I have lots of blogging to catch up on. A trip to the states, lots of birthday celebrating, etc, etc. But this weekend, instead of doing that, I was busy getting my karaoke on and relaxing after a really stressful week at work. So, for now, I’m going to give you this little gem from my first birthday dinner with my friends here in Japan. I have to thank Chelsea for encouraging me to go ahead and let them do the whole singing thing. So. Worth. It.
So, I’m a pretty religious person. I know it’s not a topic I broach frequently via the blog, not because I don’t like talking about it (it’s something I talk about regularly in my everyday life), but because it’s a very important and personal part of my life. However, this week I just need to do a little documenting of this part of my life.
I don’t know if there’s anything better than the quiet of the early morning, seeing a city come to life in the glow of the sun as it starts coming over the mountains. I was so happy I headed out early on my second day in Kyoto so I could do just that.
I had a very “American” breakfast (ketchup?) at a lovely outdoor cafe where I was able to watch the city as it woke up. And the toast was delicious. I hadn’t realized how much I had been missing bread until it was put in front of me all toasty warm and covered in butter.
After breakfast, I wandered through the rest of the streets on the east side of the city–the ones I hadn’t been able to get to the night before–on my way to Kiyomizu-dera. There were also a number of other neat things I got to see along the way.
 |
| The driver thought he could make this corner. He was wrong. |
 |
| Not sure what this is, but it was pretty, so I took a photo. |
 |
| Also not sure what temple this is. But it was also pretty. |
 |
| Singing (chanting?) monks were walking down this little street about 50 feet apart. There were about five of them. I couldn’t have planned it better. |
 |
| Loved these stairs up the hill…and all the shops along the side. |
 |
| Just a little garden I popped into. |
 |
| The entrance to Kiyozumi-dera. |
 |
| The view from the temple. |
 |
| It was a busy day here. Can’t imagine how crazy it will be in another month. |
 |
| From across the valley. |
 |
| I stopped to take a little break at this lovely park. |
After the rest of my adventures on the east side, I headed back to the hotel to grab my bag and go to the train station to store it in a locker before heading to the west side. Very convenient, those lockers at the train stations. And, unlike airports, train stations are typically very central, so it didn’t take too much extra time.
At this point, I had spent more time wandering (and shopping) than I’d intended, so I knew I wasn’t going to get to everything I’d had planned. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to Kinkaku-ji (the Temple of the Golden Pavilion). I’d seen post card pictures of it around town and it just looked like a little much. But it is one that all the tour books and anyone I spoke to said I needed to see, so I went. Totally worth it. The post cards do not do it justice.
After that, I wandered down to the Zen temple Ryoan-ji, which is famous for its gardens. Along the way, I finally figured out what smelled so good as I had been wandering through the city: these little blossoms. There’s nothing like a happy scent to add to a perfect atmosphere.
The gardens were every bit as amazing as the books promised. Seriously stunning.
 |
| Japanese Maples are probably my most favorite tree. We had them in our backyard growing up, so they remind me of that. And they are just gorgeous. I’d never seen such big ones, though, as the ones in Kyoto. |
And with that, I was out of time. Not knowing how long I’d have to wait for the bus and judging by how long it had taken to get to this part of town from the station, I decided better safe than sorry. I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss my train.
There was so much I didn’t see that I still want to see. And the city just has this amazing vibe. I loved it (in case it wasn’t obvious). So, I will definitely be back. Plus, it was pretty cool to ride the bullet train down there.
Sometime after I got back from Okinawa, I decided I needed to go to Kyoto. And since this past weekend was our conference weekend for my church (meaning I didn’t need to lead the music), I decided it would be a perfect weekend to go. I booked a ryokan (a TripAdvisor recommendation) and bought my ticket (or what I thought was my ticket) for the Shinkansen. I decided I’d head down early-ish (not too early, though) Saturday morning and back Sunday night. It was a perfect plan. Except that I got to the train station later than I’d planned and, as it turned out, had only paid for my reserve seat, not the actual ticket. Thankfully, there are trains every 10 minutes, so I was able to get on one about an hour later (I needed a window seat, thus the wait).
And the window seat proved worth the wait…
 |
| Instagram shot of Fuji-san…I’m pretty much in love with this photo |
 |
| nice camera on crappy settings…maybe if I edit it? |
So, I arrived in Kyoto and took a taxi to the very lovely Gion Maifukan to drop off my stuff before heading out to find some food and start touristing. The super nice desk staff gave me maps and directions and I was off.
