TOKYO - OCTOBER, 2012 [PART THREE]

On the last Sunday I was in Tokyo I took a day trip with my friend Chikako, an english speaking guide that I met last year in Tokyo, to an island off the coast of Japan about 1 1/2 hours by train from Tokyo. The island is called Enoshima, and is close to an area called Kamakura that I visited last year.

Enoshima is about 600 meters off the coast, and is connected to the coast by a causeway. On the island is a small village area with shops and places to eat. A tall observation tower is at the top of the island, which affords views of the surrounding coastline area. There are also several shrines on the island, and a tunnel complex on the opposite side of the island from the view shown above.

When you first cross onto the island you walk uphill through a small village area with shops and places to get food. A lot of the Japanese tourists were buying a snack to eat which was in large sheets that looked like candy. I asked Chikako what the food was and she said it was octopus!!! I had her ask one of the ladies eating it if I could take her picture with the snack, and she offered me a piece to eat. It tasted like salty cardboard.

On the island there were numerous religious shrines and Japanese gardens.

At the top of the hill on the island there were numerous observation areas with a view of the coastline, and a tall observation tower with 360 dgree views of the coastline and the back side of the island.

These photos show views from the top of the observation tower over the backside of the island. The buildings in the middle photo are restaurants with a view out over the ocean.

From the top of the hill you could follow steps and a trail down to the coastline on the back side of the island, then follow a walkway around the coastline to a series of ocean caves. It was low tide at the time of these pictures, with numerous tide pools exposed.

A view inside the caves, and looking out of the mouth of the caves to the coastline. I had a great time on this visit to Japan, and I hope that I can return again soon in the future to see more of that beautiful country.

TOKYO - OCTOBER, 2012 [PART TWO]

I took a day trip to Mount Fuji and Hakone, outside of Tokyo. Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan, and is shaped like a volcanic cone. Because of its height it is always covered with snow at the top of the peak. Unfortunately, because of its height it is most often obscured by clouds at the top. I took pictures of the area around the mountain, and you can see the top of the mountain in one photo if you look very closely. I also included a picture from the internet to show what the view would be if the clouds were not present.

This is a photo taken from the area below Mt. Fuji. The clouds parted for about one minute, and I was able to get a picture showing the top of Mt. Fuji, above the clouds. It is hard to see where the clouds end, and the snow covered top of the mountain begins.

As we drove further up the mountain, the leaves on the trees began to show more fall colors. The air  was cold, crisp, and fresh. I love to be in the mountains.

We drove to the area called the Fifth Station, which is the furtherest up the mountain you can travel by vehicle. There was a great chateau like building with a restaurant (and of course souvenirs) with a viewing platform to view Mt. Fuji up close (if the clouds weren't there). There was also a small shrine for the hikers who would continue up the mountain from there on foot.

Part of the day trip to Mt. Fuji was a cruise on Lake Ashi, which is outside of the Mt. Fuji area in Hakone [about two hours southwest of Tokyo]. The cruise was on boats that were like pirate ships or galleons. It was kind of funny, but the Japanese tourists went crazy over it.

These are pictures taken from the boat of the shoreline along the lake, and of the sun setting behind the mountains. As part of the trip we were supposed to take a ropeway [cablecar] to the top of the mountain shown in the middle picture above, but because of the heavy traffic coming from Mt. Fuji we were not able to make it in time before it closed.

Because we were not able to go to the ropeway [cablecar] we were taken to the Narukawa Art Museum in Hakone which is on a hillside overlooking Lake Ashi (with a view of Mt. Fuji, weather permitting.) There was an outside terrace overlooking the lake, with beautiful views of the area around Hakone. The third picture above I found on the internet which shows the same area in the two pictures I took above it that shows the view of Mt. Fuji without the clouds.

TOKYO - OCTOBER, 2012 [PART ONE]

This was my third trip to Tokyo. Because I had seen most of the sights in the city before, I spent most of this trip seeing sights outside of the city. I really enjoy Japan. It is very modern, and the people are very nice. I spent one week there on this trip, and as always, I really enjoyed my time there.

This is the Tokyo Skytree Tower which opened in May, 2012. It is the tallest freestanding tower in the world, and is now the number one tourist attraction in Japan. At the top are restaurants and an observation tower, and in the complex below is a large retail and restaurant area.

This is the Sensoji Temple, which is the oldest temple in Tokyo, built in 628 A.D. It is in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, which is the oldest area in Tokyo. It is a major tourist attraction, and is always crowded.

I took a day trip from Tokyo to Nikko National Park, which is a 2 1/2 hour trip by train north of Tokyo. Inside the park are several Buddist Temples and Shinto Shrines which are among the oldest, and most famous in Japan. The picture above is of the Rinnoji Temple. The temple is undergoing renovation, and is inside of the building shown in the picture [the temple image was painted on the outside of the building if you look closely. This temple was built in 766 A.D. You were able to go inside and see the inside of the temple, but photos were not allowed.

This is the entrance gate to the Toshogu Shrine, one of the most famous shrines in Japan.

Because Nikko National Park, and the shrines and temples inside the park are so historically and culturally important to the Japanese people, there were a lot of student groups on field trips there. Eack class wore different colored baseball caps so that the groups could be easily identified, and the students would not wander off, and get separated from their group.

Walking between the shrines and temples was very beautiful. Nikko National Park is in the mountains, and the area was very forested with old growth trees. It was very quiet, and the air was crisp and fresh.

This is the Shinkyo (Sacred Bridge) which was built in the 8th century A.D. It is one of the most famous bridges in Japan. The bridge is at the entryway to the Nikko National Park.

The leaves on the trees were just beginning to turn to the autumn colors.

These are some pictures that I took from the train window on the trip back to Tokyo. It was interesting to see the changes from the highly urbanized area of greater Tokyo travelling to Nikko through gradually increasing hills, and agricultural areas, to the mountains of Nikko. It was a very beautiful trip to take, and gave me an additional view of Japanese life outside of the big cities.

BERLIN-SEPTEMBER, 2012

This was my first trip to Berlin. I was there for one week, and I was blessed with good weather the entire time I was there. The picture above is of the Brandenberg Gate which was previously between East and West Berlin during the time the Berlin Wall was erected, preventing those living in East Berlin from traveling to West Berlin [and freedom.] I stayed in an area that was formerly in East Berlin. Although East Berlin was not as modern as West Berlin when the Berlin Wall separated the two portions of the city, East Berlin is now the area of most of the development, and the area where new boutique hotels and restaurants are being built.