A Sad Place

Have you ever, accidentally (or not), stumbled or stepped into some places, a place with a kind of peculiar quality, a place that looks so quiet, still, and lonely, that makes you feel that time, perhaps, doesn't exist at all in this kind of place? A place so pronounced that its atmosphere lays heavy in the air, despite its quietness?

I have seen that place.

This place is a road that runs parallel alongside a wide river, the riverbank dotted with small, crooked trees and the streams clogged with mud. Sometimes floorboards, plastic bags, and other kinds of litters gather in the corner, they're just kinda stuck there.

Old, abandoned factory-like buildings line the other side of the road, opposite of the river. While some buildings are not entirely abandoned and are still functional, their gates are never (or rarely) open or they just don't have gates at all, because the buildings' yards are separated by high gray concrete walls.

This road is actually like a back road that runs behind the back side of the buildings. Their fronts face the main thoroughfares, which are on the other side.

There are cars still occasionally taking this road; but even that doesn't diminish the fact that this place, somehow, oozes something that makes the notion of time seem foreign.  

When I was little, my dad often took this road as he drove us to a nearby mall to visit a bookstore and buy me books. But I don't have any specific history with this place; I don't have any sad memories here. It was just a road we used to take, and I didn't even think too much of it back then.

So it kinda strange, how it makes me sad now, the wholeness of it. The monotonous gray color of the old buildings, the way things are carelessly stacked, the fluttering dead leaves that dust the side of the road. And the river itself.

Now that I think about it carefully, this place doesn't really change much. Even back then, the road was so quiet, always almost deserted, the walls of the buildings were cracked and yellowing and the sidewalk pavement was already full of wild grasses and rough gravels.

Have you ever encountered a place that makes you abruptly sad?

Regardless of the Answers

So... I'm currently reading "I'll be Right There" by Shin Kyung Sook (which I so dearly love, very very much), and I came across this one sentence in the book the other day:

"You should only ask someone if they love you if you love them, regardless of what their answers might be."

(Jung Yoon, p. 60)

I dogeared this page. 

Well, I've dogeared a lot of pages in the book anyway, with so many highlights here and there (that's how I treat a book I love, by making them appear so well-loved). I even copied 2 passages from the book and pasted them in my thick notebook. 

But reading the one sentence above again and again, there's something in it that strikes a chord with me. It makes me remember someone - someone I once liked, really really liked but now no longer (it's been years, he has his own life but nonetheless I somewhat still occasionally remember him, and how we were once). Well, he never knew about my feelings back then. I kept it hidden, unsaid, though doubtlessly somewhat both of us actually knew. I wasn't sure about his feelings though, but I had my own suspicion. 

If I were to be given a chance to meet him again, should I say to him that I'd once liked him very much? Regardless of what his answers would be? Could I do that? 

Now that I think of it, if the moment was right, I think I would. And could. Just for the sake of saying what once I held so dearly, that it had once been real to me. Even though it's late. 

Right?

Disappointed.

When it's not only one person who makes me disappointed but two... three perhaps, until it just seems to me that everyone in my life decided to conspire against me to make me feel immensely miserable... would it be so wrong of me then if I started to ask myself pathetic questions... whether I'm just that weak, so quick to succumbing myself to sadness? 

Whether I'm not that valuable, that people just disregard me and my thoughts easily? 

Whether I'm just selfish for having set a bar of expectations or wishes, although I only keep them within myself, unsaid? 

Or is it precisely because I don't show my feelings openly and honestly, and only resort to joking about it that it eventually sends the wrong signal to people? 

Or is it because I'm just too sensitive, too quick to judge people when they themselves actually do not have any intention to disappoint me? 

Poetry in Pictures?

I really love Instagram, you see, and the no. 1 reason would be because of the lovely feeds that I get to see from users all over the world. The feeds I'll always enjoy looking are those of food and travel (mainstream enough?) and illustration and architecture!

Seeing the streams of beautiful pictures everyday, I came to realize one thing I didn't know before.

The Earth is naturally studded with a lot of interesting, beautiful gem-like places (of course that's common knowledge). While Grand Canyon or the range of the Apls or the stretch of glaciers that you can spot in Greenland are truly unbeatable sights that would make you breathless as you wish you could be there, in the real location, and be the one taking pictures of the majestic wonder yourself (because they are sublime, like Alain de Botton also mentioned in his book "The Art of Travel") (which of course, would also make stunning photographs), I think I find my preference in looking at a photo that has a composition of civilization in it. 

Civilization, or the remnants of civilization, in the same picture with nature - no matter how small, how insignificant it would look like against the greatness, wholeness of nature itself.

One example, something like the ruins of Machu Picchu. Yes, all that's left in this place may be only skeletons of stone walls, built high on and around mountain peaks. But still, humans used to live in this place; they existed. The legacy of their age and cultures, though, are forever imprinted against the jaw-dropping backdrop of nature, a beauty that seems so ethereal.