I had a lovely lunch (I love udon noodles soooo much!) followed by a lovely treat and a Japanese treat shop (recommended by one of the managers I support at work and conveniently close to where I was staying) of this crazy cold noodles that you dip in this black, treacly goodness called kuzukiri. Amazing!
 |
| Udon served cold with dipping sauce and amazing tempura |
 |
| kuzukiri |
After eating, I hopped on the bus up to the Silver Temple: Ginkaku-ji. It’s in the northwest corner of the city and there’s a path you can follow that leads back to where I was staying with several templs along the way, so I decided to start there. But, before I got to the temple, I had to snap a shot of these pedi-cabs powered by humans running while wearing ninja shoes. Kind of awesome. Talk about a great way to keep in shape!
Well, the Ginkaku-ji (or Temple of the Silver Pavilion as it’s called in English) was incredible. I knew at once that I had made the right choice by coming to Kyoto and doing it before things got too crowded. The fall (which happens mid-November) is amazing and it draws huge crowds. So, while I would love to see Kyoto in its full autumn splendor, I was happy to not be contending with crowds any bigger than what was there last weekend.
 |
| Proof of the craziness that Japanese women inflict upon themselves |
 |
| The street that leads up to the temple…can you imagine what it would be like more crowded than this? |
I then started walking down the Philosopher’s Walk, but found myself quickly at another temple, Honen-in. This one much smaller, but beautiful in a very quiet way.
And then it was back down the path. I understand why philosophers would have walked along this particular way. It’s so quiet and peaceful and the perfect combination of water, trees, views, and light. I could have walked along the path all day and then some.
 |
| This moth/bee thing was crazy, so of course I needed a photo. |
 |
| Just a fish swimming upstream… |
My last temple stop of the day was Eikan-do.
 |
| And with this, the temples began to shut their gates. |
So, still being quite a trek from my little Japanese inn, I found the bus and rode it back to my part of town. At this point, my room was ready and I took a much needed break on my very comfortable futon.
And then I headed out to find dinner, but first I had to capture proof that I can be a cute tourist.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get any shots of my lovely dinner. I found this great little teppanyaki place (Japanese style, not American) and had a lovely noodle dishes and a very dry ginger ale. A perfect end to a close to pretty amazing day. Up next…day two!
So, the main reason I went to Okinawa was to dive. But, as I got there a little earlier than I needed to and you can’t fly within 24 hours of your last dive, I did squeeze in some other activities. And I even managed to put some makeup on…once.
But before I can even get to Okinawa, let’s discuss my little oversight when booking my flight. I went for cheap, and thus ended up on a 6:00 am flight from Narita. Now, in NY, a 6:00 am flight is not a big deal. You can take the subway, or the bus, or hop in a cab for a max of $60. In Tokyo, there is no bus or cab early enough to get you to Narita at 6:00am, let alone by 6:00am. And a cab ride? Around $200. So, upon realizing this two days before my departure, I had to book a hotel by the airport.
 |
| Freak rainstorm hit while I enjoyed a little pit stop to visit my friend Chelsea. Note to all: always carry an umbrella in Tokyo if you’re not going to check the weather. |
Professing a cheap price and airport shuttle, I booked a two star hotel. Well, two star was probably a little generous. This picture illustrates pretty sell what the rest of the experience was like. On top of which, oh, no airport shuttle before 6:30 am. What the what? But at least it was only a $25 cab ride… But hey, it was a bed for a few hours of sleep and a quick trip to the airport. And the combined cost of the hotel and the cab…less than half what the cab ride would have been. How ridiculous is that?
So, after my flight, I had a few hours to kill in Naha (the “big” city where the airport is) before I needed to hop on the bus to head north, so I decided to go see this castle at the end of the monorail line. It had some amazing views and was a good little excursion. In addition to that, I got to see a little dance performance and just enjoy seeing a new city. It’s so different from Tokyo. Much more Hawaii feeling…but older and a little more Asian (but only a little).
 |
And then it was time to take the bus and head to the American Village to meet Jan, the dive dude. He was much younger than I expected, but super nice (as stated before–not sure why I didn’t take a photo with him) and I was just so happy to be getting back in the ocean with a tank strapped to my back.
We went for two dives over these beautiful soft coral reefs. Visibility was not great, but given that there was a typhoon just four days earlier, that was to be expected. It was still incredible. I’ve never seen that much soft coral before. And so many beautiful fish. I was also reminded how much I don’t love beach entry diving…but also how quick it is. One of my favorite things was that Jan had this new type of BC, at least new to me. They are super stripped down and have a heavy plate on the back so it’s a lot easier to hover and achieve neutral buoyancy. Also, the don’t make you feel quite so think and stay-puffy. Yes, that’s a technical term.
 |
| Jan loaded up lots of tanks for all of our dives over the next two days. That’s a lot of air. |
After those first two dives, Jan drove me up to the pension (like a cheap B&B) where he’d made me a reservation for two nights. The cutest little house in the world with the nicest woman…who spoke no English. It was fantastic. He also showed me where a couple of restaurants were for dinner just a short walk from the pension.
