Most viewed - JAPAN PHOTOS by Philbert Ono

Most viewed

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The middle of the bridge has this little deck protruding outward.31 views

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A Shinto shrine next to the castle.31 views

Deep well (50 meters) named Toyo-iwa-no-i. 豊磐の井31 views

Top floor of the castle tower.31 views

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About the Akaganemon Bansho guardhouse. 銅門脇番所31 views

Setsubun oni.31 views

Kawara roof oni ornaments. Oni-gawara.31 views

A great way to see Ine is by boat (called "sea taxi"). Small boats offer 30-min tours for only ¥1,000 per person. This boat was the "Kameshima Maru" (亀島丸) operated by Toshikazu Yamada. He pointed out the boat houses and location31 viewsThere's no cruise schedule so you can just call and set a time for a cruise. There must be at least two people for a cruise to depart. http://kameshimamaru.server-shared.com/index.html

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They were Redspotted Grouper (アコウ、キジハタ), a valuable fish delicious as sashimi. They are feeding these fish until they get big enough for eating.31 views

Roof tile ornament of Ebisu, god of fishing.31 views

Across from Ineura Park is the new Ine Tourist Information Center on the 1st floor and a restaurant (Funaya Shokudo 舟屋食堂) on the second floor where we had lunch.31 views

About Ine and funaya.31 views

Ine also had a sake brewery called Mukai Shuzo Sake Brewery (向井酒造株式会社).31 views

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About Tateiwa Rock.31 views

Tateiwa Rock31 views

Inside Yoshimura Shouten. They have a small office space on the right, meeting room on the left, a fireproof kura storehouse in the back, and lots of floor space for textile merchandise.31 views

Inside their kura storehouse.31 views

Seal of approval on chirimen fabric. Although Yoshimura Shouten is mainly a wholesaler, they also sell fabrics to individuals.31 viewshttp://yoshimura-shouten.jp/

He even waved goodbye to us!31 views

View from my room.31 views

Since the ryokan celebrates the Showa Period (implied by the name "Shorenkan"), he aimed to make the bath have a Showa/Taisho Period feel. 31 viewsIt was a tough job because they had to haul everything in and out manually. No accessible road so they had to roll the wooden barrel tub to the building manually (it couldn’t be rectangular). This bath was built during June to Oct. 2003.

Breakfast.31 views

Very high brick wall.31 views

Ceiling of the huge Maizuru World Brick Museum.31 views

This is the Atago, a guided missile destroyer.31 views

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This home housed a chirimen factory and these windows let in light and air, but kept out prying eyes from passersby in the old days (when people were shorter I guess). Chirimen makers had secrets to keep.31 views

Inside the huge Maizuru World Brick Museum. It was used to store torpedoes made by munitions factories in Maizuru. Restaurant on the groundfloor, museum on the upper level.31 views

Kobe Motomachi shopping arcade across from Daimaru Dept. Store.31 views

Well before 5 pm, people already lined up and waited to see Kobe Luminarie. "Luminarie" means "illuminations" in Italian.31 views

The line was long and crowded, but it moved along quite well.31 views

Entrance called the Frontone (フロントーネ). It looks like a cathedral. Very impressive.31 views

Tunnel of lights called the Galleria Coperta (ガレリアコペルタ). It goes on for 50 meters. They are all LED lights, 510,000 of them.31 views

Kobe Luminarie's Galleria Coperta (ガレリアコペルタ) in Dec. 2018. Reminds me of the Galleria in Milan. Distinctly Italian. 31 views

After the Galleria, you end up at a large park called Higashi Yuenchi (東遊園地). The park has more lights. Very impressive. 31 views

Flanked by twin Pisa-like towers, the center had the Cassa Armonica (カッサ・アルモニカ).31 views

Booth promoting Rugby World Cup in 2019. Kobe is one of the venues.31 views

Kimono shop.31 views

Tobacco shop selling cigarettes. This kind of shop will likely become obsolete in Japan.31 views

The official website provides this very basic map of Toyosu Market. There are three blocks/buildings all connected to each other and to Shijo-mae Station via pedestrian overpasses.31 viewsThe red lines on this map show the pedestrian overpass to each block. All three buildings have a long tourist corridor with picture windows to see inside the market.

When the market is open (closed on Sun.), tourists can tour the three Toyosu Market buildings from 5 am to 5 pm. However, there's not much market action after late morning.

Besides the markets, there are sushi restaurants. The problem with this map is that it doesn't show where the restaurants are. They are in Blocks 6 and 7. Very crowded though.

Block 7 is where the tuna auctions are held, but the public won't be able to see the auction area until next Jan. But if you come here by 6 am or so, you should be able to see some tuna being hauled away on the floor. This block also has some restaurants.

Block 6 is the largest building of the three. This is where the sold tuna is carved up. This building also has a large sushi restaurant area that is not indicated on this map. The upper floor also has little shops (Uogashi Yokocho Market) for people who work at the market. They sell knives, tea, etc., and also sell to the public, but the shops close by 2 pm or so.

Block 5 is the fruit and vegetable market. Least crowded. No restaurants inside.

