tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2929472909005355182024-02-06T21:40:37.958-05:00Comments on the InsanityDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.comBlogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-80081944319846309482016-03-16T23:52:00.000-04:002016-03-16T23:52:54.650-04:00Dear MMO Creators, It's been a while, lets chat.<br />
<br />
Looking around there's a lot of turmoil in the MMO World. Subscribers down or flat at best, PC free to play models being trampled upon by mobile free to play models, big guilds folding up shop and moving into the annuls of history, huge new projects announced and then knifed in the dark of night never to be heard from again, and so on. Which raises the question: how did the MMO market go from the king of the heap to meandering along on station at best?<br />
<b><br />
Imitation is the Worst Form of Flattery</b><br />
Well, let's throw the big reason out there: no one really did anything new. Seriously, we're about 20 years into this genre and it's stagnated for the last 12 of them as everyone and their uncle has tried to reverse engineer WoW and failed. Repeatedly. It reached a point where the biggest joke in gaming was a new "WoW Killer" launching to stories exclaiming: "<a href="http://commentsontheinsanity.blogspot.ca/2012/08/rant-on-old-republic-and-f2p.html">1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS!!!!!!</a> It's gonna DOMINATE!!!!" and then being on life support 6 months later. <br />
<br />
These games all exist in different universes, but they all play in the same manner and even their classes are all just variations of each other in the end. Oh, sure, the buttons you press differ but ultimately what you do comes down to this: move from quest hub to quest hub collecting bear butts and earning experience until you reach Max level, run max level dungeons/raids or PvP until you've got the best gear possible, sit on your hands until you get new content. Why? Because no thought goes into making the rest of the game world involving at all. Ultimately, anyone is going to get bored when the only game differentiation on offer is whether they want to collect bear butts, womp rats, or radioactive waste. <br />
<br />
In the middle someone came up with World Events - "Hey, look, something's happening over there!" - and everyone adopted them but players quickly realized they were repetitive smoke and mirrors and tired of them.<br />
<br />
What's missing in the marketplace is something that breaks the mold and drives "What an MMO is" forward again - what WoW initially delivered and Everquest Next promised before tugging out the rug. But, with every next generation MMO known finding its way behind the barn in the last year that's not coming soon...<br />
<br />
<b>Where's the Mystery?</b><br />
Early MMO Players had a whole world to explore and figure out, now everything is cataloged and filed online within 15 minutes of a beta patch hitting the test servers. Top end raid guilds spend the two months before a patch fighting the next Tier's raid bosses for "testing purposes" and then folks are amazed that they clear the instance on the first week. The mystery and exploration aspect is gone.<br />
<br />
A big bone of contention in WoW during the last expansion was the idea that Flight must be verboten. The developers argued that flight damaged the world by making it feel small and too easy to complete quests. They're not necessarily wrong; they just misdiagnosed the root cause because the problem is that the world <b>is</b> small. <br />
<br />
This gets back to a budgetary concept of Video Game world design that argues any space not directly related to gameplay is a waste. So, things are done as follows:<br />
<ol><li>Design a Quest Hub and determine the quests</li>
<li>Create and populate the surrounding areas needed to serve the quests</li>
<li>Repeat until sufficient content for max level</li>
<li>Add some roads, fill in the holes on the map, and compress it down because players need to walk from point to point</li>
</ol>Thing is, players don't need to walk anymore so maybe it's time to throw that concept out. Supersize the world and create non-quest related content in the open spaces; things to find, rare monsters to kill, hell even glorious vistas you have to trek out to the middle of nowhere to find and will never see without leaving the beaten path. Use fast transit to link the hubs. Create a separate world of gameplay around exploring and finding something new instead of just throwing more daily quests at people. To a certain degree this is what Guild Wars 2 did and was quickly imitated by WoW because it was the most fun part of that game; the problem is that the world was still small because it was designed as the above.<br />
<br />
Mind you, WoW is now 12 years old and there are still only maybe what, 10 unique caves in the game? So, maybe creating extra open space content is harder than I think. Or they're lazy. Your call<br />
<br />
Also, lets be honest here for a moment: they really should've added flying Fel Reavers to Tanaan when they brought flight back.<br />
<br />
<b>Everyone's Asleep at the Wheel</b><br />
We're 12 years into WoW and the developers still pretend not to realize anyone min-maxes. Prime example: the Garrison. Sure, it's integration of monotonous Facebook gameplay into an MMO but one has to question why it does what it does.<br />
<br />
Game breaking things the garrison allows you to do:<br />
<ul><li>Gather resources for any profession without having to train a gathering profession</li>
<li>Chat in Trade without being in a city and access the Auction House (with the right building)</li>
<li>Earn 20K to 40K a month/toon just sending ships and people into the field</li>
</ul>How did such an immense pile of avoidable damage that lets me earn $250K Gold a month on 20 minutes a day of login time make its way into an MMO? Ultimately it's because WoW design seems to have been taken over by: "Wouldn't it be neat if..." and every time they cook up something completely half-brained it somehow manages to now find its way into the game regardless of the potential consequences.<br />
<br />
As much as I want to see change happen they need to start making smart change that understands the consequences.<br />
<br />
<b>Where do we go from here?</b><br />
Honestly, other than the suggestion to expand the world above I don't know. The procedurally generated content promised by EverQuest Next (even if pseudo) had my ears perked and interest set but that's out the window now as "too hard" so who knows where things go. All I know is that what exists now only exists to be stomped upon by something that radically changes the landscape. <br />
<br />
The sooner that happens the better. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-90539581861833314912014-05-23T22:50:00.002-04:002014-05-23T22:50:39.555-04:00Rant: Excuse Me While a Remin-VentSo, back in college we were given an assignment to create a day planner program for a company, a list of things it needed to be able to do, and then required to pitch it to the class as if they were the "customer". It was a rather boringly repetitive class as groups got up and went through the motions until one of the final groups got up and went balls to the wall presenting quite literally the swiss army knife of day planners; it had features on top of features on top of features. They'd clearly put a lot of work into it in an effort to shock and awe their way to an A. This strategy was going quite well until the question and answer section where the teacher had them take a question from each person in the class as if they were the client inquiring about their device and they got to me. <br />
<br />
The reason for that is that I tend to be just a tad bit of an observant analytical asshole when left to my own devices and thus my question was quite simply this: "You seem to have spent a lot of development time on this product, and these features you've demonstrated seem useful, but… <i>does it actually do any of the things we asked you to make it do?</i>"<br />
<br />
Yup, in their effort to come up with a whole bunch of useless perks they'd delivered a product that did everything but what it actually needed to do by design.<br />
<br />
I'm bringing this wonderful memory up because I'm currently on loan to a project at work that involves dealing with a programmer who repeatedly takes the position that his program is better because it does something we don't need it to do and our demands that it work the way we actually need it to work are clearly wrongheaded… every… single… fucking… time…<br />
<br />
There are a lot of things I could blame for that but ultimately it comes down to this: the programmer is running solo, treats this thing like it is his baby and can't take any criticism of his work at all. Every technical issue is someone else's fault; which it sometimes is but mostly isn't. Every request for change has some vital reason it can't be done until management intervenes and then it <i>somehow</i> happens. Every glitch or incorrect behaviour is working correctly within his view of how the tool should work until you write a twelve page novella on why it's actually extremely important that it doesn't do it that way. Oh, except for the times where you actually sit down, explain how to do something correctly multiple times, point out where the solution is, and then he still can't be arsed to do it until you finally intervene in the middle of a conference call and explicitly walk his ass through how to properly code the program so it works for the 4th god damned time. <br />
<br />
That's right; here I thought I'd left the programming world behind forever yet now I'm stuck doing QA, psuedo-coding, and, ultimately, handing over the solution code to be inserted in real time in front of 10 other people all to spackle over the reality that someone who likely gets paid 3-4 times what I do is functionally incompetent at actually delivering solutions while working for an external IT contracting company that waives around the word "Solutions" in their branding <i>all the fucking time</i>. <br />
<br />
Fuck my life.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-17814183320062955322013-06-29T22:01:00.001-04:002013-06-29T22:01:11.754-04:00Japan Trip 2: Video RoundupIn which I toss everything I shot video of in one post and state the obvious.<br />
<br />
From Day 2, we have a panoramic shot of Osaka shot from the top of the Floating/Sky Garden Observatory:<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QvieRSrpv5I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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Here comes Day 3 where we wander through the Inner Courtyard, Todaiji Temple in Nara and the Outer Courtyard of Horyuji Temple in Horyuji:<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/T5zfOAcFgyk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ymQfep_RTLo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
Day 4 found some armour in Himeji Castle:<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_L49mD_XhN0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
On Day 5, I go street wandering, and find a small garden pond:<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QctwKVkbwiI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ghQrjz1BfRo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
The 6th Day sees all sorts of stuff: The Silver Pavilion Grounds, the Heian Shrine and a couple of it's garden ponds, and a shot from the patio of Kiyomizudera Temple. Oh, and someone else playing Border Break on a live video feed: <br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LOhLrU_Y5Vo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/d2d2Hx-75GQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BedS01xbbAQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-WP-wuRpOjU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CrQAitjK0U4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/IRQc4nt6dLU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
Jumping ahead to Day 9, we have some maintenance being done on the outer walls of the Imperial Palace, the inner bailey entrance to the Eastern Garden of the Imperial Palace, and the pond within the garden itself: <br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1RJnVEkkjaQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ljhMV0ZV_VI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6fCNdCoMxIw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
