http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Japan , Kanagawa en-us Sat, 18 May 2013 22:11:51 +0000 Sat, 18 May 2013 22:11:51 +0000 This post documents our twoday side trip during our week long trip to Tokyo in the summer of 2010. Part 1 of this series describes the highlights of our sojourn in Tokyo while Part 2describes our climb of Mt Fuji.Prior to our arrival in Japan I had booked a room at the excellent MotoHakone Guest House and I also bought the Hakone Free Pass for JPY5500 on arrival at Narita. Both turned out to t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Hakone/blog-785015.html Oli hienonhieno piv Hieno Sanoinko jo ett oli hienoNukuin vhn pommiin ajatellusta Kamakuraan lhdn aikataulusta mutta aikasin olin silti liikkeell. Kamakurahan on siis ajalta miekka ja kypr sananmukasesti ehk vanha pkaupunki jossa on miljoona temppeli ja pyhtt ripoteltuna suht pienelle alueelle luonnon helmaan eli suht kiitollinen vierailukohde se. Kyttel http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Kamakura/blog-776126.html It39s plum blossom timeAfter one of my coworkers posted some really great pictures on Facebook from Umegaoka and told me they were in bloom I decided to look up some places to go see them on my days off. I stumbled upon the Odawara plum blossom festival and found that it had been extended through Wednesday my day off It seemed like fate so I decided to head out on my own on Wednesday to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Odawara/blog-774746.html While it hasn39t been a busy time for much sightseeing due to the temperatures it HAS been a time when a lot of stuff that needed to get done got done and most of this is stuff that I have done in Japanese myself.While Jocelyn was here we hit the Ueno Zoo and got to see the cute animals there We saw a Giant Panda for about .5 seconds amidst a wave of Japanese parents shoving through peopl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/blog-772541.html Jocelyn is visiting from the states right now and while she is here we39re trying to do fun stuff and see lots of things I don39t normally get around to. Even though it39s winter and it39s not very picturesque we decided to go to Kamakura on one of my weekend days to wander around and see the multitude of shrines and temples there.It didn39t take too long to get there from my http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Kamakura/blog-769412.html It39s been a long time since I wrote a blogComing back to Japan was a pain since my flight got so screwed up. We were delayed due to mechanical reasons out of Chicago and it ended up being such a long delay that by the time we got into Narita it was after all public transportation out of the airport had stopped and a cab to just Shibuya which would only be halfway to my apartment would h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/blog-766762.html Op zondag ben ik naar Kamakura getrokken een stad die 50 km ten zuidwesten van Tokyo ligt. Hoewel het een relatief kleine stad is was ze tijdens de Kamakuraperiode de hoofdstad van Japan. Het was in 1250 de 3de grootste stad ter wereld. Vandaag de dag is het een populaire toeristische attractie vanwege de stranden en tempels. De hemel was de hele dag schitterend blauw bij een zeer aangename temp http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Kamakura/blog-753836.html YokohamaAangezien Yokohama maar een dik half uur van Tokyo verwijdert ligt besloten we pas rond 10 uur naar daar te gaan. Een metro rit een treinrit en wat hulp van een Japanner later kwamen we aan op onze bestemming. Daar aangekomen vroegen we aan de info balie wat er de moeite waard was en ze gaf een plan en wat uitleg. Wat we wilden zien lag in of rond het centrum van de stad dus besloten we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Yokohama/blog-752981.html Oops I forgot to update again. xx Sorry everyone It39s been a hectic couple of weeks for me. I39ve been fighting off something for awhile and with my overtime and shift swaps it39s been hard finding the time to really rest and get back on my feet. However the weather has been gorgeous for the most part aside from a few big storms we had it39s been raining so much here thi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/blog-752067.html Took trains for a 1 hour 30 mins journey to the southern tip of Tokyo bay to visit the temple and shrines at Kamakura. Not too many tourist about so great photo opportunities. The giant Buddha was previously housed in a build which was destroyed in a tsunami during the early 20th century. The Buddha being bronze survived and was later moved further up the hill to it39s present location. Took th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Kamakura/blog-748223.html Oops been awhile since I posted anything hereThere has been some fun things happening. I39ve been working a lot but since I finally got paid my attitude towards life has improved considerably haha. The weather has been cooling down a lot note mid7039s and it39s FINALLY nice enough at night that I don39t have to use my AC at all. This is really going to cut down on my bills h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/blog-747381.html Last weekend was Chandra39s birthday so we went to Machida to get sushi and a birthday cake. I39d never been to a rotating sushi bar so I was pretty excited plus I39d never been to Machida either When we showed up there was this performance going on in the street by what we figured was a junior high or high school doing traditional dances and drums. It was REALLY cool. We didn3 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/blog-742968.html Well we made it through summer here. It was HOT. We went the entire month of August without any rain and not a single day below 83 degrees mostly it was in the 9039s. Since the humidity here is just atrocious this was a perilous journey so I am glad we are finally into September The first three days of September were raining marked with thunderstorms and it was a WELCOME relief since it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/blog-740936.html It39s been awhile since I updatedIt39s nearly my birthday which means I39ve gotten TWO wonderful birthday packages in the mail that contained FOOD. This is excellent for me since I am still working off my you have no money please be a hobo lifestyle. I now do not have to buy groceries for several weeks which is by far the greatest thing that ever could have come via the mail haha. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Yokohama/blog-735866.html After 4 12 weeks I was FINALLY able to pick up my residence card from immigration today. Why it took so long must be because of the new system everyone is going on but it was still pretty annoying considering I could neither get a cell phone nor a bank account without this stupid card despite having the CERTIFICATE saying THAT I WAS GETTING IT. Anyway I ended up choosing the Kawasaki Immigra http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/blog-733949.html Ah what a morningToday was the day that I was completely and totally out of cash. As said earlier this country runs on cash so this was a problem for me particularly because I pick up my alien residence card tomorrow but can39t get there unless I have more cash to throw on my train card. So I set out today thinking it would be easy to find an ATM to give me cash from my American account.T http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Yokohama/blog-733706.html Chandra and I went into Yokohama today since I had to go pay rent. Since next month I have to pay with my Japanese bank account which I don39t have yet since I STILL don39t have my residence card I don39t get it until NEXT Monday at the earliest I39m going to have to play musical money with the money in my American account so I can get it into my Japanese bank account by Aug. 27th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/blog-732225.html Last weekend Monday and Tuesday for me since those are my days off was unbearably hot for someone without aircon but the rest of this week has been glorious It got cool enough on Wednesday that I slept BENEATH MY BLANKETS with ACTUAL CLOTHES ON and I can39t even talk about how amazing that is haha. So basically real sleep has been happening and it39s been FANTASTIC.Other than that http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/blog-732027.html Went to yokahama by train and subway the other day. I like traveling like that. Omg when we got to the yokahama station i could not believe how many people there were. it was like being in the middle of a bee hive or an ant hill. Amazing. We went up in another tower. There are twenty towers in Japan. I39ve been to three. We went to china town and had chinese food. I t tasted just like chinese http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Atsugi/blog-730870.html Thought I ought to actually update this for the loyal readers. lt3 It39s been super hot here recently though not as hot as in the states so for that I am grateful since I39m basically avoiding using my aircon unit any more than I absolutely have to due to how much I suspect it costs. This means I39ve been sleeping with the sliding glass door open with a screen for most nights. Ho http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/blog-730694.html