Hokkaido Dec 2011

For the winter holidays, we visited Hokkaido. I have always wanted to ski in Hokkaido, and this year, I had the chance to do so.

We arrived at Furano (富良野), a small ski resort town in the middle of Hokkaido. Furano is not just famous as a ski resort, but it is also the setting of this famous Japanese television drama known as Kita no Kuni Kara (北の国から) which was shown on TV in the early 1980s, plus additional miniseries in the 1990s and the last in 2002. The drama and miniseries together follow the main characters through their lives as they grow up. Now, there is a small museum providing information about the series, as well as showcasing the items used in the filming.

Skiing was fun. It has been some time since I last skied, so I was a bit rusty, but I managed to ski without falling too much (only twice). It was also the first time that the little one got to see snow, and we also tried to ski with him, with him standing on the skis of my wife as she skied. Most of all, he enjoyed the sled.

After Furano, we visited Otaru (小樽), a port famous for glassware and music boxes. Otaru is also famous for its canal, which used to be lined with warehouses serving the harbour, but since then, the warehouses have been converted to restaurants.

Our last stop in Hokkaido was Sapporo (札幌), the main city in Hokkaido. We didn't do much here, since it was just a pit-stop before we catch our flight out of Hokkaido. We did visit the clock tower and television broadcasting tower, two famous landmarks in Sapporo.

Throughout our stay in Hokkaido, it was snowing, and snowing quite heavily at times. On the day that we traveled from Furano to Otaru, it was snowing so heavily that some trains were stopped, but luckily we were not delayed much. We were very lucky that on the day we left, the snow let up a bit and our flight was able to take off as scheduled. But at least we managed to have a white Christmas!

Kim Jong Il is dead!

Wow! It was reported earlier today that Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea, has died from a heart attack. See one of the reports here. I wonder how the situation in the Korean Peninsula is going to change because of this. Guess South Korean troops are going to be spending Christmas with their colleagues (instead of loved ones) as they step up in readiness level to prepare for anything that may happen up north.

Reading it again

The Chinese have a saying, to read again something and learn something new from it (温故知新). I think it is very true. I have been re-reading some books that I have read in the past, and come away with new knowledge and thoughts. While it may seem quite some work to gain so little from re-reading those books, what I learnt is that there is always value in re-reading something. When we first read a book, we only learn as much from it as our existing knowledge allows. When we re-read that same book again, with a bigger knowledge base, we can learn more from it. If you re-visit that book 10 years from now, you will benefit so much more from it, since in the 10 years, you would have increased your knowledge base significantly (compared to if you re-read it after a year).

Pearl Harbor 70th anniversary

Wow! Time flies. It has been 70 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor took place, drawing the United States fully into World War Two.

70 years since the attack, the US and Japan are now strong allies, guarding against a rising China. The British Empire is a thing of the past, and the Soviet Union has been dissolved.

Hashimoto wins election for Osaka City mayor

Hashimoto Toru, the previous governor of Osaka Prefecture, has won the elections for the mayor of Osaka City. It is one step towards his vision of changing Osaka into a metropolis like Tokyo. I feel that Hashimoto is an example of a politician that is rarely seen in Japan. Someone with a clear vision, and the ability to work towards that vision. Let's see how things turn out from here. What Japan lacks now is politicians who can set a vision for the country and execute a plan to achieve that vision. Hopefully, with Hashimoto elected to Osaka City, we will see more politicians like him step up and bring Japan forward.

Ueno Zoo

We went to Ueno Zoo, which I would say is the biggest zoo in the heart of Tokyo, for a day of "meet the animals". The main attraction, of course, is a pair of pandas, and you won't believe the long queue there was just to see the pandas! But we managed to catch a glimpse of the pair.

The kid had a lot of fun looking at the bears, big cats, and birds of prey.

He enjoyed the "touch the animal" section even more!

November 22 (11月22日 いい夫婦の日)

November 22 (11月22日) is also known as いい夫婦の日(ii fufu no hi, "Loving Married Couples Day") in Japan. It stems from the numbers making up the date (1122) which can be read in Japanese as ii fufu, meaning "good" and "married couple".

