First Night in Kyoto

 Food, Japan, Japanese Language, Photography, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on First Night in Kyoto
Nov 252011
 

Man, I’m tired. I raced back to the apartment after JBPP, frantically packed, tossed out anything I didn’t need, repacked, still had too much, but left anyway. Yuck. Too heavy. I tried to take the bike to the station, but realized instantly that that was a horrible idea. The walk to the station wasn’t much better.

I really want to be one of those dudes who can just travel with a toothbrush and a spare pair of underpants. Seriously, how do they do that?

I managed to get a seat on the train to Nagoya, then grabbed a Nozomi to Kyoto.

PINning Down My Tickets

Here’s a tip: if you want to use a credit card, and you don’t have or remember your PIN number, buy your shinkansen tickets at a smaller station and talk to a human, if you can speak Japanese.

If you can’t, then go to the bigger stations, like Nagoya or Tokyo, and stand in line. The people working the counters there speak excellent English, or can find someone who does. (I learned this in 2007.)

If I had gotten my ticket at Okazaki instead of Nagoya, I would have saved 20-30 minutes of standing in line.

If you have/know your PIN, just use the machines. It’s a LOT faster. But if you’re trying to do something complex, humans are more helpful.

Hello Kyoto

I got to Kyoto at around 6:30, then headed straight to the APA Hotel, which was right outside of JR Kyoto. Fortunately, I had my confirmation number with me, because nobody in either Japan or the US can spell my name to save their lives.

The room was okay, but pricey: 10,000 yen.

I checked in, crashed for a few minutes, then headed over to Bic Camera to finally get a circular polarizer. I’ve been putting off buying one for too long. I looked around a bit, and found one.

Then I headed up to the restaurants on the 11th floor of Isetan, because it was starting to get late.

The Christmas decorations are already up:

Xmas Decorations, Kyoto Station

I found a good okonomiyaki shop, and had a good modern yaki with bacon. That’s good stuff!

After that, I headed down to the second floor of the station, and went to Cafe du Monde for a beignet… only to find out that the Cafe du Monde in Kyoto Station does not serve beignets. What the hell?? It’s Cafe freakin’ du Monde! They do sell hot dogs and coffee. But no beignets? There was a Mister Donut next to it, so I waited for 10 minutes and ordered some donut-looking things from them.

It Has a Hole in the Middle

As I headed out of the station, I took a couple of photos of the Kyoto Tower Hotel, which was very purple tonight:

Kyoto Tower

Kyoto Tower

Then I went to the Lawson outside of the station, and it was jammed full of people. It was a madhouse. I decided to go ahead and get breakfast as well as beverages, because I wanted to save a trip here in the morning. (Seriously, it was nuts.)

I headed back to the room.

My room if full of amenities. See?

The Hotel's Amenities!

Then I ate my donuts. The MisDo (as they call Mister Donut here) donuts were really mediocre, like not very good grocery store donuts that had all of the flavor chased out of them by the bland police. Frankly, Harris-Teeter’s chocolate donuts taste better, and they’re average at best.

Now I understand why the lines at Krispy Kreme are so long here; these people haven’t been eating proper doughnuts! (There’s a difference between donuts and doughnuts, but I don’t want to get into it right now.)

The MisDo chocolate donut just tasted like it was… brown flavored.

I called home to let them know I was still alive, then I sacked out early. Gotta get up early, too. Tomorrow will probably be chaotic on a level I haven’t seen yet.

Oct 292007
 

For my last night in Kyoto (which was last night), I went back to Isetan’s 11th floor. This time I went back to my chicken and pizza places for a second raid. Good stuff.

Later that night my stomach paid me back in spades. That’s why I bring the Pink Stuff with me on a trip. (In pill form so I don’t have to taste it.)

I don’t think I’m going to be eating any weird sushi anytime soon.

I Ship and Ship, and Nothing Changes!

Today was a travel and sightseeing day. But first, I shipped another 20 lbs. of stuff I don’t need back home.

I keep sending these giant boxes home, yet my suitcase doesn’t get smaller. I don’t understand it at all. I’ve sent 40 pounds of junk home. 3.5 cubic feet. Where did I carry it all?!? It’s a mystery that bugs me, and it also frightens me a little.

Getting to the post office was fun. The hotel let me borrow a bicycle for 30 minutes for free, and I put the giant box in the basket. I had to hold on to the box while I tried to steer.

