Lukas and Martina in Japan//japan.lukas-prokop.at/blog/2017-07-24T16:27:00+09:00Tap water2017-07-24T16:27:00+09:002017-07-24T16:27:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-07-24:blog/tap-water.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the tap water of Austria and Japan.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I have to admit, I am a big fan of Austrian tap water.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Whenever I leave Austria, I know that in most cases, the water in the destination country will taste much worse. I understand that the water taste is a subjective matter and we will discuss the details later on. The point I want to make is that in Austria the tap water is of high quality (at some places exceeding the EU’s required standards multiple times) and constantly monitored. Austria has many lakes and you can drink from almost all of them. For German-reading people, <a href="http://www.trinkwasserinfo.at/">trinkwasserinfo.at</a> is a good place to get an overview. The main reason for the high quality is the filtering done naturally when water passes through the rocks of the Alps. This is also the time when the water acquires a lot of minerals. As the Alps stretch through 8 different European countries, the high-quality water can also be found e.g. in Germany and Switzerland. But the local law regarding pesticides influence the quality greatly. For the record, the water from Graz (where I studied), comes from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hochschwab">Hochschwab</a> according <a href="http://www.holding-graz.at/graz-wasserwirtschaft/wissenswertes/grazer-wasserkreislauf.html">to the organization in charge</a>.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>When I arrived in Japan, I had to determine whether the water from the tap can be drunk or not. You can easily <a href="https://matcha-jp.com/en/1410">find out</a>, that Japan’s tap water is clean; as you would expect from a first-world country. However, as in most countries, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine">Chlorine</a> is added as biocide killing germs and algae. Chlorine has a very strong taste and if you are not used to it, you will immediately recognize that chlorine was added in this particular water. So when we arrived, our dormitory manager told us that he drinks the tap water every day and you can certainly do that as well. I agree, but the taste was terrible for me and is even worse in restaurants. So I usually buy water at the supermarket. The most expensive water even comes from the Rokko mountains. If you are familiar with Kobe, you will know, Rokko mountain is very close and therefore the water is a regional product.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><a href="20170509-a-long-time.html">In March/April</a>, I was visited by my dad and brother. They brought me a small bottle of Austrian tap water. I shared the bottle with one of my Japanese Aikido friends and asked him, which of the unlabelled tap water tastes better. He immediately responded with the water (unknowingly, that it is) from Japan. I had to expect it, but hoped for a different result.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>As of now, I got used to the water. It is very hot right now (the rainy season has just ended last week) and in the short breaks I drink more water than I am able to carry in bottles to the training. So I drink the water from the cooling unit provided in all sports locations at Kobe University. The cooling unit has a small reservoir of water. It is filled with tap water automatically and cools the water before it is released. It also tastes terribly, but I don’t see a good alternative. Now, I don’t even recognize the chlorine anymore, as it is so common.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Now, let’s look at the data. I want to compare 4 waters. 3 from Japan, 1 from Austria. The data can be read from the prints on the bottles. So it is not tap water, but the data for tap water is similar as the companies often use similar sources for their water.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_terminology">Terminology</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>For my German-speaking readers, I want to sum up the English vocabulary. The Japanese and German vocabulary is almost entirely the same.</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">dt./jp. Kalium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">en. potassium</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">dt./jp. Natrium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">en. sodium</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">dt. Kieselsäure</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">en. silica</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_vöslauer_ohne_at">Vöslauer (ohne) [AT]</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Declared as "natürliches Mineralwasser" (natural mineral water). Originating from Bad Vöslau, Lower Austria. Therefore a little bit more to the North than Hochschwab, but quite close. The data:</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:33%;">
<col style="width:33%;">
<col style="width:33%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">chemical element</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">mg/l (<a href="http://www.voeslauer.com/web/at/quelle/quellanalyse">documented</a>)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">mg/100ml</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">potassium (K+)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">1.50</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.15</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">sodium (Na+)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">14.10</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">1.41</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">magnesium (Mg<sup>2+</sup>)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">40.80</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">4.08</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">calcium (Ca<sup>2+</sup>)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">112.00</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">11.2</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">chloride (Cl-)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">19.40</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">1.94</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">sulfate (SO_4<sup>2-</sup>)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">224.00</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">22.4</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">hydrocarbonate (HCO_3_<sup>-</sup>)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">253.00</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">25.3</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">m-silica (H_2 SiO_3_)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">14.00</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">1.4</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">fluoride (F-)</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.5</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.05</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></col></table>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">pH value</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">7.19</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">hardness</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">25.00° dH (= hard water)</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">dissolved solids</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">679.30</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_suntory_jp">Suntory [JP]</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Declared as natural mineral water from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Daisen">Okudaisen</a>.</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">chemical element</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">mg/100ml</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">potassium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.2~0.6mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">sodium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.4~1.0mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">magnesium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.1~0.3mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">calcium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.2~0.7mg</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">pH value</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">~7</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">hardness</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">20mg/L (= soft water)</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_topvalu_jp">TOPVALU [JP]</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Declared as natural water.
The cheapest water available at the supermarket GourmetCity. It costs 68 Yen per 2l bottle.</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">chemical element</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">mg/100ml</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">potassium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.08 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">sodium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.61 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">magnesium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.10 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">calcium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.57 mg</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">pH value</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">6.5</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">hardness</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">18mg/l (= soft water)</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_asahi_jp">ASAHI [JP]</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Marketed as natural mineral water coming from the Rokko mountains.
