Himeji Castle

My (Jodi) Mum and Dad arrived in Himeji just before lunch on Saturday. We waisted no time in introducing them to the local attractions...namely Himeji-jyo. Jono and I had been saving our visits / too lazy to go ourselves and so therefore had not been there yet after 4 months of riding past nearly everyday.

Himeji-jyo is a world heritage sight and is close to its original state. It is the most famous castle in Japan. It cuts an imposing figure high above the city centre. In other words...it's really big, white and you can't miss it if you're in town. It's an impressive sight.

With Jono's future Ma and Pa in law in toe, we headed inside the gates and up to the Himeji Japanese gardens. They had changed a little since we visited just two weeks ago...only a few, sad and lonely sakura petals remained on the trees. With the weather being delightful (we even stripped down to a t-shirt, very exciting) there were many other visitors around. This, however, did not disturb the tranquility of the gardens. Following the paths, and the crowd, we made our way to the castle entrance. Here you had to remove your shoes, put them in a plastic bag provided and wear the ever-sexy brown slippers. A fashion statement in themselves! As Jono put the slippers on he heard the sweet voice of Justin Timberlake singing, "I'm bringin' sexy back"!

Interestingly enough, despite its original state, there were quite a few fluorescent lights, way ahead of their times!!! We meandered our way up the many narrow staircases, past the samurai swords and other various displays. The staircases (more like generous ladders) were progressively getting steeper and steeper until we reached the top of the castle. There was a small shrine at the top which people use to pray to the gods. This was much more impressive than the two vending machines and souvenir dispenser at the top of Hiroshima castle. With the magnificent weather, the views were awesome. If anyone had attempted to invade Himeji on that day, we would have spotted them a mile off! A good time was had by all.

Now we can prove that a good time was had by all. As we have visitors staying with us they are also special guests on our blog sight. Watch this space for special guest comments from Marg and Doug.

VISITORS COMMENTS
it is an amazing sight. The day we visited, there was a beautiful blue sky which made the white walls of the castle really stand out. The stair case which led to the very top of the 6 story high building were quite steep and keeping on .the vinyl slip-on shoes was a challenge. The gardens were stunning also.

Engagement Announcement

Time to do the Washing

Japan is a very crowded country and as a result houses and apartments are very small. Apartments have no backyards, only equipped with a small balcony. What do you do when you wash your sheets and blankets if you live in an apartment block? Well, here's the answer:

You hang your linen over the balcony and attach it with special clothes clamps. Give me a Hills Hoist anyday!!

The Himeji Diaries Classifieds

CARS



TAXI cab
Toyota Crown
Black
Polished daily
Hands-free rear door release and close
Lace seat covers
Comfortable to sleep in
Can run heater in stationary position for hours
Make an offer.


HONDA Fit (a.k.a. Jazz)
Column shift
4 seater
Tinted windows
Safety beeping reverse gear noise
Back windsheild filled with stuffed toys
Easy city driving though the narrow streets
Loud horn
1,385,000 yen



SCOOTER
Mercedes
Windscreen and roof
Windscreen wiper
Great for all weather
Mag wheels
Leather seat
Lots of storage space
Easy parking (like on the footpath)





BUS
Manual
Velour interior
Entrance at the rear
Automatic change machine
Hands-free counting machine
Drivers microphone (excellent for mumbling into)
Flat screen advertising TV
Heaters under the seats
Adjustable blinds
Passenger fare cost display board
Bilingual announcement ads

Our house... in the middle of our street...

Here are a few piccies of our little apartment in what is know as Shirasagi Residence. Right across the road are a few drink vending machines, including sake and beer! Handy! We park our mode of transport (bike) in the shed and catch the lift to the third floor. You must take off your shoes at the door of your apartment. We have a little rack where you can store your shoes.


The kitchen only has a stove and small grill. We have recently purchased an electric hot plate and found a rice cooker (God send) in Jono's apartment! Woohoo. Miyuki told us what the buttons said and so we have been using it a lot. You may have noticed the Uncle Toby's cereal on top of the fridge. After eating nothing but Special K and Bran Flakes everyday for three months we sent an SOS home and had some more exciting breakfast food sent over! (Thanks Mum.)


