My harmony land

Once again, thanks to the Japanese government, I was blessed with a long weekend. However, I was not blessed with the funds to take advantage of it and explore some distant part of Japan. Instead I invited my South African friend Ann to visit and explore my home prefecture instead.

Initially when I invited her to come and stay and she asked me what there was to do around here, I drew a blank. Asides from Harmony Land I thought that it was rather unfair of me to ask her to give up a long weekend and come to Oita.

The guidebooks aren’t very helpful, and in fact, the Eyewitness only lists 4 attractions in Oita – (gaudy) Beppu, Yufuin, Usa and Usuki. The first two due to the hot spring attractions and the second for their religious history, Shinto and Buddhist respectively. This is still pretty impressive for a guidebook, as most don’t make it past Beppu.

However, after much thought I actually came up with a list of things to do and we didn’t get to all of them and managed to stay within relatively small area of Oita.

Day 1
Ann arrived at Kitsuki station at 14:30. The plan was to head to Ajumi and then to Usa. I was aware of the possibility of getting a bit lost and sure enough we ended up making a bit of a detour to get there. But at least getting lost in Japan always adds to the adventure.

Ajimu was holding a wine festival at its winery, with tastings of their products. I was unable to partake due to my status as designated driver, but the atmosphere was great – even with Michael Jackson’s greatest hits blaring in the background. From what Ann could tell me the wine was a bit on the juicy side – not much alcohol content and from what I could see it was rather light and without any legs.

We then treated ourselves to crepes – which is quite a common festival food in Japan. They also happen to be really good. From there we headed on to Usa, which is just over the hill to the famous Usa shrine.

The Usa shrine is an 8th century, Nara period, Shinto shrine. It I considered to e the centre from which over 40 000 other shrines originated. Due to its history the shrine has been the recipient of imperial patronage and is second only to the Ise Shrine located in Ise in Mie prefecture (where I spent my silver week). The shrine covers a large area and as it was getting dark we weren’t able to fully explore the grounds. Though we did get to pass through some towering Shinto gates and I saw some ducks, who were surround by koi that were twice their size.


Day 2
On day 2 we headed on to Oita Aquarium and Mt. Takasaki National Wildlife Park and Macaque reserve.

This area is one of the most common attractions of Oita. The aquarium and monkey park are right opposite each other and makes for an entire day of family entertainment.

Mount Takasaki National Park is on the side of the hill over looking the bay and is home to a large, really large troop of Macaque monkeys. In Nara I eventually got tired of tripping over deer and I had the same problem here, but only with monkeys. We took the scenic cable car route to the top and of course as soon as I had stepped out of the car, I was in violation of some monkey code. This also explained the weird “what not to do sign” at the bottom which, as Freda said, looked like “do not give angry monkeys tissues”. The tissue I think was in fact paper and I had to hide all the pamphlets I was given for fear of attack.

While they were quite cute (for monkeys) I still have my well entrenched African respect for wild animals, which caused me to jump every time one of them decide to chase their neighbour past my legs. Unfortunately we could not understand the speech that was going on though I am sure the woman said “wife” a couple of times. I am not sure if this group are the same species but they are certainly related to the Japanese Macaque that National Geographic love to show bathing in the hot springs in the middle of winter on Honshu.

We then headed down the mountain and over to Umitamago Aquarium, or in English “sea egg”. I think as I a gaijin I am without the knowledge as to why a egg is the logo of an aquarium (and it is a chicken egg). It would be like having a whale as the logo for the Johannesburg Zoo. But anywho, one just smiles and nods. Umitamago is, allegibly, the 3rd best aquarium in Japan, after Okinawa and I think possibly Osaka, and well worth the visit.

One thing I really appreciate about Japan is how easy they make it to navigate such places. There is one path and you follow it, so you get to see everything without having to constantly refer to a map so you aren’t missing out on anything. This can however lead to the horrendous queue hell that I experienced at Himeji Castle in Kobe.

My only disappointment was not getting to see the horseshoe crab. There seemed to be only one and he was hiding at the time. I would have thought with Kitsuki over the hill that they would have had more though I think their effort was dedicated rather to decorating the smaller tanks with dollhouse furniture. No really. Some of the tanks had small playground equipment for the fish, others had a nursery – I expect as part of some breeding programme. Though my personal favourite was the shrimp’s tank that had been fitted with a gas stove.

