oh, japan...

At first I was a bit puzzled. Why was there a note pad inside the jar of chewing gum? Then I realised. It's not a note pad.

It's a pad with small sheets of paper to put your gum in when you're done chewing it! 

Maybe this is a universal phenomenon, I don't know, I've never seen it before - but it feels so Japanese. Oh, Japan!

Jo x

travels part 3: Osaka

Shoutengai

 Osaka, Osaka, Osaka. This previous Olympic city proved to be something very different from Kyoto and Nara. Having been in such idyllic surroundings for 3 days, this bustling city with lively streets and traffic came as somewhat a surprise. If you've ever been to Tokyo, Osaka is much like it - only dirtier, rougher and generally more gangsta. The people are not as polished and it has an atmosphere of a freer - less structuralised if you will - Japanese culture. I'm not entirely sure what I mean by that, but maybe it makes sense. Nevertheless, it had its charm I suppose and we spent a nice day there. 

Our main two events were Shinsaibashi shoutengai (shopping street) and Osaka-jo (Osaka Castle). As follows.

More panorama! The famous ad of the running man (who looked a little chubby I must admit - I'm not the only one putting it on it seems!) was at the end of the shopping street. Lots of lights á la typical big city and lots of people despite it being a Sunday evening. Work on Monday morning, people!

The moving crab was not moving. Famous restaurant serving only, yep that's right, crab.

Takoyaki (squid balls). Osaka is famous for food, and especially this one - basically a big piece of squid inside a pastry (?) ball with flour, or something. Served with mayo, fish flakes and some sauce. Obviously nor for me, but Viv and Serr's excitement was entertainment enough.  

"Can you see how BIG the squid is? You can HEAR me chew it!"

Osaka Castle. It was built in the 16th century and has played a major part in Japanese history. We went inside to the museum, read a lot about battles, emperors and so on, but I can't seem to remember a thing. Lots of battles though. Lots and lots.

Pretty impressive! Although we agreed it looked more like a wedding cake than castle. Maybe we were just hungry.

Osaka sadly did not offer any tofu ice cream but we were not defeated by that, and instead got green tea and chocolate soft ice creams to continue our tradition. Cheers, Osaka!

After having been lied to by the train station personal about a certain location we ended up in Tennoji and walked around. Soon we realised we were close to the gangster area where our hostel was. After a while we found ourselves on a sort of dodgy shopping street with loads of restaurants. Hungry, we found one...

...and had this! Not sure what it's called, but there's rice, veggies, egg and seaweed base soup. Rice in soup, you ask? Good question, but it was lovely despite the rather strange (at least for me) combination.

Osaka was mostly walking around after that, and we did some shopping while waiting for the bus back to Tokyo. I definitely prefer Kyoto and Nara to Osaka, probably because they're so different from Tokyo. For once it was nice to be able to see the open sky in the city, meet animals (and I'm not talking just tiny dogs), and have a breather from the stress that is the capital. Will be going back in spring for sure. 

All photos here.

Jo x

travels part 2: Nara

 Day 3 and it was time to head off to Nara. It's about 40 minutes from Kyoto by train and is most famous for its deer (see below!). If you know me you know I simply couldn't pass on an opportunity to see some Bambis in the wild (as opposed to the traumatic experience that was Ueno Zoo). This sort of 'Mowgli of the Nara' is something of a symbol for the town (even though he looks creepy - I would not like to wake up to that face!) and he was e-ve-ry-where: pins, keychains, towels, note pads, pens etc etc. Creepy!

 Of course we had to go see temples too. 

 But then it was time for the deer! Oh, right, I forgot - we figured we might try and 'fit in' and so bought a pair of horns each on our way. Then simply walked around the huge Nara Park wearing those. I think we confused both humans and deer.

Nevertheless - they were so cute! About a thousand deer live in the park, and they literally walk around wherever they like! If you're carrying food they'll be all over you, biting, nudging etc, and you can buy senbei (rice crackers) to feed them. Although if you do, prepare to be hunted for the rest of the day by a herd of deer biting your bum (true story)! Me, I was satisfied with petting them a little. So soft and cuddly (well...)!

 Scared human. Confused deer.

 I also learnt how to take panorama photos with my camera (so expect a lot of them in the future). Pretty, eh?

 Bambi!

Some more food: yaki-udon. Like Kyoto, Nara was vegetarian friendly and we even found a vegetarian restaurant! I tried a tofu croquette thing which was so, so good. This here is udon noodles and veggies and some sauce put on a hot stove literally in the middle of your table. Then you eat while it's still cooking! Yummyness.

