TravelStream™ news feed for member r9roon9 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/r9roon9 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:25:45 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1229102400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1229102400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1229102400/tpod.html Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:25:45 -0500 Japan through the lens of our camera...

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Arashiyama, Japan

Our favorite Australian couple, Allie and Ross found yet another cool night time viewing of lights for the holiday season. This time it was back to Arashiyama where they light up a 5 kilometer pathway through the village with paper laterns, spotlights, and other cool lighting styles. By far my most favorite sight was the bamboo forrest with the spotlights of different colors shining from the ground up. It turned the leaves and the bamboo shoots different colors. We actually are planning on going back sometime before Christmas because we were not able to see everything before the lights get turned off. Oh, and a word about the lights being turned off....It is advertised that the lights are on until 8:30. So, we were all in the bamboo forrest at 8:30 when all of a sudden ALL of the lights were turned off. Of course all the Japanese women screamed because they got startled. We just couldn't believe that they were not concerned with all of the people now in the pitch dark in the middle of a bamboo forrest!! Luckily we were not afraid of the dark so we were able to find our way out. We finished off the night with some yummy hash brown type things and then headed back to good old Juso. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1228492380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1228492380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1228492380/tpod.html Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:10:54 -0500 Japan through the lens of our camera...

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Kobe, Japan

  Tonight we went to Kobe to see a beautiful display of lights that they call the Luminarie. In January of 1995 there was a massive earthquake in Japan known as the Hanshin Earthquake. In honor of the people who died and were injured, Italy gave a gift of beautiful lights to Kobe to be displayed at Christmas time.   The lights were such a big hit that they decided to put them up every year. This year they estimated about 5 million people passed under the light arches. Another ECC couple who lives in our building told us about the lights so we all went together. It was a bit of a chilly night but a beautiful sight and well worth the trek. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1227805260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1227805260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1227805260/tpod.html Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:20:46 -0500 Japan through the lens of our camera...

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Arashiyama, Japan

We had heard about this great place to go hiking and see monkeys up close and personal and the best part was it was fairly close to where we live! We headed off on the Hankyu train to see the monkeys. Upon arriving we once again realized that we had no idea which direction to head in and since we can't really read or speak much Japanese we had to use pictures to navigate our way around. We eventually found the path that would take us to the monkeys. Actually, KJ was able to read the sign and it said "Mo-n-ki-Pa-a-ke-e" which is basically "Monkey Park" so we knew we were headed in the right direction!

We thought this was going to be a leisurely hike up the mountain because we noticed there were stairs and paved areas but half way up we were both sucking wind!! It was worth the climb though. The leaves were changing colors and absolutely breath-taking. At the top was the monkey park in which a few dozen monkeys hang out and live. There is nothing keeping them there but they do get some food from the park ranger and they are accustomed to being around humans now so it suites them fine to just hang out. They would walk right in between KJ and I but didn't seemed to be bothered by anyone up there. After we hung out and took lots of pictures we started the trek back down the mountain. At the bottom I bought this little scroll of paper and then tied it onto the tree because that's what everyone else had done! But, I'm not really sure what it means or why you do it....maybe some day I'll find out.

After monkey seeing we crossed the river to the other part of town. On that side there were many many shops and restaurants as well as a bunch of small shrines and temples. We found a ramen shop to eat dinner which was a good thing because it had become so bitterly cold I couldn't really feel my fingers anymore. But, despite the extreme cold which had come when the sun went down, we went off in search of an ice cream stand to finish off the night. Japan has some of the best chocolate I have ever eaten so KJ likes to eat chocolate ice cream any chance we get.

It was an excellent trip overall. Actually, we are planning on going back in a few weeks because for about two weeks before Christmas they light up many of the pathways which creates a very cool effect. Check out the pictures to see the crazy monkeys and beautiful fall leaves.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1227025320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1227025320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1227025320/tpod.html Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:51:21 -0500 Japan through the lens of our camera...

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Juso, Japan

1) KJ and have been dating for about two years so we decided to go out to the good ole' Hard Rock Cafe for dinner to celebrate. The food was alright, nothing special however the dessert was quite amazing. As you can see KJ was very excited by the large glass of ice cream that was brought to the table and needless to say we were not able to finish it! It was nice though to eat some normal unhealthy American food for an entire meal :-)

2) Upon arriving to this country we were told that we should get bikes and Japan would become a whole different country. We were very reluctant because we're not really big bike people and we haven't ridden a bike in many years. But, one of the teachers in our building was going back to the states and was selling his bike for 1000 yen (10 bucks) and we couldn't turn down the offer. Around the same time, another teacher was going back to Australia and she was selling her back (a bit nicer then the 10 dollar one) so we figured if we had one we might as well get two. I got mine first (not the 10 dollar one) but KJ needed to test it for me before I could ride on it :-). They have come in handy for riding to the train station, making runs to the store, and when the weather turns hopefully exploring up and down the river.

