Tag Archives: solo travel

20th July 2019: Kawagoe revisited {Japan, summer 2019}

Posted on by

I went to Ikebukuro to exchange my JR Pass, and from there I went to Kawagoe [川越], a small town near Tokyo. The historical centre of Kawagoe is called Koedo [小江戸], Little Edo or Little Tokyo. I have actuallly visited Kawagoe before and I had not thought that much of it, but I wanted to give it another chance as I was going to a fan-event over there the following day, so I got myself a hotel over there and spent the afternoon / evening wandering the town.

I arrived by train at the Kawagoe Station and I headed to the touristic area. My first stop was Kawagoe Kumano Jinja [川越 熊野神社]. I thought about getting a shuuin but there were too many people and I backed off. I thought there would be fewer people the following day but I was wrong. Oh, well. Live and learn.

After that I found my way to the Black Warehouse District Kurazukuri no Machinami [蔵造りの町並], which is an area with houses that date from the Edo period. Today they are shops, mostly tourist traps, though. I am not a big fan.

On one of the side ways you can find the Clock Tower, Toki no Kane [時の鐘], which is one of the few historical clock towers in Japan (although it was rebuilt after it burnt down in the 19th century).

And I moved on to the Kawagoe Hikawa Jinja [川越氷川神社], which has a very cool wind chime tunnel, but it was packed at the time.

Later I visited the Kawagoe Castle / Honmaru Residence [川越城 本丸御殿]. The castle is long gone, but the palace was built in the 19th century.

I walked past the Reconstructed Moat of the Castle (I have no idea why there are no pictures of it?) and Yukizukainari Jinja, which was closed off. Then I headed off to the hotel to check in, and after that, I did some walking over the less touristic / known area of town. Right behind the hotel I came across Sugahara Jinja [菅原神社].

My next stop was snooping around Myōzenji [妙善寺] and its adjacent graveyard.

Then over to Fujisengen Jinja [富士浅間神社], a nice little shrine with a historical stelae next to it, the Shishimizuka of Uranaikata [占肩の鹿見塚].

From the grounds I could see Jitsuzaiji [実在寺], which is a very modern temple.

After that I walked towards Senbahikawa Jinja [仙波氷川神社], which I’m sure is haunted by a nekomata which appeared out of nowhere.

Senbagashishiseki Kouen [仙波河岸史跡公園], an awesome and large park with a lake and a ghost-proof bridge.

The park has a small temple altar, Enmeijizoson [延命地蔵尊] to one side.

On the other side stands Senbaatago Jinja [仙波愛宕神社] and I bought some takoyaki for dinner.

Walked distance: 22797 steps / 16.3 km

18th/19th July 2019: Made it! {Japan, summer 2019}

Posted on by

After the Iberia machine check in in Barajas worked for an intercontinental flight for the first time ever, I started my holidays with a splurge, in money and calories: meet the Unicorn Shake, by Burger King. It is a vanilla ice-cream and blueberries shake, with whipped cream and sparkles. Worth it, but I don’t think I’d ever survive the sugar rush again (≧▽≦).

I had a rather uneventful flight. Unfortunately I could not sleep further than 20 minutes so I arrived rather dead. After lunch, I had a short nap and then I went out for dinner with D****e. Then I must have fallen asleep cause I honestly don’t remember much of the day. Well, we must have had nachos for dinner because here’s a picture of them?

15th – 17th June 2019: Cologne (Germany) for the Gazette

Posted on by

Getting from Madrid to Cologne [Köln] was stupidly difficult and expensive so in the end I took an early Saturday-morning flight to Frankfurt and then I booked train tickets (an ICE and a suburban train) to the hotel area in Cologne. My plane took off at dawn (literally) and landed at 9:40, so I thought about booking the train at 10:30.

Sunrise from the still-grounded plane

On a whim of distrustfulness, I decided to book the train for 11:00, which was lucky. While we did land on time, it tookan eternity to reach the terminal, and in the end I arrived in the station just past 10:30. Since I had a bit of time, I grabbed a coffee and a bagel for some ridiculous price, but that kept me going until the evening.

Bagel and coffee

The European plain from the train window

I reached Cologne and went on to the commuter to the venue area, where my hotel was, a short walk away from the station. After checking in, I dropped my things off in an amazing room, and had to do a double take – for a second I was not sure they had given me the right room, because it was way too nice for the price I was paying.

Huge bedroom at the hotel

After changing clothes, I grabbed my bottle of water and off I took a train towards the city centre to visit the Cologne Cathedral Kölner Dom –it took a bit to figure out how to validate the train tickets, but I think I did everything legally. The cathedral has been a World Heritage site since 1996. Its construction started in 1248, but was halted in 1473. The building remained unfinished until the 1840s, when work was picked up again, following the original Medieval plans, and the church was finally completed in 1880. While it was badly damaged in WWII, it withstood the bombings and ever since then, it has been in a constant state of small and not-so-small restorations and repairs.

Cologne Dome

From the Cathedral I walked towards Cologne Zoo or Kölner Zoo. Although it had been drizzling before, at that point it was sunny again, and the walk was nice.

A typical Cologne Street

I decided to go to the zoo because it was the only thing that seemed to be open for long enough to mean value for money. The weather had warmed up and the bunnies were roasted coughs. I got to see some animals I had never seen before, such as Przewalski’s horses, snipes, or a grizzly bear. The zoo has a huge enclosure area, a petting zoo with domestic animals (and cheeky cows), an aquarium and a terrarium with both reptiles and creepy-crawlers shudders.

Some of the animals in the zoo

Then, I walked back to the hotel, stopping by the supermarket on my way – and here I discovered my undoing. The triple chocolate cookies which wrecked my trying to eat healthy stroll. I shall try to find them again in my next Germany trip though. However, I have to say that I had learnt from my being stupid for MIYAVI in London and not eating well through the weekend, so I bought snacks to have the following day.

Cookies

I was exhausted, so I think I was out at 22:00, which helped being awake at 7:00 the next morning. Thus, I just headed off for the venue E-Werk, and settled to queue for the concert. Japanese Visual kei (V系) rock band the GazettE [ガゼット (Gazetto)] was formed in 2002 and achieved its current configuration in 2003. It is formed by members: Ruki (ルキ) on lead vocals; Uruha (麗) on lead guitar; Aoi (葵) on an insane amount of support guitars (two on the same song, almost at the same time); Reita (れいた) on bass, keyboards / piano; and Kai (戒) on drums. Though they are signed with Sony Records, they claim to be completely self-produced.

