Japan Hammer: Top 5 Traditional Japan Spots

All pictures taken by Philip and Kumi Overby.

Here's Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. One of the most famous and scenic places in all of Japan. Thousands visit here every year. Today I'm going to talk about traditional Japan. Hope you like it!

Leaving the world of the weird and getting to blog on some traditional Japanese spots that I've enjoyed. This doesn't necessarily mean these are the best spots to go to, but I'll list where I've been and where other of my friends have recommended. If you want traditional Japan away from all the glitz and bright lights of the modern spectacles, then this list may be for you.

5. Tokyo

Yes, Tokyo! While Tokyo is often connected with urban, modern Japan, there are several temples and shrines nestled within the city that one can visit. Also the famous Imperial Palace is located in Tokyo that features beautiful gardens. The Ryogoku Sumo Hall can be a stop if you're interested in seeing sumo during tournament months. Asakusa is also quite a bastion of old style Japan. It's easy to find on the main Yamonote line. Here's a pic from Asakusa:



Here's some pics from near Ryogoku, including me eating the famous sumo stew "chanko nabe." Very delicious!

Pic of a sumo wrestler at the station:



A statue nearby Ryogoku Sumo Hall:



Me in front of Ryogoku:



Enjoying some delicious chanko nabe! It has all sorts of stuff in it!



So if you want a taste of modern and traditional Japan together, Tokyo has plenty of places to visit.

4. Nikko

I've been to Nikko but didn't visit any of the famous places there. However, I did go to a Edo Period recreation park which had lots of samurai walking around and even some traditional food being served. It was a pretty faithful recreation and a fun place to visit.

Here's a pic with a samurai!



And another at an oiran play, a traditional period play.


While these aren't really representative of Nikko completely, you can find tons of traditional stuff there.


3. Kamakura

Kamakura is actually pretty close to where I live. It used to even be the de-facto capital of Japan at one point. The most famous landmark is the Daibutsu or Amida Buddha statue that is rather iconic. I didn't see it when I was there, but I did see some temples and there are plenty of them here.

When I went there it was dark, so I didn't get many good pics. But I did get a pic of some lanterns that were hanging everywhere. This was a nice place to go for a winter stroll.



Kamakura is of course filled with historical sites, so if you're interested you can visit their website for more details.

2. Nara

I've never been to Nara, but it is known for being one of the oldest and most traditional cities in Japan. It's been highly recommended by friends, so I'd like to visit there one day. One remarkable thing about Nara is that deer just wander about and that they are so familiar with humans that they'll just walk right up to you. There are several beautiful temples here as well that are probably best visited in the spring when you can see the sakura (cherry blossoms) in full bloom.


1. Kyoto

The final spot belongs to Kyoto. Widely consider "the" spot to go if you want to experience all that can be found about traditional Japan. You can see maiko (apprentice geisha) walking about and even watch them perform with various instruments such as the koto or shamisen. You can try the local favorite: yatsuhashi. A sweet filled with beans or green tea and often very tasty!

The biggest attraction here seems to be the temples though. The big three seem to be Kiyomizu-dera (Clearwater Temple), Ginkaku-ji (Silver Temple), and Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple). I was able to visit two of the three and that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg. There are just so many places to visit in Kyoto it's impossible to get to them all, especially with the main source of transportation being the bus system.

In any case here's another pic at Kiyomizu-dera(same as the one I posted at the top of the blog):



Here's one at Kinkaku-ji. Notice the golden color. I heard this temple was actually burned down and had to be rebuilt.


There's also a famous park where monkeys roam free called Iwatayama Monkey Park. Though I didn't get to visit it, I did get to visit a monkey park in Tochigi that was fun. Here's a pic from there:



So my monkey friend and I must bid you farewell now. With a tip of my hat, I'm off to find new adventures in Japan. What places have you visited that are historical or traditional, in Japan or worldwide?

Japan Hammer: Top 5 Reasons I Like Living in Japan

Haven't done a blog about living in Japan recently, so I'd figure I'd highlight some reasons I like living here. After the Tohoku Earthquake in 2011, I think a lot of people were put off living here or even visiting for fear of radiation or other assorted things. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't afraid of the same things, but I stuck it out and stayed here and I seem fine so far. I feel for the people in Fukushima that are near the reactors as I used to live in Fukushima myself and saw how many wonderful people live in that area.

So as a tribute to Japan, I'm going to list the Top 5 reasons I like living here.


