Pictures from Japan Trip 2009
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This thread is a continuation of the one here which was closed after my return from Japan. I'm in the process of sorting through nearly 12 GB of images and videos which I took during my two weeks there, and I'll continue to post a selection of those images in this thread as I sift through them.
To start things off, a few images taken during our evening visit to the Tokyo Tower on July 8:
An evening shot of the iconic Tokyo Tower taken on the walk from the Akabanebashi subway station.
A night shot from the 250 m upper observatory of the tower. Please pardon the blurriness, as the handheld long-exposure shot was taken through a dirty window.
Another night shot, this time in the direction of Akihabara, the Electric Town district of which is plainly visible as the cluster of bright lights toward the upper left of the image.
An "upskirt" shot of the tower taken as we were leaving. Again, please pardon the slight blurriness--it's hard to take a decent long-exposure night shot without the benefit of a tripod.
More pictures to come.
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Asakusa, July 7:
What's not conveyed in the pictures is just how stupidly hot and humid it was that day. It was in the lower to mid-30s (ºC) with humidity pushing 80%. Our clothes were soaked by the time we left.
At the Kaminarimon Gate.
The Nakamise Arcade which connects the gate to the temple grounds.
The entrance to the Asakusa Kannon Temple.
Some random pagoda-esque building next to the temple entrace. I did not bother to note down the name of the structure as I was by that time too hot and tired to care.
More pictures to come.
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Some daytime shots of the Shinjuku skyline:
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My first time riding the Shinkansen! What a rush!
The departure board at the Shinagawa station. The Shinkansen we're taking is indicated on the right (the "Hikari" train #511, departing at 11:40 p.m. for Nagoya).
A Shinkansen at an adjacent platform.
Aboard the "Hikari" #511 en route to Nagoya.
Wheeee! Watching the world whiz by from aboard the Shinkansen at over 200 km/h.
A public phone aboard the Shinkansen.
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thanks for sharing, MG. am glad u had a great time. did u say u will be going again? i am planning a trip there with my sisters may 2010. maybe we can hook up. but i don't know. u will be the only guy? including your companion, there may be 5 ladies? kekekeke....
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Originally posted by littlestream:
thanks for sharing, MG. am glad u had a great time. did u say u will be going again? i am planning a trip there with my sisters may 2010. maybe we can hook up. but i don't know. u will be the only guy? including your companion, there may be 5 ladies? kekekeke....
We could have chosen a better time of the year to go, as the heat and humidity were real killers on the trip.I'll likely be making another foray there late March/early April next year, probably packaged with a trip to Singapore, just to appease my mother. If that's the case, then I'll probably be travelling alone for the sake of expediency (I'm thinking a week in Singapore followed by a week in Japan). I don't know how feasible it would be to meet up in Japan, but I'll definitely keep that possibility in mind as the plan firms up.
Which cities in Japan were you planning on visiting?
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Thanks for the memories MG. You make me want to return there to live. NOT! hahahahahah
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The street outside our hotel in Nagoya. The pedestrian bridge connects all four quadrants of the intersection and obviates the need for street-level crossings, thereby helping with traffic flow through the intersection. Pretty smart, if you ask me!
A typical residential street in one of the outlying suburbs of Nagoya. We were on a quest to find the apartment building in which one of my travelling companions stayed when he attended a university in Nagoya for a year back in 1990.
One of the "corridors" of the labyrinthine shopping mall under the Nagoya train station.
WTF?? Okay, I don't know about you, but I can certainly think of several better locations for a ferris wheel, other than right next to a building downtown.
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Ok the ferris wheel really cannot make it.
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Originally posted by jetta:
Thanks for the memories MG. You make me want to return there to live. NOT! hahahahahah
Oh, come now! Surely there are things you miss about living in Japan?
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At the Nagoya Shinkansen station, waiting for the Osaka-bound "Hikari" Superexpress. That's not our train pulling into the station.
Aboard the Osaka-bound "Hikari" Shinkansen. The five-abreast seating configuration of the "ordinary-class" carriages makes for tight elbow room, but legroom is very generous. Compare this to...
