Miyajima (Itsukushima Island)

March 24
The next morning we slept in a little.  It was so comfortable because it was a traditional style kind of Japanese hotel with tatami floors and futon beds.  We went downstairs and ate another awesome meal.  It was a full course breakfast meal not like American with sausage eggs bacon but the Japanese kind with tofu, fish and lots of veggies.
It was time to leave Iwakuni and make a stop on the way back to HIroshima in Miyajima.  We took a ferry out to the island where we saw deer and the famous temple with the gate in the water.  The only thing I disliked about Miyajima was the crowds but we managed.
We got back to Hiroshima a little late.  The group split up because some went to the baseball game at Mazda stadium.  The Hiroshima Carps were playing against softbank.  Eric, Caryn my mom and me opted for shopping at Fukuya department store and visited the Hiroshima Genbaku Dome where I could take a few night time pictures.  We came back to the hotel to meet the group but they had already left for dinner.  We decided to eat Okonomiyaki and just so happened the other half of the group was there.  I ate half of a cheese type and other half was Eric's green onion Okonomiyaki.  I decided to get some Sho Chu barley style alcohol drink.  It was one of the strongest drinks I had in a while... Can tell I don't go out too much to drink.

Japanese breakfast at the hotel.

Last goodbyes in the hotel lobby with Uncle Kazuo.

All aboard the Miyajima ferry!

When you first set foot on Itsukushima island off the ferry, this is what you would see during spring time... CROWDS!

Oh and deer!

A deer waiting for his IKAYAKI!

The famous Torii and the not so famous Hawaii people.

The Torii standing alone in the water.

Enter the Dragon... I mean shrine haha!

Wash yo hands before

Some times the tide is out and you are able to walk to the Torii and touch it.

Itsukushima Jinja

Miyajima is known for their rice paddles. 

They have the biggest rice paddle in the world!

Peace park

Genbaku Dome

 Hope Okonomiyaki on the 7th floor?  

 Eric cutting into his onion style okonomiyaki.

 I had the cheese style but got to try some of Eric's one!  So delicious!!!

I had to try an energy drink while in Japan.  I'm addicted to monster energy drink and I wanted to try something different!

 This day was our first chill day.  I actually got to sleep in a little and had a big breakfast!  I wish I had that kind of Japanese breakfast once in a while at home.  Miyajima was really crowded, I wonder if it's this crowded year around.  Some things to check out while on Miyajima are the deer, they are very chill over here.  They don't really beg for food.  Another thing is the Manju.  Miyajima is known for different kind of manju.  Lastly I'm not a fan of it but some of the group had Anago, which is saltwater eel.  I'm guessing Miyajima has a lot of eel nearby.  The food booths are really good too!  They cook the food right in front of you and give it to you fresh!  Another thing I tried was fish cake with asparagus and BACON!  Boy was it delicious.  If you ever get a chance to go to Miyajima go and experience it.  I heard there are a bunch more things to do on the island... If you want more info from a person that lives there go to BUTTERZ PAGE! 

Lastly we visited the Peace Park in the early evening.  We ate okonomiyaki as well!  I love the Hiroshima style okonomiyaki.  The food was actually layered instead of all mixed up into a batter which I really enjoyed!  If you are ever are in Hiroshima I suggest trying okonomiyaki! 

Iwakuni

March 23
We woke up at 4 am to get ready.  We all met in the lobby and made our way to the train stations.  We had to exchange our rail vouchers for actual rail passes.  The rail and subway system is kind of hard to understand but I think I'll get used to it once we start using it more.
I was talking with my mother on who we are exactly meeting today.  I am meeting my grandma's youngest brother in Iwakuni.