I think it is the most expensive water at GourmetCity. It costs 105 Yen per 2l bottle.</p></div>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">chemical element</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">mg/100ml</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">potassium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.02~0.18 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">sodium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">1.0~4.8 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">magnesium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.10~1.10 mg</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">calcium</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">0.2~1.7 mg</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
<table class="tableblock frame-all grid-all" style="
width:100%;
">
<col style="width:50%;">
<col style="width:50%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">pH value</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">7.2</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">hardness</p></td>
<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top"><p class="tableblock">32mg/l (= soft water)</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</col></col></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>For the ranges, I used the mean value. Then I made a chart:</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Bottled water metadata, Japan and Austria" src="images/water-metadata-chart.png">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In conclusion, the values for calcium are about 20 times higher and the values for magnesium are about 40 times higher. This makes Austrian water hard as compared to soft water. Which one is more healthy? This is subjective, but it is believed that hard water is better for the body. But because hard water leaves traces of lime, hard water is much worse for machines like water boilers.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I always put everything in contrast and ranted about Japan’s water. But in the end, please enjoy the availability of clean water in your country.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
Oukunoshima & Shinkansen2017-03-13T19:15:00+09:002017-03-13T19:15:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-03-13:blog/okunoshima.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses our trip to Oukunoshima on 13th of March 2017.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I just came back from my Aikido spring training camp. After a relaxing night, we got up early in the morning. Early means we left at 08:10, which is early compared to 10:00 or 11:00 which happened <a href="todaiji.html">previously</a>. We took a train to Sannomiya, but I did not plan ahead. I only defined the goal: Oukunoshima ( 大久野島 , おおくのしま). The island is famous for its large number of rabbits (approximately 700, as they told in a recording in the ferry). <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckunoshima">Wikipedia</a> explains the details. I thought it is a cute present for White Day. Martina also got some nut-olive chocolate from Shodoushima. She didn’t know about it until about noon when I told her in the train.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We followed the greedy approach to arrive in Oukunoshima. This means we took, whatever train was currently available, to bring us closer to our destination. Nishi-Akashi (waiting time 09:15-09:20), Okayama (11:38-11:47), Fukuyama (12:46-12:50), Itozaki (13:19-13:23), Mihara (13:26-14:07) and Tadanoumi (14:33-14:50) were our intermediate stops. Leave the train station and a description in front of you, leads you to the nearby harbor. A ferry takes you to Oukunoshima (about 15 minutes transportation time).</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The trip started at 08:10 at our residence in Port Island, Kobe, and we put our foot onto Oukunoshima at 15:12. So we spent 7 hours switching trains and going from Kobe to the designated place. Maybe we didn’t pick the fastest trains, but we also wanted to reduce the expenses by picking local trains. We spent about 4500 Yen (~37€) to go from Kobe to Oukunoshima. The most expensive journey, we ever did.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>At the island, bunnies can be found very easily. The bunnies are curious and approach humans to beg for food. They won’t let you pet it (they run away in that case) though. We brought carrots, we sliced on our own. You also buy rabbit food in Tadanoumi in designated places (morning, weekday) or コンビ 二 (Konbini, 24/7).</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Martina on Shodoshima" src="images/okunoshima.jpg" width="500">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Shodoshima was a cute experience. If you have some rustling packaging, you can attract a lot of bunnies and they will beg you for food. One of the famous videos is by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdeX4NqvDZw">Просто Mark on Youtube</a>. But this also depends on the time of the day. In our case, we attracted 3-4 rabbits at a time and it was cute how they grab the food from your fingers. One common trick is to spread the food on your lying body and they will jump onto you to retrieve it. This way, you will be covered by rabbits. We did not do this.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We went along the beach and planned to return at 17:45. Many tourists visit the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckunoshima#Poison_Gas_Museum">Poison Gas Museum</a>, but we were not interested. We enjoyed the beach and rabbits only. We explicitly missed the ferry at 17:15, but then hurried to arrive at the port at 17:45. But we apparently got wrong, what the sign pointed out: Do not mix up the ports! We went to the wrong port and saw the ferry departuring at the other port at that time. So we missed the ferry and were afraid it is the last ferry. Actually, it is the last ferry during winter, but now the last ferry departures at 19:45.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So we had to wait another 1.5 hours. At that time, it was still bright and we discovered the inner parts of the island. We saw many constructions of the gas poison production, but soon it turned completely dark. It also turned cold, but our clothes were warm enough. So we waited the last 25 minutes at the port, because it was one of the few lit places. The ferry takes only 12 minutes back to Tadanoumi.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We decided that 5 hours back to Kobe would mean infrequent trains and after 00:00, no trains would take us back from Sannoymia to Port Island (for example). We need a fast approach. We went to the Shinkansen station to buy a Shinkansen ticket. It costs 4110 Yen (34 EUR) per person and we also bought reservation; another 3860 Yen (32 EUR). Shinkansen is called the Japanese bullet train. It is fast and convenient, but expensive. Families use it for holidays (to go to a different place very fast) and business men use it to go to different places quickly.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So how was the Shinkansen experience? Plenty of space for my legs and pretty quiet. During the night, it was not worth recording a video of the outside. We had to change the bullet train in Fukuyama. Our wagon in the first train was completely empty. In the second train, half of the seats were taken. In Shinkansen, people without reservation are allocated to special wagons.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>And by the way: What is a rabbit called in Japanese? <a href="http://jisho.org/word/%E5%85%8E"> 兎 </a> (うさぎ、usagi)!</p></div>
