Winter in Japan

Kanto Trip

Some more of my pictures in Tokyo. Thanks to Pe Fa for selecting only the "look good" ones for the graphics.

Tokyo - Day 7

Toyota Showroom
Enough of walking in the rain (it is rainny season), we then head to Ikebukuro to visit Amlux, a Toyota showroom in the Sunshine City Complex.

Tokyo - Day 7

In the picture: The Statue of Saigo Takamori, Sculpture of the Thinker by Auguste Rodin, and a shrine in the Ueno park.
Nearby is the Ameya-yokocho Market called Ameyoko for short. This area used to be a thriving flea market immediately after the end of the WWII. There are over 500 shops that sell everything from basic foods to high-class imported goods at reasonable prices, and thus it is very crowded.

Tokyo - Day 6

Rainbow Bridge, Fuji TV Building at Odaiba
Daiba, literally meaning "fort", refers to some of the man made islands in the Bay of Tokyo, which were constructed in the end of the Edo Period (1603-1868). The platform site installed for a marine cannon battery that was constructed in haste to meet the emergent need for defense of Tokyo against the sudden appearance of black steel ships commanded by Commodore Perry from the United States in 1853.

Tokyo - Day 6

Artist benches are arranged along the Roppongi Hills’ main street, Keyaki-zaka Dori.

Tokyo - Day 6

Mori Tower, TV Asahi Headquaters, Mori Garden and the Giant Spider
Roppongi Hills is one of Tokyo's trendiest spots. In the center of Roppongi Hills stands the Mori Tower, a 54-storey skyscraper named after the company and company president that built it.

Tokyo - Day 6

Tsukiji Market
The wholesale seafood auctioning is held there in early morning. However with the expected raining all day again today, we decide to visit the place just to catch some action and sample some seafood dish.

Tokyo - Day 5

Wako Department Store
Framed for being the Fifth Avenue of Tokyo, Ginza is lined up with the upmarket boutiques and department stores. For me Itoya is the best stationary store I ever visit; could have spend hours in there.

Tokyo - Day 5

Since it rains like cats and dogs all morning, we finally take shelter inside the Tokyo International Forum for a while. A very unique and incredible architectural building.

Tokyo - Day 5

Imperial Palace
After visit a very quiet temple, we decide to get a glimpse of Imperial Palace.

Tokyo - Day 5

Manneken Pis in Tokyo ???

Yokohama - Day 4

Ramen Museum
Our last stop for today is at Ramen Museum at Yokohama on the way back to Tokyo. On the first floor, a gallery presents the history of ramen noodles in Japan, including the big success of instant ramen. On the two basement floors, visitors can explore a 1:1 replica of some streets and houses of Shitamachi, the old town of Tokyo, of around the year 1958, when the popularity of ramen was rapidly increasing. Nine ramen restaurants can be found there, each featuring a ramen dish from a different region of Japan.

Enoshima - Day 4

Enoshima – Katase
Katase has developed as the gateway town to Enoshima Island linked by the 600m long Enoshima Ohashi Bridge. Enoshima is at the mouth of Katase-gawa River that flows into Sagami Bay. Its perimeter is approximately 4 km.

Kamakura - Day 4

The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha that is located on the grounds of the Kotokuin Temple. With a height of 13.35 meters, it is the second largest Buddha statue in Japan (the largest is located in the Todaiji Temple in Nara).

The statue was cast in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall. However, the temple buildings were washed away by a tsunami tidal wave in the end of the 15th century, and since then the Buddha stands in the open air

Kamakura - Day 4

Kamakura

The Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

Today we visit Kamakura, sometimes called the Kyoto of Eastern Japan,
a coastal town south of Tokyo.

Tokyo - Day 3

In Yukata dress

Tokyo - Day 3

In the picture from left to right: Nong Ying, Nong Yim, Khun Ooy, Khun Lek, Aor, Oh, Yao, and K. Ooy’s sons.


We then join Yao, Nong Ying and the group at the Royal Thai Embassy to visit Oedo-Onsen Monogatari in Odaiba. This “amusement park” is modelled on old Edo times, with the outdoor pools as well as traditional baths. The natural mineral water are piped from 1400m beneath Tokyo Bay. Various designed yukatas are available for us to choose. Restaurants, souvenir shops and games are also provided.

We stay at Yao and Nong Ying’s apartment in Shinjuku. Yao is Oh’s junior friend at College.

Tokyo - Day 3

The Asahi Beer Tower and Asahi Super Dry Hall with its characteristic Flamme d'Or were, completed in 1989 and host the headquarters of Asahi Breweries. The Flamme d’Or was designed by Phillipe Stark.

Tokyo - Day 3

This morning Pe Fa plans to take us around Asakusa area to visit Senso-ji, a very popular Buddhist temple. It is approached via the Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries.