Tokyo life – a daydream that I have somehow deluded myself into. When I was staying in Tokyo some years back, I snapped up a tonne of cityscape hoping to revisit them again. And I did in later months,  but usually couldn’t locate where I have walked before simply because I was lost half the time and had let my feet do the leading instead of my brains.

So before I start growing senile and forgetting all about my wonderful Tokyo life, I’ve decided to put it up here! … but that’s not the point.. the point is Daikanyama代官山 is one of my favourite places in Tokyo and it’s worth mentioning.

Anyway, Daikanyama lies in the Shibuya ward. Despite being in so near Shibuya, it is nothing like the can of sardine Shibuya is. Think melodic jazz, unique modern boutiques, uptown hillside terrace residences with some of the best cafes and sidewalk restaurants in Japan. Coupled with lesser traffic, much more serenity and done away with the harsh consumerism compared to nearby Shibuya, makes the Daikanyama area one of Tokyo’s hippest and desirable neighborhoods.

From Daikanyama station (just a 2 min ride from Shibuya) one can find a variety of fashionable modern and vintage clothing boutiques, cafes, art spaces, specialty and accessories shops (my favourites are the hats boutiques and themed accessory shops), most of them converted out of old homes giving Daikanyama a modern yet retrospective feel.

One of those art spaces that you find in alleys and between shops.

Designer hops as like Jean Paul Gaultier, Paul Smith, Vivienne Tam, Porter, and Martin Margiela stretches alongside the sidewalks

I actually can’t remember if this one was another of those art spaces or a boutique

Fine text reads “Naked Bunch”

My feeble attempt at translating – Thank you to everyone who came up until here. I look forward to happily meeting with everyone again.

Yes lots of it please!

Hat Boutique! Very expensive and not very useful in the dreaded weather of Singapore…

One of those chic cafes for you to relax and watch life pass you buy..

a 315 Yen shop

Specialty accessories shop selling everything that falls within vintage and the theme of Cats

Living in the uptown means having an expensive lifestyle and owning a pet in downtown Tokyo means you have a disposable income enough to afford another (doggie) life and the SPACE it needs in small and cram Tokyo.

Everything for dogs.. I think they live a better life than me…

… even a bakery for dogs

Street view

What did I say about life in the uptowns. You get to see a lot of vintage cars too!

Daikanyama also features aplenty of basement shops. Most of them will delight you. Don’t miss them out just because they’re not at ground level!

Residences by the side

Ok so I stopped for a drink took a good 5 to 10 mins checking out this super vending machine that comes with a LCD screen, says something about music downloads via itunes and has something that looks like a cutesy game with the Rabbit push button. -.-!

Lunch at a Korean basement restaurant! After many attempts at reading the Kanji and Katakana, I still have no idea what was being served.

So I stuck to safe Gyu Yakiniku don (Fried beef bowl). セーフ！

Wiki’s translation seems more digestable.

not losing to the rain
not losing to the wind
not losing to the snow nor to summer’s heat
with a strong body

unfettered by desire
never losing temper
cultivating a quiet joy
every day four bowls of brown rice
miso and some vegetables to eat

in everything
count yourself last and put others before you
watching and listening, and understanding
and never forgetting

in the shade of the woods of the pines of the fields
being in a little thatched hut

if there is a sick child to the east
going and nursing over them
if there is a tired mother to the west
going and shouldering her sheaf of rice
if there is someone near death to the south
going and saying there’s no need to be afraid
if there is a quarrel or a lawsuit to the north
telling them to leave off with such waste

when there’s drought, shedding tears of sympathy
when the summer’s cold, wandering upset

called a nobody by everyone
without being praised
without being blamed

such a person
I want to become

Arashiyama 嵐山 offers a breath of fresh air when the many similar temple-visits in Kyoto City gets a little humdrum. Located in the western part of the city, Arashiyama is often said to be a less explored area since most tourist guidebooks do not offer much explanation. True enough when I reached there last winter, there were a gazillion Japanese tourists mulling around and very little gaijin.

