JuergenS

The end of a journey

JuergenS — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We are preparing to leave Japan now, packing our stuff, calculating customs, deciding what to take and what has to stay behind for other stuff to fit in the trunk, and saying our goodbyes to this country.
Tomorrow we will travel to Narita, where we will spend a night in a hotel before boarding the plane back to Austria on Sunday.

There were times of confusion and slight panic, troubles and worries, but those all seem insignificant now. After all, the good times, the fun, the interesting discoveries and great food will be what we take with us, as well as some life experience and the feeling of having grown a little.

My Japanese got better during these two month, I met lots of people, traveled to lots of places (approx. 7000+km of train travel), got lost sometimes and bought lots of stuff.
For me, traveling (as opposed to holiday) is a thing to do alone, as you can only get a real glimpse of the culture and character of the place you visit by personally confronting it, by doing as the locals do and making mistakes. A second person of your home always is way too big a temptation to speak your own language instead of struggling with the local one, for instance.

To my mind, two month were a good duration for this travel and I wouldn't miss a second of it, but for now it's enough. I probably would need some kind of employment or study to keep me busy. Not for the lack of things to see, mind you, but for the making of a real life, not just a holiday, in Japan.

I will do a proper recap post sometime after reaching home, might take some days though.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Safely back home [recap]

JuergenS — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The end of this traveling road

Hi there, this is the final post of this blog!

Two weeks ago our travel through Japan ended and we returned to our "normal" lives. Since then I moved and started university, organized all those souvenirs and had a fun get-together with friends.

This definitely was a journey I won't forget, so much happened, we visited so many places and I can't even describe the feeling of standing on top of Fuji-san during sunrise.
We looked all over Tokyo from the Tokyo Tower, got surrounded by deer in Nara, tasted the sheer diversity of Japanese cuisine and watched a hanabi taikai in Gunma, nearly got "templed-out" in Kyoto, I rubbed shoulders with thousands of fans at Comiket and experienced the remains of the horror of Hiroshima and the zeal of the locals there.
Too many impressions to summarize properly, so I decided to let pictures tell the story instead.I created a photo-book out of the thousands of photographs I took and ordered it to be printed and sent to me. It didn't arrive yet, but I won't keep you waiting till then, here is a digitizes version. Enjoy.

It was a really fun time, lots of excitement and interesting experiences every day and culinary delights where ever you go. Of course, humans tend to remember only the nice times, and there definitely where unpleasant and frustrating situations, but I feel it all helped me grow a bit, especially language-wise.
Also, I enjoyed my first holiday with Marion, fond memories there!

Its a little sad that it's over already, there definitely are some things I wanted to do but wasn't able to, visit Koya-san and Hokkaido for example, but all in all it was fulfilling and worthwhile time.

That's it, thanks for staying tuned for so long, you can change the channel now.

JuergenS

The pain known as large baggage (or: Back to Kyoto)

JuergenS — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Planning

We finally arrived at Kyoto, after dragging our baggage through multiple train stations and on a bus. Luckily the owner of our guest House in Tama Plaza gave us a lift to the station there, one problem less to solve. The staff from Fuji is a really nice souvenir, but a pain to transport.
Anyway, we made it and are now in Kyoto. We will probably do not that much you don't already know about, so I will post some culinary/cultural rants and possibly a picture dump.

Another topic that came to relevance is the monetary worth of my souvenirs, especially my cooking knifes, as customs are a hassle. Will probably exceed the 430€ you can bring with you without customs duty. By a lot.
At least the space-problem inside my trunk is pretty much gone, as I sorted everything I won't take back with me anyway out and packed it the way I will travel from here to Narita.

Still some days left, we will try to make them count!

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Back to Tokyo and Kyoto-Preview

JuergenS — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Planning

Having returned from Gunma, Marion wanted to see the Harajuku cosplayers and the Meiji-shrine, so that was our next destination.

Happened to be the time for the Super Yosakoi 2010, a festival sponsored by Volkswagen that features massive groups of dancers/performers with impressive music competing for the first place.

Super Yosakoi 2010

A ryokan experience

JuergenS — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Sarugakyo fireworks

Today we traveled to Gunma, for we had a ryokan-reservation at Sarugakyo-Onsen for the night. The ryokan had Onsen-access and was convienently located for the fireworks competition/display ("hanabi taikai") held that night.

We arrived a tad late and called from a station on the way to not loose our room, but everything worked out fine. Taxi from the Jomo Kogen station cost us 5000yen, but was the best choice.
We were shown around the building and got some explanations, everything in Japanese, but we managed.
Our room was on the first floor, here some pictures:

Our room

Table - Center or the room

The notorious toilet slippers

Deco

We had reserved for dinner and breakfast, but did not know exactly what awaited us until we sat down at the dining hall. The food that already was on the table would have easily qualified as a dinner, but the courses just kept coming! Marion had to scoop along the way, and I struggled to finish. We counted 16 (yes sixteen) dishes, everything included, which were as follows:
- Sweet sake/appetizer
- Tsukemono (pickles)
- Seaweed salad + carrots
- White (rice/veggie) gruel
- Crab legs
- Misoyaki
- Wagyu over mushrooms, cooked on the table in a giant leaf on a hot plate
- Local specialty of rice: Cooked with mountain vegetables and herbs as well as mushrooms
- Sashimi
- Fish-on-a-stick ^^
- Peeled tomato (I don't like tomatoes, didn't eat)
- Konjaku + veggie salad
- Tempura
- Soup
- Tsukemono 2
- Fruits

Pictures:

Dinner - The aftermath [Camera dying]

As you noticed by now, my camera started to break down. After the thousands of pictures I took with it in the last weeks I probably should have anticipated it. Still a shame.

