hula sumo

Hawaii is home to many statues dedicated to local hero's... but this one seemed different from most, more Japanese than Hawaiian. As it turns out it is not a tribute to hula dancing but is a statue of one of Ray's heros, Akebono the first non Japanese-born person to become the Yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo wrestling.

Aja frolics with dolphins

Aja has always loved dolphins. So in Hawaii when she had a chance to have a full dolphin experience she jumped at the chance... well dived at the chance. Getting up close and personal splashing around and swimming with these delightful creatures is an experience, I am sure, she will always remember.

Life is a beach

The beaches of Hawaii are way more commercialized then the beaches of Asia. However, they have also become way more part of the Hawaiian take it easy life-style than the beaches in Asia for the Asians. From dawn to sunset the Hawaiians are out swimming, surfing, walking, fishing, playing the ukulele and dancing in the surf the sand and under the stars. In Asia there is far less time to relax, let alone make it a life-style. We however, quickly got into the `A `ole pilikia... Malama pono...E hana me ka ha`aha`a ....way of doing things.

Quick in Hawaii

The only thing quick about Hawaii is how quickly we and Ray got into the relaxing Hawaiian life-style. We made time for nature, including some meerkat spotting, hung around the pool and the surf, got up early and went to bed late all the while learning how to walk, stand and repose just like the locals on these ancient trails along the coastlines of this tropical paradise. Ray even turned getting past the security on the hotel room doors into a slow Hawaiian experience.

ray and aja

Ok... Ray would argue that the biggest thing about us going to Hawaii was to visit him. He flew to Hawaii with Leah to act as cruise director, as he has been to Hawaii several times and knows all the great places to see, things to do and places to eat... and of course the location of all the free wi-fi and Starbucks coffee shops. It is great to get him into the blog as he has made the most comments on the blog. Aja and I have missed our regular coffee breaks with Ray, on our year away, so it is great to reconnect and catch-up in person over a cup of Hawaiian Gold Kona Coffee.

Family Holiday

Well the biggest thing about Hawaii was that Leah was able to join us. After 11 months away from her baby and me she was able to join us for part of our adventure. People always praise me for taking Aja on such a journey, but more praise needs to go to her mother who recognized how great it would be for Aja to travel but had to spend the year away from her. Leah's arrival certainly made our travels into a nice family holiday... of course our time in Hawaii is only for a week then Leah heads home to Victoria while Aja and I continue our travels to Alaska and the Yukon for three weeks. I wonder if Leah letting Aja go for the last three weeks will be harder for her than than letting Aja go for the eleven months?

Hawaiian paradise

Hawaii is everything the postcards and the travel agents say it is.. sun, sand and world class surf.... I was a lot more impressed than I though I would be with the touristy stuff, except for the food was not as great as I had hoped for , but how could it be, we were just in Thailand and Japan with amazing delicious culinary delights.

After a 7 hour flight we arrived in Hawaii...We found the cheapest way to travel between Japan and Hawaii was to buy a round trip ticket and throw away the return portion.... it was twice as expensive to fly one way then to buy a ten day excursion round trip. So here we are on American soil.... although it does have a subtle un-american undercurrent about it... or may be it is that it still has a Polynesian overcurrent about it.

japan toilets 2

Mark Twain said that going to the bathroom is a greatly underrated activity. The Japanese must think so too, as they love toilet humor and spend lots of time to make the experience as enjoyable as they can. Japanese toilets have heated seats, adjustable controls, for two and three direction variable pressure water spraying, and some even have air drying. The upper right picture shows a toilet in a store featuring how powerful the bidet is. While the previous post on Japan was supposed to be the last.... I got to thinking that one last comment about the great toilets was appropriate. Posts on our next stop, Hawaii, coming very soon.

Leaving Japan

Japan is a delightful country and we saw so much and so little in the time that we were there. Here are a few final notes on Japan.

The food of Japan can be strange and mysterious. Clifton Gray said "If life gives you a lemon, make lemonade. However, if life gives you a pickle, you might as well give up, because pickle-ade is disgusting." well in Japan they found a way to serve it for 500 yen along with pickle ice-cream for desert. Despite it's strangeness, we actually loved the food we had, especially the sushi.

