Kyoto! (Continued)

After paying the entrance fee, we walked along the gravel path, past some Japanese-y looking structures, such as a bell tower, what seemed to be a smaller temple, and very clean gardens, and then finally, we came upon a lake, and near the end of the lake sat the Golden Temple. Of course, there were hordes of tourists on the shore taking their pictures. Travelling as a solo tourist, I soon became easy fodder for those wanting to get their pictures taken, and most of the people, actually all of the people that asked me to do it where Japanese. I explained to them that I couldn’t speak Japanese, but I could click the shutter and count down 1-2-3 if that’s all they wanted.




I like this guy. Oh yeah, looking pretty gangsta there right in front of the Kinkakuji. Again, I was pretty late in taking this pic, his expression was way more exaggerated a few secs ago.




Heh, I saw this lady near the exit, where she was looking forlornly at her empty wallet. She wasn’t moving at all, so I took a pic. :D As Mimay would say, “Wawa naman sha”.









There was more things to see along the path, more mini-temples, shrines, immaculate gardens, overpriced souvenir shops, you know the rest. So on to the next temple!




After consulting the trusty bus map, I decided that the most accessible one would be Ginkakuji temple. When I got there, there was a long street going up a hill leading to the temple’s entrance. This street was lined with food shops, (which I took lots of free samples from, mochi is too good) and again, overpriced souvenir shops. A lot of them. And of course, the street was packed with tourists. i.e the pic above.

And at the top, there was a large tent set up where a huge crowd of people where writing something on these pieces of wood, and then where handing them to the people in the tent. I’m guessing it was for the Bon Festival, where they burn the wooden pieces in the shape of a giant character “Ten”, so big that it is visible from the township. Great timing that they do it on the night of Aug 16, and yet I was scheduled to leave Kyoto on the morning of Aug 16.

So anyway, this temple was a bit different than the first, it also had a sand sculpture, with a cylindrical shape surrounded by what seemed to be a lateral pattern. I later found out that this was to represent Mt. Fuji and the surrounding Lake Ashi. (I think. Or so they say).

Connecting from the Ginkakuji Temple, is the Path of Philosophy, where it was said that a philosopher (can't remember his name) once trod so that he could think/philosophize. Naturally, I would need to walk this path. Little did I know, that it wasn’t so easy, as it took 40 minutes to walk along, in the sweltering 38 degree heat. Maybe the lack of tourists should’ve been a sign, as no one in their right mind would willingly walk this path. Sure I did meet the odd tourist on the way or following me, but not the mass rush you found on the street leading to the Ginkakuji temple. Rightly placed along the path where vending machines, where I had to buy water/pocari sweat/aquarius (the latter two being forms of Japanese Gatorade, that happen to be quite tasty and refreshing) along the way.

The path happened to be alongside a canal, and being Filipino, there were several things that I found wrong about this.




The lack of garbage, squatters, makeshift houses built along the banks, etc was quite disconcerting. Also the fact that the water was crystal clear was quite disturbing. And to top this all off, you could smell absolutely nothing, no reek of rotten garbage, pollution, none of it. Very unsettling.






At the end, I’m not even sure if I reached the Nyakuoji Shrine, but there was a shrine that I reached, and pictures of this would suffice.

I thought I should do more exploring, but then I saw the path that lead to another part of the shrine area, and found that it was more steps/hillside/uphill climbing.




Screw that, I’m all templed out, it was now mid afternoon, the sandwich I had eaten from 7-11 this morning had now been digested and used, and it was time to find the ramen place mentioned in the Lonely Planet book. I took the bus to the Gion area, and while reading the book, it mentioned several good ramen places that were in the Ginkakuji area. Great. So trying to make the best of things, I wander down the alley which the book says it is in (I think) yet somehow I am not able to find it. No surprise there. Half the things that I tried to look for that are mentioned in the book I never find. Anyway, I keep wandering down the alleyway, which looks like your typical crowded Asian alleyway with neon signs and whatnot, till I come to the near end of it, where there are several shops/restaurants with traditional Japanese designs, and one that even displays an English menu on the outside! Okonomiyaki? Wahey, let’s give this a go.




