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It happened in... October04's last typhoon? / Preparations continue apace 31 October Overcast outside. Downcast inside. 30 October Typically the sun decides to show its face on the last day of the holiday as we head off to the airport. After saying our goodbyes, we head home for a quiet afternoon, as Mum and Dad head up to Tokyo. 29 October Although it's a rainy day, we all head off to Takachiho, which is mostly shrouded in low cloud when we get there. But we stop in a lovely little restaurant for lunch and move on into the gorge. In the evening it's all round to the outlaws for a barbecue, which becomes quite a party. Some, it is alleged, drink too much. 28 October Fingers crossed! K has an interview this morning. Will hear next Monday. Drive down to Amakusa in the afternoon, where the sun's shining, and it's still so warm that the trees are coming into blossom again. And then back as the sun sets on the bays and mountains around the islands. 27 October It's Kuniko's birthday! Pressies, breakfast, and then off into the countryside, to Kikuchi Gorge and a walk along a spectacular river valley, where ferns grow halfway up trees and lichen is so thick it looks like the trees have green fur. The drive home through Aso is equally picturesque, as the day is clear and we can see for miles. In the evening we meet K's parents at a local restaurant and have a feast. Yes that food is just for six people. 26 October Niigita prefecture was still being rocked by aftershocks yesterday. 24 people have died, 2500 injured, and a quarter of a million homes have lost electricity, gas or water supplies. In just over two days, the area has suffered 384 separate tremors, most of these still frighteningly strong. And Typhoon 24 ("Nock-ten") is on the way back from Taiwan. Though it's forecast to miss us in Kyushu, it's due to rip through Okinawa, as most of them do. Lost, a true legend - John Peel R.I.P. 25 October Last night was the Welcome Party for Mum and Dad. A lot of fun, a lot of beer, and a lot of new friends. Some of us are suffering a little this morning. Weather's rubbish all day, so the day becomes a shopping day. Whoopee. Late edit: DVD of choice this evening was The Hours - a pretentious, Virginia Woolf related, two hour crawl through barbed wire. Scores a ten (on my hundred point scale). Recommended to insomniacs everywhere. 24 October As soon as we arrived home last night, we switched on the TV to news reports of a sizeable earthquake measuring 6.8 centred in Niigata, which is about 160 miles north of Tokyo. A quick call to a friend in Nagano, not far from there, reveals that although the two quakes, and the later aftershocks, were big, our friends are ok. By this morning, though, TV news reports a death toll of between 10 and 20, many hundreds injured, collapsed buildings and roads. 23 October - Kyoto A bus takes us north of the city to Kinkakuji, and the Rokuon-ji temple, famous for its Golden Pavillion. A walk around the temple, and more particularly, the gardens, shows the damage the typhoon did as it passed over. The moss beds were in most places covered in fallen twigs and branches, and teams of gardeners were running around frantically trying to clear up the very many acres of garden. Not far from here is Ryoanji temple, with its famous Zen garden, consisting solely of white sand and rocks, enclosed in a walled garden. Outside this garden is another, around a central lake. But the time soon comes to head back to Osaka, so a quick taxi back into central Kyoto, and then we board the shinkansen - the famous "Bullet Train" - to take us back to Osaka. The journey to Kyoto had taken 45 minutes, but returning to Osaka was akin to flying without leaving the ground, and no sooner have we sat down than we're there, in about 15 minutes! 