Naruto- The City!!
Haha so I went to the island of Shikoku with Mayu a few days ago. It was a short trip, 2 days and 1 night sort of thing. 一泊 if you will. Haha. It was pretty cool. First place we went to was the city of Naruto. There I saw one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. Under the Naruto bridge, in the strait that connects the inland sea and the Pacific Ocean there is a spot where 渦（うず）(whirlpools) form every day. So it is basically a small area under this bridge where small, medium and large whirpools dance about. We took a tour boat and got to actually ride around inside this. It was pretty amazing stuff, at one point a big one came under out boat and you could actually feel the boat shift around as it drifted under us.
I also thought it was interesting because you have a town called なると that is famous for うず. Naruto Uzumaki anyone? I mean you even have Naruto who has a swirl on his body and it is like his trademark. I dunno, I am prolly digging too deep into it but it is an interesting connection, heh.
After that we travelled out into the country and stayed at a 旅館（ryokan) in the middle of nowhere. It was a pretty cool experience. It was cheap, the staff(pretty much one girl) was really nice, and they served us some amazing food. I plan to try to stay at more if I get the chance.
The next day we travelled to another small city and just did normal sight-seeing stuff, went to an 温泉（onsen) and all that good stuff. It was a short trip, and it makes me want to see more of Shikoku. There is especially one area that is one of 'Japan's 3 unexplored valleys'. Basically it is a valley with a really really old village and some famous rope bridge. Looked really intersting in a brochure.
So basically I have decided to go back to Shikoku in summer to see that, and probably go back to Naruto. The whirlpools will be even better in summer because the currents will be stronger.
Oh and I will update my flickr account pretty soon with these pictures and other stuff. I am finally getting around to updating, and it should be a big increase in the next 2 days. Stupid Uploader program was acting funny but I stopped being lazy and fixed it. Unfortunately I didn't get that many good pictures of the whirlpools, mainly because they can't do it justice. I took some videos though, so I will try to upload those.
I'll post again in here when I get them up.
Oh and another off topic note. This is to Elmer. I have a must own/download game for you. Ryu Ga Gotoku from Sega for PS2. It is hard to describe but it essentially does everything Shenmue wanted to do, except done right. I also declare it 100% safe for Shenmue haters. It also has an amazing Battle system that I can only describe as a perfect 3D Final Fight battle system.
Here's the kicker, the story is an amazingly well done Yakuza crime story. One of the best told stories of this generations as far as I am concerned. And you should be able to understand it even better than me since you know more Yakuza vocab. It is based in a fictional Japanese city, complete with konbinis, hostess bars, batting cages, pachinko, everything.
I am serious, Elmer. You need this. And also anyone else, really. One of my favorite games of this last generation, and I wouldn't be surprised if it never shows up in America.
I also thought it was interesting because you have a town called なると that is famous for うず. Naruto Uzumaki anyone? I mean you even have Naruto who has a swirl on his body and it is like his trademark. I dunno, I am prolly digging too deep into it but it is an interesting connection, heh.
After that we travelled out into the country and stayed at a 旅館（ryokan) in the middle of nowhere. It was a pretty cool experience. It was cheap, the staff(pretty much one girl) was really nice, and they served us some amazing food. I plan to try to stay at more if I get the chance.
The next day we travelled to another small city and just did normal sight-seeing stuff, went to an 温泉（onsen) and all that good stuff. It was a short trip, and it makes me want to see more of Shikoku. There is especially one area that is one of 'Japan's 3 unexplored valleys'. Basically it is a valley with a really really old village and some famous rope bridge. Looked really intersting in a brochure.
So basically I have decided to go back to Shikoku in summer to see that, and probably go back to Naruto. The whirlpools will be even better in summer because the currents will be stronger.
Oh and I will update my flickr account pretty soon with these pictures and other stuff. I am finally getting around to updating, and it should be a big increase in the next 2 days. Stupid Uploader program was acting funny but I stopped being lazy and fixed it. Unfortunately I didn't get that many good pictures of the whirlpools, mainly because they can't do it justice. I took some videos though, so I will try to upload those.
I'll post again in here when I get them up.
Oh and another off topic note. This is to Elmer. I have a must own/download game for you. Ryu Ga Gotoku from Sega for PS2. It is hard to describe but it essentially does everything Shenmue wanted to do, except done right. I also declare it 100% safe for Shenmue haters. It also has an amazing Battle system that I can only describe as a perfect 3D Final Fight battle system.
Here's the kicker, the story is an amazingly well done Yakuza crime story. One of the best told stories of this generations as far as I am concerned. And you should be able to understand it even better than me since you know more Yakuza vocab. It is based in a fictional Japanese city, complete with konbinis, hostess bars, batting cages, pachinko, everything.
I am serious, Elmer. You need this. And also anyone else, really. One of my favorite games of this last generation, and I wouldn't be surprised if it never shows up in America.