aaaaaannnnnnddd we finish up on Day 11 with some kind folks making <i>really</i> good candy:<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/g-FgL5Hz2a0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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That's that folks. Back to my random posting habits. Enjoy. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-86595167944137199542013-06-11T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-11T12:00:00.805-04:00Day 11: Annnnnnnd, We're Homeward Bound.Have to check out by 10 AM, but don't fly out until 5PM so I leave my gear in an automated baggage locker and kick around Tokyo Station where I grab a quick McBreakfast at a McDonalds where they seem to have taken the whole McCafe thing to an extreme by painting the place up like a beatnik cafe and outfitting the staff in french berets and skirts:<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoH9KmKoN71mLw8n2ybRVwyDaouTyJqukpmaRnWFeotCUYtPX9Bq2jhf8TO2_7EX7Z5djOkwPDHvYAg1eppjXSVFJnbbgrq3JtRX6LAaZpDJ2l9WnGH2Q3yrIjpRVgpiLE1gaUxou0mEk/s1600/IMG_1510.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoH9KmKoN71mLw8n2ybRVwyDaouTyJqukpmaRnWFeotCUYtPX9Bq2jhf8TO2_7EX7Z5djOkwPDHvYAg1eppjXSVFJnbbgrq3JtRX6LAaZpDJ2l9WnGH2Q3yrIjpRVgpiLE1gaUxou0mEk/s320/IMG_1510.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4OFdJv_V00jh-4o0hNQn6uGISwJXbQY0PIO11ywzq5YTaoubxi1ZDUJKWMYqc3FNuE4K4vYBO9WVHbWyMYZp0OYjH3Yxo6s-8Aue31_Ab7sugob-DNf30N4FHBeUKXycI4JsGr7kN7Y/s1600/IMG_1511.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4OFdJv_V00jh-4o0hNQn6uGISwJXbQY0PIO11ywzq5YTaoubxi1ZDUJKWMYqc3FNuE4K4vYBO9WVHbWyMYZp0OYjH3Yxo6s-8Aue31_Ab7sugob-DNf30N4FHBeUKXycI4JsGr7kN7Y/s320/IMG_1511.JPG" /></a></div>One thing about Japan is that grocery stores are largely built into department stores on their basement floors:<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZBUGgAhRs3Wwg506GH-bhHm5722qmUdoF-ujWIYKrQH0wHdCWce_dN7NkG68fv2oN9eCXvLq5SLdnHjMSEOFuMmBMYbiW6bAwbOTOoSezqBMvi8zdSRaHK1gkp03QE9hwOaStOK3JHs/s1600/IMG_1521.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZBUGgAhRs3Wwg506GH-bhHm5722qmUdoF-ujWIYKrQH0wHdCWce_dN7NkG68fv2oN9eCXvLq5SLdnHjMSEOFuMmBMYbiW6bAwbOTOoSezqBMvi8zdSRaHK1gkp03QE9hwOaStOK3JHs/s320/IMG_1521.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRTVwS4VgPap-MYTI7HNM0ENO-Uy-mZfWVFGOcowemQKGMnoY0xg1q4LbJRMZ38O1dNnPFKsEUmDrmGLZW7RfnOyli1T-qTVVGkYSC7SXVaBCPHzDc2vSSli4uI1heB5AlD2VQ_EBSsk/s1600/IMG_1522.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRTVwS4VgPap-MYTI7HNM0ENO-Uy-mZfWVFGOcowemQKGMnoY0xg1q4LbJRMZ38O1dNnPFKsEUmDrmGLZW7RfnOyli1T-qTVVGkYSC7SXVaBCPHzDc2vSSli4uI1heB5AlD2VQ_EBSsk/s320/IMG_1522.JPG" /></a></div>and are less series of aisles and more like an old school farmers market with distinct booths and variations in terms of what's available. At one booth they were making some excellent candy by hand. It was pretty interesting to watch them create an orange flavoured candy by combining 6 triangular "orange slices" into a roll about the thickness of my thigh, and then work that roll down into individual pieces the thickness of my pinky finger:<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvr6k_qHlFiiz0TQx-cRvpHyn40yU75NrNCJ2hjTeqQsk2dvPiQXFZ0gL8HYt6x4UfYunF8QhxMKoM64PdyMWHvJQryli_xgiN63b-VqzLIOIEVar-viu_ZtvKWZRFsdhdlebTYNymIGY/s1600/IMG_1523.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvr6k_qHlFiiz0TQx-cRvpHyn40yU75NrNCJ2hjTeqQsk2dvPiQXFZ0gL8HYt6x4UfYunF8QhxMKoM64PdyMWHvJQryli_xgiN63b-VqzLIOIEVar-viu_ZtvKWZRFsdhdlebTYNymIGY/s320/IMG_1523.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Yfi7VpfEcFDXQY6nzbzsgDxZDN-hiTUw-vAP_hdILfYwj1aKxh7xzNdtbiwFSxDTqw2bx42PwOu0oxWL-SR9lbHwTnwG2fCKjNGUW_QK7BNbf10mDAzYyokuuP8PO4RRTqdikZlhlVA/s1600/IMG_1526.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Yfi7VpfEcFDXQY6nzbzsgDxZDN-hiTUw-vAP_hdILfYwj1aKxh7xzNdtbiwFSxDTqw2bx42PwOu0oxWL-SR9lbHwTnwG2fCKjNGUW_QK7BNbf10mDAzYyokuuP8PO4RRTqdikZlhlVA/s320/IMG_1526.JPG" /></a></div>I have video of the process I'll likely post later.<br />
<br />
I'm now off the Narita where I grab some Ramen for lunch:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQolkT_yxPMGaQcNoZ_S9IQrv09jb8c31tu3dwlvVDVOPVoDEKS5rHt-XMS_TzCVPJs6oIpaLvVjBgNrf-D7lpZPCgC2GYfiQ8C7sRWkKX45QIKV7Y960NMP1qxAmZr6fg4O2S6fWpEA/s1600/IMG_1534.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQolkT_yxPMGaQcNoZ_S9IQrv09jb8c31tu3dwlvVDVOPVoDEKS5rHt-XMS_TzCVPJs6oIpaLvVjBgNrf-D7lpZPCgC2GYfiQ8C7sRWkKX45QIKV7Y960NMP1qxAmZr6fg4O2S6fWpEA/s320/IMG_1534.jpg" /></a></div><br />
For our finale, let's note a few things that make Narita a superior experience to Pearson again. Firstly, when you get there before you even get in there's an exterior mall where you can buy everything from clothes, to books, to electronics if you're inclined to stuff a TV in as your baggage allowance:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLmb9i3ANiSYcUCiJcKh1mYVGpIDc5BIt72XtSrQHjkSVzdnAMydCofW2L7bv3UlK8EKI5V-UdCDkH8jYtocISQiZkssqHKCzzSnXnjh0J8t3hHwMcNUbrMnLiWpfvApyqoDZIlAKrYQs/s1600/IMG_1529.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLmb9i3ANiSYcUCiJcKh1mYVGpIDc5BIt72XtSrQHjkSVzdnAMydCofW2L7bv3UlK8EKI5V-UdCDkH8jYtocISQiZkssqHKCzzSnXnjh0J8t3hHwMcNUbrMnLiWpfvApyqoDZIlAKrYQs/s320/IMG_1529.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgz9UprWR3dnQOwwx9RA9V2znBzStMcS0VWlj705DqW5E76a7oKC7gPoqvZA6YwIVJQxATwgMA1PagAYe8LY21elldYz1sJPwW7Rx6AuK-KtKeu8sveW9CutOfnPINM7Ib-DJYacAZdBI/s1600/IMG_1535.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgz9UprWR3dnQOwwx9RA9V2znBzStMcS0VWlj705DqW5E76a7oKC7gPoqvZA6YwIVJQxATwgMA1PagAYe8LY21elldYz1sJPwW7Rx6AuK-KtKeu8sveW9CutOfnPINM7Ib-DJYacAZdBI/s320/IMG_1535.JPG" /></a></div>then, once you clear customs... well, remember the vacant hallway I showed at Pearson? Well, compare your left and right views walking out here:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-esZmugu7KYKuB3Ks70PynDXlO-Q8JetSwgQ3CcOWFcIk50jhRxcRGCenNUUMwvR41r9OBsHCcynchVzEuMNgufZij4NyGqNp5jKcOdtAIrNlq69EM2T8PJJMtGfnuS4RGIbVHEwJ8E/s1600/IMG_1536.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-esZmugu7KYKuB3Ks70PynDXlO-Q8JetSwgQ3CcOWFcIk50jhRxcRGCenNUUMwvR41r9OBsHCcynchVzEuMNgufZij4NyGqNp5jKcOdtAIrNlq69EM2T8PJJMtGfnuS4RGIbVHEwJ8E/s320/IMG_1536.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIcnjK7tp-kGgeN5Xyx5mzS3Q6_K1AUolcVjthLt2327kRqb5vXJOvSNEcsvPXxgN3apWnOF00ryttIFhxzhDTI_5PcPbL9qunpwftk4gbRwexwZI0K4ILdJPclqQ9AuvFu1NJnzdnVw/s1600/IMG_1537.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIcnjK7tp-kGgeN5Xyx5mzS3Q6_K1AUolcVjthLt2327kRqb5vXJOvSNEcsvPXxgN3apWnOF00ryttIFhxzhDTI_5PcPbL9qunpwftk4gbRwexwZI0K4ILdJPclqQ9AuvFu1NJnzdnVw/s320/IMG_1537.JPG" /></a></div><i>Yeah</i>.<br />
<br />
At this point you're probably going: why would I want to shop at an airport? Well, you may have forgotten something but, more importantly, even window shopping is something to do that's not just: "sit in your chair and wait pleb". It makes for a much more interesting way to blow two hours. Not only that, but there's actual food here that's priced about the same as everywhere else which is a vast improvement over Pearson's: "ha, ha, we've got you trapped!" bs. <br />
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With that said: I shall do an epilogue eventually. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-31539207039788749432013-06-10T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-10T12:00:06.507-04:00Day 10: Around Tokyo Part 2<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKp3hQCRNhkkrNQlhcOubvcqD98xntX4EjiUDiTRoNf6jMCt6uYXGA5rkRS8mSXz2D0InBhEvJ9GRirmt1OXJ6ixW5-mrmvT8BfeDZLpURguKuxG1S4Cw81yIfVYzapyYX7Yt2Ks4UUs/s1600/IMG_1422.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKp3hQCRNhkkrNQlhcOubvcqD98xntX4EjiUDiTRoNf6jMCt6uYXGA5rkRS8mSXz2D0InBhEvJ9GRirmt1OXJ6ixW5-mrmvT8BfeDZLpURguKuxG1S4Cw81yIfVYzapyYX7Yt2Ks4UUs/s320/IMG_1422.JPG" /></a></div>Gonna start out my last full day here by touring the Edo Tokyo Museum which, as you might guess, is dedicated to the history of Edo/Tokyo. <div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyihjv_oWVjBHbkS_4Jn37o61yaIK0rVe0wkD58bJGgh9_A_plctO-DPcT2jx6PQXw1O62ZohEMVzuh9r3PMMcWVFhXE2LQ1-nrN7Rorv03uNlSDYPWjdEwBOm3X7AoK1ZYtQNJ-BT1hM/s1600/IMG_1427.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyihjv_oWVjBHbkS_4Jn37o61yaIK0rVe0wkD58bJGgh9_A_plctO-DPcT2jx6PQXw1O62ZohEMVzuh9r3PMMcWVFhXE2LQ1-nrN7Rorv03uNlSDYPWjdEwBOm3X7AoK1ZYtQNJ-BT1hM/s320/IMG_1427.JPG" /></a></div>Worth the visit, it's full of full scale reproductions, objects, and diorama's of historical Kyoto as it works it's way though the towns origins to the almost present day. Finish up there about noon and stop off for lunch. <div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbfYfU_MH_7IQ1-emYum4KKokBZzbWbn2YeLXIoTmg7aelE8-RPUCSnWmRCoF0FCY1NKSNQHcYDcH2GW3pHvp-PE56JJFZiRQ4rqXqsCVNISfZeIfzSYFByVcjcRUywz0aiSohE0aIjs/s1600/IMG_1479.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbfYfU_MH_7IQ1-emYum4KKokBZzbWbn2YeLXIoTmg7aelE8-RPUCSnWmRCoF0FCY1NKSNQHcYDcH2GW3pHvp-PE56JJFZiRQ4rqXqsCVNISfZeIfzSYFByVcjcRUywz0aiSohE0aIjs/s320/IMG_1479.JPG" /></a></div>After finishing up there, I remember a prediction from <a href="http://commentsontheinsanity.blogspot.ca/2010/09/8-days-in-japan-day-7-little-bit-of.html">my last visit</a> and pop by Harajuku to see how the gentrification is going and find sections of the street either under reconstruction or in the final stages of being rebuilt as fresh storefront buildings. It will be interesting to see what stores move in in a few years. <br />
<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sJsyZKjeE8IYGBCqCI_9Bm1R_CNin9Lqn34p63Z20qE7g6LdeeiH0aNteNqmm9wBBUL6y-SzWZZ4_AL3jUhpEN73K6GDGg68BBw5DprgMzIvnNsHU1qYcUw3T2i5cIlyh08DNgam4UI/s1600/IMG_1480.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sJsyZKjeE8IYGBCqCI_9Bm1R_CNin9Lqn34p63Z20qE7g6LdeeiH0aNteNqmm9wBBUL6y-SzWZZ4_AL3jUhpEN73K6GDGg68BBw5DprgMzIvnNsHU1qYcUw3T2i5cIlyh08DNgam4UI/s320/IMG_1480.JPG" /></a></div>Moving on, I head north to Asakusa and visit the Tokyo SkyTree: a new broadcast tower to replace Tokyo Tower for the digital age. It's your typical CN Tower-like attraction if the CN Tower had a huge mall underneath it. One thing about Japan: they don't waste space and pretty much every attraction like this also serves as part of a larger complex so there are other things to do there even after boredom sets in with the SkyTree itself.<br />
<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYB0aYD9OmyaSKffNVnp-Gx_s04ZlSSmpZDg3O34Oy7DDvIbVLv7YZTrYuxC1c1shpYCq6lNVPO7_iajFrEUAuw16y1fp2IIoEvnc2LX2yyK5zqYT0DtRMzpl78fcLiE7S1LCHA4cd-M/s1600/IMG_1483.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYB0aYD9OmyaSKffNVnp-Gx_s04ZlSSmpZDg3O34Oy7DDvIbVLv7YZTrYuxC1c1shpYCq6lNVPO7_iajFrEUAuw16y1fp2IIoEvnc2LX2yyK5zqYT0DtRMzpl78fcLiE7S1LCHA4cd-M/s320/IMG_1483.JPG" /></a></div>It's my last day here, so I divert back south to Tokyo Station and grab some Tonkatsu again because it's damned good, unlike those M&M wafers restaurants serve up here:<br />
<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLSdTrqLX26HSTK_K1jpLCsiEut7F9exAcQEDZQKfpkhwZ2iABkU4R6LZY4jH1KPjoT9mma5hzN92olnxHMQoCCDRlUs7IdLVlRJVaFCom0DNqb8OL3LC_AeTe7UxX95774D4a6Jxqh8/s1600/IMG_1505.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLSdTrqLX26HSTK_K1jpLCsiEut7F9exAcQEDZQKfpkhwZ2iABkU4R6LZY4jH1KPjoT9mma5hzN92olnxHMQoCCDRlUs7IdLVlRJVaFCom0DNqb8OL3LC_AeTe7UxX95774D4a6Jxqh8/s320/IMG_1505.JPG" /></a></div>and then I spend the rest of the night kicking around Akihibara where the AKB48 are plastered on posters all over the place and Maid Cafe's have expanded to include Business Woman, Cat Girl, and School Girl variants. <br />
<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghs3OzyG9yX2vFIliFYjX5ZLoblnVjRbf82xXsuH-kKqCmmft7zrgFMCIkbAJGbCVeKkF2hqFbvAo1IWPGeTBtsIrELWmcMNOu6wueb49YpQqS4-77Ixa1fPlE947YpKgdt1JeFpv7D8w/s1600/IMG_1508.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghs3OzyG9yX2vFIliFYjX5ZLoblnVjRbf82xXsuH-kKqCmmft7zrgFMCIkbAJGbCVeKkF2hqFbvAo1IWPGeTBtsIrELWmcMNOu6wueb49YpQqS4-77Ixa1fPlE947YpKgdt1JeFpv7D8w/s320/IMG_1508.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Tomorrow's Forecast: Sunny, chance of planes.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-80666264403926913522013-06-09T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-09T15:38:32.390-04:00Day 9: Around Tokyo<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44P80NKLOzAMo9di9sW2m6WeOcWc0tbU8_pd_KIE-MMsDNMDskZ4Jy6kCqJxSYdZ-h8lt6pYvJ7XPONamQKVSNw2nx0FtRsFYFsl4uxXjvCVMZVlBPnlTK1o6vlQyNqafBpCGLU88lVo/s1600/IMG_1289.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44P80NKLOzAMo9di9sW2m6WeOcWc0tbU8_pd_KIE-MMsDNMDskZ4Jy6kCqJxSYdZ-h8lt6pYvJ7XPONamQKVSNw2nx0FtRsFYFsl4uxXjvCVMZVlBPnlTK1o6vlQyNqafBpCGLU88lVo/s320/IMG_1289.JPG" /></a></div>Gonna spend my last couple days kicking around Tokyo starting off with a trip to the Tsukiji Fish Market. This is where a majority of the fish that is consumed in Tokyo and area is sold each day and where the daily auction of fresh Tuna catch occurs. Didn't get up at 5 AM to witness that, a bit early for me, but even at 8 AM the market is still pretty lively as stores and restaurants move to make their last purchases. Something to remember if you're touring: you're in the way. This is an active wholesale market, so there will be people rushing from booth to booth and produce carts making their way through the aisles so you need to stay aware of where you're positioning yourself so as to not get in the way of regular traffic. <br />
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Be kinda silly to goto a fish market in Japan and not do sushi, so it's time for brunch: <div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimpeNttsEQkH5boDE7LmUM_jqhvdb8-_dz3hXfF5tcOwHVbb8MFHlirzdSLxNkKmKI4qjz-Dlawq6HUoaYR8H9zZSfRyu6u90NwiMmBWnO7SaHvTFdArCPW84ybze6WI476TG9gpdvl74/s1600/IMG_1303.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimpeNttsEQkH5boDE7LmUM_jqhvdb8-_dz3hXfF5tcOwHVbb8MFHlirzdSLxNkKmKI4qjz-Dlawq6HUoaYR8H9zZSfRyu6u90NwiMmBWnO7SaHvTFdArCPW84ybze6WI476TG9gpdvl74/s320/IMG_1303.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Next up: the gardens surrounding the Imperial Palace. The Palace itself is not open to tours, but the East Garden is a free park open to the public the vast majority of the time: <br />
<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSuGsrw7A68qNALB_0aJnX-C4e_SNUiHxQb4HNZcTfrkC-R2NmMIIg0Yu3dek0HG6ktk_JK3vsTeEr5LRhPKneGYKLwGh_K4vHmW87cLj_rijeWr50CEpAsyk4V0D49W42gqCvEA17kY/s1600/IMG_1325.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSuGsrw7A68qNALB_0aJnX-C4e_SNUiHxQb4HNZcTfrkC-R2NmMIIg0Yu3dek0HG6ktk_JK3vsTeEr5LRhPKneGYKLwGh_K4vHmW87cLj_rijeWr50CEpAsyk4V0D49W42gqCvEA17kY/s320/IMG_1325.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjns4njl7HiQTRjx74bZ_ZZcgWfeHRSfTCtBQHk3Ve74RyBvIV79qS_v52NFr7E3SIycu7XQU0zdk9nZmqDa1Lx7ym5aZiEqioELt2JKwEKYqv5jQHHuQ9skvWtgGTWUWPyWoI0A1ujCjY/s1600/IMG_1335.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjns4njl7HiQTRjx74bZ_ZZcgWfeHRSfTCtBQHk3Ve74RyBvIV79qS_v52NFr7E3SIycu7XQU0zdk9nZmqDa1Lx7ym5aZiEqioELt2JKwEKYqv5jQHHuQ9skvWtgGTWUWPyWoI0A1ujCjY/s320/IMG_1335.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLW_hyYVurNFEkUsqILV-4RVZ4I-CGs4Rz2meZX-WMlijd6iqbNxwStiyECbMnQAHHUYpAsHLxMzKD_VOkqF3K0r7wjt1UIBGgam7JbwUxuxUyE4ARz4S5_bC4jjF8HYQfIM12A7Q8hUg/s1600/IMG_1342.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLW_hyYVurNFEkUsqILV-4RVZ4I-CGs4Rz2meZX-WMlijd6iqbNxwStiyECbMnQAHHUYpAsHLxMzKD_VOkqF3K0r7wjt1UIBGgam7JbwUxuxUyE4ARz4S5_bC4jjF8HYQfIM12A7Q8hUg/s320/IMG_1342.JPG" /></a></div>and it makes for a pleasant walk. <br />
