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Atsuta Jingu Shrine – spherical panorama
Blog: Nagoya Photography - Japan Photos 名古屋 写真 日本 - 27 September 2009
Atsuta Jingu is one of the top places to see in Nagoya, Japan. It’s located in a huge park with many old trees and buildings. It’s said to house the famous sacred sword Kusanagi-no-tsurugi, one of the three sacred treasures that symbolize the Imperial throne. They also have nice museum with many old items [...]
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Nagoya Castle spherical panorama
Blog: Nagoya Photography - Japan Photos 名古屋 写真 日本 - 24 September 2009
I’ve been practicing my spherical panoramas lately and thought it was a nice day for a Nagoya Castle shoot. I really like the way these look and so I started to make them of my favorite places. Just click the flash window below and move the mouse around in 360 degrees and mouse wheel to zoom in. [...]
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Japanese Cemeteries
Blog: Budget Trouble - 23 September 2009
During certain times of the year (beginning of spring, Obon in August, beginning of fall) every self-respecting Japanese makes a trip to a cemetery to pay respects to his/her ancestors. Now, I’m not a fan of cemeteries. I can think of a bazillion other, more important things that can occupy my time instead of cleaning graves, shearing bushes and pulling weeds. Like staying home and watching TV, for example. But familial duties are familial duties, and since my family is mostly Japanese these days, I didn’t have much choice this morning. Armed with a set of shears and a camera,...
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Shirakawa-go – Interesting ice cream flavors
Blog: Nagoya Photography - Japan Photos 名古屋 写真 日本 - 22 September 2009
Today I went to Shirakawa-go (soon I’ll be making a huge post about my trip and the many other places I went this holiday week in Japan) and wanted to make a quick post about the ice cream I saw. Ice Cream – unrefined sake, mugmort, millet, buck wheat flavors…. Surprisingly all tastes good.
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SL Trains on the Moka Line
Blog: Budget Trouble - 21 September 2009
Yeah, trains… Everybody loves them, at least as long as they’re on time, right? And when it comes to trains, Japan must be a train lover’s wet dream. Or pretty close to it. We have everything here, slow local ones, super-fast bullet trains, formerly national, private, electric, diesel and everything in between. And yes, even old-fashioned steam choo-choo trains. I’m not a train freak, I just occasionally ride them when I can’t get to where I’m going by car. But riding a train for fun and pleasure was a totally foreign concept to me. Until I met the SL in...
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The Firest Staff
Blog: Budget Trouble - 16 September 2009
There are many joys of living in (or visiting) Japan - the food, the people, the technology, the culture, the convenience, the fashion, and the list goes on. And Engrish. Oh yes, Engrish. Sometimes it can be downright embarrassing, as in "Have they ever heard of a spell-checker?": Sometimes, you're just not sure: And sometimes, you simply have to scratch your head and go "WTF?": But most of the time, it's really subtle. So subtle that if you've been here for a while, you don't even pay any attention anymore. It takes your freshly arrived friend to say, "Hmmm... I'm...
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Himakajima island
Blog: Nagoya Photography - Japan Photos 名古屋 写真 日本 - 14 September 2009
Himakajima is a small island off the Chita Peninsula, south of Nagoya city. The island is known for it’s fresh octopus and blowfish along with vacation hotels. It took us about 90 min to walk around the whole island. During our walk we ate fresh octopus, saw a live Taiko band, saw the locals fishing, [...]
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Taiko drums in Himakajima – Gokuu
Blog: Nagoya Photography - Japan Photos 名古屋 写真 日本 - 6 September 2009
I experienced some really good and fresh Taiko drum music today by Gokuu based in Himakajima small island off the Chita Peninsula. They mix dancing with the traditional drumming and are all young. I will be doing a proper posting with more information about them and the places I visited today in the near future. The [...]
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Nagoya Castle – September 2009
Blog: Nagoya Photography - Japan Photos 名古屋 写真 日本 - 1 September 2009
Various recent photos outside Nagoya Castle and the Hommaru Palace construction. Lot’s of new buildings and activities happening all around the area. All taken with Sony a900 and SAL1635cz.
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Noh - ehhh, no
Blog: Budget Trouble - 30 August 2009
A long, long time ago, a powerful dude in Japan decided that what the country REALLY needed back the...
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Feeling Touristy in Asakusa
Blog: Budget Trouble - 24 August 2009
Our first impression of Tokyo was “wow, there are so many foreigners here!” And “wow, English! They speak English!” Granted, it was the foreigners that spoke English, but still, the effect it had on us was impossible to describe. And our joy impossible to contain. After going for weeks on end without seeing another white face (apart from my American co-worker), Tokyo felt just like New York. So multi-ethnic, so full of variety in all shapes and sizes, so melting pot. Yeah, you know you’ve been living in the countryside, if you think that Tokyo is a melting pot, but...
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5 bars where to get wasted this Saturday
Blog: 99 + 1 countries - 22 August 2009
1. Rock Bar Mother, Shinjuku, Tokyo, JapanA tiny bar with larger than life character. The bar functions on two principles: darkness and songs on demand.
