I saw it today....
The most beautiful thing that I have seen in my life! That indescribable moment when you see it and that your eyes open to their full extent, your heart stops pounding and you feel the tears comming up to your eyes as these overwhelming feelings of curiosity, of thirst for knowledge, of passion and of understanding.... and right there and then, you know what you want to do, and you know exactly where youre going!
On my way back from the soba noodle activity, standing erect in the clouds were a chain of snow coated majestic mountains beconning me to go meet them! All my life I've loved mountains and was intrigued by them but not until this moment did I understand this feeling entirely. I want to see them, to climb them and to reach the top and to breath in all of the knowledge that they hold! This is what I want to do! This is what I came here looking for but didn't know if I could find it or even if it existed ....
I never would have thought that inspiration was so magnificent. The call for adventure has never sounded so sweet :D
P.s. I couldn't get a good shot of it due to excitement so they all have flashes viewing them from inside the bus... so I kinda failed! Don't worry, I'll try to get some good shots from the top.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Strange land of majestic beauty
That is probably the most acurate way of describing Japan. A strange land of majestic beauty. In these past couple of weeks I have seen what two years ago I would never have imagined being able to see in my life. The cities I have visited were all so different yet all screamed I AM JAPAN! Let me explain.
I live near Nagoya, the fourth biggest city in Japan. This city mainly consists of lights, big buildings and Kareoke places. From there I travelled to Kyoto which is the complete opposite. A tourist trap indeed yet it's one of the most genuine/traditional cities in Japan since it wasn't bombed back in world war two. The temples are all real and authentic. These two cities have nothing in common but I think portray perfectly the current japanese society which is very modern yet still tries to conserve it's history and to protect it from an overbearing american influence. So enough chit chat, here is what I've been up to!
Kyoto trip v.1
This trip was organised with Anis and Jacinthe for (I was not aware of this) their friends birthday where we went to a nomihoudai ad tabehoudai (all you can eat and drink for all the money in your wallet). This is on the first night. We partied around Sanjyo station which is, I think, downtown kyoto.
The next day I wanted to sightsee in a very time optimizing way. Here is the trick to Kyoto sightseeing: Get an all-day subway pass. The subway is a very quick and effective way to travel and you don't have to stress about costs with the all day pass that costs 600yen.
Now this day we were short on time. I find it funny how in this current society the men are more girly than girls. Many times did this happen that I've had to wait for an hour for a man (or more...see Kyoto v2) to shave, shower, and do other man stuff. I miss the times when people would wait after me because they woke us 2 minutes ago and are already ready . Anyways, we were running short on time and I had a lot of caffeine inside of me from the wait.
The only thing we had time to see was the imperial palace. Were we ever lucky! What are the odds that for that week - and that week only - would the Imperial Palace be open for tourists to go INSIDE! Yes INSIDE! I will repeat: INSIDE! This usually costs a lot of money and you have to reserve a month in advance! Even though people were walking over
eachother to get THAT perfect picture, the feeling of peace, of walking right into history, of being there when it all happened, before Japan became a tourist trap.... yeah... that feeling... it could not be avoided. You become one with Japan and it's history as you walk in the footsteps of the most influencial men in Japan. Sure you get this feeling like you missed the party and arrived 200 years late but it's an ignorable feeling. When I'm in these place I like to imagine myself riding a horse up to the palace door and demanding to speak to the emperor about urgent business. (this is why I'm always having fun)
... and then we went home and I knew I couldn't leave Japan without seeing the Fushimi Inari red gates... but little did I know what I was getting myself into.
Kyoto v.2
This is how I describe it: We saw demons, spirits and cats!
So I went with 4 of my guy friends (please refer to the coment above about time usage) to Kyoto to see what I failed to see las
t time.
We saw the golden temple where there was this hillarious squicky kid. On his shoes were things that went squick everytime he would walk... oh and the temple was nice. Other than the fact that it's majestic, the golden color burns your eyes out (but it's a soothing burn) and the magical feeling like youre at one the most romantic place on earth (despite the 1000000 people around you) ... other than all that it was quite ordinary...Here is a picture
We saw Kyomizudera which is this amasing water shrine. Tip: go pee before entering the shrine.
