156. KONNICHWA !
Enjoy this adorable little number!
Japan comprises the islands of Hokkaido, at the northernmost top of Honshu, the main island. Other islands are Shikoku and Kyushu. A chain of small islands make up the Ryukyu Islands.
I covered just Honshu - the main cities of Tokyo, its capital and seat of Government, from there I bused to Gifu and 2 picturesque old towns of Takayama and Shirakawa-go. From Kyoto to Osaka I took the bullet train, the Shinkansen...
The UNESCO World Heritage site of Shirakawa-Go is my main reason for this trip.
The ride leading to this village had mountain scenes which seem to come out of a beautiful Chinese brush painting - in this case, Japanese. I couldn't stop clicking, I've never seen anything similar to this before. Even my pics below appear more like a painting. It was totally worth the long ride to get here. Imagine what's it like in Winter. I just had to post a pic or 2 of it during a Winter night for it's unlikely I'll come this way again...
Every 2 years or so, the thatched roofs are replaced. As these are really old huts, some have given way and are replaced with buildings like these above...
The information tourist office and museum...
The shadows outlining the hills are from the bare trees. As the people are chiefly Zen Buddhists, they live in close communion with Mother and are respectful of the environment (but not those in the fishing industry, for that's a business)...it helps that theirs is a homogenous society where people connect right away...
Osaka Castle and their Imperial Palace in Tokyo must have the same designer/architect or something. As with most castles, they come with high hard-to-scale walls and moats - siege mentality of yore...
Takayama is a quaint little town going way back to the Edo period - a 500 to 600 years back in time. It was the time of ninjas and samurais who were no better than assassins and gangsters. They've morphed into the modern day Yakuza.
The lanes are full of history and character and are all heritage buildings. Many are now eateries and souvenir shops. Those that are vacant are shuttered and not opened for public viewing, only the business premises have undergone improvements, chiefly to shore them up, and fitted with proper kitchens and sanitation. Takayama is marketed as a miso production area...carried out as a cottage industry...
The Japanese of old come petite, these Edo houses have really low ceilings and narrow doorways. There's a sense of deja vu as I strolled the lanes...even their animated shows stay true to their heritage...when you're built small and lithe, it's possible to climb very quickly up walls and rooftops! The Vietcong can relate to that! They're masters at burrowing underground.
Here she comes, right on time...
The local Japan Railways (JR) is as clean, roomy and silent as the Shinkansen...again not cheap for a salaried person - this one stop one way was S$4.40
The public loo at the JR station must look like a train too...so tourists from hotels nearby know they're on the right track, these nationalistic people do not have many signages that's non-Japanese...this station is 2 stops to Kansai Airport...
Travelled the 15 minutes in the Shinkansen just for the local experience as train travel is very much a part of their lives - by road this distance between Kyoto and Osaka would have taken more than an hour... the coaches were really clean, spacious and comfortable, the ride was a silent one. People talk in soft tones or not at all, no body's phone went off - public transport by train is quite costly, I found out...cars are affordable but prohibitive to drive and park in the cities so trains are packed to the gills during rush hour...
I find street scenes interesting everywhere I go - Japan is special as they take a lot of trouble to make shop fronts extra attractive - it's pop culture here! and plenty of creativity on show...Ichiban!
They take pains with their food preparation - presentation is all important. I suspect many Singaporeans make repeated visits to Japan to stuff themselves silly and stock up on food products judging from their carton boxes on leaving!
The imposing all wood entrance into the Nara deer park and Todai-Ji Temple complex. It's really refreshing to see an ancient structure in its original condition without extensive additions painted in bright new colours and golden monstrosities dotting the landscape...nowhere everywhere are there donation boxes - the Japanese must consider that bad taste...
Inside the all-wood Todai-Ji Temple, sits an all-bronze Buddha image, Daibutsu, flanked on both sides by 2 wood Kuan Yin images (below). Apparently, this is the largest bronze image of the Buddha in all Japan...
Japanese Buddhism is zen so images are not dotting the landscape...which is a refreshing change...
Nara's deer park is a stop on the usual tourist circuit. Nara prefecture borders Kyoto, its capital city Nara, was Japan's ancient capital and has many very old sights which of course, wasn't possible to cover on one sampling trip. Within this deer park is one such ancient building, the Todai-Ji Temple, an all wood structure, it's wood beautifully aged in this dry weather.
When cherry blossoms shed their petals, it's a pretty sight...
Their neat little shops are picture worthy...
The fire from his chestnut stove should keep him warm and snug...
Kinkakuji Temple is this golden pavilion known as a kinkaku, a symbol of Kyoto, again viewed from a distance...
This bonsai in the foreground is a couple of hundred years old...it's cultivated from a branch of that tree and is supported by a bamboo grid...many historic or special buildings and its compounds are not opened to the public for reasons known only to them...they're an inscrutable tribe...I suppose we are left to contemplate how Zen life should be...
At this homestay, I had a taste of a family run inn, an onsen, which came with its own hot spring shared baths. The room was tatami style, so was the dining, the food was very local. The owners comprised family members in their 80s and 90s - a young man in his 20s, son of the owner, provided the muscle to carry the bags as the building had no elevators. The old folks were bright eyed, lucid, steady on their feet, served their guests, cleared the tables, prepared the meals...
Rooms look out into Shiyo Lake - life comes to a standstill during the Winter months...
The Imperial Palace, Tokyo - official residence of their Emperor of the Chrysanthemum Throne. They live in seclusion...the grounds are open to the public on some days of the year...I could only view the palace from a distance...
