Momiji manjū is a type of wagashi that is baked. The confection is a buckwheat and rice cake shaped like a Japanese maple leaf, and is a local specialty on the island of Itsukushima (Miyajima) in Hiroshima. It is typically filled with red bean paste
We enjoyed our lunch at Kanawa ASSE かなわ, Unfortunately it appears to be permanently closed now 🙁
PART TWO: The Atomic Bomb Dome, Children’s Monument and Peace Memorial Park
Kurashiki (倉敷) is located in Okayama Prefecture, not far from the prefectural capital of Okayama City. Kurashiki has a preserved canal area that dates back to the Edo Period (1603-1867), when the city served as an important rice distribution center. In fact, the name “Kurashiki” can be roughly translated as “town of storehouses” in reference to the rice storehouses.
Many of Kurashiki’s former storehouses have been converted into museums, boutiques and cafes. The Ohara Museum is the most impressive of Kurashiki’s museums, exhibiting a large collection of works by famous Western artists. The canal area is a ten minute walk from Kurashiki Station.
Several blocks of open air covered walkway with all kinds of shops and restaurants
BETTER LIFE – a housewares shop where I bought an ogre towel
Chez Kobeya for katsu (they had lassi!)
Fun Gachapon (toy machine) shop – I bought three (none of them pictured)
Imagine if you will a shop in Japan dedicated to American kitsch. That shop is: Golden Nugget Buddies, named after the MacDonaldland characters
Strange purple yam ice cream to delight and offend the senses
Toy/Candy store run by a nice little old lady included tons of Ultraman figures I haven’t seen in the new stores – bought one! This place is called おくだ商店
Achi Jinja Shrine
It is located on the top of Mt. Tsurugata, a perfect viewing spot overlooking the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter, and has a Noh stage and an ancient garden based on Horai philosophy within its grounds. The natural monument “Achi no Wisteria”, which is estimated to be 300 to 500 years old, is also worth seeing.
Unfortunately we didn’t explore this much, due to bad knees.
reverse angle courtesy Fred Bremmer
Saw koi and swans in the canal
OHOARA MUSEUM OF ART
Where you can find Rodin, Picasso, Gaugin, Monet, Signac, Lutrec, cezanne, Klee, Kandinksy, Pollock. No photos allowed inside unfortunately.
DENIM STREET
Where you can find blue cream soda flavor soft serve and blue bao.
LIVING MOMOKA peach croquette and Ghibli merch
Miffy Bakery
Momotarō (桃太郎, Japanese pronunciation: [mo.moꜜ.ta.ɾoː],[1][2] lit. ’Peach Boy’) is a popular hero of Japanese folklore. His name is often translated as Peach Boy, but is directly translated as Peach + Tarō, a common Japanese given name. Momotarō is also the title of various books, films and other works that portray the tale of this hero.
There is a popular notion that Momotarō is a local hero of Okayama Prefecture, but this claim was invented in the modern era. This notion is not accepted as consensus in scholarly circles.
Kurashiki Ivy Square
Formerly a spinning factory, now a hotel (with another koi pond)
ASOBOUYA Variety Store – lots of kaiju toys, M.U.S.C.L.E. men (Kinnikuman), Owner smelled of cigarettes. Cluttered and awesome.
As wikipedia says – Naoshima is an island in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea, part of Kagawa Prefecture. The island is best known for its many contemporary art installations and museums.
Don’t visit on a Monday! The galleries are closed! We learned this the hard way.
Getting there
The closest city with a JR station is Okayama, a cool place with lots of its own destinations (like a castle) which I will blog about another time.
If you happen to be doing a day trip from Okayama, you’ll want to leave as early as you can because it will take at least 1.5 hours transit time to get there, and the ferry schedule is limited. And be sure you plan your trip back as well to ensure you have enough time and aren’t rushing.
Uno Station
There are two ferry docks, one that takes cars and one for foot passengers only. The food passenger one is smaller, obviously, and I think it’s faster, and is actually less comfortable.
Getting Around
If you arrive in Miyanoura Port, make sure you check out Marine Station, they had a special pumpkin cream puff/macaron type thing. You’ll have to buy the ticket at the vending machine and hand the ticket to the clerk to get your sweet treat. We’ll check back later to see how that went for me 😀
Another piece of art!Different perspective of the red pumpkin
I expect you could rent a car or something but we went with bicycles. During the off season (December/January) the only Bike Rental place that’s open is Ougiya. Make sure you check the tires, brakes, etc – mine required a bit of tweaking before we rolled out.
map is provided by the Ougiya bike rental place. I thought this was an villains lair but turns out it is a high schoolFound the heron from that Miyazaki film!Glam trucks are a thing in Japan
On the opposite side of the island, at Honmura Port, you can find some giant bubbles in which to park your bike, if you are so inclined. Designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nihsizawa. Fun stuff!
