Taiwan? More Like Tai WON my Heart

My final destination for the February holiday break was Taiwan. Off the bat this place had more English speakers than any of the other places I had visited, it was warm, and my hotel was off the chain (it was right next to a Dongmen metro). I loved Taiwan and I would love to go back.

When I first landed in Taiwan I met up with a co-workers cousin named Ash. Ash took me to a Boba Tea place which was phenomenal. The Taiwanese state that they invented Boba tea (otherwise known as bubble tea) which I believe to be true. Boba tea in Taiwan is fruity, light, and just delicious.
Ash then drew me a map and told me popular tourist destinations that I should go see. I had also asked my friend Skyler about places to visit since she had family that are English teachers in Taiwan. Ash also helped me get a tour card which pays for subways and bus fares in Taiwan.

My first stop was Yangmingshan National Park or it was supposed to be. I got off the subway and was supposed to catch a bus to the park but I had a 40 minute wait until the bus came. I decided to eat lunch and walk around. My phone's GPS was confused as to where I was at times and at one point tried to take me down a scary alley. Instead, I walked up to this giant red building through a lush green staircase. The staircase was overgrown with vines and giant ferns and along the way a pack of stray dogs happily walked past me. I felt like I was in a Ghibli film. When I got to the buildling I found out that it was a hotel much to my disappointment. I walked back to the bus stop and see my bus approaching and then going past me. I was confused. I learned later that to stop a bus in Taiwan you have to flag them down like a taxi! That had never happened in any of the other countries I visited. I was peeved. 

Yangmingshan Park

Since I had to adapt and overcome my circumstances I decided to walk to a different bus stop and along the way found this cute house/museum. It used to belong to a merchant in Taiwan and since then it has become a musuem for temporary exhibits. When I visited, the theme was puppet theatre. I wasn't allowed to take photos of the puppets (I don't know why. Maybe copyright reasons?). The ladies I talked to there informed me to get to the national park I should not take the bus I was planning on, but a different one and found that their suggestion would get me there sooner according to the map. Beside the bus stop there were these giant huts made out of wood and I toured inside them while waiting for my bus. Those pictures are on my instagram for you to see.
Finally, I got to the national park. It is filled with cherry blossoms, flower bushes, rivers, and fountains. Not to mention a souvenior shop and a place to buy more water. It was a beautiful location even if it wasn`t terribly big.
To get out of the national park I had to get on three different buses. It was mess. The first bus had the incorrect number on it and took me to a parking lot. The second bus literally made a circle which made no sense. The third bus actually got me to where I was to meet Angel for supper that night. After supper Angel took me to a lantern festival. They had food booths and many statues made out of lights and fabric that look like ancient gods and goddesses not to mention statues of dogs since 2018 is the year of the dog.

The next day Angel, her brother, and I rented a driver for the day to take us to Yehliu Geopark. Yehliu is a rock beach that has strangely shaped rocks. Some of the rocks look like a leopard, a woman's head, and a chess board. At the front gate they had mascots for all the different kinds of rocks and their hair looked like the rock they were representing. It was silly and of course we got a picture next to them. This place was fun for me since I had never been by a beach before and got to find sand dollars and saw wild crabs. We climbed a mountain to see the lighthouse and the entirety of the island. I would really recommend going here. 

After we went to Yehliu we went to a seafood restaurant which had great clams and oysters and yummy vegetables. After this we headed to an old mining town.
The mining town used to be owned by Japan but after WWII they no longer had control and it has fallen into disuse. The really interesting fact about this town is the bay in front, Shuinandong Bay, has yellow and blue water. The yellow comes from the pyrite from the mines that has washed down the mountain into the bay. It makes a beautiful effect on the water. The town itself is full of vendors selling anything from candy, clothes, and seashells. I personally bought some earrings made out of seashells which the owner made just for me! I had seen a woman wearing these lovely seashell earrings and asked where she bought them and she explained her boss made them and had the boss make some for me. It was very cool!

What makes this area magical is that it is filled with red lanterns which give it a soft red glow and everything looks old. One thing that I was confused about is that they sold a ton of Ghibli movie items. It is rumored that Taiwan, and specifically this old mining town, was the inspiration for the Ghibli Studio Film Spirited Away. It is unconfirmed but I can see why people think this way. 

That night we drove back to see the Bank of Taiwan building. Since it was night we didn't go inside but there is a mall you can visit, which we didn't bother to. We headed back to my area, Dongmen, and did some shopping. We ate the famous mango shaved ice in that area as well.

The next morning I went to church (which was much easier to find than in China) and flew back to Shanghai.

If you want to go to Taiwan I highly recommend it. You don't need a visa if you are a US citizen if you will be there for 90 days or less, it is warm year round, lots of people speak English, there are of fun things to see, and many good things to eat. I would love to go back again.