...and there's their art - so unique to them. For years I watched their anime shows, I'm a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki's animated movies...these are just 3 artwork that caught my eye, just too numerous to post...
Travelled the 15 minutes in the Shinkansen just for the local experience as train travel is very much a part of their lives - by road this distance between Kyoto and Osaka would have taken more than an hour... the coaches were really clean, spacious and comfortable, the ride was a silent one. People talk in soft tones or not at all, no body's phone went off - public transport by train is quite costly, I found out...cars are affordable but prohibitive to drive and park in the cities so trains are packed to the gills during rush hour...
I find street scenes interesting everywhere I go - Japan is special as they take a lot of trouble to make shop fronts extra attractive - it's pop culture here! and plenty of creativity on show...Ichiban!
They take pains with their food preparation - presentation is all important. I suspect many Singaporeans make repeated visits to Japan to stuff themselves silly and stock up on food products judging from their carton boxes on leaving!
The imposing all wood entrance into the Nara deer park and Todai-Ji Temple complex. It's really refreshing to see an ancient structure in its original condition without extensive additions painted in bright new colours and golden monstrosities dotting the landscape...nowhere everywhere are there donation boxes - the Japanese must consider that bad taste...
Inside the all-wood Todai-Ji Temple, sits an all-bronze Buddha image, Daibutsu, flanked on both sides by 2 wood Kuan Yin images (below). Apparently, this is the largest bronze image of the Buddha in all Japan...
Japanese Buddhism is zen so images are not dotting the landscape...which is a refreshing change...
Nara's deer park is a stop on the usual tourist circuit. Nara prefecture borders Kyoto, its capital city Nara, was Japan's ancient capital and has many very old sights which of course, wasn't possible to cover on one sampling trip. Within this deer park is one such ancient building, the Todai-Ji Temple, an all wood structure, it's wood beautifully aged in this dry weather.
When cherry blossoms shed their petals, it's a pretty sight...
Their neat little shops are picture worthy...
The fire from his chestnut stove should keep him warm and snug...
Kinkakuji Temple is this golden pavilion known as a kinkaku, a symbol of Kyoto, again viewed from a distance...
This bonsai in the foreground is a couple of hundred years old...it's cultivated from a branch of that tree and is supported by a bamboo grid...many historic or special buildings and its compounds are not opened to the public for reasons known only to them...they're an inscrutable tribe...I suppose we are left to contemplate how Zen life should be...
At this homestay, I had a taste of a family run inn, an onsen, which came with its own hot spring shared baths. The room was tatami style, so was the dining, the food was very local. The owners comprised family members in their 80s and 90s - a young man in his 20s, son of the owner, provided the muscle to carry the bags as the building had no elevators. The old folks were bright eyed, lucid, steady on their feet, served their guests, cleared the tables, prepared the meals...
Rooms look out into Shiyo Lake - life comes to a standstill during the Winter months...
The Imperial Palace, Tokyo - official residence of their Emperor of the Chrysanthemum Throne. They live in seclusion...the grounds are open to the public on some days of the year...I could only view the palace from a distance...
...and there's their art - so unique to them. For years I watched their anime shows, I'm a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki's animated movies...these are just 3 artwork that caught my eye, just too numerous to post...
spotted in a public loo...
Eating is pleasurable when it's presented on an aesthetic palette washed down by a good smooth sake...
At this culinary school, I had to prepare my own lunch of sushi and maki rolls. I didn't do a good job of the rolls but received a certificate nonetheless - lunch tasted good! Seasoned with TLC
Short stem daffodils
Kawaiii !
Eating is pleasurable when it's presented on an aesthetic palette washed down by a good smooth sake...
At this culinary school, I had to prepare my own lunch of sushi and maki rolls. I didn't do a good job of the rolls but received a certificate nonetheless - lunch tasted good! Seasoned with TLC
Spring is a wonderful period to observe Mother at work - this endless cycle of Creation - new life, new beginnings, new growth, rebirth, renewal...the 4 Seasons, Sunrise-Sunset, Ebb and Flow of the tides, Births and Deaths, Reincarnation...
'When you are aware, everything is spiritual...
When you are not aware, everything is material'
Sadhguru
When you are not aware, everything is material'
Sadhguru
There are at least 200 varieties of sakuras - this particular species may have been produced so it's large and attractive enough to be anointed as the country's national flower. It has 5 petals with a dark pink core...
One can't visit Tokyo without taking a peek at Mt Fuji, their conical icon, as easily recognisable as their national flower...
Women Only section in a ramen cafe - one would have thought this segregation happens in a Muslim society - in the case of Japan, this is so the women don't get rubbed against or pressed by roving male hands during their meals - shame on you Japan, in this day and age, it's still taking place...and YOU, a developed society...your men are still in the neanderthal age...
One can't visit Tokyo without taking a peek at Mt Fuji, their conical icon, as easily recognisable as their national flower...
Women Only section in a ramen cafe - one would have thought this segregation happens in a Muslim society - in the case of Japan, this is so the women don't get rubbed against or pressed by roving male hands during their meals - shame on you Japan, in this day and age, it's still taking place...and YOU, a developed society...your men are still in the neanderthal age...
The Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto is a Shinto shrine. There's a 1000 of these vermillion torii gates erected by business people for success and prosperity in their ventures...
Shinjuku in downtown Tokyo is a shopping and business street - it was early Spring so trees bared of leaves were still a common sight...the only trees in full bloom were their famed sakuras...
Temple gate at Sensoji Temple
posted by shirley @ 1:28 pm
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