Tag Archives: animals

21st July 2017: Beppu – Hell day~ (in a good way) {Japan, summer 2017}

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Beppu is, as I said before, known for having a lot of volcanic vents. It has decided to exploit this as a tourist resource. Beppu is still trying to open up to foreigners. It’s trying, at least partially. So cheers to the nice people.

The main attraction are the Jigoku [地獄] or hells, which are, depending on who you ask, seven, eight or nine. I visited eight of them. They are spectacular hot springs and vents which are too hot for bathing but really interesting to look at. The whole pack is called Beppu Jigoku Meguri [別府地獄めぐり]

I got myself a map, bought a ticket pack and a bus pass, and set off to the bus. Most of the jigoku are located in the Kannawa [鉄輪] District, but two of them are pretty far away, in Shibaseki [柴石] (2 km is far in the boiling summer, if the weather had been nicer, I would have walked back and forth).

I visited the Onishibozu Jigoku [鬼石坊主地獄] (Hell of the Demon-monk) which is a boiling mud puddle and a strong sulphur smell. I did not manage to get any bubble exploding, but the idea is that the bubbling mud looks like a monk’s shaved head.

Second I headed walked into the Umi Jigoku [海地獄] (Sea Hell), which is a turquoise pond of boiling water with a small shrine. It also has a smaller reddish pond to one of the sides.

After this I took a break to have a made-in-hot-spring-water pudding and have something to drink, just because I could. It was delicious.

And there was Onsen Jinja [温泉神社] (Hot Spring Shrine) to snoop around, too!

Third, I dropped by the Yama Jigoku [山地獄] (Mountain Hell), which comes off from the mountain slope and complements that it is not the most spectacular one with having a small petting zoo, where I somehow ended up feeding a capybara. Don’t ask me XD (This hell is independent, so you have to pay extra to come into it).

Fourth, I went to the Kamado Jigoku [かまど地獄] (Cooking Pot Hell) which has a big oni cook to greet you.

Fifth, I found the Oniyama Jigoku [鬼山地獄] (Devil Mountain Hell) which for some reason breeds crocodiles, and what the hell, that was scary for a second. Even if they were behind bards, the crocs would follow you under the water and snip at your shadow and some of them were enormous! Creepy! The hot-spring itself was not that impressive but basically because it was steaming too much to see any of it.

Sixth, I went to the Shiraike Jigoku [白池地獄] (White Pond Hell) where there was nobody to take my ticket. A nice old couple explained that I was to cut it myself and put it in a jar over there. We were talking a little and they asked where I was from. Then they continued on their way and I stayed petting a random cat who decided I was to scratch it right then and there. In this jigokku they also have a small aquarium with several tank of freshwater fish, among them “man-eating piranhas”…

I took the bus then to Shibaseki where the other two remaining hells were. Had the weather been more agreeable I would have walked, but I had the bus pass anyway and it was very hot. As I stepped out of the bus I came across the same couple from before. they explained that they had visited Spain before when they were younger and told me that they were from Osaka. We parted ways to go into the Chinoike Jigoku [血の池地獄] (Blood Pond Hell) which is a boiling red pond. Here I decided to take a foot bath as the area was empty and I was tired.

The final hell was Tatsumaki Jigoku [龍巻地獄] (Spout hell), a geyser you have to wait for, as it has its own timing. Here the old couple brought me a lemonade because they were adorable. And after the geyser it was over, or so I thought.

I had decided to give the aquarium a miss, because I was very tired but when I was taking pictures of the “castle” from afar I decided… I could not miss the chance, so I took the bus again towards Kifune-jo [貴船城] (which is quite new but pretty enough). Unfortunately the bus stopped right at the foot of the hill, so I had to go up and climb all the slope. I arrived just in time to pray to a snake which is supposed to bring happiness to whomever pats it.

After the castle I headed back downtown and took the train to backtrack to Kokura / Kitakyuushu [小倉 / 北九州]. While it is true that I had passed Kokura on my way from Fukuoka to Beppu, the idea was always to spend the minimum time on a train per day, but I wanted to combine Kokura with Okayama and make the following day a “castle day”.

Once in Kokura I checked in and went to see Kokura-jo [小倉城] by night.

11th July 2017: Ueno on the first full day is a thing {Japan, summer 2017}

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I headed off to Ueno because I wanted to wander around the zoo. Don’t ask me why, but it was what I felt like doing. First I dropped by the Shinobazunoike Bentendo [不忍池弁天堂] where I got the shuuin and I entered Ueno Zoo through the new Benten gate. The zoo had not changed much, I think, but I saw things I did not remember seeing the first time around. They have moved the petting zoo to something closed, probably to fight off the heat.

