Thursday, May 7, 2009

Cutie Kyoto

May 2009.
Kyoto.
It was gloomy that day, im not sure if it was drizzling.
We got there at almost noon (u know how long girls have to prepare to get going).
We were staying at a friend's apartment in Osaka,
took approx 30 minutes to get to Kyoto.

Kyoto is Japan's former capital, it is one of the cities where historical temples and shrines
as well as great gardens and buildings are well-preserved.

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)
Kansai area is a common destination for Golden Week holidays.
As expected, the place was so crowded it took long for us to get inside and see that
magnificent temple, gilded with gold.
It is surrounded by a pond, where its reflection's remarkably amazing.
See for yourselves.

breathtaking view
who wudnt get mesmerized by that?

the golden pavilion up close, they ddnt allow me in..

i dint knw wat my fortune was, the kanji looked good though

Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion)
Look how captivating the temple is! LOL
Nah, we were late, too bad it was closed already when we got there.
Didnt stop us to take pics though.

ruth, me, van2x and charisse outside the temple
 Inari Shrine
The placed looked just ordinary to me at first.
Until I saw those Torii(traditional Japanese gate) lined up towards the mountain.
Each torii was donated by a certain business group. Cool.

the Inari Shrine and giant torii behind me

another temple we saw inside

huge toriis lined up

i told u there were hundreds of them

i'll probably donate one, it will be engraved in alphabet

me playing nice LOL
Yasaka Shrine (Gion)
It was dusk already when we got to Gion.
I was very much looking forward to see some geisha there.
Even if there might be no more real geisha in this decade.
I was still up for fake geisha hunting, even so I just got disappointed after.

yasaka shrine

fake geisha hunting

it was always halloween

another temple we passed by

looked astonishing at night

it was still 7pm but the streets were already deserted

We reached Kiyomizu-dera gate, but the temple was closed I forgot why.
We missed it, sadly. Its one of the famous temples to visit in Kyoto.
And we missed it. Bad luck.
outside the temple, well at least i got to sit there

i sat on sumthing..gross

so much drama outside that convenience store
If you wanna see infrastructure depicting old Japan, go to Kyoto, you'll love it there..
If you wanna see real geisha, go find some. And let me know where. LOL

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Nara: Where Deers Guard the Streets

May 2009

Rainy and exhausting day.
Good thing in Japan, no matter how hard it rains, you wouldnt get mud on your shoes.
Deers wander freely in the streets I got astounded.
Well I sort of expected to see some when I read some reviews about Nara,
but meeting a lot of Rudolphs outside the zoo just like common passersby is another thing!

it dint look real at first

my companion's supposed to be quaratined, bad for the deers

this is one of the many things i dont get

todaiji temple from a distance

largest wooden bldg in the world?

largest bronze buddha in the world

and i dunno if this is the largest sumthing in sumwer..lol

well-made miniature

i looked so small

i swear i ddnt do this

nice try!

i find something weird in here.. lol
The only thing that bugs me until now is if they allow domestication of those deers.
Im not really into pets, but who knows maybe they might be the perfect pets for me. :D

Monday, May 4, 2009

Visiting Kobe

May 2009

Had i known bout this site before, I wouldve posted these already
without the need to meditate and get terrible headache recalling events.

Anyway, this is our first trip outside Tokyo prefecture.
It was Japan's Golden Week, no work for a couple of days.
We decided to go west: Osaka, Kobe, Nara and Kyoto.
Left Tokyo by a midnight bus and traveled for almost 7 hours.
Good thing their seats are comfortable enough for recharge.

The below pics are taken at Kobe, one of Japan's largest port cities.
While wandering around and seeing those edifices and the crowd,
it dint really show that the city was once struck by an earthquake in 1995
that killed approx 6000 ppl and ruined a lot of infrastructure that
brought the country's economy down.




i see sumthing behind me..

dint u notice? the flower clock's supposed to be the subject here

western style building that stood out among the rest

china town..

i really find this funny

streets are always busy in japan

they were looking for their mommy

the port

electric eel? im not sure but i knw the dance steps. lol

this is wat i was talking about.. they preserved some ruins

kobe tower and watever-that-was-i-dont-care-it-looked-good

kobe's landmark

i remmbr him singing carpenters' song

dinner with ruthleen and vanvan

There wasnt much to look at in Kobe.
They say a number of Yakuza gang oftentimes roam around Kobe.
I wasnt really sure if Id be scared or curious to meet some.
Maybe that would be more interesting. LOL

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Kanagawa: Very Strawberry!

April 30, 2009
Kanagawa Bus Tour

Ive always loved to go fruit picking. When I mentioned this to our
Japanese friend Shinto (oh I miss him already), he then helped us out and arranged
reservation for a package tour for us.

The tour had cost us 8k JPY. Trust me, it's reasonable than to commute and create
your own itinerary.

1. Until now, I still dunno what's the name of that big parking building that we
went to. Yeah Im a lousy blogger, I know. And I never asked Shinto too, fail. lol
Anyway, it was a shopping mall, and a parking building located near the coast.
The center of attraction was that gigantic metal plate, which they said was used for
drilling tunnels. Cool, right?

spring petals

i felt like sleeping.. loved the sea breeze

how did they take it there in the first place?

this is shinto, he loves it when we call him "boang" (crazy)

and fritz was enjoying this
2. Our next stop was at Kamogawa Sea World.
A famous aquarium in Kanagawa prefecture.
They got dolphin show, even had killer whales show.
A singing white whale, and a sealion making fruit shakes.
Nah, the latter's a joke. hehe

perfect for lunch! :D

the dolphins before the show

is that sealion sleeping?

obviously, these are japanese dolphins..

looks familiar!

eat-all-u-can even-the-utensils-if-u-can

this is gloria, about to move those happy feet

have i told u i love mascots?
3. Lastly we went strawberry picking! :D
We were allowed to get inside the greenhouse for 30 minutes, pick and eat those
sweet strawberries.. i sooo lurve it!

pls dont disturb me.. lol

and this is the ryt way to eat strawberries

soo inviting..

dipped in that condensed milk.. excellent!

We went back by ferry, which made the whole trip perfectly fun!


while waiting for the departure

the view

bye-bye strawberry farm!

having fun with fritz



Next time, I'll go durian picking.. and catching too.. LOL