game that involved typing words on a conventional keyboard. If you typed the words fast enough, you killed zombies. The game was called, "The Typing of The Dead". I kid you not, (click on the picture if you don't believe me).
This part of Tokyo is called Harajuku. We were on a street called Takeshita, which apparently is pretty famous. For some reason, this street really made me want to use the bathroom.
Sometimes it's fun to lounge against giant wooden structures, especially if you know nothing about who built them or for what reason. Here, I am demonstrating this newly discovered way to pass the time.
Eating some Turkish food.
And finishing it off with some Kareoke.
Unfortunately, all good trips must come to an end. Here is Japan, as I saw it from my departing plane.
And back in the USA.
I must say, I had a great time. If you ever find yourself nearby, you should definitely make a stop in Japan. Especially if you like lots of culture, nice people, and sushi. But not if you're sensitive to exotic toilets.
That's all folks. Sayonara!
Anyways, starting on Day 4...
Here is a breakfast we had at Denny's. Sarah had salmon, rice and other Japanese breakfast items while I had French toast. Why no Grand Slam breakfast, you ask? They don't have it in Japan! I know, it's crazy.
Here I am chillin' on the Shinkansen, (the Japanese bullet trains) which allowed us to get between cities very quickly. However, don't be fooled, they don't actually go as fast as bullets.
We eventually made it to Sarah's town, Fukui Shi in Fukui Ken, (meaning the city of Fukui in the prefecture of Fukui). In Fukui, Sarah and I rode on bullet bikes, which are like bullet trains only not as fast, (and also not as real).
Walking through the streets of Fukui...
We had dinner in a local restaurant in Fukui. We had some frozen salted cucumbers, which apparently is pretty common in Japan. I prefer my cucumbers pickled.
Here I am trying some deep fried eggs.
Back at Sarah's apartment...
Visiting Sarah's school where she teaches little Japanese boys and girls to speak English.
I got to drive Sarah's car, which had the steering wheel on the right side, and I had to drive on the left side of the street. It was fun, until I almost killed us while goofing off. Just kidding. I never joke and drive.
Here is basically the same picture, but in black and white. It makes me almost look classy.
Mister Donut is a popular spot in Japan.
Our breakfast consisted of donuts, soup, coffee, some weird gelatinous goop and some OJ.
Fukui has a rather large Buddha, (he's the green one in the picture below).
We took another bullet train to Kyoto. Here is Kyoto station.
Here is some dude in Kyoto station with a shirt that said, "adabat: You must be a dab at life". This made, (and still makes) no sense to me. I had to take a picture, because while literally mocking him behind his back was fun, mocking him on the internet is more fun. Sorry sir, but if you wear nonsensical shirts, you deserve it.
We ate in a restaurant that specialized in garlic dishes. I had a meal that consisted of an entire garlic bulb and some soy bean paste. While tasty, my breath later killed a bus full of cute japanse children that happened to pass me while I was yawning. But I guess that's life.
The picture below shows the view of Kyoto from the restaurant.
We found a little garden called Happy Terrace. Naturally, we put on our happiest of faces...
Here is some river in Kyoto. I don't know what it is called, but I'm sure you could look it up if you're interested.
Making our way toward one of the many temples in Kyoto...
Standing outside a temple
Walking up a narrow Kyoto street to see another temple.
This temple was very orange. I think it was to celebrate the god Elmo-san, creator of all Elmo-like creatures and Tang.
There are often fountains outside of the temples allowing you to wash your hands and get a drink before entering. This is done as a cleansing/purifying ritual, so do NOT treat these pools as a giant urinal, because they frown on that.
Japanese mountains and such
Looking past the temples down on Kyoto
So I found these ladies in traditional Japanse garb, and they allowed me to take my picture with them in front of a golden temple in Kyoto. They then asked to have THEIR picture taken with me, (maybe they thought my outfit was as unique as I thought theirs was).
They took Sarah and my picture as well. Notice that the Japanse love holding up two fingers when they get their picture taken. I think it is because two is their favorite number. Or maybe because it's a peace sign. But I'm leaning toward the "favorite number" hypothesis.
Instead of wishing wells, they had a pile of stones which you could throw your change at. I wonder if this was just a way for the groundskeeper to scam visitors into contributing an extra few bucks...er, yen.
Here we are on the imperial palace grounds in Kyoto.
They have a ton of convenience stores in Japan, just like the US. They call them "Cobeenies". Don't ask me why, (it's not that I don't know, it's that I don't feel like telling you).
Arcades are very popular in Japan. Here I am playing a drum video game.
We next made our way to Nara, which is an ancient city known for its beatiful temples, shrines and park grounds. Here is a pond filled with turtle, and a five story temple off in the distance.
The temple, close up.
Here I am, standing in front of the supposedly largest all wooden building in the world. In it sits the largest Buddha in Japan. Oops, I gave away the ending.
The giant Buddha, from the side.
There's me, for comparison's sake. And keep in mind, I'm 8 foot 3.
Taking in the sites of Nara from up in the hills.
In Japan, if you get thirsty, don't bother looking for a water fountain. They are all about the soda vending machines, which are everywhere. Furthermore, the soft drink market is highly fragmented, meaning there were about a thousand different Japanese sodas for me to try. Here I am, "enjoying" a BubbleMan II, (notice I put "enjoying" in quotes, because I didn't really enjoy it. It was disgusting bubble gum flavored soda).