</div>
</div>
Todaiji2017-02-20T17:29:00+09:002017-02-20T17:29:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-02-20:blog/todaiji.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses our Todaiji visit on 19th of February 2017.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>It’s really difficult to get up early in the morning. We obviously experience how four Aikido/Volleyball practices per week feel like. We generally enjoy long mornings on days without deadlines. Even though we wanted to leave at 09:00, we could not do until 11:30.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We took the train from Sannomiya to Motomachi. Then a train from Motomachi to Amagasaki. Usually, I do proper research beforehand and we know which trains to pick, but this time we decided spontaneously the night before to take this trip. So I just used the information of the <a href="http://www.hyperdia.com/">HyperDia</a> Android application and picked the cheapest among 5 ticket combinations. However, this trip to Motomachi was a waste of money, because the second train went back to Kobe-Sannomiya anyways. I guess in the future I will this through better. In Amagasaki, we left the train and recognized very soon that our next train is the previous train. The train continues with a different name, but it was the same train. Back in the train again, we left Amagasaki in direction of Kintetsu-Nara, which is our destination in order to visit Todaiji. We spent 1180 Yen and about 90 minutes in order to go there from Kobe-Sannomiya.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="My residence in blue on the left, Osaka in green in the middle, Todaiji in orange on the right" src="images/todaiji.png" width="600">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Leaving JR Nara station, you can immediately see Sanjodori Street. This street features a lot of restaurants and booths for food. It was the first time in Japan, I saw a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kebab">Kebap</a> booth. In Austria, we have lots of Turkish migrants opening such shops, but in Japan this is obviously rare. Even though I expected us to grab something for lunch, Martina could not find a proper restaurant. We reached the Three-Story Pagoda next to the street, but I failed to take any photos. A Japanese talked to us and introduced himself as someone working for the Tourism office, which is located nearby. He lead us there and offered us to make Origami deers. He was nice, but reminded us of a marketing agent. A lady in the tourism office taught us how to make a deer and it took 20 minutes to finish it. Depending on the day, they also offer basic calligraphy workshops or chopstick challenges. I think if you want to spend a day at Todaiji and have no guide, a visit is certainly worth it. They also gave us a nice map of the area.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Martina and me making some Origami deers" src="images/todaiji-tourism-center.jpg" width="400">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We left in direction of the Nandaimon Gate ( 南大門 , なんだいもん) and met the main attraction of the area: A lot of deers gather in the streets in order to wait for food bought by the tourists. For 150 Yen, you can buy several round waffle-shaped deer food. The deers are wild animals, but gentle. Their horns are shortened to avoid accidents in the area. They have also been taught to bow in front of the tourists. So if you hesitate to feed them, they will bow in front of you waiting for your offer. This is documented in Youtube videos like "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdrPhHGH2K8">Nara’s bowing deers</a>". The Gate was a old wooden construction and inside the gate’s log a large statue can be found on each side.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Main gate leading to Todaiji with deers in front" src="images/todaiji.jpg" width="400">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Daibutsuden ( 大仏殿 ) is the heart of the Todaiji Temple. We visited it next and it is famous for the largest bronze statue of the world. However, inside Daibutsuden it is quite dark and it was terrible to take any photos. The size of the statue (about 15 meters in height) is of course impressive. After this visit we set down to take a short break and ate a snack. However, the deers joined us and got curious. One deer chewed on my napsack’s strap. We interrupted the snack and continued to take photos of the Great Bell. It also seems to be made of bronze. No deers were visible and we quickly took a break. Once we were finished, a few deers spotted us and wanted to have their share of our snack. After a short toilet break, we reached Nigatsudo Hall, which gave us a nice look at Nara.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The sun was setting and the light was very nice. At the same time, it was quite cold in the shadow. I liked the colors of the building combined with the color of the bamboo sticks. I think the bamboo sticks protect the stone writings from tourists as they might be in restauration currently. We went back to Sanjodori Street taking a path crossing some more deers. We went in direction of Kasuga Taisha Shrine. The Shrine itself was closed. So we could not enter it and check out the house inside, but I admit it didn’t look interesting anyways. It was merely the appearance of the Shrine and the many stands in the area, that made the place interesting to see. At the same time the sun has finally set and it got dark. I didn’t take any photos of the Shrine because of the darkness in the woods. It was about 17:30. Back at the Three-Story Pagoda, we observed several deers crossing the street. They listened carefully and once no car was coming, they crossed the street.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We went back towards the train station, but first we chose a restaurant for a very late lunch. Martina ate Okinomiyaki and I chose a Vegetables-Oil-Yaki. On a stove inside the table in front of us, the Yaki was kept warm while we were eating. The vegetables were not much, but they tasted good. We finished and took a train home. This time, we knew about the train situation. We sat down in the JR train and directly reached Kobe-Sannomiya with one ticket. This was nice.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In conclusion: Nara is a touristic location and definitely worth a visit. I guess it is a wonderful trip for a family as far as children can also enjoy the deers. There are many shrines (Shintoism) and temples (Buddhism) in the area and we only saw the most famous ones. I suggest to spend a day over there and we should have left the residence sooner. Anyhow, it was a very nice trip! Recommendation!</p></div>
