NANA CAFE

arrived in tokyo

发表于2008/07/19由GloriaYuYANG

arrived in tokyo.

so exhausted.

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tomorrow morning leave kyoto, then go to himeji for a typical tourist stop, then heading to tokyo.
i love kyoto, the place i will definitely come again and again. hope next year through the university summer program so i can live in kyoto for a while. compared to kyoto, hokkaido is too dull. sorry, the truth hurts.

the funny thing of my trip this year is that i did not go to osaka…..!!!! what’s in my mind!!!! i dont know, just ending up no time for osaka and nagoya…JR pass expires by tomorrow, and without it i wont be able to afford even the single trip to tokyo, 140 dollars… i wonder how japanese people survive that!!! friends in osaka….sorry!!!

next time, definitely kansai part will be the focus, and hope coming with Chi. make enough reservations to see palaces in kyoto, and go to fusimi shrines at night for the lighting up.
the trip is still going and I already begun to plan for the next time, Japan is really a nice place!

i succesfully tanned myself: the problem is, now i wanna pale skin, because the autumn is coming soon.

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just occur to me: part 1

发表于2008/07/15由GloriaYuYANG

the best time of Pittsburgh in a day is the early evening in the early summer. when carrying two bags of juice, fruits and wine from giant eagle and turing the corner to forbes ave. The church and trees along the ave was bathing in the evening sunshine. the sky is pink. i can smell the sense of summer, and incense of silence. feeling the weight of the bags then feel I am alive. a small place in this big big world. The silhouette of the trees, the breeze, and the lilac fills up the whole street, like a boat floating on a river.

i really love Pittsburgh, where I really grew up and made a small world for myself. a perfect week for me is to read 10 books for study, spend an afternoon in Carnegie Library with sandwiches, manga and apple cider tea, and finally a Thursday drink at the cage with aimless talk and Fried Cheeseball. usually go to Giant Eagle for the fast sushi, and tons of juice, ice-creams, or rush into the Rite Aids in the midnight, searching for a eye-shadow which i will never use it. the people in Pittsburgh, particularly, in my department, are the treature of my whole life-time.

However, I am leaving, if i choose again, I still choose leaving.

I wont forget the happy time in Pittsburgh, meanwhile, i will never forget the depressing time in Pittsburgh. Those sleepless nights with endless tear in the first winter, and in the second severe winter, several times I thought i would rather jump from the bridge and break my neck on the thick icy river to hear that crispy sound. I would never forget.

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genki

发表于2008/07/15由GloriaYuYANG

yesterday i visited the northeast side of Kyoto by bicycle. too much to write, just two tips at the Kingaku-ji. Kingaku-ji was burned to ashes in 1950s by a franatic young monk of the temple. A novel by a famous Japanese author took a phycological approach to depict this event from the monk’s view. I read the first paragraph of this book when I was in Pitt, and I was drawn into it due to the attractive writing style. after the fire, the temple was rebuilt soon and today it was renovated with gold, becoming a true golden pavilion. When I stared at it from side of the pond, not suprising that the last paragraph of the book, the zealot thoughts emerged, with one key word; utukusii, a word with edge and a desperate sense. The other tip is rather interesting, I was desperately thirsty so I bought some ice-cream and snack at a cafe before i entered the temple. After i visited the temple I wanted to have some Japanese tea, so when I took out my wallet, i found out that my 5000 yen bill which I paid for the 400 drink only got me 600 change. The cafe person forgot to give me back the other 4000 yen, and most ridiculously, I forgot to check the change, I simply get the 600 coins and put them in my pocket without thinking. I returned to the cafe and asked them although hopelessly: i dont even remember who gave me the money. but the result was actually simple, they simply listened and gave back the money without even asking the person who catered me.

today was an impresive story too. Miki-san went with me together, actually, led me to all of those places, in total, eight. We went by bicycle, and really enjoyed the long trip. Details later, but one tip: When we returned home, it began to pour, with thundering. I followed Miki-san, riding without raincoats. it was like taking a natural shower, or rushing into the sea. To my surprise, Miki-san rode really fast, i had to put all my effort to catch up. I havent been riding a bike during a pouring day for 10 years, which i felt really happy about it. we became part of the sightseeing on the street. And Miki-san, who rode the bike with me in such a pouring with fast speed, is a really unique and cool mother. again, i feel lucky!

not able to talk with dad. so keep going with the trivia.

Miki-san told me that I was caughing last night for quite a while, which i did not know. en, pay attention….

today received two long letters from Brianne and Shalmit, i miss them. especially Brianne wrote "character-building, but lonely:" there is a reason why Brianne is my best american friend.

