Glamorous in Retrospect - Japan

Tokyo

2006-08-20T01:41:00.000-07:00

Tokyo was even more vibrant than I expected it to be. Everywhere people are buzzing around, lights are glowing, and there are a million things to see. It also gave off a far more relaxed vibe than Seoul (which I also love, don't get me wrong).

Harajuku. This is a pretty famous area of Tokyo. It's known for its trendiness, and it's swarming with teenagers wearing anything they can think of. It's a nice switch from Korea, where people are born to conform.

You might reconize the name Harajuku from far too many Gwen Stefani songs. Those four Japanese girls she takes everywhere who aren't allowed to talk are her 'Harajuku girls'.

Obis for sale.

Kimono and obis on display in a shop.

The road leading up to the palace. You can't really get much closer, as the royal family still lives here. The grounds are nice, though.

Hydrangeas on the Imperial grounds. I have to miss a friend's wedding in January, so Lisa, these are for you!! Miss you!!

A girl on the subway.

The entrance to a shrine for an evening service.

This small girl was sweet enough to let me take her picture. She's eating a chocolate-dipped banana. Mmmmm chocolate-dipped banana....

Japanese socks. They're made to be able to be worn with geta. I love them, I think they're the greatest socks ever. My feet here look a little penguiny.

The zebra crossing at a busy street.

Anyone who knows my friend Rachel will think this picture is almost scary in how much it looks like her. If you don't know her, she's tall, gorgeous, tanned, and has long blonde hair. Oh, and her face actually looks EXACTLY like this cartoon's... Frightening...

That's right, so don't even TRY to light up those cigarettes outside.

A poster on a subway. I just thought it looked ridiculously funny. It has a certain 'Mr. Sparkle' quality.

Madness at night.

The neon lights of Shinjuku.

Whenever I pictured Tokyo, I always thought of the lights, and they were no dissapointment. The neon buildings rise like walls all around the streets.

Some Tokyo skyscrapers at night.

Some of the insane street crossing in Tokyo. When the light goes for walking, people just walk all over where these lines are.

This is funny because we live in Korea. There is an island that has been known as Korean territory since the beginning of time. It's called Dokdo. Then some Japanese fishing village decided they wanted the fishing rights, so there's been a territory dispute ever since. The Japanese have renamed the island Takashima, and Korean's become furious when discussing the situation. We think it's kind of funny...

The government buildings at night. You can go up to the top for free at night, and the view is incredible.

The city from the top of the government buildings.

A trendy girl in the subway station.

A sign at our hostel. I don't really want to meet the people who prompted this sign...

While in Tokyo, we visited the John Lennon museum. I've been hooked on the Beatles and John Lennon since I was a kid, always listening to them with my mom in the car. It seems like a weird thing to do in Tokyo, but that's where Yoko wanted it, so...

A collage of many of his pictures.

John's signature glasses.

Some of John's clothing and possessions, including his outfit from Sargeant Pepper.

John and Yoko had a seed-planting campaign as shown in this display.

John Lennon's handprint.

The piano 'Imagine' was written on. It was a gift from John to Yoko, and there is an inscribed plaque above the keys.

A display in the 'Imagine' zone of the museum.

The original handwritten lyrics to Imagine, still incomplete when scratched out on this hotel notepad. This is one of my all-time favourite songs, so it was incredible to see this.

Here is a piece of Yoko's 'Imagine' art. On a board near an exit there are maps, and on a table below is an ink pad with stamps that say 'IMAGINE PEACE'. Everyone is supposed to stamp the map, and it will stay until it is completely covered.

Fuji - kind of

2006-08-20T01:09:00.000-07:00

While in Japan, we wanted to try to see Fuji, as it's one of the most iconic images of Japan. We made the long (and psychotically difficult) trek out to Fujiyoshida, and were rewarded with... this. Yeah, not terribly clear, right? Anyway, this Shinto torii gate is known as the gateway to Fuji, and for centuries, this has been the traditional starting point of any serious climbers of Fuji. Most people today are shuttled up to base camp 5 and start from there, but many will still make the full effort and do it the old way.

The best shot I got of Fuji. This was embedded in the sidewalk.

This is the crazy lady on our train. Why is she crazy, you ask? Well, she's travelling with her dog. But it's an oddly quiet dog... Doesn't bark much.... I wonder why...

Yup, there it is. The close-up. The proof of the sanity. It gets better, too. There's another 'dog' in the back end of the pet carrier.

Two jolly guys on our train.

