On May 6th at 11:58PM, someone dear to my heart, Takahashi Sakae-san, whom my friend ML and I met when we were traveling in Japan, left us forever.

Below is the story of how we met Takahashi-san, excerpted from my travelogue of my trip to Japan back in 2008. 

 "10/21/2008

This ended up to be one of the most precious experiences of the trip. There are things that you can just “see”, but then there are things that you must “experience”. To me, experiencing is way more important than seeing.

ML and I arrived at Kamakura... in search of lunch. I saw a bowl of ramen in the display window of one of the shops and we capriciously decided to go in... three older gentlemen sitting on the right side...

... We started chatting and eventually found out that the gentleman sitting in the middle, Takahashi-san 高橋, was four months away from his 99^th birthday... turned out that their hometown was Kita-Kamakura and we decided to take a taxi together to go to Tokei-ji. ML mentioned on the way there that her biggest wish was to enter one of the Japanese homes and see what’s inside... who would invite a complete stranger into his/her house?!... After we entered the main gates for Tokei-ji, Takahashi-san went straight towards a residential gate on the side of the temple. We were greeted by an elderly lady, who apparently was a friend of Takahashi-san. Takahashi-san made a big deal about us being from far away and the lady promptly invited us into her house and asked her daughter (who was a tea ceremony teacher) to make tea for us. It was the most delicious tea we EVER had and the interior of the house was exactly as we had hoped – traditional and sparse. Just simple and beautiful, complete with a totally zen front AND back garden. We felt like our dream just came true...

...Afterwards, the three gentlemen took us up the steps of Tokei-ji... the [Kamakura] Buddha and temples have been there for generations and barring some natural disaster, they’ll still be there until I go again. Our experience was something unique to the core and more than anything we could had ever hoped for...

...The three gentlemen then took us to the Kita-Kamakura station before heading home. We also exchanged contact information so that we can keep in touch and send photos to each other (which we ended up doing – I even sent Takahashi-san a birthday present)."

I had lost contact with the three gentlemen for a while because of various craziness in my life (moving to the other coast and starting a new career, etc. :p). But when the Earthquake in Japan back in March happened, I was really concerned and emailed them to check on their safety. ML and I followed up by sending him a birthday card (her) and a post card of SF (me). I truly believe everything happens for a reason. In retrospect, I'm really glad that I contacted him, because even though he wasn't able to respond to us (he was already in the hospital, though he was conscious/aware and able to communicate),  he was really happy to hear from us and get our little presents. Most importantly, he knew we were thinking of him. Yanagiawa-san told me that even when they talked a few days before he passed, he mentioned multiple times that he wanted to meet up with us again in Kamakura... Despite the regrets (we wanted to send him a present to wish him well, visit him again, and maybe celebrate his 102 birthday with him... etc. etc.), at least we know that before he passed away, we let him know how special he was to us and that we were thinking of him too. I'm so very grateful for that...

Takahashi-san taught me that a bit of kindness to a stranger (or anyone really) may change/help that person in ways that you never expect. I will always keep that close to my heart. Even though we only spent half a day together, this gift that he gave to me was priceless and I will treasure it forever. I will also share it with as many people as I can, because the world can always use a little bit more kindness. 

この世で、高橋お爺さんと一度会えて、嬉しいかった、幸せな巡り会うでした。本当に優しいお方でした。また悲しいんでいるけど、もう会えないけど、お爺さんのことは、一生忘れない。これから、お爺さんはきっと星になって、皆を見守るのを信じてます！ 

高橋お爺さん、さよなら。

 

It is a bit late for me to be making this posting, but I figured it’s better late than never.

As most people know now, there had been a 9.0 magnitude earthquake + 30' tsunami + ongoing nuclear reactor crisis in Japan. Sometimes, when we face the awesome force of nature, unfathomable as we mill about in our day-to-day, there is a sense of utter powerlessness. When such a tragic threefold disaster and its aftermath unravels unceremoniously in front our eyes, we are stunned, shocked, scared, then we slowly crawl our way back to normalcy, if only to preserve our fragile sanity from being crushed by such sorrow.

But normalcy for some have been irreversibly changed.

While I look through this posting on a Taiwanese website, I saw a song that really touched me. It’s by my beloved Yoko Kanno (1), paired on Youtube with the amazingly gorgeous and touching series of “Smile” pictures drawn by Takehiko Inoue (2). I have translated the lyrics and have also placed a link to the Google site, which links directly to the Japanese Red Cross. Albeit Red Cross is reputed to spend too much of the donated money on their administrative fees, they are also one of the few groups with enough organization and reach to actually help people in disaster areas. Too often people donate at the beginning of a disaster, and the influx of funds is improperly appropriated. But help will always be needed, especially as Japan rebuilds. Let the Japanese people know that they have not been forgotten. That the world is still with them.

Many things have been said about the admirable ways the Japanese people stolidly accepted and handled these disasters, sometimes sacrificing themselves in order to save others. One only needs to look on the internet if one is interested. There were also criticisms, from those who point their fingers at Pearl Harbor or Chinese people who hang on to the torturous memories of past, when the Japanese people had inflicted incredible pain upon them or their ancestors. Most of these people did not personally suffer the pain but were borrowing the pain of previous generations to build self-identity. Most people in the modern age benefited more from than suffered because of the Japanese people. But I digress. This is subject for another long tirade. 

This post is to implore you to remember that the situation is continuing, not ended. If you have a little to spare, donating it to a worthy cause will feel much better than that next big meal.   

be as You are, be safe [Donate]

we are worried
People of the World
are worried about You
we are searching for Your name
we are with You
People of the World are
there with You
we are coming to meet You
for Your life
until we come to embrace
You
- still unharmed, both body and spirit -
please
be as You are
please
be safe…

(I did not use a period, because there is no end.)

Another way I was able to help myself become stronger is to do some translations of messages on Pray for Japan (there are many other language versions too):

"Tomorrow, my father, who was expecting to retire in half a year, will be sent to the Fukujima nuclear site for support. When I heard that he volunteered, I cried. 'How we respond today will affect the future of nuclear [energy]. I have a sense of mission.’ My father, whom I always thought as unreliable at home, today, I'm so incredibly proud of you. I pray that you return home safe." 

"An Israeli man spoke to me in Hebrew and I freaked out. A Palestinian friend passing by translated for me 'Is Japan ok? I'll pray deeply for you.' Then the Israeli and Palestinian shook hands and smiled. I cried."

“Someone important to me is working in the disaster area as a member of the self-defense force. [They are] resting 3 out of 24 hours. I emailed and asked ‘are you ok?’ He said ‘this is why we were trained. There are people who still believe that “[we are] not helpless,” so I feel fine too.’ Somehow, please express even stronger gratitude toward them.”

“After the disaster, the strong adults are who made me smile. A smile can spread. [I] exchanged an email with mom. At the end she wrote ‘Even if you think about it, there’s not much you can do, but you don’t want to regret anything, so live with a smile.” Yup, live with a smile. I sent her that reply, then I cried like a baby. How I really do love my mother.”

“I was checking the emergency pack at home and found a message that my father left 40 years ago. ‘Hold the sun in your heart, have a song on your lips.’ I will also write a message in the new emergency pack, so that whoever sees it will be encouraged.”