In Hiroshima I am meeting my grandpa's side of the family.  Most of them are in there 80's and 90's.  I will probably never see them again.  My grandma's brothers son (Kazuo) came to meet us at the train station in Iwakuni.  Hitoshi and Hisako also came to meet us but they came from Kyushu (6 hour drive to where we were), Hiroshi is Kazuo's brother and Hisako is his wife.  They came to meet us at the Iwakuni train station.  We went to the hotel after that and dropped off some luggage.  When we were all set we went across the street to the Kintai bridge and Iwakuni Castle.  There we saw some Japanese tv show filming.  In Iwakuni castle I thought it would have been more castle like but it was more like a museum dispalying swords, armor, and other various weapons.  The castle also had historical pictures of the site and pictures of famous bridges and castles all around Japan.  When we came back down we went to a temple and went to the white snake exhibit.  The white snake is only found near Iwakuni and is endangered.  We got ice cream after and said our goodbyes where me and my mom would spend the afternoon with Kazuo at my uncles house.

My grandma's youngest brother Shizuo lives near Iwakuni and is over 90 years old.  He still farms and grows all kinds of vegetables.  He knew we were coming and he saved us a bunch of strawberries to pick.  We also picked daikon and we saw that he grew green onions and various other plants.  Shizuo also showed us where he used to work as a tailor in his younger years as a profession.  After we were done taking a tour of the garden and house we went to the ancestral graves where my great uncles and aunties were buried.  Kazuo showed us the monument where they were buried at.  Their urns and ashes were underneath it.  We said our hi's and goodbyes to them and headed to Kazuo's house where his son in eighth grade greeted us.  After that we came back to Shizuo's house and me and Kazuo left to go pick up his oldest son from the train station.  I only had met him once over 15+ years ago when he came to Hawaii and came over to play once.  He's now in college and goes to Hiroshima University.
We came back to the house and talked until it was time to return back to the hotel.  At night we had a full 8+ course Japanese meal with a Geisha performing.  It was one of the best meals so far.  After eating I went to take some night time pictures by the bridge with Eric while the parents went to the onsen.  Near Kintai bridge was really cold!

The group with our tickets onto Kintai bridge and Iwakuni Castle.  L to R Ronald, Eric, JoAnn, Roy, Jere, Caryn, Ryan

Looking towards the mountains on Kintai Bridge. 

Sakura was almost in full bloom across the bridge.  There was a sign on this tree indicating it was over a 100 years old!

The group finding their way to Iwakuni Castle.

We took a rope way car up to Iwakuni Castle.  We saw a well where the samurai used to get their water and we had to hike a few stairs to get to the castle.  

We saw some villains in a tv show they were filming just below the castle.

Inside Iwakuni Castle they had weapons armor and pictures of old Japan.  

The view from the top of Iwakuni Castle.  You can see the hotel across the river on the left side and Kintai Bridge near the middle of the picture. 

Iwakuni Castle

The white snake exhibit.  These snakes are only found in and around Iwakuni and no where else in the world

Along a bridge in Kikko Park in Iwakuni

You are able to buy carp food for 100 yen to feed the Koi in the water.

My mom and I at a Jinja in Kikko park

Today was a picture perfect day with blue skies and Sakura.

The group eating ice cream.  I ate a regular chocolate ice cream while Eric had Habanero flavored one.  The ice cream shop at over 50 different flavors!

My Aunty Hisako, Uncle Shizuo and my mom picking strawberries in my Uncles garden.  

My uncles also grows green onions also known as negi in Japanese.  

Aunty pulled some fresh daikon out of the ground.

We all exchanged gifts and at castella cake.  Here is my mom and her cousin Kazuo.  

Masanori and I sharing some stories and strawberries.  

One group family picture before I leave.

 Dinner, at the hotel we had a full on Japanese dinner with different kinds of food.

A geisha performed a song and danced for us during dinner.

We all had to dress in Yukata, we also asked the geisha to take a picture with our group.

Kintai bridge at night surrounded by Sakura

Sakura near the Kintai bridge

Some light painting near Kintai bridge

Futons in the hotel.  Probably one of the best nights I've slept in Japan.

