An Afternoon At Yebisu Garden Place

Yebisu Garden Place is one of Ebisu's main tourist attraction;  a neighbourhood in Tokyo that emerged around the first big beer factory of the manufacturer Japan Beer (known today as Sapporo). It is built on the former site of a brewery, where the still existing Yebisu Beer brand had been brewed since 1890.

Its located near Shibuya and Roppongi with Ebisu Station being one stop before Shibuya on the JR Yamanote Line.

The story goes - in 1890 Japan Beer launched a beer that was called Yebisu. The beer from Japan Beer became an instant hit, to the point that the neighbourhood where the main factory of Japan Beer was located became “Ebisu” (modern written form of “Yebisu”). In 1901 Japan Beer built a train station beside the factory and called it “Ebisu” as well.  Japan Beer has since reorganized and was renamed Sapporo Breweries Ltd. And the original factory had to be moved outside of Tokyo in the late 1980′s.

It took us 7 visits to Tokyo to actually find time and energy to visit the place. Anyway, the place might be a little too out of the way for casual visitors just coming to visit, so I guess unless you are into beer history, drinking beer & chillin' out or visiting the nearby Museum of Photography (there was a nude photography exhibition when we were there), this may not be your cup of tea or may be a bit of hassle to go to.

At the train station

Some shots f the buildings there

A posh restaurant in the background - Chateau Restaurant Taillvent-Robuchon

Where were these people heading to? And what were they queuing for?

To get some beer of course! There was a beer festival or something when we were there and the place was packed with people.

Next up: Beer Museum Yebisu. Just because I don't drink beer, doesn't mean I can't visit the museum and check out the history, right? Not to mention buying beer glasses at the Museum's souvenir shop make good and rather affordable souvenirs to your beer drinking buddies.

Castles Of Japan

If there is one thing we don't really visit while in Japan and its something I'd like to rectify sometime soon, it's visiting Japanese Castles. OK, excursions to any castle had previously been vetoed out by Zaini and Raimie but I have high hopes I'd get to them someday. 

The  interest for Japanese castles is further piqued by my reading of an awesome Japanese Castle Explorer blog by Kyushudan, just like I got more interested in temples and shrines because of Yoshi over at Extracting Abstract. If you want to know more about castles, even the obscure ones - head over to Japanese Castle Explorer and explore them there. I promise you it would be an interesting read. ^^

The two castles that I actually managed to visit were (though it felt like just passing through):

Himeji-jo on a rainy day

And Osaka-Jo. Can you see the castle in the background?

Pretty sad collection, eh? And pretty boring way to pose for a photo. I'm ashamed of myself whenever I see my photos standing straight like that.

I sure have a long way to go (and way more trips to do) to cover any decent amount of castles in Japan and get to know their history! I absolutely believe one should learn about the places they are going to not just just visit and take photos at famous sites.

Anyway, if you have read my posts before, this blog is not where you can find samurais, ninjas, geishas or things like that. You can however get to know a lot about Ultraman in this blog! XD

With me posting up photos of Himeji-jo & Osaka-jo, I'm going to do a revisit  posts of the nearby area - Hiroshima & Osaka pretty soon. But before that, something about Yebisu, beer and a garden.

Space Shuttle Program 30th Anniversary @ Kennedy Space Center

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, located on the east coast of Florida in the Orlando area, marked the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle program this week. NASA officials and astronauts featured the accomplishments of the shuttle fleet and Kennedy Space Center workers.  A shuttle-themed cake was presented by Buddy Valastro, a baker featured on the Food Network's “Cake Boss.”  

NASA's launch headquarters is the only place on Earth where you can tour launch areas, meet a veteran astronaut, see giant rockets, train in spaceflight simulators, and even view a launch.  The following is an excerpt from the Kennedy Space Center website, detailing a typical tour . . .

"Your exploration starts with one of our world-renowned tours, where you depart Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to see NASA’s awesome facilities, including the massive launch pads, gigantic Vehicle Assembly Building, and the awe-inspiring Apollo/Saturn V Center.

