Nara is not where narwhals come from.

Actual trip date: 1/3/12

 I finally got the taste of the busy Japanese culture my trip has been missing.


We started Tuesday morning at 4:30 am, after going to bed well after 1:30, and hopped on a Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Kyoto.

We got a late start and arrived in Tokyo about 30 minutes behind schedule, but that allowed us to take a "rapid" service that got us to Kyoto 30 minutes faster.

When you're traveling at 300 kmh, and God is on your side, things like that work out.

We grabbed a breakfast of cold tonkatsu and rice on the platform and ate while we traveled. I had tried to grab Starbucks, but they don't open here before 7 am. Can you imagine??

I fought to keep my eyes open and take in the Japanese countryside, but I gave in to fatigue once we passed Fuji, and I missed out.

What I did see was gorgeous. Small villages and mountains and valleys, gardens planted on hillsides leading up to homes, and did I mention mountains?

Once in Kyoto, we dumped our bags at our hotel and headed back to the train station bound for Nara, the original Japanese capital.

Kyoto will be our "base" this week as we see this side of the island country. We're staying in a  hotel that is a cross between a roykin and a hostel in a cute residential area.

The owner spent time backpacking in Europe and saw a need for accommodating young travelers on a budget. He worked as an insurance agent for several years until he could save the capital to start Tour Club, and it's not nearly as shabby as it sounds.

We have a private bedroom and bathroom with a small balcony that looks into the next buildings walls. In a densely populated area such as Kyoto, that view is a treasure.

The bed is twice the size as ours in Tsukuba (this bed is actually made for two) and just as comfortable, which means I still wake up feeling like I'm 80 and in need of a back replacement.

The room is warm, the water pressure is great and it's in spitting distance to the train station. I've stayed in places in the States for twice the equivalent price and eight times as shabby.

We were originally booked for a Japanese-style room, but when we discovered the only difference was sleeping on the floor for an extra fee, we opted for the Western accommodations.

I can do that at home for free.

The ride to Nara was beautiful, like the rest of the Japanese countryside. It recently snowed, so everything is white and winterland-ish.

Nara itself was freezing. The wind made it much colder than the weather predicted. (We failed to look at the "feels like" temperature.)

The main area of shrines and temples sits on a 5 km circle through a forest and is quite pretty. It's a couple mile walk from the train station to the forest, but that hike takes a bit longer when you spend an hour wandering the streets looking for food.

We finally settled on a hole-in-the-wall, not-on-the-map establishment that (luckily) had food models of everything they served.

I'm really a fan at eating at off-the-map places. They're turning out to be excellent.

I had yuckatori and gohan (cooked rice) and Ray had tonkatsu. I'm finally learning to order double portions, which just seem to barely fill me up.

From the restaurant, we tried to see a botanical garden. It turned out to be closed so we headed for the mountain (on which the forest and shrines sit). The big thing there is deer.

They're everywhere.



People feed them deer biscuits, and the deer literally molest people and stick their heads into bags looking for the treats.

We saw the Tōdai-ji, a temple complex in Nara. It's home to the largest Daibutsu in the word, and its Great Buddah Hall is the largest wooden building in the world. It was here, of all places, that I got molested by a monk. True story. Ray would love to tell you about it.

From there, we toured through the other areas of the temple loop and climbed to the top of one shrine to see all of Nara and the surrounding area, which was breathtaking!

Being the New Year holiday, the shrines were packed. As part of Buddhist tradition, the New Year is the time to visit the shrines to pray and ask for favor in the new year.

We were two among tens of thousands who visited that day. It was quite overwhelming.

We made it down the mountain just in time to see the five-story pagoda before the sun set. This pagoda is the second largest in Japan.


The temperature had dropped significantly with the sun, and we were eager to get back to Kyoto.

Once there, we tried to grab some dinner, which proved to be a surprisingly overwhelming experience.

The Kyoto train station is built below an 11-story mall, which has a slew of restaurants on the top floors. There was nearly a 30-person wait at each restaurant, and there were no menus in English. The small, crowded hallways proved to be no match for our hunger, so we retreated to our hotel to finish check-in and get a recommendation for some local grub.

It's no coincidence the mall's name is Setan. (Pronounced: Satan.)

When you're in a foreign country, you can't help but think of what you miss back home, especially when it comes to food. I've caught myself wishing for a donut for breakfast, followed by a cheeseburger and fries (maybe one at NON!) or a pizza. (things I very rarely eat at home!)

But what my system really craves is a big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast followed by a heaping portion of black beans, brown rice, grilled chicken and some leafy greens.

When you factor in the stress of travel, a shot of whiskey wouldn't be bad, either.

