Kyushu, Day 13: Sumiyoshi Shrine

MARCH 16, 2020

Breakfast this day was Western style and the lovely grandparent couple offered to drop us off the nearest JR train station so that we would not walk.

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We went to SUMIYOSHI SHRINE first, which is one of the oldest and most respected shrines in Kyushu. There were several red torii which made the place feel like a mini Fushimi Inari Taisha. We also saw a statue of a sumo wrestler and there was a sign there that if you touch the palm of his hands, it will give you strength.

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We then went to Tenjin (again) and looked for a Taito Station branch… Why? To do purikura again but this time with better pictures printed out. Haha! We were successful with this 2^nd attempt so yay!

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For lunch, Hisako-obaasan recommended KARO NO URON, Fukuoka’s oldest restaurant (1882). Initially, I wanted to eat in Ganso Hakata Mentaiju but the line was ridiculously long. We ordered one of the bestselling udon priced at ¥690 only. Taking pictures was not allowed so here is a picture of the restaurant from the outside instead.

We went to Canal City after lunch and shopped in Muji then stayed in Muji’s Café.

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We wanted to go home early so we decided to eat dinner early. We tried the famous hamburg curry in BERKELEY HAKATA and found this to be a good contender against Coco Ichibanya.

Japan, Day 6: Mount Gozaisho

NOVEMBER 26, 2018

At the SUMMIT PARK STATION of Mount Gozaisho, a big map of the hiking trail and places to visit helped in guiding me where to locate the sightseeing lift.

When I got there, I got really scared of riding the lift. I already knew that there was no belt because I saw the picture in their official website but I was not prepared that it was a steep downhill ride, at least from my POV.

Then again, I was already there so why not ride it then see what will happen. I bought a roundtrip ticket for ¥600 then saw a group of obaasan and ojiisan (grandma & grandpa) in front of me, waiting for their turn to ride the lift. While waiting for my turn, one of the ojiisan turned around and told me “Kowai!!! Kowai!” while laughing. Thank you to all the anime I have watched because I understood what he said – it was scary. I laughed then replied to him in Japanese that I was also scared. When it was his turn to ride, I told him “Ganbatte!” (good luck) and he smiled at me.

Now, it was my turn and when the lift was about to follow the downhill trail, I held on tightly to the single bar at my left side and braced myself… only to feel nothing. There was no sinking feeling from my stomach! It was just slow and steady which made me understand why even kids are allowed to ride this.

It was a chill ride and I eventually found myself taking pictures without holding the bar.

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  Me during the first 10 seconds of the ride 😐

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  Me after the first 10 seconds, finally enjoying 😀

At the first sightseeing lift stop, you can choose to go down there or just pass by. I was already set that I would just pass by here so I waved to the ojiisans staff and greeted them with “Ohayouuu!”

Upon reaching the last stop, I walked briskly to the summit marker (1,282 MASL) that I saw online. I asked a local hiker, who just finished smoking his cigarette, to take a picture of me.

Conquered another mountain but without much effort, lol

I was reviewing the pictures he took when he told me (in English) that there was another marker. He pointed to the trail near us and told me that that was where I should go to reach it. I said my thanks then he offered to accompany me. I accepted because I wanted to talk to locals, anyway.

While walking, he asked where I was from so I said PH then asked if it was my first time in Japan. I told him it was my 3^rd visit but I have visited a lot of places already. I enumerated all the cities and towns I have been to, including the ones in this autumn trip. He said that he was amazed and called me a “Japan master”. LOL.

When we reached the place (Boukodai Lookout), he pointed to spots where it was best to take pictures of me. It was a bit of a challenge because there were parts where I had to use my hands to climb. I had to make sure that I wouldn’t slip since the cliff was just around the corner. Anyway – he took good pictures of me!!! T_T

He then pointed to a direction where he said that we could have seen Lake Biwa if it wasn’t for the cloudy weather. He pointed to a mountain range but I forgot the name he mentioned – all I could remember was he said that it was a well-known area.