Or the villages in Cinque Terre, Italy, where the houses were built against the terraced cliff on a steep landscape. The coastal towns overlook the Mediterranean sea, the walls and roofs of its houses are constantly beaten by the sun and weather and wind; and there's even a potential danger of landslide. But still, the overall picture of it is that, humans strive to survive in order to live in this world, alongside with nature.

There's poetry in such pictures, don't you think so?

At least, that's what I think.

Random Shot Series #1

The Day I Almost Reached My Breaking Point

I was crying this morning during the ride to work. I cried because of all different reasons, because of the exhaustion, the helplessness I (still) have every time I'm made - forced - to face the frustrating situations in my family, and then work, and then my dreams, what I want in this life, my future, what I'm expected to do and what I have, need to do, what I'm lacking and what I don't have in me, what I can't do and all the inhibitions and limitations that fence me in.

Suddenly I just cried. The tears held, they didn't fall for the first good 3 to 5 minutes or so. But in the end, they fell. One stream, two. But that was it.

But it was enough.

Strange.

Because I was so fed up at that time, suffocating almost to the point of breaking. For a miserable moment, I felt so incompetent and weak, all hopes crushed down that I felt numb and dumb and forlorn. I became so small; the hurt then doubled or quadrupled because I also felt so unimportant. I was nothing. Someone unremarkable and forgettable.

My thoughts made my own self secluded.

Then it turned into a self-pitying session.

Scary how feelings could become so alive; a breathing, living thing, an unimaginable creature that will drag you under and tear you apart without any mercy.

But stranger more is that, those dark feelings, only this morning so pronounced and profound, have now become something so distant and far away. Leaving a trace, indeed, but so little, barely recognizable. Now that I think about it, perhaps it was because I was crying during the ride, with passing, all changing scenery in front of me. And then behind me. The clouds, the sun was up overhead. It was all moving. People briskly walked to work, cars and public transportation and trucks and motorcycles and bicycles crowded the streets. People picking up their kids from school. Public workers fixing the electricity poles. Vegetable and fruit suppliers dropping goods to a certain seller in the traditional market. The usual, familiar sight, it's what you call daily life.

The ordinariness of it, perhaps, was what had calmed me down a little. Was it in fact a distraction? I don't know what it was exactly, but it made me come to terms with myself faster than I'd imagined I would. One thing I know for sure, it would've turned out differently if I'd cried in a confined room, surrounded by still, unchanging furniture. It would've turned out messy.

And besides, I saw a Greenfields Milk truck passing beside me. The picture of milk, rolling green fields and its tagline "100% Honest Milk: Our Cows Don't Lie" painted on its body made me smile. Well, it was the tagline that made me smile, actually. Really. First smile of the day.

And later, the sadness didn't stay. I may be thinking about it again later when I'm about to sleep at night. But at least, now, I'm feeling fine. Not light, not really free of weights, but just adequately fine.

But that is enough.

The Way We See Things Makes a Difference

Guess you really can't stop yourself to envy others, huh. No matter how nonchalant you make yourself to be, no matter how unconcerned you try to look in front of other people. Despite of all the efforts, you really can't fool your own heart, let alone suppress the bitterness of it.

You envy those who get better opportunities, or even opportunities that you wouldn't dream of having in the first place. Your friend gets married early, right after college graduation, with a Korean guy and they seem to lead a content life in Korea. Or another who already expects her second baby. And another who frequently travels overseas just because she has money. Your ex who's now in a relationship with a beautiful girl (prettier than you are) and that they might already talk about taking their relationship into something more serious. Engagement? Marriage? This friend who has settled down in one of the most expensive cities in the world and now has a job there. That friend who pursues education to America and seems to have fun most of the times (at least from the pictures on Facebook). Or your female cousin who is a popular brainy, excelled in drawing and playing guitar and singing and not to mention, has a combination of model-like figure because she's fond of swimming with a beautiful face. Or that cousin who has a successful career history and is still in the process of making it even more glimmering.

Suddenly you feel so stressed out, so frightened, insecure of your own future, you start having doubts all over and all these mounting doubts make you feel so little, so discouraged.

Well, now I'll be honest:
1. The above examples are actually based on real people... in my circle of friends.
2. Which is why... I have had these moments before. Feeling discouraged and all, stupidly comparing myself with others.

But it'll be never ending, you see, if you keep your eyes on them. On other people. No one didn't really tell me how I handle and manage these feelings; I guess I just figured out by my own at that time, that:
1. I can be awesome too!
2. If you have that so much time to feel envious of other people, why don't you use that time instead to look into yourself?
3. Because well, it IS your OWN life. Care about yours more! I think it is definitely alright to have a certain degree of egocentrism in us.

How we see things, will make a difference.

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

Title: Invinsible Cities
Author: Italo Calvino, with translator William Weaver
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Book description (taken from the back of my own copy):
In a garden sit the aged Kublai Khan and the young Marco Polo - Tartar emperor and Venetian traveler. Kublai Khan has sensed the end of his empire coming soon. Marco Polo diverts the emperor with tales of the cities he has seen in his travels around the empire: Cities and memory, cities and desire, cities and designs, cities and the dead, cities and the sky, trading cities, hidden cities. Soon it becomes clear that each of these fantastic places is really the same place.

