As mentioned, we started in Osaka. While there we stayed in the Dotombori area where there is a vibrant shopping and nightlife scene. Above is a small glimpse of Dotombori at night on a bridge over the canal.
We also visited the castle in Osaka. It's about 400 years old and also acts as a museum for the period. It had quite a few original artifacts from the period including paintings, scrolls, weapons, armor, clothing, etc. Lastly for Osaka we visited the world's largest aquarium. It is about 5 or 6 stories tall and houses an impressive collection of marine life, including dolphins, seals, otters, fish, rays, turtles, sharks and more. In fact, in the largest tank they had a Whale Shark- the worlds largest species of shark.
After Osaka we were heading to Kyoto, one of the most important historical and culture cities in the world. On the way there we stopped at Nara for the day. Nara is located in more of a rural setting than Osaka or Kyoto (or Tokyo) and as such it had a more relaxed feel to it. Nara is dotted with Buddhist temples and shrines which are all overrun by the local species of deer. There is a local legend of the Buddha visiting this area on the back of a giant white deer. As a result, the deer in this area are protected and have been for hundreds of years. Not only do people protect the deer but they also feed them. As a result, the deer are everywhere looking for handouts.
One of the temples in Nara houses one of the largest Buddha's in the world. In the photo above, you can see Zaren standing at the foot of the big Buddha. There are also two more slightly smaller Buddha on either side of him. We really enjoyed Nara even though we were only there for a few hours. One of my favourite memories of the trip was in Nara: we were walking looking for a garden that our visitors book had suggested. On the way we happened to stumble upon another garden with a sign that said admission was free for foreigners. So, of course we took them up on the offer. It was a relatively small garden but it was very quiet, well kept and peaceful. The contrast of the zen-ish peacefulness of the Japanese gardens versus the hectic pace of the Japananese super cities is really quite remarkable. It's even more remarkable that a garden can be in the middle of a bustling city and you can still experience the tranquillity of it.
After Nara we were on our way to Kyoto. We were spending 3 days in Kyoto and we were also meeting up with Nadia's brother Marc and family (Yumiko, Kai, Karissa). There were so many places of cultural and historical significance in Kyoto that it was hard to keep it all straight. Above is all of us in front of one of the temples. This one is up on the hill above Kyoto and you can see most of the city from it.
The "kids" at lunch in Kyoto.
The "Klamers" in front of the Golden Pavillion in Kyoto.
Finding a little zen at the Rock Garden in Kyoto.
Strolling through the bamboo forest in Kyoto.
Trying to find a little enlightenment along the "Philosophers Path" in Kyoto.
Just another temple in Kyoto. Ho-hum. There was so much to see and do in Kyoto that it's hard to squeeze it all into just a few days.
Then after Kyoto it was time to say goodbye to the English clan and catch the bullet train to Mount Fuji.
Mount Fuji is a very iconic Japanese symbol. It is worshipped both by Buddhists and by the traditional Japanese religion Shintoism (although, according to statistics 49% of Japanese citizens consider themselves "non-religious"). On the way to Mt.Fuji we managed to get a picture of the mountain from our bus. As it turns out this would be the clearest view we would get of the mountain over the two days there.
At the foot of Mt.Fuji is a temple that has stood for hundreds of years and is still used today for travellers looking for a little divine intervention. Above, Zaren and Keva are praying for world peace and spiritual enlightenment (or more likely they are praying for the ache in their feet to go away and some good shopping in Tokyo).
Here's the crew on the side of Mt.Fuji. The closer we got to the mountain the foggier it was. Otherwise, the area itself was quite reminiscent of being in the mountains back home. It actually reminded me a little bit of Banff, especially how all the store signs were all in Japanese.
We made a stop at the ice cave near Mt.Fuji. The ice above was actually brought into the cave mostly to impress the tourists, but there was also plenty of natural ice in the cave.
