An adventure to the Kansai region

I spent this past weekend, starting on Friday, in the Kansai region of Japan. The Kansai region consists of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. Each of these cities are with in an hour of each other by train, which makes it easy to explore all these areas. The region is so big though I think it would take at least a year to explore it all. But I digress~

My adventure started on Thursday night when I boarded the Miyazaki car ferry bound for Osaka. It takes twelve hours and sails over night to it's destination. It was really quite an experience and a lot of fun sailing alone. There is a section on the ferry dedicated for women only to sleep and keep their stuff. Which is really nice, it made me feel much more comfortable. One very odd thing was the "casualy frozen food" vending machine, it was placed next to the beer vending machine. (Sorry it is a little blurry) Once I disembarked the ferry around 7:30am I got to take a crash course in taking the subway system in Osaka. I am so proud of my self that I was able to figure it out and ask people for help~ I was able to make it to my hotel around 8:30am, after wandering around the Shinsaibashi area for a good hour or so after becoming completely discombobulated on the subway. Lucky for me I was able to ask someone in a Starbucks where my hotel was. Once I checked into the hotel, I walked around the large shopping street near by to do some Christmas shopping and such~ Bellow is a very small section of the Shinsaibashi shopping street. It is so long I wasn't able to walk the full length while I was there. I left for the airport around 3:30pm to pick up Anthony. The kansai airport is about 45 minutes to an hour away from the Nanba eki. Just a few stops south of the Shinsaibashi subway station. The main stations around Osaka are huge! They have arrows pointing to many different exits and they have shops all over the place in the larger ones. Lucky most things have English as well as Japanese. After picking up Anthony at the airport and returning to our home base for the next few days, we went to explore the shopping area together and eat dinner, then fall asleep exhausted.

The next day we meet up with Charlie, to explore Kyoto! Kyoto is only about a 45 minute train ride from the Osaka JR station. It was very interesting. Every few blocks there was a sign pointing this way or that to various temples and shrines. We visited a few and walked around the area a bit. The first temple that we went to was Kinkakuji, the golden temple(above). It is painted in real gold! We were really lucky and got a tour guide, one of the local university students offered to give us a tour of the temple, I believe it was for a project. She explained what the different levels of the temple were for, as well as other various sections of the park. The first floor of the temple was used for Noh plays, the second for poetry writing, and the third for meditation. The temple actually burnt down in the 1950s by a crazy young monk. After they reconstructed it they put a phoenix on top to protect it from fires in the future. After we finished the tour of Kinkakuji, we wandered around finding other temples and such. We got a little confused at one point, but a nice lady helped up out. It must have been obviously that we were a little baffled by the lack of street names, with us looking at a map and staring up at street signs and point every direction. After she helped us we found the subway, with a few wrong turns, and headed on back to Osaka.

Another thing about Osaka, the shopping...is...amazing. There are so many shops. Near the Osaka station there is a large shopping mall with an electronic section which has many many floors. On the bottom is cellphones and computers, then home appliances, the games and toys are on the 5th floor I believe. And there were a lot of games. Japan has turned the Nintendo DS into more then just a game system. You can buy what is basically software for your game boy. There are cook books, learning software for math, science, history, you can buy face training/exercises , kanji learning games, dictionaries, and much more. I think it is a very interactive way to get kids to learn while playing video games :P But the games are not just for kids even, there are plenty for adults as well, to help with Kanji, and such. The clothing shopping is also amazing~ But I held back my urges to shop~

