if this isn't quintessentially japanese looking, i don't know what is. on our way to the zen garden.
8.08.2010
ryoanji.temple.9
i have a theory about how this area helps you become contemplative.
you see, there are four levels of texture at work here. 1. each rock has it's own shape, 2. each rock has it's own color, 3. the ground is level but has some natural bumps to it, 4. the raked lines add another pattern
it's really difficult to focus on any one thing, so instead you focus beyond it. kind of like those hidden 3D image posters from the 90's. you had to focus your eyes on something behind it in order to see the hidden image.
however, it also helps me understand why it's so easy to zone out in front of tv snow.
fushimi.inari.3
made a friend. not sure why, but there were tons of rather friendly cats in the area.
fushimi.inari.12
from what i read, although inari is the god of rice, it's also the patron of business so each of the toriis were donated by a business.
fushimi.inari.13
the fox holding rice grains. somehow the fox is always around inari shrines. there were hundreds, if not thousands, of fox statues here.
fushimi.inari.17
all over the area surrounding the shrine were these cute flags with the torii and the fox.
kyoto
we ended up taking a bus from hiroshima to kyoto.
there were more rapid ways, but they cost so much more. so, we bussed for a little under six hours.
we got into kyoto and our hotel. a rather fancier place. they took our bags up and all. (turns out we got it on the cheap due to a 72 hour sale.)
we took a walk around to find some dinner. ended up at a place where we ordered our meal through a vending machine. there were actual wait staff and places to sit, but you made your meal order and received a ticket for food from a vending machine.
it was drizzling the whole time. it was a cooling rain for the most part so we didn’t mind. we tried to walk around to find gion and found one of those covered shopping streets with a lot of people wandering about.
it seemed like we were pretty close to gion, but not quite there. after getting a little lost trying to get to the hotel we packed it in and planned a little bit of our next day.
we actually only had that one day there. we had to check out of our hotel that morning so we decided to go back to kyoto station to lock up our bags, then do all of our site-seeing and catch the train from kyoto to osaka.
kyoto might be easier and more accommodating for travelers. it could be that after four days of prior traveling we had figured things out a little more, but it just seemed a lot easier to figure out how to get from one thing to another. and the transportation didn’t seem quite as expensive. according to their own pr, kyoto is more of a walkable town. there are so many sites that walking from one to the other really isn’t difficult if you have the time. the sites aren’t far from one another, so many temples and shrines. but, if you only have a day, and you have some main points to catch. . . a bus ticket will do you well.
all three of our sites to see were along bus routes. (again, there were separate train companies, and separate bus companies. but we knew what questions to ask, and what to look out for.) we quickly figured out that our bus routes could all be combined on a day pass for approximately five bucks.
we were a little intimidated by how much there is to see in kyoto. how do you pick one shrine or temple from another? we got a couple of lucky last minute tips. bruce, a former co-worker chimed in that we should check out the golden pavilion. . . and the couple we met in hiroshima mentioned the zen garden. aside from that i had found pictures of one shrine that i was excited to see, and if we had time left over it would be easy to fill, but we thought we were pushing our luck with three sites.
the golden pavilion (kinkaku-ji temple) was fantastic. it was pouring rain, so we each got to test out our ponchos. i did discover that my camera acts up a bit when it’s wet, so that’s something to think about later.
the ryoan-ji temple, gardens, and the zen garden was a beautiful resting area. the rain had let up a bit, but it was still drizzling from time to time.
we stopped back to kyoto station to refuel a bit. we tried some udon noodles, camille mailed a post card, and i got more money out. (didn’t have the cash to buy a couple of souvenirs outside of the golden pavilion- and they didn’t take cards- grrr.)
then off to the fushimi inari shrine. we hit it just around dusk. i read that a rainy day would be better since there would be fewer tourists. sadly the place was much larger than i expected, so we only walked through a small area of it. extremely picturesque. another nice quiet spot. though i think it would’ve been completely creepy at night. and the town area around it was really cute too.
there were so many places that sounded interesting, a shrine with a thousand statues around it, a temple covered in moss. . . but the day ticked away. and i feel that we filled it pretty well.
then it was back to kyoto station (third time that day) to catch a train to osaka. it’s a pretty great station. helpful people and pretty easy to get around. so, no complaints here.
