arima onsen

is one of the oldest onsen places in japan, and is the most famous one near osaka that i know of. it’s most convenient to get to via coach buses – from the hankyu bus station in umeda, you’ll reach in just an hour; far better a trip than taking the hanshin railway and changing to yet another train line.

we went there in early december, too late for the best of the autumn leaves, but early enough that the weather is still beautiful.

heading there, we definitely felt a bit out of place, as most of the other passengers were old people, with the rest being middle-aged. i think we were the only two who were in our twenties..

its famous gin no yu public bath:

 

its water tasted terrible though…

check out the other steaming hot springs:

accompanied with a stern warning:

arima is very small, and its age is visible in quite a lot of its buildings

 

even the exterior of our hotel was really drab:

our room was gorgeous though. it had a spacious entrance way, a front porch with the toilet AND bathroom and wash area attached, a main room of about 10-12 tatami mats and a smaller bedroom about 4-tatami mats in size, as well as another area with 4 arm chairs and a small coffee table.

the onsen in the hotel itself was so-so. it wasnt big at all, which means that one can only imagine how crowded it could be on long weekends. dinner was awesome though – everyone should definitely have a traditional kaiseki dinner while in japan. it’s meant to have 12 courses, and this is only half of it:

amongst the dishes were beef sukiyaki, chawanmushi, tempura, sashimi, grilled scallop, crabs legs, an udon dish, a mixed starter, some vegetable stuff, steamed chicken and broiled fish. i somehow forgot my chawanmushi – there were too many dishes on the table – and i regret that still!

i think the most interesting in arima is the toys and automata museum though – foreigners receive a discount!

the museum contains traditional miniature toys from Germany, modern toys, wind-up dolls and others.

most of the german toys were christmas related:

this is how multiple wood-cut animals are made:

note the tiny carved figurines in walnut shells at the bottom right:

 

there were many such christmas decorations, but this was the biggest and the most beautiful:

on another floor were these wind up toys. push a button and they move:

 

 

note the eyes on the horse on this one:

 

the creator of the above has an obsession with anubis:

besides these, arima has nothing much really. it’s nice for a weekend getaway from osaka – especially since it’s so near – but it wouldnt be a must-go.

english

Singaporeans might use odd expressions that we think is standard english, but at least we don’t have trouble understanding a sentence like this, i hope?:

“… The primary cause (of a recent increase in birth rate) lies in the economic recovery in addition to various measures put in place to counter the falling birth rate.”

 

let’s just say that there was a lack of understanding today in the office i share with another ALT, the main problem being that the above sentence doesnt make sense.

hmmmm.

snowman yum

Narutoya is the best bakery in osaka, and can be found in the shotengai at Momodani station on the Loop Line.

Its signature item – to me – is their totoro bread; totoro comes in many different facial expressions and has a belly full of chocolate.

last year was the year of the cow, and for a few months into the new year, there was this cow-face bread to be had. like totoro, it had a range of facial expressions and a brain full of milk custard. that’s my favourite item actually, but i’ll have to wait another 11 years for it.

this year, they have this:

mr snowman and turd!

well, actually the turd-shaped thing is a regular item, and a very tasty one at that. it’s peanut butter caramel, so it’s slightly salty and rather sweet.

the snowman is sooo cute. this particular one was chosen cos he had the most adorable facial expression.

 

he has custard and chocolate inside him, and is extremely yummy :) 

quotes of the day

i’m back in japan, and to be honest it’s been kinda nice to be back here; at least i’m no longer living out of a suitcase in the place where i’ve grown up for 23 years. that definitely felt weird.

anyway, a couple of us girls headed out for dinner and drinks, and at this pub this turkish guy was chatting up my friend, and came up with some hilariously awful pick up lines:

“is your father a terrorist? … cos you’re a bomb!”

“when did you get out from hell? … cos you’re so hot!”

“did you eat lots of chocolate when you were young? … cos you’re so sweet!”

oh my. haha. apparently he was dead serious while saying them too, which is worse than if he said them thinking he’s being funny…

okuno-in, koya-san and some other randoms

besides kongo-buji, the other big draw of koya-san is okuno-in, the mausoleum or graveyard.

apparently buddhists aim to have their remains buried there, and many of the plots have been bought up by corporations, somewhat like a company plot for the presidents of the companies and so on.

this below is apparently a memorial erected by a pest company, to atone for killing all those pests.

the entrance of okuno-in:

some of the signs there are really old and have toppled:

these rounded things were a common sight:

i didnt find okuno-in creepy at all, partly because there were 3 of us there in the day, but also because it’s actually a rather open area. you can see the sky and the trees dont form a roof over you.

a sign asking you not to litter:

the panasonic company plot:

the grave of oda nobunaga, a very significant person in japanese history. we were disappointed that it was so nondescript.

the japanese like to stick coins in stuff, and this is a really good example of their obsession:

this, i believe, is a memorial for a photographic association. it’s crazy:

here’s another crazy memorial:

  

after okuno-in, we headed to the mausolea of the tokugawas. the family was extremely influential, and we expected something grand and big and impressive:

that was all there is, and i snuck a shot through the fence:

what an utter letdown!

to end off, here’s a picture of the most unattractive plastic food display that i’ve ever seen in japan – mouldy curry spaghetti: