Weekend Away in Kobe – June 8/9, 2013

The second weekend in June I was lucky enough to have a 3 day weekend. I was also lucky that it was a sunny one – seeing as Japan has now gone into the rainy season and soon the days will become water filled and it will be hard to go out exploring.

I decided that I wanted to get off of Shikoku and picked Kobe to visit, as I hadn’t been to that city before.

From what I had heard and read about Kobe it was a great city if you enjoy shopping, but also a more interesting place for Japanese tourists than foreign ones – compared to Osaka or Kyoto. However I looked up the city and found that there are some interesting places to see.

I arrived in the city just after lunch and took a walk from the Shinkansen down to the Ikuta Shrine. The Shrine has an 1800-year history and it is a place of vibrancy and energy.

After that I walked back up to the Shinkansen station to take the Kobe Ropeway up to see the Nunobiki Herb Garden. The ropeway takes you to the top of the Herb Garden; here there is a confectionary and an observation deck where you can see to the port. It was a cloudy day, so the view wasn’t clear – but still it was beautiful to see the cityscape.

The Herb Garden was also a beautiful walk. It being a seasonal garden different flowers and herbs grow at different times. At this time in the year it was the roses that were the big draw, as well as the newly blooming hydrangeas (which are my favourite flower so I took quite a few pictures of them – I won’t be posting all of them). The smell in the garden was also lovely. It was a mix of herbs like dill and fennel, but also the flowers and it created this calm and enjoyable atmosphere.

From the herb garden I walked back down to where the shrine was, but this time I headed for the stores. I walked through the Motomachi District, which is a long shopping street. I didn’t do any shopping but it’s a great way to pass the time and to see the city. After window shopping it was back to the hotel.

The next day I was up early. I had a full day planned and wanted to get all of it in before having to catch the Shinkansen home.

I started out my day in the Kitano area. This is the northern part of the city and within it is the Ijinkan Quarter. It is a historical district that contains foreign residences from the late Meiji (1868-1912) and early Taisho (1912-1926) periods. Ijinkan refers to any foreign residence from that time, but it is more commonly applied to this area of Kobe.

I bought a pass that allowed me to see into the 9 major residences and allowed me to have photo taken dressed in clothing styled after that time period. The residences belonged to people from parts of the Western world including France, England, Panama and Germany as well as others. Each residence has been preserved and kept to show the difference between former resdents. It’s quite interesting to see how the foreign residences mixed in with cities that still contain many traditional Japanese homes.

After finishing in the Ijinkan I caught the bus to Kobe Port. The port is probably the most well known image of the city – with its tower covered in vermilion piping and the giant metal fish statue. There isn’t much to see at the port in terms of scenery but there is a view of the Inland Sea, as well as a nice walk to Mosaic, which is a market place. Though filled with modern stores now it preciously was a dockyard building.

I wasn’t up for much shopping, but I did stroll through the market before catching the bus back to the Shinkansen station.

I did get to enjoy the tasty Black Sesame ice cream.

Overall it was a fun 2 days in Kobe, and I enjoyed my time there quite a bit. I was glad that I chose to see the city before I leave Japan. 

March Adventure Day 3: March 7th, 2013 – Hiroshima and Miyajima.

Our third day was our earliest start. We were up by 6am to catch the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Hiroshima. This is another place that I have now visited 3 times and it is my second favourite place after Nara.

I was very excited for this day, so this might be a long and wordy blog post.

My bag of cranes in front of the Atomic Dome

3 years ago after I had visited Hiroshima I said to myself that if I ever were to return to Japan I would bring with me 1000 folded paper cranes. (On that trip I was given paper to make one crane and I placed it there.) I was following in the tradition of Sadako Sasaki and countless others who have brought cranes for wishes and peace. I had made a small box full at home, but I didn’t bring them with me as they would have taken too much space in my suitcase. However with the Daiso selling origami paper for 100¥ I was able to stock up.

The first crane I made during training (all the way back in June) and the last crane I made, in February. I finished 1000 cranes within a year and just in time for this visit with Mom. Unlike some crane batches mine had no set colour scheme or style, I just wanted to reach that goal. And I was so happy when I did.

At the park I carried my bag of cranes past the Atomic Dome, where a woman who thanked me for making the cranes and asking how long it took to make them stopped me. I told her that I started back in June with the goal of bringing them to Hiroshima. She once again thanked me and then told her friends in Japanese what I had said. They gave slight bows in thanks.

From there I walked to the children’s monument where cranes are taken and left in class boxes on display. I unpacked my two bundles, attached them together and included a Canadian flag to the offering, something to show in part where the cranes came from.

I felt really good after I placing them. It was great to be able to be a part of something like this, something that has such history and something that means a lot to people.

From the Children’s Monument we made our way to the museum. I still can’t get over how much I like this museum. It’s haunting and informative and a must see if you ever happen to be in Japan.

After our time at the Peace Park we hopped on the streetcar and made our way to the harbour to catch a ferry to Itsukushima.

Itsukushima or Miyajima as it is more commonly known is a small island just off of Hiroshima. My last visit with Dad happened late on New Year’s Eve, but this time we got there just after noon and were able to see the island in the daylight. With the bright sun the island was quite busy.

