chochajin: (San-X: Tarepanda - days)
chochajin ([personal profile] chochajin) wrote2009-07-05 07:05 am

[Japan Travel]: Kôchi - Day 2

Hey~ho (*゜ο゜)ゞ

It's photo time again ^-^
On my second day in Kôchi I had quite a strict schedule, but I was able to see so many awesome things that day.
Please enjoy the photos together with me (*__*)/~


Kochi - Day 2 (April 7th, 2009):



My plan was to go to the mountain Godaisan (五台山) and Katsurahama (桂浜). Both were quite far away from each other, so I got up as early as possible and was still not sure if I would be able to go everywhere I wanted to.
While waiting for my bus to Godaisan, I got bored and took some random photos. I already told you that Kouchi is not really prepared for tourists. My bus was a small bus with 114321523412 stops and it took forever to get there.
Then it was really difficult to find the right way to climb up all the way, no signs at all! And it was quite hot that day as well.



After quite some time I finally reached the top of the mountain. There's a really famous temple, the Chikurin-ji (竹林寺) which is one of the Shikoku Pilgrimage temples :)
There's also the Makino (*fangirl squee*) Botanical Garden. I decided to go to the temple first. As you can see it has a 5-storied pagoda :)



The temple and everyting around it was so absolutely beautiful I REALLY didn't know where to start!!!! (*____*)
Cherry blossom tree with fortune telling papers around it (*___*)v









That's where the pilgrims gather and pray. Actually, when I was there there was quite a huge group of pilgrims praying :)
Very interesting ^^





As you can see the weather was great that day (*__*)v



At first I just thought: "Yay, cat" and took a photo, but there's actually quite an interesting story behind this cat statue:





Can you see it? Cool, huh? XD





Nice weather, blue sky, red 5-storied pagoda and cherry blossoms. I love this photo! :)



Taking photos randomly of flowers again (^^')>



I really liked this pagoda (esp. the colors) - and I've seen many pagodas by now! XD



Sorry, random. I just loved the colors!



There was a really famous Japanese garden (small, but beautiful).





Different statues of gods and stuff. The explanation was in Japanese only, so I couldn't understand everything. As there were so many I didn't listen to the tape there until the end anyway XD

There was still more to see, but my schedule didn't allow me to stay any longer. I moved on to the botanical garden which was the most beautiful and the biggest I've ssen so far!! I spent way too much time there and became a fan of Dr. Makino (and not it's NOT because of his name!!!)



Cute cati (^-^)v



I went to the 温室 first (wow, I actually had to look up the English word for it! XD ... It's awesome that it sometimes happens that I can remember Japanese words faster/better than English words! XD) -> greenhouse.





The colors are awesome!





Yah, that was a real one! Enjoying the afternoon sun, I guess XD



Finally left the greenhouse and moved on. Awesome view (*___*)v



Like I said, I spent way too much time there. It was like: step - stop - take 1-2 photos - step - stop - 1-2 photos etc. XDDD This way you'll be able to move on 1 meter in 30 minutes or so x___X *headdesk*







And AWESOME view from up there! Remember that I had to climb up Godaisan first for that view?! But it was definitely worth it ^^



Here you can see all the rice fields once again :)



Zooooooooo~ooom



Of course cherry blossoms were almost everywhere as well, but as there were so many other interesting plants, I almost forgot to take photos of sakura this time XD





There was also a huge museum. Unfortunately you were not allowed to take any photos. It was about the life of Dr. Makino. He was really an interesting guy and he was quite handsome as well!
I managed to buy a postcard, but I'm too lazy to scan it, sorry XDDDD

It was already past noon and I still needed to go to Katsurahama which was faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar away.
Going all the way back down to the bus stop and wait 1,5h for the next bus and then walk to the station and then catch the bus to Katsurahama ...... well .... that would have taken too long.
I found a taxi and went by taxi to the station. I knew it would be expensive, but I really wanted to go to Katsurahama as well as it was my last chance (the next day I was already on my way to Naruto anyway).
The taxi driver was really nice, though, and we talked quite a lot (it was quite a long way anyway).
I can't rememeber how much I paid in the end, but it was a lot!

From there I went by bus to Katsurahama which is a really famous port/beach.



The beach there was really nice, but a little bit too windy XD



There's also a small shrine on top of a small cliff. Awesome (*_*)v







Hello, paradise!





There's also a really small aquarium! There weren't many people, but that's what made it a nice experience :)
Highly recommended!



Yay, penguins ^-^







There were also a few performances. That Japanese guy was really cute (and sometimes I took more photos of him than of the animals *ahem* XDDD)







Singing(?! XD) penguins!