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a brief report

发表于2008/07/13由GloriaYuYANG

in kyoto.

for years i only feel lucky about one thing: i always meet nice people. i mean, really nice. just one example after going abroad, such as Brianne, Regi, Tina, etc.

and this time the homestay family in kyoto, extremely nice and warm.

so, I am going to enjoy Kyoto pretty much.

visiting kyoto is like a history marathon, tons of old temples, shrines, or aristoric houses. I planned to save all the Kansai part for kyoto, but now i need to revise it. After staying in kyoto, I will stay one night in Osaka, hope to catch up with the Kansai part, although in a really short time. then Tokyo.

This summer has been really special to me. The trip to Japan is actually the longest trip i have evern taken by myself, almost for 10 weeks. Have I changed a lot, or not at all during this trip? I have no idea. Even sometimes i ask myself what is the point of the endless travelling. Stay in different places, see different views, will that makes me a happy person?

i changed, alot. i wanna tan myself into a piece of chocolate. i developed superstitious tips. and I became more and more eccentric.

the apartment in New York is changed, and I was assigned to another apartment. annoying… i am scared about the new york life, so now is like my final canival..

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The End of Endless Travelling

发表于2008/07/11由GloriaYuYANG

Any mistake is lethal, especially for a single female traveller.

I have maken two mistakes since I started the travel, but with sheer luck I merely survived. I hope i wont make a third one; it is really scary to hell.

I am in Kyushu now, the final stop of my travel. Finally I got a place for internet, but not with my own computer.

Tomorrow I am going to Kyoto, staying for a week. Then on the 18th July I am staying in Osaka, hope to meet the Osaka friends. Then I am heading to Tokyo on 19th, back to Peking on 27th. I am extremely nervous about the homestay.

The rainy season just past when I arrived in Nagasaki, so I suffered from extremly hot weather. I tanned a lot, literally into chocolate skin, which I like. I love the local food of Nagasaki.

My route: Sapporo- Abashiri – Kushiro – Hakodate- Akita – Sendai – (Yamadera) – Aizuwakamatsu – Nikko – Nagoya -(Ise Shrine) – Kurashiki – (Izumo Taisha) – Hiroshima – Nagasaki – Takeo Onsen (Tonight). Today I was planning to stay in Kudamoto, but I was too tired to go any further, so instead I chose a YH with onsen and internet. I reserve the Kansai part for Kyoto, with my last week of JR pass. Nara, Kanazawa, Kurashiki, Himeji, Kobe, Nagoya, and Osaka, Kyoto. Then on 19th, Mizuto, Tokyo.

I wish one day I can bring my family to visit Japan together. And next year I hope I can travel with Chi to Japan, so no one will ask me about lonliness.

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Sketch The 7th Day, Aizu, typed with other computer

发表于2008/07/05由GloriaYuYANG

Today I finally got out of the Sendai, heading to the west, the Yamadera (The temple in the mountain). It was extremely hot and humid; I felt like a camel, carrying heavy luggage and buring out energy. I was thinking of taking the Shinkasen to Tokyo and dropping the extra luggage, I mean the retarded-tyan, at Zhanglei’s place. Probably tomorrow if I can get contact with him. I have decided my place to stay in Kyoto and Tokyo. Tomorrow I am heading to Nikko, the place I should have but not yet done the homework.

The Yamadera is a place where monks built Buddhist temples and trained (again, this is not the right word, but i forgot the damn right one) themselves to achieve the ultimate enlightment. So inside the cliff there are many caves and boards read; many monks fell down and died, do not climb. It is also the place for where the famous Haku poet Basyo wrote the famous sentence; he heard the tranquil sound when a frog jumped into the well. All the way up I kept thinking that if China, not been destroyed or pollutated, should have so much attracting sightviews among those mountains and rivers.

By the way, I figured out that I was recovering, that after climbing the thousands of steps, I was still genki, while most people were really dame no kanji. Today I stayed at Aizuno YH, when I got there it was already totally dark, I mean, totally. Then I went to see the Hottaru, again, the lighting creature I forgot the english name. I got a letter from Brianne yesterday, a long letter. I miss her. I miss Pittsburgh, a lot. I miss home. The more I write, the more I feel like a retarded. Simple sentence, inaccurate words, and worst of all, I lost the sense of English writing when I still get two long academic paper to finish in two weeks. zya, mada

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琐碎的事情。

发表于2008/07/04由GloriaYuYANG

实在是累，但是又不想像上次去西藏，懒着懒着到最后就什么都没记，所以把线留着。
今天留在仙台，做旅游Bus兜了一圈，然后去逛街。

旅行是有模式的。带什么样的东西走什么样的线路吃什么样的东西住什么样的旅馆，环环相扣。日本的旅行模式和以前的经验有很大不同。几天下来渐渐摸的熟悉了，也就习惯起来。比如搭乘local还是新干线，Youth Hostel的模式也和美国／中国的有很大不同。日本的Youth Hostel其实并不便宜，经常比当地旅馆还要贵上一些二些，比其他国家的更是要贵上很多。但是服务比其他国家的Youth Hostel多的多，比如提供食事，泡汤，修学和宿，更多的家庭氛围，而且往往当天电话预约更有效率。

