Hakone Open-Air Museum

No no no this wasn't a masterpiece curation at the museum....this was Miss Monkey slurping her handmade soba as quickly as she could. Time is alwiz an essence to me...needed to rush to the museum before the sky falls.

However this handmade soba was so delicious and we took longer than we should. Family run with a simple setup, the soba here was really yummy. If you are in Gora, Hakone do visit Soba Nakamura. It is walking distance away from the Open-Air Museum station.

and finally YAaayyyyy!!!! we made it in time b4 the sun sets!!!!
Hakone Open Air Museum is situated high on the mountain range that is part of the Mount Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park....so the weather up here was pretty cooler. Only 100km away from Tokyo, most locals make a beehives here towards the weekend to unwind and relax especially at all the hot spring bath house.


We've never been to an Open-Air Museum and didn't know wat to expect. Monkey looked around and saw wat she wanted to see first!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! screamed for ice cream!!!! but it's too cold for one on that day. There's elephants!!! it's Berr!!! Berr should be here but he's resting in the comfortable 10 stars Ryokan. *I'll blog bout it another day why this accommodation is 10 stars* bahahahahaha

The male and female elephants were both holding a Cherry on their trunks :)))
hehehehehe so cute!!! I wanna take them home!!!
JS -_-"
"stop touching those exhibits...can't u read? no touching."

wait!!! there's more sculptures
what animal is this??


and all of them has got cute round fat pinchable bum bums!!!!
Soon we found so many of these animal sculptures at this museum ground.

Themed as Happy Animals Party by Hung Yi, a Taiwanese artist. He used mainly steel frames to create these art pieces. Then the body were shaped according b4 being painted with designs, motifs, numbers, chinese characters on it.

A hollow heart


awwww dun cry...I know JS looks scary but he ain't gonna eat ya!!!
There's water trickling down this sculpture, from its left eye that made it even more real.

Back pain...having to squat down this tunnel to get to the other side...from the dark/black side to the white side

Rabbits sculpture!!!! I want to bring them home!!!! for my Labbit :D:D:D

Mandarin ducks???

a sculpture by the famous Martha Pan on the Koi Pond. She was born in Budapest and bcame a French nationality in her 30's. Budapest is really a beautiful place, I've recommended so many friends to visit it
*Read about our adventure of Budapest here*


a huge Timber pavilion...trust me it's so big there's a playground for kids inside. Designed by Tezuka Architects, this wood timber structure may looked so simple, but a lot of computer structural calculation were put into it bcoz it didn't incorporate a single nail...just traditional wood joints.

amazing eh?


Wat???? Nobody said there's gonna be a Picasso gallery here??? I really couldn't believe me eyes!!!!
*rub once, rub twice....and storm down the hill towards it*


a total of 300 works were on display here under humidity and temperature controlled exhibition hall. No photography was allowed inside...but if u wanna view the works of this Spanish Master, u gotta see them in person.

We've seen his works back in Spain but what I really want to visit now is Provence and Vincent Van Gogh :)))) Vincent Van Gogh!!!!

Momma Sheep Sheep carrying her lil babies :)))
this is so my hobbits's place coz I've got Berr = Elephant, Sheep Sheep = Sheep and Labbit = Rabbit


JS and Monkey below a really huge sphere....it looked small here but it was hung really really high up there. There was a bigger sphere too.

Sculpted by Arnaldo Pomodoro, this italiano work of arts are everywhere around the world. He's famous for Sfera con Sfera = sphere with sphere.


aaaahhh finaly I found this pic...see the small silver hung sphere and the bigger gold one on the slope? Yeah i was so afraid it may roll down the hill....hahahahaha


Then from within the Persimmon tree *with loads of persimmon fruits* I saw her!!!!
Miss Black Power!!!
yes that's the name of this humongous gigantic sculpture.

Created by the late Niki de Saint Phalle in 1968...I later found out that Madamme Niko married Monsieur Tinquely and I stayed opposite his Art Museum when I was working in Switzerland a few months ago. Everyday in a bus, on the way home...I would tell myself...okie okie I must make time to visit this art museum....I must I must.

and each weary day, I sat in the bus half asleep, wanted to die from exhaustion late in the evening/nite. Staring at the closed museum I told myself....I must make time. Sigh..it didn't happen then, so I must plan again next year when I go to Switzerland again. :)


her disproportion body and mis-matched wrapped dress with polka dot were clashing with each other but then this is ART


Then I saw something near Miss Black Power
what is tat on the lawn????


Oh no!!!! did she do this to u???
poor soul~~~~~

More sculptures among the lush greenery of the garden and trees by the mountain side. What a perfect setting. This was the first ope-air museum in Japan :))

see the low clouds covering the mountains?
prollie on clear day u can see Mount Fuji from here...hahahahaha

then we rushed back to our 10 stars Ryokan hahahaha, in time for a slow relaxing hot spring bath and dinner :)))))))) Since it was a 8 minutes walk....we didn't catch the tram hahahaha. Everything is so convenient here at Gora, Hakone.

