X-Git-Url: https://codewiz.org/gitweb?p=wiki.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=blog%2F2009%2FApril;h=d6fb492cc84444eb1b4565e07c143e87b2eece4b;hp=c9dd8b75465fb9039d00215f1b220de765d83b66;hb=a4919bd151d8936adc9f1f66d0f5e768d2325f20;hpb=bfaa7f0cebcd09ebd4d5de712f91bd53e4e06795 diff --git a/blog/2009/April b/blog/2009/April index c9dd8b7..d6fb492 100644 --- a/blog/2009/April +++ b/blog/2009/April @@ -1,7 +1,173 @@ == Bernie's brain backup of April 2009 == +=== Aplil 24th -- over 1 megameter 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. + +{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hiroshima/00085.jpg|The A-Bomb peace memorial near the epicenter|maxwidth=480}} + +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 the surrounding +[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial_Park|park]] might seem crazy, +but it was definitely worth it. One of the most dramatic moments of human history +happened right here not long ago, and survivors of about my father's age can give +their first-hand testimony with the help of black and white photographs and melted +items from the museum. After causing so much horror and observing its consequences, +what did we do about it? We quickly built **thousands** of bombs much more +destructive than [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boy|Little Boy]]. Smart move. + +As usual, I couldn't refrain from taking [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hiroshima|a load of photos]] here too. +These probably can't deliver the pain in the chest one gets by visiting the museum, +but might still be a little disturbing. + +In the afternoon, we returned to the Hiroshima station just in time to catch the 16:01 +Shinkansen for another 690Km ride to another location which will be revealed +in due time. Don't miss the next amazing episode of Bernie's Adventures! + +{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hiroshima/00079.jpg|"Peace" written with origami cranes|maxwidth=480}} + +Also check the story behind the [[http://www.city.hiroshima.jp/shimin/heiwa/crane.html|millions of paper cranes]] +sent from all over the world in memory of the little Sadako. + +=== April 23rd -- Kyoto last day === + +==== Morking: Arashiyama by bike ==== + +In the morning of this sunny day, we biked to a few locations on the +east side of Kyoto: + + * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Dakakuji|Dakakuji]], an active Shingon Buddhist temple + * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Tenryuji|Tenryuji]], another beautiful Buddhist temple with a beautiful Zen garden, next to a bamboo forest + * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Monkey_Park|Monkey Park]], a place where you can closely observe and interact with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaque|Japanese macaques]]. + +==== Evening: a city I did not like ==== + +At last, I've found a place I actually didn't like much in Japan! +The first impression of Osaka's central station was that it was old and +dirty. Of course one could still eat on the floor, and coming from +[[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Shin_Kyoto|Kyoto's station]] might +have compromised my judgement. There was big crowd of busy people +everywhere, and if //you// bump into someone, //they// don't apologize +for it. + +Our copy of the Lonely Planet highly recommended [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C5%8Dtonbori|Dotonbori]] +at night for its "Blade Runner views", so we headed there. They must have watched +a version of the movie with bad special fx, because all I could observe in +Dotonbori was a narrow street sided by neon signs of restaurants and pachinkos. +Just above average, imho, and certainly not worth the time and the price of the +train ticket. Unless you're a moth, perhaps. + +We granted our guide a second chance and choosing their highest rated +restaurant in Dotombori, one specialized in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udon|udon]]. +There was no English menu and the only food I could order was a chest of cold +spaghetti on a bamboo crate with no sauce but a cup of soy sauce, also cold of course, +in which one could dip them separately. Or so I understood: the waiters were extremely +kind but wouldn't speak English, which created even more confusion. //Dulcis in fundo//, +the bill was much higher than usual and they wouldn't take credit cards. + +We rushed back to the metro to Shin-Osaka, JR train to Kyoto, local train to +Arashiyama, where our bikes were still waiting for us for the ride back home. + + +=== April 22nd === + +==== Kyoto day 2 ==== + +TODO: missing links to photos + +==== 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 ==== + +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/Nijojo_Castle|Nijojo castle]], which is actually two castles for the price of one; + * a quick tour of the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Kyoto_downtown|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/Utano_Hostel/00005.jpg|the hostel provides a traditional goan too|maxwidth=800}} + +==== Impressive station ==== + +The [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Shin_Kyoto|Kyoto station]] is an impressive modern building, +worth a visit by itself. + +{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Shin_Kyoto/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. @@ -10,14 +176,17 @@ view of the Fuji-san, the ancient cedar avenue, the old post, the detached palac 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/Hakone2|photos}}. +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}}