Still really f**king loving Hong Kong on the 5th anniversary of the 1 million strong anti-extradition bill march (Photo-essay)

This past June 4th, I was out and about in various parts of Hong Kong in the afternoon.  In Victoria Park, where the June 4th candlelight vigil regularly and officially took place through to 2019, I encountered a crazy amount of cops.  

 

Earlier today, the 5th anniversary of the 1 million anti-extradition bill protest march, I was in Victoria Park and elsewhere in Hong Kong again.  To my surprise, I didn't see many cops out and about at all.  Consequently, I felt emboldened to effectively walk once more from Causeway Bay to Admiralty this afternoon -- during which I came across some interesting sights enroute.

 

I know that, from the outside, it might seem that Hong Kongers have given up their fight for, and dreams of, democracy and justice.  But, honestly, I feel like I regularly see signs to this day that this is not the case.  Today, I present to you some of them -- and if they seem on the overly humble and trivial side, remember that there are now not one but two security laws in force in Hong Kong, and the penalties for being adjudged to break them are very dire indeed.   

Spotted earlier this week -- and, in all likelihood,

scribbled in recent weeks or months (as it's so fresh looking!)

 

The same message, less clearly written, spotted earlier today

 

A message (Keep Hong Kong Free) that I'm going to assume 

is from 2019, but is still visible in 2024

 

Also from 2019 -- barely discernible in 2024 but I feel

like I can make out an "Add Oil HK" there

 

Far more clearly, rendered in Chinese characters:

"Hong Kong people, add oil"

 

Also from 2019 but much more clearly visible, 

if you know where to find it

 

Good words to live by

 

It may not always be clear but yeah, 

we still really f**king love Hong Kong

The 500 (actually "just" 499 now!) Rakans of Morioka's Ho-onji (Photo-essay)

Did you know that Morioka's on the New York Times' "52 Places To Go in 2023" list? I only learnt about it after making my hotel bookings for my October 2023 Japan trip -- and was actually a little horrified to hear this as I feared that this would mean that the prefectural capital of Iwate would be swarming with tourists.  But the only time I saw noticeably non-Japanese tourists in the city was over in the ruined castle grounds on my first day in Morioka -- a very loud Thai group, for the record -- and a couple of forlorn looking Americans looking for a place to shelter from the rain, like me, on my first evening in the city (I guess it's a city but it feels more like a small town by Hong Kong standards).  

 

And when I went over to that which I think is the most impressive of Morioka's attractions/sights, my experience was definitely accentuated by my being the only visitor to it!  I guess it "helps" that the 500 Rakans (Buddha's disciples) of Ho-onji aren't mentioned in the Morioka section of many Japan guide books. (One of the books I had listed just two actual sites in Morioka to check out that were not shops or restaurants!) But trust me when they are quite the sight -- and what an experience to be in a (large) room with them and other wooden carvings/sculptures and no one else! 

 

At the risk of blasphemy, I must say that it can make for quite an eerie experience -- but also a very cool one. And if one is able to resist running out screaming with fear after a few seconds and look closely at the Rakans (or, rather, the carvings of them), it really is very impressive how each and every one of them is distinct in look and, also, perceived personality! ;b

 

Not a Rakan (or Arhat) but Puppet Ponyo pointing at the

awesome gate of Ho-onji that gave me a clue that

this was a temple with some impressive sights within ;b 

 

Seriously, the carvings on the gate (including of this dragon

and another mythical creature) were pretty awesome!

 

Assorted statuary line the corridor between the main building

of the temple and that which is home to the  500 Rakans carved

between 1731 and 1735 in Kyoto by nine Buddhist masters

 

It takes the eye a few seconds to get used to the darkness

inside the hall of the 500 Rakans (and here's letting you

know that it also is eerily quiet in there!)

 

As your eye adjusts though, you'll notice the Rakans -- 

and how each and everyone of the 499 (one's not survived 

the centuries!) really does look distinct!

 

Look closely, and you'll see that the Rakans don't all have the

same clothing style; and that some have beards while others

are beardless, and some are bald but others are not, etc.!

 

They're also not also posed the same way -- and there are

a few that look like they're about to jump off the shelves! :D

 

All in all, I'm pretty proud of myself for staying as long as I

did in that hall -- and, in fact, making two complete circuits

of it to check out the Rakans as carefully as I did... before leaving,

and breathing a sigh of relief once I got outdoors into the sunlight! ;b

Rain couldn't spoil my visit to Kakunodate! (Photo-essay)

This week started badly, with my having nightmares two nights in a row -- the result of worrying about bad things happening in Hong Kong.  Last night though, I had a nice dream involving my being in Japan eating sushi.  I figure the dream was set in Japan in part because I finally got to viewing Hayao Miyazaki's magically evocative The Boy and the Heron yesterday -- and, also, because for some years now, Japan has been a place I have found myself visiting in the imagination, even if not physically (by way of movies, books (I'm a big fan of Keigo Higashino's tomes, among others) and food!).