So I duck inside, take off my shoes, and inside I find three sweating white people, presumably waiting for their seats, sitting on the floor in the tiny waiting area. The waiter then pops his head in, and I just raise my finger indicating only one person while saying "Hitori-de" which I think means just one person, he nods, says something incomprehensible in Japanese, and goes away. Turning disguise mode on, I then listen in on the white peoples conversation, where they talk about someone’s girlfriend and drama drama drama. Blah. I then get thinking as to how big this restaurant really is, cause from the outside all you see is a small doorway, with the ceiling looking hardly any taller than myself. A few minutes later, the 3 white people are called in, and a few minutes later, so am I. I am led into the main restaurant, and what I see is a small little room, with three tables, with a family seated/kneeled at one, and 2 people at each of the other 2 tables. Situated on each table is a hot plate where they seem to be getting their food from. Facing the three tables was the main kitchen, where you could see cook literally slaving over a hot oven, well, not really oven, and in front of that was a long hot plate/bench, where the three white people where situated at one end, and myself at the other end. It left about a space of a meter between us. In front of me there was a small metal bowl and a spatula. Alarm bells started ringing off, I was thinking that this was maybe a place where we had to cook our own okonomiyaki. Man, I certainly hoped not. Choosing the pork okonomiyaki and a small mug of Asahi beer (much as I was getting accoustomed to the creamy taste of Asahi, the prices kinda got to me). The waiter soon brought a small bowl with a 5cm cube of boiled tofu topped with soy sauce and shallots. Great. So taking the chopsticks, I dug in to the “entrée”. A few minutes later, the waiter then slid on to the hot plate in front of me, my pork okonomiyaki. After observing the other patrons, I realized that the hotplate in front of you was to keep the food warm, while the spatula was used to serve it in your small bowl. It all makes sense! However, the thing that got to me was, what if you were a slow eater? That meant the longer you took to eat, the higher the chance of you food being burnt right? I suppose they keep the heat low enough to prevent this from happening, but by the time that I got to my last morsel of okonomiyaki, there was already a black crust forming underneath, however still tasty.

Kyoto!

The following day I was to make a trip to Kyoto. Armed with my backpack and trusty camera, I set off. From the hostel from where I was staying, I had to cross the Azuma bridge to get to the train station. This morning however, there seemed to be a small gathering on the bridge, and they were stopping people from going across on one side. So I though, um, I’ll just go on the other side. So I start walking, and turns out they are filming some kind of show. I look and see one of the characters, and it’s a schoolgirl dressed exactly like Sakura from SF!!! I think to myself, I got to take a picture of this, so I loosen the Velcro from my camera case, and this shady guy walks up to me and starts talking in Japanese, pointing at my camera, and I tell him I don’t speak Jap, and he does the DX crotch chop sign with both his hands as if to indicate no pictures. Right. So much for that photo op.

This time, it’s a much easier trip through the train system, having already been through the rigours of it last time. Seriously, once you’ve done it once, you should be ok, it aint that hard to figure out. With the minimal English text as well, all should be peachy.

At Tokyo Station, once I got my seats reserved for the Shinkansen (bullet train), I realized I needed to eat. So I headed to one of the places that sold bento boxes, and realized I only had 7 minutes before the train was to leave. Guided by their picture menu, I hastily bought a box which had what looked like meat pieces with some peas. Later on on the train, I realized that it was what seemed to be small shellfish, with 3 pieces of a very big shellfish. Once more… Riiiight. So much for my first bento box experience. But hell, out of hunger I managed to wolf it all down.

I didn’t arrive early enough to snap a picture of the front of the Shinkansen, but heres what it looks like inside, and also a movie of it as we speed by. Doesn’t seem very fast, but that’s because my camera doesn’t take good quality pics, so it skips frames.





Once in Kyoto, the historical bastion of Japan (I think), where the ways of the past live side by side with the moving of times, where temples abound and geisha can still be found on the streets, our first order of business:

A-CHO!!!