Good times.

Checking Out

I checked out and went to the tourism office in Kyoto Station to reserve a hotel in Osaka on the nights of the 2nd and the 3rd of November. I found a nice and cheap hotel, which makes me all warm and fuzzy. Thank you, Welcome Inn Reservation Center! The only downside is that the only Internet is in a “Business Room” I have to go to to use. I don’t know how much I’m going to use that, so I’ll probably be incommunicado.

I think I’m going to go to Beppu after all. I know, I’m cutting it way too close, but I think I should be able to swing a room somewhere.

Off to Nara

It took about 45 minutes by train to get to Nara from Kyoto. I met some nice Americans on the train. They were a couple who live in Kyoto traveling with their twins, and the husband’s parents. They were nice people, and the screaming toddlers kept me from sleeping and missing my stop.

Right now JR Nara Station is pretty basic. There are no escalators, and no elevators. I think they’re in the middle of renovations or something.

Either way, it was a pain to lug the big case up those stairs. Down is easy… that’s just a controlled crash down the stairs. Since I got there 2 hours before I could check in, it was time to scope out some coin lockers. (コインロッカー in Japanese, by the way. Just say “Coin Rocka,” and you’re close enough.)

I lucked out as a couple of Australian guys were unloading their big locker, and snagged it. One of them even gave me 100 yen because all I had was 300 yen and a 500 yen coin, and I needed 5x 100 yen coins.

But I was still 100 yen short.

Let me go back to Japanese money for a second. Should you choose to go to Japan, hold on to as many 100 yen coins as you can. They are THE most useful coins. Everything else will betray you at one point. Take my 500 yen coin. Even though the locker costs 500 yen, it doesn’t accept 500 yen coins. Nor will it accept anything other than 100 yen coins. And getting change can be troublesome. Some places won’t give you change for even small things like a 500 yen coin. Very annoying. So hoard those 100 yen coins.

After a few tries, I finally found someone who would give me change, so I got a locker. Then I realized my other bag wouldn’t fit, so I decided to try the electronic lockers, but I couldn’t get the machine to read my plastic. I went back to the other lockers for an old-fashioned one that took coins.

Why all the talk about lockers? Because if you travel a lot in Japan, you’ll probably need them at some point. They’re very, very handy.

My luggage secured, I went in search of the main thing I came to Nara for: some NICE calligraphy brushes. Nara is a traditional home for good calligraphy brushes in Japan. I found 2 nice medium-sized horsehair brushes for about 6,300 yen total, and a nice big one for 5,000 yen. I’m set for a while now.

I strolled some more, then when it was time to check in, I went to my hotel, the Nara Royal Hotel. This is a very nice place, with a low price for the luxury you get. 8,500-9,500 yen a night for a single, and it’s big for a Japanese single hotel room. There’s even an onsen/spa in the basement, which I’m going to try out very soon.

It also has HDTV in the room. It’s not a crummy one either; it’s a Sharp Aquos.

Then it was off to see some sights.

Sightseeing in Nara

Someone decided centuries ago that the deer here were a sign of good fortune, and they became sacred. Sacred animals lead a charmed life, and can merrily poop and act out wherever they want to. This is a Bad Thing, in my opinion. It’s bad because the animals become pampered and spoiled, and act really obnoxious.

And did I mention the poop? It’s everywhere. I had to dodge it constantly, so instead of looking at the sights, I was watching my feet.

Watch Your Step

From now on, whenever I think of Nara, I will always think of deer poop, and the smell of lots and lots of deer poop. It’s kind of hard not to.

Anyway.

I took a train to Kintetsu Nara Station, and started taking pictures and walking towards Kasuga Taisha Shrine.

The platform:

Nara

A fountain with a statue of a Buddhist priest whose name escapes me:

Fountain/Statue

A shopping arcade along the way:

Shopping Arcade

Deer warning signs, two varieties:
This one warns of deer jumping into the street:
Deer Warning Sign

This is just telling you not to mess with them. Period.

Another Deer Warning Sign

And finally, some deer!

Chillin’

Sacred Deer

Fightin’

Fighting Deer

A shrine entrance that looked interesting, but I had to skip it for time reasons. Himuro Jinja:

Shrine Entrance

And a really pretty lantern with some fall colors:

Lantern

Kasuga Taisha Shrine

I made it to the Kasuga Taisha Shrine, another World Heritage Site, just in time. It closes at 4:30 p.m., so I had to hustle to get there. I made it in time to see most of it. It was gorgeous.