1. Cuteness:

If you like cute stuff, then Japan is the place for you. There are tons of cute things to find and I'm not really sure why this kind of thing is so prevalent here. There are tons of these little dogs wearing sweaters and jackets and hats. It's rather bizarre. I saw one day at a nearby mall there was this dog wearing a yellow hat and he kept trying to get it off his head, but his owner kept putting it back on. I felt kind of bad for the dog, but he did look cute. However, I wanted to free him from his cute prison and let him be a nasty, shit-eating dog like he's meant to be.

I like cute stuff, I guess. I like kittens and puppies and babies burping and all that happy jazz. But Japan kind of goes so overboard with it, it sort of has desensitized me to it. Even if I see a tiny dog wearing a tiny hat and sailor outfit, I'm unfazed.

So for my future, I'm glad Japan has made me numb to cuteness. It makes it easier for me to ignore the avalanche of cuteness that buries me on a consistent basis.

2. Politeness

Even when people are assholes here, they're relatively polite. Typically, people don't fight as much as they do in America and when they do fight it's relatively stupid. Just shouting and talking like yakuza to each other. I've never seen anyone get punched here, but maybe I just don't go out that much.

"Sumimasen" and "gomenasai" are relatively common terms, basically meaning "excuse me" and "sorry." I must use both of these words at least twenty times a day for various reasons. And "arigato gozaimasu." I'm always thanking someone for something. Buy something at the store? Arigato gozaimasu. Open a door? Arigato gozaimasu. Take a shit? Arigato gozaimasu.

Suffice it to say, people are nice for the most part. Not sure if they like me or not, but in general people are pretty nice to me. Sometimes weirdly nice like the night some random guys just bought me and my friend drinks without even speaking that much English (and our Japanese is bastardized).

And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say about 1 in 10 people I meet in America are stupid assholes/hillbillies/racists/shitheads/douchebags or some variant of said troglodytes or cretins.

3. I Don't Have to Fucking Drive

I used "fucking" there for a reason. I hate driving. I fucking hate it. If I could kill the verb "driving" I would. If I could destroy all the cars in the world, I would. I hate them.

Here, I walk. Walk. Walk. Take a bus. Take a train.

And you know what? I really hated that when I first moved here. But now I love it. Namely, because, you got it, I don't have to fucking drive. Transportation is a breeze here, especially if you live near a big city like I do. So good for me. Bad for you driving your evil devil machines.

4. Lots of Stuff I Love is Here

Puroresu, which I've fell in love with more since moving here, is right at my door step. I can watch awesome wrestling shows whenever I feel like on the cheap. Going to wrestling shows in America is quite a crap shoot. Sometimes the shows are good. Sometimes they suck donkey balls. Puroresu shows are almost always awesome. Even the crappy matches are brilliant.

My wife is here too. But not to say she couldn't follow me anywhere I go. It's nice to live in her home country though as it's easier for both of us now at the moment. I worry if we moved to America she'd be targeted by racists or experience some kind of horrible shit that would forever make me hate all human beings on Earth. So for now I like living here with her, where we have a nice, insulated life free of any overwhelming issues.

5. Like, Mind-Expansion, Man

Dude...I've totally like blown my mind here, bro. Since moving here I've become about 1,000 percent more productive in my daily life. Not to say I still don't waste shit-tons of hours playing video games and surfing the internet for dubstep songs, wrestling news, and pictures of cracked- out celebrities.

I have Twitter and I don't even really know anyone on there. I just read what other people are doing. I waste too much time on shit like that even now. However, I'm still way more productive than I was before.

I write a shit lot more. I still don't really submit things much, because I've been working on manga mostly. I've written three manga and two novels since moving here. Several short stories too. I tend to have a fear of submitting stuff because sometimes it just feels like I'm sending a baby chimp into a black hole of yawning nothingness. It makes me sad. But I still write and plot submitting stuff, so that's better than just talking about it like I did before.

I've written articles and blogs too. Entered contests. Become one of the moderators on a board. Planned to learn how to fight with swords.

Yes, fight with swords. How fucking ridiculous does that sound? "I'm going to learn to fight with swords."

It's ridiculously awesome I mean. I want to invite you to my house to battle me with a broad sword so I can pin your shirt sleeve to the wall and say "My name is Philip Overby. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Then I'll laugh and twist my invisible mustache. Then I'll disappear into a cloud of black ash.

So yeah, I think I did lots of cool creative stuff back home, but I'm leaps and bounds above what I was before. I'm getting some shit done. And learning Japanese on top of that!


So that's my list. You should come to Japan. Because it's awesome. No matter what people say.