When we were about to go back to the main area, he asked if it was okay to take a picture. I said okay and I asked if we could do the same using my phone. It felt weird though because we did not know each other’s names so I asked him.

His name is Sato and he told me that it was a common name in Japan. I told him that he has the same name as this Japanese actor that I liked: Sato Takeru. He was impressed that I know someone from the entertainment industry. I told him about the first J-drama where I saw Sato Takeru up to him being the main lead in Rurouni Kenshin live action films.

While we were walking, he showed me pictures from his phone – trees and other areas in Mount Gozaisho fully covered in snow. He told me that it was taken just a week ago when he hiked with his friends. I showed him the snow pictures I took earlier, and I told him that I thought it was just starting to form. It turned out to be remnants of the winter moment that happened recently.

Remnants of snow + Sightseeing lift without any belt

When we returned to the main area, we bowed to each other and said our goodbyes. He told me that going up the summit takes 2-3 hours, depending on your pace, and that was also the same amount of time needed to go down. I wished him luck for his hike going back to the base.

I continued my exploration but I kinda felt lost. All signs and arrows were in kanji so I already knew that I had to rely on my instinct when it comes to directions.

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I picked a trail based on my gut feel and I eventually arrived at Suzuka National Park Monument. Near the marker, there was a small wooden bench for resting.

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From afar, I could already see the Ontake Daigongen Shrine – the one which looks like a house – so I knew that my adventure was far from over. An ojiisan passed by and I was amazed how he could jog around the area, especially with the uneven trail and steps.

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On the other hand, I was cautious with every step because if I stumble and roll down the steps, no one would save me and take care of my wounds. Haha! After following the next trail, I reached a rest area with a stone monument. It was inscribed with haiku but I only found out about it after the trip.

I walked some more and spotted a silver torii with a trail leading downhill. I followed it then saw a small pool of water so I knew that I was in Chouja Pond. There was no one else in the area so it was very quiet a bit eerie with all the trees.

The story related to Chouja Pond dates back to the Meiji Era when a man named Jintarou Yada became famous and rich for his touch which could completely cure any sick person.

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I continued my adventure and there were a lot of uphill trails. Some of them looked straight from a fairy tale story, with a creepy forest in the plot.

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  From Chouja Pond

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  Going back to main area

Then after about 10 minutes of walking, I finally reached Ontake Daigongen Shrine (dedicated to the same deity as the one in Kiso-Ontake Shrine). I paid respect to the shrine then as I was about to leave, a family reached the place so finally, I was not alone. But only for a few seconds.

I was on a bit of tight schedule so when I saw that it was 10:40, I started to make my way back to the main area. The problem though was that I did not know how and I could already see fork roads ahead of me…

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No choice but to trust my instincts which path to take for every fork road. I chose trails that seem to be nearer to the main area.

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Cannot understand anything but this was the sign near the uphill trail going back to the main area

Gotta pat myself on the back because I was able to successfully reach my destination! Had I followed the paths I ignored, I would have taken the long trail going back to the Summit Park Station… which would take 30-45 minutes of walking. I took a last round of taking in the sights at the summit before heading back to the sightseeing lift station.

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At the Summit Park Station, I went for a quick lunch before heading back to the base. I ordered curry udon as recommended in Restaurant Nature. The free ocha was the perfect pair for the curry udon’s rich flavor.

When I reached the cable car station, it was a surprise because the staff put 3 different groups in one cable car. I wish I could speak in somehow fluent Japanese so that I can converse with the obaasans and ojiisans in the cable car. ☹

Here are some more views from the cable car to wrap up this post:

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Kansai, Day 8: Nara – Osaka

MARCH 13, 2017

Another daytrip that we did from Osaka was to visit Nara. Our train ride was about an hour and a half, which gave us enough time to sleep because we woke up early.

NARA KOEN was our first destination but we were confused where to get off (while on the bus) so we chose a random stop. Apparently, the park was huuuge and all of the places we wanted to visit were all there. We looked for a quiet spot first to eat breakfast – and away from the deer!