Other things we saw:
1. The world’s largest amphibia (no, this is the correct spelling apparently)
2. Piranha
3. Dolphins
4. Sea lions
5. Various seals
6. Otters
7. Sloths
8. And my personal favourites – the walruses (or lolrus as is their meme term)

Though it seems that it is true and that in Japan you slowly start to look at everything as lunch and soon Ann and I were imagining some of the exhibits in an aquarium of lemon butter with a side of fries.

We were lucky enough to catch both shows that afternoon. The first one was the dolphin performance. The audience right in the front were thoughtfully given towels for the performance, not that it helped. All I can say is now I want to be a dolphin trainer.

The seals and walruses, all of which were incredibly cute, followed. The difference being that, unlike Eini, Mienie, Miny and Moe (of my EL childhood days) these seals were brought out the enclosure and performed in front of the audience. There were also I couple of acts with audience participation, where the children got to interact with the seals and one little girl received a sardiney kiss.

Though without a doubt I enjoyed the walruses. They were adorable and I think it was due to the fact that the audience got to touch them and was lucky enough to have I received a rather fishy kiss from the one of them. It was too cute. Though admittedly it took a lot of washing to get rid of the fishy smell from my hand but it’s not something I am likely to forget anytime soon.


Day 3
Harmony Land!

Firstly I needed to explain something. Hello Kitty is an institution in Japan. It is almost worshipped. Where ever you go you will find Hello Kitty souvenirs of whichever tourist attraction you may be at. Even some of my male teenage students have Hello Kitty pencil cases. So it is not uncommon for even adults to indulge in the kawaii world of Hello Kitty.

That said, Harmony Land is still considered to be a small kids attraction. But this did not stop Ann and I from indulging our own child-like desires and spending the day in the presence of Hello Kitty and friends.

Harmony Land is about 5 minutes drive from Kitsuki station. So it is really easy to get to and there are busses running between the station and the park. The decision to go was an easy one. How can one come to Japan and not got to a crazy theme park. I had also been sent a link to the worlds 10 weirdest theme parks and Harmony Land inclusion made it a must see (out of interest my next one on the list in Communism Park in Estonia). Besides I needed a wanted a new profile pic with Kitty and me.
We got to Harmony Land as it opened – along with all the other happy families and their small children – and it is quite something to behold. The cute is completely overwhelming and I have a feeling that all the employees go home and watch slasher horrors just to return to normal. Everything is pink and cute and happy. While the park is still a bit old it still has a happy magic about it. None of the rides are high tec – this is after all for small children and it panders to that childhood wonder you lose as you are forced to get older. In fact it reminded me a bit of Marina Glen, so even those most prone to motion sickness will enjoy it. Though I would suggest taking it easy on the spinning teacups - it was a while before I was able to eat.

One of the more technical rides was the 3D theatre. They change the show every few months and we got to watch a ride based on a Japanese anime show called GeGeGe no Kitaro. It was one of those 3D rides where the chairs move and they spray smells into the air. It was great but also the only ride in the park where they had English instructions – so we were strictly informed not to undo our seatbelts. The movie was about a race and got pretty bumpy at times when there was crashing and dodging and falling.

Over all the whole kitty experience was a complete jol and I left rather happy and full of good feelings to the world, even though my shopping needs had not be completely indulged.

<3 Pics are here!

My Kyudo Club

So I have mentioned before that I have joined the school Kyudo club and I thought it was time to explain.

Kyudo, which means “way of the bow” is Japanese archery and a form of martial art. There are many different schools of practice that descend from different areas of practice. These include military shooting, ceremonial and contemplative. The different schools place emphasis on different areas. Some see it efficiency as the most important goal, others aesthetics and some use it for meditation.

As far as I can gather at my school they believe that in shooting correctly and perfecting the form will result in hitting the target. i.e. “true shooting, certain hitting” or seisha hitchu. The goal does not seem to be accuracy but hitting the target with the correct form.

