Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Catching up is Hard to do (even if its only one day)

I am writing this entry on Tuesday night, but its about Monday. I'm a day behind but it seems like so much more, especially since our wake up call yesterday was 02:30 am. Thats right, we woke up in the middle of the night after having gone to sleep at eleven pm. Why you ask? Well, before yesterday I would have said it was because my husband is crazy (did you catch that? I said "my husband," hehe). Today, I can honestly tell you that his planning is faultless. Ok, back to the why? To get in to see the Tuna auction in action. When planning the trip, it was one of the highlights i wanted to see and didnt want to miss. The deal is that the auction starts at 5:25. They let in two groups of sixty to view it. We were told that people arrive up to an hour prior to the start time (4:25 for those not keeping track). Ori read up on it and found out that 3:30 was better. So there we were at 2:30 getting dressed making breakfast and coffee and hailing a cab at 3 am. We got there just past half past and what do you know - there were already over fourty people ahead of us. I should mention that not soon after, all the spots in the two groups were full (I'd say not much after 4am). People were turned away. I sure would hate to wake up in the middle of the night only to be turned away. So we sat on the floor and waited for the start time.There was even a guy in a Leafs jersey. Sitting in the waiting room for almost two hours, we made friends with the couple ahead of us from San Fransisco. 

Just past 5:00 we were led through the wakening market to a freezing warehouse. There we saw rows upon rows of huge tuna- just laying on the ground. Men in black rubber boots were checking them out, feeling the texture and generally assessing whether this particular fish was worth tens of thousands of dollars. Some get to hundreds! Soon the auction started - multiple auctions at once - different auctioners for different weight groups. and we were in the middle of it all. One particular auctioneer stood out as he was most animated and singsongy. I videotaped him as it was truly a sight to see and hear. I will try to connect to the blog at some time in the next few days. 
We were then ushered out to allow for the next group to come in and see the action. 
We then went to find sushi for breakfast. Our new friends from San Fran went with us. Cause who doesn't want raw fish at 6am? We saw a looooon line up next to the restaurants and my group decided that was the line for Daiwa Sushi. Thats the place that was recommended by the lonely planet guide for Japan. They stood in line along with many others holding the same book we had in many different languages. I was not as patient and went exploring for another place. There were many in the same row of restaurants. On a whim, I asked the woman organizing the long line if hers was the line for Daiwa. She said no and pointed to another line two doors down. It was CONSIDERABLY shorter. I went to the line and make an arrangement with the last guy in the line that he will hold my place while i went to get my friends and we will then hold the place for him while he gets his girlfriend. I went to get Ori and the other couple and laughed at all the others who were actually waiting in the wrong line. But the joke was on us (temporarily) as soon as we got back to the line, the restaurant guy organizing the que basically kicked us out - no, go away. and made pushing motions with his hands. Im not sure whether it was because we were all westerners and his entire lineup was made up of japanese (a good sign for us) or if it was because there was no room to stand outside anymore, but we tended to lean towards to former as later, when we walked back after walking away, we saw more people (japanese) had been added to the end of the line. We basically begged and he relented and pushed us into the row. After another not so short wait, we were let in (separately) to sit at a bar around the chef. He was surprised that we weren't going for the chef's choice, but as neither of us eat shell fish, we decided to ask for specific things - extra fatty tuna sashimi (the really expensive kind) and medium fatty tuna maki rolls. One thing to say about that - melt in your mouth! So good, not only did Ori try, he enjoyed it. 

We then said good bye to our new friends and went walking around the area of the market open to the public. The fish market opened at 9 (it was around 7:30). We bought some great chopsticks which were on the list to bring back home. Then we decided to try our luck and stroll into the fish market ahead of schedule. We were lucky and weren't stopped (at least not immediately). We strolled and smelled the odours an pondered the fates of all these water creatures. 

About twenty minutes into our stroll in the market a cop showed up and ushered us out inviting us to come back after 9am. 

We'd had enough so we got back to the hotel, showered and packed up to get to Hiroshima with enough daylight to see the Hiroshima War Memorial park. How did we do that if Hiroshima is so far? Ahh, well, we took the Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train - super cool!  
We arrived in Horishima and went straight to the park. It was scary how you feel some of the enormity of the explosion just by standing next to the A-bomb dome. 
Bringing the lond day to a close, we went for dinner for the official Hiroshima Okonomiaki. We walked around not finding it, which is odd as its their local food. Eventually we went into a gift shop and the woman wrote on a pice of paper in Japanese a name. We quickly found it (with the help of some super nice Japanee. It was super delivcious and highly recommended. I'll add the name of the place soon. 

