I must go to Korea and capture him.
Arashi Christmas! :D
- Sweet Disposition
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via peoplekillbees
2AM Christmas
How adorable!
Naha, Okinawa.
Finally, Okinawa was the last stop of our trip.
We arrived Thursday night, checked into our hostel, and decided to explore Kokusai, which is the main street full of shops and restaurants. We ate at this delicious yogurt place called Partyland that is suspiciously exactly the same as Yogurtland in America. It was the first build-your-own yogurt place I’ve seen in Japan so I was happy!
Friday we spent the whole first half of the day taking a highway bus up to Ocean Expo Park in Nago where the world famous Churaumi Aquarium is located. Definitely worth it. The aquarium was awesome. The Kuroshio Sea exhibit is the largest and holds 1,981,000 gallons of water as well as three whale sharks! It was very calming to sit and watch the giant sharks and manta rays swim around the tank. There was also manatee, sea turtle, and dolphin pools outside of the main aquarium. After we got back to Okinawa city, we returned to Kokusai to try some traditional Okinawan food for dinner. Jenn and I found a place with a traditional atmosphere which thankfully had a hole under the table so that we didn’t have to sit on our legs. They served us a strange looking appetizer and when Jenn asked what it was, the waitress told us it was pig’s ear! Evidently it is a delicacy in Okinawan culture. I was brave enough to try the pig’s ear but I preferred my “Okinawa grown” fried chicken with black vinegar sauce much more. The cartilage-y crunch wasn’t particularly appetizing.
I was sad to leave paradise Saturday morning, but I was looking forward to sleeping on my own futon. I can’t wait to spend this upcoming weekend in Kyoto!
Kagoshima City, Kagoshima.
After spending the day on Sakurajima Island, we took much needed naps at the hostel and then walked over to the 60th Anniversary Ohara Festival in the heart of Kagoshima city.
It was the first night of the festival and there were people lining the streets to watch the thousands who participate in dancing. Each group of dancers were in some way affiliated (clubs, schools, work, etc) and wore special costumes. There were three dances that everyone knew, and then for “free dance” each group had their own choreographed dance. It was mesmerizing to watch all the different dancers parade down the street.
We stopped to sit in front of a particular group to watch the remainder of the show and so I could eat my takoyaki (fried dough balls with octopus). When a lady from the group saw that Jenn knew the dance, she asked her to join the dancing circle. Soon enough, a couple other women from the same group approached us and asked us to dance too! They gave us their overshirts and their handmade shakers to use as we danced along in the circle. Afterwards, the group wanted their picture taken with us and the women who invited us into the circle let us keep the shakers as a memory. It felt amazing to be a part of such a traditional festival!
Sakurajima Island, Kagoshima.
On our first full day in Kagoshima, we took the ferry to Sakurajima island.
Sakurajima is an active volcano! According to the museum we went to on the island, it has already erupted 1134 times this year (probably more now that I write this). We started to realize just how often it erupts when we had to endure raining ash our second day in Kagoshima!
One particularly awesome part of the island is the free public foot bath hot springs they offer behind the museum. The water was warm and relaxing and we had an amazing view of the ocean from where we were sitting.
For lunch I tried the black pork shabu shabu. You receive a plate full of raw foods that you cook in a miniature boiling pot on the table. The black pork is a specialty of the Kagoshima area and I thought it was very delicious!
The last excursion on the island was to Furusato onsen, which is a mixed-sex outdoor hotsprings that is heated by the volcano. Thankfully, you are required to wear yukata into the onsen so I didn’t have to worry about being naked or seeing other naked people! The hot springs was beautiful and overlooked the ocean. Unfortunately I could not take any pictures because 1) I don’t think you can take a camera into an onsen and 2) I didn’t want to be the creepy person with a camera.
Last Sunday, Jenn and I decided to do some sightseeing around Tokyo.
After spending a little time in Shibuya buying my birthday present and eating some McDonalds, we headed over to the Imperial Palace. It was grand! A group of Chinese tourists asked to take their picture with us in front of it. I guess we are celebrities!
After that we went to Tokyo Tower. I wasn’t really into the idea of riding up the tower… It looked pretty scary. Instead, we looked around the mall inside where there were tons of souvenir shops, a scary museum called “Space Wax”, and a drama set. We finished off our time there with waffles from Pink Dot.
The final destination was Ebisu Garden Place, which is a monumental set in the Japanese drama Hana Yori Dango. The place is also beautiful! It also helped that there were dozens of adorable Japanese children dressed up in their Halloween costumes waiting for treats.
( via peace-love-dinos )
Hirosaki, Aomori.
Last weekend, Jenn and I ventured up to Hirosaki, Aomori. Even after a grueling 9 hour bus ride, we got a second wind upon arrival. Though, it might have been the chill that woke us up! It was definitely apparent that we were at the northern most tip of Honshu in October.
We dropped our belongings off at the Japanese ryokan and began our sightseeing at the Hirosaki Castle park. We ended up purchasing the inclusive admission ticket so we checked out the castle museum (we got to go inside the beautiful white castle!). From there we went to the park arboretum where they had all sorts of flowers, trees, and even peacocks. My head almost exploded from cute because there were around 20 small Japanese school children ogling at the peacocks. Fujita Memorial Garden was the last attraction that our ticket paid for and it was a traditional Japanese garden with both a Japanese-style residence and a Western-style residence on site. Inside the Western-style residence was a quaint French cafe where Jenn and I dined on desserts and apple tea. When I learned that Aomori was essentially Japan’s apple supplier, I vowed to consume as many apple-related things as I could. We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out a street lined with shrines and the 5-story pagoda at the Saishoin Temple. By dinner time, we ended the day with hamburger steaks at the Bikkuri Donkey. We were just really excited to eat at a place called “Surprise Donkey”.
The next day we spent a majority of our time at Apple Park, which is a huge apple orchard! The sky was clear that day and Mt. Iwaki was very visible… such a beautiful sight. In the cafe, I ordered apple curry with apple-stuffed pork katsu, an apple shake, and an apple soft serve. Eating all of that was merely to understand the food of the residents I swear. Stuffed, we headed to the Neputa Festival museum where we got to see the giant lanterns that Hirosaki uses in Aomori’s most popular festival. We also watched a man play the shamisen and fed the koi before heading back to the station. And, begrudgingly, we endured another 9 hour overnight bus ride to get home!
It was an amazing trip and I am only more excited to visit Okinawa, Kagoshima, Kyoto, and Hokkaido!
