Kamakura's Birthday

This was Kamakura's birthday, which is a stone Buddha. I am unsure about the age but the celebrations had everyone and their dog on the beach. Seriously I have never been on a beach with so many people before.

Sorry for the incoherantness of the following videos and I also don't know why the last video has no sound. Umm... the first one is the best. Thanks Cindy for the wonderful random day!

A day on the beach with a guitar

I am bringing you a couple of the video posts that I have yet to share with people on facebook. I have been lacking on the blog post front so there will be a couple more posts like this one. I just needed to make sure that I document them before I forgot I had even taken these videos. 

This day had no rhyme or reason to it, my friend asked me what I wanted to do. I said 'let's go to the beach' we brought a guitar and got a tan. So here are the two videos that we made, I hope you enjoy them. 

It was a nice day to get out of town and learn about new music, play some old and poke at some little crabs. This was on the outskirts of Odaiba in Japan just outside of Tokyo.

Osaka- Universal Studios Japan

The picture here to the right is what I always thought of Osaka, the little brother of the rest of Japan.

He is a little more out there, a little more unique in speak and mannerisms. Visiting Osaka was something I had always wanted to do and most of all I was luckily to do it with a Japanese friend and my BFF.

So we were ready to take on Osaka without any hesitation. We took the night but in from Tokyo which took about 5 hours and we arrived at 6am. Trekked over to our cheap little hostel which I wouldn't recommend but sufficed for the time that were in Kansai since it was only $20 a night.

From there we mapped out some places that we wanted to visit and made sure we got photo opts of the things that make Osaka, well Osaka. I am going to skip those since the majority of them were shared on facebook and this post is going to be dedicated to USJ. I have never been to Universal Studios in the States so this was going to be a really interesting event.

Before I go ahead and start writing about all the things that USJ has to offer, Osaka has quite a few little sights as well that you can explore. We didn't make enough time to see everything so we made sure to hit up the Osaka Castle and the park that surrounds it.

We were able to learn quite a bit about the history and most of all I was really impressed by the usefulness of the floors that creek.As you can see the weather was fabulous while were there and the food was great as well.We made sure to make Okonomiyaki while were in Osaka!

Universal Studios cost 7000yen for a one day pass. The line ups aren't short but they move quickly. In the line ups they have TVs showing your most memorable moments with in the movies.

We were able to hit up Jurassic Park, Terminator, Back to the Future, Spiderman, a rollercoaster. There were many children rides but by the time we were done all the rides we were pretty much ready to head on out.

I know that I would love to head to the one in the California now. I am sure that the rides there would be fantastic. Sadly the Jaw's ride was closed this day, we also were a month too early for the Harry Potter exhibit. Actually, I was quite relived to find this out because I can't imagine how many people would have been there if we were there during the first month of that ride opening.

I recommend going!

A Day in Kobe

Kobe a port city with a huge European influence and a China town. I was really happy to see a China town, honestly I miss Chinese food. I love Japanese but there are days when I can really go for some Dim Sum, rice noodles, congee and some duck. I made sure to drag Karrie to a place that served Dim Sum, but it turned out to be ramen in a taishoku type of Japanese fusion with a couple pieces from the Dim Sum menu. Nothing like the authentic stuff but that is what you get when you try to get another countries food in a different country.

The last random stop after the street market, where I befriended a vendor with a guitar. A long rest in the park listening to a man practicing saxophone and walking along the pier.


On our way back to the station to head back to Osaka we passed an Owl cafe. Karrie had moral dispute about the treatment of these animals of prey. I agree that they should be able to fly free and be wild. It was still an experience for me where we paid 1000yen to spend an hour with these birds. I know there will never be a point in my life where I will ever be this close to an owl, or a hawk.

All in all a great day in Kobe.

Being a Maiko in Kyoto

When Karrie and I headed towards Kyoto my head was filled with ideas about seeing a Maiko or Geisha. Last time I was in Kyoto the previous February 2014 I wasn't able to catch one in Gion. Due to my work schedule I couldn't go to the area where the traditional tea houses were during 'tea time' to catch them en-route to their destination of the evening. 

The narrow streets ascending and descending around temples a plenty. 

During the summer there were tonnes of people everywhere but I cannot blame them the weather was lovely in the beginning of June. 

After a bit of a discussion Karrie was happily on-board with my idea of dressing up like a Maiko. We would be able to wear a Kimono and have the traditional make up.

The prices were a bit higher than I would have imagined. Though with the amount of work that they put into getting you to look like the real deal it was worth it.

I had so much fun! After sitting quite a while (over an hour for hair and make up) it was time to stand in a line to get dressed. The ladies that were dressing the make shift Maiko's were quick and efficient since there are so many layers. There would be no way that I could remember.
Inside Kyoto (General Information)
Kyoto Maiko (Inquire for more information)
Kyoto Project (Approximate prices and packages)

Don't forget to eat some yummy food from Kyoto! 

Boys can dress up as Samurais and it is much cheaper. 

Matcha everything! 

Remember to get the package with the professional photos :P
Enjoy Kyoto!