07-06-2010, 05:10 PM
okay, another one of my write ups from the jp trip(not that you guys are interested anymore lol) i'll just consider this to be at least a journal.
April 3, 2010
Rendezvousing with Cabs, Sakura Party, and Nijo Castle
Again, as usual, I woke up early for the usual get-ready-ASAP-and-get-jake-his-effin-food-routine. Our Schedule for the day was a bit simpler compared to the previous days where they were really hectic, sa we only had to go to Shimogamo Shrine before heading over to the Sakura Season Celebration event sponsored by a particular Organization called Kamogawa-Kai, which is obviously based in Kyoto.
So after going out in the cold to get jake's grub, I got back and told the dude to hurry since we are also supposed to meet up with Cabs on the train station at a particular time. We got ready, met up with Hyejin as usual and started to walk towards the station which was a few blocks away. I also had to take note that my foot at this point was pretty bad as I could just barely walk on it. It was fortunate however, that we barely had to do any walking for that day as we are just staying in a house for most of it.
All I can say is that the weather was fantastic during that time. It was sunny, yes, still colder than what I'm used to, but all worth it as the walk along the Kamogawa river was splendid. Upon meeting up with Cabs, we decided to go to Shimogamo Shrine, which was located a few blocks away from the station. Although there really wasn't anything particularly specific to point out, the walk was okay, as we were more relaxed than usual because of the more loose nature of the sched, and that the atmosphere on the way to the place was pretty much suited for the mood.
Frankly we really didn't do much in Shimogamo. The place was, as usual really pretty and historic though, and at least we were able to get a glimpse of a couple doing some wedding ceremony. I however had the opportunity to have a picture with a miko there, but was rejected as they were forbidden do be taken a picture of-let alone with a gaijin. Too bad, as I really practiced the line hyejin taught me if I wanted to take a picture with someone in Japan. After taking a bunch of photos and stuff from my machine gun of a camera (how jake described me and how I shoot), we then left Shimogamo and started looking for the venue of the Sakura party. At this point, it really started to get cold, and it didn't really help us at all that the venue was located near the kamogawa river, in which it was significantly colder than the other areas due to the body of water. We did, however tried to walk along the riverside to take some pictures, only to leave shortly after because of the sheer cold that started to really go through our clothing. At one point, I suggested that we hang out in whatever convenience store we come across, so we initially ended up in the convenience shop of a gas station, where I got a can of hot coffee, then we back tracked and finally ended up in a lawson's shop where jake and the others had some snacks before going back to look for the place.
Upon finally getting a hold of where the place was, we got in and got ourselves comfortable in the house. It was a typical Japanese Style home, wood everywhere while tatami mats graced the individual room floors. The event started off with attendance check, followed by a brief introduction of the Kamogawa-kai members, then a message from the owner of the house. WE then proceeded to watch a number of plays, in which the highlight of the event was Rakugo, a kind of imaginary comedy play in which the actors portray characters without any props. I at first was pretty skeptical(As I usuall am) about the whole thing, but ended up nodding my head in agreement and laughing my ass off of the jokes the actors did. After much laughing and stuff, we had the other highlight of the day(for jake), dinner. After stuffing ourselves senseless, we just hung out and talked to random people, even getting to meet a filipina who was working for a local newspaper there-she had us take pictures with her too. I also had the pleasure of finally saying “kampai!” with japanese people, making this event another one of those “ i cant believe I'm actually in japan” moments.
After saying our goodbyes, hyejin decided to go back to her place to rest, as she told us she wasnt really feeling well. After seeing her off, we went back to our pad, firstly, to drop off cabs' stuff, rest, and to plan for the next place we will visit since it was still particularly early. We also decided to treat cabs' his one night stay in the guest house, just as a means of thanking him for making the whole Japan thing possible. We then decided to visit Nijo-Jo, or, Nijo Castle, as it closes pretty early at 8-something and that it was said to be really pretty at night as well.
After asking the owner of the guest house for directions, we then headed towards Nijo Castle, and once we arrived, we noticed this epicly long line that you only see in carnivals in the ph and in the lrt. Surprisingly, the line moved really fast, so we only had to wait a couple of minutes to get to the cashier and before we knew it, we were in.
All I can say is that Nijo Castle is at night is just stunning. Yes, it was dark, but the way they illuminated the sakura trees and the whole place was just astounding. In my opinion even an idiot who doesnt appreciate good lighting and presentation would still be amazed at this. On a side note, it was pretty hard to shoot pictures in particular, as it was really dark even with the lights-even jake had to really try to get good shots. I also have to stress that for the most part so far on this trip, It was only me who had been really complaining about the cold, and not jake or cabs-but at this one point in time on the trip, even CABS had to complain on the sheer cold that was there during our stay in Nijo. I was that fucking cold, that even me, with 4 layers of clothing, still felt cold to the bone. We started to walk faster, and we really wanted to go back to the guest house at is was really starting to get cold. On our way back though, we came across an area where there were “tiangges” and stuff, and much to jake's delight, he was able to find a Yatsu Hashi that wasn't in a box, but was just in a small, styro container that was significantly cheaper than the ones sold in boxes. After managing to spam Yatsu Hashis, we elected to ride a cab back to the pad(the driver was even more well dressed than all three of us combined). After getting back, we just settled down, had dinner(yep from family mart), chatted for a while, and finally, managed to get ktfo'ed on our beds.
Quotable stuff:
Hyejin: hey Jay, (referring to Cabs) do you miss the Philippines?