3) In our old apartment (1E) there was an empty apartment next door. Apparently an older woman had died in there and had been left for about a week before someone finally found her. So, since she has passed away in the apartment no Japanese person wants to live there and the company can't rent it out. It's been vacant for about 2 years now. However, she did have a cat in the apartment with her and since she passed, the complex has kind of adopted the cat and takes care of it. It's a very cute cat that loves to meow. On the other side of that apartment was our other neighbor who was also Japanese. She has a tiny little white fluffy dog named Mommy. Sometimes when we would come home, if the neighbor's door was propped open the little dog would come scurrying out and say hello. Although we are glad to be in a bigger and better apartment we are very sad that our animal friends are on the other side.

4) So I'm not really sure what this actually is but to me it looks like a purple potato. In the fall time, they are very popular and in front of the Indian restaurant they have a big cooker thing where they sit and cook the purple potatoes. After walking past them every day, KJ and I finally stopped to get one. They only cost 100 yen (1 dollar). The man took the hot purple potato out of it's cooker, broke off one chopstick, stuck the potato on the chopstick and gave it to me like a popsicle. We found the whole thing quite humorous!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1226071440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1226071440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1226071440/tpod.html Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:17:27 -0500 Japan through the lens of our camera...

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Minoo, Japan

On a recommendation from friends we decided to check out a local park called Mino. It is not very touristy but it is known for having monkeys at the top of the mountain. Upon arriving we noticed the sky starting to get dark and cloudy so we quickly headed for the trails. On our way there, we passed many vendors selling fried maple leaves. They actually have a certain kind of maple leaf that they dip into a batter and then fry like funnel cake. Then, they bag them up and sell them to people during fall season. Of course we had to try them. They weren't too bad! KJ actually thoroughly enjoyed them and finished the entire bag.

There were trails through around the mountain for hiking and then there were paved path ways. We explored the hiking trails but eventually it started to rain which caused the sky to get really dark. Between the wet leaves and the lack of daylight we decided it was best to go home and try again another day. We didn't make it to the monkeys but we will definitely try again! There was a surprise bonus however waiting for us when we got back to the train station. For some reason this very small town has a Wendys next to the train station! So cold and wet from our hike we gladly went in for a bit to eat. Wendys in Japan tastes quite different than Wendys at home...especially the frostys which was a bit of a disappointment. Oh, and the Wendys doesn't have honey mustard sauce for nuggets - just mustard sauce - blech! So anyway, we finished our Wendys and headed home to our nice warm apartment.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1225362960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1225362960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1225362960/tpod.html Sun, 23 Nov 2008 07:06:43 -0500 Japan through the lens of our camera...

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Juso, Japan

As I may have mentioned before our apartment is about a 2 block walk to the Yodogawa River. This is the river that separates Juso from Umeda which is downtown Osaka City. Another teacher mentioned to me one day that there was a wildflower garden along the river where you can go and cut fresh flowers. So, I somehow managed to convince KJ to go check it out with me. Despite the fact he thought the Japanese police were going to haul us away, he went and I cut us a nice bunch of flowers while he snapped away on the camera. There were purple ones and orange ones although they looked to be the same type of flower. At one point a very nice Japanese woman and her daughter walked up to us and offered to take our picture together in front of the flowers. Of course she didn't speak English and we don't speak Japanese so we were just crossing our fingers this wasn't a scam! But since Japan is most possibly the SAFEST country in the world, she politely snapped a few pictures of us and then we offered to do the same of her and her daughter. After all was said and done she smiled, said thanks and walked away. Japan is such a funny country.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1224842820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1224842820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1224842820/tpod.html Sun, 23 Nov 2008 06:33:39 -0500 Japan through the lens of our camera...