“Today, my 5 years old son said to me, ‘mommy, it’ll be ok. If an earthquake comes I will protect your head. And after the earthquake I will take you outside to grandpa’s place.’ Looking at my son, who’s trying to protect me with his tiny body, I cried. I never thought an ‘it’ll be ok’ from a child would hold so much power. Thank you, my son.”

“One of these days, I will say to my children or grandchildren ‘when grandma was young, there was a massive earthquake in eastern Japan. Then the world became one. Everyone bonded together and supported each other with all their power for a single purpose, and their spirit shone brightly.’ I shall speak until my listeners have had their fill. Because even as just one person, I want to make more people happier.”

“It’s so very dark; the stars that until now we were never able to see, are beautiful. Everyone in Sendai, look upward.”

(1) Music composer for series: Escaflowne, Macross, Cowboy Bebop, etc.
(2) Mangaka of series:  Slam Dunk, Vagabond, etc.

Thought this was worth a write-up.

I am not a super superstitious person. I admit, there are certain things that I am more uptight about and prefer to follow. There is a saying in Chinese: rather believe it to be true than not 寧願信其有,不可信其無. That's the general thinking regarding things that may bring bad luck.

Well, my luck with flying has been hilarious. There's ALWAYS a certain incident before I fly. It's happened so often that I have come to expect it. For example, my most recent flights:

1) JP/TW trip (10/2008): right before I left for the airport, the strap to my bookbag broke (MAJOR bad juju). My mom stared blank-faced and then rushed to say: "well wasn't it good that it happened before the trip?" Mind you, at the time I was going insane because of all the bad stuff that had happened so far in 2008 and I was already envisioning my plane engulfed by flames and plummeting into the Pacific... now this...

2) Puerto Rico trip (12/2008): my travel partner Lan, right before we were to board, got very sick and spent a lot of time in the bathroom. We didn't run onto the plane until after their final call. Then while she was on the plane, she locked herself in the bathroom and we almost got "escorted" off the plane because we were causing the plane to be grounded and the crew was skeptical as to whether or not we were (physically) fit to fly. Needless to say, I was endlessly grateful when Lan was able to make it out of the bathroom somewhat recovered and the plane finally took off. The crew was so afraid we'd come down with something that they were super nice to us the entire trip.

3) Hong Kong trip (5/2009): this time I got sick right before the flight and I thought I was developing a fever. Now, normally this wouldn't be a huge issue, but remember this was at the height of the swine flu fever and if I exhibited any symptom at all (esp. a fever) I probably would had ended up quarantined. Fortunately, by the time I got on the plane I was feeling fine again (took some fever meds) and the rest of the flight proved uneventful.

4) San Francisco flight (6/2009): I, being the insanely distracted person I was, forgot that my ride to the airport (provided by my dear friend Jeremy) was supposed to show up at 4 and thought it was supposed to be 3... and of course, by 3:30 when he didn't show up (and of course by my luck he had fatefully forgotten his cell phone on this day, my entire family started panicking. Somehow though, I thought it was extremely funny, because I knew this - SOMETHING - was going to happen. And it did.

Now... it's not like I enjoy these little incidents. Actually every time there was potential that something bad could've happen... but I guess it didn't... and looking back, they *are* kind of funny.

Another thing about traveling alone though, I started chatting with the elderly gentleman who sat  next to me on my flight to SF (he had a mask on the whole flight so we didn't actually talk until the end of the flight). Mr. Liu had guessed I was Chinese from the Tarot book I was reading and I ended up giving him my business card and asked him to let me know if he ever needed help with any translations. Fun, eh? :)

This trip was made possible and perfect through the love and support of many friends, all of whom either aided me in some way or accompanied (got dragged along by) me on my reckless travels. I also thank everyone for their emotional/moral support through my many difficult periods, before and after the trip. It’s in the darkest of times that you really can feel the light that others so willingly give away (yes, cliché but works)… and this has certainly been a pretty bad year.

Also, I didn’t want to explain all the pictures so I am putting up this travelogue so you can look up for yourself where I was on a particular day and what I was doing. XD

Pre-trip drama

Less than a month before I was to embark on my trip, I came down with a medical emergency that went from bad to severe and ended up with all medicine failing and me in the ER getting a small operation done. During this time I went through loads of anxiety, fear, and disappointment. This was a trip that I had wanted to do for about 8 years and each time I was held back for various reasons. I was faced with the decision of whether or not I should again give up on the trip based on the many bad omens that showed themselves beforehand. The week and even just days before I went off on the trip, I went to doctors, who told me I had to be SUPER careful because my wound was not going to heal until I get a second operation, which meant I had to deal with a perpetual lesion my entire trip. In the end, despite my apocalyptic visions and misgiving, I decided that no matter what, I was going on this trip.

Still, for almost the whole of this trip, all I saw when I closed my eyes (when not sleeping) were rows of tombstones or swarming ants… talk about morbid.

Locations: Japan and Taiwan
() = Route I took
[] = Cities I passed through

DAY 1 – Friday, 10/10 (NYC -> Taoyuan桃園)

Departure from JFK. No drama for the duration of the flight except for that my wound made it rather difficult for me to sit or concentrate on anything (e.g. reading), making the trip extremely long, boring, and painful. I did see Speed Racer. Interesting… but it was a good thing I didn’t see it in the theaters.

DAY 2 - Saturday, 10/11 (Taoyuan)

Late night arrival in Taoyuan International Airport. I had originally planned (yes, it’s true) to either spend the night at the airport (since it was too late to disturb Shirley’s family in Taipei) or take the last bus out to Taipei and find a hotel for the night. However, after hearing of my plans I was heavily reprimanded by Ku Ma, who then took it upon herself to pick me up from the airport. Of course we missed each other at the gate and I went around the terminal about 10 times before finally deciding to get change and call her (really, no drama, just a slight scare, being in a strange land/airport and all).

This was my first experience with Taiwan and oh boy, motorbike heaven. This was also the first time I had good Taiwan 臭豆腐 and I also tried 彰化肉丸. It is apparently made with pork wrapped in a thick shell made of powdered 地瓜(?). Since I was on a very strict diet (basically no seafood or anything that would exacerbate the condition of my wound), there was not much choice for me. But I was satisfied. I was also pleasantly surprised by the abundance of 永和豆漿! OMG! SOY MILK at any odd hours of the night!

I spent the night at Ku Ma’s home in Taoyuan with her family, including her three lovable pets, 妹妹 (who usually behaves unless拖鞋 gets on her nerves, Boogie (小貓 the cat), and 拖鞋 (the adorable brat who kept on stomping all over me and licking me).

DAY 3 – Sunday, 10/12 (Taoyuan-> Taipei)

Ku Ma’s son, Michael, was kind enough to give me a lift (about 45 min drive) from Taoyuan to Taipei and also drove me past the President’s residence on our way there. In front of the新光三越across from Taipei Main Station, I met up with Fish. After knowing (started from worshipping) her for over 5 years, I finally met one of my favorite popular novel writers. She subsequently took me to walk around the underground shopping center at Taipei Main Station (where I had my TW Tofufa臺北豆花 initiation), then 中正紀念堂, which had been distastefully renamed to 自由廣場, 建國假日花市, as well as passed by the impossibly crowded 鼎泰豐. Since鼎泰豐 was so crowded, we went to 信記 (?) nearby for Shanghainese… very good soup buns, veggie buns, desserts, and… well, food. Then she went with me to Vigor 薇閣and negotiated my studio pictures. Interestingly enough, when I wrote out my birthday, they thought it was in TW 民國years, and started to treat me like I’m 18… which was both amusing and sad (that they seriously thought I was 18). Vigor was a studio I found online (lots of recommendations, especially from Japanese people) and I made the booking while I was still in the US. They didn’t require a deposit like some other bigger studios and were very kind on the phone.