I had lunch at the zoo around 1:30 pm, then continued my way towards the upper part of the zoo. There I was observed by a bird of prey and it made me feel like food XD. I stayed at the zoo until 16:30 I did not get to see the baby panda because it is too small to be up and about.

Then I headed off to Shinjuku [新宿] which was a convenient place to meet up with D****e for dinner and an hour of karaoke. I did some shopping as I waited – and for some once, that was not (only) fandom related. I was in Kinokuniya getting myself some Japanese books (because as I passed N4 I have to continue studying). Bummer. We also stopped by a random electronics shop which had a big Yoshiki poster. That’s always nice to see.

6th January 2017: Miyajima (in eleven hours) {Japan, winter 16/17}

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I was, quite literally, out from sun to sun on this day, and then when it was night I came back for more. Miyajima [宮島] is a small island in Hiroshima Bay, famous for the ‘floating torii gate’, the o-torii [大鳥居], belonging to the Itsukushima Jinja [厳島神社]. About 17 metres high, it is planted on the beach in front of the shrine, and you can walk up to it in low tide. In high tide you see it in the middle of the water. The o-torii’s upper part is around 22 metres long and hollow. It is not nailed or glued, but is weighted down by fist-sized rocks stored in the hollow area. The pillars are solid.

And to the o-torii I headed off literally at dawn, after getting a warm coffee from a vending machine. The first few minutes cough half an cough hour cough were spent around the torii as it was low tide and you could walk up to it.

After I managed to peel myself off the o-torii, I headed off to the shrine it actually belongs, Itsukushima Shrine, which is the main shrine of the island. The shrine has a famous noh stage and when the tide rises it also becomes ‘floating’. It is the biggest shrine in the area. Itsukushima Shrine is dedicated to Ichikishima-hime, Tagitsu-hime and Tagori-hime, known as the Munakata goddesses, are the deities of the ocean, traffic safety, fortune and accomplishment.

After Itsukushima shrine I ducked some deer, which abound, and are always hungry for maps and so on, and I walked down the breakwater to a little shrine named Kiyomori Jinja [清盛神社].

On my way back, I stepped on the grounds of the Buddhist temple of Daigan-ji [大願寺]. It was here where I realised that there were little stamps to be collected in the island, which is always a plus.

Then I got to Itsukushima Jinja Takaramono-kan [嚴島神社 寶物館], the shrine’s Treasure Hall, where they have a few treasures and old scrolls, armours and so on. Among them they have the ‘Story of Heike’ as well as several of the Heike family Buddhist Sutras. However, no pictures allowed. I continued on my way to the Tahoto [多宝塔] three-story Pagoda (also belonging to Itsukushima Shrine), which has a characteristic shape: it is square on the lower level and has a round shape on the upper level

From there I got to Daishoin [大聖院], another of the big Buddhist temples in the area, where I decided against hiking up mount Misen (2.7 km to the summit). The temple has a few up and downs, and it was here where I ate my karepan breakfast, around 9.30 – 10 am, I am not exactly sure. I do remember that my camera battery was already down one bar out of three.

Then I headed down and then up again to another of the low hills to the Senjokaku [千畳閣] pavillion and the Pagoda of Toyokuni Jinja [豊国神社] and the five story pagoda next to the main building. Toyokuni Jinja was supposed to be a library of Buddhist sutras – however, it did not get finished (although that has its own shuin for some reason （・□・；）)

At that point it was barely half-morning I wondered whether to head downtown to Hiroshima, because high tide was only at 3 pm, and I really wanted to see the half-submerged torii, but I did not really know what to do. And no idea what got into me, but at that point I changed my mind and decided to go up Misen [弥山], the “island mount”. I actually decided to take the Miyajima Ropeway [宮島ロープウェー]. I crossed Momijidani Koen [紅葉谷公園], which is full of deer, and probably amazing when it is in full red, and took the ropeway from the park to Kayadani Station [榧谷駅] first and to Shishiiwa Station [獅子岩駅] then, about half an hour away from the summit. From there I took a few pictures and then decided to make my way up.

At that point I was not really thinking about getting to the summit (535 above sea level, and we’re talking 0 to 535 metres for real), but to Misen Hondo [弥山本堂] which is the temple where the ‘eternal flame’ was originally lit by a meditating Buddhist monk hundreds of years ago. The Peace Flame from Hiroshima was lit from here. There were two secondary halls, Sankido [三鬼堂] and Dainichido [大日堂].

But after Misen Hondo, I was ‘so’ close to the summit that it would be a pity not to finish the deed. That way, I could go up one route and down another one in order to see more things. On my way up and from the summit the sights were impressive, although it was a bit tiring. And a bit means a lot…

I think that at some point I considered using the ropeway down but time-wise it was going to be the same and walking down could be cheaper and would get me to see more stuff, such as Miyama Jinja [御山神社]. And I did not break my neck on the long hour and a half of hike-down, either. A greater plus.