This shrine holds healing waters that you can drink for the small price of 200yen, they do have to make a profit off of your body's salvation now don't they.... But seriously the view was magnificent! It's at the bottom of the mountain so it's low enough that Japanese people will go but just high enough so that you get a nice view on Kyoto.
Here is what you have to keep in mind when travelling: Japanese people, for the most part, are sissies. When it gets dark, cold or too high and far that they can't go in heals, most of them will desist themselves.... and that's when I enter the picture.
Now imagine this: You're in this mountain going through 1000 ominous red gates when the sun sets and the gates start to disperse and different roads open up to you. What do you do?
Here is my answer: Take the most myterious looking road and you will always be satisfied.
That's what I did and I saw demons and spirits! The group unfortunetly split up and the other guys took an even more mysterious road through the woods (I must admit that I was quite jealous... my friends kinda didn't want to follow me into the woods). At one point in our journey we came upon these shrines who seemed to pray to more than the clever fox spirit but to a more demonic fire god :D Just around the corner, we saw a figure all dressed in white going down the mountain in a really odd manner... now you can imagine how extatic I was! Multiply that by 666!
Quote: *While looking above the shrines at the unlit mountain below the moon* There is something demonic yet comforting about this place.
That is adventure baby!
Fire gods
In Kyoto there is this painting of a fire god of somesort that was hidden for 800 years! Again with the luck (It must be that Inari god of prosperity and luck) this is the first time it's being exposed and it's only untill december! Of course we went and they had lit up all the trees in a very Japanese manner exposing the maple leaves of Japan (like Canada but 20 times smaller and cuter) And above this they lit up the bamboo forest with alien looking light.
It was nice, when we got to the painting, to see soo many people wishing and praying to this fire god! Comforting....
Mirai (future)
I'm going to cut this short and conclude with a segment on my future plans.
For the holidays I'm going to Tokyo with my french buddy Coralie where we will meet more french buddies (Emmanuelle, Lilliane, Thais, Hugo) who are organising themselves on their sides. Tokyo décadence this year (my first, hopefully not my last but lets be realistic here) has my favorite theme: PIRATES! HOURAY! I'm soo excited I think I'll never want to leave!
An other project in the making is that I want to ascend Mount Fuji or as they call it here: Fujisama! The only problem is that this is a huge tourist trap that I want to try to avoid. My plan is to ascend with my friend on a secure but non-touristic road and fall asleep looking at the stars.
We'll see how that goes.
Well ladies and gentlemen if you have made it this far you are real troopers so here is a treat information: In China, I learned this yesterday, they have two ages. Actually to them, when you are born you are two years old! Why? dunno... but it's a quirky fact indeed!
I live near Nagoya, the fourth biggest city in Japan. This city mainly consists of lights, big buildings and Kareoke places. From there I travelled to Kyoto which is the complete opposite. A tourist trap indeed yet it's one of the most genuine/traditional cities in Japan since it wasn't bombed back in world war two. The temples are all real and authentic. These two cities have nothing in common but I think portray perfectly the current japanese society which is very modern yet still tries to conserve it's history and to protect it from an overbearing american influence. So enough chit chat, here is what I've been up to!
Kyoto trip v.1
This trip was organised with Anis and Jacinthe for (I was not aware of this) their friends birthday where we went to a nomihoudai ad tabehoudai (all you can eat and drink for all the money in your wallet). This is on the first night. We partied around Sanjyo station which is, I think, downtown kyoto.
The next day I wanted to sightsee in a very time optimizing way. Here is the trick to Kyoto sightseeing: Get an all-day subway pass. The subway is a very quick and effective way to travel and you don't have to stress about costs with the all day pass that costs 600yen.
Now this day we were short on time. I find it funny how in this current society the men are more girly than girls. Many times did this happen that I've had to wait for an hour for a man (or more...see Kyoto v2) to shave, shower, and do other man stuff. I miss the times when people would wait after me because they woke us 2 minutes ago and are already ready . Anyways, we were running short on time and I had a lot of caffeine inside of me from the wait.
