Bonodori

A Bonodori is a summer festival where a tradtional dance is performed by all those who wish to strut their stuff, most wearing yukata (light summer kimono). There are many during the summer so I went to go check out one near my place in Yotsuya Sanchome . All japanese summer festivals kind of have similar elements: yakisoba, yakitori, kakigoori, and lots of beer! I saw a few familiar faces from the festival in which I helped carry the omikoshi a few posts back. That was kinda cool and one of the guys that recognized me hooked me up with some yakitori and a beer, on the house which I thought was really nice of him.



Below is a some video of what the dance is like. Basically people do the dance while moving in a circle around a stage. Check out the Taiko drummer on the stage's top platform...pretty cool : )

Ise Jinguu

Ise Jinguu is regarded as the most holy shrine in all of Japan as it's considered the birthplace of Shinto. The shrines are taken apart and rebuilt every 20 years, thus promoting central Shintoist ideas such as impermanence and rebirth. There are actually two shrines, the Geku (outer shrine) and Naiku (inner shrine) which are separated by a great forest, about 20 min apart by bus . Both shrines are protected by a series of four gated walls, so no one can get any closer than the first gate. I started at the Geku (below) which is just a few minutes walk from Ise station.


The Geku (outer shrine) dates from the 5th century and honors Toyouke no Omikami, the god of human necessities like food, clothing and shelter. As I mentioned above, no one is allowed to go past or take photos inside the first gate (above far right). I didn't really mind so much, because just like at the Atsuta Jinja in Nagoya, the atmosphere in and around these shrines was, for me, the most special part. If you get there early in the morning before the crowds arrive, you can enjoy strolling and exploring in the cool, quiet, lush forest among the towering cedars. It can be quite a spiritual experience, I think. The Geku is a nice warm-up for the star attraction, the Naiku, and I headed there next.


The Naiku (inner shrine) is about 200 years older and is the formal home of Amaterasu no Omikami, the primary deity of the Shinto religion and the traditional ancestor of the Imperial family. Also it's significant since it houses one of the three sacred objects of the royal family, a mirror which has reportedly not been looked into for over a thousand years.

Naiku seems to get much more crowded than Geku so I would suggest avoiding weekends or holidays if you can. In the first part of the journey, you pass through the toori and cross a long cedar bridge, said to span the physical and spiritual worlds. From there you can see the beautiful Isuzu river that runs through the shrine environs.


Being such a oppressively hot day, it seemed irresistible to everyone (myself included) to take off the shoes and dangle their legs in the cool river water for a few minutes. A murmured "kimochi ii~" could be heard by those that ventured in. Even this little girl (with parents close by) curiously investigated the cause of everyone's grins : )


After leaving the wide, expansive views of the bridge and river area, the environment quickly changes back to the now-familiar dark, cool green forest. Here, there is also a bridge and the river finds its way to this point as well, but it's a totally different feeling. Mossy cedar-plank bridges, dewy leaves and glistening stone-steps form the approach to the main shrine (pic above, far right). No pics or entry inside here either, but I was fine to just soak in the forest's coolness on such a hot day. Very close by and just a few mintues walk is an lively, historic shopping area called Oharimachi.


Oharaimachi (and the more recent Okage yokocho) contrast the stillness and solemn feeling of the shrine area and a great way to recharge your batteries after some long walking most of the day. This edo-style shopping village has all the usual souvenir stuff you can find just about anywhere in Japan, but also some local specialty sweets and microbrews : ). I tried Maccha Kakigoori (green tea flavor shaved ice) for the first time while here (the pic above 2nd from left). It's pretty common summer treat like our water ice.

Another local specialty is akafuku which is anko (sweet red bean paste) with o-mochi (sweet glutenous rice) inside. It's a lot better than it sounds and it's veeeeery sweet, so eating while drinking some green tea (to add bitter taste) seems to balance well. Turns out they are best eaten after one day so if you bring them as omiyage (souvenirs), keep that in mind :P. Neat place to stroll around for a few hours and lots to eat and enjoy. Both shrines and the shopping area takes the better part of a day I think.

