Leaves change color!?

The Floridian in me never stops being amazed by seasons. While Spring always makes me happy because it's a sign of warmer weather to come, Fall foliage is a showstopper. One of my favorite things to do in the Fall in New York was to walk around looking at trees, and so I wanted to do the same in Japan.

I took a train to the northern outskirts of Osaka, to Minoo Park. It's listed on many websites as one of the most popular destinations for Fall foliage viewing. And it was REALLY popular. Apparently everyone in Osaka had the same idea as I did this weekend, and we all headed to the same darn place! I couldn't believe the crowds!

Minoo Park featured many food stalls along its nicely paved path, so it wasn't too difficult of a hike. After about 3 km, the path ended in a waterfall. It wasn't the most impressive waterfall I've seen, but it was still nice to be around nature.

If you look closely, you can see the old ladies frying up
battered maple leaves! Unfortunately the lines were about
20 people deep... I didn't get any!

Pretty Japanese maple trees

Overhead view of some of the beautiful colors

Autumn in Japan!

Getting close to the waterfall (you can kind of see
how many people are around!)

The waterfall (although it's a bad picture... my
camera is really bad!)

Not all the trees turned color... wonder why?

It's a shame that all this will disappear in a few weeks, and then it gets cold! Rats!

Into the mountains

As a sea-level type of girl, I am easily impressed by mountains. They seem so majestic and important as they rise from the ground. The views are always spectacular, and the air is clear and crisp. Taking advantage of another long weekend, I decided to make my way to Koyasan (高野山).

Koyasan is located in Wakayama prefecture, about two hours from Osaka. The name actually doesn't refer to a single mountain, but rather a basin area located between 8 different mountains. The trip there seemed to take a long time, perhaps because there were multiple steps involved. I first took a train, then switched to a cable car, and finally to a bus.

Bad picture taken from a moving train. But, oooooo. Mountains.

For the last 40 minutes of the train ride, the tracks sloped gently upward, carrying the train into higher elevation. Then at last, I transferred from the train to the cable car, which took 5 minutes and brought me to my final altitude of 867m (2,844 feet)!

View from the cable car. So steep!

I walked around town, viewing some of the many temples and sites. Dozens of temples line the streets; many of them offer guest accommodations complete with authentic buddhist meals and early morning services. But alas, they are also quite expensive so I just got to take pictures from the road.

Daimon, the original entrance to the Koyasan area.

Konpon Daito. So pretty!

I forgot what this one was called.

If only that branch would get out of the way, this would be a good picture! :P

I stopped for a snack along the way. This is a grilled/roasted mochi
filled with red beans. The grilling gave the mochi more of a chew. It
was delicious!

One great attraction of Koyasan is the Okuno-in area, Surrounded by a vast cedar forest, this cemetery/holy spot is where the Buddist Kobo Daishi Kukai is said to be in eternal meditation. The graves/shrines in this forest numbers into the hundreds of thousands, the old ones covered with moss. It was breathtakingly beautiful and haunting; just like walking into another world.

Stepping back in time...

What do these little aprons mean?!?

Little paths branched out here and there, leading to
long-forgotten shrines

This place would probably be creepy at night!

The cedar trees were enormous and amazing

I'll have to google why they put clothes on these statues, and place 1 yen
coins on them.

Deep within the forest, in an area considered very sacred, lies the Gobyo Mausoleum. No pictures were allowed, so I only got a snapshot from afar.

Crossing the bridge

With the mountain chill, chanting monks, and incense-filled air, there was a surreal feeling to this place. I took my time and browsed through; it was truly a relaxing and peaceful way to spend the afternoon!

With my spirit recharged, I headed to my accommodations for the night. I found a lovely small guest house on Koyasan, with little capsule rooms for rent. After walking around for the whole day, I was glad to get off my feet!

Koyasan Gueshouse Kokuu!

While small, the interior was surprisingly comfortable and airy. There were 8 capsules and 3 regular rooms, shared toilet/shower facilities, and a public area/kitchen.