There is so much to do at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex – from live-action theatrical shows like “Star Trek Live,” to the Astronaut Encounter where you can meet a veteran NASA Astronaut. During your Kennedy Space Center tour, you’ll see 10-story-high rockets from all eras of space exploration in the Rocket Garden, walk through a full-size Space Shuttle mock-up, see IMAX^® space films on gigantic five-story screens, and see an actual Gemini program capsule on display in the Early Space Exploration exhibit."

For information on Kennedy Space Center events, click here or call 877-313-2610.

OLA: Breathing Cool Philippine Mountain Air!

Batad Rice Terraces in the Ifugao Province of the Philippines

One of the couples we met in Palawan, Jure and Katarina of Slovenia called to tell us that they were flying into Manila that afternoon, ready to breathe the cool mountain air of the Philippine North, after exhilarating in the breezy sea winds of the South. Since I also wanted Bill to see this part of the Philippines (we visited Baguio 2 years ago), we were with them that evening on a bus and by 8 am of the following day, the tip of the world’s 8^th Wonder of the World was at the window of the lodge café where we were having hot breakfast.

Hapao Rice Terraces

We lost no time and proceeded first to the Hapao Rice Terraces in Hungduan which have been planted the earliest and are now the most verdant green. Next we proceeded to the Viewpoint of the Banaue Rice Terraces, not yet fully planted. The Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Cordilleras, the mountain region of Luzon, largest island in the Philippines, were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1995. 

Banaue Rice Terraces

There are five sites, not including the Banaue Terraces: Batad, Hungduan, Bangaan, Mayoyao, and Nagacadan (we did not see the last three)  These are 2000 year-old rice paddies carved into the mountain slopes largely by hand, without the help of machinery, by ancestors of the indigenous people. They are located about 1500 meters (5000 ft) above sea level, fed by an ancient irrigation system, virtually unchanged, from the rainforests above.  It is said that if the steps are put end to end, they would encircle half the globe.

Hanging Coffins by the roadside

The following day we decided to go to Sagada in the Mountain Province, three hours away, that is, without a landslide. As it turned out, 1/3 of the way from Banawe, a landslide had happened 2 days earlier and was still impassable by vehicle. We arranged for a jeepney to take us to the site of the landslide. Soon 7 other people heard what we were trying to do and decided to join us. With the permission of Engineer Gerry of the DPWH which was still working on the clearing we crossed the area on foot and took another jeepney waiting for us at the other side!

Hanging Coffins at the Burial Cave 

By then we had a Spanish couple from Barcelona, Antonio and Sheila, a Dutch couple from Bonaire in the Caribbean, Remco and Vanessa, and 3 young men, Ryan from Alaska, Sam from Tanzania, and Kennedy from Nigeria, currently all studying in Silang, Cavite, Philippines. The Hanging Coffins were an interesting sight to behold. The practice stems from the mountain people’s belief that their elders, after all the affairs on earth are settled were finally buried in hanging coffins to be closer to nature, with freer spirits, not stuck to the earth.  The entrance to the high main cave, Lumauig, in Sagada was a Burial Cave.

Sumaguing, the other cave

This was connected to another cave, the Sumaguing Cave. Since we had very limited time, the men and Vanessa (the 2 other ladies and myself remained at the souvenir store by the entrance), took the 2-hr cave tour (not the 4-hr through theconnected caves). They still got to sneak through the little hole down below that connects the 2 caves, and experience the coolest of underground rivers they had known. They came back to tell us that the water was so cool, that their hands let off steam as they touched it. And as they headed back up, they saw all the wondrous formations they had just gone through.