Hand signals to indicate numbers at auctions.31 views

Otori Taisha (officially named "Otori Jinja") shrine is dedicated to Yamato Takeru (日本武尊), a very famous, legendary warrior prince. This is the headquarters shrine of all Otori shrines (大鳥神社) in Japan. 31 viewsShort walk from Otori Station (鳳駅) on the JR Hanwa Line that connects to Tennoji on the Osaka Loop Line.

Getting closer the shrine on the left.31 views

Especially popular was the omikuji.31 views

They paused here first.31 views

And they are off!! Good luck to them all!!31 views

Bus to pick up runners.31 views

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Kikuchi's pottery.31 views

Silica Glass Museum is on a hill with great views of the city. Also offers hands-on glass-making lessons. http://www.studiosilica.com/31 views

An-chan on a cup of sake.31 views

Akatsukien onsen minshuku dining room where we had monkfish hot pot. ¥14,000/night including dobujiru. 民宿暁園31 views

Hanazono Shrine priest.31 views

In the hotel lobby, Hina Matsuri dolls displayed for Girl's Day in early March.31 views

Another part of the Taikan house. Very aesthetic.31 views

This is a typical room in the hotel's modern tower. Twin beds.31 views

Next morning, breakfast in a large banquet hall.31 views

View from the hotel's modern tower.31 views

View of Rokkakudo from the hotel's modern tower.31 views

Hotel gift shop had this noren curtain with Rokkakudo design.31 views

Corner room.31 views

One of the most elegant Japanese-style hotels I've ever seen. Precious artwork everywhere. It's like staying in an art museum.31 views

Manhole card collecting is becoming popular in Japan. Shiga has 8 different manhole cards. You need to go to each city and know where to get the card. 31 viewshttp://www.gk-p.jp/mhcard/?pref=25#mhcard_result

The bow has this shed for the portable shrine to be loaded on. Festival was designated as a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property (重要無形民俗文化財) in 2017.31 views

White ropes to pull the boat on the road.31 views

The festival started to be held every 5 years from 1975. The boat has to be repaired after each festival and the money could not be secured more often than every 5 years.31 viewsThe boat is normally displayed at a fishing museum named Yo-soro (よう・そろー) in Kita-Ibaraki.

The festival used to be held by local fishermen, Now held by Hitachi-Otsu Ofune Matsuri Preservation Society (常陸大津の御船祭保存会) with most of the men being fishermen or their descendants.31 views

The festival participants belong to different fishermen's groups indicated by their shirt. They are from a group called Fudo-maru.31 views

Most boat musicians are local kids.31 views

When dragging the boat, the men have to run over the wooden pallets and take care not to trip and fall.31 views

This corner is the most crowded spot. Many people leave after seeing this corner turn.31 views

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Rugby World Cup 2019 was held at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture. Argentina vs. USA on Oct. 9, 2019. Kumagaya Station greeted visitors with festival music played on ornate floats.31 views

Mt. Fuji in autumn with momiji maple leaves. Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture.31 views

Mt. Fuji at sunset. Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture.31 views

Mino Bridge over Nagara River. It has a wooden floor. It's being renovated so we couldn't cross it in Jan. 2019. Jumping off this bridge into the river can be fatal. 美濃橋31 views

Inside Ota Waki-Honjin secondary residence. 太田宿脇本陣隠居31 views

Large crowd sitting on the tarp and watching the departure ceremony. It's pretty hot under the sun.31 views

Kano-juku was the 53rd station or lodging/post town of the Nakasendo Road. Hiroshige's print of Kanō-juku was part of The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō series. Kano Castle can be seen. 31 viewsShort walk south of JR Gifu Station.

JR Kameyama Station platform and tracks.31 views

Even tour buses can easily drive on the beach. One of the coolest things I ever saw in Japan.31 viewsChirihama Nagisa Driveway in Hakui, Ishikawa.

Ōnaruto Bridge31 views

Omi-cho Market is full of seafood vendors.31 views

Omi-cho Market 31 views

Naruto whirlpool.31 viewsJNTO photo.

Rishiri as seen from Rebun.31 views

Kutsugata Port in Rishiri. 沓形港31 views

The boat operator narrates the sights along the river. There are even signs indicating the flora. This sign indicates a mangrove species called "me-hirugi" (メヒルギ) in Japanese or Kandelia obovata growing in brackish water.31 viewsIt has white, star-shaped flowers.

Ferns and tree ferns also grow at upstream. シダ類31 views

After hiking about 30 min., a scenic point gives a view of Mariyudu Falls. Series of three waterfalls. It empties into a round stream pool. "Mariyudu" means stream pool. マリゥドゥの滝31 views

Hiking back. The lady in front of me was wearing rubber slippers on this muddy trail. She kept slipping and almost falling. Her dainty feet got all muddy.31 views

Ideal roof tiles have minimal water absorption and shrinkage. Researchers in Okinawa are testing various clay samples and firing temperatures. 31 viewsThey found that the best clay is from the city of Nago, and that's where the clay came from for the Seiden's 1992 reconstruction. However today, there's not enough clay in Nago to make the necessary 55,000 red roof tiles for the new Seiden and other buildings.