22 October - Kyoto Up early today for a walking tour around Kyoto with "Johnny Hillwalker" - an English-speaking guide. Hajime Hiroka, as he is probably known to his (95-year-old) mother, is an understated legend. He took us on a five hour stroll through parts of Kyoto that we wouldn't have checked out of our own accord. And even if we had, we wouldn't have found out the wealth of information that we did from him. First he takes us through Higashi-Honganji temple, which according to Johnnie is "not for the tourists. It's for Buddhists." This is the centre point of Japanese Buddhism. From here, we are led through the back streets, past the workshops of fanmakers, tatami makers, a geisha school, potters and more. This leads us to Shoseien Garden, an enclosed garden that is neither visible from the street, nor signposted. It's a beautiful and quiet spot hidden in the middle of the city. Then it's on through the back streets again, to a temple graveyard, past the original home of the Nintendo company, and on to the point where we started yesterday, where we bid Johnnie farewell. We walk into Gion in the early evening, which was the biggest geisha area in Kyoto. There aren't many working here any more, but you can occasionally see them. But bearing in mind they probably attract a hundred camera lenses every time they go out in public, they either hurry past you on the street, or catch a taxi. After a feed of the largest prawns ever discovered, it's time for an early night. It's only strolling, but 10 hours of it sorts you out. 21 October - Osaka/Kyoto So finally off to Kyoto. After the bumpiest flight I've ever experienced, and the pilot's best attempts to land the plane sideways, we arrive in Osaka, take a bus along the overpasses of central Osaka to the station, and a train on to Kyoto. First call, after finding our hotel, is the colossal Kiyomizu temple, up on the hillside outside the centre of the city. Now that the weather has cooled down a bit, the tourist season has truly kicked off. School trips and other organised groups from all around Japan have descended on the ancient capital at the same time. But as the sun begins to set, and the coaches depart, the back streets become a little quieter, and the pace slows a little. 20 October While the typhoon went out of its way to bypass us, it was havoc up north. We'd pretty much seen the worst of it by mid afternoon, so having sat and watched videos all day, we went ten-pin bowling. After four games, it seemed that I hadn't won any. My luck was with others, it seems. ;) 19 October On the advice of the weather forecast, we've moved our flights to Kyoto from Wednesday to Thursday. It pours with rain all day by way of introduction. A bit of shopping and then it's off to the video shop and Mister Donut to hunker down for tomorrow. 18 October This afternoon, Suizenji Koen - a park built by those ubiquitous Hosokawas again, not just for strolling, but also to house shrines, a tea room and a Noh theatre. But the weather is beginning to turn, a bit early considering typhoon Tokage* isn't due for another 48 hours. This will be typhoon number 23, it's unusually late in the year (although it's to be followed about 5 days later by #24), and it will scupper our plans for Kyoto slightly. (*a note to smokers - that's "to-kar-ge", rather than "toke-idge". Tokage is Japanese for gecko and isn't to be confused with an invitation to "roll another one".) 17 October Time to discover the natural wonders of Kumamoto-ken. Mount Aso, a still active volcano, is in an eponymous natural park. You can brave the cable car to the summit, but frankly why bother when there's a car park at the top? The smell of sulphur (also on sale should you have a penchant for debilitating chemicals) hits your nostrils up here, and after a while, you're staring into the seething caldera, steaming and bubbling. But fret not, they take your safety seriously up here. Firstly you are warned not to enter the volcano. Sage advice indeed. And secondly, should molten lava start spewing skywards from the crater, there are concrete shelters to which you can retire (at speed) and consider your next move. Nakodake, which is this particular peak of the larger Mount Aso, is an eerie landscape. There are other, dormant craters up here, with layers of multicoloured rock and flat beach-like interiors. After this inhospitable landscape, it's the far gentler Shirakawa spring, where hundreds of litres of the freshest water surge through the sand to feed two rivers. If you planned ahead you can fill your containers with the water that is alleged to hold life-enhancing properties. 16 October First day of the holiday and nothing too demanding on the cards for today. A trip to the castle to start. The main part of the castle is a museum to the feudal lords who raised the castle, and Kumamoto as a castle town over the centuries. The castle sits, as one would expect, on the highest point in the town, and from the top, some 7 storeys more, you can see most of the outlying area. Then a visit to the Kyu-Hosokawa Gyobutei, a samurai-class house and former residence of the Lord Hosokawa (him again). Until 1990 or so, it sat in the centre of town, but as the city expanded and the demand for space increased, the local authorities decided to move the whole house up the hill to the spot where it now resides, in the shadow of the castle. It's a stunning house, elegant in the simplicity of the design, and has a serene and relaxing air. 15 October They've arrived! Safely whisked from Narita to Haneda, from Haneda to Kumamoto, from there to here. Knackered, but safe and sound. 