My first stop was the much talked about Bamboo Forest. Located just about 5 mins on foot from the JR Saga-Arashiyama station, the bamboo forest offers a sanctuary of greenery and peace. Yes green even in the dead of winter.

I didn’t see Kungfu Panda in there though…

The whole forest takes about 15 mins to explore. I reckon it would be refreshing to go there during summer. There were a few rickshaw stations where the service to explore the entire area is provided.

Somewhere in the Bamboo Forest is a shrine called Nonomiya Jinja. According to the Kyoto City Office, Imperial princesses who served at Ise Shrine first resided there to purify themselves. The shrine today is dedicated to the main deity – the sun goddess and to the deity of fire. For generations, emperors sent unmarried daughters to serve at Ise Shrine, where they were known as Saigu. A princess who was set up as a Saigu first spent at least one year undergoing purification within the Imperial Palace, before moving to Nonomiya Jinja. After 3 years of purification there, she will then be taken in a procession to Ise. I for one cannot imagine 3 years of purification and no internet in my life.

One can find many signs along the way. This one above says that the area is a protected historic site.

Didn’t know people hunt Bamboo with guns! LOL!

And then some of what I suspect to be Google-translated English.

Japanese graveyards neatly placed side by side

The almost full moon illuminates the night. It was the middle of December and that’s when the Hanatouro 花灯路 – somewhat a festival of lights takes place.  During the Hanatouro the Arashiyama area will be illuminated with street lights, starting from the bamboo fores all the way to the Togetsukyo Bridge. The official website offers beautiful images of the lighted place. Truly mystical but when I reached there. . .

… I was attacked by a stampede of people and it was generally impossible to take a nice shot.
The funny thing is, there were a lot of Japanese taking pictures using their mobile phones and here I was wondering how on earth will their photo turn out when my DSLR produced lousy shots like the one below…

There were apparently many old men with their camera gear camping at the entrance of the forest waiting for sundown. (Mind you only the older folks handle DSLRs there and the young, well they whip out their mobile phones instead) I didn’t go equipped and didn’t expect to see so many people there so naturally my spirits were a little dampened. What to do? I checked out people instead.

So I spotted a photographer squatting down taking photos in the opposite direction while the rest of the people just walked by and I wondered if he was some ecchi guy photographing pantsu shots. I waited for him to leave and angled my camera in the same position as he did and bingo… he was trying to capture the moon in the middle of the clearing of the trees. Lovely! Now if only I had a better lens! haha

The forest in non-tungsten white balance.

Next stop: Tenryu-ji (天龍寺) Literally Sky Dragon Temple

Tenryu-ji is one of  Kyoto’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the main temple of the Rinzai sect of Buddhism in Kyoto; it is considered one of Kyoto’s Five Great Zen Temples. Wowwww…..

So with all it’s greatness and zen-ess,  you have to pay to enter! 500 Yen.

The temple was established in 1339 by the Shogun Ashikaga Takauji on the site of the Kameyama Detached Palace, for the purpose of consoling the spirit of Emperor Go-Daigo. (I have no idea who these great people are as their names do not appear in the Playstation Samurai Warriors game that I played LOL)

Anyway,  behind the Hojo (Main Hall) is the Sogenchi Garden, which has been designated a Special Historic Site and a Special Historic Scenic Area. This garden, designed in the stroll-around style, retains the same form as when it was designed by Muso Soseki in the fourteenth century.

So I strolled around, climbed up some steps and had my fulfilling Onigiri lunch there.

After stealing some shots of other people, I made my way to my last stop: Togetsukyo 渡月橋

The Togetsu-kyo, or Moon-Crossing Bridge, is a famous bridge built in the Heian Period, and spans across the Hozo river. In the spring, one can see a beautiful array of sakura along the banks of the river and in autum, the mountains displays a picturesque of Momiji紅葉. In Winter… well you get the dried stuff. Almost dried river, dried plants, dry air etc. LOL

The bridge was named the moon-crossing bridge by Emperor Kameyama because of the resemblance to that phenomenon.

Some random light bulb from across the bridge.

