After USJ, on June 1st, I spent the next morning CD hunting in Osaka. I made some good finds before I caught the Thunderbird Limited Express up towards my next destination, Kanazawa. However, when I originally charted my route I had decided to make a quick stop in the neighboring town of Komatsu to check out the many sights there. I am glad I made the detour.
Despite it being a small town, Komatsu felt quite new! I guess that could be because the Komatsu construction company was started there. I arrived in the evening, and went to the guesthouse I booked for the night. Guesthouse Mikkaichi is a brand new place, recently opened by a semi-retired carpenter who likes to restore houses. The guesthouse is an older urban Japanese house, with an vaulted atrium and a nice little garden encircled by the building.
I was greatly impressed by the slick interior, wooden layout as well as the overall architecture of the house. The staff were also very friendly, recent retirees who went in on the business with their friend.
I was the only one staying, since it was a normal Wednesday night. So we went to dinner together at a Chinese restaurant, one of the few open that evening. Apparently Wednesday is the day most businesses take off in Komatsu. But nonetheless the food was great, since Komatsu is known for it's Chinese food.
To my surprise, my hosts graciously paid for my meal. To pay them back for the dinner, I helped register their location on Google maps. As I was working away in the common room I met a local architect with great hair (we were rocking the same cut). I had to snap a picture, which he joked featured our "silver and gold styles".
Then I headed out and refreshed myself at the nearby APA Hotel onsen. Apparently the founder of the APA Hotel chain was born in Komatsu as well, so I counted this onsen detour as a tourist activity.
Later that night back at the guesthouse the owner arrived, and decided to take us to a snack bar for karaoke. As expected, everyone was far too good, with the guesthouse owner being particularly enthusiastic. Having the mic forced upon me, I ended up butchering Major Tom but still managed to entertain everyone.
On the long weekend of May 31st, we motley crew of Tottori JETs decided to travel down to Osaka for some fun at Universal Studios Japan. After enjoying an entertaining car ride swapping music with friends, we made it to our friendly hostel (after taking just a few wrong turns). After staying up late playing card games, we still managed to wake up early to reach USJ right when the gates open. If you want to see a good video summary of the day, Tim made a great vlog of the day, check it out!
Our first stop was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We queued up for the main attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Even the line was entertaining, as it took us through Hogwarts castle, complete with talking pictures, classrooms, and Dumbledore's office. Entering the ride itself was quite novel, as we stood on a conveyor belt floor under floating candles. The ride itself was a inventive blend of 3D video and traditional animatronics, viewed from a roller coaster seat. This hybrid was very exciting, which took us on a joyride through various memorable scenes from the movies.
We then ventured to the back of the property, to Jurassic Park. The new, main attraction was a massive flying coaster snaking the whole section. This was one of the best roller coasters I have ridden, with the weightless sensation created by the "seats" adding an exciting thrill to the massive drops and loops.
We also lined up for the other main ride in the Jurassic Park area, and while we waited I ended up signing some autographs for a group of Junior High School students. Tim Lum can tell you more about that. The animatronic splash ride, much akin to Disney's Splash Mountain. Yet this one featured a much steeper drop, which occurred surprisingly underneath the T-Rex. Definitely added an extra level of thrill, making the ride worth the wait.
Before we left, we saw a fun performance in the park where the staff shot a shotgun in the air to scare away a dinosaur. It was a bit surreal since the US would be too paranoid to put on such a performance these days.
Next up was one of my favorite rides of the day, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. This 4D ride has won the Golden Ticket Award (critical acclaim for amusement park rides) for 12 years straight, so it is no wonder I enjoyed it so much. While the set design was clearly dated, it brought a strong wave of nostalgia since the material was mainly from the 90s Saturday morning cartoon show. But the ride itself felt anything but old. Through an expert combination of 3D, cart motion, and pyrotechnics, the engineers had managed to fake the sensations of swinging and falling though New York City alongside Spider-man.
Nearby was the Back to the Future ride, which to my understanding, was closing up in just a few days. To celebrate it, tons of cosplayers had shown up, and USJ even had a Delorian available to pose with. Since my experience with cosplay has mainly been seeing US citizens dressing as anime characters at conventions, it was fun to see the inverse, Japanese people in costume from an American IP.
As we continued to wander the park, we came across a parade proceeding through the main street in celebration of the park's 15th anniversary. It was credibly random, with tons of foreign singers, an Indian Hello Kitty, and other fantastically bazaar floats. The lack of thematic consistency did not dull the fun though, but may have actually added to it.
We then ducked into the Hollywood coaster, which let you choose a music track to listen to as you rode the coaster, as well as if you wanted your seats facing forwards or backwards. We followed that up with the Evangelion 4D theater experience. I geeked out a bit as the theater got to experience a first-person Eva launch. The action was good, and the CG was solid. I had a feeling some of my friends who had not watched the series must have though the showing to be totally weird, as it consisted mostly of nods to moments in the movies from a different perspective. Unfortunately we were not able to see the Attack on Titan showing. I still managed to find a Survey Corps. jacket, which came in handy for taking pictures at the Attack on Titan displays, some which treaded a bit into the uncanny valley. But the best pick was definitely the wallrun shot with the Titan bursting out of the studio wall.
In the same area Tim and I checked out the Monster Hunter display, which featured life size replicas of in-game items, as well as two animatronic dragon displays which make impressive use of lighting and sound. If VR can get close to these kind of dramatic displays I look forward to the costly, silly future of video games. Outside we also got some sweet shots slaying a dragon!
We ended our day back at Harry Potter World to try Butterbeer. I chose to try the frozen Butterbeer, which was a Slurpee, and definitely the best variation for a hot spring day. As we left we saw that those who had purchased wands at the stores could wave them at scenery, causing "magic" to happen. One guest nonchalantly opened a bunch of chests, looked our way, smiled and wandered off like the coolest guy in the world. At that moment in time I would be hard pressed to contest otherwise.
I did have a cool moment myself punching a shark at the Jaws display as we left though.
Overall it was a great day with a fantastic crew! But this vacation was far from over, since I had taken the rest of this short workweek off to explore new areas of Japan.
On the weekend of May 21st, my friend Kerstin came over from Tokyo to check out the Chugoku region. Another one of our friends, Chris, hopped over from Hyogo with his car. Together we drove down to the sand dunes, and then checked out the new Sand Museum display. This year's display theme is South America. More so than the previous exhibition, the South American theme made clever use of the space. The sculptors used the back sides of the center and inset sculptures to make a gigantic Christ the Redeemer. And my favorite touch was the Machu Picchu display, which was only visible from the 2nd story platform for a birds eye perspective.
Afterwards we met up with most of the Tottori ALTs for a sea kayaking voyage around the Uradome coast. At the beginning of my time on JET, we all went on a tour boat to view this spectacular coastline from afar, but this time we got to get up close, even paddling through the arches! Seeing these natural wonders up close was a completely different experience.
After kayaking, we headed back into Tottori-shi for a local beer fest and a rare festival! This particular local festival featured a few parade floats and many groups performing dances. I even ran into a few coworkers and friends who were participating in the festival. A variety of seemingly traditional dances were performed. I filmed a few of them for you to take a look.
At the festival my buddy Yasuaki from the curry restaurant Moona was cooking up some food. Surprisingly he was not selling curry, but yakisoba, appropriate food for a festival.
To end the night we headed to the local dive bar, Shuvi's, for an informal ALT talent show. The performances were impressive, and complimented by the fantastic MCs Scott and Dana, one of the best comedic duos I have seen. It was a fun, entertaining way to end the busy day.
The next morning, with another Tottori ALT Liam joining us, we drove out to Mt. Mitoku. The weather was wonderful for the short hike, which went much faster with a small group. This is one of my favorite spots in Japan, so I was glad to be able to go back again. The spring vistas were breathtaking.
That evening we went back for the second day of beer fest, and this time we got to watch the curry restaurant owner, Yasuaki, perform with the infamous black clad shan shan group, Dotokintzu. As always they put on a bombastic performance! Their first song was a more traditional shan shan performance, executed to perfection. But the next set of performances was where their character really shines through with upbeat tempos and flashy choreography. Here's all the performances I recorded, skip ahead past the first minute if you want to see their more flashy dancing.