 

Iwakuni was one of my favorite places to visit in Japan.  It wasn't crowded with buildings like the cities are in Japan.  There is actual space to walk around and actually have a personal bubble.  Kintai bridge is one of the coolest bridges I've seen.  Supposedly it doesn't have a single nail in the bridge and is all man made!  Iwakuni castle was cool to see but the shooting of an episode for tv was really distracting.  I also thought Iwakuni castle would have been more preserved as a castle than a museum.  The night time shots of Kintai bridge were the best night time shots I took for the whole trip so don't expect too much shots during the night in my upcoming blog posts.    

A little background on the family side of the trip.  I never really knew my grandma that well.  But finally visiting my uncles house where my grandmother is from was very good.  I feel that I know a little more of my family now that I never knew before.  If you are fortunate enough to travel and go to Japan to see your relatives or even anywhere else in the world be thankful for that.  Some people aren't that fortunate to travel.  I am so thankful that I got to meet them before they passed away.  I hope to stay in touch with my family more in Japan now that I actually met them in person and I really hope to one day go back to Iwakuni.

Stay tuned for more!

-Ryanschang 

First few hours in Japan

My mom gave me the opportunity to visit relatives I've never met in Japan, the only downside was that it was really far away (country side) and really cold. 
I've been to Tokyo twice before once during high school and once roughly 4 years ago with my mom.  I remember being homesick when I went with my mom after 7 days.  I didn't want that happening on this trip and I hate flying on airplanes.  Since I hadn't been over seas for a few years now I jumped at the opportunity to travel. I shouldn't let the fear of being homesick and the fear of traveling on airplanes stop me. 
On this trip my mom invited my best friend from high school Eric and his mom (Caryn) and dad (Ronald).  She also invited my neighbors Aunty Jere and Uncle Roy.  My mom's idea for this trip since both groups hadn't been to Japan besides me and Eric was to fly into Osaka, go to Iwakuni, Miyajima, and Hiroshima, somewhere in between all this visit relatives.  Then go back to Osaka visit Kyoto and Nara and come back home after 10 days of traveling.  It was a packed itinerary with lots of stuff to do.  When we finally got home I was jet lagged and tired but on the up side I didn't feel home sick, I didn't get sick, and I had the best time I ever had since I've visited Japan and I wouldn't mind doing it all over again! 

The next few blogs will be a small blurb or something similar to this ^^ and a journal entry from what I did each day. 

March 21-22 all mushed into together because I lose a day when we fly over the International Date Line. 

That flight was way too long... Almost 10 hours =/ I hate flying.  Anyways we arrived in Osaka at the Kansai airport and we are leaving for Namba in Osaka.  When we arrived it wasn't too cold.  I was wearing just some jeans and a tshirt!  We got to the hotel around 8 pm and unloaded our stuff.  The next thing we had to do was get our rail pass vouchers for the next day.  We spent almost an hour looking for the place to get it.  When that was over we went to find Dotonburi and we ate at Kinryu ramen.  I took a few pictures of the street but not too many.  We found a tako yaki stand and ate some.  We finally headed back to the hotel and I crashed out so quickly I don't even remember seeing a Gyukaku in Dotonburi. 

 My mother and I waiting to board the Hawaiian airlines air bus.  Luckily it wasn't crowded and I got to change seats and have a row next to the window by myself.  

When we landed we quickly got onto a bus for the OCAT (Osaka City Air Transit)  terminal.  It brought us near our hotel and not to our hotel.  We ended up walking around and asking for directions in a shopping mall kind of thing. 

We popped out of the OCAT terminal and found our hotel, the Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka.  

After putting our big bags down we had to look for the train station to get our rail passes.  We ended up walking around Namba Walk for over half an hour looking.  At least there were a lot of stores that you could look in!

We got our rail passes and headed to Dotonburi where they were known for a ramen shop called Kinryu Ramen.  This is the dragon pictured above the store. 

The ramen was good but wasn't as good as the ramen at the ramen museum in Odaiba.

Night time in Dotonburi.

A night time stand selling tako yaki.  It was delicious! 

My mom sharing some tako yaki with me.