According to the Nippon Kyudo Federation the goal is to ascertain the state of shin-zen-bi, which translated basically means “truth-goodness-beauty”. So when the archers shoot correctly, or truthfully, with “virtuous spirit and attitude toward all persons and all things which relate to Kyudo (goodness)” then beautiful shooting is realised naturally.

The dojo, where we practice, consists of a shooting building that opens up onto a grassy area. The targets are placed on the opposite end, 28m from the shooting area. The dojo building itself is pretty nice with wooden floors – unlike the tin cow shack favoured by Rhodes.

I am currently a beginner so I am practising with a gomuyumi, which is basically a rubber band with a plastic hilt. This is to get my movements, or hassetsu, correct. This sport is all about aesthetics. Once my students have decided I am good enough I will move onto a bow. I don’t think this will be any time soon though. My T-rex arms have enough trouble with the elastic band. It is incredibly embarrassing to watch these tiny Japanese girls handle the bows with no trouble at all while I struggle not to have my arms shake when stretching the elastic.

These bows are not the high tech archery ones that they use in the rest of the world, that are carbon fibre, super balanced with pulleys and bolts made from meteor rock. They are old school wooden bows with some string. Okay well slightly more specific but the point is that the sport retains it historical roots.

My students are pretty amazing to watch. Three weeks ago they held an interschool competition at Kunisaki High. We walked away with all of the prizes – best school, male competitor and female competitor. Next weekend 6 of them will go to the main Oita competition for 2 days that is held in Oita city.

PS I forgot to mention that the uniforms are pretty nice – though this is almost entirely based on the ease to which I perceive they can be turned into Bleach Cosplay.

My Typhoon

I have heard rumours since last week about the possibility of a typhoon hitting Japan. Since then I have been in a mild state of panic, wondering if my windows are covered in plastic film and whether or not I will have to venture into the undergrowth of my jungle garden to try and turn off the gas (which considering the bug potential is far more terrifying than the actually promise of a tropical storm).

Every time I have asked my teachers about it they seem to laugh at my concern and tell me not to worry. That said I have still scoped out my various evacuation centres even if I don’t have enough water to last me 3 days. I do however have the recommended Skippy peanut butter and 2 tins of fruit.

I have been watching the news, and despite my lack of Japanese I, like George Bush and Julius Malema, can at least understand the pictures. At the moment the typhoon will not hit Oita directly but the outer edges will pass over my prefecture as it heads to Honshu. The bad news is that it looks like it will pass directly over central Japan. So a lot of people are rather scared about the situation. According to Itai-sensei, Japan has not seen a typhoon in 2 years. Still my biggest concern is the potential invitation broken windows would be to the population of 8/100-legged critters that are squatting in my garden.

Here is my blow-by-blow account of my first typhoon (not super exciting but I would rather not be typing from a shelter explaining how my roof collapsed):

6:40
Went to be and all was quite on the Eastern Front. This morning it was raining when I woke up for the 5th time (I hit the snooze a lot). Rain not heavy just continuous and no heavy wind.

7:52 First Typhoon related injury
Slipped on the pavement as I was taking out my burnables in front of one of my neighbours who kept, I think, asking me if I was okay. Not serious harm, asides from my pride, luckily my neighbors recycling cans broke my fall.

8:21
あめはふります。
No change. Rain continues to fall.

10:52
Still raining. Wind is starting to pickup; I can hear it starting to whistle. The typhoon is predicted to hit Honshu at midnight tonight. I have never been happier to be placed in the backwaters of Kyushu.

12:40
Rain has stopped briefly over lunchtime but it is cold and it is miserable.

13:48
The wind is picking up and it is getting gloomy. I keep wondering when it is going to start to get really miserable. It’s a bit disappointing actually.

16:30
The rain stopped about lunchtime but now the wind has started up. It is also getting rather cold, and since I am cold blooded and can’t rely on my body to keep me warm. I don’t think I will be practicing Kyudo this afternoon.

18:25
Kyudo finished early. I am not surprised the wind is howling – but not quite Cape Doctor strength but bad enough.

20:40
The wind has started again and it is hitting all of my windows. It is really ghastly outside. My main concern is what I am going to wake up to tomorrow. Regardless I will still have to go to school.
私はちょうとこわいです。


The Aftermath
So I woke up this morning to nothing. No rain. No wind. Just cold. In fact it was a beautiful sunny day outside. The air is fresh and everything just feels clean. This is apparently typical of typhoons – they wreak havoc and leave you with nice sunny weather for you to clean up in.