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Kyoto, Japan

So addresses are a bit complicated in Japan but to make it a bit simpler all you need to know is that Japan is broken up into 47 prefectures which are similar to our states. We are living in Osaka prefecture which is part of the "Kansai" area. The Kansai area is known for it's history of Japan and usually on the top of tourists list of places to visit. We are very lucky in that sense because there are many places we can go and visit in just one day. This weekend we decided to head out to Kyoto and see what there is to see. There is a smaller castle in Kyoto which we didn't enter but we walked to see where it was. Also, Kyoto is famous for it's geishas. You can see them wander the streets in certain parts of town. There are also many temples and shrines here but we didn't go visit any of those. Instead we scouted out an English second-hand book store which was quite small but chock full of books. We stocked up on a few months worth of reading materials! After that we headed to an Irish pub called "The Hill of Tara". They advertise live Irish music every weekend as well as a Western menu. We eat quite well and then hung to wait for the live music. As it turned out, the band was about 5 Japanese men and women who did indeed play Irish music but there was no singing. Well, KJ did help out when he could but the Japanese were not singing :-) After a long day of walking around we came home with full bellies, tired legs, and some fun pictures!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1223644980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1223644980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1223644980/tpod.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:20:59 -0500 Japan through the lens of our camera...

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Nara City, Japan

We decided that it was time we went and did some sightseeing so today we visited Nara City in Nara Prefecture. It took us a little over an hour to get there by trains. Nara has a lot of history to it but mainly it is known for it's temples and shrines. All throughout the city is a park with numerous sites to visit. The most popular and biggest one is called Todai-ji Temple which houses the big Buddha. The temple is believed to be the largest wooden building in the world. The Buddha inside is quite impressive in size. As you walk around him you encounter a pillar with a hole in the bottom. It is said that if you can pass your entire body through the hole your next life will be filled with enlightenment. I convinced KJ to give it a shot but seeing as how we are broad shouldered gajins he didn't quite make it. However, the Japanese women thought he was quite funny! And the children really didn't understand why the adults were having such a tough time as they just slid their little bodies through. Outside of the temple were free-roaming deer. They were friendly and you could pet and feed them special deer food. In the Shinto religion they are believed to be messengers of God which is why they are allowed to roam.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1223555820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1223555820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1223555820/tpod.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:12:52 -0500 Japan through the lens of our camera...

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Amagasaki, Kinki, Japan

We've been here over a month and haven't eaten a single piece of pizza. That's just wrong! Yes Japan does have pizza but it looks and tastes nothing like pizza from home. For starters they usually add things like corn or crab meat and they aren't so interested in things like cheese. So pretty much what is left over is nothing like a pizza at all. We did try though one night to order a pizza from Dominos hoping to get just cheese but due to our lack of Japanese they eventually said in English "We can not deliver you pizza" and hung up on poor KJ. It was probably for the best though seeing as how a medium pizza cost about $30.00. However, we heard through the gajin grapevine that there was a COSTCO nearby and it served pizza at the cafeteria. So off we ventured to the magical COSTCO. We realized after getting off at the train stop we had no idea which direction to walk....we only knew it was a 15 minute walk from a particular train stop. Too late to turn around now!! After taking the long way around we did eventually find it and it was just as magical as we pictured. It looks and feels like a COSTCO except for the hoards of Japanese people buying in bulk. Now, keep in mind we can't really buy in bulk so to speak because we can only take what we can carry on our backs and in our hands. But some things were worth it like the barrel of pretzels or the 5 lb. bag of peanut M&Ms or the huge bottle of white vinegar (Japanese use rice vinegar, not white vinegar). The pizza was wonderful (for a COSTCO) and the American goodies we purchased made the trip worth it! When we came out we noticed that across the street was a store called "Home's" and it looked suspiciously like our version of Home Depot....hmmmm..... Seeing as how we now had all of our lovely goodies we didn't stop to check it out but maybe someday we will venture in there. We went back home very satisfied and look forward to our next trip to the wonderful land of COSTCO.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1221394980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1221394980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/r9roon9/1/1221394980/tpod.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:34:10 -0500 Japan through the lens of our camera...

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Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

The second Sunday of every month a group called Kansai Ramblers set out on an all day hike. This month KJ decided to join and see what it was like. Well, after hiking for about 6 hours he realized these people meant business!! He had to take a train out to the Kyoto area and then change trains to take them deeper into the woods. They hiked through woods and villages and across streams. I opted to have a relaxing day at home! If you know KJ, you know that taking pictures isn't really something that interests him so he took two (that's right, 2!) pictures of his hike. Luckily two other members of our ECC training group also went on the hike so she gave me her pictures so I could see what it was like. He said he has a great time and met some cool people. He said there were about 40-50 people hiking so you can only imagine the span they covered! There were mostly Japanese but a fair amount of them could speak English. There were also a lot of foreigners. Unfortunately our teaching schedule will be changing next month and we will be working on Sundays so he will not be able to join them next month. But, when the contract changes in April we may request for Sundays off.
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