After dinner we forced ourselves up and went to the hanabi taikai, which was much like Silvester at home, only without the cold and on a professional scale. I especially like the picture I used as header.

Sarugakyo fireworks

Bon-odori center

Having returned to the ryokan we entered the onsen (hot springs ftw) and relaxed. Onsen dwelling is great, by the way. Unfortunately the rotemburo was going through maintenance at the time, so only indoor bathing, but still nice.
Originally we wanted to go to sleep early, happened to stumble over Harry Potter in Japanese though and watched the last bit. Pretty much the first time watching TV since leaving home.

Breakfast the next day continued the style of the dinner before, lots of dishes and every single one in a separate bowl, each different in form and color from the rest. Here is the list:
- Miso soup
- Rice
- Green tea
- Salmon fillet
- Sweetened egg
- Konjaku + veggies
- Smoked salmon over salad
- Tofu
- Salad with mountain veggies + herbs
- Seaweed salad + carrots
- Minced tuna + wasabi
- Tsukemono
- Sweet red beans
- Dish of flavorings (spring onion, wasabi, herbs)

Filled to the brim we got on the taxi to the station and made our way back to Tokyo for the last night there before going to Kyoto.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Imperial Palace and Ghibli Museum

JuergenS — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Imperial Palace East Garden

After a good rest and Marion having recovered enough from her sore throat/AC cold, we were of again, this time to see the Imperial Palace of Tokyo and the Ghibli Museum.

The Imperial Palace East Garden is the only part of the Imperial Palace open to the public and offers pleasant walks, a nice garden and massive walls build solely from fitted stone blocks.

Otemon-gate

Imperial Palace East Garden entrance

Imperial Palace East Garden

Rest house

Imperial Palace East Garden

Imperial Palace East Garden wall

Imperial Palace East Garden

Moat

Imperial Palace East Garden

Taking a rest

Dolphin, according to description

Painting the waterfall

Not much more to say about that, except that it was really hot.

After grabbing lunch and visiting Akiba we headed to Mitaka for the famous Ghibli Museum.
In order to visit there one has to make a reservation in advance, which is possible outside from Japan by using travel agencies, inside Japan, however, you are limited to buy tickets at LAWSON convenience stores. Those have terminals installed (called Loppy) that let you buy cinema tickets and make various other reservations, including entering the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. Actually getting them was not quite easy, as I did now how to get them (the LAWSON site has an English explanation), I was however unable to read the error messages displayed. After getting some staff member to read the kanji for me I finally got the tickets, 1000yen each. Had to improvise the time and date, as the originally planned ones where already sold out, but whatever.
After arriving there you get handed a ticket for the in-house cinema showing exclusive short films, the ticket itself being three frames of a film reel of a Ghibli movie. Picture taking is prohibited inside but allowed outside and on top of the rooftop garden.

Ghibli entrance

Group picture!

Laputa

The building is filled with exhibits showing the evolution and creation process of the movies, original sketches and drafts, lots of statues and interior deco that created the illusion of actually being inside the world of Ghibli.
Also a cat-bus for kids to play in/with and of course a souvenir shop.
We had reserved for the 16:00 admittance so it was late afternoon/early evening when we came back.

Visited Hachiko again, for Marion to see him properly.

Hachiko once more

We are going to do some shopping tomorrow and will spend the Saturday in a ryokan in Sarugakyo-Onsen, Gunma, where a fireworks festival is scheduled.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Hijacking a Blog 1 [Marion]

JuergenS — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

So, yes that's me, the girlfriend we're talking about.
I'm Marion, and I made my _first_ flight and long-distance flight from Austria to Narita.
Don't expect any high written art of traveling from me, either in words or photos.

Marion - before flight

I guess my parents were more excited than I appeared to be, so I had a ride with Jürgen's sister.
My flight was ok. The landings are cruel anyway, so I just had to arrange with the small space around me. I am used to this somehow- thanks to Austrian public transport- but this was really small!
Had a chitchat with my neighbor, and then fought myself to sleep- or something like this was my plan. Of course it had to be other way: Couldn't sleep and when I was on the brink to dreamland the flight attendants offered ramen.

So what, I came to Narita quite dead, had to do the formals and find my baggage, and meet Jürgen- somewhere out of this bolted airport area.
Even deader than in Narita I made it to Shibuya- visited Hachiko - and lastly to Tama Plaza.

The next day was a faked Monday to me, because it was already Tuesday, and the day we hopped through Tokyo. (see Jürgen's entries.)

M- geblitz-dingst

Tsukiji Fish market

Tsukiji Fishmarket

The wasabi under this fresh sushi had quite the spirit- had a free nose afterward.

Makimono

Nigiri

Hopping through Tokyo without seeing Tokyo Tower is like you have never been there. Of course we got to the first platform and enjoyed the view over the melting cities.

Entrance to Tokyo Tower [chilled]

M- a golden AND beckoning Hello Kitty?!

In one souvenir shop I found this Golden Maneki Neko Hello Kitty.
During the time I realized that there is nothing without H.Kitty. From toothbrush to boxer shorts, special HK and figures to whole co-products (like Kuromi, Star Twins)- if you look for it, you find it.

Had a hard time finding a way to Hie-jinja, because there was some meeting at the parliament (of course on that day) and the streets were barricaded.

M- stairs to Hie-jinja

M- Hie-jinja

Right after coming home the woes began...
Due to this over-air-coning, my way of saying that the air-conditions are used not cool but to freeze, I caught a sore throat. For recovering we made a lazy day in Tama Plaza, me sleeping the whole day and Jürgen enjoying his book.

