Trip to Japan – Day 18 (2023) – Arcticu Kitsu's blog

20230407_102805 — – Waking up to a cloudy and rainy Nara. Damn it, this isn’t going to bode well for the day. Too wet.

This blogpost covers the day of April 7th, 2023 while in Nara, Kashihara, and later in Kyoto.

Woke up to some stomach pains at 9 AM. My stomach was hurting. While waking up I was sent a message from back home (Ottawa, Canada) how a snowstorm and freezing rain hit the area. The place even lost power. I was lucky to be in Japan, yet sadly still had to deal with rain in Nara.

My plans for the day was to visit Zuikaku’s shrine in Kashihara, as noted by a KanColle comrade. From there, I would have to head back to Nara, enjoy the scenery (the best I could), and eventually make my way to Kyoto.

Related Blog Posting (Japan Travel):

[Day 1] – [Day 2] – [Day 3] – [Day 4] – [Day 5] – [Day 6] – [Day 7] – [Day 8] – [Day 9] – [Day 10] – [Day 11] – [Day 12] – [Day 13] – [Day 14] – [Day 15] – [Day 16] – [Day 17]

I checked out of my hotel, placed my luggage in a coin locker. It was a bit of a struggle, yet eventually found one. Placed my luggage inside, took the key, and went to find my bus. I needed to seek out the 161 bus.

20230407_105157 — – These crows always make me laugh. I love seeing them being silly.

20230407_105949 — – Taking the bus to Yamato Station in Nara while seeing Nara-themed mailboxes.

20230407_105954 — – Nara themed mailbox.

Screenshot_20230407_111508_Maps — – From hotel taking 161 bus, then from there taking Kintetsu-Kashihara Line to Kashihara.

20230407_111705 — – Making my way through Yamato-Saidaiji Station to head to Kashihara to visit Zuikaku’s shrine.

20230407_112000 — – Waiting at platform; Quick-shot blurry.

20230407_113326 — – Admiring the train ride while going through the countryside. A certain Anime takes place in this vague area in Nara. [Tonikaku Kawaii Anime].

[relaxation WEED Space]:

When I saw this I laughed. I shared it to my American friend assuming (the, and up till now) this place was a weed-selling place. Nope! It’s a hair & beauty salon.

[Google Map Link to Salon] – [Homepage]

I was highly amused.

Screenshot_20230407_114631_Maps — – Under Yagikitawanpaku Park, and above ‘SACRA’. That small building on the side of the road is a hair salon.

Plaza in front of Yamato Yagi Station:

I wish I had a stop here. Once I saw this clock tower I strongly desired to visit this area on the way through here, and back towards Nara. I genuinely admire scenery like this; The clock tower and the design hidden behind some trees and a green garage area. It’s hard to see the mural, it’s on the right side of the image hidden behind the support beams.

20230407_114852 — – A lovely clock tower at Yamato-Yagi Station.

Screenshot_20230407_114931_Maps — – Making note of the park’s location for future search (such as now, and months prior). Yamato-Yagi.

Unebigoryo-Mae Station:

I have arrived! Seems to be light spitting rain, not full on rain. It’s wet, but that’s about it. For both safety and appearance I kept my umbrella for the trip towards and returning from the shrine.

A lovely red train to be admired.

20230407_115247 — – Loving Japanese trains so much. They’re insanely highly efficient. I love them!

– Video: Bye bye! My train dropping me off while leaving to the next area. I’m on my own mission.

20230407_115423 — – A lovely museum mascot of Kashihara. A neat little station with its neat little charms.

20230407_115505 — – Panorama! I had to capture the beauty of this area.

20230407_115548 — – Looking back at the lovely station.

20230407_115732 — – Gives me some light Modra, Slovakia vibes. I love vibes like these.

20230407_120209 — – Gradually making my way down streets, through various intersections, and into this pathway leading into the shrine. Was trying to make sense of what was where.

Zuikaku’s Monument:

Finally arrived! At least I managed to visit one out of the numerous shrines in Japan. Yamato, Zuikaku, and a few others after that. For now, I was trying to make sense of what I was seeing, even out of my comfort zone trying to be as respectful as possible. I even waited to be potentially yelled at/scolded by the locals. I was left to my own devices and plans.

This visit was mainly done out of respect on the Kantai Collection (KanColle) side of things. Granted, I would also mainly focus on the Azur Lane side of things because of how far more accessible that was. Azur Lane has an AR mode, something KanColle doesn’t (or at the time). And because I’m a foreigner KanColle treats all foreigners like a piece of trash.