It took me so long to find this place. The directions said after you exit the train station, its just around the corner. RIGHT. I get out of the train station, and it’s a whole shopping complex filled with rows of shops, restaurants, and backalleys with more shops and restaurants. I got to see the entire shopping district of Kyoto before I even found a-cho. So yeah, it was cool actually, I saw some sights first, walked around downtown, and what do you know, by accident, I see this small backalley, with a little door to what seems like a pachincko parlor with a costumed girl welcoming the customers. On the poster next to the door, it says “2F A-CHO”. Here we go!

Man, you can see why the japs are so highly respected on the worldwide gaming stage. The level of play these people are at is simply amazing. The person playing Beatmania was just AAA’ing lvl 11 and 12 songs, it was awesome to watch. And the people playing the fighters, man, they were just too good. /end fanboy rave.



I also managed to see (by accident) the Kamogawa River (or just the Kamo river, can’t remember), where couples sit equally spaced out along on the bank. They weren’t that equally spaced out as evidenced in the picture, but that’s partly to blame on the tourists. Freakin hell, you’re ruining the symmetry!



Also while in Kyoto I went to Ponto-Cho, and ate at one of the izakaya’s, or Japanese style pubs. Whenever you enter a shop in Japan they shout “Irashimasse!” or the shorter “Irashai!!” and not just the guy nearest the door, everyone working in the store does it. It means welcome or something, and you could say it’s Japanese equivalent of Filipinos saying “Be happy suuur!” as you enter Jolibee. Except theirs wasn’t a by product of a marketing campaign.

Anyway, the izakaya you could say was one that was catered to tourists, cause just like everything else in Japan, it was overpriced. Everything was served on small plates, in even smaller portions. I ordered a type of Japanese sausage, which equated to four 10cm long pieces about 2 cms in diameter, served skewered on toothpicks and served with butter (Butter as a dipping sauce? hehe awesome!) I also had a pork pieces barbecued with cubes of leek, also skewered on small barbecue sticks. This all washed down with a mug of Asahi beer, came to a total of about 1500 yen (about 15 CAN). Yes, my wallet cried on that dark day. Where you there when my wallet cried? Let us pray. (If you get that joke you are a winner).

On that same night, after consulting the handy guide that is the Lonely Planet book for Japan, I decided to go to an onsen, or a hot spring. There was one which said was the easily accessible from downtown Kyoto, yet I would seen learn what that meant. I took the train to the last stop, and then had to transfer to a smaller local line. You could tell that we were getting farther away from civilisation, as the train station had little or no English signs, the train that we were riding on was a single car, and the stops were no longer subway caverns with automated ticketing stations, but simple wooden stops close to the road with a conductor to hand out tickets. It was also getting dark, so it did get me kinda worried. When I did arrive at Kurama station, the end of the line of the second train I rode, there was a van waiting that said “Kurama Onsen Shuttle”. I did read that there was a shuttle that goes between the station and the onsen, but the book also said it was a 10min walk. Initially I thought I would walk, but on the side of the van it also said “FREE SHUTTLE”! wahey count me in! So on board the shuttle we go.

There was only 3 of us on the shuttle, including the driver, and I would also find out later on that the second person was also a driver that worked at the onsen. I sat at the back as to avoid any conversation, but later on, the second guy turns to me and says something in Japanese, I only manage to hear “Kurama Onsen” and “desu ka” so I assumed he was asking if I was going to the onsen, and I nod in agreement. Whew. The lack of the people going to the onsen can be attributed to the fact that it closes at 9pm, and I got there at around 830pm. The staff later does find out I cant speak Jap, and they help me through the ticketing station. Man, even entrance booths to Onsens are automated. You choose the onsen, ie. Indoor or outdoor, since the indoor one was now closed, I didn’t really have a choice. You can then also choose extras like a washcloth, shaver, etc etc. So up the steps we go. There are two entrances, one from women and one from men. With no English signs, I had to wait for a male to go into one to figure out which one was which. Inside, there are lockers where you put all your things in. Being slightly intrepid and at the same time apprehensive, I went completely starkers. Its not that bad actually. I mean, all of you are naked, so its not as if someone is being singled out, so it was all good. I saw on the side there was the stools where you sit next to the taps to wash yourself, luckily there was only 5 of us there, and 4 were already in the onsen, so any faux pas I would make while showering would be ignored. After washing up, I then headed to the onsen, and sat in the freaking hot hot tub. It was really really really relaxing, I could’ve gone to sleep in there. Except for the fact there were other naked men in there of whose sexual orientation I was unaware of. The train ride back was awful, cause I was on the verge of going to sleep, yet I couldn’t because I had a 30 min train ride and a 5 min walk to endure. It was also next to a hillside, so just over the fence of the tub area, the staff already had the forethought to shine a spotlight on the greenery so that it could be appreciated even during the night. For obvious reasons, no pictures were taken. Unless you wanted to see naked Japanese men :|

