Japan Day 7 P1

Rise and shine for another day of fun and adventure with Blamer.

It's time for us to venture out of Tokyo again to make our money's worth for the JR passes.

Need to board the ferry to take us to Miyajima, a small island that is most famous for its giant Torii gate, which at high tide seems to float on top of the water. The sight is ranked as one of Japan's three best views. Blamer seems to have no idea where the ferry is... ... Just follow the crowd duh??!

A pic of the vessel. Later we realized that other than ferrying passengers, this vessel is able to ferry vehicles to and fro the island as well.

Enjoying the sea breeze.

Before long, we sighted our target in the distance.

The jetty but we lost sight of the torii gate. Seems it's gonna be quite a walk from the drop off point.

On solid ground again with a stone pillar to welcome us.

Guess who were the first inhabitants we saw on the island? Cute little deers, we missed going to Nara the other day, but surprise surprise, we still get to experience the feeling of having free roaming deers running around us.

A little signage warning visitors to be gentle to these delicate animals.

A little skeptical to be so near to them. Wonder if they bite...

Apparently, this little guy was more interested about what's in my pocket than taking a pic with me. Dude you were supposed to look at the camera... ...

Wonder why this structure was doing till a fellow tourist tried taking a pic thru the hole. Can you see the Torii gate in the middle?

It seems that we have to pass thru the town area to get to the gate, might as well find some munchies along the way.

The first stall that caught our attention.

A classic example of the ingenuity of Japanese to invent stuffs in order to make their lives easier.

The finished product.

The kind owners allowed us to just purchase one cookie instead of the usual one box. Need to save some stomach space for later.

Another innovative machine from the same store.

And we bought one product each.

Yum yum, warm food on a cold morning. The day was just starting out right.

Now it's Blamer to take photos with the deers. But scaredy cat Blamer was afraid to go close.

Haiz in the end I got to resort to camera trickery. Does it look close enough?

More goodies, grilled seasoned rice crackers. With a lot of flavours to choose from.

We chose the one that says blended seven spices. Can't really make out the seven, but it just tasted nice!

As you can see, I couldn't wait for Blamer to finish taking her pictures. Hee hee.

My favourite dish however, goes to these freshly grilled oysters!

These juicy, savoury little gems were so delectable, neither Blamer nor me wasted a single drop of the succulent, gooey goodness.

The O-torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine is designated as a National Important Cultural Property. It's about 16.6m in height and weighs about 60 tons. Its roof, thatched with Japanese cypress bark is 24.2m in length. The main pillars, which are 9.9m in circumference, are made of natural camphor trees, while the 4 supporting pillars are made of natural cedar. The present O-torii, which is the eighth since the Heian period, was erected in 1875. A pity it was high tide so we can't really head out to take a close up look at the gate.

I tried to suck it.

While Blamer tried to grab and compress it.

There was a sampan service which would bring tourist out to sea to go through the gate.

At last we met a fellow tourist who could take a decent photo of us with a full view of the gate.

To be continued with P2!

Japan Day 6 P2

The Bamboo grove is located behind Tenryuji Temple. Both sides of the narrow path are bamboo fences (reaching to around hip height) guarding the large vest of bamboo grooves.

The dark canopy of bamboo stretches for several hundred meters.

In the canopy, the sunlight is largely shut out by the bamboo leaves, making it dim even during the day. Birds sing but cannot be seen, and the trains that run regularly near the grove can also be heard. In the occasional tender breeze, you can hear the bamboo leaves rustling softly against each other.

Botanically speaking, bamboo is a member of the rice family, and as it is hollow, like straw, it is relatively light. The regular distance between its joints makes the stem stronger, enabling it to stand so straight despite its slightness.

The Togetsukyo Bridge spans the Oi River, on whose surface is reflected Arashiyama. This bridge, which is famous for its cherry blossoms and autumn leaves, enhances the elegance of Arashiyama. Togetsu means "moon crossing" - and this bridge was so named by Emperor Kameyama because of the resemblance to that phenomenon. The present bridge, designed as if it melts into the beautiful scenery of Arashiyama, was completed in 1934.

Having witnessed the spectacular autumn colours at Tenryu-ji, I must say this paled in comparison. We had to brave the rain + 20 mins walk to get to the bridge. Slight tinge of disappointment.

Yatsuhashi ((八ツ橋 or 八橋)), one of the best known meibutsu (famous regional products) of Kyoto. It is made from rice flour, sugar and cinnamon. Raw, unbaked yatsuhashi (nama yatsuhashi) has a soft, mochi-like texture and is often eaten wrapped around red bean paste. It may come in a variety of different flavours. Most notable to the Kyoto area is the black version of this. The addition of black bean powder to the wrapper gives a distinctive black colour.

Dinner at Chibo for Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き).

Table fitted with teppan! Will we get to grill it ourselves?

Leecher's love for sake began at this restaurant. I had a glass to warm myself and I must say, its pretty good!

The batter and other ingredients are fried on both sides on the teppan using metal spatulas that are later used to slice the dish when cooked. Cooked okonomiyaki is topped with ingredients that include otafuku/okonomiyaki sauce, aonori (seaweed flakes), katsuobushi (bonito flakes), Japanese mayonnaise and pickled ginger.

We finally succumbed to the coldness (it was 9 degrees due to the all-day rain) & bought our winter clothings @ Uniqlo ...which became our staple wear for the rest of the journey :)

Snacks that we have accumulated over the past few days, for friends & family.