Japan for Xmas & New Years (part 1)

January 7th, 2012 - Happy New Year!

hey there all...happy 2012...i hope you had a great holiday season...things here in china are getting a bit crazy with the chinese new year two weeks away....this is the biggest holiday of the chinese year and many things are being readied....the cops are out in force, cracking down on everything so they can make some money in time for the holidays....the red lanterns are being hung everywhere....red envelopes that are used to spread holiday cheer are popping up in all of the stores...and dragons are literally everywhere (it is going to be year of the dragon - water dragon i was told today).....i am sticking around for my first chinese new year, because i hear it is insane....all of the fireworks and such.....


as for my holiday season, i traveled to japan....a place i never really thought i would visit....but stars aligned and my good friends the watts, who lived there previously, were headed back and invited me along for the ride to osaka, kyoto and nara.....i also got a chance to visit my friend randy in tokyo....so it was a terrific trip and i think i experienced a wonderful aspect of japan with people who know it and love it.....

the trip started in osaka and ended in tokyo....things you should know about japan...it is waaaaaaaaay clean....you can eat off the sidewalks....its quiet - they say no talking on your cell phones in the metro...and no one does....they utilize space like no ones business....wait til you see what they do with toilets.....they have old world tradition, right next to new world conveniences and there are vending machines on every corner....they recycle everything...but create the hugest amount of trash i have ever seen with all of their packaging and fresh food that has to be eaten the day it is created (think sushi)....they follow the rules and are so very polite....and believe in personal space - but at rush hour, the metro is crazy....and finally....new years is NOT the best time to visit tokyo....it is a holiday all the japanese spend with family and friends....sure, you can find crazy times in disney tokyo or in clubs, but most people visit shrines for the new year and hang with their families eating a lot of food.....below are the pictures....i hope you enjoy the ride.....there will be a part 2....just too many things to see and experience....

this first shot comes from osaka....this is a mall - outdoors, but covered...on a sunday night....the section of town we were in was shinsaibashi....and its where people go on the weekends and in the evening to see and be seen....the outfits alone were amazing....before xmas many were dressed in santa and reindeer gear, even though xmas is not really a holiday in japan...many girls wear short skirts or shorts, thigh high socks (which they glue in place) and platforms....it was crazy...and many of them looked so cold....

in the middle of shinsaibashi is this huge set of neon....called the running man....it is right next to one of the canals that runs through here and is a spot most people meet at....these signs cover the entire side of a set of buildings....huge and cool....

osaka has a castle...it is surrounded by a moat and is in the middle of the city....in the shot above you can see the moat and one of the outer buildings of this place....

and here is the castle, with a dragon in front of it...in japan, they are prepping for the new year as well....we did not go into the castle, but it was stunning to look at...plus, right next to this was a time capsule that had been buried in the 90s and was going to stay buried for another 500 years...it was cool to see...

also located inside of the castle's moat and walls is a shinto shrine....the day we went to the castle there was a japanese wedding happening....we walked up and they were in the shrine and then we waited for them to come out....as you can see, the bride and groom are traditionally dressed in wedding kimonos....after the ceremony was over, everyone at the wedding and the bride and groom took a huge group photo....it was cool to see them get organized and such....many of the guests had on traditional kimonos as well

one of the things we of course ate was sushi.....and we went to this conveyor belt place to have it....many of the offerings were things i have had before...but there were a few things that were different....they had this one very purple, almost electric purple, eggplant sushi....didn't try that one...plus they had tuna and mayo - like a tuna sandwich....didn't have that one either...they also had a tofu one that was unlike anything i had before....very fresh....unagi - bbq eel - was there and is still one of my favorites....yummy!!!!

greg and i went to kyoto for a day....wow - what a beautiful place....we did a lot of walking, and saw much of the old world and new world in this town....we wandered down to one of the biggest shrines and on our way there we passed through some smaller ones....for every shinto shrine you first come across a water spring that is being used to cleanse hands and quench thirsts before entering the shrines....i liked this one because it was a dragon...you can see the ladle style spoons that are upside down on the bamboo...you use these to collect the water to purify your hands and your soul....

this was another shrine we passed by and i had to take a picture of the garden....the japanese really do have amazing gardens and they are everywhere...if someone has land their house or apartment is on, they have some form of garden there....everything is sculpted and in place....just beautiful....

