Usuki was great. The stone Buddhas are worth a side trip if you’re ever nearby. One of them looked like he may open his eyes at any moment and say something. Not sure I’d understand a 1000 year old dialect of Japanese though so it’s just as well that he didn’t. Is Usuki worth a…
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Beppu and Onwards
I’m on a trainset called the Hyper Saloon Inter City. Later today I’m taking the Sonic Limited Express 40. Japan has the best train names evar. Also the best trains, hands down (sorry Germany and France.) The only downside I’ve found (apart from the cost if you don’t have a Japan Railpass) is that there…
Can has Cat Mountain?
Onwards from Sakurajima: I took the train from Kagoshima to Kumamoto and spent the evening in town. Historically, that’s an interesting combination because of Saigo Takamori. He was an important figure in the Meiji Restoration, during which Japan restored contact with the rest of the world and consolidated government power under the emperor as a…
Active volcano!
The next morning it was raining and I was hung over, so I borrowed an umbrella, bought some coffee from the vending machine, and went back to bed for a few hours. After that, I went to the train station and rented a bike. JR have managed to make renting bikes more complicated than renting…
Beware the Orange Lanterns
On my last night in Kagoshima, I decided to try imo-jochu, a local specialty. I walked out of the place I was staying and went about half a block to the first orange lantern. Orange lanterns can mean many things in Japan but usually they mean an izakaya, which is a traditional Japanese pub. There…
Kaimon
I climbed Kaimon Dake. It was a far more strenuous climb than Kibune and Kurama, but worth it for the views and the simple joy of climbing. There is a small shrine at the top of the mountain. I think the spirit enshrined there is an alcoholic. Instead of the usual coin box, there were…
Ibusuki
There’s only one reason for most people to go to Ibusuki: the sandbath – the only natural one in the world. There’s a section of sand along the beach that’s heated by volcanic steam. You can get buried in the hot sand and lie there for as long as you like. It feels about how…
Cat fail, train win
You may have heard of cat cafés – a uniquely Japanese phenomenon where you pay by the hour to visit cats in a comfortable living room-like setting. I’ve been meaning to visit one. Apparently there’s one in Kyoto but a combination of poor Internet access and train schedules prevented me from getting directions in time…
Yamayaki at Nara
I found out that there was a fire festival on Saturday in Nara – an ancient capital of Japan close to Kyoto and Osaka. I decided to go to Nara for the day, then head to Osaka at night as originally planned. Nara is strange. According to local legend, the god Sento rode to Nara…
Kyoto
For my first full day in Kyoto I decided to… leave Kyoto. I took a small, suburban railway up to Kibune Guchi then walked uphill for about half an hour to reach Kifune Shrine in Kibune. Apparently the spirit enshrined there is not exactly the spirit of water itself, but rather the provider of water…
Kushikatsu!
I just rearranged my plans so I can attend the Yamayaki fire festival in Nara tomorrow! This morning, I rode out to the Gekkeikan sake brewery. I didn’t have a map or any real idea of the address, but I had: A rough idea of where it is in the city and what train stations…
Machida Geocache
On my last day in Tokyo, I got out of the city a bit to visit a geocache in a park at Machida. This was about a 30 minute train ride away from the Yamanote line on a private train service run by Odakyu, whose main business is department stores. The train ride was uneventful,…
WTFSnow in Tokyo
We love snow!, originally uploaded by scjody. I said I wished it would snow while I was in Tokyo (I still do – it only snows every few years.) This isn’t what I meant though. I found these guys on a random walk through Shibuya (the “city” in Tokyo where I live) on Age Day….
Pantsless Tokyo
Well, we tried. I saw a post on couchsurfing with plans for a pantsless train ride, part of No Pants 2010 organized by Improv Everythingwhere. The consensus among some Japanese people I talked to the night before is that it would mostly be foreigners – the concept is a bit weird for Japanese. The chosen…
Kyoto!
I just arrived in Kyoto. I took the Nozomi – the fastest kind of shinkansen – which took just over 2 hours from Shinagawa station. I’ll be here for at least the next 4 days… My last few days in Tokyo were interesting. It was nice to be able to explore the city a bit…
Akemashite Omedetou
I decided I wanted Yakitori (meat on a stick, literally “roasted bird”) for dinner, and Just In Tokyo suggested I find one of the many restaurants near Yurakucho Station. I chose the busiest restaurant (which was relative – 6PM is early for dinner it seems) and it was excellent. Great food, friendly service, and as…
Review: BOSS Coffee (rainbow mountain blend)
BOSS Coffee (rainbow mountain blend) LABEL: 8/10. You have a rainbow, you have some coffee beans, you have the BOSS, a surly character. The label also promises Guatemalan Coffee, which Verbel Kint in The Usual Suspects says is the best coffee in the world. TEMPERATURE: 8/10. It came from a vending machine in a can,…
Postcards for postcards :)
I love getting & sending postcards, and I’m in Tokyo for a while… therefore: postcards for postcards. If you want postcards from me during my travels, please do 2 things: Send me your address – even if you sent it before because I don’t have it now. Send me a postcard! The address here is:…
Today I…
Today I accidentally: Bought a notebook for $35. Not a special notebook – last time I bought something similar, it was $6 at Staples. Took a subway line I’d never heard of, that wasn’t even on my map. Found Shibuya’s Love Hotel Hill. Finally saw HachikÅ the dog. Today I quite intentionally: Looked at cheap…
Trip planning continues…
Booked: Fri Feb 26, 17:50: UA 875, NRT-SIN, arr 0:20 Feb 27 (with Robin) I’ve also summarized a lot of my ideas so far on their own page. And yes I’ll be blogging on my website, which also shows up as a note on Facebook.