The Panda Travels: Week 1 Wrap-up! Welcome Back! (1/13/13)

Hi everybody,

I’m back! Yay! Sorry for so long to post. I have been busy meeting many people and seeing new things. Now hopefully I can tell you about them.

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately since he’s silent), David seems pretty exhausted.

Today he was embarrassed by a nice obaa-san on a mama-chari (grandmother on a mother bike – kinda like a cute beach cruiser). He only made it about half-way up the hill before stopping to rest. Then along came the obaa-san pedaling quite quickly up the hill. Haha. David wa tsuyokunai (he is not strong).

This week we did a lot! On Thursday we went to Fushimi Inari Taisha! It’s a famous Kyoto shrine that is known for being on a hilltop full of tori (red Shinto gates). You can take really cool photos here! It looks like a tunnel of gates! We also met a lot of kitsune (foxes). They are the kami’s (nature god/spirit) messengers.

We got a lesson from the Japan police today. The policeman taught the students some awareness and self-defense tips. Like if you are alone and don’t feel safe, pull out your cell phone – you can either pretend to make a call or call a friend. Apparently the talking deters bad people since you seem connected to someone else – and have the ability to call the police if needed.

On Friday we went to karaoke! Yay karaoke! It’s way more fun here I think. You go with a bunch of friends and get like a private couch room. Everybody is all singing together so it’s a lot of fun. You should come with us, especially if Vince is coming. He can sing really well!

It's karaoke time!

We also ate shabu shabu (swish swish). It's like cook your own hot pot!

This past weekend we went to a lot of places! We went to Osaka! We ate takoyaki (fried octopus) and kaitenzushi (revolving sushi) and crepes!

It was only an hour and a half from our house to Osaka, which is really convenient for a weekend day trip (although some people have to travel that every day)!

Osaka Takoyaki! Ichiban oishi (It's the best!)!

Then we went back to Arashiyama! We saw many nice cafes, walked along a pretty bridge view, and went to a orgoru (orgel – music box) museum. Inside they have many old style music boxes but these ones are really big. When you go, they actually play the boxes – each one sounds different and some have unique casings. One was in the shape of a doll and another was a chair. They all sound so pretty – my favorite was the street performer monkey crank box J.

Umm..Sumi? That's not a tree.

Then we went to Eigamura – Toei Studio Movie Park! It’s a place where old samurai movies are filmed! It’s like Universal Studios with a samura/ninja theme! There are a lot of old style Japanese buildings like bridges and homes and stuff that they actually use for movies and dramas. There is a ninja maze and show too! You can even dress up as a princess or geisha (or samurai or ninja for the guys)! I met many ninja!

Nature...hmmmm....needs bamboo.

And finally we went to Kinkakuji and Ryouanji. Kinkakuji is the Golden Pavilion – a golden Buddhist temple. Ryouanji is a famous Zen Rock Garden. Personally I think the Golden Pavilion was cooler – starting at rocks and sand wasn't all that fun (though they did have nice slippers for me). But Kikakuji is really pretty, even though it was raining when we went, you could still see the shiny golden surface. They also have lots of cool charms and fortunes! A friend told me that charms and fortunes are linked with Shintoism but since Shinto and Buddhist are kind of combined in Japan, charms and fortunes are sold at both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

Omamori! Good luck charms! Found at your neighborhood temple and shrine!

We ate at Ramen Row in Kyoto Station. It’s a food court of all kinds of ramen places! Each region has it’s own style of ramen (Kyoto ramen, Tokyo ramen, etc.). We tried tsukemen. They give you cold noodles and you dip it into a rich hot gravy sauce. Mmm soup gravy!

Tsukemen Ramen!

Finally we went to our first Japanese jumbo electronics store called Yodobashi Camera. It’s like a multi-story department store, but it’s an electronics store. My favorite part is their big selection of comfy massage chairs. Very nice, though it kinda gets your fur all messy.