In December 2018, the Gazette announced that they would continue their Japanese Tour abroad as Live Tour 19 THE NINTH: PHASE #04 -99.999-. It originally spanned North and South America, and Europe, and later in April some Asian dates were added. I originally planned to go to Munich (travelling was easier and cheaper), but I could not get VIP tickets, so switched to Cologne instead. General Admission was reasonably priced (45€) with crazy shipping costs (+4.50€, since they were all printed out and pretty). VIP Tickets (300 per concert), included early entry (one hour before GA and two hours before the show), a VIP present, and a handshake with the band for 170€ (+4.50€ in shipping costs), exclusively distributed through ME-shop, which was a pain and not easy at all.

The Gazette World Tour dates

The Cologne concert at E-Werk would be held at 20:00, which placed entry at 19:00 and VIP entry at 18:00. I reached the queue around 8:00. The venue is a repurposed industrial building with a capacity for 2,000 people in a lower-floor arena and a sort of balcony around it which also allows for visibility. There were already staff walking around, and the venue even had portable toilets outside for queuing fans. At that time, there were maybe 60-70 people waiting in three queues – VIP, GA, and something called “regulars” who went in last.

Everything ran smoothly, with the three lines in front of the doors, up until 16:00 when security arrived. They decided to rearrange the queues, and created chaos. Fortunately, since most of the fans were German, and they enjoy order, at least the VIP queue was reorganised neatly and quickly – respecting the arrival numbers. Around 16:30, the VIP tickets were checked and switched for bracelets, and the holders ushered to a secondary waiting area where we were not even allowed to sit down until doors opened around 18:15. Due to this, I had to stand for two hours straight without leaning on anything, my back was killing me. I decided that I either made it to the barrier, or I would head upstairs for a good view. When I came in, I received the VIP present – a banner with the band logo on it– and I was find a first-row spot to the left of the stage, in front of Aoi (guitar). The concert ran about 15 minutes late due to a technical problem with a wire / monitor. Good thing I found a barrier spot indeed.

The concert was very high energy. The music was so loud my ears were still ringing three days later. Most of the setlist was from The Ninth album, which makes sense. My personal favourite live song was The Suicide Circus .

Setlist:

  1. 99.999
  2. Falling
  3. Ninth Odd Smell
  4. Gush
  5. Agony
  6. The Suicide Circus
  7. 虚 蜩 [Utsu Semi]
  8. その声は脆く [Sono Koe wa Moroku]
  9. Babylon’s Taboo
  10. Dogma
  11. Incubus
  12. Ugly
  13. Abhor God
  14. Filth in the Beauty
  15. Inside Beast
  16. Cockroach
  17. Tomorrow Never Dies

I was very impressed by Reita’s stage persona / antics, how he stood on stage and moved. I almost caught a pick that he threw, but by that time my right arm was completely useless as the person behind me kept trying to push me away from the barrier to take my spot. My wrist brace is actually broken due to having to hang on from her shoving. But she was not successful

Aoi was muchbetter than I expected, and at some point he was playing two guitars for the same song, the acoustic and the electric, without any apparent effort – he hung both from his neck and played whichever one he needed. I could not see much of Kai, and Uruha was most of the time too far away. And unfortunately Ruki favoured going to the right, but he has a very powerful body language.

After the concert, the VIPs were pushed– literally – to an area in the back of the venue to wait for the meet and greet in a different room. I got handshake with both hands from all of them, if memory serves me correctly the order was Kai, Uruha, Ruki, Reita and finally Aoi. I told them that it had been very fun, that they had done a good job and none of them batted an eye at my Japanese. They were really nice though, in a high contrast from stage personas.

Afterwards, I just headed off back to the hotel, and directly into the shower, because I was sore all over. Good thing I still had snacks from my supermarket run. I think this was the first time I have actually though “I’m getting too old for this”.

On Monday morning, my paranoia had me early at the station, and that was good because apparently my suburban had been cancelled. Being early, I was lucky enough to be able to catch a completely different one – not sure if legally. I did not get caught if it wasn’t, but I made it to Cologne central station and caught my ICE without any further stress. As the station is located next to the Dome, I was able to say good-bye.

Cologne Dome from the train

As I had a window seat again, I also had quite a few nice views from the plane, and made it home without any issue.

An aerial view of a reservoir with turquoise water

26th May 2019: “Komeko Sin Gluten” event in Madrid (Spain)

Posted on by

After almost literally everybody and their dogs ditched me for a cooking workshop in Madrid, literally the day before I decided to bite the bullet and go by myself, so I bought my ticket on Saturday night, barely 12 hours before the event, a promotion of a Japanese-Spanish shop and its products based on rice flour. The shop is called “Komeko Sin Gluten”, which translates as “Gluten-Free Rice Flour”.

Evenbrite ticket for the event: Taller de Cocina de Komeko: crepe, helado y tarta 10 euro

The event happened in a venue-for-hire in Madrid, and consisted in three distinct parts: a small market in which I would have spent a lot if I had not got a few samples with my ticket, a cooking workshop and a taiko concert. I arrived early due to Sunday having awful public-transport connections, and I arrived in Madrid an hour before the event even opened, and then we got a delay with the start of the workshop because someone was missing. During that time I got to sit around among aaaall the Japanese people around, including the head drummer of the taiko group, , whom I admired a lot since I watched him in HA·YA·TO: Drum Masters.

The small market was comprised, of course, of gluten-free products, especially Japanese ones, most of them can be found online, yay. I decided not to buy things upfront as the workshop included a sample of products, and I wanted to buy what I did not get. In the end, I did not have to buy anything because I got next to everything!

Pictures of the rice flour items - flour, noodles, snacks...

Anyway, the cooking workshop:

  1. Komeko crêpes: We made the crêpes on portable pans. There was a mini drama as the cook refused to start until we had chopsticks to flip the crêpes, and I was amused at first until I realised how convenient they actually were. While he was worried that I ahd any problems with the chopsticks, I’m happy to report that I was not the clumsiest in the class! After they were cool, we filled one up with ‘pastry cream’, banana and whipped cream for presentation – but we got to take the rest home and I tried them with chocolate. Serious improvement!
  2. Steamed banana sponge cake: this was really interesting to make, and also really easy – it involved mixing all the ingredients in a plastic bag, and then cutting a corner off the bag to pour that into little trays so we could steam it. That was… neat, and a team effort.
  3. Japanese green tea (matcha) ice-cream: Double team effort! (≧▽≦). As the paste needed time to freeze, we actually observed the chef prepare the ingredients and ate the one that had been prepared in the previous workshop.