I don't understand why I didn't see this sign before.  During our return to the hotel there was a huge light up sign saying this is where Dotonburi is.  I guess I must have missed it! 

This was only our first few hours in Japan and I was pooped from traveling.  I barely had any sleep on the plane but I got to watch a movie on the way there.  There isn't much to do on a ten hour flight.  The airplane food wasn't that good either.  Our first night in Osaka, looking back was ok.  We saw a lot of night life and also buy me drinky bars.  I had enough of the city... where is the country side and the scenery!

Stay tuned for more! 

St. Patrick's Day Tubing

Pete emailed a bunch of us to go tubing two weeks ago and we hoped the weather cooperated.  It wasn't what we expected but it was very enjoyable with great people. 

On St. Patrick's Day 2013 the group met up to tube down a stream in Wahiawa.  On that days adventure was Cory, Pete, Jason, Katie, August, Duc, Dave, Dan, Hawkins, Dave Webb, Elissa, and I.  Twelve people tubing down a stream!  I had never been on this type of adventure but ever since someone introduced it to the hiking community it's been blowing up like crazy this past year.  The most perfect time to go would be if it rained a few days then going right after with hopes that it'd be sunny and good weather that day.  Of course rain didn't cooperate and so we did it anyways!  People were asked to dress up in full St. Patrick's Day gear... Green was sufficient enough!  (I wasn't wearing any green so at the end of the hike near my car a kid came up to me and pinched me!) 

We hiked in for about 45 minutes and blew up all our tubes.  Some of us got dressed up with costumes, others were partaking in some adult beverages before the long 7 hour journey down stream  I on the other hand was getting set up with my Gopro and getting ready to try my best to stay warm.  Even though the sun was out the stream can be very cold with the wind blowing.  Imagine that with overcast skies and rain!  ( I know a few people that did that and I think I would die.)  Anyways since it didn't rain for a while it made for some, getting outta your tube walking a bit and jumping back on it when it was deep enough to tube.  Even though we had to do it multiple times it was good times with good company.  Near the end of the adventure there was a jump spot we had done before so we had to take advantage of us being there! 

Please enjoy the video and pictures!  3 out of the 4 pictures were taken by Hawkins so please go and visit her awesome website!

The only picture I shot on this adventure!  (Gopro)

Happy Bee and Cory in a kilt! 

I was dumb and went face first in one of the swimming holes.  It was VERY uncomfortable because I couldn't use the paddle!  

We made a inner tube sculpture.

Thin ridge up above Kahana

The last time I did this hike was back in 2011 when Kaleo and I were hiking on a weekly basis.  Things changed and he is a busy man now.
This morning I went to do a surf check because the forecast was calling it 3-5 ft on the North Shore with south winds.  I met up with a friend to check at Ehukai and when I got there the surf was a piddly chest high and mushy because there was a hint of West in the wind.  I quickly called up my girlfriend and told her to bring my hiking gear with her so I could meet up with her and hike with her group.
I drove over to Kahana Bay and met up with the group around 9 and pushed off towards the summit.  We hit the summit and took a good 15 minute rest before we made our way along a craggy summit.  It was a hot day because the trades were gone and the sun was blazing hot.  It was slow progress with such a big group but sure enough we made it up and down the teeth without injury.  By 1ish we were making our way back to our cars and we decided to all eat at Papa Ole's.

Enjoy the pics and video

 I only snapped a few pics because I was more focused on capturing the video aspect of the hike!

Front L. to R. Ryan Chang and Jenelyn Castillo.  Behind Ryan is Baron Yamamoto

Last Row: Roger Sourychack, Katie Ersbak, Darren Ito, Agnes, Mike Bishop, Keli'i Sur, and Aaron Toma.

Walking along a ridge above Kahana from Ryan Chang on Vimeo.

 WARNING: Before attempting this hike please know what you are getting yourself into before you choose to do this hike.  It is VERY DANGEROUS.  I know a person who has fallen off and has gotten injured.