 

Of course, I did finally visit Japan again this past October -- after a hiatus of some 4 years (thanks to the pandemic).  And there's still so much I want to share about that trip.  So, here's resuming doing so with this post about the next place I went to after visiting Tazawako: the former castle town and samurai stronghold of Kakunodate; one stop away on the Akita mini-shinkansen and, actually, now officially a part of the Akita prefectural city of Semboku along with Tazawako (though I must say that the parts of it that I visited sure didn't feel like a city)!  Anyways, you be the judge by way of the following photo-essay! ;b

 

It was still dry when I walked from Kakunodate's train station

through its Merchant District...

 

But the predicted rain came soon after I got to the Samurai District

(and stayed through the rest of my time in Kakunodate! :()

 

The first attraction I made a beeline to was the 

Aoyagi Samurai ManorMuseum, which actually

turned out to be a compound with multiple buildings...

 

...many of them chockful of treasures, including

samurai armor and swords (that I couldn't help thinking

that Funassyi, the history and katana buff, would LOVE)

 

Suffice to say that I most definitely came away from the visit

thinking that the Aoyagi family were serious collectors

of so much STUFF (including cameras and gramophones)! 

 

The second samurai house I visited, the Ishiguro House,

had far less STUFF inside of it -- but that might be true

only of the areas open to the public!

 

A cool element of this house -- parts of which remain occupied

by members of the Ishiguro family -- are the wooden panels,

designed and made in such a way that one's treated to a shadow show :)

 

Yes, I could have done without the rain -- but I also can see

what someone's said: that the rain can make the dark wooden 

buildings more photogenic!

An out-of-season visit to Akita Prefecture's Tazawako (Photo-essay)

With a depth of 423 metres (1,388 ft), Tazawako (Lake Tazawa) is Japan's deepest lake. A caldera lake that's not had much development around it (which makes it pretty rural -- and pretty, period!), it's nonetheless reachable by public transportation; albeit with the catch that service there is not super frequent; so timing is of the essence to get there (and out of there)!

Also, if you go to Tazawako out of season (i.e., not in the summer months), there's really not too much that's open or to do there.  That is, if one is not on an organized tour, one can either go on a sightseeing boat that goes around the lake (which runs only once every 2 hours!) or rent a bicycle to ride around the lake.  And while the latter could be a nice option in fine weather, the former's really the one thing to do there on a day where rain was predicted!

 

Thus it was that after we go to the lake shore, all but one of the bus passengers who disembarked at the Tawazako stop ran up to a nearby hut where a woman was selling tickets for a sightseeing boat ride around the lake. Seconds after I got on, the boat took off -- leaving just one person on the shore, looking perplexed at what had happened. As it so happens, that person was the one non-Asian passenger on the bus I had been on.  Unlike the rest of us -- who numbered less than a dozen -- it seemed he hadn't got the complete memo about the place; something which I hope readers of this blog post now will make sure to do prior to going to a locale that's far more off the beaten track than even I had realized before venturing there! :D

 

 
Puppet Ponyo and the ONE Tazawako sightseeing boat in operation 

the morning I was there (Also, this is a post-trip pic as I was 

too much in a hurry to get on the boat to take a pre-trip pic!)

 

The view encompassing the now distant shore that I had 

boarded the  sightseeing boat seconds after getting on it!

 

The water at the Goza no Ishi Jinja side of Tazawako

was an incredibly bright, almost unnatural blue!

 

At the western end of Tazawako, what first caught my eye 

was the tree on the side of the lake with red leaves on it...

 

But, actually, what this section of Tazawako is famous for is 

the golden statue of Tatsuko, a local beauty who, legend has it, 

got cursed and turned into a dragon after drinking water from the lake! 

 

Imagine how this was look during the height of koyo season...

 

Still, it's not like I didn't see much beauty on my visit to Tazawako! :)
 

Au revoir, Tazawako, its swan boats and all. (And yes, 

there really not being that many other people around when

I was there made the experience feel all the more precious!) :)

Enjoying views of the sunrise from my hotel room in Morioka (Photo-essay)

I'm not a morning person -- but I woke up early enough to see the sunrise on my first morning in Morioka.  To get an idea of how rare an occurence this is: the last time before this that I saw a sunrise was from the top of Jeju's Seongsan Ilchulbong back in late 2018!  Also, as far as I can recall, I have never seen a sunrise in Hong Kong!

The reason I got to see the sunrise in Morioka was because I had planned an early start to my day of sightseeing -- due to the weather forecast, which is amazingly accurate in Japan, being for it to rain in the afternoon (but not the morning) and my plan for the day involved going out on a lake -- Japan's deepest, in fact!  More on that lake later. In the meantime, enjoy the beautiful sunrise views that I managed to catch without having to leave my hotel room!