Inside of guesthouse

My capsule. It was surprisingly cozy, and outfitted with a really soft and
comfortable mattress. Aaaahhhh! A bed! Unfortunately I didn't sleep as
well as anticipated... perhaps due to the altitude!

I had a great time at the guesthouse. The proprietress is an amazing cook, so I had dinner there instead of venturing out. A few other guests were also around; there was a lady from Montana who is a school counselor down in Okinawa, and a German guy doing the Shikoku Pilgrimage (750 miles?!?! Nuts!). We had a lovely evening exchanging stories.

I awoke the next morning to the smell of freshly baking bread. What a great start to the day!

My breakfast!

After a leisurely breakfast, I took advantage of the clear morning and walked around the Okuno-in area for a few more hours. Finally, I headed back to the real world though... and to the typhoon that is currently headed towards Osaka! What a great trip; I truly felt as if I had gone back in time!

Back down the mountain...

Futon Daiko Festival

To celebrate the Harvest Moon, there's a regional festival that takes place every year in the town that I am staying in. To my surprise, it's a quite popular and large festival! It's called the Futon Daiko festival, and it takes place at the Mozuhachiman Taisho here in Sakai. On a beautiful sunny Sunday, I decided to check it out.

Although much of the festivities take place at the shrine location, the actual Futon Daikos are carried around town at different times. A quick search tells me that there are around 13 of them. This is how the city website describes it:

About four meters high and weighting about three tons, the Futon Daiko consists of a platform with a taiko drum, on top of which are five overlapping layers of vermillion cushions. About 70 people carry the Futon Daiko, with their unique shouts of "bera-bera-bera-sho-shoi" mixing with the sound of the drum as they proceed through towns. Afterward, the drum is dedicated to the shrine.

The Futon Daiko coming down the street. 

It's huge! It must be really tiring to haul this thing around.

Aw. here's a mini Futon Daiko, being carried around by kids.

And here's a Futon Daiko at rest, next to the shrine.

There were also a really big market set up on the shrine grounds, with food and game vendors.

Strolling through the stalls

Lots of vendors set up around the shrine grounds

This one sold all kinds of fruit dipped into melted sugar

Lots of stalls had games set up. In this one, you can catch little crabs to
take home. In others, you could catch fish.

I got some fried chicken to nibble on. I don't know
what it is, but Japanese chicken is always so tender and
juicy and flavorful!

And, I got a shaved ice. This was like... the opposite of
the snowy flake ice in Taiwan, This was 'barely crushed'
ice. :P Still, it was tasty on a hot day!

There were so many people at the festival!

Kyoto Day Trip

Six months in Japan, and I haven't made it to Kyoto yet?! I decided to remedy that this weekend, and set out for a short trip.

Kyoto is actually really close to Osaka; from my place (which is south of city center), the entire trip only took about an hour and a half. The train ride was comfortable and easy; only one transfer needed!

Because this was a short day trip, I decided to take it easy and only pick a couple things to do. After all, I can (and will) return! With that in mind, my first destination was Fushimi Inari Taisha, a shrine famous for its thousands of red gates.

Gorgeous day to sightsee!

I felt like I was walking in my sister's footsteps... after all, she had visited about 6 months ago! Her photos do the beautiful scenery MUCH more justice than my ancient point-and-shoot ever could though!

This was a holiday weekend in Japan, so the shrine was understandably mobbed. At the bottom of the mountain, there were crowds of people, all trekking through the gates. Luckily, as I climbed, the crowd thinned out.

Look at all the people!

After a half hour, there were a lot less people!

I was warned by my sister that the public map was misleading. Indeed, it seemed like I was making great pace one moment, but then slowed to a complete crawl. After 45 minutes, I was only halfway up!

Beautiful view, halfway up the mountain

I'm sad to say that I didn't make it all the way to the top. It was lunchtime, and I was hungry! As I headed down though, I overheard a group of HK tourists comment that it actually wasn't too far of a hike to the top; the map was severely NOT to scale. Oh well... maybe next time...?