For  more information, visit:
http://www.hakone-oam.or.jp/english/

Nijo Castle, Kyoto

Nijo Castle, one of the 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto. The above pic isn't the castle itself, it's just one of the west/north/east/south wing control tower.

Yes Kyoto has got that many UNESCO attractions. Built in 1626 by Togukawa Ieyasu the first Shogun of Edo Period. It is smaller in size compared to the Imperial Palace of Kyoto but still big enuff for u to spend 1.5 hours in here :))))


The entrance to Nijo Castle was really modest. Entrance fees is about 600 yen. Japan has got so many vending machines, half of the time, there isn't a ticket booth but machines after machines to purchase ur entrance tickets.


We had to cross the wooden bridge to get into the "outer ring". There's 2 moats in this castle. So defense was pretty tight...as an enemy, u need to swim across the first huge moat before entering the outer ring....then lots of ninja samurais action before u could even get to the inner moat....and finally the main palace itself.

*pic taken from the web*
see wat I meant!!!!
do not underestimate the moats...it ain't easy to swim across and to climb up. The section where it's nearer to the outer wall has got gradients and high walls.

JS: "Monkey wat are u doin???? come back here this instant!!!!"

The wall was really high~~~~ so any ninja samurais skills are highly needed to scale this stone wall. Even if I could haiyeakkkk yak yak yak and step up like a ninja, it's impossible to do this without energy bars on my backpack. One sure burns tonnes of calories just to swim across and climb this wall. Fight all the tight securities...by the time u have access to the shogun himself...your limbs would be so tired to even kill him. :P


Karamon Gate

beautiful beautiful beautiful!!!!!!
this is the east entrance to the secondary inner defense system before u arrive to the main attraction the Ninomaru Palace.


From the inner court the Karamon Gate looked exactly like from the outside.
Nope that gal wasn't me....I don't cam-whore like tat :P
hehehehehehe


The looked so small in the pics, but actually it's quite high. The japanese referred this as the Chinese style gate.

Ninomaru Palace was the residence and office of the Shogun whenever he visited Kyoto. Served by a few buildings connected to each other with corridors. Sorry no pics coz no photos allowed.

Apart from its intricate woodwork, paintings and architecture of Ninomaru Palace...the only thing that I made squeal like a lil gal was its "Nightingale Floors"
yes....the name says it...the wooden floor chirp like a bird whenever u step on it...Such flooring was designed to alert the entire household/securities and Shogun himself of intruders..Apparently many assassins had made attempts to kill him. Now I understand why Ninjas need to master the skill of walking on water...bcoz if u do, u can oso walk on the nightingale floors without any sound...hahahaha...sorry this isn't a fact, just my 2 cents thought :P

I was having fun walking on the entire palace's floorboard with the creaking chirping sound. JS threw me the slitted eyes look but hey!!!! I can't control it....the floor board just squeak whenever pressure is applied on it...I'm not a ninja so pls dun expect much fr me.



Outside of the Ninomaru Palace, there's a beautiful zen garden. All the pine trees were so well manicured. the landscaped stones complemented the natural beauty of this pond. The stones were carefully laid here for aesthetic beauty.


the Honmaru Palace which was not open to public, only on special ocassion....u can climb up one of the fort to view this. Apparently there are about 400 cherry trees being planted inside the Nijo Castle so the hanami season would be so splendid with late blooms lasting form March till most of April.


Japanese tourists taking a break on top of one of the fortress. From here u can view the expanse of the entire Castle...it's really huge covering about 275,000 square metres.


When we were in Kyoto, it was mid October and the autumn foliage was about to start...
"Hey look the maple trees is turning orangie soon."
JS is heading to Japan again tonite -_-" *jeles me!!!!*
I hope he will be able to capture all the beautiful RED RED deep RED Maple trees!!!!

the inner moat....see I told u it's damn high...

the west exit of the palace. If u spot Nijo Castle on Google Earth or the map, it was laid accordingly on its grid...just like how Churches were built to face East.

Do take ur time to stroll along the gardens of Nijo Castle. This is a must visit in Kyoto :)) afterall it's a UNESCO Heritage Site...trust me u won't wanna miss it :))))

For more info, click here:
http://www.city.kyoto.jp/bunshi/nijojo/english/index.html

Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto

the famous hanging veranda of Kiyomizu-dera, sometimes I do think how much weight it can hold esp with all the "chibi maruko" lil feet on it. I must say Japanese kids are so well behaved, never once I see them screaming, bullying, running, stomping their feet or fighting.

oh now I just described myself....who screamed in glee at beautiful sights, bullied JS to buy me ice creams, ran around courtyard and gardens, climbed every monuments I could, and fought with JS for the last bite of Dorayaki .
I am so shameless....tsk tsk tsk....Malaysians.....

the shameless notti Monkey. She was quite a notorious menace in Japan -_-
tsk tsk tsk beyond control~~~~

Kiyomizu-dera is best accessed by foot...the slow uphill walk was a sight to behold. As u walked, throngs of buses made their climb too. It is by foot that u get to do tonnes of pitstops at those lil shops selling knick knacks from food, snacks to souvenirs.