 

Not at all a bad sight to wake up to and 

get to view from one's hotel room, huh? :)

 

Another part of the same sky that was less bright

 

Meanwhile, another section of the sky was in between 

in brightness between the two previously highlighted!

 

As it got brighter, the buildings ceased to be

silhouettes and became more visible

 

Spider looking like it's floating in the sky ;b

 

The section of sky looking like it was ablaze...

 

A question for those who read this: can you

tell that this is a sunrise, not a sunset?

 

Last photo before I stopped gawping at the sunrise

and went to get ready for that day's excursion :)

Red leaves and more in Morioka, the first stop in Tohoku on my most recent Japan trip (Photo-essay)

I walked by a few trees in Victoria Park this afternoon with red leaves on them.  This being Hong Kong though, it's possible that the leaves were red because they were young rather than because it's a sign that autumn is here.  And even while there are places in Hong Kong where one can see seasonal red leaves, the ratio of humans to red leaves can leave me cold -- unlike when I was over in Morioka last month!

The prefectural capital of Iwate was where the shinkansen (on which I had had the amazing 30 ingredient ekiben!) took me.  Being some 3.5 hours up north from Tokyo even on the super fast train, I found the temperatures noticeably cooler there than in the Japanese capital, never mind Hong Kong -- and the red leaves of autumn evident in many parts of the town/city, including from my hotel room window as well at the old castle grounds in Morioka which has been conveted into a public park known both as Iwate Park and Morioka Castle Ruins Park.

All this made for some nice visuals -- and quite the change from the previous time I had been up in Tohoku: back in May 2019, when I was pleasantly surprised to come across still blossoming sakura (in Sendai and Hiraizumi).  And while I know there are people who go gaga over sakura, I must say that I adore the sight of koyo (autumn leaves) -- and catching sight of some of them on this recent Japan visit was a nice bonus; something which I didn't really expect to do in view of the leaves of the trees at Shinjuku Gyoen that I viewed on the same trip (and, in fact, just the day before!) having been pretty green for the most part! :)      

 

View of red leaves (and pink sky courtesy of a sunrise)  

from my Morioka hotel window :)

Red leaves at Tawazako (teaser for a future blog post!)

 

Puppet Ponyo and some trees 

with a few red leaves at Iwate Park

 

A nice mix of red and green leaves

 

What a sight this tree would be at the height of the koya season!

 

Some red leaves and really high castle walls!

 

What look to be old castle stones -- 

laid out for a rebuilding project?

 

A stream ran through the old castle/current park grounds

-- and this was one of a two ducks I spotted paddling in it :)

A delectable lunch feast at a Shinjuku branch of Tsunahachi, a 100-year-old Tokyo tempura restaurant (Photo-essay)

Until I discovered the wonders of sushi, my favorite Japanese dish was tendon: a bowl of rice tooped with tempura.  But it's only in Japan that I go to tempura restaurants -- because eating tempura in Japan ruined things for me with regards to eating it elsewhere in the world, even Hong Kong where it's often been said (including by Japanese friends) that you can get sushi and yakitori as good as in Japan, only for about three times the price(!), but not such as tempura.  

So when I serendipitously walked by a branch of the verenable Tsunahachi, a specialist tempura chain whose original branch was founded back in 1923 (i.e., a century ago!), after spending the morning of my first full day back in Japan over at Shinjuku Gyoen,  I decided to have lunch there.

 

Disclaimer: I've eaten at a Tsunahachi (over in Takashimaya Times Square) on a previous trip.  But that time, I sat at a table where, at this place, I sat at the counter and was served my lunch course by course rather than all at once.  Coupled with the chef telling me what to eat with the tempura (with just salt for X, with wasabi powder for Y, with sauce for Z, etc.), this took things up several notches!  And while it felt intimidating at first (not least because I couldn't figure out what the appetizer actually consisted of), I ended up enjoying the lunch very much -- and, indeed, would say that this was the best tempura meal I've had in my life, at least to date! :D  

A mystery appetizer that consists of some kind of fish and 

something else (honestly, I don't know -- but it was yummy!)

 

Kuruma ebi (Japanese tiger prawn) tempura 

-- and yes, you DO eat the head! :b

 

Hotate (scallop) tempura on the left (eaten with salt); 

ika (squid) tempura on the right (eaten with wasabi powder)

-- lemon optional for both 

 

Beni imo (AKA murasaki imo; purple sweet potato) tempura 

on the left; maitake mushroom tempura on the right

 

Leaf salad (with tomato) from -- this was specified 

on the menu! -- Ebihara Farm

 

Anago (salt water eel) tempura -- and yes,

the bone's included (see the thing at the top) is a delicacy!

 

 

The last savory course: ebi (prawn) kakiage (tempura fritter?)

served with rice, pickles and miso soup

 

Even the dessert -- featuring chestnut, matcha (powdered green tea) 

flavored warabi mochi, red beans and vanilla ice cream -- 

was a delight! What a (lunchtime) feast it all was! :)