Blogs from Kanagawa, Japan, Asia - page 7

Oli hienonhieno päivä! Hieno! Sanoinko jo että oli hieno? Nukuin vähän pommiin ajatellusta Kamakuraan lähdön aikataulusta, mutta aikasin olin silti liikkeellä. Kamakurahan on siis ajalta miekka ja kypärä (sananmukasesti ehkä) vanha pääkaupunki, jossa on miljoona temppeliä ja pyhättöä ripoteltuna suht pienelle alueelle luonnon helmaan, eli suht kiitollinen vierailukohde se. Käyttelin juna-aikataulujen etsintään kätevää Hyperdia-palvelua, jonne on japanialaiset insinöörit askarrelleet juna-aikataulut meillekin jotka eivät tajua hittoakaan kanjeista. Hyperdia osasi avustaa mainiosti, ja päädyin Japan Rail Pass’eineni (sitä oli mahottoman kätevä käyttää, kävelin vain asemasedän portista sisään ja näytin passia tärkeenä) Shimbashin asemalle odottelemaan, ihan oikealle raiteellekin. Noutoaamupalanyssykkä kourassa kävi kuitenkin ohraisesti, kun saapuvassa junassa lukikin jotain ihan muuta (T... read more

While it hasn't been a busy time for much sight-seeing 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 people with strollers. It was like being back in America again, it was amazing and nostalgic. The penguin exhibit was closed due to renovations, so I made a ton of sad faces and resigned myself to going back another day to see my favorite animals out playing. But there was some pretty cool stuff and it was ... read more

It's been a long time since I wrote a blog! Coming 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 have been over $250! Fortunately, they got a bus to take us to Shinjuku and I had a friend to stay with overnight, but it was really just not a great situation and I can't say I'm in any hurry to fly United again. But I was anxious to get back to my life here, so I ... read more

Yokohama Aangezien 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 met de metro naar de buitenkant te gaan om dan te voet terug te keren. Zo kwamen we, onder andere, enkele parkjes tegen en uiteraard de haven van Yokohama. Er was ook een China Town te bezichtigen en het bekende rad dat zeer mooi oplicht in het duister. ( Zie foto’s) We zijn ginder dan ook gebleven tot ... read more

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 it's present location. Took the slower train back via the coast. Very scenic.... read more