Osaka and Himeji - castles galore

2006-08-20T00:21:00.000-07:00

When I was in the fourth grade, my uncle sent me a postcard of the Osaka castle at night. Ever since then, I have wanted to see it. 15 years later, I got my opportunity. Here it is!! (And it was beautiful - even more so than I expected.)

Detail of the same tiger that decorates the outside of the castle.

Gold dragonfish!!!

Here's a little plastic model of a battle. I thought it was hilarious.

The castle as the sun starts to go down.

The palace walls meeting the moat.

The tatami mats on the floor of our room. Ridiculously comfortable to sleep on, even if they don't look it.

Our room! Yay!

Craig on the train.

Here's a shot of the inside of the Shinkansen (bullet train). Sweetest transportation ever.

Here's the castle in Himeji (a town between Osaka and Hiroshima). It's incredible, definitely worth a stop if you're going through.

Here's Craig in the shortest doorway yet.

The tiered roofs.

Layered from below.

Full view, with people so you can see how tall this thing really is.

Dragonfish!!!

Shinto detailing inside the castle.

Hiroshima

2006-08-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

Hiroshima is a city that needs no introduction. We visited just a week before the 61st anniversary, and the experience was unforgettable. The city is infamous because of its tragic past, but what we found was a place that won't forget what happened, but refuses to dwell on it. Completely destroyed on August 6, 1945, Hiroshima is now thriving and beautiful.

Here is a man hanging strings of paper cranes in the Peace Park.

Here is the Peace Watch Tower. This top section of the tower shows the number of days since the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima (top number) and the number of days since the last nuclear test (bottom number).

This is the lower section of the peace tower. The top cog spins at a rate of 100 times a minute, but will spin faster if the world is becoming more dangerous. This will continue and start spinning the rest of the cogs as the world becomes more dangerous. When the spinning reaches the bottom, it will hit an immovable cog, and the clock will self-destruct.

Inside the A-bomb museum is this model which shows the point of explosion above the city.

Here are two models showing Hiroshima - left, before the bomb was dropped, right, after.

A wall inside the museum showing the immediate damage to what is now known as the A-bomb Dome.

Each time a nuclear weapon is tested, the mayor of Hiroshima writes a letter to the embassy of the country conducting those tests. Here they have been engraved and mounted. Hundreds of them.

A model of the earth, with miniature missiles showing the known nuclear weapons of the world.

A pocket watch once owned by a bombing victim. It stopped at 8:15 am, August 6th, the time of the explosion.

A wall in the museum. It was widely believed that "for seventy-five years nothing will grow" in Hiroshima, but soon after the explosion, new plants began to sprout, bringing hope to the people of the city.

One of many pieces of artwork done by a bombing victim.

The cenotaph. Contained within this memorial are the names of all those killed by the bombing.

Some of the lush greenery in the peace park, leading up to the A-bomb dome.

Chains of paper cranes about to be strung up in the Peace Park. Paper cranes became a symbol of peace after a young girl named Sadako was diagnosed with Leukemia as a result of the radiation. Sadako was told a legend by a friend that anyone who could fold 1000 paper cranes would be granted a wish. She began folding in the hopes of the gods making her well again, but this was not to be.

Today, people all over the world fold cranes for Sadako, and strings of them are hung throughout Hiroshima.

Here is artwork created entirely out of paper cranes.

This is the Children's Peace Monumuent, built to commemorate the life of Sadako and all other children who died because of the bomb.

Below the monument is a prayer bell, adorned with strings of paper cranes. This young boy is ringing it.

Sadako, atop the monument and holding a large golden crane.

Another child on the side of the monument.

Before the bomb struck Hiroshima, this was the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, an elegant building located directly below the hypocentre of the explosion. All that was left were these skeletal remains. As the rest of Hiroshima has been re-built, this structure has been left as a memorial to those who died, and a reminder of the dangers of nuclear war.

In another part of the city is the Hiroshima castle. There isn't much left on the grounds, but here are the rooves of some of the remaining structures.

At a shrine

A torii at the same shrine.

This is a 'roof' in a department store. I just thought it was awesome.

A sign in the city. Apparently the dogs don't like when the cats leave stinky messes. Apparently.

A bug on a tree branch.

NO!

Our 'hostel' had an art exhibit. Here are some pieces.

A sign an escalator telling you not to lean over or you'll hit your head on signs. The kicker is that usually when they have like that, they're just there to tell you not to hit your head on them.

Craig and I went on a walk through a forest, and amazingly enough stumbled upon an escalator. In a forest. We weren't going to complain, we didn't really want to climb the hill, but come on. Escalator. In the forest.

