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#AYearAgoInJapan

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 23 2024

Our last day in #Japan. We had stayed at the #MitsuiGarden Hotel Otemachi; all the hotels we stayed in were nice, but this was the best in terms of service.

We spent the day at the airport. Lunch, dinner, last minute shopping. Flew #ANA home, which gave us the worst snack I've ever had on a plane: basically a bag of mayonnaise with a croissant swimming in it.

Thanks everyone for following along!

#日本 #東京 #三井ガーデンホテル

The entrance to a shopping gallery in a Japanese airport. The top of the entrance has a sign that says COOL ZONE TOKYO POP TOWN. Just inside is a store called SORADONKI. A Western man and woman are looking at a spinner rack in front of the store. Through the store opening is a bewildering array of colorful signs and merchandise. Across from the store is a sign with a photo of coffee drinks.

A view through a window from a hotel in Tokyo, about ten floors up. There are streets, cars, pedestrians, and high rise buildings. The view is dominated by a construction site directly across from the hotel. On the site are two industrial cranes, several stories tall, painted in red and white.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 22 2024

Met an acquaintance from #Portland who happened to be in #Tokyo for lunch. Later, the hubby and I went to #TokyoTower.

This would be our last full day in #Japan. :blob_cry:

#日本 #東京 #東京タワー

A building in Tokyo. It is about five stories tall. The facade has alternating rows of windows and sections covered with greenery. The sections are in different shapes: squares, rectangles, and what looks like parallelograms with one pair of opposite corners rounded.

A building in Tokyo. It is about seven stories tall. It is covered entirely by rectangular windows. However, one corner of the building, the top three stories or so, looks like a huge bite was taken out of it and has been replaced with a patio covered with colorful plants. The windows surrounding the bite have protruding diagonal planes, looking like a highly stylized shatter pattern.

A view of the Tokyo Tower, taken from below, in extreme perspective and looking up. The tower is a latticework of metal in bright red. There are two observation platforms, a large square one and a smaller cylindrical one near the top. The tower has white lights along its outer struts and an orange beacon at the top. The sky is heavily overcast with thick grey clouds.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 21 2024

Sightseeing: #Asakusa, #HakozakiJunction, #Odaiba. #TokyoBigSight is my favorite place in Japan ... it really looks like a giant spaceship has landed!

#日本 #東京 #箱崎ジャンクション #浅草 #お台場 #東京ビッグサイト

A stack interchange in Tokyo, taken from beneath. It looks like five elevated roads are converging. Beneath the structure is a street with cars.

A river in Tokyo. On the far side are several buildings, both modern high rise buildings and older ones about four stories tall. One building resembles a black box with a golden elongated shape, pinched at one end, on top. A tall metal tower is visible behind the buildings.

A night scene of a large plaza in Tokyo. The scene is dominated by an unusual modern building that resembles four upside down pyramids resting on glass and metal structures with staircases inside. There is a sign at the front of where the two front pyramids converge that reads TOKYO BIG SIGHT. It is 190 feet or 58 meters tall. Smaller structures and a few pedestrians are visible in the background.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 20 2024

Goodbye #Kanazawa! Caught the bullet train to rejoin my husband in #Tokyo. Walked around #Akihabara that evening!

#日本 #東京 #秋葉原

An intersection at night in Akihabara, Tokyo. There are pedestrians crossing the street and a few cars. Several buildings, five stories or taller, line the street. They are covered with signs and billboards, all brightly illuminated. The signs depict anime characters, lettering in English and Japanese, and a photo of several women in maid uniforms.

A street at night in Akihabara, Tokyo. Some buildings line the street. One in particular has a large sign with the word GEEKS, in English, spelled out with large white light bulbs.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 19 2024

I had the day to myself. There was nothing really compelling me to go and explore, so I worked on music for a while then went out in the evening for dinner and shopping. #KanazawaStation is an architectural marvel. My friend told me when it was first built, the locals hated it, but when it began attracting positive attention from the international architectural community, suddenly everyone was proud of it! 🤣 #Kanazawa #金沢駅 #daruma #だるま

#日本 #金沢

A nighttime photo of the exterior of Kanazawa Station, taken from the main walkway. The walkway is covered with an enormous, high roof made of metal bars in a graceful lattice-like pattern. There are pedestrians walking beneath. The main gate is visible. It consists of two columns supporting a roof. All three components are made of wood, painted bright red. Each column is a set of beams arranged in a circle, with each beam tilted diagonally to create a sort of drum shape.