Collage. Chef preparing crepes, and a picture of the materials, the matcha ice cream and my own creppes and banana spongecake

We had a snack with our crêpes and the matcha ice-cream. Then we got the haul of goodies: ramen and spaghetti noodles, komeko, komeko with glutinous rice, and komeko with cocoa, well worth the price (10€) I had paid for the whole workshop… Talk about promotion ☆⌒(ゝ。∂).

Different flours and noodles I got as present

Afterwards, I headed downstairs for the taiko concert. Enishi Taiko is a Spanish group, and Keita Kanazashi usually collaborates with them rather often. The concert was, of course, more humble than the one with HA·YA·TO, but it was still a lot of fun.

Taiko group playing and having a lot of fun

Afterwards, I got Kanazashi to sign the HA·YA·TO DVD and the picture I had with him from that time, which was really cool. Furthermore, the main drummer in Enishi Taiko remembered me from the X Gran Exposición de Ikebana y Semana Cultural Japonesa session, and another session I took at their headquarters.

I had thought that I would be eating in Madrid but as I had snacked on the komeko products I was not hungry at all, so I decided to head home. On the way towards the station I found this really cool fountain.

Urban waterfall. The fountain looks like a massive bench, with a thin layer of water dripping from the top

28th October 2018: HA·YA·TO: Drum Masters (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on by

Out of all the taiko [太鼓] shows I have attended, this was without a doubt the one I enjoyed the most. HA·YA·TO is a wadaiko [和太鼓] (Literally ‘Japanese drum’) group formed by the three Kanazashi brothers: Keita, Ryota and Yuta (Keita Kanazashi spends a lot of time in Spain, we’ve seen lots of ‘taiko workshops’ organised with him as a special trainer). This time they’re touring Spain with their show Drum Masters, accompanied by a number of renown musicians: Koji Hada, Takayuki Hashiguchi, Makoto Sekine and Syunchiro Kamija, aside from two special guests: Chieko Kojima (dancer and first female wadaiko master in Japan) and Masato Shibata (shamisen world champion).

Hayato Premium Ticket I found by chance

I was lucky enough to get a premium seat as I attended a matinee show in the theatre Teatros del Canal in Madrid. The show represents the four seasons of the year, and each part has its own rhythm and characteristics, along with energy and colour. At one point there were seven drummers and sixteen drums being played on stage at the same time.

Hayato Drum Masters Poster

The show was divided into the four seasons. During the first part, spring and summer, energy was abundant. Spring brought all the musicians to the stage, so while the great weight of the show rested on the drums, we also got shamisen (Japanese guitar) and Japanese flute. Kojima showed us her dancing skills in front of a black background with a flurry of cherry blossoms.

Then came summer, with a torii background and the matsuri (festival) atmosphere. The big central drum was put into action. This was when Keita Kanazashi showed off his Spanish and used the audience as another instrument, making them clap and stomp their feet in a sort of call and response routine which was really fun.

The most impressive number had the seven drummers on a row, and sixteen drums in total, all in a line. Thus, each drummer had three taiko, one in front, and one on each side, all lined up. However, they were actually sharing the side taiko with the drummer next to them, so at any given time that they banged they could collide with the musician next to them. It was amazing to witness the crazy-you-dont-get-to-see-the-batons-fast speed slamming the drum.

The second part started with autumn, that had the four supporting drummers playing ‘tennis’ with the small crash cymbals, first one on stage, then two, then three, then four, then with the audience, and then with each other all around the theatre. Then we had a demonstration of Chieko Kojima’s art on stage, first dancing, and then with the taiko – it was impressive to see how such a small lady can bang the drum in a ethereal red kimono. First she did it with the free sleeves, then she danced with a sash that she used to tie them back so she could play more forcefully.

Winter was a bit slower on the uptake – though with impressive technique – but it grew into an amazing mix of sounds and visual arts, again with dancing, taiko, crash cymbals, flutes and shamisen. In the end, Chieko Kojima danced with her parasol making it ‘snow’ (at a point her sleeve got caught in her hair décor and she needed a tiny stop). It was beautiful.

Hayato Drum Masters ensemble greeting at the stage

Theatre window with the Hayato Drum Masters poster

Finally, Keita Kanazashi introduced the musicians and informed us that they would be outside to take pictures after the show. I was lucky I could do so with everybody! All the artists were nice and friendly and it was a great experience. I also bought a DVD.

21st & 22nd September 2018: The Vampire Rockstar in Barcelona (Spain)

Posted on by

I first heard about KAMIJO when someone handed me a flyer for his Paris concert when I was there to see Yoshiki Classical, back in 2014. I did not give that much more thought as I obviously don’t live in Paris. However, tickets for KAMIJO’s Sang Project Act III Europe Tour came out around my birthday this year, and I decided to get them as a present for myself – there was a concert in Barcelona, on a Friday. I had a good connection there, it was the weekend, and the tickets were not expensive. Thus, I bought the ticket, the VIP upgrade (early entrance and Meet and Greet) and the memorial photo ticket (individual Polaroid with him), a grand total of 68 €.

KAMIJO is a Japanese “visual kei” singer, both solo and with the band Versailles. Visual kei (V-kei) is musically similar to rock, though sometimes it leans closer to heavy metal. Singers and bands often don a particular style, the “visuals”, usually associated with some kind of fictional backstory (however, most of them tone “the look” down as they become older). KAMIJO has adopted the persona of an 18th-century French vampire which fits both his solo activities and the ones with Versailles. However, the illusion shatters as his French is worse than his English, despite how hard he tries.

Kamijo Sang Europe tour dates and venues

Between getting the tickets in May and the concert in September, I ordered and listened to the album KAMIJO was promoting, Sang. I recognised influences from older V-kei  bands Malice Mizer and Moi dix Moix – both of which have the same vocalist, singer MANA. However, there was something more up-beaty to it that took a couple of listening sessions to fully embrace. In the end, I decided that I liked it pretty well.

Although the original reason why I decided to go to the concert was convenience, the whole thing was a pleasant surprise. I also took the chance to meet with my friends E**** and K*****, who live there. Thus, on the 21st, I took the first train to Barcelona, and I arrived a bit before 10:00. I went over to the queue at Sala Apolo, a venue in the centre of town and I was the sixth person there. I made some nice acquaintances at the queue who held my spot when I ran to the hotel to check in, around 15:00 (with 15 – 20 people at the queue).

