Pearl Necklaces In Jeddah

Life in Sendai

Happy reunion with my cousin after a day's train to Sendai in northern Honshu (the main island of Japan). It is a city of over one million inhabitants, close to the sea and mountains. We can see the snowy mountains of one of the windows of the apartment of Damien. On the first night he took me to a tiny Skewers Restaurant (cheese, chicken, fish, tomatoes ...) to very warm. Some pillars that hang out there every night, looking like businessmen, we have just held his leg but still in good mood:) The city is full of these little restaus and bars that can hold a dozen people breaking everything.

Sendai does not have many tourist sites. I still did a bike ride to the park where stood the castle of Sendai. There are still some walls, and statues have been arranged to enhance the ride. More importantly, it's a great view of Sendai, landscape buildings with modern sea bottom. The next day I went to visit a coastal village, a few tens of minutes by train, called Matsushima. There are a multitude of small wild islands, with statues of Buddha and mini-temples hidden here and there. There was only one or two other tourists, I could wander for a few quiet hours. Around 14h I became disillusioned when I ordered what I thought was pasta carbo species, in fact it was cold noodles, almost icy, called Soba. It was ... Special: /

On the advice of my cousin, I went the next day at Naruko-Onsen, a village in the heart of the mountains known for its hot baths in sulfur-laden water. Indeed the whole valley smells strongly of sulfur! Before the swim I tried a little way along a river, but I turned around when I saw that the trail was covered with snow and branches, impracticable. I preferred to go to a few kilometers from the village, look at a small lake located between three volcanoes. From a very bright turquoise, it displays one of the strongest acidity in the world. Nothing lives there, with a few ducks. Walking around the lake I could see some fumaroles surrounded by sulfur deposition, impressive. On the way back so I did dip in an onsen all wood, where the milky water comes through pipes pines. It was tiny but very charming. Only downside, my skin felt strongly the sulfur leaving the establishment ... In the street most people were walking in a kimono and wearing traditional wooden sandals to go to an onsen to another.

The next day my cousin accompanied me to visit the temple of Yamadera, mountainside to an hour from Sendai. A few hundred steps lead to walk through the ten buildings. The temple itself is nothing exceptional, but the view as and when The climb is beautiful. It has taken a small ice tea on the way down and back to Sendai for a Karaoke night with his colleagues:) Just rent a small room for 3 or 4 hours to put the songs you want to sing one after another through a small screen / remote, and go:) The food and drinks are not expensive, the directory is really huge (several thousands of titles for all styles), it is funny ^ ^ Ya two microphones, it was less ashamed to sing like two pans: D This morning, this weather, I decided to postpone my trip to Hokkaido tomorrow!

Gay Cruising Near Piccadilly

The volcanic region of Kyushu and relaxing

That three days I walk through Kyushu. This region, highly volcanic, is superb and little frequented by tourists. While in Tokyo to Hakata, the city is virtually uninterrupted, Kyushu landscape is made up of volcanoes, fields, greenhouses, detached ... Brief is the campaign! Kagoshima, the city where I established my headquarters for exploring Kyushu, is located just opposite a volcano that rises from the sea, forming an island called Sakurajima. I went there the first afternoon, taking a ferry that makes regular 10-minute crossing. The volcano in question is active, can see huge plumes escape cone regularly in a crash hallucinating. The last major eruption was in 1914. There are still hundreds of mini-eruptions per year, but not dangerous dust covering the island. A small information center explains all this free near the port. Just next door, a hot spring (onsen ) allows public to soak your feet while watching the volcano. The Japanese are a fan of onsen, are found in all of Japan. There a classification according to the environment of the bath (inside, outside, hidden in nature, by the sea ..), the composition of water, etc. ... Some are very expensive as popular.

The next day, I just tested a onsen a kind somewhat unusual. Before enjoying the hot spring, the client goes through a volcanic sand bath. Dressed in a simple kimono yukata very end called , lie on the beach, back at the designated place. Both types come with their big shovel and cover you with black sand in 5 seconds (except the face of course). Then we must remain still for 10-15 minutes enjoying the feeling. With the pressure of the sand and the heat coming from below, the heart pumps stronger and the blood flows better, it feels to spread throughout the body. He is super hot, the sand is soft, very pleasant. After a while, when the sand starts to burn the skin, it appears to go wash and go into the onsen itself. Earlier in the day, I wandered into a small corn while in Southern Kyushu, looking for a way to explore Mount Kaimon, another volcano. Not finding a trail, I lost a little chance in the campaign. An English teacher and grandmother took me a lift when I returned to the train station, very nice. Moreover, in this corner of Japan, people are particularly friendly, smiling, not greedy of hellos. Another guy did a detour of 15 km drive to bring me back safely, then I went down to the foot of a large lake in a caldera, assumed the lochness monster house a local bottom with the famous Mont Kaimon.

In lack of a castle, I went to Kumamoto, roughly in the center of the region. Always the same time, early 17th century, the castle still has some of its original turrets, even if its main tower was reconstructed recently. A mini-exhibition traces the history of the castle in the first and second floors. We find again the fierce power struggle between lords and emperors. The castle is surrounded by magnificent walls, moats and very impressive. The cherry season is in full swing, white and pink petals flying in all directions is a joy to walk through the alleys of the park! And as it is sunny and warm for 2 or 3 days, many Japanese come here and there for picnic. I went back to the east of Kyushu after this visit to go to Aso via a train that bypasses Mount Aso. It is a gigantic crater 130 km in circumference, which houses a few volcanoes in activity. I liked to do some hiking in the area, but that is for another time. I chose to redo a small swimming session in another onsen, including an outdoor pool in a small garden. Foot. Especially since I was almost alone, unlike that of Ibusuki, where people queued up to be buried. I took the train back to Kagoshima, where a delicious dinner waiting for me as home every night. Family taking this small guesthouse has good idea to offer guests to share the evening meal for the modest sum of 260 yen (about 2 €). So we have the right ambience and local cuisine for almost nothing:)

Here I go again to the north, where I'll find my dear cousin. I make the trip twice, stopping this afternoon in Matsumoto to see another castle, and tomorrow in Takayama, a small town famous mountain, it seems to have retained its original charm.

