Photos from my May Term in Japan.
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Obai-inMy first picture in Japan; the Obai-in Temple in Kyoto. The Obai-in Temple is part of the larger Daitoku-ji temple complex. -
Obai-in TempleStill in the Obai-in temple; just some of the interior landscaping. -
Obai-in TempleMore landscaping inside the Obai-in Temple. -
Pink FlowersI was trying to get a nice picture of the flowers, but one of the other students told me to jump in. -
FlowersHa HA! I still managed to get a picture of the flowers. Still within Daitoku-ji, but possibly not in Obai-in anymore. -
Daitoku-ji ComplexThe map behind Mike is of the whole temple complex (Daitokuji) - it was HUGE! -
Daitoku-ji Group ShotAcross from the map of the whole complex, if I remember correctly. -
Inside Daitoku-jiInside one of the little buildings in the Daitoku-ji complex.- buddha,
- daitoku-ji,
- japan,
- kansai,
- kyoto
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Daitoku-ji Group ShotGroup shot in front of Daisen-in, still in Daitokuji. -
Drive-thru ToriiJust one of the many, many Torii gates in Japan; generally (if not always) mark the entrance to a Shinto shrine. The fun thing about this one is that it's over a road, and people drive under it. -
Kinkaku-jiAgain, I was trying to get a picture of The Golden Pavillion at Kinkaku-ji when someone told me to jump into the shot. -
Kinkaku-jiMy absolute favorite picture from the entire trip in Japan. Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavillion) is actually just the nickname of the temple - the real name is Rokuon-ji (Deer Garden Temple). The nickname comes from the fact that the entire temple is covered in gold leaf. -
Koi PondJust some koi in the pond surrounding Kinkaku-ji. -
Kinkaku-jiA waterfall behind Kinkakuji. -
Ryoan-jiJust one of the pictures inside Ryoanji, "Temple of the Peaceful Dragon." It's a zen temple, and it was incredibly beautiful inside. In the left half of the picture just can see some of the rock garden, which Ryoanji is famous for. -
Ryoan-ji GardensA shot of the gardens in Ryoanji. In the previous picture, if walk to the far edge of the building and turn right, this was the view. -
Ryoan-ji InteriorInterior of one of the buildings in Ryoanji. -
Hand WashingOne of the other students washing her hands at a temple. It was tradition to wash your hands (and in some cases, rinse your mouth) with water at the little hand washing fountains. -
Unknown GardenI'm not entirely sure where this one was taken - I'm pretty sure it's after we left Ryoanji, but I didn't write down where it was. -
Dig In!Our first meal in Japan! We found a little noodle place outside of Ryoanji, I believe. -
Yasaka ShrineAfter lunch, the whole group took a bus over to the Gion district of Kyoto, where we broke up and wandered around. This is Yasaka Shrine, which makes me think of Sailor Moon. -
Starbucks in GionBeing accosted by Japanese schoolchildren. In front of Starbucks, no less. -
Streets of KyotoFor whatever reason, I thought the streets were just really cool looking, with all the wires and lines criss-crossing. -
Todai-jiWe took a train trip to Nara, and our first stop was Todaiji Temple (Eastern Great Temple). As you pass through the entrance, there is a wooden person, for lack of better term, on each side. As I was told, one has his mouth open, representing "ah" (first character of the Japanese alphabet), and the ... -
DaibutsudenJust inside Todaiji temple - a shot of Daibutsuden (Hall of the Great Buddha). It's supposedly the largest wooden building in the world. It is fairly large. -
Daibutsuden ScaleA shot at the front of the Daibutsuden - I was trying to show the scale. -
The Great BuddhaInside Daibutsuden - you can see the outline of the great Buddha. Unfortunately my flash couldn't quite light up the buddha. Just know that the buddha goes almost to the ceiling. He's big. -
Inside DaibutsudenAnother shadowy picture of the Buddha inside Daibutsuden. -
DaibustudenA shot of the front of the Daibutsuden. -
Hand Washing StationThe hand-washing station in front of the Daibutsuden. I loved the dragon spigot. -
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Engrish SignageYeah, this picture was just for the engrish sign. I felt silly taking a picture of an empty doorway, though, so I made my friends hop in the picture and be silly. -
Nishi-Otani MausoleumThe entrance to the Nishi-Otani Mausoleum. -
Inside Nishi-OtaniInside the Nishi-Otani Mausoleum. -