Naoshima Noodles
Right next to a supermarket (Mitsubishi Materials Naoshima Co-op) there’s a little ramen place called Naoshima Noodles [google link]. We arrived just before lunch and the place was completely empty. We struggled a bit trying to decipher the ticket machine that you use to place your order, but there is an English menu available to help you translate – just ask for it! Just a few minutes after we got our ramen, hordes of salarymen came in to crowd the place.
From here we rode our bikes up a winding steep hill to get to the “Amazing View Spot” on the map above. It was a bit rough, even with electric-assist bikes! But we made it! There’s an orange pumpkin down there somewhere….
Down the hill (scary slope and curves – ride slow) we found Tsutsuji-So Seaside Park. There’s a bus stop here and a beach! Must be nice when it’s not JANUARY!
Yes you can get beer from the vending machine! I guess you don’t need ID?Do you see the giant pumpkin?
Time to try my pumpkin macaron – pretty good! Very rich and sweet, a bit of a trial to finish the whole thing by myself.
Jiufen is a seaside mountain area in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. It’s about an hour drive or 1.5 hour bus ride from Taipei city itself.
Jiufen Old Street is a narrow, winding alleyway with shops, teahouses, and restaurants that offers tourists a view of traditional Taiwanese life. It’s filled with food, knick-knacks, mementos – many of which are Spirited Away – themed, as there’s a legend that it was the inspiration for parts of the movie (though Hayao Miyazaki has denied this).
The absolute must-do is to go into A Gan Yi Taro Ball, order your dessert, and then squeeze through to the back of the restaurant to enjoy the view. Check it out!
While you’re there check out historic Shengping Theater
Not too far away is a restored Japanese-style four joint residence
Jiufen is a former mining town and they have a glorious Gold Museum!
Wanhua District and Shilin District and other fun stuff
Lili Restaurant and Bar in Shilin DistrictDaikon salad at Lili – delicious!This is Tamsui – it was too hot and noisy so we decided to come back some other time (will be another blog entry)
Elephant Mountain on the East side of Taipei in the Xinyi district, is easily accessible and not too difficult a hike, although there are a lot of stairs at the onset.
Xianghan, one of the Sishou Hills was named for the elephant because of its long-nose shape, is a small mountain with a rich ecology and amazing views of Taipei.
Finding the entrance…
a cute little domicile near the base of the mountain
The starting point. There’s a lot of steps at the beginning! Bring water!
What you’re in for…
Where are we right now?
My god, the foliage!!!
We’re 10 minutes in (really)? and we’ve arrived at the observation deck!
I’M HUGE! The first viewing platform
Culture.
Hope this helps
educational!
I think it means “watch out for snakes”
Now we’re getting somewhere? Where, I don’t know.
Climb the stairway of destiny….
Now where am I?
We have arrived at 北星寶宮 – A small temple with a road on the mountain!
17 minutes according to google…not sure about that!
Took the high speed rail from Kaohsiung to Taipei (a 2 hour 20 minute trip) where I saw the mountains and farmland of Taiwan
We arrived and walked around the neighborhood of our hostel, and visited the
National Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall
Creepy
I wanted to try Britshake, the British-themed restaurant, to see how it was in Taiwan. Unfortunately, not super memorable. So I won’t bother with pics. Anyway – here’s an interesting chart showing the ethnographics of Taiwan
A little park/mosquito breeding ground
Check out the space age 7-11. What happens in there? I don’t know
It’s a gas station just for scooters. They’re ubiquitous!
Your average Taipei commuter train station
We met up with two of Erica’s old friends, Frankie and Andy, at
Kokoro izakaya (Japanese bar with food)
where I had a cute little cumquat, deep fried bitter melon (yummy) and some nuts of some kind!
After that we went to a lesbian karaoke bar that I believe was called 7 Plus, but I couldn’t find it on google. It was…interesting, because the lesbians will try to chat you up for tips, which I found to be awkward, because although they were very nice and tried hard to make me feel welcome – I don’t really drink, and we don’t speak the same language. But there was some karaoke so not too bad!
I wanted to go to the poo-themed restaurant I had heard about years prior, but sadly they had permanently closed 🙁
Should you find yourself at Mitsui Outlet Park in Tainan, be sure to visit Gozen Kamicha!
Former fishing settlement on a forested island, with water sports & a beach with sunset views. Travel Tainan says “Yuguang Island, connected to the bustling Anping District by the Yuguang Bridge. Visitors can stroll along the beach or step barefoot into the waves to feel the caress of the sea breeze and the cool seawater lapping at their ankles.”
All true!
First thing on the island is the small area of vendors, and a temple of course.
A beautiful wooden path leads to the beach. Maybe to protect your feet from snakes? I didn’t see any snakes.
You must be logged in to post a comment.