August 2008: Morioka, Japan

If you go to Japan in Spring for the cherry blossom, in fall for the red leaves, and in the winter for the snow, then the excuse to go in the heat of summer would have to be the Matsuri (summer festival.) And when it comes to Matsuri, the best of them seems to be concentrated in the north-eastern area of Honshu. The reason, I guess is that this is a mainly-farming region, and the Matsuri is a way to bring in the tourist money.

In early August, the northeastern city of Morioka celebrates the San-sa matsuri. San-sa, I was told, means Three Rocks. The same three rocks that gave Iwa-te ("Rock-Hands", the prefecture Morioka is in) prefecture its name. The matsuri involves groups (and there was many of them), marching down the mail street,dancing and hitting the drums strapped on the front of their body.

July 2008: Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan

I was here for the first time 12 years ago, about 2 months after my final University exams, and after emptying my bank account. On the July of 2008, I am back again. It was something of a commeration of the trip made in 1996, with less hair and more cash. And minus my travel partner from 12 years ago, lost him to something call "marriage".

12 years ago, my first night in Tokyo was spent in a capsule hotel. It's the same this time round. I would have prefer a proper room, but it seems all the budget rooms in Asakusa are filled up. A listing on the Lonely Planet does that to budget rooms. So, anyway, with no reservation for the night, a capsule will do just fine. Anyway, Tokyo was just a bit of a staging ground for the actual trip from day 3 onwards.

So, for the two days, just mange to jalan-jalan a bit in Tokyo, and visit the Palace, or rather its perimeter area. If I have came with tents, a night at the Palace seems like a good alternative to the capsule since they have a "Shelter for People who cannot go BackHome".