Lukas and Martina in Japan//japan.lukas-prokop.at/blog/2017-01-04T13:56:00+09:00Venus 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>
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<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>
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<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>
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Kitano-Chou, Part 22017-01-03T23:59:00+09:002017-01-03T23:59:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-01-03:blog/kitano-chou-2.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>The <a href="kitano-chou-1.html">previous trip to Kitano-Chou</a> was nice, but I didn’t get an overview of the houses and certainly there is more to discover. So I had to return. Martina was not motivated, so 2 days later, I was on my own. I started with Kitano-Chou, where I left of last time.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Starting from Sannomiya, I headed to Ikuta Shrine. It was quite a time ago since <a href="kobe-jinjas.html">my last visit</a> and I wanted to see preparations for tomorrow. On New Year’s Eve, a lot of people are expected at Ikuta Shrine. In conclusion, they were busy building up some structures and booths. Plenty of boards got attached to the shrine though I don’t know what they kanji say (I assume they are prayers). A tree was in front of the shrine and ropes connect the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii">Torii</a> with the tree. On these papers, handwritten wishes can be found.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Ikuta Shrine Torii with tree in front" src="images/ikuta-shrine-torii.jpg" width="300">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In front of the Kobe Baptist Church (on the border of Yamamotodori and Kitano-Chou), a cat was sitting on the sidewalk in the sun. I could enjoy petting her for a while. Then I reached the houses.</p></div>
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<h3 id="_irish_house">Irish House</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>A little bit unexpected, but the main theme of the Irish House was hunting. Stuffed bears, elks and deers were shown together with hunting equipment. They also collected donations for <a href="luminarie.html">Luminarie</a>.</p></div>
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<h3 id="_french_house">French House</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The main theme of the French House is dining. The layout of the table, wine and cheese was presented with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqLqlJ114lk">Amélie as background music</a>.</p></div>
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<h3 id="_denmark_house">Denmark House</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The Denmark House did not have a main theme in my opinion. It rather shows a simple style of living. A piano, a chess board and simple cooking equipment were on display. Of course some clothing is always part of the exhibition.</p></div>
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<h3 id="_netherlands_house">Netherlands House</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The Netherlands House issued the Vikings. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clog">Clogs</a> were shown in front of the House, but inside it was all about the life of Vikings (clothing, household items, food, house architecture, etc.).</p></div>
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<h3 id="_former_chinese_consulate">Former Chinese Consulate</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Next, I visited the Former Chinese Consulate. I displayed decorated stone turtles next to the entrance, a Chinese dining table and a bathroom. The bathroom featured a bath tub not connected to a drain, a basin and a wooden construction to cover your body when undressing. It was interesting to recognize that many items were either made of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble">marble</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcelain">Porcelain</a>. Vases and images of emperors are also recurring items. A larger vase with a dragon on it can be found in the garden. I like Chinese painting patterns (e.g. tradition style of painting the animals of the Chinese calendar).</p></div>
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<h3 id="_kitanotenman_shrine">Kitanotenman Shrine</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Kitanotenman Shrine has quite a few of steep steps in front. If you finish them, you reach a platform with a nice view on Kobe (though some trees block the view) and on the next level, the Shrine is placed. I wondered how much space Japanese Shinto Shrines take up in the country. In Austria, it is famously known that the Christian church owns the largest portion of area compared to other single organizations or companies. But I failed to find data for Japanese Shinto Shrines.</p></div>
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<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>The number of Shinto shrines in Japan is estimated to be around 100,000. This figure may, or may not, include private shrines in homes and owned by small groups, abandoned or derelict shrines, roadside Hokora. etc.</p></div>
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<div class="attribution">
— https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto_shrine
</div></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>I came to conclusion, that Shinto Shrines require less space than churches, but there are more Shrines in one Japanese city than churches in a European city. I still think that the Shrines' area does not outnumber the area of their European equivalent.</p></div>