After a failed attempt at lunch, we returned to Curry Man魔法咖喱at the Taipei Station (this time we made reservation) for dinner. The curry was Japanese style. Since I cannot eat Indian food without my stomach rebelling, this was very good for me.

After dinner, I went to Shirley’s parents’ house and stayed for the night. SUCH a cute family!!! And her dad seemed amused that I had never been to TW but was already zooming around on my own less than 1 day.

DAY 4 – Monday, 10/13 (Taipei->Taoyuan)

This day was almost ENTIRELY spent at薇閣getting my studio pictures done. Although I had planned that way anyway, it was still rather painful. Despite the fact that they got me to pay triple the price at the end… (T_T) I have to say that the service was extremely professional and they staff was all very nice and do consider what’d fit the customers instead of just want to make money. For example, I wanted to put on this 仿唐紅色低胸長紗裙(Tang style low cut lace+satin dresss) because I’m obsessed with the thought of a costume/hair from ancient China and that was the closest thing they had to it. My photographer yelled out: 像蕩婦! (slut >_<) as soon as she saw me (no mercy at all), and everyone else started giggling. My makeup artist, trying to make me feel better, said: ok this sort of does look a little 楊貴妃, and another person immediately said: more like 怡紅院姑娘. Needless to say, I did *not* keep that costume. It’s brutal, but… effective. They had a good point and I appreciated them pointing it out before I took the pictures. For example, the picture of me in the white costume jumping, that took 3 other employees, one stool, and lots of plastic flowers picked off of other prop flower trees. Every take the photographer would yell “1, 2, 3”. At 2 they would throw the flowers and 3 I would jump off the stool. I thought we were only going to give it 3 tries, but we went for at least 10. All flowers had to be picked up and thrown again… but everyone had a good (?) time. I would definitely recommend them if anyone else plan to take studio shots in Taiwan.

At 5:30PM, when they finally let me out to grab food (hadn’t eaten the whole day), I rushed next door to Rose House 古典玫瑰園and had a lovely afternoon tea. Afterwards, I had to go back to choose pictures to be placed in the album. FINALLY I was able to leave after 7PM and met up with Kaze and Ku Ma at Shilin Night Market士林夜市 to have some delicious food (was too scarred by a whole day of cameras so didn’t even take pictures) and returned with them to Taoyuan for the night.

薇閣Vigor Photo Studio: http://www.vg168.com.tw/

DAY 5 – Tuesday, 10/14 (Taoyuan->Yingge 鶯歌->Baijishan白雞山->Sanxia三峽->Taoyuan)

Ku Ma drove us to 鶯歌since Kaze wanted to buy a ceramic teapot. It was a cozy little town with about 200 stores selling mostly the same thing, except some were cheaper than others (and some had more mosquitoes than others). We had lunch at a tea shop, where Ku Ma got her beautiful 飛天壺and the owner taught us plenty about how to drink tea. Afterwards we stopped by 行修宮 temple on 白雞山. 行修宮is actually an extension of 行天宮in Taipei. Many Taipei people don’t even know this. The setup was very similar to 行天宮and even though it’s situated on top of a mountain, there was a fair crowd. We got blessed there and also prayed to the deities (me mostly praying I’d survive the trip). Apparently when you pray at a temple your are supposed to walk in with your right foot and out with your left foot first. O_o We also went to 三峽老街 for a late night visit. All the shops were mostly closed, but we noticed that each had their own uniquely designed mailbox and sewer cover. The nightly entertainment appeared to be karaoke, as we saw many of the owners of closing shops setting up their TV for some karaoke singing. Any place outside of Taipei you really should have a car. Otherwise you’d have a rather difficult time getting around.

DAY 6 – Wednesday, 10/15 (Taoyuan->Taipei)

We had wanted to go to 平溪 today but unfortunately due to land disputes between some greedy landowner and the government, the place was almost all shut down. So, after dropping our luggage at the Tsai household, Kaze and I went to National Palace Museum故宮博物館and spent the entire day there. The museum has an amazing amount of artifacts, some dating back to the 夏, or even prehistoric times. The pieces that interested me the most were of course the 翠玉白菜and the 東波肉(yum). Basically if you walk into the Museum gift shop you’ll be seeing a LOT of 白菜,which we found rather amusing and cute. The 17 layer sculpted sphere was also mind boggling. I just couldn’t conceive of how these art pieces were created and I think modern historians are still marveling at the incredible skill that people of ancient times had. If only some of these skills wasn’t among the most precious knowledge that we lost…

After seeing the museum, it unfortunately started to rain. Kaze and I managed to run over to see Shirley’s wedding location, then headed to meet up with my good friend (and college suitemate) Tim. Even though there was the unfortunate event of him getting a ticket for parking his car illegally (he was in it though!) while waiting for us, we still had a lovely time. We had dinner at Takashimaya and then he took us to Miramar 美麗華to ride the Ferris Wheel. Despite my fear of heights and that it was still raining, it was still a lovely way to see Taipei at night. Even better, according to Fish, than on top of 101, because the experience is more unique. Then Tim drove us back to the Tsai household.

故宮博物館National Palace Museum: http://www.npm.gov.tw/

DAY 7 – Thursday, 10/16 (Taipei)

We met with Zoe, Kaze’s friend, at 西門町 and ate at a rather cute egg/omelet store (all omelets and egg décor) that was supposedly pretty popular. After a visit to 光華商場 for electronics, where Kaze surprisingly did NOT purchase anything, we went to 行天宮. But really, our goal was to go for a massage across the street from the temple. It was a great (albeit EXTREMELY PAINFUL) experience but unfortunately Kaze started obsessing over her health afterwards (supposedly, if you are 100% healthy, you will not feel any pain… but if you feel LOTS of pain… O_O<-).

It was time for dinner, but I insisted on hitting one more spot, so we ended up going to 龍山寺, which was right around 華西夜市. In the end, I had my dinner at 鮮芋仙(which Kaze found for me despite her grumbling and lecturing) because I didn’t think my stomach was strong enough for the street food at the night market and was being whiney and insisted on having Tofufa for dinner. I ended up having Tofufa and grass jelly as well. Yum. I have to say,鮮芋仙chain stores became one of my favorite sights in Taiwan, since I knew I could get my beloved Tofufa as well as grass jelly.