there were more rapid ways, but they cost so much more. so, we bussed for a little under six hours.
we got into kyoto and our hotel. a rather fancier place. they took our bags up and all. (turns out we got it on the cheap due to a 72 hour sale.)
we took a walk around to find some dinner. ended up at a place where we ordered our meal through a vending machine. there were actual wait staff and places to sit, but you made your meal order and received a ticket for food from a vending machine.
it was drizzling the whole time. it was a cooling rain for the most part so we didn’t mind. we tried to walk around to find gion and found one of those covered shopping streets with a lot of people wandering about.
it seemed like we were pretty close to gion, but not quite there. after getting a little lost trying to get to the hotel we packed it in and planned a little bit of our next day.
we actually only had that one day there. we had to check out of our hotel that morning so we decided to go back to kyoto station to lock up our bags, then do all of our site-seeing and catch the train from kyoto to osaka.
kyoto might be easier and more accommodating for travelers. it could be that after four days of prior traveling we had figured things out a little more, but it just seemed a lot easier to figure out how to get from one thing to another. and the transportation didn’t seem quite as expensive. according to their own pr, kyoto is more of a walkable town. there are so many sites that walking from one to the other really isn’t difficult if you have the time. the sites aren’t far from one another, so many temples and shrines. but, if you only have a day, and you have some main points to catch. . . a bus ticket will do you well.
all three of our sites to see were along bus routes. (again, there were separate train companies, and separate bus companies. but we knew what questions to ask, and what to look out for.) we quickly figured out that our bus routes could all be combined on a day pass for approximately five bucks.
we were a little intimidated by how much there is to see in kyoto. how do you pick one shrine or temple from another? we got a couple of lucky last minute tips. bruce, a former co-worker chimed in that we should check out the golden pavilion. . . and the couple we met in hiroshima mentioned the zen garden. aside from that i had found pictures of one shrine that i was excited to see, and if we had time left over it would be easy to fill, but we thought we were pushing our luck with three sites.
the golden pavilion (kinkaku-ji temple) was fantastic. it was pouring rain, so we each got to test out our ponchos. i did discover that my camera acts up a bit when it’s wet, so that’s something to think about later.
the ryoan-ji temple, gardens, and the zen garden was a beautiful resting area. the rain had let up a bit, but it was still drizzling from time to time.
we stopped back to kyoto station to refuel a bit. we tried some udon noodles, camille mailed a post card, and i got more money out. (didn’t have the cash to buy a couple of souvenirs outside of the golden pavilion- and they didn’t take cards- grrr.)
then off to the fushimi inari shrine. we hit it just around dusk. i read that a rainy day would be better since there would be fewer tourists. sadly the place was much larger than i expected, so we only walked through a small area of it. extremely picturesque. another nice quiet spot. though i think it would’ve been completely creepy at night. and the town area around it was really cute too.
there were so many places that sounded interesting, a shrine with a thousand statues around it, a temple covered in moss. . . but the day ticked away. and i feel that we filled it pretty well.
then it was back to kyoto station (third time that day) to catch a train to osaka. it’s a pretty great station. helpful people and pretty easy to get around. so, no complaints here.
8.07.2010
osaka.aquarium.1
the approach to the aquarium. wish there was a temperature read out on my camera display sometimes.
osaka.aquarium.6
a mom taking a picture on her cell phone. the daughter taking a picture on her nds.
osaka.aquarium.7
the sting rays were super cool to watch. . . and really huge. it was hard to get a shot of them in motion that also showed scale.
osaka.aquarium.10
my mom really likes to eat crab. i sometimes like it. i would never want to be crawling around the ocean and come across a crew of these guys though. they sorta reminded me of skeksis and the made up creature from 'the village'. . . oh, and very large armored spiders.
osaka.castle.3
apparently the park part of osaka castle is large enough that you can catch a train around.
osaka.castle.9
headed up to the top first, then worked our way down. there was a lot of historical displays throughout. some nifty samurai outfits, but a lot was about different wars, which wasn't so interesting to us.
osaka.castle.7
the view was nice. and the breeze was even nicer. kinda wanted to stay all day where it was shaded and breezy.