“Of all tasks, describing the contents of a book is the most difficult and in the case of a marvelous invention like Invisible Cities, perfectly irrelevant” (Gore Vidal, New York Review of Books)

* * *

This book. How I wish I hadn't had finished it, because now it has come to an end and there will be no more. (Of course I could reread it again).

I'm forever grateful that I have discovered this gem. That I have read this book. I wish I could tell you - I wish I could describe it, and I wish I could elaborate what is it that has made me so warm when I read it passage by passage, when I was made stunned by the lyrical language that makes up the entire prose, a tale after a tale, each is so delicious and like no other that I wish I could read it as slowly as I could, in a vain attempt to make it everlasting.

Hidden messages. A portrayal of a city and its people, their happiness, sadness, foolishness, as well as grief, behaviors, desires, principles, pasts, memories, virtues, beliefs. A human being. A society. A community. A civilization. All are woven beautifully, almost like a drug, sedating and addictive, under the beautiful narration of Marco Polo the Italian merchant traveller, whose eyes have rejoiced in feast of the sight of the world and its cities. It is a fiction, not a biographical account indeed; yet the imaginary conversation between Marco Polo and the conqueror Kublai Khan could in fact turn out as real as it could be, regardless of everything.

During my childhood to adolescent years, I was the kind of girl who found simple happiness in conjuring up imaginary cities with its own traits and cultures and buildings, with a mix of fantasy: A quaint, charming little town in the riverside with potted flowers and wind chimes everywhere - and if someone took a stroll around the town square he could hear diverse chiming notes of melody in the air. Then I also imagined a village deep in the pine woods where the villagers - each family - lived inside a round, big tree trunk so wide in diameter (so their houses were actually built inside a tree) and each room was so thick with pine and earth and wilderness scents. There was also a city which spires and buildings and towers and walls were made of crystals that gleamed like pearls in the dusk, each shone in a different shade of color - brightened, glowed at a certain interval of time, like a pulse.

Perhaps it was because I played a lot of of RPG games. Most of them, usually, require you (the character) to travel in a quest from one village to the next, from one small town in a valley to a harbor town, from one big city on a rolling plateau to another big city in the middle of dessert. Even to the end of the world. I was so fascinated by these virtual villages/towns/cities that I could only see from the screen, and you won't believe me how the current me can easily reconstruct the very images of my favorite cities in games I played in the past so vividly.

(For example, Lindblum. And each of its district)

or Ritardando from Eternal Sonata

Which is one of the very basic reasons why I felt strongly compelled to pick up this book.

Marco Polo would tell you of a vibrant city with a multitude network of turquoise, sparkling canals and beautiful hanging bridges and balustrades. He would tell you of a city that builds an underground city just beneath the surface - which is occupied by the dead people of the city. He would also speak to you of a city that is built based on the blueprint of stars in the night sky and glimmering constellations.

Fret not, he won't tell you about that city's population or its statistics. He won't speak of its criminal rate.

Only that - as I've mentioned earlier - behind the images and its prosaic language, hidden messages and secrets are lurking, embossed with a thoughtful philosophy. An underlying conclusion. The visceral, inlaid meaning behind the obscured veil that, if you seek it out, it will be an unforgettable experience that is so personal and its effect is kind of long-lasting.

It's what beyond the surface. Which means, there's an element of illusory, contradictory, ambiguity, concealment, analogy, resemblance, surprise...  but then again, each of them makes up for what you call reality, without any exclusion. Because they are part of reality. They are part of civilization. They are part of life.

I'm sorry if it is confusing, but I guess you should read it yourself.

But I'll give some example, taken from a number of passages of the book:

"When a man rides a long time through wild regions he feels the desire for a city. Finally he comes to Isidora, a city where the buildings have spiral staircases encrusted with spiral seashells, where perfect telescopes and violins are made, where the foreigner hesitating between two women always encounters a third, where cockfights degenerate into bloody brawls among the bettors. He was thinking of all these things when he desired a city. Isidora, therefore, is the city of his dreams: with one difference. The dreamed-of city contained him as a young man; he arrives at Isidora in his old age. In the square there is the wall where the old men sit and watch the young go by; he is seated in a row with them. Desires are already memories.” 
***

"The city appears to you as a while where no desire is lost and of which you are a part, and since it enjoys everything you do not enjoy, you can do nothing but inhabit this desire and be content. Such is the power, sometimes called malignant, sometimes benign, that Anastasia, the treacherous city, possesses; if for eight hours a day you work as a cutter of agate, onyx, chrysoprase, your labor which gives form to desire takes from desire its form, and you believe you are enjoying Anastasia wholly when you are only its slave."  
***

"In the center of Fedora, that gray stone metropolis, stands a metal building with a crystal globe in every room. Looking into each globe, you see a blue city, the model of a different Fedora. These are the forms the city could have taken if, for one reason or another, it had not become what we see today...