On Sunday Anthony and I headed to Kobe. We were heading to meet Charlie who we stayed with for a few nights while we visited Kobe. Thanks Charlie! :) We toured around the Sannomiya shopping area, visited the Kobe tower, saw the luminarie, and ate at many yummy restaurants. The Sannomiya shopping area was pretty amazing, there was one street that ran underneath the train tracks. It started off in nice fashion and got weirder and weirder and we headed down the street. Kobe is a pretty nifty place. Not as busy and crazy as Osaka, but not as slow and sleepy as Miyazaki. It was nice to experience a different part of Japan. We were going to attempt to see the luminere on Sunday but the line was insane. There were a bunch of police helping control and corral the crowds. They had us walking all around the down town area. We walked for about 30 minutes before we found a sign that said the wait was 90 minutes. (Bellow: the line that we were to wait in, we were no where close to the lights yet.) So we decided to visit the Kobe tower instead and come back the following evening. The Kobe tower was pretty cools, we could see much of the city and the bay. Harbor Land, a shopping area and kinda a hanging out place with a Ferris-Wheel. (Bellow: Yay Kobe Tower!
On Monday Anthony and I took the train to Himeji to visit the Himiji castle. It was spectacular. I visited is on my trip to Japan last summer, but the castle is still amazing. They were restoring part of the castle when we visited. I think they are always restoring some part of it, because it is so large once you finish you have to start over again. We climbed to the top of the main castle, which is about six floors, and saw the shrine to protect against fire. The shrine was originally moved from it's original place when the castle was first built, but people kept getting ominous feelings so they moved it back, to the top floor of the castle. From the top, the whole city is visible. I can see why it was such a strategic place to build a castle. Anthony and I were thinking the whole time how difficult it would be to actually try to storm the castle. The paths are all windie and twistie with holes in the walls above for people to pelt one with deadly objects. The walls are also built out of a lot of stone so burning them isn't much of an option. Plus by the time one actually gets to the castle, there are supper steep steps and a lot of hiding places for defenders to launch sneak attacks. It was fun and adventurous to clime it all~ After stocking up on Omiyage, souvenirs, we headed back to Kobe to see the luminarie.

The Luminarie was a little better on Monday. We decided to try and get in line early, around 5pm instead of the 6:30-7pm we tried on Sunday. After about 30 minutes of wandering around in an ever moving light we finally got to see the start of the luminarie. Then everyone started to stop and take pictures every two meters. But it was awesome and very pretty. There was also a little matsuri, festival, near by so we grabbed some snacks before continuing out wandering. (I am only posting one picture for the sake of length, but I have many others to show~)
On Tuesday we got packed and ready to leave. Then we visited Charlies's college and ate with one of the professors that did the teacher exchange to Evergreen. We also did last minute shopping and brousing. I bought gloves because I was tired of my hands freezing off every night in Kobe. But they created a nice little Murfie-field and it has been warm in Miyazaki ever since I returned. We headed to the ferry on Tuesday evening. A nice lady helped us find the right bus stop to the ferry, and showed me how to fill out the form. The ferry ride was uneventful. I tried out the onsen on the ferry. It was interesting, but it felt nice. The same lady who helped us find the ferry also gave us a ride back to the dorms. It was an amazing stroke of luck. It was nice to return to Miyazaki after all the hustle and bustle of the large city. There are positives and negatives to each setting. The trains are more convenient in the Kansai area, but Miyazaki just has a nicer more laid back atmosphere.

I am glad to be back in Miyazaki, and spend the Chirstmas holidays with Anthony :)

Visit to Kaori's part 2~

Sunday!
Sunday started in a flurry of waking up late and trying to leave on time. The house was very cold in the morning and the blankets were so nice and warm~ I wanted to stay under the warm blankets for a while longer. We all ate breakfast and packed in the car to start the adventure to Oita prefecture. Oita prefecture is the neighboring prefecture to the north of Miyazaki.

We started the four and a half hour adventure around 8am. We realized that we had gotten a little turned around when we passed a sign saying "Welcome to Kagoshima" the prefecture north of Oita prefecture. After looking at the maps for a bit we got back on track and made our way to the longest and highest suspension bridge in Japan. It was recently built so it was packed! As we walked across the bridge we could feel and see it sway with people walking on it. It was kinda scary, but the view was amazing. It was just past the fall colors but it was still spectacular. We ate ate one of the little restaurants near by then started on our way to the next sight seeing area.

Driving through the country side of Oita really reminded me of the mid west in America. It was full of rolling hills, surrounded by very large mountains. After taking some lovely pictures of the country side we made our way to a little tourist town near the bridge. It was full of people as well. And there were many large buses trying to navigate the small roads crowded with people. It was a cute place with lots of omiyage, souvenir, shops.

