Miyajima

How can I properly explain the beauty of that small island, accessible from Hiroshima? Words are hard to find to describe the magnitude and power of Nature, reigning over Mt.Misen or the joy of seeing deers everywhere, unafraid of humans. Here's a couple videos:







We traveled to Miyajima from our hostel in Hiroshima, dark clouds still covering the sky from the previous day's downpour. We expected rain, mud and not many animals. Fortune smiled on us as we boarded the ferry to the island and the first rays of the sun broke through the clouds. We met our first couple deers and walked towards the main gate, still at low tide. People walked near it (which they couldn't do later, as you'll eventually see from Mat's picture of the high tide, later that day).



After getting ourselves some grilled chicken sticks, we walked towards the forested paths, only to find ourselves amidst a multitude of small rivers and falls:









We finally reached the ropeway (as seen in the video above), which took us halfway to Mt.Misen. Some smaller islands around Miyajima still were under cloudy weather and fog, so the view was quite surreal:





Mat saw a path to the top of Mt.Misen and decided we would walk and climb it. The sun suddenly decided to clear the sky of any remaining clouds. I must have lost five gallons of liquid just by sweating my way up. Steep steps, hidden shrines here and there. It was pretty amazing. We crossed paths with the Reika-Do Eternal Fire Hall, home of a flame apparently 1200 years old. This flame was used to light the torch at Peace Park in Hiroshima. The whole place smelled of smoked and the temple seemed to be on fire, until we got to the gate and found the source:





So, no fire in sight but obviously, there's no smoke without fire so it had to be there.

We climbed and climbed and finally reached it (as seen in one of the videos above). We felt pretty good about ourselves (but exhausted).



We had just enough time to go back to the hostel, take a shower, eat at Ouenya and take the train to Osaka.

In a nutshell, the most beautiful place I have ever seen. During your trip to Japan, make sure to visit this place. It is not too crowded and amazingly, some locals do not even know of its existence. Well worth the trip.

-Pat

The Food

Eating in Japan can be expensive if you aren't willing to try shady restaurants and grocery stores. If you stick to Western restaurant chains, you'll find yourself short on cash and miss many great opportunities. Personally, I've done a bit of both; it's nice, now and then, to eat "American". Still, depending on your craving, you can eat a good meal in any restaurant for as little as 5$ or as much as 50$. The choice is up to you.

A large pizza here will cost you around 40$ and actually be a medium. It won't taste very good either, as Mat commented. However, go for ramen or curry and you will get salad, drink and meal for less than 5$.

It would be hard for me to name every restaurant we have been to; many have no English translation to their names and don't speak English. Fortunately, most places have pictures next to their meals so we pointed and hope the food would be good. Most of the time, it was. Still, I cannot recommend any one of these restaurants because I would not be able to tell you exactly where they are located or what their name was. All I can do is name the restaurant chains we've been to and what that was like.

First of, Mos Burger. They have a particular burger where the patty is made of rice and the meat is minced beef in teriyaki sauce with shaved cabbage. It's delicious. They have a nice selection of soft drinks and side dishes (fries, onion rings, the likes) and most of the staff know enough English to serve you.

Then you have Pepper Lunch. It's a special kind of place. First, you pay at the door's vending machine, which lists all possible meals. You give the counter girl your ticket and she eventually hands you a heating plate with the ingredients of your meal. It's up to you to move the stuff around and make your meal. The longer you wait, the longer the meat cooks, so you end up with food the way you want it. The beef there is excellent and all of it is pretty cheap.

Next is Lotteria. Similar to McDonald's or Burger King but with an Asian touch. I had my first shrimp burger there (I thought I had ordered chicken). It's small, simple but so good when you're tired of noodles and tempura. Their chicken nuggets are rather good, too.

I hate myself for forgetting the name of this awesome place but if you ever get to Akihabara, hit the eight floor of Yodobashi-Akiba (a gigantic mall) for a Rolling Sushi restaurant that is just too good for words. You pay by the plate and you get everything from tuna to squid to eel and so on. I stuffed myself with so much sushi for not even 20$. Something I would have paid over 50$ in Montreal. It was amazing.

Curry Houses have to be tried. There are a few and I won't name them because you can find them in every neighborhood and are everywhere and (to my limited knowledge), about the same. Their curry is much different from traditional curry and feels like the closest thing to poutine sauce, which made me both happy and homesick at the same time.

If you go to Hiroshima, make sure to hit Ouenya, a hiroshima-style ramen shop totally dedicated to the Hiroshima Carps. So dedicated, their drinks come in the team's colour. Good food for low prices and pretty close to the train station.