Note: '1' can be read as ichi, '2' as futa.

Xi Qiang Yu Wu 阋墙御侮

This is a meaningful Chinese phrase, 阋墙御侮, which came from "兄弟阋于墙，外御其务（侮）", which basically means "Brothers quarrelling at home join forces against attacks from without".

Ultimately, brothers help each other against outsiders, even if they have their own differences. Maybe this is not just applicable to personal life, but also politics as well?

From my notebook - 秋月夜、独寂寞

秋月夜、独寂寞
悔恨昔日不珍惜
今日故人两地分
空空空

秋风吹、独自痛
昔日不言今何用
欲言却是时已晚
痛痛痛

From my notebook - 东南西北四处走

东南西北四处走
日夜奔波到头空
左问右寻无音讯
夜里游梦见不到

From my notebook - 幸能有缘千里逢

幸能有缘千里逢
自恨良机不珍惜
四处寻音觅不得
唯有回忆脑海浮

From my notebook - 日夜寻觅终不见

日夜寻觅终不见
闭目回忆脑海现
想起昔日暖身贴
今时只有杜康陪

Meditation at Houkokuji

Two weeks ago, I attended a zen meditation (座禅, pronounced as zazen) session at Houkokuji (報国寺) in Kamakura (鎌倉), the seat of the Kamakura Shogunate. It was a trial session for people to experience what zen meditation is like. It was tough work... my legs went from numb to pain after seating cross-legged for 30 minutes, and when the priest told us that 30 minutes is only the first session and we will be doing another 30 minutes for the second session, my heart sank. But I managed to survive the trial session, though it is unlikely that I will ever do this again.

The view at the temple was beautiful, though. There is a small bamboo grove behind the temple, with tall bamboo trees.

And here's one of the temple's inhabitants.

Kyushu and Hiroshima trip Oct 2011

This post consolidates the separate postings on the trip made to Kyushu and Hiroshima in October 2011.

Nagasaki
Saga
Fukuoka
Hiroshima

Trip to Hiroshima Oct 2011

After Fukuoka, our final stop in this trip was Hiroshima.

At Kure, we visited the Tetsu-no-kujira (, literally 'metallic whale') Museum, which is a JMSDF museum that showcases not just submarines but also minehunting. The submarine outside the museum is an actual submarine that was put there after it was decommissioned.

Right beside it was the Yamato Museum, dedicated to the battleship Yamato, which was built in Kure. The ship itself was the biggest battleship in the world, but unfortunately came in too late, at a time in which battleships were becoming obsolete and being replaced by aircraft carriers.

In Hiroshima City proper, we visited sites related to the atomic bombing. Ground zero is now marked by a plaque.

The A-bomb Dome during the day.

The Peace Bell, with calligraphy written by Yoshida Shigeru, one of Japan's postwar prime ministers most remembered for being the one that set Japan's postwar policy of "lightly armed nation focused on economic development".

Trip to Fukuoka Oct 2011

After Saga, the next stop was Fukuoka.

Hakata Bay was the landing site of the Mongolian invasions into Japan during the 13th century. The walls built along the bay to guard against the Mongols are still visible today, although part of Hakata Bay has been reclaimed since and these walls are thus no longer by the sea. Still, a portion of the wall in Hakata has been left as a historic site for all to see and remember.

We also visited a small museum that housed artifacts from the Mongolian invasion, such as this set of armour worn by the Mongols in the picture below.

Fukuoka is also the location of Dazaifu (大宰府), which was the administrative centre of Kyushu in ancient times. Besides being the local centre of government for Kyushu, given its location close to mainland Asia, it was also an important location for the defence of Japan as well as foreign relations with China and Korea. The remains of the administrative buildings can still be seen today, preserved as a park.

We also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Kyushu National Museum, which happened to have an exhibition on the Khitans, as well as the usual exhibits showcasing the history of Japan.

Trip to Saga Oct 2011

After Nagasaki, the next stop along the trip was to Saga.

The main event here was a visit to the Yoshinogari site, which is an archaeological site with finds dating back to the Yayoi period of ancient Japan. Now, replicas of a Yayoi village has been built on the site to demonstrate how life was like back then.