After filling our tummies, we went to KOFUKU-JI (UNESCO) and we had free access to the temple grounds. Its five-story pagoda was an amazing sight and considered to be the second tallest in Japan.

We were unable to view Central Golden Hall (the main hall) because it was undergoing renovation. We decided to just explore the other parts of the temple grounds instead.

Since we did not have a lot of stops in our itinerary, J suggested we visit NARA NATIONAL MUSEUM. It was also raining so it would be good for us to seek shelter for the meantime. Taking pictures was not allowed inside but it was worth the visit. The extensive history of Buddhism can be found there as well as A LOT of Buddha and Buddhist-related statues. We also visited a portion that was dedicated to Omizutori, which was our last item for the Nara itinerary.

Near the museum, we saw an old lady selling sweet potatoes per gram. We bought 500g and we were surprised how big it was. Even if the three of us shared it, we were not able to finish eating it.

One deer spotted us with the sweet potato and it followed us even when we crossed the road. We ended up hiding in a shrine but we could see the deer looking for us. LOL.

Seeing and interacting with deer was the activity we were all looking forward to. But, I was initially scared especially when we encountered them in groups. We saw a local who threw bits of crackers and the deer nearby went wiiild – I even saw a few jumping over rocks while rushing towards the food.

I followed my cousin’s advice on how to feed deer with lesser chance of experiencing them being aggressive:

• Be careful when buying food in the deer cracker hotspot – areas with many vendors who are all selling deer crackers. Better to look for another place with less vendors as fewer deer are hanging out there. (We were able to buy ours in a store near the road – it was the only store at that spot)
• Do NOT let the deer catch you buying their food! Put the crackers inside the bag right away. They are smart enough to see that you bought crackers and where you put it. Once they see you, they will not stop bugging you to give them food.
• Most of the deer roaming around the park can be too aggressive especially when it comes to their food. Those that are inside temples are more docile and they kind of act like a hippogriff – when you bow to them, they’ll bow to you. Some already bow once they see you. We felt that it would be cold of us not to give them food so we ended up giving most of the crackers to deer inside temples.

Fun fact: Deer is the symbol of Nara and it is regarded as the messenger of the gods. Nara’s deer mascot is called Shikamaru-kun – and this made me realize one of the famous characters in Naruto named “Nara Shikamaru”. Cool!

The walk to our next destination was quite long but it was a pleasant one. It took us about 20 minutes of walking along a path covered in trees before we reached KASUGA TAISHA.

This is the most important Shinto shrine in Nara, and it is famous for the donated lanterns decorating a portion of the shrine. These are only lit during evenings of Lantern festivals in Nara. Similar to Kofuku-ji, the grounds do not have any entrance fee.

We spotted a few deer here and they were hiding near the stone lanterns.

 

Inside the hall, we saw the lanterns with intricate designs as well as ema which included deer-shaped ones.

Since we still had time to kill before the Omizutori, we ate late lunch and checked out the line of stalls near Todai-ji.

 

Our last stop in Nara was TODAI-JI (UNESCO), a famous Buddhist temple founded thousands of years ago. We were not able to explore this since we arrived during closing time. It was a bit of a bummer though as I wanted to visit the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall – Main Hall) – largest wooden building with the largest bronze Buddha statue in Japan.

But, we did not felt that bad because the main reason why we visited was attend the Omizutori. The ceremony was held at Nigatsudo Hall, which also gave a good view of the city. We were lucky enough to be able to climb the steps going up the hall but we were eventually asked to leave as the locals prepare for Omizutori. OMIZUTORI is one of the oldest festivals in Japan as it started in 752 AD. It is done as a way to cleanse sins and welcome spring. They say that March 12 and 14 are the best days to watch the ceremony – longest on the 12^th (45 minutes), shortest on the 14^th (5 minutes) but more spectacular as torches are lit all at once.

Even before sunset, there were already a lot of locals in the temple grounds. Wouldn’t be surprised if there were more than a thousand people there.