On the map of your empire, O Great Khan, there must be room both for the big, stone Fedora and the little Fedoras in glass globes. Not because they are equally real, but because all are only assumptions. The one contains what is accepted as necessary when it is not yet so; the others, what is imagined as possible and, a moment later, is possible no longer."
***

"With cities, it is as with dreams: everything imaginable can be dreamed, but even the most unexpected dream is a rebus that conceals a desire or, its reverse, a fear. Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else."
***

“A description of Zaira as it is today should contain all Zaira’s past. The city, however, does not tell its past, but contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, the gratings of the windows, the banisters of the steps, the antennae of the lightning rods, the poles of the flags, every segment marked in turn with scratches, indentations, scrolls.” 
***

"You take delight not in a city's seven or seventy wonders, but in the answer it gives to a question of yours."
***

"Elsewhere is a negative mirror. The traveler recognizes the little that is his, discovering the much he has not had and will never have." 
***

"Also in Raissa, city of sadness, there runs an invincible thread that binds one living being to another for a moment, then unravels, then is stretched again between moving points as it draws new and rapid patterns so that at every second the unhappy city contains a happy city unaware of its own existence."

* * *

Again, I'm so grateful for having found this book. I never heard of Mr. Italo Calvino before, and I never heard people talk about him and his excellent works. At least most people, readers or bloggers, when talk about classics, would notably mention, for example, Austen, The Bronte sisters, Tolstoy, Thomas Hardy, Dante Alighieri, Machiavelli, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Woolf, Proust, or Hemingway. I don't know why or how, I never encountered the name "Italo Calvino" before.

But I guess, it was only me. Because I hadn't specifically looked for a book that belongs to Italian Literature. Nonetheless, I encountered Mr. Calvino's name through a blogger who remembered that she'd read this book with pure thrill - something along the line - she described it, so shortly, in such a way that made me curious enough to look for it on Goodreads.

My own thoughts, my own attempts to describe this book are probably, in the end, insufficient, unclear and incoherent. Or perhaps they lack of quality and do not even do justice. Or perhaps, too exaggerating. Having said that, I admit I'm still uncertain myself, as I'm not confident enough to define it.

It's just that, I feel deeply moved by this book.

And you see, there are various talented artists out there who have attempted to depict Calvino's Invisible Cities:

Awesome artworks of Invisible Cities, by David Fleck

Invisible Cities by Beatrice Coron

by Kimberly Igno

Thekla City by Janice

Olinda City by Shu Okada

Valdrada City by Shu Okada

Invinsible Cities by Lisel Jane Ashlock

Ersilia City by Tesseract

They are awesome, aren't they?

Pictures of My Recent Adventure in Japan (Spring 2014)

I didn't upload all photos since there are THOUSANDS of them (believe me, I didn't know I'd taken so many!) and besides, it really took a lot of time to edit them >.< 

Still, I hope to take more and more pictures later in my next trip; which, if circumstances allow, probably in Autumn next year (hopefully) (with my office mate + bookish friend Zelie!) (actually Zelie and ++. There might be more participants to join!)

As promised, here are some pictures of my recent trip to Japan, aka "a dream journey came true" and "a childhood wish fulfilled". 

DAY 1

Arrived at Narita in mid-noon. We took NEX train to Ikebukuro and checked in our hotel there. Here's a glimpse of the quiet neighborhood surrounding our hotel.

Nice neighborhood.

Still, when you get out of the quiet alleys and step into the main street, you will find yourself in a bustling city within city - with shops, department stores, restaurants...

Don't worry. You won't find Celty Sturluson the headless "The Blackrider" here. Nor Izaya-kun. Nor Shizuo Heiwajima.

(for those who are clueless, I'm referring to one of my fave animes of all time, "Durarara!!!")

Each city in Japan has a different manhole cover picture - I've only managed to snap 5 or 6 different manhole covers and my personal favorite is Tokyo's manhole cover: Sakura!

Anyway, we didn't waste time and went out as soon as we'd checked in... to Shibuya! The crowd wasn't that overwhelming to me, but still it was a wonder sight. I wish I could have stayed longer - hang out til late at night, just people-watching. There were so many people in front of Shibuya Station - it was like a large waiting room in which people gathered to wait and meet dates/colleagues/friends, for their appointments.     

For dinner, we went into a small ramen shop, located beneath a rail track. I ordered one with soyu soup >.< It was tasty and slurping the thick & rich broth felt really nice after embracing friggin cold of early Spring outside.  

Next: Harajuku. And Takeshita Dori. It was that time Bump of Chicken just released a new single featuring Hatsune Miku. 

DAY 2

Akihabara. It was a nice, beautiful Sunday, 9 a.m. to be exact. Some people waited for AKB48 shop to open. There's a Gundam Cafe next to it, still not yet open, but there was a notice written on a piece of paper that all seats were full booked on that day hence accepted no reservation. 

