It's the final countdown
Wow...what a week or 2.
My dad left a week or so ago, the day after my friends arrived, and since then it's been all go. The (1st) visit to Kyoto, with my dad, was a great success. We had good weather, and were able to take in one or two of the more significant sights of Kyoto, including the Golden Temple and the Temple of 1000 Buddahs, despite the relatively short time spent there. We also discovered that Saturday in Kyoto can be a tough place to find a table for food, and we ended up sharing a table with two guys (Tako and Kazu), who have since emailed me a photo of the occasion. I got to practice some Japanese, him some English, and we all got to eat and drink, so it was a good solution all around.
The next day I met my friends at the station, before giving them a few hours to sleep and then heading out into town for an open mic night at which I was scheduled to play. I did pretty well, and we rounded the night off with some karaoke and a bowl rice each. My friends (one in particular) got into a spot of bother on the way home, but I was able to go and sort them out with no problems.
After that, My dad went off to the station and I took my friends into Nagoya for a look around, which involved generally strolling, as well as taking in a few video game arcades (there are some amazing ones out here). Games range from rearing race horses to race right through to playing Japanese style drums. I like the latter the most. We then went to a stylish Japanese style bar (that plays reggae music) for dinner.
And then the fun really started.
By rights, we had no right to set out hoping to acheive what we set out and eventually acheived. Holidays for Japanese wiorkers are few and far between, so when a wek-long national holiday surfaces, anywhere with even a hint of a tourist attraction gets packed to the rafters. However, on Tuesday we set off on a tour of Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima and Miajima without so much s a hostel booked. It shouldn't have wotked. There were a couple of times when it nearly didn't, but all in all we got away with it. We used Kyoto's impressive tourist information to book places in Kyoto and Hiroshima, while using any phone number we could get our hands on to book the rest. We nearly missed out in Osaka...but just about got away with it.
In Kyoto, we went to a few of the temples I had visited before, as well as taking a stroll around Gion and also taking a bus out to Arashiyama- a beautiful area with bamboo forests and monkeys (although the monkeyshad gone home). We also saw a geisha in full get-up, which was stunning.
From Kyoto, we headed to Osaka, where we had a hostel booked for 6 (out of 8) of us. The other 2 wanted to try out the love hotel experience, and they can't be booked, so we had to search one out when we got there. This should have been easy enough, if it wasn't for a taxi driver who conspired to miss each and every street with a hotel on it, until my friend said "is that one?", and upon turning the corner we saw about 20. With them safely checked in, I had missed the hostel curfew, so I had to kill a few hours in an internet cafe befiore returning for some much needed sleep.
The next day, my friends went to Nara. I stayed in Osaka with friends from Japan. I love Osaka- I think it is my new favourite city in Japan. We ate takoyaki (balls of octopus in dough), one of my favourite snacks, as well fighting through the busiest streets I have ever seen in Japan. Move over Shinjuku! Shibuya....nowhere near! It was as if Shinjuku station had been made half of its size with the same volume of traffic- except it was sunny and everyone was milling around outside aving fun. It was such a great atmosphere (despite queueing for everything!).
Next day....Hiroshima.
While me friends had rail passes, my Japan-based friends and I did not, so we set off on a mission through the local train system of Japan in order to save some cash. This turned out well because, despite the 4 and a half hour journey time, we spotted Himeji en route and decided to visit the renound Himeji Castle. It was well worth the detour, and I even had a kebab whilst there (even if it was a little small). Himeji in the blazing sunshine is amazing. I loved it.
And so... we arrived in Hiroshima. After eating some Hiroshima style Okanomiyaki (my favourite Japanese food) we went out to some bars to celebrate...my birthday. I am now 23, which is nice. We also did a bit of karaoke before passing out for the best sleep I have had in years.
Yesterday was spent in Hiroshima...before I started the journey home. Today, my friends are in Miyajima, and tonight they will return to Gifu, which will be the last time that i will see them until I return home in about 9 weeks. It really is the final countdown now...
