The Japan Diaries- To Cycle at Mount Fuji

Not literally cycling up in the mountain, as the title might suggest, but rather, at the lake near the majestic ice-capped mountain.

After departing from Hammamatsu, we took the Yokohama metro line to a station near Mt. Fuji, and changed trains, after some confusion. We squeezed into the Fuji Express, a short train with vivid paintings of Mt Fuji as a caricature, with a lovely smile and two button eyes, with other tourists (mostly Caucasians). 10 minutes into the ride, we saw the real McCoy in the distance, standing there tall, bathed in a dreamy white top.

When we reached the train station, we could see the entire mountain in its glory. Some people had told us that being able to see the mountain is a matter of luck. The very next day, when we returned to take the train to Tokyo, the place was shrouded in such thick fog that the huge mountain was wiped out from the sky. It looked as if it was never there.

Since it was nearly Summer and the ice was melting, it was considered unsafe to climb the mountain, or rather a dormant volcano. So we didn’t. Instead, we embarked on a stress-free cycling trip round one of the five lakes near the mountain for that day. No hassle, no city sights, no rushing. It was just us, the rental bikes, and a large volcano in the background.

In the evening, we went to the Onsen (hot spring) near our hostel, K House Mt Fuji. Having spent 10 days with each other already, we were quite comfy at the Onsen, even if it means having to see everybody (by everybody I mean females) naked.

Yes you read it right. But don't get any funny or dirty ideas. It's really liberating. After you've seen the 10th, 20th, 30th naked girl around, you're so used to it that you'll probably find it strange if someone walks in with clothes on. It makes me wonder how Singapore might have been if there is ever an "onsen" here. Maybe censorship laws will relax. Maybe everyone will relax.

We spotted the most famed Japanese volcano in the train. So pretty.

And we reached Mt Fuji Station. See cute train behind.

This is K's House Mt Fuji. A very, very nice hostel. This is the common area.

We went cycling!

And threw rocks. So happy.

Next up, look out for our Tokyo Hostel Horror. Ok, it wasn't much of a horror, but it is a traveler's top nightmare. Choosing a WRONG hostel.

The Japan Diaries- Hama Hama Hammamatsu!

Hammamatsu is here!




The other kind of couchsurfing.





Tucked away in the nether regions (by nether, I mean lower) of Japan is the small town of Hammamatsu.

Hamma what?

Hamma-matsu.

Even some Japanese, mainly the Tokyo-ians, Osaka-ians, and Kyoto-ians, have never heard of this place. However, by a stroke of luck, we managed to find this small idyllic seaside town on the vast cyberspace while doing our trip research. Even better, as if it is God's will, well, come to think of it it IS GOD'S WILL, we found a person on couchsurfing.org who is willing to open his house to all 5 of us in that very town.

The small city of Hammamatsu is an industrial hub, where the factory of Yamaha is located. Most of the town's population work there, including the person who hosted us. To showcase their "musical" side, their tallest building, which is 40 stories, is shaped like a harmonica. Well, that's what it says in the wiki travel guide. When we arrived and spotted the tallest building, it looked odd but hardly like a harmonica. Maybe we lack the imagination the Japanese have.

We reached Hammamatsu in the afternoon, after underestimating the time taken to get from Masa's to the train station in Osaka, and so had to wait for another train. (Which caused me to get into a bad mood because I was the transport IC. Sorry girls!) After we managed to squeeze all our huge backpacks into the lockers at the train station, we had a lazy afternoon window shopping and chit chatting at the local Japanese Starbucks outlet. Yuji, the guy who hosted us, only ended work at 6pm, so we could only go to his apartment after he'd returned home. It was the first time we tried couchsurfing, i.e staying at a complete stranger's house for free (but we bought gifts), and were a wee bit scared.

However, our fears were unfounded. Yuji was a very nice guy (with a Singaporean girlfriend too!) and he is a Christian in an international church. He spoke very good English. On the first night, we sang a lot of praise and worship songs in his apartment. His very cool apartment. It was quite obviously a bachalor pad, overlooking a really huge lake, with a bedroom, a kitchen and a small living room, all nicely and tastefully decorated. He even said on good days, you could see Mount Fuji directly from his window.

Most of all, he liked our gifts of Ba Kua and Kaya very much. He loved the Lim Chee Guan ba kua.