On Thursday, which was to me Wednesday, we headed out for the Royal East Garden, commonly known as Royal Palace.

Otemon-gate

Imperial Palace East Garden

Imperial Palace East Garden entrance

After surviving lunch hour which is just as busy as the morning public transport peaks, we made a stop at Akiba (where Jürgen bought the exact figure I had problems with to get for his birthday last year -_-") and then we were on our way for the Ghibli Museum.

Ghibli entrance

Group picture!

Sure there is lot to see, but photographing is not allowed, so we have to keep those images in our memories.
I was quite impressed by the sketches and the coloring Miyazaki provided for his Museum.
Cat bus was attractive, but I was too old... fifteen years at least.
Miyazaki truely deserves the title of "anime no kami", due to his incredible creations and stories. Nonetheless, to my mind, he didn't revolt the scene as much as Tezuka did, creating something totally new (only the technique).

Anyways, I strolled alone to Ikebukuro and Akihabara on Friday.
I missed the glittering and blinking Sunshine 60' and had a hard time finding the so called Otome Road. In the shops I really felt misplaced: though I "like" BL/Yaoi I faced two difficulties: 1) In a series it's ok, but as doujin I can't get into it easily (or something like that I thought) and 2) IT'S IN JAPANESE! With problems deciphering Kana, it will take me years till I get the context (and the magical triangle of semantics&co), where I will have visited Japan even twice.
Left my money on my beloved Copics *^* After recovering from a price shock in Japan I handle my money more freely than ever, including buying Copic Sets and numerous souvenirs.

On Saturday we made our way to the Gunma Prefecture, for a Ryokan class experience.

Sarugakyo fireworks

On the same day fireworks were held, to me it was better than Silvester, because my toes didn't freeze to death, and it was fun watching Japanese doing a traditional dance in great number.
The next day, we returned home, for the last points: Meiji-jingu and Yoyogi Park Cosplayers. My luck brought me the Super Yosakoi 2010, a summer festival with groups performing dances on the stage. Was impressive, too, but no Cosplayers in the narrow sense.

Super Yosakoi 2010

Home again, we packed our belongings and slept for the last time in Tama Plaza.

Tokyo hopping

JuergenS — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Tokyo Tower - Floor window

With Marion having arrived and recovered enough after the long travel we set off to make a big part of Tokyo ours today.
Oh, and with having two cameras at the ready now, expect more pictures of me, and of course of her, than till now in the following posts.

We started early in the morning with the Tsukiji fish market, where fresh seafood of all sizes and colors is sold everyday, the most popular part being the tuna auction in the early hours of the day where gigantic fish change owners to be used in high-class cooking.
Everyone is free to shop at this market of course and fish of this freshness and quality, but most importantly variety, is not easy to come by in most parts of the world.

Tsukiji Fishmarket

These vehicles are driving through the area all the time and can get quite dangerous. Taking kids there is not really recommended. They look pretty fun to drive, though *g*

Tsukiji sushi breakfast/brunch/lunch

Of course a morning at this market has to end with a breakfast/brunch of probably the best sushi in the world, made from fish that still swam freely a short time ago. We went to a small restaurant for this and, if a bit heavy on wasabi, it was of course delicious.
My eating habits changed quite drastically during my trip, the most obvious difference probably being the loss of my ability to eat large quantities without problem (the ones I celebrate with know what I mean), so the set I ordered was a tight fit. On the plus side I lost some weight and build some stamina, and not needing much food shouldn't be a disadvantage for a first-semester student having just come back from a quite expensive country ^^

Nigiri

Makimono

The next stop was Asakusua, the market, temple and Kitchen Town, but I already told you about those.

Senso-ji

As my girlfriend put it, you haven't seen Tokyo if you haven't been to the Tokyo Tower, so that's what we did after the shopping spree in Asakusa.
Standing taller that the Eiffel-Tower, after which its modeled, it offers a nice 360° look of Tokyo on its Observatory platform. Nice to see all the way to places you already have been, e.g. the Rainbow Bridge of Odaiba.

Tokyo Tower

Entrance to Tokyo Tower [chilled]

View from Tokyo Tower

Temple from above

Tokyo Tower mascot

Also in the area is the Hie-jinja, located on a bit of a hill. Unfortunately only a reproduction of the original, but a nice view nevertheless.

Hie-jinja

With hurting feet and a full camera we came back to Tama Plaza for some dearly needed rest.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Azabu Juban Festival

JuergenS — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Azabu Juban Festival

The Azabu Juban Festival was going on in Azabu Juban this weekend, a giant culinary market with lots of foodstuff to try and an international corner as well! Of course I had to take a look/taste.

The first thing I couldn't help to notice were the pure masses of people drifting through the stall-lined streets, navigating here was going to be a pain:

Azabu Juban Festival

Letting the crowd take me where it would I wandered the area for a while, taking a taste here and there, stopping for a sake seller with samples and a breather.

The food ranged from local specialties of all over Japan to the usual Matsuri fare.

Crepes

Takoyaki

I have no idea what they are selling

Matsuri food

Namahage

Also present were two Nagahame, mystical creatures often impersonated to scare children into obedience if they don't behave at home.
Screaming and crying are pretty much an expected part of this with kids around, with their parents offering a safe haven for then and gaining proper behavior that way. They were more of photo models here though.

The shrine of the area had something going on as well, was too crowded for me to get there though, but the music drifted over.

Azabu Juban Shrine

Azabu Juban Festival

Being a practical people, the locals took this opportunity to sell some of their stuff as well, a flea-market of sorts formed in the side-streets.