They only have one dolphin and it's still very young, but he could do some tricks already :)







There were REALLY huge ocean turtles!!! You could also give them food (if you paid for it), but I didn't do it ^^
You were not allowed to touch them, though ^^;



So many Nemos! And LEGO! XD And a One Piece ship! XDD











It was time to go, so I said goodbye to the dolphin. I was all alone with him, it was awesome ^^
By the way on my way back I ran into the drill guy and his female assistant and we started talking about the dolphin's and the seal's training and all. The guy was currently doing some trick practice with a young seal.
They were really nice ^^
While watching the performances earlier there was also a woman who started talking to me. Her sister seems to live in America if I remember that corretly, so she wanted to know if I'm from there as well. (She assumed that I was - as always XD ....)



Statue of the famous Sakamoto Ryoma who was the leader of the movement to overthrow Tokugawa Bakufu during the Bakumatsu period.



Random, but I was just fascinated by these roots!





I also went to the Sakamoto Ryoma memorial museum, but I was too late! It already was closed ;___; .... and as you can see the sunset was close as well.
I wanted to eat dinner there (the tuna Kochi is famous for), but all shops and restauraunts were about to close as well!!! GAH!). Katsurahama is also famous for dog fights, but I was sooooooooo not interested in that, so .... I decided to go back.



Finally back in the central of Kouchi City, I met [livejournal.com profile] nightstar again and we went to eat one of Kouchi's specialities (the tuna I was talking about before and which I couldn't get in Katsurahama because the restaurants all had closed already).





Katsuo no takaki (special type of tuna) which refers to the raw fish you can see in the picture.
It was yummie and I'm a fan of raw tuna, but I've eaten better ones ;P



View from my hotel room. Bye~bye Kouchi!!!!!
Although the first day was kind of boring I really enjoyed my stay there. Especially this second day was awesome and in the end I wished I had a little bit more time.




The next day I got up really early, because I had to catch my bus. Yeah, that's right! I went not by train, but by bus this time!!!
Next stop: Naruto and the awesome whirlpools! (*__*)/

Hope I'll be able to post soon again *g*
Only 2 more days left anyway ;o; I wanna try to post them before I leave for Germany in a few weeks.

ヾ(=・ω・=)o☆バイバイ☆ヾ(=・ω・=)o

[identity profile] madwithinsanity.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
As I have said before your blog makes me miss Japan terribly bad. I got to tie one of the fortunes to a sakura tree while I was there and it tore =A= I hope that's not something really ominous.

[identity profile] kevinsensei.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
Nice pics!

[identity profile] quinnsan.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 06:06 am (UTC)(link)
*glomps* YAY CUTE GUY! He was adorable~ xDD


And just wow...all of the pictures were beautiful~ And I'm not in a fish eating mood right now (I'm not most of the time for some reason...xDD Only way I guess you'll get me to eat fish is if I'm in Japan, then I'll eat sushi and all kinds of stuff. xDD), but that tuna looked sooooo yummy~

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 01:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Haha XD I was waiting for you and your comment about the guy! I knew you would say something! XDD *hugs*

Really? My family is not a fish fan either, but I am. Problem is I'm not a good cook and cooking something with fish is especially difficult (if you ask me). So I really enjoy that I can just go to a supermarket here and get prepared fish dishes for dummies ;P

[identity profile] quinnsan.livejournal.com 2009-07-06 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
*huggles* <33333333333333 I've been trying FOREVER to get someone to actually take a picture of a cute guy, and you did. xDDD


Yeah~ >< My mom loves fish, I guess my dad does too...my sister's a vegetarian so she won't eat meat or fish. xD I on the other hand, love meat, and I do like fish but I guess I just have to be in the right mood to eat it. xD

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-06 02:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Haha XD
I basically could take photos of cute guys/boys every day ..... the problem is that most of them are still in elementary school (but they're soooooooooooo cute XD .. and they will probably be handsome in 10 years XD)

I see :)

[identity profile] missmomoko.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 06:36 am (UTC)(link)
I looove your photo posts. Japanese gardens are so beautiful. Have you been to anymore Japanese aquariums? Like the (ones that have whale sharks? they seem awesome)or the zoo with Pan Kun and James? (lol sorry an Arashi/Aiba fan talking here).

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
I've been to 2 huge aquariums in Osaka and in Kagoshima and to that one so far :)
I've been to the zoo in Ueno, Tokyo. Don't know if that's where Pan-kun and James are? XD
kurikuribebi: (Default)

[personal profile] kurikuribebi 2009-07-05 06:54 am (UTC)(link)
You spend time doing things I should have done while I was in Japan. Every time I'm there, all I ever do is go clubbing, drinking, karaoke, bowling and school. But I guess...that's the typical life of a student? hehe.

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 01:40 pm (UTC)(link)
I guess so :)
If you're a student you have time, but no money. If you work you have money, but no time, so I barely can go anywhere.
I always try to spend my holidays somewhere here in Japan where I haven't been before and explore as much as I can. That's one reason why I came here anyway ^^

Any plans of coming back here soon? :)
kurikuribebi: (Default)

[personal profile] kurikuribebi 2009-07-05 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Aa, well if it's part of the reason you moved to Japan, it's understandable ^^.
I wasn't in Japan with that intention, but when I return, I'll have it.

