Japan, Days 6 and 7 (Nagoya, Ise)

[chezmax]

Tuesday

I got up quite early (7:15) and was out the door by 7:40, so I could catch my shinkansen to Nagoya, where I would spend the afternoon before heading down to Ise to meet Ashley/whirling_woman.

I arrived in Nagoya around 11 and went out in search of a Starbucks. According to my guide book, Nagoya is very boring. It turns out there is stuff to do if you look. I got a subway pass (subways++ !) and headed to Nagoya Castle, which is really pretty, but it's a modern reconstruction as the original was bombed in WW2. The inside doesn't even try to look authentic, and is a modern museum. :)

I then headed to the central park in Sakae where Nagoya TV Tower is, and stumbled across the Robotics Museum, which was really quite nifty. It was mostly pictures, but the iPod audio tour discussing the beginnings of robotics, starting with mechanical doll automata from 1890s up to the roombas and aibos of today was really quite cool. I think J would have really enjoyed it. I didn't have time to do the tv tower before my train, so I hoofed it back to Nagoya Station and got the train to Ise.

This train was the only non-electric train I was on. I arrived at Ise around 5pm, met up with Ashley, and had some tasty breaded pork with thick sauce, possibly called Miso Katsu, which was very tasty. We then went to Geku, the "Outer Shrine" of the Ise Grand Shrine (the inner one, surprisingly is not nearby), where they were having the full moon festival. Apparently, the first full moon after the Autumn Equinox is the most beautiful of the year.

Ashley had tickets for an informal tea ceremony nearby that was kind of neat. They served us this (potato-based? Sweet, tasty) dessert, and then brought us tea ceremony tea, which is weirdly foamy and bitter, but it was neat to see.

Ashley took me to her apartment, and let me soak in her bathtub. Her apartment has a /programmable/ bathtub. Unfortunately, she programmed it wrong and it overflowed (which is ok, cause the bathroom is an entirely sealed unit, like a one-piece shower, with a drain). She also had the first fancy toilet I got to use, with heated seats, and bidets.... I'm not sure I trust a toilet you have to plug in.

I then had a very nice sleep.

Wednesday

I slept in a bit, and headed out to see the Geku and the Naiku (the Inner Shrine) by daylight. I much preferred the Naiku, as it had stunning forested grounds, with a mountain backdrop.

The interesting thing about the Ise Grand Shrine, besides being the most important shrine in Japan (in some ways), is that its torn down and rebuilt every 20 years. So beside each of the shrines is another foundation where they will build the new one before they tear the old one down. Next rebuild is scheduled for 2013.

I then hopped over to the Futami region to see the Meoto Iwa, or the Wedded Rocks, which were smaller than expected. I then wandered along the shoreline for a bit, admiring the ocean as the sun set, and then headed back to have dinner with Ashley, and we decided on curry (which is apparently big here). The big surprise was being able to order cheese nan bread, which was tasty, especially given how rare cheese is here, which I do miss quite a bit.

I got back to Osaka via the Kintetsu Line Train, which I had to pay for since it's not JR, but I really didn't want to go back through Nagoya.

I crashed, exhausted, yet again.

Today, Meg and I are off to Hiroshima on the shinkansen.

Comments

[chezmax]

I'm glad you're enjoying them. I'm writing them as much for my benefit that I can see them in the future when I get home to remind myself of what I've done. So many cool places...

[dancinglights.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's most of why my Ireland travelogue was, especially the bits that were handwritten on easily-lost napkins and such. Conveniently, this method lets one share as well as back everything up. Take care, hon. The trip sounds like a blast.