A really BIG Buddha and more deer

Phil and I left from our hotel in Osaka in the morning to take a day trip to the Ancient Capital of Japan, Nara, which is about an hour away by train.

Nara is considered the cradle of the Japanese civilization. It's stint as the capital didn't last very long, a mere 75 years, before moving to Kyoto.


After arriving in Nara, we first stopped at the local tourist information office which had the above dice/cube like sculpture in front. After gathering the necessary information for our Nara walk, we headed to our first of four temples/shrines. Once we arrived at our first temple we were greeted by the infamous deer of Nara. They're everywhere in Nara, similar to the pigeons of Venice. Phil loved them, me, not so much.

Our first temple of the day was Kofuku-ji Temple which had a really picturesque pagoda. The day was warm and the smell of spring was all around.

Following Kofuku-ji Temple we continued our walk to Todai-ji Temple, home to the BIG Buddha. Once we arrived we were greeted by this sign.


Crap, what were we to do? We saw more and more of these "no tripod" signs as we traveled further into Japan. The picture below is of Daibutsu-den (Hall of the Great Buddha) which is the largest wooden building in the world. (really!) The building is really really HUGE!


Once inside you are immediately greeted by the BIG Buddha, Daibutsu. It's hard to gauge just how big this statue is from these photos. But to give some idea of its size, in his open left hand 14 adult size people can fit, comfortably. Daibutsu is also the world's largest bronze statue. So I guess it makes sense that the largest bronze statue is in the largest wooden house.

We continued further into Nara to our next destination, the shrine of Kasuga Taisha. This shrine was surprisingly breathtaking. The vermilion orange buildings set among the backdrop of the heavily wooded forest shrouded the whole area in an air of intrigue and mystery.

After leaving the shrine we headed back to the train station, but we first stopped at the pond below. Which, according to one of our guidebooks, is one of the most photographed place in Nara and from the photo below, I can see why.

Before heading back to Osaka we made a stop at Horyu-ji Temple which was about 20 minutes outside of the main sites of Nara. This temple was highly suggested by Julie.

After a full day of temples, we really had had our fill. But this temple was different then the others. It was preserved very well, plus there were very few tourists. Not that the other sites were over crowded by any means, but there was something about being among this temple with very few people, that made our visit very tranquil and peaceful.

After spending about an hour wandering about the temple we headed back to Osaka for the night....

"Can" of Coffee Culture

One of the things I fell in love with whilst visiting South Korea and Japan is the astounding number of cold and hot coffee served in a can. They were all yummy.

And yes I drank of these...

Last post from Julie

After 5 weeks of being together, it was time to say goodbye to Phil and Steven. Boohoohoo.

Goodbye Kabuki-cho. I'm not sure if I'll ever pass through your gates again. It was an experience. (We saw some hosts 'walking girls home' in the morning. Boys and girls will be boys and girls, I guess.)




Final sushi lunch!



Steven was always willing to try something, even if it was seaweed-filled miso soup. He promptly put the bowl as far away from himself as possible though haha.




Final temple (shrine?)! Steven was definitely temple-d out after Kyoto/Nara, but he still couldn't resist the lure of the cherry blossoms.




Saying goodbye at Shinjuku Station.



I'm going to miss you foos!



The express train to Narita Airport speeding away with the boys...



And that is the end of my account of the travels of Julie, Phil, and Steven.

Hopefully Phil and Steven will continue to post their take on things tho!

This is Julie, signing out...

Tokyo with Julie - Day 2

The second day in Tokyo (with me) started with moving suitcases to Shinjuku because we had decided to stay in the city for Phil and Steven's last night.

Little did I know that our hotel would be dead center in the middle of Kabuki-cho, the red light district of Shinjuku!

Here is one of numerous host clubs, where girls are tricked into spending way too much money to be pampered by the man of their choice:




After getting over our shock (well actually it seemed like I was the only one who was really shocked), we had a yummy tonkatsu (pork cutlet) lunch. And then we headed over to Harajuku where we encountered this:

Literally a sea of people. On a Wednesday afternoon!



After some shopping and more crepes, we headed over to Disneysea for the 'After 6 Passport.' I think it is the only Disneysea in the world, a park dedicated to ocean/water-themed attractions like the Little Mermaid Lagoon:



Sebastian's trapped!



Phil thinks he's turning Japanese with his 'peace' signs.




Leaving the park around 10:30 p.m., we were all exhausted. But we still had a mission left to be accomplished, which was to eat 'yakitori' -- chicken skewers. Returning to Shinjuku, we found 'Omoide-yokocho,' translated as Memory Lane, which housed some cozy yakitori stalls. A lot of them were already closed, but we found an open one and managed to order a plate of yakitori:

(Why are there so many photos where Phil has a big grin and Steven doesn't look amused at all?)



Afterwards Phil talked about going to Shinjuku 2-chome -- boyztown. But thank the lord, Steven said he was too tired and we got to go home and relax in yukata (cotton kimono worn as pajamas).



This video needs some explaining. Phil and Steven's favorite phrase at the moment is "excuuuuuuse meee" with their hands on their hips way high whenever they feel indignant about something. So when we were standing in line for Indiana Jones at Disneysea and a few little girls cut in front of us, Phil said "sumimaaaseeeeeen," using the Japanese word for 'excuse me' in a direct (but incorrect) translation. But because he was using Japanese, the girls looked back at him, with puzzled looks on their faces. Long story short, for the rest of the night, Steven kept saying "sumimaaaaseeeeen," as an inside joke. Ok, now you can watch the video:



Here's Phil's reaction for being made fun of:




The crazy travel accounts are coming to a close...

P.S. Steven, it's your job to answer our loyal readers' questions, ok?

Tokyo with Julie - Day 1

Before we start, just wanted to say, thank you everyone for the comments! You all comment way more than the readers on my usual blog.



I think the boys were exhausted from traveling, and I was exhausted from moving apartments and offices, but we kept going! It is time for Tokyo!

Phil going up on a parallel escalator in massive Tokyo Station.




We went on a riverboat cruise that the boys thought... underwhelming. Can't you see it in Steven's eyes?



But look at the serene boat ride with the cherry blossoms lining the river!



Walking along the river afterwards: The Asahi Hall with the golden sperm-lookin' thing, and Asahi Building, the beer-lookin' building to the left (I think).



Still walking along the river: More cherry blossoms!



And more!




A change of venue to Asakusa with its gigantic paper lantern.




After tons of souvenir shopping in Asakusa, we were all hungry for some SUSHI~~~. This is what Steven has been training for...



Good job, Steven!




After all that sushi, we needed to take a walk to Ginza, one of the shopping districts of Tokyo. Too bad everything was closed...




We also managed to hit Shibuya that night. This is 'Scramble Intersection,' which was shot in Lost in Translation. This is a Tuesday night, so just imagine it on the weekend!



In Shibuya, we found something yummy...



Woohoo, crepes! Japanese people love their crepes.



And Steven does too!




Last activity of the day: Purikura! You get into a booth, pose for a bunch of pictures, then design them with an electronic pen to get a printout of sticker pictures that you can exchange with friends, stick on postcards, etc. Aww, we look so lovey dovey. Angel wings and everything.