Hey Guys, I'm back: trip to Japan/Singapore Part 1 · 3:39am Jan 2nd, 2016
Hey everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and are looking forward to making 2016 a great year. I know I am. I just wanted to pop on to let you all know that I'm finally back from my trip over seas (well, I was back the Tuesday before Christmas, but I'm closer to my original sleeping schedule, so now I'm starting to return mentally as well lol). Japan was amazing. Seriously, I've never experienced anything like it, and honestly, it was everything I expected/wanted it to be. It was surprisingly warm, making the jacket I brought pointless, and other than a day or two when it rained, the weather was wonderful. And there was never a shortage of fun things to do.
Our first day in Japan was spent in Osaka. We stayed in a little (and I mean little) apartment in Nipponbashi, which we got to in the late afternoon/early evening. After dropping off our bags, we walked to Dotonbori, which is a huge entertainment/shopping district where tourists can go to pick up cute little souvenirs, eat at fancy restaurants, or any of the other interesting things Japanese nightlife has to offer. Honestly, it was a little terrifying, that first night. Not because of the huge crowds of people, but because every now and again we would turn down a side street to get to another area, and it would be full of people walking, or riding bicycles, making it look like a street for foot traffic, but then, you would hear a horn honking, and you'd have to jump out of the way because a car would be driving through. Other than that though, it was amazing. We checked out a few shops, and ate at a little cafe that served fancy waffles, and passed tons of host clubs (which, for those unfamiliar with host clubs, they're these places where women can go and spend a lot of money to have attractive guys spend time with them, and treat them special).
The next four days were spent in Kyoto. I loved Kyoto, mainly because it's so different from what I'm used to in the States. I mean, here you can't just walk around a city, and then come across a castle that has been standing for the past four hundred years. That's exactly what it was like for us; roughly a fifteen minute walk from out home in Kyoto (which was actually more like a modest Japanese house), there was Nijo Castle. That's where we spent our first day, just wandering around the castle, checking out the main meeting hall, and the various gardens, and we visited a little tea shop within to have a little snack.
Other things of interest that we did while in Kyoto was visit Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion), and Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion), two beautiful temples. The Golden Pavilion was one of my favorite things to see, with it's gold leaf reflecting in the water around it. It was also incredibly photogenic. Seriously, I looked through every picture that we took of the building and there wasn't a bad one in the bunch. I wish I could go into more detail about each of the historical sites that we visited, but I was (and remain to this day) unfamiliar with their histories, so I couldn't begin to describe them in a way that would do them justice. I'll post pictures to my DA account and share them with you all to make up for my lack of description.
One thing that I can talk about though is the Japanese cooking class that we took. I think it was on our second to last day in Kyoto that the four of us went to this man's house to learn how to cook proper Japanese food, or more specifically, Kobe beef. To be honest, before going to Japan, the only thing that I really knew about Kobe beef was that it was from Kobe, and it was very expensive. But then I learned that there is a huge process that goes into it, including everything from the lineage of the cow, the farmer, and how it is treated, which again is very specific, because Kobe cows need to be very relaxed. From what I remember (which means my brain could just be making it up to fill in the gaps of what I can't actually remember with something that sounds right to me) the farmers massage the cows, and try to keep them calm, so that they eat more, and blah blah blah, I honestly can't remember, but I'm sure you get the gist of what I'm trying to say. Our instructor even presented a certificate with the beef as proof that it was certified Kobe beef. Of course we made other foods, such as miso soup, stir fried vegetables, and a Japanese omelet (which was very cool, since you use a small rectangular pan, and pour in a little egg at a time, folding it in half before pouring in more). The food was incredible, and it was such a fun experience. I only wish that I was a good enough cook so that I could have applied what I'd learned back home.
The only other thing that we did in Kyoto that is worth mentioning is that we went to ate at a dinner theater. The best way I could describe it was that it was sort of like the Medieval Times back in the states, where they bring you food, and watch a show. In this case, it was a ninja show. At the beginning, the performers all came out and introduced themselves, and performed a different "ninja skill," which honestly were more like acts in a small circus (acrobatics, simple swords skills, etc), but they were all good showmen, so it was a lot of fun. The best part was after the introductions, when they put on their show. It was a little hard to follow, but the action was good. And then every one at our table broke down laughing (quietly of course); during the fight at the end between the hero and the villain, they both powered up, and instead of using swords like they had been, they instead use...lightsabers. I'm not talking about some kind of cheap knock off; I mean they were using the Luke and Darth Vader Force FX lightsabers. It was hilarious.
Oh, and my sister's coworker bought a cooking knife from a place called Shigeharu, which is one of the oldest knife businesses in Kyoto (it was founded in the early 1300s). He even got it engraved, which I thought would take a few hours, and probably need a special machine, but I was pleasantly surprised when the knife maker brought it over to a little work bench, picked up some ancient looking tools, and proceeded to engrave it by hand right in front of us. That was very cool. Of course, it was a bit of a risky decision, since he lives in Singapore, and they apparently have a strict policy when it comes to bringing in blades from other countries. But that's a story for part 2.
Anyway, I think that's all I'm going to talk about in this post. I'm going to save my time back in Osaka, and in Singapore for another time. On a side note, I would like to take a second to apologize to everyone; in terms of productivity, this last year was my worst, with only one chapter of The Marvelous Misadventures of Shining Armor and the CMC completed. While I am sorry to you, my readers, I am also sorry to myself; when I started out, I had set goals for myself, and it pains me when I look back and see they fell apart, partly because I found myself busy with things, but then there was the inexcusable lazy streak. I would like to let you all know that I'm putting my foot down: My New Years resolution is to finally finish The Marvelous Misadventures of Shining Armor and the CMC. It shouldn't be too hard; after all, I probably have just one chapter after the one I'm working left. Whoa, now that is both a relief, and terrifying to think about. So yeah, that's that. I'll see you all tomorrow with part 2 of my trip over seas (maybe with a link to pictures). Have a good night ya'll.
*boops* Glad you had fun on your trip!