He showed us to our room, (not the couch, but a room) and it was a small room with some space in the middle. He gave us 2 thin mattresses, some blankets and pillows, which we laid on the floor and tried various formations to fit all 5 of us. In the end, we were no more than 10cm apart from each other when we went to sleep at night. Felicia, being the lightest sleeper of us all, didn't manage to get any sleep at all.

The next day, we went to explore the more earthy side of Japan. After all the urban skyscrapers and Matsumoto Kiyoshis (Japan's equivalent of Watson's), we finally caught a nice breath of nature. And breathe we did, for we hiked up a hill trying to find the Musical Museum which overlooked another huge lake, all while singing olden pop songs at the top of our voices. In the end, entry to the Museum was not cheap, and so we went back down. It was a nice, slow day and I remembered that we ate our dinner outside- which led to Yuji being a little sad. He was waiting for us to come eat dinner with him.




Yuji and us, on the last day. Felicia's eyebags were getting heavier when we left.


The very next day and the last day in Hammamatsu, we made it a point to eat dinner with him. We talked about the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, and he suggested we watch one of his favourite Ghibli Studios film- Castle in the Sky at home. For those who don't really know, Ghibli Studios is the biggest movie animation studio in Japan. They produce movies like Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and most recently, Ponyo By the Cliff By the Sea. So after a day of strawberry picking and limestone cave exploring, we were back at his apartment, helping him out as he cooked up a feast. Then it was time for the movie! At first, we were thinking how he'd play the movie, since there was no TV in the living room. He merely pulled down the white blind that covers the balcony door, then from the kitchen cupboard came a beam of light. He had a gaming console that could play DVDs, and he used a projector. Such space saving brilliance!

Sad to say though, yours truly had a dreadful bout of food coma, and was struggling to stay awake throughout the entire film in oh-so-deadly-comfortable living room.

But, come to think of it, it was a really good couchsurfing experience. It shows that we all can be nice, even to unknown strangers. There is hope in this world yet.



In the Fruit Park after picking strawberries.



Emo shot while waiting for the train as we leave the Fruit Park.



The sunset from Yuji's house. On a clear day, you could see Mount Fuji.

The Japan Diaries- He ain't weird, he's Masa.

Inspired by http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com (recommanded by Ros), whose artworks and hilarity puts my above 5 minute quickie to shame.

The Japan Diaries- Osaka! Galore.

The pastor's family! His eldest son is super cute.



The 9th or 10th ramen we've eaten.



We're not in Jurong Point. It's the real mechanical crab!



Welcome to Dotonbori, land of all food.



We feel crabtastic!



Osaka Castle



Picnic in the Imperial Palace grounds.



Universal Studios Jurassic Park Ride. We're on the first and second row. Spot me.



Wandergirls again.




Pink Panther is also here!



Outside the epileptic Space Fantasy ride.



Jaws!



Before we were devoured by dinosaurs.



We survived Jurassic Park.



Felily is forever so hungry.



Hairless Cathy expressing her joy.



Ooooh, Betty Boop has got a really big head.




Cookie Monster! Bert! Big Bird!




Sesame street.



The Magical Starlight Parade at night.



Stephanie and her 5 new friends.

The Japan Diaries-OSAKA!

Yes, when you go to Osaka, you can't just say you're in Osaka. You gotta say you're in OSAKA!

Because, in OSAKA, things here are not like what they are in Tokyo. People here too. They’re a little crazy, a little mad sometimes (eg. saying byebye to Felicia in his underwear), and really a whole lot of fun.

I suspect that it’s probably because Universal Studios is located right in Osaka. To quote John Mayer’s song and sound a little off my chair, Universal Studio’s body is a wonderland. A total explosive, wacky funland loaded with over-enthusiastic park attendants who are frankly, kinda “Chucky-like”. They don’t spare any smiles, and instead of reading out instructions, they exclaim it out. Yup, it don’t get any better than this.

But of course, let’s not get carried away by such man-made fun. There are other things in Osaka that are quite fantabulous as well, such as the mega-huge mechanical crab in Dotonbori as well as lots of convenient shopping places near our hostel, such as America-mura.

Which brings us to the person who said byebye to Felicia in his underwear. That person is the owner of the hostel, which in fact is an apartment flat that he ingeniously converted into a “hostel”. We didn’t know that before we booked the hostel, but only found out when we entered and saw a nice, cosy apartment filled with beds, and of course, Masa, the Japanese guy with long, curly hair who was to be our host in that hostel. He wasn’t in his underwear then, and he was normal-looking. But he subsequently did do funny things (nothing about harming us though) that made us roar out in laughter when we shared about it. Maybe I should devote a short post on the hostel stay, just to have a bit of fun.