It seems that the typhoon altered course a bit and moved further away from Oita, so considering we were only feeling the edges its effects where reduced even further. That said we have been the lucky ones. The typhoon has wreaked havoc on Honshu. From what I have read in the news, 2 people have died and about 50 have been injured. This doesn’t sound like much but when you see the damage it has caused (pics here) you can see it was a pretty nasty storm at the centre. They keep showing images on the news of collapsed bridges, cars that are completely wrecked – covered in mud or floating in water – schools that have lost their roofs. It is a good thing SA doesn’t get them. We can barely handle flooding.

I was a little bit disappointed not to have experienced the full force of Typhoon Melor and I no my students feel as they have been cheated of a day off school but I am glad I was not in the middle.

My Kimono

This Saturday I attended the full moon viewing festival in Kitsuki. Kitsuki is an samurai town north-west of Kunisaki. Mostly it is famous for 2 things, its castle and two hills – which people walk up the one side and then up the other. The castle (Kitsuki-jo), was built in 1394 by Lord Kitsuki Yorinao. Other attractions include the Samurai house.

Hundreds of bamboo candles were set up all over Kitsuki for the festival and the teahouses were open to visitors wanting to experience a traditional tea ceremony. I skipped this as I had the chance to attended one at my school Cultural Festival where I was served by my students.

The highlight of my evening however, was getting to rent a Kimono for the evening. I knew that they were complicated but I had no idea until it took 15 minutes to strap me in.

Kimono’s are full length, t-shaped robes that are wrapped over the body (left over right). They seem to be one standard size and are fitted to the wearer (with multiple sashes, belts and ropes). The main securing sash is called an obi and our outfit included zori (traditional straw sandals). I had to buy some tabi (split toe socks).

It was quite an experience being dressed – and there is no way I could have dressed myself. The little old lady dressing me also had to have been pretty strong what with all the tugging and tying and pulling going on. It seemed to take ages and in the end I was well aware of what a corset must have felt like. I have also uncovered the reason for the style of walking – it’s all in the shoes. I suppose it didn’t help that biggest size they had were still too small for my giant flipper feet.

For all my pics from the evening click here

My discovery

I found this is the shops yesterday! I couldn't believe it - I will have to try some regardless of how bad it ends up being. Love the choice of red or white!

My Silver Week

Thanks to the Japanese government I was blessed with 3 public holidays in a row. While most of the local ALT seemed to head to Korea I made plans to join 2 of my fellow Cape Town saffers in Osaka. Dawid had been kind enough to offer us a place to crash being that he is located in Mie prefecture – within easy travelling distance of Osaka, Kyoto and Nara.

After researching the various manners of transportation – plane, train, bus and ferry – I settled on the shinkansen or bullet train.  While it was not the cheapest option, the shinkansen was the quickest and it was on my list of Japanese experiences and the trip there would only take about 4 hours. There are various overnight ferries and buses from Oita, but all would result in me losing about a day of travel. So train it was.

I bought my tickets a couple of weeks ago in Oita. It was once again a full on charades session, but as I had printed out the exact trains I wanted to catch it ended up working out fine. I have learnt 2 things in Japan:
1.    Be prepared.
2.    If you want to survive out here, you've got to know where your towel is.


Day 1 – Nara

Following in Gernetzky tradition I planned an early start. I had to get up by 4am so that I would have enough time to get ready and drive to Kitsuki station to make my first train to Kokura.  It was not easy but the excitement and adrenaline soon set in, which was helpful as I didn't sleep to well after the previous night’s spider incident.

The drive to Kitsuki was beautiful. The sun was rising over the sea and it was one of the rare moments when everything is so clear that you can see Shikoku.  I got to the station in time and my car guard met me immediately and remembered that I was going for 5 days – again a communications epic win!

My first train was the 6:21 Sonic to Kokura, which is at the north of Kyushu and closest to Honshu. As expected the train was right on time. From there I caught the Shinkansen to Osaka.  Many people worry that you don’t see much on as the train is too fast, I found this not to be entirely true. It’s only the tunnels that impeded any view and as things go they save you travel time, which can be better used for touristy things.