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<h3 id="_weathercock_house">Weathercock House</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The next destination was the Weathercock House. The brick layout on the facade is very distinguishing. Does it belong to a country? No, the Weathercock House is just some distinct architecture some English trader living in Kobe came up with. Inside the main theme is the weathercock and some English items were on display. Nothing particularly interesting, but the souvenirs in the shop inside were more fancy than on other locations (cookies, chopsticks, etc. with the weathercock drawn onto it). It was the only house where the room design and staircases provided as much space as I am used to from European houses. The ceiling was higher and two people could go upstairs/downstairs simultaneously without touching each other.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="The Kitano-Chou Weathercock House with a trumpet player sculpture in front" src="kitano-weathercock-house.jpg" width="400">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Finally I went to the Moegi House. Outside it looked very nice, but taking a peek inside through the window, it seemed boring inside. I did not care to go in.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In conclusion, I traversed Kitano-Chou from east to west (just to clarify: but the houses are not in a line). The houses are not very interesting for Europeans, but I guess I got a clearer picture how Japanese people image European style. 500 Yen per house would be way too much to me, but for free it was a decent experience. By the way, some streets are very steep. Take care, if you go there with elderly people. In the following, I wanted to find an entrance to a path leading to the Venus bridge.</p></div>
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Kitano-Chou, Part 12017-01-03T23:59:00+09:002017-01-03T23:59:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2017-01-03:blog/kitano-chou-1.html<div id="preamble">
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<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the 28th of December 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Kitano Chou is a district of Kobe City featuring many houses of foreigners. So individual houses represent the housing traditions of a certain culture. European cultures are represented the most, because the Dutch were the first foreigners arriving at Kobe.</p></div>
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<h3 id="_kitano_street">Kitano Street</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>First, we made our way to Kitano Street. This street is often pictured, because several houses at this street can be found in one line and their country’s associated flag hangs outside. It also helped us for orientation, because overview maps are given at several intersections. Martina lost interest. She is not interested in sightseeing that much, was hungry and European houses are especially boring. I tried to convince her to check out the British House and the Austrian house. Then I would be willing to go home.</p></div>
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<h3 id="_british_house">British House</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The British House features a pub design with many comfortable chairs. Whiskey is represented by a wide range of bottles and the other major theme was Sherlock Holmes. As an adolescent, I was a big fan of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and I recognized the references in the exhibited items. In the garden, they even built a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground">tube</a> station, because Great Britain had the first underground railway system in history. An old car was also shown and visitors could dress up in Sherlock Holmes clothing (a brown, checked clothing and cap).</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Visiting every individual house at Kitano-Chou seems to cost 500 Yen. This is ridiculously expensive in my opinion. Every house is simply an exhibition of some items. They also don’t feel necessarily authentic. The houses are tiny as in Japanese tiny. So I had to take care of my head and the staircases (or alike) are very narrow. I guess I need to consider that most visitors are Japanese, but 500 Yen seems awful lot to me. I think a price like 1500 Yen for all houses would be more fair, but I didn’t check the options in detail. Kobe University gave us a Kobe pass, which allowed us to enter these houses without paying anything. In the following I didn’t care to consider it further.</p></div>
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<h3 id="_austrian_house">Austrian House</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The Austrian House is uphill. Briefly we saw the Weathercock House, which in my opinion is the most interesting house at Kitano-Chou. In front of this building, a juggler and a magician were performing. Martina took photos of me with the saxophone player statue.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The major theme of the Austrian House is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart">Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart</a>. Whenever someone asks me for famous people from Austria, I think of Mozart first:</p></div>
<div class="quoteblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Me: Osutoria<br>
Jap: Osutoraria?!<br>
Me: Osutoria… Europe<br>
Jap: ?!<br>
Me: No kangaroos<br>
Jap: Ah, no kangaroos<br>
Me: But Mozart<br>
#AustrianInJapan</br></br></br></br></br></br></br></p></div>
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<div class="attribution">
— https://twitter.com/meisterluk/status/797448839313506305
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<div class="paragraph"><p>Often I continue to make references to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger">Arnold Schwarzenegger</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Mateschitz">Dietrich Mateschitz (Red Bull)</a>. All three (for the last one: the brand) are well-known in Japan.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Back to the house: The nine federal states are represented with nine flags. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Elisabeth_of_Austria">Sissi</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Joseph_I_of_Austria">Franz</a> are shown. Traditional garment is visible in a glass case and upstairs (accessible through a different building), Mozart has a dedicated room. I should mention images show the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Boys%27_Choir">Vienna Boys' Choir</a> and bedding traditions are also explained. "Servus" is mentioned as "unique Austrian welcome".</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Afterwards we headed back home to make some food. Overall experience? Kitano-Chou is boring, especially for Martina, and the hike was nice. We need to extend it next time.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>You want to know one funny thing about my Kitano experience?
