Lazy Osaka

Some may have noticed the lack of entries during the last week or so. We arrived to Osaka on Tuesday and I have a trump card of THE INTERNET WASN'T WORKING. Well, maybe it was working and we were just  a bit lazy. I won't concede to anything because we had a REASON.

Well, nothing of especial interest happened during the first days here, just you know, hanging around IN OSAKA and in Dotonbori (the local shopping district we're visiting again today!), visited one of the worlds largest aquariums, Osaka Floating Garden, Nara aso.

Like, no biggie.

Well anyway.

On Wednesday we went to the aquarium. It had 14 floors. Enough said.

On Thursday we went to Osaka Floating Garden. It was architecturally one of a kind. Enough said.

Yesterday, Friday, we were in Nara and visited the shrines (although we refused to pay the entrence fee to most of them -we'd be pennyless by now if we hadn't, so we just hanged around in the area) and this one with the HUGE-ASS BUDDHA. And with my uncanny explanatory abilities it just might be better to introduce you to the place through an actual photograph.

FYI, the name of the temple was Tōdai-ji and the height of that Buddha is just short of 15m. It was HUGE. Who the hell had the thought process and materials to make it during the EIGHTH CENTURY?

Other than that there were about half-a-million smaller shrined but we didn't visit (did happily pay 500yen to see this Buddha though) and tame deer everywhere.

I wanted to add videos (mainly of the Pacific Ocean -part of the aquarium...) but the internet is so slow that after waiting for 45 minutes for it to load the friggin vid, I gave up and decided I'make the videos public later.

Also the explanations on this entry are bad. I know. But we're leaving in a second to GO SHOPPING and then to OSAKA SPAWORLD *wwwwww*

Monday monday monday

Today we went to Shukkeien, a local Garden. The entrance fee was 150 yen and so totally worth it. It was really beautiful. As pictures give you more than a thousand words and video more than 12 pictures/second I'll give you just that:


YES, it is an otter. IN A PARK, IN THE MIDDLE OF HIROSHIMA. Yeah.

A quick look around, pretty much 180 degrees.

A FISH. It'd take a week for me to eat that. Like what the hell...

Aaaaaaand a lovely crab (*^u^*) the were EVERYWHERE so in the end I just had to document the movement of one. Sorry.

 

After the park we hurried around, trying to find some Okonomiyaki to dull our hunger. The first place we were directed to was closed (well it is Monday and many places are closed on Mondays) so we hiked for another half a kilometre or so and FOUND A PLACE. It was so good oh God. I'd stay here just to eat the food forever.

Miyajima

The day before yeasterday we went to Miyajima, one of the "most beautiful sights in Japan". I think it's ranked third or so. We sat in a tram for forty-five minutes and the ferry ride to the island took about 15 minutes. It was totally worth it. We arrived there during low tide and got to walk around Torii, the symbolic gate before the Itsukushima Shrine

 

Sorry for my face -it was sunny and my eyes were practically bleeding by the time that random person who gracefully offered to take the picture for us actually took the picture.

The Itsukushima Shrine in the middle picture is part of UNESCO World Heritage, by the way. I just wanted to say that, it sounds so civilized and intellectual and whatever I'll just get on with it now.

After visiting the main attractions of the island we went exploring, and found this lovely (and very Finnish in a way -it had pines -the trees- and all) area with steep stairs up to a path which led to a miniature almost-shrine ->

After buying Momiji (maple-shaped small treat with different fillings inside, we bought one chocolate, one cream-filled and one red bean paste filled or whatever. Surprisingly the chocolate-filled was best) we found a place to sit and eat our first ones in peace, and found a lovely seat with a view to the ocean and the Torii. It was fine for a few minutes until the tame deer tried to eat the from our hands... I can say, they were actually very good until the just DIDN'T GET that we wanted to eat them ourselves...... (Ignore the random kid posing on the video :D)

A day in our lives

Today was a weird one. We woke up at about ten, showered etc etc and were out of the door by noon. We walked around, got some breakfast/lunch from a supermarket and went to the Peace Park (which is in walking distance!). We were debating whether or not it would be rude to eat there on the benches which had engraved plates with the names of the atomic bomb victims, and ended up walking to another park to eat. Which was a good decision as we had a fun time. Woah.

We were sitting there on the side of a stream on some random stairs, miding our own business when weirdness enveloped us into her bosom. A biker-by was PRESUMABLY singing, although all we heard was "aaaaAAAAAAaaalalaaa" and then she was gone and we heard no more. Few minutes later two men in their twenties came by and sat next to us for a grand total of about 60 seconds, then retreating 50 metres or so, hanging behind us for a while. One of them had obvious difficulty with KEEPING HIS SHIRT ON. After these fine men had returned to their car, which they had conviniently parked pretty much in the middle of the road we realized that a Junior High kid who walked over a bridge next to us did it for about the fifth time. He was just walking around, making these sharp turns (like over 90 degrees, what?) and stopping at random moments, walking to and fro the park we were sitting in. After mulling this over for a few minutes it was overrided by a man in his late thirties, who started to smirk at us and mumble random things on the other side of that small stream. Then he decided to cross said stream by coming down the two-metre-high bank and jumping to a level rock, working his way towards us by jumping from one rock to another. And I can say those rocks were sparsely spread. After arriving to our side of the stream he flashed us a smirk and again mumbled something incomprehendable, then continued on his way TO CLIMB A TREE.

Liek, do u like mudkipz? We had an interesting day.

