Trip to Nara

These days when I travel around Japan it's usually to a place I've already been before. I like meeting up with friends that live in these places and truthfully I've been to a lot of cities now and aren't that many left that I'm interested in going to at the moment. There were three left, Hokkaido, Okinawa, and Nara and I recently scratched Nara off of the list. A friend and I wanted to do some traveling so we decided to take a day trip. From Gifu you can get to the city of Nara in a little over 3 hours by taking a from Nagoya (the nearby big city) directly to Nara or taking a bus from Gifu to Kyoto and then a train from Kyoto to Nara.

Arrived at Nara station with my friend Narae

There are a few things that I knew Nara was famous for before going and on the top of my list were actually deer. Nara could easily be nicknamed "The City Of Deer". In the heavy tourist areas there are literally tons of deer freely walking around harassing people for snacks which can be bought for feeding them for 150yen. I didn't run into any violent deer but they do get pushy when it comes to getting your food and I would suggest keeping an eye out on your bags.

Narae being surrounded for her snacks which she quickly gave up.

Close up

Deer everywhere!

They've caught on to the fact that something tasty is in the bag.

Whenever you go anywhere in Japan it's always recommended to try out the local famous food or snacks. I spent 2000yen on my lunch but it was good.

View from the restaurant window. A lovely day for a trip.

The dinner consisted of various tempuras, Nara's specialty persimmon wrapped sushi and udon.

kaki no hazushi  This persimmon wrapped sushi is famous in Nara.

 

 

 

 

  

Besides deer and food Nara is also famous for its nice nature, temples and one large Buddha. It's easy just enjoying a walk and getting lost in the little nooks and crannies. I'd suggest exploring over a set path if you have the time.

Large guardian statue.

Todaiji temple. Home one of Nara's most famous things. A very large Buddha statue.

Nara is a place of nice look scenes like this. I'd love to see it in the Spring when the plants are a bit more lively.

The Far East

I leave you with a video a deer greeting me in the most Japanese way possible.

RIP Scott Snow

Here is a video I made in memory of a lost friend. I think the pictures in the video speak for themselves. Please follow me on this emotional journey.

Evolution of the peace sign. (AKA how crazy it has gotten.)

A friend of mine posted this video on my FB page and I couldn't help but to be amazed at how awesome and accurate it is.

Here is a mockumentary about the progression of the peace sign. It may be a mockumentary but there is a whole lot of truth to it and that's what makes it so funny. People living in Asia or deeply interested in the culture will probably find this especially funny.

P.S. The black people are so me.

Photos of the month (January 2012)

I have a new edition to the blog for all of you. At the end of every month I will post the best random photos of that month along with a description.  As I just thought of this idea during the last week of January, this months pictures will be few.

The sign says Nagara river. I cross the nearby bridge to get to work. This river runs through the city of Gifu.

 

The Rainbow brand of BOSS Coffee a very popular can coffee in Japan.

Junior High School boys bathroom. The worst place to be during the winter. It's horribly cold.

The display for a giant size burger that can be purchased at a bowling alley in Nagoya.

Saw a field of crows near my work place as I was going home.

Gifu castle in the far distance on to of Mt.Kinka.

Home sweet home sweet home (Visiting the US)

After 2 years of being away I finally went back home to the States to visit. There are a few reasons I hadn't returned sooner. The cost of a ticket and the flight time were pretty high on the list but also I've enjoyed traveling to other countries and cities during my vacation. Other places in Asia which are closer, cheaper and were first time experiences for me. Finally I began missing home enough to take the trip back. I chose Christmas vacation because it was a good time to see a lot of my family at one time as well as I really miss the feel of Christmas in the US. It's just not the same here in Asia. It was a good 3 weeks. I've missed all the sarcasm and humor that comes with my family, a lot of it that I had to tone down greatly in myself in order to fit in better here. Also got to see a lot of old friends and remembered just how much I miss hanging out with them. I've not found that kind of closeness with people in Japan as I had with my childhood and college friends despite the majority of the college friends being from Asia.

Sister,Mom, and me

Our real Christmas Tree at home. Looks nice but the poor thing was super dried out.

Besides people, one of the best things about being back was food. I'm a fan of Japanese food, but I miss a lot of restaurants in America like Steak N Shake, Penn Station, Qdoba, and almost any pizza place. My city St.Louis also has some great not so Chinese Chinese food that you can't even find in other cities in America.

My Mom's home made cooking. Fried chicken, macaroni & cheese and string beans. So good!

Took my sister to have her first Thai meal.

Garden Salad from the restaurant called Red Lobster

Coconut fried jumbo shrimp. Big shrimp with coconut in the fried coating. A very interesting taste and the white sauce along with it had a sweet tropical taste.

Lucky for me the Japanese Yen is quite strong in comparison with the US dollar and so I got a nice extra bit of cash when exchanging my money over to dollars. I did a lot of shopping with this money. Clothes, candy, video games and especially a pair of shoes which is vital because finding my size in Japan is near impossible. Besides shopping, trips to the zoo and ice skating with friends was pretty fun.

With friends at the St.Louis Zoo

Spent the last night ice skating

I didn't realize how much I missed my 1st home until I visited and then left. It's been a little tougher being back in Japan just remembering how lonely I'm not when I'm back in the US. Honestly I'm afraid I won't be able to find the kind of friendships and relationships here in Japan but its my home now and I'm praying for a more active fulfilling life in the year 2012.