New Year at the Temple

Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! (Happy New Year in Japanese! Thought, before New Year, you can say 'yoi otoshi o').
To ring in the New Year, I decided to head to the main shrine in Ichinomiya, Masumida Shrine.

On the night, I arrived a little earlier, so I visited a nearby restaurant for some food. Most restaurants and bars are closed around New Year in Japan, as it is a very big holiday. But this restaurant was a western-style restaurant so it was open. I had some delicious steak and some cider, then I went to the temple around 11pm to check out the attractions before the bells. Yes, there are still bells here, though not quite the same as the UK- they ring the massive 'prayer bell' on the shrine grounds 108 times to signify the 108 'sins of man'...at least that's the gist of what I've heard! 

There were lots of things to do at the temple; there were stalls with games for kids, like the cork-gun shooting and ring toss. I tried them anyway and got some cheap prizes :) There was a huge bonfire lit, which was much appreciated as it was freezing outside! There were also lots of stalls with food, such as yakisoba (friend noodles) and various meats being grilled. There were bags of candy floss too, and chocolate-dipped bananas with sprinkles! The shrine itself was also offering souvenirs, good-luck charms and fortunes/prayers. I bought a demon-warding arrow and a Year of the Monkey wooden plaque called an 'ema'. 

About 10 minutes before midnight, people started gathering in front of a large tarp set up outside the entrance to the temple. There were some coins in the tarp and I wondered what was going on. At 10 seconds to midnight, everyone started counting down- and as the first bell rang everyone in the crowd started throwing coins into the tarp! It was a little shocking haha! I ducked, then took out some change and threw it over as well! Basically, the tarp is a giant 'offertory box' for people to throw their money in to make their first prayers of the New Year. A fun, if a little dangerous tradition! XD

Happy New Year everyone!

Tokyo Holiday

As I was working on Christmas Day this year (but we had a Christmas Party on Boxing Day, so it still very much felt Christmas-y at work) I knew I wanted to have a good holiday after. So from the 28th to the 30th I visited Tokyo! I knew the district I wanted to see most was Akihabara so I booked a hotel there and booked the Shinkansen too; it gets extremely busy around the end of year, as lots of people visit relatives or return to their family house before/at New Year. For a reserved seat (you can buy unreserved which is cheaper then a reserved ticket but you might have to stand if the train is busy) it was around £100 (20,000 yen) for a return trip. Considering the speed, comfort and good service of the shinkansen I thought it was worth it! The service is miles better than the British Rail system anyday, and you can get a view of Mount Fuji on the way!

I caught a glimpse of Mt Fuji on the shinkansen!

On my first day I explored a bit before checking in to my hotel. I arrived at Tokyo Station around lunchtime, it was definitely the busiest place I have been in Japan so far! People were flowing everywhere like water, and there were lots of foreigners too. I took the train to Akihabara and the first thing I saw when exiting the station was a huge Sega arcade complex!

I played some machines there then visited a Maid Cafe to relax for a bit. The staff were cute in every sense of the word! From their uniforms to the way they spoke and acted, it was adorable. Then I got some very cute food as well! They also put on a little show, and got the customers to join in too, it was very fun! It was a unique experience, I definitely recommend it!

I won the Samurai Cat at the Sega arcade :3

After browsing more I retired to my hotel. I booked a 2 night stay with the APA Hotel in Akihabara. I chose them mainly because it was a great-looking hotel but not too expensive, and also a 10-min walk to Akihabara station. It was an excellent stay with lots of nice amenities, a comfy bed and polite staff.

The next day I went to the Ikebukuro district to visit the Pokemon Centre. There are a few in Tokyo but this one is the new Mega Centre (it was celebrating its 1 year anniversary when I visited) and it had lots of great things! 

The biggest Pikachu I've ever seen! 