In my last Kanji class I was sitting for 3 minutes just thinking about which Kanji is associated to houses. The answer is <a href="http://jisho.org/search/%E5%AE%B6%20%23kanji"> 家 </a>, but I could not come up with it. Being in Kitano-Chou, famous for its foreign houses, guess which Kanji I could find all over the place 😉</p></div>
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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">
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<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the 28th of December 2016.</p></div>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan2016-12-28T21:25:00+09:002016-12-28T21:25:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-12-28:blog/osaka-kaiyukan.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the 23rd of December 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>After <a href="buikukai-aikido.html">the Aikido Buikukai Performance</a> and our visit of <a href="osakajo.html">Osaka Castle</a>, we went for lunch at a Soba Noodle Restaurant ( 守破離 ). Martina joined us again. The restaurant was a recommendation of a friend of hers. As a group of three, we went by subway from Tanimachiyonchome Station to Osakako. After a 5 minute walk - <a href="osaka-chikko.html">we already know</a> - we reached Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>2300 Yen is a pretty expensive price in my opinion, but I raised my expectations therefore and was not disappointed. In the Aquarium we left some luggage in the lockers (the prices range between 200 and 700 Yen depending on the size) and checked out the shop. Martina and Jo wanted to buy some merchandise when exiting the Aquarium.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>First of all, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Fire">Ring of Fire</a> defines a guiding element in the route. Several species from areas along the Ring of Fire are shown in pools. This includes <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otter">otters</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_lion">sea lions</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coati">coaties</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffer_fish">Puffer fish</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel">eels</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_penguin">king penguins</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander">salamanders</a> can also be found. In the following, the route goes around a huge aquarium from floor seven to the first floor. The aquarium features huge <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray">stingrays</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark">sharks</a>] and to the best of my knowledge, a small kind of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_shark">whale shark</a>. The long and dangerous tail of stingrays reminded me of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin">Steve Irwin</a>, who got fatally stung by a stingray 10 years again. His death hit me hard back then.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/world/what-in-the-world/japan-inemuri-public-sleeping.html">Japanese napping culture</a> kicked in as well. A man was sleeping on a bench in front of a pool. This would not be possible in Europe/Austria.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In between the stations, a café offered softdrinks and small snacks. Afterwards, a special exhibition hall themed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_Nemo">Finding Nemo</a>. Jo had a lot of fun in this room as his two kids are fans of Finding Nemo. However, this phone battery was already drained, so I took care of taking photos for him. However, taking photos inside the aquarium is very difficult. The final station was a petting zoo. We were allowed to pet sharks at their back and sting rays at the center of their back. It was interesting to see that a bright stingray was extraordinary soft whereas the dark stingray felt like leather.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We were very happy with the aquarium. It is versatile and they seem to take good care of the animals. Martina and Jo bought the merchandise and returned back to our residence in Kobe. What a productive day! 😊</p></div>
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Osaka Castle2016-12-27T23:00:00+09:002016-12-27T23:00:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-12-27:blog/osakajo.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses the 23rd of December 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_Castle">Osaka Castle</a> ( 大阪城 ) is a classic sightseeing point in Osaka. The castle is beautiful to look at, but it also features a moat around the castle and within the area of the moat there is plenty of space for sport activities and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanami">hanami viewing</a>. Of course, the <a href="buikukai-aikido.html">Shudokan training hall</a> is also located there.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>After the Aikido performance, we went to Osaka Castle. The moat provides a good element for photography. We headed to the entrance. 600 Yen is not much and we bought two tickets. Inside a large cannon greeted us in front of the castle. It illustrates how armor and weapons were stored inside the Castle for defense against intruders.