Oh, Sarah-Rose

Back in Osaka, back chez Tim, where you can tell you’re getting near his place when you spot Hotel Mickey Cookies.

Mickey Cookies is a Love Hotel.
A “love hotel” (ラブホテル) is a type of short-stay hotel found in Japan operated primarily for the purpose of allowing couples privacy to have sexual intercourse.
Which is probably why you can rent it for 90 minutes.

And hire costumes.

But that was just on the way to the Osaka Aquarium!

We arrived at the aquarium just after it opened (as recommended by Lonely Planet Japan) to a sign advising that there were … a LOT of schoolchildren inside. Like thousands. And they recommended that we come back later.
But we had come all this way so we went inside the door where a lady reiterated what the sign said and handed us two tickets to the IMAX theatre show “Under the Sea” to occupy some time before we could come back and brave the hordes.
So occupy some time we did. Incidentally, I had really wanted to see “Under the Sea” narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet when Craig and I were at the Science Museum in London but he scoffed, and we didn’t see it.
Instead we saw it completely in Japanese, not dubbed by Kate and Johnny, and it was just as amazing. Impressive 3D and an empty cinema (seriously, there were two other people in there, and the IMAX cinemas are LARGE). Plus, due to the complete language barrier I got to play the fun game “fucking or fighting?”.

By the time we made it back to the Aquarium pretty much all trace of the children was gone. It was a little eerie. But we got to go inside!

The Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan (海遊館) is one of the largest public aquariums in the world and is home to a pair of Whale Sharks.
Whale Sharks are the largest living fish species and can grow to 12m in length. Their mouths? can up be up to 1.5 metres wide.

But I was more impressed by (unsurprisingly) the Manta Rays.

Partly because of my well documented love of Rays, partly because it was completely unexpected, partly because as a child I had read and reread and reread The Girl of the Sea of Cortez by Peter Benchley and it just … stuck with me.

(they had other Rays there as well)

Craig christened this species the Dork Ray.

Christmas time at Kaiyukan

And randomly, as you leave, there is a Capybara.

Ah. Just like that, I’m exhausted. I will finish of this day later.
So. Many. Fish. Photos.

By day 4 we didn’t even need to look for the “English Assistance” button on the ticket machines.

We were catching the train to Inari. Blythe dolls were advertising a University. Kinki University. Seriously, check the bigger version!

Off the train at Inari station Craig and I followed a group of Japanese people wearing backpacks, and a few other tourist-y looking people. A few metres down the road we stopped as we hadn’t seen any signs directing us to Fushimi Inari.
I think we had all been following students.
A Spanish lady, a Swedish couple, and a Japanese couple were also lost. A lovely little old Japanese lady who was passing directed us back up the road where there was a GIGANTIC Torii if only we had turned left out of the station instead of right.

It was raining. Which meant that it was actually quite quiet. And lovely.

Poor Sam.

Okay. That’s enough of the prayers.

Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社?) is the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines.
Merchants and manufacturers worship Inari for wealth. Donated torii lined footpaths are part of the scenic view.
Inari is the Japanese kami (spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith) of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry and worldly success and one of the principal kami of Shinto.
Inari appears to have been worshipped since the founding of a shrine at Inari Mountain in 711 A.D.

Kitten!

Torii!

Oh lord, Mo-Vember.

And after a while the rain became a little too heavy and we headed back down the mountain.

It was magical and one of my favourite moments on our trip.

We went back to Kyoto Station and visited Happy Terrace.

Where we had to leave behind our glowing cube. Not cool, Kyoto Station, not cool.

And we wandered across the Skywalk. It was 11 storeys up and Craig took photos of the structural bits and pieces. Getting his structural-draughtsman-geek on.

We had lunch at Katsukura. I rolled my eyes at the other tourists taking photos of their food and now? I find myself wishing I had done the same. Naturally.

And then, the moment that Craig had been waiting for, the Shinkansen!

Things we noticed: there was very little blurring outside the window. We were travelling at 280km/h and yet? couldn’t tell at all. Also, there was no countryside to speak of, just varying levels of city/suburb.

The sun set while we were on the train and we arrived into Hiroshima in darkness.

A full day in Kyoto

Craig and I followed a walking tour from our Lonely Planet. It was long and exhausting but comprehensive and we saw beautiful beautiful temples.

Jizo
Jizo are small statues decorated with red aprons here and there in Kyoto, and especially at Kiyomizu. Each of these represents the soul of a dead child, often placed by a mother who aborted a baby. The apron is meant to keep the child warm in the afterlife, to atone for the death.

Kiyomizu-Dera

We were on a verandah that dated from 1633. Eesh.
(that’s the Kyoto tower in the background)

Otowa-no-taki, the lucky waterfall

You drink for Health, Longevity, and Success.

Tanuki – Racoon Dog
Statues of tanuki can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants, especially noodle shops. These statues often wear big, cone-shaped hats and carry bottles of sake in one hand, and a promissory note or empty purse in the other hand. Tanuki statues always have large bellies. The statues also usually show humorously large testicles, typically hanging down to the floor or ground.
The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded.
Yep. Those aren’t legs. They’re balls. Giant racoon dog balls.

The Ryozen Kannon is a war memorial commemorating the Japanese who died during World War II located in Eastern Kyoto. The concrete and steel statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Kannon) was built by Hirosuke Ishikawa and unveiled on the 8th June 1955. The statue is 24 m (80 ft) high and weighs approximately 500 tons.
(I love big Buddha!)

Beware Duck, Carp are HUGE

At Chionen Temple, where we walked on a Nightingale Floor.

Craig found a model store. I stood outside (it was claustrophobic in there! (and boring))

The beginning of an obsession. Fanta Jelly.