Why Men Get Wet Dreams

Castles Kansai, Hiroshima and Miyajima Island

After the temples, I attacked the castles! The most famous of them in Japan, Himeji Castle, was part of my program. Built in the late 16th century, it is called the White Heron Castle because of its color. Particularly impressive, it dominates the city of Himeji top of his tower with 5 floors. Its multiple roofs appear as entangled, giving the whole work a very, very careful. There are thick fortification walls, pierced with holes and other deadly sympathetic to boiling oil. The lower floors of the tower is reserved for storing food and weapons in case of siege. While the above can watch around and tease the attackers if necessary. Some other buildings are in the castle, including the areas of the wife of daimyo (lord) and her attendants. This famous set is unfortunately a victim of its success. As at Disneyland, you have to queue at least 30 minutes to buy a ticket and enter the attraction. And even then, we find ourselves in a second line where it seems to never move, forward or too short, you can not visit at their own pace. A little damage.

Especially since the morning I visited the first castle, more modest but which was almost the only visitor. The latter, located in Hikone, just north of Kyoto does maybe 3 floors, but it is beautiful and overlooks a beautiful Japanese garden designed around a pond. The pond and mini-islands that have been arranged are the real lake that borders the city of Hikone. This complex dates from the 17th century. The visit was definitely more enjoyable than that of Himeji. For completeness, I also saw the Castle Okayama Castle said Crow. It also dates from the early 17th century, and has an architecture similar to the other two. Unfortunately the version that can be visited today is a concrete replica of the real castle razed during the Second World War ... And it feels when visiting the interior, more impersonal, less authentic than the other two. Nevertheless, the outside is beautiful, overlooking a famous garden located on the other side of the river that runs along the Asahi castle. In addition he has one thing in common with Himeji have been built under the leadership of Todoyomi Hideyoshi, the man who reunited the lords of Japan in the late 16th century.

By late afternoon, I went to Osaka is one of the largest aquariums in the world, Kaiyukan. It is housed in a building of 7 storeys, in the middle of a shopping complex along Osaka Bay. The tour starts at the top, and descends gradually along a slightly inclined plane which revolves around a giant aquarium. This aquarium includes thousands of fish that must really believe in the ocean, including giant manta rays, stars Kaiyukan, two whale sharks! We never tire of watching them walk around in the pool, followed by hundreds of other small fish. Outer side of the inclined plane, different ecosystems have been restored. It rises from the Japanese forest at the north pole, through the Great Barrier Reef. Each room has a portion above water, with land animals or amphibians, and a bottom water that can be observed through windows. In the mood North Pole, for example, you can admire a band of emperor penguins on the fake ice dozing or playing in the icy water.

Yesterday, change of atmosphere with the arrival in Hiroshima. Incidentally he started to rain, a perfect time to get to the Peace Memorial. The less it was really funny that the aquarium, but provided an unforgettable visit. At first the museum begins gently, with the political aspects of the conflict, before the Hiroshima bomb, the various wars undertaken by Japan late 19ème/début 20th. Far more abstract. Then a giant model shows the city before and after August 6, 1945: a vast field of ruins with two or three frames of buildings that have survived somehow. Upstairs, it becomes downright scary. The exhibition chronicles the life and brutal death of children and adults who have died in the explosion or a few days later. These people had a name, you can see their clothes in tatters, their charred belongings, photos of their bodies and their faces mutilated. I found this way to narrate the catastrophe by recounting individual experiences particularly effective ... As I looked out the passenger tram differently, saying they had definitely lost family that day, or in the months that followed, succumbing to radiation. I also appreciated the objectivity of explanation, never taking part in Japan. It reveals also a Japan few friendly, very warlike, and during the war effort, inhumane toward his own people, including Chinese and Korean immigrant workers.

atmosphere a bit lighter today with a hike on the island of Miyajima, a half-hour ferry ride from Hiroshima. Like magic he did super nice:) The island is a small mountain, it takes 1 hour to get to the top. Many tourists go to watch on Miyajima its famous torii (Shinto gate vermilion as those of Fushimi-Inari) planted in the sea, a few hundred meters from the coast. Just opposite is a temple on stilts, where they attended a wedding ceremony clearly when I passed. The hike in the mountains was great peace, even if the steps are hard asses. Candidates for the climb are few. Small deer wander through here and there and hope we give them some food. At the top of Mount Mizen, a small observation tower you can admire a landscape worthy of the island of Finn Razel. Going down another slope, one can visit a beautiful Buddhist temple called Daisho-In.

As I had a little time before my train to Hakama, I ironed in the Memorial Park. Just across from the "Atomic Bomb Dome" building protected witness - one of the few who vaguely resisted the bomb - I talked for a little half-hour with an apprentice bomber of the Japanese army , 82, who was in his base a few miles away at the fatal moment. He spoke a few words of English which were enough to tell me about his life and ask me some questions about my trip. Shortly after I made some steps in the castle gardens Hiroshima to return to the guest house to get my bag. Another busy day tomorrow I continue my journey to the southern tip of Japan's Kyushu region.