鮮芋仙: http://www.meetfresh.com.tw/about.htm

DAY 8 – Friday, 10/17 (Taipei)

I somehow managed to find a 永和close to the Tsai house so I can get my soymilk fix whenever I wanted (unfortunately it was also perceptually burnt at this place… = =+). After breakfast there, Kaze and I went off for 陽明山. Since my wound was actually hurting a little at this point, I didn’t really want to walk but Kaze wanted to hike so we walked for an hour or so. Unfortunately, after that it started to rain and Kaze went off to meet with her family while I went on a “Speed-style” 亡命bus roundtrip ride around the mountain. If there were clear spots I would had gotten off the bus to take a look, unfortunately everything was obscured by the fog/mist from the rain, so I ended up leaving early and just spent some time walking around the foot of the mountain, where apparently a lot of couples go to take their wedding pictures (so I guess they all turn out the same). Then it was time for my planned hot spring trip at Spring Resort 春天酒店. There was a shuttle from the Beitou station to the hotel so the trip was rather easy. Even though Spring was slightly more expensive… err… a lot more expensive than your average hot spring place in Taiwan, it was impeccably clean and had excellent service. I suppose it was weird for a random girl to walk in alone and ask for 1 hour hot spring, but in the end I had a very enjoyable experience (though unfortunately I found out I couldn’t stay in for more than 5 mins without getting very dizzy… maybe the masseuse was right T_T).

The most horrible thing was I realized I forgot all my presents from my friends at Ku Ma’s house, so after the hot springs I took one of the regional buses back to Ku Ma’s house (and had her chick soup noodles!) to pick up my things, then rush back to Taipei. Even though I got slightly lost while trying to get to Ku Ma’s house (all my previous arrivals had been by car), I was able to find it after… a jogging couple pointed it out (“umm, you mean the building across the street?” >_<).

Kaze and I both somehow managed to get back (separately) to the Tsai household before 10P and rested up for another long day on Sat.

春天酒店Spring Resort: http://www.springresort.com.tw/

DAY 9 – Saturday, 10/18 (Taipei->Danshui)

I took Kaze with me to 淡水, where I was supposed to meet with my forum friends whom I have known for about 7-8 years but never met. Although somehow we didn’t decide on where to meet at the station, 66 and Fish both found me without much problem. Then we went to 紅毛城, which was built by the Spanish, used as a port by the Dutch, and eventually was where the British embassy was established. After a rather disappointing “Western” lunch at 紅樓, we meet up with 99 and her family (6 total) who came up all the way from 南投 to meet up with me and spent a lovely time grabbing little trinkets and eating (barely, since I can’t have any shellfish T_T) around 淡水老街. This was probably the only time I had to “shop” so I used it wisely. Kaze had to leave midday to attend a wedding so I went back to the Tsai household alone. It was a wonderful feeling to see so many of my forum friends (after my 2003 Jiangnan tour, I had not done a mass meeting of forum friends) in person and also always great when you can meet someone you had never saw before and felt like you’d known them all your life. Even friends in real life may not last 7-8 years, so I really value the friendship that we share.

I also dragged the Tsai family to take group pictures for Shirley. I was becoming an expert at setting the timer on my camera.

DAY 10 – Sunday, 10/19 (Taipei)

Since it was my last day in Taipei, Mama Tsai took me to have breakfast at Yoshinoya. It was rather funny, but the menu was very different from the Yoshinoya in the US. I had no specific plan for the day except to pick up my album.

This was my “shopping and do everyone you couldn’t do on the other days so you don’t regret anything day”. I also had to finish up some errands. My first stop was 101. Hey, if I was in TW already might as well see the tallest building. As soon as I walked in I realized it was no different than any large department stores (Burberry, Lacoste, Swarovski, blah blah) and immediately lost interest. There were some things that I knew I had to get and I knew they had it at西門町 so that was a mad dash to pick up a money clip (which was massively hard to find because apparently they are VERY unpopular in TW, since people carry around so many cards), a small purse, and a pair of shorts that Kaze didn’t let me buy but I regretted not buying (and they dug it out of storage for me since they had already given up selling it).

After lunch at the鼎泰豐 at Sogo (I just couldn’t leave TW without going although everyone thought I was so weird to go there and eat by myself). I also made a pit stop to 龍山寺 since Kaze didn’t let me do any praying last time. I didn’t feel right since I went back to settle my heart.

The last necessary stop was Vigor to pick up my photos, after which I went back to the Tsai household and showed them to Tsai ma and picked up my luggage (backpack). My trip back to Taoyuan was… not as smooth as the previous time. Basically I got so lost that I ended up at a bike shop and used their phone to call Ku Ma for her to pick me up. Although some of the guys at the bike shop offered to drive me to my destination… I just didn’t think it was appropriate.

Fortunately, the wait wasn’t that long (albeit awkward) and I was again safely in the hands (car) of Ku Ma.

DAY 11 – Monday, 10/20 (Taoyuan->[KIX]->[Kyoto]->Shinjuku@Tokyo)

Ku Ma took me the airport early in the morning and after a non descriptive flight, I arrived in Kansai International Airport.

The staff at the Green Window was rather rusty with his English and after quite a struggle, I finally was able to get the 7 day Japan Rail Pass. In retrospect, my Japan Rail Pass was used to the max and I am so grateful for the fact that I got it. Anyone going around Japan on their own budget (i.e. not with a tour) should definitely get it. After having much trouble trying to book a ticket at the kiosks with my pass (which is not possible) I asked someone else at the airport in English (b/c I’d been told that Speaking English in Japan will get you much more attention and respect than speaking Japanese). He looked like a student and thus I thought might speak better English than rest, but no such luck. He directed me back to the SAME window and I ended up with the SAME clerk… at which time I just gave up and started speaking Japanese. This apparently confused them so much that it took me another while to book tickets to Tokyo (yes, the same day, via Kyoto). Taking the Haruka to the Hikari was sort of a dream come true for me because that’s the route that I’d always wanted to take. Arrival in Shinjuku was late in the evening, but I managed to find my friend, MiuLee, and we headed off to dinner. We found a lovely Japanese restaurant (which we could not find again) and had an excellent meal right around where we were staying (next to the Koma theater) and had a great chat with the waiter (who was trying to practice his Chinese with us). We ran into problems with ML’s hotel (which I was going to stay at) since they did not allow for an extra person to stay without paying more. After a long extensive argument, I finally conceded to paying the extra fees since it would be too much of a hassle to find another hotel at the time. We joked that we spent that money to rent my yukata and toiletries since we did not get anything else for the extra fee. Neither of us had exactly planned out our itineraries for the next few days, but fortunately we both wanted to see the same type of stuff (historical, non-city). I had already planned to see Kamakura and Nikko, so we decided to go to Kamakura the next day. My guidebook was wonderful because it gave us mostly all the instruction we needed. Too bad it’s no longer being sold through Amazon. If you need it, feel free to ask me.

Japan Rail Pass: http://www.japanrailpass.net/
Gateway to Japan: http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-Japan-Kodansha-Guide-Kinoshita/dp/477002018X

DAY 12 – Tuesday, 10/21 (Tokyo->Kamakura->Kita-Kamakura->Akihabara@Tokyo->Shinjuku@Tokyo)

This ended up to be one of the most precious experiences of the trip. There are things that you can just “see”, but then there are things that you must “experience”. To me, experiencing is way more important than seeing.

ML and I arrived at Kamakura a bit later than we expected (a little after noon) and walked our way to Hachiman-gu. After touring the shrine, we walked down the lovely Cherry boulevard (we were told it’s amazing in March/April when the Cherry trees are in full bloom) in search of lunch. I saw a bowl of ramen in the display window of one of the shops and we capriciously decided to go in. Upon entering, we knew that we hit a local shop where tourists were not expected (though not un-welcomed). There was one salary-man type sitting on the left of the traditionally situated U-shaped counter, and three older gentlemen sitting on the right side.

