Nara

Posted on by
Reply

I visited Nara today as a day trip from Kyoto.  There is a direct train that takes about 45 minutes.  It’s not as fast as the Shinkensen, but still quite nice for the 45 minute journey.

Nara was the capital of Japan before it was Kyoto, so a long long time ago.  As such there are quite a few historical sites.  Perhaps more unique though, it’s full of deer.
This one is posing in front of a warning sign, reminding you that deer are wild animals and you should be careful.  All over the place they sell deer biscuits for 150 yen so you can feed the things!
It’s interesting to watch people feed them.  They are very happy when they feed the deer, but less happy after they run out of biscuits and the deer is chasing them down the street!  Children seem quite traumatized with a deer chasing them 🙂
Nara is home to Japan’s largest Buddha which is one of the largest in the world.  The picture does not even do it justice, if you are in this area you must really see it for yourself.
The enterance fee is 500 yen and I am sure this one is worth it.  I even bought a postcard!  Outside is the Buddhist God of health.  A rather scary looking statue with a red jacket and bonnet on.
The area is great for hiking, there are many temples along the way, with a lot of them being free or low cost.  Nara JR station is 45 minutes from Kyoto station on the JR Nara line.  There is also a private railway line that is a but faster, but not valid for rail pass holders.

Google in Japan

Posted on by
Reply
Techie warning …. this post may me a bit more IT-ish than normal 🙂

I know I probably shouldn’t, but I keep comparing Japan to Korea.  They are pretty close geographically and Japan did occupy Korea for quite a while so I was expecting some similarities.  They do have some, but it’s the differences that seem to stand out more to me.

Korea seems to have pretty much downright rejected Google, everyone uses Naver, for search, maps, etc.  Now, Naver works just fine, if your Korean.  The problem is that it is not internationalized, so if you don’t read Hanguel then you are going to be a but stuck.  With Google, no matter what your language, you can most likely get at least the interface so you can read it.
Japan is the complete opposite, they have embraced Google like no tomorrow! All the train schedule are avaliable for Google, both JR (the national rail), private rail, subway lines, busses, everything.  But it’s not only the schedule, the prices are avaliable too.
If I use google maps for directions to Osaka it will give the train numbers, the platform, and the cost to travel. It will also tell you the correct exit from the station when you get off at the other end.  The transit systems have obviously put a lot of thought in how they share information with google to give their customers the best experience.  I’ve been really impressed.

Himeji Castle

Posted on by
Reply

I took the Shinkensen to Himeji to see the castle.  It’s not too far from Kyoto, about 45 minutes on a direct train.  Unfortunately, my rail pass does not allow me to take the fastest train from Kyoto, but it does allow it from Osaka.  For that reason I chose to change trains at Shin-Osaka station and board a Nozomi.  The Nozomi is the fastest bullet train (at the moment) in Japan.


National rail pass holders are not allowed to travel on them at all, but regional passes are allowed on certain routes.  

The stations are clearly marked for easy transfers and once you get to the platform there are signs of where to stand if you have not reserved a seat.  In unreserved cars you just sit anywhere as long as there is room.

The trains are nice and clean with announcements in Japanese and English and LCD displays telling you the next station.  They are very fast but a lot of the 30 minute trip from Shin-Osaka is through tunnels, so you don’t see much.  They are pretty quiet.  You are told to set your mobile phone to silent and people go between cars to make and receive calls.  There was also a smoking room on the train which I found quite funny.

Once you arrive, you get a view of the castle.  At the moment they are doing restorative work, so the view is a little obscured.  It’s scheduled to be finished in Spring 2015.

Even still the structure is impressive.  You can tour the other buildings inside the castle walls and have green tea in the garden.  The area is really nice and is an easy day trip from Kyoto or Osaka.
Going back I stopped at KobÄ“ which is famous for it’s beef, but it was very expensive to get with most menus over 75$ for a plate.  Instead I had sashimi and sushi, as selected by the chef who was very helpful since there was no English menu.  It was really fresh and really well presented.  It came to 15$ with a beer, which I figure is pretty good.