South Korean Olympics and the No Good Very Bad Hotel

I knew that the Olympics were coming to South Korea in 2018 and I would be actually pretty close so I decided to go! The Olympics were in Pyeongchang, Jeongseong, and in Gangneung and I went to all three. Here is how my Olympics went down.

First, I bought my airplane tickets and noticed that I would have an 18 hour layover in a city called Jeju which is an island off of South Korea. I tried finding airlines that would take me directly to the international airport but they all did that for some reason. Next I reserved my hotel in South Korea. I reserved in December and the Olympics were in February and it turned out all the "Olympic Friendly Hotels" were totally booked. I tried finding a hotel that was between all the cities I was to go and found a resort in Jeongseong. It advertised wifi, a restaurant, and a ski area! I thought it would be perfect (as you can see by the title of this blog, it was not perfect.)
For my US citizens out there, you don't need to apply for a visa if you will be there for less than 60 days so I was good on that front too.
I also had to convert my RMB to Korean Won. They take cash only in taxis or a taxi card, which I didn't have.

From Shanghai I got on my flight, landed in Jeju, stayed at a hotel there on a beautiful beach side front, watched the Olympics on TV, then headed on my next flight to Weju the international airport. This is where I should have seen my first bad omen.
Weju was this tiny airport in quite literally, the middle of a field. A bus had to take the passengers to the "airport" which was one gate. Not an exaggeration, there was only one airplane gate. My plan was to eat at this airport and there was a coffee shop that didn't have much to offer. I figured I would eat at the train station!

I got a taxi to the train station and tried to buy a ticket to my city. I was confused because my city is on the train map but the kiosk wouldn't let me get a ticket there. A super friendly woman, who called herself Rose, saw me struggle and actually helped me buy a train ticket from the ticket selling booth. When she found out I was headed to the Olympics she gave me about 5 pamphlets and maps and things to do. Rose worked for the tourist board and was excited to meet so many people from around the world. Rose and I exchanged numbers and I headed to my city.

The train let me off at a bus station/train station and I see a ton of buses which were meant to go to any of the Olympic events, however, I was headed to my hotel. I look for something to eat and it is all just vending machines. I go to the help desk and show them my hotel and they are perplexed. They tell  me to get on the Jeongseon Bus. I do and they tell me to go to some other bus. That is when I go to that bus' help desk and they tell me my hotel is in the middle of nowhere, or more accuratly up a giant mountain. I suddenly remember that my hotel is known for skiing and feel like an idiot that I didn't think that it would be up a giant mountain. It turns out I am not the only one who booked a hotel up this dumb mountain and four others and myself get on a bus that the Olympic group got for just us dummies to get to our hotels.
Now keep in mind, I have not eaten all day. I left in the morning and it is now supper time. I get to the hotel, check in, and then wander the hotel looking for the restaurant. I can't find it and for the first time in my life I feel light headed from lack of food. I go to the lobby and ask about the restaurant to which they reply, "We shut that down. We do have breakfast though!"
I ask for the closest restaurant which is a 20 minute walk up a mountain on a highway with NO SIDEWALKS in WINTER. I started walking there but it was so cold and my phone kept getting confused to where I was that I gave up. I saw that there was a convienent store attached to the hotel and head in. They have boa zi, canned fruit, ramen noodles, and eggs. I bought bao zi, rice, eggs, and ice cream.
Upstairs I ate my long awaited supper and tried to log-in to the wifi and there isn't even a signal. I head back to the lobby and ask the front desk to which they reply, "The wifi is only offered downstairs." There isn't a computer room or a charging station, so I sat at one of the tables for the deserted restaurant and planned my next day. I needed more cash and saw an ATM. It doesn't work but guess what does? The ATM in the convienent store! (Not sure how convienent a store is when it is basically mandatory to go there.) I ask the front desk to reserve a taxi for me the next day to take me to the Gangneung Ice Arena.

I wake up the next morning and look for breakfast. I can't find it and when I ask, "Oh, breakfast is that coffee maker. You can get food at the convienent store."
I decide to wait for my taxi and they never come. I asked the front desk about it, they forgot. They reserved me another one. I got in the taxi and we drove for about an hour and we still aren`t at the arena. My taxi driver doesn`t speak English and I don't know a lick of Korean but I used YaoDao (God Bless that app) and asked him about it. He pulled over and called the Olympic Help Line (God Bless those people). On the Olympic help line, volunteers can translate, give directions, and listen to your problems. (This is now time two those people saved me). We find out that my evil no good hotel had given the driver the wrong city! We were driving for an hour IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. We had no idea how this happened because I showed them on a map where I wanted to go and why and the hotel staff just didn't listen. For the first time in my life I burst into tears in front of a stranger.
The Olympic Help Line talks to the driver and to me and I told them that I only brought enough money for a taxi to take me to and from the arena and there will be no way I have enough money to take me two hours in the right direction. The taxi driver (GOD BLESS HIM) decides to take me to the Gangneung Ice Arena for only the hour he took me in the wrong direction, which is how much I had planned for. We also discovered that the event I was headed to started at 10:00 am and will get done around 2:00 pm so I still could make it.
We get to the arena, I pay the man and thank him about 100 times, run to the ticket booth, get my tickets, get through security, run to the ice rink, discover my boot had ripped on the sole, and get to the Women's Free Skate event where, get this, I was able to see the last six contestants, THREE OF WHICH WON MEDALS. It was spectacular. 