But, you won't find any of that here. It's noodles, noodles, noodles and meat that's breaded or baked.

My system isn't happy.

The hotel recommended a nearby ramen shop, so we headed a block north to a tiny 9-bar stool restaurant that had 11 menu options. (8 of them were small and large versions of the same thing.)

The cooks made fun of us for our selections... Well, they laughed at us for something and we just assume it was for our selections.

One bowl of soy-based ramen each, shumai for me and a double order of fried chicken for Ray. Not exactly things that go together, and it's a ton of food for two by Japanese standards.

It was warm, and, best of all, tasted great. All the seats were at a bar around the kitchen, so we could watch everything as the chefs prepared it.

I'm pretty sure I watched one of the guys prepare Ray's fried chicken then run his hands through a serving of noodles. Luckily, they weren't mine. Nearly 24 hours later as I write this blog I'm still alive and symptom free, so I assume I did fine.

The days are starting to run together, which is how it goes on vacation when you're trying to stuff 10 pounds of fun into a 5-pound bag.

Ray is a fantastic tour guide, mapping out places to see and finding the most scenic ways to get there. Hopefully his machines get repaired quickly so he doesn't have to stay here even longer. (Since I already have to go back without him.)

He's learned more than 50 kanji, and he can read hiragana and katakana- which is invaluable when you're in Japan! Ive been here two weeks and all I can say is "excuse me" and "thank you."

At least I can be polite.


By far, this is my favorite picture of the day. Totally candid, as I thought he was looking at the camera when I snapped it, then caught him off guard. Love him, and am so happy to be spending this adventure with him!!

Popcorn fixes everything

Oh, wow I'm bad at keeping up with blogs.

I've been here just over a full week, and I'm loving it.

Tuesday through yesterday were pretty uneventful, but relaxing- just what I needed. Everything here closes down for the New Year, so there isn't a whole lot to see or do.


We had a very American Tuesday night: bowling and basketball. We went with friends to an arcade-style megacenter. They had a bowling alley and every arcade game imaginable (including those basketball shooting games.)

I also finally got some popcorn to satisfy my craving!

Wednesday we went for an extended "hike" through Tsukuba.. saw some parks and the scenery of the city. There's a lot of greenery for being a "metropolitan" area, although I'd say this is an interesting blend of rural and city. I experienced my first foreign post office. It was surprisingly efficient.

Thursday is 10% off at the grocery store day... how can you pass that up? It takes about an hour to get through the 15-aisle store, because you have to match up the little symbols on your grocery list with the little symbols on the product (which may be slightly different than what Google Translate tells you!)

I found recipes to make Tonkatsu (pork) and Chicken Katsu, so we had to stray from the "normal" routine in the grocery store to accommodate the needed items. I spent maybe 10 minutes looking through the sauce section for ketchup. I was so proud of myself for finding the right one, but that quickly melted when I looked 12 inches down the shelf to see "Heinz Ketchup" clearly printed on a bottle.

Oh well, it was a fun experience.

If there's one thing I've noticed, it's the similarities in humanity that stand out far more than the differences. Babies cry the same in every language, children laugh the same, and the teenage population still can't drive. Emotions and body language transcend cultural barriers, and hand gestures are a great way of communicating when words aren't possible.

At JAXA Monday, we wanted a picture with the space shuttle that is on display in the quad. A woman and her daughter (presumably) were taking pictures also. They spoke Japanese and we spoke English, yet we somehow managed to get a picture together with the shuttle, as did they.

I know just enough Japanese to get me thrown into jail.

"Excuse me" and "thank you" are the extent of my knowledge. I know "Kon'nichiwa," but since that's only appropriate to use at certain times, and I don't know when those are, I avoid saying it so I don't look like that silly American who watched Tokyo Drift and thought she knew everything about the culture.

Luckily for me, the keisatsu (police) don't look that intimidating and I could easily out run them long enough to get on the global news and become a public figure, rather than another Pat thrown in a white padded room and lost forever.

Today, if we ever get going, we'll be climbing Tsukubasan (Mt. Tsukuba), which will take most of the day (since we rely on public transportation). My sinuses have been the main reason we've been lazy. They're irritated from the heater and dry air and have been bleeding for about a week and slightly infected.

I know, you really wanted to hear that information.

If sinus transplant surgery ever becomes an option, I'm going to be the first one on the table. I call it.

The problem with having sensitive (aka crappy) sinuses is that you just can't win. In the spring/summer/fall, allergens irritate them and I have sinus infections and sinus congestion and feel crappy. In the winter, when everything is dead and I have no allergens, the dry air and the heat irritate them just as bad (or worse) than the other 3/4 of the year. This isn't a Japan problem.. it's followed me here.