The inner nanay in me told me that I should at least go and get “cultured” in Japan, ie, see some temples and what not, so what the hey. The handy bus map that you can get from Kyoto Station actually points out all the good temples, and how to get to each one, it was indeed very handy. I decided that I would also need a buspass to make the going easy, instead of having to pay each time. So at Kyoto Station, I point to the buspass I want to buy, and the conversation goes something like this:

Ticket counter guy: “Bus...OK! Train…OK! One day only….OK?”
(Enter Hard Gay)
Hard Gay: OOKAAAYY!!!!!!!
(Cue “Livin La Vida Loca” music)

I only bought that pass cause I thought it covered ALL train lines, I would realize later that I only covered TWO of them, both of which I didn’t even go on. I had to actually go out of my way to go on one of the train lines just to make the ticket worth the price :(

The one thing that I liked about Kyoto, is that it’s a tourist spot not only for foreigners, but also for Japanese people from other parts of Japan. So I didn’t have to feel like an idiot with me having to consult my map every few seconds or so, I could look like the rest of the Japanese tourists that were as lost as me. Just like these guys.

Eg.



Argh, I took the picture too late. The guy was holding a bigger map and they were both looking at it, but by the time I got my camera out he had already put it away.

And the buses were not as big a nightmare as Mimay had put them to be. In what seems to be the opposite to all other countries I’ve rode a bus on, you would get on the bus first, and pay when you get off. Mimay had said if you don’t know where to get off or if you don’t have enough money, you would be stuck on the bus. Forever!!! (cue thunder and lightning) But with the touristy stops also being announced in English, both through the loudspeaker and on the LED display at the front, things were all peachy :D So much to Mimay’s chagrin, I was able to depart at the correct stop. And in reality, it wasn’t hard, because EVERYONE on the bus got off at that point. Ah yes, to be a tourist. So I joined the sizeable crowd marching towards our destination.

If I had to see one temple, I would at least see Kakuji-ku temple, or the Golden Temple, the one where George Dubyah Bush went to. Except we don’t get to go inside it.

To be contd...!

Konnichiwa bitches!

And here we are!

After deciding not to sleep save for one hour, we left the house at 300am anticipating massive delays at the airport, due to the heightened security measures. We arrived there, the sky still dark, and we were greeted by the 2 cleaning people, 1 security guard, 1 coffee attendant. And about 3 other passengers. After finding the right line, then things started picking up, with the line growing longer. At around 4am, we were informed that they wouldnt start checking in passengers till 5am. However, other airlines were already going it. But they werent letting people past customs. Bla bla bla, long wait, security measures, take off shoes, etc etc. By the time I get to my departure gate, the sun was already up.



Its always nice to be on the other side of the gate for once. Cause I mean, you get used to seeing people off, watching them disappear into the netherworld past customs, past the portal that says "Passengers Only", leaving you with the depressing feeling that your life goes back to normal while the other person gets to go on a trip and whatnot.

sige na, ottawa



First stop, O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. As we were close to landing in Chicago, the stewardess started rattling off a list of transferring flights and their corresponding departure gates. However, my Japan flight was not one the ones mentioned. As she was walking past me, the person sitting next to me, some Asian girl, stopped her and asked what about the Japan flight. Saved! Sabi nung stewardess di daw alam, so after a meet and greet with the girl, who was a finance student at Ottawa University going for a holiday in Korea, we decided to team up to navigate O'Hare.

