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A way for me to communicate across the ocean and to try to put what I see everyday in Japan down in words and pictures. Here is Japan.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'japan travel'
The Birds
On my way home from Morioka, I had to stop off at a parking area to take a bathroom break. After coming out of the bathroom, the sky filled with crows. They were everywhere. I have never seen The Birds, but I imagine that what I witnessed was somet...
Miyamoto Musashi in Kumamoto
Miyamoto Musashi was one of, if not the, greatest swordsmen in the history of Japan. (He was also an accomplished painter.) In the latter part of Miyamoto Musashi's life, he lived in Kumamoto and served the Hosokawa clan. There are plenty of reminder...
Back to Yamadera
I've been in Sendai for more than two years now and in that time I had only been to Yamadera once until last weekend. I finally made the move after checking the weather. I thought the risk of some rain in the afternoon was worth the risk. There was o...
Iwate Koyo!
When I got my Nikon D80 the first thing I wanted to photograph was the cherry blossoms in the spring. The second was the autumn foliage. I got the camera at the end of July, so I'll have to wait for spring to get the cherry blossoms. Since I'm livin...
Geibikei
Ever I since I went to Genbikei and Genbikei I've been itching to get back - especially since I didn't even go into Geibikei the last time. On my latest trip back from Morioka, I decided it was time to go again since, I didn't know when I'd get ba...
Kumamoto Part 4: Fujisaki Hachimangu Festival
This was one of the weirdest mornings I've had since coming to Japan. I had heard some buzzing about a festival almost as soon as we landed. On my first day in Kumomoto, was told of a day-long festival that would be really loud. And it was. t...
Kumamoto Part 3: Mouont Aso
According to Wikipedia.com, Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan and has one of the largest calderas in the world. (The sign at the top said that it was the biggest.) I thought that Mt. Zao in Miyagi/Yamagata also has a cauldrea [Lake Oka...
Kumamoto Part 2: Kumamoto Castle
I was fortunate that the hotel was right across the street from Kumamoto Castle. In fact, it was right across the street. Kumamoto Castle is one of the most famous in Japan. It is constantly mentioned along with Himeji Castle and Matsumoto Cast...
Kumamoto Part 1
After figuring out what clothes to bring to Kumomoto, I had to figure out what to do about my camera. I intended to take a lot of pictures, and I initially thought that lugging my laptop/external hard drive was the way to go. But just for fun I head...
Off to Kumamoto
I knew it was just a matter of time, but I got the call. My father-in-law is from Kumamoto and it was only a matter of time before my wife and I would travel there to make an introduction; that time is over the coming long holiday. I've only been t...
Iwate Roadtrip
I went to Morioka during the first week of August for my summer vacation. In Morioka Station, near the shinkansen platform, there is a large picture of the Iwate Pacific Coast. I'd been looking at that picture for two years just waiting to get a c...
Ryusendo
On my summer Iwate road trip to the Pacific Coast, we stopped in Iwaizumi 岩泉 to take a look at Ryusendo 龍泉洞. Ryusendo is a natural spring that created an underground lake and carved some caves out of a mountain.Tourists can [pay a fee] ...
Places I Want to Go in Japan (Not Yet Gone)
Hokkaido The northernmost island. The final frontier. Wilderness, mountains, seafood, and no pollen. I've been told that the scenery is amazing. Hokkaido is a short [overnight] ferry ride from Sendai, but the seasickness might kill me. Maybe I'll go...
Places I Want to Go in Japan (Again)
Kansai I used to live in Osaka. I studied there for three months while I was in school. Gravitating towards the familiar, I tried to find a job there when I came back to Japan, but was thrown into the madness of Tokyo. Being in Tokyo ended up being ...
Takkokonoiwaya
I got this plug-in for Photo$hop that can do some interesting things.Thank you for subscribing! If you have a comment about this post, feel free to stop by and leave a comment....
Geibikei and Gembikei
Geibikei and Gembikei are gorges in southern Iwate. They are near Hiraizumi so along with Chusonji, Tokkunoiwaya, and Motsuji, they make southern Iwate an interesting travel destination. They can both be reached by That is not something I would have ...
Takkunoiwaya
Another Hiraizumi attraction is Takkunoiwaya. This is really what I got off the expressway to see. I've been looking forward to seeing the temple dedicated to warriors that is built into a cliff ever since I read about it in a certain company's eikai...
Motsuji
After visiting Chusonji, my wife and I headed on to Motsuji, which was a few minutes from Chusonji.Motsuji is a temple complex and amazing garden that was built around the same time as Chusonji. It was interesting to read on Wikipedia that: Previou...
Chusonji
Chusonji is a temple complex that was originally built in 1100. It is the most famous temple in Iwate and one of the biggest tourist attractions in Tohoku. Chusonji is in the town of Hiraizumi which is located near other places of interest: Matsuji, ...
Golden Week Road Trip
My wife and I went to Toyota Rental Car the Friday night before Golden Week started (5/1). We had gone to JR Rental Car (an oxymoron if you ask me) and all cars had been rented for the weekend. At Toyota, we found that all the small cars had been res...