</div>
</div>
Oji Zoo2017-01-13T16:50:00+09:002017-01-13T16:50:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-01-13:blog/oji-zoo.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses Sunday, 8th of January 2017.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Oji Zoo is located in Kobe City and a common weekend activity for fathers with their children. As fathers are mostly working during the week and come home when children are already in bed, I literally mean. We saw several fathers with their children.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>This sunday it was open between 09:00 and 16:30. The tickets cost 600 Yen, which is not much in my opinion. We already knew the path to the Zoo, because close to the Zoo, the Sports Center is located. I sometimes have Aikido there and Martina sometimes has Volleyball at this place. It is easy to find, because Oji Zoo has an amusement park inside with a Ferris Wheel. This Ferris Wheel sticks out from all the surrounding houses in this area. Oji Zoo is split into six sections:</p></div>
<div class="ulist"><ul>
<li>
<p>
Panda House
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Zoological Science Center
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Wild Animals Circle
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Polar Bear House
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Children’s World Animal Land
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Foreign Settlement, Former Hunter’s Residence (only open in April, May and October)
</p>
</li>
</ul></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I want to provide a complete list of animals at Oji Zoo:</p></div>
<div class="quoteblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Flamingoes, ducks, peafowls, cranes, pheasants, sheep, geese, rabbits, goats, otters, squirrels, red pandas, koalas, snow owls, giant panda, eagles, elephants, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, tiger, parrots, pelicans, storks, penguins, hippopotamuses, ostriches, kangaroos, sitatungas, zebras, giraffes, giant anteater, chimpanzees, capybara, orangutans, slamangs, ring-tailed lemurs, sea lions, crocodiles, turtles, fruit bats, bears, bobcat, porcupines, polar bears</p></div>
</div>
<div class="attribution">
</div></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We have been there early (9:20). This was good and bad. On the one hand, weather was turning worse in the afternoon. On the other hand, it was bad already. This day, it was quite cold, a few raindrops were recognizable and clouds covered the sky. Anyways, we started visiting the flamingoes' cage. Their feather is very beautiful, but the large crowd of flamingoes made quite some noise. We continued to see some peafowls, snow owls and cranes. All animals were rather passive this day, because of the cold and rain. We decided not to visit the Children’s World (pandas, squirrels, otters including a petting zoo) and saved it for later. The Giant Panda was currently not visible and we visited the elephants. The elephant in the outside area was throwing soil onto her back. Elephants do that to protect themselves from the sun. Because it was cloudy, we suspected she was actually drying her back from the raindrops. The elephant outside seemed fine, but I got relent, when I saw the elephant in the smaller cage. The elephant was going forth and back under the roof, which was a thin strip. I felt pity for him.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I found it very interesting that the toilet nearby featured a baby desk inside the <em>men’s</em> toilet. I haven’t seen this before in Japan. We visited the parrots next to the wild animals cages. One of the parrots was even able to say "Ohio" (Good morning), "Bye Bye" and his own name. It was funny that little birds living in freedom slipped through the thin grid and joined the parrots in their cage. I guess they enjoyed the available water and remaining food. In the following, we saw the Wild Animals Circle. Because of the circular shape, we visited the parrots twice. The tiger was walking around, but also within a limited space. I guess he was also not very happy with the weather. Lions, jaguars and cheetah were only sitting in silence (I got one photo of the cheetah walking, but he was just about to sit down when we came).</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>For children they have an Amusement Park with the aforementioned Ferris Wheel. It features a few Japanese statues made of stone, which I used for photographic opportunities. In the Zoological Science Center, a map of the world greeted us where areas indicated a certain type of animals. Japan, for example, was made of monkeys, boars and cats. Mosaics of drawn chicken where also presented. Remember that 2017 is the year of the chicken according to the Chinese calendar. The penguins in the pool close-by were active and enjoyed swimming. The Science Center itself was one of the nicer places within the zoo. It explained the behavior of animals in the African wild, how animals with a beak grab their food, displayed stuffed birds, explained defecation in videos, displayed eggs of various birds and exhibited the skeleton of selected animals.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Inside the Science Center it was acceptable warm, but outside it began to rain heavily. We decided not to finish the zoo today.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>However, we also completed the Herbivores site. We saw a Hippopotamuses. First we weren’t sure it is still alive, but apparently it stayed underwater, except for the back and the face (in order to breathe, I guess). I assume the water felt warmer than the windy and cold outside. The ostriches were already very wet and two of them cuddled inside a small house. Most of the kangaroos also spent their time and we observed a mother nurturing her child. I am always impressed how muscular kangaroos are. Zebra also got wet and spent their time under the roof. Giraffes were not visible at all. They spent their time inside the house. We decided to briefly visit the sea lions. Just like the penguins, they were very active underwater. We also wanted to check whether the Giant Panda is visible now and we actually saw him. He was taking a nap on a wooden construction.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We headed home and covered approximately 70% of the zoo. I guess we picked a bad day and planned to come back in summer again. Consider that we skipped especially animals who are currently hibernating.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We decided to go to a restaurant in Sannoymiya, we have been before. When we looked for presents for <a href="kokui-christmas-party.html">the christmas party</a>, we visited this restaurant already. It seems like an average family restaurant. I like the free refills for drinks. For the record: the menu has 35 main dishes out of 81 meals. 4 out of 29 are vegetarian. In the gallery, I posted the complete menu.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Flamingoes in Ojizoo" src="images/ojizoo.jpg" width="300">
