Nicole Willms
Travels of Steve and Nicole, 30-something graduate students.SteveandNicole
Travel Blog Posts
April 24th 2008
Basically, Nicole and my sport experience in Japan can be summed up in two words: sumo and baseball. For some background on sumo, see the Osaka II entry. In our down hours, Nicole and I would often find ourselves catching highlights from a sumo tournament in Osaka. First of all, it was really easy to follow with but a limited knowledge of Japanese and secondly we had somebody to root for, namely Yokozuna Hakuho, who we spotted in street clothes outside the arena when we were in Osaka. I think one of the experiences that I will probably never forget is the Fukuoka Hawks game we attended in the Yahoo! Dome. That's right, Japanese baseball (yakyu) is way ahead of the curve in terms of the corporate sponsorship game. Personally, I'm glad that the Anaheim Angels ... read more
April 13th 2008
Up bright and early (hey, it feels like early afternoon US time at 5:00 a.m. in Japan), we had the hotel's complimentary breakfast: tea, coffee and pastries. We began walking around the electronics district, but quickly figured out that we were facing the same problem: not much open at 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. A huge store said it would be open at 10:00 a.m. In fact, the only people awake seemed to be the business men and women on their way to work. And sumo wrestlers! That's right, we went past a gymnasium that seemed to be some sort of arena for a sumo tournament. There were drums being played and wrestlers converging on the place wearing kimonos and sandles. We decided to get on the subway and head for the civil rights museum we had ... read more
April 13th 2008
When we arrived in Osaka it was already dark and the city was bustling. We had a few moments of confusion: Which metro? Which way to the hotel? We were exhausted by the time we got to our hotel, a business hotel near the electronics district. Although we never really exposed ourselves to the nightlife or busiest parts of Tokyo, so our comparison may be unfair, but we found Osaka far more crazy than Tokyo -- a lot of neon, and fast moving people, bicycles and cars. The bicycles are just about as dangerous as the cars, as they ride on the sidewalks at about 20 miles per hour and you are the one expected to get out of the way. Our hotel room in Osaka was more "Western Style", but very tiny. It was more ... read more
April 13th 2008
We decided to visit Harajuku. This area had lots of trendy shops -- a lot of US and European brands (Chanel, Lacoste, etc.). It is famous for the creative/stylish dress of the shoppers. On a Monday afternoon, there were only a couple fashionistas running around. We went to Kiddytown to check out the electronics and toys. Very fun. We also checked out a famous thrift store. Mostly we people watched and window shopped. We ended up buying lunch from a take-out counter: some bentos with fried fish (katsu) and Steve's had salmon and some meat balls. Both had salad, pickled veggies. We also saw a fruit stand and bought a bag of satsuma-like oranges. I was particularly happy since satsumas are one of my favorite things. We then crossed a bridge into a park. The area ... read more
April 6th 2008
Once in Tokyo, we made our way to Ueno, a nearby suburb. We stayed in a traditional ryokan. This means rooms with sliding doors, tatami mats, and futons. The whole gig. At first I thought that the ryokan had only Japanese-style toilets, or what I began to call "squatters." I hemmed and hawed, worrying about this all through dinner, but when I returned and checked, the other stall was Western style. Thank goodness! The ryokan requires the use of slippers and a traditional style Japanese bath. I decided just to use the shower. The place was super-quiet -- there were few other guests. Finding the ryokan was a teeny bit difficult and we walked for quite a while down cobble stone streets in the dark. Luckily, Steve understood the logic of the numbering system and we ... read more
April 5th 2008
For some reason, I find it necessary to make a specific comment regarding the food Nicole and I ate on our vacation. For the most part, the food was fantastic. Maybe I'm imagining things, but even the toast was awesome. To give myself the benefit of the doubt, what makes Japanese toast so good is the thick slices of bread they use, which allows the toast to be crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. If you're ever looking for breakfast in Japan, a toast set (which, in its most basic form, consists of toast, of course, salad, and coffee) is a fairly reliable and ubiquitous option. Veering off of toast, one good way to experience Japanese cuisine is to stay in a ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn) that serves dinner. In Mt. Aso, Nicole ... read more
April 5th 2008
After our stay in Mt. Aso, we went to visit my Auntie Tamaki, who lives in a small town called Shitanoe. My auntie must be about 90, and she lives with her daughter, Yoko. Because Auntie Tamaki was raised in the states, she speaks and reads English pretty well, but unfortunately, her hearing is starting to go. Oftentimes, we communicated using paper and pen. While this wasn't necessarily the ideal way to communicate, Nicole and I ended up with a transcript of our visit. We talked over tea while going through some boxes of my Auntie's pictures. We ended up talking about my family's history. While some of the details were a little unclear, it seems that before World War II, my auntie immigrated to China with my grandparents (who had themselves immigrated to America), where ... read more
March 31st 2008
In case you were wondering... Nicole and I took off for Japan in late March for a sort of delayed honeymoon (we got married in July). We chose a trip in March because a) it happened to mesh with our schedules and b) it meant we could attend with Hifuri Matsuri, a festival where festival-goers swing burning bundles of sticks from plain-old hemp ropes. In terms of location, we chose Japan because it's a place we've always wanted to visit and I have an aunt who currently lives in a small town in Kyushu (the southern most of the main islands). Our itinerary was as follows: 1 day in Tokyo, 2 nights in Osaka, 3 nights in Mt. Aso (where Hifuri Matsuri is held), 1 night in Shitanoe (where my Auntie Tamaki lives), 3 nights in ... read more
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