== Bernie's brain backup of April 2009 ==
+=== 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
+[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriek|Kriek]].
+
+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 ====
+
+Yesterday was rainy, but it didn't stop us from biking around and visiting quite a lot of stuff:
+
+ * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Ninnaji|Ninnaji temple]];
+ * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Ryoanji|Ryoanji temple]], with its puzzling rock zen garden;
+ * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Kinkakuji|Kinkakuji temple]] (aka golden temple);
+ * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/NijojoCastle|Nijojo castle]], which is actually two castles for the price of one;
+ * a quick tour of the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/KyotoDowntown|Kyoto downtown]];
+ * the [[http://www.kyotomm.com/international/english/|International Manga Museum]] was closed already. Grrr....
+
+{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Kinkakuji/00012.jpg|the golden temple of Kinkakuji|maxwidth=800}}
+
+==== x264 goodness ====
+
+I re-encoded all videos from MJPEG, the crappy native format of my Canon camera, to x264 (aka MPEG4).
+Firefox 3.1/3.5 still doesn't grok it with the ##video## tag, but I didn't have a
+[[http://theora.org/|Theora]] encoder installed.
+
+=== April 20th ===
+
+==== Best hostel ever ====
+
+The [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/UtanoHostel|Utano hostel]] in Kyoto would rival many
+five star hotels I've seen. Sorry I couldn't take any photos in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen | Onsen]].
+
+{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/UtanoHostel/00005.jpg|the hostel provides a traditional goan too|maxwidth=800}}
+
+==== Impressive station ====
+
+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|Anime characters by Osamu Tezuka|maxwidth=640}}
+
+==== Shinkansen tour ====
+
+In a jounery report, the details of transportation are usually left out as uninteresting.
+Except if one takes the fastest train in the world! We took the
+[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dkaid%C5%8D_Shinkansen|Tokaido Shinkansen]] line from Odawara to Kyoto,
+riding on a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/700_Series_Shinkansen|700-series]] train for the
+[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikari_%28Shinkansen%29|Hikari]] service (not the faster
+[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nozomi_%28train%29|Nozomi]], but still very impressive).
+
+The ticket cost a whopping 11240 yen per person, and I'm not even getting a
+[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Express_999|machine body]] with it! ;-)
+
+See [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen|the the photos]] and don't miss the
+[[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00009-x264.avi|pass-through]] and the
+[[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00011-x264.avi|on-board]] videos.
+
+{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00006.jpg|Shinkansen|maxwidth=800}}
+
+
+=== April 19th - Hakone day 2 ===
+
+{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone/FujiSanBernieSan.jpg|The Fuji-san (left) with Bernie-san (right)|maxwidth=1024}}
+
+We took the suggested touristic itinerary around the Hakone mountains which employs all sorts
+of transportation means: bus, cable train, rope way, cruise boat and bus again.
+
+Along the way, we could see the volcanic sulfuric vents and pools, the Ashi lake with its breathtaking
+view of the Fuji-san, the ancient cedar avenue, the old post, the detached palace gardens and the
+beautiful [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto_shrine|shinto jinja shrine]] of with its
+[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii|torii]] diving in the lake.
+
+Of course, I took plenty of [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone/Trip|photos of the Hakone trip]].
+
+=== April 18th - Hakone ===
+
+{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone/Hostel/00008.jpg|Our japanese style room at the Senkyoro YH|maxwidth=1024}}
+
+We arrived in a small town near [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone,_Kanagawa|Hakone]]. I'll publish photos later.
+
+**Update**: [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone|photos of the hostel]] are now available.
+
+
+=== April 17th - Ghibli museum in Mitaka, Ginza ===
+
+{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/GhibliMuseum/00005.jpg|Robot from the ancient city of Laputa|maxwidth=800}}
+
+The museum was actually a bit of a disappointment, but maybe just because I had my expectations so high.
+Cameras weren't allowed inside, so I only took [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/GhibliMuseum|few photos]].
+
+In the afternoon, we walked around the shiny neighborhood of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginza|Ginza]].
+See the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Ginza|photos]].
+
=== April 16th - Fish Market, Gardens, Tower of Tokyo, Temple ===
{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Tsukiji_Fish_Market/00013.jpg | Tsukiji Fish Market |maxwidth=800}}
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