While we have seen many of the national animals of the various countries we have been in we were really hoping for a glimpse of Japan's national animal, Godzilla, but had to settle for King Kong climbing up the side of a building.

Japan has the best toilets in the world, bar none. With push button controls, a heated seat, and a variety of spray and clean functions they are amazing and certainly undo the myths of the Asian toilet.

We will have to come back to japan as we did not get to see much of the ancient samurai, or the modern ones who practice Judo, Aikido, or Karate, or Kendo or any of the other martial arts practiced in japan. The footprints of the ancient Samurai are gone, however, their spirit still walks the land as the modern Japanese still seek the things they sought.

Our journey in this land was too short but this quote by Hojo Shigetoki should put our whole journey into perspective.

One should have insight into this world of dreams that passes in the twinkling of an eye.

Hojo Shigetoki (1198-1261)

gopher?

We were not sure what to make of this little stuffed creature with it's sour expression and small hat. This store sold a variety of strange Japanese stuff including a drink made by combining Vinegar and Milk. But as we did not understand any of the signs perhaps this drink has something to do with catching or stuffing this little zombie like rodent-thing, or at least explaining his sour expression.

Hiroshima

"During the second world war the people of Hiroshima wondered why they alone were not being pounded by American bombs. Almost daily observation planes flew overhead. Sure occasionally bombs fell, but they did little damage. Fantastic rumors circulated wildly that America had something special in store for us, but no one dreamed of the reality that was to come." Johannes Siemes, SJ, a professor of philosophy

I was deeply moved by Hiroshima, but not so much by the pictures of the destruction, which are mind numbing, but by the response here for peace, especially by the letters and posters for peace by children from around the world. At a time in human history when people were turning away from secular religion and putting their faith in rationalism and science the dropping of the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima showed the world that science was no longer a saviour of humanity but rather it too became identified with death and destruction.

The one building left standing, Genbaku (Atomic Bomb) Dome, was a promotional hall with a green dome. It was directly under the blast, at ground zero, so the force pushed down instead of out destroying and burning everything inside yet leaving all the walls remaining standing.This building and it's hallowed grounds have been preserved to remind not only Japan but the world of that day and that deed.

Himeji

Even though this castle was built when Japan was in a continual state of conflict during the Tokugawa shogunate, this beautiful wooden castle was never destroyed in war including the 2nd world war when Japan was heavily bombed. As with all thing Japanese there is an attempt to merge function and form with beauty. It is boasted that even the small holes used to shoot arrows through or to pour oil and hot water are considered the most well designed and elegant in the world. The outer walls contain two large rocks that are larger than any rocks found in any European, Egyptian, or South American walls or castles.

Golden Temple

Kinkaku-ji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion formally know as the Rokuon-ji the deer Garden temple is a Zen Buddhist temple in Koyoto, Japan. In the olden days when it was called the deer temple they did not have to guard it too well but now as the golden temple it has to be guarded night and day. Now a world heritage site this shinny temple and it astonishing gardens is a delightful place to relax and you can even enjoy a traditional tea ceremony.

Interesting signs

We have noticed that in countries where there are lots of tourists, there are many signs with pictures to help travelers figure out what they are supposed to do. I, however, would appreciate if any of you could explain these two signs to me.

shinto shrine predictions

Kasuga Taisha Shinto Shrine is also known for the lovely wisteria in its botanical gardens, some of which is hundreds of years old. The wisteria flower is important to this shrine because "Fujiwara" can be read as "field of wisteria." But along with the beauty, which we have grown to expect from the Japanese, at this shrine you can pay ¥200 for an onikuji, a slip of paper on which your fortune is written in English. If the fortune is unfavorable, you can negate it by tying the piece of paper to the twig of a tree. As you can see from the tree this guy must be a real pessimist as it seems most people try to shake his predictions as the trees are covered with them. Maybe this is where people train for jobs writing fortune cookies.

