http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Lizzy-bits/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Lizzy bits en-us Fri, 25 Dec 2009 03:03:14 +0000 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 03:03:14 +0000 My time left on Shikoku was beginning to grow a bit short so I thought it was about time I saw everything of interest in my area before I moved on. Friday and Saturday were days off so Simon and I decided to visit Yashima a town with an intriguing heritage village called Shikoku Mura and Naoshima an art island. March 20th Yashima 2362723798 Donrsquot be fooled by the kanji Yash http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kagawa/blog-396482.html Every year on the 3rd Saturday in February one of the coldest night of the year a crowd of 100s gathers around Saidaiji Temple in Okayama city at midnight. Pushing crushing each other they vie for space and wait for the chance to receive a blessing good luck for a year. When the stroke of midnight finally occurs the lights are shut off and the head priest throws three shingi sacred sticks in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Okayama/Okayama/blog-396368.html Who doesnrsquot love festivals Seriously yoursquod have to be quite a grinch not to. I love festivals. The fun food events and in this case giant snow sculptures the size of buildings. Yuki Matsuri or better known in the western world as the Sapporo Snow Festival is an event of international caliber. Over 2 million tourists flock to this frozen northern Japanese city from February 5 thro http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Hokkaido/Sapporo/blog-393435.html January 1st and 11thIn Japan New Years 2749126376 sh333gatsu is a major holiday full of traditions. ldquoFirstsrdquo of the year are very important. Watching the first sun rise Hatsuhinode 21021260851239820986 the first temple visit of the year Hatsumoude 2102135427 first tea ceremony work day shopping day etc etc. Food is also of course very importa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kagawa/blog-380231.html Night had already fallen when our train neared Nikko our destination for two nights and one full day. As we pulled into the station I was ecstatic to see that snow covered the ground and was gently falling from the sky. Nikko is about a two hour journey outside of Tokyo by express but the temperature difference between the two places was startling. I had my face pressed to the window on the taxi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tochigi/Nikko/blog-380215.html For the Christmas holidays Simon and I decided to temporarily abandon the countryside for the hustle and bustle of city life. Tokyo an impressive mass of concrete containing of over 8 million people was our destination of choice. This busy bee hive has plenty of entertainment and anything you could want to buy or eat. We arrived in Tokyo around 730 in the morning via the night bus. When we arri http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-376010.html One of Japanrsquos greatest attractions and blessings is its four seasons especially spring and autumn. Both seasons stunned me with their beauty. I understand now why most of the Japanese haikus seem to be about these two times of the year. In Texas we can only boast two distinct seasons a hot humid summer and a cool winter. Spring and autumn if they do exist in my home State are just blin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-365693.html How does one fish for an octopus Well you catch a ride on a boat onto the Inland Sea during the appropriate season and bob a golf ball sized fish hook shaped like an octopus on the sea floor until one gets tangled on the hook. Then you reel it in carefully pull in on the deck grab it and throw it into the tank. While handling the octopus you should be careful not to get sprayed with ink. Wearin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kagawa/blog-365675.html This was never on my list of things to do in Japan. A friend of mine in Kochi Rebecca asked me if I was interested in taking a few days off and heading there. Impulsively I agreed and it was one of the best spur of the moment decisions Irsquove ever made. We booked tickets and hotel a month in advance. Got a vague idea of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. Grabbed our gear and he http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Okinawa/blog-364025.html This month flew by like it had wings. I blinked and it disappeared. August was my month of fireworks and dance festivals and September has been my month of bridges. Sounds strange but it is true. Sakaide August 31st The last day of August we went to the beach in Sakaide near the Seto Ohashi Bridge. It really is something living next to the sea. Sometimes I donrsquot notice but it is always http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kagawa/blog-363931.html For me August has been the month of fireworks and dance festivals. I was lucky enough to have been able to move my Saturday night class to Thursday just this once so I could enjoy the fireworks in my home city. It had heard rumors that Marugame city had a spectacular fireworks show and they did. My apartment building is conveniently right next to the docks where they launch the fireworks. Fiona http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kagawa/Marugame/blog-327717.html The most famous festival on Shikoku and one of the top festivals in Japan Awa odori was on the top of my list of things I had to see while living in Japan. From August 12 to 15 people from all over Japan swarm to Tokushima to watch andor dance at the festival. The nickname for Awa odori the dance of fools is derived from the chant the dancers sing. 3636212427384632157412395352 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokushima/blog-327702.html Every year since 1954 the city of Kochi holds a four day dance festival from August 9 12 called Yosakoi. If you translate Yosakoi into English it means ldquoCome at Nightrdquo or ldquoCome Tonightrdquo Yonight Saat Koicome. The festival was first held as a means to uplift the downtrodden spirits of the citizens during an economic recession. The City Management in the 1950s sound lik http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kochi/Kochi/blog-319159.html I will always look back at this day and think swelteringly hot. August in Japan is not a good time to do site seeing. The best thing to do during the hot muggy days of summer is to stay inside and worship the air conditioning. Despite the heat I wanted to go across the Inland Sea to Honshu and explore. Okayama is the first major city across the Seto Ohashi Bridge on Honshu. Every time Irsquove g http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Okayama/Okayama/blog-314242.html Hanabi is Japanese for fireworks. Hanabi sounds similar to Hanami cherry blossom viewing. Hana means flower and bi means fire. I think fire flowers is an aweome way to describe fireworks. My first fireworks festival in Japan and Irsquom all decked out in yukata It took me awhile but I figured out all by myself how to put on the yukata properly and tie the obi. Mark met me at my apartment a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kagawa/Tadotsu/blog-313340.html Some friends approached me in Grasshopperrsquos one night and asked me if I wanted to go camping the next weekend. I was really excited about it because I wanted to go to Oboke Koboke but the only way to get there is by car. They picked me up outside my apartment Sunday afternoon and we began the two hour drive to the camp site with the radio playing 80s tunes and all four windows down. We drov http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokushima/blog-313173.html Mark had never been to Ritsurin and we were looking for something to do that Sunday so we caught a train to Takamatsu and rented a pair of bicycles and headed down Chuo Dori to my favorite park. As always Ritsurin was beautiful. We goofed around took pictures and strolled the paths. At one point we were near the north plum grove and I saw some strange plants had grown up and engulfed an entire pr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kagawa/Takamatsu/blog-313162.html Ehime is the most populated prefecture on Shikoku. Kagawa the one I live in Ehime Tokushima and Kochi divide the tiny island into four unequal parts. Five months into my stay in Japan and I never visited the other three prefectures. gtltOne afternoon at work in early July my manager asked me to go to the Niihama Schoolrsquos since that school had suddenly lost its teacher. I agreed a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Ehime/Matsuyama/blog-313148.html Seoul June 22nd 24th At the beginning of June I was told that I might have the opportunity to go to Seoul Korea on the companyrsquos dime for a training program. Of course they waited until about 3 days before the departure date to confirm it. My first ever business trip. I got up early and caught the train wearing business casual and carting around my new bright yellow carryon with wheels http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/blog-311759.html I really wish I had brought my camera with me to my welcome party back in February. It was a multiple course traditional Japanese dinner very similar to this party we held for Naomi sensei. Naomirsquos meal was the lunch version of mine so there were only seven courses instead of nine. However this establishment boasted amazing food presentation. The food was carefully prepared and arranged. Ea http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kagawa/Marugame/blog-309203.html