November 18th, 2007 ideru
I woke up so late today and my back was hurting that I thought my plan to go hiking in Kibune to Kurama might be cancelled. Around noon, I feel much better so off I went. How to get to Kurama ?
Take the Keihan Line either from Kyobashi（京橋）, Yodoyabashi（淀屋橋） or Kawaramachi（河原町） to DemachiYanagi (出町柳）
In DemachiYanagi(出町柳） transfer to Eizan Line to either KibuneGuchi(貴船口) or Kurama (鞍馬）
There are 2 routes: Kibuneguchi - Kurama or Kurama-Kibuneguchi. I choose Kibuneguchi to Kurama route. Arrived at Kibuneguchi around 3pm and started walking to Kibuneguchi Shrine. I thought I was not going to be proceed with my hike cause it rained along the way, but by the time I arrived it stopped unfortunately it was so cold.
I started my climb around 4pm already. The gatekeeper already told me that I have only 1 hour left till they would turn off the lights on the road and it would also start to get dark so it might be dangerous and most of the temples are closed but I was able to convinced her that I can do it. She allowed me to climbed and gave me a discount , instead of 200yen she only let me pay 100yen.
I was a bit nervous during the climb cause I could see people going home already, I thought I was going to be alone on top of the mountain. Thank goodness when I reached the top there were still lots of hikers.. The climb from Kibuneguchi was so steep, I was really out of breath 
but the view I saw on top was amazing , it was worth it.
I was able to finished the in less than 1 hour .. yipee. When I was going home, I found out that there was a light up in between Ninose and Ichihara and so that the people inside the train can view it clearly, the lights inside the train was turned out. It was really enchanting
Here are more pictures in my album
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November 2nd, 2007 ideru
Autumn is here.. so when and where is the best place to go see some colorful leaves ??
1. Minoo(箕面):
Start: Middle of November
Best：November 23
Event: Momiji Matsuri ( Maple Festival ) 11/1-11/31
Access: Hankyu:
Umeda (Takarazuka Lline) -> Ishibashi
Ishibashi ( Minoo Line ) -> Minoo
HP: http://www.city.minoh.osaka.jp/
2.Makiosan : Sefukuji ( 槙尾山：施福寺）
Start: Beginning of November
Best: Middle of November
Fact: There are about 200 momiji trees in Makiozan
Access(station): Izumichuo (osaka)
HP: http://www.city.izumi.osaka.jp/
3. Inunakiyama (犬鳴山)
Start: Middle of November
Best: Middle of November to End of November
Access ( station ): From JR Hineno ( 日根野）station
take the Nankai Wing Bus to Inunakiyama ( 犬鳴山）
HP： http://www.city.izumisano.osaka.jp/index.asp
More of Osaka: Here
Other Places in Kansai Area:
Other places in Japan
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October 18th, 2007 ideru
This is a very long long overdue post. Anyways..
Summer is hell in Japan, but one thing I love about it are Light-ups. Nara Toukae is a yearly summer event in Nara where temples are line with candles which makes it look romantic and eerie BUT.. i was not able to go to the Nara Toukae cause Ate Aya has to work on 08/15 ( the last day ) and I want to meet with her again after a long time so we decided to meet on the 16th which fortunately is also the schedule for the Kasuga Temple light up in memory of all the people who were dead and I think also as a celebration of WW2 bombing in Japan. And the Daimonji light up which we entirely missed cause we were in the wrong location,, talk about bloopers
I also had the chance to revisit the Todaiji and took some decent pictures this time. Entrance to Todaiji is 500yen and Kasuga is Free but its a long long walk to the temple..
I was also reunited with dear deers
It was really a hot day, but it was fun
To get to Nara
By Kintetsu: Osaka ( JR LoopLine ) -> Tsuruhashi -> Tsuruhashi(Kintentsu Line) -> Nara [650yen]
By JR: Osaka ( JR Yamanote LIne) -> Nara ( 780yen)
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September 22nd, 2007 ideru
We were supposed to go to Ibukiyama today, go hiking and watch susuki but Ono-san suggested to go Yakiniku, Shitake picking and Pottery in Sanda.. Not a bad idea considering we are still going to practice tomorrow.
We started around 10:30 and it took us about an hour to reach the place. The name of the place is “Shiitake Land Kasaya：「 しい茸ランドかさや 」”. If you saw Panda-chan patienly sitting in the road, just go straight up and you will reach the farm.
There is a catch though,although its shiitake gari meaning gather all you can mushroom, you can only do it once. You are given a very cute pink basket, and assigned only to a certain location. You can pick all the mushroom and put them on your little pink basket.