The rest of the day I first eat lunch at the cafeteria (they offered Korean and Western Food), see some museums they have inside the Olympic Stadium, go to a few stores, and head back home this time by subway, bus, and taxi.

The second day I tell the hotel staff to get me a taxi. I get in the taxi and show him on the map in Korean that I want to go to the bus station. Zero problems occured. I get to the Alpensia Ski Jumping center and eat a second breakfast there. I was very early that day so I had about a hour to spare before the event started. The event is a new event, Men's Big Air. I find that my ticket is on the ground not on the seats. You don't really have a say on where you seat is, you just reserve for an area and then when you get your ticket at the booth is when you find where you sit. I ended up standing next to Chris Corning's grandmother. It was a fun event but quite cold. I was so close to getting on TV too, there was a kid on his dad's shoulders who was on air and I was about three feet from them. Oh well! I ate lunch and since there isn't anything else at the Alpensia Ski Center I headed to the big Olympic arena, Pyeongchang. I take a bus with a bunch of others and I walk around town. 

My plan was to go inside the arena but unless you have tickets for an event that day in that arena, you can't go in. I find a restaurant to eat in and get a smoothie and honey bread. Honey bread is almost like french toast but they put icecream on top and it is a lot of food and OMG it is good. I go inside two musuems. One is about how cool the Olympics are but it is super small and the other is about the 2018 Olympic Theme-Peace.
As I think everyone knows, Korea was split into two countries when America was trying to stop the spread of communism. Families were split apart and, at least at this event, South Koreans are upset that the country's culture has been split up. North Koreans and South Koreans obviously share a history together. This musuem showed that the North and South united to uncover an ancient palace. People could write their names in Korean with stamps and hold up 3D models of objects found at the palace. There were two videos that talked about how if Korea reunited it would make the country stronger and how it could heal all the pain from the seperation.
Personally, I was surprised about this. All that I have heard is that South Korea is afraid to reunite because the debt from the North would tank the country. Not to mention that the North has prevented many technologies from coming in, so those citizens would have to be slowly introduced to modern inventions and have to be deprogrammed from their brain washing. North Koreans have been told that their great leader invented everything good, that Americans are evil for splitting their country apart (which we are let's not front), and they know that if they do anything wrong they will be sent to a concentration camp. It is easy to say, "Let's reunite!" But it is hard to actually do that, if they ever can. I headed back to my hotel after this.

The last day for the Olympics I was going to the Closing Ceremonies. I got to Pyeongchang in the morning and walked into a few stores but didn't buy anything. I walked over to a taxi area and asked to go to a forest and hot spring park. They explained to me that it was closed that day but the Odaesan Seonjaegil National Park was open. I headed there instead. In Asia they believe in something called "forest bathing" the idea is that you walk in nature to feel cleansed. Psychologically speaking, there may be some truth to this as people usually practice mindfullness when they are in places of nature. There were some park rangers that stopped me at booth and talked to me about the trees and animals. The national park rangers gave me stickers and a bag of tree bark that I can hang in my house to make it smell nice. The national park had a few temples inside which was great! I felt my dad would have really liked it there because he loves hiking and religious things. I don't know if I will return but if I did and my dad came, I would go there again. 

I headed back to the stadium on a bus and ate supper in the arena. They had a huge art musuem inside the stadium and it was very fun. The main artist was Nam June Paik who did modern art with TV screens and lasers. There was a turtle made out of TVs that was about 40 feet by 40 feet big in the middle of on of the rooms and you could go on catwalk to see it better. On the second floor they had a robot exhibition and a few VR simulators. Since the closing ceremonies were going to start soon, they weren't allowing for more people in line so I didn't get a chance to try them. 

At the closing ceremony I get to my seat and find that everyone gets a goodie bag! Inside the bag were hand warmers, foot warmers, hat, poncho, seat cushion, and a blanket. It was relief for two reasons. One, it was cold and I needed these things. Two, I had no souveniors because I didn't truly love the $30 teddy bear or the $140 sweatshirt they were selling but now I had things to take home and they were free! The people that sat next to me was an Italian woman and Hawaiian woman. I am now facebook friends with the Hawaiian gal. I won't go into detail about the ceremony because you could just look it up on youtube but this is what I took away from it.