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What to do in Kyoto? 5+5 do's
Blog: 99 + 1 countries - 20 August 2009
Kyoto is visited by a staggering 50 million Japanese tourists a year. If you manage to fit in, here's what I'd do if I had a week in Kyoto.
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Toilets of Tokyo
Blog: Cissy's Kiva Fellowship - 17 August 2009
I am currently enjoying a luxurious 8 hour layover in Tokyo! Since I am not courageous enough to make my way out into the biggest city in the world, I have found other ways to occupy myself. So far, I have had to use the restroom twice. It’s been interesting. Tokyo has toilets like I [...]
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War Is Over – Visiting Yasukuni on August 15th
Blog: Budget Trouble - 15 August 2009
For those who don’t know – Yasukuni jinja is the very controversial shinto shrine in Tokyo. Well, th...
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Cat Cafes? Why Not?
Blog: Budget Trouble - 13 August 2009
Meido cafes are like so 1990s. Really. People still go to those places? I know they are popular with tourists (well, tourists, nuff said), but just how dasai and totally uncool do you have to be to actually admit to visiting one of those establishments? Hint – very. So where do the cool kids hang out these days? At cat cafes! One of them, funky, furry, “happiness lives here and purrs in your ear” places has just opened in Utsunomiya. Yeah, a cat café. With actual, live cats. Cats that stroll around while you sip your tea. Cats that sleep...
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Natsubate
Blog: Nihon Sun - 13 August 2009
Summer heat and fatigue, natsubate, has struck The Nihon Sun! That, a few earthquakes, and visitors with crazy schedules has made me a sweat drenched and sunburned resident with lots of inspiration but an inability to peck out a cohesive string of words down on my keyboard… My trusty folding fan is never far from [...]
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Miya Matsuri 2009
Blog: Budget Trouble - 9 August 2009
Last weekend was the Miya Matsuri festival in Utsunomiya and I’ve been debating whether or not I should mention it here at all. I uploaded a few photos (here and here and here) on the photo blog, but I wasn’t sure if the event deserved to be described using actual words. Why? It was boring. Very boring. It also seemed smaller than in previous years. Yeah, the crowds were there, but they weren’t as thick as in the past. And the parades were there, but they looked well… how to put it? Lame. And some people looked positively embarrassed to...
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Miya Matsuri 2009
Blog: Budget Trouble - 8 August 2009
Last weekend was the Miya Matsuri festival in Utsunomiya and I’ve been debating whether or not I should mention it here at all. I uploaded a few photos (here and here) on the photo blog, but I wasn’t sure if...
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Obscure Summer Festivals in Tochigi - 2009 edition, part 2
Blog: Budget Trouble - 7 August 2009
10th Fest in Oya 2009 -local chow: brown noodle, fresh vegetables and fruit will be available!- on Sept 4th: - from sunset to 22:00 - Only illuminating of oya stones will take place on that day on Sept 5th: - from 10:00 to 22:00 - Illuminating of oya stones will take place from sunset until 22:00 - from 19:00 to 20:00 - music by Taiki KURASAWA “Message of Sound and Flame” at Tagesan Johouin (different mountain, but a very nice place, I think it's worth stopping by) on Sept 6th: - from 10:00 to 22:00 - Illuminating of oya stones...
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Day Trips From Tokyo
Blog: Nihon Sun - 6 August 2009
I’m off to Kamakura in Kanagawa prefecture today – it’s just one of a few great day trips that can be made using Tokyo as a base. Many of these places can be explored in a day but if you have time you may want to consider staying the night at a hotel or ryokan [...]
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Capture Your Own Unique View of Japan
Blog: Nihon Sun - 3 August 2009
Taking pictures of Japan is a must for visitors and residents alike and there are so many great things to photograph that it can be overwhelming. As an amateur photography buff I have recently taken on the personal challenge of capturing images that are not what you might expect to see in a photo album [...]
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Gundam 30th anniversary celebration – Nagoya “Gundam the First”
Blog: Nagoya Photography - Japan Photos 名古屋 写真 日本 - 30 July 2009
Nagoya’s “Gundam the First” is the 30th year anniversary celebration on July 24th, 25th and 26th 2009 at Port Messe – Nagoya, Japan. They had a Gundam museum with original animation cells, a huge Zaku head, history displays, mobile suit battlefield recreation that everybody loved, and a stage where famous people related to the Gundam did [...]
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What May Surprise You in Japan
Blog: Budget Trouble - 28 July 2009
Whether you plan to spend an extended period of time in Japan just traveling, or think about moving here for a while, there are quite a few things in this country that are sure to surprise you. And guess what? Not all of those surprises will be good. 1. Primitive banking system. This is something that really bugs me. It was primitive twelve and ten years ago, and while the rest of the world moved forward, Japan stuck to its old outdated ways. Five years ago it was merely amusing, now it’s downright annoying. Let’s face it, Japan is light...
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Mt. Mikuma (三熊山）
Blog: Hiking in Japan - 26 July 2009
Mt. Mikuma is a small hill overlooking the coastal resort town of Sumoto on Awaji Island. The small elevation change and outstanding panoramic views make it the perfect afternoon stroll after a morning on the beach. The hike: There’s a tourist information center at the bus terminal if you’d like to get a basic map or [...]