Inside Nishi-OtaniInside the Nishi-Otani Mausoleum. -
Inside Nishi-OtaniInside the Nishi-Otani Mausoleum. -
View from Nishi-OtaniSkyline from the Nishi-Otani Mausoleum. -
Ryozen Kannon MemorialThe Ryozen Kannon Memorial - dedicated to the soldiers that died in World War Two. We were on a time crunch, though, and didn't go inside. -
Nanzen-jiThe front gate of Nanzenji, a Zen Buddhist temple. Nanzenji is one of the "Five Great Zen Temples of Kyoto," apparently. -
Nanzen-ji bellStill inside Nanzenji. I forget the significance of the bell, however. -
Heian Shrine ToriiThe Torii that marks the entrance to the Heian Shrine. -
Heian ShrineThe entrance to the Heian Shrine. -
Heian ShrineIn front of the Heian Shrine. I don't know why, but those round barrels are filled with sake, and I needed a picture. -
Heian ShrineThere was apparently some kind of tea ceremony thing going on while we were at the Heian Shrine, so there were lots of folks in kimono. We decided to take a group picture with some of the folks in kimono. -
Heian ShrineThe tea ceremony thing was going on through the gate, however we weren't allowed past the sign in foreground. So I took pictures of groups leaving in kimono. -
Philosopher's WalkA nice little scenic path in Kyoto called the Philosopher's Walk. -
Turtle Stepping StonesIn Gion, there was a little stepping stone thing to cross the river, and some of the stones were carved to look like turtles - I thought it was pretty. -
Scenic GionLooking up river from the stepping stones. -
Nijo Castle ExteriorNijo Castle, former home to the Tokugawa Shoguns. We couldn't take pictures inside, unfortunately. -
Nijo Castle GardensGroup picture in the gardens around Nijo Castle. -
Nijo Castle GardensMore shots of the gardens around Nijo Castle. -
Nijo CastleView of Nijo Castle from the surrounding gardens. -
Leaving KyotoAs we were headed to the train station to leave Kyoto, the geek faction of our group was distracted by a Konami demo - they had Boktai for the GBA. I didn't get to play, but I did get a hat and comic. -
Leaving KyotoInside the train station, they had a movie poster for Detective Conan (Case Closed) painted up the stairs. -
Peace FlameThe Peace Flame at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. -
Peace FlameA different view of the Peace Flame. -
Children's Peace MonumentThe Children's Peace Monument inside the Peace Park. -
Folding CranesThe group folding paper cranes for the Children's Peace Monument. -
A-Bomb DomeThe A-Bomb Dome. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was almost directly overhead, and this was the closest building to survive the blast. -
Memorial TowerMemorial Tower to the Mobilized Students; due to the labor shortage, students in middle school and beyond were required to help in the war effort. The Memorial Tower is in recognition of those students who were killed. The A-Bomb dome is visible through the trees. -
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MiyajimaApproaching Itsukushima (aka Miyajima, the Shrine Island) by ferry. -
Approaching MiyajimaAnother shot of Itsukushima (aka Miyajima) from the ferry. -
Itsukushima ToriiThe "Torii in the Water" at Itsukushima (Miyajima), at low tide. -
Itsukushima ToriiThe "Torii in the Water" at Itsukushima (Miyajima), at high tide. -
Itsukushima ShrineItsukushima Shrine, the shrine behind the torii in the water. -
Itsukushima ToriiMore torii on Itsukushima (Miyajima). -
MiyajimaRandom architecture from Itsukushima (Miyajima). -
Monkey SignsAt Itsukushima (Miyajima), we hopped a bus and two cable cars, and arrived at a little monkey park. The engrish signs there were fun. -
Monkey ParkMore pictures from the monkey park. -
Monkey ParkMore pictures from the monkey park. -
View of MiyajimaThe view from the cable cars, en route to the monkey park. -
View of MiyajimaMore shots of the view from the cable cars. -
Aster PlazaA picture of where we stayed in Hiroshima - the Aster Plaza, a youth hostel. We yanked our futons out at night to sleep. Overall, a fun experience. -
Himeji CastleAfter leaving Hiroshima, we stopped at Himeji Castle. -
Himeji CastleAnother view of Himeji Castle, from a distance. Apparently Himeji is the most visited castle in Japan. It's also used often in television and movies when a large castle is required; it was used for bits of The Last Samurai. -
Himeji Castle InteriorA shot of the interior of Himeji Castle; they had set up a room with models to show how it would have been used in the time period. -
Himeji Castle GroundsA shot from inside the castle grounds. -
