day 10: tokyo, japan

day 9: nara, japan

Entry written by boyfriend; photos by me.

Nara a.k.a. that place in Japan with all of the deer.  Or is it “deers?”  I don’t know.  Anyways this place is terrifying if you’re a small girl with many open pockets.  Deer in Nara are not bashful about being pickpockets.  You might think its cute that they’ll go through any open pocket, but then you realize that they have no hands!  What do they use?  Their tongue and a nice set of teeth.

One interesting thing about the deer is that they seem to bow to you.  At first you think its cute, but its just a ploy for food.  Pickpocketers and beggers.

Though I said its terrifying if youre a small girl, what I really meant is if you were a small foreign woman because Japanese kids are crazy for these deer.  You always hear “kawaii!” in anime and Japanese movies and I’ll tell you I’ve never heard that word more often than when we saw three elementary school classes descend on those poor pickpocketing deer.

Oh, also in Nara is Todaiji, but its really just a gathering place for the deer since theres an overabundance in tourists handing out crackers and buying yams.  Yup, maybe one or two steps above our pidgeons, but a whole lot cuter.

Todaiji was my favorite because it was so big.  Yes, that’s what she said and also what I said.  I’m not Texan so big things impress me.  Like all things, you hear its big and you read its big, but it doesn’t hit you until you actually see how gigantic it is.

day 8: osaka, japan

Entry written by boyfriend; photos by me.

Himeji- Or as the ticket guy said, Himeiji.  Hey, I may have said it incorrectly, but the stupid book says He-meh-gee so sue me.

Himeji… is closed for the most part.  Don’t go, stay away, caution-closed.  Well not closed, but most of the main tower is covered because of the multi-year restoration that’s currently happening.  That being said, we saw no one working on it.  Oh, one nice thing is that they have an awesome waffle ice cream sandwich vending machine.

So as exciting as Himeji was we decided to head back to Osaka and explore the shopping arcades at a time when they’re not closing.  I know it’s exciting to see all of the solicitors going home, but its infinitely watching them hassle people and tourists.

A few things I recommend trying in Osaka: kushikatsu and Pablo’s “cheesecake.”

I don’t know who Pablo is, but he trained the staff there to make fine cheesecake.  They make a pretty good spectacle out of it as well.  Yes it’s a 30 minute line, but you will see the steps of making the cheesecakes along the way when you pass along the front windows.  Its entertainment and good photo opportunity as you decide how many you should buy.

If you love fried food (and who the hell doesn’t?!) then kushikatsu is the thing for you.  Ordering a beer is also advised because they’ll give you the weirdest look if you don’t.  Anyways kushikatsu is basically fried stuff on a stick that you dip in what my girlfriend calls “community sauce.”  No double dipping!  How do you get more sauce?  Oh, with the complimentary cabbage (note, its for getting extra sauce and not an appetizer).

day 7: osaka, japan

We left Kyoto in the early morning to head to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, which is one of the largest aquariums in the world. Too bad I found this aquarium to be a total disappointment. It had several floors, but I just kept seeing the same massive tanks…just on a different floor, and naturally, different angle. Nothing too exciting. I think the Monterey Bay Aquarium is better by far.

I guess the one good thing about getting there early was that we managed to catch the penguin parade, and my partner in crime was stoked. It seriously made his day!

After the aquarium, we went up the Tempozan Ferris Wheel and since I’m a chicken, we didn’t go in the one that moves. The height itself scared me enough! I managed to get some decent shots from it. Hooray.

As the sun went down, the aquarium lit up. Penguins…again! And then there was a street performer…and I learned that my boyfriend REALLY REALLY enjoys street performers. We were there the entire time…

Afterwards, we went to check into our somewhat posh “Western” style hotel (good thing we got it during their flash deal).

day 6: kyoto, japan

Sadly this was our last day in Kyoto. We woke up and went downstairs to have breakfast at our ryokan.  As you can see we each got many small dishes, and we were stuffed.

We took the crowded bus to Sanju-Sangendo Hall. What we didn’t know that today was Coming of Age Day which is a pretty big holiday in Japan, I assume. It was relatively packed which didn’t make viewing the 1001 statues of Kannon fun at all. Literally it was baby steps the entire way through the hall, and sadly no photography was allowed.

Our next stop was the Kiyomizu Temple. This was the temple I was most stoked to see in Kyoto because during my research prior to this trip, I had seen such beautiful photos of it. This temple was also very crowded, and there were many young ladies dressed in kimonos.

And of course when we were walking back to the bus stop, we picked up some snacks. The streets that lead up to the temple is pretty freaking amazing. I wish we had more time there to explore because there were just so much to see and buy!

Our next stop was Nijo Castle which is a castle that was built in 1603 and housed the first shogun of the Edo Period.

Our last stop as far as sights was the Kinkakuji Temple or the Golden Pavilion. I’ve read about this temple when I took Asian art history back in college so I had much anticipation to see this in person, finally! The top two floos are covered in gold leaf and it was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiimitsu.

Afterwards we dined at Izuju which prepares Kyoto style sushi; this establishment is about 100 years old and is located in Gion. Since it was very hard for people to transport fresh fish into Kyoto, they had to figure out a way to keep fish edible and “fresh” after it got into the city.

This is Hanami-koji Street at night where the restaurants, teahouses and geishas are. We never got to make it here in the daytime unfortunately so these are the only photos I got to take of the street.

While we were exploring Gion, we spotted a long line for a dessert spot called Gion Tsujiri. Since there was a wait, we figured this place must be good! The one thing about Japanese desserts is that I personally think they’re not as sweet as American desserts. We ended up getting some cookies on our way out too!