20230407_120729 — – Chart of planes to make note of.

20230407_120826 — – Zuikaku’s shrine and her triangular pillar (mast) on the left.

– Azur Lane’s Zuikaku near her monument.

– Azur Lane’s Zuikaku (AR Mode) visiting actual Zuikaku’s Monument (standing at the top).

20230407_121212 — – Out of my own form of respect I “refused” to climb those steps upwards to her main monument. Maybe I was being stupid, I had my own style of respect. I was basically “feeling out the mood” seeing what I was allowed to do.

– Azur Lane’s Shinano next to the Air Group monument (or so noted).

Screenshot_20230407_122008_DeepL — – (DeepL) Attempting to translate this sign. [Okubo-cho, Hara-shi] ?????

Screenshot_20230407_122047_Google — – (Google Lens) Okudo Town, Kashihara City. Tree Planting Kazuyoshi Matsui. Lucky Day of March, 1995.

– Azur Lane’s Shoukaku for ‘Anchor of Bond’.

– Azur Lane’s Shoukaku waltzing around Zuikaku’s Monument area showing off the sheltering tent for those to pray.

– Zuikaku next to her entrance sign, something I should have seen first thing.

Screenshot_20230407_123724_Google — – Martyrdom Crane Monument – 13th Navy Class A Flight Preparatory Trainee. (Google Lens)

– Azur Lane’s Zuikaku next to her signage for Monument.

And that concludes the Zuikaku respect. Yes, I have memory of paying my respects to the shrine. I gave Zuikaku my Japanese style praying by holding my hand in front of my face, as other Japanese folks have done for other shrines. I have to genuinely pay my respects. I can’t be a rude Canadian.

20230407_124839 — – On the way back I noticed a firetruck sewer plate!

Arriving back at the station to head back to Nara. Wish I could have visited other areas. Sadly, I could not. I also failed to take any videos of trains passing my. My error.

20230407_130118 — – Train goes WOOOOSH!~

20230407_131409 — – I positioned myself strategically in the train to allow me to capture this image of Yamato-Yagi’s square. I needed to capture the clock-tower, the mural, etc. I mainly saw an eagle, that’s what I was after. There was a fair amount of school kids on this train.

20230407_131410 — – Snapping as quickly as I could while passing by.

20230407_131411 — – Better than nothing, I guess.

I genuinely should have gotten off here to stroll around for a bit.

20230407_131412 — – One of the best shots I’m going to grab for the mural, the Eagle, and the clock tower. Baggers can’t be choosers, as they say.

20230407_133646 — – Noticed a Tofu car! Initial D! Hachi-Roku!~

20230407_133653 — – Attempting to capture the Tofu car at the end of the car line.

20230407_133654 — – Tofu car get! It however appears to be a replica, or an imitation.

The Return to Nara!:

Maybe a bit premature, I however had plans to visit various Nara-specific areas. Various landmarks only within Nara, such as deer, temples, etc.

20230407_134230 — – Arriving back at Nara itself while seeing Nara themed trains with deer on them. Nice!

20230407_134238 — – Images are blurry, though the point is still there. Nara themed trains!

20230407_134346 — – Information Robot – Arisa at Nara Station.

20230407_135435 — – Hunting down Nara’s tourist Info Center to obtain stamps.

20230407_135641 — – Osaka Castle stamp and three various Nara stamps. YATTA!~

20230407_140001 — – Happy to have some shelter from the rain.

20230407_140122 — – Hungry, I sought out some local oriented foods. Some actual restaurants, even if its a tourist trap. I’m hungry, I needed to eat.

20230407_140714 — – Took a picture of what I desired to eat.

Little did I know I may have made a grave mistake. I waited a fair amount of time to only be disappointed. I mean, the food was decent (sushi being the better part). The soup was something left to be desired. More should have been done with that soup.

The waitresses were older ladies screaming at each other, even getting into full on arguing matches. Chill! Chill! You’ll get a heart attack at your old age. They appeared to genuinely be in their 80’s and 90’s screaming at one another. RELAX! CHILL! Stop yelling at each other!

20230407_141746 — – Sushi was neat, though that noodle-fish soup left a horrible after-taste. Nah.

I’m now on a mission for deer, even if it’s raining. There’s no way I’m going back to my hotel empty handed.

