Japan in less than 14 days--Mt. Fuji
I believe we went in May for about 2 weeks. Itinerary went like this: Flew into Nagoya, stayed the night, went to Mt. Fuji, stayed 2 nights, went to Tokyo, stayed 4 nights, went back to Nagoya, stayed a night. Down to Kyoto and stayed 2 nights. From there visited Nara. Went over to Osaka, met a friend of mine there and with her went to Koyasan. Stayed a night. Back to Nagoya. Another night. Left.
It was a very hectic pace and believe me, I didn't set it. I would've went fewer places, perhaps, and taken more time to enjoy what I did visit. But it's hard to choose.
Hazyl, if you're anywhere close to Osaka, for instance, I couldn't recommend enough going to Koyasan. It's a Buddhist village up in the mountains. We stayed in a temple which was something out of a storybook in itself and the next day visited the cemetery there. You make a long trek through the cemetery until you reach the end of the path and there's a lantern shrine there created by one of the emperors in memorial to his mother and I believe this is where he was buried, as well. The beauty of it made me cry a little :)
Unfortunately, I don't have pics of that b/c they were forbidden....
Also, just a note about these pics: In actuality, b/n the 4 of us who went, we took about 3000 total. My friend pared them down to about 1400 and from there I managed to get them down to 700. So... I have about 700 printed pictures of Japan. Don't worry. I'm not posting 700 here b/c that's too many, even for me. heh
And I just now realized that I never really did LJ about my Japan trip so those of you who were poking me about that, hey look! It's a travel story!
I'll seperate this into posts and try to give you a little story with each.
We flew into Nagoya and one of the 1st things we saw at the airport:
"Taste Wasabi. Taste Japan." No thanks. I think I'll like Japan a lot better without the wasabi.
This is taken at the hostel where we stayed in Nagoya. Btw, if you can manage to stay in hostels (if you want to save money that is) do so b/c they are cheeeeeaaaaaap. You have to bathe naked in front of other ppl, but you get used to it. And no, it's not co-ed.
At any rate, about this picture, vending machines are everywhere in Japan. If someone asked me to sum up my Japanese experience in two words it would be, "Vending machines." On the right, cold and hot drinks both. Tea, coffee, water, flavored water, juice, you name it. Note on the left. That's beer. There were underaged ppl there. Anyone can buy beer (or cigarettes) out of vending machines. I understand they're trying to change that though with ID cards.
We took the shinkansen to Mt. Fuji (and then we had to take the JR lines and then we had to take a bus and then we had to be picked up in the hotel car. Shinkansen are about $60 to take. Expensive but freakin' fast. It made me motion sick when I tried to look out the window at the passing scenery (these do come equipped with barf bags, yes). It's empty here and believe me, this is the only time we ever took the shinkansen and it was empty. Also, the cars are seperated b/n smoking and nonsmoking and believe me, if you don't smoke, you want the nonsmoking. Smoking cars are cloudy and hard to breathe. We tried sitting in one once and had to move, all four of us (even the two who smoke).
Taken at the bus station in Kawaguchiko (waiting for our car to the hotel). Squat toilet! About Japanese restrooms, based on my observation, you better take napkins in with you. You can't always be guaranteed toilet paper. You can't always be guaranteed soap to wash your hands. If they have soap, you can't be guaranteed a dryer or paper towels. It's... an interesting experience to say the least.
On the wall above the squat toilet: "Good job!" and "A+"
"Way to go!"
No further commentary on the above necessary. *G*
We stayed at a resort at the base of Mt. Fuji (our most expensive stay during the entire trip and really not that bad). Here is the incredible view from our room. Mt. Fuji! My nutty Ukranian friend wanted to hike it. Thankfully, it wasn't in season and the rest of us breathed our thank you prayers while she pouted.
Every morning they had a breakfast buffet with both Eastern and Western foods. Note our table. Note the table behind us.
This was part of the view from the buffet room, but I think we took it from the observation deck. I could totally wake up to that every morning.
This one I believe was taken from the buffet room. One morning we saw a line of boats out on the lake, probably going fishing (?) It's like another world there.
