Roger and Stephen in Singapore: November 2012

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Autumn in Tokyo

Autumn is a lovely time to be in Tokyo as the weather is much cooler and the days are generally sunny. The street trees and the many parks and gardens have wonderful autumn foliage from the brightest reds of the Japanese maples to the rich yellows of the Ginkgo trees (maidenhair trees).
Tokyo was also gearing up for Christmas with the main street in Ginza having Spruce trees planted in order to be decorated. The high-end stores had elaborate Christmas lighting on the exterior of the stores like their counterparts in Fifth Avenue New York. It was quite interesting to be in department stores where little English is spoken to have Christmas carols sung in English being played.

On the outskirts of Tokyo is Mt Takao which is a very popular spot as it is regarded as a sacred mountain and also a great place to see the rich autumn foliage . Concierge of the hotel suggested not to visit on the weekend due to the crowds and taking their advise a midweek visit was planned.
It was easy to get to on a express train from Tokyo and then it was just a matter of following the crowds of people also visiting mid week. The crowds of people included families, school groups, people with dogs and retired Japanese with walking poles. Mt Takao has about 8 different trails you can walk on and a fernicular and chairlift to take you halfway up the mountain.
As the queues for both the chairlift and funicular were horrendous and would have involved an 2 hours wait the best option was to make the climb up to the top of Mt Takao which takes about 2 hours. The climbing was strenuous at times and I don't think I have had to say 'Konnichiwa' as many times as I did passing the hikers coming down the mountain. During a quiet spot on the trail a large tap - tap sound could be heard and it was coming from a woodpecker building its nest in the tree.
The summit of Mt Takao was extremely busy with picnickers and the eating establishments were doing a very swift trade.
There were about 6 different options for the descend down the mountain and one of the trails passes the Yakuoin shrine where people pray to the mountain gods for good fortune.

Christmas decorations in Ginza

Christmas window in Ginza

View of Mt Fuji from hotel room

Blue poinsettias (White ones painted with food dye )

Rikugien Gardens

Hama-rikya gardens

One of the outer trails

Woodpecker at work

The crowds at the summit

The view from the summit

Easier on the way down!

Japanese maples

Japanese maple at the top of the summit

Yakuoin shrine

Buddha with a winter coat and beanie to keep warm

Japanese maples and Ginkgo trees

Japanese maples and Ginkgo trees at Mt Takao

Ginkgo tree

Thursday 22 November 2012

Osaka and Kyoto

We recently spent a long weekend in Osaka and made a day trip down to Kyoto which is about half an hour on the train from Osaka
Osaka and Kyoto were bathed in autumn colours that were intense reds and yellows and as we had not seen autumn for 2 years it was lovely to experience. Osaka does not have a huge range of tourist attractions but enough to fill in a weekend. Osaka has a large castle which is impressive and is lit up at night. Osaka's vibrant restaurant and entertainment district is situated in the Dotonbaci district. Many of the restaurants serve crab which is very popular in Osaka. Another popular food in Osaka is Takoyaki which are octopus dumplings that are cooked on a special hot plate. Umeda Skygarden is a great way to see the city as the the observation deck from the 37th floor offers 360 degrees views of Osaka. The observation deck is reached from suspended escalators from about the 30th floor.

Kyoto was very interesting and we wish we could have spent more time there but the weather was not the best. Kyoto has many historical areas and is one of the a main districts where you can spot a Geisha. We managed to spot 2 which was very interesting to see amongst people going about there Sunday shopping etc. We were also lucky to observe a traditional Japanese wedding taking place in a temple. After the ceremony the couple and guests walked through the park to the reception. Beside the river there is an area that has traditional buildings which contained many restaurants and bars along a narrow cobbled alleyway. Some of these bars could only hold half a dozen people at a time as they were so small.

Autumn colour at Osaka Castle

Autumn colour at Osaka Castl

Osaka Castle at night

Cooking the Takoyaki

Dotonbori by night

Food and produce market Osaka

Out for a days shopping

Escalator up to the Umeda Sky garden

The suspended escalators

Umeda building

Reminded us of Melbourne

Autumn colour at Yasaka shrine, Kyoto

Traditional wedding in Kyoto

A wedding guest

The happy couple

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Deepavali

Today is a public holiday in Singapore to celebrate Deepavali or Diwali which is a major festival for the Indian community.

It is believed that Narakasura, a demon, ruled the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram. Under his rule, the villagers suffered a lot of hardship as the demon tortured the people and kidnapped the women to be imprisoned in his palace. Seeing his wickedness, Lord Khrishna set out to destroy the demon and the day Narakasura died was celebrated as Deepavali, the triumph of good over evil

Little India has been lit up with decorations for many weeks and has been very crowded with people buying decorations for their homes from the temporary market stalls set up.

Deepavali is a colourful festival that is celebrated by Hindus and is also known as the festival of lights. One important practise that the Hindus follow during the festival is to light oil lamps in their homes on Deepavali morning. By lighting the oil lamps, the Hindus are thanking the gods for the happiness, knowledge, peace and wealth that they have received. The Hindus consider Deepavali as one of the most important festivals to celebrate.

The rituals today include rising early in the morning to have an oil bath, which is an important feature of Deepavali. Hindus will be dressed in their new clothes on Deepavali. Most of the ladies would be in new silk saris or Punjabi suits of various bright shades. Many will also pay their respects to the elderly and most families would go to the temple after having breakfast. Giving of gifts is also common as well as children playing with firecrackers to celebrate the festival.