Pictures!

The entrance:

Kasuga Taisha Shrine Entrance

Rows of lanterns:

Kasuga Taisha Shrine

A deer-shaped washing area:

Deer Statue Purifying Area

The entrance to the Honsha, where you go pray:

Honsha Entrance

Lantern Detail:

Honsha Entrance Detail

A tiny bridge nearby:

Bridge Near the Honsha Entrance

Another lantern-lined path:

Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Nara

This path takes you to Wakamiya Shrine. I didn’t follow it:

Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Nara

Heading out:

Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Nara

Moss!

Moss

A Komainu, one of the stone shrine guardians:

Shrine Guardian-- Komainu

Heading to Todaiji temple:

Leaving the shrine

Todaiji Temple, or The Reason Why I Travel

I walked to Todaiji Temple, home of the Daibutsuden Hall, where there is an enormous wooden statue of Buddha. This place was awe-inspiring. This is the reason I travel, and put up with things like insanely-heavy luggage, deer poop, and weird food making me sick. It’s hard to put into words. It’s just… wow. This is a definite must-see. I lingered there until they kicked me out at 5 p.m. sharp. I was the last one out of the temple as they closed the doors.

And now, pictures!

Approaching Todaiji, there’s another row of shops. Busy doing business. You can already see the outer gate (the Dainanmon). It’s massive.

Souvenir Shops in front of Todaiji Temple

Getting closer (lots of deer around here):

Todaiji Temple Entry Gate (Dainanmon, Or Great South Gate)

The Dainanmon up close and personal:

Todaiji Temple Entry Gate (Dainanmon, Or Great South Gate)

Inside the Dainanmon, there are two giant wooden statues. Here’s one of them:

Statue inside the Dainanmon

Past the Dainanmon is an area around the central gate, or Chuumon. You can see the Daibutsuden behind it. It’s the bigger building.

Todaiji Temple Grounds

And here’s the Chuumon. Can’t go through it. Have to pay admission.

Chuumon (Central Gate)

And here’s the Daibutsuden, where the giant wooden statue of Buddha is located:

Todaiji Temple Daibutsuden

Sexier angle:

Todaiji Temple Daibutsuden

Roof detail:

Todaiji Temple Daibutsuden Detail

Almost there:

Todaiji Temple Daibutsuden

Incense burner outside:

Todaiji Temple Incense Burner

The Daibutsu. This photo just doesn’t do it justice.

Daibutsu

Neither does this one. But it was the best I could do. The light was wretched, and I’m using a point-and-shoot camera.

Daibutsu

Change the angle? Not really helping. Losing the light in a dark place. Go and see it yourself! It’s massive and incredible!

Daibutsu

Time to go. They’re shutting the gates behind me. No, really, they’re shutting the gates!

Todaiji Temple Grounds

Last shot:

Todaiji Temple Grounds

Lots of good pictures again. I’m up to well over 1,700 total.

Then it was back to the hotel for dinner. I’m not sure what I’m going to do next. Maybe I’ll hit the spa.

One not-so-good part–there’s zero cell reception in the hotel for either network. Not much I can do about that. I’d say of the hotels I’ve stayed in so far in Japan, this is the nicest one so far, although the Comfort Inn and the other business hotels all had coin laundries, this one doesn’t, and I need to do some washing again. Temps are still in the mid-70s, and I’m sweating like a pig. (In case you needed to know that.)

Last photo, because I love this cup:

Washed Up

Be relieved, and use it!

Tomorrow is a big travel day to Hiroshima. I’ll be there two nights, then if I’m lucky, I’ll go to Beppu. (Fingers crossed on that reservation…)

Nasty Crunchy Yellow Things; Wait Your Turn; Keep Left

 Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Nasty Crunchy Yellow Things; Wait Your Turn; Keep Left
Oct 272007
 

Here’s my nightcap report.

After I got back and recharged for a couple of hours, I headed back to Kyoto Station and Isetan’s 11th floor.

FYI– The mall stores and the stores in Isetan in Kyoto Station close at 8PM, and the restaurants all close at 9PM. I made it in time to go to another sushi restaurant.