Once u have arrived, the first Niomon Gate greets you in such happy sight. Most of the attractions in Japan is surprisingly free. Kiyomizu requires a small entrance fees of 300 yen.

most stairs....huffed and puffed...
Right after this flight of stairs, there is a much forgotten hall....yea so forgotten till JS forgot to snap pics of it. Hahahahaha

It's Zuigudo Hall dedicated to Buddha's mother. After removing our shoes, we took a narrow flight of stairs down the basement of this building...It was pitched black with nothing to see....the really old attendants who worked there told us in japanese, to hold our belongings with our right hand...with only the left hand freed, we were supposed to hold a wooden rope that guides us through the walk in pitched black.

It was really pitched black, our feet were cold touching the semi stone semi wooden flooring....right hands carrying cameras and bags....left hand glided across a long dangling wooden rope...As I felt it, the wooden rope is the shape of rosary. Huge beads...I wouldn't even call it beads...huge wooden balls follow one another on the rope.

Inside the basement hall is said to be the womb of Buddha, the walk was short, less than 5 minutes but u won't know where it leads u to. U won't know when to turn or will there be steps...so I was gliding my feet as well WAHAHAHAHAHA. Soon I realised the purpose of this walk....it is not to SEE with your EYES *u can't see anything anyway*...u are supposed to calm urself..close ur eyes...use ur left hands and touch the rosary, say your prayers and move through.

I am glad I found "enlightenment" in those few seconds and realised this quick...which was to close my eyes and walk through. It was so much easier rather than walking in frantic and squeezing ur eyes trying to see where's the end of this tunnel.

Somewhere towards the end, u'll see a stone with a single spotlight on it. Visitors can make wishes in front of this single lighted stone before proceeding to the pathway towards the daylight. The sudden glare of daylight hit us as we re-emerged out on the other end, gleaming at each other for the short surreal experience.

and we continued on our visit after putting on the shoes. U'll need a good walking pair of shoes in Kyoto...not just any good walking shoes but one that's easy to be removed all the time...or should I say perpetually. Hahahaha.

my loyal pair of Tod's is the best travel shoes-mate ever :)))


and we arrived on the famous hanging veranda of Kiyomizu-dera
there were so many japanese and local tourists plus all the super well-behaved and CLEAN "chibi marukos"

where on earth do u find CLEAN children? Only in Japan and maybe outer space.



Chibi Marukos of all ages praying and trying to get a whiff of incense for good health.

As we were busy wandering and snapping pics...there was another group of really really young chibi marukos...think they were about 7-8 max....they politely removed their shoes and head to the main hall. Folded their legs and sat down on the wooden floor. Hats all removed.

Soon the "leader" of all the young cute and clean chibi marukos lifted the wooden stick and hit the gong. He lead his classmates and soon they started praying.

Such well behaved children..... Soon I joined them at the back, watching their actions intently. Yes notti monkey, u better behave urself. Young children can be so well-mannered and you....tsk tsk tsk...I guess they were trained since young....hehehehehe and as for me, I m too old to be re-trained on etiquettes BAHAHAHAHA...yeah even I luff like a Hyena. Maybe we can start with laughing gracefully and mouth covered with my hands.

From the veranda, among the lush greenery there is another Pagoda on the South of Kiyomizu. The Koyazu Pagoda, if you want to wish and pray for children and safe birth...this is the place.

Join the path and walk to the other end of Kiyomizu, this side is nearer to the mountain and u'll have a spectacular view not only on Kiyomizu but Kyoto city. Even the Kyoto Tower is so prominent from here and its mountain range.

*pic stolen fr the web*

if you visit Kyoto in late Autumn, this is the beautiful spectacular scenery u'll have....oh my~~~~~There are some renovation works around here, in fact most of the heritage buildings in Kyoto are being restored. So do visit their website for notices and update. These kind of restoration works are important and take years. Some till 2019. Just right before the Olympics 2020.

we then made our way down to view the veranda from the bottom with its wooden base structure. Founded in 778 and built without a single nail makes you wonder...a lot....

Japanese has a saying "to jump off the stage of Kiyomizu"
it literally means to take the plunge....in fact during the Edo period 234 jumps were recorded of coz not all survived. Come on!!! it's a 13 metre jump how could one survive unhurt. So right now, the jump has been prohibited unless one would like to commit suicide.

the other important sights is this waterfall. Drink from it for longevity.
The name Kiyomizu derived from Clear/pure water, precisely from this waterfall.

If drinking from the waterfall and jumping off the veranda isn't ur thing, there is a Jishu shrine dedicated to the God of Love

One for the album :))))))
Isn't Kiyomizu beautiful? :))))))