Oh to be like the cat... naptime is the most peaceful thing!

Interestingly enough, although the uphill walk seemed mild, making my way down absolutely KILLED my calves. :P

After a quick convenience store lunch break, I spent the afternoon walking around the Gion district. There was a lot to see, and many tempting things to buy. Beautiful shops with handmade goods and pretty storefronts (decorated tastefully like the most upscale French chocolatiers) selling pickles... all existed in conjunction with huge modern department stores.

Passing by the Yasaka Shrine

Gorgeous park!

Gion district during the day. Most shops were closed, so there wasn't much
to see. It was MUCH prettier at night. Unfortunately, my camera's
night-time photos are so bad that I can't possibly post anything!

Rats; I forgot the name of this. I think it's the Kenninji Zen Temple? It
 cost money to go into the grounds, so I just walked around the perimeter

Kyoto is a pretty city; the old and new co-exist together harmoniously. I have only seen a small slice of what it has to offer... I shall return again!

Taipei, Day 4 - Ningxia Night Market

For my last afternoon/evening in Taipei, I decided on a second attempt at reaching the Ningxia Night Market. From my online research, it's a smaller market that mainly caters to locals. During my hair appointment earlier in the day, my hairdresser suggested this market as well, so off I go!

But first, a shaved ice break. I bumped into a shop that sold black sugar shaved ice, and figured I should give it a try. Visually, I would NOT have guessed this to be shaved ice; it almost looks like bran cereal, in my opinion!

I chose to have red beans, stewed peanuts, and mochi balls as my toppings, and the ice cost 65 NTD ($2.17). The flakes of black sugar ice were less sweet than I anticipated; I kind of wish I asked for condensed milk as one of my toppings. But the ice was good, like a modern rendition of tong-shui.

After my ice, the market was an easy stroll away... a little too easy, actually. I arrived way before the market was even up and running, so I walked around the neighborhood of Datong (大同區), looking at all the older style buildings.

At 5pm, the market will STILL being set up, and so I sat down at another shaved ice place to wait. Hey, it's HOT in Taiwan; I have to stay hydrated!

The market entrances were clearly marked

The market even has a... mascot?

It was actually fun to sit there and watch all the vendors set up for the evening, a small slice of everyday life. Of course, having a really big bowl of shaved ice in front of me was pretty nice too. :)

The market, before all the hungry visitors arrive

This bowl cost 100 NTD ($3.33 USD). It was a deep bowl, which made
this a pretty giant shaved ice. A healthy portion of mango and
condensed milk lurked underneath the ice mountain.

After a while, the market opened for business. This night market is pretty small, spanning only one street in length. But in some ways, it's just as good as the Shilin market. The smaller space means that there are fewer repeating food items across the different carts. I saw a few items that I had not seen earlier in the week.

The market filling up with people

Fruit carts are pretty popular throughout Taipei; I saw plenty at the other
market as well. Sigh. Only if lychees were in season!

A chicken wing is de-boned, stuffed with sticky rice, then deep fried.
Can there be a more perfect food???? The vendor also dusts the chicken
wing with a spice of your choice before serving. I chose peppered salt.
This was a little pricey at 50 NTD per wing ($1.67 USD) but SO YUMMY.

Mashed taro is stuffed with either pork floss or a salted egg yolk, then
deep fried.  I didn't get one, but this was a very popular stall.

So many skewers. After ordering, they are then simmered in a soy-based
braising liquid.

A big tub of Aiyu jelly. This refreshing drink is supposed to quench
thirst really well, making it a popular presence in all the night markets.

Once again, I lamented my small stomach. There were many booths that I did not get to try!

And with this, my Taipei visit is coming to a close, and I fly back to Osaka tomorrow morning. This was a really fun visit though; I like this city a lot! I definitely won't hesitate to return, armed with a NEW list of things to eat!