9-29-2010

It's getting to be that time of year again.  Yep, it's wine season!

9-28-2010

Asakusa is famous for the Thunder and Lightning gate.  This isn't that particular gate, but is its much nicer-looking cousin inside the grounds.

9-27-2010

These castle-like blocks are common throughout Japan.  They are frequently used to make retaining walls, but sometimes are also the sides of buildings.  The rough surfaces of these stones are perfect places for moss and other things to grow.

9-26-2010

Osaka castle is quite a pretty castle.  It's really nice during cherry blossom season, which you cannot see here.  Maybe I'll take a photo of it when I go for work in April.

9-25-2010

Believe it or not, this is how the entire area around Takao station is paved.  The texture is pretty cool.

9-23-2010

There are rats with wings all over the place.  The only thing worse sometimes are the crows.

9-22-2010

Can you imagine being the skyscraper window washer?  How would that feel?

9-21-2010

Tokyo, by and large, is not a particularly tall city.  One of the tallest areas is the Shinjuku Skyscraper District.  While not the most beautiful part of Tokyo, these urban trees have a certain charm to them.

9-20-2010

This river was so cold, clean and refreshing that we went swimming in it.  We also played in it, trying to catch the small fish in our hands.  When the sand and gravel on the riverbed was stirred up it sparkled like gold flakes.  It was like a magical river, running just behind our room at the hostel.

9-19-2010

Rural Japan is beautiful, full of green mountains and freshwater rivers.

9-18-2010

Up in Kinugawa there are some great hot springs.  Normally they are housed within traditional Japanese-style hotels called ryokan.  This one was in a big, Western-style hotel, complete with giant chandeliers.  It felt completely incongruous to walk into the baths from that setting, but there it was.

9-17-2010

This weekend we visited a friend's hostel up in Nikko.  He has a garden where he grows a good amount of the produce he serves up.

9-16-2010

Pinwheels are mesmerizing little things. These red and yellow ones caught my attention as soon as I saw them, but then the mist came up and I had to snap a photo.

9-15-2010

Shinjuku is a nice place, despite what people say.  The clock tower can be seen from most places in Shinjuku, even from the platforms in Shinjuku station itself.

9-14-2010

Bamboo is a very popular plant, abroad as well as in Japan.  Shops and restaurants try to show they have a traditional feel by planting this fast-growing grass outside their shops.  While it looks nice I imagine it's a lot of work to keep it from taking over the shop.

9-13-2010

The buildings here often have this odd, textured coating over them.  It's not quite stucco and it's not quite paint.   Sometimes I wonder if someone was trying to hide something.

9-12-2010

Details are what make Japan such a nice place to live.  Even the railings on the streets and bridges have nice details.

9-11-2010

In Japan, summertime is the time for festivals.  While most major summer festivals involve fireworks (fireworks seem to be synonymous with summer), there are many smaller festivals that barely count as festivals by the typical Japanese standard.  Smaller festivals usually focus around specific interest groups or cultures.  This was a Thai Fruit Festival in West Ikebukuro Park.  It was mostly food booths and a couple grocery store-like shops, with a couple performers on the stage who were largely ignored.

That's not to say that these aren't great festivals; they are great, but they are largely ignored because they aren't part of the mainstream culture here.

9-10-2010

In keeping with my Friday lunch treat, I found Café Troisgros to try.  If you're interested in reading more about it you can read my restaurant review.  Otherwise, this is the Mushroom Farfalle, today's daily pasta special.

9-9-2010

Sometimes you can find interesting foods in the basements of department stores.  Kimchi onion ball, anyone?