All right, what time do you think I made it down? Not even 3 pm just yet, but as I had seen from halfway down the mountain, the tide was already up. Therefore I was able to see the floating o-torii, which was a high moment for me. The problem was that I was almost running out of battery in my camera already, and there was sunset to come! On my way around the bay I ate a very overpriced yakitori, but I was hungry and since Miyajima is ‘World Heritage’ it really does not have convenient stores.

And thus, when I went towards the aquarium, Miyajima Suizokukan [宮島水族館]. I decided to take all my pictures with the phone over there to save camera battery for the sunset pictures. That it was awfully cold at that moment had nothing to do with my decision, of course and walking into K.A.Z. absolutely never ever crossed my mind either.

After the aquarium I was distracted by Omoto Jinja [大元神社], which was full of deer. Praying, I’m sure. There were baby deer too, being bullied cute but for some reason (probably lack of battery) the pictures did not come out.

Then I headed back to the o-torii area to watch it in the sunset and took pictures until I had no more battery on any device.

Once batteries were dead and the sun was too low, so I headed back to my ryokan to recharge – in every sense of the way, as it was after 5.30 pm. On my way back I bought a local speciality – ‘fishcake’ which in my case was shrimp because I did not dare try the oysters. It was yummy. Before going to the hotel, I got myself some groceries to recharge my own batteries and have dinner later.

I spent some time resting, charging all the devices and writing down notes on everything I had been doing during the day, and then, at around 9 pm I came back out again to take pictures of the shrines and o-torii at night.

After that, dinner, shower, bed, and early check-out the following day in order to head down to Hiroshima, after very intense 11 hours running up and down Miyajima. Take that, nine hours in Kyoto.

30th December 2016: Water & lights {Japan, winter 16/17}

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I headed off to Enoshima [江の島] to meet with my friend Mk-san, whom I met in Gackt’s birthday party in July. By pure chance, I caught a glance of Mount Fuji Fuji-san [富士山] again.

Together (with Mk-san, not with Fuji-san ~ヾ(＾∇＾)) we went into Enoshima Aquarium – Enoshima Suizokukan [新江ノ島水族館], which was one of the few I had left in the Tokyo Metropolitan area. The highlight was the focus on algae and seagrass, because the jumping fish did not seem to be in the mood for jumping. Oh, and kira-kira jellyfish!

After the aquarium and lunch, I headed back to Tokyo [東京] and I stumbled upon one of the L’Arc-en-Ciel’s “Don’t be afraid” billboards.

Then I met up with K. and D****e in Nakano Broadway [中野ブロードウェイ] for a bit of shopping before we headed out to Tokyo Dome [東京ドーム] to watch some Winter Illumination.

Later we went to Tokyo Station to see the lights in the Marunouchi [丸の内] side and had some avocado burger in a random Freshness we came across. And it was cold. Very cold. Awfully cold. Finger-ouchy cold.

27th July 2016: I could not miss an aquarium {Japan, summer 2016}

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I mean, visiting aquariums is like a second nature to me when I’m in Japan. It seems that each has something that I really love but had not realised it before.

In this case I headed off to Tokyo Sea Life Park – Kasairinkai Suizokukan [葛西臨海水族館] in the namesake park, Kasairinkai Koen [葛西臨海公園], in Edogawa [江戸川], especially famous for keeping a tank of yellowfin tuna (all of which died unexpectedly last year and had been replaced though) <・ )))><<.

The aquarium is mostly an underground complex, accessible through the main dome in the middle of the park. During my visit it was full of parents with young children. For some reason, Japanese people believe that children must love fish? I don’t really understand… ~(・・？））

Before class I went to Tokyo Daijingu [東京大神宮] in Iidabashi [飯田橋], which is surprisingly quite small, and I think it has something to do with finding love?

At night I met with my new friend M. to try to find a cat café we were interested in and somehow did not manage to find, but we turned that into dinner and karaoke – Joysound, to watch the VAMPS special message ｖ（＾＿＾ｖ）♪.

24th – 27th March 2016: Easter in Barcelona (Spain)

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I think this has been the first time I’ve been to Barcelona without a concert. However, one of the first times I did take a long touristing tour, so this time round my friend and I took it rather chilly – in the literal sense. As we were there there was a drop in temperature and I had to run to get myself a long-sleeved T-shirt.

24th March: Gaudí afternoon

Through different means and from different origins, my friend and myself arrived in Barcelona at around the same time mid-afternoon. We met at the station and dropped our things off at the hotel, then we took the underground towards Monte del Carmelo, Carmel Hill, where Parc Güell, the Güell Park, stands. The park, which was supposed to be a urban area originally, was designed by Antonio Gaudí. It became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1984.

