I am finally catching on to a few things here in Japan. It is called Golden Week because it is amazing! I had a fabulous week. Cherry blossoms and golden week have felt like a fabulous reward for having dealt with the winter. We decided to get as much out of this week as we could and I feel like we really did. Emi and I skipped the Friday night enkai and just chilled out with Gisela and Tom. I don’t mind enkais but I tend to feel a little awkward at them and they are expensive. We did some general touring around on Saturday and we got the garden dug out. Now I have a veggie patch consisting of tomatoes, cucumber, watermelons, and various kinds of peppers and egg plants. We had the brain storm that we might like a hot tub for the back yard as well and set out to find one. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to sell them here. I think it is because they have all those hot springs and few people would have room. It stopped us from doing some serious impulse shopping at any rate. Tom, Dec and I started Sunday by taking a tour down the Kiso valley over towards Ontake. This is a large dormant volcano now used for skiing and snowboarding. It was a leisurely tour and we made numerous stops along the way to take pictures. Tom also scaled a small waterfall. Later on we got some soba and watched the fire department doa controlled burn around the restaurant. Then we came back up to Shiojiri and met up with some friends who were already at my place. We were going to leave on Sunday and drive to Kyoto but were advised against driving at the last minute. So we got the only bus tickets we could for 7:30 the next morning. It was worth the early start though because it was a beautiful day and we wanted to make the most of our time there. We stayed in Kyoto for the first day, went to Nara the second day and then back to Kyoto and were home on Thursday. We did the tourist stuff but not at too rapid of a pace. It was so nice to take a holiday in a warm place and just chill out. It felt like Thailand all over again. Kyoto is a former capital of Japan. I especially liked Nijojo, the home of the last Shogun. This is like a military dictator who ruled Japan in maybe the 1800s. I am not up on the history as I should be. There were wax figures of all the courtiers and the interior was so beautiful. Matsumoto castle was never this ornate. We couldn’t take pictures inside though. The floors are called nightengale floors because the whistle and sing slightly as you walk on them so everyone always know when some is approaching. Then we toured the grounds outside the castle. We lay on park benches and had a nap in the sun for a while. It's great to finally get some colour in my skin again.
We saw loads of temples and visited the Gion district. This is where the Maikos are found wandering about in costume. Maikos are Geisha in training I believe. There were about 5 of them when we were there. Their elaborate costumes and makeup made us completely over look the ladies walking around in their regular kimonos. The whole area was filled with narrow little streets and shops selling traditional foods and gifts. It is largely geared to tourists but we really enjoyed it. We had pumpkin and chestnut ice cream. I love savoury flavours. There were school groups everywhere because this is a popular school trip destination. So is Nara, about 45 minutes away. Nara is filled with deer that want food from you. They are all over the place and not at all shy. Gisela got three of them to follow her around while she ran. It was quite funny. We went to see a big Buddha called Daibutsu. It was built in 752! Can you believe that? It is about 15 metres high and very impressive. Even more impressive was the giant ceremony that was going on around the temple where the Buddha is housed. Apparently it is the world's largest building made only of wood. People in all manner of costumes and traditional outfits were present. We think the Emperor was there as well although we can’t be sure. There was someone being carried out on a very fancy chair carried by about 6 traditionally dressed men. We could barely get close enough to take a picture though because there were hundreds of Japanese people crowded around taking pictures and watching. We finally found a good vantage point. It was very interesting but we still don’t know why they were all there. It was Constitutional Memorial day that day so that could be it. Inside the temple was a large pillar with a very small hole in it. You could squeeze your body through it. If you could pull yourself through it, it represented a new beginning in you life. Gisela did it two times as I cheered from the side lines. The last thing I need is to get my butt stuck in a temple. That would represent anything but a new beginning. We also had some delicious yakisoba (fried buckwheat noodles) and several drinks. When we got back to Kyoto, we sat along the river side for the after noon and ate on a patio. It was a great experience. I went home on the shinkensen which is a high speed train. I had never been on it yet and let me tell you it was indeed fast! It was cool to see a flatter part of the land too. We are very much enclosed by mountains here. People have begun seeding and flooding the rice fields which looks quite nice as well.
After a one-day stop over at home, Gisela and I headed out again for Tokyo by bus. Needless to say the traffic was pretty slow but we got there eventually and had yet another amazing time in Tokyo. We did all the great stuff that I love to do in Tokyo. We went to Meiji shrine for a walk, drank a beer on a patio, went to Harajuku, ate a tuna crepe, sang karaoke, shopped, spent the evenings in Shibuya and Shinjuku and then headed for home. It was all quite exhausting and we spent boat loads of cash. We went to a weird theme restaurant in Shibuya as well that was an ER/Prison themed restaurant. Try and imagine what the décor looked like there. I can’t show pictures of it though as my wallet got stolen along with my camera. Crappy, I know, but not the end of the world. Some things were recovered by the police which I am grateful for. Now it is time to replace cards and get a new camera. I wanted a new one anyways; I just would have preferred to give the old one to someone. I guess I did, in effect. So al the pictures here are of Ontake, Nara and Kyoto.
At any rate, I have left out a million details about everything we saw and did this week but that’s how it always is. I am back to work now and it is good to get back into the swing of things. I am good and tired and also I have cold so I need to head to bed. There should be a post Golden Week holiday deisgned for those of us who want to do it all. Good luck to the Onward ball players as they take the field for the first time this season back home.