I also bitterly hate the cold, and it is bitterly cold here, so I'm kind of trapped beneath 14 layers of clothes in this prison cell called my body.

It will be nice to get outside and moving around (hopefully) enough to warm up and feel at least partially human. Everything here is small-sized: a 10x10 gym, a 12x12 apartment, tiny streets, tiny sidewalks, tiny cars. I'm more of  a wide-open space type of girl. Hence, excited to be in the great outdoors again.

There aren't as many cars and people as you would expect to find in Japan (based on the movies, at least) but we're not in a highly concentrated area. This is a big research center and university town, so picture Gainesville (if you've been there) and you have Tsukuba. Minus the English.

But I am enjoying it here. It's fantastically interesting to watch people of different cultures and experience first-hand how to live in that culture. There's a huge difference between visiting a place, with hotel life, and concierge and translators, to diving head first into a new culture and having to adapt to it as quickly as possible.

It's a fun challenge. Even with the few frustrations I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!

The equipment Ray is here to use is down until January 5 (bye-bye birthday plans!) so I get un-interrupted hubby time for the next week! No sharing with the lab equipment (something that NEVER happens, even in the States!) Hopefully, it will be up and running with enough time for him to finish what he came here to do. We're very thankful it's even going to be fixed at all! (Which was a big possibility.)

Life is good, God is great, and I'm off to enjoy another beautiful day! (You do the same!)

Heat where you want it

I'm learning quickly that luxury is a relative term.

A luxury to one is not the same as luxury for another.

Then there is a totally different category: heated toilet seats.

Ray's apartment is about the size of our living room back home, and it's about twice the price. It's essentially a studio apartment, with the kitchen and bathroom connecting and the bedroom, living room and office merged into another room. The street-facing wall is a large sliding glass door that opens up to a balcony and overlooks the town and high-rises of downtown Tsukuba (pronounced "Scuba") and overlooks the twin peaks of Mt. Tsukuba.

It's just like being in a foreign country.

The Japanese way of living is simple, and it's quite refreshing. Nothing's extremely over the top or showy. The bed is hard, and a twin size, just big enough for two to fit and one to fall off.

I called the wall side, so I won't be the one on the floor.

The sleeping area is divided off by sliding doors covered in rice paper, which are very easy to break through when fumbling around in the dark.

But it's cute and cozy, and it's home for the next 23 days. It's crazy how a place a third of the size of our apartment back home can still rack up the same cost in utilities.

Food is expensive, too.

I ate my first authentic Japanese dish in the Narita airport, which isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. The Japanese take pride in their work, so you're getting great quality whether you eat in the airport, mall or sit-down  restaurant. Ray & I had 小カツとじ共おそば, which is a dish of soba noodles and katsu (fried pork).

I'm still learning how to make literal translations sensical.

Cold Soba Noodles

Warm Soba Noodles

I had warm noodles, and Ray had them cold. They were interesting to say the least. They weren't the best tasting thing in the world, but they weren't the worst. They supposedly have all the essential nutrients the body needs, but since they are  noodles I question their nutritious value.

The katsu didn't taste fried. It was covered in bread crumbs, cooked in eggs and served over rice. I didn't need soy sauce to make the rice taste good, which attests to how well the dish was prepared. It's a recipe I'm dying to make and take back home with me.


It wasn't heavy or greasy, which was good since by the time I ate that I had been awake for 43 hours with only three 20-minute naps in between. I slept most of the way on the bus ride to Tsukuba, but caught a few glimpses of the town as we rolled in.

It's about the size as Gainesville, but with a big-city feel. There are some high rises, and the streets are small and close to the buildings (as opposed to large parking lots separating the road from the store.) People do a lot of walking here, which probably attests to the healthy look of the Japanese.

They drive on the "wrong" side of the road here, which makes my heart stop every now and then when I feel we're about to collide. I can tell language is going to be a huge barrier. Even though English is becoming very popular, it seems rare that "working class" people in this area speak it fluently, or much at all. So, bus drivers, servers, cab drivers, etc use a lot of hand gestures to communicate with us. It will probably be different in Tokyo and large metropolitan areas we will visit.


I have just been informed that they don't really have cake here, which is going to be a bummer come January 5. Today is the Emperor's birthday, so a national holiday. A lot of things are going to be closed, so I think it's a nice excuse to recover and plan our trip!

It's 5 am here now, the time difference is really difficult. It's definitely going to be interesting to switch my entire circadian rhythm to the opposite of what I'm used to. (It's 3 pm EST).