We started chatting and eventually found out that the gentleman sitting in the middle, Takahashi-san 高橋, was four months away from his 99th birthday. I have no idea how these Japanese people find their longevity (good for them), but I definitely think the lightness of his heart had something to do with it. And so, ML and I started the most unlikely conversation with the most unlikely of friends met on the road. Eventually we wanted to take pictures, and that’s when we found out that another of the gentleman, Yanagisawa-san 柳澤had a totally professional camera (he also somehow guessed I was a CU graduate – WHAT!?). In the end, not only did we take a lot of pictures of/with each other, turned out that their hometown was Kita-Kamakura and we decided to take a taxi together to go to Tokei-ji. ML mentioned on the way there that her biggest wish was to enter one of the Japanese homes and see what’s inside. But of course, who would invite a complete stranger into his/her house?!

And surprise followed. After we entered the main gates for Tokei-ji, Takahashi-san went straight towards a residential gate on the side of the temple. We were greeted by an elderly lady, who apparently was a friend of Takahashi-san. Takahashi-san made a big deal about us being from far away and the lady promptly invited us into her house and asked her daughter (who was a tea ceremony teacher) to make tea for us. It was the most delicious tea we EVER had and the interior of the house was exactly as we had hoped – traditional and sparse. Just simple and beautiful, complete with a totally zen front AND back garden. We felt like our dream just came true. The daughter, who was quite modest, then took us to see October Sakura blossoms at a neighbor’s house, which was beautiful as well.

Afterwards, the three gentlemen took us up the steps of Tokei-ji and we had a lovely up-close view of the beautiful gardens. And although we ended up not seeing the Buddha or Engaku-ji (we still took pictures, Yanagisawa-san said that we could tell everyone we went with the pictures as proof – well… not really, but who cares!?), but the Buddha and temples have been there for generations and barring some natural disaster, they’ll still be there until I go again. Our experience was something unique to the core and more than anything we could had ever hoped for.

The three gentlemen then took us to the Kita-Kamakura station before heading home. We also exchanged contact information so that we can keep in touch and send photos to each other (which we ended up doing – I even sent Takahashi-san a birthday present).

Somehow we managed to squeeze in a trip to Akihabara after returning to Tokyo so ML could get a Gundam model for her cute little brother. After ML and I got back to Shinjuku, we met with another friend Alice and her brother (from Canada, somehow in Tokyo at the same time) for dinner. Another lovely meeting with friends. We then decided to head to Nikko the next day.

DAY 13 – Wednesday, 10/22 (Shinjuku@Tokyo ->Imperial Palace@Tokyo->Nikko->Odaiba@Tokyo-> Shinjuku@Tokyo)

The funny thing about Nikko was that many people told us we had to take the special Kinugawa express, which was not covered by either of our passes. Fortunately, my guide book said otherwise and the employee at the Midori no Madoguchi also told us that we could just take JR trains (Tohoku Shinkansen->Nikko local train) to the same stop and save up the money. Of course, being the economical travelers that we were, that was wonderful news! The other good thing was, the Kinugawa had very few trains, so since we decided to take the regular JR, we had plenty of time.

In the time that we were waiting for the JR, we ended up going to the Imperial Palace (which was, of course, NOT open) and walked around the park, as well enjoyed a view of a VERY blurry Tokyo Tower.

We later found out that the Kinugawa train ultimately would let us off about half a block closer to the sites from the JR (big deal!). Nikko was a walking tour, so we just grabbed a nap and ignored all the buses/taxis and started walking. Nikko was well known for its views of the autumn foliage so we got an eyeful of that wherever we went. Shinkyo was one of the most beautiful sites we had ever seen. Although that was only a bridge, we could not help taking pictures over and over again of the same site. You don’t have to pay 300 yen to cross/get on it. Most people don’t except if you were in full traditional Japanese garb, but you can really enjoy it from afar and appreciate its beauty. Most people know about the Tokugawa Ieyasu Mausoleum (known for its lavish decorations – laced with real gold – and complex beauty), but all the temples/sites there (Rinno-ji, Nikko Tosho-gu, Futara-san Shrine) are all wonderful places to feast your history/beauty hungry eyes. We bought the 1000 Yen pass which gave us access to all the sites that we wanted to see instead of purchasing individual tickets. We had a lot of fun at Futara-san Shrine walking through this “hoop” (we had to be taught by locals the correct way to walk through o_O), only to find out later that the purpose was to bring good luck in romances. Go figure. The lovely thing about Japan is the mix of shrine and temples, it’s like walking from one culture to another, yet all so intimately linked.

One of the workers at Nikko tourism center (another elderly gentleman who spoke excellent English because he was apparently one of the lead negotiators for the Japanese with the Americans regarding American occupation after WWII) told us that one day is not enough for Nikko because aside from the tourist hubs close to the trains, there were other sites that were more remote but no less beautiful (including a waterfall somewhere in the foods). He even suggested that it would be a beautiful honeymoon spot. I do not hope for that, but at I know I definitely would want to see Nikko again.

Upon returning to Tokyo, we figured we still had time. I had promised Fish that I would (to prove my courage and clear my name) ride the ferris wheel at Odaiba. So of course, we had to go. ML and I took the Yurikamome line across Rainbow bridge JUST to take the ferris wheel. I even took the transparent one as promised. It gave us a lovely view of Tokyo at night, but unfortunately the lightning was too dim for us to take any decent pictures. There was an interesting “Edo-style hot spring village” but the timing just did not work out for us so we had to give up the idea.

DAY 14 – Thursday, 10/23 (Shinjuku ->Harajuku->Meiji Shingu ->Shibuya->Asakusa-> Kichijoji->Shijuku, all@Tokyo)

We had originally researched extensively (in manga cafes since we had NO internet access) on how to get to East Tama or even Fuji-san, but ML was decidedly tired so we decided to explore Tokyo itself.

First stop was Harajuku (which was, of course, only ONE stop away from us on Yamanote), and we found out why young people liked to shop at Harajuku. After seeing the mind-numbingly pricy clothes elsewhere, everything in Harajuku seemed CHEAP! I mean, to think, something in Japan that we would consider cheap. But yup, that’s what happened. We didn’t buy anything of course (except for an umbrella since it had became rainy), since I had a long way to go and ML didn’t have enough luggage room. It was all very interesting but we then had to run over to Meiji Shingu. It was a beautiful route and site. Definitely a nice change of pace from the city. By this time, I had also mastered the art of washing your hands before you pray at a shrine: bow twice, clap twice and pray, deep bow again (at temples I just bow – a lot, just like everywhere else in Japan… lol).

Next stop was Shibuya. By this time it was already raining and we really had no interest in shopping around. The only thing we wanted to see for sure was Hachi-kou (unfortunately, 八公 in Chinese really… is not very flattering, but it’s endearing nonetheless). We had QUITE a tough time finding him because we didn’t expect him to be so SMALL! We succeeded in actually seeing and taking a picture with Hachikou because unlike any other time, when he would be surrounded by people waiting around for someone (it’s like Elizabeth Center for those of you who know what I mean), the rain had driven everyone to under the shelter of buildings, so there was really no one around Hachikou.

After loitering around a little, we finally decided to head to Asakusa, and it really was raining pretty hard by this time. Very fortunately, we made it to Asakusa before everything closed down and still managed to see the temple and shrine as well as shopped around for a little. Asakusa was one of my favorite places in Tokyo and I would definitely head back if I go back to Tokyo.