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I'm looking for a book, so I jump over to Shibuya for a bit, touring the shopping district and visiting Shibuya Crossing:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_mgagX_NyWJjIggCqQzWD_VJdlqufkAj4HALs1imO4Ws6wkcpD9Pa4tr_g1GcDAHD9ofs8pUpma18fyvXHX-FvC0JVw9itGAzvXuPIZh0qQRySBJcF8PaUx-Kg8GS3aTpiP_HouGDAE/s1600/IMG_1389.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_mgagX_NyWJjIggCqQzWD_VJdlqufkAj4HALs1imO4Ws6wkcpD9Pa4tr_g1GcDAHD9ofs8pUpma18fyvXHX-FvC0JVw9itGAzvXuPIZh0qQRySBJcF8PaUx-Kg8GS3aTpiP_HouGDAE/s320/IMG_1389.JPG" /></a></div>before making my way back downtown where I'm able to see the restored exterior of Tokyo Station which was being worked on the last time I visited:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTw6vtg6Ntd5fBWr54qD9v5xUuPLxroXraaZdiFnCxPMIU8FVtUz7vd9uNxPP_Z35xhbViUZ9A27dW8KdYy2h-JuxMRWjnKLBskvZcc4Fkx8A0uRe9_RCMC_PBcOQR4MtWfyO34Ha864/s1600/IMG_1393.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTw6vtg6Ntd5fBWr54qD9v5xUuPLxroXraaZdiFnCxPMIU8FVtUz7vd9uNxPP_Z35xhbViUZ9A27dW8KdYy2h-JuxMRWjnKLBskvZcc4Fkx8A0uRe9_RCMC_PBcOQR4MtWfyO34Ha864/s320/IMG_1393.JPG" /></a></div><br />
At this point, it's getting late in the day so I grab dinner:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlcB6A9ZntisGejoDt6VfZp6Mgpr2xL9UrFGmqzLg7jqR00sfMRmD0xRmGB2RLLUoy56viFCUv2vwig0KTD_p34fsIK0NVM2RASCTQr_nSlBWmLVZyugOdSGs44uczc-QJGH-LEeYV84/s1600/IMG_1404.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlcB6A9ZntisGejoDt6VfZp6Mgpr2xL9UrFGmqzLg7jqR00sfMRmD0xRmGB2RLLUoy56viFCUv2vwig0KTD_p34fsIK0NVM2RASCTQr_nSlBWmLVZyugOdSGs44uczc-QJGH-LEeYV84/s320/IMG_1404.JPG" /></a></div>up in Shinjuku (where I learn about table charges: eat elsewhere if you don't want to pay 300-500 yen just for a seat), and then tour the nightlife district there in Kabukichō:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdTnyi2elaOzszIkU38BB9nw4SSWuvMU86nGQbp_ZzC4aCR3qenGTLifIF7glQ9iXP3OYEEEK4QR4kHolNm9oUMAXgWpvPqwgGSTGFJex8-ST8ZjfAEJuWgQ6MuRieDHE4y6VIDhpfh0/s1600/IMG_1400.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdTnyi2elaOzszIkU38BB9nw4SSWuvMU86nGQbp_ZzC4aCR3qenGTLifIF7glQ9iXP3OYEEEK4QR4kHolNm9oUMAXgWpvPqwgGSTGFJex8-ST8ZjfAEJuWgQ6MuRieDHE4y6VIDhpfh0/s320/IMG_1400.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPzPcYdid962iLamU_vino7GB7YoLUyMKXCPaUXuDynRdz-NN5oQwY8foYC0yXWmOCXTNM3jYFaWqIZSOPGnBuaURtVqy9p_PlWJgFv-Vo63sldt_rJV1iW_vMCoiG529VQ8L-xBj0_g/s1600/IMG_1417.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPzPcYdid962iLamU_vino7GB7YoLUyMKXCPaUXuDynRdz-NN5oQwY8foYC0yXWmOCXTNM3jYFaWqIZSOPGnBuaURtVqy9p_PlWJgFv-Vo63sldt_rJV1iW_vMCoiG529VQ8L-xBj0_g/s320/IMG_1417.JPG" /></a></div>A solid mass of neon, bars, and exotic establishments - at one point a finely dressed man offers to help me find certain services - it's worth touring for the ambiance alone. <br />
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Tomorrow's forecast: Overcast, chance of history and electronics. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-57461549297840395812013-06-08T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-09T00:06:54.847-04:00Day 8: Matsumoto or Third Try's the Charm<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0Ps2JBW8BGpLMJaaFd9LqX_PMt9QFveJ4WbiEGGr5RVQanDtQnNNgkTRaJFWfe6ImKgEictURA9g3tBEhfj_RO7hqadw-zg3glPoq6rLvimJMAi4TweNT7N8a5y0Zl-POQ4F3qPnfqQ/s1600/IMG_1159.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0Ps2JBW8BGpLMJaaFd9LqX_PMt9QFveJ4WbiEGGr5RVQanDtQnNNgkTRaJFWfe6ImKgEictURA9g3tBEhfj_RO7hqadw-zg3glPoq6rLvimJMAi4TweNT7N8a5y0Zl-POQ4F3qPnfqQ/s320/IMG_1159.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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Today I'm off to Matsumoto; another former castle town this time placed inland on an open plain nestled between the Japanese Northern Alps and Northern Mountain Ranges so pretty much anyway you look you're surrounded by mountains. We're here primarily to take another shot at seeing a castle keep proper but, being 3 hours out from Tokyo by train I'm going to kick off with lunch:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKLu7_2KjN1e3qV03dnRu0dXmGeUmw2Yxn9OVn6TPTpBkKGSeGRcVX2vlslrsrYn9QbsngxlB74PJpBumJdj4DN_K2iOn86bnS1phDhzDrZ2rhDNS9bxgLtmjylhXnne_ot1GdlHJJf9s/s1600/IMG_1160.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKLu7_2KjN1e3qV03dnRu0dXmGeUmw2Yxn9OVn6TPTpBkKGSeGRcVX2vlslrsrYn9QbsngxlB74PJpBumJdj4DN_K2iOn86bnS1phDhzDrZ2rhDNS9bxgLtmjylhXnne_ot1GdlHJJf9s/s320/IMG_1160.JPG" /></a></div>before moving onwards towards the castle.<br />
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En-route I stop by the Timepiece Museum where there are some absolutely beautiful grandfather clocks on display amongst other things:<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VBTaQ6nVSuT2C71vQQJZwqs0pzmkLC3dpBHqA0h8xDU?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSaPuJ6aQB85I2uAwYKC6-LmDTvVPKXmDtV2Rec3iEDhddIpKmttQnK5tHTLtTmnRE0qQvnAouGCps7imJg42-z8ZXukz1OvNaZRrA5wxp3ZpnmXHpT78Yk5y8Dcvc1CeDlWGcMTbtaok/s144/IMG_1166.jpg" height="144" width="108" /></a></div>After wandering through the collection, I proceed on to Matsumoto Castle: <div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtmBphFl3WDaMYZmAzizZn_vTS0mDYQe7cw07WbG_Sg-_cl3nMgnOCvSfu5obtxfnXfpCSbCFVEBZq9oQvPrTVeF_IXRxPvTP47RxFseL-pTZ7IBwN0Hu_ahPgVUZqLKswRvihLDKsuw/s1600/IMG_1222.JPG" i="" imageanchor="1"><br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtmBphFl3WDaMYZmAzizZn_vTS0mDYQe7cw07WbG_Sg-_cl3nMgnOCvSfu5obtxfnXfpCSbCFVEBZq9oQvPrTVeF_IXRxPvTP47RxFseL-pTZ7IBwN0Hu_ahPgVUZqLKswRvihLDKsuw/s320/IMG_1222.JPG" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2Y9Ydym15FYFbwd95DEc43MW0s0WUBYseMx93r_J5tNYh_kFyAolahYU0l38zBtcAnlOk3Fx1QIIPyByJsZx3Az7iG2uFDib7WgDZhOMRIQXN5m-TNGqftwr-5q0pmKXWfGHHwmuhnM/s1600/IMG_1196.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2Y9Ydym15FYFbwd95DEc43MW0s0WUBYseMx93r_J5tNYh_kFyAolahYU0l38zBtcAnlOk3Fx1QIIPyByJsZx3Az7iG2uFDib7WgDZhOMRIQXN5m-TNGqftwr-5q0pmKXWfGHHwmuhnM/s320/IMG_1196.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>which was built towards the end of the wars of unification and just as the Matchlock Rifle began to make it's presence known. Constructed with a 50 meter wide moat to place attackers on land just outside the effective range at the time and with rifle slits and sliding slot windows for shooting from, it was amongst the first castles to take the Rifle into consideration just in time for the wars to end. As such, it would never see battle and is one of the last original (although repaired and maintained), undamaged examples of wood and clay wall construction left in the country. <br />
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Also, the first castle where I'm able to see the inner keep largely as it was and it's a wonderful piece of interior woodcraft. <br />
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I spend a couple hours there chatting with a friendly tour guide before proceeding to the Kaichi School Museum:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-97blx9XD12P-qooTZeVj1UVCVOBGOaPPkk6wyO2DimhE_vqn5SNvm1wmGjWDKgRdO77-ZUwmjKSD9YzjU6_j8ioETNc3afj7J7sfDBzXW6JWvhA0ADy_5vrcaO2JSf6jAg_MekzC04/s1600/IMG_1229.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-97blx9XD12P-qooTZeVj1UVCVOBGOaPPkk6wyO2DimhE_vqn5SNvm1wmGjWDKgRdO77-ZUwmjKSD9YzjU6_j8ioETNc3afj7J7sfDBzXW6JWvhA0ADy_5vrcaO2JSf6jAg_MekzC04/s320/IMG_1229.JPG" /></a></div>The first attempt at creating a "western style" school after the end of Shogunate rule and the removal of the class system that went with it, it's an odd mix of Western and Japanese design yet entirely functional. It's also cool inside despite a total lack of air conditioning and this is likely because of the reflective quality of the plaster white walls. Well worth the visit.<br />
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It's another 3 hour trip to get home, so dinner tonight is pork ramen and, because it must be tried, what passes for poutine.<br />
<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBCc-FZFd-H_KI5BGJf-2YgOrCPUj7BwKsgSIWH5rQM_TyhiShFxtTEI79nqHKyRoMQrqAwS-MPluZgur6NSIOPaLJKophVUFkMnawK5Jz1KiWo5uhDlWfLySKLZ7m_5gEH_gTR-nEew/s1600/IMG_1282.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBCc-FZFd-H_KI5BGJf-2YgOrCPUj7BwKsgSIWH5rQM_TyhiShFxtTEI79nqHKyRoMQrqAwS-MPluZgur6NSIOPaLJKophVUFkMnawK5Jz1KiWo5uhDlWfLySKLZ7m_5gEH_gTR-nEew/s320/IMG_1282.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDX1vBE2yJ-HujcjD-If9WeLEn5TTF3Nl-8EgYo4m0cUg0CRsPi0YOrjNaTtlt8C75vrkqC-OK7icDKPs56PDFf0z2zct5TiyZMmhJYAqN8KZoM-aFSsvrONAoEXrP2erkdGXF6C9WJ00/s1600/IMG_1283.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDX1vBE2yJ-HujcjD-If9WeLEn5TTF3Nl-8EgYo4m0cUg0CRsPi0YOrjNaTtlt8C75vrkqC-OK7icDKPs56PDFf0z2zct5TiyZMmhJYAqN8KZoM-aFSsvrONAoEXrP2erkdGXF6C9WJ00/s320/IMG_1283.jpg" /></a></div>Ramen: good. Poutine: bad.<br />
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Tomorrow's forecast: sunny, chance of fish and wandering. <br />
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PS: best <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ebTzAamR-GCtOZe5-f00v-eTTkkHGL7hFMG_K3tWoohl0BnxliM2tPeyBsG_AB-YweytnAGbBRBxBb6Q-CNaoUABmaHcxHRE1VpCoHKlFuFIhh9fYNeMFe4SuyqJJDDyd-Rvnp61gaw/s1600/IMG_1227.jpg" imageanchor="1">distracted driving poster ever.</a>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-52982289790246566842013-06-07T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-07T12:00:06.147-04:00Day 7: Laundry and Travel DayNot much happened today. Checked out of my hotel and dropped by the coin laundry in Gion to clean everything up. 1000 Yen to wash and dry everything, but when you consider room rate at the hotel was 500 yen/shirt, welllllll. Speaking of which, these are superwasher/dryer combos that have their own soap as well. Also in the laundry, though I don't try it, is a shoe washer/dryer.<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMSADnbPuRDYO9w3DCzyULYRPssrayo4wUjIBNEwGIltG8lV7LpsTJad1KUKsUcZ9kKuSqdBGr9mgmoEl7Zro7fn0ABzwdZeZhQH3PV6KmL7kNDIVCs5Imr2e8prqSi-PvaUslWc_c24/s1600/IMG_1119.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMSADnbPuRDYO9w3DCzyULYRPssrayo4wUjIBNEwGIltG8lV7LpsTJad1KUKsUcZ9kKuSqdBGr9mgmoEl7Zro7fn0ABzwdZeZhQH3PV6KmL7kNDIVCs5Imr2e8prqSi-PvaUslWc_c24/s320/IMG_1119.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprsVvBK4_dTvND1bP6gwJgvAsfG06_9YOpPYiklroJ2bC3IVcQabDjlYXeiPAdHkhVpLI56iugBrm1ZaX0aiJlUTPpi7uqGCcB-IdosKhrbvS2sdRtI5JEUYqiBtCR61Ogng8YtW5Pgo/s1600/IMG_1120.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprsVvBK4_dTvND1bP6gwJgvAsfG06_9YOpPYiklroJ2bC3IVcQabDjlYXeiPAdHkhVpLI56iugBrm1ZaX0aiJlUTPpi7uqGCcB-IdosKhrbvS2sdRtI5JEUYqiBtCR61Ogng8YtW5Pgo/s320/IMG_1120.JPG" /></a></div>Done in an hour, I grab some lunch:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTFOdVzDvMjkEMwjWJ_GUA8mULAqQi9Op58xS0fHWBnD7S8J7qrCv4MimPWwASlg3-wOaUFCKUtnI4nCRtYlQn8QmAgK45Nqqh9U3UQo-RsYiQVMEAoh7XsV2qYAJ8n3Lgsh3Xb4EfRk/s1600/IMG_1122.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTFOdVzDvMjkEMwjWJ_GUA8mULAqQi9Op58xS0fHWBnD7S8J7qrCv4MimPWwASlg3-wOaUFCKUtnI4nCRtYlQn8QmAgK45Nqqh9U3UQo-RsYiQVMEAoh7XsV2qYAJ8n3Lgsh3Xb4EfRk/s320/IMG_1122.JPG" /></a></div>which I think I undercooked on occasion by not fully realizing until too late I needed to break the meat down into smaller bits so the pan would cook it through.<br />
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I stop by Bic Camera on my way out of town where I rage at the fact that Japan gets all the best video games after catching trailers for Freedom Wars and Earth Defense Force 4:<div style="text-align: center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bZuktUHEFMQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WK5_40W-9UQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Some wiki'ing says EDF 4 is coming eventually but come on! The 3 people who own 360's in Japan get to squash giant ants with mecha before I do?<br />
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This world is flawed as fuck.<br />
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First world problems out of the way, time to hop a shinkasen to Tokyo where I check into my hotel and then pop out for a quick burger:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6vUKLlXIcAwEWegzeN-g49zcivldkkPrucwpr31dZwsuHpUgn-l4qlsLrshIt-gbMfSUYfRCHVbtbA2JjrvUrdEzh7ecurJK7mJ2vfXFw8EwtHZWXOuz5ESrbNHYaxZFFhBwE05fvUc/s1600/IMG_1132.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6vUKLlXIcAwEWegzeN-g49zcivldkkPrucwpr31dZwsuHpUgn-l4qlsLrshIt-gbMfSUYfRCHVbtbA2JjrvUrdEzh7ecurJK7mJ2vfXFw8EwtHZWXOuz5ESrbNHYaxZFFhBwE05fvUc/s320/IMG_1132.JPG" /></a></div>and call it a night.<br />
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Tomorrow's forecast: sunny, chance of being in the clouds.<br />
