japandrew's log!

Back in England!

2007-11-23T02:28:00.000-08:00

Hello and thank you to anyone who is still checking my blog!

I am now back in England so I have finished my blog on my time in Japan.

Thanks to everyone for checking my new posts all the time!

Matane!

The A-bomb blast dome

2007-07-01T21:27:00.015-07:00

On an overcast Sunday afternoon we headed first to the famous site of the Atomic bomb detonation. The epicentre monument is actually nothing more than a sign but less than a hundrend metres away is the blast dome which survived due to its proximity to the centre of the blast.

Peace Park statues

2007-07-01T21:27:00.014-07:00

The top two images are of a memorial for a girl who died of cancer caused by radiation aged 10. Before she died she attemped to make a thousand origami paper cranes which she believed would grant her wish to live. She only managed near to 700 but her efforts now inspire children to send in origami cranes from the world over.

Museum

2007-07-01T21:27:00.013-07:00

The museum near the A-bomb dome contained many sad, touching and inspiring artifacts. This watch was found stopped at the exact time of the blast. Beside the actual watch was this tragic Haiku.

Downpour outside the museum

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After visiting the museum near the peace park, the heavens opened.

Cool shopping centre sculpture

2007-07-01T21:27:00.011-07:00

A pidgeon crosses the moat to invade Carp Castle

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Carp Castle

2007-07-01T21:27:00.009-07:00

Hiroshima's Carp Castle was wiped out in the atomic blast but has been rebuilt as a museum. A samurai clothing section lets you play at being samurai in (very heavy) replica armour.

On the ferry to Miyajima Island!

2007-07-01T21:27:00.008-07:00

Deer on Miyajima

2007-07-01T21:27:00.007-07:00

One of the most appealing things about Miyajima island is the friendly and completley free roaming deer that populate the island and seem to get everywhere, from the beaches to the streets to the top of the highest mountain!

Giant rice spoon!

2007-07-01T21:27:00.006-07:00

Miyajima island is famous for its rice serving spoons.

!

2007-07-01T21:27:00.005-07:00

Itsukushima's 'torri' gate at high tide

2007-07-01T21:27:00.004-07:00

Two views from within the Itsukushima Shrine

2007-07-01T21:27:00.003-07:00

The Itsukushima Shrine is one of the few remaining structures not devastated when the bomb hit Hiroshima. At high tide the ocean comes in under the shrine.

A close encounter with the Itsukushima Shrine

2007-07-01T21:27:00.002-07:00

It was great to get so close to this giant arch. The people in the picture directly above are attempting to throw pebbles onto the lower rung of the arch. Doing this succesfully means your wish will come true (luckily I mangaged it after a few goes).

A return visit to the A-bomb dome

2007-07-01T21:27:00.001-07:00

This return visit was somewhat sunnier than the original. What had seemed a slightly depressing monument upon it's first viewing became much more hope inspiring when viewed literally in a different(much sunnier) light.

Two pictures from Shukkeien Garden

2007-07-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

Golden Week start - Shin Kiba

2007-05-09T01:25:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from my return visit to Shin Kiba and the excellent Tokyo Aquarium. The Karp flags are one of the traditional ways to celebrate Childrens Day which is the 5th of May here.

Rainbow Fountain in Shin Kiba

2007-05-09T01:22:00.000-07:00

Nagatoro trip - Golden Week

2007-05-09T01:10:00.000-07:00

At the far reaches of my train line lies Nagatoro, a beautiful little spot with a great river and a prehistoric rocky landscape.

Nagatoro river rafting

2007-05-09T00:51:00.000-07:00

The biggest draw in Nagatoro is probably the river raft ride, the boats can only travel one way up the route so at the top of the river the boats are collected by a large truck and taken back downstream.

Nagatoro (mini) Natural History Museum

2007-05-09T00:43:00.000-07:00

After seeing and riding on the river we took a trip down to the nearby museum which had a variety of stuffed animals and fossils recovered from the nearby area, most impressive was the giant shark model in the entranceway.

Nagatoro Shrine(or is that temple?)

2007-05-09T00:38:00.000-07:00

This Shrine is a good couple of thousand years old I think, the top picture is of the archway at the entrance, the gorgeous detail in gold was virtually unnoticable until you looked closely.

