Nagoya

Well we had 2 nights in Nagoya at a tiny little Ryokan style hotel…really the room was tiny but it was in a good location and close to the subway.  This was a bit of an industrial type of city of about 2.2million people, the city was busy as in people were everywhere.  There really wasnt a lot to this town I really didnt love it but its the home of Toyota which Les went and did the factory tour which he said was amazing.  We both went to the local Asahi factory which was huge Ive never seen beer on that scale…they had tanks there that could hold so many beers it would take me 1000 years if I only drank one  per day and they had 140 of these tanks!

Nagoya was pretty much the first city where I saw amazing tech stuff…I had a wander through some stores and was amazed by what I could buy…and there where heaps of WTF moments.

I also got a sweet zoom lens for my camera…cheap as second hand anyways…pics to follow

In Nagoya

Got to Nagoya yesterday and so far it’s ok tea was awesome last night 1litre asahi woo

More Photos

We`ve had our first day of rain and it`s coming down like crazy even though it`s still really hot!  I have more time for the interwebs.

Here are a few more pics from Koyasan and Kinosaki

Kyoto – Koyasan – Kinosaki

After a journey through the Geisha (Gayko) part of Kyoto we relaxed and had a few beers back at our pad.  The people here are just so friendly…this is probably due to Layla as everyone either wants a photo of her or with her, we might start charging money soon!  And the place is really such a nice place to visit, plenty of little laneways that go nowhere, temples temples temples, great food on every corner oh and they also have temples here.

We left Kyoto for Mount Koya (or Koyasan) this is a small village high in the mountains where vegetarian buddhist monks live and run Ryokan Temple Hotels.  These are very popular as there are over 50 of them in such a small place.  The whole attraction for most people would be a 2k walk through the forest which is lined with shrines.  It was such a cool relaxing place under the tall pines to escape the killer heat we are having here.  Also you get to have a vegetarian meal in your RYokan (traditional Japanese style room – futon – tatami mat etc) which was quite nice but some of the stuff I have no idea what we were eating. 

After a one night stay there we made our way to the coastal town of Kanasaki, which is famous for the Onsens (which are natural hot baths) there are 7 in this small village with a total of about 3000 across the entirety of Japan.  Your hotel provides you with a Yataka (robe) and wooden shoes to walk to your one of the Onsens.  This is all the rage as everyone walks down the street in there robe and wooden shoes!!  This place is also known for it`s kick ass seafood which is excellent by the way.  There speciality is crab…havent had a crab yet but will do tomorrow…the prawns are Oshii Des(delicious).

Here are some photos for your enjoyment

Kyoto

Konnechiwa!

Kyoto has been a really nice surprise so far, we are all loving it!  The area we are staying in is a quiet laneway not too far from the busy streets…the house we are staying in is a small double story with space maximised for everything.  Clare Layla and I are staying in the Ryoken room which is the traditional style room with the mattress on the floor, it:s amazing how comfortable it actually is I could really live like that.  We have done the traditonal asain tourist destination…Temples…and I`m already over them! 
Kyoto is known for it`s traditional style Japanese rather than the high tech world of Tokyo and Osaka…yet it is still far more advanced than Australia in many ways.  I`m a little suprised everyone doesn`t have an iPhone they all have these Panasonic slide or flip phones everyone from kids to old people are constantly looking at these screens…walking, on trains, eating etc etc they are everywhere.

Layla has been a champion this whole time…I think just her putting up with the insane heat and humidity has been fantastic, but so far so good everything.  She loves her new pram where she can lookout and check things out which is great.

Below are some pics taken yesterday and today
Well gotta get back to it
BCL

Narita to Kyoto

We woke up wednesday morning at our flash but tiny room, these Japanese really know how to utilize their space! We left the hotel and made our way down a long windy road that was filled with stores selling all types of nick knacks and plenty of restaurants. And just like every other asian country I’ve been too there had to be a temple. This huge temple was filled with people all praying as part of a mass. The area itself was amazing with fish and turtle filled ponds along side pagodas with statues or giant bells, the setting was really nice but it is crazy hot and the humidity is also way up there.

After our tour of Narita we hopped on board the fast trains headed for Kyoto.

Once we arrived we had to call our accommodation so we good get into our guest house but unfortunately their phone was out of order…so after going onto the internet then finding another number I had some instructions on how to get there.
Instructions
1 take taxi to taxi rank(there are no street signs or numbers in this area so we can’t tell the taxi driver exactly where)
2 walk towards temple
3 take first right
4 follow curve
5 pass the house with all the water bottles
6 house has a pole out the front
7 a blue net is also on the ground out the front
8 shout out Matsuko and she will hear you

So after 20 minutes of calling her name a guy and girl come by in a motorbike and with the limited Japanese I know they let me use the phone to call the guy back…very long story short the lady waiting fir us had left as we hadn’t called…cos the phone was broken so we had to wait another 45mins to come back…the was a huge pain in the ass but we got in and the house is amazing! Again the Japanese really know how to utilize their space.

Photos to come as I’m writing this from my iPod…going to an Internet cafe today so will hook the camera up there.

Cheers
B C L

Melbourne gold cost Nariya

Well after a quick flight to the Gold Coast and an overnight stay we boarded for Narita at what a flight. Layla was well behaved but didn’t sleep like she should have.
After checking in to our hotel we decided to check the local street eateries for some tea. I ate a strange version of the onomiyaki pancake this one was filled with octopus…not bad just too much BBQ sauce. We ended up at a little street guy and Clare and les got pork noodle soup which was super tasty.

Everywhere we go so far everyone is fascinated with Layla which is cool, they all comment on her big blue eyes!

Anyway just a quick message to say we arrived safely

Bbl

Japan in 11 Days!!

OK nothing to report just testing it works from my iPod