Edit page blog/2009/April

[wiki.git] / blog / 2009 / April

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 == Bernie's brain backup of April 2009 ==
 
-=== April 21th ====
+=== Arpril 24th -- 1M meters by train ====
+
+We left our comfortable hostel in Kyoto early in the morning for a second Shinkansen
+ride of 360Km, this time on the faster [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nozomi_%28train%29|Nozomi]].
+The one-way ticket was "just" 10,250円, equivalent to $105 or €80.
+
+Unlike Kyoto, there aren't many sites of historic interest in Hiroshima because, quite
+unsurprisingly, every building in the city center is at most 64 years old.
+With [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial|one notable exception]].
+Coming such a long way only to see a broken dome and a nearby memorial 
+
+In the afternoon, we returned to the Hiroshima station to take the 16:01 Shinkansen,
+and traveled in no time for another 690Km to another location which will be revealed
+in due time.  Don't miss the next amazing episode of Bernie's Adventures!
+
+=== April 23rd -- Kyoto last day ===
+
+We visited a few more places:
+
+ * Hmmm...
+
+=== April 22nd ===
+
+==== Food ====
+
+Eating in japan can a challenge for a vegetarian who also happens to dislike fish and crustaceans.
+The average menu has about 5% of veggie dishes, but many restaurants in tourist areas specialize
+in traditional food such as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi|sushi]] and
+[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempura|tempura]].  Imitations of Italian kitchen are close to
+perfection, of course: in Tokyo, we had perfectly reasonable spaghetti with eggplants.
+
+Even with my options severely limited, I could still find several exquisite dishes.
+I quite like soups, including [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miso_soup|miso shiru]],
+[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen|ramen]] and others I ordered by pointing at the
+fake dish in the restaurant window without ever knowing their name.
+
+My favorite food so far is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omurice|Omurice]].  Yeah, perhaps
+it's not as sophisticated as the average Japanese recipe.  Hmm... I guess learning to
+appreciate complex and delicate flavors takes some more time.
+
+{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Ryoanji/00016.jpg|Omurice = omelet + rice|maxwidth=640}}
+
+As for beer, I still couldn't find one I like.  The most popular ones, Asahi and Kirin,
+are just tasteless dry lagers.  All the drafts I could find taste like Asahi too.  The
+only good beers I had were at the [[http://www.deliriumcafe.jp/|Delirium Cafe]] in Tokyo,
+where I had a delicious [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauwel_Kwak|Kwak]] followed by a
+cherry flavored [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriek|Kriek]].  Too bad we had to stop at
+just two to make sure we could find the way back to the hostel :-)
+
+Now I'm looking for a place where I could taste vegetarian [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki|sukiyaki]],
+the favorite food of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataru_Moroboshi#Ataru_Moroboshi|Ataru Moroboshi]].
+
+=== April 21st ====
 
 ==== Great temples everywhere ====
 
@@ -35,7 +87,7 @@ five star hotels I've seen.  Sorry I couldn't take any photos in the [[http://en
 The [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/ShinKyoto|Kyoto station]] is an impressive modern building,
 worth a visit by itself.
 
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/ShinKyoto/00015.jpg|Welcome to Kyoto!|maxwidth=800}}
+{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/ShinKyoto/00015.jpg|Anime characters by Osamu Tezuka|maxwidth=640}}
 
 ==== Shinkansen tour ====