Cabs: ughhh.................................hmmm......sometimes?
April 3, 2010
Rendezvousing with Cabs, Sakura Party, and Nijo Castle
Again, as usual, I woke up early for the usual get-ready-ASAP-and-get-jake-his-effin-food-routine. Our Schedule for the day was a bit simpler compared to the previous days where they were really hectic, sa we only had to go to Shimogamo Shrine before heading over to the Sakura Season Celebration event sponsored by a particular Organization called Kamogawa-Kai, which is obviously based in Kyoto.
So after going out in the cold to get jake's grub, I got back and told the dude to hurry since we are also supposed to meet up with Cabs on the train station at a particular time. We got ready, met up with Hyejin as usual and started to walk towards the station which was a few blocks away. I also had to take note that my foot at this point was pretty bad as I could just barely walk on it. It was fortunate however, that we barely had to do any walking for that day as we are just staying in a house for most of it.
All I can say is that the weather was fantastic during that time. It was sunny, yes, still colder than what I'm used to, but all worth it as the walk along the Kamogawa river was splendid. Upon meeting up with Cabs, we decided to go to Shimogamo Shrine, which was located a few blocks away from the station. Although there really wasn't anything particularly specific to point out, the walk was okay, as we were more relaxed than usual because of the more loose nature of the sched, and that the atmosphere on the way to the place was pretty much suited for the mood.
Frankly we really didn't do much in Shimogamo. The place was, as usual really pretty and historic though, and at least we were able to get a glimpse of a couple doing some wedding ceremony. I however had the opportunity to have a picture with a miko there, but was rejected as they were forbidden do be taken a picture of-let alone with a gaijin. Too bad, as I really practiced the line hyejin taught me if I wanted to take a picture with someone in Japan. After taking a bunch of photos and stuff from my machine gun of a camera (how jake described me and how I shoot), we then left Shimogamo and started looking for the venue of the Sakura party. At this point, it really started to get cold, and it didn't really help us at all that the venue was located near the kamogawa river, in which it was significantly colder than the other areas due to the body of water. We did, however tried to walk along the riverside to take some pictures, only to leave shortly after because of the sheer cold that started to really go through our clothing. At one point, I suggested that we hang out in whatever convenience store we come across, so we initially ended up in the convenience shop of a gas station, where I got a can of hot coffee, then we back tracked and finally ended up in a lawson's shop where jake and the others had some snacks before going back to look for the place.
Upon finally getting a hold of where the place was, we got in and got ourselves comfortable in the house. It was a typical Japanese Style home, wood everywhere while tatami mats graced the individual room floors. The event started off with attendance check, followed by a brief introduction of the Kamogawa-kai members, then a message from the owner of the house. WE then proceeded to watch a number of plays, in which the highlight of the event was Rakugo, a kind of imaginary comedy play in which the actors portray characters without any props. I at first was pretty skeptical(As I usuall am) about the whole thing, but ended up nodding my head in agreement and laughing my ass off of the jokes the actors did. After much laughing and stuff, we had the other highlight of the day(for jake), dinner. After stuffing ourselves senseless, we just hung out and talked to random people, even getting to meet a filipina who was working for a local newspaper there-she had us take pictures with her too. I also had the pleasure of finally saying “kampai!” with japanese people, making this event another one of those “ i cant believe I'm actually in japan” moments.
After saying our goodbyes, hyejin decided to go back to her place to rest, as she told us she wasnt really feeling well. After seeing her off, we went back to our pad, firstly, to drop off cabs' stuff, rest, and to plan for the next place we will visit since it was still particularly early. We also decided to treat cabs' his one night stay in the guest house, just as a means of thanking him for making the whole Japan thing possible. We then decided to visit Nijo-Jo, or, Nijo Castle, as it closes pretty early at 8-something and that it was said to be really pretty at night as well.
After asking the owner of the guest house for directions, we then headed towards Nijo Castle, and once we arrived, we noticed this epicly long line that you only see in carnivals in the ph and in the lrt. Surprisingly, the line moved really fast, so we only had to wait a couple of minutes to get to the cashier and before we knew it, we were in.
All I can say is that Nijo Castle is at night is just stunning. Yes, it was dark, but the way they illuminated the sakura trees and the whole place was just astounding. In my opinion even an idiot who doesnt appreciate good lighting and presentation would still be amazed at this. On a side note, it was pretty hard to shoot pictures in particular, as it was really dark even with the lights-even jake had to really try to get good shots. I also have to stress that for the most part so far on this trip, It was only me who had been really complaining about the cold, and not jake or cabs-but at this one point in time on the trip, even CABS had to complain on the sheer cold that was there during our stay in Nijo. I was that fucking cold, that even me, with 4 layers of clothing, still felt cold to the bone. We started to walk faster, and we really wanted to go back to the guest house at is was really starting to get cold. On our way back though, we came across an area where there were “tiangges” and stuff, and much to jake's delight, he was able to find a Yatsu Hashi that wasn't in a box, but was just in a small, styro container that was significantly cheaper than the ones sold in boxes. After managing to spam Yatsu Hashis, we elected to ride a cab back to the pad(the driver was even more well dressed than all three of us combined). After getting back, we just settled down, had dinner(yep from family mart), chatted for a while, and finally, managed to get ktfo'ed on our beds.
Quotable stuff:
Hyejin: hey Jay, (referring to Cabs) do you miss the Philippines?
Cabs: ughhh.................................hmmm......sometimes?
