Tsukemen Ikki Ramen →

I had a new ramen experience today so go check it out on the Ramen page or by clicking the title above.

enjoi

Nabana no Sato

As previously mentioned, my shenanigans didn't end on Saturday when I left Nagoya and returned back home in Okazaki.

No, they were only just beginning.

After returning, I spent a little bit of time in my room and then hung out with the family until it was time for dinner. During dinner, they asked if I wanted to visit Nabana no Sato, a garden with a special illumination during the winter season. When I asked when, they said right after dinner.

So I soon found myself in the backseat of their van, heading down the expressway towards our end destination. It was about a 40 min drive or so and technically, in a different prefecture, Mie-ken, so I can check off another prefecture off of my list of the many I still need to set my foot in.

It cools off a lot during the evenings now so I am glad I threw on a sweater before heading out since our entire time at the gardens was obviously spent outdoors.

Upon arriving though, we weren't greeted by various flowers, but instead strings and strings of lights everywhere. Thinking about it now, I wonder how long it took the crew to set this all up and also, how many individual lights was I surrounded by. Too many. Naturally, I didn't take many pictures of the lights cause that's way too cool.

The most impressive sights though were the trees (with momiji) along a pond that were reflecting perfectly along the surface of the water. My pictures don't do the the sight any justice.

After proceeding through a massive light tunnel where everyone and their mom wanted to take pictures, we were introduced to the main attraction, a giant backdrop to recreate a mountain forest scene. From here, well, was an amazing light show supported by different music tracks.

In the video below, this is just one of the short light shows that was on display. I think the entire loop took about 15 min and was comprised of probably 5 or 6 short themes.

Viewing this spectacle was definitely worth the price of admission and definitely secured this as something I was glad to participate in.

After heading back to the main area, we did some omiyage (souvenir) shopping since our ticket included a voucher to buy stuff at their shop. It was a use it or lose it sort of thing so I ended up buying some random stuff which is to be kept a secret for now.

So yah, if you're ever randomly in Japan at this time of year and enjoy lights, music and action, go to Nabana no Sato. And then maybe catch a film after to really solidify an awesome day in Japan.

Nagoya Castle

Over the weekend I got up to a number of shenanigans. One such example is my visit to Nagoya Castle which just so happened to be my very first visit to this city. I was told that it’s the 3rd largest city in Japan and by the crowds encountered, yah, it definitely felt like it.

Actually, the crowds at the castle were quite tame, wait times for anything that we wanted to see were either non-existent or minimal at worst. The crowds that we did encounter is when we left the castle grounds and headed to some of the main shopping and entertainment districts. But for a Saturday, nothing less would be expected.

Anyways, back to the castle. I quite enjoyed my time here although the castle itself is in need of some repairs and thus entry into the castle is forbidden at this time. Actually, there were parts of the castle grounds that we couldn’t visit as well since they were also under construction.

However, I always appreciate the fact that I am standing on soil that has such a strong history and I always love to imagine what life would have been like for those that that lived, worked and/or fought in these areas.

One of the best things was that the fall colours (momiji) was still in abundance as many of the trees hadn’t lost their leaves yet. So, I was really able to enjoy the nice colours with the castle in background.

There were a few random activities taking place around the grounds that included a Ninja show which we didn’t watch, but that’s okay. Ninjas are invisible anyways so it would have been a pretty boring show. n_n

There was also some random dude dressed as a Samurai standing about with an umbrella who somehow attracted a long line of lady fans waiting to meet him, get stuff signed and chat him up. I guess he was no random guy to those people but it was interesting to see how giddy his fans were as soon as they got their turn meet him. I unashamedly stood around for a few minutes watching these people interact with him which was oddly fun.

Naturally, I didn’t take pictures of that cause it didn’t seem like my place to do so. So, here’s more momiji for you.

Chips

You know how sometimes the chips back home have flavours inspired by different dishes in Canada? Well, that sorta thing exists in Japan, too. And with 47 prefectures (sorta) means 47 different flavours to try. I got to try one such flavour today so that leaves 46 flavours to go.

Now I just have to find the rest, and if that means going to each area to get a bag, I'll do it. Don't you worry, it just might take a while and cost a bit of money.

Guess I should bring some back for the work snack table cause we don't eat enough chips at work already. Hah!

The flavour below, is a renowned flavour for the prefecture that I am currently in, Aichi-ken. Miso Katsu (miso pork cutlet) is super popular but I haven't tried the real thing just yet, but I definitely will be in the near future.

There is also a post that I need to get to regarding a miso factory that I visited a little while ago, but I won't say too much on that for now.

Kouen Mae Ramen →

I had a new ramen experience today so go check it out on the Ramen page or by clicking the title above.

enjoi