Archive for August, 2009
Odawara Castle
Just to the south of Odawara station is Odawara Castle, a reconstruction of an Edo-style castle. I’d say its about a 10-15 minute walk, depending on how tired you are, and given the size of the station. Admission is ¥400 for adults, which gets you a tour of the museum inside, and up to the [...]
The Kamakura Adventure
We awoke the next morning bright and early, ate a big breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and headed to the JR ticket counter. We bought the Kamakura/Enoshima Free Kippu, which would get us into the area, and then let us use the local trains there as much as we needed. Technically it would get [...]
Beware of Hawks!
One thing that struck me odd about Enoshima island, was the obvious lack of something you’d usually find anywhere (at least in the US) by the ocean coast. Seagulls. There just weren’t any. Then we spotted this sign: “Beware of Hawks!!” 食べ物をねらって、後ろから飛びかかってきます。 するどいツメで、けがをすることがあります。 ご注意下さい。 Translation (more or less) “They’ll aim for your food, fly from [...]
Iwamotoro Ryokan and Enoshima Island
Just to recap, we had to carry our luggage from Shinjuku all the way out to Enoshima Island, where we would be spending our last night in Japan. We made our way from the monorail station out to the island, found the hotel, and were able to leave our bags at the front desk until [...]
All Good Things…
…must come to an end. So it was with our vacation in Japan. 10 days. Well, 11 if you count the day we lost coming over, but I wasn’t. Our next mission was to get back to the airport, and get home. We got back to Ofuna station, and bought tickets on the Narita Express [...]
The Complete Journal
Well, I think I’ve got the journal more or less wrapped up. The entire sordid affair can be found here: 10 Days in Japan – Journal, and the entire photo collection (and there are a lot of them, folks) is here: Collection: Japan 2009, and don’t forget the YouTube videos!!! (still have a ways to [...]
Museum Piece
Shot this picture in the upstairs rest area of the Tokyo National Museum, the one facing the back of the property (you know!)… I found it funny that a more-or-less “ancient” piece of technology would find itself in use in (ironically enough) a museum of antiquities. It was still plugged in, so I assumed it [...]
Asakusa Side Street
Taken on a Saturday afternoon on a side street leaving Senso-ji. Just a few feet away, literally hundreds of people were mulling about the Senso-ji complex and the covered market streets. I thought this scene captured a bit of that tranquility in the middle of the ocean of people….
Creepy Statue Guy
If I remember correctly this guy was watching from the awning somewhere around Senso-ji. Did a double-take to make sure it wasn’t actually a guy sitting there. Takes gargoyles to a whole new level, don’t you think?
The Weight of the World
My wife noticed these grumpy little guys holding up a stone altar in one of the temple/shrine areas in Ueno Park. You have to wonder what was going through the builders’ minds when they made these! Were they just having a bad day? Trying to be funny? A representation of “the weight of the world?” [...]
