Breakfast in Nikko

A traditional breakfast at our ryokan in Nikko consisted of rice, miso soup, fish, an egg, and various pickled vegetables and fruits.

Nikko

An elaborately carved wooden wall which part of the shrine and mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu in Nikko.

Maiko

Maiko are apprentice geishas. My friend Shuku and I encountered these two in Kyoto near Kiyomizu-dera.

Shinto prayers

Wooden prayer plaques at Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto.

Kyoto garden

The sculpted-sand garden of Kyoto's Ginkaku-ji.

Kanazawa garden

Kenroku-en in Kanazawa is considered to be one of the three great gardens of Japan.

Nagoya dawn

The view from our hotel room around 5 a.m., our first morning in Nagoya.

Tsumago

A view over rice fields of Tsumago from near our lodgings.

Japan again: Matsumoto

It's that time of year, and I'm ready to be back in Japan. This week, a few photos from our trip in August, 2007.
I took lots of photos of beautiful manhole covers that year. This one is in Matsumoto, and represents one of
their local crafts: decorative balls covered with silk thread.
Matsumoto is near Nagano, where the Winter Olympics were held in 1998.

Sake set

This arrived in the mail last week. Shuku sent us a sake set from Japan. A Japanese drink made 

from fermented rice, sake can be consumed hot, at room temperature, or chilled. I think this set must be 

for chilled sake, with the blue hole on the side of the carafe holding ice to keep the sake cold.

Mt. Fuji

Zak climbed Mt. Fuji in the week before he returned to the U.S. with four friends from his lab. They started

their climb at 8 p.m., arrived at the top at 2 a.m., waited a couple hours in the cold for the soup hut to open, 

and saw the sun rise around 5 a.m.

Kamakura buddha

 

Zak and I also took an overnight trip south to Kamakura to see the Daibutsu, a large bronze statute of buddha.

Tokyo lunch

I went to the eastern side of Tokyo one day with Hiroko, a friend Zak made while in Japan. She and I visited

the excellent Tokyo-Edo Museum, and got a traditional Edo-period lunch there afterwards. The meal consisted

of hard-boiled egg over rice soaked in broth, pickles, and tea.

Tokyo kendo and karate tournament

While walking around the grounds near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Shuku and I came across a kendo and

karate tournament taking place in the Nippon Bodukan, a large martial arts hall. I was amazed by the numbers of

kids participating in these sports.

Kawagoe statues

Prior to our trip up north, I spent a couple days with my friend, Shuku, in and around Tokyo. We visited

Kawagoe, about 60 kilometers northwest of Tokyo. At the Kita-in temple, there is a courtyard filled with 500+

statutes, each different. It is said that you should go at night and find the one that feels warm to your touch. 

That one is the most like you.

Sendai Tanabata parade

The Sendai tanabata parade included multigenerational dance troupes, marching bands, and traditional drummers.

The audience sat in large ovals around the median strip in the boulevard, and the performers paraded around the ovals,

progressing from one oval to the next every half hour.

Matsushima Bay

Matsushima Bay is just north of Sendai. It is filled with small islands that the Japanese consider to be beautiful.

We took a ferry ride through the bay, and Zak fed shrimp chips to the seagulls.

Sendai Tanabata festival

We visited Sendai during their Tanabata festival. The train station and main shopping district were filled with 

people (the town's population triples in size during the festival) and with these large paper decorations whose

streamers hang down to about shoulder height.

Tōno flowers

In Tōno, a small village in a low plain, we borrowed bicycles and visited local shrines and folkloric areas.

We kept encountering these beautiful wildflowers on our ride.

Inakadate rice fields

We took a bus to Inakadate, just 9 kilometers from Hirosaki, to see their celebrated rice field art. We hadn't

understood that the viewing tower was in a municipal building that would close for the day about 15 minutes

prior to our arrival. Here's a better view of the fields from recent years.