(no subject)
(EDIT - Yen to dollar hit 96 today. #%&@!)
So - that night after a nice depressing afternoon, a fellow student insisted we try a Hiroshima specialty - okonomiyaki. From Travel wiki: "Often (and somewhat misleadingly) called "Japanese pizza", this is essentially a type of savoury pancake made with egg, cabbage, soba noodles and meat (or fish). It is grilled in layers on a hot plate in front of you and slathered liberally with okonomiyaki sauce".
Next day, Miyajima - a nearby island (http://wikitravel.org/en/Miyajima). But - we took the wrong train and ended up at Port Hiroshima instead of Hiroshima Port - which is at the opposite end of the city. So instead of the quick shuttle - expensive boat across the whole damn harbor:
Some quality Engrish:
Fish farms maybe?
Arrival on the island:
This place had Nara style friendly deer, and about the clearest water I've ever seen.
Shopping area:
Note also the sci-fi monster statutes made from motorcycle parts in a.....flower.....shop:
But the big draw is the Floating temple:
Okay - it doesn't LOOK floating - but it does at high tide. That's what its famous for, and its supposedly pretty cool. Our timing wasn't on point to see that though. The most famous symbol of the island is the gate:
At high tide (when this picture was taken it was near enough) - its well out in the middle of the bay, but in theory when the tide is all the way out - its on dry land and you can walk right out to it. Pretty tricked out temple.
Here is the inside of the temple. We were lucky enough to see it during some kind of ceremony. I was afraid it was sacred and a picture would be in bad taste - but the photographer walking around, and the hundred Japanese tourists with cameras and camera-phones - I would stick out if I WASN'T taking pictures:
Up the hill there was a neat pagoda:
Next to it was another building where they were having a flute demonstration:
Some others wanted to do the top of the mountain on the island. It was a long hike, and I wanted to see the ideal high or low tide. It seemed like the trek would take some hours. But - they talked me into it. So cue the ridiculously scary high up gondola:
Which then leads to yet another bigger scary gondola, which is laid out like a subway car. For that public transportation with 300ft+ shear drop experience:
Then what do you get at the top? - Monkeys.
......and an absolutely RIDICULOUS view:
Why I do I always find myself in high places here? To that end - it was 2km hike to the actual summit. By now its getting late - and I really really really didn't want to miss the last gondola back down. But they twisted my arm, and pushed me - and I submitted to go along until time was a factor. What followed was stairs stairs stairs. Paths, then more stairs. Broken stairs, small stairs, big stairs - stairs on a ridiculous grade, stairs with lose stones, stairs with monkeys laughing at me, and stairs with hundred ft drops through the brush on one side. I arrived at the top aching and drenched in sweat. Then some Japanese girls in high heels ands high fashion clothes coolly strolled by (not joking). At the top there were views even more ridiculous.....and a vending machine:
Ever see what happens to a CCD in a digital camera when there is too much light (at max speed, max ISO, and max f-stop)? (note also a bird and a fire in the distance):
Mercifully we made it down before the gondola closed. I still can't even look at stairs. Anyway - we didn't catch high tide, but on the way out we caught it damn near low tide:
Then we went back to the city and were given the run around at a Shabu-Shabu place, that decided to serve all comers before the gaijin as we sat in the waiting room for an hour - then we went for curry. /Vacation. Sunday morning, back to Tokyo. I did catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji from the train - emphasis glimpse. Blink and you'd miss it. First time I've seen it, its supposed to be visible from Tokyo on a really clear day. I guess we haven't had one yet. I just barely got a picture - but clouds had moved in the way (life moves fast on the shinkansen) I cropped out the window, the landscape, and the young Japanese guy next to me who didn't appreciate me taking pictures out the window across his face:
Back to Tokyo and life as.....uh...normal?
So - that night after a nice depressing afternoon, a fellow student insisted we try a Hiroshima specialty - okonomiyaki. From Travel wiki: "Often (and somewhat misleadingly) called "Japanese pizza", this is essentially a type of savoury pancake made with egg, cabbage, soba noodles and meat (or fish). It is grilled in layers on a hot plate in front of you and slathered liberally with okonomiyaki sauce".
Next day, Miyajima - a nearby island (http://wikitravel.org/en/Miyajima). But - we took the wrong train and ended up at Port Hiroshima instead of Hiroshima Port - which is at the opposite end of the city. So instead of the quick shuttle - expensive boat across the whole damn harbor:
Some quality Engrish:
Fish farms maybe?
Arrival on the island:
This place had Nara style friendly deer, and about the clearest water I've ever seen.
Shopping area:
Note also the sci-fi monster statutes made from motorcycle parts in a.....flower.....shop:
But the big draw is the Floating temple:
Okay - it doesn't LOOK floating - but it does at high tide. That's what its famous for, and its supposedly pretty cool. Our timing wasn't on point to see that though. The most famous symbol of the island is the gate:
At high tide (when this picture was taken it was near enough) - its well out in the middle of the bay, but in theory when the tide is all the way out - its on dry land and you can walk right out to it. Pretty tricked out temple.
Here is the inside of the temple. We were lucky enough to see it during some kind of ceremony. I was afraid it was sacred and a picture would be in bad taste - but the photographer walking around, and the hundred Japanese tourists with cameras and camera-phones - I would stick out if I WASN'T taking pictures:
Up the hill there was a neat pagoda:
Next to it was another building where they were having a flute demonstration:
Some others wanted to do the top of the mountain on the island. It was a long hike, and I wanted to see the ideal high or low tide. It seemed like the trek would take some hours. But - they talked me into it. So cue the ridiculously scary high up gondola:
Which then leads to yet another bigger scary gondola, which is laid out like a subway car. For that public transportation with 300ft+ shear drop experience:
Then what do you get at the top? - Monkeys.
......and an absolutely RIDICULOUS view:
Why I do I always find myself in high places here? To that end - it was 2km hike to the actual summit. By now its getting late - and I really really really didn't want to miss the last gondola back down. But they twisted my arm, and pushed me - and I submitted to go along until time was a factor. What followed was stairs stairs stairs. Paths, then more stairs. Broken stairs, small stairs, big stairs - stairs on a ridiculous grade, stairs with lose stones, stairs with monkeys laughing at me, and stairs with hundred ft drops through the brush on one side. I arrived at the top aching and drenched in sweat. Then some Japanese girls in high heels ands high fashion clothes coolly strolled by (not joking). At the top there were views even more ridiculous.....and a vending machine:
Ever see what happens to a CCD in a digital camera when there is too much light (at max speed, max ISO, and max f-stop)? (note also a bird and a fire in the distance):
Mercifully we made it down before the gondola closed. I still can't even look at stairs. Anyway - we didn't catch high tide, but on the way out we caught it damn near low tide:
Then we went back to the city and were given the run around at a Shabu-Shabu place, that decided to serve all comers before the gaijin as we sat in the waiting room for an hour - then we went for curry. /Vacation. Sunday morning, back to Tokyo. I did catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji from the train - emphasis glimpse. Blink and you'd miss it. First time I've seen it, its supposed to be visible from Tokyo on a really clear day. I guess we haven't had one yet. I just barely got a picture - but clouds had moved in the way (life moves fast on the shinkansen) I cropped out the window, the landscape, and the young Japanese guy next to me who didn't appreciate me taking pictures out the window across his face:
Back to Tokyo and life as.....uh...normal?