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The most interesting story in history happened around 1600: Toyotomi Hideyori was in charge of the castle. Tokugawa Ieyasu won the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sekigahara">Battle of Sekigahara</a> and attacked Toyotomi Hideyori 14 years later beginning the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Osaka">Siege of Osaka</a>. Tokugawa had twice the number of infantry, but Toyotomi was successful in defending the castle. In 1615, Tokugawa attacked Toyotomi again and successfully took over the Castle. This way, the famous Tokugawa family came into power. With the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_shogunate">Tokugawa shogunate</a> in charge, a long period of piece followed and Edo (now called Tokyo) was established as a center of governance.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The battles between the shogunates is illustrated in exhibitions on floors 2-4. On floor 5, a platform provides a nice view over Osaka. On floor 3 and 4, Samurai equipment is presented, but no photography and videos are allowed at all (which I think is very sad). Typically you go up to floor 5 with the elevator and descend down to each exhibition floor. Outside the Osaka Castle, the area is enjoyable for leisure time, but besides for photography, I think the moat is not that interesting. We have to wait for Sakura season to see something beautiful.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>A nice experience. Great to do some sightseeing in Osaka.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Osaka Castle" src="images/osakajo.jpg" width="500">
</img></span></p></div>
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Luminarie2016-12-14T15:30:00+09:002016-12-14T15:30:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-12-14:blog/luminarie.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ Luminarie is an annual event we visited on 9th of December 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>On Friday, Martina and I met in the evening to visit Luminarie. This light festival commemorates the Great Hanshin earthquake. It is visually appealing and furthermore festival food (in booths) is provided. This was our event day this week, because on Sunday I was busy writing my bachelor thesis.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Luminarie">Kobe Luminarie</a> is light festival taking place every year since the Great Hanshin earthquake 1995. Written in Katakana, the event is promoted as 神戸 ルミナリエ. It took place between 2nd and 11th of December 2016 in Kobe City. The <a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%A5%9E%E6%88%B8%E3%83%AB%E3%83%9F%E3%83%8A%E3%83%AA%E3%82%A8">Japanese Wikipedia</a> gives some nice photo impressions of the past years. However, I want to show you my own photos:</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Illuminated construction as main attraction at Kobe Luminarie in Kobe City" src="images/luminarie-1.jpg" width="350">
</img></span>
<span class="image">
<img alt="Illuminated <em>150 years Kobe Port</em> sign" src="images/luminarie-2.jpg" width="350">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The route of Luminarie is <a href="http://www.kobe-luminarie.jp/cont-10.htm">one-way</a> and you need to enter to the west of Sannomiya (one station with Hankyu Line). If you enter, you walk slowly with a large crowd of people. As far as you are not supposed to stop, it is very difficult to take pictures. I did my best anyways. The main attraction is shown above. It has the largest number of lights and the crowd congests at this point, because everybody keep taking photos. After the main attraction, you can choose between several small places. At each of these places, you can get festival food such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takoyaki">Takoyaki</a>, cotton candy or fruits covered in a layer of sugar. As a vegetarian, I was stuck with pommes and waffles. Some of the food is displayed at <a href="http://www.luminarie-fountain.jp/">luminarie-fountain.jp</a>. More information is available at <a href="http://www.kobe-luminarie.jp/">the official homepage</a> and its <a href="https://twitter.com/FeelKOBE_Lumi">twitter channel</a>.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Martina in front of the light installation" src="images/luminarie-3.jpg" width="350">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>In the end, it was a nice event. Many people take a visit of the 7th floor at the City Hall afterwards, but a friend of ours was with us and already very tired. I even think such an event would be beneficial for a city in Austria. The light installation itself is even provided by an <a href="http://marianolight.it/">Italian company</a>.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
Himeji Castle2016-12-07T14:27:00+09:002016-12-07T14:27:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-12-07:blog/himeji.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses Sunday, 4th of December 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>On Saturday we have been on an international student event. We introduced our dish to one tutor and he organized all ingredients for the event to come. At the event we assigned one role to every person; a "sensei" (teacher) or "gakusei" (student, participant). Sensei teach how to cook a dish to their gakusei. Nobody told me about the sensei-gakusei concept and I showed up with a large bag with cooking equipment to teach them how to cook an Austrian dish; a "<a href="http://lukas-prokop.at/recipes/kaiserschmarrn.pdf">Kaiserschmarrn</a>". This was fun (though Japanese people hesitate to speak English making it difficult) and I had the opportunity to eat foreign dishes (Korean, German, Romania, USA).</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>On Sunday we went on a trip for event day despite the event the previous day.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Himeji Castle is one of the finest pieces of Japanese Castle landscape. It was the first Japanese site declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wikipedia introduces it as follows:</p></div>
