11/27/12

Japan

*Food post coming next
Comfortable boat rides - talking turn signals - overpriced food - space age toilets - gorgeous women - over development - introversion - cold weather - pristine mountains - cartoon pornography - polite people - flashing lights - casino arcades - octopus balls - cigarette/liquor vending machines - walking Buddhist pilgrims - clothed dogs - invisible police - odd shaped trees - crimelessness - sleeping under bridges - rhinoceros horns - crazy sea creatures - bukake parlors - autumn leaves - new culture - old traditions
I stuck to the south of Japan because of the cold weather, after Japan I flew from Osaka to the Philippines
Clearing customs
 FUKUOKA - HIROSHIMA 
Arrived in Fukuoka from Korea via ferry, from there I made my way east towards Hiroshima. Very pleasant ride - lots of mountains and forests.
First night under a bridge just outside of Fukuoka

Island hopping near Shimonoseki

A lonely fisherman

All the houses seem to have these strangely groomed trees

Spent 2 days in this little walkway underneath a highway due to never ending rain

A nice place to wake up, unfortunately it was too cold to leave my sleeping bag
Hiroshima is a beautiful port city full of parks and rivers

Hiroshima just after being destroyed by an atomic bomb

Depictions of children with their skin melting off

The outfit of a little boy killed in the atomic blast

The effects of nuclear radiation on a human body

Map showing the damage of 'little boy'

The 'Atomic Dome' is a very iconic building as it was the only one still standing at 'ground zero'

The US pilot flying the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was aiming for this bridge. The famous T bridge marks city center and I spent a very eery night under it after a day at the peace museum.
  
SHIKOKU ISLAND
I spent about 2 weeks going around this quaint and beautiful little island. As well as wild monkeys, there were lots of 'pilgrims' wearing traditional Japanese clothes and walking around the island (which takes about 2 months!) going from temple to temple. Some of these 'pilgrims' were westerners and I thought what they were doing was pretty amazing and a great way to spend 2 months.
$35 for a 2 hour ferry ride - painful

This was my home for 3 days while I was ill, a dugout in a baseball field next to a surfing beach. I had no appetite and ate only a couple of oranges per day, but enjoyed my free hospital room!

Coast near Kochi

Heading east along the southern coast of the island

Beer and cigarette vending machines. The youngsters in my hometown would like to see these start popping up.

On this evening I was feeling a bit sad and lonely. I slept in this school bus stop and an old man walked by me with his dog around sunset. He returned 10 minutes later with a bag of oranges, bananas, 2 cans of espresso, and 2 cans of beer! He really made my night and we talked for a while in no language at all, I was no longer sad and lonely.

A typical lunch of sushi and seasoned rice in tofu with kimchi

The Japanese recycle everything

A standard toilet in Japan comes equipped with the following: a temperature controlled heated seat, various hoses that spray water at many different parts of your bottom (depending on your sex), built in sink to mask any unwanted sounds, music, inter-galactic laser guns, and a small hadron collider for the scientifically curious

Don't accidentally push 'eject'!

I had so many lovely nights under bridges next to rivers, Japan is very clean and safe so you can literally sleep anywhere you want

Web building

In the middle of the island the road was lined with tall pine trees that gave off amazing autumn smells

A good feed

Spent an hour tramping around looking for a waterfall that I know exists because I could hear it, but never found it

A lake in the mountains

Following the river south towards Kochi

...but isn't that sign not very nice??

 WAKAYAMA TO KYOTO
The last leg of my Japan journey took me across Mie Prefecture and through some great mountains. 

Early morning, smoky village

Quaint little town

My horse and I entering Mie Prefecture at nearly 3000 ft

I love mountains!



Sleeping at a rest stop

This guy pissed somebody off

I fasted for 3 days to see if I could do it and clean out my mind and body, this was my first meal after 72 hours of just water

Kyoto!

OSAKA
 Osaka is where I really fell in love with Japan, it's a huge mega-city with lots of character and plenty of things to do. My mate Jonni Doig came up for a week from Hanoi and he and I did Osaka properly: hotels, whisky, pool, countless amazing meals (next post!), bars, backgammon, aquarium, tons of walking, and lots and lots of beer...
This city makes Times Square seem dull


Q. What do you get when a Yank and a Brit meet in Japan? A. Bourbon and Scotch


People everywhere!

Dogi kicking out of a tough spot in an intense one pocket match

Sushi circles restaurants on conveyer belts and you are charged by the plate, we destroyed these places

Osaka at night

Whoa

Some urban respite

Osaka castle

Very relaxing parks, great way to spend a hangover

Sprawling city

Underground casino arcade

It is insanely loud in these places with flashing lights everywhere - sensory overload!

Women only train cars on the subway, I want in!

It's rare to see police so we capitalized on this photo op

Never ending raw beef

Osaka is home to one of the best Aquariums in the world...