We then went to find our accommodation for the night. Ori had contacted Beit Shalom in Hiroshima and they welcomed us with open arms. Masa and his family are wonderfully warm people who greeted us at the door with הבאנו שלום עלינו - an old Israeli song of welcome and peace. After showing us the huge guest room, we got to know the family a little and sing some more songs. One of their sons even taught us how to fold origami Cranes. The crane is now known as the sign of piece in Hiroshima. You may have seen a photo of colourful origami in the collage from the Peace Memorial Park - those are thousands and thousands of folded cranes. It was started by a girl who was suffering from cancer in the 60s (resulting from the radiation in the town). She thought that if she folded one hundred thousand of these cranes she would be cured and there would be peace. Unfortunately, she passed away before reaching her goal. Her classmates took us the project and met her goal. They never stopped and the origami crane has become a symbol of peace. 
We were treated to Japanese pairs - which are delicious!!! and promptly went to bed. 
Miyajima here we come. 







Monday, September 29, 2014

Japan is a totally different world.

עולם  אחר. זה מה שמרגישים פה אחרי שלושה ימים. טוקיו עיר אדירה, מטורפת ומעניינת שיש בה את הדברים הכי חדשים בעולם ליד מערכת שלמה של חוקים נוקשים ומסורות ישנות שעובדים ופועלים לפיהם. אתה מוצא את עצמך חושב כל הזמן אם מה שעשית בסדר או לא, מקובל או פוגע. בשום רגע לא משעמם פה. כל ביקור באתר, חנות או מסעדה מלא הפתעות כי אתה לא באמת יודע מה תקבל ומה תראה. הם שונים פשוט בכל דבר אפשרי. בחלק מהפעמים אתה חושב שהם גאונים ואיך במערב עוד לא חשבו על זה ובחלק מהמקרים אתה חושב שהם פשוט פסיכיים. יש להם חנות לכל נושא בעולם. ותמיד זה יהיה מלווה בקיטש ובפסיכוזה כלשהיא. האמת שבאמת כמה שנכתוב ונתאר לא יעזור. חייבים לראות את זה כדי להאמין. בטוקיו רמת האנגלית של האנשים עוד סבירה והשלטים גם באנגלית אבל אני מניח שמחוץ לעיר זה כבר לא יהיה אותו דבר.
התחלנו את הבוקר בכניסה לחנות takashiyama..תשאלו למה? כי כל יום יש טקס פתיחת החנות וכל העובדים מכבדים את הלקוחות שנכנסים ועוברים במעברים בקידה וברכה. סיון יצאה עם חיוך גדול משם וזה שווה הכל.

משם יצאנו לבניין ממשלתי בשינג'וקו שיש ממנו תצפית מקומה 45 על חלק גדול מהעיר . שינג'וקו הוא הרובע בו אנו ישנים והוא משלב בו הרבה בנייני ממשל, עסקים עם סצנת מסעדות ובילויים אדירה בערבים יחד עם תחנת הרכבת העמוסה בעולם.
לאחר מכן המשכנו לרובע harajuku בו נמצא המקדש הגדול ביותר בטוקיו ( עדיין קטן על אלו שבקיוטו) Meiji-jingu. צפויים לנו עוד הרבה מקדשים לפנינו ולכן בטוקיו המעטנו בכך אבל הוא באמת מרשים, שווה ביקור ונגיש מאוד ממש צמוד לתחנת הרכבת.
בכניסה עוברים בין טורי ענק בגובה 12 מטר שעשוי מעץ בן 1500 שנה..לא פשוט לתפוס אותו בלי מישהו מצטלם מתחתיו אז תעריכו את ההישג! טורי הוא בעצם שער כניסה למקום קדוש ועד כמה שאני מבין אמור להיות לפני כניסה לכל מקדש .

המקדש עצמו יפה ומרשים אבל מי שגנבו את ההצגה הם ארבעה זוגות שהתחתנו וערכו צילומים בתחומיו וגררו אחריהם המוני תיירים עם מצלמות שלופות. בכלל ביפן אתה זה שהופך ליפני הממוצע שמצלם כל דבר לפעמים גם דברים מאוד טיפשיים כי פשוט הכל שונה. אז נחזור לחתונות : הכלות לא נראו שמחות מידי. יכול להיות שזה הלחץ מהאירוע ויכול להיות שזה סתם האיפוק היפני.