The fun thing about the Olympics is that there are people from all over the world next to you. I thought people would be competitive or trash talk other countries but it is the opposite. People just really love the sports and will talk to total strangers about how they love so-and-so from whatever country because they are a good athlete. There is a a real sense of community among Olympic spectators. They eventually talk about their own home countries and what they have in common. You make friends there! It is pretty awesome.
When I headed back to my hotel for the night I met a man whose wife was a New Zealander competing in the Olympics! We talked about the buses and how bad our hotels were and what we watched for the Olympics.

The next day I decided to go to Seoul and check it out. Here is the thing, I went on a Monday. Why does that matter? In Korea everything is CLOSED on Mondays and Tuesdays. They aren't like the West where the weekend is on a Saturday and a Sunday. It could have been because the Olympics were over so a bunch of places were shut down for a break, but seriously every musuem, restaurant, and temple were closed and the signs all said that they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. So what I ended up doing was walking around Seoul and talking pictures of things on the outside.
One unexpected thing about Seoul is that in my area I got off at (which was a big train station) there were tons of homeless people. There is an underground walk way and it was full of mattresses and there was a food line. My only knowledge of Seoul was from TV and movies and they make it look so clean and modern but just like any other city, there are homeless people. I shouldn't have so ignorant to think there wouldn't be but even in Shanghai, I don't see so many homeless people.

The next morning I got on my flight back to Shanghai and this time had no layover. However I got back late so I got a hotel in Shanghai and the next morning went to Jiaxing. My final stop for the New Year Break was Taiwan.

Chinese New Year-Hebe's House!

Chinese New Year also known as Lunar New Year was on February 15th this year. The celebration takes 23 days and each day the family is supposed to do different things.
Originally, I had no plans for the New Year but my co-worker Hebe invited me to her family's house in Ningbo. I was grateful! Letting a stranger into your family`s home, letting them eat, drink, and sleep in your house is super duper kind. I was there for six days.

I ate two meals at Hebe's paternal grandfather's home, who lived just up the road, and the rest at Hebe's house. The important meals were served at the grandfather's house.
                                                                           The Food
If you recall the wedding blog post from 2017, the food is similiar and served in a similar fashion (ie. on a lazy Susan on the table). Most of what was served was meat and a small side of vegetables. The meat was fish that ranged from crab, lobster, shrimp, and a huge ocean fish (like three feet long). There was also a turtle. A TURTLE. It was served in a bowl of broth with the shell taken off but the head was still on along with the skin. I tried not to show my shock so I could be respectful. I had one bite of it, it is salty and fishy and it is a dark colored meat. We didn't eat it, but in the bathroom they had a dead snake in a kiddie pool which I assume was to be dinner for a different day.

Common snacks that were served included nuts and fruit. We drank white and green tea (not matcha) with the leaves floating in the water. I don't know if people eat the leaves but I was spitting them back into my cup.

While you are at the table the adults will serve wine. They have nice tasting red wine and a white liqour and that liqour is 70% alcohol and tastes like sour death. The hosts will fill up your glass to the very rim and toast over and over. When they toast you, their glass will be lower than your glass. This is to show that a host is beneath the guest, they are serving you. You should take a sip to not embarress the host, even a tiny sip is fine. This will go on through the night.
FYI: Being drunk isn't shameful here and people do get black out drunk at some celebrations (Not at this party but there was a company dinner where half the guests couldn't walk out by themselves by the end).

                                                          The Red Envelopes (Hong Boa)
In my research on Lunar New Year it said that guests should bring red envelopes and some sort of gift. The gift usually consists of food so I brought a large box of Danish Cookies to give to Hebe's grandfather. For the red envelopes I was stumped on how much to put in. I wanted to cover my expenses while I stayed there but I didn't want to give more money than the relatives so not to be disrespectful. After hours of searching on the internet I found a source that listed each amount of what a person should give! Sadly, there was not an amount given for "co-worker's friend who is staying in China." Go figure. I put 200 rmb in my two envelopes.
To my surprised Hebe's mother gave me a red envelope and so did the grandfather! I got like 1000 rmb. The whole point of me giving the envelopes, in my mind, was to cover my expenses and now I was way behind. I gave another red envelope to Hebe to even out the cost and she gave me the same amount back.
My advice is to not out give the givers. You will never win the kindness battle. 

Who gets red envelopes? Children or unmarried relatives.
Who gives red envelopes? Everybody gives to the kids.
What do you say? Say Happy New Year in Chinese, "Gong Xi Fai Cai!"
How do you present the envelope? With two hands while saying the above phrase.
How do you accept? With two hands and say Happy New Year! A little bow is good too.

                                                                        Red, Again?
Yes, but this time the red is slightly different in meaning than the wedding ceremonies. Red does invite good fortune but it serves another purpose according to legend. Back in ancient China there was a demon who would go from village to village eating the people and grain but the citizens couldn't ever fight it back. It was discovered that the demon hated fire, loud noises, and the color red and would avoid places with these things. Fireworks would go off throughout the night to scare the demon and people wore red and hung red paper around their houses.
Today people still light fireworks, hang red paper fortunes on their doors, and wear red. That is also why the envelopes are red, to scare away bad luck and invite good luck.

                                                         What Else Did I Do and Learn?
Hebe walked me around here town. There is a park which is quite pretty. In the park is something called Robot Island. The reason is that there is a robot expo that happens in that city every year which brings Ningbo a lot of money. Due to the expo a new hotel was built and there is further expansion on the park. 

We ate dumplings at a restaurant in town and we visited Hebe's maternal grandmother. The grandmother lives in the same town but she is not as wealthy as the father's side of the family.
I learned that when women get married in China they will stay with their husband's side of the family during the New Year. It is rare to go to the maternal side of the family for a meal or celebrations for some families. We did eat at a restaurant with the maternal side of the family but not at anyone's home. The family lived far away from each other as well.

People eat fish on Lunar New Year because Chinese for fish sounds like the Chinese word for renewel. The idea is that eating fish will renew your good luck. I bought decorations that looked like fish.
Other decorations include red chili peppers, fortune squares, red lanterns that ranged from mandarin orange sized to bigger than my head, and whatever the zodiac animal is for that year (dog for 2018).

Japan-Osaka, Kyoto, Nara

Chinese New Year offers a lot of great things such as food and fun and for teachers, a month off to do whatever they please. One of my co-workers, named Evelyn, and I decided to go to Japan for seven days. Here is what we did and what happened.

Day One: Evelyn rented an electric car and we drove to Shanghai which takes about an hour. Before we could reach the airport our car was almost out of juice so we stopped to swap electric cars. We get to the airport and I notice that we have about an hour and 15 minutes and I am worried. Evelyn noticed that her camera is missing and she finds out it was left in the first car, the one that is not at the airport, so she calls the company and they get her camera but there is no way we have time to get it, so she has to pick it up later.
Here is the thing about Chinese airport security, it takes forever. In America, security takes time because you have to take off your shoes and belt (unless you have TSA pre-check then you are golden) but in China you don't have to do that. Instead you go through THREE metal detectors, a security check, and customs. I have no idea why you need to fill out customs when leaving the country (typically this is done when you enter the country) but whatever.
We are in line for customs and our plane is boarding. I look at Evelyn and tell her to meet me at the gate. She tells me later that she did not hear me say this. I get through customs, go through the final security check, and run to my gate and into a van. The van takes me and a few others to the plane. I get nervous because my friend was not in the van and I don't see her on the plane. I am hoping she will appear but she never did. I should mention that my phone was not working at the time.
I land in Osaka and buy a SIM card so my phone finally works. I have nine missed calls from Evelyn. She apparently waited for me outside of security and when she went to the gate to ask if they had seen a blonde person, they said no. She decided she would wait for me but I never showed so she missed the flight. She got another flight for a few hours later. I waited in the Osaka airport and redownloaded a VPN, answered emails, and planned my Korea trip.

We are finally reunited and head to our hostel, New World Inn. Our hostel is three stories and very narrow, this is pretty common in large cities because land is expensive and many people live there. We are on the third floor and have a litte outdoor patio for just ourselves, which I think no one else had in our hostel. Our pillows were filled with rice and we got free soda drinks every night courtesy of our hostel.
For supper that night we have fried chicken and an egg omelet with rice inside. It is then we head to a Tax Free store called Don Quijote whose mascot is a penguin. The store has a functional ferris wheel and a laughing buddha guy of sorts. I buy a peach Coca-Cola which was odd but good. We also buy cold medicine for myself and Evelyn buys contacts as she forgot hers at home. The strange thing for me was that you can buy colored contacts at any drug store for your prescription. Where I live contacts are only at the eye doctor's. In Japan they are an accesory item. Don Quijote is famous for slot machines as well and these things were everywhere in Japan, which is odd for a Nebraskan like me where gambling is illegal.

Day Two: Kimono Kyoto
One of our funnest days was when we went to Kyoto and rented kimonos (try saying that ten times fast). It is a very popular tourist attraction in Japan. I think there were kimono rentals almost every block in every city. It was cool to wear traditional outfits and walk around the city. Kimonos are hard to walk in because they are tight and the shoes are high platform sandals. Evelyn found that they are tight on her stomach she can't eat as much but for me it caused back pain the longer I wore it BUT  we looked awesome. 

We first went to a temple that is built on the side of a mountain. There are smaller temples littered along the mountain that we saw as well. The one Evelyn was most excited for was the Love Temple. It is a popular spot for those dating or married to visit. They have these rocks that are about 20 feet apart and the legend is that if two lovers sit on each of the rocks, blind fold themselves, and are able to walk to the other person and meet in the middle, they are soulmates.
In all Japanese temples they have wells outside the place of prayer. The wells have a long stick attached to a container that you place under the running water and fill. You wash your left hand first, then your right hand, then you pour water into your right hand and drink the water. This is to cleanse your hands and mouth for proper prayer. It was winter when we went so it was very cold but necessary if you want to be respectful. Some of the wells can provide gifts for a person. There was a well that had three spouts one for knowledge, one for health, and the last for wealth. You had to choose one but if you tried to do all three, the gods would not give you any of these gifts. While we were at this well it snowed on us, so Evelyn and I think that means we were extra blessed.
We went into the temple area and found that we were walking in mostly hallways and there are rooms on the side. If you want to enter the rooms you take off your shoes and wear sandals that they temple provide. You can then ring a bell, throw money into a container, and say a prayer. You can light incense too.
Another item that Japanese temples have is a place to get your fortune told. You pay 100 yen (One USD) to play the game. There is a drum looking device that is filled with sticks and you shake it until one stick falls out. You give the stick to the fortune teller who reads the inscription on the side of the stick and hands you your paper fortune. There are three ways your fortune can pan out which are very good, medium good, and fairly good. Everytime I played this game I got medium good and every time it told me to be careful of my health and if I wanted to find love I would have to pray a ton.
At any Japanese temples you can buy cloth charms which are for happy marriage, good test grades, health, wealth, driving safely, or whatever the temple specializes in. I should have bought one while I was there but we bought one for a friend who was applying for jobs.

For lunch we ate sushi, walked around the tourist area for shopping (got my keychain), then we bought hot cocoa and matcha. It was super delicious! The hot cocoa there is hot milk then you get a cube of chocolate. You put the chocolate in the hot milk and stir to get your cocoa. I never had it like that before but would do it again. Matcha is a big thing in Asian culture too and the Japanese kind is frothy and comforting.

While we were in the tourist area we found a Ghibli Studio store! We got pictures with Totoro and played with the toys inside. Our next stop was the Fox Temple which is famous for the Thousand Gates. Every god/goddess in Japan  has a messenger that works for them which is usually an animal. The fox messenger in this area has its own temple. The Buddhist monks who lived in that temple years ago built a walk way that has over 2000 orange gates with dates written on them. It is very popular on instagram. Orange is a holy color for Buddhists, which you may recall as they wear orange robes and their temples, statues, and doorways are all orange as well. If you are going to Japan and want to visit these places you should know you need to enter all doorways or gates FROM THE RIGHT. If you see two doors to one temple, take the right. It is respectful to go that way and, as in China, there is usually a block that you have to walk over.
We returned our kimonos and took a bus to our final stop for the day.

We ended our day eating at a famous ramen restaurant, we seriously waited like 45 minutes to get in and that was the non-busy hour. When we left, the line was even longer. In this restaurant you go to a machine that looks like an ATM. You click what meal you want, what garnishes you want to add, and then you pay and get a ticket. You wait in line to sit in these rooms that are small like six feet by 20 feet. There are no tables but booths with side blinders (think bank teller windows). The person who is watching the line gives everyone a paper menu where you tick off what you ordered based on your ticket. The person sits you down in the room. Evelyn and I collapsed our side blinder so we could see each other and then a window opens up on the wall and we give them our paper menu. There are napkins, chopsticks, cups, and a water fountain in each booth along with a call button. If you want to order more you click the call button and that is really all you need the waiter for and the window will stay closed until the call button is pushed.

Day Three: Nara-The Land of Deer and Cute Tour Guides
Evelyn and I got on a subway and headed to Nara where there is a large pagoda and a few museums. We started off in a temple where this four foot 10 inch man walked up to us and asked where we were from. He had an official name tag on and a binder and my first thought was, "Oh man, we are going to get scammed on something" but he explains he is a volunteer tour guide and tells us about the temple and the area. We ended up spending the entire day with Toshi! Toshi started off as an engineer but wanted to spend more time with people and learn English, that is when he heard about a program that was asking for volunteers to be tour guides and he signed up. He has been doing tours for three years and is basically fluent in English.
First, we learned that the temples have a gong that your ring and are big in Japanese culture. They have cookies which are shaped and named after the gong and even a cartoon based on the gong! The show is about a robot cat that had his ears chewed off by a mouse and loves eating the gong cookies. Anime sure has strange plots. The show is called Doraemon and the gong is called dora and the cookies are dorayaki.
Next we looked at the pagoda which has been rebuilt several times. On the pagoda and many religious buildings in Japan, Korea, and China you will find dragons and water marks such as waves or rain drops. The reason being that the buildings were prone to burn down and dragons are actually water based in Asian cultures and these symbols were thought to protect these buildings. Why was the pagoda rebuilt so many times? It actually burned down, at least three times.
There is a mountain that overlooks the town and it looks like it has a bald spot. The bald spot is for a fire burning festival the town has every year. It is believed that the mountain is a doorway to the spirit world and evil spirits will try to get through and fire keeps spirits away (and they wonder why their buildings keep burning down smh).
The mountain beside that is said to be where a god landed and had given the people a white deer. Since then, all deer are considered holy and are not allowed to be harmed. Due to this, the deer have become basically tame and you can feed and even pet the deer! The deer can become aggressive if they think you have cookies in your pockets or purse.