Funny story: we realized we came unprepared when we saw almost everyone were sitting on the ground with a plastic or cloth that they can use as a mat. There was still about an hour of waiting because Omizutori would only start at 7PM. I had scratch bond papers inside my bag and brought it out to use. But, an old lady took pity on us and gave us her extra big disposable plastic mat. (Arigatou obasan!) Made us love Japan and its people even more! ❤

The ceremony started on time and seeing this 1250-year old tradition in real life was surreal. Series of torches were lit one at a time and on occasions, the torch holder would shower sparks over the crowd. It lasted for about 30 minutes and everyone was focused in this ceremony.

I wish I could post the videos but the file sizes are too big. 😦

After Omizutori and making our way out of the crowded place, we decided to have dinner in Osaka. Automatic choice was to go to Dotonbori and just choose whichever we wanted to try. We went to DARUMA, which is famous for its kushikatsu (deep fried skewered meat/vegetable) and has been in the business since 1929. We were lucky because there was no line and we were able to get a table right away. Our table (2^nd floor) was also next to the window which provided a view of Tonbori River.

We initially wanted to order 2 sets but because there were 3 of us, that would mean that for every type of kushikatsu, one of us would not get to taste it. And so, we decided to just get one set each. I think the staff could not help but stare at us because 1 set has 12 kushikatsu sticks. But, we were hungry plus we did not know when we could get to eat again there. J and I ordered oyster too because a deep fried one sounded yummy.

Our orders did not disappoint! Definitely not for health-conscious people but come on, the oil probably helped in making the kushikatsu delicious. :p

Note that they do not allow double dipping for hygienic purposes. You are only allowed to dunk each kushikatsu in the sauce only once. If you still want more sauce, you use the piece of cabbage (provided for free) to scoop more sauce. I also read in some posts that eating the cabbage helps in digestion.

After dinner, we explored Dotonbori some more and after seeing J enjoying her Cremia ice cream before, I had to buy one. My sister always told me that it is fun to eat ice cream during cold season but the idea is weird to me. So after trying this during this trip, I finally understand what she meant. What I like about eating ice cream during winter is that I do not have to worry that my ice cream would easily melt and drip everywhere. Haha!

That’s it for Nara. Next stop is USJ (and WWOHP)!!!

 

LINKS TO OTHER KANSAI REGION / JAPAN 2017 POSTS:

Japan, Day 0-1: Kyoto (Higashiyama Area)

Japan, Day 2: Kyoto (Arashiyama)

Japan, Day 3: Kyoto (Fushimi, Northern Higashiyama)

Japan, Day 4: Kyoto (Central & Downtown)

Japan, Day 5: Kyoto >> Osaka

Japan, Day 6: Kobe >> Osaka

Japan, Day 7: Himeji >> Osaka

Japan, Day 9: Universal Studios

Japan, Day 10 (AM): Ise-shima

Japan, Day 10 (PM): Ise-shima

Japan, Day 11: Osaka

Kansai, Day 3: Kyoto (Fushimi, N. Higashiyama)

MARCH 8, 2017

Another early start for us since our first stop for our 3^rd day in Kyoto was in FUSHIMI INARI TAISHA and we wanted to avoid the crowd. The place is well-known for its senbon torii (thousands of torii) spread across an entire mountain. The whole hike usually takes 2-3 hours according to those who have already experienced doing it. This Shinto shrine is dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice, with foxes as the messengers.

There are two lines that can take you to Fushimi Inari Taisha – the nearest one to the location is the JR Line. We rode this one and right after exiting the station, we can already see this big orange torii.

Upon entering, we passed by the main prayer hall. We saw a map and a few signs that pointed to the start of the famous line of orange torii. A few minutes of walking and we finally saw it! There were only a few visitors around at that time so we were able to enjoy walking slowly along the torii-lined pathway.

We only reached a third of the hike when we decided to go back. It was too cold already and we had not yet eaten breakfast so we knew that we were not going to last the hike.

 

By the time we reached the area with the main hall, there was a huge crowd already due to students on a field trip.