模式不同，所以这次的旅行就很即兴，走到哪里算哪里。而且从仙台开始有新干线了，我就更不怕晚上睡大街了；大不了随时回东京。反正是Rail Pass。

早上的local line的小站，等车的高中，中学生。每天清晨坐JR列车到邻近的城市上学，是我觉得日本最浪漫的事。不过从千叶到东京除外。

今天在仙台逛街。昨天大雨浇湿了鞋子，所以今天只好穿凉拖，涂了蛋粉的指甲油，悠闲的自我感觉很快就被女人的凝视所打破：大街上精致装扮的日本女人们以为
我把家里拖鞋穿到街上来了。。。于是突然很郁闷，跑到商场里买了一双很精致的平底凉鞋。平底凉鞋很精致，但不适合狂走族的我，晚上终于回到仙台站的时候，
在路边把鞋子一脱扔到包里，光脚趿拉着凉拖回家。过于在乎别人眼光的下场，就是多余的行李。

在札幌的最后一个晚上，和同寮刚来的香港女生出去逛街，看到有那种100 日元抓毛绒玩具的机器，早就想玩，在同伴"简单简单"的怂恿下一试，居然真就抓上一个白毛睡觉兔子，当场傻眼。起名叫カッちゃん。傻乐之后开始犯愁，行李已经运到东京，这个东西也不能一路带着啊。在旭川的邮政所和我复印的满洲建筑资料一起邮回东京，花费居然和我邮那30kg的行李一个价钱。
今天在仙台又路过game center，看到那大大的星际宝贝趴在那里，想着试试手气，扔了100日元进去，没中。又扔了一个。
于是我就傻乎乎的看着自己捧着一个巨大的星际妖怪，起名叫笨ちゃん。まさか。。。。。どうしょうか。。。。。

这庞大的多余行李。。。。。头疼。。。。。。。

我就这么折腾，狂走少眠饮食不规律的，体重居然稳中有升。。。。。。。
旅行开始后就一直没学习。。。。。。日语没有什么进步，眼看就要到日光了，东照宫的书还没看。。。铜版纸的书啊。。沉死我了。。。。

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Chapter 1 北海道終わり東北へ

发表于2008/07/03由GloriaYuYANG

我终于终于摸到网了。。。。。累了，所以先简单纪录
Day 1 札幌ー網走　泊網走YH　富良野看Lavendar，坐了近6个小时的火车，发现網走真的什么也没有。
Day 2 網走ー塘路　泊塘路YH 沿铁路线泡了温泉，骑了自行车，看了湖，最后的YH真的是个大惊喜。
Day 3 釧路ー函館　泊函館YH　湿原BUS旅行，最高！一路赶路，犯了一个一想起就额头冒痘痘的大错误，结果住到极差的YH。函馆被人类严重夸大。其实是个除了早市不值得停留的地方。那YH，差到我连shower都没进，第二天头发极度不舒服。
Day 4 函館ー秋田　泊秋田YH 从青森坐沿海岸的五能线，正好赶上特别列车运行。小炕床加海景窗，夺人呼吸的海景。秋田YH在青年会馆内，舒服的不得了！！！秋田很美。
Day 5 秋田ー仙台　泊仙台YH 去了平泉的中尊寺，大雨，一个人提着红鞋子打着红伞光脚在大雨的窄路旁狂奔，开车路过的寺僧好心gave a ride to the station。仙台YH是日式的塌塌米，泡热汤后喝冰镇啤酒，舒服～～
Day 6?

因为九州下雨，所以我考虑多在东北呆一阵子。
其实也是因为连天赶路，每天睡在不同的城市，实在累了。。。。。

北海道不适合一个人旅行，适合开车旅行。北海道的风景，像云南像西藏，又像美国，没车难行，因此不是我的风格。
从秋田到仙台。东北部很好玩。
除了函馆那次，每天都能泡泡温泉。
我很适合日式旅馆，因为我胖胖的身子睡稍微硬的塌塌米非常舒服。。。爸爸的骨头就肯定崩溃。
JR Pass真的是好东西，跳上跳下新干线的。

瞬间：
1在塘路的时候，和老板娘和另一对年轻的夫妇站在露台上看最后一班列车在黑暗中离站，然后他们一起轻轻哼着老式歌谣。
2清晨从塘路坐local 到釧路，满车厢全是高中生，一半昏睡，一半聊天看书，列车晃晃悠悠的从树林中穿行，浓雾。浮在窗外心头。

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