</img></span></p></div>
</div>
</div>
Venus Bridge2017-01-04T13:56:00+09:002017-01-04T13:56:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-01-04:blog/venus-bridge.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the 30th of December 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Without Martina I was more flexible, but on the other hand Venus Bridge is a sightseeing point for couples. Venus Bridge is located 151 meters above the sealevel in the mountains. It’s in the north of <a href="kobe-jinjas.html">Sorakuen</a>. And where the heck is the entrance in order to climb up the hill to Venus Bridge? <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/34.6850/135.1951">Openstreetmap</a> shows the location of venus bridge:</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Map reaching from my residence at Minatojima to Venus Bridge" src="images/venus-bridge.png" width="441">
</img></span></p></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="_getting_there">Getting there</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>After reading some blog posts (for example by <a href="http://janneinosaka.blogspot.jp/2010/06/venus-bridge.html">Janne in Osaka (and Okinawa)</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKwqLqRM018">@stercraze06 on youtube</a>), I could not figure out how to directly reach Venus Bridge from Kitano-Chou. The answer is the closest way is starting from the グリーンハイツ 諏訪山 building. Behind the Kobe Migration Museum, Oku-Saido Drive Way can be found leading to Venus Bridge, but this is unpleasant as a pedestrian.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>First I reached Suwayama Park. I saw a Japanese children’s playground (though the scenery is a little bit scary if no people are there) and visited Suwa Shrine ( 諏訪神社 ) and Suwayamainari Shrine ( 諏訪山稲荷神社 ). I liked the stone statue (illustrating a dog) in front of it. Then I headed towards Venus Bridge. Beginning here it was not difficult to find the path as signs indicated the path in Katakana.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="_venus_bridge">Venus bridge</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Venus Bridge is a spiral bridge leading to a platform. The bridge and the platform give a beautiful view over Kobe. Furthermore there is a metal construction in order to allow young couples to tie a lock onto it to mark their relationship. Equivalent locks can be <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g190432-i211169150-Graz_Styria.html">found in Graz</a> as well. Being there allowed me to take some nice pictures of Kobe. It was a quiet day and only few people were there. I enjoyed the sun (though it was a bit cloudy) and fresh air.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Metal construction for locks at Venus Bridge" src="images/venus-bridge-locks.jpg" width="400">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="View on Kobe with Venus Bridge in front" src="images/venus-bridge.jpg" width="400">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Yes, totally worth it and I enjoyed the small hike. It sent Martina a picture and told her I will return now. I dropped by at the supermarket and got home. I was a little bit tired but continued studies and work at the residence.</p></div>
</div>
Nunobiki Waterfalls2017-01-03T23:29:00+09:002017-01-03T23:29:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-01-03:blog/nunobiki-waterfalls.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the 28th of December 2016.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="_plan">Plan</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>On 28th of December 2016, we decided to go out and visit some points of interest. Our original goal was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitano-ch%C5%8D">Kitano-chou</a>. Most international students covered that POI already in October and it is particularly boring for European students. However, I didn’t want to back off and made it our main goal. Afterwards, I had several options available.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="_shin_kobe">Shin-Kobe</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Well, we began in the later morning and went to Sannomiya. We crossed some main streets of Kobe to reach Shin-Kobe. Shin-Kobe is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen">Shinkansen</a> train station in Kobe. It is closer to the mountains than Sannomiya. Inside the train station, you cannot see the trains. We just saw that almost all passengers of Shinkansen have a large suitcase meaning they are travelling for a longer time (than one day). Furthermore the train station has many shops offering local foods (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bento">Bentos</a> and waffles). We left the train station afterwards.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="_takenaka_carpentry_tools_museum">Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We briefly took a peek on the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum. I was not interested on the exhibition, but wanted to see the entrance. It has a nice Japanese style and wanted to show it to Martina. Underneath the bridge nearby, Shinkansen were waiting for passengers and we made some photos. So I had my experience to see a Shinkansen for the first time in real life. I asked Martina whether she wanted to see a waterfall. She said yes.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="_nunobiki_waterfalls">Nunobiki Waterfalls</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We followed the streets behind the Museum. Students crossed our way as they seem to leave their dormitory during the holidays. We eventually reached the observatory platform ( 展望台 ) to have a nice view over Kobe. We were very motivated for hiking, so I guess Martina would have agreed to turn this into a hiking trip. However, I was not prepared at all for any paths we had to take, my lunch was a single sandwich and I forgot to charge my phone. Bad conditions and I recommended to shift the next hiking trip to another time. By the way, our plan to hike onto Mount Maya was rejected by her the night before.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Nunobiki Waterfall" src="images/nunobiki-waterfalls.jpg" width="400">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We continued in opposite direction of the water stream and saw larger and larger dams. We even found a hydroelectric power station in front of the largest dam and I had the chance to take a photo of the Nunobiki waterfall everybody is associating with it. At the dormitory I found out that many students don’t even know of its existence. In general I think hiking is not so popular. Martina wanted to continue, but I declined because I wanted to also see Kitano Chou. We hiked back. We tried to pet a black cat crossing our way, but most Japanese cats are shier than European ones. Furthermore we saw some more students leaving the dorm.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>It was a really pleasant, brief hiking trip to nature. It has to be continued at some other point in time. Martina got more and more hungry.</p></div>
