Gion Matsuri and heading home

In less than two short weeks all three of us Moonlanders will be returning to base – that is, we’re coming back to America! JRM, Zetsubou, and I will all be arriving back in America on July 28th.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately – we’ve been too busy running around getting in as much Japan as possible before we leave. Here’s some photos from our recent adventures! We went to a Hanshin Tigers baseball game, Kyoto again for the Gion Matsuri, and a couple of other places.

Fox statues

Foxface plaques

Fanfare

Ready for launch

Baseball food?

Sunset over the stadium

Fans from far away

Tigers fans

On a float

Lanterns

Like a geisha

Drums

Over the River

Jimbei

Yukata back

Yukata sleeves

Yukata

Japanese teacher

… Hope you enjoy the photos! JRM should get around to posting some more of those Tokyo photos one of these days!

~ Ebee

Tokyo a Go-Go! Round 1

So, as some of you may know, last week Zets, Ebee, and I took a trip to Tokyo during the holidays of Golden Week.  It’s a string of a few national holidays that many people use to take vacations and trips and whatnot.

Being the thrifty folks that we are, we decided to take an overnight bus to and from Tokyo.  This was a mixed blessing at best.  On one hand, it was cheap and (in a way) you cut down some travel time by travelling while you would be sleeping.  However, the bus was not so comfy and we had a decently difficult time sleeping. Thankfully, our excitement about the trip kept us going for the better part of the first day there.

The first round of photos isn’t to extreme because we only spent half of the day out and about.  The fatigue got to us eventually.  But anyway, these photos are from Ueno, Tokyo.  Specifically, Ueno Park, where we visited the Tokyo National Museum.  Most of the photos inside the museum didn’t turn out too well, sadly, but some were pretty good.  The park itself was quite nice and the weather was splendid.  It was a shame we were so very tired (which you will be ablt to see in some of these photos). Click the photos for a (ever so slightly) longer explanation on some of them!

The crossing just outside the station and park area.

Lots of shade!

A long wooded path in Ueno Park.

I don’t know what to call these other than stone lanterns.

A lion/dog statue that acts as a guardian for shrines all around Japan.

This is called a “tsuba” and is a hand guard for a Japanese sword.

This is a bizarre ancient clay statue of what looks like a dog. They’re a kind of Terra Cotta called “Haniwa”.

Now this is fancy schmancy armor that a really high ranked person (who probably didn’t ever fight) would wear.

This is the blade of a Naginata, a type of Japanese polearm.

This armor in the museum is more like what non-high ranked samurai would wear.

A neat image that the Torii make all lined up together.

Zetsubou Sensei and Ebee in front of the same Torii.

Ebee and JRM in front of a bunch of Torii (gates denoting a sacred place) at a shrine in Ueno Park..

Wait for Round 2, coming soon, featuring Ginza, Odaiba, and some really funny pictures.

You want more pictures?

Well then call me a genie because your wish is about to be granted!  This time, you are having the pleasure of seeing the 桜 or Sakura, Japanese cherry trees.  Around the tail end of March and the beginning of April the trees go into full bloom for about a week, depending on the weather.  There is sort of a national pastime (お花見 or Ohanami) of going with friends or family to picnic under the trees, sometimes for the entire day.  First, we looked around Takarazuka, and found some good ones, especially along the Flower Road.  Then Ebee and I went out to Shukugawa Station in Nishinomiya, a city next to Takarazuka, which is a popular local spot for viewing the blossoms.  We enjoyed some bento lunches and enjoyed the lovely weather next to the river.  That’s all there was to it so I don’t think I need to bother with tagging all of the pictures with a title.  Anyway, these are some really pretty flowers, so enjoy!!

~JRM

All that glitters…

is sometimes actually gold!  So is this blog becoming nothing but a place to dump photos?  I guess so.  Well, since I can talk with so many of you over the magic of Skype, I don’t have as much to say here as I do to show!  Anyway, let me get to it.

Yesterday, Ebee and I went out to Kyoto to see the famous Kinkaku-ji.  I’ll let the photos speak for themselves as far as describing it.  It was quite pretty.  After a long and arduous bus ride back to the central Kyoto station, we walked around a bit, found some fun things, and made our way back home.  It was a good day, though it got quite cold by the time we got back to Kyoto station.  Anyway, on with the photos!

Kinkaku-ji in the Mirror Pond

From all the way across the Mirror Pond

A more centered photo of the temple. Quite shiny!

Kinkaku-ji, also from the side.

Front tall view of the temple

Kinkaku-ji from the side

Awww, lookit us.

Good Luck Coin Tossing!

small pond area behind the temple

small side portion of the grounds

Downtown Kyoto (Kyoto Tower Hotel)

The Kyoto Tower Hotel

JRM and Astro Boy ready to save the Earth!