I didn’t stop in Osaka, instead I met up with the rest of the gang at Tsuruhashi station on the circle line. I love the Japanese transport system, I have said it before and I won’t stop until they ban the taxes in SA and import a Japanese train methods. I gracious host had planned a packed 5 days for us and our first stop was Nara.

Nara was Japan’s capital from 710 – 794 AD. I was thrilled that this would be our first stop as it features some of the most amazing temples and shrines in Japan - giving it it's World Heritage Status.  Most of the Tourist attractions are in Nara Park – easy walking distance from the station. It is not hard to get lost and one of the first things you see is the Kofuku-ji temple with its five-story pagoda. The temple has been rebuilt a number of times due to fire but the current version dates back to 1426.

Nara is also known for it’s pushy deer – which amble around trying to score deer biscuits off unsuspecting tourists. I was aware of the deer situation, and got went to crazy gaijin tourist mode with the first one I came across by taking masses of photos. It was only was I actually got into the park did I realise the full extent of the infestation. They are everywhere and by the end of the day you are tripping over deer like 5 years olds in a toy store. I particularly liked the ones that hung out at the biscuit stands waiting for people to buy biscuits so that they could harass you immediately. Joss and I did not get 3 feet before we had 2 fighting over out purchase.

The walk through the park takes about 3 hours depending on how much you chose to see and visit. Our next stop after a soba noodle lunch was Todai-ji temple. To get there we had to go through the Nandai-mon gate. I think out of everything I saw that day (including the Nirvana hole) this is what took my breath away. On either side of the 19m high gate stood a giant wooden statue over 8 metres high. Of course one of the first things that Joss commented on was the potential fire hazard this caused – which was true considering it was all made of wood and huge beans from massive trees towered over you. The Nio, as they are known, are called Ungyo and Agyo. While many of the treasures of the area have been repeatedly repaired and rebuilt it still has not taken away from their impressive nature.

Once through the gate we entered the Todai-ji Temple – which is so impressive it warranted 2 full pages in my guidebook. Also a reconstructed treasure, it is now only two thirds of its original size and the largest wooden building in the world. Inside the temple is the worlds largest bronze Buddha. It is While the Buddha and the building itself was pretty amazing what really got to me was the line of people waiting to squeeze through the Nirvana hole behind it. Legend has it that if you can get through it you will be able to obtain Nirvana – though it seems that only the Japanese, toddlers and anorexics are invited to this particular party.

From there we continued to dodge deer and headed to the main viewpoint in the park – a hill that over looks much of the city. It was a bit of a climb but it meant that we walked off the soft cream (soft serve) we had just consumed. The area is truly beautiful and I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get it as my placement like I had originally requested.

From there we headed back to the train station via the Kasuaga Grand Shrine. There is a lot to see in Nara and one really needs to spend a full day there to take in all the history. But the setting is fantastic and beautiful and should you be in the area I would definitely recommended you stop there. Even if it is just to say you have been harassed by biscuit addict deer.

Link to my photos from day 1


Day 2 – Kyoto
Day two was dedicate to Japan’s old imperial capital of Kyoto.  First off I want to say that we only had a day and we didn’t manage to see a fraction of what this amazing city has to offer – missing out on both the shopping and geisha districts as well as numerous temples and shrines. I would suggest that any visit plan at least 2 days in Kyoto but 3 to be safe.

Kyoto station was my first greeting to the city and it is some truly beautiful architecture. From here we hit the buses. I would suggest the buses for Kyoto – they head to all the major tourist spots and are easy to use and almost everything is in English. Though we made the mistake of not looking into us passes which would have made things a bit cheaper.

Our first stop for the day was a ninja shop so that Dawid could buy himself a stick – well a Kendo sword. It was a valuable stop for me too as I managed to find 2 new KitKat flavours (vanilla Oreo cookie and Mochi).

With so much to see and so little time we settled on Kinkaku-ji– better known as the Golden Pavilion. Also a reconstruction dating back to 1950 it was originally a retirement villa and I hope that I get to retire in a gold pavilion. It is almost entirely covered in gold leaf, topped with a bronze phoenix and set on a lake amongst beautiful natural surroundings.  Unfortunately we did not get to go through the stroll garden surrounding the pond.

