Weekend Away: Oze

It is very rare that experiences in life live up to the expectations we create in our heads... however, every once in a while the stars align and perfection does actually occur. For me, this was Oze.

Last year I came across a single picture of a wooden walkway amonst a field of gold, and spent two days figuring out where it was. Sadly that was in mid-October, when the brief two weeks when the marsh grass changes color was already over. However, I immediately got in touch with my friends, saying that the next fall, we were going.

And we did! It is a hard place to get to, especially if you don't have a car (thank the kami for Hippy-chan). Strong kanji reading abilities (as all signs are exclusively in Japanese), strong legs and a taste for winding roads are also very helpful when trying to reach the lake. Since it is so remote, there is no cellphone reception or internet. It was like stepping back in time, when you made plans and then hoped everyone turned up at the right time, in the right place.

We stayed overnight, talking for hours and listening to the sounds of the forest. In the morning we saw a large doe chomp away happily at the small lawn in front of the mountain hut. We circled the lake, clambering over roots and gasping every time a sea of golden grass stretched out in front of us. Complete bliss.

Weekend Away: Guam

One week of rushing between Yokohama and Tokyo, organizing and supervising events for the institute I represent. I took the very last train home every night. However it was alright, as in my mind I visualized my goal: 4 days in sunny, warm Guam.

A friend was kind enough to share her free tickets with me, so we had an impromptu long weekend in the sun. Unlike last year, the weather was absolutely perfect, a segue of of bright blue skies, clear blue water and white sand.

Guam is kind of strange, a mishmash of American, Chamorro and East Asian influences. When we danced at The Beach, a bar on Gun Beach, it was interesting to hear the MCs speaking the local dialect.

We hung out on the beach of the Fiesta Resort (relatively convenient, not too overpriced) and ate our way through a ton of good food. Besides Proa (already mentioned in this post) and their astounding Taro Creme Brule' Cheesecake, this time we also tried Meskla Dos and their heart stopping sandwiches (double grilled cheese sandwich, with eggs, tomatoes and special tartar sauce, accompanied by cinnamon dusted sweet potato fries- oh my arteries). A little place called Dr.Kabob also furnished us with good falafel, lentil soup and cardamom tea.

I got up bright and early to try paddle boarding, which is immensely awesome and I would definitely like to do again. In the evenings we ran on the beach, and picked our way around the wilder edges of Tumon Bay. Ms.R had to endure my squeals of delight about every moment of Guam's gorgeous sunsets (yup, the subset obsession continues unabated). Hitting up the Ross allowed us to contribute to the economy a bit, and benefited my ever growing running and yoga wear collection

While it is very touristy, I still find it a very relaxing place to go, as the basics can all be reached by bus, and the plane ride is only 4 hours.

It seems that, with age, my ability to take an actual vacation (instead of fun but exhausting trips where I rush around, hitchhike, and wander about constantly) is increasing. Four days is probably the limit, but it is really nice to just chill and take in the beautiful vistas.

Weekend Away: Taipei

My first venture into the Chinese-speaking part of East Asia! And it was awesome!

Taipei is about a 4 hour flight from Tokyo, but is another world completely. Unlike the rather un-golden days of this Golden Week, Taiwan was gloriously warm and tropical. It was kind of odd not to be able to speak the local language (an unusual case for me), but thanks to its colonized past a combination of Japanese and English (and lots of gestures) seemed to work just fine. We stayed at the Eight Elephants Hostel, which is in a convenient spot and very friendly, and then rode the amazingly cheap subway all over town. So, in no particular order, here are my Taipei stories and recommendations:

* The fresh fruit in Taiwan is amazing. Guava with dried plum powder is the bomb, and so are all the juice vendors you can find all over the place. Watermelon juice, mixed fruit/veggie juice with condensed milk... oh, and most teas have black sugar in them, yum!

*Ximending, the Shibuya of Taipei, is fun to wander around, and the Red House is a glorious bit of colonial architecture, now filled with zakka stores (oh, and you can also see Matcha-kun being too cool for pictures.)

* Night markets are a great way to try a lot of different kinds of food, and check out cool stores and stalls. I went to Shida, but there are tons all over the city. And the best thing ever are what I dubbed the 'pick-n-fry'. Basically you pick a bunch of foods from an array, which the vendor then seasons with spices, garlic and basil and deep-fries. It is then served in a bag. Pretty much all street-food in Taiwan comes in a bag and yes, that does include soup!

    

* Thanks to a huge Buddhist population, vegetarian food is everywhere, and the faux-meat is unbelievable. We had different versions, but the best was Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant near Taiwan University. Food in Taipei is CHEAP, and this was a 'splurge' at 500 TD (under 1500 yen). It is a big favorite of Buddhist nuns from a nearby temple, and the choice was amazing. Vegan sushi and sashimi, tons of different kinds of tofu, gluten meat and veggies, and they even have some unbelievable desserts. Seriously, it is so nice to have so much choice!

* Longshan Temple is a delightful burst of colour, with the roof extravagantly decorated with a Gaudi-esque profusion of statues, tiles and glass. The thick clouds of incense, mixed with the smell of the floral offerings is intoxicating, and the decor gloriously over-the-top. The area nearby is pretty shitamachi-like, but it is definitely an interesting area to stroll around (just watch out for very curious old men).

* Danshui is right near the sea (and quite a ways out of the city) but makes for a lovely walk, and if you go earlier in the day then we did, you can see a lot of colonial architecture. Still, watching the sunset from the boardwalk is a lovely way to conclude a day, especially while eating the wonderous creation that is a rice wrap filled with peanut brittle shavings, cilantro and icecream.

