Where Technology meets Tradition: Japan - Take 4

The entry to the Ikeda home. The topmost branch produces red/gold leaves. The other branches are different color. Akio grafted this branch onto the tree decades ago.


Before I left Japan, Daizo and his family took me sight-seeing one weekend in Kyoto. Most of these photos are from that trip.

Sakura! (Cherry Blossoms!) (Kyoto, Japan)


The streets in Nara are very narrow. This street-sign is kinked so drivers won't hit it (drivers have to basically "park" on the side of the road while other cars drive past) (Nara, Japan)


Beautiful gardens, pools, waterfalls, and sakura at Nijo-jo Castle (Kyoto, Japan)



SO MANY things Japanese! Sakura, Kimonos, technology, and picture-taking (Sakura Walk, Nijo-jo Castle, Kyoto, Japan)

Daizo, Me, Shoji on our way to Himeji Temple (Kyoto, Japan)


Maiko #1, Me, Maiko #2, Shoji. On the way to Himeji these ladies were walking in the street and I asked them for a photo. Then they asked ME for a photo! (Kyoto, Japan)



At Himeji, the water is purported to cure all ills. Here Tomoko takes a cup and fills it from the triple waterfall of blessed water (Himeji Temple, Kyoto, Japan)


Japan's largest lake (Lake Biwa)


In Kyoto, we went to an after-dinner-and-before-dessert restaurant. Here's me, Akio, Tomoko, Daizo, and Shoji (Kyoto, Japan)

The view inside the Seikan Tunnel--The world's longest tunnel! It's about 54km long! It connects mainland Japan (Honshu) to the northern island (where Sapporo is), Hokkaido (Under the sea, Japan)

The bullet-train cuts quite a striking profile! These puppies get up to 285km/h (Tokyo station, Japan)

Although I do not claim to be able to read Japanese, I do now recognize the kanji for "Tokyo", "Kyoto", and perhaps the most important for this weary traveler: "Coffee"

Inside the bullet train, it is SURPRISINGLY spacious--this is actually pretty luxurious transportation! (On the Shinkansen, Japan)

The view you never see... Mount Fuji is in the background--behind the smokestacks



During the trip to Hokkaido, two bullet trains were connected to one another via this fitting inside the sleek housing at the front of the trains. The hitch is receding into the housing during this photo (on the way to Sapporo, Japan)

If you travel to Japan, you will look at the price and probably gasp, but the JR Rail Pass was probably the best investment I made while traveling so far. I got 21 days of unlimited travel on the EXTENSIVE rail network. I was in Japan a total of 5 weeks, so the middle three weeks were a frenzy of travel on the trains--but it made the investment SO worth it--I went from Kyushu to Honshu to Hokkaido--I went further than most Japanese ever do (Satisfied Shinkansen customer, Japan)

In the bathroom of the Shinkansen with my very trusty Canon SD400 camera--MADE IN JAPAN (NOT CHINA!!!) I have taken SO SO SO SO SO many photos with this puppy!

Photographer's assistants fluff, primp, pose the newlywed couple (Kyoto, Japan)

Traditional Japanese wedding outfits (Kyoto, Japan)

This is an "American restaurant" in Japan. What doesn't feel American about it is all the beautiful plastic food out front! We should have it so good! (oh, and the "no refills on coffee" were a reminder I was in Japan too!)

To attract attention to some shops, ladies stand outside dressed up in maid outfits. I understand this is kind of cute & kind of fetishy at the same time (Tokyo, Japan)

Thought Cameron Diaz didn't do print ads? Think again! SoftBank is the biggest phone provider in Japan.

This is one of the signs at JGH Hostel in Tokyo... Definitely one of the worst hostels on my trip. (Tokyo, Japan)

You may have to click and blow up this photo to see, but if you do read it, you can see that these people are BRIBING people to give them a positive review online (JGH Hostel, Tokyo, Japan)

And this is the reason JGH Hostel is possibly the worst, and definitely the UNsafest hostel I've been in--I was in the top bunk, and while I was chatting with another guy in the bunk across from mine (I was not even moving my body other than my mouth!), MY BED FELL. The ladder-looking structure which you see on the bed below LUCKILY fell on either side of the man's head beneath me. Otherwise it would have smashed him in the skull. (JGH Hostel, Tokyo, Japan)

Luckily the event didn't wind up with any casualties, but I would suggest that people sleep at this hostel with a helmet, or a full-body crashsuit. (JGH Hostel, Tokyo, Japan)

Rare delicacy in Nagoya Japan (SCARY!!!!)