Oh, and also the time we went for our first (and only) church service in Japan. How memorable. After arriving at Osaka, we went straight to the pastor’s house with our backpacks. To our dismay (and some of us needed to pee), there was no one in the house. The pastor was a Japanese pastor, but his church was linked to Colleen’s. However, he didn’t pick up his phone, and his neighbours didn’t know where he went to. After about half an hour, Colleen sms-ed her Singaporean pastor (who was supposed to be in Japan too), and we walked back to the nearest subway station. In a twist of events, the pastor called Colleen. He was back at his place. So we all walked to his house, met up with him, and then he led us to his small church (a small building with 2 storeys, and the “chapel” was as big as 2 HDB living rooms). So, we walked up and down, up and down with our heavy bags that morning. We also learned about the Japanese perspective on Christianity, which is pretty bleak, due to the long traditional Buddhist and Zen culture in Japan, but let's not give up. Let's keep Japan in prayer alright!

Osaka will forever, in my heart, bring an image of a certain floppy haired, sweaty man called Masa.

The Japan Diaries- Memoirs of a Geisha Spotter Part 2 Pictures

The Japan Diaries- Memoirs of a Geisha Spotter Part 2

I have to admit something.

No matter how cultured I think I am, no matter how much I think I value an annual high end traditional Japanese costume parade, when I arrive, and I see slow moving sedans, scary looking costumed people, I realised that I, in fact, utterly lack the appreciation for such things.

So after a morning of wading through a small pool of people to get a good view of this annual procession in the Imperial Palace (I forgot the name, not surprisingly.) in springy Kyoto, we lost our attention, retreated to a spot after no more than 20minutes to play Monopoly Deal while the rest of the Japanese and other tourists ooh and ahh-ed at the painfully slow moving procession.

After that, it was a nice, slow picnic at the grounds of the Palace which I enjoyed very much. It was also the spot where we got a little red tinge from the sun- a little surprising, since we thought the sun in spring won't be as powerful as say, in summer. Our new friend Stephanie showed us her little rubber ducks, which her boyfriend back in Hong Kong made her bring, so that she could take pictures of the ducks in the various places she visits. Thoughtful, eh?

Well, it was off to another temple, shrine, and basically places of serenity and calmness. We went to the Love Rocks, where we saw seemingly desperate people try to walk from one Love rock to another blinded so that they may find true love. We saw superstitious kids in uniform trying to usher incense smoke into their pockets, so they may get good results. We saw a rope made of many many strands of hair, used in the past when they needed to make rope but had no raw materials. It sounds cooler than it looks really.

We spotted 2 more geishas towards the evening (SCORE-4 Geishas!), and I can't help but wonder what would happen if they tripped, or someone gave them a kick. With the kind of shoes they were wearing that defied physics, the consequences would probably by monstrous. Like Godzilla.

The night was spent having a great Ramen dinner in a small cosy Ramen joint with Stephanie. She made a deal with us that we would go to Universal Studios in Osaka together and so we did.

But that, my friend, would be another story.

The Japanese Diaries- Memoirs of a Geisha Spotter 1 Photos!

The Japanese Diaries- Memoirs of a Geisha Spotter 1

May 14,2010-We checked out of our capsule hotel in Tokyo in the morning, and made our way to the bustling Tokyo train station.

In and out, like ants, were men in black. Almost every man living in Tokyo wears a suit, no matter how old they are. As we squeezed through the morning crowd, lost in the huge never-ending labyrinth trying to navigate our way with our 10kg backpacks, men with ties, suits and shiny black briefcases zipped in and out like ants in gazillion lines.

Finally, after some navigation, we finally found our platform to wait for the bullet train, or Shinkansen, to bring us to Kyoto. We ate our breakfast, which was a triangular rice ball for me, and left for Kyoto in the 200plus km/h train.

And boom. We were transferred from a city which travels at breakneck speed to one that was idyllic, calm and peaceful. Temples and shrines line the terrain of central Kyoto, with bus services plying from one tourist attraction to another. Building were no taller than 15 stories, and I thought it was a major reason why Kyoto was much colder than Tokyo.