After that you are showed to this lovely place, where you can grill the mushroom and some meat depending upon the set you reserve. It’s so refreshing, eating under the pine trees. Ono-san chooses the BC course for the three of us. It’s compose of: (1). Shiitake Gari (2) Shiitake Rice (3) Meat, Sanda Beef and chicken (4) Vegetables. So yummy.. Naoko and Ono did not eat much meat though so I ended eating most of it.. so full.. I was still so full even after our dragon boat practice
We ended up talking till 4PM and almost forgot the Pottery session. The farm closes at 5PM so we only got 1 hour to do it. The wheel was different from what I saw on T.V. Usually the wheel is rotated/turn by the legs, but in this case we have to rotate it by hands so it was more difficult.
With Sensei’s help, we were able to finished it on time
The Official Website of Kasaya. Access route by car, train and prices can be found on the website. Have fun…
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June 14th, 2007 ideru
Travelling withing Japan can cost a lot. For those planning to visit Japan or those who are already in Japan, be sure to check the following type of ickets/pass:
JR Pass -.
-> a very good way to travel all over the country. This is the best deal. Shinkansen is a very expensive way to travel but it is very comfortable and fast. Before coming to Japan be sure to inquire , buy this ticket.
Air Passes
-> only applicable for foreign visitors, so be sure to check this out.
JR East Pass
-> almost the same as the JR pass but limited to a specific area of the country.
For other railway passes that can be used for both resident and non-resident of Japan –> here.
Another way also, is to get a day pass. Example, if you ever get to Kyoto the One day pass for buses is 500yen and can be bought in Kyoto Station(JR, Hankyu) and on the Bus too. Regular Bus fare cost 200yen, and if you plan to do temple hopping around kyoto , this is the cheapest way to do it. A bus map can also be acquire upon purchase of the ticket, for free. Other areas usually have this kind of tickets, be sure to ask the local information center before starting the trip.
Beside railways, Night buses is also a cheap way to get from point A to point B. The cheapest for JR is the JR Seishun Mega dream buses. Be warn though that the interval between seat is so narrow, so if you have long legs it might get a little crampy. This is the list of highway buses.
Have a Nice Trip
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May 28th, 2007 ideru
Saturday - It was probably for a good reason that our sched for biking in Shiga was cancelled. Last Sat, almost all of Japan was covered by yellow sun, which is very bad for the body specially for the skin and lungs.
So anyway, besides the Onsen plan, Naoko suggested to visit the Instant ramen musuem in Ikeda. We had so much fun making or designing our ramen cup and deciding our cup noodle flavor.
Then after that we headed for the Ramen Shop which serve the original Momofuku ramen.So delicious.
On our way back to go Onsen, we passed by Itami/Osaka Airport. First time, I could see planes landing and taking off. It was really amazing
Then off to Onsen. Though kinosaki was a great onsen its too far, around 5hours drive from Osaka, so we opted for an Onsen near Naoko’s place..やっぱり最高だな温泉。。。
Sunday - I extended rose’s inivation to Naoko-san and Misa-san and they gladly accepted the invitation. It was really nice listening to an angelic voice. Misa-san was very interested about the gospel lesson, so she will probably be joining( gospel lesson) soon, although both were nervous during lunch time But they said that they both enjoyed the concert
In the afternoon, rose and I went biking for awhile. Unfortunately,some bugs/worms ( those itchy ones) fell into rose’s backpack and then when we said g our oodbye, it touched my face. In just about a minute,my face was already swollen, my lips where like injected with surgery medicine (buttocks?? ). I really look hideous :D. It was so red and itchy. I keep putting cold and hot compress alternately but it still keeps growing. When the redness started to reach the back of my ear and down my throat I started panicking, fortunately I remember Shiera have some allergy medincine and anti-inflammatory cream. I was so grateful that Shiera delivered the medicine all the way to our house.I was trying to restrain myself from tearing my skin off till the medicine took its effect, thank goodness it did not take that long. This morning,when I woke up the redness was gone, but unfortunately the swelling had not. My lips were still swollen and as well as my face. I’ve got no choice but to take a leave of abscene Around noon, my lips was completely back to its normal form, though my face was still swelling a bit it went back to its original form slowly
All in all, I had a great weekend 
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May 14th, 2007 ideru
My 3 main goal last golden week was to visit and see my new nephew, Atom and go to Edo Wonderland in Nikko. and have a slurp at the infamous ichiran ramen.
Edo wonderland is a theme park located in Nikko. But unlike other theme parks, it focus more on Japan’s Edo Era. There are lots of theather, musuem and of course the costumes.
My main goal was to dress up as any edo citizen. I had a hard time choosing between shinsengumi or princess costume. But then we decided to go with the princess costume.