All I can say about O'Hare is holy crap. Seriously, when an airport has its own railway system, things are fucked up. We were in Terminal 1, and had to take the train to Terminal 5. I know its probably common for airports to be huge, its just when you actually encounter it its somewhat daunting. But I've always been fascinated with airports, they have their own ecosystem, their own little niche in the world. I guess this would be an appropriate time to plug "The Terminal", but I havent seen it yet.

It's funny when you encounter "real" Americans, well, those with the peculiar accents. When asking for directions, she mentioned that we had to go through the "labby". I was like, is that the mini laboratory? Oh, the lobby. Gotcha.

So, we made it to our departure gate, an hour early, but whatever. Soon enough, everybody else started drifting in. And that includes the Filipinos on their way home stopping over in Japan. I sat there, and soon enough, may tumabi sakin na dalawang ale. I took off my earphones to better listen in, and soon enough I wasn't disappointed.

Ale 1: Ang sakit nga mangagat yung garapata eh..
Ale 2: Yun ba yung malaki na itim?
Ale 1: Hindo no! Baka surot yung iniisip mo!
Ale 2: Yun ba yun? Eh teka, eh di ano ang tawag dun sa pula na may dot-dot na itim?

I had to hold in a LOL at this point.

So yeah, our flight being delayed an hour, due to security measures no doubt, we then got going to Japan :D



Two years ago on the way to Canada, due to an overbooking mistake by the airline, they had bumped up my seat to a first class seat. So the 12hr flight wasn't so bad, what with the wide spacious plush seats, the personal monitor, the better food, etc, and so my attitude was "spoiled" you may say about long haul flights. Fast forward to the flight to Japan, where I was given my rightly so Economy seat, and holy shit I had forgot how bad these things were. Actually, not so much, on the plane to Canada I was in these seats, but that was for less than an hour. This was freakin 12 hrs.

Imagine seats where your knees are touching the seat in front of you, where you are literally rubbing elbows with the person next to you. It's not so bad pag pamilya ang kasama mo, but when it's strangers, it can be a bit iffy. When I realized I had the window seat, I thought yes! excellent view! Then I realized if I wanted to go to the toilet it would be by barging through the knees of two other passengers. Not so good. Ah well. I've held in shit and piss for more than 12hrs, it should be ok.

The food, meh, wasn't so great. But hey, what do you expect, it's economy. It was fortunate that I brought along an mp3 player, because the inflight entertainment was subpar. I mean, they had movies and whatnot, but its on a small iffy display on a monitor in front of you. Needless to say, I did catch snippets of "Failure to Launch", and I must say that it is the worst romantic comedy ever. Not that I am an authority on the genre.

TOKYO!

Arriving in Tokyo, through the gates. You then realize that you've entered a place where your skill in English will probably not get you through. First order of business, change money and get a train ticket. After being pointed to the downstairs area to get my train ticket, it was not hard to find the office, all you needed to to was find the huge throng of white people with their camping backpacks :D



On board the Narita Express to Tokyo. Things happen so fast. First I was getting my ticket, then trying to find the right track, then the train arrived, I got on, people put their bags down, I sat down, and we were moving. I would soon realize that in Japan, if you don't get the fuck out of the way, people will rush your shit down. ie. you gotta keep moving.



So on the train, this businessman beside me, pops down his tray, plonks down his bottle of green tea, places a plastic bag full of magazines on the tray, and starts reading one. I look again, and I realize its a freaking manga. Why can't the rest of the world be like this?? Oh yeah, and see the guy in the green shirt? A minute after this picture was taken he started reading a women's lingerie magazine. What a guy. Hindi man lang ako binigyan.

