2008 – Japan and Korea

Hanami

Posted on by kymdt


Hanami
Originally uploaded by kdt

I am lying here on my futon in our Kyoto ryokan, wondering where my hanami post dissapeared (just a later note – it dissapeared twice – but I found this one ). So here it is again. You should receive a more regular supply of posts, beause we have found a couple of good wifi spots (for free).

Anyway, my post was about hanami and how every reasonable spot aside or under a cherry tree was occupied with a picnic party. Some involved elaborate food setups while others where little more than beer and crisps.

Hanami also brings together another great passion of the viewers, that of photography as this photo shows.

Kym (the photos that are posted by me but do not have my sign off are actually from Helen)

Food glorious food

Posted on by kymdt

What do you eat after sushi in Kyoto before stumbling back to the ryokan?

Ice cream Sundae at Karafuneya coffee, of course!

We came across a dessert palour (which also served spagetti…) on the way to the bus stop. They had 100 different varieties… thankfully we only had one each.

There is an amazing amount of pastry shops and cakes, which are really had to walk by.

We haven`t had a dud meal yet… lets not forget the food from the vending machines. I could definately live here just for the food.

food
Originally uploaded by kdt

Manga museum

Posted on by kymdt


Manga museum
Originally uploaded by kdt

We visited Kyoto International Manga Museum, which is located in a refurbished school building. It is currently featuring a exhibition on Kimabiashi (apologies for spelling – I`ve spent too long search for it on the internet).

You aren`t suppose to take photos.. but kym did with the phone… like a few others there.

The museum aslo houses a large library of manga books that you can read… although the majority of them are written in Japanese of course. The books are located all over the museum and there are people everywhere reading the magna… :)

HK

Kiyomizu temple

Posted on by kymdt

I am quite surprised at the quality of the mobile phone pictures. As you have probably worked out, while we are out and about we send snapshots from our mobile phone. All this so you can have up to the second coverage. Mobile phones ain’t any good for text so we are at a Manga cafe updating some posts.

As you can tell from this photo Kiyomizu Temple is quite beautiful with cherry blossoms just as it has been since 798. Of course like most buildings in Kyoto the were reconstructed at some other later date because of some disaster or another. In this case 1633.

We certainly had Melbourne weather yesterday. It was either shining sun, overcast or showering. It was a bit like playing pachinko.

kiyomizu temple
Originally uploaded by kdt

Hakone round trip

Posted on by kymdt

How many different forms of transport can a person catch in a day? Seven! Using the Hakone free pass we joined the other 1000s of tourists, visiting the number of tourist attractions and shops. Think of Hakone as any busy holiday spot, but with a number of smaller towns very close to each other with Mt Fuiji as a backdrop. However it was over-cast we didn’t see it.

Apart from the regular types of transport, we also caught a cablecar, pirate ship, ropeway, and the Tozen railway.

Early morning at the Tsukiji Fish Market

Posted on by kymdt

To visit the Tsukiji fish market, believe it or not, we woke up at 3am and walked to the market from our hotel. There is very little traffic on the streets at that time of the morning, apart from taxis and men in suits riding bicycles.

Our tour guide Nakamura-San met us at 4am, and began to lead us around the market. We went down a few alleys, visited the shrine that workers at the market the keep the rough seas at bay, and then ventured in to the various parts of the fish market. On the tour we had to be careful as looking the wrong way can have you getting hit by a motorised cart, or a grumpy worker trying to move his fish.

There was a heck of a lot of fish, fresh tuna (picture), frozen tuna, sea urchin, octopus, eel, cod, just to name a few. The frozen tuna shed was my highlight, with the cold mist hovering over the tuna from the ground to below our knees. The large ships that catch the tuna clean and then freeze the tuna until they reach the market – which may be up to a year. At the market the frozen tuna is marked with red paint, which is washed off when they clean it, to indicate the lot number, as well as sign indicating the business who caught the fish.

Apart from a large number of frozen fish, there are also a lot of fish kept in water. Certain buyers request to have the fish killed at the market before it gets delivered. This is done by cutting its neck and draining the blood.

During the tour we also watched the live auctions of a variety of fish – some which are over in literally seconds.

The worst part about the tour is the number of other tourists that can be seen closer to 6am. When we arrived there wasn’t any, but when we went back to see the fresh tuna auction – you could hardly move.

From 1st of April, tourists will be banned from Tsukiji. This is due to the problems they have caused (touching fish, using flash when taking photos and getting in the way of the people doing their work). Which is really unfortunate – as it is a great experience. We paid for our tour and got venture all over the market – places where other tourists wouldn’t normally visit (all guide books tell you to see the tuna auction). Yes, before you mention it, I know we are part of the problem.

The market itself is also due to be moved about a 5 minute car ride down the road in a couple of years to make way for the Tokyo Olympic games press center – if they get it, and then turned into apartment blocks.

After the tour we queued for 30 minutes to have sushi for breakfast – which was worth the wait!

^ HK