Visiting some areas of the park is charged, but the whole park is accessible starting in the late evening. We decided to climb up first and then visit the paid-but-free area. Thus we got to the summit of Carmel Hill and saw the Turó de les tres creus, the Three-Cross hill, that offers a great view of the city, including the Tibidabo area with the Cathedral and the amusement park.

We went down and we walked into the architectural area. Although there is no artificial lighting in the area, as the sun went down we were treated to a bit of a magical area, also away from the tourist crowds.

We had dinner at Arenas de Barcelona, the old bullfighting ring now turned shopping and dining centre, then we went up to the roof for some night views.

25th March: Gaudí morning & Gaudí night

We woke up and had breakfast – coffee inception!!

Then we headed off to see the Casa Batlló, the Batlló house, one of Gaudí’s Modernist masterpieces. It is also called the “house of bones”, and it’s kind of wobbly and organic. The roof is designed to look like the back of a dragon. An interesting detail is that the building was not really erected on Gaudí’s orders – it was a renovation of a previously-existing building.

After the house, we went to the harbour area. We hung out for a while (with a stop to buy an extra T-shirt because it was cold), had lunch and eventually purchased tickets for the Museu Marítim, the Maritime Museum, located in the former Royal Shipyard.

The sun was setting when we came out, and we headed towards the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, the church of the Holy Family, also designed by Gaudí. Both of us had already seen it, so we were happy to see it from the outside. When they finish it, I would like to come back though.

26th March: No Gaudí!

We had a walk around the Gothic Neighbourhood of Barcelona, and we made a stop at the Iglesia de La Purísima Concepción, the church of the Conception to visit the cloister.

We saw the cathedral Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia.

We also walked under the Bisbe Bridge, Pont del Bisbe, in the street of the same name.

We had lunch in a Japanese restaurant, then walked around the Port area for a while.

As we had visited the Maritime Museum the previous day, we had a free pass to the sailboat Santa Eulàlia.

We ended the day in the L’Aquàrium Barcelona, the local aquarium.

After that, we backtracked to our hotel. The following morning, on the 27th, we met up with another friend who had a free while for breakfast and then everybody went home.

27th August 2015: Foxes everywhere {Japan, summer 2015}

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Zao Kitsune Mura [蔵王きつね], the Fox Village in Zao is as its name says, a fox village. There is about a hundred foxes running around, chewing your shoelaces and marking territory. It’s like the deer of Nara, in foxy form.

Zao is located close to the city of Sendai [仙台], up north of Tokyo, and here I ended after a couple of bumpy train rides to meet with D****e at Shiroishi station. We took a taxi to get there.

The Fox Village is located in the mountains, about 20 minutes away from the town. There is an outer part which consists on a sort of petting zoo, some baby foxes and the hospital. You’re not allowed to pet the foxes without permission though, because they have, you know… teeth. There is also a badger (for some reason), some rabbits and goats. In that area you can take pics holding and petting the foxes for a fee.

Once you go into the main area, you find yourself in a large yard where there are… 100? 200 foxes? There are different colours of foxes, even if all of them are “red foxes” they have different coats: standard red, white, black (technically called ‘blue foxes’ apparently?), mixed colour (called ‘ice and fire’ or something because why not?).

You’re allowed to feed the foxes from a platform / shed as long as you don’t touch them, and you’re supposed to stay still when they try to chew you cross your path.


The area is separated into a small zone for the cubs, an acclimation area for the ‘teens’ and the main freedom yard.

There the foxes have got… well, I’m not even sure of how to call them, so just have a few pictures. As long as you follow the rules and don’t freak the foxes out, you can get pretty close to them, which is amazing. We tried not to disturb them while they ate, either.

The weather was miserable though so you see some dry foxes and a lot of wet foxes. There was a very wet me in-between too. And well, the foxes were fascinated by D****e’s clothing and kept trying to eat her. However, my mission was to ‘take pictures first, rescue her later’.

There is also a little shrine with space inside for the foxes to sleep.

At the end you’ve got a bittersweet feeling because you’re not allowed to take any home (T_T) I just wanted one or twenty…

The day ended with yummy gyutan (grilled cow tongue), a walk throughout the covered Sunmall Ichibancho [サンモール一番町] commercial galleries and some Chupacabra hunting in an UFO machine downtown Sendai.

25th August 2015: Arashiyama & Nara {Japan, summer 2015}

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Today was a delayed day, actually, as I apparently took over the plans I made last year when VAMPS had the secret live and I skipped back to Tokyo to attend to it. Then again, as I had changed plans from yesterday to today, everything came a little jumbled.