<div class="quoteblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Himeji Castle ( 姫路城 Himeji-jō) is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in Himeji, in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The castle is frequently known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō ("White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="attribution">
— Wikipedia's Himeji Castle article
</div></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>It was built in 1333 and extended several times. Being an ancient castle still standing upright means that it also proved earthquake resistance. Wikipedia remarks,</p></div>
<div class="quoteblock">
<div class="content">
<div class="paragraph"><p>In January 1995, the city of Himeji was substantially damaged by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hanshin_earthquake">Great Hanshin earthquake</a>, but Himeji Castle again survived virtually undamaged, demonstrating remarkable earthquake resistance. Even the bottle of sake placed on the altar at the top floor of the keep remained in place.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="attribution">
— Wikipedia's Himeji Castle article section History
</div></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We went there on a Sunday. We were aware that on this day rain was forecast. We arrived in Himeji after a 970 Yen trip with JR (Japanese Railway) from Sannomiya (Kobe). Himeji Castle is close to its train station (roughly 1.3 km). The street leading from the train station to the Castle is very broad. It was interesting to see the shop on both sides of the street. Furthermore momiji viewing is still a thing and I could take a wonderful photo of some autumn leaves (not sure which tree):</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Yellow tree leaves in Himeji" src="images/momiji.jpg" width="300">
</img></span></p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We saw some Freestyle BMX bikers doing some tricks and watched them as part of a large audience. In between we went to the toilet and checked out the booths nearby. They offered small snacks and Martina bought French fries. We went back watching the bikers. Sadly one biker lost control of his bike and the bike rushed into the audience on its own. A small child got hit, but as far as we can tell no ambulance was required. Besides that incident it was an entertaining event. We continued to go to the Himeji Castle.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We entered the site and bought combined tickets for Himeji Castle and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koko-en_Garden">Koko-en Garden</a> (1040 Yen). Koko-en Garden is located outside the moat surrounding the Castle. We decided to visit it later. First we visited the Long Connecting Corridor (Hyakken Rouka) and were introduced to the history of Himeji Castle. We saw an ancient rice "cooker" and previous states of the site. It is also interesting that several point provide Augmented Reality features. First you need to download <a href="http://www.himejicastle.jp/sp/en/ar.html">an app</a>. Then you start the app and select the self-guided tour menu item. In front of designated AR points, the camera will recognize the stand and switch to a different view. Typically it shows a video, but inside the Pagoda, it also shows the contours of the pillars supporting the pagoda. It helps you to visualize the supporting pillars, but you can screw up the visualization easily by moving too fast. This AR experience was a nice feature of the site.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Continuing through all the different gates featuring tiles with feudal family crests on top (visible in <a href="http://inouetakahilog.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-203.html">a blogpost by inouetakahilog</a>), we eventually reached the Main Keep (pagoda). It has six floors and a basement. Going up the stairs is difficult, because the steps are very steep, you are accompanied by a large crowd of people and you need to take care of your head. I found the weapon racks interesting. They are used for guns and swords. Furthermore some rooms were specifically designed for ambush in case somebody tries to take over the castle (which never happened). We finished our visit of the Main Keep and went outside again. Now it has begun to rain. We lost motivation to spend much more time there. We watched workers renewing parts of the Castle and checked out the Sangoku-bori Moat. We didn’t visit the gates and towers in the East of the site. We left the site and also skipped Koko-en Garden. Martina wanted to continue her studies and the view was foggy anyways.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We spent 4 hours in Himeji in total and 2 hours inside the Castle site. I think the design of the Castle is really remarkable, but because of the rain it feels like we missed some part. We were wondering whether we will return again.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p><span class="image">
<img alt="Lukas in foreground with an umbrella and Himeji Castle in the background" src="images/himeji.jpg" width="450">