Japan-July 2010 330.jpg
outside the castle camille poses while we look for souvenirs and have cold drinks- (i found a melon fanta!)
osaka.harbor.4
for some reason i couldn't get the timer to work, my new spider tri-pod thingy to hold, and me to smile all at the same time. so here i am, in the ferris wheel, osaka behind me. . . not smiling. >.<
osaka
like kyoto, we had only read up on a few things to do in osaka, and we left the day open for whatever we may hear about. we took an evening train from kyoto and got into our rooms. we actually had separate rooms this time because, for whatever reason, it was cheaper in this hotel to book single rooms than a room with two beds.
we drifted around small convenience stores and picked up salads and snacks to bring back to the room instead of finding a restaurant at night.
camille had read up on the aquarium, and although it was a bit pricey- there was nothing but raves for it, so we added that to our list. an interesting building with plants growing all over it . . . . the osaka castle. . . and a harbor area all sounded nice. we also discovered that there is some really great clothes shopping around. with the heat we found that some of the in season clothes were much lighter than what we packed. so clothes shopping also made the list. there were two main things that would be great at night, a building with a great observatory open late and the ‘largest’ ferris wheel was also opened late. like everything else, they were located in one of two major areas we wanted to be in, which were on opposite ends of the city. the ferris wheel ended up winning out.
the day was super hot. though it had been super muggy in kyoto- the rain had actually dropped the temperature a bit, and the clouds kept the sun off us. osaka was burning hot so getting inside the aquarium, getting inside for shopping, getting inside the castle, just getting inside was the main focus again. i took to shadow hopping between souvenir stands and trees at the castle. the walks from subway stations to areas of interest were brutal, especially mid day when the buildings had no shadows.
the harbor area had cute shopping and restaurants which we hit up around lunch time (i tried some indian fast food, curry chicken wrap or something like it.) when we decided to come back in the evening for the ferris wheel we thought we’d pick up some souvenirs and have dinner as well. sadly, the whole area closed down around 8. the ferris wheel stayed open till 9:30. we were off the ferris wheel sometime between 8 and 9 and ran into some other tourists who were also baffled by the fact that they couldn’t find a restaurant that was still open.
we ended up down the street a bit from the harbor area. almost went for korean bbq, but we found one place that had a picture menu that wasn’t all fried foods.
the next day we had an afternoon flight back to korea. we checked out and went directly to the airport where we did a handful of last minute souvenir shopping (blissfully i found a perfume that i wanted in kyoto, but didn’t have the cash on me at the time.) we had a last japanese meal. . . i had unagi. . . . mmm eel. (i don’t understand how such an ugly animal can be so delicious.) we both contemplated bringing back japanese liquor, but neither of us were really into it, or wanted to add liquid weight to what we were already carrying.
it was almost a bummer that our flight was so short. the in flight entertainment had iron man 2 and we both wanted to watch. . . but the flight time minus take off, landing, and cockpit announcements. . . we barely got halfway through the movie.
our last airport- gimpo. we left from incheon. i’d never been in gimpo. it’s within 5 miles from incheon and i thought it handled more of the domestic flights. it is much smaller for sure. but it’s still pretty new, clean, and easy to get through. plus, even though it’s only a stop or two closer to ansan, the bus ticket was somehow half the price of the one from incheon.
one bus ride to ansan, one taxi ride from the bus terminal. . . and i got home by 7ish on saturday. i started my laundry, did a little unpacking, then plopped down to watch tv and zone out for the next day.
we drifted around small convenience stores and picked up salads and snacks to bring back to the room instead of finding a restaurant at night.
camille had read up on the aquarium, and although it was a bit pricey- there was nothing but raves for it, so we added that to our list. an interesting building with plants growing all over it . . . . the osaka castle. . . and a harbor area all sounded nice. we also discovered that there is some really great clothes shopping around. with the heat we found that some of the in season clothes were much lighter than what we packed. so clothes shopping also made the list. there were two main things that would be great at night, a building with a great observatory open late and the ‘largest’ ferris wheel was also opened late. like everything else, they were located in one of two major areas we wanted to be in, which were on opposite ends of the city. the ferris wheel ended up winning out.
