4 posts tagged “photography”

6/29/06

I boarded a plane in Seattle and left at 1:23 p.m. The flight was ok. I watched three movies and read half of a book to pass the time. Unfortunately I sat in the middle section in the middle seat. Needless to say I felt a little trapped :). I arrived in Tokyo at 3:15 pm on Friday, June 30th. I was greeted with hot and humid weather when I stepped outside – a lovely 29ºC (84ºF) plus humidity. This is the Tokyo heat I remember from my younger days of traveling here. I couldn’t get a connecting flight to Hokkaido on the same day so I spent one night at a nearby hotel. The hotel was no resort and spa but for the price it got the job done.

7/1/06

I awoke early to catch a bus from Narita Airport to Haneda Airport. While waiting at the bus stop I was still quite groggy from the night before. I barely slept because of the time change (see opening 20 minutes of the movie Lost in Translation and you’ll know what I mean.). Luckily there were some world cup soccer games on to keep me entertained. I arrived at the Obihiro Airport around 3 p.m. and was met by my wife, Yukako, and her parents. Yukako had been in Japan 2 weeks prior to be visiting. Somehow I managed to stay awake until around 8 p.m. but I was still feeling the effects of the time change.

7/2/06

My first official day of vacation consisted yard work and lots of good food. I helped Yukako's father plant 9 trees in the back yard. I was still feeling the effects of the trip but it was nice to work outside. Around noon some of Yukako's family came for a Japanese style BBQ. I ate so much good food. The day was topped off with a trip Japan's version of Old Navy - Uniqlo. I picked up my usual bounty of shirts for work. All in all ... A very satisfying day!!!

7/3/06

This day was about seeing familiar places and faces. We went to Ashoro, the town where I lived for 2 years. There I visited the Board of Education office to visit some old friends. Most of the staff had changed but a few familiar faces remained. It had been 5 years since I left but I felt like I had only been there just yesterday. After an hour long visit we headed to Akan National Park stopping at Lake Onneto, Lake Akan, and Lake Mashu.

Lake Onneto

Pronounced o-n-ne-to, the lake changes the color of its surface depending on the season or weather. Local people call it "Goshiki-numa," which means five-color pond. The walking path leads visitors to the best viewpoint of the lake and the forest of an estimated age of over 200 years old. The area is a very precious habitat of Eddo Japanese spruce trees and Ezo Shika-deer. The lake is nestled in the mountains of the active volcano Mt. Meakan and Mt. Akan-Fuji.

7/4/06

On this day we stayed around Yukako’s house and did some shopping and good eating. We ate at our usual Indian curry spot and I got to visit my favorite camera and electronics stores. We also picked up some Japan World Cup shirts at a sports store. We finished off the day with a visit to Mr. Donut to indulge ourselves. A side note: No day of shopping is complete without a stop to eat something “sweet”.

7/5/06

We started our 5-day road trip with a journey to the Asahikawa, the second largest city in Hokkaido. After a 4-hour drive we arrived at the Asahikawa zoo, currently ranked the best in Japan. After the zoo found a hotel downtown and rested up for the next day’s trip.

Scenes from the zoo

7/6/06

We took advantage of the faster (yet expensive) highway system in Hokkaido and drove to Lake Toya using the Douou Express. The drive took us 4 hours. Lake Tōya is a volcanic caldera lake and is said to be the northern-most lake in Japan that never ices, and the second most transparent lake in Japan. At our hotel, the Sun Palace, we went to the indoor wave pool before dinner. It was a little strange to see such a big pool in a hotel but it was cool nonetheless! After dinner we each went to the onsen in the hotel. An onsen is a Japanese hot spring bath. The onsen at this hotel was partially outside and also included a public bath section and sauna. Later, we were treated to a fireworks show over the lake which takes every night at 9 p.m..