After Jan dropped me off and I got settled, I headed to the restaurant he called “authentic Okinawan cuisine” which also had live music happening. It was so great. The food was delicious (I was introduced to taco rice) and the music was so fun and the people were so friendly. I was the only white girl in the whole place.
 |
| Great light fixtures |
 |
| Rocks and grass (fake of course) on the ceiling. So funky. |
 |
| Okinawa is all about the pig… |
 |
| Including pig ears. Can you see them? Hint, they’re super thin slices. |
 |
| Super fun singers! See video below. The song is one you hear all over Okinawa. |
The next day was all about diving. It started with a very Japanese breakfast (of which I tried a little of everything…pickled plums are something I will never have again, and marinated seaweed I can live without, as well. The pineapple, however, was amazing!
Jan picked me up and we headed to the dock to meet a number of other divers. We were going out for three boat dives. I was so excited. And it was incredible (the photos of the actual dive were already posted in my dive post).
Between dives we got off the boat and had some lunch. I couldn’t resist a wander over to the beach and this Shisa was just calling out to me to take his photo. So cute! (Click the link for the story…it’s pretty cool and they are all over Okinawa and Kyoto (as I found out this weekend).
 |
| Shisa |
I wish I’d had my own underwater camera to take on the boat because the views were amazing, but it was way to wet for anything that wasn’t water proof. The dives were all great and it was fun to have lots of company on the boat (not that I could understand most of them, except for Jan and the couple that was diving with us). There was a group of underwater photographers and it was cool to see them get all set up under the water for photo shoots of various things. In addition to that, I got to do my first hole and tunnel diving. I don’t think cave diving is in my future…but holes and tunnels are pretty amazing.
I got back to the pension completed exhausted, lightly sun-kissed, and super salty–basically in the best state one can be in. I fell into bed knowing, but only after telling the pension lady (I don’t know what you call her) that I would need to have breakfast at 7am. We had an early start to go diving with the whale sharks.
And that experience is one I will remember for the rest of my life. Swimming with such a huge animal and being able to reach out and pet it. Seriously incredible.
After that, the diving was done so there would be time for the nitrogen build up in my blood to release prior to getting on a plane. It’s one of my favorite things about destination diving. You have to take the last day and relax. And relax I did.
When that was done, I needed to figure out what to do for dinner (the hotel restaurant left a little to be desired) and I was ready to put on real clothes and some makeup. So, I got dressed and headed down the road on a lovely walk during which I got to watch the sunset and stop as often as I wanted.
By the time I finally got to a any kind of civilization, I’d walked about two miles, but it was totally worth it, especially because it was this place we’d driven by four times in the past two days and it was this great touristy place with an awesome shop and several restaurants. Think Dole Plantation in Hawaii..but instead of pineapple, they had all of these purple potato treats (an Okinawan thing). I enjoyed yakiniku (Japanese version of Korean bbq) for dinner and then shopped my little heart out. It was a perfect last night in Okinawa.
 |
| Me and a giant tart |
Monday morning I took a nice long walk on the beach and saw some fun creatures and collected some shells.
The I packed up and headed to the bus stop to get back down to the airport, stick my bags in a locker, and go do a little more damage in Naha. I was hoping to get a few more things for the nieces and nephews and I still needed to get my bowl. Naha actually has an entire pottery district, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find it in time, so I headed to the main tourist drag and figured I’d find something there. I ended up missing my stop, which put me right in the neighborhood for the pottery district and I found these amazing ramen bowls. (Shown back at my apartment with delicious, homemade tonkatsu.)
I also got to see some awesome t-shirts (among lots of other shopping).
 |
| Rad Wimps. Japanese translation for Hipster. |
And I ended up getting so much stuff I had to buy a new, awesome bag to get it all home in.
 |
| One of my nieces is going to be super excited about this… |
I would love to say that the rest of the trip was uneventful, but that would be a lie. Nothing major. Just a piece of luggage stuck on the baggage carousel with no one able to figure out how to get it unstuck and the rest of stuck waiting for baggage for about 30 minutes. But, considering what an amazing vacation it was, small price to pay.
The end. Up next…Kyoto.
existential dilemmas 