Kichijoji was an accident. Basically we did nothing there except find souvenirs for ML’s friend. It was a painful search and it was also the first time I really understood how USELESS Japanese addresses are. Really, even if you show a native the address they’d still give you a blank look. At least by this time, I had enough confidence that my Japanese would carry us through… but still, not one of my most pleasant experiences in Tokyo.

DAY 15 – Friday, 10/24 (Shinjuku, Ueno Park, Shiodome, Roppongi Hills, Shinjuku, all@Tokyo)

By this day, I think ML has been worn out. She did not want to even attempt any other place so after we dropped of my luggage (fully wrapped with plastic bags to protect it from the rain) we spent most of the day before her departure for HK searching for a t-shirt for her friend/brother. Of course, after much walking, we still came up unsuccessful, although we finally had tea at a tea house, as we were hoping to do at least once.

After taking ML to the train for Narita, I embarked on my crazy whirlwind tour around Tokyo. I was leaving the next day and of course, being the crazy obsessed person that I am, I had to squeeze in everything I wanted to see. Didn’t want to leave with a sense of incompleteness.

I first went to Ueno park and walked around to all the sites (of course by that time it was so late they were all closing down, not to mention it was raining still). Even though it was raining there was still a few cosplayers walking around. After Ueno it was time for Shiodome, which was the stop for Tokyo Tower. I didn’t walk all the way to the bottom of the Tower, but I came pretty close (and got myself lost, of course). Although it was getting quite late and I was tired, I still had ONE more stop… and I eventually made it to Roppongi Hills, which I had to go because Chris would kill me if I didn’t. I saw the spider and the Mori building, but perhaps it was too late for me to really get a good idea of Roppongi. I have to say though, it’s a gorgeous sight to see Tokyo Tower from Roppongi Hills. All in all, I’d say that was pretty successful for a 4 hour mad dash. The funny thing was, I realized that if you stood around long enough attempting to take a picture of yourself, someone will come along and try to help you… except Japanese just CANNOT take a decent picture!!! >_< But still, I appreciated the effort. I had to transfer to at least 3 different lines for all of these trains, so I’d say by this time I was pretty comfortable with the Tokyo cobweb subway system… except I’m LEAVING the next day! Puh.

I was still staying at Shinjuku that night, and it was a true experiment on how to dry my clothes quickly since unlike the first few nights when I stayed at the same hotel, I only had 1 night to dry them. Of course… being my… innovative self, I ended up using the blow dryer and fridge and AC to… past their maximums. That is, blow dry clothes while hanging until dry to a certain degree->hang blow dryer around AC wire to in front of the AC to cool it down->trap blow dryer wire between the refrigerator doors so I didn’t have to hold on to it->blow dry again until clothes are dry enough to put on bed-> set up on bed->repeat until try. This was the only time I had regular internet access while I was in Japan too.

DAY 16 – Saturday, 10/25 (Tokyo->[Shin-Osaka]->Hiroshima->Miyajima)

I had to wake up at 6AM to dry the clothes one last time. After breakfast started my weekend madness. I took the Shinkansen down to Shin-Osaka (3 hrs), and then dropped my carry-on in a station coin locker. After that was settled, I headed down to Hiroshima (2 hrs). After I got to Hiroshima, I took a detour and went to the Peace Park before heading to Miyajima-guchi. I decided to go there partly because one of my supervisors at work told me that I HAVE to go. I’ve never been very good at going to these sites of previous massive destruction, but I decided it was time. The good thing was, because I had to make this trip, I looked up Miyajima and that’s how I decided to go to Miyajima. It’s a loooooong trip, but it was SO worth it.

It was truly a humbling experience. To see the sites right where the atomic bomb was dropped, to be surrounded by the monuments, to sit there in the museum and just feel, close my eyes and feel, for a moment, how in an instant these people’s lives were taken or changed forever. No one can walk out of that place without feeling touched by the gravity of history, by what those voiceless souls were trying to tell you. There were children there, singing, commemorating the event, and all over, there were art pieces by children that implore world peace. Children were touching the monuments with curiosity, and there were some adults slowly explaining to them the meaning of all these constructions, why they were there and what the children should take away from this place. I felt especially moved by all the water monuments. Many people who did not die by the direct blast of the atomic bomb died later due to lack of water, and all they wanted to do was to take a drink at the water that would either melt their internal organs or fill them with radioactive particles, both will kill them instantly. That’s why at the Peace Park, people do not offer wine, but instead, they offer water. Just a cup of pure water. Sometimes something so simple can hold such importance.

It was not easy. It’s never easy for a lone traveler, but it’s especially at that time, when I’m soaking in the sadness and solemnity of my surroundings, that I wished there was someone there to share the pain with me. But it wasn’t too bad. At least I was able to learn the lesson for myself.

After this, I took the train, then the JR ferry to Miyajima (free with my pass!). My minzoku, Mizuha-so (which I confirmed two days before I left!) was supposedly really far away, but the touristy side of the island really wasn’t that big and I was able to walk to the minzoku without any issues. Since it was dark, I only went out for a short walk and took some random pictures (which turned out kind of eerie because lighting was so bad), and then settled for the night. It was quite a task trying to use the bathroom when there was no one in there (since this was really the simplest possible type of minzoku, we all had to share the bathroom and bathing rooms). But if you run out of options for Miyajima, this would be a good choice (cheap too!).

Mizuha-so: http://www.gambo-ad.com/miyajima/english/hotel/mizuha-so/info.htm

DAY 17 – Sunday, 10/26 (Miyajima->[Hiroshima)->Himeji->[Shin-Osaka]->[Namba]->Mt. Koya)

I knew there was a long day ahead of me. First, I thought I would be able to visit Himeji after I get to Osaka and get settled with A+A, but then I realized they weren’t getting the 3 day JR West Pass and instead the 3 day Kansai Thru pass (all subways, private railways and buses EXCEPT JR), which meant transportation may be difficult to Himeji even if I had the time (I later found out this was not the case). So this meant I had to squeeze Himeji into this day too… and I was supposed to check in at Mt. Koya by 5!!! Well... here goes nothing!

I woke up around 6AM so that I could get out early and see Miyajima in the morning. Again, fortunately all the sites were pretty close to each other and although there was some climbing involved, it wasn’t too bad.

The amazing thing about Miyajima, besides its gorgeous view of the water and across it, Hiroshima, was its entire lack of commercialized buildings. This had been a holy island since ancient times and the respect Japanese people paid it was visible from the well kept temples to the beautiful main shrine with its signature Torii to the abundance of deer (yes, there were plenty of them running around the island). It was rare to find a random traveler like me on the island, and basically the tourists were mainly domestic so my Japanese really came in handy. Although there was plenty of English signs and I did run into a few Western touring families, but no backpacker like myself. I really loved the simplicity of the temples and the buddhas or jizous that you would random find hanging off a rock. I probably saw no less than 500 of them just spread around. The island is also a wonderful mix of Shinto and Buddhism. I also finally experienced for myself the feeling of turning the scriptures carved into round metal spools (for a lack of better term). I went up to one of the highest temples and it started pouring. It was rather nice that they offered free umbrellas for people to take, as long as they return them at the welcoming center. FYI, my travel gear was full blown backpacker now – hat, large backpack with only the essentials, jacket and warm clothes, and umbrella. It was amusing.