Azabu Juban sees a lot of foreigners with many embassies from all over the world being located there, and so is the Austrian one. Went there to take a look, who knows if I need it someday if loose my passport or something. The operating hours immediately reminded me of home.

Embassy of the Republic of Austria

Feels like home *lol*

Stuffed and packed with potential souvenirs, I left the crowds behind and went home, to prepare for my girlfriend to arrive. She will probably hijack this blog some times, so be prepared for that.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Yokohama

JuergenS — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Chinatown

Just a quick note: Finally got to visit Yokohama today. It is just a half-hour jump from where I live, which by region is actually part of Yokohama, not Tokyo.
The city sports the biggest Chinatown of Japan and this was the first point on my agenda. There are ten colorful gates serving as entrances and the flair of China that is probably the same all over the world. Of course lots of red and blue and many many eateries, from small stalls selling steamed dumplings to high-class restaurants. Ate at a place that was recommended by my Lonely Planet and way more classy on the inside than it appeared to be on the outside, with separate greeting lobby, classical music, huge carvings and all. The food was great, the impact on my wallet too.
Pictures:

After some shopping I continued to the bay area and the artificial islands that were constructed there:

Yokohama bay

Yokohama Small Sight?

Spirit of Water

Yokohama bay

Walked along the harbor and came by this amusement park:

Park attraction

Ferris wheel

Didn't really interest me, had some customers though.

After a while I reached the Landmark Tower, the highest building in Japan and its surroundings. Lots of shops there of course, some performer showing off his skills and a cluster of fast food restaurants.
Pictures:

Landmark Tower

In front of the Landmark Tower

Square deco

Didn't do much more that day, went home after I got my Yokohama-HRC-shirt.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Preview: Yokohama and end of solo traveling

JuergenS — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Planning

Tomorrow I will visit Yokohama for its Chinatown and Landmark Tower. Also it would be kinda weird to live in Yokohama for a month and never get to its center, no?

Also, starting next Monday I won't be traveling alone anymore, as my girlfriend will finally join me for the last two weeks of this journey. One week in Tokyo, the other in Kyoto and heading back home from Narita, that about sums it up. We will do some things I already wrote about (I will dump some pictures of those, if we take interesting ones) as well as visit places I do not know yet. I will try to keep you updated.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Climbing Fuji-san

JuergenS — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Me at 8th station

Finally took the time to climb Mt. Fuji, or Fuji-san, (3776m) this week and went for an overnight hike (start in the evening, be at the top at sunrise, descent before lunch). The mountain is divided into 10 stations and road leads up to the 5th one at 2300m, which is the starting point for the usual climbing route.
I took a Highway Bus from Shinjuku in the late afternoon and reached the 5th station of Fuji-san a while after nightfall. Due to the difference in altitude, one is advised to spend about 30mins at this station to get used to it. Altitude sickness is nothing to take lightly after all.

Souvenir shops

Of course there are some souvenir shops here, this station gets the most traffic after all. The wooden sticks you see in front of the shop are worth buying for two reasons: First, having a hiking stick when climbing a mountain doesn't hurt, and second, on every station you will find a guy with a kind of barbecue that will burn the stamp of the station into your stick as proof that you reached there (for 200yen, of course). Makes a nice souvenir.

The wait was also useful to get a look at the area, as I had no idea where to go. After a while I saw a departing group with a leader that looked what she was doing, so I followed them to the next station. Turns out you have to go slightly down from the bus terminal for 20mins before actually starting the climb. From there on it's harder to loose the path than to follow it, so I was alright by myself.
It takes about 4,5 to 5 hours to reach the top from any of the 5th stations, but this can of course vary greatly. When I reached the top a girl phoned pretty much everyone she knew (judging from the length she took) to tell them that she just broke the world record and climbed the mountain in 2,5 hours. I took the usual time.
Did some pictures of the climb, but with it being the middle of the night and all I didn't really get good ones.

There was still a lot of time left till sunrise (at about 5:00 on that day) so I took a look around and rested a bit. Even though it's summer, up there temperatures at night are still near the freezing point. Wasn't pleasant, built a insulated blanked from a thin silk sleeping bag I carried and a foil thermal blanket I carried in my first-aid back (yeah, I took one, paramedic and all...). As time went on more and more people reached the top and searched for the best viewing spot, I could see the lines of little lights as guided groups made their way up in the dark. The wait was definitely worth it, for the sunrise was stunningly beautiful.
Pictures:

Sunrise in the making

First glimpse at unexpected spot

Sunrise

Nearly done

Sunrise done

After getting the stamp of the summit and deciding against circling the crater I started my descend. Took less time, was way more crowded and put a lot of strain on my knees, but what goes up must come down. Was glad for the water and food I brought, the prices at the stations are extremely high and you need LOTS of water to do this.
Pictures:

Still that far to go?

Entering the clouds

Construction/repair in progress

Offering rides?

Goal in sight

Souvenir area in daylight

Tired warriors

Did some souvenir shopping back at the 5th station and took the bus home, arrived at Tama Plaza in the afternoon and went to bed early.

All in all an arduous but definitely worthwhile activity, made some good memories and I now have the hiking stick to prove it *g*.
And as the Japanese saying goes: "Everyone is wise to climb Fuji-san once, but a fool to do it twice".

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Comiket: Day 2

JuergenS — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Sneak-peek

After sleeping in I was off to get some more Comiket-experience today and I sneaked some pictures out this time. Being able to use the "ignorant foreigner" once in a while is actually quite handy, especially in an area with next to none English explanations. So, w/o further ado, here are some pictures of the inside:

Sneak-peek

Ero-boards

Room to move!