We decided to exit via the road with food stalls so that we could also buy breakfast. Unfortunately, they were still closed – most likely since it was still early. We looked for the nearest convenience store and bought the usual: onigiri, sandwich, hot tea and coffee. There were no seats inside the store so we went back to Fushimi. Luckily, when we got there, the food stalls were already opened. I wanted to try the yakisoba but the serving size was too big! I ended up buying karaage shared with my friends. Might be weird to eat something that heavy for breakfast but it was really crispy and delicious!

TOFUKU-JI was our next stop, which is a place famous for maple leaf viewing. Unfortunately, most of the trees were bare since it was still early March. We only visited the Sanmon Gate (oldest Zen gate) and Hondo (main hall) since these were free. Access to Tsutenkyo Bridge and the gardens have corresponding charges. Our trip here was just short.

We headed to Ginkaku-ji although we had a hard time getting a cab from the station we got off. Not sure why there were very few cabs in the area since it did not look like a rural part. We finally got a cab and I was a bit surprised that the driver was a lady. She spoke good English and we saw that there was a “Foreign Friendly Taxi” sign inside her car – though the fare was more expensive than the usual. She toured us a bit by pointing interesting places we passed by such as the road to Nanzen-ji and an expensive restaurant with really good food.

We had to walk going to Ginkaku-ji since vehicles are not allowed anymore at some point. But before entering, we tried mini cream puffs from GENMAI – vanilla, matcha, and sakura flavors. Not sure what to feel about the sakura flavor – it was okay but it tasted like vanilla with pink food coloring.

As we had more energy to do activities again, we headed to GINKAKU-JI, another UNESCO site in Kyoto.

It is also known as the “Silver Pavilion” – similar to Kinkaku-ji without the gold colors on the structure. Near the pavilion is the Dry Sand Garden, which has this massive sand cone named Kogetsudai (Moon Viewing Platform). I took a panorama picture with my phone but the quality was crappy as usual.

We were able to easily follow the path since it was just straightforward and there was a big crowd anyway in front of us. We passed by the main hall, Sengetsusen Waterfall (although it was not a huge one), moss garden, and the overlooking spot which gave us a breathtaking view of this side of Kyoto.

Before our DIY tour ended, we got another glimpse of the Silver Pavilion but this time seeing the back side.

The street that would take you to Ginkaku-ji reminded me of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka because of the various shops along the sides – food, souvenirs, etc. We were looking for Omen to have our late lunch and we were relieved to find out that it was just a few minutes away on foot.

OMEN is popular for its handmade udon and since the weather was cold, we opted for the hot version. We got the set meal which included appetizers we did not know – everything tasted okay except for the green vegetable with a small slice of raw fish. It was too bitter! J and I also got an additional order of sabazushi – too big to eat in just one bite but it tasted really good! Definitely recommend getting this one.

Omen recommends experimenting with the four spices on the table when eating their udon. However, I recommend eating first the udon without any of these so that you can get compare more precisely which you prefer. There is also a brochure with English instructions on each table, and each spice has an English name so you kind of know what you’re putting in your dish.

We headed to GION afterwards. Since it was mid-afternoon, there were only a few people around. We were not hoping to see real geisha or maiko at that time but we encountered three women who dressed up like them.

We went back to our Airbnb early again as we were too tired to go around. I’m curious how Gion looks like at night so I will surely be back here. Shirakawa area might also be at its best during spring season because of the willow trees lining it (+ Shirakawa Canal). I also want to do the Kurama-Kibune hike so I think that’s another reason to go back to Kyoto? 🙂

 

LINKS TO OTHER KANSAI REGION / JAPAN 2017 POSTS:

Japan, Day 0-1: Kyoto (Higashiyama Area)

Japan, Day 2: Kyoto (Arashiyama)

Japan, Day 4: Kyoto (Central & Downtown)

Japan, Day 5: Kyoto >> Osaka

Japan, Day 6: Kobe >> Osaka

Japan, Day 7: Himeji >> Osaka

Japan, Day 8: Nara >> Osaka

Japan, Day 9: Universal Studios

Japan, Day 10 (AM): Ise-shima

Japan, Day 10 (PM): Ise-shima

Japan, Day 11: Osaka