Sugar Monkey!

2007-05-09T00:35:00.000-07:00

I thought this plastic monkey atop a sugar dispenser was cool!

Two BW Tokyo pics (doughnut connection)

2007-05-09T00:29:00.000-07:00

The top pic is from my local Mr Donuts on the rainy Sunday that followed Golden Week, the second picture is from the giant Times Square building in Shinjuku, at the top of the bridge is the queue for Japan's first Krispy Kremes. The waiting time at Krispy Kremes stood at two hours as this pic was taken, Japanese people sure love their doughnuts!

Toei Animation Museum

2007-05-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

Somehow this small museum had eluded me in the past despite being a mere two stops away from my home. Toei animation is the home of such Anime classics as Fist Of The North Star and Dragonball Z.

The museum itself was pretty small but there was no cost to get in. As well as lots of art there were some nice models too, see above .

Hibarigaoka view

2007-04-20T02:40:00.000-07:00

Shibuya city view

2007-04-20T02:38:00.000-07:00

Samurai helmet on display for Boys Day

2007-04-20T02:35:00.000-07:00

50: A spot of gift shopping in Akihabra on a Sunday

2007-04-20T02:30:00.000-07:00

Akihabra building

2007-04-20T02:25:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Disney Sea

2007-03-17T04:35:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I'm back with a set of pics from my recent trip to Tokyo Disney Sea. It is a short ride from Tokyo Disney Land and seems to cater to a slightly older demographic. Each of the themed areas is recreated in an excellently atmospheric way, see the pictures below!

Bye for now, enjoy the pictures.

Andrew

Disney Sea Image Collection:

2007-03-17T04:29:00.000-07:00

Two images from the Indiana Jones Themed area:

2007-03-17T04:26:00.000-07:00

Robo goofy statue

2007-03-17T04:24:00.000-07:00

'New York' Broadway and Tower Of Terror!

2007-03-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

'Venice' fish carving

2007-03-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

Venice anyone?

2007-03-17T04:11:00.000-07:00

Surreal: a cats head stuck to a whales upper mouth

2007-03-17T04:08:00.000-07:00

Two images of the Aladdin themed area

2007-03-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

Back again by popular demand!

2007-03-09T02:53:00.000-08:00

Sunset Station Shin-Tokorozawa

2007-03-09T02:51:00.000-08:00

Sunset in Hibarigaoka (my town)

2007-03-01T23:59:00.000-08:00

Bike Ride In Hibarigaoka's Streets

2007-03-01T23:56:00.000-08:00

Foxes watch over their shrine in Shakuji Koen

2007-02-16T04:12:00.000-08:00

Duck II

2007-02-16T04:09:00.000-08:00

Duck in Shakuji Koen 1

2007-02-16T04:01:00.000-08:00

Sepia trees in a small park near my place

2007-02-16T03:58:00.000-08:00

Long time no see!

2007-02-04T00:51:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. Sorry it's been such a long time for me to update my blog, I had some real trouble with the program I was using to upload the pictures.

Anyway, thanks for checking again. In this update you can see a couple of pictures from December in Japan and some pictures form my Christmas break back in the UK.

Expect some more recent pictures soon (honest).

Oh and one other change is that the pictures can now be viewed in a very Large size if you click on them.

Catch you soon.

Andrew

Sunset in Southampton's shoppiing centre

2007-02-04T00:47:00.000-08:00

Foggy Bexleyheath(top) and sunset tree (bottom)

2007-02-04T00:42:00.000-08:00

Ikebukero in December

2007-02-04T00:40:00.000-08:00

December in Shinjuku's park

2007-02-04T00:33:00.000-08:00

2006-11-26T21:25:00.001-08:00

Shinjuku - New Times Square view.

2006-11-26T21:25:00.000-08:00

List of rules and regulations from an internet cafe. Number 6 is my favourite!

2006-11-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

Coins In The Mouth

2006-11-26T21:23:00.000-08:00

2006-11-26T21:22:00.000-08:00

Tree & Shrine

2006-11-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

Close Up Tree

2006-10-24T23:21:00.001-07:00

Crow in the treetops.