Beyond the river are some restaurants, a monkey park and one can even go boating. I took a 1km walk up stream  (2 km when you have to come back out) because I was beckoned by a sign that says 絶景 (absolute scenery or superb view).

Upstream along the river…

Leaving the bridge behind

Photographed from across the river

Mandarin ducks are a symbol of LOVE (according to Feng Shui)!

I was getting excited cause the water turned turquoise!

Half way through, I realised I had to climb up the mountain! Wanted to give up halfway as it was getting dark and I was alone and tired and and and oh well, I might as well, since I came all the way…

Ok so it was sort of an anti climax. I reckon it is only a “Superb View” in autumn. So I made my way back down as I didn’t want to be attacked by wild boars or the last Samurai!

There is much peace in the scenery as I made my way out. Didn’t dare to even put on my earphones as they say you need to keep your eyes and ears open when trekking alone… and it WAS getting dark. I was getting freaked out… by my own thoughts. LOL

My favourite angle. Looks very European if you ask me (someone who has never been to Europe haha)..

This was the map I “relied” on. You can see this as you step out of the station.  I snapped a shot of it thinking it will help me find my way but… it wasn’t very useful for me cause after I snapped it i snapped a gazillion other pictures so when I needed the map, I had to scroll all the way back in my DSLR. Very smart dice!

Nevertheless, Arashiyama obviously offers more than I posted up. Tourists who bought the 1day city bus pass will find that it’s invalid in this area. One can reach Arashiyama by the local trains on the Sagano Line that departs from Kyoto main station. You stop at Saga Arashiyama Station. That’s the one i took since its covered by JR.  If you are elsewhere in the city and no where near the main Kyoto Station, the Tozai subway line that runs through the city will take you to Nijo Station where you can then transfer to the Sagano Line and it will then take you to Saga Arashiyama.

FF XIII-2 is due to release this December and the 2011 E3 video released on Tuesday is just freaking awesome but that metal breastplate looked kinda weird with the feathers!

Ok who here agrees that Lightning’s amour is a fashion statement ripped from Saber Lily‘s garb? ☆ミ(o*・ω・) ニヤニヤ

Tokyo Tower lights up differently during Christmas.
Only in Japan can they make that cutesy pink heart look right on a tall and magnificent structure. ☆ミ(o*・ω・) ニヤニヤ

I have something to announce! I am officially a NEET now. And that’s probably why there will be updates again and I should probably change the name of this blog to something more appropriate. Something like The Long Overdue Posts perhaps..or Everything Outdated haha.

Anyway the post’s not about my complaints and rantings. More importantly, Shirakawa Go needs a better mention.

The photos here were taken during  Late Winter 2010 and Early Winter 2011. (Yes did I mention it was long over due?)

If you haven’t heard of Shirakawa Go, you probably should visit it sometime. The historic villages there are one of Japan’s UNESCO World Heritage sites. Truth be told I chanced upon this area while researching for my Free & Easy trip in Japan.

I think I shall let the images do the talking. You can find more of the dry stuff (information)  at the end of the post.

Village captured at one of the view points. The thatched roof house with 5 windows is a monestry(if i interpreted my guide correctly)

The village is well known for the houses that are constructed in an architectural style known as gasshō-zukuri (合掌造り). The Gassho-zukuri, or “prayer-hands construction” style as Wikipedia calls it, refers to the thatched and steeply slanting roof that resembles two hands being joined together, as if in a prayer. The roof is designed to allow the houses to withstand and shed the weight of the region’s heavy snowfalls in winter (like now.. er I mean like when I visited).

I loved how the mountains look exactly like Chinese calligraphy art

It was actually drizzling when I was there and i remember pretty clearly the hassle of taking good photos while trying to protect your camera from the cold and water and trying to balance your umbrella somewhere plus trying to walk in snow boots. But it was all pretty worth it!

The river doesn’t freeze. Looks awesome with thick blankets of snow.

This one’s taken during early winter in late December. There wern’t much snow yet and I was oddly disappointed. I had revisited this area in hope of seeing the snow scenery again. 2 days later, I departed for Tokyo… and it snowed! FML!