For Hot Dogs (if you ever miss such a thing), you have Vie de France, a French bakery. I know, you're thinking "hot dogs in a bakery?" Yes, it's pretty strange. They come stuffed in croissants with all sorts of seasoning and are pretty good. Otherwise, you'd need to go to convenience stores like Mini Stop for your hot dogs and they are disgusting.

Finally, McDonald's. I know, right? Why go to McDonald's? Once in a while, you go out on a wild, drunk bender and you feel like total crap, the morning after. A tradition I have with Mat is to stop at McDonald's as a sort of hangover cure. Their burgers taste pretty much the same (except for the McShrimp and the Teriyaki McChicken, which we don't have home). However, they look good. I mean, really good. In Montreal, we're used to the idea that the burger in our hands looks nothing like the one on the picture. Here, they do. The cheese is different, too, so it actually melts and feels rubbery like melted cheese should. All in all, the chain here is much better than the one home.

I could go on but I would rather remind you that these are places to try only as an alternative to all the small restaurants you can find all around Japan. Dare go in and try something; the staff is always eager to please you, pretty much everywhere you will go.

-Pat

A city follow-up

So.

I guess we didn't update the blog often enough. Sorry about that; it's not that we're not willing, it's mostly that we're so busy that we spend most of our free time chilling and resting to get ready for the next day.

So we didn't write a weekly follow-up. At this point, it'd be useless. Too much done, some of which will have their own entry at a later date. So I thought I'd summarize my experience in each of the cities I've been to.

Tokyo: Wild, crazy, manufactured. The best place to spend your vacation if you want action and things to buy. Prices are cheap, women are hot, if somewhat fake. Clubs are crazy if you're a foreigner in need of booze and flooze. Food is good all around but be aware that most are restaurant chains (and mostly fast food), unless you know where to look or feel adventurous. My favorite in this list.

Osaka: Tokyo-lite. Probably because I haven't spent enough time there. Dotonbori is a big chain of stores and would impress if I had not seen Tokyo's Akihabara beforehand. Amerikamura is amusing if you're North-American as they tend to stereotype Americans in such an extreme way that they end up looking like fools. It's as if everyone there thinks North America = Black Eyed Peas. No kidding.

Kyoto: Great if you want to see a more traditional Japan. Shrines, old streets, Maiko and geishas walking the alleys, etc. Calmer than Tokyo and Osaka and it feels fresher, too. Not as fake.

Hiroshima: Depressing. Utterly depressing. Not their fault, though. I imagine that if you can forget the fact that they were victim of one of the most barbarous acts in History, it might be better. If we'd gone when it was sunny could have helped too. However, we were there during a rainy day, and people didn't look too happy, so it felt like a day-long funeral.

Miyajima: I wish I could bring it back with me to Montreal. By far the best park I've ever been to. Well, make that island. The whole place is beautiful; the trees, the mountain, the view. Random deers walking around without a care; it's enough to make a fan of natural parks out of a city boy like me.

I'll write more at another time. As always, go to the flickr account for pictures!

Tokyo Top Five

The Top Five Reasons I would stay in Tokyo forever:

1. Everything is so damn convenient. Want to take the train but you have no cash on you? Use your metro pass. Thirsty? There's a vending machine around the corner. The point is, everyone uses the same system for everything and everything is made to cause you as little stress as possible. Everything is done for you; you just have to insert coins and let the machines worry about whatever problem you face. It makes Montreal look very clumsy.

2. Everything is so clean. I could probably eat food off the subway floor and not get sick. Tokyo is highly hygienic, almost obsessively so. Streets are litter free (even in amazingly crowded areas like Shibuya on a Friday night). Mat and I could probably count on one hand the amount of trash we've seen on the streets so far, in units. While it doesn't seem like much, it definitely makes a city look reliable, safe, healthy. That's always good,

3. The girls are way too pretty. Mat and I have rated that around 95% to 97% of the girls here are too9 hot for words and would be seen as bombshells back in Montreal. Mat's friend Tetsuya says it's not that high and that we're just not used to it, the same way he wasn't used to white women in Quebec. True as it may be, we're getting constant neck sprains from the amount of hot, dolled-up women walking the streets.

4. Everything is so cheap. Okay, that's a bit of a lie. A watermelon will still cost you around 20$ but in a city where a pack of cigarettes costs you 3$ (in vending machines, no less), a bottle of Jameson costs around 15$ and you can have a full meal for around 5$ (main entry, salad and soup), who cares? The fact remains that most of what we've seen, from the subway fare to electronics, to most services, cost less than they do in Montreal.