The last one was taken quite late in an area where a lot of the booths were already sold out, hence the few people. 50m ahead it was the usual crowd.

To give you an idea of the difference in pure numbers to yesterday, here is the cosplay area in comparison:

Cosplay area - Day 1

Cosplay area - Day 2

Yes, Comiket today was stuffed!

Was there for a while but it was hard to move, not even mentioning taking pictures. The ones I got:

Haruhi group

DRRR!! group

Hebi-hime with her trademark pose [One Piece]

Ace and Sanada Yukimura crossover

Ace - Tatoo redesign? [One Piece]

Brook [One Piece]

Rin - [Kodomo no Jikan]

Captain Jack Sparrow

Yu-Gi-Oh pair

After buying some stuff I left and visited the special exhibition of the Miraikan: How modern technology could realize the tools of Doraemon (a popular robotic cat who helps the protagonist with various tools he brought from the future). They had exhibits on brain analysis, automatic speech translation (Japanese to English, Chinese and Korean --> speech to text), meta-materials and much more. Of course it was designed to be interesting for kids, but the science behind the tools was explained in English and interesting.

One-man helicopter

Adaptive/"learning" robot

Cybersuit

On my way back I came by the Tokyo International Exchange Center Festival 2010, the center being right next to the Miraikan and all. They got a booth for every country their students come from, from Africa to France.

Tokyo International Exchange Center Festival 2010

French booth

Getting there was a real hassle this time, unlike yesterday, with the whole station transformed into a maze to use every inch of ground for lines to the boarding platforms...Took a while, to say the least. Well, it was Saturday, Obon and in the summer holidays, so there were way more people traveling around.
What I didn't expect was this sight on the way back: The line doubled in length and now reached all the way out of the station and filled the plaza there! I heard that there was going to be a Fireworks Festival on Odaiba today, but for it to get so crowded...I was glad to get out there, the journey back to Tama Plaza was quite easy with few people traveling in that direction.

One heck of a line

I won't attend the third and final day of Comiket 78 tomorrow, still got some stuff to do and quite enough of being stuck in a crowd for a while. All in all worth it, however ^^

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Comiket - Day 1

JuergenS — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Summer Wars group

Comiket 78 day 1 is over and my feet are tired. Bought some stuff, got some more for free and rubbed shoulders with countless other visitors. But from the beginning:

Miraikan-line

Wanted to enter the Miraikai again before going to Comiket to avoid the crowds (two hours waiting are quite possible if you reach there at the point of opening) and was greeted with the picture on the left. This line obviously ends at the entrance of the Miraikan, loops back (as you see in the picture), reaches the facade again, goes on along it to the opposite corner of this - very big - building, turns at the corner, continues there, then loops back to reach the facade again and ends near the corner opposing the entrance. Oh, and the markings on the street suggest that an even longer line is expected and manageable, by a slalom through eight trees, for example.
If I wanted enormous lines in the morning I would have gone to the Comiket first --> exactly what I did then.

===========

Entering - Riding the masses

After exiting the station I found a loop though the area in front of the Big Sight, but this was not really a line but a lot of people walking in the same direction. Didn't cost much time, but the sheer number of visitors is amazing. The venue can handle it, however, it really is BIG. Many halls, multiple storeys and you walk quite some time from one end to the other. Of course all the circles (35,000 of them, approximately) selling their stuff and all the potential buyers checking it out are taking the time spent exploring the area to a whole new level. Pictures are banned except for the cosplay areas, but it was an interesting experience in there. From the small circles selling their doujins to the big companies and makers having their booths with long lines in front of them and lots of stuff to hand you can get pretty much everything you need to satisfy your otaku needs.

Cosplay area - Day 1

And there are the cosplayers, great numbers of them. Not much more to say, just take a look:

Angel Beats pair

Mario

Fuehrer (the second one of the day)

Ranka [Macross Frontier]

Macross Frontier pair

DRRR!! pair

Kuririn [DB(Z)]

Thriller Bark pair [One Piece]

One Piece group

BASARA group

Kurushitsuji group

Romance of the Three Kingdoms (I guess)

By the way, I saw someone dressed as Hitler inside, but not on the cosplay area, thus two Fuehrers.

Also there was this line with people putting their stuff into boxes and handing it to the guys at the stand --> I am pretty sure they are sending it home this was, a business opportunity well taken, if you ask me.

As I said before, pictures are banned inside, but I came across this spot on my way out, should give you a feeling for what's going on:

Circle hall

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Odaiba and Comiket preparations

JuergenS — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Rainbow Bridge

Tomorrow marks the start of the three-day-madness that is Comiket 78, so I did some scouting today and got a good look at Odaiba as well.

Tokyo Big Sight

Started off at the Tokyo Big Sight of course, the venue for the Comic Market.

Some preparation going on there, both the on-site Conbini and Comiket crew stocking up on what they need to satisfy the masses to arrive tomorrow.

Conbini prep

Comiket catalogues

Well, now that I new where it is and how I get there, I was off to explore the rest of this man-made island.

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While walking around I found these tiles, depicting star constellations. Some of them I knew and recognized, others, however, I could not make out at all. Heck, if not for the name I might not even have looked at some from the correct side. Wikipedia helped, once I was at home, but I still find the picture of Puppis confusing.

Constellation

Also came across some girls advertising Red Bull and introducing the Japan-sized cans (a bit smaller than the ones at home). They where pretty surprised when I told them that I came from the same country as the stuff they where handing out *g*.

Red Bull ad car

Austria ^^

By the way, it started raining while I walked around. Typical.

