I am Johnny Fedora

This is a quick update, no new old ladies, but some good pictures from my field trip to Kyoto. First we went to the Byoudouin, or Phoenix Hall (named for the golden phoenixes that once adorned the top), a famous Shingon Sect Buddhist temple. We then went to Touji, another Shingon temple complex. I managed to get some decent shots of the art, but maybe 75% of the pictures didn't turn out. Some of the pictures might have been taken in restricted areas, but I don't know any better, I'm a foreigner...

I recommend clicking the slide show button. It makes the pictures bigger. Just be sure to navigate with the arrow keys or else the pictures change every 3 seconds.

Also: Yakisoba, okonomiyaki, and takoyaki in one meal. Bliss.

And: Mildly spicy noodle soup, bamboo shoots, salmon onigiri (rice balls with filling), pickle onigiri, seaweed salad with ponzu shoyu, and cake.

Steel Dragon 2000 and Viking Breakfast

My second trip of the break was to Mie Prefecture to see Nagashima Spaland. It's not as brothelly as it sounds, though. It's an amusement park. It's home to 10 roller coasters, including Steel Dragon 2000, the longest roller coaster in the world, and White Cyclone, the largest wooden coaster in Asia. I went with Japanese friends, so it was very amusing. Japanese girls yelling "I'm going to to die" is somehow adorable. Maybe your very first rollercoaster shouldn't be the worlds longest... Just a thought. Pictures of Adventure Monday too.

Also: Japanese amusement parks serve fried noodles, octopus dumplings, and curry rice. They still have 6 dollar churros, though.

And: Japanese hotel viking breakfast is awesome. 5 Pumpernickel rolls, 3 bowls of rice, 2 packages of seaweed, natto, 12 sausage patties, egg salad, and a stomach ache.

And: Texas toast with a fried egg, a salad made from homegrown white radish and carrots, corn soup with croutons, and a glass of milk.

And: Yakisoba (think Chow Mein) wrapped in a thin omelet with sweet soy sauce and egg rolls filled with spicy rice.

And: Soy sauce ramen and oyakodon (rice topped with chicken, scrambled egg, and onion).

And: Game over. Over wins.