Well, overall great trip and really glad I went to visit. Starting the new contract from tomorrow, so I'm just glad to have been able to get a short summer trip in before getting busy. Alright, it's time to work! : /

Toba

There are 3 main areas to visit if you go to the Ise area: Ise, Toba, and Ise Shima. I planned to just visit Toba and Ise since there was plenty to see in both those spots in just 2 days. This entry will be about my time in Toba. The picture above is of the "meoto-iwa" or 'wedded rocks' as they are known as in the nearby town of Futami. Joined by a thick rope, they are said to represent the founding gods of Shinto, Izanagi and Izanami according to Japanese mythology.


Toba is mostly a bayfront resort-area, dotted with small, nearby islands in Toba bay. There are ferries that visit the islands throughout the day and are reachable within 20 to 50 minutes. Mostly they are fishing islands with some very remote parts, undisturbed nature, and unique festivals. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to visit any due to weather and time constraints, but maybe next time. In the picture above you can see one of the islands, Sugashima in the background and to the right is the Mikomoto Pearl Island where i did make a short visit.


Kokichi Mikomoto invented the cultured pearl process in the late 19th century and much of the fame of Toba comes from this heritage. On the island there is a museum showing the technique he invented, antique pearl jewelry, pearls for sale (of course) and even an all-pearl replica of the Liberty Bell that was created for the 1939 World's Fair in New York. I'm not so crazy about pearls, but it was interesting none the less to learn about it.

One cool thing they had was a show featuring "ama", who are women oyster divers. Before the cultured pearl process/pearl farming, the white-suited ama would dive and, just by holding their breath, search the floor of the bay for oysters and bring them to the surface. You can see an ama diver in the picture above, 2nd from the right. They can really hold their breath a long time, trust me! :P

I also visited another attraction which is close to Mikomoto, the Toba Aquarium. It was interesting and really huge with lots of displays. For me though, aquariums are like 'if you've seen one, you've seen them all', so I didn't spend loads of time there. Plus there were screaming kids everywhere so I had to get out of there :P. Good for a family trip, for sure and lots to see. Now, on to a more interesting attraction Toba has to offer...SEAFOOD! : ) : ) : )


Toba is really a small town and like most resort areas, the local people take life easy and more slowly, especially compared to a hectic-paced, open 24-hour place like Tokyo. That means restaurants closed early (like 7 or 8) and I had a lot of ground to cover, so no time to waste! With the help of a map (and some recommendations by the hotel staff), I thought it might be fun to do a little 'tabearuki', or walking around and just sampling a few things from each place. Basically the thing to get in Toba is grilled shellfish. The area's most famous dishes are Ise-ebi (spiny lobster), awabi (abalone), and tekonezushi (vinegar soaked rice with katsuo sashimi and nori).

As you can see by the picture above, I hit a few spots and went for their recommended seafood platter with a cold beer (or two). For the freshness and quantity of shellfish you receive, the price is absurdly low. I couldn't let such a bargain go to waste, so let's just say it was a good night for the restaurant/bar owners on that street...lol.

In the pic above on the far left is a tiny bar called Kyubei , where I spent a few enjoyable hours and was typical of most of the places I visited that night. The owner/chef and his wife really welcomed me, as well as the local regulars, and were very curious to know about gaijin visitors to their small town, let alone Japan (see pic below). Although no one spoke any English, I got by OK with my Japanese and we had some nice conversations and warm exchanges over cold beers and shared food. Incredibly, I had similar experiences in almost every place I went. That kind of small town friendliness, you just don't find in big cities and it was a nice change.


Also my stay the Toba International Hotel was just great. Fantastic service, friendly and helpful staff, food, great views ... 4 stars all across the board, so I highly recommend it for anyone who makes a trip to this region.

Up next: Ise Shrine

Nagoya

Just back from a short, but very memorable trip to Nagoya and Ise. Perhaps I'll split into 2 posts, with this one being about Nagoya since there are many pics and things I'd like to cover : )

The capital of Aichi Prefecture and located in the heart of Central Japan, Nagoya is one of the Japan’s key industrial zones, especially for automobile manufacturing. Nagoya is not really a 'superstar' in terms of sightseeing destinations and seems to get passed over in favor of the standards like Kyoto, Tokyo, etc. But since it's on the way to Ise (which was my main destination), I decided to see what Nagoya had to offer and do some exploring. Despite the lukewarm press, it's quite an interesting city with lots of history and some cool things to see. One day should be enough to cover all the best parts, though.