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One thing you should not miss in Odaiba are the enormous shopping malls with included gourmet restaurants and indoor amusement parks. Yes, different rides, houses of horror and lots of games under one roof. For those who like more physically challenging games there is the Muscle Park, where strength and skill are necessary to win.

Came by this JUMP shop as well, lots and lots of merchandise and interesting crossovers.

JUMP shop

Chopper - Overview

Zoom on nose

They where doing a lot drawing in front of it, meaning that you can buy a ticket and win whatever letter you draw (A-I I think), A and B being the grand prizes. Bought a ticket, got a B and am now the owner of a really big Whitebeard statue (One Piece).
Picture:

Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate

Still not sure how I will fit him in my trunk with all the other souvenirs, but nice nevertheless ^^

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Right outside the Decks you can see the Statue of Liberty of Odaiba and the Rainbow Bridge.

Statue of Liberty

Some other pictures:

Outlook from Big Sight

Harbour cruise anyone?

Ferris wheel

Museum of Maritime Science

Flame of Liberty

Odaiba

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I also visited the National Museum for Emerging Sciences and Innovation a.k.a. Miraikan, probably the most rewarding science museum of Japan. Lots of interesting info (if you like science, that is), interactive displays, and a stunning range of areas. You start of with the basics of science and research, enter space-related areas, go over to life sciences and end up at the earth as a whole. I really recommend a trip there, if the opportunity arises. They have their normal exhibition as well as a changing special exhibition, the latter of which I will visit in the next days as well.

From tomorrow on it's Comiket-time, this should be interesting.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Kyo no Tanabata

JuergenS — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Illuminated bamboo with wishes

I am back to Kyoto for two nights to tie up some loose ends (mainly culinary), attend the Kyo no Tanabata festivities and use my rail pass to its fullest *g*
Got the guest house, checked in and was off again. One of the major advantages of having a home-base is the fact that you can travel light and leave you heavy stuff behind --> Exactly what I did.
Anyway, I organized some stuff for the future (made some phone calls, troubled some LAWSON-employees [not my fault that even they can't handle their vending machines]) and got myself some delicious food. Post about the culinary side of this trip in the making.

The Kyo no Tanabata is, as the name suggests, Kyoto's Tanabata festival and lasts a week. During this time the city is decorated with lots of bamboo, to which the locals attach their wishes.
Tanabata is the time of the year when two stars are said to meet, the legend being that Hitoboshi and Orihime (our two stars in question) fell in love with each other and neglected all their work in the heavens. This made the ruler of those realms angry and so he separated them, putting the Milky Way between them. He was moved by their love, however, and allowed them to meet once a year --> Tanabata. In the west the stars are called Altair and Vega.
Tanabata is celebrated either on 7/7 or 8/8 of the year and its custom to write the wish you want the stars to fulfill on a strip of paper and hang it on a bamboo.
Ok, enough info, here are some pictures:

Entrance

Lights from afar

Illuminated bamboo with wishes

Main grove?

The Kamogawa and the Horigawa (rivers) are the sites for the main decorations, with lots of illuminated stuff and floating LEDs, representing the Milky Way.
Till know the pictures where from the Kamogawa site, the Horikawa ones follow.

Chimes

Bamboo deco

Grove and floating LEDs

Fabric and lights

Floating LEDs

Start of the fabric

There is more to see, but as I had another day in Kyoto I postponed that and went home. Took this opportunity to do some planning of the next two weeks, after which my girlfriend will finally join me here in Japan. By the way, I was staying at the same guest house like last time for these two nights.

Turns out it rained the next day, intervals of soft sprinkles and downpours, heavy on the latter --> Bought an umbrella from a Convenience Store, still not the weather you want to be exposed to. Got some lunch and headed for the shopping arcades. Ended up in a cinema in the end and confirmed that many movies are NOT dubbed in Japan (well, except for animation) but subbed, a strategy I really like.
I didn't get to see the rest of the Kyo no Tanabata, but that's a) tolerable and b) nothing I can do something about.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Left and right of Shibuya

JuergenS — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Harajuku girls

Covered the area around Shibuya (meaning train stations nearby) today, more precisely Harajuku, Yoyogi, Ikebukuro and Roppongi.

I started at Harajuku, where the "Harajuku girls" are probably themost popular "sights" on weekends. Cosplayers, lolitas (cute/goth) and kimono/yukata clad people meet here to pose for hordes of (wannabe)photographers and to confuse some tourists.
Today some kind of official shooting was going on as well, as there were guys with TV cameras taking interviews.
Harajuku girls and co:

Passing harajuku girls

The madness from above

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Right behind the gathering area lies the Yoyogi park, a popular area for cycling, relaxing, walking, jogging and all kind of social events. There were groups rehearsing for performances, training their moves (martial art and other) or just picnicking and sunbathing.

There were all kinds of musicians around as well:

Yoyogi musician

From the entrance you can see this stadium for sporting activities.

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Next to this park is the Meiji shrine, dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and his companion, the Empress. They played a very important role in Japanese history, but I won't give you a lesson on that now, there are enough sources out there. Lets just say they worked towards an Japan open to the world and established the mentality of "learning from the best without loosing the Japanese spirit". Basically Japans trait of picking something up from the market, enhancing/altering it and turning it Japanese.
The Emperor seemed to have a thing for the French, thus the wine he received as a sign of goodwill (on the other side of the road are the classical sake barrels you see at shrines).

Meiji shrine

Meiji shrine wine

Meiji shrine

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Did a quick sidestep to Ikebukuro but wasn't in a shopping mood. Otherwise the Sunshine 60 might have tempted me, a 60-storeyed building of shopping malls and offices.