the whole gang stopped by a bulldozer

On the way back we thought we have had the day’s final adventure but, alas and alack, 1/3 of the way out of Sagada, there was a bulldozer that broke down, making the road impossible to pass. Since Antonio and Sheila had to take the bus that night to Manila to catch their early morning flight the following day to Australia, I took to the other side and negotiated with a van that was there to take us to the landslide area. As the fog was already settling in, we finally negotiated a better cleared trail that took us to the other side where our jeepney had been waiting for us the whole day!

the foggy landslide area cleared by end of day

The following day, another European, Didier from Belgium, joined us in our last day trip, the one to the Batad Rice Terraces which everyone said we should not miss. A jeepney took us through the virtually impassable, rutted, rocky, muddy roads to the Saddle Point from which we trekked through 400 steep steps down and then on a long trail to the viewpoint on the other side of the mountain. It took Bill and I an hour to negotiate this going down (later it took us 2 hours going up!).

virtually impassable roads

What we saw are a glorious amphitheater of rice terraces surrounding a little village at the bottom. The group split into 3: the strongest proceeded to the Tappia Waterfalls (another hour of trekking), another explored the magnificent terraces (also another hour), and the weakest and the oldest (Bill and I) had to be content with marveling at the magnificent scenery, taking in all that pure, fresh, cool mountain air, sipping icy soda pops and nibbling at native tomato and egg ‘pizzas’. 

a roof load of jeepney passengers

chewing concoction ingredients

But I cannot end this post without telling you of the indigenous mountain people of the Cordilleras who make full use of the colorful jeepneys that take them to and fro the mountain, riding dangerously on roofs and hanging onto the back railings and continually chewing the concoction of betel nut, tobacco, and leaves nut even if they make their teeth very red so that they can keep their bodies warm in the cool Philippine mountains.  

colorful mountain couple

Part 2: Baguio City

Tazawako By Day

If you remember, I posted up some sunset photos of the Lake earlier. If you don't, then check out my post : Sunset In Tazawako.

Lake Tawaza is the Japan's deepest lake with its depth of 423 metres (by comparison, Tokyo Tower is 333metres tall & Tokyo Skytree is 634metres). The lake is 20km in circumference  and has an  almost a perfect circular shape. Its water used to be one of the clearest in Japan, together with Lake Mashu in Hokkaido, but is now slightly polluted since the construction of a dam in 1940.  The appearance of the lake and its sapphire-blue colored water tends to change dramatically with the sunlight and the clouds, creating a rather mysterious atmosphere. This might be the origin of the most famous legend of the area, that of Tatsuko.

According to legend, Tatsuko was a beautiful girl who prayed to retain her beauty forever. She drank the water of the lake and turned into a big dragon and sank to the bottom of the lake.Just google them up if you need to know more about the legend. Or maybe, head over to Tazawako Tourism Association's English blog for more on the legend.

The lake area. The lake can be viewed either by taking the ferry (or by paddling the swan boats, if you chose to), walking or renting a bike to circle the lake.

There's a rest stop near the lake,where one can find places to eat and buy souvenirs. Raimie had a very nice goma ice-cream there, and his Mommy and Daddy went on a free food sampling binge in one of the shops.

 If you do decide to walk or cycle around, the road is quite narrow so beware of approaching cars! But no worries - when we were walking there, we met quite a number of runners doing their evening run and cars were careful of them.

A campsite nearby the lake area. Fancy camping there? I would love to try someday, after I armed myself with plenty of mosquito repellent, that is. :[

Remember the dragon head in the earlier post? Well, the two adults traveling with Raimie just couldn't resist poking our heads into stuff we weren't suppose to!

Anyhoo, anyone interested in Sakura beer or limited edition pink sake - click the link here and here. Don't mope around and be all doom and gloom in the face of adversity (I'm talking about the March 11 earthquake & tsunami) Support local industry and drink some booze, I say.

BTW, Check out Ichigoichielove's Show Me Japan Vol1 Issue 21 this week.

A Piece Of The Netherlands In Japan

and you can find it at Huis Ten Bosch located in Nagasaki. No, no photos of the interior of the park in this post. Visit the park's website for more info. We weren't interested in the park, but was more interested on our train rides getting there. Weird? Yeah, we know and we aren't apologetic about it!

