大阪って楽しいヤロ？！ My Trip to Osaka [PART 2]

Sorry for the wait/お待たせしました
 
Day Three

We went to Kobe, which is where Toshi went to University.

トシの大学生な時代の神戸行きました。

Actually when I first applied to Aeon almost three years ago, I originally asked to be placed in Kobe, as I saw it as an urban, cosmopolitan city.

実は、イーオンに申し込んだ時、「神戸に住みたい」と頼んだけど、東京の方に欠員がいっぱいあった。
Toshi drove us in his car and we stopped at Toshi's favourite steak restaurant from when he was a student..

トシの車で神戸に行って、トシの大学生の時一番好きなレストランでおいしいハンバーグを食べました。
The decor reminded me of Back to the Future III, one of Toshi's favourite movies.
そのレストランのデザインを見て、バック・トゥ・ザ・フューチャーパート３を思い出した。

 What a view!　いい景色ね！

Then we decided to ride a ship!
次は船にのりました！

 I got sunburned and hot so we cooled off at an Arcade Centre, where we played Air Hockey and Mario Kart!
涼しいゲームセンターでマリオカート負けてしまった。。

At La Rosa/ ラ　ローザで

Then Toshi and I went to ShiTennouji Temple 四天王寺 near his home, the oldest Buddhist Temple in Japan.
Due to it being Obon, a sacred time in the Japanese calendar, when ancestors' spirits are said to return to our world, the temple was decorated with candles, which guide the souls of the dead to its location.

 The Pagoda and the view from the top

 Look closely at this photo (click to enlarge). See the 'orbs' streaking the photo?
Toshi's mother claims these are the souls of the dead who have returned to Earth.

魂が付いていますか？

This chant was actually very moving after I put down my camera and Toshi found me a lyrics sheet so I could join in. 感動しました！

After the festival was over, Toshi and his siblings went for a late-night Ramen-run at Dottonbori, the most famous street in Osaka.
I was still full after our Italian dinner, but it seems the Yoshidas never stop eating!!!
イタリア料理食べたから、もう食べられなかったけど吉田家はいっぱい食べれるみたい！

A Yoshida tradition: Late night Ramen-run.

The famous Glico Man
(And yes I am wearing pajamas, that's how late and unplanned the trip was!)

Day Four
The final day of my stay in Osaka, and the final day of Obon. During the Obon time, it is traditional for people to go back to their hometowns and pray at their ancestors' graves, because as I said earlier, Obon is the only time of year when the souls of the dead visit Earth.
I was really moved  when I was invited to visit Toshi's great-grandparents' graves, where I prayed and asked for their acceptance as Toshi's girlfriend, to which I think they said 'yes' :)
吉田先祖の墓参りをして、「よろしくお願いいたします」を伝いました。

Tending to the grave.

 Finally some exploration of Osaka, and a game similar to Pachinko.
最後にちょっと散歩して、パチンコみたいなゲーム負けちゃった。

 I didn't want to leave Osaka! I was really welcomed by the family, and I got to use a lot nothing but Japanese the whole time and I saw how Kansai (the area Osaka is in)  has a lot of things to do, great food and lovely people! I wouldn't mind living in Kansai some day!!
本当に帰りたくなかった！みんなクレアの事やさしくにしてし、いっぱい日本語もつかったし、おいしい食べ物あるし。いつか大阪に住みたいな~! ありがとうございまあした！

大阪って楽しいヤロ？！ My Trip to Osaka [PART 1]

Since Toshi's family will be reading this entry, I've also written everything in Japanese.

トシ君の家族の為全部（下手な）日本語でも書いてあります。

I was really nervous about meeting Toshi's family, and to meet as many as 11  family members in one go was pretty overwhelming! But Toshi's family was very welcoming and friendly, so I had nothing to worry about!

もちろん緊張していたけどみんなが優しくて、フレンドリーだからすぐ安心した。

Speaking Japanese for four days non-stop was a real test of my hard work and study, and I'd like to think I did well enough!

	ずっと日本語でしゃべることもまあまあ出来たと思います。

Day One

After making introductions, Toshi took me to see Osaka Castle, which we climbed, and we saw the tiger design which Toshi's great-grandfather had created.

