Pictures from Japan 1

Postcard shots Postcard shots

I moved to Japan in 1988, first living in the Osaka area and then moving up to Tokyo in 1991. Since I've been here for quite a while now, this page will necessarily be a bit different than some of the other ones I've done on places I spent maybe a week in.

As I write this, it seems that the only thing you hear about Japan is gloom and doom about the economy, and this might skew your perceptions of what it's like to visit or live here on a day to day basis. I'd like to give a little more realistic view of what it's like to actually walk around Japan with a camera.

To put some organization to this site, I've decided to publish a page of postcard shots and a page of "real Japan" pictures. Let's start with the touristic views, though.

The pictures will be here any minute, if they aren't already . . .

	Mt. Fuji: How could I lead off with a picture of anything else? It's about an hour southwest of Tokyo, and on a clear day it looks like this from my apartment here in west Tokyo. Just to make it a little less romanticized and more realistic, I'm including the electric lines from the next apartment. Still looks pretty impressive, don't you think?
The castles in Japan are a lot different from their European counterparts. For one thing, they're made of wood, and for another thing, they don't have any walls or other protection around them. This is Osaka Castle in downtown Osaka. It is surrounded by a park that also has a large concert hall where big name groups that visit Osaka perform. Nice place to go especially when the cherry blossoms are in bloom.
	Everybody knows what the Capitol in Washington D.C. looks like, but how many people know what the Japanese Diet building in central Tokyo looks like? This picture was taken from the Prime Minister's office building, where I did English language proficiency interviews each June for a few years. June is the rainy season in Japan, so the skies are typically heavy during that month, as you see here. If you visit Japan, try to avoid a June visit.
Both Kamakura, south of Tokyo, and Nara, near Osaka, have giant statues of Buddha. Both were housed in wooden buildings and both of those buildings burned down, but the one in Nara was rebuilt, while the one in Kamakura was not. Here is the Buddha in Kamakura, exposed to the elements. My childhood friend Kevin came to visit me here in Japan, and I snapped this shot of him in front of the big guy.
	I love snorkeling. It takes me just over an hour to drive down to this spot, Hayama, on the Miura Peninsula just south of Tokyo. It's fun to explore around the many rocks in the water, and there is an island a little way out that has a Shinto torii on it. These mark the beginning of shrines, and therefore sacred ground. Since the actual shrine is on land, that makes the whole area a holy place to go snorkeling. There's a channel between the rocks and the island, and it gets pretty heavy boat traffic on nice days.
To the east of Tokyo is the Bosou Peninsula, which forms the eastern rim of Tokyo Bay. On the Pacific side of the Bosou you'll find the little village of Ubara, pictured here. My employer has a guest house built on the side of a hill, and this is the view of the Pacific you get from that vantage point. I'm very fond of Ubara, and I make sure to get down there at least one weekend of the short Japanese summer season. The snorkeling at Ubara is also quite good, and the kids like to catch crabs and put them in a bucket.
	The city of Osaka has two city centers, which the residents call "north" (Umeda) and "south" (Namba). This was taken in Namba, from the Ebisu bridge in Dotumbori. Dotumbori is an entertainment district which has these giant neon signs on all the buildings. You might have seen the aerial views of them in the movie "Black Rain" with Michael Douglas. I used to enjoy coming down here for a drink after work when I lived in the Osaka area.
Down in the ancient capital of Kyoto, I was lucky enough to watch the "Jidai Matsuri," or Festival of the Ages. If you catch it, before you will parade representatives of each era of Japanese history in authentic costumes. It's a colorful affair that takes place each summer to the constant click of camera shutters.
	While you are in Kyoto, I suggest you stop to visit "Kyomizudera," or the Clear Water Temple. It really is a lovely area and affords a beautiful view of Kyoto and the Kyoto Tower. While there I came across these stone Buddhas. The sun was getting low and the lighting had turned to gold. It left a very nice impression with me.

From the ancient to the modern. This is the Rainbow Bridge over Tokyo Bay. The upper layer of the bridge is for vehicular traffic, while the lower carries a driverless rail system that gets people out to the island on which I was standing when I snapped this picture. The island is called Odaiba, a trendy new area of reclaimed land popular with young Japanese for dates, or just "seeing and being seen." I'm told this scene looks very nice at night. If you're interested, on the following page I've included some "everyday life" shots.