</div>
Hiking to Mount Rokko2016-11-09T13:40:00+09:002016-11-09T13:40:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-11-09:blog/mount-rokko.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses Thursday, the 3rd of November 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>On Thursday, we are usually busy at university. However, this Thursday Japan celebrated the Day of Culture (Bunka no hi, 文化 の 日 ). So we had a day off. Because on Saturday, we <em>only</em> have a workshop in Calligraphy, we wanted to add something else to this week. Martina and I agreed to hike on Mount Rokko ( 六甲山散歩 ). So we start at sea level and will hopefully reach the summit 930 meters above the sea level. We left the Residence at 09:00 in the morning.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>When hiking on a mountain, you should always carry some basic belongings with you. This includes:</p></div>
<div class="dlist"><dl>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Water
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
I took 2 liters with me. You can also buy it at a Konbini close to Ashiyagawa Station.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Lunch/snacks
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
I took some bread for lunch with me.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Clothing
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
Be sure to be prepared for rain or strong winds. I was prepared with 4 layers of clothes.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Sun blocker
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
If the sun is very strong on your hiking day, a sun blocker can be beneficial especially at the beginning before you enter the woods. It was not necessary for me.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Tissues
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
If your nose keeps running.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Money
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
If you want to drink some tea at the teahouse or possibly you need it for the toilet (I didn’t need it and cannot tell). Close to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arima_Onsen">Arimaonsen</a>, many delicious snacks are available in booths. So be prepared if you are open to spend some money.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Towel
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
After hiking, you will enjoy to put your feet into the public bath of Arimaonsen. You don’t need a ticket and it is very close to the street. So take a towel with you.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Camera
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
You will experience some nice views over Osaka and Kobe.
</p>
</dd>
<dt class="hdlist1">
Gloves
</dt>
<dd>
<p>
If you don’t feel very safe when stepping along, you will often use the rocks to gain balance. Japanese people therefore (and because of the sun) prefer to wear gloves. I didn’t.
</p>
</dd>
</dl></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We took Hankyu Line to Ashiyagawa Station. Coming from Kobe, this is 3 stations more than Rokko; the train station we use for university. In general it is a good idea to hike on a public holiday, because Japanese people love hiking (I think even more than we Austrians). As such you are not left alone and can already spot some hikers in the train. They can (and will) always help you if you don’t know the direction. At about 10:00 we left the train station.</p></div>
<div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>
Ashiyagawa is not really a river, but rather a stream. As pointed out in other travel guides, stay on the left side of the river as long as possible. First you will hike through a neighborhood and follow a road. Then the road goes into the woods. Signs warn you about wild boars. So just pay attention not to disturb wild life.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Consider to use the last available public toilet ( 公衆便所 ). Afterwards you will need very elementary climbing skills at some points.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
First you should see Rock Garden. Accidently we picked the wrong path and we cannot even tell where we should have gone. Sorry, no further information.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
The next place you should reach is "Kaza fuki iwa" ( 風吹岩 ). You can have a beautiful view over Osaka. The coast of Kobe is not mostly not visible due to bushes and hills in the front.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
You will enter the woods. So you won’t need the gloves any more. Enjoy the smell of the woods.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
You should reach the Honjo Bridge ( 本庄橋 ) next. As far as I can tell the Honjo Bridge should be large dam you encounter. If not, it is the tiny bridge before you reach the dam.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Finally "nana magari" is one of the steepest section. Yes, it is the steepest, but because there are only few obstacles, I didn’t have difficulties to go up in any way. The beginning with all its rocks was more uncomfortable.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Rokko Mountain summit ikken-chaya ( 六甲山頂一軒茶屋 ) is a tea house very close to the summit. A road from the Kita ward leads here.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
After a few hundred meters, you can take a picture of the summit pole and enjoy the view.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Going down on the other side of the mountain, you will go towards Arimacho; a village hosting Arimaonsen. The path is rather uninteresting. No beautiful view, no interesting stops and cold because in our case the mountain covered the sun.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
At Arimacho, it is very difficult to find Arimaonsen and the train station. Prepare with a map or follow/ask your Japanese colleagues. Enjoy the delicious snacks and small shops in Arimacho.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Enjoy a free footbath at Arimaonsen. You might need to wait a little to get a place.
