japan itinerary

just got home two days ago
and it seems as though things have gone back to normal instantly.
feels as though ide never left!
not just my family and friends but my sleeping patterns
(been trying to fall asleep since two in the morning)
this is bad considering im pretty tired right now
and when i was in japan ide fall asleep straight away so easily

anyways so i figured there would be too much to write about japan
so ill just sum up what i did in the two and a half weeks
and of course judging from the pics ive loaded up
i had a blast!
minus perhaps a couple of days
but i absolutely love the place
and would one day love to live there for a little while
(but then again i would prob want to live everywhere i go visit)

tokyo
shinjuku- technology shopping. (where i got my camera)
watami- japanese style bar where we met japanese people and tried to converse. lol
(we didnt go out late at night much because
one: i dont drink much
two: it was just shannon and i
three: can you really picture us two go clubbing? LOL)
harajuku- 105 yen shops and shopping for clothes clothes clothes!
plus the odd harajuku here and there

osaka
osaka castle- which was followed by an outdoor festival nearby
kansai airport- we had to go all the way to the airport to cash out money because our credit cards werent working at the ATM's we visited and we were heading to kyushu the next day
floating garded observatory- 173 metres above ground and onto the roof!
(i seriously couldnt believe we were able to go on the roof)

kyushu
takachiho gorge- this place is special to the shintos (a religion)
because their sun goddess hid in one of the caves in this gorge
and then the world was all dark
and so the other gods had to come and find her and danced outside the cave to woo her out.
temple- we slept at a temple owned by an interracial couple who were both priests/monks
who both ate meat and had half caste kids
(their religion is just a branch off buddhism,
they dont believe that you have to sacrifice what other monks sacrifice
to achieve enlightenment, which i thought was very interesting)
mount aso fountainhead- we bought home a bottle of the mount aso water
it was soo fresh i couldnt believe i was drinking unfiltered water!
8 staff/8 student primary school- the kids and teachers/staff were soo cute.
half the staff were in our classroom when we visited
as though they were very excited to have guests at their school which i found adorable

hiroshima
peace memorial park- this is the most peacful park ever,
indeed was good for walks
and i felt safe in the dark as well,
unlike that southgate walk path (which leads you to crown)
miyajima island- cross by boat/ferry,
where i got my soda pop ice cream
(yum, its a fruity soda flavour with bursts of sherbert in the mixture)
this is also where we saw the big red gate and the giant spoon lol

kyoto
myoshin-ji temple- where the little zen and rock pool gardens were
just loved the scenery and just sitting there playing with rocks
and listening to the water stream
noji castle- it was closed when we went,
and after that long walk from the station too =(

another place ide have liked to visit in kyoto
was the daitoku-ji temple
which has one of the best zen gardens
(rocks raked on the ground)
but it wasnt close to a staion near us
and we were only there for the day but next time for sure!

tokyo
shibuya- running around looking for tattoo parlours
ueno- ate on the giant panda bridge, looked for bike gear
disneyland- so much bigger and more magical than i had previously expected.
tsukiji fish market- the place opens at 5 and closes at 6:15 every morning
so attempting to wake up for it was an epic fail
the first two times we attempted to go.
so on our third try,
i did an all nighter just so i can make it.
this place was filled will auctions in a huge shed
filled with humungous fish
and people betting and buying them to be driven back to their market shops to be sliced up,
the place smelled pretty fishy and the place is hectic
they dont give way to pedestrians
kameido- this is the suburb we stayed in when we were in tokyo.
it was a great place to explore around
late at night when we were hungry
and had the comfort of knowing we dont need to run for our last train home

the in betweens days were pretty much filled with travelling on bullet trains
(which consisted of us doing sudokus, brain teasters, knitting, playing i-spy, hangman, bento boxes, snacks, shannon smoking, sleeping and boredom)
to different cities and exploring around the area we were staying at.
eg. pachinko, arcades, shops, markets and various eateries.

japan should be on everyones list to visit.
there is always so much to do and explore here
even after all that travelling,
thats only half of the things you can do in japan.
you just need more time to explore
so if you go to japan, youde prob need a month to see the whole country
and our JR passes (japan rail passes) came in handy
we definitely got our moneys worth with them

wakarimasen

LOVE LOVE LOVE JAPAN!
just posted a heap of photos and its only been 48hrs!

ive pretty much revised the equivalent of four years beginners japanese!
its hilarious talking to japs
because they have the really funny expressions
and when walking into a restaurant,
because youre asian they assume youre japanese too.
and then they are confused when you
pull words out of your butt like
`i dont understand` -(wakarimasen)
but with the phrasebook ive gotten by
and with the little japanese learnt in high school has finally come to a use

on the first night,
we ran around our neighbourhood
and went through pretty much every store that was still open
the first one we went to knew no english besides a few words
and being the first japs we talked to,
it was amazingly difficult
but after going through our phrasebook,
and taking forever to find what we were looking for
all was well.
i think the chef even laughed at me when i asked if there was anything vegetarian!
(sounded like he was shouting in japanese to the other crew `omg shes a vegetarian ahahhahaha what are we going to feed her`)
but he was always friendly and laughed heaps!
shannon even came back to the store
to have drinks with him whilst i went exploring in the shopping plaza

i think its awesome that we blend in as well
so i can do what ever i like and not have to hang with shannon 24/7
which we previously discusses that by the end of this trip
we would not be able to bear each other anymore

so first morning in japan
was spent travelling to shinjuku station
to get me my camera ive been waiting for 3 months for
then we went exploring around and shopped
(didnt buy anything though besides my camera which i was ecstatic about)

then down the little streets we look through the arcades
shannon accidently blew too much money on the pachinko machines LOL
only because his mind kept converting yen into vietnam money
5000 vietnam money = 5 dollars AUD
whereas 5000 yen = 70 AUD
he only realised it when i asked him how much he spent on the games
and i went.. you do realise that like.. (does calculation)

first night out has been hilarious too!
going to pubs and japanese style bars.
made friends with a couple of people and had quite a long conversation
until shannon and i took our last photos with them]and bolted to the train!
luckily we caught the last train home
which was immensely packed to the core!
everyone was touching me from left to right, front to back
and being short i didnt have the best view.

such an awesome journey so far though!
the jap people we met at the bar told me my japanese was very good
(they even put their two thumbs up)
even shannon was amazed of how much jap i knew
(and so was i)
when asked what had led us to japan and what we were interested in
my answers were...
cheap flights (showing hand actions of a plane flying)
haha gotta love body language
and then at the top of my head
told them i wanted to visit buildings, temples, harajukus
and then i got more creative and pulled out
utada hikaru and ayumi hamasaki from the past
and that i use to listen to their music LOL

the nights been hilarious!

haiku

boarding bullet train
hunting for harajukus
tokyo, japan

so i dont know if my haiku is right or not
because the ones ive read so far dont make sense
but i cant wait to go to japan
and should be looking for travel insurance soon