Yanaka! This is where I first saw a Japanese graveyard - which I'd only seen in doramas XD. And you see picture of the bento below? I bought it in Akihabara for only 250 yen! Cheap but tasty & fulfilling! 

I love Japanese transportation. It's one thing that I really miss from Japan. Besides, the JR train Yamanote line has Sakai Masato ads >.<

It was Sunday and Ueno Park was really, really, really crowded by families! 

And Nakamise Dori in Asakusa was filled by domestic & foreign tourists.

While Tokyo Sky Tree was filled with lovers!! They were in the queue lines. Filling up the space inside the lift. Crowding the observation deck. I was with my friends but I felt soo incredibly alone. Hmph. Luckily the breathtaking sight of Tokyo under the night sky managed to console me. 

DAY 3

Off to Disneyland! The last highway bus to Disneyland would depart at 9.50 a.m., and we went out of Shinjuku Station West Exit's ticket gate at 9. 40 a.m. We noticed on the map that the highway bus station was quite far from West Exit - and INDEED it was FAR. We started running but then turned panic and frantic, because after running for quite a while, we didn't see any signboard or direction to the bus station on the way! 

"If we ran to the wrong direction, we could never make it" - we thought. In the midst of our panic (and huffed breaths), we noticed there was a couple of high school students - boy and girl - they were also running, still with their uniform on. 

So we stopped them like a police demanding inspection.

Hm. *nods*

So we asked where the highway bus station was, and they said, "Follow us!"

So we were running together!

When we finally bought our tickets and got on the bus, we could finally breath. And took a selca.

And arrived at the magical Disneyland after 1 hour bus ride! We bought 2-day pass ticket for (if I'm not mistaken) 10,500 yen. 

So we enjoy ourselves in Disneyland!

DAY 4

DisneySea >.<

The wind was blowing like crazy today - the sky was blue and then overcast at the next moment. Luckily the rain held. I soooo enjoyed my time in DisneySea, and wish to go here again! DisneySea is wayyyy more beautiful, breathtaking, challenging at the same time with its extreme rides, really - it was like stepping into a fantasy world.

I should've taken pictures of Agrabah and Mermaid Lagoon *regretful* but really, I didn't even remember to turn on my camera and snap pictures! Hopping from one point to another, surrounded by a lot of people and awesome scenery... please don't blame me. 

DisneySea is just too beautiful.

DAY 5

We went to Tsukiji Fish Market and- well, we were surprised because the policemen here could speak English! I mean, they were not that young - probably about 40-years-old or older - but they could easily comprehend our questions and guided us smoothly. Nice! This place is tourist-friendly, like Asakusa XD

Odaiba, the artificial island next to Tokyo Bay. We got on a ferris wheel near ZEPP Tokyo! And I was excited when I saw ZEPP Tokyo by the way - this is where TVXQ once held their concert >.<

UVERworld also held their concert here last year *arrghh*. 

Well.. at least I know now where and which train line to take if they ever hold a concert again in ZEPP DiverCity.

The life-size Gundam was triple awesome, I tell you. I wish Freedom Gundam could be made into a life-size statue as well... must be triple cool, I bet.

You can also find life-size Sanji from One Piece in Baratie restaurant! It is located on Fuji TV building level 7 - still within walking distance from DiverCity. I saw a huge poster of Haruma Miura on one of the building walls on my way up to Baratie, making me fervently wish I could meet Miura for real. 

Which of course, I didn't.

DAY 6

Ghibli Museum.

Ah... the interior and everything in this museum was really cool. Especially Miyazaki's replica studio!! His research notes and journals, albums, drawings, photographs, book shelves, a messy desk filled with cluttering art supplies and stationary... there was also a diorama box, and a shelf full of paints of all color - each labeled with the name of the color. Colored paintings and sketches of certain scenes from his animes decorated the walls... 

Like, really. This particular room blew me away. 

I really wanted to stay for hours, just sitting on the floor and taking the whole room and its collection in. 

It was such a shame photographs are not allowed in the interior of the museum :(

To make up for it, I bought some stuff at the museum's store, Mamma Aiuto! Cost me thousands of yen... but... oh well.  >.<

And we met up with Risa! It had been a while since she last visited Indonesia, but her Indonesian was still excellent! We had lunch at Yoshinoya not far from Doutor Coffee - Risa's the manager of Doutor Coffee, Mitaka branch by the way - and she helped us navigate the menu and place our order. 

All of us went snack shopping 1 station away from Mitaka Station (I forgot the name) and then back to Tokyo Station. We went to downtown Tokyo and the imperial palace. And upon my request... Risa took us to a kaiten sushi restaurant for dinner!! 

The atmosphere was so lively, with the staff practically always shouted at each other - greeting customers, getting orders, etc. - it was one great experience to eat at a kaiten sushi restaurant. 

One wishlist fulfilled. 

DAY 7

Kamakura da~~! I love Kamakura. I really do. The whole town has a nice ambiance, picturesque and quaint. The clear, blue sky was a plus plus. There were a lot of elderlies taking out their dogs for afternoon walk, or to dog lovers meeting - and there was also a flea market exhibiting art products at one place along the main road... 