After a nice chat with the Tourism Office lady – in broken Japanese, as I did my best, the fist thing I set off to do was visit the Arashiyama bamboo grove in Arashiyama Chikurin no Shōkei [嵐山 竹林の小径], which is a nice little town adjacent to Kyoto (yep, not a neighbourhood. A town all on its own. That’s Japanese urban planning for you). I had been wanting to visit the area for a while now, and finally made it there. After a nice detour – because taking the wrong turn in Japan always yields to something interesting (then again, people, placing sings of ‘bamboo grove this way’ right behind the map is not helpful, Japan) – and a couple of temples I ended up where I wanted to be, and boy was it impressive.

In the middle of the bamboo grove we find Nonomiya Jinja [野宮神社], a nice little shrine which was at the time overridden by Chinese tourists (that happens, apparently, when you visit a shrine dedicated to marriage).

After a couple of hours wandering the bamboo grove I head back to Kyoto station and once again took the Nara line, only this time I would not be stopping in Inari as I have done before, but took the express to Nara [奈良] itself, which was something else that had been on my list for a while.

Yet another nice Tourism office lady, and way too many Spanish tourists later, I was on my way towards Nara Kōen [奈良公園], Nara Park, where my first impression was one of the things that makes Nara famous… deer. Hundreds of ‘wild’ deer which chase after tourists to get shika senbei (deer crackers) and eat maps when said crackers are not available. Very cute, very… adamant XD

But not my main visiting goal, never mind the creepy American dude who wanted to take a picture of me with them. My goal was visiting the to visit Todai-ji [東大寺] temple, and Daibutsu [大仏] (Giant Buddha) it hosts. Todai-ji did not disappoint me at all. It is a very solemn, very special temple and I enjoyed it.

I wandered around the Nara complex for a while and visited Kofuku-ji [興福寺] on my way back. They have a very famous Ashura sculpture, and a thousand-arm Buddha statue, but no pictures allowed, so I can only show you the exterior.

After some dinner on my way back, I headed off for Kyoto and the hotel which I was to leave the next day to head off to Kobe.

20th August 2015: Still life, moving life {Japan, summer 2015}

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As predicted, the 20th dawned rainy and not too inviting, so I headed off to Ueno Park to visit one of the many museums there. I heard that the collection of the Kokuritsu Kagaku Hakubutsukan [国立科学博物館], Tokyo’s National Museum of Nature and Science had been renewed and I wanted to have a look. In the end, not much had changed, but I still had a fairly good time, because I am a geek like that. There were about three million primary school classes there, though, and a few high school ones, which was a bit annoying – and loud – but nothing too bad.

Some of the wards mix science with mythology and culture, for example the earthquake science area has an ukiyo-e of the god Suzano keeping Namazu, the giant catfish which causes earthquakes, still. As much as the bio area is cool, I think my favourite part of this museum is the fossils collection – which is scattered in different wards in what I assume has some logic but I am yet to find it. I am particularly taken by the Dunkleosteous glass panel, and of course (insert everyone who knows me going ‘duh’ here) the Megalodon teeth.

But kinda a lot of things are cool. Like dinosaur fossils. Which make you giggle when you’ve recently watched Jurassic World. There is a plesiosaur (which, by the way, is not a dinosaur). What is a dinosaur is, of course, the T-rex (#TeamTRex) – completely irrelevant information: it is a cast of Scotty, the largest T-Rex ever found.

After finishing in Ueno and getting into the wrong station – of course, that must happen at least once when I am in Japan, I headed off to Tokyo Skytree [東京スカイツリー] in Sumida [墨田] just because I could.

I did not want to climb it up, but there was something there that had been on my to-see list, Sumida Suizokukan [すみだ水族館], Sumida Aquarium. Apparently there is a tacit agreement among Japanese aquariums so each one has a super cool thing that only they’ve got. So they are like pokemon, you gotta see them all if you wanna catch all the cool things. In this case I was aiming for the giant isopods. But of course, I never say no to sharks, even with annoying kids screwing up the pictures.

And then there was sushi, and that was goooood.

… Maybe I should have titled this post “fish in every form”?

27th December 2014: A stroll in the cold (Guadalajara, Spain)

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I had a couple of friends over for that silly blursday period between Christmas and New Year’s and we decided to get to Guadalajara for a walk or two. Not that there is much to see, but it has a small zoological park. The Zoológico Municipal de Guadalajara had a rocky start, with small cages and sad animals, but it seems to be trying to do better. The main activity that goes on in the zoo is the recovery of birds of prey, and there are some education programs too.

We had lunch in an all-you-can-eat Asian restaurant that I enjoy because it is one of the few places where I can get myself some sushi.

Afterwards, we visited the Palacio de la Cotilla, Cotilla Palace – whose name ‘palace’ is more than overrated. It is a 17th century is a downtown manor in Guadalajara, Spain, formerly owned by the Marquis of Villamejor. One of the rooms, named the “Chinese Room”, Salón Chino de la Cotilla, is decorated with hand-painted rice paper, brought from Beijing, and several Japanese Edo-period paintings which were probably purchased in France from Dutch sailors or merchants.