5. Bars. Insane, crazy, it can't be properly described. While some have pretty high covers, it comes with free drinks, which balances everything out and still makes it pretty cheap. The fact that tipping is not required (and even frowned upon, as it is sometimes perceived as an insult) makes it even better. Now, the music can be annoying. Want it or not, most hits are old North American hits. That's normal, given where we are. Still, the atmosphere is amazing. I've never seen so many hot women (see #3) grind with perfect strangers. The girls dancing on bars are just too hot for words, the drinks are strong and you usually come out thinking that this was the best experience of your life. And the bouncers seem to recognize gaijins pretty easily. We've had to pay cover at one bar only one time and then bar hopped all night; they'd always be smiling and waving us back in when we arrived.

Now, of course, there's a downside to Tokyo.

1. The discrimination. While some will look at you with pride (you've chosen to spend time in THEIR city), most will look at you with disdain. While this is not entirely true in certain parts of the city (Roppongi, Shibuya), it sure feels like it pretty much everywhere else. People will avoid you whenever they can. They won't sit next to you in subways, they'll pass you when they give people free samples in the streets and so on. This can be annoying to some. However, once you realized that Japan was a country closed to most of the world for a long time and with a culture that is so different than other places, you come to understand and make peace with it,

2. People are way too polite. This is true for most stores and services. This level of politeness and availability can seem nice at first but slowly gets on your nerves. Sometimes, I wish the person serving my food would act how he feels and not repress everything. Mat doesn't seem to mind but I do, so I guess that it depends on the person.

3. Japanese people follow protocols for everything; it's like everything they do is a ritual. While it's pleasant to see them being so dedicated most of the time, it can become unnerving. Take for instance a convenience store like 7-11. The clerk will greet you as you come in, in Japanese. When he realizes that you don't speak the language, he still has to go through all of the premade sentences whether you like it or not. It's like, the person could get fired for not saying them so even if you don't understand, he still has to say them. Sometimes you just want to buy beer without going through five thousand steps, you know.

4. I don't understand a word of Japanese. Okay, maybe a couple sentences. This is not a real problem as it would disappear if I learned the language. However, until I do, there are places and things I cannot do because I can't understand what's going on. While most streets and public services also offer English translations, the most "local" parts of Tokyo can't be accessed. For instance, family restaurants. Tourist restaurants often have pictures next to their meals, if they don't offer an English translation. Family-owned restaurants do not. This limits you to tourist traps, which can get pretty boring.

5. Everything is too convenient. I know that it seems pretty silly to state that convenience is a good part of Tokyo and then state that it's a problem. The thing is, everything is so easily available in machines and services that you often don't realize how quickly you're spending money. Just in machine drinks, I must have spent over a hundred dollars in one week. It can ruin you if you don't pay attention. I'm wiser now but still, it's something that can become a problem in the long run.

Well, laundry is over so I've got to go. Until next time,

-Pat

Odaiba: A Weird American Trip in Tokyo

The best way to describe Odaiba is that it is not Japanese. Or rather that it pays a very impressive homage to all things non-Japanese.

The second best way to explain it is to say that it feels very American. The Statue of Liberty replica notwithstanding, you will find a multitude of stores, restaurants and events which are so totally foreign to this country as to alienate (or perhaps soothe the homesickness of some unfortunate travelers).

Mat and I decided to go to Odaiba because the Ghibli Museum was closed on Tuesdays and holidays. Our plan was to see what this ASIMO thing was all about and perhaps look at a couple strange cars at MEGA WEB, reputably the biggest car showroom in the world. What we got from the trip is much, much more.

If Tokyo sometimes feels fake, Odaiba feels a hundred percent manufactured. However, unlike Tokyo who is hellbent on denying the whole thing, Odaiba embraces it. The result is impressive and eerie; it feels like the entire place is a North American worship sanctuary. We chose a Hawaiian restaurant (Mat will have a couple pics and videos to show for it) and had good Hawaiian food with nice ukulele music in the background. With my first ever Hawaiian beer! I know that going to Japan and eating non-Japanese food seems a tad bizarre but trust me; sometimes you just want to cleanse your palate with something different.

Following this, we went to a typical rockabilly Malt Shop, which looked right but didn't sound at all authentic, what with Never Gonna Give You Up playing in the background. They played 80s music, which just didn't feel right.

After having enough of North American clothing stores and US food (Pringles, Cherry Cola... even Maple Cookies!), we went to the Miraikan, the National Museum of Science and Innovation, just in time to witness ASIMO acting out for the crowd. It was a pretty surreal experience. See, while it is still a robot and does certain things in a robotic way, some of ASIMO's movements are creepily human at best. See for yourself!