We then made a brief stop at the Tottori castle ruins to take in the twilight vista of the inaka city, before heading to Sarashina for a feast! At this point in time the chef, Takashi, no longer even preps food on the menu for my friends and I. Instead he cooks whatever he feels inclinded to feed us, and continues to do so until we give up. The massive feast was a great way to end a fun weekend.
PS. Earlier that week on the 17th was my birthday, which I celebrated at Sarashina. Takashi was kind enough to invite me over. that Tuesday night after work to celebrate, even though the restaurant was closed. What I didn't expect was a shabu shabu feast with the whole family and friends.
There ain't no rest for the wicked. After returning from adventuring abroad in Sri Lanka (blog coming eventually) the very next weekend of May 14th I found myself in the coastal city of Onomichi, a seaside town and the beginning of the famous Shimanami Kaido. Translated as the "Sea Road", this 70km island hopping highway connects Japan's main island Honshu with the other major island Shikoku through a series of 6 different bridges. Apart from serving the functional purpose of connecting the land masses, the road has become a popular cycling route for it's spectacular views and refreshing sea breeze.
I met up with the Okayama JETs, a solid group of over 20 people, bright and early on the morning of May 13th at a bike rental shop. I managed to mount my knockoff GoPro to the handlebars, so I have some pretty fun footage for you in this blog! We took our bikes on a short ferry which dropped us off at the official start point. After an inspiring speech which included a Leeroy Jenkins reference, we all set off along the route. We started our trip through a quite nice seaside town, where the group quickly fragmented due to pacing and traffic lights. I stuck with the guys in front who were setting a brisk pace, following a blue line on the road which served as our trusty guide.
As we rounded the island's coast a colossal bridge cam into view. As we approached the blue line suddenly diverted off the road into a winding trail accessible only to bicycles and scooters. We rapidly gained elevation until the trail met up with the bridge. Unique to this bridge, the bike path was suspended underneath the road. We coasted across the bridge. The trail once again diverted away from the highway on the other side, this time winding down this next island back to sea level. I had a blast corning the switchbacks, and I began to look forward to more of these sections.
We stopped briefly at a dinosaur sculpture to take a quick break, before we kept on cycling around the islands. The route took us on a tour of quintessential idyllic Japanese inaka (countryside). As we rode along the coast we passed farms, small towns, and tranquil docks. The docks in particular were impressive, with massive cranes clustered along the coastline. We couldn't have asked for a better day to ride. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, and a light ocean breeze kept us cool.
Our group had planned to meet up at a roadside ice cream shop. After taking a well deserved rest, I hung out for a bit longer and joined the lagging group for the next leg of the ride. I am glad I did because we detoured to Kosanji Temple, a rather unique complex. Built recently, in the mid 1900s by a successful businessman out of devotion to his mother, the whole temple had a different aesthetic from the usual Japanese temples. It was particularly ornate, and made use of the hillside geography. Each building in the complex is modeled after famous places elsewhere in Japan. It had a thousand Buddha cave full of intense imagery and statues winding underneath the hill. The was an impressive five-story pagoda near two art galleries. A large imposing gate atop a staircase, as well as the main temple. And these were just some of the complex's religious icons. Due to the layout and architectural references, it almost felt like a theme park for Japanese Buddhism.
Atop the hillside, above the complex is the Miraishin no Oka, the Hill of Hope. Having no religious significance, this piece of environmental art struck a great balance between minimalism and naturalism. Carved entirely out of white Italian marble, this blinding bright monument was an impressive sight! It was also a ton of fun to climb and jump on. While it only took me 10 months, I managed to find a sweet parkour spot in Japan.
We then continued our trek across more bridges. While riding across the islands, the bridges grabbed our attention with their imposing presence. But once we were riding across the bridges, the provided unbeatable views of the sea and the surrounding islands as we were suspended hundreds of feet in the air. Along our route we passed some creepy mannequins, which sat next to a cooler full of free orange slices! Apparently in Japan, even when the people are inanimate, their hospitality is top notch.