Finally we took a stroll towards a silly spot in the middle of nowhere that has a Japanes-like bridge over… nothing, really, but it is a cute bridge, in the Parque de las Esculturas, Sculpture Park.

After that we just headed back home because it was dark and cold and pizza could be ordered (≧▽≦).

20th August 2014: Shinagawaaaaaaark! {Japan, summer 2014}

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I followed D****e to Nippori [日暮里] to visit the famous “Nippori Textile Town” Nipporisen Igai [日暮里繊維街], and that was interesting. I saw a number of shiiiiny stuff, but I was strong and did not buy anything because I still have an awesome dragon fabric around that needs a use. Later we had lunch, gyuutan, and snooped around the largest Buddhist Graveyard in Tokyo, Yanaka Reien [谷中霊園].

This was also the day when Google Maps hated me, but I don’t want to write about that, because this is a journal for good memories. And good memories were created by going to Shinagawa [品川] and the aquarium, Shinagawa Suizokukan [しながわ水族館], which was lots of fun!

15th August 2014: And then there was shiny {Japan, summer 2014}

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I like Ueno Kōen [上野公園], the main park in Ueno [上野] just because I do, and off I went again, maybe for the fourth or sixth time. In Ueno station we had awesome ramen at a franchise called Ichiran where you buy a basic ramen card from a machine, and are then given a card (English version was available) to mark off what you’d like on it and how. It was delicious (The bits that are missing on the picture are pork slices and spiciness level). There are different styles of ramen, and this one is Hakata ramen from the Fukuoka Prefecture.

After that we took a stroll down Ueno and ended up at the Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan [東京国立博物館], Tokyo National Museum, which holds many important pieces of historic art:

Leaving Ueno, I headed towards the Minato [港] ward as there were a few things I wanted to do. One of them was visiting a special corner of Shiba Koen [芝公園], and then I wanted to go to Tokyo Tower [東京タワー].

Within Tokyo Tower I visited Tokyo Tower Suizokukan [東京タワー水族館], the little aquarium at the bottom. It did not host sharks, sadly, but quite a few interesting species, among them catfish, one of them seemed very intent on trying to eat me.

There was also this fun sclupture thingy of scaled Tokyo Tower and Godzilla.

I climbed up the main observatory (well, did not climb, took the elevator) to watch the sunset, grab a bite to eat and take lots of pictures. You should appreciate Mount Fuji Fuji-san [富士山] with its summer cap in one of them. Once the sun is down, Tokyo Tower is lit, inside, and out.

I love Tokyo Tower, and going up to the observatory always makes my Tokyo trips feel more complete! I got myself an omamori and a model I have to build, if I eventually find it in the luggage chaos!

14th June 2014: Falconry & Birds of Prey Exhibition in Guadalajara (Spain)

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Falconry is one of those things that I’m torn about – on the one hand I’m not really keen on animal labour and shows, but being close to those animals is an amazing experience. The town of Guadalajara was celebrating the 900th anniversary of the passing of the Medieval Hero Minaya’s passing, and falconry was common technique at the time.

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar was a Castilian knight and warlord who lived in the 11th-century Spain. He was called El Cid Campeador which roughly means the Master of the Battlefield. He was a glorified mercenary, and has made history books as one of the most important history heroes. He was exiled when he confronted the King about killing his predecessor. One of his generals, Álvar Fáñez Minaya, is credited with liberating the town of Guadalajara from the Moors. Just as El Cid represents courage and strength, Minaya represents loyalty.

Guadalajara really likes the figure of Minaya – he is in the local coat of arms and flag, there’s a school and a Moorish tower named after him. And as he was supposed to have been an excellent falconer, the exhibition was organised. I never caught the name of the owners of the animals, but there were some very impressive birds over there – Steppe eagle, Eurasian eagle-owl, Iberian imperial eagle, Turkish vulture, a hawk / falcon and… and that’s the end of my ornithology knowledge. All in all the animals were beautiful, although people not respecting their space made me a little bit sad.

4th July 2013: Yokohama Sea Paradise and GACKT 40th Birthday Concert {Japan, summer 2013}

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The day started Yokohama [横浜]-bound towards Hakkeijima Sea Paradise [八景島シーパラダイス].

The logo of the Yokohama Hakkejima Sea Paradise aquarium for its 20th anniversary, a jumping dolphin in the middle of a circle

I have tried to spare you fishy pictures, especially those I have shared already (read: I overcame the urge to post hammerhead shark pictures!! And deep-sea crabs too!!), but when I went to the Yokohama Sea Paradise, there was one main thing in mind that I had to see: the whalesharks.