The park's location reflects historical relations between the Netherlands and Japan which began in 1609 and the park was built with special permission from the Royal family. It is a reproduction of the residence of Her Majesty the Queen of The Netherlands.

In front of Huis Ten Bosch Station

Sasebo in the background. Yup, plenty of European looking buildings here. I remember when we were there, the area had not experienced any rainfall for a bit so there was a drought notice and guests at the hotel were reminded to be prudent using water. No soaking in the room tub and we were encouraged to use the public facility instead.

That's the ANA Hotel Huis Ten Bosch you can see behind Raimie. We didn't stay there for the night.  I don't think we can afford a night there anyway! We checked-in Hotel Nikko Huis Ten Bosch instead, which is located further inland and at a safer distance from hearing ship's blasting canons over in the park at night. ^^

Looking back, I marveled at my lack of interest to even snap photos at the hotel we checked-in, let alone the park and surrounding area. There were a few tulips shots here and there, few train station's interior shots and the rest were of trains.Well, Japan for us in 2008 was a place filled with Ultraman, wonderful trains, toys  and games (yeah, in that order). I got more cultured and enlightened as the years go by though. At least, I'd like to think so. Wahaha

Trains, Trains, Trains - Rides In Kyushu

Last month, I posted some photos of airport trains; the N'EX, the Rapi:t and the Haruka in one of my posts.

Now, time for some photos of the trains we took zipping along the island of Kyushu.

We took this Limited Express Huis Ten Bosch from Hakata Station to HuisTen Bosch Station. That day, we probably spent like a day sitting down and making our butts extremely sore.

The trip to Huis Ten Bosch was made directly upon arrival to Kansai Airport so it was a 7-hour flight, a two and half hour ride on the shinkansen Hikari Railstar from Shin-Osaka to Hakata and then we got on board this limited express train for another one hour and forty minutes ride. Madness? Not if you enjoy train rides as much as we do!

 

This Seaside Liner train we took from Huis Ten Bosch to nowhere.We didn't have any particular destination to go to and we got on board just out of curiosity. We were rewarded with awesome coastline view on this ride and a glimpse of rural life there too.

We had JR Passes so the extra cost taking non-essential/unplanned trains weren't an issue for us. And yes, we got on this train on top of those earlier rides I mentioned above that day.

Getting on board the Sonic train from Hakata to Beppu. Our trip to Beppu was a day trip and it just wasn't enough. To Beppu we must return someday! The announcement of "Beppu, Beppu, Beppu" repeatedly was so cute! I wish I recorded it and put it here so you can listen to it too. ^^

This is the White Sonic plying the same route. A train otaku like us would make a point of taking the two trains for our return trip just to try them out.

Getting on the Relay Tsubame from Hakata to Omuta for our journey to Ultraman Land in Omuta, Kumamoto. Let's see, we've been to this part of the world twice using the Relay Tsubame, Tsubame and Ariake trains. The trains look similar, pity I don't have any photo of the Ariake to compare it here.

The Shinkansen Tsubame which we needed to make a transfer to, to get to Kagoshima-Chuo. Our train from Hakata was the Relay Tsubame and the train stopped at Shin-Yatsushiro and we dashed across the platform and got on the Shinkansen Tsubame. But not before snapping a photo or two!

Zaini had wanted to make the journey to Saga too (was it for the train Midori? I can't remember) but we simply didn't have enough time and energy to make the journey. You can only do so and see much with a 7-days JR pass.

On March 12 this year, the northern half of Kyushu Shinkansen is finally completed connecting Hakata  Station to Shin-Yatsushiro station thus reducing much of the travel time. Also, there will be new trains (Mizuho and Sakura) travelling from Osaka to Kagoshima. The Sakura will be used and gradually phase out the Hikari Rail Star. I wish we can get on board these new shinkansens someday!