After lunch we walked through the city to Daitoku-ji Temple, home of the one of the most famous Zen gardens in Japan and historically connected to the tea ceremony. The Muromachi-period dry garden represents man’s fate, relationship with nature and place in the universe.  The Zen garden was rather small but after the crowds of Kinkaku-ji it was nice to find some silence and, well, Zen.

Photos from day 2


Day 3 – Himeji
What to do on day 3 became a bit of a debate. We had originally planned on visiting Himeji castle in Kobe (where the beef comes from) but as it was a quite a distance to travel we considered returning to Kyoto. In the end Himeji won out due to the fact this would be the last chance to see the castle before they close it for 3 years for renovations in November. We decided that it might be taking too much of a chance not to go in case we could not get back in time.

All I can say is that I am glad we did it.

We had another early morning start and stocked ourselves once again with a combini breakfast (ie. Convenience store – the breadbasket of Japan). Next up was the 2-hour train ride to Kobe. The train rides have been a great opportunity to practice my sleeping in unusual and uncomfortable places – and I am getting pretty good. I don’t know how the Japanese do it and they never miss there stops either.  Though the best part of this train ride (well for the others) was the brief view we got of the sea. I am still on the cost but my fellow South Africans are still suffering from withdrawal.

We were once again blessed with the most amazing weather for the 3rd day in a row. Blue sunny skies but without the crazy humidity I was used to in Kunisaki. Once again the target of our adventure was within easy walking distance of the station, but I was completely unprepared for the size of the castle grounds.  I knew it would be quite a sight (a whole 4 guidebook pages) but the gardens were truly extensive.  It is built on a bluff and the six story main tower overlooks the entire castle grounds. It is consider to be the finest of the12 remaining feudal castles in Japan and is known as Shirasagi-jo – the white egret castle. This World Heritage site is the ultimate samurai castle.

The grounds are a true labyrinth of walls and passageways, designed to confuse invaders it also worked pretty well on the tourists. Though “luckily” for us it was impossible to get lost as all we had to do was follow the queue from the bottom gate to get to the main tower. All I can say is that I discovered Dante’s 10th level of hell – queuing. It seemed like half of Japan also wanted to get in on the Himeji action before it was too late.  We queued all the way from the entrance of the tower before hitting the snake line at the bottom of the tower. We must have queued for 2 hours in the sun (resulting in more than a little sun burn) and were slowly starting to question the intelligence of this decision. At least we were kept entertained by Joss’s best impressions of a typical Cape Townian housewife and her maid.

We had taken it upon ourselves to adopt and educate our American friend on the ways of South Africa. So far we have taught him numerous Afrikaans words (including the best way to can like to speak wiff an Afrikaans accent), shown him all the Nando’s adverts we could find, some Casper De Vries and of course forced him to sit through Bakgat. This was a pretty rare experience. Mostly we South Africans are surrounded by Americans, so to get the opportunity to turn the tables is pretty rare. Eric is an excellent learner though he did often get a glazed look in his eyes when we would talk about Raith Gourmet or Bellville.

Eventually we made it up into the main tower, and it was pretty impressive. Unfortunately due to the crowds and the funnel effect I didn’t get an opportunity to really admire all the artefacts on display and I would have like to know more of what it was like back in it glory days. The view from the top was worth the climb despite being cramped inside and Joss’s fire hazard comments kept coming back to me so I was constantly on edge waiting for the screaming to start.

I am glad I got the opportunity to see the castle – I think I would have regretted not doing so. We didn’t see much after that, as we had to get back to Dawid’s place as we were meeting up with some other folk for a conveyor belt sushi supper and karaoke. The previous nights we had gone international with Indian and Chinese. Lunch was street food – I could live off street food in Japan. It is incredible. Dawid was a bit more adventurous with his squid on a stick while we stuck to yakitori – chicken on a stick. Desert came courtesy of Baskin Robbins.