Arriving at Tokyo Station, I then transferred to the next train which would take me to Ueno. Upon arriving at Ueno, I realized that then I had to buy a ticket. I didn't have to buy a ticket from Tokyo to Ueno, by taking the Yamanote line my train pass covered that. But now I was faced with the realization that I would have to use one of their ticket vending machines, which as far as I could see, was all in Japanese. After stalling for about 10mins wondering what to do, I went up to the machine and found that there was a button that said:

ENGLISH

Ah. So yeah. Even with that button, it still didn't tell me how much to Asakusa Station, then I realized I was at the wrong ticket booth. So, after finding the right place, getting my ticket, I was on my way.

Japan is a pretty humid place. Hindi sya katulad sa Pinas, sa Pinas init lang eh, its just the sun, but here, the humidity kills you. Carrying/rolling two bags weighing 60kgs through 40 C weather, by the time I got to the hostel I was sweating pretty badly. Oo, mataba ako. Upon reaching the hostel, I was greeted with this sign.



The picture is shaky cause I couldn't stop shaking. Yes, I am fat. Up 3 flights of stairs, checked in, and I thought should go check Shibuya. I mean, what trip to Japan is complete without the obligatory picture of the massive sea of humanity at the Shibuya crossing?



After wondering the streets and alleyways of Shibuya, where Pachinko parlors and arcades abound, I went back to the hostel to get a few beers from the local bar, and thus ends day one! Yeah, it may not seem much, pero ang layo ng linakad ko. Tomorrow, Kyoto!

Pinish

So in less than 6 hrs, my sojourn in The Great White North (ie. Canada) will end. The bank accounts have been closed, the bags have been packed, accomodation arrangements have been made, and of course, the farewell parties have ensued.



Well, not really. Due to my pseudo-hectice schedule, and of course with other people working and what not, I was only able to gather people for one drinking session, which wasn't bad. In comparison to previous outings, I didn't end up comatose, forgetting the previous nights happenings, I didn't end up totally broke, I didn't end up vomitting on the sidewalk, so I could say it was a success of sorts. Oh yeah, that and people generally hate me, so yeah.

As in previous posts, omens for my flight have not been good, especially with the terrorist issue right now. But hey, whatever. Gaya ng sabi ni Philip Salvador - "Pag oras mo, oras mo na" (cue rapid gunshots, cut screen to black with title in bold red letters). Seriously, going through the airports with all its massive delays and shit is going to suck.

Here we go, giving up a life of decadence, to be plunged back into a corrupt society where even the most intelligent of people have trouble finding success, away from the comforts of having a cable internet connection, to once again having to go through the process of entering numbers from a plastic card in order to have the oppurtunity to access 56k internet from within my house. (I dont even think my PC has a modem) I could go on, but there would pretty much be no point. I made my choice to go back, and I will reap its rewards, (and consequences). (naks ang drama!)

It is 12:22 am, my flight leaves at 7am. We are supposed to be at the airport at around 330/4am, to allow for the delays that the extra security measures will bring. If I was to sleep, I would have to wake up in 2 hrs. I am so not ready. I haven't even printed out the shit I need for Japan, like directions and crap.

For some of you that read this, I'll see you on the otherside of the world.

Almost there!

The other day was my last day at work, and it ended in a fitting fashion. The training class for our contract had just finished their training, and they were on their first day taking calls, and a trainee was assigned to be under my supervision. Ah yes, I remember being in his position, inexperienced, unaware of what to do, nervous as fuck. Well, I actually wasn't as nervous as this guy, this guy was literally shaking. But yeah, he'll grow out of it. That or leave. Or get fired. But yeah, it was the first time I've ever spent more than 8 months at a place of employment, and even though most of my friends at work had already left prior, it was still sad to leave. LOL, who am I kidding. That shift felt like the LONGEST 8 hrs of my life. Especially the last hour, which was especially painful, even though there was no calls, it seemed to go at half the speed. When I exited the doors for the last time, I could feel something on my tongue, and I realized it was the sweet taste of freedom :D (until my next job :(

I realize that the longer that I keep from writing blog entries, the shorte they get. On the day of my quitting I had envisioned a much longer entry, yet know it has been whittled down to almost nothing. Oh well.