Once we broused a few shops we continued onto the next tourist location. We drove through an "African Safari" zoo. This was indeed interesting.... For one, half the animals in the zoo were not animals that belonged in the savanah. But it was fun and we got to see a lot of animals. I kinda felt sorry for them being cooped up, but they all had a lot of free ranged. We went at feeding time, and the black kites and ravens were all hovering around waiting for left overs.

Once we finished at the "African Safari", we made the long trek home. On the way I saw some real hot springs on the side of the road which we spewing steam and sulfer. It kinda stank but it was cool and you could see the sulfuric build up on the rocks. The funny thing is, is that this was in the middle of a town. We stopped at an izakaiya for dinner, kinda like a fancy Japanese bar, they are really popular and sell a lot of yummy food, and of course alcohol.

Sorry this entry is rushed, I am about to leave to get on a ferry to Osaka to meet Anthony :) I will edit it when I get back with more pictures and information about the trip~ I will also write about the adventures in Osaka :)

Bye bye for now!

A weekend with Kaori's family :) part 1

This past weekend I was invited to spend it when Kaori's family. We drove up on Saturday morning and stayed until Sunday night. They showed me around the area and we went on a day trip to the Oita prefecture just north of Miyazaki prefecture. I got to experience their home life and learn more about her family.

Saturday we, Kaori, her two sisters, and I traveled up to Hyuga, where her parent's live. Her father has lived in the same house sense he was a high school student. We pasted the high school and middle school where all of Kaori's sisters and her went to school. Their hows was old but very large and nice and comfy. They had many flowers because Kaori's grandma really enjoys planting flowers. They also had two small fields where they planted veggies and fruits. Her mom grows azuki beans, red beans that you mix with sugar to create a sweet dessert, green tea, soba, and many other veggies. The community they live in is a little country side community. All of the neighbors know each other and stop by to chat anytime. I meet a few of them :) It was really nice to see such a tightly close knit community.

After meeting a few neighbors, relaxing and chatting, and playing with their little bunny Kerosuke-chan, we went and toured around the area near by. The ocean here is really beautiful and clear. We drove around this loop that stopped at many of the popular view points. After doing a bit of sightseeing, we went to pick up ingredients for dinner. They taught me how to make Chicken Nanban, a famous Miyazaki dish. It is a lot of fun, and relitavely easy! I want to teach and cook some U.S dishes for them as well. We also ate hand rolled sushi. It works kinda like making your own burrito. Add rice, pick the insides and roll it up. I ate way too much, and it is a trend that followed through the whole weekend. I think it is time for me to take up jogging again.

Once we finished eating we all sat around and chatted for a bit, and ate cake... I helped teach them some English words and they helped me with some Japanese. The whole day was a lot of fun and exciting. Thank you so much everyone ! :)
Next time: Sunday, the trip to Oita prefecture and beyond!

Harvesting of Soba

Sunday December 2nd was another short story in the long novel of my adventure here in Japan. I was invited by my friend and tutor, Satomi, to go with her family to help harvest soba. Well to be more precise, thresh the soba. Soba is harvested when the flowers wilt and the little seed pods appear. The soba is then cut and the seeds removed, and separated from the bits of vegetation left over from whacking the plants. We were helping with the seed removal and separation. The event was a small community event in the mountains of Miyazaki. It took us about an hour to get to the field where the soba was grown. When we arrived there were already a bunch of people working. We placed the cut portions of soba onto a tarp and started whacking the seed ends with sticks to make the seeds fall off. After all the seeds were removed we sifted out the larger plant material that we didn't want, and then put it through a hand-powered-wind-tool-thing to separate it further. The machine was a large box with a papeller in one end and a shoot for the seeds to fall down in the other. When the papeller was turned it created a wind that separated leaves and small debris. The seeds are heaver so they fall down the shoot. It is amazingly effective and easy to use. The machine was invented about one hundred years ago during the Edo period and they are still using it today.