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PS: every bathroom should have a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMMl42o4fdMQJDV9VvRI0sFOVzOfVtjS7WkHBoaZQ_F5bJwOOwHIoFw1jV7E_h6jE0y7bxxAzTdK7An4B5CfbRANTxfgRhItB6_iuXrDg-WC6r8R5RN8hLIupLGFZuywlrrrATJDrAzU/s1600/IMG_1130.JPG" imageanchor="1" >baby locker</a>. Get on that people!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-77250350594228691362013-06-06T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-06T12:00:07.119-04:00Day 6: Eastern KyotoIt's my final full day in Kyoto before moving back to Tokyo as my hub for the remainder of my days here so we're off to hit up the eastern shrines and temples I missed the last time I was here.<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghEuvq3IKlabN00enjwrsa8Abfs9iLTaRUIYkVnVGfzBdA9ZMosCR0bIcyyawbpMVuDU-nfmhCYUL1FHZdOBKDt_iZNctQUaA1gwijsAql9TygvXm50fwswBFRy48XHIvskwdsfQR0j4k/s1600/IMG_0972.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghEuvq3IKlabN00enjwrsa8Abfs9iLTaRUIYkVnVGfzBdA9ZMosCR0bIcyyawbpMVuDU-nfmhCYUL1FHZdOBKDt_iZNctQUaA1gwijsAql9TygvXm50fwswBFRy48XHIvskwdsfQR0j4k/s320/IMG_0972.JPG" /></a></div>Starting off the day, I'm heading off to the sister temple to the Golden Pavilion: Ginkakuji, The Temple of the Silver Pavilion. Ordered constructed by the grandson of the Shogun who built the Golden Pavilion, the intent was to build his own retirement villa and plate it with silver but this was not completed before he passed. The grounds and buildings themselves are still quite beautiful, and the landscape garden stands out for it's raised graded rock/sand garden.<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3SQgkJvy88Bc4XXHEe0Z7syBPweuhxsPQ5NOVaMCkzQNGq6HdCnT1tHW6uRBLn7KkTGCoNyee3QVe620QK_URYtVS5nt8YRjzwW1FS4JQa40bteLyUu30EFjWLODclULiTyxSiEAzqA/s1600/IMG_0979.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3SQgkJvy88Bc4XXHEe0Z7syBPweuhxsPQ5NOVaMCkzQNGq6HdCnT1tHW6uRBLn7KkTGCoNyee3QVe620QK_URYtVS5nt8YRjzwW1FS4JQa40bteLyUu30EFjWLODclULiTyxSiEAzqA/s320/IMG_0979.JPG" /></a></div>From here, I head south to the Heian Shrine and Shinen Garden where I tour the grounds:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7SyYsaImUk3ffBYPFVnfShfKqFh-o4gfgfsBBvMB-PDH54OvzFEqmROn01P9w7enOW4ak8z4j2yYALiCioS1OnosBLs0pag2uXgpdCtv4eXlbZmE1YWCFGggDDjYh3zU3aRvxWUVs8vA/s1600/IMG_1011.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7SyYsaImUk3ffBYPFVnfShfKqFh-o4gfgfsBBvMB-PDH54OvzFEqmROn01P9w7enOW4ak8z4j2yYALiCioS1OnosBLs0pag2uXgpdCtv4eXlbZmE1YWCFGggDDjYh3zU3aRvxWUVs8vA/s320/IMG_1011.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRldJs3Shj0cHRIgvQltnT-wCZ9Ppi5kcLKfIEcwq-PBWjGXcvqCdupjNVqY4NIg7azn2Lb8nzmWN6VNH4NPSnqkHkdAXtCfHBA_NRqVIGEG6J1cVmJ1omzshQW5rxf-SPTGc75qRgjU/s1600/IMG_1023.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRldJs3Shj0cHRIgvQltnT-wCZ9Ppi5kcLKfIEcwq-PBWjGXcvqCdupjNVqY4NIg7azn2Lb8nzmWN6VNH4NPSnqkHkdAXtCfHBA_NRqVIGEG6J1cVmJ1omzshQW5rxf-SPTGc75qRgjU/s320/IMG_1023.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgou_a2QmiM1XujSYeCQj-ik7goyqEH1WJ9r8O3oLips6EfEtOWEeRvuQAoxJ9oM-NRbv69T2MFPu3fpGh2pzuuuFg0T3xiCQ3O5kk4bgmsQRtkMyRkcBzF9ne1QtLphoXUjjpg6RZcais/s1600/IMG_1035.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgou_a2QmiM1XujSYeCQj-ik7goyqEH1WJ9r8O3oLips6EfEtOWEeRvuQAoxJ9oM-NRbv69T2MFPu3fpGh2pzuuuFg0T3xiCQ3O5kk4bgmsQRtkMyRkcBzF9ne1QtLphoXUjjpg6RZcais/s320/IMG_1035.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbc2qY4gXj6dJAhQ8EKUrMeDYFQdKndhE12IlfT_4YoQ0IJp7ELXV5A3aHtg9keNT3RNVPmna2lqcq3r8zcEL38nEc4lJ3QaaSuw37eK_O1Z6P28DWdFU5j_hvZRQEbcHc-px9gJpVrE/s1600/IMG_1042.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbc2qY4gXj6dJAhQ8EKUrMeDYFQdKndhE12IlfT_4YoQ0IJp7ELXV5A3aHtg9keNT3RNVPmna2lqcq3r8zcEL38nEc4lJ3QaaSuw37eK_O1Z6P28DWdFU5j_hvZRQEbcHc-px9gJpVrE/s320/IMG_1042.JPG" /></a></div>before stopping for lunch:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1WiCi1P3hcpAcY-V0GDj9f1ZVqFOxZIo-M_HXc7tEcNoE-XWM6MYl6hjxFNf7Lwj5nY99CRw6Gb6v1AZxSB05-85fF7RCCpGLYzFYiAhvyaIWi3FdVmyNJSrF1Z3iyqhx7X8HAU42nc/s1600/IMG_1058.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1WiCi1P3hcpAcY-V0GDj9f1ZVqFOxZIo-M_HXc7tEcNoE-XWM6MYl6hjxFNf7Lwj5nY99CRw6Gb6v1AZxSB05-85fF7RCCpGLYzFYiAhvyaIWi3FdVmyNJSrF1Z3iyqhx7X8HAU42nc/s320/IMG_1058.JPG" /></a></div>Moving on, I go to Kiyomizudera; a large temple on stilts off a cliff face where there's a grand view of Kyoto from the veranda:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyVX_gbgExAXV3KFVD8Izp33bQ94kSOCSEdPnR_HTbfRD-Wd9n-UhHJ6e81HBPwd_P3Z707GlO67CtB1Qk9YoyRAlwmurIqbspt-86m3-KKGT7_IERrX9QHwntZEf_85Zdu4u1iVlCuc/s1600/IMG_1088.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyVX_gbgExAXV3KFVD8Izp33bQ94kSOCSEdPnR_HTbfRD-Wd9n-UhHJ6e81HBPwd_P3Z707GlO67CtB1Qk9YoyRAlwmurIqbspt-86m3-KKGT7_IERrX9QHwntZEf_85Zdu4u1iVlCuc/s320/IMG_1088.JPG" /></a></div>before finishing up my temple rounds at Sanjusangendo Hall: home to 1001 statues of the thousand-handed Kannon:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kT-nB7JBP4b88Mgd4MX_hI_v_qutx0qbdUNYDa2yPDdFaT9mpVoRi6XT2mF4n6QFsX56cfx8bPmzr4vUbrf2G7rOnD3wl5YlgPvkw9jBZLaiqQNweAq5XraNLhWqD4p6pkzb7UrAVuA/s1600/IMG_1096.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kT-nB7JBP4b88Mgd4MX_hI_v_qutx0qbdUNYDa2yPDdFaT9mpVoRi6XT2mF4n6QFsX56cfx8bPmzr4vUbrf2G7rOnD3wl5YlgPvkw9jBZLaiqQNweAq5XraNLhWqD4p6pkzb7UrAVuA/s320/IMG_1096.JPG" /></a>></div>This building is huge but I'm sadly unable to grab a shot of it before the battery goes on my camera again. <br />
<br />
Quick jaunt back to the hotel room and an hour charge on the battery, I kick off to tour the covered mall to finish off the evening by grabbing dinner: <div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQW2pLUFTbLT7TB0S2RfFqVHXneghAIeFoYC7ov4d3eJxGJPtQq1DpZ4Sk1xwP43jLJ1haltrELTIIEfEbDqW-HIC-mFlkh5tfprbj-UxDPd70Nwq7OacEcrdoxW9W-c4Nwu_Jsz6Vqmc/s1600/IMG_1102.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQW2pLUFTbLT7TB0S2RfFqVHXneghAIeFoYC7ov4d3eJxGJPtQq1DpZ4Sk1xwP43jLJ1haltrELTIIEfEbDqW-HIC-mFlkh5tfprbj-UxDPd70Nwq7OacEcrdoxW9W-c4Nwu_Jsz6Vqmc/s320/IMG_1102.JPG" /></a></div>before touring some shops and eventually ending up at one of the local arcades which are still thriving and getting new games ranging from touch screen rhythm games, an online Fantasy Game from Square that makes use of Magic style cards, a networked GUNDAM simulator, an updated version of the game I played last time I was there: Border Break Union, and some sort of photobooth thing that seems to attract girls by the dozen:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ekLRi5Py-0GSTZpJD0RrClRI_5w8PRo-oCEQ3GJkNSTVQaeg5Ns3VzCfoI-Y0W4il9iMcN_QFEqoZYXNSxinbPjGnpRTnKbRe0bh2FS5A1442n6yyOn8tSVjKvS3eg9cGkFAPp_ji54/s1600/IMG_0960.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ekLRi5Py-0GSTZpJD0RrClRI_5w8PRo-oCEQ3GJkNSTVQaeg5Ns3VzCfoI-Y0W4il9iMcN_QFEqoZYXNSxinbPjGnpRTnKbRe0bh2FS5A1442n6yyOn8tSVjKvS3eg9cGkFAPp_ji54/s320/IMG_0960.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgbCHJnT3-IQ2EpY_Qk1ejSjgCbNIqFkioi8UquvS7FDy8ZRkgjZlT-NMdDzaVC3dtbyCehiNq354w7Dy_aAFY-LwchIdt81LOoGl4BhQS_g7aS3_26tGY0rWRmHCFi2F9CPz1Rtcet0/s1600/IMG_0962.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgbCHJnT3-IQ2EpY_Qk1ejSjgCbNIqFkioi8UquvS7FDy8ZRkgjZlT-NMdDzaVC3dtbyCehiNq354w7Dy_aAFY-LwchIdt81LOoGl4BhQS_g7aS3_26tGY0rWRmHCFi2F9CPz1Rtcet0/s320/IMG_0962.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXR1-La3Biq21pZ6gs1lWxO36jsHHwXDhQZ_cLDtcQ6MCB_i_2VNQLrjiC_EGTjKTbSxb3450BAo6BB7LK9H4kGLUggDbAy2cewlEIsWuDcOgAImDJmmE32K_2iRG-ect91_Qgdt_Ypv0/s1600/IMG_0964.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXR1-La3Biq21pZ6gs1lWxO36jsHHwXDhQZ_cLDtcQ6MCB_i_2VNQLrjiC_EGTjKTbSxb3450BAo6BB7LK9H4kGLUggDbAy2cewlEIsWuDcOgAImDJmmE32K_2iRG-ect91_Qgdt_Ypv0/s320/IMG_0964.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydnHuA7yot8A9QE830RXnsLn_zz2GsyjH7cdowwrN8BQj6ygHjQHhW9EdwffXQqpCjjKKC-btKmO3o6GuGq2nQdpH61Icd5DnUtI0WYWZjiKngtPCqUhvjp5ssMBKnbiUQpZEVgkbvIU/s1600/IMG_1111.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydnHuA7yot8A9QE830RXnsLn_zz2GsyjH7cdowwrN8BQj6ygHjQHhW9EdwffXQqpCjjKKC-btKmO3o6GuGq2nQdpH61Icd5DnUtI0WYWZjiKngtPCqUhvjp5ssMBKnbiUQpZEVgkbvIU/s320/IMG_1111.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBmRk2cZEU4-9vOWTWrHTdplzarZNqanx1bCCyOqm2sjdC98UkXGsYdoOFtmhnmEjIDBmuQ6dN9FgIiZEL-HZ7SWkHFf8FeKBRMG2foCyYjQpdk2OQjASPIAmLkevn1K9fMHt6ggSkyA/s1600/IMG_1112.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBmRk2cZEU4-9vOWTWrHTdplzarZNqanx1bCCyOqm2sjdC98UkXGsYdoOFtmhnmEjIDBmuQ6dN9FgIiZEL-HZ7SWkHFf8FeKBRMG2foCyYjQpdk2OQjASPIAmLkevn1K9fMHt6ggSkyA/s320/IMG_1112.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBn08wKhqUbjD1_NJHOoy2_jt7HD9XCLmdBK7U0OgOQvu8_Pb0v84eAqw11_FRn3mX6eHHJWiasB-dQ4BP8rYpGzinupQfXb031Tq9AwDh56RCSuDqfDb-RM42PAbtBczQJ41nI6nVvM/s1600/IMG_1118.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBn08wKhqUbjD1_NJHOoy2_jt7HD9XCLmdBK7U0OgOQvu8_Pb0v84eAqw11_FRn3mX6eHHJWiasB-dQ4BP8rYpGzinupQfXb031Tq9AwDh56RCSuDqfDb-RM42PAbtBczQJ41nI6nVvM/s320/IMG_1118.JPG" /></a></div>Makes me wish someone would bring this stuff over: Border Break alone would eat all my loonies.<br />
<br />
Forecast for Tomorrow: Sunny and spun dry.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-37682108333166699372013-06-05T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-05T12:00:05.313-04:00Day 5: Northern Kyoto + Around Kyoto StationWelcome back to my random wandering. Today, I'm staying in town and touring the areas that I missed out on the last time I was here and focused primarily on the core.<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAXiyh6lnjVSJzLTs-HyCTwz4HzRkrTHo34TbdS0hlf2p7LjcJ3Vmh4xQFHDxJD3zFe5ZdxaqRCOI14GWEBBnbH0_aAg39rTJTO-2oC4txDfsKuGCndBWA62dLKyqhAMsH7dP9wZXBmA/s1600/IMG_0721.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAXiyh6lnjVSJzLTs-HyCTwz4HzRkrTHo34TbdS0hlf2p7LjcJ3Vmh4xQFHDxJD3zFe5ZdxaqRCOI14GWEBBnbH0_aAg39rTJTO-2oC4txDfsKuGCndBWA62dLKyqhAMsH7dP9wZXBmA/s320/IMG_0721.JPG" /></a></div>Starting off, I make my way to the Toei Kyoto Studio Park: a back lot turned amusement park/museum to the Toei Studios that I'm told is still used from time to time to film but, being there on a Sunday, I can't confirm. The main building upon entry is largely an exhibit of samurai gear and animation on the first floor, and an exhibition of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokusatsu">Tokusatsu</a>/Toei Superhero (ie: Power Rangers/Kamen Rider)on the second. Once you leave the building, you enter the back lot proper and find yourself into a small medieval Japanese town with inns, merchants district, castle gate, and other set pieces. There are a few general fun house style (haunted house, ninja house, maze), attractions but no rides proper as you'd expect of a working set. <div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp77n68FK3GX30R2CxqHUqzIqIav4b26ObwDPFX3kF0d8b5ot2nANOdhnUZWEuZFHy-C3Nu8OWdxPKOVl9iHolLzCzUh2EIymNrIMHdxrznzBOxpy6T1NtjcY0a8txhzbm-fL_ZWJ9O98/s1600/IMG_0746.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp77n68FK3GX30R2CxqHUqzIqIav4b26ObwDPFX3kF0d8b5ot2nANOdhnUZWEuZFHy-C3Nu8OWdxPKOVl9iHolLzCzUh2EIymNrIMHdxrznzBOxpy6T1NtjcY0a8txhzbm-fL_ZWJ9O98/s320/IMG_0746.JPG" /></a></div>Spend about an hour there touring the buildings then move northwards towards the temples surrounding the hills passing though more than a few:<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioL6mfndDK1UV6xAq2PT8wYfC5Pxvje1tELsibRDlDKicP8_otJvPO_c8bwL65zMs-xDXCgg5SRKCuegKgjB4DWgpjXXQCagPRepbli532vG1MN_BV2xsWSYwl-k4KfeZIP1fwemL4qE/s1600/IMG_0773.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioL6mfndDK1UV6xAq2PT8wYfC5Pxvje1tELsibRDlDKicP8_otJvPO_c8bwL65zMs-xDXCgg5SRKCuegKgjB4DWgpjXXQCagPRepbli532vG1MN_BV2xsWSYwl-k4KfeZIP1fwemL4qE/s320/IMG_0773.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfJivC2x8xdrc8HGXwTeTkoEPIe9x12K0A0vus3ycQozybayDfz4bYS6v0P-1vALkGFyyMTZTUAm7qnYbcCqH4K6e7Tv0tDYl2Nn_Qu53_N-pJWwNwC91Bk1Ws_jExEcOatHos2Ok4jU/s1600/IMG_0774.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfJivC2x8xdrc8HGXwTeTkoEPIe9x12K0A0vus3ycQozybayDfz4bYS6v0P-1vALkGFyyMTZTUAm7qnYbcCqH4K6e7Tv0tDYl2Nn_Qu53_N-pJWwNwC91Bk1Ws_jExEcOatHos2Ok4jU/s320/IMG_0774.JPG" /></a></div>at the Myoshinji Templecomplex before making my way to the Ninnaji Temple complex:<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-sNoa7DvhyE5FHwYKyrFAV306ar4yp3y26Xr-t76-3fCstjJOOWWhW4JSjt5CJ0r-WbYEOgk0RTOiLra4Jy3psfHWstc6DSWIu_x1zsf_GqSseDw3KXgwaEWVXUZ5F8GBwKZQLIkP8k/s1600/IMG_0789.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-sNoa7DvhyE5FHwYKyrFAV306ar4yp3y26Xr-t76-3fCstjJOOWWhW4JSjt5CJ0r-WbYEOgk0RTOiLra4Jy3psfHWstc6DSWIu_x1zsf_GqSseDw3KXgwaEWVXUZ5F8GBwKZQLIkP8k/s320/IMG_0789.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFVtr2fCxBkJ6yyT-lpAHSN_UwLtXaORRQXV71m3KQg8KcoQM1itG6Scu4otRa34W38vzkXBphBIniRfQatzPRzgBkBr8Iv7Fg9F1K5NbtVnTf8QC-CYTJK4eq0DDRlhoQr49E_WokOs/s1600/IMG_0797.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFVtr2fCxBkJ6yyT-lpAHSN_UwLtXaORRQXV71m3KQg8KcoQM1itG6Scu4otRa34W38vzkXBphBIniRfQatzPRzgBkBr8Iv7Fg9F1K5NbtVnTf8QC-CYTJK4eq0DDRlhoQr49E_WokOs/s320/IMG_0797.JPG" /></a> <br />
</div>where I tour the interior of the temple house.<br />
<br />
From here, it's a short hop to Ryoanji Temple where I view the traditional zen rock garden:<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQz_efrE59w3AsJocOxVeeiUaLgi-k4aeLMhQkK-rgdPvO8I6c9nLvfAU-EDJMguzWbSecB-67oHgkBQVNQAxucV-8cMOzMpMZx4Gmu5Bzv4OCpfqiYDUPulP-t4aNg_8HiGjQWqB718Q/s1600/IMG_0843.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQz_efrE59w3AsJocOxVeeiUaLgi-k4aeLMhQkK-rgdPvO8I6c9nLvfAU-EDJMguzWbSecB-67oHgkBQVNQAxucV-8cMOzMpMZx4Gmu5Bzv4OCpfqiYDUPulP-t4aNg_8HiGjQWqB718Q/s320/IMG_0843.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKD5MYv1Jse5aPetSpirH5NAqpq1NkVxYfVBNvrMH8gEIRZBJLbJisoNk118GjYNB2qs48iWs2Q9MJCBgzma4Lf4bFwUDSzbSvnQkFkyjB8wyLEvuXDXimREUJWsY-E6PVwU5NRVoQg_o/s1600/IMG_0847.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKD5MYv1Jse5aPetSpirH5NAqpq1NkVxYfVBNvrMH8gEIRZBJLbJisoNk118GjYNB2qs48iWs2Q9MJCBgzma4Lf4bFwUDSzbSvnQkFkyjB8wyLEvuXDXimREUJWsY-E6PVwU5NRVoQg_o/s320/IMG_0847.JPG" /></a></div>and browse the interior. The garden itself is a national treasure as an example of the classical style.<br />
About this time I'm hungry so I was going to stop into another of the by the plate sushi places but it's packed solid: about 20 people at the door. So, I move on and grab a buffet of Kyoto style dishes: primarily vegetarian dishes as Kyoto had a large Buddhist population to service but all good.<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qNPNLx1zvVzyJGSjm9gMXI2r5Sb0s9mzBFq5Yr5dNeo-QHK2p5WOOrzVc-3iOsPVeFrIXr9OI5PtTAUaBOftnvZWpXWLyWTn69QP7oLu9DzzWyOtAvVfZ9GSH3UVUBZp2Xr69or63lE/s1600/IMG_0862.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qNPNLx1zvVzyJGSjm9gMXI2r5Sb0s9mzBFq5Yr5dNeo-QHK2p5WOOrzVc-3iOsPVeFrIXr9OI5PtTAUaBOftnvZWpXWLyWTn69QP7oLu9DzzWyOtAvVfZ9GSH3UVUBZp2Xr69or63lE/s320/IMG_0862.JPG" /></a></div>Lunch out of the way, I'm off to Kinkakuji: The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. This is one of the most beautiful temples in all of Kyoto. Built of cedar and then coated with Gold Leaf, it's a stunning sight to behold.<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMjmUBy3h4_OaEC5wLcL5X7XPekGLGPmHYlPyxfl0haV4VlfXKK27VuGFx77xriCz4YwLuvoUfpuQNPkivMarhJIWpABvMruvtj_7tyqhg5nPwUn8DukO1eDGx73C0N-G_6tjfv47YjDg/s1600/IMG_0869.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMjmUBy3h4_OaEC5wLcL5X7XPekGLGPmHYlPyxfl0haV4VlfXKK27VuGFx77xriCz4YwLuvoUfpuQNPkivMarhJIWpABvMruvtj_7tyqhg5nPwUn8DukO1eDGx73C0N-G_6tjfv47YjDg/s320/IMG_0869.JPG" /></a></div><br />
It's getting towards the end of the day for most of these sites, so I walk over and hop the subway down to Kyoto Station where I tour the Nishi-Honganji and Higashi-Honganji Temple sites. Both are undergoing extensive restoration work on site but they're massive in size and the headquarters for two separate sects of Buddhism who once shared the grounds before they had a disagreement of interpretation. <br />