Taken while out and about. Most restaurants did this and turned out to help a lot. Instead of menus, we could take the waitress and point at one of the items on display outside the restaurant. A lot of them did this or at least had menus with pictures outside.
And... more vending machines! Every block! Also note, none of these vending machines contain food. Oh, and a guide to reading, underneath the drinks you'll see either a blue stripe or a red stripe. That indicates whether the drink's hot or cold. We did some experimenting in our first few days and then after a few bad experiences (i cannot drink some of that bottled green tea *gag*) settled on what drinks we bought each and every time. They typically cost about 120 yen.
Back at the resort, here I am hanging out next to the men's onsen. Sadly no men. Or maybe I should be grateful b/c I didn't see any hot Japanese men around the hotel. The women's onsen was also outdoors, with the screens, lovely view of a waterfall. You had to get nekkid, in front of other women, and before stepping into the onsen, you have to take a shower to keep the water clean. I didn't want to get nekkid, but it was oh so worth it. Melt-your-bones worth it.
A little story about how narrowminded we could be, we go into the onsen and there's already a young woman there who looks Asian, and we assumed was Japanese. Me and my friends start yabbering away, thinking she can't understand a word we're saying and I'm going on about how I want to teach in Japan, when she speaks up with a perfect Valley Girl accent: "You want to teach in Japan? I taught here for a few years!"
Turns out she was born and raised in California and her parents are Chinese. That was a good lesson in assuming.
Two of my friends being from Vietnam, but living most of their lives in the US, ran into this a few times. Japanese ppl actually mistook them as Japanese!
Another story unrelated to the above, I had a picture of this, but I'm not posting it here. We elected to have dinner at the hotel one night, but Marina forgot the time. Since they offered a free alcoholic beverage, we're lounging around in the bar area, sipping away at our drinks, when one of the hotel staff comes up to us, indicating that we're late for dinner. Marina insists to him we're not supposed to have dinner yet and even argues with him a little. He pushes and we go to have an amazing meal, including hot sake. Turns out, Marina was wrong and somehow, b/c we weren't in our rooms, they found us. I can only imagine they must've gone on a search, instead of just going, "Oh, they didn't make it. Their tough luck." And, we were about an hour late, and still fed us.
One last parting shot of Fujiyama.
It was a very hectic pace and believe me, I didn't set it. I would've went fewer places, perhaps, and taken more time to enjoy what I did visit. But it's hard to choose.
Hazyl, if you're anywhere close to Osaka, for instance, I couldn't recommend enough going to Koyasan. It's a Buddhist village up in the mountains. We stayed in a temple which was something out of a storybook in itself and the next day visited the cemetery there. You make a long trek through the cemetery until you reach the end of the path and there's a lantern shrine there created by one of the emperors in memorial to his mother and I believe this is where he was buried, as well. The beauty of it made me cry a little :)
Unfortunately, I don't have pics of that b/c they were forbidden....
Also, just a note about these pics: In actuality, b/n the 4 of us who went, we took about 3000 total. My friend pared them down to about 1400 and from there I managed to get them down to 700. So... I have about 700 printed pictures of Japan. Don't worry. I'm not posting 700 here b/c that's too many, even for me. heh
And I just now realized that I never really did LJ about my Japan trip so those of you who were poking me about that, hey look! It's a travel story!
I'll seperate this into posts and try to give you a little story with each.
We flew into Nagoya and one of the 1st things we saw at the airport:
"Taste Wasabi. Taste Japan." No thanks. I think I'll like Japan a lot better without the wasabi.
This is taken at the hostel where we stayed in Nagoya. Btw, if you can manage to stay in hostels (if you want to save money that is) do so b/c they are cheeeeeaaaaaap. You have to bathe naked in front of other ppl, but you get used to it. And no, it's not co-ed.
At any rate, about this picture, vending machines are everywhere in Japan. If someone asked me to sum up my Japanese experience in two words it would be, "Vending machines." On the right, cold and hot drinks both. Tea, coffee, water, flavored water, juice, you name it. Note on the left. That's beer. There were underaged ppl there. Anyone can buy beer (or cigarettes) out of vending machines. I understand they're trying to change that though with ID cards.