14 October Right. Time to start tidying the house, I suppose... Arrival of The Visitors = T-24hrs. 13 October Ow ow ow, sore thumbs... Ooh look! A new PS2! Monday was a day off, Mrs C was out, so I spent a fair portion of the day bimming round the lawless streets of Liberty City, mowing down the innocent and unwary, fightin' The Power, bringing my own brand of harsh vigilante justice, and earning pots of cash with which to buy more machine guns, grenades and rocket launchers. Grand Theft Auto. You can't beat it. Particularly when your thumbs are bruised and have seized up. Arrival of The Visitors = T-48hrs. 10 October The typhoon was indeed a big 'un, but way north east of us. And Schumacher won the GP. Snore. A light news day. Arrival of The Visitors = T-120hrs. 8 October Been a quiet week. Only had one visitor all week. Mrs C, finally free from the shackles of retail servitude, has enjoyed some time off, but has also registered with an agency for some part time work to fill some of her time. And she spent 2 days at Foodpal (a factory that bills itself as "a theme park for food" by virtue of the fact you can walk round it), packing bento boxes, but looking worryingly like an extra from ER. The latest from Ricewatch is this. It's almost harvest time, the fields are light brown and the rice stalks are heavy with grains. Japan's bracing itself for yet another typhoon tomorrow. This will be number 22 this year, and is forecast to be big 'un. The FIA has already cancelled qualifying for the JP Grand Prix, which will now be on Sunday morning before the race itself. 3 October Out and about today, just us 'n the bus. Went to WanWanLand, which is best described as a dog petting zoo. There are enclosures but most of the dogs are wandering about larger enclosures that the public can enter. The majority of the dogs ignore the visitors and follow the staff around. They know where dinner's coming from. We saw the handsome, the shy, the fashionistas - there were competitions - Most Stylish Dog was won by an Italian Greyhound in a sports jacket, narrowly beating a Bassett Hound dressed as Sherlock Holmes, and a couple that were all dressed up for their wedding, until the bride's dress fell off. Best Dog of the Day was won by a dog best viewed under a microscope. There was also an Eating Each Other's Poo competition, but this appeared to be spontaneous, with fewer rules, and very quickly, fewer spectators. 2 October Some odd fings wot I seen today. These chaps... Are apparently buddhist apprentices. And they were marching along the street in Kengun, stopping occasionally outside someone's house or office, holding up their bowl for an offering, and blessing the gaff. Well, provided you give an offering. And another thing. While there are hundreds of golf driving ranges all over the country, this one very much fulfills the criteria of space-saving. 1 October Busy day today. Got the stereo sorted in the car, so we now have TUUUUUUNES. And we went to clean some rice. Every month, the farming rellies up north send down a load of rice for us southerners. But it needs to be 'skinned' first, for want of a better term. And where, you're asking, would one go to get this done? Well it turns out there are machines dotted about all over the place. What I'd thought were something akin to telephone boxes (which they're obviously not on closer inspection, but I'd never put much thought into it), are in fact rice-cleaning machines. So we dropped our 30kg of natural rice in the hopper at one end, and out it comes at the other end, all white and ready to cook. I found this immensely satisfying, though Maron was distinctly unimpressed, it seems. Also, every now and then, as I'm wandering around, a wonderful smell comes to me. I tracked down the source today and it's kinmokusei, the Orange Osmanthus olive tree or the "fragrant olive" (Osmanthus fragrans variation aurantiacus, yes I've done my research this time). If Opal Fruits did a peach 'n orange flavour, it would smell just like this. And taste delicious. |