After yet another lengthy train ride we were ready for supper. The restaurant was one huge conveyor belt with touch screen order menus should you want to get something directly. Once again let me reemphasize that sushi here is entirely different. There was only some maki, not a single California roll in sight and avocado did not make an appearance. Though what I did see was countless things that really should stay in their shells in the rock pools from whence they came. I have eaten some crazy stuff so far but some of it I just couldn't stomach. It was only R10 a plate – which is crazy cheap compared to SA and for every 5 plates you eat you get to play one game of slots for a chance to win a capsule toy.  They do make eating in Japan a lot of fun.

Day 3 photos


Day 4 – Osaka
We said goodbye to Dawid and Joss, Eric and I headed back to Osaka for the day. Once again we were running on Combini power and were ready to take in as much as we could before Joss and Eric caught their bus back to Tokyo. I had booked into a capsule hotel for the night – another thing on my list of crazy stuff to do in Japan.

After hunting the station for open lockers we were finally able to stash our bags – and I am truly sorry I didn’t have one with wheels. Our plan from here was to first visit the Uemda Sky Building with its roof top view of Osaka. From the 39th floor Floating Garden Observatory you get a 360-degree view of the city. It was pretty was amazing though unfortunately our weather luck had run out so it was a bit over cast, but it didn’t take away from the view all that much.

We then headed to Osaka Castle, but this time we did not intended on going inside as this one is merely a reconstruction and not as impressive as Himeji. It was a good visit and we finally got our Takoyaki lunch (octopus in a ball of fried batter – not too bad akchelee) from this wonderful street vendor that discounted our food as long as we didn’t tell his wife.

At the castle the Japanese have buried a time capsule with over 2000 items to be opened in 5000 years time.  What I really want to know is how much Hello Kitty stuff is contained within this cultural and historical archive.

Once of the crazy things we came across that day was a man with 2 Pomeranians – fully clothed and accessorised. Their outfit included handcuff chains with Zippos and cigarettes and one was wearing sunglasses. These dogs must have been used to posing for pictures and seemed rather long suffering.

I had book into my capsule so we collected my goods and head on to Shinsaibashi. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It was the most amazing shopping district I had yet been to. My last few days had been spent in the typical tourist areas and it felt like we had discovered the secret Japanese shopping grounds. And not just your usual trendy, labels – that was a few blocks down – this was punk territory and where you go if you think the 80’s was the height of fashion. For the next few hours we just roamed the streets discovering all manner of weird things – including some Merc SLKs completely covered in crystals.

Dinner was at an American café in American mura where we ate Japanese versions of American food. We then had to hunt down a ¥100 store to find some travel pillows and where I discovered, and was able to stock up on, some Cadburys.


After this I had to say farewell to my travel mates – which was horrible. It was really nice to be around some Saffers (including the adopted one) again. So on my own again I head back to my night in the capsule.

The capsule hotel was really comfortable for what it was, and for only ¥2700 (R270) and rather cheap too. I was provided with a locker as well as my own sleeping pod. The bathrooms were typical Japanese style with communal shower stations and a big hot bath for once you are clean. I am now pretty much used to the system. Though I still worry about being the stupid gaijin that does things wrong. 

The hotel is amazingly quite. Everyone is very respectful of other people and the noise is non-existent. This is really important, as the capsules are not enclosed or sound proof. They are also rather bigger than I imagined. You can easily stretch out and I was able to sit up in mine without banging my head. All in all I had a really good nights sleep and I wouldn’t mind getting one for my house to protect me from the spiders (only air tight with ventilation).

Day 4 photos

 
Day 5 – Home time
I again had an early start to catch my train. By now my luggage was really killing me. I will have to invest in something with wheels that can still fit into the station lockers. I had some time so I stocked up on omiyagi for my teachers (it is tradition to take food back as gifts for your co-workers) and train lunch. Tradition dictates I should have bought a bento box on the train but I had heard that it can be a bit expensive and you never know what you are going to get.

I had another fun trip back, practiced my sleeping and watched a movie on my iPod. Train travel is much more fun than planes and far less stressful than going by car. Though I did have the overwhelming desire to jump off at random stops and see what I could discover. However all that will just have to wait for the next long weekend.

Photos from the last day

My Sexy New Look

I have a sexy new look. It is super uncomfortable, but at least I feel better about being sick since I am not breathing disease all over my students and other teachers. It was not easy to wear though - as a Saffer there is a stigma attached to labeling yourself as ill. Or it could just be how stupid I looked.