Sundown in the Paris of the Prairies

It's been a little over a month since I returned to Canada from Japan and I'm already on my next journey.  This time I'm in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for a conference. And what a cultural shift this has been!  I've come from a metropolis of 35 million people on a mountainous island nation beside the ocean.  And now I'm in a city of 260,000 on the flat landscape of the Canadian Prairies, one of the most removed Canadian cities from any ocean.  The Tokyo Metro and JR-Yamanoto line have been replaced by Saskatoon's wide dusty streets and pickup trucks. So far, Saskatoon is a very pleasant, likable city.  Lots of old buildings and open streets.  The trees are in full bloom, taking in the northern sun as it wakes up from a long winter.  The river is beautiful and there are lots of nice bridges.

The old Victoria Avenue bridge, which is currently closed

to traffic and pedestrians.

"Sundown in the Paris of the Prairies. Wheat Kings have all

their treasures buried." --Gord Downie

 

Thank you, Japan

I'm back in Canada now, and it's a cool wet day on the West Coast.  It's great to be home but I wasn't ready to leave Japan!  So it's a bittersweet end of trip for me.  I had some amazing experiences in Japan:  the people, the food, new friends, an earthquake, baseball game, karaoke, subways and high speed trains, festivals, sake tasting, onsen, sakura, shrines, temples... the list goes on.  I leave you all with a few images from my trip.  Japan, I will be back...

 

 

 

 

Back in Tokyo

I'm back in Tokyo now!  Took the early train from Hida-Takayama this morning.  It was two and a half hours on a regional mountain train to get to Nagoya, where I transfered to the Shinkansen (which is probably 5 times as fast) and zoomed back into Tokyo.  It was a pleasant train ride.  Listened to plenty of great tunes - Tom Waits, Justin Townes Earle, Ford Pier - and had plenty of time to ponder.  To quote Tom Waits:  "Some men are searching for the holy grail, but there's nothing sweeter than riding the rails".

The sakura (cherry blossoms) have peaked in the cities around Japan but are still blooming strong in the mountains.  Every now and then a lone cherry tree would come into view from my train window, then pass a few seconds later. 

I must say it feels great to be back in Tokyo in the Asakusa neighbourhood where I stayed a few weeks ago.  I'm staying in the same hostel, so there are some familiar faces!  Two days in Tokyo then back to Canada...


 

Earthquake

Another Japanese experience... I woke up yesterday morning at 5:33a.m. to an earthquake (called a 'jishin' in Japanese).  It was a near 6.0 quake centred offshore of Osaka, under a nearby island.  Compared to the quakes I've experiened in British Columbia, this one was stronger and the movement was more violent and rigid (the B.C. quakes have been soft, fluid-like motion).  It was definitely scary, but exciting.  I remained calm and got into a safe position in my bottom bunk bed.  It was disturbing at first - not knowing if it was a major quake (and another tsunami) with an epicentre far away in another part of Japan, or a moderately-strong quake nearby.  It turned out to be very nearby and was apparently the strongest quake in the Osaka/Kobe region since the disastrous (and much more violent) earthquake that hit in 1995.  Many of the locals here were frightened with yesterday's quake, and went out into the streets.

Now I can add an earthquake to my list of classic Japanese experiences, along with karaoke, sake, shinkansen bullet train, and baseball.  Thankfully it was not a destructive earthquake and I am still alive and well.

I'm off to Takayama (in the Japanese Alps) today...

Karaoke and Hanshin Tigers

I've been in Osaka two days now.  On the first night a group of five of us went out to a ramen noodle house, and then to a karaoke joint in the Dotonbori nightlife district.  The Karaoke place was called Big Echo.  We ended up doing four hours of karaoke, with unlimited drinks.  It was a crazy night, let's just leave it at that...

Last night I went to see the Hanshin Tigers (Osaka baseball team) play the Tokyo Giants.  It was an awesome time.  The Tigers fans were really loud and supportive.  There was a brass band in right field that would lead cheers throughout the game.  Each player had their own personal song.  There was lots of flag waving, balloon launching, people wearing full tiger outfits, and every single fan (including me) had plastic bats to bang together in rhythm with the cheers.  The Tigers won 3-0 and there was a big celebration on the field after the game and all the players were interviewed.

I'm changing hostels this morning - just moving to a different place in Osaka because I couldn't book four nights in a row at my current hostel.  After I move hostels, I will do a day trip to Nara to see the giant Buddha...

In Osaka

I left Hiroshima around noon today and arrived a few hours later in Osaka, a large, modern Japanese city not too far from Kyoto.  I haven't seen much of the city so far - just the train station and subway line to the district that I'm staying in.  My hostel is awesome.  Very friendly staff and I'm meeting some other travellers.  There's a group of us going out for ramen noodles for dinner this evening.

I'm going to use Osaka as a base for the next four days.  I'm planning to go to an Osaka Hanshin Tigers basball game tomorrow.  They are playing the Tokyo Giants (huge rivals) so it should be exciting.  I am planning to buy a ticket in the Tigers side of the stadium to cheer for the home team!  It will be interesting to see just how crazy the Japanese are about their baseball.  I will likely do a daytrip to Nara on another day...

No photos or exciting stories to share right now, but stay posted!

Hiroshima

I'm writing this post from Hiroshima.  I left Kyoto behind this morning and must say it's definitely nice to be in a smaller city.  I spent the afternoon walking around the Peace Park here in Hiroshima.  The Peace Park is located in the centre of the city and is the location where the first atomic bomb was detonated in the history of mankind.  It was surreal to stand there looking up at the Atomic Bomb Dome (an early 20th century civic building that was only partially obliterated by the bomb).  It was also surreal to look up at the clear skies above and think about August 6, 1945. 

Outside of the Peace Park, Hiroshima is a nice city with lots of trees and a pretty laid back vibe.  I went out for okonomiyaki again - if you forgot what this is, look back at my Tokyo photos.  It was in this crazy building with four floors of little okonomiyaki diners - probably over a dozen different ones in total, but I didn't bother trying to count!  I think I'll spend this evening hanging out at the hostel.  I need to catch up on some reading and journal writing.  I also have another bottle of plum wine to get through.  I polished off the first one last night in Kyoto with the hopes of bringing down the weight of my backpack.  But, just as I was leaving the capsule hostel in Kyoto, the owner gave me another one as a gift for my journey!!

Below are some photos from my afternoon in Hiroshima...