In the same building as the Pokemon Centre (the 'Sunshine Prince' building, a massive shopping centre) there was also advertising for the 'Tokyo Sunshine Aquarium'. It wasn't until I got in an elevator after visiting the Pokemon Centre, that I realised the aquarium is on the rooftop of the shopping centre! I got a ticket and it was amazing, there were huge pools and tanks inside and a big open-air bit outside too (though it was very cold!)

On the 3rd day I explored the area around Tokyo Station before heading home. I found the Godzilla statue in the central business district. I only knew of it because it was on a map I got at the station; I expected a huge building-sized statue but sadly, it's just a smallish 'commemorative' type statue. Still worth seeing, though!  

In short, I had a wonderful time in Tokyo and can't wait to go back! It's busy, full of anime/games and nerdy stuff, and great food! It's everything I expected when I came to Japan and more! 

Kyoto Holiday

From the 8th to the 16th November, I had my first holiday at the Bohme Academy. I originally planned to travel to Seoul in Korea, but it became too expensive and complicated to plan with little notice, so I instead chose to stay in Japan and visit Kyoto for 3 days. I had 2 main reasons I wanted to visit Kyoto; the Golden Pavilion temple Kinkaku-ji and of course...the 'mecca' for many, many gaming fans- the Nintendo Japan HQ building!

So I booked a 3-night stay in a hostel on Booking.com. The International Guest House Tani House was cheap enough (6000yen for 3 nights, about £30) and had good reviews, so I went with that.
To get to Kyoto from Ichinomiya I took the train to get to Nagoya and then rode the Shinkansen (Bullet train). It was expensive compared to the normal trains (another 6000yen each way) but still better than British Rail prices haha (and better service/cleaner trains!).

The best part of travelling in Kyoto is the bus service. It can get pretty crowded, but basically the buses have a flat rate of 230yen for adults (just over £1) and you can stay on the bus as long as you want. It was a 40min journey from the Kyoto station to the Tani house (which took me a while to figure out, as google said to get the bus from the Emmachi Bus Station, but confusingly here, normal bus stops are called 'bus stations'. So I wandered around for about 30mins looking for a big bus station building...) and yeah, the cost was still only 230yen. You also pay as you get off the bus, and the machine gives change!
I wish First would take a look at this...

On the first day I took the train to Jujo and followed Google's directions to the glorious Nintendo HQ buldings. My heart skipped a beat when I could see them over the other buildings, haha!

After being told I wasn't allowed in to either building (well I had to at least try!) I decided to grab some lunch from the restaurant across the road from them. While I ate (about 12ish) some employees came as well! I wish I'd been brave enough to chat with some of them, but I don't trust my Japanese level that much yet and I didn't want to bother them. If it had been Miyamoto of course I would have jumped at the chance to talk to him!

After that thrill ride, I returned to the main part of Kyoto, and visited the Kyoto Tower. There so many gift shops and souvenir stands I could feel my wallet emptying by just entering! I got a few trinkets, then relaxed in Starbucks. They do an excellent 'crunchy toffee' latte here just now, with cornflake sprinkles. It's pretty tasty!

The next day I went to visit the Kinkaku-ji, the temple with the Golden Pavilion. It was a cloudy day, so my pictures weren't great, but it was still great to learn about the temple and do fun things like get my fortune told and taste some good mochi! I also visited some of the surrounding shrines.

After that, I visited a nearby Cat Cafe, Nekokaigi. It was so relaxing, and the cats were super-cute and really soft! I think many people in Japan bathe their cats, and you can really tell the difference!

                                                  

I will definitely visit Kyoto again. While I did achieve my two primary goals, there is so much more to see there. I fancy going around the Christmas period, but we'll see!

