Japan
I set out to Japan on 27th July 2005
I left in the afternoon from Heathrow,it was an 11 hour 15 minute flightwith not much to see on the flight except Siberian wastes,since we took an Arctic route.I was an idiot at the time by not sleeping at all
.
As soon as I disembarked from the flight I was received by one of the personnel of the Indian Ambassador to Japan.The Indian ambassador at the time was an old friend of my father,they had met in the Indian Embassy in Moscow during the days of the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
I was driven to the residence of the Ambassador,I fell asleep as soon as I arrived but was woken up in the early morning by an Earthquakewhere I was genuinely scared.However what was great was that the ambassador's driver took us all around Tokyo,which was great
The next day I went to the Imperial Palace Gardens which were really nice:
some men were sparring in this building for the benefit of tourists I think
Then later I went to this massive Sega arcade complex,with dating gamesand football games which you played with cards.
Then a few days later I went to the famous Harajuku district famed for its shrine and cosplay:
This is the entrance to the shrine and I was lucky to briefly witness a wedding ceremony:
Inside the shrine at Harajuku:
Here are prayers which people attach to a tree in the complex for good luck,I recall seeing a prayer written in Uighur script and one in Hangul script
Lots of sake:
The famous Takeshita street where cosplay outfits are sold and various other things:
who would wear these outfits is beyond me
an example of a couple of people in cosplay:
The next day I went to Nikko,which is supposed to have some of the most beautiful scenery in Japan:
The humidity throughout the whole trip was excruciating
a little pond where people throw coins for good luck:
a Torii which can been seen all over Japan:
some shots of the complex:
Bell Tower at Taiyu-in
This whole complex is known as the Nikko Tosho-gu ,Tokugawa Hidetada built this shrine in the 17th Century.Tokugawa Iemitsu enlarged this shrine later.There are 130 Tosho-gu throughout Japan.
Beautiful scenery of the Nikko national park:
Much of Japan is forested and hilly,which means that there isn't much flat land.
Lake Chuzen,which is sourced by the Yukawa and is 163 meters deep:
The Kegon falls,which are really beautiful.It is one of Japan's three highest waterfalls at 97 metres high.However according to Wikipedia a lot of people commit suicide here
This is the Futarasaran Shrine bridge:
When I came back to Tokyo,I was able to snap a couple of pics.This is Shinjuku if I recall:
Tokyo is really enormous,good thing I had a driver
Those of you who have played Jet Set Radio on the Dreamcast or Jet Set Radio Future on the Xbox,may recognise this bus terminal
Anyway the next day I went to Nagoya by Shinkansen Bullet Train:
This is how it looks inside
When I was walking up and down I recall seeing a businessman reading a manga about golf
Anyway I was accompanying the Indian ambassador to an expo called the Expo Aichi which showcases other cultures.
This was the Indian pavillion
It was only a brief stay and I was grateful for that because it was really hot
a Shikansen bullet train coming in to Nagoya station:
From Nagoya I travelled to Kyoto
One of the places I visited was the famous Golden Pavillion where I was taken to a VIP area,thanks to being with an ambassador
Later his culture secretary took me down this path,where I had a nice walk,with cicadas making their usual noise in the background:
And I went to see the Silver Pavillion:
And I got to see a traditional Japanese street,reminded me of an Anime
And I was fortunate enough to be blessed by a Shinto priest in a traditional ceremony thanks to the fact I was travelling with an ambassador
I was able to have a traditional Buddhist meal(Which was vegetarian of course
This is supposed to represent a Tiger lying by a stream
Later I took this beautiful picture of a pond in Kyoto:
The next day I returned to Tokyo and was able to visit the Tokyo Edo Museum and later snap this picture of Tecmo HQ
The Last thing I saw was Asimo at a Hondo showroom in Tokyo:
Thank you for reading
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Chaghatai Khan