<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NwSSml4WGxvfIbiW9ArI5nVXAKiw7C4Jf-fFV_vRo3mtpkqu_v-4ktojJEz9ByNRs1vwW7n5y3tywQ8Ia-xEcaR02elAtVV-7kIs8MB4MPAkde-f2R2vrJXxGRac5H-BJjyfYcpUfWQ/s1600/IMG_0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NwSSml4WGxvfIbiW9ArI5nVXAKiw7C4Jf-fFV_vRo3mtpkqu_v-4ktojJEz9ByNRs1vwW7n5y3tywQ8Ia-xEcaR02elAtVV-7kIs8MB4MPAkde-f2R2vrJXxGRac5H-BJjyfYcpUfWQ/s320/IMG_0924.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaq_r7L062hyQH0P7NUIXBBAeY-_mzOw39S2BLKjABVZU9s4Q6D8NarkBPCk6nabSQtKBYrjOKacxK9VjfkcHH425p3VxsqNVqkKumR-deCtbE3-zsyANgAtetqudQW95xGNhyphenhyphenE2ISY-c/s1600/IMG_0950.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaq_r7L062hyQH0P7NUIXBBAeY-_mzOw39S2BLKjABVZU9s4Q6D8NarkBPCk6nabSQtKBYrjOKacxK9VjfkcHH425p3VxsqNVqkKumR-deCtbE3-zsyANgAtetqudQW95xGNhyphenhyphenE2ISY-c/s320/IMG_0950.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>At this point, it's time for dinner so I grab a set Tuna diner at a local sushi shop and call it a day:<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtS_B22jyhWBQCxvI9_9lXiZzJFGUROfH5JK758i-njRzVDMq74nNJmok_XkEHI2BBdZGLlFHLBDOLE7vyYLryk_5xuOJCWS9nUOxILNK9eD1n0dyUoKrDCyn9od7_4vBtyZYeQhd7rI/s1600/IMG_0958.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtS_B22jyhWBQCxvI9_9lXiZzJFGUROfH5JK758i-njRzVDMq74nNJmok_XkEHI2BBdZGLlFHLBDOLE7vyYLryk_5xuOJCWS9nUOxILNK9eD1n0dyUoKrDCyn9od7_4vBtyZYeQhd7rI/s320/IMG_0958.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Tomorrow's forecast: Sunny, no chance of silver linings.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-76480887067804512122013-06-04T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-04T12:00:02.598-04:00Day 4: Himeji + KobeSo, the plan for today was to get up early, shoot to Himeji right quick, tour the castle and gardens in the morning and then kick over to Kobe and tour the city there for the afternoon.... yeah... about that. Up on time, get down to the station a little after 8:20, grab a quick McBreakfast... first JR Pass grade Shinkansen is not until 9:49 for a ~1 hour trip meaning that I didn't get there until 11:00. About this time is when I should've remembered that the regular train also goes there and checked for express times. Lesson for the future: if you're working in hour windows the standard train still moves pretty quick if you can line up a "Rapid" or "Super Rapid" express that bypasses many of the local stops.<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNt85QBaOufjjrvTFRliY0oIQPV-6mhCz3lOeRetB2ghy81H9XLTS99J58WYFe51figopOusFxdY11Eh6bQww8PqRSvTwHES_yLZpms9bHiZMwoeVfltpV4vOnYte-4fru7WBKCYb5Y-M/s1600/IMG_0590.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNt85QBaOufjjrvTFRliY0oIQPV-6mhCz3lOeRetB2ghy81H9XLTS99J58WYFe51figopOusFxdY11Eh6bQww8PqRSvTwHES_yLZpms9bHiZMwoeVfltpV4vOnYte-4fru7WBKCYb5Y-M/s320/IMG_0590.JPG" /></a></div>Anyways... Himeji: a former castle town remains host to one of the last remaining castles in Japan that wasn't destroyed and rebuilt. Nicknamed the "White Heron Castle" because of its white exterior shell and height rising above the city itself, I knew the castle was under reconstruction (it has been undergoing regular service repairs every 45-50 years for the last century to keep it in good shape), but was still hoping it would be tour-able as the interior keep has not been modified like Osaka based on the pictures I've seen. Sadly, at least from a viewing standpoint, the main keep itself was also closed so that they could do earthquake reinforcement (at the moment, many historical buildings in Japan have undergone/been undergoing evaluation and reinforcement as well since the Kobe earthquake in 1995). So, the tour was limited to the exterior keeps and the scaffolding structure where you can view the exterior repairs being done to the ceramic roofing tiles (kilned to 1100 degrees), and patching of the plaster walls.<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pNn1BwoTrHF0YwCFRjoeM9SFrLOIR_49GAFgko9bXB3YozuxhAqKvQG-h97t2qOjgzJKl3H533caJtcNrYH3kma-XGI3Neo6A29xBWP5NQvotYs1IfMCJ_q7w39VD_DKaGGAR4RW9iE/s1600/IMG_0596.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pNn1BwoTrHF0YwCFRjoeM9SFrLOIR_49GAFgko9bXB3YozuxhAqKvQG-h97t2qOjgzJKl3H533caJtcNrYH3kma-XGI3Neo6A29xBWP5NQvotYs1IfMCJ_q7w39VD_DKaGGAR4RW9iE/s320/IMG_0596.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8gF_m-zrhGfHLZrY6-Yy3bL2gvF0yHbXTvl6E8sE7_stmp6f_Bi4h1RtlWDtT14NQWQMc_1lY29XDB14CoUf4mBOD_cYMZIIQsiC8-M8gVqGtDmDpEVR77xY1zhSknemb6eJU7_U50c/s1600/IMG_0598.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8gF_m-zrhGfHLZrY6-Yy3bL2gvF0yHbXTvl6E8sE7_stmp6f_Bi4h1RtlWDtT14NQWQMc_1lY29XDB14CoUf4mBOD_cYMZIIQsiC8-M8gVqGtDmDpEVR77xY1zhSknemb6eJU7_U50c/s320/IMG_0598.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK03wE_mn28dZpyClZLHAp7gtUqxTLAEbM8pORtI7pPS4_6Oz463qDOYjCRa3DDXRown80j1_IpNIz17SJnCKT5Hda3gags8I-iRIYiREQ2onTnZ_aqMYNu2sW1EONQev3L1krkDG4scY/s1600/IMG_0607.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK03wE_mn28dZpyClZLHAp7gtUqxTLAEbM8pORtI7pPS4_6Oz463qDOYjCRa3DDXRown80j1_IpNIz17SJnCKT5Hda3gags8I-iRIYiREQ2onTnZ_aqMYNu2sW1EONQev3L1krkDG4scY/s320/IMG_0607.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64x54AJrb8KlEG-6gVmgUyDWrs2ZJ4lNhK2fmcg-_bsxckv2XrfRZwSJo1V5idhvY_1djw4oQmzfZhqh4t4GrH0SkgA9BOvZ-JrbJvgkzeGxZkMpkw_1emEz3qG3vDmYNUV1uw_xquYs/s1600/IMG_0632.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64x54AJrb8KlEG-6gVmgUyDWrs2ZJ4lNhK2fmcg-_bsxckv2XrfRZwSJo1V5idhvY_1djw4oQmzfZhqh4t4GrH0SkgA9BOvZ-JrbJvgkzeGxZkMpkw_1emEz3qG3vDmYNUV1uw_xquYs/s320/IMG_0632.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj333Q5cqtdWMwKbYS13yK-iVsqvgiJkW67NctBrJ0tSDLocYjz6MoN0VxaTFlEoasnJwTMUsoVYMDeTmw6fFfDBlAtNMl_TNv3a-7cEz2yU9vFtJz8IUFgwYjKmcCrvEP9s50Sf0_QDQw/s1600/IMG_0645.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj333Q5cqtdWMwKbYS13yK-iVsqvgiJkW67NctBrJ0tSDLocYjz6MoN0VxaTFlEoasnJwTMUsoVYMDeTmw6fFfDBlAtNMl_TNv3a-7cEz2yU9vFtJz8IUFgwYjKmcCrvEP9s50Sf0_QDQw/s320/IMG_0645.JPG" /></a></div>Next to Himeji Castle is the Kokoen Garden. Built on the site of the former samurai training grounds, it's a relatively recent addition to the area designed to both recreate the structure of the grounds while using the structure to subdivide and present multiple styles of Japanese gardens:<br />
<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dmD_ENmrzXsgDXRGsqvhJ77-2prPYZ2jOBAJ31mqjZLTIloQX12OYvPOD1ECXN0-09hXNJj3B8Vivc0q1wAiKvcBLlzpdArR7cq8Tc9UzfKJqKJS0NwzpAiDeM7ZdLst13mHYOU9OMk/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dmD_ENmrzXsgDXRGsqvhJ77-2prPYZ2jOBAJ31mqjZLTIloQX12OYvPOD1ECXN0-09hXNJj3B8Vivc0q1wAiKvcBLlzpdArR7cq8Tc9UzfKJqKJS0NwzpAiDeM7ZdLst13mHYOU9OMk/s320/IMG_0691.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgqhr9_-tRWpha_tuE_0Y_CV30wRXxUkLrO7DJt4Njg_e7OAop0FacMUyEcMiNBsO-rCrzD4KsiFxFSiH5TpD4k0Bp1g1u7a_qY_HELOTcl3F46ZX3A3v1KwItHYZ2ALGAoi5-JuYuCQ/s1600/IMG_0696.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgqhr9_-tRWpha_tuE_0Y_CV30wRXxUkLrO7DJt4Njg_e7OAop0FacMUyEcMiNBsO-rCrzD4KsiFxFSiH5TpD4k0Bp1g1u7a_qY_HELOTcl3F46ZX3A3v1KwItHYZ2ALGAoi5-JuYuCQ/s320/IMG_0696.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvQF5vzKjhGm0zgWLjzX9VWBWM4APnr_MglTXeykTmEdmqgoRwf4DzzQI2n8Cd8xThTomSG8H4AOLOi8Qx1WqzW-P2em9z5dcxdLvYnSFhtzU9XDWCVDDI011qdM7os-ZasXK5A345Lk/s1600/IMG_0700.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvQF5vzKjhGm0zgWLjzX9VWBWM4APnr_MglTXeykTmEdmqgoRwf4DzzQI2n8Cd8xThTomSG8H4AOLOi8Qx1WqzW-P2em9z5dcxdLvYnSFhtzU9XDWCVDDI011qdM7os-ZasXK5A345Lk/s320/IMG_0700.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKTGHUgi80tICIZwYDyHo4o0jhcW1ubkOtlGeS6O8cy8z_IM43dWyM3RIZDBTWARu6p8iH_g7wzXLg7iseZXwyhNKRLIg8nMaTG72UgQsDRpDYZHMQzUxApcoPmvc_6NrYdyfI-eUtVY/s1600/IMG_0703.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKTGHUgi80tICIZwYDyHo4o0jhcW1ubkOtlGeS6O8cy8z_IM43dWyM3RIZDBTWARu6p8iH_g7wzXLg7iseZXwyhNKRLIg8nMaTG72UgQsDRpDYZHMQzUxApcoPmvc_6NrYdyfI-eUtVY/s320/IMG_0703.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExpJKQ3SwgGaDchiYY23jR4dgf3yalUimUxGduLGCdRKzYKPsnX4GDgnqZQhC3GLMzkd4yOHkczHw963WHf-cr3YM8GSUZXigmn2YwigtXVqH88G20MqsP_QLOz_OmkfTJELjXOGFQkU/s1600/IMG_0708.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExpJKQ3SwgGaDchiYY23jR4dgf3yalUimUxGduLGCdRKzYKPsnX4GDgnqZQhC3GLMzkd4yOHkczHw963WHf-cr3YM8GSUZXigmn2YwigtXVqH88G20MqsP_QLOz_OmkfTJELjXOGFQkU/s320/IMG_0708.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgbO0mt0ygghDnGWc3r_7ghoTTs9bNDWLXeSZE6sPMeSqFyDXOY93ipDWwFmBzwGK19sirZrgwAnlI64eI4KUQsMn4oNOhkjwEM8_Q_m6h0Qt-fzotFXTd3TgNG54o31icUVO3t0dTnk/s1600/IMG_0710.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgbO0mt0ygghDnGWc3r_7ghoTTs9bNDWLXeSZE6sPMeSqFyDXOY93ipDWwFmBzwGK19sirZrgwAnlI64eI4KUQsMn4oNOhkjwEM8_Q_m6h0Qt-fzotFXTd3TgNG54o31icUVO3t0dTnk/s320/IMG_0710.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtv2RzF16hCQ6bySBgq8DtQT0ccbU9zNpiuOFgDUAsBnq-jed-IIuT0UmJuIQ-bEroPKnrW3yNDgl8ZURJ7GYpi1SZVearrIUUUjDOIchLG9gxYzv5Ll3qND70uprID-HGWnLztpgi-3s/s1600/IMG_0711.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtv2RzF16hCQ6bySBgq8DtQT0ccbU9zNpiuOFgDUAsBnq-jed-IIuT0UmJuIQ-bEroPKnrW3yNDgl8ZURJ7GYpi1SZVearrIUUUjDOIchLG9gxYzv5Ll3qND70uprID-HGWnLztpgi-3s/s320/IMG_0711.JPG" /></a></div>About this time, the battery on my camera starts to go just in time to kick out to Kobe so picture taking there was extremely limited. <br />
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Getting there later in the afternoon than I'd hoped I make it a priority to see the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution which is home to exhibits and research on the Kobe Earthquake in 1995 that destroyed much of the city and caused widespread devastation. There's a lot of information here; perhaps too much. I'd argue you could literally walk in with a notepad and walk out prepared to run a disaster recovery team 3 days later if you never stopped reading. <br />
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Luckily, they're likely to kick you out so they can go home first.<br />
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That said, it's all good information and, despite the fact I eventually gave up on trying to read it all, I left kinda hoping there was a dvd I could bring with me to work through at my leisure.<br />
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Anyways, it's time for dinner. It'd be kinda silly to goto Kobe and not try Kobe Beef, right? <i>Right</i>:<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-AdYnlfHrlIFAs7gZPnYvQyqMTouXOE2FiwEyfmfYJx4JBor5QQRDg6ZEk9EEEI3miBOVvhuFF-NKvv0fI9tjpSy-3OtBShyphenhyphenwsinugd8FqHkNw7f_sXL47V3HKVwMdcobukiIpL5UEM/s1600/IMG_0714.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-AdYnlfHrlIFAs7gZPnYvQyqMTouXOE2FiwEyfmfYJx4JBor5QQRDg6ZEk9EEEI3miBOVvhuFF-NKvv0fI9tjpSy-3OtBShyphenhyphenwsinugd8FqHkNw7f_sXL47V3HKVwMdcobukiIpL5UEM/s320/IMG_0714.JPG" /></a></div>People have said Kobe Beef melts in your mouth and I see why; it's very tender and soft. Cooked Teppanyaki style right in front of me, definitely worth the 5200 yen splurge. <br />
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Finishing up the day, I tour the Kitano District of Kobe which is where the western representatives settled when Kobe was the first port officially opened to western trade and presence. It's full of classic Victorian and Gothic architecture but not so much westerners these days as it's more of a boutique district and location of western style restaurants and pubs; including a Swiss Chalet that's totally unrelated to the Canadian chicken chain and instead more Bavarian style food. I'm able to grab one shot of the houses there and then the battery dies. <br />
<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfjSQfmKNW4QnTNHIIHbO4r6wPULhKYBgvGqKVYeAnZkwRMDq2EpDaAuuFs-47Fzw5p4e27KvFxqP-YpE8NEdMuSLWvykU3rZWca0sZdMnDPQw0hHrO620j-iiexwYQQaqZX2NnLPWmU/s1600/IMG_0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfjSQfmKNW4QnTNHIIHbO4r6wPULhKYBgvGqKVYeAnZkwRMDq2EpDaAuuFs-47Fzw5p4e27KvFxqP-YpE8NEdMuSLWvykU3rZWca0sZdMnDPQw0hHrO620j-iiexwYQQaqZX2NnLPWmU/s320/IMG_0715.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Tomorrow's forecast: partly cloudy, chance of stars and gold.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-23242911661300439382013-06-03T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-03T12:00:03.709-04:00Day 3: Nara + HoryujiSleep finally catches up with me and I end up napping much longer than I hoped, getting off on the day later than expected. Stop off for a quick breakfast and you can't really complain about this for 480 yen (~$4.80):<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvZ7Z3OOXJeVZjpzvb4vZzCTAuCm0UwJiC-Z3tlFQs1w4VPlsFH4R8fMncFVv8rlGousAwor4BQV_YyPmjtWMYmJx_HuH9XlGf22uaDH2XErG8a7SZLNc7iD6rv0Ab_a6_WhdCqXQBJg/s1600/IMG_0492.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvZ7Z3OOXJeVZjpzvb4vZzCTAuCm0UwJiC-Z3tlFQs1w4VPlsFH4R8fMncFVv8rlGousAwor4BQV_YyPmjtWMYmJx_HuH9XlGf22uaDH2XErG8a7SZLNc7iD6rv0Ab_a6_WhdCqXQBJg/s320/IMG_0492.JPG" /></a></div>From food, to train, then off to Nara; the first attempt at a permanent capital (short lived, it would transfer to Kyoto where it would stay until Edo/Tokyo became the capital), and home to many temples- one of which houses the largest bronze representation of Buddha in Japan. <br />
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Much of this is housed within Nara Park; a sprawling landscape of trees, temples, gardens and Sika Deer you can feed by hand:<br />