I was and remain in complete rapt, joyous love with this building. It is so unusual--absolutely stunning! (Nagoya, Japan)

From Nagoya, Daizo and I went to see the Toyota factory. This little robot can play the trumpet. REALLY well. Unbelievably well. Beware musicians! (Toyota City, Japan)

I think that's right next to Italy. (Engrish, Nagoya, Japan)

The logo and text give the sort of "flavor" that a lot of ads have. Grammatically they're fine, but NOBODY would ever say that! (Tokyo, Japan)

Sigh! I LOVE IT!!!! (Nagoya, Japan)

I traveled to a small town on Kyushu called Dazaifu. Here is the zen garden. So peaceful (Dazaifu, Japan)

Outside the zen garden (Dazaifu, Japan)

The Japanese readily accept technology in a way that I think most Americans are uncomfortable with. This is a "roving robot" that moves around in the mall. This lady has stopped to ask it for some help. (Fukuoka, Japan)

Food stalls on the street (Fukuoka, Japan)

If you could peek in the box, you'd see a Buddha. I think (it was close up) (Dazaifu, Japan)

The incredibly fabulously gorgeous Kuyshu National Museum. The exhibits in this museum are STUNNING. It is breathtaking, both in architecture and in the exhibit hall (but skip the dorky 4-d theater--it's an ultra-high-resolution projection system--which sounds COOL! And then all they show you is some pots.) (Dazaifu, Japan)

The Red Hell. On Kyushu (southern main island of the Japanese archipelago), there is an area that is active geothermally. In that area there are many onsen (hotsprings) which you can get into, and they also have "Hells" which are so hot that you cannot. The red hell in this photo is colored red because of the clay content of the water. It is not a cold day, and the water is steaming--it is very, very hot (Beppu, Japan)

One of the onsen "Letting Off Steam" (Beppu, Japan)

Instructions for enjoying an onsen! (Click on it to zoom in!) (Beppu, Japan)

This is the size of the salad I was given at this "ultra-high-style" type restaurant (you know the kind: where starlets peck like a bird at a piece of lettuce--swallow--then declare, "I'm so FULL!") (Beppu, Japan)

This is the natural onsen that we hiked to get to. The "capture basin" for the water is man-made (cement and local stones) but the clay content in the water and heat are all natural. My partner and I intended to hike to and back from this onsen, but both on the way TO the onsen and on the way back FROM the onsen, people pulled over (we did not ask them to) to say 'hi' and asked to give us a ride (Beppu, Japan)

One of the normal names that one sees on vending machines ALL OVER JAPAN. "Pocari Sweat" sounds "refreshing" in Japan! Kinda funny, eh! (All over Japan)

One of the places I felt I needed to see was Hiroshima. And although in my mind Hiroshima means only one thing, the residents of Hiroshima have moved on--WAY on. Hiroshima is a vibrant and wonderful and normal city with an important role in history and an important lesson.

This is a cut-away of a bridge support. The arrows show where the metal was so fatigued by the strength and heat of the bomb that it literally warped (Hiroshima, Japan)

Watch that stopped 6 Aug 1945, at 8:14am, then the a-bomb exploded (Hiroshima, Japan)

A scale model of where the A-Bomb exploded (Hiroshima, Japan)


The A-Bomb dome (Hiroshima, Japan)

Outside is a wonderful multi-arched peace tribute--peace is written in (nearly) every language (Hiroshima, Japan)

What's the very LAST thing you'd expect to see outside a nice hotel in Japan? Gremlins maybe? (Miyajima Island, Japan)

The sun set while I was on Miyajima and through a gorgeous temple I saw some lights off in the distance. In the falling rain, I went to find the source of the lights and I found them--these lanterns in the trees... I was wet and a little cranky, and as I headed back, I realized, "this is everything I love so much"--architecture, lights, and water. (Miyajima Island, Japan)

One of the most famous sites in all of Japan, the Torii of Miajima (Miyajima Island, Japan)

This is a change machine on a bus. It allows you to get your change so that the conductor doesn't have to make change for you. How smart! (Japan)

When you pay for something in Japan, you put your money in one of these little trays with the little rubbery "fingers" sticking up in the bottom. It allows you to grab the coins without chasing them around (How smart!!) (All over Japan)