The site also houses many ancient tombs. These have been excavated and preserved for viewing.

We also stopped by the site of a naval training facility built during the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate by the Saga feudal lord, to train up a modern navy as a guard against European incursions. The facility itself is long gone, but a small park has been built on its location as a memorial and museum. It can be said to be one of the birthplace of modern Japan's navy.

Trip to Nagasaki Oct 2011

I had a chance to travel to Kyushu and Hiroshima in end October 2011. The first stop was in Nagasaki.

We visited the Siebold Museum, dedicated to Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold. He was a German doctor who was stationed in Nagasaki by the Dutch East India Company, and is famous for his book "Nippon" which introduced Japan to Europe.

We next made a stop at Glover Park, which used to be the site of houses used by Europeans when they settled in Nagasaki after the opening of the port to foreign trade.

It is the birthplace of Western-style cuisine in Japan.

And there is a statue of Madame Butterfly and the author of the opera, Giacomo Puccini.

Nagasaki is also the site of the one and only Castella Shrine. Castella is a type of Japanese sponge cake, first brought into Japan by the Portuguese at Nagasaki.

Our final stop at Nagasaki was the site of the old Dejima, a man-made island that used to house the European traders at Nagasaki when the Tokugawa Shogunate restricted foreign trade. The area around Dejima has since been reclaimed so it is no longer an island, but the area is preserved as a museum showcasing the buildings and life of the European traders back then.

This was the main gate to Dejima. The island was joined by a bridge to Nagasaki, and access to Dejima was highly restricted.

7 billion today

Population of human beings expected to hit 7 billion today... wow!

Nikko trip Oct 2011 - Consolidated

This post consolidates the separate postings for the trip to Nikko (日光) in October 2011.

Part 1 (Yumoto)
Part 2 (Ryuzu-no-taki and Kegon-no-taki)
Part 3 (Toshogu and Tomioka Silk Factory)

Nikko trip Oct 2011 - Part 3

No trip to Nikko can be said to be complete without a trip to Toshogu (東照宮), especially since the one at Nikko holds the tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康), the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Within the shrine's compounds, there were lots of tall, straight cedar trees, like this one here

After leaving Nikko, we took a detour to Tomioka (富岡) to visit the famous silk factory there. It was the first silk factory to be built in Japan, right after the Meiji Restoration, and played an important role in the modernisation of Japan's silk industry.

This is an example of the old silk machine used back in the days when the factory first started. Rows of these machines would be operated by young ladies employed to work in the factory.

Nikko trip Oct 2011 - Part 2

Oku-Nikko was a nice splattering of red, yellow, orange and green. Plus the lakes and rivers make the view all the more scenic.

This is the famous Ryuzu-no-taki (竜頭の滝, literally 'dragon head falls'). The rock in the centre is supposed to be the dragon's head, with the water flowing around the head.

Another famous sight in Oku-Nikko is Kegon-no-taki (華厳の滝), which is a very high waterfall. The scenery viewed from the bottom is very beautiful, but when we got there, it was getting foggy and so we did not go down to the bottom. But the view from above and afar is still great!

You can see the mountains of Nikko in its patches of red, orange, yellow and green. The autumn scenery here is just great! Even in the rain. Imagine if it wasn't raining!

There is a small natural history museum near Kegon-no-taki. The kid was trying to put a nut into the nose cavity of a deer's skull...

Mother and son bears!

Nikko trip Oct 2011 - Part 1

We took a trip to Nikko (日光) in October 2011, to see the beautiful autumn leaves. Nikko is famous for its scenery during autumn, and while we arrived during a period of rain, that did not stop us from enjoying the view.

Even from our hotel room, we can see the red maple leaves.

The kids enjoyed themselves, running round as kids do.

We went to Oku-Nikko (奥日光), all the way to Yumoto (湯元). This is the Onsen-ji (温泉寺, literally 'hot spring temple'), which really has a hot spring bath that visitors can enjoy.

Right beside the temple is the source of the hot spring. Yumoto literally means 'source of hot water' in Japanese.

And here are the maple trees, in their yellow and orange and red, lining the streets of Yumoto.