Blogs from Japan, Asia - page 786

I have never done this before, but here goes..... Hopefully I won't bore everyone! This blog will be about my and my husband's relocation to Tokyo, Japan. For the time being, I plan to write about how this move came about, the logistics of the move and the move itself. Eventually when we get to Japan, I will write about our finding a place to live, getting settled, finding our way around and then our living in Tokyo and our adjustment to the culture. Once all of that happens I will write about our travels in Japan and hopefully before too long I'll be writing about our travels all over Asia. We plan (and hope) to have many of our family and friends come to vist and we'll share those experienses as well. First... a little ... read more

You read about it in literature, you hear about it from fellow travelers, and you see pictures of it from every source. Steeped in tradition, Kyoto is bursting at the seams with a collection of gardens and pagodas and everything else that has come to represent Japan. So imagine our surprise when we stepped off the train and walked out of Kyoto Station and into one of the ugliest welcoming sights we've seen in ages. Kyoto Tower looks like a cheap candle, and it's surrounded by boring concrete blocks. The station is actually a very nice glass and steel structure, but unfortunately it's behind you, so you don't notice it until you leave. Thankfully, this beautiful city more than makes up for any shortcomings upon arrival, and you soon realize it was a good idea you ... read more

Well folks, I've been on the move. This past week has been Obon holiday in Japan. Other than having a week off to travel, I wasn't sure what this holiday really meant. The question "What is Obon holiday?" made for a great conversation starter/time spender in pretty much all of my classes. Lesson planning, my ass! So I found out that during this week the Japanese people are visited by the spirits of their loved ones who have passed. People travel to wherever they need to in Japan to visit the grave sites of these people and say prayers for them. It seemed kind of sad to me, but my students all assured me that it was actually a great celebration of the spirits. Either way, it was a week off! I spent a few days ... read more

After four chaotic days and nights in Tokyo, we boarded a speedy Shinkansen train and hauled ass to Osaka, heart of the Kansai region and jumping off point to see the culture and history of Japan. The citizens of Osaka are revered in travel literature as friendly, down to earth people. Frankly, I thought they were just a bunch of assholes. Rude, pushy, and in a rush to get places it seems, as they were constantly darting in your path and making you change direction. That's when you discover the joys of a huge backpack handy for smushing people into doorways as they try to cut in front of you on train platforms. And if you're reading this, I saw you trying to squeeze through on my left, bitch. Osaka is essentially just another big Japanese ... read more

Waking up to an alarm is never nice, especially after a night out (see ), but we were off to Kyoto! It was Amy’s and my second visit to this amazing city. Last time we were in Kyoto, bad weather prevented us from doing a lot of things we were now able to do this trip. The photos do most of the explaining but the highlights were: Kiyomizudera Temple - Beautiful location up on the hill close to our ryokan. I also loved the shopping street leading up to it as you could taste test nearly everything! Sanjusangendo - 1001 statues of Kannon carved from wood and painted gold. We were not allowed to photograph inside, but trust me it was amazing! Fushimi Inari Shrine - Yes, all the red torii gates! They were actually very ... read more