The average height for Japanese business doorways next to the not-average-japanese height Me (Hokkaido, Japan)

The King Xmnu club (Sapporo, Japan)

Engrish--Jumble store indeed! (Sapporo, Japan)

I got a kick out of this one. The two girls here sitting and watching had less of a look of excited fans, and more the look of patient girlfriends trying to be supportive of their not-particularly-talented-but-musically-interested significant others (Sapporo, Japan)

One of the famous quotes in Sapporo is "Boys, be Ambitious!".. And the coffee is "Subaru"! Cool, huh?? (Sapporo, Japan)

At first this little blown-up figure looks all cutesey--but he's not just there to be cute: Inside him is a very bright light being used to do roadwork below. The balloon in addition to being cute, is a light diffuser (Sapporo, Japan)

In the subway on the way to the Zoo, the floor tiles have animals on them. Once while I was walking through this tunnel, a little 2-year-old was so fascinated with them that he had his parents stop and explain the animals. I was amused thinking that they were probably ON THEIR WAY to the zoo (Sapporo, Japan)

This is Aquico! One evening I was looking for an internet cafe and luckily I asked her if she knew how to find it. She called the number, helped me find a different internet cafe, helped me get the local rate (instead of paying the "foreigner tax"), and then took me out to dinner afterward! (Sapporo, Japan)

Cool buildings (Sapporo, Japan)

Japanese Graveyard (Sapporo, Japan)

Cool moderny phone from long ago! (Sapporo, Japan)

Inside the temple, you can get a "fortune", and if you like it, you take it. And if you don't like it, you tie it up to a string there at the temple. Also to the right are wooden planks with prayers written on them (Sapporo, Japan)

Sapporo beer factory. I thought it was amusing that the three languages are Japanese, German, and English (Sapporo, Japan)

Hand dryer. You put your hands in fingertips-down. Then it blows the water off your fingers, starting at your wrists, using gravity to help. Ingenious! (All over Japan)

This building looked to me like it belonged at Northern Arizona University (Sapporo, Japan)

As the chilly sky lit blue behind the clock tower, I had to get a photo (Sapporo, Japan)

Sapporo University was started by an American (the one who sexist-ly uttered, "Boys! Be Ambitious!"), and intended to be a farming college. So here you see period farming outbuildings as they would have looked in America at that time (Sapporo, Japan)

I had no idea the Colonel spoke Japanese! (Sapporo, Japan)

Japan is chock-full of "Cute"... In this case, it's a very cute car (Sapporo, Japan)

HUGE CRAB!!!! (Hakodate, Japan)

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When the weather is as cold as it is in Sapporo, you need plenty of warm drinks to keep yourself going. This is a hot pot, and not just ANY hot-pot. You hit a button on the lid, and it shoots out a beam of light, so that even if it's dark, you won't miss your mug. This is similar to the hot pot at a hostel that I had a hard time figuring out, and it started singing "Beautiful Dreamer" to me (Sapporo, Japan)

It was breezy in Hakodate, and I felt this lady leaning into the breeze captured it perfectly (Hakodate, Japan)

The winter is long and cold in Hokkaido. I loved the textures in this harsh climate (Hakodate, Japan)

This is how lovely I looked in the slippers from the Hakodate Hostel (Hakodate, Japan)

And this is a side-view, so you can see JUST HOW BIG my feet are compared to "average" here in Japan (Hakodate, Japan)

AM/PM is HUGE in Japan. Their stores are EVERYWHERE, and on the counters during the winter, they sell "Uden", which is wonderful fish-balls and other things I can't name but know on site. SO YUMMY! (Nara, Japan)

I had difficulty getting money out of ATMs in Japan. This is the JP Bank logo, which I took a picture of so that I could make sure I could always find one. I also took a deposit envelope with me, so that when I needed an ATM, I could show people my ATM card AND the deposit envelope, and they knew that I needed THAT KIND of ATM. It worked like a charm once I figured out how to communicate it! (All over Japan)

The plastic food in Japan is SO GORGEOUS! (Nara, Japan)

Green Tea KitKat. Unique to the Kyoto region. (Kyoto, Japan)

Bento Box to eat on the train. This one wasn't particularly great, but it was filling.

This is the group photo that we took at a dance lesson Shoji was kind enough to take me and Daizo to. It was an excellent experience! (Nara, Japan)

Original post date 13 Apr 2008