Our journey around Mt.Fuji ended at a picturesque lake at the base of the mountain. There are actually 5 lakes surrounding Mt.Fuji but this one is the most famous. As a matter of fact it's even on the Japanese money. The view of the lake above (minus us) is the same as the view of the 1000 Yen note. The main difference between the two is that you can see the mountain on the money. Apparently, on a clear day the view is just like on the bill.
After Mt.Fuji we made our way to Tokyo via the highway bus. Tokyo is an amazing city. Actually it's an amazing 23 cities that make up the super city of Tokyo. Anything that you want to do you can find somewhere in Tokyo. Despite the enormity of the place we found that it didn't have the big city attitude that many of the world's mega-centers seem to have. The people in Tokyo (and Japan in general) seemed to be very warm, friendly, helpful and accommodating. The people of Japan was probably my favourite part of the trip. It's a really lovely culture of ingenuity, hard-work, respect, tranquillity and craziness. Above, the kids are in the central park gardens in the middle of bustling Tokyo.
One of the must see places in Tokyo is the fish market, the largest in the world. Most of the action happens very early in the morning (i.e. 4-7 am) so we missed most of it and arrived basically as they were starting to pack everything up. Even so, the shear size of the place, the chaotic energy and the myriad number of critters on display was really extraordinary.
Even though Tokyo is a major modern city it still has it's share of temples, shrines and pagodas as seen above.
Tokyo is known, worldwide, as a shopping paradise. There are plenty of places to shop in Tokyo including the traditional market shown above.
One of the more recent attractions of Tokyo is the Skytree. It is the worlds tallest tower and it comes complete with three levels of observation decks. One of the decks includes a glass floor area as seen above.
While we were in Tokyo we wanted to experience a little bit of the traditional Japanese pastime: baseball! I've been to one Major League Baseball game in my life and I found it was a lovely thing to do, if you wanted to have a nap. I don't really know much about Japanese baseball except that they take it seriously and that the Tokyo Giants are like the New York Yankees of the league. So, we really didn't know what to expect. We managed to get tickets in the standing area only and, unfortunately, the Giants weren't the home team playing at the Tokyo Dome but instead it was the Hawks (think New York Mets). Much to our surprise, on a Wednesday evening the game was essentially sold out and we were having to find a place where we could stand and watch the game. The stadium has 42,000 seats so I estimate that there were close to 50,000 in attendance. For every single person they handed out a jersey, a flag and a glow stick. So, almost all of the stadium was clad in purple.
4 out of 5 of us had our first (and only) beer at our first (and likely only) Japanese baseball game. Honestly, even though none of us really care for baseball we had a great time. In fact, outside of a couple NHL playoff games I'd say this is the most fun I've ever had at a sporting event. The crowd was into the game the whole time, chanting, singing and cheering. There was nothing thrown on the field, the players were saluted and responded by bowing to the audience and the atmosphere was fantastic. Overall it was an awesome experience.
We also managed to get to the Imperial Palace. However, you can't go into the palace without booking in advance, which we didn't do. So, after a quick look around the place we went shopping to the crazy Shinjuku and Shibuyu districts.
Both Shinjuku and Shibuyu are electric and wild with many different of shops and even more different people. Although there were plenty of people that were dressed in a wide range of costumes and apparel, I never got the sense that they didn't fit it. It kinda felt like anyone could fit in in Tokyo and it also felt, from an outsiders perspective, that most people were accepting and weren't judgemental. One of the interesting sites in Shibuyu is the above statue of a dog. The story goes that there was a local man who went to the Shibuyu station every day to go to work. On the way his dog would accompany him to the station. The dog would then later meet the man at the station on his way home. The man died and the dog continued to follow the same routine for years until it also died. The locals raised a statue in honour of the dog and his loyalty. A touching story, if true.
As mentioned, the trip was short was packed full to the rafters every day. By the end of each day we were exhausted. By the end of the trip we all felt a little like Keva in the picture above on the way home.
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