<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGccWJii8CdEYZNN1qOF4UOBZdfEZamuGhTuJg-v2hQuTybnZfyW-Do7RwgJbxgTPZKeCUrxV1MWLXoa5T3OVmowWhvHjWwhvnGsQ5zOA4Fj2i3xEzHC_7DcPxqLihoMe_ugBHBL4_M3E/s1600/IMG_0499.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGccWJii8CdEYZNN1qOF4UOBZdfEZamuGhTuJg-v2hQuTybnZfyW-Do7RwgJbxgTPZKeCUrxV1MWLXoa5T3OVmowWhvHjWwhvnGsQ5zOA4Fj2i3xEzHC_7DcPxqLihoMe_ugBHBL4_M3E/s320/IMG_0499.JPG" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteQHCKYSbfMShc7X-dgDMY3DzvWGnmBza92KnbkTrEORVKmlP8iYsDxE_CFqV-qf-YXbDXu-Ik9Smicp8uuORnq6T0EEYWz3NVpWEAmUTtf2oi-TbF8JP6Ieo97cuhye5NfqLpAPuBGA/s1600/IMG_0512.JPG" imageanchor="1" >Mostly harmless</a>, you'll find them relaxing throughout the park:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8DSREMfmUMJ3zE5sm6pMKJcU8a7_UDrT3rdXxDe-Hv6lE76S3jsZy6vIKwhBIU41W6AWgirhdlfaiAoqkXZg1Gt2d9s8flwx7NN2PdUAKsl3cUxa2Wjm3L8kLH_gRHt2mikt0xTSIIU/s1600/IMG_0504.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8DSREMfmUMJ3zE5sm6pMKJcU8a7_UDrT3rdXxDe-Hv6lE76S3jsZy6vIKwhBIU41W6AWgirhdlfaiAoqkXZg1Gt2d9s8flwx7NN2PdUAKsl3cUxa2Wjm3L8kLH_gRHt2mikt0xTSIIU/s320/IMG_0504.JPG" /></a></div>While there are many temples, buildings, and a garden here, the primary attraction is Todaji Temple where the Buddha is housed: <div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihekNvXvpTgkjsnYQ4MTn_kPiUcJf-YNfpVtZy76SIL2QawjTiq6dJ30eRPrkgBWuAHVFDP6B2zl0v2Qe3BLmvkGW7XVITrmDbmi2rAC_oI4gLW85qpmfof3vWG8a6oOeQso-giSa4bzI/s1600/IMG_0515.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihekNvXvpTgkjsnYQ4MTn_kPiUcJf-YNfpVtZy76SIL2QawjTiq6dJ30eRPrkgBWuAHVFDP6B2zl0v2Qe3BLmvkGW7XVITrmDbmi2rAC_oI4gLW85qpmfof3vWG8a6oOeQso-giSa4bzI/s320/IMG_0515.JPG" /></a></div>Said to be the largest wooden structure in the world, it's pretty easy to see why it would have to be once you're inside: this is one big Buddha<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv65X0UcrIzSjTqWlo00GcpOvbI_mULY_8Nle3HxSmsuaU5pKkXCQO8y-T6FOv92CDN2FvEOJyjHshSEkq_mO3IOcg-0AREvuuNL7kAYJDKdnXvDHW1emL1DOP8lEtRkSab-VFtlLBpdI/s1600/IMG_0527.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv65X0UcrIzSjTqWlo00GcpOvbI_mULY_8Nle3HxSmsuaU5pKkXCQO8y-T6FOv92CDN2FvEOJyjHshSEkq_mO3IOcg-0AREvuuNL7kAYJDKdnXvDHW1emL1DOP8lEtRkSab-VFtlLBpdI/s320/IMG_0527.JPG" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERgbwDUtN6CntZjvAO13M-E-apBaV6ELov_W-Evp4SV0wqppDkP5C9hdrVsz7l8HcK70h2NSBKJPcDfouqCCws1nnEA81QgsMaeH6nzW8uteeobnhljPC63xUY1GEF63e1dB-EZQveWc/s1600/IMG_0523.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERgbwDUtN6CntZjvAO13M-E-apBaV6ELov_W-Evp4SV0wqppDkP5C9hdrVsz7l8HcK70h2NSBKJPcDfouqCCws1nnEA81QgsMaeH6nzW8uteeobnhljPC63xUY1GEF63e1dB-EZQveWc/s320/IMG_0523.JPG" /></a></div>After touring the temple, I move on to see some of Naramachi where the city has worked to maintain or reconstruct houses in the traditional style. Here I'm able to tour Koshi-no-ie: a traditional Machiya style residence that served as both home and workplace for merchants and tradesmen. As such, it's designed with both living areas and features that enable for storage and access to the street: <div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRL4MeMpQCSWN6plG8RTVJ7iiPTeiZg5v-UY9OKkrm7xi_hTPjp84BQkvM1FQny-RHfbQRfBx_M-3cdcSDvnV3TI5h5yNuv47lSezRyKcSFFZe-S8PoWe3EMTe0HxaJvfYncDobgrJNEQ/s1600/IMG_0535.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRL4MeMpQCSWN6plG8RTVJ7iiPTeiZg5v-UY9OKkrm7xi_hTPjp84BQkvM1FQny-RHfbQRfBx_M-3cdcSDvnV3TI5h5yNuv47lSezRyKcSFFZe-S8PoWe3EMTe0HxaJvfYncDobgrJNEQ/s320/IMG_0535.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7rluX67kOYVJSlg7fvle0iQ3G4BuRyVMY6f3-z9hsuthgrV2IEmhO8dR7IM9BX_FDNXhNlgqilLq_CD9LEnJhXM1sdvDuxjXy63IRmAgITfVSF_W7-FOFzTJ52LS1iS4qJZbh-XA5_-E/s1600/IMG_0542.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7rluX67kOYVJSlg7fvle0iQ3G4BuRyVMY6f3-z9hsuthgrV2IEmhO8dR7IM9BX_FDNXhNlgqilLq_CD9LEnJhXM1sdvDuxjXy63IRmAgITfVSF_W7-FOFzTJ52LS1iS4qJZbh-XA5_-E/s320/IMG_0542.JPG" /></a></div>At this point, my late start is catching up to me so it's off to the railway station and a quick hop over to Horyuji where the namesake temple is the oldest known wooden structure in the world: with a history dating back 1300 years. If I'd had more time, Nara Park can easily eat up much of a day alone.<br />
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Set a short walk north of the station, Horyuji Temple is a sprawling complex of buildings with the primary structure consisting of a central main hall and a five story pagoda:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AANoWbVoj8D4uzMKORzn0MMDlsXZx9fbAfayW3Yi_HdpuosKm9eDBtuLhMHwMlrTqNj0vYE_HylINHyD7w3Zwc70WcCPDbG2lQWEUcdIdXBuTaR_wjEsQBVQLU241ZLqQBwZLUoF9t0/s1600/IMG_0554.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AANoWbVoj8D4uzMKORzn0MMDlsXZx9fbAfayW3Yi_HdpuosKm9eDBtuLhMHwMlrTqNj0vYE_HylINHyD7w3Zwc70WcCPDbG2lQWEUcdIdXBuTaR_wjEsQBVQLU241ZLqQBwZLUoF9t0/s320/IMG_0554.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9hpZ-SdaBWUYx_QSF2LuOxnRZAnAjk4j-ZYqeUuC_yH1pRETw2I5qurNc2Wc3WKij01EFzv0d8gBlViaQrMRrdcD0KlBesm6Bw8n7x8UjSPP3o-xgfGFjEeiGtaE5XjjYrEnxgAj9n0/s1600/IMG_0555.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9hpZ-SdaBWUYx_QSF2LuOxnRZAnAjk4j-ZYqeUuC_yH1pRETw2I5qurNc2Wc3WKij01EFzv0d8gBlViaQrMRrdcD0KlBesm6Bw8n7x8UjSPP3o-xgfGFjEeiGtaE5XjjYrEnxgAj9n0/s320/IMG_0555.JPG" /></a></div>There is much to see here and, within the complex itself behind the Eastern Precinct is Chuguji Temple: the nunnery counterpart to its neighbour:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLO-xH61xeOHVbpUfPn26z5qIs-jRBCdiHn2BeZr8MQ7EOsMmLthdN30gJ6H_kdjWN11G1YBCaKB28RttmyogSHGY7_TY_7wJkDRDCQz_mNDXUPHFmFYYevTuvjR4GNKQR0F1f2dYcM4/s1600/IMG_0574.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLO-xH61xeOHVbpUfPn26z5qIs-jRBCdiHn2BeZr8MQ7EOsMmLthdN30gJ6H_kdjWN11G1YBCaKB28RttmyogSHGY7_TY_7wJkDRDCQz_mNDXUPHFmFYYevTuvjR4GNKQR0F1f2dYcM4/s320/IMG_0574.JPG" /></a></div><br />
With the day coming to a close, it's time to head back to Kyoto for dinner: a set meal of duck + udon noodles, rice, and sides: <div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZCVDPiQZ8u-ElHcplvmermVy5H2EcAhArjTY_p0rVN03fdQHR8lQLPjAEp1EoMUftHidoQj6KGwWJGowoqPQLKAC2SITfRB-McTg7sTA9OX0g2c2_lIQ5i0h_wNUva6PMhbxY0A_MkE/s1600/IMG_0576.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZCVDPiQZ8u-ElHcplvmermVy5H2EcAhArjTY_p0rVN03fdQHR8lQLPjAEp1EoMUftHidoQj6KGwWJGowoqPQLKAC2SITfRB-McTg7sTA9OX0g2c2_lIQ5i0h_wNUva6PMhbxY0A_MkE/s320/IMG_0576.JPG" /></a></div>followed by a stop at the bakery on the way home for a small bit of desert:<div style="text-align:center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulGv3Wjr5MvmZYOYN6TMB9BcHgtfgXyBvCvzDULNs7VnUjpRMYVVKqHTgfkIKB4Okj9cW1jfLWb09AZIIWygTaBesXJFFSj_EevZPh1j7Tqb43ZrQtFy-cRQmeZITiJRzwXI-943Vb0Y/s1600/IMG_0588.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulGv3Wjr5MvmZYOYN6TMB9BcHgtfgXyBvCvzDULNs7VnUjpRMYVVKqHTgfkIKB4Okj9cW1jfLWb09AZIIWygTaBesXJFFSj_EevZPh1j7Tqb43ZrQtFy-cRQmeZITiJRzwXI-943Vb0Y/s320/IMG_0588.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Tomorrow's forcast: overcast, light drizzles, chance of castle siege and sizzle...Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-328243372229867412013-06-02T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-04T06:21:19.392-04:00Day 2: OsakaSooo, we've got the boring stuff out of the way, all settled in here at Kyoto. From here we're gonna attack a few other cities over the next couple days before finishing up with some sights in Kyoto. Mostly, I'm scheduling stuff based on what the weather's doing so today we're running away from clouds and light drizzle in Kyoto and hopping over to Osaka where we've just some overcast skies.<br />
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Osaka has it's roots as a thriving merchant town and a primary source of trade in both goods and culture between Japan and it's neighbours. Osaka proper is crisscrossed by a series of large canals to facilitate this that remain in place and in use to this day. We're going to start our visit by going to Osaka Castle; built to secure and protect the vital trade hub.<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWv6qhJknY5oFpcPANYhyeaIP0qVS-T6GBaj_-iZmqVuDCiC7fBBdUBrPRS4L1EoFIPyB2GpMm4w9UkB6VJnB1V2Q6HVmye9SBcsd0fzi5skVAvhvDuHcqwP8TuM8BRUMTvBemul-iiM/s1600/IMG_0433.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWv6qhJknY5oFpcPANYhyeaIP0qVS-T6GBaj_-iZmqVuDCiC7fBBdUBrPRS4L1EoFIPyB2GpMm4w9UkB6VJnB1V2Q6HVmye9SBcsd0fzi5skVAvhvDuHcqwP8TuM8BRUMTvBemul-iiM/s320/IMG_0433.JPG" /></a></div>While it was largely destroyed in WW2, the rebuilt Osaka Castle is the first castle in Japan that looks like what we'd expect a castle to look like over here from a layout standpoint if not architectural. Surrounded by layers of moats and walls and built atop a hill, it's like something straight out of a fantasy epic and stands in sharp contrast to Nijo Castle in Kyoto which, layout wise, is conceptually more like a flatland fort. The downside is that the experience ends once you actually enter the castle where the interior has been thoroughly modernized and turned into a museum to Hideyoshi Toyotomi and the Summer War of 1612 that would see hundreds of thousands of Japanese fight against each other as Tokugawa's army besieged the army of the descendents of Toyotomi, took the castle, and signaled the primary end to his efforts to unify the nation. Suggestion: if you're just interested in the architecture, skip the paid entry fee and tour the grounds. There are multiple gardens to enjoy and much that can be learnt just from the exterior alone.<br />
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Moving on, we stop for lunch below the Osaka Museum of History and chow down on curry rice and pork cutlet:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJc-3Fr0EBi_85e6Wsci5fJ9gxY1PBazsKhGJC9PNZLvwHtB_NLO25C-ZKOm_n-FiasrRj7JhnZNfyjuiBpY3rQi_GFKX7SrXl77kf1zHHK161UXKJg2JYKqhhQLcg2yrIbUZag3E871I/s1600/IMG_0427.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJc-3Fr0EBi_85e6Wsci5fJ9gxY1PBazsKhGJC9PNZLvwHtB_NLO25C-ZKOm_n-FiasrRj7JhnZNfyjuiBpY3rQi_GFKX7SrXl77kf1zHHK161UXKJg2JYKqhhQLcg2yrIbUZag3E871I/s320/IMG_0427.JPG" /></a></div><br />
then head upstairs to the museum itself. The museum focuses on Osaka's history, behaviour at the court while it was there, and the build up of the merchant culture that would drive the city's success both in the past and going forward. From here I'd work my way over to the Osaka International Peace Centre which is heavily focused on the damage done to Osaka by the incendiary bombs during WW2, the events in Asia that led to the war and it's outcome, and then current threats to the world; both military and environmental. It's an interesting and sobering series of displays that reminds one of the devastation wrought by "Total War" doctrine and doesn't try to dodge issues or paint Japan in a positive light. <br />
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Next up, I go south to Tennoji Park and the temples nearby. On the way there I find one way to deal with a busy intersection - a circular pedestrian overpass:<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYde0kgtQsmTaswqIJ_1tabDsew5K8Ec__WOOjzthcjy1g5Jw7giQwdODgPD9sTxlYNIwYJPESAOronLTdaTtlUmDD9Vvfz79RZKjWVyTKiMdrCczN8ntJZO0MYUjV6oKEwldAlz0vv24/s1600/IMG_0444.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYde0kgtQsmTaswqIJ_1tabDsew5K8Ec__WOOjzthcjy1g5Jw7giQwdODgPD9sTxlYNIwYJPESAOronLTdaTtlUmDD9Vvfz79RZKjWVyTKiMdrCczN8ntJZO0MYUjV6oKEwldAlz0vv24/s320/IMG_0444.JPG" /></a></div>The park itself charges admission to the grounds despite the fact that it has a Zoo and Art Museum as additional fee based features inside. Skip them both and, instead, simply tour the grounds where the garden is pleasant but not really my thing.<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm24ghyvhuObSeALRUJhWkVK2_NAN_3MyBLdmpNmlr7CTmOPLNfwGNaaN3ilmT46zwNso4KBEa64DV_iIESnOG_UXT7h6fQEbSeanyFJGsrUjMVmIZhplxxkiBj20niVR1YQL97F6hdBI/s1600/IMG_0473.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm24ghyvhuObSeALRUJhWkVK2_NAN_3MyBLdmpNmlr7CTmOPLNfwGNaaN3ilmT46zwNso4KBEa64DV_iIESnOG_UXT7h6fQEbSeanyFJGsrUjMVmIZhplxxkiBj20niVR1YQL97F6hdBI/s320/IMG_0473.JPG" /></a></div>From here I head off to the Osaka harbour area where there's an Universal Studios amusement park and shopping area. I was going to try and get a shot of the Ferris Wheel but can't find a clear path out of the place and give up. Able to get some shots of Hogwarts being built so the Harry Potter experience can be had there starting next year though but skip the park entirely. There are things I'd consider spending 6600 Yen on this trip (~$66), but that's not one of them.<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijARN3vApbVKBXDmAY77pCi9ehnfsXk8BshZzg-1iTbToCDN7rorBlw9h40z2Ehi6gKNfLAyHbLvVKzLQrnn5jlCTPe0YOu0Des9VALe9wOuNAJGB4HqdgDGmVjEEIVsXRZqiO87pNoQ/s1600/IMG_0477.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijARN3vApbVKBXDmAY77pCi9ehnfsXk8BshZzg-1iTbToCDN7rorBlw9h40z2Ehi6gKNfLAyHbLvVKzLQrnn5jlCTPe0YOu0Des9VALe9wOuNAJGB4HqdgDGmVjEEIVsXRZqiO87pNoQ/s320/IMG_0477.JPG" /></a></div>Pick up a few essentials downtown I'd forgot to pack, then head to the Sky Garden observatory building. I've never been fond of heights so heading up to an open air observatory 43 floors above ground that has both a) an open windows elevator and b) an open air escalator... yeah, not fun. But, the view up there is pretty nice.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkm-19rN-VaF6z2giJ4sJSDuVaYnXT_wyS_SYS4G1bFtwtwlW69RSceO-eqjZC3VGpMExhbaT23zLf0vdxnKhsfoYNJOpZvuoRd0CmPHnq77BKqIXJqCdOk1R563pLLFfzkKiHM8oOU-w/s1600/IMG_0491.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkm-19rN-VaF6z2giJ4sJSDuVaYnXT_wyS_SYS4G1bFtwtwlW69RSceO-eqjZC3VGpMExhbaT23zLf0vdxnKhsfoYNJOpZvuoRd0CmPHnq77BKqIXJqCdOk1R563pLLFfzkKiHM8oOU-w/s320/IMG_0491.JPG" /></a></div>Finishing up the day, I head back to Kyoto for dinner where I stop at a kaitan sushi place where you pay by the plate prepared, placed, and then picked off a conveyor belt. The basics most people would recognize are there, but there's also some stuff I've never seen before and some things that are labeled but I'm just not trying: like horsemeat and mane. <br />
<br />
Don't ask me what the mane is; I have no clue. It's white though. <br />
<br />
Tomorrow's forecast: sunny, hot, chance of deer. <br />
<br />
