ah

spring is springing here. you can smell it in the air and the days have been warming up. there are buds on the trees and patches of vibrant green growth catching your eye everywhere. we left our winter hobbit hole yesterday and took a city bus to the southern part of the city. from there we climbed up to abura yama which overlooks fukuoka city. there are numerous hiking trails and an old temple nestled in the mountain side. from there you can see across the city to the sea. it is quite a sight. of course, i didn't have my camera with me so i'll have to return. that won't be a problem since i've been wishing for a place like this since i moved here.

the day was warm but the breeze was cool and the mountain smelled soooo good. the air was so fresh and the forest was teeming with spring. there were thousands of ferns uncurling and birds singing. there was some bamboo but mostly tall, straight, top heavy pines (japanese cedar?). the bark was shaggy and bright orangey-brown. the trunks were pencil straight and tall. sunlight filtered through the boughs and shone on the budding undergrowth. it felt so good to be away from the noise of traffic signals and motorcycles. aside from the wind in the trees and some animal noises here and there, it was silent. climbing the trails warmed us up enough that we removed our coats to feel the cool air. we were able to hike and explore for about an hour and a half before we turned around, afraid of getting caught in the dark.

we came across a clearing with two huge ancient pagodas and a rock monument hoisted up on its side with kanji engraved on both sides of it. we also stumbled on what looked like the very old ruins of a stone building with a strange lion face carving stuck in the center of a stand of stone. there were thick vines and foliage creeping between the rocks giving it an especially eerie feel. there were dozens of forks in the trails and so i look forward to exploring the rest of them.

after we got back to tenjin, we stopped at the grocery store and then headed home. i was seriously craving some american food so i made my first chicken pot pie. yum. i'm pleased to say that it turned out well and even had a nice thick gravy inside. it wasn't quite as good as the old swanson pot-pies i ate as a kid, but unlike those swanson pies mine didn't exceed your r.d.a. of salt and fat.

tokyo

the next morning johnny left for fukuoka and marshanda and i headed for tokyo. we arrived in the afternoon and spent some time wandering around the imperial gardens. we ate yakiniku for dinner which was especially enjoyed by marshall (who is starved of good meats in england, i hear). yakiniku is a grill-as-you-eat style of dining that is very popular here. you are provided with a small charcoal grill at your table and you order small dishes of marinated raw meats or vegetables as it suits you. it's a slow meal, but the food is absolutely delicious. the major downfall is that you smell like a barbecue when you leave. when travelling with limited clothes and one bag, this is especially unfortunate. i should have anticipated this.

the next day, we met amanda and marshall's friend rai. he is from the tokyo area, but spent the last three years living in chicago (where he befriended joe and erica and the gang). he just moved back to japan in december. we met him at noon and he took us to lunch at a very popular restaurant where we met his sister and her boyfriend.

afterwords we went to the hara museum of contemporary art and saw an exhibit by olafur eliasson, called 'your light shadow' or 'kagi no hikari.' it was an incredibly impressive exhibit. each piece is installed in a seperate room. it is an interactive experience as one can walk around and through each installation to experience the different affects of the light on the given environment. located in a residential district of shinagawa, the museum itself was an excellent space. originally a house, it was perhaps built in the 1950's (?) with obvious western influence. you can see more for yourself at www.haramuseum.or.jp.

we ended the evening with a nice slow meal at a small restaurant in shibuya, perhaps the most famous entertainment and shopping district in the city. we said goodnight to rai, wandered around the area, and ate cheesecake at a late night dessert cafe.

sum-up of kyoto

i just spent an hour recalling our visit to kyoto. however, the site crashed and lost the whole piece. perhaps that's a good thing, it probably saved you all from dutifully reading too many details.

so we got to kyoto and had only one and a half days there, as we arrived in the afternoon and left in the morning two days later. there are enough temples, shrines, castles, gardens, and the like to keep one busy for at least a year, perhaps several. anyway, we spent our time wandering around gion and the downtown area at night. by day, we visited ryoan-ji and nijo jinya.


ryoan-ji is perhaps the most famous dry garden in japan. it is a zen rock garden that dates back in its current form to atleast 1799. the site however, has housed a zen temple since atleast 938. it is a beautiful site and i won't say more for fear of selling it short. the air was still and it was a cold, damp morning which led to the ancient aura of the place.


we were of course, constantly reminded of the dichotomy that is japan. there were many tourists there with ipods in, cameras flashing and wearing glittery heels, mini skirts and puffy purple jackets shivering down the gardens' paths.



we went next to nijo jinya. it was a guest house for traveling daimyo, feudal lords, who came to the ancient capital in the edo period. located near nijojo castle, it was built to provide entertainment and comfort as well as protection. the house is riddled with secret rooms, hidden staircases, false doors, passageways and even accoustic design to muffle or amplify voices. this is one of the coolest places i have been to yet in japan.

it is privately owned (i think) and one must reserve a tour atleast one day in advance. we were lucky enough that they allowed us a tour with a same-day reservation. the tour of the house is given to small groups (about ten people) and in japanese only. we were especially lucky becuase there was an american/japanese couple there and she was kind enough to translate for all of us after she noticed us leaning in toward her and her boyfriend.