the day was super hot. though it had been super muggy in kyoto- the rain had actually dropped the temperature a bit, and the clouds kept the sun off us. osaka was burning hot so getting inside the aquarium, getting inside for shopping, getting inside the castle, just getting inside was the main focus again. i took to shadow hopping between souvenir stands and trees at the castle. the walks from subway stations to areas of interest were brutal, especially mid day when the buildings had no shadows.
the harbor area had cute shopping and restaurants which we hit up around lunch time (i tried some indian fast food, curry chicken wrap or something like it.) when we decided to come back in the evening for the ferris wheel we thought we’d pick up some souvenirs and have dinner as well. sadly, the whole area closed down around 8. the ferris wheel stayed open till 9:30. we were off the ferris wheel sometime between 8 and 9 and ran into some other tourists who were also baffled by the fact that they couldn’t find a restaurant that was still open.
we ended up down the street a bit from the harbor area. almost went for korean bbq, but we found one place that had a picture menu that wasn’t all fried foods.
the next day we had an afternoon flight back to korea. we checked out and went directly to the airport where we did a handful of last minute souvenir shopping (blissfully i found a perfume that i wanted in kyoto, but didn’t have the cash on me at the time.) we had a last japanese meal. . . i had unagi. . . . mmm eel. (i don’t understand how such an ugly animal can be so delicious.) we both contemplated bringing back japanese liquor, but neither of us were really into it, or wanted to add liquid weight to what we were already carrying.
it was almost a bummer that our flight was so short. the in flight entertainment had iron man 2 and we both wanted to watch. . . but the flight time minus take off, landing, and cockpit announcements. . . we barely got halfway through the movie.
our last airport- gimpo. we left from incheon. i’d never been in gimpo. it’s within 5 miles from incheon and i thought it handled more of the domestic flights. it is much smaller for sure. but it’s still pretty new, clean, and easy to get through. plus, even though it’s only a stop or two closer to ansan, the bus ticket was somehow half the price of the one from incheon.
one bus ride to ansan, one taxi ride from the bus terminal. . . and i got home by 7ish on saturday. i started my laundry, did a little unpacking, then plopped down to watch tv and zone out for the next day.
7.23.2010
trading kamsahamida for arrigato
i have about 6 hours to do some laundry, pack, charge electronic equipment, and a nap before i hop an early taxi to the airport.
i’m tired. it’s been a busy couple of weeks. midterms, pelt tests, open classes. . . planning for holiday. and now. . . holiday.
sleeping has been hampered a bit by anxiety - we’ve been trying to put together all the details to make our trip smooth. i wake up to add something to the ‘to do’ list and stay up late to google destinations. . . that and dreams of crashing planes doesn’t help.
it would be nice to think that i could turn my brain into a sponge to soak up some of the japanese listening tapes while on the plane. . . but let’s be real. . . i’m gonna pass out, and the flight is only an hour and a half.
it seems we will have a bit of rain. i now have a large poncho that i think i can turn into a tent if necessity demands. oh, and it’s pink. . . but not just pink. . . it’s PINK!
my friends are sprawling for the holiday. england, france, cambodia, nepal, and all around korea. everyone seemed really excited to get to the end of the day. i hope all their vacations are fantastic.
i’m really excited to see whatever we get to in japan. . . i’m sure i’ll be overwhelmed by things to see and do. i just hope that all the previous planning is enough to make the trip as hassle free as possible. a nice, chill tour about the country would be amazing.
kajah!
i’m tired. it’s been a busy couple of weeks. midterms, pelt tests, open classes. . . planning for holiday. and now. . . holiday.
sleeping has been hampered a bit by anxiety - we’ve been trying to put together all the details to make our trip smooth. i wake up to add something to the ‘to do’ list and stay up late to google destinations. . . that and dreams of crashing planes doesn’t help.
it would be nice to think that i could turn my brain into a sponge to soak up some of the japanese listening tapes while on the plane. . . but let’s be real. . . i’m gonna pass out, and the flight is only an hour and a half.
it seems we will have a bit of rain. i now have a large poncho that i think i can turn into a tent if necessity demands. oh, and it’s pink. . . but not just pink. . . it’s PINK!
my friends are sprawling for the holiday. england, france, cambodia, nepal, and all around korea. everyone seemed really excited to get to the end of the day. i hope all their vacations are fantastic.
i’m really excited to see whatever we get to in japan. . . i’m sure i’ll be overwhelmed by things to see and do. i just hope that all the previous planning is enough to make the trip as hassle free as possible. a nice, chill tour about the country would be amazing.
kajah!