After the harvesting was complete, we went down to the town community building to eat lunch and make mochi. It was a tasty lunch that consisted of miso soup with soba dumplings and pork, onigiri, and some veggies. People are always amazed when they see I can use chopsticks. They are always saying 箸がじょずですね！translation: wow! You are good at using chopsticks! But it never really fails for me to drop something after someone says that...

Once we were all finished eating, people moved outside to help make mochi. Mochi is a rice cake made by mashing cooked rice until it becomes a sticky past. The rice is put into a large stone bowl (see picture for better explanation) and then mashed with a very large hammer. Everyone took turns mushing the rice. It was difficult but a lot of fun. The hammers are pretty heavy :P It was fresh, warm and delicious~

I feel as though I am really luck to see this side of Japan. The small town and the community that comes together to harvest the soba. While there I felt a feeling of sadness, wondering whether or not these small traditions and communities will be able to survive the ever-changing world we live in today. I think there is hope though. There were some young families that attended. I believe that as long as people are curious and interested about their communities and culture that it will survive. Japan still has it's most unique culture and I believe they will never lose that. Urban culture and rural culture are closely intertwined, thus effecting each other in both negative and positive ways. Hmmm I do believe I have another interesting topic to look into~

Until next time~

December is here!

December is here! It is hard to believe I have been in Japan for two months now. Sometimes it feels like more, sometimes it feels like less, but it almost never feels like two months. I have been doing so much I feel as though time is flying by. My Japanese has improved and I am starting to formulate a more consistent study schedule. I am going to focus on learning more kanji, because in the time that I have been here, I have found it to be very important in everyday life, as well as a good tool for learning vocabulary.

This past weekend and part of the week, Thursday through Saturday, my friend Charlie from the Kobe exchange with Evergreen visited Miyazaki. Kaori and I showed him a round to some of the nice sight seeing areas close by. On Thusday, we visited the Udo jingu just south of Miyazaki city. It is the large shrine that was built on the side of a cliff inside a cave. The weather was rainy and windy, but the view of the waves was spectacular. The powerful waves crashing against the rocky shore seemed to fill the place with power. We also tried to throw little rocks into a small pool of water on a rock in a little out cove. If you make it, you will get good luck for the year or an upcoming event or something a long those lines. It is really hard, but Kaori made it in on the first try! Yay Kaori! For those of us that don't make it, we can buy our luck with little charms that are filled with the clay balls that made it into the pool of water . After the Jingu we stopped at a road stations, a supper rest stop basically, and grabbed some ice cream and a few omiyage, souvenirs. The rest of the weekend was full of more sight seeing and yummy foods. We went to the Haniwa peace tower, the shopping district downtown, and the Miyazaki prefecture natural history and cultural museum. The Haniwa peace tower is pretty awesome. It does this cool little buzzy sound when you stand in a particular spot and clap your hands.

The shopping district downtown is full of cute stores and yummy foods. I was successful in fighting the urges to buy many a cute thing~ For lunch downtown we went to a cute little cafe that sells chicken nanban, a famous Miyazaki dish. It was very deliciouses~ I think that cafe was probably one of the most fancy places I have ever eaten but it was still very affordable~ After lunch we did some more souvenir shopping for Charlie at the Miyazaki train station. Bellow the platforms they have a large area shopping area for little souvenir gifts and such. Lastly we took Charlie to the Miyazaki prefecture history museum. It is a very awesome place that has information about Miyazaki's natural history, including plant and animal species for many different ecosystems, geological history, and endangered species. The second floor has the cultural history of Miyazaki dating back to the first peoples. It is a very detailed museum and it is free! They also have traveling exhibits, but those cost money. After the museum we showed Charlie off at the ferry terminal.

It is nice to have someone visit and show them around the place. Thank you Kaori for driving us everywhere and hanging out with us! :) I feel like I have learned my way around Miyazaki city pretty well. From Miyazaki station there are a lot of nice places with in walking distance or a short bus ride away. As I start to feel more comfortable in town I feel like I can do more exploring to learn about the areas near by. I will keep exploring through out my time here in Miyazaki!