A whale shark swimming

The polar bears seemed to be having a bit of a lover’s quarrel, but the camera did not do a good job focussing on them at the right times.

Polar bears exhibit. One is about to jump into the water, the other one is looking at the first

They also had an impressive amount of beluga whales.

Beluga whales swimming, the picture is taken from above, showing two of them clearly, and two at the bottom

And a very attention-demanding pufferfish or two.

A picture of benthic fish, with a pufferfish photobombing and swimming in the foreground

Finally I headed off to the other side of Yokohama, to the Yokohama Arena [横浜アリーナ], for the GACKT Best of the Best concert for his 40th birthday, which was beyond amazing.

Yokohama Arena, a massive white building

GACKT is a Japanese soloist music known for his ego and his… you may call it delirium of grandeur if you wish. He loves doing things big, so when I saw him in Barcelona in 2010 and 2011 I could only imagine how a big stage would feel. To be honest, it did not disappoint, and it was indeed grandiose. Furthermore, the 4th of July happens to be GACTK’s birthday so there were a lot of fun shenanigans going on, and a very nostalgic tone for old fans.

2nd July 2013: Yet more Odaiba, and Ueno Zoo {Japan, summer 2013}

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Once more I headed out to Odaiba [お台場], this time to try and get tickets to the VAMPS Tabata Event and buy the single. The whole idea was that if you bought a CD you got entered into a lottery for a ticket to attend the Tanabata Event the following day. If you bought the three versions of the CD, you also got a poster. They were expecting a huge crowd, but it turned out that crowds of fans on a weekday morning… It was all a bit chaotic because… there were two few people. One can expect staff to get overwhelmed, but this was totally… underwhelming for them, and they did not know what to do about it.

I finally managed to get tickets to ensure my and my friend D****e after the third or fourth round. Once that was successfully taken care of, I went to Fuji TV to get myself some Galileo merch, just because I could, and rode back downtown Tokyo to do one of those things I would ever like to do if I had some time to spare – Ueno Zoo, Ueno Dobutsu Koen [上野動物園].

The iconic image of Ueno Zoo is any of their Giant Pandas. Here’s one getting stuffed:

Panda play-eating bamboo

A secretary bird, which made me remember an old movie and greatly amused me:

Secretary bird, a bird similar to a stork with crazy feathers - like a Native American hairdress - on its head

And a friendly and bored Hokkaido bear which came to say hello at the glass:

A Hokkaido bear prowling its enclosure. It could use with some enrichment.

Aside from the animals (I’ll spare you more pics, though I have an amazing close-up of the polar bear), Ueno zoo holds the pagoda of the former Kan-eiji Temple:

Five-story pagoda in reddish-brown wood

After the zoo was closed, I headed for Shibuya [渋谷] where we had scheduled a meeting at the Hachiko Memorial Statue (one of those things you should do in Tokyo at least once), the Chūkenhachikō-zō [忠犬ハチ公像].

Statue of a sitting akita dog

Meeting successfully achieved, dinner was acquired in a goats cafe, Sakuragaoka Cafe. Then the goats got dinner too.

Two goats, one white and one tan, behind a fence, being fed straw by a person with a cup in their hands

9th January 2013: Inside the Zoology Lab in the University of Alcalá de Henares (Spain)

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The biology building in the University of Alcalá de Henares has a small collection of Zoology and Anthropology specimens. For a number of reasons, I was invited to see it, even if it is usually only opened to researchers. Taking pictures in the Gallery Collection was not allowed, but it was all right in the laboratory where they prepare and preserve the bones. Or I was sneaky. Take your pick ☆⌒(ゝ。∂)

12th July 2012: Ikebukuro {Japan, summer 2012}

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I have decided to give my blistered feet a bit of a rest and take it easy for a couple of days. Thus, I’m indulging in my newly-found love of canned coffee and karepan.

A breaded bun, open. The inside is white, with a golden filling in the middle

Yesterday, Thursday 12th I spent most of the morning updating the blog and refusing to move from the chair. Then I headed off towards Ikebukuro [池袋], where my first stop was the Ikebukuro West Gate Park [池袋ウエストゲートパーク]. Ikebukuro West Gate Park or IWGP, is a series of urban mystery novels by Ira Ishida. It was adapted into a very successful TV series directed by Tsutsumi Yukihiko and starring Nagase Tomoya. And Chibi Yamapi. [spoiler] And then Yamapi dies. Really sad. [/spoiler] Loved it.

An urban park with a decorative fountain in the middle. There are a couple of trees, but it's mostly surrounded by buildings

I found the Ikebukuro Station Owl. Somehow. After missing it a couple of times.