דווקא בצד השני של תחנת הרכבת איפוק זו המילה הלא נכונה. הרג'וקו ידועה באופנה המוזרה והמקורית עד להחריד של בני הנוער שלה שמסתובבים ברחוב עם תלבושות ואיפור שלא היו מביישים חג פורים בתל אביב. תוסיפו לזה רחובות מלאים בחנויות בגדים ואביזרים מוזרים, הרבה חתולים בצורות וגדלים שונים על חולצות, שלטים וכו' ותקבלו הרבה צבעוניות ואקשן ברחובות וחגיגה לעיניים.

ארוחת הצהריים בהרג'וקו היתה חגיגה לפה (לפחות לי. באסה לסיון ששומרת כשרות) במקום שמתמחה בגיוזה (כיסונים יפניים למי שלא יודע) והיתה מוצלחת מאוד (אבל חכו שתקראו על הארוחת ערב. שם זה באמת מפתיע)... סיימנו את הביקור בתחנת רכבת עמוסה כיאה לסופשבוע יפני. יותר מידי אנשים על פחות מידי מקום. 

כמעט שלושה ימים ביפן וסיון עדיין לא אכלה סושי. סוג של מחדל. אז הלכנו למצוא אחד כזה ומצאנו. מקום מקומי של סושי רץ על מסוע על צלחות קטנות ואתה פשוט לוקח כל צלחת שאתה רוצה ומשלם אחרי זה בהתאם לכמות ולצבע של הצלחות.

זו בעצם היתה ארוחת הסושי הראשונה שלי! יצא לטעום בעבר פה ושם אבל לא יותר מזה. היה דיי טעים ואני אוכל שוב למרות שעדיין האוכל המועדף עליי עד עכשיו ביפן הוא מרק אודון.

חמש בבוקר עכשיו. אנחנו יושבים כבר שעה וחצי בחדר עם עוד בערך מאה איש ומחכים לראות את הטונה הכי טריה בעיר נבדקת ונמכרת. בכל יום כמעט המכירה הזו מתבצעת ו120 מבקרים יכולים לצפות בזה. לכן מגיעים מוקדם מוקדם ומוותרים על שינת הלילה המתוקה. 


וארוחת הבוקר אחרי השוק?




Sunday, September 28, 2014

Yesterday... was so far away

No, we haven't forgotten you. We were just so tired that we didn't get to turn on the ipad last night. So here goes, this is what we did yesterday.
The day started when our guide Junko met us at our hotel. We met Junko through an organization called free japan guides. She was with us for half of the day and showed us the less touristy aspects of this touristy town. It was a great introduction on our first full day here. The weather was perfect and we headed out to Asakusa (pronounced Asuksa) first.
The buildings behind us are (from left to right) the Sky Tower and the Asahi building (Japanese beer). You might notice that the building is of the shape of a glass of beer - the golden glass is the colour of beer and the odd shaped roof is the foam on top of the beer once poured. Next to them is another interesting building. Im not sure what it is but it was designed by some famous French architect and was supposed to have that golden thing (behind my head) stand verrtically. Due to some permit issues, they wont allow it to stand and so it was layed horizontally. It now takes on a diiferent shape.

Next was the Thunder Gate and the Fortune Gate outside the senso-ji temple. 

Junko taught us how to purify ourselves before entering the temple. Its all very ceremonious. Japan is all about presentation, and tradition and order. 
We also saw the five storied pagoda. Very beautiful. Apparently, the architectural technique used on building the pagoda was immitated when they planned out the Sky Tower. 
The above photo was taken just outside the grounds of the temple. It is interesting for a number of reasons - the top left box contains persimoned, the rest of the boxes contain orange tomatoes. The next interesting thing is that in Japanese, the word for persimone is KAKI. This brought out the five year old in us as we giggled every time we saw a persimone. 
Just cause we're on vacation. we think this might have been an ad for something, but who cares, its cute. 
Coolest drink EVER !! Basil Seeds and white grape juice. The seeds are covered in some kind of jelly, and they pop in your mouth. It comes in many different flavours. We bought it in a store called Don Quixote - cool in and of itself. 
Lunch was great. Junko took us to a fabulous little Soba place. I've decided I like Soba better than Udon. Its lighter and more gentle. Its worth a repeat. 

After Asakusa we went to Yanaka, a part of Ueno. During the World War, much of Tokyo was bombed and destroyed. For some reason, this area of Tokyo was left unharmed. It is made up of tiny little streets (somehow cars still manage to go through) and many little temples. I couldnt stop taking photos and Ori and jUnko stood patiently by. 

