![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quaggy
It's been a week since the earthquake. I'm constantly thinking about what's happening over there and not just because someone I care about is still living in Tokyo. I was no less upset with the Indonesian tsunami or the Chilean or Haitian earthquakes, but it's slightly different when it's a country that you've visited and to which you have plans to return.
Two years ago, I never made it much more north than Tokyo. (Well, Kawagoe if you want to be precise.) So, I never saw the areas that now have been devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. But now we have that nuclear reactor and that has the potential to reach the entire island. What scary times we live in.
I've been meaning to do a picspam of Japan, but never got around to it. It seems appropriate now. 見てください!
Tokyo
In front of a Buddhist temple in the Ueno area of Tokyo (where all the museums are!)
Still in Ueno. There was just something about these four older Japanese women walking down to the Torii gate that just struck me as lovely.
I like lampposts.
A little tea shop near the lily pond in Ueno. I would so go back here. Surprising to those that know me, that's not chocolate. It's red bean paste.
Ueno isn't just gardens and museums. It also has a bustling shopping district.
There's something universal about a group of elementary school kids on an outing.
I just loved the mural and the bikes were so very Japan.
Right near the sumo stadium in Ryogoku. I love that this peaceful little garden is right smack in the middle of Tokyo
I was trying to capture the streets of Harajuku. The fact that a couple of girls in the stereotypical sailor uniform happened to walk into my frame was just an added bonus.
Speaking of stereotypes and reputations, everything you've heard about crazy Japanese fashion?
So true.
This photo cracks me up. Only in Japan will you see cheap drugstore umbrellas abandoned so neatly!
Probably one of the most famous spots in the Imperial Gardens.
Kyoto
The view of Kyoto from Kiyomizudera (Temple of the Pure Water).
I thought this was all that there was to Kiyomizudera.
Boy, was I wrong!
This poor dragon has a sign attached to his ear that told people not to drink the water. I had to work hard to find an angle that preserved his dignity.
This is the pure spring that gives the temple it's name. Five minutes after I took this picture, the area was overrun with school kids!
Sanjusangendo from the outside. I wish we were allowed to take pictures indoors. Inside, over 1,000 smaller gilded statues guard a very large Buddha. And when I say smaller, I mean, MY size!
We stayed in an actual Buddhist temple called Shunkoin, which was part of the larger Myoshin Temple.
More from Myoshin.
The main part of Myoshin.
Ryoan-ji is known for it's Zen rock garden, which I didn't bother to take a picture of. As much as I enjoyed them in person, rock gardens in photos just look like a bunch of rocks. It's okay, I liked the temple's pond much better.
This Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pagoda).
Yes, that pagoda is cover is actual gold leaf!!
Fushimi Inari Taisha, which is quite possibly my favorite temple. But then, I like Torii gates.
Incredible as it might sounds, we only saw a third of the temple! I so want to go back!
Though, in terms of size, nothing beats the Torii gate in front of the Heian Shrine!
The Philosopher's Walk which stretches between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji. It takes thirty minutes to walk the whole thing, if you don't stop at all the other temples along the way.
Ginkaku-ji was under restoration, so I had to be careful how I framed my pictures.
Because there's more to Kyoto than just temples.
Outside Tokyo
I promise this is my last temple picture! I just really liked out it turned out. This is the Kita-in temple in Kawagoe.
The temple is known for its statues of 540 disciples of Buddha known as the 500 Rakan.
No two are alike.
Yes, this is still in Japan. Yokohama was one of the few places foreign ships were allowed to dock. These are among the first Western houses built in Japan.
Yokohama also has a thriving Chinatown community. I think I enjoyed the steamed buns (which they sold right on the street) the most. I ate three!
I wish they had let me taken photos inside the Studio Ghibli Museum, because it was GORGEOUS! But a least I got this one...
And if you know why I was excited to see this guy, you are as big of a geek as I am!!
This post does not have enough lamppost pictures!
And one more for all the Harry Potter Fans out there...
Ack!! It's Voldemort!!
I've posted almost 50 images here. If you think that's a lot, know that I took over 1,000!!
Two years ago, I never made it much more north than Tokyo. (Well, Kawagoe if you want to be precise.) So, I never saw the areas that now have been devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. But now we have that nuclear reactor and that has the potential to reach the entire island. What scary times we live in.
I've been meaning to do a picspam of Japan, but never got around to it. It seems appropriate now. 見てください!
Tokyo
In front of a Buddhist temple in the Ueno area of Tokyo (where all the museums are!)
Still in Ueno. There was just something about these four older Japanese women walking down to the Torii gate that just struck me as lovely.
I like lampposts.
A little tea shop near the lily pond in Ueno. I would so go back here. Surprising to those that know me, that's not chocolate. It's red bean paste.
Ueno isn't just gardens and museums. It also has a bustling shopping district.
There's something universal about a group of elementary school kids on an outing.
I just loved the mural and the bikes were so very Japan.
Right near the sumo stadium in Ryogoku. I love that this peaceful little garden is right smack in the middle of Tokyo
I was trying to capture the streets of Harajuku. The fact that a couple of girls in the stereotypical sailor uniform happened to walk into my frame was just an added bonus.
