Volta ao mundo - Japan Trip 2008

My trip through Japan was something unique. As we used to say in Brazil “foi com emocao”. I was actually ( am actually) quite disappointed by the fact that I couldn't go to Hiroshima… It was my main reason to go there… Well, it happens.

One day before we left New Zealand it came to my attention that we were without the AUS Transit Visa required to cross the AUS. That would have to be arranged before hand. Not one day before the trip…On Saturday :-/. So from an 8 day trip to 5 day trip… meant we weren't able to see Hiroshima.
Well at least I have a good reason to go back there. I said the trip was unique… and I can describe it using the word “intense”. Because it was intense!

Well before the trip I was very excited about traveling with JAL Airlines… For some reason I thought I was going to have very good flight service … The truth was far "beyond" my dreams. It was bad. Bad food… Bad seats... Bad service.
Actually... Wait a minute… Why am I complaining? I was traveling in economic class… I deserve to eat bad food and to be squired in small seats. You deserved it, Romulo!

I was excited to be in Tokyo after 14 hours flying but the reality… once again… was a bitter taste. Narita is a huge airport and it was built outside Tokyo City. So… Ahead of us was a plus 2hour train ride. Around midnight after a 2hour train ride plus 30, 40 minutes walk… PS: My backpack was weighing 30kgs… AND … AND I had a furuncle in my butt!!!
Yes Ladies and Gentleman’s … I had to travel 14hour by plane plus 2hour by train and walk 40 minutes with a furuncle in my butt. NOW… That’s painful!!

Have you ever tried to travel with a furuncle in between your bum cheeks??? Well it is tough.

Okay... NOW!!! There may be too much information here… Too much information here for you dear blog-reader to deal with… Because YOU are the one thinking about my bum with a FURUNCLE in BETWEEN my bum cheeks!!!! FAAAAAAACKKK IT HURTSSSS!!!!!!!! Okay… Okay… It’s gone now!!! Calm down… Calm down…And tell them that you had to backpack in Japan from Tokyo to Kyoto and back to Tokyo…. And that you had to get another plane to London for 13hours… and then another to Brazil!!! For 11hours!!!!!!!! Okay that's enough.

Ahh!!!! Japan… lovely Japan!

The most painful picture of the photo taking history!!

A famous Japanese rock garden is at Ryōan-ji in northwest Kyoto, Japan.

The garden is 30 meters long from east to west and 10 meters from north to south. There are no trees, just 15 irregularly shaped rocks of varying sizes, some surrounded by moss, arranged in a bed of white gravel/sand that is raked every day.

The rocks of various sizes are arranged on small white pebbles in five groups, each comprising five, two, three, two, and three rocks. The garden contains 15 rocks arranged on the surface of white pebbles in such a manner that visitors can see only 14 of them at once, from whichever angle the garden is viewed.

The garden is not attributed to any single designer, although it is commonly believed that a leading monochrome artist named Sōami (1480?-1525), in association with Daisen-in, designed and laid out the garden. However Ryoan-ji's records are contradictory and indicate some other makers, and the back of one of the 15 stones is inscribed with the names of Kotaro and Hikojiro, who might have been two of the workers that did the actual construction.

The Shinkansen (新幹線, Shinkansen^?) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Since the initial Tōkaidō Shinkansen opened in 1964 running at 210 km/h (130 mph), the network (2,459 km or 1,528 miles) has expanded to link most major cities on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū with running speeds of up to 300 km/h (188 mph), in an earthquake and typhoon prone environment. Test run speeds have been 443 km/h (275 mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record of 581 km/h (361 mph) for maglev trainsets, in 2003.

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) is a Zen temple formally known as Rokuonji.

In 1397 construction started on the Golden Pavilion as part of a new residence for the retired shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Kinkakuji was converted into a Zen temple after Yoshimitsu's death in 1408.

The Golden Pavilion functions as shariden, housing sacr ed relics of the Buddha and is covered in gold leaf. The present building dates from 1955 as the pavilion was burnt by a fanatic monk in 1950.

Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō^?), formally Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to^?), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and, unique among the prefectures, provides certain municipal services characteristic of a city, as defined by Japanese law.^[1]

Because it is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family, Tokyo is the de facto capital of Japan.^[2] The name Tokyo literally means eastern capital.