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Lukas shown next to summit pole" src="images/rokko-luk.jpg" width="200">
</img></span>
<span class="image">
<img alt="Martina shown next to summit pole" src="images/rokko-martina.jpg" width="200">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>After about 1.5 hours, we reached Kaza fukii wa. Another 1.5 hours later, we reached Honjo Bridge. It took us 1 final hour to reach the summit. In conclusion, we hiked for 4 hours up the hill and 1 hour 20 minutes down the hill. It think we were very slow up the hill, but downwards we reached average speed. So prepare for a journey of more than 4 hours.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>At Arimacho we actually met our English teacher. We was showing his uncle (he mentioned in class) Arimaonsen. The uncle spoke a bit of German to us.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Hiking for the first time. That was fun!</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Osaka appears above the buches" src="images/rokko-hiking.jpg" width="200">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Credits: inspired by <a href="http://hyogo-tourism-en.blogspot.jp/2011/08/outdoor-activitieshiking-in-mt-rokko.html">hyogo-tourism-en.blogspot.jp</a>.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area2016-10-31T11:50:00+09:002016-10-31T11:50:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-10-31:blog/horyuji.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the 29th of October 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In my Japanese class "Japanese Culture" on Monday, we briefly discussed UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan. I looked up all of them and found a <a href="http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/scenic/worldheritage/index.html">nice list</a>. "Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area" is kind of close to my place and therefore I decided to go there for event day. It features the oldest wooden architectures of the world. <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=11/34.6888/135.5205&layers=H">This map by OpenStreetMap</a> shows the location:</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Map ranging from Kobe to Hōryū-ji Area" src="images/horyuji.png" width="400">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I started around lunch time again. Martina stayed at home. I was a little bit scared whether I can find the destination. <a href="http://www.hyperdia.com/">HyperDia</a> showed one possible, direct route from Sannomiya (provided by JR), but all information at Hyperdia is provided without Kanji. So reading the same trains might be difficult. 1080 Yen is a bit more than my previous travel costs, but I assumed it will be worth it. I started my journey and actually the train’s direction and its time was written in Latin script. So it was not difficult to find the train. I sat down and had a pleasant journey. The chairs are very comfortable and I made an old man’s day by helping him with his luggage. He thanked right after I helped and additionally before he left the train… in English. This was nice.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I left the train. I was confused. There was no sign giving me the name of this small station. Is this Kyūhōji station (and I need to take the next train again) or is it Hōryūji station (where I want to go)? I went up the stairs and saw a promotional poster "Welcome to Hōryūji station!" with some images of the temple. Apparently I was at the right place, but I got confused by the station name I heard when leaving the train.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I takes less than 15 minutes to go from the train station to the temple by foot. I read online there is also a bus, but I was not interested. You immediately recognize the special roof tiles, they use close to the temple. They are crafted beautifully. From a map, I understood the basic structure of the ground and I discovered the ticket office. I wanted to know what parts of the area are public and which required a ticket. So I started with the public parts and basically went from West to East. Not a lot of people were on the Site in the early afternoon (I arrived around 14:00), but this changed at 16:00, when the sun wasn’t covered by any cloud anymore.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Horyu-ji grounds consists of the following buildings:</p></div>
<div class="ulist"><ul>
<li>
<p>
Saiin Garan, with its significant Gojū-no-Tō (5-story pagoda)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Daihōzōin, with its gallery
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Tōin Garan, and I personally considered Tōin Shōrō most interesting
</p>
</li>
</ul></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>You can see them on this map:</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Ground map of Hōryū-ji Area" src="images/horyuji_ground_map.jpg" width="400">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Basically I traversed the whole area first without a ticket, hence missing the inner parts of Saiin Garan, the gallery of Daihōzōin and Tōin Garan. As far as a ticket at Saiin Garan costs 1500 Yen, Daihōzōin 500 Yen and Tōin Garan 300 Yen, I thought it sums up to 2300 Yen. Spending 23 Euros on visiting those temples is certainly too much. So I only paid the 1500 Yen ticket afterwards and it turns out that this is a collective ticket for all halls. After recognizing this, I traversed the whole area again with the ticket. I was happy about the actual price, but I was annoyed that you are not allowed to take photos within the galleries.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Toin Shoro at Horyuji in daylight" src="images/horyuji_toin_shoro.jpg" width="300">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Whereas it was very sunny at 15:00, at 16:30 many areas were already covered by the shadows of buildings. So it was getting cold and I left the area. I ate Tsukine Udon at a restaurant close to the temple. Then I took JR line back to Kobe. However, at Osaka I had to change trains (just like when I got here), but no train on the track headed towards Kobe. I wondered why. I recognized a red warning color for the stations behind Kobe with a note "Level Crossing Check". Of course, it might be a Level Crossing Check, but it is unsual in my opinion that regular trains are interrupted for that. Often people commit suicide with trains and therefore this might be the reason. I was getting cold in my shorts and I exited the JR line at Osaka even though I bought the ticket for Kobe. I joined Hyanku line. I guess they share the same tracks, but I wanted to give it a shot. It was worth it. I took a local train to Kobe, so one hour later I arrived at Sannomiya, Kobe. I tested whether I can enter Hankyu line with my Osaka-Kobe ticket and leave it with my university pass. This does not work. Hence, my university commuter pass stores at least one boolean flag.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In conclusion, the Horyuji area is worth its recognition as UNESCO heritage site. Beautiful wooden architectures. There are comparable sites in China (as it was pointed out to me by a Chinese person showing photos), but I cannot judge on that. On the other hand it is sad, that you cannot take photos inside the galleries.</p></div>