Costume prices range from the cheapest of 3000yen to 20000yen. The princess costume costs us 9800yen. But there is no time limit, you can dress up from the opening, til 4pm when the shop closes. You can basically walk, attend theater, eat and do shopping feeling like you were in Edo Era with a very high-tech digicam :D. The princess costume was heavy, and the wig was heavier. 
After awhile it started to get really really heavy, that I feel my head is splitting up, so we decided to return to the shop. Actually, we could have opted to take off the wig and just have our hair arranged but it was already 3:45pm and there is only 15min left. But still it was worth it.
There are lots of things to do and lots of things to watch and lots of things to buy There was also a geisha parade at around 11 am but unfortunately we arrived very late already so we were not able to watched it, hopefully next time. Im definitely going back there. But for the meantime, the Kyoto Eiga Mura is next :D.
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January 29th, 2007 Kansai Blogger
Mountain Adventure
Love this part of the trip, I don’t know, I just love love going to the mountain. It’s just so majestic. Like what the emperor in the movie Mulan said,
“No matter how the wind howls, the mountain will never bow down to it”.
So where did I went last year?
Ibukiyama:
- this mountain stands between Shiga-ken and Gifu-ken.
My companions, Miss Ono and Mr. Kakuta or should I say Mr. and Mrs. Kakuta, met at Karasuma station in Kyoto. Then the long drive began. THere was a bit of
traffic that day. Our route was Kyoto to Shiga-ken passing by Lake Biwa in Otsu. The drive was fantastic. Lake Biwa was so big that accdg to Miss Ono, the whole Awaji Island could fit into it. There were lots of families having picnic , kids running here and there. Would have love to stop and venture out, but it was so hot that we
decided not to. We stop by in Nagahama City, and had our lunch. It was the famous Udon with a very large mushroom on top, as in so large that its diameter is basically the same as with bowl. It was so delicious..
So yummyyy.. then we tour some of the different store selling beautiful glassworks.. from the tiniest piece to a very large and very expensive piece. I was so careful looking at the place, I had to refrain my clumsy me or else I might broke a piece hehehee..
I remember this famous warning :
”Lovely to Look At, Nice to hold but when you break it we consider it sold.” Lots and lots of beautiful stuff, but what I was looking for was postcards, there seems to none. So on with the trip, it was a couple of hours more before we reach the gateway to Ibukiyama.
Damn the way up was so fantastic ( looking in the GPS monitor ), all those hairpin curves, I feel like Takumi of Initial D hehehe. The drive up was so amazing , the view below us was breathtaking. The climb to the summit was so refreshing. The air was a bit thinner up there, so it was a bit difficult to breathe at first.. but that did
not stop me from running up there. From the summit, the view was so.. soo.. soooo.. breathtaking.. The one thing I regretted was that I don’t have a powerful camera that could at least capture those scenery ,
but here are some of what I took ( celfone quality )
The downhill drive was a challenge, it was so foggy that we could barely see the road ahead, it was actually a bit scary.. thank goodness for gps we can navigate without much worry. Though I jokingly challenged our driver to do a drift at one of the corner but I guess it was just
impossible hhehehe.. We stopped by a ramen house on our way back to kyoto. Then the couple showed me where there wedding would be held before taking me to the station. It was really an energizing day, yappari I am
really a mountain kinda gal Thank you again to Mr. and Mrs. Kakuta for such a memorable day.
HitokuraKoen
- this is a mountain park in Hyogoken
- take the Hankyu Nissei Line and get off at the last station.
- the park is a bit far from the train station.
A good friend of mine Ri Kou Mai invited me to go hiking there last autumn. From Mikuni, we drive all the way up. It was a great climb. I was out of breath when we reach the top. I guess I am really out of shape. We had our lunch/snack at the top and visited the children’s
musuem there and its all free. Then we played a little badminton before going home. It’s a very nice place for families to go. Children can go running here and there safely and discover great things about nature. And also a great place to just lie down in the grass and stare at the
sky while spacing out ( which seems to be my hobby lately ) …
The hills are alive with the sound of music… la.. la.. la..
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December 12th, 2006 Kansai Blogger
2006: The year that was Part3
Golden Week Adventure
Noemi had enough of Japan that she decided not to extend her H.R. transfer
program. That’s when we decided that instead of me going to Tokyo, we
will prioritize the place that she have not been to. So here are the area
that we decided to visit.
Minor Destination 1: Himeji and Mt Shosha
- Himeji Castle is considered to be the most beautiful castle all over
Japan. Since the time it was built, it was never destroyed unlike Osaka
Castle which was burnt several times.
- Mt. Shosha, was actaully one of the location for the movie “Last Samurai”
It’s a very nice place to visit, especially if your on a temple
hopping and spiritual journey.