We use the computer all the time, it is our only means of entertainment. The kids at school just can't believe that we don't have a TV! We have been watching "Heroes", which a friend downloaded and kindly donated to us, and we are addicted! The Aussie girls have also been having "Sex and The City" viewing marathons. The Internet is also a life saver as we can listen to Triple J and 5AA (Jono has to have his sport) online as well as read The Advertiser. So we're not totally in a bubble. In the corner of the lounge, proudly displayed, is the fan we bought in Kyoto after the Geisha show. It even matches the curtains. Jono wants to take the credit for that!!!!!The bar you can see on the lounge and dining room walls is where we hang our washing. It's not warm enough to warrant putting it outside yet.


Yes, we do have the space-aged electric toilet with many bells and whistles!!! We have become fans of the seat warmer and are convinced that the initial 'ew' factor is purely psychological. An interesting feature of this "Shower Toilet" is that when you flush there is a tap that runs on top of the toilet which you use to wash your hands. That water goes directly into the toilet and is used on the next flush! A nifty idea. The first time I used this I freaked out because I didn't know how to turn the water off, but I have since learned that it keeps running until the toilet is full. All visitors: Please note!!!



Here is the Japanese top loading washing machine and the trough/vanity unit. Through a door on the right is the 'Wash' room. It is a really large shower room with a full length mirror right in front of you. Hmmmm. There is also a bath in the room. We have managed to get our hands on some familiar products such as Herbal Essence shampoo and Johnsons and Johnson body lotion. You can also get Rexena deodorant at the shop (no that's not a typo!).


The bedroom consists of two single beds and loads of cupboard space. Pretty simple really.

Well, there you have it. The grand tour of our humble abode. Drop by some time!!!!

Congratulations!

After keeping the Aussie girls in suspense for a day, we finally caught up with them and broke the exciting news. (Glad we didn't disappoint you Tina!) To celebrate we all had a glass of Moet Champagne, lots of chocolate and later headed to the Blue Plate restaurant for dinner.

Jono and I met the girls in town and they had gone and bought us some beautiful Japanese flowers, just gorgeous. Later that night we announced the news to all Shirasagi Residents by writing it on our communal whiteboard. Too bad if anyone has pressing information they need to tell everyone because the board is filled with well wishes! We'll see how long we can keep them there! Thanks everyone!

Buying the Ring

Since being in Japan things have been amazing. A new atmosphere, new people and the opportunity to just be ourselves, together. We have learned so much about each other and have become so close. When we decided that we would get engaged we had a plan: buy a proxy ring in Japan and then the 'real' one when we get home. After thinking about it, Jono decided we should get the real one straight up, it would be even more special if it came from the country I was proposed in. So, nervous yet excited, we hit the jewellers.

Lots of the jewellery in Japan is Sterling silver or a really yellow cheap-looking gold. We looked in many stores and came up with nothing that felt right. My Mum always says, when you try it on you'll just know. We headed to a large shopping centre, affectionately known as 'Marion' and found a jewellery store. The ladies in the shop were so friendly and helpful and so excited for us. I tried on many rings which were silver and the ladies informed us "Gold, OK". One particular ring I kept going back to and finally decided, yep this is the one. Once the set was chosen we had to choose the diamond. Next came the bargaining! "Best price?" I asked...big grin on my face. "OOoooohhh" they replied! We told her that we would pay cash on the spot and they gave us 30,000 yen off! (About $300). The ring was ordered in gold and would be ready in 4 weeks.

As we left the shop, beeming from ear to ear, we heard little shrills of excitement come from the shop behind us. We headed up the mall and up the escalators when I noticed a lady running after us. I recognised her from the shop. She was holding a chain of rings. "Your size," she said. It was then that we realised that they didn't check my ring size! Phew. Glad she found us!!