It was a quiet town... at least until we reached one of the sightseeing spots: The Great Buddha. 

...Which was filled with tourists. 

I wouldn't mind living here. At one side is a mountain, at the other side is seaaaaaa!! 

I happened to sneakily snap a picture of one couple - they were engaged in a private talk and the atmosphere from a far was quite heavy. I know I shouldn't have sneaked a picture like that, but then the girl looked like she was crying and then the guy was instantly on his knees!! 

What was going on??? 

I never found it out anyway.

DAY 8

Off to Kyoto! By Shinkansen, heheh. It was an awesome ride. Another wishlist fulfilled! We also saw Fuji-san from a far! Even from a distance it towers and soars out majestically. We'd planned to go on a day-trip to Fuji and Hakone, but the weather during mid-March didn't allow us to entertain this option :( 

Ginkakuji was a magnificent site, with its silver pavilion (it's not really covered by silver by the way) and the sand garden. There was also a cone shape resembling Fuji-san!

But one thing I love the most in Kyoto is walking down a 2-km Philosopher's Path, a scenic stone path which runs alongside a small canal. According to Japan-Guide.com, "the path gets its name due to Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan's most famous philosophers, who was said to practice meditation while walking this route on his daily commute to Kyoto University." The scenery was unbeatable, with charming houses and each grooming ornamental plants and potted flowers in front of the house.

It's a paradise for photographers. And painters.

And couples.

Next, we took a bus to Kiyomizudera. The way to Kiyomizudera was kinda steep; our feet were sore from walking and since the weather was also getting colder, we reluctantly went inside a souvenir shop to warm our bodies... before continuing the long way up. There were a lot of people going up on that day. Gift shops, pottery shops, and restaurants lining up the ascending street were such an eye candy to us and we occasionally made a brief stop along the way.

Eventually, though, the beautiful sight of Kyoto City from Kiyumizudera's famous wooden stage (which juts out 13 meters above the ground) and Kyoto's magnificent skyline eliminated our fatigue. High places where skyline is visible + great vantage points are my weakness >.<

We stayed at Seikoro Ryokan for one blissful day. If you plan to stay in a ryokan, you definitely should choose one with the best quality and service - for authentic experience of staying at a traditional Japanese inn. Seikoro Ryokan is one among the best, I tell you. We were greeted right away upon arrival, and they also bid us goodbye when we checked out. By "they", I mean a line of 5 or 6 people who were currently present at the lobby. The staff were very helpful and kind and it was overall a pleasant impression; because they would readily help us to fulfill our personal requests and we simply knew: they served with sincerity. The kaiseki breakfast was also beyond expectation. 

Not to mention, this ryokan is classically beautiful. 

Expensive? No, when you get to experience the highest level of service. This is based on my own experience, by the way. I'd love to stay at a ryokan again.  

DAY 9

Rise and shine!

It was with our sincerest regret that we had to check out from Seikoro. Still, we moved to a guesthouse around the block early in the morning with renewed spirits! We loved the guesthouse as well, with its neat room and friendly staff.

And once settled, we went to Fushimi Inari!

We didn't go to the peak of Mt. Inari - but the thousands of  red torii gate winding up the trails into and around the forest of Mt. Inari were already an astounding sight; unforgettable. And you don't even need to purchase any ticket admission to enter this shrine.

FYI, this is not a shrine for a fox god (if in case you're mistaken because there are, indeed, so many fox statues along the paths as well as in front of the shrines). Inari is the god of rice, and the foxes are regarded as Inari's messenger. These foxes were quite intimidating though. One fox statue in front of the shrine gate really looked as if it was looking at me directly.

 

I do wish I could go to the Mt. Inari's peak... so I was a bit reluctant to return to Kyoto Station. Since it was late afternoon already, we immediately took a train running on JR Sagano Line to Umahori Station. We purchased Sagano Scenic Train tickets!

We had to walk about 5 minutes from this station, to the neighboring station, Torokko Kameoka Station. This is the start point of Sagano Scenic Train, which would later end at Saga Arashiyama Station (you can take this train from Saga Arashiyama Station as well, vice versa). Sagano Scenic Train runs between these 2 points through a range of mountains alongside the vein of Hozu Gawa (Hozu River). With all the beautiful sight of river and mountains and its forest - the sightseeing journey is one of recommended things to do if you are in Arashiyama.

The pictures of sprawling rice fields beneath forested mountains below are the wonderful scenery at Torokko Kameoka Station.

There were also people taking their dogs for a late afternoon walk in the midst of rice fields! The dogs must have been very happy.

I DIDN'T TAKE a single picture during our scenic course on Saga Scenic Train - I recorded the journey on a video instead >.< needless to say, it was a beautiful, 15-20-minute ride.

The train stopped at Saga-Arashiyama Station; and at that time there was some exciting exhibition held in the hall!

The mini-shinkansen on a diorama - so cute >.< The overall construction was awesome.