Yep, I'm returning soon--Before the end of this year, actually ^^ The only question is whether I'll return as a student to my old university or to live with my boyfriend ^^

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-06 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
Awesome ^-^
If you decide to live with your boyfriend, what are you going to do then? Working?
kurikuribebi: (Default)

[personal profile] kurikuribebi 2009-07-06 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
I don't know. I really need to figure that out. I'd have to take the JLPT if I want to work and I really don't want to take that....

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-06 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
Well, only if you want to work for a Japanese company. Do you really want to do that? You know about all the overtime work and stuff, right?
I personally would never like to work for a Japanese company (x___X)>

And 1kyuu, hmmm. I think they don't care about things like that even if you want to work as translator! It's your true ability that counts more :)
kurikuribebi: (Default)

[personal profile] kurikuribebi 2009-07-06 09:06 am (UTC)(link)
Well, I'd love to intern at an advertising company and if I take the JLPT, I have connections to do it. Three of my teachers worked at advertising companies there.....

Beh, do you know any good online sites to study?

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-06 01:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Sounds really interesting!!! :)
Was/is that your major as well?

Hm, I don't really use any online sites for studying to be honest.
I used to use smart.fm (formerly known as iKnow) for a while. It's not bad :)
kurikuribebi: (Default)

[personal profile] kurikuribebi 2009-07-06 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm studying communications and advertising ^^

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-07 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
へぇ~面白そう!♪

[identity profile] redeemtheyears.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 07:27 am (UTC)(link)
aww man, the photos are beautiful! lol at the reflection of your camera in the last photo! xD
ext_72141: ([Enchanted] YAY)

[identity profile] frostedpopcorn.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 09:42 am (UTC)(link)
Die Katzengeschichte find ich sooo toll :D
Ich wünschte meine Katzen hätten auch sowas am Bauch, lol..

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 01:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Und ich wünschte, ich hätte wieder ne Katze! Mit oder ohne so nem Zeichen XD
ext_72141: (Default)

[identity profile] frostedpopcorn.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 01:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Naja, wenn ich "meine" Katze sage, meine ich eigentlich meine Katzen in Deutschland bei meiner Familie.. ;__;


(ein Cat-Cafe hier in London wäre jetzt echt nicht schlecht XD)

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Naja, besser als gar keine, richtig? ;o;

Ja, ein Cat Café gleich um die Ecke wäre echt toll *g*

[identity profile] kurohaneshizumi.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 02:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Aww~ The Kita cat is sooooo cute. *____* And it's such a nice story. ^_^

Wow! That one shot of the shrine on the cliff is so cool~

It looks like you did have an exhausting day!

[identity profile] pin0k0o.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 03:04 pm (UTC)(link)
man the scenery is beautiful!!! I always enjoy all the flower pictures you take haha XD. By the way the beach is gorgeous O___O

[identity profile] nekoyousei.livejournal.com 2009-07-05 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
The views of the ocean were so beautiful!!! *w*

[identity profile] mtassarion.livejournal.com 2009-07-07 07:01 am (UTC)(link)
damnit :P your pics are very nice :P

kinda does look like paradise doesn't it? xD

and wth is a one piece ship doing in an aquarium with a lego helicopter? hahaha

[identity profile] jrock-nightmare.livejournal.com 2009-07-08 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Kouchi is very beautiful. <3
The penguins are super cute too. >.<
If I don't get to talk to you within the next 2 days, I hope you have a safe flight to Germany. ^^

[identity profile] currynana.livejournal.com 2009-07-09 03:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Uwaaa, the animals look so adorable!!! :D

As always, really lovely photos. And totally love the wish hang on the tree thingie... :D I did it at the...omg, i forgot the name of tht place...it's the big shrine in harajuku...asakusa? FAIL! :(

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-10 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
Asakusa is a part of Tokyo and yes, there's a famous shrine as well, but the one you mean is "Meiji Shrine" :)

[identity profile] currynana.livejournal.com 2009-07-10 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
AH YES! THTS THE ONE! Lol. Me fails. XD

Hi :D

[identity profile] kanefunnn.livejournal.com 2009-07-21 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
What a lot of wonderful photographs you have XDD
So, you went to 四国, right? :) Actually, I was born in Tokushima of 四国!! And, I have been to 高知 many times ;) The taste of Katsuo no tataki is delicious, isn't it? XDD I'm lovin'it. lol

Re: Hi :D

[identity profile] chochajin.livejournal.com 2009-07-21 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, Tokushima seems to be such a beautiful area. Lucky ♪♪
Yes, katsuo no takaki is delicious. I love raw tuna and most other raw fish (*___*)v