Tagtravel

Nagasaki

Had a great time in Nagasaki this past week. The transport system was convenient, yet intensely crowded. I’m used to crowded transit in Tokyo, but in Tokyo it somehow works better due to the incredible level of efficiency necessary in a city of so many millions. It was very shocking to me how used to Tokyo I’ve become. The so-called “freaks” who are Tokyoites have for me become so much the norm, that to see the “normal” people of Nagasaki was an abruptly confounding experience. I mean, guys look and act like guys – that’s really freakishly bizarre after living in Tokyo!
Although it was too windy for the ropeway to work it’s way up the Mount Inasa when we tried at first, the view was great when we finally made it. The night view was splendid. The weather was a bit difficult for most of the time, but it did adhere to the norm in that it was too cold when we didn’t have a jacket and too hot when we did. Nearby our hotel was the Glover Garden, which they apparently pronounce as Clover Garden, and which I only realized later was Glover Garden. He was a Scot who was instrumental in the city history and the education of Japanese in western science and humanities. It’s the first historic garden park I’ve ever been to with escalators. Convenient! There is also the sobering Atomic Bomb museum and the peace park with it’s statue pointing to the earth and to the heavens warning what may come from above.
Outside the city we went to Huis ten Bosch which is basically a fake Dutch city theme park. It was pleasant, but deserted at the time. It’s about the price of Tokyo Disneyland (5000ish yen) and has some museums and a canal boat ride in keeping with the Holland aesthetic. A Dutch location in Nagasaki itself is Dejima, a preserved trading post where you can explore the living quarters and storage areas.
We also got the chance to see the new Star Trek at a branch of Toho Cinemas they have there. It was good, but royally disturbed the red letter established history, preferring action over respect for the Trek continuum. Of course, that should not be surprising considering that JJ Abrams character.

Earthmine’s Virtual San Francisco Bests Google

This is a pretty cool way to travel about in The City. The stereoscopic clarity is quite … ahem … unreal. Check it out at WildStyleCity.

“You don’t actually have to go somewhere anymore to be able to experience a place,” said Fassero. “It’s about really hitting that hyper-local experience, and being able to see it in a way that’s realistic.”

via Earthmine’s Virtual San Francisco Adds Graffiti, Bests Google | Epicenter | Wired.com.

Osaka

T’was a long weekend for spring solstice so we headed over to Osaka. Osaka castle was more like a video exhibit and very dissapointing. Himeji Castle about an hour outside the city was the real thing and brilliant. I was a bit trepidated about Osaka, having spoken to Tokyoites and hearing about how loud, rude, and crass people are there. Tokyoites were lying from jealousy! The people were great. The food was wonderful! Oknonomiyaki and Takoyaki in Tokyo has always been inedible to me, but in Osaka it’s delicious! We went to a crab restaurant was I was in heaven. Course after course … chilled crab in butter, crab sashimi, crab tempura, sauteed crab, crab chawanmushi, the Osakan square type crab sushi, crab croquettes … sublime! There is also a really cool place similar (but more stylized) to Marché where you get a card upon entry and wander around for all sorts of yummy foods and then pay the card balance on the way out. This was a place that I was interested in but had no idea what it was as there is no explanation in English or Japanese from the outside; I thought we’d just pop in and have a look, but am glad we ended out spending quite some time inside gorging. This was the first city I’ve been to that I was already thinking of the next time to come back before even leaving. It was also the first time when I was sad the leaving shinkansen came too soon for liking. I did get a lot of study done on both the coming and going and gained a cursory knowledge of all the hiragana. Now for the writing practice. My Japanese Coach by Ubisoft is turning out to be a great help to go along with the books and flashcards.

Nothing to do with Osaka, but rather about the practice of courses at a meal. We always think of the idea of a full course dinner as French, but actually up until the 19th century the French method of service was to bring everything out at one go for you to pick and choose what to eat in what order. Courses in a meal are a Russian custom which impressed Escoffier (also inventor of the Peach Melba and Melba Toast) enough to introduce it to France … and it then caught on.