紹介終わったら、トシと一緒に大阪城を上って、曾おじいさんが作ったトラの絵も見えました。

 The tiger (though it's mostly hidden) (left)

I had been craving sushi, so Toshi's parents treated me to sushi at a restaurant named 'stubborn' in Japanese, which is appropriate as the men in the family are stubborn; not that I'm saying I'm not ^^ I got to try some new kinds of fish.

「がんこ」というレストランでおいしい寿司を食べました。

がんこな家族。。？？

Day Two

As you know, I love animals, so I convinced Toshi to take me to Deer Park in the city of Nara. He warned that the deer could be vicious and try to steal food, but they were so placid and gentle and CUTE!!!

動物が好きだからトシ君が奈良に連れていってくれた。鹿さんたちはとてもかわいいだった！！！

 

<- Japan, August 2011            

India, February 2011 ->

なんか二月のインド旅行思い出した！

東大寺、Todaiji Temple, with a history of about 1300 years, and a World Heritage Site, is home to Japan's largest Buddha statue, 大仏、at 15m.

 

Toshi getting rid of the deer poo!!

鹿のウンチがついちゃった!!

Back at the Yoshida's, Toshi's mother had prepared an amazing meal!!!! Raw fish, grilled chicken, homemade fried foods called tempura and a selction of pickles.

夕ご飯：特においしかった物は作りと天ぷら！！　こんなに家での食事初めてでした！本当にすばらしいな食事！　ありがとうお母さん！

 

Everyone living in the household minus Toshi's brother and wife, and plus an Aunt.

 At the request of Toshi's mother, here is the (rather embarassing!) video of me competing in an 'air piano' contest against Toshi's drunk dad ^_^ I think I won!エーアピアノのビデオ　XD
To be continued..続く。。

Golden Week Part 3

Sunday 2nd May

I took an early local train to Kanazawa, a traditional Samurai town which is a popular tourist destination for the Japanese. At the centre of the city is the huge white Castle, and next to that is the famous garden Kenroku-en, which is considered one of the three most beautiful Japanese gardens. There are three geisha teahouse districts, and a famous market. The city was very big, and having done a lot of mountain climbing the previous day, and due to the fact that it was another scorching day, I was thankful for the city loop bus which only cost 200 yen (£1.20) a trip.

First, I refueled with a Japanese breakfast consisting of miso soup, grilled fish, rice and tea. I had decided to only eat Japanese food for my three day vacation ^^

Myoryuji Temple, also known as Ninja Dera is a ninja-style temple with hidden traps and secret rooms. It was undeniably the coolest place I've ever been to! I joined a tour where we were shown special two-way doors, a well with a secret tunnel to the castle, hidden staircases and a magic self-locking trapdoor. There was also a secret room with only four tatami mats. Four is considered unlucky in Japan, since four is pronunced shi, the same as death. The four-tatami room was actually a suicide room for battle commanders who lost a fight.

Unfortunately, I couldn't take a camera into the temple, since it is a religious place, so this secret staircase picture is one I found online. As you can see from the left picture with me in it, it looks like a simple one or two floored building. At the time of Myoryuji's construction, it was illegal to construct a building taller than two floors. Myoryuji cunningly had four floor concealed. So cool!

As I mentioned before, there are countless temples in Kanazawa. Every dot on the above map is a Temple, and this was just the northen part of the city!

Oyama Shrine is the most famous in the city due to its Dutch-inspired stained glass gate at the entrance (remember you can click to enlarge photos).

Kanazawa Castle was unusual due to its white colour, it looked as though it had been snowed upon, which was impossible in the heat!!

Kenroku-en Gardens

 Left: Turtle Island and Right: The most iconic view in Kanazawa, Kotoji lantern

Higashi Cha-ya (Geisha District)

Many Edo period (17th century) teahouses remain in three Geisha areas in Kanazawa.

 I visited a couple of  Teahouses, and visitors were free to explore.

I was served Macha (fresh Green tea) and a sweet to take a away the bitterness.

Finally to end the day while I waited for my night bus, I made a wish at a shrine I came across.

I was told that when making a wish at a shrine, one claps twice, bows, throws a 5yen coin (~3p), and claps twice again (or something like that, many Japanese seem to do this in different orders)!! Unfortunately, while holding a camera, I didn't make the wish correctly so it probably won't come true!!