First day of herding

May 13th, 2007, sunny

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOMS!!

Our first stop today is Tojinbo 東尋坊. It is a tourist trap along the coast of Japan Sea. There you can see many strange rocks fused together due to the ever changing climate along the coast. I took many pictures of my aunt and cousin, and they did of me, but cuz of the sea wind, none turned out too well. (well, theirs did, not mine, so not putting any up here)

Even though the entire trip we were herded a lot, and could only visit every spot no more than an hour, one thing that was totally worth it on this trip besides meeting aunt and Christina after 10 years was the food! Food! Here is a picture of me enjoying lunch at Tojinbo. I had 5 fresh sweet shrimps! (Ama Ebi). A set like this in Japan we normall cost about 15-20 Canadian dollars, so I thoroughly enjoyed every single meal on this trip.

Our next stop was　Nata Temple なた寺. Nata Temple is considered one of the seven National architecture. Established in 700AC by a monk who dreamed of the coming of the thousand-handed Bodhissatva. A lot of history sites in Japan have been partially or entirely destoryed by earthquakes or fires, so, a lot of the architectures we see now are replica or restored. This is why I quite like this place, because the architecture's original condition is still mostly preserved.
Another feature which makes historical sites in Japan so attractive is the fact that they always come with a beautiful garden. These gardens are often original with their layout, plants, and the mood they create. For example, the one at Nata Temple is tranquil yet friendly.

With all that said, the above is a picture of me and my roommate for this trip- Annie. She is a very easy going girl. I had a great time getting to know her.

Usually when I go on a trip by myself in Japan, I plan to visit no more than 2 places a day so I can spend enough getting to know the places and would have time to take in the scenery. Joining a tour is then of course the opposite of this. 　　Our third stop today was Kenroku Garden 兼六園. Kenroku Garden is considered the top 3 most beautiful gardens in Japan. It had been passed down by generations of daimyos so the layout was changed and refined many times. The garden was finally open to public in late 19th century and has not only plants but also foutains, waterfalls, bridges and etc.....

I particuarly like this picture because of how the wooden supports blend into the scenery. Clever eh?

Finally our last stop of the day-Gasho Village 合掌村. This village has at least 300 years of history behind it. The roof of these houses are made of thatch and are placed at an sharp angle so that snow in the winter would not accumulate on the roof and crash down on the houses. Yeah, Gifu prefecture can get pretty cold during the winter too!!

This concluds the first day of herding. I guess I shouldn't complian because if I were to plan a trip in central part of main island of Japan, I would not be able to go so far up into the moutains or so far out to the sea.