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Roppongi is probably the most popular nightlife area of Tokyo, with restaurants, bars and clubs for every taste.

Also, there is a Hard Rock Cafe with an ape hanging from its side.

Hard Rock Cafe Roppongi

King Kong@HRC

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Culinary: Special meals and sets

JuergenS — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Sukiyaki - Overview

Another culinary post, this time about set-meals and some of the more expensive dishes I enjoyed.
I will give you an description and some pictures, so lets get this started:

Oil-Yaki

A DIY-meal where you are served pieces of meat and different vegetables and cook them up in an oiled pan (hence the name). Oil-Yaki goes side by side with Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu and is pretty much as pricey as them.
The place I went served multiple courses and the first piece of meat was done by a waitress donned in a kimono to show how it's done. Three qualities of meat can be chosen, I went for the one in the middle. Needless to say that it was extremely delicious.

Oil-Yaki sign and price

By the way, one can save some money by going to expensive restaurants for lunch and not for dinner, there are lunch-specials and discounts pretty much everywhere.

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Sukiyaki (Ryokan/Inn dinner)

Sukiyaki - Closeup

Got this at the Turtle Inn in Nikko for dinner, another must-try. Sukiyaki is a pot-dish that cooks up nicely in front of you. This one had lots of veggies at the bottom of the pan and thinly sliced meat on top. You turn the meat once, tip every bite in raw egg (or, if you don't like that part, cook it up in the pan to cover the whole thing) and dig in.
This actually was only a part of the whole meal, there was also fish and some sides.

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Steak/cutlet set
Not really a steak but they called it a Steak Set nevertheless. Not much to say about this one except that the restaurant I ate back then had an interesting mix of Italian, French and Japanese atmosphere.

Steak-set sides

Steak set

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Tonkatsu set

Tonkatsu-set

I am pretty sure I already wrote about these, but the set with Miso soup, cabbage and rice and free refills was really nice.

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Ramen and Gyoza

Ramen set

These two go together as a classic set and most Ramen-shops serve them both. You enjoy your Ramen and nibble on the Gyoza on the side.

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Gyoza and Ramen

Gyoza and ramen set

In Utsunomiya and Gora things are a bit different, as the Gyoza are the main part and the set I had made the Ramen a side-dish. These areas are specialized in Gyoza and offer a wide variety.

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Yakiniku

Yakiniku - Gettin' fired up

Similar to Oil-Yaki but still different. Here you order your meat by plate and grill them at your table over flame. The grill is a griddle over an either gas or charcoal fueled flame. There are all kinds of beef and toppings, I had two types one of which had garlic on it. Originally a Korean dish, it is often accompanied by Kimichi.
Also I tried their high-grade beef nigiri. Again, not cheap but incredibly good.

The grill

Dipping sauce (not the beer)

That's if for today, hope you didn't get to hungry reading *g*

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Cultural&Culinary: Food on the go, shopping and restaurants

JuergenS — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Lunch on the go

This time I will give you an extended description of food on the go, meaning while traveling from place to place, where to get it and what else you can do to fill an empty stomach.

First up: The classic, ekiben. Eki meaning station and the ben-part coming from bento (=lunch box), they are boxed lunches especially for the hungry traveler. Different locations feature different contents and meals, often with local specialties and fresh veggies. Sushi is also a regular sight here, as these lunches are freshly made and only sold on the day they are "assembled" anyway --> no fear of getting bad fish.

Ekiben box

And that's how they come

Ekiben content

My first ekiben

Sushi ekiben

Of course there are bakeries and other shops around as well, what's for dinner is up to your imagination.

Lunch on the go

Fried chicken ekiben

The most basic of all Japanese foods designed to be eaten while traveling or as a quick snack is the onigiri, rice balls a in triangular shape. You can chose from a whole palette of fillings, from salmon to plum to just plain rice and weather they are wrapped in nori or not.

Onigiri

Onigiri guide

As you can see, these have instructions on how to unpack them, and those are needed, as an extra layer of foil prevents the nori from soaking up and becoming soft. Removing this is easy once you know how to do it, but w/o the instructions may take some time.

Oshizushi are sold only in certain parts of Japan and are basically an ancestor of the modern sushi. In the past, fish was preserved using sour rice and packed in leaves, which over time developed into the sushi as we know it. Oshizushi consist of a layer of pressed fish over rice and packed in leaves, making them comfortable to carry around.

Oshizushi - Closed

Oshizushi

Wherever you are, you won't starve in Japan, even if you dismiss all those restaurants around (~ 1 per 80 Japanese) and go for snacks like bread or some dumplings.

Yakimanju@Chinatown

(upgraded) Yakisoba-pan

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Even though the bentos and snacks fill you up good, sometimes you just want to go out and grab lunch or dinner at a restaurant, so let's talk about those.
I am just talking about Japanese food here, of course there are Italian, French, Chinese, ... restaurants around, but you know those, no?

The most common form of restaurant is probably the shokudo, recognizable by it's large window with food displayed in it. If you choose something you see there, you can count on the food you get to closely resemble the one outside:

Shokudo window

"But how", you might ask, "are they able to put food in their windows, and not just pictures? Won't it go bad?". The answer is simple: Fake food. You probably won't believe it when you see them the first time, but everything displayed is fake, made from plastic, incredibly detailed and pretty close to art sometimes. These replicas seriously look delicious!

Kappabashi-dori - Fake food

If you are near the Kappabashi-dori in Asakusa you can shop for a bowl of fake-Ramen or some fake sushi, but be warned: The prices are steep.

Aside from the shokudo, which offer a wide range of foods to choose from, specialized restaurants can also be found, be it the common ramen-eateries or the high-class sushi restaurant.