Japanese Gardens

Traveling in this ancient country the elegant simplicity of the gardens gives you the distinct feeling of timelessness. Staying with my friend Ron and his wife Keiko was delightful. They showed us around the ancient cities of Nara and Koyoto through the shrines, the temples and their amazing gardens. Having just read one of Ron’s favorite books “The Little Prince,” I discovered a quote by which I think the French author summed up the beauty of Japanese-gardens as well as how they are achieved.

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add,
but when there is nothing left to take away.

Antoine de Saint Exupery,

The art of the Japanese garden is more like music or dance than painting or drawing as the Japanese garden is always moving, changing, blending all the senses. The Japanese have certainly mastered how to make their gardens look more natural than nature itself.

Shinkansen Japan's Modern Dragons

The Shinkansen, also known as bullet trains, are like mighty dragons snaking across the Japanese landscape. The best deal for tourists coming to Japan is the wonderful JR rail pass, ten times more useful than a Euro pass, good for most local destinations as well as high-speed travel across Japan. Not only does it pay for itself in two quick rides, but it is an amazingly efficient, comfortable and quickest way to travel around Japan. These flying dragons travel at speeds of around 210 km/h and one of the regular local lines Carries 151 million passengers a year which makes the b.c. ferries system seem a little like the train around Disney Land but without the pirates, the dancing mice or splash mountain... However, the way this train moves it does make it seem like a small world after all.

trick horse

This trick horse would have got more autographs than both the real Stallone or Willis with his stand looking all cool with one leg up or making the talking face. Except he was working for carrots instead of autographs, On the other hand may be he was laughing at me for paying the 50 yen he was getting for 2 carrots. Or may be he thought he was giving us the snarling face to scare us into giving him more carrots instead of eating us and the trainer only said it was the happy face.

Real movie stars

As much fun as it was hanging around and signing autographs with Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallon, Aja preferred to track down and have her picture taken with her favorite Japanese actors...the Power Rangers from the 2000 series and the Powder Puff Girls... go figure ... I guess it is more fun saving the world before recess.

Ron the movie star

Here we are in a Japanese film studio with Ron. You may remember Ron from such movies as 'The Island' with De Caprio or 'Cutthroat Island' with Geena Davis... however to these Japanese students visiting the film studio he was more like Sylvester Stallon, so being the great actor he is, Ron got into character and signed their autograph books accordingly. I tried for a few moments to pass myself off as Bruce Willis but then realized how hard it is for a famous movie star to move around without being bugged by adoring fans, so I went back to being myself pointing out where Sylvester Stallon was hiding...

Todaiji

Todaiji ("Great Eastern Temple") is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara dating back to when the capital of japan was moved to Nara in 784

The Todaiji houses Japan's largest bronze Buddha statue (Daibutsu), and is the world's largest wooden building, even though the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple's size.

A popular attraction of Todaiji is a pillar inside the temple which has a hole in its base the same size as the Daibutsu's nostril. It is said that those who can squeeze through this opening will be granted enlightenment in their next reincarnation. Looks like I will have to keep trying for enlightenment here and now as no amount of weight loss will get me through that nostril. As for Aja, she could have made it but didn’t want to try... so how is that for enlightenment?

Stone lanterns

Kasuga Grand Shrine in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan was established in 768 A.D. and rebuilt several times over the centuries, it is the shrine of the Fujiwara family. The interior is famous for its many bronze lanterns but to me the coolest thing is the many stone lanterns that lead up the shrine. It gives the feeling of old Japan and its ancient traditions and the walk is all that you can expect from a Japanese garden forest.

Deer

The path to Kasuga Shrine passes through Deer Park where the tourist guide claims tame deer roam free. After being swarmed when feeding the the monkeys, fish and elephants of Thailand we were looking forward to petting and getting up close and feeding the deer of Japan. All the tourist guides went on about the 'tame' deer so we laughed at the sign warning us about the deer until we were swarmed by chip crazy pushy deer after their crispy snack. In Canada the deer would be quickly made into roasts and delicious sausage but it seems in japan, where they eat seaweed, and all manner of raw seafood they have not gotten the taste for venison. The deer around the shrines they are protected and are somewhat of a tourist attraction as long as you don't mind getting the odd bite, butt, kick or being knocked down for your chips.