This time, I went for the 2,600 yen chef’s omakase plate. The chef decides what you should eat, and puts it on a plate for you. The first few were great. Shrimp, some eel, a little squid, some tuna, salmon. Then he decided to put some weird stuff on there. And by weird, I mean weird I don’t like.

But a dare is a dare.

Next was some sort of brown thing with little spikes on it, with sauce on it. No idea, but it was fragrant. Not one of my favorites.

Then came the sea urchin. It didn’t taste bad, but the meat just sort of melts in your mouth, and the texture just turned my stomach. I don’t usually have texture issues with food, but sea urchin got me in an unexpected way.

There was also fish roe. I’m not sure which kind, but it was another one that texture-wise didn’t work for me, because the little eggs all just sort of burst into juice in your mouth, kind of like the sea urchin.

Finally there was this crunchy yellow thing. I have no idea what it was, but it had the texture of cauliflower, smelled fishy, and was hard to choke down.

I had saved a couple of pickled plum rolled sushi to clear my palate, then one last piece of tuna and some pickled ginger.

Oh, and beer.

Lots of beer.

It was a good meal. Kind of a mixed bag, but Japan isn’t fun without trying some of the weirder stuff. And the normal stuff was awesome.

OMG Beignets!

Then after that, it was a trip to Cafe du Monde (yes, they have one in Kyoto) for beignets and iced chocolate milk. (Which is the BEST DRINK EVER.) It did wonders to cleanse my palate, although my stomach is a little upset from the yellow crunchy fishy thing, I think.

I went up to Shijo-Dori, which translates to 4th avenue, except that it runs East->West. Shijo-Dori is a fun place to stroll, because that’s where all the action is. I’m staying on Gojo-Dori, which is relatively dull. (Or quiet, if you like dull places.)

Shijo-Dori is definitely a place to visit if you like to shop and people-watch. I saw my first clump of gothic lolitas tonight, waiting for a club to open. It’s an interesting look. Hey, whatever floats your boat. (Gothic Lolita is a fashion trend in Japan. It’s often just called goth loli. Google it.)

Then I stopped by a convenience store for some food, since my room has a fridge in it.

The Comfort Inn here rocks. It’s cheap, they have a decent free breakfast, the rooms are nice, and they have a “Drink Service” from 3PM-midnight with free drinks. Who doesn’t love free drinks?

The people working the front desk speak pretty good English, if your Japanese is lacking. The location isn’t ideal, because it’s a bit of a hike to the nearest subway station, but it’s good enough for saving a few thousand yen a day. AAA discounts, work here, too! (Use the website to get those AAA deals.)

Random Observations

A few general Japan observations: everyone keeps to the left.

Subway Sign: Keep to the Left

(Visual aid from my later trip to Tokyo.)

The same way that Americans all keep to the right when driving, walking, etc., in Japan, you keep left. That’s how you can spot the Americans and Canadians. They keep bumping into people because they all keep right. Generally. There are times when everyone keeps right, but it’s not as common.

One thing I had a lot of problems with were the raised bumpy areas and channels in the pavement for the visually impaired. I do not begrudge them the help, and I think it’s great that they’re all over the place, but my wheeled luggage got caught in them all the time. My suggestion: get a backpack. Or get wheeled luggage with giant honkin’ wheels.

(Another visual aid from the future. This time, Hiroshima.)

Bumpy Yellow Things.

In Japan, you line up for everything and wait your turn. It sounds silly to Americans, but I think it’s great. It means that when you’re at an attraction, say, Kinkakuji, and you want to take some pictures, you stand behind the people in front of you, and wait patiently. Then you do your stuff, and the people behind you wait for you to do your stuff. It’s very nice, actually.

Here, a visual aid from Kinkakuji. Everyone lines up to take photos, and waits for their turn patiently.

Lining up to get the photos

Same goes for trains. There are marks on the platform where the doors are going to be, and everyone lines up at the marks and waits for the people to get off, then they get on in an orderly fashion.

Tomorrow is a laundry day, then I’ll try to go to Arashiyama and Eiga Mura, then maybe go to Ponto-cho for some more shopping, then I’ll hunt down the cardboard box I need to send a bunch of stuff back in, so I don’t die lugging my stuff to Nara.

TV here is still pretty meh.

Oh, one last thing– they have an interesting way to deal with porn–err, “Pay Per View.” Instead of embarrassing charges on your hotel bill, you go to the vending machines, and buy a 1,000 yen “TV Card” that will dole out 150 minutes’ worth of “Pay Per View” TV. At least that’s what the hotel directory says.

