War Heroes Of Japan

Some people are offended with the Yasukuni Shrine - in Tokyo - but the Ysaukuni Shrine is where the remains of the soldiers and more than 1000 convicted war criminal from WWII are now.  I can really understand why some Koreans and Chinese are upset with the shrine - because my own grandparents were one that wouldn’t buy anything Japanese as long as they lived.  My grandfather used to say that the Japanese not only invaded our country but they violated our womenfolks and killed our children.

The Shrine was a very beautiful place - very serene - love the building - as you can see here.

We had lunch in the nearby cafe and watched the world go by and many who came to see the shrine were tourist but I see lots of Japanese too.

Road Trip - Temples In Nara City

Nara Prefecture is where the capital of Japan once was - located less than an hour away from Osaka and Kyoto - one can take a road trip to view historical temples of Japan.  So off we went after buying our auto insurance and renting a car -  you see we were renting it from a co-worker and in Japan - you have to get individual insurance. I don’t know if you know this - but one can check on international auto insurance when you are on vacation - but when you rent from a car rental - I think they take care of all insurance for you.

There were many old statues as you can see in the pictures that follow - but one thing i missed about visiting temples from Japan and in Hong Kong is - when in Hong Kong - you can opt to have a vegetarian meal at the temples there.  Here in Japan - they don’t offer this kind of service.

Nevertheless, it was a pretty good trip - a lot to see and a lot to take in - and if only they have all the description in English too - that would be perfect.

Outside of one temple - outta the 7 we visited - i like the Kofukuji Temple best.

Favorite Summer Dessert In Japan

Yes! my favorite summer dessert - in Japan - but ironically i wasn’t introduced to this when I was living in Japan - it was in Malaysia - in a cafe at Daimaru that I first at this dessert called Azuki Shiratama.  You see - i had some online coupons to this restaurant and anything free or discounted is great right - especially for a student then.  Yes ! i was only 17 years old and had gone there with a friend to try this summer dessert.  Never did I think that 10 yrs later - i would be sitting in Osaka having the same dessert in a small little cafe - I hear it’s a favorite summer dessert for a lot of Japanese as well.  Consisting of red beans, green tea ice cream, glutinous rice, jelly at the bottom, fruits and lots of brown sugar syrup.  Glad that there were the online coupons for me to go try this wonderful dessert.

Famous Miso Katsu In Nagoya

Miso Katsu is very famous in Nagoya - therefore if you are there - you have to try it out.  While most restaurant would just pour tons of miso sauce onto your Katsu - you can definitely ask for them to have the sauce on the side.  They even have Miso cutlet on a stick - pretty yummy and a must try according to everyone - even the pamplet at the tour desk recommends it.  For those who are not aware of what a Katsu is - it’s pork deep fried in bread crumbs - really tender inside and crispy on the outside - sinful?  yes - very!  but what the heck - you don’t go to Japan everyday right.

Wisteria Flowers In Season

Sometime in May every year - there is the Wisteria Flower Festival in Japan that I remembered when i was in Japan for work.  Held in a shrine - there are these kind of purple flowers all over for folks to enjoy - very much like lavendar but not. They are definitely fragrant though - i loved the festival a lot because during the evening the place get lit up right up to late at night.

Yokohama Festival

Yokohama Festival was last month and I’ve only been there once - many years ago.  They celebrated their 151 years since opening its port in July 2010. Going to Yokohma from Tokyo wasn’t really too difficult if you car didn’t break down like ours did - hahha!! but luckily we had a local with us - a co-worker and he had gotten roadside assistance - so we were quickly on our way.  Yamashita Park is located in Yamashita-cho, Yokohama and is close to Yokohama Chinatown.

Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan about 3.6 million people in this place - full of history and very clean too - but Japan in most part is clean. This archway leads to a park -  and the first picture is Yokohama Chinatown - there are 7 or 8 chinese restaurants that you can choose from to eat.  Don’t forget to visit the famous Ferris Wheel and the Cosmo Clock while you are there - it’s just next to the Intercontinental Yokohama Grand Hotel - you can’t missed it.

Food in Chinatown.

check out some of the activities i found on u tube on the festival.

LaQua

it is free to enter the La Qua at Tokyo Dome city - but you have to pay for the rides and the attractions. Opens from 11am - 9pm daily- the LaQua has many good food places to eat and the largest natural hot spring spa in Tokyo.   You have to check out their specialty stores and many games and rides to go on.  Move aside Disney Land - move aside Sanrio Land - this place is great for both adults and kids.

Tokyo Dome

Never heard of? don’t blame you - neither did i till i lived in Japan for 6 months for work.  Tokyo Dome seats 55,000 people max and home of the Yomiuri Giants.  The NBA, NFL games and other pro wrestling games are held here.  But what one should be interested in is the amusement park LaQua - that will be for another post.  But to get to Tokyo Dome - take the JR line and get off at Suidobashi station.

Okonomiyaki In Tokyo

Everyone I know wants to there Okonomiyaki when they are in Tokyo - I myself wasn’t any different when i first arrived.  Oknonomiyaki is like a pancake with all sorts of ingredient in it and an incredible sauce on top of it.  At the Shibuya district - you can find gret Okonimiyaki restaurant there. If you take a short walk from the Shibuya JR line,  you can find several there - i won’t say anyone is better than the other but it’s pretty good.

Yokohama Cosmo World Night Ride

If you are in Yokohoma which is 45mins by train from Tokyo - one have to try out their Super Ride at Yokohama Cosmo World.  We went there in the night because we figured the lights are  a lot cooler and it’s not as hot in the night as well.   If you are also wondering how Japanese get their thrills - I’m guessing it is these rides that keeps them happy.  But if you want a quick trim, lose some calories or get that heart pumping - try the Cosmo ride - if the ride doesn’t do it - the screaming would at least give your lungs a good workout.  When we were queuing for our turn - everywhere we turned were Japanese and  not as much Westerners as I had predicted.

Cosmo World is located near the harbor and the ferris wheel is once upon a time the largest in the world.  You are gonna be blinded by the thousand lights in different patterns - pretty overwhelming if you asked me.   The diving roller-coaster is not as scarey as it sounds - it passes thru’ an underground thru’ a pond and then back to the surface - it’s just an illusion that there is water coming straight at you.  There are several other rides you can choose to go on - like the new addition of a family ride i heard.  There is no entry fee to Cosmo World but you pay from 100 yen - 700 yen depending on what you care to do when you are there.   I know you will have fun - check out the cool arcade there too and have some popcorn cooked in a arcade machine right in front of you.