Sculpture of a big barn owl with a red vest. There are three smaller owls on the left, one of them is carrying a heart

And while there is not an Aquarium at the top of the Shibuya 109, there is one at the top of the Sunshine 60 – the Sushine Aquarium. Literally at the top. They have also some non-aquatic animals like an armadillo, a tapir and a lovely couple of desert foxes or feneqs.

A glass wall that opens up to a tropical aquarium

Small jellyfish swimming in a round aquarium

A cuttlefish, an anemmone and some coral

An octopus huddled in a knot so most that is shown are the suckers against the glass

A shot from the open roof of the aquarium building. Some pathways for the animal residents have been built, they are made of glass. A sea lion is swimming through one

A feneq fox curled up sleeping

A Humboldt penguin colony

After a quick browsing through Mandarake and K-books, we had a reservation for dinner at Swallowtails, which is a butler cafe. I was a bit on the apprehensive side, because my level of Japanese is enough to guesstimate some normal conversation but… yeah, not Keigo or polite Japanese in a formal environment. It turned out really, really nice, too. A cool experience sponsored by my insiders in Japan.

Themed cafés are common in Japan. They are normal restaurants which sell passable food and great experiences, or at least an experience. There are cafés for all tastes and personalities – some are related to animals, others to fantasies. Swallowtails has a number of young men “butlers” who treat you as a royalty and take care of you to almost ridiculous extents. I absolutely loved it, because being the doormat I normally am, it feels nice to be… spoilt a little.

A screenshot of a Japanese webpage. It shows a fancy entrance to a tea house, and reads Swallowtail

Afterwards we headed off for a quick sneak peak of Tokyo by night from the observatory in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Tōkyō Tochō [東京都庁] before coming back home and crashing for the night. Today will hopefully be another slow day…

A view of Tokyo at night, from above the roof tops. The buildings are dark, bit there are thousands of lights and lit windows.

10th July 2012: Osaka, day 2 {Japan, summer 2012}

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Tuesday 10th was supposed to be Kyoto day, but train trouble made me change my mind. Since I was in Tennōji anyway, I headed off to visit Shitennō-ji [四天王寺], a massive and colourful Buddhist temple dedicated to the Four Heavenly Kings.

A grand stone torii stands in the foreground. In the background, a temple and a pagoda, in dark red and white colours

A five-story pagoda and a temple building. They are both dark red and white, with some green and golden decoration

A purification fountain. The tap is sculpted to look like a dragon

There are a couple of graveyards, too. I always find fascinating how different cultures react to graveyards. In Japan, apparently, you can picnic there.

A number of polished rock blocks with kanji on them - they are tombstones, and they're arranged in haphazzardly almost one on top of the other

After Shitennō-ji I crossed above the Tennōji Zoo towards the Tsūtenkaku [通天閣] Tower, in Shin Sekai (New World) [新世界], the old-time entertaining district of Osaka. Sort of like two-centuries-ago Namba, you can say. I could follow the Tower in order not to get too lost XD

The Osaka TV tower. It is silver-ish, with a construction like a scaffolder. The upper area resembles a diamond. The body reads HITACHI

This picture is the pure essence of Shin Sekai: the giant blowfish, the Billy Ken (the god of things as they ought to be) statue, and the Tsūtenkaku Tower.

A shopping street, with the TV tower in the background. In the foreground on the right, a golden sitting idol that looks like a fairy, with big feet and pointy ears. On the left there is a restaurant with a giant blowfish paper lantern.

I had some kushikatsu lunch, but it was too hot to really appreciate the goodness of breaded, deep-fried goods:

Some breaded and deep fried vegetables, with sticks to pick them up and eat them

Once done with this, I crossed aaaall the city towards Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan [海遊館], in hopes of seeing their whale shark… but the whale shark tank was closed due to it being refurnished… they were adding 20,000 sardines.

The aquarium building. It is decorated with mosaics of different ocean animals: coral, dolphins, a sunfish...

I went in nonetheless, and took a few pictures for your viewing pleasure, starting by the hammerhead shark.

A hammerhead shark swimming in the tank.

There was also a Sun fish:

A sunfish sniffing the aquarium ground.

My first time seeing Japanese spider crabs:

Three Japanese spidercrabs

Jellyfish I knew, but they’re fun anyway:

White jellyfish with small tentacles folating around in a dark tank

I would have loved to go and see the Castle illuminated by night, but I was too exhausted and feared crashing down, especially considering that I had one challenge left… Kyoto in ten hours. So instead, I went to the hotel and had a full-blown conbini dinner consisting on “Korean hamburger”, onigiri and dorayaki.

A sandwich, a bar of chocolate, a pastry and two onigiri, which look like dark triangles

A close up of the onigiri. The triangle is made out of dry algae (nori), you can see the rice filling on one corner

A close up of the pastry. The wrapping reads どら焼き