The moment we exited the train station, an old man approached us. He asked us in English where we were headed and if we needed any help in navigation. Yes, yes we do! He told us he was a volunteer guide, and promptly told us how to get to our hostel, but not before giving us maps of Kyoto in English and giving advice on buying day passes for buses. Now that I think about it, it was very pleasant to have met him.

When we got to our hostel, K's House Kyoto, we were even more pleasantly surprised. The hostel was rated 2nd best hostel in Asia and it was not hard to see why. The whole place, decorated in homely colours and bright blue doors, was very clean. It had a cosy common room, a well equipped pantry, toilets which were really clean. The standards of this hostel was much higher than the ones in China which I stayed in.

Like in every hostel, the people there were mainly Caucasians. However, we did spot a few NUS boys (because they were wearing NUS shirts). We met this Chinese man whose name I have now forgotten, who told us which Kyoto sights are the best to catch. He also recommended us a 99Yen sushi place in downtown Kyoto, and he was the one who introduced us to Stephanie, a lone traveler from Hong Kong who became our friend and went to quite a few places with us in Japan.

Thus, after some 99Yen sushi, we walked all the way to the Gion, trying to spot some Geishas. It was the same place where in the olden days, Geishas roamed around to ply their trade. Boy, were we lucky! We spotted 2! True to the Arthur Golden book, they had their faces painted in white down to their neck in a deep V shape. Felicia thought the V shape came about because they were sweating in the hot summer heat. They also wore those cute little physics-defying shoes, the kind you see princesses in My Fair Princess wearing. No kidding! They had aides to walk with them lest they fall. And from the way they wobbled, they need those aides!

We walked to a temple/ shrine place to rest our legs, photo-whore, and then we went into a small little wine/grill shophouse for dinner. I'd never forget the experience in the shophouse. The shopkeeper was a shrewd old man who knew his English very well. Let's just say that we're not the kind of customers he was hoping for, and that led to an awkward dinner. Awkward dinners in a foreign land is quite scary, especially in a land known for its horror films, but thankfully, we made it out alive.

That night, after walking the streets of deserted Gion, we went back to K House, and met Stephanie, a traveler from Hong Kong. She had switched jobs, so before she started her new job, she went for a long holiday in Japan. So the next day, we made plans to have a picnic in the imperial palace together, after we witness a street procession.

Okay, I'm tired now. Watch out for the next post. :D

The Japan Diaries Part 3.1- Kyoto Teaser

We did quite a lot of sightseeing in Kyoto, including real-life Geishas who waddle through the streets of Gion with sandals that defy physics. And there's the story of how we met Stephanie, a fellow traveler whom we hung out with later at Osaka.

So... stay tuned!

The Japan Diaries- Sumo Wrestlers Cannot Fit into Capsule Hotels.

On arriving at Narita Airport, we made a dash for the Japan Railway Pass office to redeem our S$677 Japan Railway Pass. That's roughly the same price as our air ticket, by the way. The Pass offered unlimited train and subway rides on the Japan Railway lines, which basically meant that about 7/8 of all transport costs were covered by the Pass. We booked all our Shinkansen (bullet train) tickets for the whole trip, and were all set.

But first, we had to find our Capsule Hotel in Asakusa, Tokyo for the night. Meandering in and out of the many different subway lines before finally reaching the Hotel was no mean feat, considering the fact that we carried backpacks the size of little toddlers. Also, the fact that everything was in Japanese and not many people knew English, we were in for a rough ride. Thankfully, we reached our Capsule Hotel, after some searching, before it got dark.

The man who greeted us at the Hotel looked kindly. He asked us to purchase a coupon each from the vending machine and leave our shoes in the lockers provided. He then took us up to our capsules and showed us the public bath area- yes, PUBLIC. When we saw our "mortuary-lookalike" room and the tiny doors of the capsules, there was no doubt how much they looked like the metal doors that housed dead people in the hospital. Thankfully, it wasn't as small as a coffin, as we managed to put our backpacks inside. There was even a pay TV and a small locker inside your personal capsule! Think of it as a hobbit's house.

Shortly after, we went to explore the old town of Asakusa. We met my cousin, who was studying in Tokyo, for dinner, and asked about what to do and where to go in Japan. She mentioned "Matsumoto Kiyoshi", the Watson's of Japan which housed brands like Kose, Majorlica, Shishedo and so on but at cheaper prices. Cathy was hooked immediately, and from that day on, she set her eyes, and feet, into every Matsumoto Kiyoshi store we came across.

