U,me blossoms

3 days in Kanto ( 2/17-2/19/08)

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February 20th 2008
This past Sunday I left cold blustery blizzardy Sapporo for Tokyo. Got up at 5 a.m. (not an easy feat!) to get my stuff together and head to the bus stop. My first ever friend Laura had been visiting and we decided to see yet another angle of Japan together. Since I used to live in Saitama I have been to Tokyo countless times. So I'm pretty comfortable navigating. I had our basic itinerary: st ... read more

Asia » Japan » Tokyo

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In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more