The Golden Temple in Kyoto, Japan

click on the image for a larger view

It's really made of gold. Too bad, can't get close enough to scrape some and bring home. ;) This is the closest we could get, amidst a downpour of not only rain but also of tourists, gaijins and natives alike, wanting to see this historic place, which dates back in 1397.

More stories here.

Hokkaido foodie photos

As promised, here are some photos of our Hokkaido galore. Enjoy! ;)


Okunomiyaki and takoyaki are both trademarks of Kansai region, but we had the chance to munch them all in Hokkaido as our friend is of Kansai origin.

Check out sites about Genghis Khan and Hokkaido.


Note: Cross-posted in MY-GAIJIN-LIFE blogsite.

A glimpse of me in Hokkaido

Yeah, that's me in red hood and red jacket, happily waving my hands to catch some snow falling in front of me! (or for foto-ops)

And what is that place, you may ask? Well, that's the wonderful place where we take a good sooooooothing bath every night. They call it onsen in Japanese, or hot spring. It was my first to go to an onsen after an almost three years of stay in Japan.

Oh, did I say I was going to post my pictures inside the onsen? Ha,ha! You must be dreaming! ;) As an excuse, I couldn't get a nice shot because the steam from the 41-degree water was blocking the digicam from having a clear view of the site. ;)

They say that onsen has a therapeutic effect, and I find this very true. My back ache was gone (at least while we were there), and sleeping after a one-hour bath is nearly irristible.

Now that we are back in Tokyo, I oh-so long to have a hot bath. :-/