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All About the Kamakura Great Buddha | 鎌倉大仏

Over at muza-chan.net there is a pair of articles explaining more details about the Great Buddha of Kamakura. Seeing as it was one of the “main attractions” on our (mis)adventure into Kamakura I thought I’d link it here… The first article, “A Spiritual Look at the Kamakura Daibutsu” explains a bit about the religious significance [...]

School Field Trip?

My wife couldn’t resist snapping this photo of a gaggle of kindergarten-age schoolgirls looking like they’re on a field trip.  かわいい！ If memory serves this was on the platform at the strangely Swiss-themed Gora station, part of the “Hakone Loop”, which you can read all about on Day 8 of the Journal….

Planning: Japan Through Google Earth

OK, so, like me you’ve finally decided that its about damn time you pull the trigger and make this trip happen.  Where do you start? You start scouring the internet, pick up a few guidebooks, read other people’s trip accounts (like this one) but its difficult to really decide what you’re going to go see, and [...]

Don’t Feed the Monkeys!

On Mt. Takao, you’ll see these signs every so often along the trails… What’s it say? (You can probably guess the top part) サルや野生動物にエサを与えないで下さい ゴミは待ち帰りましょう この看板は、高尾山を訪れる人たちに安心して自然を樂しんでもらうため、八王子市追い払い駆除隊。(社) 八王子青年会議所。高尾山を活動の拠点とする八王子森林パトロール隊。ボランチィアが協力し設置したものです。 八王子市農林課 (whew) Please don’t feed the wild monkeys. Let’s take  our trash with us. This sign is to give peace of mind and enjoyment to Takao-san’s visitors, from the Hachioji _____ Organization (Company).  (The missing part doesn’t make [...]

Japanese Cars

If, like me, you grew up in America, you’re used to one thing: Big Frickin Cars(tm), and an endless sea of hulking pickup trucks and SUVs. The situation is quite the opposite in Japan, as pretty much everything on four wheels is considerably smaller.  Take for example this VW Minibus replica spotted in Enoshima… OK, so Volkswagen [...]