After a night of learning how to bathe in a public bath with other strangers (you get used to it, after a while, really. If you cover everyone's faces with towels, you can't really tell who is who. We all look the same neck-down, if you don't look too hard. If you do, then you're a pervert.), we slept peacefully in the capsule. Or rather, I did. I snoozed like a pig that night. Cathy and Felicia complained they kept waking up in the middle of the night though. Felicia was very disturbed by the lack of space in the capsule. Which proved that not everyone can stay in the Capsule Hotel.

The next day, we woke up early to watch the ongoing Annual Sumo Wrestling Competition in Tokyo that coincided with our trip. It was a 13-15 day tournament and we were able to buy tickets to catch one entire day of preliminary games. There wasn't much of a crowd in the morning, but tickets for the next few days were already sold out. When we went into the arena, two sumo wrestlers were about to get it on. They crouched behind their respective lines, staring deeply into each other's eyes. Soon, they turned on each other and were pushing and shoving. In a matter of seconds, one of them was pushed out of the small ring. They then stood opposite each other and bowed, while the umpire took his fan and did a salute to the winner.

For the next fight, two sumo wrestlers got up of their cushion seats, stood atop the ring, and did the "stamping-feet" ritual where they raised their right hand and right foot at the same time, then placed them down. It may seem easy for the ordinary folk to do it, but believe me, looking at a 100 plus kg man in pseudo-diapers do it is worrying. One, you worry that he may not even be able to lift his 20 kg foot at all, and two, you worry that when he put his foot down, there might be an earthquake.

It was a clash of the fats after that, as either one tried to push the other out of the ring or make his opponent fall. Once any other part of a wrestler's body touch the ground, they will lose. We sat there watching, for about an hour before we were a little bored. These wrestlers were the unranked ones, they were in the lowest level, and hence, their matches were a little unexciting. There was, however, the occasional really fat Sumo guy (we're talking about really huge boobs here) and we were happy for the skinnier ones when they manage to beat the really fat ones with their man boobs.

We went off to lunch shortly after, so that when we came back, we would be in time for the more exciting matches. Coincidentally, many Sumo wrestlers were walking in or out of the arena at the same time, and we tried to get one to take a picture with us. He refused politely, and walked quickly ahead. Shortly after, when we picked a cheap "Yoshinoya" restaurant called "Sukiya" to eat in, we spotted him in the same restaurant.

When we went back for the afternoon matches, there were more people in the stadium, and the wrestlers were more well-known. This were evident as they took longer and longer to fight. According to the introduction booklet, the higher ranked sumo wrestlers could wait till up to 4 minutes before they clash. This meant that they would warm up, do their stamping thingy, go to the line, stare at each other intensely, then break out of the stare and go back to their towels. Some of them would sprinkle salt on the arena for good luck. Thus, we had to wait for them to finish all that before they would fight. That clash, which was the most exciting part of the match usually last at most 1 minute. Cathy and Colleen were so tired, they only opened their eyes when the wrestlers really clashed. However, in that 1 minute, it was really intense seeing two rhinocerous banging against each other. Some wrestlers were smart- while their opponents charged forward, they duck or change direction, forcing their opponents to grab thin air and fall. Some wrestlers relied on pure strength, inching their oppenents out of the arena slowly but surely. Some wrestlers were lucky. From time to time, the game was lost before it truly began as some wrestlers tripped over themselves or flew out too fast and fell. However, all the matches were nice to watch, and it was an eye-opener to see real-life Sumo wrestlers at their best.

We left around 4pm to go back to Asakusa, and on the way out of the stadium, we saw a lot of people waiting for sumo wrestlers to come out as well. One funny incident which I remembered was the woman who thrust her baby at every wrestler, forcing them to carry the baby while the mother took a photo of the wrestler and the baby. It was quite a sight to see a overgrown man carrying a tiny child, but I do admire the mother's courage and her strong faith in these men that they will not accidentally tear the kid apart.

That night, as I crawled into my capsule, I figured that these sumo wrestlers probably will never be able to stay in a Capsule Hotel. And I suddenly felt skinny.




Our capsule rooms!



A Sumo match going on. The clothed man on the arena is the umpire. Around the platform are sumo wrestlers waiting for their turn, and the men in black help the umpire in case the umpire cannot see who lost first.



Wrestlers doing a dance during their introduction. This was before their whole set of fighting was about to begin.



We caught a wrestler and he agreed to pose with us! He smelt of olive oil and we suspected that he used a lot on his hair to make it look slick.