(PS: "Remember dear, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvB0nzHBmQKfjRYBkdjE9ZQkQ4yUBmSEqZ4I5bdGSYE__yLX-JoDmM2VJuA3qoYNnwo7YozeiJ5D9KUPOvE71GAAoM6iq7gc1yC1too2JhiJeHOgl9ZJmHdePueUtrvB04449A9bWMf8A/s1600/IMG_0474.JPG" imageanchor="1" >we're parked in 'Hello Kitty'</a>")Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-62634903489193364022013-06-01T00:00:00.000-04:002013-06-01T00:00:07.822-04:00Japan Trip 2: The Sequel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDopk3fRUBYzjoWlw7aTucriZIauXHDEV3AwTazYZrezsgaTM9BHbCmMk_13G90s7n1zkpuHj4f1yDcWlBIc9Qi7JZ9LLmmkMWLf4pFsA9-4_pLtvevdwPNfwipsAOq7pLMmzOo1-QHiA/s1600/IMG_0350.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDopk3fRUBYzjoWlw7aTucriZIauXHDEV3AwTazYZrezsgaTM9BHbCmMk_13G90s7n1zkpuHj4f1yDcWlBIc9Qi7JZ9LLmmkMWLf4pFsA9-4_pLtvevdwPNfwipsAOq7pLMmzOo1-QHiA/s320/IMG_0350.JPG" /></a></div>Hello Pearson. Still an empty soulless sterile 'hole I see. I'm going to have to show you again what a proper departure gate looks like aren't I? Yes, I think we'll get to that.<br />
<br />
So, we're at this "Japan" thing again; once more into the breach folks. First though, I have to deal with my two least favourite things: Pearson Airport - where there's eventually a duty free store (if you're into makeup and booze, else you're boned), and some seriously overpriced fast food and convenience stores - and Air Canada in flight meals. Air Canada: where if you think hospital food is unpalatable and unappealing visually you've <i>clearly</i> never traveled economy class. At least the omelet wasn't stuffed with tomato paste this time; instead it was just awful in texture. <br />
<br />
The less said about the beef and rice - or whatever they were passing off as beef - the better. Let it be forgotten until we return and the fuckers try to give me food poisoning again.<br />
<br />
That out of the way, this is travel day folks and little will happen. But, for whatever reason, I couldn't bring myself to sleep on the plane so it's mini RFPD time again!<br />
<br />
Picture Day: Don't see what the big deal is, it's pretty much like any other film in the genre.<br />
<br />
Parker: When did Jason Statham get boring? Oh, I know, right about the time they decided to put him in a buddy film with Jennifer Lopez and then couldn't decide if it was supposed to be a comedy or straight up revenge flick. Takes too long to get going, doesn't really deliver on the action, completely wastes the entire cast's time. I mean, seriously, why is the dude from Shield even in this flick? He does so little they could have replaced him with a stunt double and there would've been no noticeable drop in quality.<br />
<br />
Trouble With The Curve: Clint Eastwood as cranky old baseball scout who's going blind and has let past events and the death of his wife screw up his relationship with his workaholic lawyer daughter: road trip hijinks ensue! Rote as fuck.<br />
<br />
I might have watched something else. All we need to note here is that I can't remember what it is. I think that says it all. 24 hours later I've dropped down into this:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9xrAferA2QJ1EIbEt4KpVjJ3wp1pKeNmGoANHJnj9Qy7f8nRKH4UubsP_Cldr6TOBjKTuMZwMFA8xNy3ezCpFcy1q0jkN2fiJOSx34NEI5khDdD2yJXxdFy_pAQHIu_19kzs2-HFEhI/s1600/IMG_0589.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9xrAferA2QJ1EIbEt4KpVjJ3wp1pKeNmGoANHJnj9Qy7f8nRKH4UubsP_Cldr6TOBjKTuMZwMFA8xNy3ezCpFcy1q0jkN2fiJOSx34NEI5khDdD2yJXxdFy_pAQHIu_19kzs2-HFEhI/s320/IMG_0589.JPG" /></a></div>Tomorrow, Osaka.<br />
<br />
PS: we're gonna try and do this on a little bit less of a tape delay this time. I suspect my hotel will get cranky if I start uploading video though so I may just round that all up after I get back.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-76304482458327253682013-01-22T12:46:00.001-05:002013-01-22T12:48:36.388-05:00WoW: Where MOP's Gone Wrong...... so far.<br />
<br />
(to spare you some reading, no, CRZ won't be here)<br />
<br />
<b>Incredibly Alt Unfriendly</b><br />
<br />
"Finally... have nothing in LFR I really wanna chase, daily reps are done, there's my last token for the Legendary gem... I can start using more of my downtime between other raids on other toons... Hey Wraithion, here you go little dude..."<br />
<br />
"Thanks mortal... here's your starter gem... let's make it a bit more powerful... you've got Revered with me right?"<br />
<br />
"Yup yup, easy to knock out while doing Shieldwall..."<br />
<br />
"Excellent... now, there's this thing your people call Valour... I'd like you to earn 6000 of it to prove your worth..."<br />
<br />
"NP, look, I've got <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=6924/100-000-valor-points">this</a>!"<br />
<br />
"... I'm sorry, you seem to be misunderstanding.... I meant 6000 Valour <i>just for me</i>...."<br />
<br />
"... so you're saying I need to continue to cap Valour on this toon for the next 6 weeks?<br />
<br />
"Yes."<br />
<br />
... and here is where I just went "Fuck It" and walked away from the grind to do alts and other stuff anyways because this is an example of the pinnacle of lazy gating methods: "Hey there, please keep doing something becoming increasingly tedious because it's past the point where it provides any other benefit to you. Thanks." Thing is, at the start of a raid tier I probably wouldn't have minded it: in the middle of a raid tier where I want to be settling down to do other things on non-raid nights than slave on my main? Yeah, <i>no</i>. <br />
<br />
While we'll get to gating and dailies in a bit, because they're worth discussing on their own, there seems to have been an idea that the only reason people had alts was because there wasn't enough to do on their mains and MOP is the extreme overcompensation for that. There's now way too much to be done for your main and not getting it done - especially if you're trying to even pseudo-progression raid - makes you feel like you're not maximizing your potential.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the rewards for doing this work have been decreased so it takes you significantly longer to get it done. We've gone from getting 250 VP for each LFR run and 120 VP for each Dungeon run to 90 and 80 respectively and, in the later case, from 120 for each time, to 80 the first run of the day and 40 every run after. While you can do Dailies while sitting around in queue to trickle in 5 VP at a time, and there is a buff to VP for alts once you actually cap your main (or any toon), the significant increase in time it takes to get there gets in the way of being able to work on other toons at anywhere near the rate you were able to work on them in Cataclysm; an expansion pack which, for all it's faults, I'd argue was the most Alt-Friendly expansion they've done.<br />
<br />
So, the shift in extremes between the two is glaring. While the patch 5.1 change to rep for alts is welcome, and I get that they need to keep things balanced for the people who <i>don't</i> play alts as well, I'd argue that its the largely the extended VP Grind for your main that needs to be addressed. Most of the people I know who've basically given up on doing things for their alts point to the fact that they're going to take forever to gear when they can frequently only free up a night a week to touch them off their mains. <br />
<br />
<b>Gating</b><br />
No, not Raid Gating. <i>Much</i> worse forms of gating.<br />
<br />
In Cataclysm (there're examples from the prior expansions as well), there was a zone called Deepholm which was pleasant on the eyes and had a few fun quests... until you had to do roughly 70% it for the nth time in order to get your shoulder enchants. Then, you learnt to fucking hate the zone for its mandatory nature if you didn't roll Inscription as one of your profs.<br />
<br />
Golden Lotus is the new Deepholm in that you're going to have to do it over and over again to get access to other things you want (unless you don't want them), and it doesn't mater how you spin it, that kind of gating is tedious. That this has not been learnt yet is kind of shocking because it's been fought against since at least Wraith and Hodir led them to make things like Shoulder/Helm enchants BoA for a while. <br />
<br />
The spin that they didn't want people to feel like they had to do everything at once is a nonstarter as well. Because each faction has different items, and people are going to be able to weight those items on degrees of how much they want them, simply cap Dailies again and force them to choose which ones they get done in a day in order to get what they most want. <br />
<br />
But permanently gate factions with stuff people want behind a faction with stuff they may not want? Sorry, at this point you guys should know better.<br />
<br />
PS: Oh, and seriously guys, how did JP gear with a lower iLvL than Heroic gear and mandatory rep requirements that couldn't be met until <i>long</i> after the gear would be irrelevant ever go live? Do you QA your last minute changes at all?<br />
<br />
<b>Motes of Harmony</b><br />
<br />
Likewise, Motes of Harmony have turned into a form of gating for professions as well. People used to maintain a production line of alts they could funnel mats to to make things for their mains or other toons but, now that high end crafting revolves around Spirits of Harmony and these are BoP, this becomes increasingly impractical.<br />
<br />
Their dual nature in many cases - for several prof's Spirit's are not just used in Crafting but in buying the pats to craft with as well - makes things just as painful. If you're a crafter for your guild, you feel like you need to maximize spirits so you can be ready to make things for the guild but this means you can't get on your alts to get pats/items made by grinding out motes there (this gets back to the increased pressure to be on your main). So, I'm sitting on 60 of these things at this point while my alts are trickling them in/can't get any to craft with because they're BoP. <br />
<br />
Incredibly annoying.<br />
<br />
<b>The Daily Issue and Rep</b><br />
While I touched on a key daily concern in Gating - the mandatory nature of the Golden Lotus - here's the main problem with dailies in Mists:<br />
<br />
"Hey, the kids liked those Molten Front Dailies. Let's do a whole lot of those!"<br />
<br />
What's that saying about familiarity breeding contempt? Something else about too much of a good thing?<br />
<br />
Here's the thing: you can slap a fresh coat of paint on them and you can randomize the dailies all you want but it doesn't change the fact that they're <i>still dailies</i> and dailies as endgame content was tiresome a long time ago. The other big mistake was tying gear and, <i>worse</i>, profession patterns to daily rep in a way that made them feel mandatory for people to do: which leads to the Gating complaint above. It's one thing to make VP your gear purchasing price, it's entirely another to tie daily grinds for VP and Rep to get gear because then people are doing your dailies not to have fun, or as a break from doing other things, but because they feel the have no other choice to get something they want/need. <br />
<br />
That's not fun - and despite arguments made elsewhere is not "choice" either - and it gets in the way of other things that might be fun because you can't Brawlers Guild or effectively do Pet Battling while grinding out dailies at the same time.<br />
<br />
Suggestion: let your players actually choose which factions they feel are necessary and continue to provide other things to do than dailies instead of trying to tie them into the same old grind to keep them playing.<br />
<br />
<b>Removing Flight: 85-90</b><br />
Some people hate this because it makes things take longer.<br />
<br />
My issue with removing flight isn't that it makes things take longer, it's that it requires me to quest to get it back to begin with. I rather liked that in Cataclysm they added experience for gathering professions and archaeology and, when I needed mats, I could jump on an alt and gather things I needed or learn just how much Arch sucked while slow levelling to cap.<br />
<br />
MoP takes that flexibility away because doing this on land mounts is far too time consuming. It's greatly missed because the problem with questing isn't that it takes time: the problem is that once you've done it once or twice it's just <i>boring</i> and the reality is that there's really not significantly less linearity to the questing in MoP than there was in Cataclysm. There's really just a choice between doing some side quests in Jade Forest and then which two of Krasarang Wilds, Valley of the Four Winds, and Kun-Lai Summit you want to do.<br />
<br />
Once through is ok, twice through, manageable, eleven times through? As I've said before, Tome of Pandaren Flight can't come quick enough...<br />
<br />
<b>Next Up:</b> What MoP Did Right.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-6070412239209142552012-12-02T01:59:00.000-05:002012-12-02T01:59:36.531-05:00TLU: Apropos Comparison <b>Tank:</b> To be fair, I thought the Shammy would make quick work of them all.<br />
<br />
<b>Me:</b> Enhancement Shaman know nothing of "quick AOE" you speak of. We only do Tantric AoE: the explosions <i>will</i> be big, but it takes a <i>long</i> time to get there...Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-29693372237623299122012-10-14T21:28:00.000-04:002012-10-14T21:28:04.832-04:00TotD: Dear Tillers,If my soil is being occupied, does that mean I'm part of the 1%?<br />
<br />
Thanks,Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-78046380764655301962012-10-03T02:47:00.000-04:002012-10-03T15:27:07.682-04:00WoW: The Five Stages of Talent Tree Acceptance1: "This sucks. There's no more complexity here! You're giving the game over to the casuals! FUCK YOU BLIZZARD!!!!!!! You're destroying the game!!!!!!"<br />
<br />
2: "You won't fix Talents this way and there will still be cookie cutter builds. You should just go back..."<br />
<br />
3: "<insert Theory Crafter site here> says Leaching Poison is the best newb. What do you mean '<i>not for this fight</i>'? <i>Wait</i>.. did the boss AoE just destroy me..."<br />
<br />
4: "Did you see what that guy did there? <i>Fuck me</i>, why didn't I think of using it like that..."<br />
<br />
5: "You know, I'm kinda getting us... Wait, what do you mean they're nerfing my level 90 talents?????? FUCK YOU BLIZZARD!!!!!!! You're destroying the game!!!!!!"<br />
<br />
Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-3553340567083046552012-09-11T16:58:00.000-04:002012-09-11T16:58:06.390-04:00WoW: CRZ fun. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZv-S-_1XRE-d3tJqCUh3CJqWN-ffrsqIrYWHOLfZuGHlTK810MsXnXYaQoDOQdmXfyBdVxhrrIUOBqvjTF-kjCuQ2aJfvCc0XK5jskZNqVp-m3itTvlOx4PrBsb_gm2UOU1hAmKMK-fk/s1600/WoWScrnShot_091112_164940.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="250" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZv-S-_1XRE-d3tJqCUh3CJqWN-ffrsqIrYWHOLfZuGHlTK810MsXnXYaQoDOQdmXfyBdVxhrrIUOBqvjTF-kjCuQ2aJfvCc0XK5jskZNqVp-m3itTvlOx4PrBsb_gm2UOU1hAmKMK-fk/s400/WoWScrnShot_091112_164940.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDktQVQKya32uWjngP9D2aqG6fi0bOKns9M_3WkqSTS5BpyyuBFHpkSeznSZWjMn-0NBPLbqSMxXb4oY2qYhocX54XWgMXjhZ6tSgYx5EzDW-ES5fil557SxzmUqM9WPzF4iwQmr4aaw/s1600/WoWScrnShot_091112_164657.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="250" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDktQVQKya32uWjngP9D2aqG6fi0bOKns9M_3WkqSTS5BpyyuBFHpkSeznSZWjMn-0NBPLbqSMxXb4oY2qYhocX54XWgMXjhZ6tSgYx5EzDW-ES5fil557SxzmUqM9WPzF4iwQmr4aaw/s400/WoWScrnShot_091112_164657.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguh3qdw19Lce2I6zKqUlCc_zJmEnicF8W6wyNyg8938TbeIqNts9-KFitqPmnRPyP83kk8EZtUG1EkM4X17aO-bcTMWXDolt3UMeQA3XE_S11XjgAbW1cG0a8WqOkuZL6DpITMDEnxwQ8/s1600/WoWScrnShot_091112_164117.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="250" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguh3qdw19Lce2I6zKqUlCc_zJmEnicF8W6wyNyg8938TbeIqNts9-KFitqPmnRPyP83kk8EZtUG1EkM4X17aO-bcTMWXDolt3UMeQA3XE_S11XjgAbW1cG0a8WqOkuZL6DpITMDEnxwQ8/s400/WoWScrnShot_091112_164117.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
Ah, the joys of new stuff.<br />
Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-31338312771355794262012-09-11T13:26:00.000-04:002012-09-11T13:26:05.835-04:00TyL: Or, are Going to LearnFree to Play (F2P) is not a cure all.<br />
<br />
City of Heroes is currently scheduled to go dark later this year. There are many efforts underway to try and prevent this, and I won't knock them because there are a lot of people who really liked this game even if I didn't when I gave it a shot. But, I won't pretend they are likely to succeed either given that the Developers have apparently been <a href="http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/news/news_archive/thank_you.php">shown the door</a>. Although one assumes a caretaker crew is still in place to keep up the servers, spawn some insane critters in the last month/week, and then turn out the lights, I don't expect they're likely to bring an entire studio back from the dead. <br />
<br />
City Of Heroes: Freedom - the F2P version of the game appears to have been launched Sept 27th 2011; it bought the game a little more than one year more of life. In that year, about half the press releases from the company were biweekly announcements about great things you could buy with "Paragon Points": the cash to game currency conversion. <br />
<br />
Apparently that didn't work all that well.<br />
<br />
There are other reasons floating around - ambivalence from ArenaNET/NCSoft towards maintaining a NA Development studio when their markets/offices are increasingly elsewhere is the prevailing one - but I'm going to go with the most obvious: CoH was an 8 year old game well into the tail end of it's player base; still beloved and in people's memories but no longer played nor paid for by many of those that flocked to it initially. Not only that, but the number of comments from people hoping they port the Character Generator to it's own engine and release that separately as a stand alone going away present still makes me wonder how many people were playing the game, and how many were simply playing Super-Hero Designer inside one of the best tools for doing it currently on the market by all accounts.<br />
<br />
So, what we learn from this is that F2P has the potential to get people in the door and interested again but you need to be able to sustain that burst and get them to buy your perks in order for it to actually prevent your product from failing. Newer games may have greater success at that because they are the "new shiny", but they too can potentially run into problems over the long term because their continued existence is now reliant on keeping those free players entertained and shopping or enthralled enough to buy into the premium product. <br />
<br />
Which raises the question: why do we even call this F2P? Because of the illusion that the game is now "free"? It would be easy to come up with some derogatory term for what this model actually is but that would only serve to get people combative so I'm going to skip that and just close with the following: the reality is that the game is only free to play to those that are not paying. Someone else is still paying the bills even if you are not and when there's no longer enough people willing to pay for you to be able to play, your game is still going to die. <br />
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Do enjoy the ride in the meantime though.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-22020343813524889822012-09-09T21:44:00.005-04:002012-09-09T21:44:57.077-04:00WoW: Offered WIthout Comment. <a href="http://twitter.com/Ghostcrawler/status/244454446992592896">Ghostcrawler</a>: More stable slots would be fine to a point. Don't want hunters feeling like they should tame evey pet they see. Taming should be a decision. There are plenty of "collect all" achievements. Hunters aren't crazy cat hoarding ladies.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-851251122057309192012-09-08T01:07:00.000-04:002012-09-08T02:09:25.232-04:00RftP: Worst Writing Ever....Some guildies have introduced me to <a href="http://sandrahill.net">Sandra Hill</a>. She specializes in erotic fiction. I honestly don't know what scares me more; that this gets published from a mainstream publisher, or that it apparently made the NYT Best Seller list. An Excerpt:<br />
<blockquote>… Her long hair, still wet from the shower, had been combed down her back in a wet swath. Hilda was sitting on the floor, her round, wet boobs still wet from the shower’s water.</blockquote>I take it showers make things wet....<br />
<blockquote>She dried off the water with a towel, which then became wet</blockquote>... no shit...<br />
<blockquote>Hilda gasped when she saw a reflection in her bedroom mirror: through the slightly open door, she caught a glimpse of the chiseled abs and square jaw of the mysterious stranger who shared her cabin. She stood and spun around, her breasts swinging heavily with the momentum.</blockquote>... You know, I've yet to accidentally walk in on a naked women I wasn't dating whose first reaction was to just turn towards me and let it all hang out... Maybe I need to stumble into change rooms more often...<br />
<blockquote>She grabbed the door and flung it open, revealing shirtless Torolf quivering with desire in the hallway.</blockquote>... you're kidding,<i> right</i>?<br />
<blockquote>Torolf was ashamed at being caught, but his shame made him even hotter – hotter for sex.</blockquote>... Torolf is apparently related to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapp_Brannigan">Zapp Brannigan</a>,<br />
<blockquote>He stepped into the room, and his bulging abs accidentally smushed into Hilda’s rich chest.</blockquote>From this we learn that Torolf is either 8 feet tall, or Hilda is a dwarf...<br />
<blockquote>As Hilda’s buttermilk bosoms squished up against his granite abs, Torolf almost had a dick aneurysm.</blockquote>A Dick Aneurysm is what you get when your idea of research is looking up Explosion in the thesaurus of MS Word.<br />
<blockquote>“Hilda,” Torolf murmured thickly, his throbbing meat wand pressing against Hilda’s warm thighs. “There is a secret I need to not tell you: You are my forbidden desire.”<br />
Hilda had been waiting to hear these words. Her heart was lifted on golden wings and soared toward a radiant sun of perfect joy. She saw herself and Torolf happy together, bathed in the golden light of love. Her snooch got all warm, too.</blockquote>Hilda doesn't get complemented all that often, does she...<br />
<blockquote>“Torolf,” Hilda moaned, her lush teats straining with desire. “I need you.”<br />
Torolf, coarse abs pulsing softly in the moonlight, stood silently.<br />
Hilda looked at him expectantly.<br />
“Oh, sorry,” she added. “Torolf, I need you – sexually.”</blockquote>... and Torolf is thick as a brick...<br />
<blockquote>At hearing those beautiful words, Torolf flexed his rough-hewn abs and Hilda found herself being guided to her soft bed by the sheer force of Torolf’s undulating midsection. She parted her thighs in anticipation, exposing the soft pink petals of her clunge.</blockquote>... ok... let's dissect this for a second... Tor is basically back stepping her towards the bed while she's trying to spread her legs... that... that doesn't work well...<br />
<blockquote>Torolf entered her like she was a lottery.</blockquote>So she's a $2 6/49 whore? $10 Scratch Ticket? <a href="http://www.helpconquercancer.ca/welcomehome/tickets.php">$100 Charity Lottery</a>? Somewhere in the middle?<br />
<blockquote>His engorged pecker pushed inside her and she felt fulfilled with sexual fulfillment.</blockquote>For all the effort she puts into finding slang for penis, you'd think she'd be able to come up with something other than two variants on "fulfilled" for that sentence.<br />
<blockquote>Hilda clutched at the bedsheets with lust and ecstasy and her hands.</blockquote>Thanks for clarifying that at the end; I was worried Hilda was stressing her toes...<br />
<blockquote>Her spongy love mountains hurled to and fro with each pounding. Her body was like a beautiful flower that was opening and somebody was pushing their dick inside it.</blockquote>Because that sounds incredibly sexy...<br />
<blockquote>Then Torolf moaned, arched his back, and suffered from dick Parkinson’s.</blockquote>Ok, now she's just throwing words together...<br />
<blockquote>He pumped in all of his hot pearlescent sperms as Hilda spasmed with so many orgasms!<br />
The two lay still for a moment as the stinky scent of lovemaking billowed around the room.Hilda got out of bed, still shimmering with orgasm. She glowed with contentment, like a cat who ate the cream of the crop.</blockquote>The sex so hot, so heavy, so steamy, so epic that it would be over in 5 sentences.<br />
<blockquote>She walked across the room and picked up her towel, still wet with shower water. “Torolf,” she said softly, “there’s something I have to tell you…”<br />
But her bed was empty.<br />
Torolf was gone, escaped out the bedroom window. In the distance, Hilda heard the fading sound of galloping abs.</blockquote>... galloping abs? <i>Really</i>?<br />
<br />
This insanity brought to you by <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Rough-Ready-Sandra-Hill/dp/0425213021/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347080489&sr=8-1">Rough and Ready</a>; a book whose plot - time lost Navy SEAL takes the crack team he's managed to assemble in the future back in time to 11th century Norway to avenge his family - is almost as incredulous as this writing. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-57220714938003774812012-09-05T11:50:00.000-04:002012-09-05T11:50:04.461-04:00WoW: It's Been a Good Week So Far....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9dCs48TJtuzLECJY6dFiW_u8V0xCjGS8qMY6-oQnaFviWfZMc2iSzCmtEANzxZ__5mjeuztsg9wtBpZTMGde0iu3JmrM9ZfvEfL-ZdmTTYWu6lCShkbGLamXFLQscr8zIExXpquVb48/s1600/WoWScrnShot_090512_112028.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="250" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9dCs48TJtuzLECJY6dFiW_u8V0xCjGS8qMY6-oQnaFviWfZMc2iSzCmtEANzxZ__5mjeuztsg9wtBpZTMGde0iu3JmrM9ZfvEfL-ZdmTTYWu6lCShkbGLamXFLQscr8zIExXpquVb48/s400/WoWScrnShot_090512_112028.jpeg" /></a></div>... and now <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=10847">the sword</a> finally drops off of Eranikus.<br />
<br />
So, doubly good week for me. Doubly bad week for Dragons.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-52337024421064413362012-09-05T00:12:00.001-04:002012-09-05T00:12:36.938-04:00WoW: Saving Azeroth: One Nerf at a Time....35% Nerf. Two weeks before the next expansion. Fuck it, I don't care; the bast is <i>dead</i>:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVE-vsOQp4U2ixPM1w1N7ZtJ_TTd4K65iHGE0KhyphenhyphenQNlBe8Mv80C9pQZNNrSpgAz7u6flb_cx9a-TvgjjPy6g_i8ccUhJWhmAGkcLJi2A_s2_7ROFmTHE16gF9Vhfo8xzFJfSZPG-lR3Y/s1600/WoWScrnShot_090512_000438.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="250" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVE-vsOQp4U2ixPM1w1N7ZtJ_TTd4K65iHGE0KhyphenhyphenQNlBe8Mv80C9pQZNNrSpgAz7u6flb_cx9a-TvgjjPy6g_i8ccUhJWhmAGkcLJi2A_s2_7ROFmTHE16gF9Vhfo8xzFJfSZPG-lR3Y/s400/WoWScrnShot_090512_000438.jpeg" /></a></div>Full credit to the guildies who stuck it out through thick and thin and those guilds that came before us. Long, long, before us. Hopefully the next expansion will be more productive. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292947290900535518.post-15793596804219535542012-08-28T10:06:00.000-04:002012-08-28T10:06:52.827-04:00MoP: Does Beta Archeology Still Suck?No idea.<br />
<br />
Here's the only thing I learnt from the Beta before realizing it was going to take too much of my time now to get a feel for it: the prof is still pretty much so only a max level prof. Perhaps when 5.2 hits and they go "oh, ok, now you can have heirloom <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=49177/tome-of-cold-weather-flight">Tomes of Pandaran Flight</a>", it won't be but, for now, trying to grind arch while running all over the place ground-bound is just painful as you level.<br />
<br />
So, knowing that I'd have to either level my Archeologist to 90 to be able to test properly (especially since the Lorewalker functions don't really become available until 89/90), or level Arch on my other 90 I'm gonna wait until some point in MoP to get around to addressing this; assuming I find time to get around to it at all. Just throwing that out there in case anyone's waiting for an update.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04945149553853451453noreply@blogger.com0