Apolo venue façade

As I arrived at the hotel, a man walked in behind me. I did my check-in and the person behind the desk asked me for “the gentleman’s ID too”. I blinked – I had a single room, a reservation for one and he thought we were together? Weird. The guy was actually looking for a hotel for the night without a reservation, and I sure as hell was not going to share my nice, soft bed.

I went back to the queue to wait the evening away. We did not see the tour truck nor the band come in – nor out afterwards – but the venue has an underground car park, so they probably just drove in there VIP doors were scheduled for 18:00, but did not open until around half-past. I think this was one of the nicest queues I’ve ever been in. By the time the venue opened, we had already sorted ourselves into a VIP and a GA line, everything ran very smoothly. However, we were very few – probably not even 300, and most of the tickets had VIP upgrades.

After doors opened, we were shown into the actual hall, the smallest of the three the Apolo has. There was no separation between the actual floor and the low stage – there was no barrier, and we were going to be close. We had to wait in the queue for the Meet & Greet, and after we were done, we would be able to either go to the goods or take our places at the stage.

Once all the VIP ticket holders were inside the hall, KAMIJO appeared to say hi. One by one, we went to him, shook his hand and talked to him for a few seconds. He was very kind and smiled a lot, and he mostly answered “yes” to whatever he was told in any language.

I took on first row, a bit to the left. My spot was kept when I went to buy some merchandise, and we were so few that even when the concert started there was no push (unfortunately, that might mean he will not come back…). The stage was all set, including a perfect glass of water, formal tableware style, he’s above utilitarian water bottles, apparently.

Kamijo Barcelona stage

The fun part was that I was close enough that I had to be careful not to actually hit KAMIJO when he wanted us to reach out to him. The tour story revolves about the Émigré, an innovative energy system that transforms human blood into energy. This system was created by “Louis”, who is over 200 years old, and is exploited by the Count of Saint-Germain during the French Revolution. I am not completely sure how this makes sense, but I’m sure it does for people who have been following him for longer.

The live interweaves narration with recorded and actual songs, building on that outline. At times the instruments and reverberations were a bit too loud. However, most of the concert was okay. After all, this is KAMIJO’s solo project, designed so his voice is the most important thing. There were four of us in the middle of first row who had to wave and cheer with caution or we would literally smack the artist. When he twirled and turned, his velvet coat flew around and we had to be careful he did not hit us on the face with it. I had never been so near a performing artist in my whole life – I could also take a photograph of the setlist.

Setlist:
[Recording] SE あらすじ Scenario narration
  1. Theme of Sang
  2. Nosferatu
  3. Émigré
  [Recording] SE Blood Cast セリフshort narration
  4. Vampire Rock Star
  5. Bastille
  6. Symphony of The Vampire 第五楽章「Sonata」
  7. 闇夜のライオン instrumental
  [Recording] SE Delta with narration
  8. Castrato
  [Recording] SE Ambition
  9 Sang I
  10. Sang II
  [Recording] Intro as narration
  11. Sang III
  [Recording] SE mademoiselle
Encore 1
  12. 私たちは戦う、昨日までの自分と
  MC
  13. Mademoiselle
Encore 2
  [Recording] Emblem narration (guillotine)
  14. Moulin Rouge
  15. 第四楽章「Dying-Table」
  16. Vampire Rock Star

Kamijo Barcelona 2018 setlist

For the first, and I don’t think this will ever repeat, so quite probably the only time in my life, I got to experience a singer singing to me. He reached out during Mademoiselle. And next thing I know, he’s cupping my face, pulling my chin up and looking into my eyes to the verse do you want to be a princess reaching out to me into les affairs d’amour?. I also got a high-five later, and he was gentle when he noticed my wrist brace, while other people told me he was high-fiving hard at that point – or maybe he just brushed me because he miscalculated.

One of the funniest moments of the concert was the MC. Apparently, last time he was in Europe with Versailles, KAMIJO fell and twisted his ankle in the concert before Barcelona. Instead of cancelling, he continued the tour, and sang in Barcelona with crutches spray-painted in gold, or sitting down. This time he was very adamant to tell us “I can sing on my feet! No need for…” and he forgot the word “crutches” and proceeded to mimic those. Then, he hopped all around the stage like a very fabulous kangaroo.

After the show, we had some time at the hall, without being herded or anything, before we lined up for the photograph with the artist. As you reached the head of the queue, they checked your tickets – and kept them – and took your personal stuff. We could shake his hand again and get the Polaroid taken. I reached out for the handshake saying thank you, and he pulled on me so he could wrap his other arm around my waist for the picture. I think because I was just the right size for this, compared to him and his platforms.

A few of us stayed behind for a while after the pictures were done, but we did not see anyone leave. I walked back to the hotel before it got too late, and headed straight for the shower, then the bed. All in all, the concert was extremely – and unexpectedly – fun, even if (or because?) we were few. I really expected him to be much more stuck-up due to the “vampire persona” act. People at the queue were very nice, too.

The following morning, I went out to meet my friends E**** and K*****. We went to an Asian restaurant and ate some really great food, with very good conversation until I had to go back to the station to take a train home.

5th September 2018: An uneventful airport ride to an uneventful flight {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

I took early trains to have a lot of time to get to the airport from Ueno [上野], because I did not know how much the wind could have affected transport. Not much, aside from the Ueno lift. I should have known that Takadanobaba lift was not going to work either. And then there was Narita, security, customs, boarding and going home using a slightly different route, but that was it. It was all over again ヾ(TωT ).

31st August 2018: Tokyo Tower Reprise and off to Roppongi {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

I went to Minato [港] because Tokyo Tower [東京タワー ] is there, and I love Tokyo Tower. My first stop, however, was Shiba Koen [芝公園], to visit a certain tree. However, the park was under construction! Who the hell closes a park for construction?! (O_O)!

They have reopened the upper observatory in Tokyo Tower so of course I had to come back. It was imperative for my mental health. When I arrived I found out that they were running a “haunted house” on the basement and I decided to give it a go.

The story was of a cursed samurai who has killed 332 people and you’re supposed to be number 333. I had been wanting to try one of those for a while but in the end I did not enjoy it that much – the not seeing down the corridors was too stressful. Maybe with someone else it would have been more fun.

Afterwards I got my ticket for Tokyo Tower [東京タワー ] and the “VIP = Very impressive panorama” from the second observatory. I don’t understand why Tokyo Tower makes me so happy, but it does so more power to it. Oh oh oh and I had awesome(ly expensive) ice cream on the tower!

Afterwards I walked towards Roppongi [六本木], making a stop at the Don Quijote, a macro store that has nothing useful but lots of fun little stuff, with half a mind to buy a traditional red eyeliner or coloured contact lenses. But in the end I was strong and did not waste money (yet (≧∇≦) ).