Alright, so a lot of people have gotten the email with this guy, chasing the kittens... yeah, you know the one. Well, apparently he's a really popular kid's show character in Japan. We were a little surprised when we first came across him...

Kyoto

2006-08-08T01:13:00.000-07:00

Kyoto was my favourite part of Japan. It is well known as the cultural centre of the nation, and is the former imperial capital. Spread throughout the city are beautiful temples, shrines, and gardens. I would recommend this city to anyone.

Here's a close-up of a geisha, with more pictures later.

Geta, the traditional wooden sandlas. I'd fall on my face in about two seconds, but I think they look awesome.

The front doors of one of the many temples in the area.

A torii outside the entrance of a shrine. This thing was huge, and most of the torii at this particular shrine were orange.

A lantern

Stairs detail - gold leaf was used a lot here in decoration.

Corner detail (more gold leaf)

Small white pots for sale outside.

Small wooden replicas of the torii. People would buy these, write on them, and place them around the grounds.

Lucky cats! They have different meanings, depending on whether they're black or white, with left or right paws raised, but I don't remember what they are.

The front of another building on the shrine site, with shoes left neatly outside while the owner is inside praying.

On the grounds

A zen rock garden. This thing was huge and immaculate.

Prayers tied to strings.

This shrine is known for its thousands of torii. Anyone who's seen Memoirs of a Geisha will likely recognize what's coming next, but here's the entrance. We definitely came here before watching the movie, so it was cool to come back to Korea and watch it after, realizing we'd just been there.

Close-up of the carving on the torii. Most of these are Chinese characters for dates.

Inside the torii. For miles you can walk through this path, created by thousands of torii, one after the next through a forest. It was one of the most beautiful (man-made) things I've ever seen.

A geisha painging

Here's one of hundreds of Buddha statues we found near a temple. All were in different poses and doing different things.

Samurai warrior armour, GRRRRRRRRR

Statues near a temple

Boats tied up along the river bank. We really wanted to go in one, but it was expensive, so we didn't.

After walking along the river, we found this bamboo forest. I've always closely associated bamboo with Japan (since I was six and obsessed with pandas), so I was really happy to actually see some on this trip.

Inside the forest, the bamboo towered high above. Here's a woman walking along a path.

I know, another one, but I REALLY liked the bamboo.

Along the way, we found this jolly old man. He was a painter who turned his work into postcards that you could buy for about a dollar. His English was quite good, and we liked him so much that we bought a few postcards and took this shot of him. Lesson to people who sell things - jolly people are more likely to get our business.

An offering at another shrine we found in the forest.

We felt pretty bad for these guys. Most days we were in Japan the temperature hit around 40 Celcius in the shade, so it was brutally hot.

The golden ddong.

Some traditional masks for sale at a small shop. I have to say that I like Korean masks better - they're less cheesy/creepy.

Rice. Yes, Korea has it, too, but I've never really photographed it here. And it's pretty.

A traditional hat

A fan painted gold and decorated with bamboo.

Colourful scarves in a shop. Jolly people here, too. The lady brought us cold tea as we walked by, so she got some of our business, too.

A collection of fans.

The golden temple, reflected in the pond. The whole thing is covered in gold leaf.

A close-up of the temple against the ridiculously blue sky.

A boat under a covered dock.

A small pagoda on a mossy island in a pond on the site.

Incense in front of one of the temples.

A red umbrella (duh)

Inside a building at the silver temple. Through the window you can see a giant zen rock garden.

And here's the whole garden - GIANT.

Along a small stream, an old man is teaching his granddaughter to fish.

The entrance of another (very orange) temple.

Wooden prayer blocks

Paper lanterns in the temple site

A girl hanging her prayer

A woman praying, before ringing the prayer bell

Sushi!

The living room in our hostel,complete with paper walls.

Ponto-cho, the heart of the geisha district. Along this street are restaurants, bars, and tea houses. It's supposed to be easy to spot a geisha here, but we staked out the street for awhile on Friday and saw nothing. Saturday, we came back on the off-chance we'd get one, and on our way, we were lucky enough to see...

HER! She was crossing the street, and I might have followed her to take some pictures... unfortunately, I realized after that my camera was set to portrait and this was the least fuzzy picture. At least I got to see one, though. Then, we went down a side street in Ponto-cho, hoping to grab a drink. The guy apparently didn't like us so he kicked us out, but luckily, just then we saw...

HER!! I turned on my camera as quickly as possible and managed to snap this one. Yay!!