We went inside a huge temple that had a bronze Buddha that had to be two or three stories tall. We learned that Buddhas have soliders that usually surrond the statue or a buddhatva. A buddhatva is a being that is super close to being full Buddha and are often seen wearing charms, the idea being the charms will help them become a full Buddha. They are Buddha's helpers and their job is to pray a ton.
While we were in the temple we bought a deer prayer tablet. Each temple has a wood plate that you write your prayer on. Monks and priestesses will take the wood plates and burn them while praying so that the prayers can be answered. I bought one wood board with a beautiful painting of deer on it and took it home, I was told that was okay. I also bought a cermaic deer that had a fortune for me in its mouth.

Toshi taught Evelyn and I about Japanese gardening. I had no idea but each garden is supposed to be an interpretation of a larger land. Hills represent mountains, ponds represent lakes or oceans, and small bonsai trees represent forests. Each of these can be broken down even further. Some gardeners make their islands look like turtles or cranes  and can represent mother earth, creation of the universe, or the spirits of the water and land. It truly was mind blowing for me.

I remarked how I would like to try some sake and Toshi took us to a sake tasting room! It was so cool. We got to try limited edition sake (each season in Japan has a different sake) and we got souvenior glasses.
We ended the day by going to a sauna and spa. We got massages and drank a lot of water.

Day Four: Whiskey in Yamazaki
We started the day on a long train ride to Arashiyama where we were stopped by a friendly man offering a rickshaw ride. It was raining and Evelyn and I thought, "Why not!" The rickshaw man stopped to tell us about some things we can see and took some really nice pictures of us. He dropped us  off at a bamboo forest and we got to look around a small fox temple and a garden, this time we had to interpret the garden ourselves.
Instead of taking a rickshaw back, we walked into town and found this amazing cotton candy place which I think is called Zarame. One cotton candy was enough for two people and it is really pretty. We got the matcha and red bean flavored cotton candy. They had all sorts of little stores that we visited too.

Next we went inside a temple-museum called Tenryu-ji which has a large dragon painting that is pretty famous and many gardens. We had to walk around in slippers while we were inside.

After this we hurried to get on a train and got to Yamazaki. About a month before I reserved a spot for Evelyn and I to go to Yamazaki Whiskey Distillery. We wanted to see the plant but those spots were taken almost immediatly. We had a whiskey tasting and bought a keychain, cheese, bacon, chocolate-whiskey bon bons, and of course whiskey. The plant began in 1929 when the founder, Shinjiro Torii, wanted to have western drinks but was tired of importing them in. Now they are considered one of the best in the world.

Day Five: Um, I Got Lost in Umeda
Evelyn has been to Japan now for her fifth time, and to the Osaka area for the fourth time so she had the place pretty figured out and we always went together...except for Sunday. I think this may have been karma for the airport.
Since I am a practicing Catholic I go to church every Sunday and I went by myself and Evelyn and I agreed we would meet up later in the day. I went to Umeda for mass and thought, "I will retrace my steps and get back to the train station!" Except that train station did not go to my stop so I had to find another one which was in a mall. I walk around the mall and I am super confused. There are two subway stations and they are both labeled with blue on the signs and one points outside and the other points to further in the mall. I eventually went both ways causing my step count to go very high and for me to be tired. I found a station, got inside, and can't find my stop on the map. Evelyn messages me, "Where are you?" I send her my location and she is confused on why I can't seem to find my way out of the paper bag I am in. I ask for help and the nice train man tells me I need the other blue line which is down the mall even further.
I am now on the train and Evelyn tells me she is at this certain stop. I get off at the stop and tell her I am going to eat and she is confused. "Why aren't you on the platform?"
"You said get off at this stop?"
"I meant to get off the train and switch to a different train...I am on the platform waiting for you."
I pay to get back on the platform and onto the right train and eventually we get to a beauty temple.

