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Japan 2016 – Day 7 and 8; Shizuoka and Nagoya

By Hoera
on Feb 26, 2016
in Food, Japan, Travel

I like trains

On day 7 we went to a ryokan in Shizuoka! It took a train ride of about… 3 hours to get there. We traveled to the middle of nowhere with a lot of different trains.

Including:

After we took one of the trains, we climbed a mountain and we enjoyed the scenery.

Ryokan

After riding 4 trains and a bus trip we arrived at the village of the ryokan. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese hotel. I really liked our room:

In the ryokan, we had a very nice traditional Japanese dinner:

Onsen

After dinner, we got ready to go to the onsen. An onsen is a hotspring bath. It was said that this onsen was beneficial for beautiful skin. We also wore a Korean facial mask and it was totally relaxing. You could sit either inside or outside at the onsen. This is a pic of the onsen inside:

Afterwards we drank some tea in our room and went to sleep.

A brisk walk

The next day we got up early and had a traditional breakfast. After that, we went for a brisk walk in the mountains. I went to sit on a ridge and I drew a picture of what I saw. We met a friendly couple who were from Britain and Japan and we walked along together with them. We saw a wild bore and we crossed a hanging bridge over an azure blue river.

After a short relaxing trip to Shizuka, we took our 3 to 4 trains back again to Nagoya where we stayed for another night. The next morning I would go back by Shikansen to Tokyo and leave Azusa and her family, who had given me such a warm welcome and such a nice time in Nagoya.

Japan 2016 – Day 5 Ise Jingu and sushi restaurant

By Hoera
on Feb 07, 2016
in Food, Ise, Japan, Nagoya, Religious, Shinto

Road trip to Ise Jingu

On Day 5 of my journey, me and Azusa’s family went on a trip to the biggest, most important Shinto shrine complex in Japan, called Ise Jingu. It was a fun trip in the car with a lot of nice views of mountanis and a themepark near the river of Nagoya with the steepest rollercoaster in the world. On our way to the temple complex and back, we ate all kinds of delicious snacks, such as green tea ice cream and takoyaki.

Ise Jingu

When we arrive at Ise Jingu, the first thing we did was walking through the gate (torii). This torii was made of rough wood. I find that in Shinto, the use of natural materials is quite important. In Ise Jingu, there is a beautiful forest full of ancient sky high trees. These trees were seen as sacred in earlier times.

Kotajingu and Toyoukedaijingu

Ise Jingu has a totally of 125 jinja (shrines).

Jinja at Ise Jingu with banners of the flowery symbol of the current Emperor of Japan.

The two most important shrines are called jingu. Ise Jingu has two important jingu: Kotaijingu and Toyoukefaijingu. Kotajingu is dedicated to Amaterasu-Omikami, who is the great great …. great grandmother of the Emperor of Japan. A divine palace is built in her honour. Japan knows 3 Holy Symbols which approve and strengthen the power of the Emperor. One of them is a mirror. And this mirror is enshrined in Kotajingu.
Toyoukedaijingu is dedicated to Toyouke-no-Okami.Amaterasu-Okami predicted that this kami would be summoned about 1500 years ago and it was enshrined in Toyoukedaijingu. Toyoukedaijingu provides companionship and sacred foods to Amaterasu-Okami and she is also worshipped to get an abundant harvest.

The shopping street near Ise Jingu

After visiting the shrines, we went to the large shopping street near Ise Jingu. It looked really old fashioned and pretty. It had a very Japanese and ancient atmosphere. We tried some candy and local specialities. I was lucky, because I was treated to Ise Udon (a thick noodle local speciality and delicacy) and hot cocoa afterwards! We watched taiko drummers play, which was awesome.
Underneath, you will find pictures of the shopping street.

4oshougatsukazari — A Shimekazari, an ornament which keeps the bad spirits out of the house. This ornament is attached to people’s doors at o-Shougatsu, or New Year’s Day (January the 1st).

Sushi restaurant

For some reason, I can’t find the picture I took in this restaurant right now! But anyways, it was a conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Nagoya and we could order specific sushi with the use of an iPad. It was delicious and abundant and afterwards I felt like I had to buy new pants, because I ate so much.

Day 6 Nagoya – Kimono, Atsuta Jingu, hot pot and dango

By Hoera
on Feb 03, 2016
in Fashion, Japan, Nagoya, Religious, Uncategorized

About Kimono, Atsuta Jingu and other Jingus and nabe (hot pot)

In Japan you can find Buddhist temples, called o’tera(お寺). And often, at the same terrain, you can find jinja (神社), or Shinto shrines. The three largest Shinto shrines of Japan are called jingu (神宮 ). Jingu are the most important Shinto shrines of Japan (What is Shinto? I will write a blog about that later on) and are connected to the Japanese Imperial Family. During this trip to Japan, I visited 3 of them, namely Meiji Jingu, Atsuta Jingu and Ise Jingu.