Today we arrived to Hiroshima after a four-hour bus trip which was mostly spent asleep. As last night was our final one in Fukuoka, we were supposed to go to bed early, BUT. We had gotten to know several wonderful people and in the end we just kept pushing the whole going-to-bed part later and later until we didn't sleep at all. And we kind only realized that by the time the sun had come up and the reception had opened.

We were just hanging around in the lounge room until about three when we had this inspiration to go to the local 24-hour Konbini. Our newly-found friend decided to buy several alcoholic beverages and we bummed a packet of ham to be able to make an omelet. So we were back at the hostel by half four and Mia and I started to make our omelet without actually knowing if it would be our breakfast or a really (and I mean really) late dinner or something.

We also ended up tasting umeshu and asahi and hanged around on the rooftop area since about when the sun started to come up. Fooling around with the cameras had some interesting results (this is from about 2am?) Sadly most of the pictures were taken not by our camera so we don't have them (yet, at least. Facebook is my lover).

And when we started thinking about it this whole thing started with POPCORN which I had accindentally thrown to my suitcase and as we were going through our stuff we ended up wanting that popcorn and decided to eat it as an evening snack or whatever (iltapala).

After the fun night we ran to our bus which left at 10.20 and made it just in time (we had thought they'd leave about once every hour but there would've been an five hour wait for the next one...) and ended up sleeping pretty much the whole way. (Y)

When we got to Hiroshima we realized we once again hadn't gotten the information about the hostel (J-Hoppers) we were going to stay in and had NO IDEA WHATSOEVER how to get there from the station. So we went to the local bus-info and tried to confirm where we should go and they were so helpful. It was actually an info for those using the bus lines and trying to find the right one but they printed out maps how to walk to the hostel, drew the hostel to us on the map and then a woman left the info area to walk us all the way to the tram stop... ONLY IN JAPAN. And just afterwards when we got off from the tram and tried to find our way from the stop to the hostel, several people stopped and and asked us if were lost, were we fine and would we find our way, confirming we were going to the right direction. A passer-by woman volunteered to lead us here (as she lives close by) and walked with us until we found the door of the hostel and got in. I repeat: only in Japan.

But other than that, I'm hungry and tired but very, very happy right now. If I get something to eat and some good manga to read (eg. the first volume of Death Note I bought) I'll be totally content.

And I'll be adding those promised pictures of Fukuoka when I get by to do it, hopefully it'll be soon. (~*w*)~

Owaaaaaa

I can't believe I'm really back here! Just waiting to get to go to Tenjin again! And Tenjin Core, the shopping center. JUST WAIT YOU, and I'll give y'all pictures of my second home n_______n

I had to give you a picture of some kind immediately but the one above is the only one I've taken in Fukuoka thus far :< It's from the bus when we were sitting and twiddling our thumbs, looking at the clock and thinking "we should've been there already". BUT STILL.

Onsen + FUKUOKA

Today we were SUPER ACTIVE and woke up at 6 o'clock local time. Like, JEEZ, what's up with that? But we wanted to go to the natural onsen, which meant an hour-long trip one-way, which meant an early wake-up.

Well our check-out was at 11 and we wanted to to and fro said natural onsen (in Myoban) so we were at Beppu JR Station by half eight. And walking uphill an hour later. After walking up for better part of an hour we found a lovely natural onsen (hot spring), but I couldn't take actual pictures of the spring because a local came by and after peeling off his clothes -walked right in butt-naked. So you try to go there, take pictures of a hot-watered pond while a random naked man is sitting in it. Maybe not?

We did get Roland (who we met at the hostel and who came with us) to take a picture of us while we soaked our feet in the hot water *---*

I think it turned out quite nice n__n

After coming back to the Beppu Guest House we began our journey towards FUKUOKA. I've been waiting for this, like, since AUGUST OF 2008.The bus trip was supposed to take two and a half hours. But. There was a block on the road/ traffic jam/ I don't even know WHAT but it took us four hours. Four. Like come on, Japan's busses and trains and all that are supposed be on time all the time. 

Like I'll believe anything said to me about these things anymore.

So, we arrived to Hakata Station and I had it mixed up with the Tenjin area, which is actually 1-2 km away, and there we were, riding the bus up to the third floor (the bus went up there. It was seriously w e i r d when a bus is going up those little tunnels made for cars to get to the uppermost levels of a parking lot...) in total blackness of the tunnel, wondering where in the name of all those seven hells we were. And when the bus started playing this "thank you for using this line" explanations-tape we were freaked as we realized this was the last stop and we'd have to get off here. The driver was unceremoniously dumping our stuff to the side of the bus and we were just gawking around, still not knowing where we were, where the hostel was and HOW TO GET THERE.

The driver left us there (being already over an hour late he was probably quite tense), wondering which floor the exit was. It took quite some time to get ourselves in order and out of the building, but when we did we ran into a girl who practically saved our lives (or at least two hours of our day in unessential search) by telling us where our hostel was (she had this little Japan-guide with all basic-and-not-so-basic info in it), where the info was and then lead us to the info even as she herself waas already in a hurry. You whose name I never learned: we will be ever grateful.

In the end and after a lot of fumbling around, stalking with maps and meeting a guy from our hostel in Nagasaki, we found the hostel Khaosan Fukuoka and checked in.

After snooping around for some info on Fukuoka and where-to-go guides we went to the supermarket. and cooked and omelet (Mia did, I poured the milk and dropped the eggs). Then we were on our laptops. Socializing. Then..... we're going to bed. Sorry I'm tired and just can't think of a good, flowing end to the entry so Iäll just stop here kthxbye.