Blogs from Akita, Japan, Asia - page 2

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Asia » Japan » Akita June 8th 2008

My night in the smokey business hotel was fairly good and the reception staff tolerant of my internet use, requests for ice for my failing Achilles, and where to find a chemist! Like clockwork I woke at 4 or 5am, to a very bright morning, no rain, and calm weather. The early sunrise has been the case ever since my arrival and time spent in Kyuushuu farther south. I cannot, however, get my head around how a country similar in latitude to New Zealand can have such an early dawn. Kanazawa has several districts that provide evidence of it's once fame as a feudal stronghold - the family known as the Maedas settled in this area, established several cultural identities, and maintained control over the early Kanazawa town. It is now a large city with many ... read more
higashi chaya district
ishikawa coastline
next train due??

Asia » Japan » Akita March 17th 2008

Located in Akita Prefecture and no train station really close by, Nyuto Onsen is not the obvious choice for the tourist in Japan. However, if you developed a taste for onsen and want more, Nyuto Onsen is the place for you. Listed in Robert Neff's book Japan's hidden hotsprings, Nyuto Onsen might be different from what you would expect: No glossy swimming pool type baths and fancy ryokans, but ramshackle wooden buildings and perfect rotemburo (outside baths) instead. Ever wondered what onsen looked like in the time of the samurai? My bet is that it looks a lot like the baths found in Nyuto Onsen today. The best place to stay is probably Tsurunoyu Onsen (red point on map) where the guest rooms actually are 350 years old samurai guard quarters, but it is often fully ... read more
Magoroku onsen
Magoroku onsen
Choice of the baths at Magoroku onsen

Asia » Japan » Akita » Tazawako December 4th 2007

My weekend started bright and early on Sunday; which really means before the sun was up. My co had gotten the earliest tickets to Tazawako, so we were out of Sendai by 6:37am. Lake Tawazako is the deepest lake in Japan. Legend goes that Princess Tatsuko and a dragon god fell in love and their passionate love making is what keeps the lake from freezing over in the coldest of temperatures. The tourist information center had nothing but good things to say about this and were very helpful in getting the bus schedule and everything to us. My co and I ended up at the Tazawako station at 8:30am and without further ado we set out to a little exploration hiking. Yes, we did this with our packs on. It being a Sunday and everything, there ... read more
Tazawako
Obonai park
the view

Asia » Japan » Akita October 31st 2006

Naruko is one among many places to claim to have originated the kokeshi, a cylindrical wooden doll emblematic of Tohoku. Naruko is accessible by train on the JR East Rikū-Tōsen Line, some 40 minutes from Furukawa, an interchange station with the Tohoku Shinkansen line.... read more
Naruko dam
Onikoube onsen
Oyasukyo onsen

Asia » Japan » Akita » Yokote March 22nd 2006

Kyo wa march 21st It’s spring! Happy spring to everybody! I think that springs deserve that we say happy spring to each other… it’s a day that announces reborn… renew, freshness and warm sun. Today was my before last last day in Akita… it went sooo fast… well two weeks is always passing fast but I really feel I didn’t spend enough time here to bath myself in it… don’t know if I’m clear but oh well… Since last time, what did I do? We had this big party on Friday, it was a really nice evening. Diana invited all her friends for dinner. There was: The family, Kazuhide and his mom, Yoko, Nakagawa and Waga. Yoko is really nice, she’s 19 and doesn’t speak Japanese… so we didn’t say much but I felt we could ... read more
Toyo and his bear jacket
Me and Yoko
Diana in a crazy moment!

Asia » Japan » Akita » Yokote March 17th 2006

Yo! Comment ça va dans votre patelin qu’est le Québec! Ici la neige a déjà toute fondue, il ne reste plus que les champs qui sont encore couverts… Yokote semble être un coin populaire du Japon. Tout le monde n’arrête pas de me dire, à chaque fois que je goûte quelque chose de nouveau : « Oh, tu sais, cette affaire là est reconnue comme une des meilleures au Japon. » C’est ça pour les champignons, une sorte de brochette de poulet, l’eau, le sake, les daikon (une sorte de cornichon fumé… pas très bon) le lait de soya, les belles filles et j’en oublie! Ils ont aussi un dialecte très prononcé, certains disent même que ce n’est plus du Japonais. En tout cas il est sûr que les gens sont fiers de leur région ici! ... read more
Le Japonais vraiment cool, Toyo et moi
Le Japonais vraiment cool et moi
Miku... avouez quelle na pas lair dune fille de 9 ans...

Asia » Japan » Akita » Yokote March 15th 2006

Hi! This week I’ve been very busy! Or I should say these last two weeks! I didn’t think I would write that late. But here it’s pretty a working beat so there isn’t too much big events to talk about. Still, I’ve plenty of things to say! I’m homestay in a family of five: Diana, Toyo and their three daughters: Miku, Mayu and Lina, 9, 6 and 4 years old. Their house is also Diana’s private school, so I’m sleeping in the classroom. She has something like 70 students plus she goes in kindergarden and elementary school few times a week. Takaashi is working for her, they’re splitting the job. My job is to go with them and help them with the classes! It’s all very basic courses: alphabet, numbers, days of the week, self-presentation and ... read more
Lina sleeping with her tamagochi
Mayu and I
special demand

Asia » Japan » Akita » Yokote March 5th 2006

Konnichiwa minnasan! Je suis enfin arrivée à Yokote, où je serai pour les 3 prochaines semaines. Je dis enfin : laissez-moi expliquer l’ampleur du mot ‘enfin’ ici. Comme j’ai écrit dans mon dernier message, jeudi a été la journée la plus cool que j’ai passée jusqu'à maintenant au Japon… j’avais dit aussi que j’avais manqué mon bus, n’est-ce pas? Bon, après avoir payé pour un autre billet, nous avons passé une soirée pas mal tranquille, en partie à attendre une fille que Yanick avait rencontré la soirée d’avant… et qui a été 2 heures en retard… mais bon c’est un détail car après nous avons rejoint Mayumi et Chris qui avaient passé la journée dans un internet café à essayer de dormir… tout le monde était vraiment épuisé de la soirée d’avant! Nous avons été manger ... read more
Une gang de freaks vraiment cool
Une gang de freaks vraiment cool

Asia » Japan » Akita October 30th 2005

Tazawako is a beautiful lake in Akita prefecture.... read more
Tazawako
Tazawako




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