It was a long 4 weeks, keeping the ring a secret and waiting excitedly for the special day to arrive. It was more than worth the wait, and the ring is perfect!

What's in the box in the box in the box?

It was a beautiful sunny day on April 14th, 2007. The cherry blossoms were abundant and the moat was still. It was 2pm when Jono produced a box, in a box, in a box...

1st Graders Welcome Picnic

As a part of a New School Year Get-To-Know-You activity, the 1st graders all had a picnic in the park nearby. The park was at the top of a hill and has a beautiful view of Himeji city. It was a beautiful day for a picnic, and the sun was even shining! Bonus. All 1st graders walked in 2 lines in their class groups and assembled on the grass at the park. Then each class went to find their own special place to eat lunch together. I was invited to go with Homeroom 1-3 and we found a section of benches and steps to sit on.




All the teachers had freshly prepared bentos for lunch and the students ate their bento lunch from home. Mrs K and I chatted with the students, who were very shy, and found out that one boy has very good English for a 12 year old.



Once lunch was finished the students were free to go anywhere throughout the park. It was quite obvious that these kids had come straight from Elementary school because they spent the time running/climbing/jumping over obstacles, playing chase, shaking the Cherry Blossoms trees and catching the petals and hanging from bars (not monkey bars either). It was a beautiful park with a castle and many cherry blossom trees.






Mrs K and I wandered through the park, introducing ourselves, having the odd chat in English and taking the odd photo! The kids were so friendly and willing to talk to me. It was great. The girl from the Special Class has taken a liking to me as I have often participated in their cooking classes at school. She kept 'kidnapping' me by taking my hand or pushing me along by my shoulders and leading me around the place. When I sat down she started to collect cherry blossom petals from the ground and sprinkle them on me. Soon other girls got in on the act and soon I was facing storms of petals, which got teachers sitting nearby too! It was a very plaesent way to spend a couple of hours.

The Little Drummer Boys (and Girls, and Big Drummer Boys and Girls)

Well, we missed the Fringe this year... comedians, weird people, a busy Rundle Street, but we got our own taste of Womad at the castle...the Kan-o-kai fastival. As I`m sure you are aware, and hopefully jealous of, it is Cherry Blossom season and after a slow start the trees are starting to look much better than I do in the morning... So, the local festival was held where else but the castle, so as we are only here for a year there was only one thing left to do... go!

We headed early for a good spot... we had heard it was going to be really busy... early indications were wrong, as there were so many empty spots we could have parked a bus in there... We got our $1 tarps, laid out the food, cracked a cold one (Diet Coke of course) and let the good times roll...

The festival was supposed to begin at 11, but just like stupid 9.30 starts in the Caribbean, rain delayed the start of play.... This time however, the covers were on the drums... We sat on our tarp and took cover under our $1 umbrellas wondering how long the rain would last. Turns out this was a long time before the start of the drumming, so whilst waiting we were waiting we endured some world music and crazy lion dancing...

Lion dancing is not to be confused with the '95 SANFL grand final, where 500 line dancers stood shoulder to shoulder around the then Footy Park slapping their knees and touching their toes... No, this was crazy flexible dudes with a lion costume on climbing up and down ladders chasing what looked to be a monkey. The costume was much like the dragon dancers China is famous for. The first one was really cool. The second one was the same dance in reverse and hence I headed for the refreshment tent...

Speaking of which, great souvenir... square Sake cup with a gold print of the Castle on it... it's big enough to be a birdbath! The Japanese have a reputation of enjoying Sake whilst at the cherry blossom festivals. No wonder... 500 yen ($5) for the cup already filled, then $1 (100 yen) for every refill. The Schutzenfest could learn from such deals...

Anyway, I digress... Out came the drummers... Not sure exactly whether they were Taiko or Daiko or Deiko drummers... In fact, I`m not really sure if the three I just mentioned are even it... They certainly could play the drums though...

We were treated so a concert of about 50 women in kimonos playing the koto. They sounded magic, yet a bit monotonous after about the first 5 minutes of the never ending songs! All the same, they were an impressive sight all lined up on a very long stage.

