Saturday, 22 December 2012
It was an overcast grey gloomy start
to the day. Today, we planned to go other attractions in Osaka as the 2-day
unlimited pass must be used on consecutive days. We left at 9 and walked to
Umeda station to get the subway to Osakako, changing trains from Midosuji Line
to Chuo Line at Honmachi station. This area is by the bay and is known as Tempozan.
We decided to ride the Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel first, one of the world’s largest ferris wheel. It provides you
with a bird's eye view of the bay, port and the city beyond. You can even catch
a glimpse of the Universal Studio Japan from your ride. The highest point is at
112.5 metres above the ground.
After that, we went to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. The 2-day Osaka unlimited pass didn’t provide a free entry, merely an
entry discount so I redeemed my coupon and bought a child ticket (redeeming
both of our coupons and buying two adults tickets would have cost an additional
¥1000 because the discount wasn’t significant and anyway, a child ticket costs
a lot less. We spent close to 1.5 hours in there.
After Kaiyukan, we walked to the
nearby pier to board the Santa Maria cruise ship, named after the ship sailed
by Columbus when he reached the New Continent, around the bay. The cruise lasted
close to an hour and we performed prayers on board.
Next we rode the subway to
Tenjimbashi-suji Shopping Street, which at 2.6 km long, is the longest shopping
street in Japan. The things sold here are mainly goods the locals may find
useful: winter clothes and grocery and supermarket goods, and not something
tourists would actually buy. We had a late lunch at a restaurant after
determining the noodles and ramen aren’t served in pork broth.
We studied our maps during our meal
and decided to ride the subway to Matsuyamashi. Here, you can find many shops
selling Japanese Hina dolls. Alas, they are very, very pricey - just like most
everything else!
I had tired of subway by then - even
in London, I try to ride the bus as much as I can instead of the tube - and
persuaded my nephew to walk instead to Shinsaibashi. It took us all of ten
minutes of a pleasant walk. I just followed road directions to the area. I’m
sure it would take longer by subway: going down the stairs to the platform,
waiting for the train, train ride and walking out of the subway. Shinsaibashi
is a main shopping area in Osaka with many luxury boutiques, high-end
departmental stores and high street shops. We didn’t stay there long though and
before long, left for Umeda. El niño wanted to buy some toys so we searched for
Kiddy Land at Hankyu Sanbangai Building.
We then went to ride the HEP FIVE
Ferris Wheel before returning back to our room. I had to rely on tweets to find
out the score of our match away at Wigan.
Sunday, 23 December 2012
We woke up early today and left by
7:15. I decided to take the underground route from Whity Shopping Town (or
Whity Umeda) to get to Umeda station for the Hankyu train. We arrived in time
to board the rapid express train to Kyoto Kawaramachi station. My
brother-in-law’s friend, Toshi Hirose, was already waiting for us at the East
Gate. He drove for two hours from his residence in Ise to meet us in Kyoto.
We exited the station and walked to a
street where we took a cab to Kiyomizu-dera temple, an old but well-preserved
temple by the hill. There are shops lining up the street leading to the temple
and I noticed some of them sold the local delicacy. We left after close to an
hour.
Now, as the previous capital of
Japan, Kyoto is home to dozens of temples. Not surprisingly, it also has a high
concentration of the country’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites and indeed some of
the temples are world heritage sites themselves. We had planned to visit some
of these sites. I had told Toshi my preferences and that it’s OK if we didn't
go to all temples because I’m sure after a certain number, I’d be templed out.
We left Kiyomizu-dera temple and
walked down the hill to a bus stop from where we took a bus to Ginkaku-ji temple, a Zen temple established in 1482 by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the eighth
Muromachi Shogunate. You can buy a Kyoto day-pass and ride buses and subways to
the heritage sites. Most of them are scattered across the city: north, east,
west, central and most are too far away from each other to walk. Toshi had
bought us the day-pass - he also paid for entrance to all the temples we
visited today and our lunch and refused my money. That’s Japanese hospitality
for you. As hosts, they would be offended if you try to pay them back. We
reached Ginkaku-ji after 20 minutes.
Next, we took another bus to
Kinkaku-ji temple (The Golden Pavilion), a Buddhist hall containing relics of
Buddha. It is part of a temple formally named Rokuon-ji Temple although it is
commonly called Kinkaku-ji. It was registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site
in 1994.
After Kinkaku-ji, we decided to stop
for lunch first before resuming so we walked to a compact restaurant. As it
could only seat a certain number of patrons, we had to wait outside before
being called in. You have to write your name in a book by the door. I do wonder
how a gaijin like me who is Japanese illiterate would know that is the
procedure.
There were a few tables and chairs in
the restaurant. Most diners would have to take off their shoes and sit down on
tatami mats which were what we did. The menu was in Japanese so again, I
thought, if I was travelling alone, how would I know the seating procedure for
this restaurant, how would I know I have to put my name down to be seated, and
how would I understand the menu? I don’t think the ladies who cooked and served
us speak much English if at all.
After lunch, we waited for the bus to
Ryoan-ji temple. This temple is originally a country house of the Tokudaiji
Clan. It was acquired in 1450 by Hosokawa Katsumoto for use as a Zen training
temple. Destroyed by fire during the Onin War, it was rebuilt in 1499. It was
registered as a World Heritage Site in 1994. It features a rectangular Zen rock
garden of 15 stones and white gravel. We had to take off our shoes and don
house slippers to walk in the temple.
Next, we walked about ten minutes
down the road to Ninna-ji temple. This temple was founded by the 59th emperor,
Uda, in the fourth year of Ninna (888). It was formerly called the Old Imperial
Palace of Omuro as it served as a residence for the ex-emperor. It was
designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994. We had to take off
our shoes and walk in our socks around the hall.
After Ninna-ji, we walked to a car-park
where Toshi parked his car. He wanted to bring us to Toji castle but it was
already closing when we reached it at 4:01 pm. I only realised then that some
places do close early during winter. I then suggested for Toshi to drop us at
Hankyu Kawaramachi station. He had earlier told us he needed to leave by 5 pm
as he had to drive back to Ise and work the next day. Japanese don’t celebrate
Christmas - oh, you will see Christmas decoration everywhere but it’s just for
commercial reasons - and work on that day.
We returned to our hotel after
searching high and low for a restaurant to have dinner. But we did discover a
shop two doors away which sold a lot of things from ¥100 (!).
To be continued
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