The island is known as a shrine island with quite a few temples and shrines. The most striking sight is the giant torii standing in the water, leading to the old entryway to the main shrine. The main Itsukushima Shrine was something that I wanted to walk around and see, as my two previous visits I didn’t enter the shrine. Our stop into the shrine yielded a surprise as a wedding was being held. I was able to get some shots of the traditional Shinto outfits of the bride and groom, as well as a great shot of the wedding party with the shrine and pagoda in the background.

From the shrine we took a walk around the island. I was looking for this little pathway that to one of the temples that is lined with statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Unfortunately I couldn’t remember how my friend and I found it all those years ago, so we didn’t get to see that. We did get to see more deer and to see the first hints of cherry blossoms of the season.

After our time on the island it was back to train station where I took Mom and Donna to eat my favourite Japanese food. Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. They both enjoyed the food and the atmosphere of the cooking area. I know that I will be going to Hiroshima again – maybe just to eat.

After that it was the Shinkansen back to Osaka. A tiring day, but really fun and fulfilling.

Up Next: Day 4 – Kyoto.

As always full photo album on Facebook.

March Adventure Day 2: March 6th, 2013 – Nara and Fushimi Inari

After having travelled Vietnam, Thailand and a stop in Hong Kong, Mom and Donna were a little tired when they arrived in Japan. That was why for our first adventure we decided to have a late start and do something fairly close to Osaka and I told them that Nara and Inari would be a more relaxing day than going to Hiroshima or Kyoto for the day.

We caught the train and made our way to Nara.

A deer taking a break in the shade

I think I mentioned in an earlier blog post that Nara is my favourite place in Japan. So I was very excited to share this place with Mom and Donna. On my last visit with Dad it was pouring rain so we didn't do much exploring of the park grounds, this time just like the first one 3 years ago we had brilliant sunny weather.

5-Storied Pagoda

Getting off from the train we headed in the direction of the park and Todaiji. The first stop was Kofuku-ji and taking a look at the Five-Storied Pagoda. This was something that I hadn’t seen at the park, so I quite enjoyed walking around there. It was also the first spotting deer of the day.

From there we walked through the park and made our to Todaiji. One of the things that Mom and Donna noticed were all the peace signs that people were doing in the photos so on our way to the main building they stopped and took a Japanese style photo.

With the bright sun seeing the main building was again awe-inspiring. The largest wooden building against the blue of the sky reminded me of my first visit and I was immediately reminded why Nara was my favourite place. It was once again great to be standing in from of the Daibutsu, I don't think I will ever get over the awe of being so small in comparison to the size of the statue.

After spending time at the temple we made our way back to the train station. We took a quick stop in a rest house because I saw a statue of the mascot of Nara – which is a Buddha with deer antlers – and I wanted a photo. [I personally think it looks like a creepy Buddha baby with horns, but whatever.]

At the rest house they had a earthquake simulator so I decided to have a go. They simulate three earthquakes, one I can’t remember, the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and the one from 2011 the Tohoku Earthquake (the machine though doesn’t have a full impact simulation of this quake only about ¼ of it because the scale of it was too high). After experiencing the 3 quakes they then simulate what the quake feels like with rollers designed to be under buildings to stop the rough shaking. It does make quite a difference.

From Nara I wanted to show my Mom and Donna the tunnels of Torii at Fushimi Inari Shrine.

Guarding the entrance to the Shrine.

This was another place that I had visited 3 years ago and I thought it quite beautiful. The vibrancy of the vermillion torii against the blue sky is something that I now associate with Japan. It’s also an amazing sight to see these bright gates standing in amongst the greenery of the forest that they are found in. The sight can also be seen in the film Memoirs of Geisha.

After what turned out to be not that relaxing of a day we headed back to Osaka. Where we had a delicious sushi dinner – the first of our Japanese meals. Over all it was a great day and a great week of sunshine and seeing Japan.

Up Next: Day 3 – Hiroshima and Miyajima.

Pictures up on Facebook and my Tumblr.

Ishizuchi Head Shrine – October 27th, 2012

 On the 27^th my JT Yuko took me to Saijo to see main Ishizuchi Shrine. This had been something that we planned to do back in August but we just didn’t have the time to get together. However on this weekend just before Halloween we were able to arrange a time to meet and go to the shrine.

We met up just before noon and grabbed Udon for lunch. This is the second time I’ve had Udon since moving to Japan and though Shikoku is known for Udon, it’s not my favourite meal. It was a nice lunch though and filling for the day ahead.

From there Yuko drove us up to the shrine. It’s a small shrine dedicated to Mount Ishizuchi. Like most shrines in Japan it’s a beautiful and though man made is mixed in with nature. This shrine is located at the base of the mountain and to get up to the shrine building you pass through two torii – one painted red and the other made of stone. From there we parked and headed up the stairs to the main building.

We passed a small koi pond and Yuko told me that in Japan it’s a hobby and skill to breed koi of certain colours and sizes. She also told me that to buy a koi from Japan you could be spending up to $6000 dollars, which I didn’t believe could be the cost for a fish.

After that it was up to the main building. We were lucky as that day the shrine was holding a wedding. It meant that I got to see inside the main shrine building as well as seeing traditional wedding clothes and a ceremony. We didn’t stay for the whole ceremony, but I did snap some photos of the couple.

The shrine is also one of the best places to get a panoramic view of Saijo. From the side of the shrine you can look out and see the city laid out below. Though it’s not the top of a huge mountain it does make you feel like you are on top of the world.

Bonus: Picture of a spider.