My dad left a week or so ago, the day after my friends arrived, and since then it's been all go. The (1st) visit to Kyoto, with my dad, was a great success. We had good weather, and were able to take in one or two of the more significant sights of Kyoto, including the Golden Temple and the Temple of 1000 Buddahs, despite the relatively short time spent there. We also discovered that Saturday in Kyoto can be a tough place to find a table for food, and we ended up sharing a table with two guys (Tako and Kazu), who have since emailed me a photo of the occasion. I got to practice some Japanese, him some English, and we all got to eat and drink, so it was a good solution all around.
The next day I met my friends at the station, before giving them a few hours to sleep and then heading out into town for an open mic night at which I was scheduled to play. I did pretty well, and we rounded the night off with some karaoke and a bowl rice each. My friends (one in particular) got into a spot of bother on the way home, but I was able to go and sort them out with no problems.
After that, My dad went off to the station and I took my friends into Nagoya for a look around, which involved generally strolling, as well as taking in a few video game arcades (there are some amazing ones out here). Games range from rearing race horses to race right through to playing Japanese style drums. I like the latter the most. We then went to a stylish Japanese style bar (that plays reggae music) for dinner.
And then the fun really started.
By rights, we had no right to set out hoping to acheive what we set out and eventually acheived. Holidays for Japanese wiorkers are few and far between, so when a wek-long national holiday surfaces, anywhere with even a hint of a tourist attraction gets packed to the rafters. However, on Tuesday we set off on a tour of Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima and Miajima without so much s a hostel booked. It shouldn't have wotked. There were a couple of times when it nearly didn't, but all in all we got away with it. We used Kyoto's impressive tourist information to book places in Kyoto and Hiroshima, while using any phone number we could get our hands on to book the rest. We nearly missed out in Osaka...but just about got away with it.
In Kyoto, we went to a few of the temples I had visited before, as well as taking a stroll around Gion and also taking a bus out to Arashiyama- a beautiful area with bamboo forests and monkeys (although the monkeyshad gone home). We also saw a geisha in full get-up, which was stunning.
From Kyoto, we headed to Osaka, where we had a hostel booked for 6 (out of 8) of us. The other 2 wanted to try out the love hotel experience, and they can't be booked, so we had to search one out when we got there. This should have been easy enough, if it wasn't for a taxi driver who conspired to miss each and every street with a hotel on it, until my friend said "is that one?", and upon turning the corner we saw about 20. With them safely checked in, I had missed the hostel curfew, so I had to kill a few hours in an internet cafe befiore returning for some much needed sleep.
The next day, my friends went to Nara. I stayed in Osaka with friends from Japan. I love Osaka- I think it is my new favourite city in Japan. We ate takoyaki (balls of octopus in dough), one of my favourite snacks, as well fighting through the busiest streets I have ever seen in Japan. Move over Shinjuku! Shibuya....nowhere near! It was as if Shinjuku station had been made half of its size with the same volume of traffic- except it was sunny and everyone was milling around outside aving fun. It was such a great atmosphere (despite queueing for everything!).
Next day....Hiroshima.
While me friends had rail passes, my Japan-based friends and I did not, so we set off on a mission through the local train system of Japan in order to save some cash. This turned out well because, despite the 4 and a half hour journey time, we spotted Himeji en route and decided to visit the renound Himeji Castle. It was well worth the detour, and I even had a kebab whilst there (even if it was a little small). Himeji in the blazing sunshine is amazing. I loved it.
And so... we arrived in Hiroshima. After eating some Hiroshima style Okanomiyaki (my favourite Japanese food) we went out to some bars to celebrate...my birthday. I am now 23, which is nice. We also did a bit of karaoke before passing out for the best sleep I have had in years.
Yesterday was spent in Hiroshima...before I started the journey home. Today, my friends are in Miyajima, and tonight they will return to Gifu, which will be the last time that i will see them until I return home in about 9 weeks. It really is the final countdown now...
posted by Christopher at 9:36 PM
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