The only thing we had time to see was the imperial palace. Were we ever lucky! What are the odds that for that week - and that week only - would the Imperial Palace be open for tourists to go INSIDE! Yes INSIDE! I will repeat: INSIDE! This usually costs a lot of money and you have to reserve a month in advance! Even though people were walking over
eachother to get THAT perfect picture, the feeling of peace, of walking right into history, of being there when it all happened, before Japan became a tourist trap.... yeah... that feeling... it could not be avoided. You become one with Japan and it's history as you walk in the footsteps of the most influencial men in Japan. Sure you get this feeling like you missed the party and arrived 200 years late but it's an ignorable feeling. When I'm in these place I like to imagine myself riding a horse up to the palace door and demanding to speak to the emperor about urgent business. (this is why I'm always having fun)... and then we went home and I knew I couldn't leave Japan without seeing the Fushimi Inari red gates... but little did I know what I was getting myself into.
Kyoto v.2
This is how I describe it: We saw demons, spirits and cats!
So I went with 4 of my guy friends (please refer to the coment above about time usage) to Kyoto to see what I failed to see las
t time.We saw the golden temple where there was this hillarious squicky kid. On his shoes were things that went squick everytime he would walk... oh and the temple was nice. Other than the fact that it's majestic, the golden color burns your eyes out (but it's a soothing burn) and the magical feeling like youre at one the most romantic place on earth (despite the 1000000 people around you) ... other than all that it was quite ordinary...Here is a picture
We saw Kyomizudera which is this amasing water shrine. Tip: go pee before entering the shrine.
This shrine holds healing waters that you can drink for the small price of 200yen, they do have to make a profit off of your body's salvation now don't they.... But seriously the view was magnificent! It's at the bottom of the mountain so it's low enough that Japanese people will go but just high enough so that you get a nice view on Kyoto.
Here is what you have to keep in mind when travelling: Japanese people, for the most part, are sissies. When it gets dark, cold or too high and far that they can't go in heals, most of them will desist themselves.... and that's when I enter the picture.
Now imagine this: You're in this mountain going through 1000 ominous red gates when the sun sets and the gates start to disperse and different roads open up to you. What do you do?
Here is my answer: Take the most myterious looking road and you will always be satisfied.
That's what I did and I saw demons and spirits! The group unfortunetly split up and the other guys took an even more mysterious road through the woods (I must admit that I was quite jealous... my friends kinda didn't want to follow me into the woods). At one point in our journey we came upon these shrines who seemed to pray to more than the clever fox spirit but to a more demonic fire god :D Just around the corner, we saw a figure all dressed in white going down the mountain in a really odd manner... now you can imagine how extatic I was! Multiply that by 666!
Quote: *While looking above the shrines at the unlit mountain below the moon* There is something demonic yet comforting about this place.
That is adventure baby!
Fire gods
In Kyoto there is this painting of a fire god of somesort that was hidden for 800 years! Again with the luck (It must be that Inari god of prosperity and luck) this is the first time it's being exposed and it's only untill december! Of course we went and they had lit up all the trees in a very Japanese manner exposing the maple leaves of Japan (like Canada but 20 times smaller and cuter) And above this they lit up the bamboo forest with alien looking light.
It was nice, when we got to the painting, to see soo many people wishing and praying to this fire god! Comforting....
Mirai (future)
I'm going to cut this short and conclude with a segment on my future plans.
For the holidays I'm going to Tokyo with my french buddy Coralie where we will meet more french buddies (Emmanuelle, Lilliane, Thais, Hugo) who are organising themselves on their sides. Tokyo décadence this year (my first, hopefully not my last but lets be realistic here) has my favorite theme: PIRATES! HOURAY! I'm soo excited I think I'll never want to leave!
An other project in the making is that I want to ascend Mount Fuji or as they call it here: Fujisama! The only problem is that this is a huge tourist trap that I want to try to avoid. My plan is to ascend with my friend on a secure but non-touristic road and fall asleep looking at the stars.
We'll see how that goes.
Well ladies and gentlemen if you have made it this far you are real troopers so here is a treat information: In China, I learned this yesterday, they have two ages. Actually to them, when you are born you are two years old! Why? dunno... but it's a quirky fact indeed!
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