Day 6 - 13th Feb 2013 (Yuzawa)

We travelled down to Echigo Yuzawa all excited for the skiing. Enroute on the Max train, there were tons of other like-minded people heading down to Yuzawa for the same reason. They all looked so pro carrying their ski gear while we just lugged our luggages. Erps.

Sakura Tei was a short walk from the train station. Not too bad unless you count the freezing cold weather and slippery ground. While we had booked the accommodation package months in advance, it was two weeks before departure that I chanced upon new promotional packages at this hotel - a higher-grade kaiseki that the one we had booked yet at a lower price (total saving of 6000 yen for the two nights). Unbelievable! Thank God for His miraculous blessings. We were really early and check-in wasn't until later but we stored our luggages and got all set up to rent the gear and headed up to Gala Yuzawa ski resort.
 

Decided to do the afternoon session and did a simple lunch at the ski resort cafe. Also invested in ski goggles cos it was sunny and we didn't want the wind and snow to get into our eyes. These photos were all taken with my trusty iPhone cos I didn't think it was practical to lug my DSLR up to ski. Imagine the real thing to be a thousand times better pls:)

There were ample slopes for beginners (3 or so). We concentrated on the 2nd longest one for a bit to warm up before gaining sufficient confidence to go up the longest, which included meandering slopes. It was crazy because the meanders are flanked by the mountain on one side, and nothingness on the other. It was almost as if I can ski right through (or fall right through, for that matter) so I was highly stressed up while doing that course. And after that one try, I think I was quite uncertain and wanted to go back to do the 2nd one. Tobs was quite pro and found the meandering slope fine so I let him go do his stuff.

We got a hot drink at the rest station when it got unbearable too. And you could smell some crepe station and the yummilicious crepes I was sooo tempted to get one!

By about 3ish or 4, it started to snow quite heavily and visibility was not as great. The winds were also strong so you get snow blown into your face. Thank God we bought the goggles. It was not a fun thing at all cos the snow melts within your gear due to your own body heat. When it started to get really bad such that it made skiing such a chore (too damn cold, can't see much, irritating to have snow blowing in your face), we decided to call it a day and prayed for good weather the next day so we can ski longer.

Enroute down on the cable car, this was the mini storm (storm to us may be a small case to them, really)

When we reached the hotel and checked-in, I was extremely pleased with the room, which came with a door area for coats and shoes, a living and bedroom area, plus a balcony area with a view.
 

We each went to soak in the onsen before dinner. It is really a wonderful combination - ski hard in the day and then relax and recuperate in the onsen at night. I love it!

Dinner was served in the restaurant on level 2, kaiseiki style. I was blown away by the sheer number and quality of the dishes. It was really fantastic. Towards the end, I could not stomach anymore food cos even though the portions look small, it can be deceiving!

I have never tasted prawn sashimi (obscured by the cooked one) and totally fell in love with how sweet it can be. It was amazing!

According to Tobs, when I slurped the noodles, I kept exclaiming I could eat another serving of this.

Tobs loved the rice, which he said could be a separate dish on its own.

I thought the tempura was orgasmic. I super wanted it on the next day as well!

I may have omitted to take photos of some dishes in my excitement to savour the food but please refer to the menu for more details. It was truly a gastronomic experience. I love the attention the Japanese chef put to detail, presentation and quality. (and am very hungry as I am typing this now)

This photo reminds me of an extremely annoying T-group sitting at the back of the restaurant. Somehow, on this trip, we were plagued by T-people who can't seem to behave. In this case, they were making a lot of noise in the dining area and after they cleared out, we finally had some peace and quiet.

When we returned to the room, the bed was lovingly made. So inviting right! Super comfy I slept through the night.

Day 5 - 12th Feb 2013 (Kobe)

Today we go in search of MEAT. I've always wanted to try Kobe beef but it's too far out of our budget and Tobs thinks I can't tell the difference anyways. So we settled for something less posh. The original plan was to go queue for a famous Teppan steak set lunch at Plaisir. Unfortunately, even though we were 1st in queue, when it opened, their Teppan sets were all fully reserved and they only had Shabu-shabu sets left. How can Shabu ever be compared to sinking your teeth into juicy Teppan beef? You probably need 20 slices of Shabu to make 1 slab of Teppan beef ok! Disappointed, we went to try our second choice - Misono.

It was housed on the higher floors of a nondescript building. The sets started at 1,500Y and not wanting to scrimp on this (considering how I was already starving because of the episode at Plaisir), we got 1 set B (4,000Y) and 1 set C (2,500Y).

Seafood starter
(raw)

(cooked) ok, I know the lighting for the cooked version helps in making it look super yummy. I just forgot to change my light settings when indoors for the pictures above.

Our friendly cook, who conversed with us a teeny bit and guided us on when to take pictures of what. Kind of hilarious at times.

THE MEAT
(raw)

Cooking..

Cooked!

Thereafter, we went to walk around in the Kobe Chinatown and found CNY festivities very much alive, complete with the folks from Journey to the West (I wonder whatever for?!)

Enroute back to the station, chanced upon a cute little frog-themed cafe (I know, strange right?!) serving pancakes and chiffon cake. Tempted to try but realised that baking time for the chiffon cake is like 30 mins (!!!) but relented in the end and went in. The owner was very pleased and kept volunteering to take pictures for us, I guess he was secretly hoping that we will do free advertisement for him (and we did!)