2006-10-24T23:21:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I recently visited Tokyo Disneyland for the first time. It was a good time and the Halloween decor gave it an interesting vibe. Check out the pics below....

2006-10-24T23:19:00.000-07:00

The magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland. The large castle (much bigger than it's cousin in Euro Disney) is still being constucted, hence the missing towers on the left side).

2006-10-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

2006-10-24T23:16:00.000-07:00

2006-10-24T23:15:00.000-07:00

Tinkerbell atop the Neverland ride

2006-10-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

Star Tours robots

2006-10-24T23:12:00.000-07:00

Halloween in Disneyland

2006-09-27T02:14:00.000-07:00

TOKYO GAME SHOW!! Everybody knows Japan is famous for its video game industry and this week I had the chance to visit its most prestigous show.

2006-09-27T02:12:00.000-07:00

Witness the sheer mass of bodies that was the Tokyo Game Show!

2006-09-27T02:10:00.000-07:00

Chun Li and Bison from the Streetfighter game series. One of the interesting sub-elements of the game show is the posing area for game fantatics whol love to dress up as their favourite characters, this very Japanese phenomenon is known as cosplay ('costume play' I guess.

2006-09-27T02:07:00.000-07:00

Two friends posing with a cosplay girl (this character has a tea can in her hair for some reason??).

2006-09-27T02:06:00.000-07:00

Posing for the cameras.

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??? more cosplay craziness.

2006-09-27T02:05:00.000-07:00

Friends hanging out at the game show.

2006-09-27T02:04:00.000-07:00

Temple wave. The top of a Taiwanese style temple in Shinjuk Gyoen.

2006-09-27T02:03:00.000-07:00

Spiders are in season at Shinjuku Gyoen park.

2006-09-27T02:02:00.000-07:00

Giant mass of spiderwebs, argh!

2006-09-20T00:10:00.000-07:00

Up in the clouds. The DoCoMo tower in Shinjuku.

2006-09-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

Tropical fish gives me the eye.

2006-09-15T00:04:00.001-07:00

Japanese spider crab and friend.

2006-09-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

Dreadlocked penguins in a Shinagawa aquarium.

2006-09-15T00:03:00.001-07:00

Dreadlock penguin.

2006-09-15T00:03:00.000-07:00

Sunlit road in Hibarigaoka.

2006-09-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

A shot of my home station Hibarigaoka as seen from my local school on the sixth floor.

2006-08-14T02:01:00.000-07:00

Hokkaido Pictures!! We just got back on Saturday and I mangaged to sort through most of the pictures. Hokkaido is a beautiful place to visit and a nice relaxing alternative to the city. After two and a half days we also made our way to Sapporo.

2006-08-14T01:58:00.000-07:00

Day one (we arrived late the day before) at the lavender farm in Furano. A hot day but a colourful place to start the holiday.

2006-08-14T01:55:00.000-07:00

Strangely delicious - lavender flavoured ice-cream.

2006-08-14T01:54:00.000-07:00

Flowers at the Lavender Farm.

2006-08-14T01:53:00.000-07:00

Bell and arch in Furano.

2006-08-14T01:52:00.000-07:00

Hotel.

2006-08-14T01:51:00.000-07:00

View from the hotel in Furano.

2006-08-14T01:50:00.000-07:00

These trees (as seen from another angle) are bizarrely used as the logo for popular Japanese cigarette maker MILD 7.

2006-08-14T01:48:00.001-07:00

2006-08-14T01:48:00.000-07:00

Dragonfly. A good test for my new camera's macro lens and shutter speed.

2006-08-14T01:46:00.001-07:00

Old tractor.

2006-08-14T01:46:00.000-07:00

Toddler and sleeping polar bear. I think the weather was far too hot for the bears. Lucky for them, the day after we visited they were treated to a delivery of real snow and ice.

2006-08-14T01:44:00.000-07:00

Penguin enclosure (sans penguins).

2006-08-14T01:43:00.001-07:00

2006-08-14T01:43:00.000-07:00

A tunnel in the penguin enclosure put you right in the birds midst.

2006-08-14T01:42:00.000-07:00

Penguin chorus.