We walked around the curved paths but the place ended up being pretty close to our own Centre des Sciences, so we left for MEGA WEB, the big car showroom.

So many cars! I'm not a car person (far from it) but even I was impressed by the amount of vehicles, most of which we'd never seen home. Some were strange designs, mostly concepts:












Finally, we met the Toyota Partner Robot. Okay, not really met, as it was inactive. And boring. This thing is no ASIMO!

Still, it can play the trumpet, so I have to like it a little bit.



The rest of the day isn't worth mentioning, other than we met Mat's friend Tetsuya and went to a real Japanese pub (unlike fake tourist traps). We had wasabi octopus, chicken hearts and asses (not even kidding) and other weird things but that were mostly good (some I personally didn't like, like the chicken skin souvlaki. I mean... Chicken Skin!).

We're leaving for Hiroshima tomorrow morning, pretty early. And later tomorrow, Miyajima! So until then, seeing as we're spending the evening packing and chilling, I might do some small updates.

-Pat

We left Japan!

Riiiight.

Nah, it's a copy of the Statue of Liberty in Odaiba, one of the strangest places I've seen so far in Japan.

What's Odaiba? We'll fill you in a bit later!

End of Week One

Hi,

We'll make specific posts about specific things in the next couple weeks but I thought we'd also make weekly recaps, so you know what we've been up to.

Thursday: Though we left on Wednesday Morning, it was already Thursday here. After setting ourselves at the Aizuya Inn in Minami-Senju (near Ueno), we went out to Akihabara to grab a bite at Mos Burger. It was most excellent. We've then browsed the busy busy streets. I never thought there would be a day where I would be annoyed by forthcoming nubile girls dressed as maids until now. The fact that one pops-ups with every three steps you take, to give you a pamphlet or whatnot doesn't help much. We went back home after a while and slept like babies.

Friday: We woke up pretty early and went exploring Ueno, especially Ueno Park. A mix of trees, shrines and food stands, it was a pretty interesting experience. Even more so at the entrance, where you could look at deep forested roads on one side and a very busy neighborhood on the other. From there, we returned to Akihabara by day and found ourselves in Super Potato. I geekgasmed with every step. They have EVERYTHING. If only I understood Japanese... Finally, we took a power nap and hit Roppongi, the Ste-Catherine/St-Laurent of Japan. Hit a few bars, had a (very) pleasant time and found our way back to the Inn completely drunk. Mission accomplished!

Saturday: We went to Harajuku. What a busy place! People everywhere, strange (but awesome) stores. It's like the Plateau but better, stranger and friendly. And crowded like hell. Unfortunately, most of the fashion "avant-gardists" congregate on Sunday, so we didn't get to see much of them. We hit Harajuku Park, another very humble and spacious green zone. It's like every neighborhood needs its giant park, which puts our parks to shame. Old monuments and landmarks, gigantic trees and shrines. It's beautiful, even to a city boy like me. We left for Shibuya and I witnessed what every movie and picture shows when talking about Tokyo: The Shibuya Crossing. It's pure madness. The light turns green and hundreds upon hundreds of people cross both ways. Imagine a Habs game riot in downtown Montreal, except that no police cars are burning and everyone's happy. We also found the Hachiko statue, the "Puck" of Tokyo; it's the meeting spot for most people and it showed.

Sunday: We took it slow and went to find the Godzilla statue in the Ginza district. It's a hidden and not quite known monument erected to the king of all monsters and its diminutive size makes it a hard to find. Nevertheless, with the aid of the Internet, Google Maps and logic, we prevailed. We then realized that we were pretty close to the Imperial Palace, so we went. Unfortunately, most of it is closed most of the year. We still got to snap a couple of good pictures. We decided to drift a bit aimlessly and found ourselves at the Kabuki-Za Theater, where a bunch of kids were posing for the crowd in full regalia. Again, an amazing moment, both for the kids obviously against the idea and the crowd mysteriously finding themselves with cameras, tripods and other equipments and hogging the street like maniacs in dire need of a good shot. We went back to the Inn, preparing ourselves for a return to Roppongi; we liked the first experience (well, my first and Mat's third) and wanted to go once more since it will be our last weekend in Tokyo (we will be in Osaka next weekend).

So this is it. Not going to edit typos or anything before my return to Montreal. I'll add pictures when I can. We don't really have much time to spend online. (why would we want to waste our vacation on the internet, anyway?)

For now, you can see my pictures here and Mat's pics will be coming soon. We've also made videos, so that will be up when we have the time to edit them.

-Pat