Arashiyama neighborhood was really quiet, perhaps because it was Sunday late afternoon. Nonetheless, I felt even grateful because the famous bamboo groove was not crowded with people, so I could take my time to hear bamboo leaves rustling softly against the wind ahead. That sound. It was really soothing and calming. It was so peaceful that I tried to imagine how this walk had been in the past, during the Heian Period.

Beside the beautiful Katsura Gawa! Gosh. The river was indeed beautiful. I wish I could (AGAIN) stay longer to enjoy the whole sight of it. 

^ Togetsukyo Bridge, the famous landmark of Arashiyama!


DAY 10

Today we went to Ninnaji, Ryoanji, Kinkakuji and Daitokuji Temple; but there were a lot of photos and I didn't upload all of them. From central Kyoto to Northern Kyoto where all these temples located took around 1 hour by bus. Hmm... quite unexpectedly long, but it was fine by me. It was like a city tour and I could get to see more of Kyoto City ^^

I personally love Daitokuji Temple, which is actually a precinct comprising dozens of smaller temples inside its complex. It was near closing hour, and we couldn't go to each temple but it was a pleasant walk around the complex, old trees and wonderful architecture - and of course rich in history. I love the ambiance here more than other temples.

We then took another almost-1-hour ride by bus to Gion District. It was unfortunate we were unable to spot any geisha or maiko here - but walking along the Hanami-Koji street at night between the preserved machiya  (traditional wooden townhouses) houses/restaurants/tea houses filled our hearts with content. Sadly we didn't go to Gion's Shirakawa, which is said to be equally beautiful and scenic with its canal and willow trees. Dining in one of the restaurants overlooking the canal must be awesome. 

 Hanami-koji Street in Gion District

DAY 11

We started our day early again. We checked out and then took a taxi to Takeda Station, to take a highway bus to Takayama! The 4-hour bus ride to Takayama starts!

We stopped at 2 rest areas during our ride. I bought my breakfast there.

^ Yes we passed an area where there were still snow! (I didn't know where, but it's nearby to Takayama).

And we began our 2 days & 1 night journey in Takayama! It was a warm day and I didn't wear my coat throughout the day (though I still brought it with me if in case the temperature dropped and it was quite annoying).

We checked in to our guesthouse!

And immediately set out to explore the Old Town area.

Now this is a beautiful little town with quirky yet cute little decorations scattered here and there; in front of the houses, shops... and sake breweries! This is what you call charming.

We also got ourselves acquainted with Sarubobo. Sarubobo fills all souvenir shops here.

(Photo credit to Hida Takayama City Official Website)

"Sarubobo means 'monkey baby,' and is the mascot of the Hida Region. Sarubobo dolls were traditionally made by mothers for their daughters as charms blessing happy marriage and smooth birth delivery. Sarubobo dolls also are said to prevent sickness and accident, due to the phonetic pair 'saru,' which means both monkey, and prevention."

Taken from Hida Takayama City Official Website

A picture of Doraemon doll hanging on the wall that you saw before is Doraemon cosplaying as Sarubobo.

Big-size Sarubobo dolls are expensive, so I bought this instead:

>.<

(Btw, I've tried Sake here!)


DAY 12

We went to the famous World-Unesco Heritage in Hida-Takayama area... which is no other than Shirakawa-go!

There were snow everywhere! It wasn't that friggin cold, by the way, and still it was nice to see this village from a distance, with snow blanketing the fields and the roofs plus the white mountain as the background. Like those lovely villages printed on your Christmas cards.

The air was really, really clean. I always took a lungful every time I inhaled a breath. We also went inside one of the gassho-zukuri-style houses and met the owner. We were invited to have a cup of brewed tea, which was like no other I've tasted before, before touring around the 4-story house.

And finally, at 1 p.m., we went back to the city and bought bento lunch at Lawson. We needed to check out immediately, to catch another highway bus to, this time, OSAKA!!

We arrived in Osaka around 8 p.m. and checked in our hotel at Namba.


DAY 13

These are photos taken around Namba area, under a bleak sky one cold morning.

With Koyasan World Heritage Tickets in our hands, we took a train from Nankai Namba Station to another must-see UNESCO world heritage designated site, Mt. Koya. The countryside surrounding and small villages that we saw during our ride to the last station at the foot of Mt. Koya were such a breathtaking sight.

From the last station, we rode a cable car to ascend to the secluded temple town of Mt. Koya. Mt. Koya is a place where the Shingon Sect (of Japanese Buddhism) monastery is located, which was first built by Kobo Daishi (also known as Kukai). The range of the mountains here is said to resemble a lotus, and it is due to this very reason that Kobo Daishi decided to establish the monastery here, amid the 8 peaks of the surrounding mountains.

His mausoleum is in one of sites in Mt. Koya, named Oku no In, and is considered the most sacred place in Mt. Koya.

Not only Kobo Daishi's mausoleum, there are also a row upon row of cemeteries under tall cedar trees, old tombstones of historic and prominent figures along the history as well as new ones erected by large companies or even individual citizens.