I continued to the gardens Mori Teien [毛利庭園], and I was a tiny bit disappointed that the pond had been emptied!

And I saw that the TV Asahi [テレビ朝日] building was open for visitors, so I went to snoop into that, because of course I did.

Later I met with D****e and M*****san for a shabu-shabu dinner which was out of this world.

30th August 2018: Loud Head {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

I took the train to Shinjuku [新宿] and I walked from there to Shibuya [渋谷] to have a thought or two at life. In my walk I crossed Yoyogi Kōen [代々木公園] and visited Meiji Jingu [明治神宮].

Then I strolled down Harajuku [原宿] – I had recently found out that the station is going to be torn down, so I had to say goodbye before heading over to the shops.

I finally made it to Shibuya [渋谷]. I had some Starbucks chocolate drink with around ten million kilocalories (≧∇≦). I went into Tower Records, Mandarake, and then Tsutaya.

Ironically, I finally took a train back to Shinjuku [新宿] to meet D****e for dinner (guess what?! In the Shinjuku MyLord!), and we saw the lights on the Tōkyō Tochō [東京都庁] (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building).

28th August 2018: Easy-peasy {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

Having felt so lousy the previous day I decided to take an easy day with friends. I took another Nakano Broadway [中野ブロードウェイ] trip, although I did not find anything interesting – actually I did but I decided to leave buying for later and the next time I came it would be gone. Not the item, the whole shop (≧∇≦).

I met B**** for Chinese food in Shibuya [渋谷], drinks (because we had free Starbucks!) and then I got a haircut! Not that my hair was long but it had started losing shape and it did not look neat. My hair saloon was called Number 76 and it was in Omotesando [表参道].

This was a bit of a weird experience – I got my hair dry-cut, then washed, then styled, and then I got a massage – and B**** treated me to it because she’s awesome and generous ♥

Afterwards we met with D****e and had dinner at a very weird meat place in Shinjuku [新宿] (once again in MyLord because we decided it is very convenient and it has nice places). I mean, this is a salad…

27th August 2018: Nippori {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

I went to the Yanaka [谷中] area in Nippori [日暮里] because I was not feeling too well and I thought it would be urban enough but empty enough. Unfortunately it did not quite cut it.

Just after coming from the station, I went to Hongyo-ji [本行寺]:

And then to Daikokuten Kyōo-ji [経王寺], whose gate is important cultural property and keeps bullet holes from the Battle of Ueno (1868).

I arrived to Yanaka Ginza [谷中銀座], a traditional shopping street. I saw Fukuyama Masaharu posters there and I found a shop that sold humoristic hanko for foreigners. I really, really fancied the idea of one with 榊 [Sakaki] on it (with a platypus drawing) but alas, extravagancy budget had already been topped by the Oiran photoshoot.

Then I walked throughout Yanaka Reien [谷中霊園], one of Tokyo’s urban graveyards, where you can see some special see-through bamboo barriers:

I also saw the Tokugawa family graveyard within, alhtough it is technically “only” the Grave of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kōbosho [徳川慶喜公墓所].

And Tenno-ji [天王寺] next to the cemetery.

The truth was that I wanted to explore a few more temples in the area. However, I decided to do a Book Off, Tsutaya, etc tour because it was my last day on the JR Pass and I wanted to check out some CDs – and because my stomach was being stupid and I needed to be close to toilets. Truth be told I don’t have that much of a good memory from this day (≧∇≦), because I was totally unable to get anything to eat till dinner – boy was I hungry by then.

23rd August 2018: 疲れた {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

After nine days on the go, mostly with the backpack on, today I took it easy as my body kind of hurt. I went for a stroll down Ikebukuro [池袋], popped into the music shops in the neighbourhood, and looked at yukata. A yukata [浴衣] is the simplified version of a kimono [着物], usually worn in summer. It is less elaborated as it has fewer layers, and it is usually sewn from printed fabric rather than embroidered one. As so, it is rather more affordable than the real kimono – most people in Japan will own at least one yukata.

I went into the ALTA Ikebukuro super shopping centre. There, I found a super beautiful, super expensive high-class yukata. I absolutely fell in love with it, but it was completely out of my budget – it was embroidered with actual silver threads. After that, it was really hard to find something else I liked.

After a few more shops, I did find a yukata in Shinjuku [新宿]’s Tokyo 135º. Ironically, I found this shop in Shinjuku ALTA, right in front of Shinjuku Station Kabuki-cho exit (this is the building that used to have the huge Kimura Takuya billboard). It seemed that the sales ladies were quite used to tourists. The assistant did not press me, and she actually offered to take a picture of me before I actually told her I would buy the yukata.

My choice was exactly what I was looking and aiming for – it has a dark background and a bit of a “goth” design, with roses in different shades, from dark red to pink.

Coming back, I got lost in Shinjuku Station. Like, very lost. Then I realised that to get to the “South Exit” you have to actually come out of the building and find it outside. Live and learn. The great thing about getting lost in Shinjuku Station was that I found all the TOKIO panels for their new video game commercial. Including one low enough to be able to “take a selfie” with Nagase.

Then I picked up D****e in Roppongi [六本木], we had dinner, and called it a day.

22nd August 2018: … and I raise you two castles more {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

From Nagoya [名古屋], I got myself to Inuyama [犬山], Aichi Prefecture, to see yet another castle. This is also one of the twelve original castles and a National Treasure of Japan. Inuyama is located about 40 minutes away from Nagoya in a line I had not even heard about, so I had a bit of a hiccup finding the station. But it was no more than a tiny stumble and I was on my way at the expected time. Inuyama is a nice little town with a traditional street leading up to the castle, called “Castle Town street”.

Before getting to the castle I came across two shrines – one was Haritsuna Jinja [針綱神社].

The other one was Sankoinari Jinja [三光稲荷神社 ], which either got you a partner or protected your pets. Inclusive for people who want a partner or not, I guess (≧∇≦).

Then I hiked up to Inuyama-jō [犬山城], the castle.

I diverted from the way to get to Inuyama Jinja [犬山神社].

And I was puzzled by something called Oibokenizu Jizoudou [老い呆け来地ず蔵堂]. But it’s okay. Apparently most people are. It seems to be some kind of love temple.

Finally I met a very relaxed kitty in Akiba Jinja [秋葉神社].