 

* Hot springs! While XinBeiTou is the most famous, we spent the morning at a little enclave of hot springs not too far from Shipai station. One of them, Kawayu, looked very Japanese, and one of the 24 hour
 ones just up the road from it was my favorite. Be prepared to be stared at a bit if you are not Asian, although a smile and bow seems to be enough to blend in. Also, Damask Rose Tea is wonderful after soaking.

* I went to more places as well (National Palace Art Museum, photo studios etc..), but the last sight to check out before heading back to the airport had to be the Taipei 101 building. It is designed to look like a stalk of bamboo, and incorporates feng shui concepts (such as auspicious numbers and designs) in its construction. Not to mention just looks stunning against the beautiful blue sky!

Weekend Away: Hakone

After a month filled with planning and attending work events, constant interviews and general rushing about like a headless fowl, I took Friday off, jumped on the Odakyu Romancecar, and escaped to Hakone (Matcha-kun in tow).

I am a bit of a tetsuko at heart, and there really is nothing like sitting back in a fancy train, watching as the towering buildings of Shinjuku are slowly replaced by smaller houses and stations, which eventually turn to tanbo and winter forests.

Hakone is broken up into several areas, and one of my senpai recommended staying around Gora, which was perfect. The ryokan, Kiritani Hakoneso, was pretty basic, but then again neither of us can afford really high-market accomodation. The onsen (both regular and kashikiri) were great, with wonderfully milky white water. I actually would recommend it for those who want to visit Hakone with relatives, as they have tatami rooms with Western beds, and are quite accomodating to vegetarians!

       

The following day dawned rainy, but turned to mist after the ginourmous wa-style breakfast. Using the awesome Hakone Free Pass (which I highly recommend buying if you are in the area for more than a day), we went up the mountain to the prehistoric looking 'hells' of Owakudani, to check out the sulfuric springs and eat the famous black eggs (each one you eat adds 7 years to your life, apparently... in which case Matcha-kun managed to add 24 years to his lifespan!)

 

      

As we approached the Hakone Open Air Museum, the sun briefly burst through the clouds, and the mist disappeared like magic. Turn around for a minute, and the mist was back, as if nothing had happened. I actually thought this added to the atmosphere, as the statues slowly came into focus as you approached. I would love to visit it again in a different season, and think this is a must see. Nearby there is a little sushi palace, famous for its delicious inari zushi, yum!

        

After taking the adorably retro Tozan train to Miyanoshita, another onsen break was in order (yes, I love boiling myself in hot springs faaar too much), followed by a stroll down Sepia Road to look at all the antiques and beautiful yosegi zaiku, a form of traditional wood working that has a surprisingly Middle Eastern look to it. And then, the awesome bit of Meiji/Showa-ness that is the famous Fujiya Hotel.

   

While the exterior is purely Japanese, inspired by Kinkakuji in Kyoto, the inside is an amazingly preserved bit of nostalgia. European wood panels, huge squashy armchairs and chandeliers... all altered with delicate carvings and details to give it a Japanese twist. In the tea room overlooking the garden I splurged on the tasty strawberry-infused creation above, filled with matcha cream and decorated by yosegi zaiku inspired chocolate.

Two wonderful days of relaxing and eating everything in sight... returning to the real world is tough.

Weekend Away: Nikko and Nasu

A friend from college invited me to spend the weekend at her hometown near Nikko, along with a few Waseda friends, to do some serious sight-seeing, eating and onsen-ing. Of course, I totally refused to go, and was completly unenthusiastic about the whole thing (yeah, right). As fascinating as Tokyo is, it is nice to go somewhere three trees do not constitute a forest (lame kanji joke, sorry).

While the initial rain was a bit of a worry, it turned out to be a lovely trip. Toshogu (the famous temple with the three monkeys) is a gorgeous collection of steeply built wooden halls, with over-the-top dragon decorations, brilliantly patterned walls, and lots of images of creatures the sculptor had obviously only ever heard about (such as tigeresque looking elephants and the weirdest interpretation of a unicorn I have ever come across).

We also headed over to the Kegon Falls and lake, nestled in the mountains, and were rewarded with a stunning sunset, clouds so close you could reach out and touch them, and (of course) delicious deep-fried yuba! The whole area has a bit of a Showa-era feel to it, and I love that the pictures all seem to have this charming vintage-effect.

However, my favorite part of the whole weekend was the onsen. I LOVE onsen. Whatever magical, mystical properties they claim to have, I believe it all! There is nothing better than scrubbing off, then jumping from pool to pool amidst the spirals of steam. It is also the perfect place for girl talk, and unsurprisingly got seriously quizzed about my current 'guy hunting' (ha, hardly...)

Waking up under fluffy futon, with gloriously smooth skin, we spent the next day driving around Nasu, a little town surprisingly full of odd things. For instance, the Asian Old Bazaar, a collection of South East Asian and vaguely Tibetan buildings housing import shops and restaurants, all staffed by the cutest hippie chicks you could imagine. The food was fabulous, and is well-worth a visit for that fact alone... along with their really awesome scarves, which of course I totally did not buy...  (you see the scarf I totally didn't buy in the crazy pic below). The Trick Art Museum is a rather eccentric little place, which makes for some awesome photos ( I never expected to see the Sistine Chapel in Tochigi!)

Before heading to the train station, the last view from the top of the mountains was splendid. Despite the blue sky renegade flakes of snow fell, whisked around by the cold wind, making us realize that winter is truly upon us.