Cosplay!

(Viewing, not participating in) :P

Ooops, so I just realized that months have passed since I last wrote. My time in Japan is coming to an end soon, so I promise to write and update more! I have lots of travel in my near future, but in the meantime, I will try to cram in a few more things in this crazy lovely country.

Of course I can't leave Japan without viewing one of its most notorious pastimes: cosplay! Every year in Osaka, thousands of people dress up as their favorite anime/video game character for this one day of fun. It was cool to see the details that went into all the costumes, and I was pleasantly surprised to recognize some of them!

I can't believe I actually recognized this! Trio from Cardcaptor Sakura!

No idea what this one is, but looks really cool.

A character from a really popular girls' anime series,
Pretty Cure.

Yuna, from Final Fantasy X! Not a minute later, I saw a
guy in a Tidus costume one block away. I wonder if he
was looking for Yuna? :)

This looked super familiar. I want to say a character
from Tenchi Muyo??

Can you believe that people actually drive around in cars with these decals?

Yokai yokai yokaaaaaiiii watch ee ee!

The enemy has been spotted! Where's Solid Snake?? Dressed up as this
cute little girl?

Oh, here he is. Silly Snake, you don't fit in that box!

I wonder what anime these girls are from? 

Lightning and Vanille, from Final Fantasy XIII. The
costumes look really good!

A snapshot from the other side of things; I was standing behind a
 very popular cosplay girl. Slightly creepy, no?

Cammie, from Street Fighter

So kawaii!

Awwww! It's Cloud! And Aerith! (Even though we all know that Aerith's
true love really is Zack Fair.)

Don't know what anime she is from, but she is
rocking the outfit!

Ness looks like he lost a lot of weight, maybe he's homesick?
Where is Poo??

This was a crazy event, spanning multiple blocks and consisting of huge crowds. It eventually got tiring to be fighting through the streets, but I'm sure there were even more interesting and cool costumes to be found. This was like the Halloween parade in New York, but even better because all the costumes looked to be really well-made. I'm glad I got to see all this!

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!