Next stop: Osaka.

All photos here.

Jo x

travels part I: Kyoto

Christmas was around the corner and since none of us were going home, we thought we'd escape Tokyo and go to a place where Christmas largely doesn't exist - the most traditional part of Japan. So, together with two other exchange students (one from Canada, one from Hong Kong) I ventured on the night bus to the Kansai region in the west. 

Our little trip begun in Kyoto. I adore this city with all its temples, stunning nature, and lovely people! Some photos below:

We started in Arashiyama (yama means mountain) where we walked the famous moonlight bridge...

...went to numerous temples...

...walked the bamboo forest...

...ate rice balls with kinako (soy bean flour)...

...tried the local speciality which was basically tofu in water and a bunch of pickled veggies. Not very exciting. Lucky thing then that we found...

...tofu soft ice cream! Wow, people, this is good stuff, let me tell you that. 

It later became daily practice for us to have one of these bad boys.

Some stunning views in Arashiyama with sunshine - and even a little sprinkle of snow!

The Golden Temple is one of the most famous ones, but I must admit it was semi-disappointing. Sort of like what they say about the Mona Lisa - you go, super excited and then it's, well, there. It was in a touristy area too so lots of cameras, waistbags, backpacks, and maps around.

But it was pretty.

Highlight of Kyoto: yatsuhashi. It's a sweet, similar to mochi. It looks something like a dumpling and you can get it in tens of different flavours: sesame (damn good), black sesame (yum!), strawberry (yuck!), grapefruit (waah - this is not made for fruity flavours), chocolate (worst one), green tea, red bean paste, orange (blah), and so on and so on. How, do you ask, is that I know what all of these taste like? Well, see the small box there? Yeah, they had tastings. Of every flavour. And not only in this place, no - in every single shop down the street we walked after the Golden Temple! Also, they'd give you a cup of tea to go with it! Seriously, we lived off yatsuhashi tastings that day, and by the end of it, neither of us ever wanted to see one of them again. I got two packs which are sadly gone now. No yatsuhashi in Tokyo either. But I hear them have an online shop...

Onwards to Fox Temple! Standard temple, really, except this long, long row of gates. There was another path which stretched over 4 km but lazy us didn't walk that one. We settled for this short one, but it looks cool, eh?

Food in Kyoto was amazing. So vegetarian-friendly and tofu-esque! This little gem here is tempura udon with udon noodles, eggplant tempura, radish, and nori (seaweed). Usually it's served with dashi, fish broth, but it's lovely-jubley without it too. Dash a little ground sesame on there, and a splash of soy, and you're good to go!

More temples - and a big one! Kyomizu is famous for the gate (above) and the Love Temple. At the latter there are two stones, and the practice is that you should walk from one stone to the other with closed eyes - and the closer to the second stone you end up, the sooner/more likely/easier will you get a loved one! There were also some seriously beautiful views here. (For more photos from Kyomizu, see below.)

Ninnenzaka - slip here and you'll get 2 years' bad luck. Close by there is Sannenzaka - slip there, and you get 3 years' misfortune! We didn't slip.

Tallest pagoda in Japan. 

More food! Agedashi soba (minus the dashi again). Tofu tempura with soba noodles and radish. So fricking good!

Just some park close to the pagoda. Very pretty here, and I can imagine it's even prettier in spring and earlier in autumn when all the leaves are colourful. We also had our second tofu ice cream here. Mm...

Obviously there are a gazillion photos from Kyoto, but as it would be far too much to put them here, you can see them if you click the link below. Watch this space for posts on Nara and Osaka as well. Nara was a bit more eventful with all the deer, and Osaka, well, let's just say they appreciate the blondes...

For all photos: Click here.

Jo x

merry christmas!

I'm back from Kansai! - Back from confusing deer, from the gangster hoods of Osaka, and from the wonder that is tofu soft ice cream. There is too much to tell, too much to show and too much to tell, but all shall be done in good time.

For now, however, the above photo from Arashiyama will have to do. Watch this space for more.

Jo x

a very merry skype christmas

Skype conference with mum, dad, and sister yesterday. Gifts were opened, gingerbread biscuits eaten (in Sweden at least), and the traditional Christmas songs were sung although the delay in sounds made it somewhat off tune.

Missing home with Christmas trees, snow, and corny covers of originally good seasonal tunes. Well, the weekend here will hopefully be an exciting one nevertheless - Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka await!

Jo x

talking 'bout the weather

December 21. Snow, rain, or cloudy. Take a leaf out of Sweden's epic book and give me snow, Japan!

Jo x