Kofuku-ji:

Off to visit a touristic area, specifically for the deer. I needed to see the overly famous deers of Nara! As seen from JVloggers and Anime. Mainly Anime.

20230407_144138 — – (Focus: Sign noting to be cautious of deer)

20230407_144458 — – Deer nibbling on a leaf.

20230407_144620 — – It genuinely sucks the deer had it bad during the rain. Look at how horrible that looks. I mean, at least I saw deer?

20230407_144641 — – Deer are indeed still wild animals. They can bite, kick, head-butt, even knock you down.

20230407_145204 — – I needed proof I was in Nara, and with the deer. Mission accomplished! 🙂

20230407_145350 — – I wanted to purchase some rice crackers for the deer, it’s however a shame I couldn’t find a vendor to sell me some.

20230407_145602 — – This one just resting on the ramp leading up to a building area.

20230407_145616 — – With how the rain is coming down it might as well be snowing.

20230407_151101 — – Taking a selfie was difficult. It has that interesting styled tint to it.

– Video – Nara, deer, and the rain. As you can see in the video deer can be fairly aggressive.

(Side-note: I hate my fellow foreigners being unphotogenic as possible. They make faces similar to tongues sticking out, can’t act natural, nor do they show respect in distancing. I mean, I may have accidentally done the same, though seeing my video play back I see two chubby American-type girls going up to the deer being brainless. Their big American styled fat ass with horrible jiggle physics. I hate that. It drives me up the wall. I’m here for Japan, not for weird foreigners.)

20230407_152224 — – DEER! Sakura and deer, in the rain.

20230407_152413 — – Making note of signage and pathway taken heading back to first station, and then the second station.

20230407_153526 — – Nara deer mascot at an arcade.

Briefly stopped off at a Diaso to pick up some items. Some CC Lemon drinks, a watch, a card holder, and a new umbrella. Sadly, the umbrella was too tiny so I left in the vicinity for someone who may need it. I’m aware it’s taboo, yet left it out of both frustration and out of kindness for someone who desired an umbrella.

I was also considering if I should bus or train back to my Nara Station destination. Nah. I’ll walk, it’s close enough.

20230407_154005 — – Admiring the beautiful foot path. Oh, and all that rain.

20230407_154114 — – Rain! I genuinely admire this foot path; This sidewalk is awesome.

20230407_154238 — – That Naranicle building caught my attention.

20230407_154941 — – Making note of the more historical Nara station while also laughing at the guy inside the blue car. Is he curious?

20230407_155104 — – Nara tourist station!

Stamp Intermission:

I came here seeking out a stamp, to which Nara tourist guides were caught up in an overly lengthy conversation with me. We talked, and talked, and talked in English. Purely in English we talked for ages. We discussed Kantai Collection, Azur Lane, stamps, my journey and where I was going, what stamps to acquire and where, and what to expect. Even was suggested to head to Maizuru (from Kyoto) by train, even cautioned about how long it would be for potentially “very little” to explore. This moment was my more happy memorable, and nostalgic moments. This is what I love Japan for! Overly helpful, kind, conversable, and highly helpful. I was nudged towards Maizuru thanks to these tourist info guides.

Sorry for making your counter all wet from my umbrella. I was stupid there, but everything else was awesome. Thanks for your kind hospitality!

(On Google Maps it showed me nothing was present in Maizuru, though when I was there in person there was more to discover taking more than 2 days to explore it all.)

In Japan I felt human again. I loved it!

Obtained my luggage from the coin locker, something I’ve placed prior to my trip on the bus trip to visit Zuikaku’s Monument. Had to catch a train to Kyoto.

20230407_164042 — – This was strange, yet neat. Seeing bits of domestic Japan (Living side of Japan).

Kyoto! – (Kyoto Station):

Safely arrived at Kyoto Station while making note of the trains in the area. I’m genuinely impressed by the scale, even overwhelmed by it. I had to make sense as to how to get out. I walked a direction, even being told to head another way at one point (maybe on another day). I had to find my way out of this insanely massive station.

20230407_174436 — – First thing I hunted down the Kyoto stamp. Went to the info center, forwarded to a ticket gate area.

20230407_175040 — – Making my way to a next hotel while looking back at the insanely massive Kyoto train station. The scale was insane!

20230407_175141 — – Blurry image is blurry. Statue focus.