We took the shinkansen to Mt. Fuji (and then we had to take the JR lines and then we had to take a bus and then we had to be picked up in the hotel car. Shinkansen are about $60 to take. Expensive but freakin' fast. It made me motion sick when I tried to look out the window at the passing scenery (these do come equipped with barf bags, yes). It's empty here and believe me, this is the only time we ever took the shinkansen and it was empty. Also, the cars are seperated b/n smoking and nonsmoking and believe me, if you don't smoke, you want the nonsmoking. Smoking cars are cloudy and hard to breathe. We tried sitting in one once and had to move, all four of us (even the two who smoke).
Taken at the bus station in Kawaguchiko (waiting for our car to the hotel). Squat toilet! About Japanese restrooms, based on my observation, you better take napkins in with you. You can't always be guaranteed toilet paper. You can't always be guaranteed soap to wash your hands. If they have soap, you can't be guaranteed a dryer or paper towels. It's... an interesting experience to say the least.
On the wall above the squat toilet: "Good job!" and "A+"
"Way to go!"
No further commentary on the above necessary. *G*
We stayed at a resort at the base of Mt. Fuji (our most expensive stay during the entire trip and really not that bad). Here is the incredible view from our room. Mt. Fuji! My nutty Ukranian friend wanted to hike it. Thankfully, it wasn't in season and the rest of us breathed our thank you prayers while she pouted.
Every morning they had a breakfast buffet with both Eastern and Western foods. Note our table. Note the table behind us.
This was part of the view from the buffet room, but I think we took it from the observation deck. I could totally wake up to that every morning.
This one I believe was taken from the buffet room. One morning we saw a line of boats out on the lake, probably going fishing (?) It's like another world there.
Taken while out and about. Most restaurants did this and turned out to help a lot. Instead of menus, we could take the waitress and point at one of the items on display outside the restaurant. A lot of them did this or at least had menus with pictures outside.
And... more vending machines! Every block! Also note, none of these vending machines contain food. Oh, and a guide to reading, underneath the drinks you'll see either a blue stripe or a red stripe. That indicates whether the drink's hot or cold. We did some experimenting in our first few days and then after a few bad experiences (i cannot drink some of that bottled green tea *gag*) settled on what drinks we bought each and every time. They typically cost about 120 yen.
Back at the resort, here I am hanging out next to the men's onsen. Sadly no men. Or maybe I should be grateful b/c I didn't see any hot Japanese men around the hotel. The women's onsen was also outdoors, with the screens, lovely view of a waterfall. You had to get nekkid, in front of other women, and before stepping into the onsen, you have to take a shower to keep the water clean. I didn't want to get nekkid, but it was oh so worth it. Melt-your-bones worth it.
A little story about how narrowminded we could be, we go into the onsen and there's already a young woman there who looks Asian, and we assumed was Japanese. Me and my friends start yabbering away, thinking she can't understand a word we're saying and I'm going on about how I want to teach in Japan, when she speaks up with a perfect Valley Girl accent: "You want to teach in Japan? I taught here for a few years!"
Turns out she was born and raised in California and her parents are Chinese. That was a good lesson in assuming.
Two of my friends being from Vietnam, but living most of their lives in the US, ran into this a few times. Japanese ppl actually mistook them as Japanese!
Another story unrelated to the above, I had a picture of this, but I'm not posting it here. We elected to have dinner at the hotel one night, but Marina forgot the time. Since they offered a free alcoholic beverage, we're lounging around in the bar area, sipping away at our drinks, when one of the hotel staff comes up to us, indicating that we're late for dinner. Marina insists to him we're not supposed to have dinner yet and even argues with him a little. He pushes and we go to have an amazing meal, including hot sake. Turns out, Marina was wrong and somehow, b/c we weren't in our rooms, they found us. I can only imagine they must've gone on a search, instead of just going, "Oh, they didn't make it. Their tough luck." And, we were about an hour late, and still fed us.
One last parting shot of Fujiyama.