After more than twenty different temples, and galleries, and cafes, and little shops with cool names, we said thanks to our fabulous guide and continued on our own to Shibuya - the biggest and buisiest intersection in the world! We did what every tourist there does and went to the Starbucks overlooking the intersection and watched. The thing is nuts!
We stayed there past dark to see the lights go on and headed out for a walk in the area. But before actually leaving the area, we went to visit the sad little doggy statue. The story goes to tell that a many would come back from work every day and his dog would meet him at the station after work. One day the man dies and the dog didnt understand or know this and so he continued coming to the intersection. I think he continnued every day for 12 years. 

What's around Shibuya you ask? everything. Inluding an entire area dedicated to Love Hotels. Its called Love Hotel Hill. Its the seedier side of town, but still quite interesting. I think the coke Zero Ori got out of the vending machine there was the cheepest we found in Japan yet. 

After such a long day, we dragged ourselves bag to the hotel. I saw dragged cause I seem to have done something to my knee and it kinda hurts. Who knows what, but Im hoping it will go away soon. We got back to the hotel, and zonked out. 

Tomorrow is another day (actually, it was today, as I was too tired to write yesteray, which I already stated, but today was another day, so hopefully Ori will get to writing it while I go take a shower. 

Bye for now :)
















Friday, September 26, 2014

Sumo Tournament and lots of udon

We found our quaint little hotel, showered and freshened up a little and went exploring.
First there was a food floor in the basement of a large fancy schmancy department store by our hotel. Here are some samples. 
We didnt try the sushi yet, but it looked delicious. 
And the melons! For the next wedding you attend, how about gifting the bride and groom with a melon? No, not just an ordinary melon. This one comes with the price tag of $162 - a little steep you say? I don't know, it comes with its own fancy box 

 Lunch was ordered out of the machine on the right of this restaurant and eaten inside. Delicious Udon serrved with a smile. 

Then came the time to go to the Sumo Tournament. This is one of the largest in Japan and we were lucky Ori found out about it. 
Small world, we bumped into friends there and spend the evening chit chatting and then went out to Akhihabara together and for dinner. 

It is the electronics centre of Tokyo, where toys and accessories of the past and future can be found in plenty. Crazy things can be seen there. 
 and entire store dedicated to the Yoyo. And these were no simple yoyos - cheapest was $48 and the highest, not taking into conideration to the collectors items, the highest i found were over $200!!

Its the end of the last day and we are zonked.
Tomorrow more adventures await. 








Thursday, September 25, 2014

Flying Eating Sleeping Flying

Yup, we're on the plane and we cant sleep.  What better thing to do than to write the first blog entry from 37000 feet up in the air. 


The flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna was uneventful. We had about four hours in the Vienna airport and decided it wasn't enough to head into town. This meant that we were stuck in the terminal for the whole duration. What a disappointment. Hardly any stores, at least non too interesting. And don't get me started on the restaurants/food options. We paid just over $12 for two small bottles of diet coke. 

At least they had some really cool comfy couches. we sprawled on one and waited the time out.


When we got on the plane to Toky,  while talking to one of the flight attendants i mentioned that we were on our honeymoon. They were all so very happy for us that she came to our seats later with two of the first class gift packs. Those of you who know me, no eye rolling please, you know how those little things make me smile. :)


Ori isn't sleeping either. Rather, he's following the ever slowly moving plane on the screen on the back of the seat in front of him. That's right. I may have had a few moments of happiness from little first class pouches, but my dear husband is getting hours and hours of joyful fun reading the little unknown cities on the map, tracing the flight path and finding out the Russia and North Korea share and itty bitty border. The smile on his face as he's reading what I write was only beat by the smile on his face when he found out that the beef meal option was a surprisingly delicious kebab. "Best plane meal ever." 

 

Today is the first day of the Jewish New Year and I find myself reflecting on the past, present and future. 


Zahava, Ori's mother, asked me yesterday - a year ago, if someone told you that in a years time you would be heading to japan on your honeymoon, would you have believed them? I replied that i probably would have believed the trip to japan much faster than the honeymoon part. Amazing how things can change in twelve short months.


Wishing everyone a Happy New Year filled with happiness, health, peace and much love. 

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Exciting Start to a Great Journey

Hello to our family, friends, and friendly strangers. 
Thank you for visiting our blog. 
We will be leaving Israel on our Japanese honeymoon on Thursday September 25th  which is also the first day of the Jewish New Year.
What an exciting way to start the new year and to start our adventurous life together. Hopefully, this is only the first of many travels around the world together as we journey through our lives together.
We hope you enjoy the blog and photos and look forward to reading your comments. 
Signing off this first entry with much love,
Sivan and Ori