Minor Destination 2: Kobe and Arima Onsen
- we just tour Kobe a bit, Ikuta Shrine , before proceeding to Arima
Onsen… yes Onsen galore. We opted for the “Onsen Theme Park”, its a
bit expensive but really worth it. There are still a lot of types of
onsen that you can choose depending upon your taste
Major Destination: Hiroshima
- After our day at Arima Onsen, we return to Osaka to prepare for trip
to Hiroshima. We have already contacted some of our “kababayan” thru
istorya.net–connecting the Bisaya anywhere in the world –. They
became our tourguides/bodyguards. 7 guys went with us, tour the Miyajima
island. It was 2 days filled with adventure, we (noemi and I ) never
expected to see so much with so little time.
How to get there:
Himeji - from Osaka take the JR Line bound for Himeji or Aboshi
one way usually cost around 1450yen
Mt. Shosha - From Himeji Station, take the bus bound for Mt.Shosha ropeline
bus station is located in front of the Himeji station facing the
Himeji castle. One way for bus is I think 300yen. Then on ropeline
station get the round-trip ticket for the ropeline, its cheaper
around 900yen.
Arima Onsen: there are 2 ways to go there
bus: Take the hankyu bus bound for arima onsen at Umeda, it cost around
1300yen ( I think )
train:
Hankyu: Osaka-Kobe(Sannomiya) - 310
Subway Yamate: Kobe(sannomiya) - Tanigami — 380
Shintetsu-Arima Sanda Line: Tanigami - Arimaguchi
Shintestu-Arima Line: Arimaguchi - Arimaonsen
Basically the train is cheaper, but if you have luggage and is planning
to stay long in arima, Bus is more convienient. Believe you don’t want
to up and down the stairs going to the subway
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December 6th, 2006 Kansai Blogger
This will be a series of post of what I have done on the year 2006. Mostly it would be more of the new and not so new places that I have visited, people met and event that took places in year 2006.
First stop: Iga-Ueno: Ninja Village
Finally, Ono-san and me were able to set a schedule for our trip together. I’ve always wanted to visit the Ninja Village in Iga-Ueno Mie Prefecture and so there we went. Ono-san suggested to go by car, since we can save money and can go to places ( like onsen ) that is not accessible by public transportation. I was actually hesitant ’cause I don’t have a license, though I excited to travel by car, I can’t do the driving. It’s unfair really she will do all the driving and I will just watch huhuhuh . Seriously, Mie prefecture is almost 2 hours drive from Osaka and I can’t help. But with everything sorted out, finally set the when and where to met.
Day of the trip, we have a driver :D. Kakuta-san decided to join our trip and he became our driver while we chatted at the back. And of course that’s when I found out the real deal of this two, they are engage to be married :D. Was so happy with the news that I texted/emailed all our common Filipino friends, of course everybody was actually waiting for that to happen. On with the trip. We started around 11am and arrived in Iga-Ueno by 1230am, time for lunch. We ate the traditional food of the ninja, tofu, except for the rice, everything else was made of tofu. I am not actually a tofu fan, but it was suprisingly delicious though I was not able to finish my set… too big.
After the lunch, we tried to find the information center and saw people dressed in ninja costume, even dogs have cute ninja costumes with swords. And that’s when I blurted out, “Let’s get into a ninja costume before we tour around”. The female we’re like , yeah let’s do that. But the male was like “ah ok.. you girls dress-up, but not me”… But 2 girls against one? No way, everybody MUST be a ninja on this trip. . And so after asking around, we found the rental place. The costume cost 500yen and can be rented from 10am - 4pm. Staff are there to help people put on there ninja costumes. Even my ribbon-tying was corrected, ok I don’t have talent for that :D. Accdg to them both foreigners and Japanese alike have done outrageous poses in Ninja costumes, guess everybody wants to be a Ninja and climb walls and throw shuriken huh?
I became a red ninja ( black was only available for men and it’s too big for me ), Ono-san was the yellow-ninja and Kakuta-san was the black ninja. After we don our costumes, we proceeded to the ninja house and learn all the tricks of the ninja, and then saw their equipment in the museum. Also their lifestyle, proper diet , etc. We tried to see the ninja show, but it was already closed and on its last show for the day. So we went, looking for the “Shuriken Experience”, that is you got to throw shuriken , real shuriken. I got to throw real shuriken and I got the highest score of the day ( I forgot though it was more than a 100 ) :D.
We return our Ninja clothes and back to being a normal citizen. But the day did not finish there, next league of the trip is ONSEN. We found a very nice onsen house, it was also cheap only 700yen. The place was on top of the mountain ( I think ) , though it can only be accessed by car, and sorry I forgot the name of the place. Finally, we soaked our tired and stressed bodies into a very hot water.. so relaxing… then dinner, shabu-shabu.. very delicious…
It was such a fun , fun day and I am so thankful for having two hospitable, kind Japanese friends 
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