With this, I left Inuyama and headed back to Nagoya, from where I took a Tokyo-bound Shinkansen. I made a stopover at Hamamatsu [浜松] because I wanted to see… yet another castle! I found my way to Hamamatsu-jō [浜松城, Hamamatsu-jō].

Next to it there is the sculpture of Tokugawa Ieyasu Wakaki hi no Tokugawa Ieyasukō-zō [若き日の徳川家康公像]. Ieyasu build the Castle and resided in Hamamatsu and was the first shogun of Edo shogunate. The castle is a reconstruction.

Finally, there is the Ieyasu Armour Hang Pine Tree Ieyasu yoroi-kake-matsu [家康公鎧掛松] which (supposedly) is where the man hung his armour when he was home (aka the original castle).

And with that I headed off back to Tokyo [東京] and D****e’s place to get some rest.

21st August 2018: I see two castles… {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

As I had made it to Nagoya a bit on the early side the previous day, I had some time to plan today carefully. The tentative plan was visiting Gifu and Inuyama, both castle towns. However, a third castle, Kiyosu, was also on the list, and it turned out that to get to Gifu, you go via Kiyosu. So there was a slight readjustment in Castle-visting schedule.

Thus I got myself on the train and 20 minutes later I stopped at Kiyosu [清洲]. I had seen the castle from the Shinkansen before, but I had never found the name until I was doing some pre-planning for this trip. Thus, it was a win/win situation. Everything seemed to be helping towards me seeing that castle this time.

Bonus points for Kiyosu: signs. Awesome, easy to follow signals reading “清洲城” in every crossing . Not in every second crossing. In every actual crossing so you can actually get to the place without even a map!

Anyway, the highlight of Kiyosu is the castle, Kiyosu-jō [清洲城]. It is not original by any means, but it is one of the prettiest ones I’ve seen. I like all the colourful stuff.

Then I snooped around Kiyosu Koen [清洲公園], the park where Oda Nobunaga Nōhime-zō [織田信長・濃姫像] stand, they are the bronze statues of Oda Nobunaga and his wife Nouhime.

Afterwards I returned to the station and continued onto Gifu [岐阜], where I took a while to figure out the bus system, but in the end I managed to get to the feet of the mountain where Gifu Castle is.

Before going into the park, I decided I would not go into the insect museum, and walked off to Shōhōji [正法寺], home of the Great Buddha Gifu Daibutsu [岐阜大仏].

I took the Gifu Safu Kinkazan Ropeway [ぎふ金華山ロープウェー] (Gifu Mt. Kinka Ropeway). As much as it seems that I am getting comfortable with the whole Ropeway thing, I’m not. For the record.

But there I went, up to Gifu-jō [岐阜城], the castle up the muontain.

Later I was wandering around the park for a while and of course I needed to go and see the Gifu Kōen Sanjūnotō [岐阜公園三重塔], the Three-Story Pagoda that stands on the slope of the park.

I was sort of tired, and it was very hot, so I took the bus back to the station, and the train back to Nagoya [名古屋]. When I got there I had rested a little, and I felt up to walking a bit in Nagoya – besides it just felt too early to go to the hotel. I walked by a cute little shrine, Yuzu Akiba Jinja [洲嵜秋葉神社].

I finally made it to Ōsu Kannon [大須観音],

and the adjacent shopping streets,

where I found Hakuryu [白龍], the white dragon.

I did some shopping in Mandarake and Book Off and I walked back to the hotel.

20th August 2018: Ise, the Soul of Japan {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

Ise [伊勢] in the Mie Prefecture, is a coastal town home to the Ise Grand Shrine Ise Jingū [伊勢神宮] dedicated to Amaterasu, Sun Goddess, and said by many to represent the soul of Japan. It is also, according to the legend, the resting place of one of the three Imperial Regalia, the mirror Yata no Kagami [八咫鏡]. The Grand Shrine is actually a compound, but there are two main shrines, the Inner Shrine Naikū and the Outer Shrine Gekū

I left the hotel just in time to make it to the local station and get to Ise stfation, where I checked with the Tourism office and bought a bus pass. As much as I dislike buses in Japan, sometimes it’s the only way to get around. My first stop was the Outer Shrine: Gekū [外宮].

Then I took the bus to the Inner Shrine, which was packed with people and school trips. I crossed another Uji Bridge, Uji-bashi[宇治橋].

Then walked into the Inner Shrine: Naikū [内宮].

My general impression of the Ise Grand Shrine: it felt really severe and not too welcoming, which is different from what I usually feel in Shinto Shrines. It was full of people praying at the different shrines and sub-shrines, and families with grandparents, parents and kids. There were also a lot of children in trips. In the Great Shrine, people usually pray at what is called the third level. When I was there, a woman was shown to the second level for her to pray there, which caused some outrage around the parishioners. That amused me.

After I had seen the Grand Shrine I took the bus again to head off to the coast. On the way we passed by Azuchi-Momoyama Bunkamura, and I filed it for future reference, as it had a castle. But for the time being I was heading off to see the Meoto Iwa.

I got off the bus and first I was distracted by the ocean.

Then I walked through Ryugusha [龍宮社], a dragon Shinto shrine.

I walked around the cliff and got to Futamiokitama Jinja [二見興玉神社].

Which is home to the Married Rocks Meoto Iwa [夫婦岩], two rocks in the ocean that are joined by a sacred rope and represent a married couple.

I had now some time to do something else. I considered the Aquarium, and the Azuchi-Momoyama Bunkamura [伊勢安土桃山文化村]. I decided to give myself some more time to think by taking the bus backtracking towards the Naikū, and I had almost decided on the theme park – featuring samurai, geisha and the castle.

But then I saw the price. It was over 4,000 ¥ and I had spent 10,500 ¥ at the Oiran Experience than expected, so I was a bit off-budget. Thus I decided to just head back to the shopping and restaurant area and grab a bite to eat. (Full disclosure: I might have to go back to Ise just to check this out anyway (≧∇≦).)

I had heard about ‘Ise lobster’ Ise ebi [イセエビ] (Japanese spiny lobster, Panulirus japonicus), but in the end it turned out that I only bought a koroke. It was yummy though.

After this, being already late afternoon, I decided to head back to the station, stopping by Seki Jinja [世木神社] before I left towards Nagoya [名古屋], which would be my operational base for the next couple of days.

19th August 2018: Uji, layovers and finally Ise {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

Uji [宇治] is Kyoto’s li’l brother that nobody has ever heard about and which has a bit of a disproportionate ego. Today I set off to visit this small town, where I had not slept because it was crazy expensive. Armed with an online itinerary I got there and asked for a map at the tourist office – my surprise? One of the main attractions, the Genji Monogatari museum was closed. Because reasons I guess. Hindsight: I should have slept in Kyoto again and left luggage at Kyoto station as I would have to travel through it again.