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Tottori earthquake2016-10-30T13:07:00+09:002016-10-30T13:07:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-10-30:blog/tottori-earthquake.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses a happening on 21st of October 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>On Friday, 21st of October, I have been at Kanji class after lunch time. Kanji is the third writing system of Japanese which is based on Chinese characters and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_unification">mostly shares them</a> with Chinese script. Chinese students have an advantage when learning them, because they don’t need to study the shape and stroke order. However, the pronounciation and especially meaning is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji#Native_reading_.28Kun.27yomi.29">mostly different</a>. Kanji class is always an important event of the week, because I study Kanji regularly to be prepared for the weekly test. In Japanese class, we don’t get tested on vocabulary on a regular basis. We were discussing 15 Kanji, which includes</p></div>
<div class="ulist"><ul>
<li>
<p>
the stroke order
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
relation to other Kanjis
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
On’yomi and Kun’yomi readings
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
meaning when combined with other Kanji
</p>
</li>
</ul></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Kanji are IMHO, by far, the most difficult topic about learning Japanese.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>When our sensei was explaining some basic Kanji to use, suddenly all Japanese phones went off. Even though most students are exchange students using their mobile from their home country, some of them purchased them from previous students, purchased them in Japan in the first week or the phone is from East Asia. I think generally East Asian phones support this alarm warning system. If I remember correctly, the sound is similar to the one shown <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPDvAYF8Q-I">in this video</a>. It was very loud and first I thought it was coming from the loudspeaker.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>When I came to Japan, I thought the Richter scale is still the measure for earthquake energy. Apparently, scientists use the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_magnitude_scale">Moment magnitude scale</a> today. An earthquake of magnitude 3 set in less than 10 seconds afterwards. The earth was shaking and we all watched outside as the trees were shaken and we could observe how the alignment of the university building changed relative to the trees outside. I estimate it lasted about 10-15 seconds. We all got educated on how to respond to an earthquake at the <a href="camera-lost">International Students Orientation</a>. However, in our room no-one hid under the desk as proposed by common earthquake guidelines. In Martina’s class they did. Someone also phoned a student located at the residence at that time. She described the building shook really strong, but the building is very stable. The residence, unlike the university, was built after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hanshin_earthquake">1995</a> and is therefore especially robust. You can see multiple structure additionally supporting the building making it very earthquake-safe. But the residence at Minatojima is at sea level whereas the university is located ~150 meters above sea level (hence tremors will be damped more).</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>As it turns out, the earthquake’s epicenter was in Tottori Prefecture. Several building got destroyed, but no-one got seriously hurt. 150000 households had no electricity. Via media, we got asked to watch our for further earth quakes in the upcoming week. Whereas earthquakes got registered in Tottori during the next 3 days, no earthquake was registered at Kobe. In general, you can look up <a href="20161030-01-tottori-earthquake.adoc">earthquakes at JMA, the Japan Meteorological Agency</a>.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So in conclusion, it is exciting because of the alarm and you can clearly see how the earth is shaking. On the other hand, we survived and it is just a unexpected event during the day.</p></div>
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Day of Typhoon Chaba2016-10-06T01:06:00+09:002016-10-06T01:06:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-10-06:blog/typhoon-chaba.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the 5th of October 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Being sooo tired last night and with a remaining jetlag, I woke up at ~9:00. However, we did not make it until 12:30 to work productively.</p></div>
<div class="literalblock">
<div class="content monospaced">
<pre>Only because Martina entered my room. Eventually I dragged her into my bed and we slept both in bed until about 12:30. She was mad at me for doing it 😇</pre>
</div></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>On Wednesday, Typhoon Chaba was expected to hit Japan. In South Korea two people died because of the Typhoon, but being in Osaka Bay provides a certain safety. Therefore no warning was issued the whole day. I asked my Japanese teacher the previous day whether classes take place and he point out "No classes" (batsu - no!). I didn’t worry, because my study plan does not have classes on Wednesday and I would stay at home anyways. Martina on the other hand has her first Kanji classes (if I remember correctly).</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So I woke up in the morning and she brought food she bought last night after I went to sleep. I was still too tired to get up and just offered her a place in my bed, which worked out. We rested for another few hours. Eventually I took a shower and we tried to cook some noodles. You buy some plastic packaging with ingredients, heat up water and pour it into the plastic packaging (in the shape of a bowl). After a few while, you can eat it. Apparently the water cooker is not for everyone, but provided by a student. Therefore it was not in the room this time and we ate our dinner: rice with vegetables and Martina got some rice too. We warmed it up in the microwave.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>During the day, I started to watch videos of my MOOC and therefore studied Graphical Probabilistic Models. Afterwards I finally managed to deploy the <a href="/">website</a>, the <a href="/gallery">gallery</a> and this blog.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>What about the typhoon? Yes, classes took place anyways (probably the Japanese teacher meant that he does not hold any classes tomorrow?!). Yes, the storm was recognizable during the night according to Martina and also at ~15:00 and from 16:00-21:00. The air was very warm and it was windier than any other day. It also rained multiple times. Especially during the mentioned times. The <a href="http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/332.html">JMA</a> even issued a warning at 17:00. The university rules state that if no warning is issued at 6am for the morning, classes in the morning take place. If no warning is issued at 10am for the afternoon, classes in the afternoon take place.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So in the end, it was a day at the residence. I didn’t leave the residence. Anyways, enough was left to do.</p></div>
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