A daruma figure in a glass display case. The figure is about four feet high and made entirely from a hard shiny material, perhaps some kind of plastic. A daruma is typically depicted as a person with a large head and a round squat body with no limbs, and wrapped entirely in material with only the face visible. This one differs from the traditional daruma design: it has eyes that are black circles with a little pie slice missing from each (resembling Pac Man). He has a thick bushy moustache. The fabric is golden and decorated with brightly colored flowers of all kinds, including lotuses.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 18 2024 (2 of 2)

A question for @AnthoDerv ... Hepburn romanization is what I'm used to seeing: しょ=SHO. But I've also seen this variation (and similar): しょ=SYO. (I've also had some Japanese people spell my name JYO) Is it just a matter of preference? Is the SYO form used predominantly by native Japanese speakers, or by a majority of them? #日本語 #ローマ字

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 18 2024 (1 of 2)

My friend picked me up from the hotel and we had an excellent lunch at Uogashi Shokudo. We spent the balance of the afternoon driving around, hitting up used bookstores and CD stores, chatting over coffee.

#日本 #金沢 #魚がし食堂

A tray of food. There are a dozen colorful bowls and plates containing assorted sushi, tempura, rice, soup, vegetables.

A large sign in front of a restaurant. There is a painting of a fish, mostly in black and orange. It appears to be leaping out of a Hokusai style wave. There is Japanese writing in red, and in small English letters, the name of the restaurant, Uogashi-Syokudou.

A large sign in front of a restaurant. There is a painting of a red fish, against a background of blue and white concentric circles. There is large Japanese lettering in black, and smaller lettering in red.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 17 2024

My hubby and I took the #BulletTrain to Omiya, then he continued to Tokyo while I went to #Kanazawa. I began corresponding with a musician who lives there in 2017, and now we were going to meet in person for the first time! He picked me up at my hotel in the evening and we went to dinner. He also took me to the area where he shot the photo of distant industrial cranes for one of his album covers.

#日本 #金沢 #新幹線

A photo of a bullet train station platform. There is a bullet train on each side. The left train is white with stripes of magenta, blue, and indigo. The right train is green and white with a single magenta stripe. There is a large electronic sign over the platform displaying departure times, destinations, etc. in Japanese. People dressed for the winter are walking on the platform. The platform is made of white tiles, and each side has a line of yellow tiles with raised bumps to warn those with vision problems that they are approaching the edge.

A tray of food. There are several bowls and plates containing rice, soup, pickles, some kind of meat, and dipping sauces.

A night time photo of an inlet. Across the inlet are two large industrial cranes and a line of low buildings. The lights from the cranes are reflected in the water.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 16 2024 (2 of 2)

Does anyone recognize the #anime depicted on the train? It looks familiar but I can't place it. Thanks! #アニメ

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 16 2024 (1 of 2)

The first time I visited Sendai in 2017 my friend took me to #MatsushimaBay, which is dotted with over 200 tiny islands with pine trees. I wanted my hubby to experience this so we did it again! It was snowing on and off that day, the bay was foggy here and there and often choppy, but I was determined to sit outside the entire time. My hubby and my friend sat inside; I did peek inside for just a moment to make sure they were doing okay. #松島

#仙台 #日本 #Sendai

A view from a train, of a train on the next track going in the opposite direction. The other train is grey with anime characters on it, including a young heroic male with thick orange hair, a yellow scarf, and a red suit.

A photo of a bay. In the center of the photo is a tiny island. It is difficult to guess the size of the island but it is perhaps the size of two football fields. On one half of the island is a grove of trees. There are patches of snow on the island. On the horizon is the mainland, partially obscured by fog.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 14 2024

Our final night in Fukuoka. Spent most of the day cleaning our apartment and shopping for souvenirs, then checked into a hotel near #HakataStation. It was a tiny, tiny apartment, but I loved it and I miss it. Lots of great memories. The next day we would catch a flight to #Sendai. #博多駅 #仙台

#福岡 #日本 #Fukuoka

A photo of a small Japanese apartment. To the left is the kitchen area. There is a counter with a sink, cabinets beneath and shelves above. An electric kettle sits on the counter. Partially visible to the extreme left is a mini-fridge and microwave oven. In the far corner at the center of the picture is a rack with towels, and a small window behind it. There is a door which leads to the toilet. To the extreme right, the washing machine is visible. The floor is pink and white tiles.

A photo of a small Japanese apartment. To the left is a door which leads to the toilet. In the center of the photo is a small washing machine and the door to the shower stall. The right half of the picture is dominated by a bunk bed, which has pillows and bedding stacked on it. The floor is white and pink tiles. The wallpaper is white with hearts outlined in black.