My general impression of Uji is that it wants to climb the tourist ladder but at the same time, it does not want to carter to the actual tourists. Attractions were in general expensive and a tiny bit unwelcoming, while at the same time the people were nice in a bit of a condescending way. The demeanour of the tourist lady “what are you here to see?” was strange, and the fact that the Genji Monogatari museum, which is the reason why the town is even in the map, being closed, even more so.

My first stop in Uji was Byodo-in [平等院], a beautiful temple complex built around a small lake. Coming into the actual building to watch the paintings had an extra charge so I did not do that. Instead I snooped around the whole complex, museum, and sub-temples.

I continued my walking route skipping the tea house, because even if Uji is known for tea, it was too hot for hot tea. I got to the river, Ujigawa [宇治川], and crossed one of the bridges, the Kisen Kisenbashi [喜撰橋] to get to a small river island called Tachibanajima [橘島].

Another thing that is apparently typical in Uji is ukai [鵜飼] or cormorant fishing, which means fishermen use trained cormorants to fish. It was apparently too early in the morning for the cormorant to be out working.

I crossed then another of the rivers, the Asagiribashi [朝霧橋] to get back to main land, where I stopped by Uji Jinja [宇治神社].

Then Ujigami Jinja [宇治上神社], which is basically another building of Uji Jinja but it got separated because the Haiden is a historical monument.

I finished my walk around Uji at yet another bridge, Uji-bashi [宇治橋], famously mentioned in Genji Monogatari. Do you see a pattern here and why I’m so weirded out about closed museum?

After Uji the plan was getting to Ise mid-afternoon, but my Shinkansen was late, which lead to a two-hour layover in Nagoya [名古屋].

That meant that I arrived in Ise [伊勢] in the Mie Prefecture, around 6 pm. I had two options there – walk 45 minutes to the hotel, or wait 45 minutes for a train that would take ten minutes to get at the hotel station, and then walk for 15 minutes. I chose to walk.

Thus I came across Tsukiyominomiya [月夜見宮] just as the sun started to set. I started to notice here the ‘naked’ torii, which are typical of Ise – it means that they are not painted or made of stone, they are plain wood, usually sakaki, a sacred tree in Shinto.

And Suhara Taisha [須原大社] a bit later (though the two look… creepily similar, don’t they?)

By the time I got to the hotel I was exhausted and hungry, and maybe a bit eeried out because I had had to cross a mostly deserted area over the river as it got dark. Sheesh, was I happy when I started seeing neon again. Bonus point, the hotel had an onsen, which was great for my back (and it was near a combini, so food was also had). The hotel was such a huge complex that they needed to hand out maps so you found your way between the different areas – onsen, reception, restaurant, room!

18th August 2018: Plan Switching. Kyoto → Osaka → Nara {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

On this day I was supposed to hike up a mountain – mount Takao to be precise. But you know what? When I woke up that morning I just did not feel up to it, so I decided to change my plans. In the end when you’re on the JR Pass you can get from Kyoto to Osaka for free. For a change, I actually got to Osaka instead of Shin-Osaka which was convenient. Then I grabbed the underground to get to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan [海遊館], which is actually the largest aquarium in the world.

I had been there before, but the previous time I did not get to see the whale sharks as they were ‘quarantined’. How can anyone block a tank which is in the middle of the whole damn thing, I have no idea, but they did. This time I broke even and had a blast. Unfortunately the Aquarium was packed because this was a Saturday morning, and for some reason my back was hurting a lot. I had dropped my luggage off at a coin locker because I thought it would be better. However at some points I could not really walk straight. The weight of the camera bag was too much and I had to sit down. Found a nice place to watch the sharks from, though.

After the Aquarium I went to Kuchu Teien [空中庭園], observatory in the Umeda Sky Building [梅田スカイビル] to have a look at the skyline and to get the stamp for the Japan Towers rally. I got the greatest omg-gaijin face of the trip here (and truth be told, had I known that the stamp was actually held at the reception desk and not the actual observatory, I might have skipped this). In this case the building is an attraction itself. It consists on two towers joined by some passageways and a circular platform at the top, with see-through escalators.

Next the plan was going to Dotombori, stroll down there, and eat some takoyaki before heading off to Nara where I had my hotel for the night. When I got to the station and jumped on the Osaka Loop line, it turned out that I actually was in the train that continues on to Nara… and it was air conditioned and I had a seat…

I found it a sign and decided to just go with the flow and get to Nara [奈良] on that train. Upon arriving there I checked into the hotel and I decided to go to Nara koen [奈良公園], the main Nara park, and see if I could feed a sacred shika [鹿] deer or two. This was close to 5 pm by now so all the temples would be closing anyway. I did feed the deer some shika senbei [鹿煎餅] (deer crackers), and one of the does bit me. Not even the hand that was feeding her, she actually tried to snack on my tummy. Sheesh.

As I was coming back down I had a pretty sunset over Kōfuku-ji [興福寺].

17th August 2018: Gold & Oiran {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

Last year I decided to take a maiko photoshoot and it was fun, so when this year I found something similar, I decided to take the plunge. In this case, it was not a maiko, but an oiran [花魁], high-ranking courtesans with flashier clothes and more expensive kimono and accessories. I timed this to be the day after the Gozan no Okuribi, and my appointment was at 1 pm, although the website advised you to be around half an hour earlier.

I woke up feeling much better than the previous day, and after leaving the hotel the first thing I did was visit Mikane Jinja [御金神社], a small temple that had at some point come under my radar because it has a golden torii. This was, again by luck, very close to my hotel.

Torii gate painted in glittery golden paint

After that I took the underground to go to the Higashiyama / Keage area, where my photo studio was. There are also a few things to see around there, so I got off at Keage Station and the first thing I saw was Nejirimanpo [ねじりまんぽ], a Spiral Brick Tunnel, also called “Twisted tunnel”. I walked across, of course.

Entrance to a tunnel made of bricks. The bricks seem to be built in a spiral, and not straight

Afterwards I found myself at the complex formed by Tosho-gu [東照宮] and Konchi-in [金地院]. Tosho-gu is dedicated to Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.

A Buddhist temple with lots of bonsai pines in front of it

I continued into the temple complex and saw Nanzen-ji [南禅寺], a grand temple.

The main building of a Buddhist temple with an incese brazier in front of it

And then I stumbled onto Suirokaku [水路閣], which is, of all things, an aqueduct! Furthermore, it is still in use.