Udon-shop

Sushi windowshopping (Odaiba)

Another type: Izakaya are bar/pub eateries and can be found all over Japan. Here businessman get some beer and chicken skewers before returning home.

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The shopping itself (if you don't feel like traveling around or eating out) is pretty much the same as everywhere else, with the exception of the abundance of Convenience Stores, called conbini.
Pretty much every neighborhood has at least one of them nearby and there are many different chains.

Convieniece store

7-eleven

These shops are open 24/7/365 and provide the basic stuff for living: food (see below), hygiene products, sweets, newspapers, ... as well as ATMs and copiers.

The food you can buy here is pretty similar to the ekiben fare, with the addition of warm food. Its common to get your bento warmed up right before you pay (not for sushi, obviously), getting you a hot meal at any time of the day/night. Conbini bentos tend to be a bit cheaper than ekiben, by the way, but you don't get the regional variety.

Conbini bento

Tonkatsu bento

Of course there are drug stores as well, basically the conbini-lineup with a much bigger variety and depth.

Different melon shapes and enormous prices

B1-level of Department Stores are a good place to shop as well, as there are always food shops and eateries around there (for more sophisticated dining head for their restaurant floor). The melons that everyone talks about are there as well: Different shapes and extravagant prices.

So that's about it for preventing starvation, and seeing as my travel is coming to and soon, this will be one of my last posts.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS

Cultural: Public Transit

JuergenS — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Rail star

Public transit is the obvious way to go for any tourist and the system of Japan is really good. In fact, if a train is late even by a few seconds the conductor is expected to hand in an written apology. Quite different from the trains at home.

The train everyone talks about is of course the Shinkansen, the bullet train. This one comes in different varieties and speeds and is the fastest earthbound way to get from one city to another.

Shinkansen

Of course there are "normal" trains as well, also Limited Express trains, Express trains, overnight trains, ... You name it, they got it.

Finding your platform and train should not pose that much of a problem, even without Japanese, as long as you stay in the major cities, where the announcements are made in English as well as Japanese. If in doubt: Ask someone, you should be able to find some English speaking staff.
Might be problematic in more rural areas.

Train schedule - English

Train schedule - Japanese

Especially made for foreign tourists visiting Japan under the status of "Temporary visitor", the Japan Rail P (JRP) ass is ideal of those hopping from place to place. If enables you to use all JR-lines and all Shinkansen trains except the Nozomi just by showing it. One has to buy it before coming to Japan via a travel agency.

Some trains, especially the Shinkansen and Limited Express ones are divided into reserved and non-reserved seats by a ratio of roughly 2:1. If you have a JRP you can easily get a reserved ticket and board the train, knowing exactly where your seat is.

By the way, the tracks got markings or displays on them, showing you which car will stop where, meaning where you should position yourself to avoid having to search for your seat.

The upper class cars are called "Green cars" in Japan and cannot be used without additional charges by a JRP-holder. Cannot say much about those, didn't use them.

When arriving at it's final destination, the train is cleaned and the doors are barricaded. Just wait till they are done.

In the early hours of the morning, cities like Tokyo offer special "Women only" cars on their trains. Those are limited to the rush-hour when lots of school girls etc. take the train to their destination, the cars can be used by anyone the rest of the day.

One thing I discovered quite recently are the double-decker trains, but you can imagine those.

Also, with the movie in the cinemas and the games coming up, there are trains specially decorated with Pokémon. Didn't notice any difference aside from their outer appearance, the kids love them though.

Pokemon train

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Subway and Metro: Not much to say about them, subways are pretty much the same all around the world I guess. Tokyo got a massive system of those and a JR-operated loop line as well.
The cars often feature multiple displays for travel info, CMs and announcing the next stop and can really really stuffed during rush hour.

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If in Tokyo the main means of transport is the metro system, it's the city buses in Kyoto.

Kyoto city bus

The tourist information center offers free bus navis, no matter how far you travel inside the city it's a flat rate (220yen) and all the sights can be easily reached by bus, yep, it's pretty nice.
As for the system, you enter the bus by the rear door and leave by the front door. When leaving you put the money in a machine next to driver and get off, that's it.

At the boarding areas one can see weird lines on the floor, these are guides for where to stand in line, and it works! No pushing, no cutting in line, everyone enters calmly and without making a fuss. Of course this is not entirely true, but it's still way better than the mess we get sometimes at home.

Lining up

If you exit the city itself, e.g. by traveling to Arashiyama, you will have to take a ticket out of a machine right when entering the bus. This will have a printed number on it and at the front of the bus a display will mach our number to the prize if you get off at the next stop. Press the button to show the driver you want to get off, get your money ready and drop both your ticket and the exact amount into the slot next to the driver.

As with any form of public transportation (except taxis), you are expected to offer your seat to persons needing it more than you do, especially the elderly, weak, expectant mothers, persons with small children etc.

There are other systems for riding a bus as well, as I learned when I tried the buses in Tama Plaza. Here it's pretty much the opposite from Kyoto: While also a flat rate, you enter by the front door, pay when right then and exit using the middle/rear-door. Caused some confusion when I came from Kyoto.

Highway buses, operated by various companies including JR are a slower, but more scenic way of traveling from place to place and for non-JRP-holders often cheaper. Took one to Mt. Fuji.

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Taking a taxi is generally more expensive than public transit for lone travelers, but cannot always be avoided. Also, they are convenient! Note that you never touch a door in Japanese taxis, the driver opens and closes them from the diving seat via a button.

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As good as the public transit in Japan may be, problems still occur. I told you about this already, but I got stuck for an hour once due to some problem/accident.

So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS