Two (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

For those who're wondering why I didn't put up my Photo Hunt entry only now rather than earlier today: I goofed by preparing an entry for next week's theme and only realized that this week's theme was two rather than wet/rain after I had finished writing up what will appear on this blog next Saturday! In any event, for my regular Photo Hunt visitors, I hope that this entry will be one you'll consider worth waiting a few extra hours for.

At the very least, I hope you won't be offended by the two photos I've chosen for this entry -- which, incidentally, was written while listening to The Butterfly Lovers music ;) -- both of which show butterflies literally coupling! And for the record: this sight is one I have become pretty familiar with over the course of hiking in Hong Kong -- not having just seen this happen one or two but, in fact, multiple times!!

The first time I witnessed such an occurrence, I was out on a hike with my mother. And as I previously recounted, the two butterflies spotted in the act were so still that I wondered if they were dead and it was my dear mother who had to tell me it was not so -- and also tell me what the critters were actually doing!

In the years since, I've also been witness to other insects (including grasshoppers and stink bugs) doing "it"; with the most memorable sights coming courtesy of dragonflies who really do assume the most... interesting positions (see here and here)! However, I will always have a soft spot for the butterflies because, whatever they may be doing, it's hard to lose sight of it being so that they really are very colorful and beautiful creatures indeed!! :b

From Hok Tau Irrigation Reservoir towards Sha Lo Tung (photo-essay)

For those of you who haven't yet realized, I wrote my final entry about my Japan vacation this past Tuesday -- some 20 entries after the one announcing a temporary change in focus on this blog from Hong Kong to Japan. And upon looking at my blog records, I discovered that the last hike I wrote up in photo-essay form on this blog was that which took me from the greater Mui Wo area northwards and upwards to Silvermine Cave all the way to Tai Ho Wan.

Looking ahead in chronological order, the next hike I went on was a circular one that took a hiker friend and I from Hok Tau Irrigation Reservoir down south to Sha Lo Tung and then back again to Hok Tau. Some months ago, a couple of friends and I had gone along much the same route. But having gone along this trail twice now in different seasons, I can vouch for the experience being quite different according to the seasons and some months on...

Along the concrete road leading to
Hok Tau Reservoir from the nearest minibus
stop to it on a beautiful blue sky day

An old style marker stating that Sha Lo Tung
is just 2 kilometers from Hok Tau Reservoir
grossly underestimates the time to get there
(especially if you stop often to snap photos! ;b )

The kind of flower spotted growing in the
Hong Kong countryside whose sight I marvel
at but I, alas, cannot name

Beautiful scenery on view at Hok Tau Reservoir

A nice shaded path to walk along and through

The kind of natural sight that many people walk by
without so much at a glance
but which I consider worthy of a photograph!

Yes, this is (in) Hong Kong!

...and so is this -- and yes, this most definitely
is part of the beauty of Hong Kong! ;b

To be continued... :)

Kawagoe bonus visit

A manhole cover in Kawagoe with an old city scene
on it that includes its iconic Time Bell Tower

An old kura (fire-proof warehouse) building that now is

home to a knife store in the old downtown of Kawagoe

Puppet Ponyo considers where she wants
to visit next in the historic town

As many of those who know me well can confirm, I like to plan and follow plans -- at work but also in my leisure time. At the same time though, I can be flexible -- and if opportunities arise, take advantage of them by incorporating them into a new plan.

Such was the case on the final day of my most recent Japan vacation -- in that I originally planned to spend it in Tokyo, figuring that I wouldn't have enough time to go to some place else and then make it back in time to catch my airport limousine (a fancy word for a scheduled bus) and my evening flight out of the country. But this was before my Tokyo-based friend proposed that we make use of part of that day to go on a short excursion to Kawagoe, a town located around 40 kilometers away from central Tokyo but reachable by a direct train from Shinjuku Station (the major transport hub that happened to be the nearest train and subway station to my hotel).

In addition to its colorful Kawagoe Festival, this town is famous for its charcoal-blackened kurazukuri, fire-proofed buildings that traditionally housed warehouses and also were the homes of merchants. Although I arrived at the wrong time for the festival (though I was close enough that I was able to witness people preparing for the occasion in front of of one of the large floats put on public display for much of the year), I was able to view the distinctive karazukuri and more on what amounted to a whistle-stop tour of the town that gained prominence on account of it having been strategically located along the ancient highway to the Japanese capital.

Admittedly, if I had had more time to spare, I would have done such as spent more time at the Kitain Temple -- and checked out its Gohyaku Rakan (5oo (or so) statues of the disciples of Buddha. But this time around, the circumstances did not permit this Rather than be upset about this though, I was thankful that I managed a visit to Kawagoe at all.

