Blogs from Japan, Asia - page 11

Mon: Yurikamome front row all the way Good morning, 6:30 ☀️ Out the door at 8:15 am. Trains were packed with commuters, doh! But a lot of people got off at Hamamatsucho and we got to sit for 1 station 🙂 Yurikamome is an unidentified new transportation system that runs between Shinbashi and Toyosu. It looks like a monorail because it runs on a railing up high but it’s not. It’s not a train because it runs on rubber tires. They’re automated too! We made it across Shinbashi station from JR to Yurikamome and kick-started the stamp rally by 9:30 am. The stamp rally was on just in time to celebrate 1 billion ridership. Although the crowd thinned out quite a bit toward the Yurikamome platform, with so many people, I was surprised we actually snagged ... read more

Tue: Typhoon has landed! One word to describe today: typhoon. Shinkansen wasn’t running in this area and so wasn’t other transportation. We watched the view from the room all morning. Cloud was moving fast and the lake and the hotel pool down below were crashing hard. Nobody was walking, just a few brave cars driving through the deep puddle. What else…busted out the entertainment meant for the airplane ride. We went down to the lobby to get out. Trees were being blown sideways and the mini puddles were swirling with strong wind. Yep, do not run the train at 300km/h. But by 2 pm, the wind died down! The rain continued to come down but seemed safe to go out. Out of desperation, we walked to a laundromat not too far at 3 pm. It was ... read more

I like visiting shrines and temples. They are often cool and quiet, and have beautiful art. Many are little visited except on feast days or holy days, and can be a great place to sit in quiet contemplation. One of the shrines that stuck with me was the Tsuyu-no-Tenjinja Shrine, also known as Ohatsu Tenjin, located in a very busy area by the Osaka train station, dominated by office buildings. I had a hard time finding this place; I could see it on my paper map and on my ever-so-smart phone app, but I walked past it a couple of times. It wasn’t until I looked closely at the “Konban” (police station) that I notice the stylized concrete tori gate next to it, and thought this must be it. This shrine has a couple of sad ... read more

In the Yaesu district of Tokyo in the land of the rising sun. The Tokyo Ramen Street food was a little too rich and salty for our American taste. I’m sure it’s great, lots of locals and plenty of Haole foreigners have professed the greatness of the many Ramen shops in the bowel of Tokyo Station, but our palate are just a bit different or perhaps not sophisticated enough I suppose, so we did not enjoy the food even though it filled our tummy. We got back to our hotel relatively late in the evening, around ten o'clock, which is considered late for us because we’re not night owls. After quickly getting in bed once we had settled in, brushed our teeth, and taken nice long showers, we all hopped in bed and fell asleep as ... read more

Heute machte ich mich auf, den Asakusa-Schrein im Nordosten Tokios anzusehen. Dabei nutzte ich teilweise die U-Bahn. Ein Wort hierzu: bei Treppen und Rolltreppen scheint sich Japan nicht ganz einig zu sein, ob man rechts oder links geht. Auf den Straßen gilt ja Linksverkehr und bei vielen Gelegenheiten soll man auch links laufen. Es gibt aber zahlreiche andere Stellen, wo man rechts gehen soll. Im Nahverkehr kann das auch zeitweise für Verwirrung sorgen. Ich stieg also am Bahnhof Asakusa aus und lief den kurzen Weg zur Sehenswürdigkeit. Dabei regnete es etwas und mit den vielen Schirmen konnte es auch ganz schön eng werden. Heute am Samstag waren viele Leute vor Ort. Eigentlich durfte man vom Heiligtum selber keine Fotos machen, aber das hat viele Leute nicht gestört. Dies war also mein letztes touristisches Ziel am 20. ... read more