We stopped once more for some good food at a rest stop, and then made our final leg of the journey. The scenery continued to be beautiful, yet interesting as the environment kept changing slightly different between islands.
Near the end things got more challenging, with the road cutting through the middle of an island rather than around. But then we made it to final bridge, which dwarfed all the other bridges. To reach the road we took a spiraling on-ramp build specifically for bicycles, breaking above the trees and over the water. The trail framed the bridge and its unbelievable scale! After cycling for what seemed like maybe a half hour we were rewarded with possibly the most fun snaking downhill of the whole ride, ending the ride on a fun note!
Having arrived in Imabari, we peddled into town, dropped our bikes off, and walked to the hotel where we ate a good dinner and met up with the rest of the group.
The next morning I woke up early, said goodbye to everyone, and caught a train to the nearby city of Matsuyama. I figured if I had made it all the way to Shikoku I might as well check out some of the sights! The main item on my time constrained agenda was visiting the ‘original’ onsen.
Tom Waters joined me, a Colorado ALT who studied abroad in Australia with my sister Maria! The world is truly a small place. We caught a fun cable car to the onsen on the outskirts of the city. At the end of a small shopping arcade stood the famous Dogo Onsen. Having over a thousand year history, it is considered the first hot spring in Japan. And for Ghibli fans, this building might look familiar since it is featured in the Miyazaki movie Spirited Away.
Apart from the main bath and relaxation areas, the building also has a separate quarters for the emperor's private use. While in theory it could be used by the emperor upon his visit, it is mainly a tourist attraction. We took the brief tour of the private quarters ourselves. We also stopped by a third floor corner room which was frequently used by the famous Japanese author Natsume Soseki. His book Botchan, is one of Japan's most famous modern literary works. While I have not read it myself, the psuedo-autobiographical nature of the synopsis feels reminiscent of James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist.
The onsen itself was large, surprisingly deep, and quite hot. Relative to some more modern bathhouses, the amenities were rather sparse. Dogo is notable for serving tea out of rather uniquely shaped cups. So between the large stone pool and post-bath tea, the onsen experience was exactly the R&R we needed after our cycling journey the day before.
After the onsen, Tom and I noticed we had a bit of time before needing to catch our trains, so we power toured Matsuyama castle. It was possibly the most impressive castle I have visited in Japan. Much of the building is still original, which is rare for Japan as most of the castles had been destroyed due to fire, acts of god, or war. The castle complex is also massive, so much so we had to take a chairlift up the mountain to reach it. The castle has a stellar view of the sprawling city of Matsuyama, and a strong collection of artifacts.
A funny little story was during our time at the onsen we ran into a tour group, who we once again saw at the castle. I guess we were touristing right if we were ahead of the actual tour groups. They were a fun group of guys, and we had a good laugh after running into each other three times in town.
I wish I could have allocated more time to Shikoku, there seemed to be a lot happening in Matsuyama alone. Alas I had to get back to work the next day, so I hopped on a series of trains and made it back to Tottori that night.
Despite it being a small town, Komatsu felt quite new! I guess that could be because the Komatsu construction company was started there. I arrived in the evening, and went to the guesthouse I booked for the night. Guesthouse Mikkaichi is a brand new place, recently opened by a semi-retired carpenter who likes to restore houses. The guesthouse is an older urban Japanese house, with an vaulted atrium and a nice little garden encircled by the building.
I was the only one staying, since it was a normal Wednesday night. So we went to dinner together at a Chinese restaurant, one of the few open that evening. Apparently Wednesday is the day most businesses take off in Komatsu. But nonetheless the food was great, since Komatsu is known for it's Chinese food.
Then I headed out and refreshed myself at the nearby APA Hotel onsen. Apparently the founder of the APA Hotel chain was born in Komatsu as well, so I counted this onsen detour as a tourist activity.
Later that night back at the guesthouse the owner arrived, and decided to take us to a snack bar for karaoke. As expected, everyone was far too good, with the guesthouse owner being particularly enthusiastic. Having the mic forced upon me, I ended up butchering Major Tom but still managed to entertain everyone.
