Kyoto's Imperial Palace

Well....two down and umm....not sure (maybe 3-4 to go). Imperial Palaces I mean or at least places in Japan that you have to fill out a form to visit. Yes, it's the form I detest asking for my nationality and only listing TWO options: 1)Japanese 2)Foreign. Any-who....After the rainy/cold sad time I had at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, I was really hoping that the Kyoto Imperial Palace would make up for it. Well, hmmmm......it didn't!

We made the best our of the trip though!
We made fun of our tour guides accent. I swear- after traveling around all over the world, i haven't heard one as weird as hers!
We took some posh- diva pictures!
Admired the art. This was pretty much IT! Besides big open spaces and buildings far off in the distant and GRAVEL on the ground everywhere....this was all I saw!

The gardens were perhaps the only truly pretty thing we saw on the whole tour!

It was strange seeing all these foreigners. They could understand what we were joking about, which is something I haven't experienced for a while.

All in all, this is pretty much what we thought of the whole tour!

Fuji-Rock 2006 - YAYY BABY!!!

Okay, I'm seeing tons of you guys posting this on your Blogs and I just can't stop myself either. I'm so excited!!! :) I'm gonna be down south Niigata with tent and all. These are a few of the bands that I really HAVE to see, but I have a list of others as well. Yayy!

The line-up ROCKS - http://www.smash-uk.com/frf06/line-up.html

ふしみ いなり じんじゃ

Fushimi, a sake production center just south of Kyoto, hosts the most famous and important of the roughly 40,000 Inari shrines in this country. Inari is the Shinto god of rice and sake, two central and essential commodities both in the culture and history of trade and life in Japan. As such, with the rise of industry and the diminishing importance of agriculture, the role of Inari shrines has grown to represent success and prosperity in business.


Characterizing the site are numerous statues of foxes, messengers of Inari, and guardians of the shrine. A pair of stone fox statues stand on guard at the entry to each of the site's shrines and sub-shrines. Inari's foxes are said to be helpful, but others are said to be dangerous and bewitch people, sometimes even in the guise of beautiful woman. Foxes are also believed to be capable of possessing humans, entering them under their fingernails. A key often seen in the mouth of a fox statue is for the rice granary.

The shrine complex also has four kilometers of paths and trails winding up through woodlands to the top of the mountainside where a good view of Kyoto can be appreciated. Walking through these trails can take between two to three hours.




Keeping in character with the shrine, kitsune udon ('fox udon'), a noodle soup topped with pieces of aburaage (fried tofu), a favorite food of foxes, is served at small restaurants along the hiking trail as is Inari sushi, fried tofu wrapped around sweetened rice, which also gets its name from this place. A slightly different local delicacy available here is barbequed sparrow.

The Great Buddha - Daibutsu

The prime attraction in Nara, the Todai-ji Temple is the largest wooden building in the world.

It houses the Great Buddha (Daibutsu), which is also one of the largest bronze images in the world.

On the way to the main hall is the Nandaimon Gate with two fierce looking Nio guardians at the sides.
These two creations were carved in the 13th Century by the sculptor Unkei and are considered to be among the finest wooden sculptures in all of Japan.
There are several halls within the compounds of Todai-ji Temple. They are Daibutsu-den Hall, Shoso-in (Treasure Repository), Kaidan-in Hall, Nigatsu-do Hall, and Sangatsu-do Hall.
The Daibutsu-den Hall, or Hall of the Great Buddha, houses the monumental bronze image of the Great Buddha, which was meant to proclaim the power of the imperial state. The statue dates back to 746 and is the representation of the Dainichi Buddha, the cosmic Buddha believed to have given rise to all worlds and their respective historical Buddhas.

Nara Park

The Nara-koen was created from wasteland in 1880 and now covers a large area. Popularly known as Deer Park, it contains over 1,000 tame deer, which are sacred and symbols to the shrine of Kasuga Taisha. In the past, these deer were considered to be messengers of the gods. Today, they enjoy the status of national treasures and are free to roam the park and its surrounding areas. Many of the historical relics of Nara are conveniently located around this finely wooded park

Feeding the deer, I felt a little bit like being back in Texas and feeding milk to the baby Barbados or baby cows at my grandfather's farm. Awww....memories!!!




'lil Fatty!

Watch out now!

Home Sweet (Smelly w/ limited showers) Home

The Uno House

You know, you can never go wrong when Lonely Planet lists a place to stay or check out in a city......but when Lonely Planet lists a place that starts with the description "Sure, it's a little run down, but you can't beat the price." Why not check it out!?! At least - that's what we did!

Ok - Ok, it wasn't TOO bad. Hot water and we had our own private room and it was close to lots of attractions and it had no curfew AND it was bigger than the hostel/closet I had in Yokohama....so all in all - cheap and nice! Just watch out for "creepy eye" one of the owners - we think!