The atmosphere was very serene, yet could be eerie at times. Of course you have to be respectful as it is a cemetery, though I couldn't help but to remember some of the forest/old temples/old graveyards scenes in Fatal Frame (horror PS2 games).

We spent an entire day in Mt. Koya and explored other sites such as Kondo Hall and Konpon Daito Pagoda, Reihokan Museum, and Kongobuji Temple -> this one has a number of rooms with beautiful painted sliding doors - but we were not allowed to take pictures of them. Some far corner of some rooms were unlit, and I admit I often had goosebumps when passing in front of some rooms, I don't know why. 

Seriously.

One particular room in Kongobuji Temple, Plum and Willow Rooms, was in fact a place where Toyotomi Hidetsugu committed a ritual suicide.

Okay.

* * *

Later in the evening, we went back to Osaka - which was a lot warmer than Mt. Koya (of course. Thanks God). 

And if in Tokyo we went to Tokyo Sky Tree to enjoy Tokyo's night scenery, in Osaka we went to Umeda Sky Building. It is a stunning architecture from a far, you see. Even more stunning if you stand exactly beneath the building. 

And.... as you might have guessed, this kind of place is always crowded with.... couples. 

Always. 

Somehow I also noticed that people (I mean... couple) here were more outgoing and expressive in showing their affections. At least in Tokyo they were more reserved. I don't know though, just my own observation.

Cool escalators and cool views! At least there is no window separating us and the view, at the observation deck. You could feel Osaka's night air on your cheeks.

DAY 14

Beautiful day! And a hot one at that. We had fun at The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum, where we made our own instant noodle. 

 The museum was built and located in Ikeda City, in appreciation to instant noodles and Cup Noodles. The creator of instant noodles and the founder of Cup Noodles is Momofuku Ando. 

Here, we designed and decorated the cup ourselves, with soup and seasonings of our own choosing too.

It was fun! Mine is the blue one - the one with Mt. Fuji drawing.

I ate my own noodle once I got back from Japan, and it WAS ONE OF THE MOST DELICIOUS CUP NOODLES I'VE EVER EATEN. The curry soup (I chose curry soup as the base) was ULTRA DELICIOUS!

Anyway, we went to Osaka Castle afterwards... which, later, to our disappointment (we didn't know it before) was actually a museum and the original design of the castle had been reconstructed. 

Still, we learned a lot of the castle's history as well as its original layout in the past - and I also bought some katana keychains and a miniature of Osaka Castle and Osaka Tower, and some limited edition snacks (Calbee with takoyaki flavor!).

One or 2 Sakura trees were in full bloom here!

Next we visited Amerikamura. 

It was the first time I saw Burger King in Japan, really. Amerikamura is dominated majorly by western (fast food?) restaurants. There are also a lot of clothing shops and bags and shoes and caps. So many youngsters, men and women, with bold fashion strolled around the area or just sat around and chatted. While occasionally sparing a glance at the pedestrians... to check them out?  

And this is also where the famous Peace on Earth mural is located.

And this is the lively Dotonbori area! The famous Glico neon board, and the king crab Kani Doraku attached on one building.

There were also street musicians performing around Shinsaibashi shopping area, and in front of Nankai Namba station. The bridge over the Dotonbori canal was filled with people, and there were also guys in neat, matching suits from host clubs!

It was really lively, this area, and we decided to join the liveliness by shopping a lot and going into an arcade! A little bit boring you say? No! It was hell a lot of fun! We went into a lot of shops, including cosplay shop where they sold a lot of wig and clothes and shoes and accessories collection of certain characters, and there was also a clothing shop where they sold their clothes at discounted prices! Printed tees and dresses were only 550 yen - couldn't ask for more!

And we played in an arcade. Lost a considerable amount of money at merchandiser and gashapon machines... -.-; and played a shooting game of 2! We also took pictures at purikura, and the particular purikura we chose automatically enlarged our eyes so that they would look bigger and sparkling, like a comic character! We laughed sooo hard seeing the result, feeling both a little ridiculous but amused and happy at the same time, because damn right we looked really good in our photos XD

I won't upload it here, of course.

It was a really fun last day in Japan, you see. And memorable too >.<

LAST DAY

It was a gloomy day. The overcast sky above really reflected what we felt.

Our flight was at 5 p.m., so after checking out (the hotel kept our luggage first), we spent our day by visiting Osaka Aquarium.

I mostly recorded videos here too... it was hard to take any pictures since the fishes and other animals moved so swiftly and most of my pictures tend to be kinda blurry... sigh.

But here's a BONUS!

A cute sea lion with a face that looks sooo Japanese! He/she (?) was sleeping but poor him, people's voice kept waking him up and he couldn't get a proper rest. He kept opening his eyes once in a while to look at his surrounding and then closed his eyes again... only to open them again if he heard something loud/distracting :(

Still.

Kawaii kawaii kawaii kawaii >.<

So, that sums my 1st adventure in Japan! It's full of places visited by first timers, eh? I hope there will be a second time later.

Currently there is plan... heheheheh.