HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011! NEW CHALLENGE! NEW GOAL! HAVE A BLAST 2011!
明けましておめでとうございます!
よい一年なりますように!!
新年快乐!新的一年新的挑战!新的目标!
祝大家有个美好的二零一一年!
When winter come, there will be light decoration around. When we saw the beautiful light decoration. We will be thinking of festival,and of course its Christmas season. No matter we celebrate Christmas or not, everyone like Christmas.
Around this season, in Kobe, there will be light festival `Kobe Luminarie ` which been held since 1995 to commemorate the Great Hanshin Earthquakes. The light were donated by the Italian Government and the installation itself is produced by Valerio Festi. This light up are kept up for 2 weeks and will be turn on for a few hours each evening. This year theme is ‘光の心情’which mean the heart of light and its starting from 2 Dec 2010-13 Dec 2010.
I been there yesterday evening. On weekend,the light were turned on 1 hr earlier than weekdays. I lined up from the Motomachi station to the main gate of the luminarie for 45 minutes. There were thousands of people lining up to see the light up. So, its not advised to go on weekends.
As we heard in Osaka its famous for the okonomiyaki. But, in Japan,we can find okonomiyaki or others Japanese Delicacies anywhere. In Himeji, you able to find okonomiyaki,takoyaki,taiyaki,etc too. But,I think 'rice burger' you can only found in Himeji. Here,we called it Himeji Okakure Baga 姫路お隠れバーガーwhich mean Himeji Hidden Burger. The waitress in the shop will dress like ninja. I think its quite attractive to tourist/local customer. There are 2 type of burgers, unagi burger or kobe beef burger. The burger cost 600 yen each. Its wasn`t a cheap burger compare to normal burger. Yet, its worth to try. The shop is nearby the Himeji Tourist Information Center. It is a small shop with やっさ弁当 as the signboard.
Another special delicacy is taiyaki たい焼き。Taiyaki is a Japanese fish shape pancake. The most common filling is red bean paste made from azuki beans. In Himeji, there are special filling with macha/vanilla ice-cream, cheese, chocolate and many more. I like the macha and vanilla ice cream filling the best. You can find these taiyaki in Miyuki-doori みゆき通り.
My 1st time had dedicated to Tottori Sand Dune鳥取県砂丘. Sand dune i s just like small desert. I think you will ask, how come Japan got desert? You can search wiki for further information.Tottori Sand Dunes are natural form, unique sand dunes and the only large dunes system in Japan.
Chizu Express to Tottori |
pine trees mountain |
I took Jr line from Himeji to Kamigoori. Then changed to Chizu Express to Tottori Prefecture. Along the way Tottori, anyone in the train were asleep. Only me so excited looking out the window. The scenery outside the window change from highway to villages and mountain of pine trees. I love it every much.
villages |
Sand dunes behind the trees |
Horse Back sand dunes |
When I arrived at Tottori Station,it look like ordinary town for me. I wondered where the sand dunes might be. Before I depart to Tottori,I had checked for the location of the sand dune. It should be not far from the station. But,all I can see was tall buildings, schools,shops...etc. From the station I took the local bus (because it isn't weekend so the tourism cute bus didn't operated) to the sand dunes. On the way to sand dunes,just like I said before,it is ordinary road and town. After a while, the bus turn into the wood mountain area. Behind the trees,there was a path of sand and ocean. The ocean is Japanese Sea 日本海。Wow,such a surprise and wonderful scenery. Everyone in the bus have the same expression as me or maybe they much more than me. The sand dunes located at the north part of Tottori Prefecture.
walk through |
Beside the sand dunes,there are another attraction - The Sand Museum. In the sand museum, there are unique sculptures made of sand. The sculpture will change according to the theme. From 29 April 2010-10 January 2011,there will be "Around the World in Sand - Africa". Artists from North America, Europe and Australia worked under the guidance of the museum's General Producer Katsuhiko Chaen of Japan to produce 10 large-scale designs.
Nelson Mandela sand sculpture |
Africa Safari |
fake torokko train ^^ |
took from moving train |