In the middle of the day, quite randomly, we were graced with the precence of the Mayor of Himeji. He took off his shoes and joined us on our tarp. We offered him a chocolate brownie and some Top Deck Cadbury chocolate (of which he took the last 6 squares!). He asked if we were enjoying Himeji and chatted a bit before having to leave to meet his Sister City Mayor. Soon, the other Mayor had found his way to our tarp and was happy to chat with us as well. Before saying goodbye he did a bit of PR for his city and handed out some brochures. We all posed for this photo. After all the excitement we looked closely at the photo...we have not yet figured out who on the Earth the guy is who has positioned himself inbetween the two Mayors!! Classic.

Highlight was definitely when they cracked out the soundtracks from Double Dragon, though better than the old Nintendo music... In fact, I`ll go as far as to say it sounded nothing like the original Double Dragon soundtrack but with the xylophones humming you could have been forgiven for thinking a samurai could have popped out any second (or hungry jacks had just released a new Teryaki Burger!)... Was fantastic music and great to see live!

Vessel to drawn games... Vissell 1 Kasmima Antlers 1

Well, don`t want this website to become to much like Fever pitch, although I`d love to watch that much football, but saw a rather entertaining if not bizarre game in Kobe... Kobe are hardly living up to their name, `the vessel to take us to victory`, hence Vissel, although they are playing quite well and although early look good enough to beat the the drop they were predicted to get before the season began... Anyway, after a day out in Kobe, I thought a nice way to spend the evening would be to watch some good quality football...

Usually, I prebook tickets. Its cheaper. Plus, you can tell on the screen exactly where your seats are. I like to sit in the middle because you can see more. However in Japan things are a little different as if you sit in the middle its really quiet, and the supporters up either end seem to have lots more fun! Anyway, to cut a long story short bought the cheapest seat I could... turns out it wasn`t where we sat the time before (also a 1-1 draw), so I moved around to the next gate... For those who have seen Fever Pitch (Colin Firth amongst others), you may remember a great scene where a young Firthy heads to a FA cup match against Reading. Trouble is, his Mum bought the ticket and he has to sit with the Reading supporters, not the Arsenal ones. Whilst not having my mum to blame for this, I ended up in the same predicament, as the only Kobe supporter in that end of the ground...

Not the most fun I have decided... Those gigantic flags are no good at all. Even worse as they waved them directly in my line of vision and cut out 25% of the pitch... scumbags!

Highlight of the evening was no doubt (there were a few, a 35 yd screamer for 1) was a goal keeper who mysteriously got shot as Kobe were about to score. He came screaming out of his box, kicked the ball into touch. Trouble was, the guy grabbed the ball and threw it in whilst he was 20 yds outside his box... No rules broken so far... so, as the striker was about to shoot he fell over with no one around and the ref was stupid enough to fall for it and stopped the game! Incensed that a fellow player would shoot a goalkeeper, the striker who was about to shoot gave him one of the nastiest sprays i`ve ever seen (could see the veins from 90 yards away!) and the ref told him off! As the stretcher came on the field, he miraculously got up and ran back to the goals! First time i`ve seen a Japanese crowd get fiery and throw things at other people... was great... except that the cheat got away with it... No wonder some people hate the game!

Anyway, the vissell rolls on and picks up more points... looks like a tight season so every little bit helps... maybe next week they`ll play a team without a cheat for a keeper or have a ref that isn`t deaf, dumb blind or stupid! Only one is likely!

Let There Be Sakura!

The beginning of Spring in Japan is the most precious and beautiful time of the year, the time for Sakura. Sakura is the name for Cherry Blossoms. They are precious because once the blossoms are out, they only last up to 2 weeks before the strong Spring winds blow them away. Japanese people treasure this time of year and celebrate the blossoms by holding Hanami parties underneath them.