Himeji CastleA closer shot of Himeji Castle. -
Himeji Castle GroundsA view of the castle grounds, from inside Himeji Castle. -
Himeji Castle kittyJust a stray cat inside the castle grounds. -
Three MonkeysWe took a day trip to Nikko, and stopped at the Nikko Tosho-gu. Despite the rain, I needed a picture of the 3 Monkeys. -
Nikko Tosho-gu ToriiThe torii at Nikko Tosho-gu. -
Nikko Tosho-guMore pictures at Nikko Tosho-gu. -
SumoWe visited a Sumo Stable to watch the Sumo wrestlers practice and train. We couldn't take pictures while they were training, so I got a picture afterwards, from a poster at the subway station we stopped at. -
Edo-Tokyo MuseumA group photo with our Meiji Gakuin buddies at the Edo-Tokyo Museum. -
Inside Edo-Tokyo MuseumPictures from inside Edo-Tokyo Museum. -
Inside Edo-Tokyo MuseumAnother picture from Edo-Tokyo Museum. We could play with most of the stuff inside the museum. -
Botanical GardenMy homestay weekend was in Chiba, and my host family took me to a botanical garden in Sawara City. -
Homestay WeekendA picture of the inside of my host family's house - I was staying in the tatami room off of the living room, and this was a shot of the living room. The kitchen and dining room are on the other side of the sliding door at the far end of the shot. -
Shibuya WardWe stopped over to Shibuya one afternoon. Shibuya is essentially the shopping/entertainment district of Tokyo. As soon as we stepped off the train, we were overwhelmed by billboards for The Matrix Reloaded. -
Engaku-jiWe took a day trip to Kamakura from Tokyo. Our first stop was Engaku-Ji, a Buddhist Zen temple. This is where they kept the long bows for archery. -
Engaku-ji BuddhaStill inside Engakuji. -
Inside Engaku-jiStill inside Engakuji. My second favorite picture from Japan, right after Kinkakuji. -
Inside Engaku-jiStill inside Engakuji. -
Inside Engaku-jiA close up of the detail on the Chinese Gate, inside Engakuji. -
Inside Engaku-jiThe Chinese Gate inside Engakuji. -
Buddha in Tokei-jiPicture of Buddha inside Tokei-ji, founded in 1285. Tokei-ji was a refuge for women abused by their husbands; women were granted an official divorce after staying there for 3 years. -
Sasuke Inari JinjaAfter we left Tokei-ji, we walked to Sasuke Inari Jinja. The pathway to the shrine was covered with torii. -
Daibutsu at Kotoku-inThe Daibutsu (Great Buddha) at Kotoku-in, in Kamakura. For like a nickel, you can go inside. I did, of course, but it was too dark inside for pictures to turn out. -
JizoInside Kaikozan Hase-dera, a Buddhist temple in Kamakura. Little stone statues of Jizo, who protects children in the afterlife. Each of these statues was placed to represent a stillborn, miscarried or aborted infant. -
JizoMore statues of Jizo. -
SkylineA view of the skyline from Kaikoozan Hase-dera. -
Koi PondA koi pond inside Kaikoozan Hase-dera. -
A Zaku with GlassesWalking to the subway station one day, I passed a little shop selling glasses. And it had Char's pretty pink Zaku. Wearing glasses. I needed to take a picture. You can't see the glasses very well, unfortunately. -
AkihabaraNo trip to Japan is complete without at least one pilgrimage to Akihabara, mecca to computer/anime geeks everywhere. And while at Akihabara, I had to stop at Gamer's. -
Meiji Gakuin Group ShotGroup shot at the Meiji Gakuin going away party/ceremony. -
Megumi and IMegumi and I, mugging for the camera. -
HarajukuYeah, I needed a picture of the store. Just because we would probably never have something like that in America, and the cartoons on the front are so funny, and wrong. -
Imperial PalaceOn my last day in Japan, I visited Kokyo, the Imperial Palace. The inner palace is only open to the public on the Emperor's birthday and New Years, but the East Gardens are almost always open to the public. -
The East GardensThe East Gardens at Kokyo. -
The East GardensThe East Gardens at Kokyo. -
The East GardensThe East Gardens at Kokyo. -
Imperial PalaceMore shots inside the palace grounds. -
Imperial PalaceThe Imperial Palace was like right in the heart of the city. -
Imperial PalaceA former guardhouse on the palace grounds. -
Imperial PalaceA pretty lamp on the grounds. -
The East GardensThe East Gardens at Kokyo. -
The East GardensThe East Gardens at Kokyo. -
The East GardensA random little waterfall in the East Gardens. -
The East GardensThe East Gardens at Kokyo. -
Imperial PalaceLeaving Kokyo, the Imperial Palace. -
Imperial PalaceLeaving Kokyo, the Imperial Palace.