7.16.2010
most likely, i will assume the character of a stereotypical american tourist, . . . lost, picture happy, sweaty, fumbling with my phrasebook.
i’ve been meaning to write some snippets here and there, but haven’t quite gotten to it.
we’ve finished open classes at school, and the week after next week, we’ll be on summer break.
it’s getting hot. i still remember what august was like last year, so i know we haven’t hit our peak heat yet, and i’m not looking forward to it. currently it’s raining cats and dogs, so the temperature has dropped for the weekend.
i’m spending this weekend cleaning up my apartment and doing some prep packing. this time next week, i’ll be arriving in japan. camille and i have been researching, booking, and talking to people about decent places to visit. several people have stated that of all the traveling they’ve done, japan was the hottest place they’ve been. . . and according to wikipedia. . . we will be there on the hottest (average) week of the year.
is it possible for sweat glands to be overworked?
of course we’re trying to pepper our days with interior (hopefully air-conditioned) places to visit.
i’m pretty sure we’ll be overwhelmed with the things to see and do, but i like a lot of the things we’ve tagged so far. -sadly, it’s not sumo season!
it’s late. . . but i’ve popped in a few japanese audiobooks as well. (i can almost count to ten!) the japanese language really makes me appreciate the korean language more. the korean alphabet is so much easier, so much more manageable. I don’t think i’ll even attempt acquainting myself with japanese characters.
something that is both fun and frustrating. . . as i was trying to learn bits of korean and trying to come up with words that were anything but english. . . my french often popped out. . . and now, trying to recall simple japanese phrases (and not use english) both french and korean are popping out.
i will be traveling sans computer- so i might only get a chance to twitter or facebook arrivals and departures.
errrr, no easy internet access, so if i wanna look up that cool thing in kyoto. . . i’ll have to rely on my tour book. . . or anything i’ve written out, or printed up previously. . . which is really putting my prep skills to the test.
though i see this as a personal challenge. . . i’m also considering it as measure for how much i need an ipad. yes, internet access makes me lazy when it comes to preparedness. (why bother to look up movies/ directions/ hours of operation/ prices/ restrictions before i leave? google can provide once i’m already en-route.) do i want an ipad? yes. do i need an ipad? hmmmmm. . . i’ll get back to you.
it’s all daunting. . . kind of. and like most daunting tasks, i will start with something small and over-work it. . .then move on. (like cleaning my room as a kid. i would start by polishing my jewelry.- not that i had a lot of really nice fancy jewelry. . . but it kept me in percolating mode until i figured out how to proceed through the whole room) so i think i’ll spend the next hour or so figuring out a really cool way to fold and store a map. . .then i’ll try to find the perfect shampoo and conditioner bottles. . . . then, perhaps, i’ll clean the apartment and consider travel wardrobe.
- i have put a time limit on it. swon will be visiting in the afternoon. . . so i need to press through and have the apartment ready for visitors by then.
we’ve finished open classes at school, and the week after next week, we’ll be on summer break.
it’s getting hot. i still remember what august was like last year, so i know we haven’t hit our peak heat yet, and i’m not looking forward to it. currently it’s raining cats and dogs, so the temperature has dropped for the weekend.
i’m spending this weekend cleaning up my apartment and doing some prep packing. this time next week, i’ll be arriving in japan. camille and i have been researching, booking, and talking to people about decent places to visit. several people have stated that of all the traveling they’ve done, japan was the hottest place they’ve been. . . and according to wikipedia. . . we will be there on the hottest (average) week of the year.
is it possible for sweat glands to be overworked?
of course we’re trying to pepper our days with interior (hopefully air-conditioned) places to visit.
i’m pretty sure we’ll be overwhelmed with the things to see and do, but i like a lot of the things we’ve tagged so far. -sadly, it’s not sumo season!
it’s late. . . but i’ve popped in a few japanese audiobooks as well. (i can almost count to ten!) the japanese language really makes me appreciate the korean language more. the korean alphabet is so much easier, so much more manageable. I don’t think i’ll even attempt acquainting myself with japanese characters.