Hanami parties are similar to picnics. You have the rug on the ground, a spread of delicious food in the middle and your shoes placed on the ground next to the rug. Hey we're in Japan. Of course you take your shoes off! I went to my first Hanami party this week. Despite it being very cold, I enjoyed it very much. I met some very cute Japanese people and ate some fine Japanese cuisine. We ate in front on the Himeji-jyo along with many other groups of people who were scattered throughout the park. The atmosphere was one of serenity. There are many tourists in town at the moment for the chance to see this special act of nature.

Kyoto in Spring

KYOTO TOWER

Our first experience for the day was going up into the Kyoto Tower where we saw a panoramic view of Kyoto.

This was not in our original plans but it was right in front of the train station so we took advantage of the discovery.

The tower stands 100m from the roof of the main building and has two observation platforms. The second platform has a curved window so, if you're game, you can look directly down at the city below.

GION KOBU KABURENJO MIYAKO

We then made our way to the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Theatre to see Miyako Odori (The Cherry Dance) performance. We bought non-reserved seats on tatami mats, which meant the cheap seats at the back! We only just made the 12:30 show and so the seats were already pretty full. We needed the usher to shift people over to make room for us. We had to sit cross legged on the tatami mats 2nd row from the back. Despite this, we could see everything.

It was a traditional Japanese show with many stunning kimonos and gracefully moving dancers, all women. They used many props to accompany the different parts of the story like gold/silver fans, white materials ribbons, baskets full of blossoms and branches of cherry blossoms.

On both sides of the theatre (along next to the audience) were groups of women playing traditional instruments for the show including a drum, bell and the koto. There were many backdrop and prop changes and they even had a large opening in the stage from where the actors were raised and lowered. The synchronisation and precision of each group was incredible. Every fan, every head movement was done in unison. There were different parts to the performance, sometimes there would be a large group of ladies in the same kimono, then there were parts when individual and small groups of actors would take to the stage. I (Jodi) was captivated for the whole 1 hour show. I thought it was amazing.

THE TAJ MAHAL

Despite being 10,000 kms away, I can already hear you go Huh?!?!?!?! So, went looking for food... Having walked miles already we were pretty hungry... so we crossed the street and found a string or restaurants. Looking for a relatively cheap yet satisfying meal we headed to the basement and found an Indian restaurant called the "Taj Mahal"... a $9.90 buffet was awaiting us with ten different dishes... I thought you beauty, lets go there... That's way better value than the banquet at the Standpipe! So, 10 dishes... 2 were salad, one was a coleslaw and one insanely hot onion salad... maybe one Indian dish there... 3 curries, chicken, eggplant and mushroom... all with the same sauce... naan bread and tandoori chicken... saffron rice... so maybe 5 were actually real dishes! So maybe not as grand as the real Taj Mahal but a good feed none the less. For $9.90, it becomes a funny story rather than a false advertising law suit!

MARUYAMA PARK

So, having taken in the Kyoto tower, the weird music, beautiful costumes and amazing sets of the cherry blossom dancing and the $9.90 Indian buffet, it was time to see some real Cherry blossoms up close and personal... We had been told that Maruyama Park is one of the most popular places to see cherry blossoms in Kyoto, so, when in Rome... Fortunately, everywhere we wanted to visit was really close to each other, even better as we walked everywhere (disclaimer: i don't recommend that... it was a bloody long way from the train station! The first time a Japanese map we have encountered has been further than it looks. Usually it is much closer.)...

Anyway, we followed the crowd into the park and there were thousands of people wandering around, sitting under trees, having parties, watching jugglers... It could be said it was the equivalent to our Royal Shows, with many side stalls with games and sideshows, plus the customary interesting food. Actually, it was probably more like the Smelters Picnic (Pirie)... It seems here everything is on a stick... toffee apples, toffee strawberries, squid, corn, sausages and fish... when we say fish, we mean the whole kit and caboodle! the hook was still in its mouth... well, almost! Having wandered we saw many beautiful cherry blossom trees... they are still only in half bloom so I can only imagine what they will look like when they are in full bloom... I can see why it is the favourite season of many Japanese people... Good weather and magnificent weather (well, comparable to winter!)...