A photo of a small Japanese apartment, facing one corner. In that corner is a mini-fridge and microwave oven, and a small window behind them. To the left is a big screen TV mounted to the wall. Beneath that is a small dining table with two chairs, and a box of cleaning supplies. Part of a bunk bed is just visible to the extreme left. To the right is the kitchen area. There is a counter with a sink, and shelves above and cabinets below. There is an electric kettle on the counter. The floor is pink and white tiles. The wallpaper is white with panels from various Snoopy comic strips.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 13 2024 (3 of 3)

This scene went on for twenty minutes! The girl was absolutely indefatigable, but so was the mother. It was like watching a video game: "Little Girl vs. The Mysterious Agents of the Underworld!" lol We wondered how long it would take the mother to catch her kid, and eventually she did. 😄

#福岡 #日本 #Fukuoka

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 13 2024 (2 of 3)

Later we sat in #KegoPark. There was a girl, maybe three years old, running all over the park at top speed. We were concerned because we didn't see a parent and were afraid she might run into traffic. Then we spotted the mother, who was wearing a floor length black trenchcoat with a massive hood covering her head. She followed the girl slowly but relentlessly. #警固公園

#福岡 #日本 #Fukuoka

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 13 2024 (1 of 3)

A morning trip to the Japanese Garden at #OhoriPark, which was quite beautiful. There were signs saying that some kind of "show" occurred at regular intervals. I was afraid it would be some cheesy "dancing fountains" with colored lights and pop music. instead, thick clouds of mist were released into the park. I wish we could've stayed all day; it would've been interesting to see how the mist looked with the sun at different angles. #大濠公園

#福岡 #日本 #Fukuoka

Photo of a park on a sunny morning. In the foreground is a stone path, with two trees. Just behind the trees is a thick mist, almost like fog. In the background is a line of trees.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 12 2024

Mostly ran errands in preparation for our departure from Fukuoka. The plan had been to live about 2.5 months in F as an experiment. What was it like to be a resident in Japan than just a tourist? The rest of our time in Japan would be traveling to other cities to see friends before returning to #Portland.

We each shipped one suitcase to our hotel in Tokyo (via #Sagawa) so we wouldn't have to lug them to our intermediate destinations. #佐川急便

#福岡 #日本 #Fukuoka

Two suitcases, the kind with little wheels, sitting on a train platform in Japan. There is a medium size red one on the left, a large olive green one on the right.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 11 2024

A trip to #Dazaifu! #太宰府

#福岡 #日本 #Fukuoka

A wide pedestrian boulevard in Japan. There are souvenir shops and restaurants lining it on either side, and the occasional tree. There are many people walking around. There is a series of Shinto shrine gates receding into the distance.

A long pedestrian tunnel. There is a standard walkway as well as moving walkways. The tunnel is vividly lit in red.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 10 2024 (part 2 of 2)

To see the previous night walks:

Nov 27 2023
https://mastodon.cloud/@joejoetom/113558679834889840

Dec 11 2023
https://mastodon.cloud/@joejoetom/113638437480715737

Dec 30 2023
https://mastodon.cloud/@joejoetom/113745572712618789

#福岡 #日本 #Fukuoka

A set of industrial buildings at night. In the background are buildings about five stories tall, painted in brick or mustard. In front of them are smaller buildings, illuminated by green or red lights. There are several sections of catwalks stretching in different directions.

Some industrial buildings at night. In the center is a white building about six stories tall, with a few windows, with Japanese writing on the top floor and the third floor. There is a large hopper to the right. To the left is a building in silhouette. There are catwalks and stairways zigzagging between the center and left buildings, and cables crossing the photo diagonally.

Two industrial hoppers at night, perhaps five stories tall. Each hopper has a cylindrical section with a conic section beneath. There are ladders and walkways encircling the hoppers. Cables cross the photo at a slight horizontal angle. The sky is illuminated by city lights.

#AYearAgoInJapan

JAN 10 2024 (part 1 of 2)

My 4th and final tour of the industrial areas at night, the #Nanotsu area. This area was smaller than the others and not all parts were accessible. It was raining on and off. The narrow streets and eerie light pollution gave it a claustrophobic, dystopian feel. #那の津

#福岡 #日本 #Fukuoka

A night photo of a boat with what appears to be an industrial crane on its deck. The body of the crane housing is red on one side, white on the other. There is a stairway leading to a platform above the crane housing, with long cables leading from the platform. The boat is docked by a body of water. Across the water is a city landscape, including what looks like the top quarter of the Eiffel Tower lit in red and white.

An industrial building at night. It is four stories tall with windows all around. The ground level is painted red, and the other stories are white. Most of the windows are dim, but the top level is fully illuminated. There are cables criss crossing in front of the building.

An industrial building at night, which appears to be about five stories tall. There is a corrugated section with some windows on each floor. Next to this section are several silos with Japanese writing on them. A catwalk stretches from the corrugated section to the foreground, above the point of view of the photographer.

An industrial building at night. It appears to be about five stories tall with a few windows on each floor. Most of the building is wrapped in scaffolding. The night sky is illuminated by city lights, giving it a fog like appearance. The scaffolding gives the building a dystopian feel.

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