something that is both fun and frustrating. . . as i was trying to learn bits of korean and trying to come up with words that were anything but english. . . my french often popped out. . . and now, trying to recall simple japanese phrases (and not use english) both french and korean are popping out.
i will be traveling sans computer- so i might only get a chance to twitter or facebook arrivals and departures.
errrr, no easy internet access, so if i wanna look up that cool thing in kyoto. . . i’ll have to rely on my tour book. . . or anything i’ve written out, or printed up previously. . . which is really putting my prep skills to the test.
though i see this as a personal challenge. . . i’m also considering it as measure for how much i need an ipad. yes, internet access makes me lazy when it comes to preparedness. (why bother to look up movies/ directions/ hours of operation/ prices/ restrictions before i leave? google can provide once i’m already en-route.) do i want an ipad? yes. do i need an ipad? hmmmmm. . . i’ll get back to you.
it’s all daunting. . . kind of. and like most daunting tasks, i will start with something small and over-work it. . .then move on. (like cleaning my room as a kid. i would start by polishing my jewelry.- not that i had a lot of really nice fancy jewelry. . . but it kept me in percolating mode until i figured out how to proceed through the whole room) so i think i’ll spend the next hour or so figuring out a really cool way to fold and store a map. . .then i’ll try to find the perfect shampoo and conditioner bottles. . . . then, perhaps, i’ll clean the apartment and consider travel wardrobe.
- i have put a time limit on it. swon will be visiting in the afternoon. . . so i need to press through and have the apartment ready for visitors by then.
6.21.2010
field.trip.lotte.5
this month's field trip: an indoor folk village.
they painted mugs, and made soap, or watched liquid soap harden.
field.trip.lotte.4
i sometimes feel this might be an accurate description of how the kids feel on some of our field trips. often they are dragged about, pulled away from fun activities to take picture after picture. so my co-teacher, jewel, and i posed them behind these bars for fun.
field.trip.lotte.6
and this is what i think the teachers feel like. here is veca, my co-teacher, tired, frustrated, hand on hip, as screaming kids buzz around her in a blur.
world.cup.fans.3
to get geared up for south korea's second world cup match, i had my kindy kids make 'fighting korea fans'. . . and i gave them fan supporting tattoos.
world.cup.fans.4
i watched the first south korean game in a great sports bar in itaewon. just me, a bunch of foreigners, and a whole lot of rowdy koreans. it was a great time. their second game was during the week, so a group of use went out for dinner right in handaeup to catch the game.
all the tables and large screens were out. we had to get a table inside because all the outside tables were previously reserved. needless to say. . . there was a massive crowd. it was a rough game to watch. argentina really schooled south korea.
i was talking about the game with my students a few hours before. i said it would be a tough game since argentina was so good. she reassured me, 'that's ok, we have Park Ji-Sung' (the south korean who plays for Man. U.) Park Ji-Sung wasn't quite enough.
daebudo.1
hazel, ryan, natalie and i road our bikes out to daebudo island on the edges of ansan. a pretty decent ride, though the wind was killer on the way out.
before heading back, we stopped for dinner. waterside shellfish bbq. check the clams on the grill. . . and that pancake!
bears.vs.lions.1
got to a baseball game a few weekends ago. great day, kinda overcast and not too hot.
doosan bears vs. the samsung lions. and on the way, we picked up some burger king. as did two of the samsung lions- you can see them in blue jerseys at the front of the line.
bears.vs.lions.2
baseball is very much a spectator sport here. there are 'cheerleaders' in each section to lead the crowd through the chants. each section cheered while their team was up to bat, and kinda went silent while the opposing team was up.
the guy next to me was very much a lions fan and would try to send his team good 'juju' and the other team bad 'juju' by wiggling his fingers and yelling stuff at them. however, since he was sitting next to a weguk (foreigner) he decided to throw in some english as well.
'niceh' when they did something good. 'give us a homeh runeh!' and oddly enough, when the opposing team was up, he wiggled his fingers and said. . . 'ooooooooh. . . boston red sox.'
ps. lions won!
5.24.2010
samcheok part deux.1
just after arriving at the beach (after nearly a 12 hour drive) here we are, on the 21st of may. . . approximate time, 5:21.
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