In addition, I am among those who subscribe to the view that a visit to another country or place is considered a good one if one feels that there still are things left that one wants to see and do at the end of the visit. Put another way: this state of affairs means that one would like to return to that country or place. And goodness knows that I'm already thinking of my next proposed visit to Japan -- a country with many interesting sights, seemingly perennially great food, pretty good draft beer and many incredibly gracious people that I find myself appreciating and loving all the more with every visit to it. :)

Light (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

On my previous blog entry about my dining experiences on my most recent Japan vacation, I mentioned my having had dinner at Nagatacho Kurosawa -- the shabu shabu and soba specialist branch of the Restaurant Kurosawa Group established and operated by members of film-making great Akira Kurosawa's family -- and the experience having left my wallet a good bit lighter. Alternatively put: it was the most expensive meal I've ever had -- or at least paid for -- in Japan!

To be fair, I expected this to be so. Among other things, Nagatacho Kurosawa is located in Chiyoda-ku, the same Tokyo ward as the Imperial Palace, the Japanese Prime Minister's official residence, the National Diet Building, the Supreme Court and some fifteen embassies. In addition, the soba we would be eating there is premium handmade soba -- the kind that's got so much substance you feel obliged to eat it slowly and carefully strand by strand for fear of choking to death on it (and yes, a far cry indeed from the light and cheap machine-made soba that far more people are acquainted with!).

Housed in a custom-built three-storey wooden building modeled after a structure in Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, the restaurant is the kind that I'd be loathe to enter on my own -- so I was very glad that I would be dining there that evening with a friend (the same one who took me to a baseball game a few evenings before). In her company, I felt more able to relax and soak in the atmosphere of the place as well as leisurely enjoy the delicious food and drink on offer. (We both went for the set meal which had a variety of tasty seasonal dishes build up to the piece de resistance that was the soba (and included a bowl of the soba dipping sauce mixed with hot water!) and had some junmai-shu sake to accompany the food).

A note about the lighting inside the restaurant: It was pleasantly soft and in line with the politely unobtrusive service. For photo-taking, however, I'd actually have prefer to use a flash but it was the kind of place where I would feel like a boor if I were to do so! Consequently, my Nagatacho Kurosawa food photos are on the dim side -- as can be seen by way of the example I've included in this Photo Hunt entry.

Alternatively, I did use a flash when taking the exterior photos but it really was dark that night! Looking at them though, I think the overall darkness adds some atmosphere to the photos -- so much so that I am glad that I went to Nagatacho Kurosawa for dinner rather than lunch and thus didn't see it in the harsh light of day! :)

Japan eats

An unagi (freshwater eel), egg and rice dish
I had in Kawagoe that smelt and tasted heavenly!

Sashimi (and sushi) is expectedly fresh and good
-- and actually pretty affordable -- in Japan

Surely it's not just me who thinks this dish that includes
a mentaiko center and tiny white fish on a bed of rice
resembles the Japanese flag? ;O

A couple of weeks ago (i.e., a couple of weeks into what has turned into my on-going Japan blogging marathon), a good friend of mine here in Hong Kong expressed her surprise that I had yet to blog all that much about the food I had eaten on my recent Japan trip.

To her and others who have been wondering: I definitely did eat a lot and well in the land of sushi, izakayas, yakitori, tempura, soba and so much more. I additionally ate a wide range of food -- in terms of culinary variety but also price (with the latter going all the way from onigiri breakfasts costing less than 150 yen a pop to a 6,300 yen (minus drinks) dinner at Nagatacho Kurosawa, a soba and shabu shabu specialty restaurant run by the family of Akira Kurosawa).

An American friend of mine told me that when he visited Japan, he only ate food from konbini. Although there was no way that I would entirely follow suit, I did go to konbini to get things like my onigiri breakfasts -- particularly if I had an early train to catch (like on the days that I went to Nikko and Kamakura).

Furthermore, there were times when I gave priority to sight-seeing over serious food hunting by doing such as eating my meals at train stations. But this being Japan, the food to be had at train stations can actually be pretty good -- and as it so happens, I ended up having what I actually reckon is the best tempura I have ever had in my life at a tempura-ya in Tokyo Station in the form of a less than 2,000 yen tempura moriawase lunch set that included seafood and various vegetables including an extremely strong tasting whole onion!

On other occasions, however, foodie me made it a point to eat the regional specialty of the place I was visiting. Thus it was that I had yuba soba in Nikko and unagi in Kawagoe. Re the former: I'm glad I tried yuba but it's not something I'd be making a beeline for again any time soon. Alternatively, the unagi meal I had in Kawagoe really was memorably delicious -- and the sweet smell of that basted unagi and sweet egg accompaniment really was great too!

In addition, I could not pass up making a return visit to Sushi Dai while on a trip which had me based in Tokyo. Although I could not experience the thrill of discovery this time around, I really still do reckon that this Tsukiji Fish Market sushi-ya is not only worth paying close to 4,000 yen for its omakase set but also waiting in line for one hour or more to get into for breakfast!

And while I decided to restrict myself to one meal at Sushi Dai per visit to Tokyo, my one meal there this time around served to remind me that sushi and sashimi really is so very good in Japan -- and also a bargain in terms of the price that one pays for quality (in that I'd estimate that prices in Japan are one third what one would pay for the equivalent quality in Hong Kong). Consequently, after getting reminded of this fact by way of that very good sushi breakfast, I could not resist eating one sushi and/or sashimi meal at least once a day for the rest of this trip!

In conclusion: even though I did do more than just eat while in Japan, the meals I had while in that country definitely were a factor in making me enjoy my vacation there as much as I did. And even though there was just one day when I'd go so far as to state that a particular meal was the absolute highlight of a single twenty-four hour cycle of my recent vacation (i.e., the final day of my vacation -- which saw me eating that unagi, egg and rice affair in Kawagoe), I also truly can see that Japan is one of those parts of the world where super foodies might want to go to just to eat! :b

The inevitable pilgrimage to Sanrio Puroland (Photo-essay)

Before I went to Japan this last time, I mentioned to a friend my intention of paying another visit to Kiddy Land. Shortly before I left, she -- who is well acquainted with my Hello Kitty love -- sent me a text message with wishes that I'd enjoy my visit to Kitty Land.

In honesty, I actually had not originally planned on visiting Sanrio Puroland, the Hello Kitty-themed indoor amusement park in Tama Center, a city in its own right that also is a suburb of Tokyo (as opposed to Harmonyland, the Hello Kitty-themed outdoor amusement park in Oita, Kyushu). But after feeling a bit "shrine-and-templed out" at the end of the previous day (spent for the most part in shrine and temple-filled Kamakura), I thought that it'd be good to to visit a temple to kawaii-ness.

So off I went to "Hello Kitty's Town" via a train with images of Hello Kitty on everyone of its carriages (in particular, its stickers with messages against sticking one's hand in between the carriage doors!). And while I have to admit to initially feeling a bit overwhelmed by the commercialism as well as cute-siness of Sanrio Puroland, it's also true enough that the afternoon "Believe" parade got me all aquiver and a believer once more in the power of Kitty Chan and her ilk to make people smile and all happy inside... :)

Hello Kitty hands out a safety warning
on board the train to Sanrio Puroland

Visual proof that Tama Center
really is Hello Kitty's Town! :b

Imagine the excitement upon
getting this close to Sanrio Puroland...

Kitty Chan in school girl garb at the first
of two shows I watched at Sanrio Puroland

What may well be cuteness and plushie overload
for some others had me thinking "I want!!!"

Hello Kitty in princess mode at the afternoon show

Dear Daniel and a multitude of other Sanrio characters
also take part in the afternoon parade/show

She may be a Studio Ghibli creation but Puppet Ponyo

-- seen posing here with Hello Kitty, Dear Daniel and co
-- could not be kept out of the fun at Sanrio Puroland :b

Broken (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

Don't bother to look for cracks in -- or broken bits from -- the statues and figurines in the above photos taken at Kamakura's Hasedera Temple (the top most one) and Kawagoe's Kitain Temple (the bottom two). Even if you do find them though, they're not the point of this Photo Hunt entry. Rather, it's the broken hearts and dreams that are behind each and every one of the smaller figurines in the pictures.

Although he is not the main deity worshiped in the Hasadera and Kitain Temples, there are areas in these sacred spaces devoted to Jizo Bodhisattva (aka Ojizi-Sama, Ksitigarbha, etc.). Of Indian origin (like Gautama Buddha himself), this bodhisattva is particularly revered among East Asian Buddhists -- and beloved in Japan, where he is popularly venerated as the guardian of unborn, aborted, miscarried or stillborn infants.

Put another way: every figurine in the photo represents people's unborn, aborted, miscarried or stillborn babies. Looking at them, it's not just their numbers that can overwhelm. For often placed amidst the cold stone or cement statuettes are stuffed toys, tiny shoes and other items associated with babyhood.

Since I don't want to leave readers of this entry's text all depressed, here's ending this entry with a link to a heartwarming Japanese fable entitled Ojizo-san, the The Grateful Statues. I do hope that you will click on that link and read the tale -- because, if nothing else, it will make you realize that generosity and the appreciation of it does cross borders and cultures. (And on a lighter note, please feel free to check out a cute Jizo statue and other kawaii elements of Japan in my previous blog entry!)