Hotel Intermission:

Was told I could only have my room for one day, then have the other room for my next night or so there. I accidentally stressed the guy mostly fluent in English by repeating my stupid question. I failed to fully grasp what he said, even though he told me everything. I even asked him if I could keep my luggage in the hotel while I went to visit Maizuru the next morning. That was fine. They would put my luggage in the room. Can’t recall if they done that or not, or if I had to pick it up in the lobby.

Once I settled in, thought of where to go, and how to fix my beeping watch, I ventured off to my next destination.

20230407_182752 — – It was neat going through all these back roads. I could see how Japan folks lived in various areas. The styles were neat.

Sadly, I was constantly soaked to the bone.

20230407_183531 — – Holy shit!? Look at all that water! It’s forming puddles, even on pedestrian bridges. Dangerous!

20230407_183556 — – Passing by a mall, something I should have done from the get-go in the other direction. Hindsight is always 20/20. Great view though.

Pedestrian bridges giving me a neat vantage point of the area, including the nearby Torii gate.

Toji!:

This was noted as being the closest landmark, and one of the easiest to see in the rain. I even had my stamp book ready for just this place.

20230407_184201 — – After a lengthy soaking-wet walk (shoes soaked to the core) I finally made it to Toji!

20230407_184402 — – God damn you, and your blurry picture. At least the scenery is glorious.

20230407_184521 — – Everything is soaked to the core.

20230407_184751 — – I could take a picture of the area in the exterior manner, just no pictures from within. Either way, this area is highly gorgeous.

20230407_184915 — – Umbrella stands, places to place your stuff, etc. You can faintly see the statues within.

– Video – Making note of the surrounding area. The rain hitting the light was sizzling, even appearing as snowflakes in front of the light.

20230407_190830 — – Loving the elegance in Japanese gardens.

It was amusing seeing people crossing over a little pond by stepping over a rock. Even other people with their DLSR Camera’s taking pictures of Toji, and the surrounding area. I even took a few images with my Lumix GF1 camera hoping the quality came out right.

20230407_192033 — – Was trying to seek out the new stamp location (as noted on the maps in interior displays). I came across this lovely signage.

20230407_192835 — – This makes me highly happy seeing this sort of glow. 🙂

20230407_193207 — – American ‘TAROT’ display.

20230407_193615 — – Passing by the Torii gate seen earlier.

I was hungry so I decided to visit the nearby AEON Mall seeing what’s in there.

Thank you! I would actually enjoy my time in Kyoto wishing I could have stayed longer than I had. Japan is awesome, as is Kyoto.

20230407_194235 — – Checking out a Namco Arcade for KanColle, F/GO, and Busou Shinki Arcades.

20230407_194345 — – TRAIN! Train display.

20230407_194940 — – Ordered myself a random meal. I find this far better served than what we would get back in Ottawa, though that may me just my experiences. I admired this rice and “soup”. Forgot what it was. I enjoyed the beer as well, though was cautious on my way back with how buzzed I was from the beer.

20230407_202018 — – Mario is taunting me everywhere I go. Should have let me in your damn theme park!

I barely made it out of the mall, down the street, and even safely made it into my hotel. I wasn’t drunk drunk, I was however buzzed enough to the point I was dangerously careless. I made sure to take singular roads with easy pathways.

Made it back to my hotel, even showered decently well. Certain hotels are better than others so I shower cautiously in various ones. I even dried off my shoes with an air dryer, something I had to do a few times prior and after.

20230407_203440 — – Random. I mean, it helps when you desire to keep things in certain orders.

With that, I bought more beer from a conbini drinking myself to sleep on 2-3 beers. Can’t recall, though certain I always do nightly conbini runs for beer. I went to sleep in a slight paranoid state with the constantly changing environments from hotel-to-hotel. I’m in Kyoto now, not Nara, not Osaka, nor Yokohama, or Kure. I’m in Kyoto. I constantly had to learn new light switches in each hotel.

Bonus:

Relating to my trip to visit Zuikaku’s Monument.

On my way here now. Trying to have everything pinned on my Google maps. Thanks for sharing this with me.

Thank you for the heads up. ???? https://t.co/6vGMV6q2n9
— Arcticu Kitsu (@ArcticuKitsu) April 7, 2023

Please visit the Nara Zuikaku shrine! And that I have! Thanks for the heads up.

Good night! Catch you in my next adventures! Hopefully I can stay dry next time. 🙂

Arcticu Kitsu's blog

A Canadian view of Anime, Busou Shinki, VR Games, and more