We collapsed back at the hotel (Soya Sauce crisps!) before heading out to the covered shopping district to hunt out food and … an umbrella.

The Inglorious Basterds poster looks so much cooler in Japanese.

After our first full day in Osaka, Craig and I caught the train to Nara, on our way to Kyoto.

Nara is famous for the deer which, designated as National Treasures, roam freely through the 502ha Park.
They are almost tame! almost. According to the warning signs (which are ENTIRELY in Kanji) they can shoot electricity out of their heads. Creepy deer.

I took about 7000 photos of the deer.

I didn’t buy an inflatable deer. But I did buy a hat which makes it look like I’m wearing a deer on my head!

Craig outside Tōdai-ji, the largest wooden building in the world, is a temple which houses a 50 foot tall Buddha (have I mentioned that I love Giant Buddhas?) Vairocana.

Vairocana (this iteration) is a Buddha who is the embodiment of Dharmakaya, and who therefore can be seen as the universal aspect of the historical Gautama Buddha. In Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of shunyata or Emptiness.

Painting roof tiles. Auspicious.

Most of the leaves had turned by the time we arrived in Japan but some trees were still astounding.

I’m guessing it says “Caution. Angry deers can electrocute”.

Then we bought special deer crackers and fed the adorable little beasts.

I found it a little terrifying though, they are quite tall. I mean, compared to me.

The platform for the train from Nara to Kyoto was lovely. Rainbow glass and special boarding points for ladies (at peak times only of course).

We caught the train to Kyoto, struggled (just a little) to find our hotel then collapsed.

Craig and I arrived back in Wellington at Midday on Sunday. After a 12 hour overnight flight during which we collectively achieved around 4 hours sleep and a 3 hour stopover in Christchurch. We were vaguely delirious with the exhaustion and so we decided, ever so sensibly, that Sunday afternoon would be the best time to move ourselves from our cozy abode (aka a little room in my Parents’ house) in to the large and empty house we will be living in until further notice.
At the time? it seemed like a good idea. At 8pm on Sunday it seemed like the worst idea in the world.
We spent the first night rattling around the big house like Kendra (a simile suggested by my baby sister and I’m gonna run with it) with little more than a fridge, a tv, and a bed. But without the stripper pole in the living room.
And Monday, Craig feeling jet-lagged and off work, we moved the rest of our life into the big house, and spent too too too much money getting the ephemera one needs to outfit a house. By 7pm we were mainly finished* though the internet is still not connected (sob).

I told you all of that by way of explaining the lack of photographic evidence of our time in Japan and the lack of yet another 365 update**.

Also! The internet and my disinclination to research (crazy, I know) led to the following items being USELESS in Japan:

1 pair of jeans. 2 turned out to be sufficient
My scarf, hat, and gloves
My hairdryer. My straighteners could deal with the voltage difference but my hairdryer was ridiculously underpowered.
1 pair of shoes. I made do with my boots on days we had to travel, and 1 pair of plimsolls. Fancy flats were superfluous.

It turns out that in Japan, the autumn/beginning of winter temperatures are somwhere in the range of 17-24 degrees celsius. In New Zealand we call that SUMMER.
It was, however, hilarious seeing everyone else wearing long sleeves & jackets & scarves while Craig swanned around in a t-shirt. I am eternally grateful that I included my blazer as a last minute addition to my bag, I could not have survived wearing my winter coat.

So. In short? we are home. Japan was amazing. Lovely. Incredible. We had a great time. Photos will be forthcoming. Maybe.

* We haven’t even started on moving my books though. That’s a weekend size chore.
** I forgot one day! Agony! I was going so so well. It was the day we flew to Japan where we left our Auckland accommodation (chez in-laws) at about 6am, spent the day on the plane, arrived in Japan and felt overwhelmed by it all, then went out with our friend & host-in-Japan, Tim, for dinner and drinking before crashing into bed just after midnight. Sigh.

Yes. Those are the bags I have packed for our darling little trip to Japan. They seem … remarkably small. However I’ve gone over my mental list a thousand times and I have everything I can think I’ll need for a 9 day trip:

3 pairs of jeans. 1 to be worn on the plane. What? they’re very stretchy jeans!
1 pair of leggings in case I tire of denim clad pins
6 tops (1 white, 2 black, 3 coloured)
1 dress
1 skirt
1 blazer
A scarf, hat, and gloves because it’s wintery up there
Enough underwear to sink a ship (or rather, to last 10 days)
Scant jewellery
Basic makeup
Hair appliances
iPhone and camera chargers
2 pairs of shoes
2 bottles of wine as payment for accommodation at our darling friend Tim’s abode.

And yet – all of this fits into a bag that TECHNICALLY is carry on legal. But I will be checking it. I hate people who test the limits of carry-on-only. Especially when they use bags with wheels.

MY carry on bag is my little old guess handbag. It contains mainly camera ephemera (camera, extra lens, wide-angle adaptor, spare battery, memory card, remote) as well as my travel wallet, a small book (A History of Love by Nicole Krauss), bits and bobbins along the lines of floss and mints and hand lotion, my iPhone & headphones, a neck pillow, earplugs, eyemask, and a small bag of musk candies. I don’t think there’s anything else I need.

This is terrifying me. I’m not used to packing light AT ALL.
And mainly? I just really hope that anything I HAVE forgotten (and there is likely to be something. Last time? toothbrush. NOT THIS TIME!) they sell in Japan and is not break-the-bank expensive.

Now? my main problem is that the outfit I have to wear to Auckland and on the plane tomorrow is far far too wintery to bear wearing in this unusually sunny Wellington weather.

But I must. I’m leaving soon!