The bridge leads to the Tourist Center. I remember a horde of tourists from North Asia flooding the bridge. I stood there in the rain and practically froze for about 5 mins before getting a shot with lesser people.

Can you see the birdie?

Feeble attempt at wide angle.

Some of the Gassho villages  Minshuku (民宿) are open for tourists to stay to get the ultimate experience. I did not though cos I was terribly scared of the cold. I based myself in the town below called Hida- Takayama .  The backpackers I was staying at organised daily tours up to Shirakawa Go and they are relatively cheaper than the usual Nohi bus that runs daily. When you’re up there, be sure to try the famous Hida Beef Croquette (200 – 350 Yen each) or you could also sink your teeth into some ソフトクリーム (literaly soft cream or ice cream) and freeze your brains out – like i did! YUM!

If you’re heading to Hida- Takayama for Shirakawa Go from any major cities of Japan, you’ll need to transfer at Nagoya, to a standard train called the Wide View Hida (ワイドビューひだ) Limited Express, bound for Hida -Takayama. Be sure to check the timings of this train as the frequency is not high. At most you’ll get 1 train an hour. If you JUST missed it, you’ll have to wait in the cold (like I did! haha)

The ride itself takes about 2.5 hours but it is definitely worth it. Take it during the day and you’ll be able to enjoy the mountainous beauty of that region. For a city chick like me,  the mountains and rivers are awesome. You can catch a glimpse of it on this video. For photography buffs like me, make sure you take a late morning or early noon train as you’ll get those irritating reflection on the windows by the time the outside is darker than the inside. Anyway, the best part of the ride is that it is included in the JR pass so JRPass  holders will love this.

]]> http://www.nekoguchi.com/2011/06/01/shirakawa-%e7%99%bd%e5%b7%9d%e9%83%b7/feed/ 0 http://www.nekoguchi.com/2011/06/01/shirakawa-%e7%99%bd%e5%b7%9d%e9%83%b7/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nekoguchi/~3/8WxFJno2coQ/ http://www.nekoguchi.com/2011/01/03/happy-year-2011/#comments Mon, 03 Jan 2011 10:05:03 +0000 dice http://www.nekoguchi.com/?p=1666

Happy New Year – to who ever may be reading this! Probably just Mervyn & myself… because the last I checked there’s only 3 visitors! Not much but positively speaking, there is much potential for improvement! (I’m probably in self denial right now!

Anyhoos, a brand new year has started again and if you’ve heard of  Hatsu yume (初夢）,  the first dream of the new year you’ll most probably know that it’s a tradition carried forth since the Edo period and that whatever you dream about on the night of January the first, will be an indication of

the year ahead. Traditionally, dreaming on the 31st of December is not counted since people usually party the night away (yes even in those times). The prediction is in any case, that if you dream about mountains, particularly Mt. Fuji, Hawks or eggplants you’ll likely have a fortunate and lucky year ahead.

Yours truly here was still nursin

g her hangover and did not dream of any mountain, hawk or eggplants… but rather nightmarish flashes of the vomit in the toilet bowl… so much for some prediction!

What did you dream on 1st Jan 2011?

Japanese Emoticons on Mac OS X (Snow Leopard)

05. Select “Dictionary“. If “かおもじ” is selected but “Open” is not grayed out, then select it and click on “Open“. You may now close the window.

06. Head to the comment section on this page, switch your input to Japanese and type “かおもじ” and cycle through the list till you find your favorite face. Leave me a comment. （＾ω＾）

Japanese Emoticons on the Mac is much easier to install on Windows isn’t it.

Momohime – one of the two playable characters in Muramasa: The Demon Blade. . . coming soon. . .

I forgot to publish this post and Saber’s been kept in a (very) Distant Avalon for some time … actually, she’s just been sitting in a corner of my folder for almost a year now and I’ve conveniently forgot about her . . . Now I don’t remember much of what I wanted to talk about anymore except that I oddly remember the pain when  I photographing her. Yes am still living in a shoebox (same one) and space was an issue and lightning was bad but yeah I could blame a million things except myself haha! its no wonder she’s got that angry look on her face..

Anyhoos, its time I do some justice to her…