the main shrine we were walking to was the Toji temple, which was having an end-of-the-year flea market....when we reached there we saw they were making takoyaki - fried/grilled octopus balls....you can see them being made above....holy cow - they are amazing and addictive....there are bite sized pieces of octopus in these dough balls and they are grilled to perfection...you put this brown, thick sauce on them, plus mayonnaise and bonito - fish flakes - i do NOT like the bonito....mainly because when they are put on hot food, they act as if they are alive....gross!!!! but the takoyaki - yummy!!!! and on this trip i found out there is a place in shanghai that makes it...woot!

from the toji shrine we headed to the golden pavilion (kinkaku-ji) - and this place was incredible....you can see the pavilion above....and the reflection was the thing that really got me...loved it! this is a zen, buddhist temple and is said to be covered in gold leaf....when the sun peaked out as we were wandering around the grounds, it sure shone as if it was real gold....just an amazing site....world heritage as a matter of fact....breath taking!

on the beautiful grounds of the golden pavilion there are many different statue shrines, with metal bowls in front of them that people try to through coins into, as you can see from all of the coins on the ground in the picture...greg tried...but nothing made it in....you have to wonder, just how old are these statues...incredible....

the two shots above are the last two from the beautiful town of kyoto...the heian shrie....this shire was huge and had a lot of empty space...i have done some research on it and found out this was the way the zen master of the time said it needed to be built...lots of big open space....i think they succeeded....we loved the bright orange color of the different buildings of this shrine....plus the tree above it is a tree filled with wishes and fortunes...one of the things you can buy at all shrines is a writing of wisdom....or a poem or something sage-like written down....what most people do with these written pieces is tie them on a tree, bush or other wooden structure in front of the shrine, so that they will come true....what would you wish for with your written words??? i really liked that they used the small tree in front of this shrine for the wishes....
 

we also visited another town called nara...known for its deer population, that is sustained by all of the tourists i think....and for it having the largest wooden structure on the planet there....on our walk to that structure we watched the crazy deer and got some sweet potatoes from the lady above....i loved the thing she was cooking them in and boy were they perfect for a cold afternoon....
 

the picture above is of that largest wooden structure in the world....and it houses a buddha inside...it is an incredible structure and located in the center of a park with amazing grounds....but what i have determined is that gardens and parks of japan are all beautiful....they make them that way....

  

this is the buddha on the inside of the structure...it is enormous - called a daibutsu - or big buddha of nara  - it stands around 15 meters high - which is about 45 feet high - now that's a big buddha....and you have to love the serene look on its face....love it....

 

outside of the buddha temple was this walkway filled with people feeding the deer...now the deer, if you ran out of food (these cracker things you could buy), would chase you and head butt you around until you got away....they were pretty aggressive....this one guy dressed as a monk, offering to read fortunes, had some deer come up to him and they would not leave him alone....this did not help business, but it certainly helped for a kodak moment....

as i said above...new years is a time when people get together with family....its also a time when all of the japanese ladies buy a new kimono....they wear them when visiting shrines, going to weddings or big festivals and at the beginning of each year....these ladies were dressed for the shrine...i love that the deer is chillin' next to them too....
 

here's santa at the osaka aquarium - it was a girl santa and you can see a ray swimming past her on the upper right of the picture....it was crowded, but the perfect way to spend xmas in osaka....

somewhere above i mentioned the vending machines and how they are everywhere....that is literally the truth...and here you see some of the offerings of them....they have hot and cold liquids in them...and when i say hot, i mean steamin hot coffee with milk and sugar...i became a bit addicted to having a hot milk tea before bed....you can even get a hot corn soup....a brilliant idea for when you are walking around outside on a cold day....which many city people do, because they live in such small apartments.... much of their time is spent out of the house, meeting with friends and entertaining them....many go out for food because they have such small kitchens....
 

this last shot is of me with udon soup....yummy!!! you can buy noodles everywhere and ramen, soba and udon are the main choices....good enough to slurp!!!!  bon apetit!!!!

okay....so there you have part 1....i am hoping to have part 2 out sometime in the next two weeks....it will be of tokyo....an amazing city in oh so many ways....it was a great vacation and i can't believe how fast it flew by....school starts up again on monday, but only for two weeks and then we get another week off for chinese new year....remember, its the year of the dragon....can't wait to send out an update filled with the sounds and smells of fireworks, fireworks and more fireworks.....crazy!!!!

again, i hope everyone had a great holiday season, no matter what you celebrate or where and i wish you and your families a very happy new year (2012)...i will wish you a happy chinese new year when it happens....oh yeah....if you have any questions, please don't hesitate....

peace out and have a fab day :)
dani