At the Itsukushima Shrine, I ran into a bunch of Mandarin speaking Chinese tourists (who mind you were taking their time taking pictures of the torii. The most interesting thing was that they were doing some sort of presentation, complete with people in Heian era costumes (snuck a few pictures in). There was also a cleansing staff of some sort but of course, since I was by myself, I had to ask a couple to demonstrate for me, which was immensely fun. Seems Japanese people don’t mind posing for photos at all.

I finished Miyajima rather early (10:30AM) so I headed back to Hiroshima and then onwards to Himeji. The funniest thing was that when I got out of Himeji it was still raining. Since I didn’t have my umbrella (which I stuffed into my carry-on… which is, as you recall, stuck in a coin locker in shin-osaka) so I ended up using the raincoat (yes I had FORESIGHT!) that I bought at a 7/11 in Taiwan and was using to cover my bookbag to protect it from the rain. I was probably the only one in the streets of Himeji wearing a raincoat and it was a bright blinding yellow at that. Yes, I got many stares and I admit to be rather damaging to the lovely landscape, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I couldn’t afford getting sick or super uncomfortable when I still had such a long trip ahead of me. And in the meantime, I mastered putting on and taking off the raincoat while I walk.

Himeji-jo, which was my goal, was a beauty to behold, even in the rain. It may not be as decorated as the buildings at Nikko, but it had a cultural serenity that could only come with being polished by years of history. Nothing can replace the marks history makes on something. The steps were treacherously steep and after climbing 7 flights, I was ready to collapse. My friend told me that there used to be vending machines on the top of the castle, but fortunately I think they learned their lesson from the Starbucks inside the Beijing Forbidden City, since the only thing I saw when I got up there was the shrine to the local deity. Taking pictures from the narrow windows was a struggle in itself since there were so many little kids around, but I think just going up and touching the building, most of which is from the 1500s, was amazing in itself. I mean, the whole thing is still standing and can handle so many tourists!!!

Ok, I admit, I love this type of historical stuff. I’m not much of a museum person because I prefer “living history” over “dead history” and I think everything just loses meaning when you remove it from where it belonged. But I digress.

After Himeji, it was a mad dash back to the station since I still had to get back to shin-osaka. Unfortunately, by the time I figured out how to get to Namba, which is where I had to take the Nankai express to Mt. Koya, I realized that I was DEFINITELY not going to make the 5PM check-in deadline since it was already almost 4. Fortunately, I had enough wits with me to call the temple that I was staying at for the night, Shojoshin-in (and yes, you experience a temple-stay at many places in Japan), and assured them that I would be coming, just ultra late. And they were rather receptive and told me they would keep dinner and wait for me. At least that was one less thing to worry about (although they banned me from speaking English).

So, 2 trains->1 subway->1 cable car->a bus later, I finally got to Mt. Koya. When I got off the bus, I seriously was scared to death. I was on top of a mountain, with NO ONE around (streets were empty and dimly lit, by that time it was completely DARK), surrounded by temples and outside of that, cemeteries. Ok, a little creepy? Maybe.

The bus driver told me to just turn the corner and the temple I was going to would be there. So… I just turned the corner and lo and behold, there was a monk running towards me. Apparently he had timed the arrival of the bus (yes, they are all VERY punctual) and had been waiting to pick me up. Alicia later dubbed him 執番你大師 since he basically rescued me from the streets.

After we finished all the check-in stuff, I was fed dinner (served by a monk!) and led to my room, which was GORGEOUS and had a view of the lovely Japanese garden they had as a backyard. I could not believe it. And of course, there was a TV as well… and I watched “The Lovers”… wouldn’t you figure. But I was just so amazed by the beauty of the room and how nice all the monks were. Shojoshin-in would definitely be a place I would recommend if anyone wanted to stay at a temple on Mt. Koya. The idea had just always been in my head ever since I heard about it… and I couldn’t believe I actually did it. But I did it.

Shojoshin-in: http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/mount_koya/shojoshinin.htm

DAY 18 – Monday, 10/27 (Mt. Koya->(Namba)->(Shin-Osaka)->Osaka-jo@Osaka->Namba)

Again, I had to wake up at 5:30AM so that I could attend morning service at 6 with the monks. The majority of other guests at the temple (wouldn’t you figure) were Westerners. Some of them didn’t even speak English. I’m not a religious person and am a self-declared agonist, but I think the experience of sitting with the monks and listening to the scriptures was a cleansing in itself.

After I finished breakfast, I just went on my way to see the maaaaaaaaaaaaaany temples on the mountain. Mind you this entire mountain is just temples. Mt. Koya was a holy mountain but especially to Shingon Buddhism. Basically the sides of the roads were lined with them. There were a few people who were also out in the early morning, and they were (aside from the locals) almost all Westerners with huge backpacks, which I thought was pretty hilarious. But alas, no girls. After visiting a few of the temples, I really felt tired and headed back to Shin-Osaka.

Before I picked up my luggage, I decided I had enough time to squeeze in Osaka-jo before I needed to head to the hotel and meet up with A+A. Call me crazy, but I just didn’t think that (with my how my schedule had gone the past few days) I would have time to see ANYTHING in Osaka. I bought the Osaka one day pass (800 yen) to go around Osaka for the day. I didn’t end up going inside the castle like I did at Himeji, mostly because Osaka-jo, albeit beautiful, just didn’t have the aura of history about it (I know, I’m being a snob). It’s much more “prettied up” than Himeji-jo, with its gold glazing and dainty displays, but after seeing Himeji-jo, this was really no comparison, since the main tower was only rebuilt in the 1928 after it was destroyed no less than 3 times. But still, the gardens were very pretty and I’m sure the inside of the castle, if you could not make a trip to Himeji, would be wonderful to see.

My JR pass expired the day before so I had to explain to the security at the Shin-Osaka station to let me in and pick up my poor luggage. Fortunately, everyone was extremely nice and I was able to retrieve my carry-on without much hassle.

Then it was off to meeting up with A+A. It was amazing to see them together (always end up seeing them separately) and FINALLY married (after almost 8 yrs!). It’s difficult to describe the feeling you have when you meet up with friends that you hadn’t seen in so long yet it seemed like you only saw them yesterday (well we do talk almost everyday on MSN). It’s great to have friends like that in life. That evening we ate at Shinsaibashi and also did some shopping. My staying with them in their room (yes weird, but apparently it works for us) made everything easier.

DAY 19 – Tuesday, 10/28 (Namba->Nara->Namba)

Nara was definitely a very cute and comfortable place to visit… though it really did not take long to finish seeing the whole park. At Todaiji we decided to leave our foot print and used one of the wishing boards to write down in 7 languages something to the effect of “good and happy life”. It included: English, Spanish, French, Simplified, Traditional, Japanese, and Italian. It was silly, but I think any silly thing you do with friends will leave a warm fuzzy spot in your memory. The interesting thing was feeding the deer, but I also ran into a little trouble. They sold specially made crackers for tourists to feed the deer, which was all fine, but the deer were ruthless! They would chase you up the hill to grab the food in your hands. After we finished feeding the deer we just stood around to have a conversation. Suddenly Alicia started staring in back of me and when I turned around… an (thankfully!) antler-less deer with a mat of unknown weed-like substance on top of his head and a crazy (vengeful!?) gleam in his eyes was charging right at me! And he actually whammed me on the side and totally was set on doing it again. Of course, after that it was a mad dash to safety for me plus some screaming to add to the viewing effect. We were NOT close to any young deer, and I certainly did not step on him or anything, and he certainly was NOT after anyone else except for me! WHY!? Anyway, there’s no explanation. A+A only laughed really hard and said he probably wanted to apply the “herb” on his face to my poor wound.