Chiffon cake - 1100Y

Pancake set with tower of whipped cream which the Tobs finished up and exclaimed that its so delicious and the first time he ever ate up the whipped! 1000Y

Returned to Shinsaibashi area and queued for Ichiran. It was awesome. Much better than the one we had in Tokyo man. Love love love it.

Day 4 - 11th Feb 2012 (Kyoto)

We decided to head for Kyoto to see what there is awaiting us. To our surprise, there was actually a Agon Shu's Hoshi Matsuri (on a Monday!) so we decided to go take a look. We took the shuttle bus for a small fee and reached the Hoshi Matsuri Site.

(from the brochure) Agon Shu's Hoshi Matsuri literally means "Star Festival" and is a combined Shinto-Buddhist Fire Rites Festival. The ceremony is held with 2 scacred goma-dan, or pyres. One goma-dan is a "Shinkai dan" for the realization of prayers, wishes and hopes for the living. The other is a "Bukkai dan" for the liberation of afflicted spirits of the departed. Agon Shu holds its fire rites with these 2 goma-dan using special spiritual techniques and methods in the course of the rites.

There's a long route up from the shuttle bus stop before you get to the Bhutan Square where the Agon Pavilion is. Some more walking before you get to the Agon Shu's Main Temple. We were hovering outside waiting to see the Gagaku Dance but then realised that the dance was held INSIDE the Main Temple (which obviously required admission fee of 300Y). The Gagaku dance is dedicated to display sincere feelings of respect and esteem for Japanese gods and ancestral worship, which is part of the special manner of holding the combined Shinto-Buddhism fire rites festival.

Some of the interesting things we saw:

(1) Gomagi prayer sticks, which are thin strips of wood on which prayers, requests and desires for the living, as well as prayers for the liberation and consolation of the afflicted spirits of the departed are written. Gomagi received from the people are piled up and burnt on 2 sacred wooden pyres. Prices range from 100Y, 1000Y, 3000Y, 5000Y and 10,000Y

(2) Oracle on a stick

Apparently, if the oracle is not in your favour, you don't bring it home with you and you just tie it on a rope. This is Omikuji Kukuriki. People tie the oracles stating bad predictions to avoid taking bad fortune home.

No offense, but then what is the point of this? This would effectively mean nobody will get the negative stuff, no?

(3) Shrine girls giving out leaves (she offered me one but I didn't want to take it)

(4) At all the tents, there are rest areas and they provide hot drinks. We had several cups cos it is really comforting to have a hot drink on a cold day.

(5) Special blessing of Kashiri Daikoku. This requires a donation of at least 3000Y. But goes up to a few hundred thousand yen. So does that mean the more donation I give the better the blessing? Hm.

and of course,
(6) the Hoshi Matsuri

There are people in charge of tending the fire and others who were in charge of throwing wooden boxes into the fire. Those who were really near the fire had clothes that were black with ash. It was quite a huge fire that required constant tending like splashing water, etc.

There are also scheduled Yamabushi question and answer ceremonies but of course we could not make sense of what went on. Apparently, the Yamabushi's knowledge of doctrine is tested during these sessions.

(7) the ritual costume of the Yamabushi (mountain ascetics of esoteric Buddhism - don't ask me what this means, I copied it off the brochure), which is different from a monk's attire. The Yamabushi are lay ascetics devoted to mental and physical self-discipline in the mountains who contemplate the mountains as both the Kongo-kai (Diamond Realm) and Taizo-kai (Womb Realm) Mandalas, in the aim to become one with Fudo Myo-o (Acalanatha), a deity which embodies those mandalas. Their practice mainly consists of practical ascetic training and meditation, and they reportedly memorize the doctrines by connecting them to Yamabushi's costumes and objects used in riturals. The Yamabushi training and meditation to attain enlightenment and widom is sought for the benefit of oneself and others and is not limited to training in the mountains but also relevant to daily lives.

I will only mention the most memorable object worn by the Yamabushi, the Yui-gesa, which resebles a surplice with pompoms. There are 4 Bonten-busa (pompoms) in front and 2 in the rear. The leaders wore white ones and the newcomers wore black ones. The white Bonten-busa symbolize Rokuharamitsu (six methods of perfection) while the black ones represent Rokudo (six lower worlds), implying that leaders having already acquired knowledge of Rakuharamitsu will guide newcomers who remain plagued within the six lower worlds in the Buddhist faith. Today, they don't use black or white pompoms anymore. Instead, green, orange, purple, and scarlet pompoms are attached to indicate the ranks of Yamabushi.

Raided the basement of JR Isetan and got this mont blanc from Patisserie Kanon, produced by Shotani. It was possibly the most chestnut-y mont blanc we ever had. Loved it.

Tobs wanted to bring me to this nice place for dinner but unfortunately, after disappearing down a dark walkway on the 5th storey of a secluded building, it was not opened. En route we had a very helpful lady to helped us find our way despite the cold. She even used her mobile phone to google map the location. :)

We rushed back to Sannomiya station and got back to Umeda area. We had tried several times earlier to call our dinner place - Quatre Lapin - but never got through. Grace half suspected that they had closed down, which I doubted since the latest review on Tabelog was posted just weeks before. Alas, when we reached the restaurant, the doors were shut and there was no sign of business. Disappointed, we had no choice but to return to Shin Osaka for a simple dinner of 551 gyozas/siu-mais and Matusya's fantabulous (and cheap) Sundubu-chigae, which lingered in Grace's mind for months to come.