Shops and 'combini', money

One of the first things we did once I got here was go to the local 'combini', ie convenience store. There are loads of them dotted about Japan, and my nearest is just 2 mins walk on the same street. The 3 biggest chains I have seen so far are Family Mart, Lawsons and 7-11. I got my first 'bento' and the shop assistant actually microwaved it for me :) I also got some oreo daifuku, which is like mochi with icecream inside! Very tasty.
When paying, you can hand over change or put it in a small tray by the till. I wasn't sure why, and thought it might by a hygiene thing or some polite custom, so I looked it up. There's not really a solid answer, but this article has some ideas: Change Trays

You also get a lot of coins and change here, as the notes only get used for 1000 yen and more (I think of them as like tenners, but they are a lot closer to fivers in value). You get change in similar denominations to UK currency: 500 yen, 100 yen, 50 yen, 10 yen, 5 yen and 1 yen coins.  

Flight and airport stuff

Well this week has been busy! And I only have fleeting access to internet, so I will have to post a bunch of stuff in one go, then there might not be anything for a while. Sorry!

Well the flight went fine, it was a long journey!
When I got to Aberdeen airport in the morning (the 2nd Oct) it was incredibly foggy, so much so that we couldn't see anything a few metres ahead of us in the car! I thought it might delay my flight, but it didn't! It actually left early o_o

It was a quick 2 hour flight to Frankfurt, where I then got lost and nearly left the airport :/ I then had to go through security again, which was an hour. I wasn't fussed though, as I mentioned before I had a 5 hour layover to burn! And I got chatting to some people in the queue so it wasn't so bad. Afterwards I just wandered the shops and cafes until my flight came though.

On the 12 hour flight to Japan I just wasted time watching movies (Ted 2 and Terminator Genisys) and playing my 3DS, listening to music and sleeping. Since there was a tablet with movies I didn't feel the need to use my laptop, though I heard something about there being Wi-fi on the plane somehow..? I also had a nice meal on the plane, beef goulash and green tea noodles with wasabi! It was interesting. All the announcements were in 3 languages, first German, then English, then Japanese. I tried to decipher the Japanese ones as I heard them for a bit of practise! xD

So we touched down in Nagoya around 8:15am. I had to go though customs and immigration, it was a bit of queueing but not too long, as they gave us forms to fill out while still on the plane. Once I exited the building, it was lovely and sunny! And HOT. The teaching rep that met me at the airport told me they'd been having a heatwave the past few days, and yeah, I felt it! We travelled to Ichinomiya via the airport link train (Meitetsu), it was nice. The seats rotated before we got on for some reason. It was a great journey though, got to see some nice scenery.

Once I got to my flat, I just conked out. I was jetlagged though and only slept 4 hours xD

Getting ready to fly!

It's gonna be a 2 hour flight to Frankfurt straight from Aberdeen, then a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt, then a 12 hour flight to Nagoya... x_x (with Lufthansa)

So today was about  some last minute things. I'm mainly taking clothes with me to Japan, as I'm sure I'm bigger than most of the females that go there haha. Also my PS2 and WiiU- they are wrapped up tight! The most important thing though is my computer. I went out to get a case for it today, got a nice basic one from Currys/PC World, I had to remember the measurement (17" for mine) is diagonally across the screen size, like resolution is. Most cases were only 15" for some reason.

I also got a nice weather update from my contact at Bohme, it seems there is a weird heatwave going on both here and in Nagoya! 20 degrees celsuis there! So I'll wear light-ish clothing. I hope it's at least a little warmer generally over there too...!

Travelling is easy with Tech!

I've spent the last week or so looking at the place I'm going to! It still amazes me how even about 10 years ago travelling across the world was much more difficult.
Thanks to the internet (mainly Google) I have seen the place I will be working, looked at the streets nearby, looked up local restaurants and shopping centres, seen a great list of things to do in the area and more!

Most of the trip has been planned without me needing to leave my house. I love technology!
All that really remains is for me to pack. I am not looking forward to that....how do you decide what you will need over a year that you can't get in a foreign country? I'm planning on taking mostly clothes and games haha.

Please let me know if you have any recommendations!