One last weird moment– I flipped on the TV on to see if anything was on, and I stumbled on to old Star Trek in English on BS-2, one of the NHK networks. We learn Japanese from Doraemon, they learn English from Star Trek?

Set phasers on educate!

Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head

 Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head
Oct 192007
 

I managed to salvage a nice evening out tonight. I thought about going to Gion (the place with all the geisha), but I’m going to save that for when I return to Kyoto later in my trip. I have to return here to see everything I want to see.

First I stopped by the local conbini (convenience store) and bought an embarrassing clear vinyl raincoat to make up for the terrible umbrella I bought this morning. Between the two, I was almost dry.

Sort of.

Dinner at Kyoto Station

Instead of Gion, I went to Kyoto Station for dinner and some gawking.

Inside Kyoto Station

It’s definitely worth checking out. It’s sort of inside and outside at the same time, and there’s a giant department store and a mall there, too. The department store is Isetan, and it has all kinds of stuff in it. (The mall is in the basement, and also has a lot of little stores.)

Japanese department stores are fun. They have things like Dolce & Gabana, Dior, Gucci, etc., then they have a grocery store in the sub-basement.

The real reason you want to eat at the station is the 11th floor. It’s a food court on steroids, with all kinds of different restaurants with all kinds of different things to eat.

So it’s time to climb the stairs:

Large Stairs at Kyoto Station

Yeah, I took the escalator.

I hadn’t eaten all day, so I went to three different restaurants, each of which had something that looked delicious.

The first place had a really good chicken sandwich, with odd-looking Crunchy Things served on the side. (The Crunchy Things were good.)

The second restaurant had a really good little Margherita pizza (it was really little), and the third was Vie de France, where I picked up dessert and carried it back to the hotel.

The Kyoto TV tower is really pretty at night, but I decided not to go up to the observation deck. Here are a couple of shots I took of it:

This one is through the walls of the station:

View of Kyoto Tower through Kyoto Station

And here’s a shot from outside:

Kyoto Tower Hotel at Night

I wandered around the station just a bit and took this photo as well:

Kyoto Station Surrounding Area at Night

I’m going to try to visit Ryoanji tomorrow if it’s not raining, but odds are it will be, so I’ll probably just head back to Okazaki. I’ll check out of here, then dump my backpack in a locker at the station and do some gawking, if the weather is even halfway decent.

10-Yen Enemy?

My real arch-nemesis in Japan (besides the toilet paper that feels like 100 grit sandpaper) is the currency. Everything under 1000 yen (~$10) is in coins. As an American, I’m used to bills, even for trifling amounts of money.

So my goal every time I go out is to get rid of as many coins as possible, but every time I come back, I wind up with more coins than when I left.

The true scourge of my pockets is the 10 yen coin. It’s big, like a quarter, but only worth about 1/3rd of one.  There are no 25 yen coins. Just 1, 5, 10 and 50.

Ticket and vending machines don’t take 1 and 5 yen coins.  So they’re even more worthless than 10 yen coins.

Every time I get rid of n 10 yen coins, somewhere else I’ll wind up with n+1 more. (Assuming that n is the number of 10 yen coins I started with.) Oddly enough, I haven’t amassed too many 5 and 1 yen coins. Individual items seem like they’re priced so that the numbers come out round. Or maybe I’m just hallucinating.

What Does This Button Do-whoooa!

I finally tried pressing the button on the toilet today. Wow. That’s just funky, a little disturbing, but a whole lot better than the toilet paper there. Those of you who have done it know what I mean. Those who haven’t, well… there’s this button, and it has a picture of a butt on it, with a little jet of water aimed right at it. And if you push the button, it pretty much does what it says. It is pretty sanitary, if you think about it. It just feels ten kinds of weird. But the other choice is the toilet paper, so I’ll take a slightly damp butt anytime.

Speaking of butts, it looks like the Chunichi Dragons (the local Japanese Baseball League team in Nagoya) are kicking those of the Yomiuri Giants. Go Dragons!

I think the winner plays the Nippon Ham Fighters, who won the divisional playoffs last night. (I think they call it the Climax Series?)

I’m not really up on J-Baseball.

While I was taking a break this afternoon, I was able to watch some of the Boston-Cleveland game live from the States, which was kind of cool, but also felt kind of weird.

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