Christmas, food a plenty.

Christmas was a difficult time of year to prepare for. This being the first time either Aimee or I had been away from our families during this time of year. The weeks before the day we tried to foresee what our emotional reaction would be. Would it be a day filled with sorrow and loneliness with our friends and family so far away? What I learnt from Christmas was that our relationship with our friends and family extend past the realm of our senses, but are based on a far stronger emotional connection. So a day which was over thought and over analysed turned out to be a day in which we celebrated the strength of our family bonds. The day itself was celebrated with champagne, skype calls, Kaimai and more snowboarding. Overall a great day had by all.




Enjoy.

The count down is over.

One of the big draw cards in coming to Japan was the snow. For months fellow Japanese teachers had warned us about how bad the snow was and how deep it would be. Coming from Auckland, where it either rains or rains in winter, we could hardly wait for the snow to come. But after waiting it seemed that this year might be plagued with unseasonably low levels of snow. Until Friday!!! With over a metre falling in a day and a night. So we strapped the boards to our little car, drove at a casual 50 kph (concerned the boards on top might act as wings with our car turning into a plane) to the nearest ski field. We were greeted with a gondola, no queues and knee deep powder. Bliss!

Enjoy.

 After 5 hours on the mountain we had to dig our little car out.

 The road up to the slope.

 So much powder.

Cold but happy campers in the Gondola.

Osaka- the lights, the life and the people.

Osaka, a place where old and new collide. It is a place where the modern life style trumps history and is filled with bright lights, millions of people and American subculture. It is easy to see why urbanisation of Japan is such a large problem. Yes, the food was amazing, the lights and people were special and the attractions were fun. The pace of Osaka was just a little too much, people in too much of a rush trying to get somewhere.

After Osaka it was nice to get back to Takada, where the difference in life was highlighted. The owner of the gas station around the corner had noticed that we had left Takada. The next time I went to fill the car up he asked  in English and Japanese how our trip was!

Enjoy.

The lights - Dotombori.

 The life - great food (okonomiyaki).

The people - feeling like a big kid at Universal Studios.

Nara- A land long ago

As part of our travels we found ourselves taking a day trip from Osaka to the small town of Nara. Nara was one of the first capital cities of Japan and it held this title from 710-784. I know I have said this before, but coming from New Zealand it is hard to imagine civilisation 1300 years ago. By the outward appearance of Nara it seems that life back then was not too dissimilar (albeit free from modern technology) to the Japanese society of today. Nara was an amazing place with heaps of culture and history, a worthwhile place to visit while in Japan.

Enjoy.

 Todai-ji temple - the worlds largest wooden building and home of a very big Buddha.

 1300 years old - to imagine the hands that have rested here.

The locals seemed to enjoy Marmite on crackers.

Kyoto

Coming from New Zealand (one of the last countries to be discovered) it is hard to comprehend the age of this place sometimes. With buildings and artifacts over 1500 years old, its an eye opening experience. To imagine these structures built without modern technology and surviving the test of time proves the old adage, slavery gets things done!!
We navigated the busy streets and quiet temples on bikes, joining the rest of Japan with their love affair with the two wheeled machine, visiting the numerous temples and historic sites.

Enjoy...

Kinkakuji (golden temple) real gold!

 Gang signs seem less intimidating in Japan.

 They see me rolling, they see me hating 

 Fushimi Inari Taisha

Tennoji, apparently 30cm taller than the one in Nara. after 1400 years of evolution males still haven't changed

The Missing Link.

Take the iconic Onsen, add some monkeys and you have one of the coolest attractions in our area.

The Monkey Onsen is a natural environment where the monkey come down from the mountains to play in the sun during the day and bathe in the Onsen when is starts to snow. Unlike other wildlife attractions we have seen around the world, the monkeys are not coerced, kept in cages or tethered to a long piece of wire.

It was amazing to see the monkeys interact in the complex social structure a family of over 150 members would have. While disregarding their long distant, fully evolved cousins taking thousands of pictures.

Enjoy...

 Mother and son cleaning dad..........the way it should be

 Mum chilling out with child

 They were not concerned in the slightest about people around them

Bathing in the warm Onsen

Kanazawa- the third best!!

Again! we are faced with the concept of the third best.

Kanazawa has one of the top three gardens in all of Japan. We have not seen the other contenders, so for the purpose of this blog they will be known as the BEST! See Japan, not that hard to call some thing the best.

Kenrokuen is a wonderland of history and a testament to perfection. With every aspect of the garden meticulously planned and cared for. We only spent an afternoon in Kanazawa but it is a place we definitely plan to return to.

Enjoy..

Two girls, a guy and some bells.

For months we had tried to climb this mountain. However, misguided directions and poor weather hampered our efforts. With the threat of snow getting closer and closer we decided to climb it regardless of weather.


After several discussions with the Japanese locals, the thought of ascending Myoko became a little more daunting. Because the most important item we need to carry up the mountain was bells! 
Bells- to scare off the bears that have made this place their home.


But after a tough climb, we were rewarded with some pretty cool autumn colours, eerie fog and the summit.


Enjoy   

Writers block

I must apologize. It has been too long between posts. We have done and seen so much in such a small time. I will endeavor to get this back up and running.