Here I am, trying to ring an ancient and priceless bell with my head.
Sarah likes showing off her biceps. I then told her she wasn't so tough, but she then ripped my arm off and blugeoned me over the head with it. I learned a valuable lesson that day.
Here is a bullet train in black and white. Although, a color picture would also show the train in black in white, (since the trains are in fact, mostly black and white). Sorry to waste your time with that commentary.
The bag below had lots of weiner dogs on it, with the words "It is a friend WHOLLY. Nature and those who live". Pure ridiculousness.
Our next stop was Hiroshima. Here is the a-bomb domb, which was a few meters from the spot where the first atomic bomb, (used on people) went off.
There was a children's memorial nearby, setup to commenorate the children who died from the bomb, (either from the initial explosion or the lingering radiation).
People honor their memories by folding paper cranes. Here is some artwork made from thousands of different colored cranes, preserved in glass casings.
We next went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Don't you think that if you were going to make a big sign for the entrance to your major museum, you'd use some sort of spellcheck?
Here I am, across the river from the a-bomb dome.
Next, we bulleted it over to Osaka. Here is an Osaka subway station.
"Cigarettes: smoking clean & tender heart". What kind of saying is that?!
I wanted to spend one nigh in a capsule hotel for the experience. For those of you who don't know what a capsule hotel is, it is basically a room filled with a series of stacked coffin. You can then rent out a coffin, (and have access to the communal showers) for a nominal fee. What fun, you must be thinking. Here is the floor containing my capsule.
Here is my capsule. The bottom of the capsule is a thin mattress, but the ceiling has a TV built into it. I might not have been comfortable, but I did get to watch a lot of free japanese television.
Here I am trying some egg dish out on the streets of Osaka...
and then we went shopping in the rather large shopping district.
Sarah, donning her capsule hotel provided outfit, and using her left hand to symbolize her favorite animal, (the bunny).
Many bathrooms in Japan do not have Western style toilets. Here is one such non-Western toilets, which some call "squatters", but I call, "gross".
Another view from inside my capsule.
The next day, I decided to go climb Mt. Fuji. Here is a picture of Fuji as seen in the Tokyo airport:
Sarah had already climbed it two years ago, so I decided to go it alone.
I had to take a bullet train back to Tokyo, where I boarded a bus in Shinjuku station.
There I met another solo climber named Jen, (the one on the right in the picture below).
We started climbing around 10 pm at night, with the hopes that we would be able to get to the top in time for the sunrise.
While Tokyo was sweltering 90+ degrees all trip, Fuji got really cold as you climbed higher. Good thing I never go anywhere without a spare winter outfit in my pocket. Here Jen and I huddle below an awning as it rains on us halfway up the mountain.
"Don't throw a stone". Since I'm never one to disobey signs, I gentally rolled a few boulders down the side of the mountain after seeing this message. After all, I always try to follow the rules.
You can start to see the sunrise above a sea of clouds, (we're about 12,000 feet up at this point).
Almost at the top.
Finally, we made it. Here is what the volcanic crater of Fuji looks like.
A picture of Jen and me at the top.
The top few thousand feet have no vegetation or wildlife, only dark volcanic rock. And tourists.
Peering out over Mt. Fuji's rim.
Standing at the top by some dude trying to sell me trinkets. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation and hunger cannot be remedied by trinkets. I considered kicking him in the groin for being so thoughtless, but my leg was too tired. Plus, maybe he values his groin. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't give in to that urge.
Looking down on one of the stations below.
What goes up, must come down. I must say, walking down was a lot less exciting.
The next day was the eve of Sarah's birthday. My new Fuji friend Jen met up with us for some drinks back in the Tokyo Hilton we were staying at.
We then met back up with Jolian and Kojiro, (the guys we met earlier that week) for some clubbing, Japanese style.
Sarah and Jen
Jolian, Kojiro, and me. I forget if we were doing "Silly faces" photos, or if they couldn't maintain a sober expression for the picture. Either way, the result is below.
Kojiro and Jen
Sarah standing outside the Hilton, holding an entire leftover pizza that a restaurant refused to wrap up to go. This was very frustrating. I convinced Sarah to wrap the entire pizza in a newspaper, (which is what she's holding). Call me principled, or call me cheap; either way, the result was newspaper pizza for a snack later that day.
The view of Tokyo from our room, (this part of town is called Shinjuku).
This guy was playing an arcade game that involved typing words on a conventional keyboard. If you typed the words fast enough, you killed zombies. The game was called, "The Typing of The Dead". I kid you not, (click on the picture if you don't believe me).
This part of Tokyo is called Harajuku. We were on a street called Takeshita, which apparently is pretty famous. For some reason, this street really made me want to use the bathroom.
Sometimes it's fun to lounge against giant wooden structures, especially if you know nothing about who built them or for what reason. Here, I am demonstrating this newly discovered way to pass the time.
Eating some Turkish food.
And finishing it off with some Kareoke.
Unfortunately, all good trips must come to an end. Here is Japan, as I saw it from my departing plane.
And back in the USA.
I must say, I had a great time. If you ever find yourself nearby, you should definitely make a stop in Japan. Especially if you like lots of culture, nice people, and sushi. But not if you're sensitive to exotic toilets.
That's all folks. Sayonara!
# posted by Ryan @ 5:38 PM 