The beauty temple is a strange and wonderous place. First, the water in this temple is said to be pure and cause your skin to look great. We bought a hot lemon tea there made with the special water. The temple sells the wood blocks but this time they look like faces. On the wood block you draw, color, and fill in what you want your own face to look like and hang it up. People used markers, colored pencils, and even their own make-up for the wood blocks.
While we were there we saw a couple getting their wedding pictures done. It was pretty neat!

Day Six: Magical Universal
I have never been to Disney Land, in fact the closest thing to it that I have been to would be World's of Fun in Kansas City but I can now say I have been to Universal Studios in Japan! The first place we went to, naturally, was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I was super pumped to be there. We drank butter beer, ate a fantastic meal at the Three Broomsticks, and waited in lines for really fun rides! The first ride was one of my favorites that day which was the one where you get to be inside Hogwarts and be with Harry Potter, try to catch a snitch, face dementors (which were actually super terrifying), and get close to a dragon. I screamed my head off. The other ride in the area was at Hagrid's house and it actually started to snow on us while we were on the ride.

We stopped by the Jaws/American area and I posed with my home country. We got a picture with the shark too. It was neat.

Of course the next place was Jurassic Park which was lucky for us as the next day that park was being shut down for renovations. We went on a water roller coaster ride which was SO FUN as the dinosaurs got to be very close to us but it was gut wrenching when the T-Rex was literally in our faces and then we went on the Flying Pterodactyl. The Flying Pterodactyl was the longest line we were in (or maybe we were just freezing at that point and wanted to go home) but it was great. We went upside down, side to side, and the ride goes over a lot of the Jurassic area. Since it was evening we could see the stars and the lights from the other areas. It was beautiful and scary.

We ate at an American 1950s burger place for supper, got a few pictures of the logo, and then went back to our hostel.

Day Seven: White Castle...Not Just A Burger Place
Evelyn suggested for our last day to go to Hemeji Castle otherwise known as White Castle also known as Heron Castle. Hemeji Castle began as a fortress when Japan was in its feudal era and placed on top of a hill. It had many military strategic points such as windows cut out in different shapes to denote which were for gun wielding soldiers and which were for arrow wielding soldiers, holes for dropping rocks onto enemy soldiers, and lookout points which usually had 360 degree window towers. As holy places had water marks on its roof, so did Hemeji Castle but it also had crests of the lords who lived there. One of the more puzzling crests is a moth which anthropologists are unsure what it represents or which lord it belongs to. The outside of the castle is white due to the plaster which makes the building fire proof. Herons are known for their white color so the castle goes by the two nicknames White Castle or Heron Castle. The castle only recently reopened as it was under careful and painstaking restorations that took over seven years to complete. 

There is an intersting history behind the castle. First, the amount of rocks required for the castle were not available in the town which was a problem. The citizens were asked to donate rocks but the builders still could not get enough. One old woman gave up her stone cooker to the cause which caused the city to come together to get enough stones for the castle. The builders at one point were so desperate for stone that they went to burial mounds and took the stone coffins for their cause.
Evelyn and I joked that the castle is probably haunted for this reason and it turns out, it is haunted! For a different reason though.

The long rectangle stone is a coffin!

There was an evil man who wanted control of the castle and planned on killing the lord. The man fell in love with one of the workers there, Okiku, and demanded that she marry him. The woman refused as she was loyal to her boss and lord and had found out about his evil plot. The castle had ten plates that were considered highly valuable and the man stole one of the plates and hid it. The man framed Okiku for it and told her that if she married him, that he would help her find the plate. Again she refused, she was put to death, and her body was thrown into a well. It is said that you can hear the woman counting to nine and crying as she tries to find the tenth plate to restore her honor. 
The castle is famous for Senhime Honda (yeah like that Honda) who was the wife of the first lord of Hemeji Castle. She was married at the age of seven to Toyotomi Hideyori. When she was 19 her first husband committed suicide after losing a battle. The castle fell and a few years later she married Tadatoki Honda who was her cousin. They had two children together but the son died at age three, her husband and mother-in law died soon after this. She became a Buddhist nun and spent the rest of her life in prayer. She was noted to pray almost daily when she was in Hemeji Castle and her statue sits in one of the rooms.

We ate lunch at a restaurant that specializes in eggs and rice. You get a bowl of rice, a raw chicken egg, and whatever other toppings you want and mix it into the rice. I got cavier and cheese.

To end the day we went to large garden area which had several different gardens which were flowers, bamboo, water, and stone.

Day Eight: I went back to Jiaxing on this day and Evelyn went to Taiwan to see her family. I thankfully did not get lost on this day. However, I did go on the speed rail train by accident. People are supposed to pay extra to go on the speed train but I ended up going 3/4 of the way to the airport on this for just the standard subway fare. When they checked tickets I found out the hard truth but I didn't get in trouble and didn't have to pay. Woohoo! (I did have to get off and go on the regular train.)

My next stop was Hebe's house for actual Chinese New Year.