Speaking of stereotypes and reputations, everything you've heard about crazy Japanese fashion?So true.
This photo cracks me up. Only in Japan will you see cheap drugstore umbrellas abandoned so neatly!
Probably one of the most famous spots in the Imperial Gardens.
Kyoto
The view of Kyoto from Kiyomizudera (Temple of the Pure Water).
I thought this was all that there was to Kiyomizudera.
Boy, was I wrong!
This poor dragon has a sign attached to his ear that told people not to drink the water. I had to work hard to find an angle that preserved his dignity.
This is the pure spring that gives the temple it's name. Five minutes after I took this picture, the area was overrun with school kids!
Sanjusangendo from the outside. I wish we were allowed to take pictures indoors. Inside, over 1,000 smaller gilded statues guard a very large Buddha. And when I say smaller, I mean, MY size!
We stayed in an actual Buddhist temple called Shunkoin, which was part of the larger Myoshin Temple.
More from Myoshin.
The main part of Myoshin.
Ryoan-ji is known for it's Zen rock garden, which I didn't bother to take a picture of. As much as I enjoyed them in person, rock gardens in photos just look like a bunch of rocks. It's okay, I liked the temple's pond much better.
This Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pagoda).
Yes, that pagoda is cover is actual gold leaf!!
Fushimi Inari Taisha, which is quite possibly my favorite temple. But then, I like Torii gates.
Incredible as it might sounds, we only saw a third of the temple! I so want to go back!
Though, in terms of size, nothing beats the Torii gate in front of the Heian Shrine!
The Philosopher's Walk which stretches between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji. It takes thirty minutes to walk the whole thing, if you don't stop at all the other temples along the way.
Ginkaku-ji was under restoration, so I had to be careful how I framed my pictures.
Because there's more to Kyoto than just temples.
Outside Tokyo
I promise this is my last temple picture! I just really liked out it turned out. This is the Kita-in temple in Kawagoe.
The temple is known for its statues of 540 disciples of Buddha known as the 500 Rakan.
No two are alike.
Yes, this is still in Japan. Yokohama was one of the few places foreign ships were allowed to dock. These are among the first Western houses built in Japan.
Yokohama also has a thriving Chinatown community. I think I enjoyed the steamed buns (which they sold right on the street) the most. I ate three!
I wish they had let me taken photos inside the Studio Ghibli Museum, because it was GORGEOUS! But a least I got this one...
And if you know why I was excited to see this guy, you are as big of a geek as I am!!
This post does not have enough lamppost pictures!
And one more for all the Harry Potter Fans out there...
Ack!! It's Voldemort!!
I've posted almost 50 images here. If you think that's a lot, know that I took over 1,000!!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-03-18 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 05:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 11:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-20 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 02:10 am (UTC)I absolutely love the "bicycle wall" pic. And the composition of the last one is just incredible. Thanks for posting!
I took so many photos in Japan -- this makes me want to go look at them again. Great memories. It was my absolute favorite place to photograph, ever.
I hope your friend is safe!
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 05:07 am (UTC)*blushes* Thank you! I've posted more since you've commented, but if you are interested, I'll send you the link to my smugmug account.
My friend is okay. She's in northern Tokyo. We've been chatting online every few days.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 05:44 am (UTC)Harajuku, the temples...<3
I really like the one of Sanjusangendo -- I like how you sort of captured these opposing energies of the roof line and the tree.
I have these amazing pictures of a Japanese wedding party. It's on film (!) so I can't even post, unless I have it transferred first.
I know you'll know what I mean when I say that some of my favorite Japan pictures are of really mundane things. Like, there's this one of a couple of umbrellas hanging outside someone's house that turned out great. Like your shot of the kids, or the bicycles.
I also have funny pictures of signs and plastic food. :)
Yes, link please!
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 02:06 pm (UTC)Thank you, but I assure you that was more dumb luck than anything else. :-P
It's on film (!) so I can't even post, unless I have it transferred first.
Yes, all my pictures from when I studied abroad in England are on film. Transferring them would be a total pain.
And ah, the signs of Japan with their strange "Engrish". :-D I took a lot of pictures of those too, but I think this one was my favorite:
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 02:29 am (UTC)It is different when you know people in the country, it can't help but be. Had circumstances been slightly different, I might have lost my brother. Had the big one been the earthquake on Wednesday, and not the one Friday, my mother would have been there too.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 05:12 am (UTC)I'm glad to hear that he's safe in Hong Kong again. I was supposed to visit my friend again this fall, but we had originally talked about the spring. It just makes it all more real.
And it's not just my friend. I know a few people over there and even more who have family over there. I can't stop thinking about all of them!
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 02:52 pm (UTC)8-)
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-21 01:31 am (UTC)I can't even imagine what people there are going through. It's terrifying just to read about.
These are really great photos. That is such a beautiful country and you really do it justice. Some of these look so professional!
:) pheobe
no subject
Date: 2011-03-21 01:27 pm (UTC)