</img></span></p></div>
</div>
</div>
Osaka Chikko2016-11-30T16:00:00+09:002016-11-30T16:00:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-11-30:blog/osaka-chikko.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses Saturday, 26th of November 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>For our trip to <a href="rokko-meets-art.html">Rokko meets Art</a> last week, we bought tickets by Hankyu Line. Four of those tickets were for any travel by train (2 people, 2 directions) and we didn’t use them. They expire after this weekend. So it is time to save some money and go to Osaka this weekend. Additionally, because next week mid-term examinations take place, we preferred to have event day on Saturday (instead of Sunday) after our club sessions. This way Sunday is left for our studies.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Martina started with her club activities in the morning. At 09:00 she went to Sumiyoshi (south-east of our university, 30min by foot). Because she hurt her back in a previous training session, she didn’t train with her colleagues. But she wanted to watch the training anyways. She was finished at lunch time, went for lunch and did some shopping in Sannomiya. Whereas on Saturday I have Aikido training at 13:00 regularly. It was the first time I participated in the Saturday training. So I went there by 12:30 and a colleague of mine informed me right before arrival that training today starts at 14:00. So I waited one more hour at university. We practiced some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiki-j%C5%8D">Aiki-jō</a> outside, before continuing on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatami">tatami</a>. The weather was very beautiful on this day.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>On 17th of November 2016, I injured my knees at Aikido because we trained a lot in Suwariwaza (kneeing position). The top layer of my skin was ripped off and on the first 3 days afterwards this burned like hell. So I did not participate in Aikido practice last Saturday and last Wednesday because of this. I was back in the dojou this Saturday and hoped my band-aid will soften the burn. Yes, it did, but we started right off in suwariwaza again and the guys trained recognizably serious. They were very fast, very focused and many sensei were watching our backs. As it turns out they are practicing the last time before the next examination the day after. After 3 hours I felt exhausted and texted Martina where/whether she wants to go.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Martina was still motivated and we met in Sannomiya. We used our Hankyu tickets and took a train to Osaka. We arrived at about 18:20 in Osaka and initially I suggested 3 options:</p></div>
<div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
<li>
<p>
<a href="http://www.kaiyukan.com/">Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan</a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_Castle">Osaka Castle</a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumiyoshi_taisha">Sumiyoshi-taisha Shrine</a> & <a href="https://battera.co/sightseeing/namba-yasaka-shrine-to-see-the-giant-lion/">Nanba Yasaka Shrine</a> (you might recognize: the latter is represented as image at <a href="http://japan.lukas-prokop.at/">japan.lukas-prokop.at</a>).
</p>
</li>
</ol></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>At this hour the castle and the shrines will be uninteresting. The sun set at about 17:30. In the dark those points of interests are not very attractive. We go for the only remaining option: Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. Okay, but it will also close its doors sometime, right? We looked it up and recognized the last visitors will get a ticket at 19:00. So it was really necessary to hurry up. Using the subway, it took us about 35 minutes to go from Osaka Umeda to Osaka Chikko where the Aquarium is located. But it is followed by a ~10 minute walk to the Aquarium itself. We ended up to reach the ticket booths of the Aquarium at 19:10 and we didn’t get tickets any more.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Osaka Chikko is one of Osaka’s islands in the Bay. It had many small restaurants and a shopping center was close to the Aquarium. We decided to look for one shop with vegetarian food and get some dinner. The restaurant - we picked - looked traditional Japanese, but it was the first time we got an English menu. I got some Yasai itame (fried vegetable) as part of a set menu. Martina took some set menu too. The dish was not astonishing, but good. We went back to the Aquarium, because next to the Aquarium was a huge Ferris Wheel. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempozan_Ferris_Wheel">Tempozan Ferris Wheel</a> holds up to 480 passengers and provides a ride for a quarter of an hour. It started to rain (therefore no good photos), but we enjoyed it. Remember the <a href="osaka-kita-ward">article, where I mentioned a Ferris Wheel</a>? I think this one was fancier and Martina wanted to go to the other Ferris Wheel this day before we knew about Tempozan Ferris Wheel.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So in the end, it was a disappointing day where we could not make it in time to the Aquarium. But the dinner and Ferris Wheel were romantic. When I got home, I got sick. Due to the long Aikido training, I dehydrated and my body was dried out. After a night and day with drinking lots of water, I was fine again. Lucky me, I was fine for the mid-term examinations the upcoming week!</p></div>
</div>