Although Nara didn’t take the whole day, we did not make it to any other city so just ended up going back to Namba early and ate around Shinsaibashi again. We were trying to do something everyday and we ended up doing shabu shabu. Not bad!

DAY 20 – Wednesday, 10/29 (Namba->Kyoto->Namba)

This was definitely an interesting experience. Alicia and I had decided to dress up in kimonos and walk around Kyoto the whole day (not that we made it very far…) so we chose a place that was very close to Kiyomizu-dera and somehow, we just ended up at the best shop ever – Sensho Kitamura! If anyone wants to go to Kyoto and try wearing kimonos the whole day, we definitely recommend this place. The owners are two really cute elderly ladies who layered us up and picked out some nice colors. I decided to go with a purple kimono (yes, the Tomoe influence still there) and as expected, Alicia went for pink. Putting on a kimono was so complicated that both Alicia and I agreed we could never do it on our own.

Walking in the kimonos was not as difficult as we thought, but we couldn’t walk very fast. Alvin was our official photographer and was just snapping pictures left and right… testing out angles and such. Even the owners said that he probably didn’t want to wear traditional Japanese garb himself because he wanted to be able to walk around quickly. We walked our way to Kiyomizu-dera. Actually the area was like a shopping district with plenty to eat and lots of little things to shop. We got stopped by so many people who wanted to take pictures of/with us and we just smiled and nodded, since we knew that they thought we were Japanese girls walking around in kimono (little did they know, most of the people walking around in kimonos were probably from Taiwan…). The only unpleasant experience was with a group of 4 mainland male scum of the earth who stalked us for about half an hour, all the while (because they didn’t realize we could understand them) talked about Japanese porno involving girls in kimonos with very little fabric. A couple of times I was about to blow but Alicia held on to me so I wouldn’t turn around and kick their asses. I couldn’t even repeat the stuff they said until we were out of the temple because I considered it such desecration.

Since we couldn’t go to Kyoto and ONLY go to one temple, we took a taxi to Kinkaku-ji. The taxi ride was about 20 minutes and cost us plenty. This was the ONLY time I was reduced to taking a taxi on my ENTIRE trip. And the tour itself was about 20 minutes. Worth it? Yes, Kinkaku-ji was beautiful and unique. I would say that it was a success in terms of our journey that cost much money.

When we got back to the kimono store, the ladies made us pose for pictures and also took one for their webpage. They told us that we were the only ones who were brave enough to keep the kimonos for the whole day. All the other customers returned theirs after a few hours and were already long gone by the time we got there.

That night we decided to have Kaiseki in Kyoto. We went to Katsu, which the ladies at Kitamura recommended as one of the better in the neighborhood. I have to say, I think the kaiseki that I had at Sugiyama was actually more superior than the Kyoto one, but it’s interesting because they used local ingredients in the meal, things you wouldn’t find elsewhere.

Since the next day A+A were going to Universal, I was going to go back to Kyoto on my own to explore more. Alicia considered running around with me in Kyoto for one more day but she and Alvin were still not covered from their wedding. It was such a special and rare occasion that we were able to meet and spend time with each other so I decided to forego my Kyoto trip and spend time with them the next day. The city will still be there next time I go, but my friends will be in different stages of life and who knows when it’ll be before we meet again.

染匠きたむらSensho-Kitamura: http://www.sensho-kitamura.jp/kimono/index.html
http://sensho.exblog.jp/9795910/ (our picture on the website)

DAY 21 – Thursday, 10/30 (Namba->Universal Studios->Namba)

Universal was just what I expected – lots of lines for very short rides. Poor A+A couldn’t understand Japanese at all so most of the time the scary rides didn’t seem half as scary since they didn’t know what the “scenario” was supposed to be. Alicia and I competed on taking “self” pictures but I was definitely the obvious winner. Universal Osaka was really not that much different from the other Universal studios that we saw, but the company was definitely worth it. I also saw Peter Pan (<3), their little grand finale show, which was not bad.

And it was just lovely to see how great this couple is together.

DAY 22 – Friday, 10/31 (Namba->[KIX]->New York)

After bidding goodbye to A+A and having breakfast at the hotel, I took the airport express back to the Kaisai airport and started my flight back. Ahh the end of a perfect trip. Nothing to regret.

Interesting notes:
1) I was told later by a friend that girls usually don’t go into ramen shops (in JP) alone. Either they were going with a guy or they were “with” a guy. I guess that’s why everyone had a O_O look when ML and I walked in at the shop in Kamakura.
2) You can use the Suica cards at all JR stations in Japan (not just Tokyo) but you cannot return them other than at Tokyo. However, they are good for 10 yrs. Even if they are damaged during that time, take it back to the ticket booth and they will fix it for you. It’s the Icoca card in Kansai.
3) Reserve your seats on the JR when you can, but don’t fret if you don’t get a chance to… unless you plan to travel during rush hour.
4) If you want to go to Mt. Fuji, you can only go to Fuji-Yoshida from Otsuki, then take a bus called the Fuji Kyuuko. No, we didn’t go, but it’s still good to know.
5) Trains in TW will permit NO food while trains in JP sell food.
6) The direction for standing/walking up/down the escalator is complete opposite in JP and TW
7) Business hotels are generally decent both in location and amenities.
8) People in Japan are extremely nice and even if they don’t speak English well, will do anything they can to tell you directions, including showing you maps.
9) Lots of people “do business” on the streets of Shinjuku (imagine 2 little girls running amongst massive crowds of pimps).
10) There are NOT that many internet cafes in Japan.
11) In Japan, subways get their own theme song and department stores.
12) Japanese people call body wash body shampoo… learned that the hard way.
13) Phone cards in TW are AWESOME. Phone cards in JP will NOT last very long so use wisely. The method dialing internationally is also different so beware.
14) Many doors in Japan (esp trains) are automatic… don’t try really hard to pull, push, drag them… really.
15) Lots of drunk people in Japan (or Japan’s most abundant resource is drunkards as Yanagisawa-san said)? Yes… generally… especially on the train after 10PM. But they’re still nice to you, just mad at themselves, so you don’t really have to worry about them, I think. :p

Some traveling notes
Tokyo to Hiroshima: Tokyo -> JR Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen Hikari ->Shin-Osaka (or Kyoto) -> JR Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen Hikari Rail Star -> Hiroshima (~ 5.5 hrs)
Hiroshima to Miyajima: Hiroshima -> JR Sanyo -> Miyajima-guchi -> walk to pier -> JR ferry -> Miyajima (~1.5 hrs)
Shin-Osaka to Koya-san: Shin-Osaka->Midosuji subway->Nankai Railway-> Gokurabashi station->Koya Cale car (~4 hours)
Shin-Osaka to KIX: Shin-Osaka->JR Haruka->KIX (~50min)
Shin-Osaka to Himeji: Shin-Osaka->Sanyo Hikari->Himeji (~30min)