...the seating configuration in a "green" (first) class carriage on the same train. Our JR railpasses did not allow us to reserve seats in this class, though. Darn...
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I am missing Japan....
The ferris wheel, sometimes you will see one on top of the building. There is one near the Tokyo Tower =) (I think!!)
Are you still in Tokyo ?
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Originally posted by zoragirl:
I am missing Japan....
The ferris wheel, sometimes you will see one on top of the building. There is one near the Tokyo Tower =) (I think!!)
Are you still in Tokyo ?
When were you last there?
I was in Japan July 5 through July 20.
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
When were you last there?
I was in Japan July 5 through July 20.
2 years ago.
But most of the time when i am in Japan, i end up in Osaka....
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ooooh
japan trip too asspensive for me
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Originally posted by kopiosatu:
ooooh
japan trip too asspensive for me
Den sell your unnecessarily expensive m-bike to finance a trip there....
Actually, truth be told, this Japan trip didn't cost as much as I feared it would. My air ticket was obtained using FF miles and the three nights in the executive suites of the Shinjuku Hilton in Tokyo were free. Outside of Tokyo, we stayed at business hotels and ryokans which typically ran from ¥6000 to ¥9000 per person per night. Rail travel was (mostly) accomplished using the JR Railpass, which, for a fixed price, allowed us unlimited travel on any train operated by JR, including most of the Shinkansens. Boy, you'd better believe we got our money's worth on that JR Railpass!
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cool.. i love japan. been there once
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Our first day in Osaka!
The covered arcade right outside the business hotel at which we were staying, near the Osaka (not Shin-Osaka) station. The arcade itself gave the impression of once having been the back alleys of businesses before being converted into a warren of pedestrian-only avenues fronted with shops of all descriptions. The entire arcade stretched on for several city blocks and proved a challenge to navigate without the aid of a streetmap. But it was a feast for the senses--the whole arcade really came alive in the evenings!
Another shot of the arcade.
The Hep Five Ferris Wheel, which is built into the upper floors of the Hep Five shopping mall next to the Osaka train station.
Being anime/manga/electronic geeks, we just had to gravitate to the Nipponbashi Den-Den Town area in the Minami district of Osaka. Think of it as a slightly smaller and more accessible version Tokyo's Akihabara district, and you'll get the idea.
One of the more colourful storefronts in Den-Den Town.
My dinner that evening. Mmmmm....
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
Den sell your unnecessarily expensive m-bike to finance a trip there....
sold it september last year
i'm riding a tiny bike now
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Originally posted by kopiosatu:
sold it september last year
i'm riding a tiny bike now
You're riding something like this now, izzit?
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
You're riding something like this now, izzit?
minus the stunt
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
We could have chosen a better time of the year to go, as the heat and humidity were real killers on the trip.I'll likely be making another foray there late March/early April next year, probably packaged with a trip to Singapore, just to appease my mother. If that's the case, then I'll probably be travelling alone for the sake of expediency (I'm thinking a week in Singapore followed by a week in Japan). I don't know how feasible it would be to meet up in Japan, but I'll definitely keep that possibility in mind as the plan firms up.
Which cities in Japan were you planning on visiting?
oic. ah....then better still, u alone can take care of us FOUR sisters! kekekeke......
no firm plans but tokyo for sure. in any case, i tink i will fly from toronto to tokyo direct on jal. :P we play by ear for now eh?
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
Asakusa, July 7:
What's not conveyed in the pictures is just how stupidly hot and humid it was that day. It was in the lower to mid-30s (ºC) with humidity pushing 80%. Our clothes were soaked by the time we left.
At the Kaminarimon Gate.
The Nakamise Arcade which connects the gate to the temple grounds.
The entrance to the Asakusa Kannon Temple.
Some random pagoda-esque building next to the temple entrace. I did not bother to note down the name of the structure as I was by that time too hot and tired to care.
More pictures to come.
Was the main temple building at Asakusa still under the wraps for renovation while you were there?
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I must say I admire ur nite shoots... I give up taking one in kyoto towers as it keeps on giving me blur image altot the nite scenery is very nice. I guess time to change my camera haha
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
Oh, come now! Surely there are things you miss about living in Japan?
Yah, the food!!!!!