Sun Palace Hotel

Lake Toya from our hotel room

7/7/06

On the way back to Sapporo we stopped at Showashinzan, an active volcanic mountain. The mountain was created between 1944 and 1945 after series of earthquakes occurred and wheat fields were uplifted. Lava broke through the surface and the current peak was created. The peak is now 731m tall, and still actively smoking. The name Showashinzan literally means "Showa new mountain", as it formed during the reign of Emperor Hirohito, known as the Showa period. After arriving in Sapporo we went to Moerenuma Park designed by sculptor Isamu Noguchi. Noguchi originally drew the master plan for the park seventeen years ago. After his death in 1988 the plans were handed over to those that followed. The park covers 498 acres and consists and many architectural buildings and designs. We visited the Hidamari Cultural Center and climbed the Play Mountain, and Moere Mountain. The climbing was a great work out!!. In the evening I visited my favorite electronic store in Japan, Yodobashi Camera. I spent most of my time in the camera section but enjoyed looking at the ‘stuff’ I can’t find the in the U.S. … yet! Later on I met up with Yukako and two of her friends for dinner. I did my best to keep with their Japanese.

Showashinzan

Moerenuma Park - Steps up to Moere Mountain

Moerenuma Park - Hidamari Cultural Center

7/8/06

Yukako’s parents met us in Sapporo at her brother’s house and we made the 45 minute drive to Otaru. Otaru is a significant place because this was where I proposed to Yukako in April, 2001. This was our first time to return since then. To our surprise a street performer, who was playing his guitar along the canal 5 years ago, was there playing again. We spoke with him and told him our story. I took some great pictures and we reminisced about engagement. After dinner we settled in at a hotel and enjoyed the onsen. For me, this was the best day of the vacation so far.

Our engagement spot - The Otaru Canal

7/9/06

We left Otaru and drove back to Yukako's parent's house in Otofuke. It took us about 3 hours make the drive. After our arrival we calculated we have driven 999 km (620 miles) on our 5-day road trip which is quite a distance in Hokkaido considering that it is an island. All in all it was a fabulous trip and I hope to do it again someday. We topped off the day with a some merry-go-round sushi.

Driving through a tunnel from Sapporo to Obihiro

7/10/06

I woke up to learn that my favorite team, Italy, had won the World Cup so I was rather pleased. This rest of the day was fairly laid back as we recovered from the driving we had done. We slept in then ran some errands with Yukako's mom. The highlight was eating desert at Ryugetsu, a famous cake and sweet store in Obihiro. As soon as I finished eating I realized that a diet was in my near future!

7/11/06

We played one of the more popular games for seniors, park golf, in Obihiro. Park golf is a combination of golf, mini golf, and croquet, invented in Japan. It is played using a single wooden mallet, much like a field hockey stick, with a broad, round head. The ball is roughly twice as large as a golf ball, made of hard, typically brightly-colored plastic. Holes average between 30 and 50 meters. As with golf, park golf requires drives, mid-range shots, and putts, although unlike in golf the ball is almost never airborne. Park Golf players are largely elderly, though the sport does often require more physical exertion than croquet and the like. After returning home I fired up the lawnmower and spent the next hour cutting some grass. Later in the evening I watched some Sumo wrestling. Seeing big men in thongs throwing each other around was pure entertainment.

7/12/06

We had a pretty relaxing day as we packed for our trip home to Seattle. Yukako's grandparents stopped by to say good-bye and our final meal at night was Shabu Shabu. Shabu Shabu is a Japanese variant of hot pot. The dish is related to sukiyaki in style, where both uses thinly sliced meat and vegetables, and usually served with dipping sauces. However, it is starkly different in taste; Shabu Shabu is more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki. It is considered a winter dish but is eaten year-round. Trust me when I say this meal was “All good!!!!!!!!”

7/13/06

We spent most of this day sitting on planes and a bus as we returned to Seattle. Our day started with a 10:30 a.m. flight to Tokyo, followed by a 90 minute bus ride from Haneda Airport to Narita Airport, and concluded with the ever exciting 8 1/2 hour flight back to Seattle.

Post vacation thoughts:

By far this was the best vacation I have taken in a long time. Two weeks was just enough time to spend away from the everyday grind of work and day-to-day activities. It allowed me to get a fresh perspective and come refreshed mentally (I would include "physically refreshed" but there was the 16 hour time difference to deal with.).

Additional photos:

To view additional photos from this trip click on the link below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yanagimotophoto/sets/72157594200178479/

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the photos.