On day 6 of my trip, Azusa’s aunt dressed us up in kimono. I wore a pink one and Azusa wore a purple one. I am fond of the esthetics of kimono and I really liked those kimono. We wore spring kimono with a warm scarf. We also had kimono coats, but you can’t see them in the pictures. With the right hairdo, we were ready to go to Atsuta Jingu. This Shinto shrine is located in the same place where Azusa lives (Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture).

Azusa’s sister and her children went along with us. We walked around in kimono and we took a lot of pictures.

Azusa and Natasja closeup kimono Atsuta Jingu

Japan 2016 – Tokyo 4, Nagoya 1 – Lunch, Shinkansen, unwrapping presents

By Hoera
on Jan 24, 2016
in Japan, Nagoya, Travel, Uncategorized

Meeting my friend’s family in Nagoya

On this cold day, Azusa and me traveled from Tokyo to Nagoya. In terms of inhabitants, Nagoya is the 4th city of Japan (about 3 million inhabitants). But before we got onto the Shinkansen (Bullet train, one of the fastest trains in the world), we went to Tokyo Station. Because Azusa had an appointment to meet her friends who she met in India near Tokyo station. So we had a wonderful lunch and I got to meet her nice friends. They were Japanese, but all internationally oriented and they had lived in differen places around the world. It was interesting and fun to meet them.

Japanese lunch near Tokyo Station (Japan)

Japan 2016 – Tokyo 3b – Meiji Jingu and Sensoji

By Hoera
on Jan 23, 2016
in Japan, Religious, Tokyo, Travel, Uncategorized

Driving away bad spirits at Sensoji, Asakusa

This morning, we walked from the Minamisenju area to Asakusa. I have been to Tokyo before and I have a special place in my heart for Asakusa. I love that it’s so quiet and that there are plants and trees in places you don’t expect them to be.

Japan 2016 – Tokyo 3 – Gira Gira at Shibuya

By Hoera
on Jan 22, 2016
in Fashion, Fashion&Beauty, Japan, Shopping, Tokyo, Travel

Gira Gira at Shibuya

Purikura, Shibuya 109, Liz Lisa bag and small faces

Azusa and me at a Purikura photo boot at Shibuya (Tokyo, Japan)

I will write a short blog today. We did a lot of things today and one of them was going to Shibuya. Shibuya is known for its hip fashion stores and for the crossroads in which people from all corners start crossing the road when their traffic light turns green. And it’s really the place to be if you want to emerse yourself in some gira gira, or “sparkle” of Tokyo. For other things that we did today, check another blog (link will follow soon). After visiting Meiji Jingu, we met up with a friend of Azusa and he brought us to Shibuya for Purikura. He and Azusa spoke Japanese with eachother and he told me had a small head. Apparently, that’s a very good thing in Asia (although back home in Western Europe, I believe not a lot of people care about face size, including me). Beauty standards in different parts of the world are fascinating to me!

Japan 2016 – Tokyo 2 – Akihabara, Harajuku and Teishoku

By Hoera
on Jan 21, 2016
in Fashion, Japan, Shopping, Travel, Uncategorized

Tourist hotspots?

Today, me and my friend went to Akihabara and Shinjuku for a shopping spree. Shopping is a large part of Tokyo’s entertainment and of the “Tokyo Experience”, so it’s a pleasure, not even a guilty pleasure. Even if shopping is an activity that I only like in moderation, shopping in Tokyo can be an exciting experience. After I woke up (which was a bit late due to the fact that I’m jetlagging like crazy -> is that a verb? No? Well then now it is ^^), we went on our way to the metro station. It was a very cold day today. Three layers of clothes and a coat still wouldn’t keep us warm.

Public speaking: Mensa and teaching Japanese – Highlights of 2015 part 3

By Hoera
on Dec 30, 2015
in Giftedness, Japan, Motivation, Psychology, Public Speaking, Uncategorized

Japanese lessons

This year, I started teaching Japanese to people who were interested in learning about Japanese language and culture. It was exciting and interesting to do this. I could put a lot of creativity into my lessons. Lesson structures, new ideas, thinking of ways to explain things, making drawings and illustrations. And most of all: creating a fun and educational experience for the people attending my classes. Certainly one of the highlights of my year.

Eating sushi with my students of my Japanese class (part of class) — Eating sushi with students of my Japanese class (part of class)

Another highlight of my year flowed from this experience.

Being a Public Speaker at the Mensa October Weekend

One of my student was somebody of the Mensa branch of the Netherlands (for privacy reasons, I will not mention his or her name). Mensa is a High IQ Society. We clicked and he or she always had interesting stories to tell. He or she told me there would be a Mensa event in October of this past year. That was the October Weekend of 2015. He or she asked me to give a lecture of 1.5 h over there. Continue Reading

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