I arrived on the first day via Tokaido Shinkansen's Kodama train which only takes about 2.5 hours from Tokyo. It's always fun for me to ride those trains. Feels like being on a plane, but on the ground. First stop upon arrival was the famous Nagoya Castle.


Built in 16th century (but destroyed in WWII and later rebuilt in 1959),It's one of Japan's most impressive castles and home to many rare artifacts and paintings. Although it was a super hot and muggy day (Nagoya is also famous for hot/humid summers), I wandered the expansive grounds, many floors, and eventually to the top of the castle for a nice view of the city. There are many cool exhibits about how the castle was built, samurai swords and battle equip, rare fusuma-e (paintings on sliding doors), and even a 3D movie (with glasses) about the castle's history and future plans. There are plans to rebuild some of the more important still-missing structures. The twin 88 kg gold 'shachi' adorning the roof have become the symbol of the city. There is also a Noh theatre located in the front court. I would say that is you only had time to see one place in Nagoya, this is probably the place to go.


The city itself has some interesting buildings and plazas. There is Hisaya-oodori Park (a main park-like thoroughfare through the center part of the city) which is full of trees and fountains, as well as the TV Tower offering city views. The Sakae district is the urban hub of the city and home to Oasis21 which is kind of like a huge shopping, park, and entertainment complex. Around there you can find all the big name shopping stores and things like that. Needing a break from the sensory-overload and advertising, I was off to visit more serene surroundings - Atsuta Jinja.


Atsuta Shrine is one of Japan's most sacred, housing one of the three imperial regalia of the emperor (the Kusanagi Sword). It was founded in the 2nd century and rebuilt in 1935 and hosts some 70 festivals ever year. What I liked best about it were the structures seemed to be in perfect harmony with the grounds/forest - as if they were always there. Being in these kinds of very old forests and wandering the trails, discovering ancient structures/shrines - its incredibly peaceful. I really enjoyed visiting this one and it was by far, my favorite place in Nagoya.

Well, what kind of post would this be without any talk of food. As most of you surely know by now, food is one of my raison d'etre for being in Japan. The dishes Nagoya is most famous for seem to be misokatsu (miso sause on pork cutlets), tenmusu (shrimp tempura rolled up in a seaweed and rice package), and kishimen (flat broad noodles) flavored in miso or soy sauce broth.


I went to try misokatsu at the most famous chain of its type in Japan, Yabaton. I like pork cutlet so this is the same but with miso flavor. There was really long line as this is best place in Nagoya to get it. It was really really good and i ate much more than I should have but what the hey, on vacation and all that : /. To note, the poster above where the pig (the mascot) is demonstrating the benefits of eating misokatsu, is heavy with "Nagoya-ben" or the local dialect. For example, in the first panel he says "dera uma" which is that region's way to say 'very delicious' but in Tokyo, they would say "chou oishii" or "chou umai". Just a little linguistic tidbit there.

There are other interesting-looking places like Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Higashiyama Park/Zoo, and the Noritake Porcelain Factory, but i only had a day so I focused on just the one's that seemed most interesting to me. If you are in Japan for a while or stopping on the way somewhere, its really a nice day's excursion.

Coming soon Part 2: Ise and Toba

Short trip and new contract

I'm off to Ise for a few days to do some sightseeing and picture taking before starting a new contract in the middle of this month. Ise is in Mie prefecture and home to the most important shrine in Japan - Ise Jinguu. Also much fresh seafood, bays and the Pacific ocean on the south part. Looking forward to riding Shinkansen again (only 3rd time). It's gonna be HOT though...things are steaming up over here already. Will post some pics and notes when I get back.

The new contract is with a German company just starting up in Japan and I will be doing CG car lighting and rendering. Just finished a sample that I had been working on (seemingly forever) to try to get the feel for this kind of thing. It's a real learning curve, but hopefully they can teach me some cool tricks. This is what I came up with so far. Note that I didn't do any modeling (its from CAD), just materials, lighting, render and composite. Does it look like a real car? i dunno... anyway, back online soon!