</div>
Rokko meets Art 20162016-11-21T11:50:00+09:002016-11-21T11:50:00+09:00Lukastag:japan.lukas-prokop.at,2016-11-21:blog/rokko-meets-art.html<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>※ This article discusses Sunday, 20th of November 2016.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>So we shifted <a href="this-mid-nov-week.html">event day from Saturday to Sunday</a>. This week on Sunday we visited <a href="https://www.rokkosan.com/art2016/la/">Rokko meets Art 2016</a>. For one reason, we got free tickets from our Faculty and for the other reason November is <a href="https://www.insidejapantours.com/blog/2015/09/08/our-top-10-places-to-see-autumn-leaves-in-japan/">momiji season</a> (autumn colors watching season). So visiting Nara, Kyoto or Mount Rokko is generally recommended. The exhibition takes place between 14th of September and 23rd of November. So we picked the last weekend of this exhibition.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>As described on the homepage, "Rokko Meets Art 2016" is an exhibition of modern art held on the summit of Mount Rokko located in the port city of Kobe. It is held annualy. The first event seems to go back to <a href="https://www.rokkosan.com/art2010/">2010</a>. We started at 10:00. We first went to Rokko Station and asked about the Rokkosan Tourist Pass. It costs 1000 Yen for foreigners with a short-stay visa and 1770 Yen for others (adults). However, the homepage only listed sale places in Osaka. We went to the train station staff and asked for the ticket. They told us we cannot buy it here, but they can offer another ticket. 1950 Yen with the same public transport included. As far as we don’t have a short-stay visa, the proposed price was 180 Yen higher. We decided to take the ticket.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>First we took the Kobe City Bus to go Rokko Cable Shita station (the lower Cable Car station). Actually this bus is used frequently by Kobe university students because it passes their campus. However, we never took the bus and always went by foot. I have to admit we are lucky to be mostly assigned to campusses which are not too far up the hill. Afterwards we took the Cable Car. It is very comparable to a Cable Car, for example, at the Uhrturm in Graz (Austria). At the top I recognized the first art exhibition station. It consisted of two stands with a square ground connected at the top and flags were sticking on the object’s surface. Rokko Sanjo Bus was responsible to bring us to all sites of the exhibition.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="_site_1_rokko_international_musical_box_museum">Site 1: Rokko International Musical Box Museum</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_box">Musical boxes</a> are small instruments with a metal comb which produce sounds automatically. The Museum opened in 1992 and collected lots of musical boxes in this time. Besides historical remarks, it sells many pocket-sized musical boxes as gifts and offers a musical box performance every 30 minutes. One performance takes a quarter of an hour is accompanied visually by sand drawing as done by <a href="https://vimeo.com/13230122">Kseniya Simonova</a>. To the best of our knowledge, they told a story which is roughly based on Lewis Carroll’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland">Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland</a>.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We also got a map for the sites we can visit together with a stamp rally pass. So we started to have fun collecting stamps.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="_site_2_rokko_alpine_botanical_garden">Site 2: Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>Because the Botanical Garden is so close to the Museum, we didn’t use the bus. The Botanical Garden features 1500 varieties of polar and northern plants. In autumn, they don’t flourish and are difficult to spot. But we switched to discussing the art objects and collecting stamps. This Garden might be more interesting in spring.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We skipped "Rokkosan Country House" as a site due to time constraints.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="_site_3_rokko_garden_terrace">Site 3: Rokko Garden Terrace</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>This site is used to enjoy the beautiful view at (almost) the summit of Mount Rokko and eat something. At late lunch time, we sat down and got some ramen and potatoes with butter in plastic dish. This cheap meal warmed us up and compared to the other food, it was very cheap. We finished the meal with French Fries and ice cream (with Green Tea topping).</p></div>
</div>
<div class="sect2">
<h3 id="_site_4_rokko_shidare_obversatory">Site 4: Rokko Shidare Obversatory</h3>
<div class="paragraph"><p>The Shidare Obversatory is an obversatory famous for its shape. We checked it out and looked down the hill as far as possible. Due to the fog, you could not see far. After this station at ~17:00, it started to get dark.</p></div>
<div class="paragraph"><p>We took the Kobe City bus to go to university. We wanted to attend the theather performance "Potato salad" at university, but we were half an hour too late. We decided to head back home instead. From Rokko Station we took the train as usual back home. Conclusion: Nice autumn, arts exhibition was rather boring especially due to the bad weather and the view over Kobe and Osaka was interesting even though it was foggy.</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>
</div>
</div>