japan vacation recap 3 - kyoto

Instead of staying in a hotel in Kyoto, we returned to Nagoya. My uncle and godfather used his vacation time (read: recession) and drove us to Kyoto and back. I wasn't happy with this setting really but we did manage to save some money. So whatever...

Sucks to wake up early though. My parents' definition of a vacation doesn't include a full night rest.

Okay. Back to Kyoto. It's nice but is such a tourist spot. We left a bit left so we met traffic (rare in Japan) near on of the tourist spots. So, we had to walk...

 

To Kiyomizudera temple!

It was an uphill climb and there were many shops selling stuff and stuff. There were really nice bags and I was really tempted to buy a yukata. No pictures though. I said it was a climb.

Okay, so there were few pictures but my family is infesting those so just that one.
Returning to the temple...

There were many tourists. Most armed with cameras. I was eye-ing some carrying old film cameras and those with cool-looking lens (drool...).

Took a shot of Kyoto before we left.

One the way down, we encountered "stuff"

Then we had lunch. I had a veggie meal served in a bento. I think it is a kaiseki. I'm not sure though. Most were okay but I didn't eat one red thing which was a bit squishy.

We then went to Heian temple. Had a discussion with my parents and we ended up going inside the gardens. My parents also think quantity >> quality. No parents... no.

Next stop was Golden Pavilion. It was a cool structure and we caught it near sunset (very near closing time) so it was just... golden.

Wala lang...

After buying some souvenirs, we went back to Nagoya and had dinner in a sushi bar! Moving sushi, hehe...

and touch screen menus!

japan vacation recap 2

The next day was spent roaming around Nagoya. Which was totally out of the original plans. Surprisingly, it does have some good places to visit.

We first went to a mall to look for cold weather gear but nothing was found. Sadness... so we started touring the city. We first went to the tallest buildings in Nagoya, which was near the JR Nagoya station.


And saw this funky structure in front of the station.


There was an entrance fee but whatever. Going on a vacation means spending money, at least for me. What you gonna spend all your money on education?



It was cold and windy. The view was okay but the pictures aren't, I just keep getting this haze. Maybe it's the camera...




After that, we went to a shopping arcade/street in search of cold weather gear. I bought myself a scarf and a pair of gloves to a total of 900 pesos. *sigh*I also had my first bowl of ramen in Japan. 200 pesos. *sigh* It was okay. Obviously, that's not me in the picture

After that, we went to Nagoya castle and lo and behold, sakura!

Lot's of it, lot's of people too.



Then we reached the castle.



We went up Nagoya castle where my camera fainted (no more battery power).

 so no more pictures. ahaha
This is a sucky recap.

Next recap will be Kyoto!

japan vacation recap 1

Day 1 of my vacation was spent riding airplanes. For a really close country, this sucks.

The first stop was in Taipei Internation airport. I got angry at my parents for rushing when clearly the plane we're supposed to ride has not yet arrived. I cooled off taking photos.

At least there are inflight albums and music to stave off the boredom in the plane.

We finally landed in Japan at around 9pm. The first thing I did was illegal take a picture of the immigration section of the airport. Good me!

After experiencing the strict Japanese immigration, we finally leave the airport. We were fetched by relatives and drove around for 3 more hours. I was tired and grumpy so no more pictures. My wish of experiencing tatami mats came true as we slept in a tatami room. Not a ryokan though, a house of a Filipino acquaintance.

Blogging in Taiwan again while waiting for our flight to Manila.

We almost didn't make it here because of some train mishaps. We ended up boarding the Narita Express but "standing" all the way from Yokohama to Narita (~90mins). I ended up sitting on our suitcase.

Returning to the Philippines tomorrow. *sigh* Goodbye cold weather...

I'll miss Japan. Hopefully I can save enough money to return here on my own. I'll need to learn Nihonggo though.

Pictures really soon... I'll try to make posts that won't look like a photodump.

Have I mentioned how effing cold this place can get starting late afternoons? or how unfashionable and underdressed I am when put next to the people here?

Hey Hey it's Good friday! No baths after 3? yeah... whatever.

Had a very tiring day in Tokyo. No more excessive food consumption. Been growing fond of bento meals though.

I still hate travelling with my parents. So much we even fought. hahaha... my father has become unbearable, acting so immature and insensitive. He's regressing into being a teenager; I suspect the lack of freedom during his younger years to be the cause. When I become a father, I will let my child scold and correct me. Of course, he or she has to prove me wrong first which I will make very difficult to do. My mother? She's a better travel companion but she gets stressed all the time even though she shouldn't.

I'm amazed with the organization and order of the Japan railway system and their fallback system for those who get lost in its complexity. I wish the Philippines create a similar system.

I'm excited for alone day Sunday!

Rode the shinkansen (the bullet train) and slept. Failed to see Mt Fuji due to that.

Strolled through the East Imperial Garden in Tokyo.

Finally got acquainted with the Japan train system. It's fun and organized and less crowded (haven't rode it during rush hour). Too bad I had to travel with my mom who gets stressed everytime we get lost or do something stupid only tourists could do. Really... goal for next year: travel alone to a new place. Component obj: To save enough money to travel alone somewhere Deliverable: Part-time job

And we're staying in the Yokohama city (more specifically near Shin-Yokohama station) and not in Tokyo so a good time will be spent riding trains... with my parents... *sigh*

Was too tired to blog yesterday.

Three straight days of sleeping past 12 and waking at around 5. This vacation is so tiring and it's turning into one big food trip, totally unplanned but oh so welcome.

What I did in briefs...

1st day (in Japan) - Nagoya tour.Cherry blossom viewing.  Met some Filipinas with Japanese husbands. They seem to be happy; overworked though.Japanese grill. Yum yum raw meat at night. Went to a japanese bar but didn't drink. Camera died on me so no pictures of night activities. Sucks...

2nd day - Osaka. Universal studios only. Saw Wicked in Nihongo. Got stuck in a few shows fully in Nihongo. Saw one awesome parade. Bokeh practice. Rode a roller coaster again. Bumped into the language barrier a few times too many. Ramen night.

3rd day - Kyoto. Kinkakuji, Heian and Kiyomizudera. Cherry blossoms again; I can't get enough. Veggie bento and Sushi bar.

Others: I hate travelling with my parents. really... so noisy, unorganized and uptight. Too bad I don't earn my own money so I'm stuck with them for a while longer (5 years or so). 

No pictures, don't want to edit in the laptop.

2200
Now in my relatives' house. Someone is smoking. Passed through very strict immigration.
VERY COLD. Need gloves and scarves.
Tour starts tomorrow AFTER buying cold weather clothes.

1500
I'm now in Taiwan, waiting for the arrival of our plane to Nagoya.

There is glorious (oh so glorious) WiFi. Looks like I won't have to kill somebody to entertain myself.

The waiting area is awfully big and quiet though. My cough just echoed. Ahahaha...

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The airline food sucketh but there are music, movies and games (not the Cebu Pacific games) but I just slept through half the ride. Blame the party the night before.