So they scoured other locations on the island and found a good source. Now they are trying to figure out how much recycled red roof tile powder should be mixed into the new clay to make the new roof tiles. They want to somehow reuse the old roof tiles.

Cherry blossoms in Kinshi Park (near JR Kinshicho Station in Sumida-ku) and Tokyo Skytree.31 views

Aisho Town Museum.31 views

Boat named "Benten" going to Chikubushima.31 views

Approaching Chikubushima, Lake Biwa's most famous, historic, and sacred island. Takes about 30 min. from Nagahama Port. I've visited this island a number of times before, but this time I wanted to see something I'd never seen before.31 views

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Decorative wooden support assemblages called tokyo (枓栱) or dougong. They are now illuminated to show off the vibrant colors.31 views

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Karamon Gate door.31 views

Behind the Karamon Gate.31 views

Left side of the kaeru-mata.31 views

About the Kannon-do Hall.31 views

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A pair of tigers on the main roof.31 views

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"Interlaken" boat to Imazu at Chikubushima.31 views

Inside the new Imazu Port building. That's the ticket office.31 views

Old tourist PR posters for Lake Biwa. Great design. They don't make them like that anymore.31 views

From JR Yogo Station on the JR Hokuriku Line, there's a view of Lake Yogo and the rice paddies before it. This is in April when farmers are preparing the soil for rice.31 views

Stone monuments at Lake Yogo swan maiden monument. Looks like poetry monuments.31 views

Swan maiden willow tree. Unknown how old the tree is.31 views

View from the western shore of Lake Yogo.31 views

JR Yogo Station train platform.31 views

Views while skiing on Niseko Annupuri, Hokkaido. ニセコアンヌプリ31 views

Closeup of a picture made with 126,840 colored toothpicks.31 views

Manhole in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture.31 views

Adoberry sweets, from Adogawa, Takashima.30 views

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This is the Omi Fair in 2012.30 views

Not as big or impressive as the Inari Shrine in Kyoto, but worth visiting.30 views

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Seibu Yagisawa Station30 views

About the keyaki cypress tree at Sojiji.30 views

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Tanashi Shrine's mikoshi portable shrines.30 views

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Cicada30 views

Koshinkan also has a small garden.30 views

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If you see a stray turtle, call.30 views

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Wheelchair winner30 views

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Minnie Mouse30 views

Hiko-nyan from Hikone, Shiga30 views

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Nemo30 views

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Spiderman30 views

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Kamakura wanting to be World Heritage Site30 views

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Pirate of the Caribbean30 views

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Santa Claus30 views

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At the promenade, they had this wrestling ring where three-time wrestling gold medalist Saori Yoshida gave a talk and demo to kids. 30 views

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Mural of Asakusa festivals at Asakusa Station.30 views

University Art Museum is part of the Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai), one of Japan's most venerated art universities.30 views

Toy train made of scrap metal. In the front is a caster wheel, perhaps from a chair.30 views

Pair of cranes made of scrap wood. There were other wooden sculptures of a lion, cow, snake, and boar, all from scrap wood.30 views

Covered bowl and chopsticks. Also see a list of Japanese-American and nikkei museums in Japan here..30 views

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Bird's eye view of Asakusa with Kaminarimon Gate (big red lantern) and Nakamise arcade.30 views

Nakamise30 views

Large crowd wait to enter Tokyo Big Sight to see the Tokyo Motor Show.30 views

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Toy cars30 views

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In front were two minor "idol" singers and a red oni. It was nice that they posted the names of the celebrities, but I didn't know any of them except one...30 views

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Near Ochanomizu Station is Yushima Seido, a Confucian temple.30 views

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Roof ornament30 views

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Statues of the Four Sages, Yan Hui, Zengzi, Kong Ji, and Mencius30 views

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Hijiri-bashi Bridge goes to Ochanomizu Station and Holy Resurrection Cathedral (Nicholai-do). See album here.30 views

Police on white motorcycle.e.30 views

The parade is also part of a traffic safety campaign. 30 views

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Local school band.30 views

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Shinagawa Mothers Association30 views

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Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin30 views

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This is a komuso, a Zen monk who went around playing the shakuhachi bamboo flute while wearing a basket on the head. This is how they meditated and begged. Ninja famously disguised themselves as komuso.30 views

Shinagawa Station on the Keihin Kyuko (Keikyu) Line.30 views

Sarue Onshi Park is a spacious local park with sakura cherry blossoms, azalea, and autumn leaves. Near Sumiyoshi Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line subway and Kinshicho Station.30 views

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Maybe about 300,000 spectators lined the streets from the train station to the temple.30 views

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During their stay in Tokyo, the Beatles were basically imprisoned in their hotel. But they managed to sneak out once or twice.30 views

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A company replicated the design of the JAL happi coats the Beatles wore. They were selling them at the exhibition so I bought one for ¥6500.30 views

Beatles T-shirt30 views

Nakano Broadway is a shopping complex with a lotta otaku (pop and underground culture) shops. Anime, manga, figurines, etc.30 viewsShort walk from JR Nakano Station.