JRM and Blackjack, ready to do some…rogue surgery…

Ebee and Princess Sapphire ready to save the kingdom!

-JRM

春は着きました! (Spring has arrived!)

Actually, that’s not entirely true, and probably not correct Japanese, but that’s beside the point.  I have pretty pictures to show off.  Erin and I went to the big local temple, Nakayama-dera, to see some blossoming plum trees.  Sadly, by the time we got to the temple, the sky turned a bit grey and gloomy, but the trees were still quite wonderful.  Soon, the Sakura, or Japanese cherry trees, will be in bloom and those will make for some amazing photos.  

Normally I would put a caption on all of these photos so that you would know what they are, but they’re all pictures of plum blossoms, so they’re going to be caption-less.  Signing off!

-JRM

Kaiyukan

Last weekend, Ebee, Zetsubou, and three other friends went to the Kaiyukan Aquarium.  It was quite enjoyable!  I took many pictures but not that many came out well, but I’ll post the good ones!  I believe it used to be the largest aquarium in the world until the Atlanta one was built.  Afterwards, we has sushi!  Morbid?  Maybe, but when were at the Aquarium, all we could think about was eating fish.  It was an awesome day.

 

~JRM

One of many penguins! Sorry this image is sideways.

One of the Whale Sharks (or Jimbeizame 甚平鮫) at the Kaiyukan.

This is a sunfish. It’s really, really weird.

Manta Ray! Only four aquariums in the world have one! It’s so cool!

This turtle almost looks like it’s flying rather than swimming because of how this image turned out.

A big lobster who was really interested in what was going on outside his tank.

This lobster was not so interested.

Japanese Spider Crab! It looks more like a martian than a potentially delicious meal!

One of the Jellyfish in the last exhibit of the aquarium.

Our Japanese Apartment

Here’s kind of a long video (about 10 mins) tour through our apartment in Takarazuka. We’ve been living here for half a year all ready!! We just got the video camera this Christmas, though… We decided it would be a good idea to make this video not only to show our friends and family back at home, but also so we can show Jon’s successor what his/her apartment will look like before they move out here this Fall to take over Jon’s position. So, a little late, but here it is ~

…Not a lot else is going on around here. The weather is getting a little warmer, though the nights are still quite cold. It’s almost Valentine’s Day and there are chocolate sales everywhere! Here in Japan, Valentine’s is celebrated a little differently than in America. In Japan girls and women give chocolates (often homemade) to the men/boys they like. One month later on March 14th “White Day” the boys/men are suppossed to reciprocate the gifts. Mostly though it’s all about girls giving boys chocolates here! Here’s an interesting article from Time about Valentine’s Day in Japan.

~ Ebeelove

Adventure videos

Here are a couple of videos for you folks from some of our recent adventures:

First, a short video of the big maine coon cat at Neko no Jikan cat cafe  in Osaka… This video doesn’t really show how huge this cat was. Probably about 2 feet tall sitting up and about 25 pounds at least!!

Feeding the deer in Nara Park. They are greedy little fatties:

Myself and two of the guys try to crawl through “Buddha’s nostril” in Todaiji temple. If you can crawl through this hole in a post (the same size as Buddha’s nostril) it is said you will attain enlightenment!

~ Ebeelove

Small photo post – Cat Cafe

Over the holiday we took our friends from America around the Kansai region, revisiting Nara, Kyoto, as well as going to new locations such as Himejii and Arashiyama. For Zetsubou’s birthday we took her to a cat cafe called “Neko no Jikan” or “Cat Time” in Osaka. A cat cafe is a place where you can get a cofee or smoothie and play with some cats that hang around in the room. It was a lot of fun. Here’s some photos! More videos coming soon!

Osamu Tezuka Museum

View from inside Himejii castle

View from inside Himejii castle

Himejii castle

Himejii castle is huge!

Shopping arcade outside Himejii

The gang in Arashiyama

Pagoda in Nara

Gramps and his pal

Went to Todaiji again

Joey lighting incense

This poor guy had an injury so he was wearing this collar

Another kitty at Neko no Jikan

Another kitty at Neko no Jikan

This huge fellow was a maine coon we befriended at “Neko no Jikan,” a cat cafe in Osaka.

“Purikura” – Print Club sticker pictures

There is a very popular photo booth activity trend here in Japan called “purikura” which is an abbreviation for “purinto kurabu” or “print club.” You and your friends (girlfriends, usually) all crowd into a photo booth with a green screen in the background and pose for a series of photos with customizable silly backdrops. After the photos are taken, you can go into another section of the photo booth and decorate and add all kinds of silly things to your photos. Then the machine prints the photos out for you on sticker picture paper and you can cut them up and divide them among your friends. They are very wacky and very Japan… And very fun! Here are some of purikura we’ve taken so far:

Enjoy!

~ Ebeelove