Aqueduct made out of brick

My next stop was Saisho-in [最勝院].

A Shinto purifying fountain

Then it was almost time for my appointment, so I headed towards Studio Esperanto Oiran Taiken [studio-esperanto 花魁體驗], which was pretty much amazing.

Studio Esperanto front shop

While considerably more expensive than the maiko photo shoot, but the truth is, it seems less standardised and way more professional in a way, relaxed in the other… maybe it is the fact that you get to choose more is what makes it unique to you – also I am happy to report that I could do it with my contacts in, so that was way more enjoyable. The whole thing was like a dream – it reminded me a little of the experience you get when you go to Swallowtails, a lot of people are trying their best to make you feel welcome. In this case you choose a kimono and two different covers, called uchikake, which are super heavy because they are embroidered with metal thread.

The first thing I did was to take off my clothes and put on a white “underwear” robe. I could choose a lot of things – make up style, colours, wig, nails, hairstyle to a point, eyelashes… it is very participative. After make-up, you choose the kimono and the obi – which is the real thing, a long one that they tie around you. For the photo shoot itself, you feel like a rock star for real. They put the uchikake on you, they help you with the poses, and they take a lot of pictures for you to choose which ones you want printed into a book -For the plan I bought, 25,000 ¥ you get five printed pictures in a book and can buy the rest of them on a CD (which was 10,000 extra, but in my case, way worth it, as I got 50 pictures) – one day I would love to do the VIP experience, that’d be cool, but I guess I’ll just settle for entertaining repeating a similar plan with the blue background.

Collage of a person in oiran outfit. The kimono is decorated with pine needles embroidered in gold, and cranes. The person is wearing wig with long red hair.

While I was waiting for the pictures to be done, I decided to have a walk around the area. I saw the Biwako Sosui Kinenkan [琵琶湖疏水記念館 ], the Lake Biwa Canal Museum, from the outside.

Fountain with a crane inbetween the flow

I thought I might check out the zoo, but the price made me decide against it, and after turning a corner I found myself, surprisingly, at Heian Jingu [平安神宮 ].

Bridge leading up to a huge torii gate painted vermillion

I remembered there was a conbini next to the daitorii, so I went there to have some lunch, and then walked back to the Keage area, to have another look at the temple complex and Jishi-in [慈氏院] (probably. There was some construction going on and this might have been a smaller temple).

A Buddhist temple through the wooden gate

After I had my pictures (and still not quite believing it), I decided to walk down to Gion, as the path would take me down the river.

A shot of the Kyoto canal, with weeping willows hanging over it

I ended up at Yasaka Jinja [八坂神社].

Vermillion gate that marks the entrance to a shrine up a flight of stairs

Then I walked into the actual Gion [祇園] area. It was more than crowded, which killed the exploring drive.

Wooden houses in the sun, the wood is dark

And here is when I totally forgot that I wanted to go see Fushimi Inari Taisha by night and went back to the hotel ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡. I guess I was a bit more tired than I had previously thought, because I did not remember that until I was getting on a train the following there.

16th August 2018: 五山送り火 (Gozan no Okuribi) {Japan, summer 2018}

Posted on by

Remember when I mentioned I overdid it on the 15th? I was feeling it today. My head was bugging me and it grew worse along the morning. The weather, showery, was not really helping, even when I took my meds.

Never the less, I left the hotel in the morning, got some breakfast and walked to Kyoto’s old castle, Nijō-jō [二条城], which was literally two blocks over. This was not planned, as when I booked the hotel I looked for something reasonably-priced reasonably-close to a JR or an underground station – I really, really hate Japan buses, trains for the win.

Anyway, the castle was close, so I decided to drop by as the first time I had been around it was being renovated.

After the castle I walked towards the JR station where I had come from the previous day to stop by Shinsen-en [神泉苑], the remains of a Heian Era garden, which holds a sub-temple to To-ji.

Also I snooped into Nijo Jinja [二条神社], just because there was an indication sending me there.

Then I headed off to Kyoto JR station as there is a tourist information centre. There I wanted to ask where to watch the upcoming Gozan no Okuribi [五山送り火], which is a festivity that closes the Obon festival in Kyoto. The Obon festival honours the deaths of the deceased, which come back to the world and are sent away by the five fires started in four mountains around Kyoto. I wanted to see as many fires as possible, and I had been doing some research online. I wanted to find a good place, which in the end turned out to the rooftop of a local Aeon supermarket, the Aeon Mall Gojo.

After getting the info, I went to Higashi Honganji [東本願寺], a temple close to the station.

I wanted to go find its twin, Nishi Honganji, but I was not feeling well and I really wanted to be fine for the evening’s fires – which were after all the reason why my trip was planned like this, so I could go to see the fires. My headache was growing worse, I think part of the reason was that I was stressing that the mall might not be a good place to watch the fires and whether I could go somewhere else. Thus I got something to eat, and headed back to the hotel for a shower, a nap, and some dinner before I left for the mall.

The nap proved to be a good idea. The fires would be lit at 8 pm, so I stayed in the hotel until a little after 5 pm, when I left so I could be at the mall at 6 pm. This gave me time to relocate to another of the viewing spots if my first choice did not work.

But it did. You know you’re on the right track when you find all the locals all ready a picnic, and the Aeon was just like that. There were hotel employees pointing to the areas where we would see the fires. Out of the five fires we would see three, and part of the other two.

There are five fires in the Gozan no Okuribi [五山送り火], and they are lit from right to left. The first one is shaped 大, it is called Migi Daimonji or just Daimonji [大文字]. It is lit at 8pm. The second one is Myojo [妙法], a Buddhist prayer. Next comes the ship that is supposed to take the souls back to the underworld, called Funagata [舟形]. The fourth is the Hidari Daimonji [左大文字], another 大, and the final one is the Toriigata [鳥居形], shaped like a torii.

Everything was good. I could relax and my headache did not come back, even if we had a mini deluge that had everybody going inside for a few minutes.

When it was done and we went all back outside, we had a great sunset.

Finally everything went dark and the fires started. We saw the Migi Daimonji lit first to our right.

Then the sparks of what could have been the Myojo or the Funagata, nobody was too clear on that. Later we saw the Hidari Daimonji lit, just in front of us.

Finally, we got to see the Toriigata after changing sides of the roof.

All in all, it was a great success!! I was really glad I got to go and see it, especially the first and last fire, because it gave everything a sense of beginning and ending, even if I was quite exhausted to make it back to the station and the hotel.