 Most viewed |
73 views
|
|
Lots of carp swim in the spring water.73 views
|
|
The place name "Tarui" got its name from this famous well spewing crystal-clear water. Haiku poet Basho also once sat here and composed a poem.73 views
|
|
Main torii with shinkansen tracks behind. The soundproofing wall along the tracks hides the trains passing by.73 views
|
|
After entering the Romon Gate, you see this Dance Stage. 舞殿73 views
|
|
Romon Gate73 views
|
|
Hanrinkaku 攀鱗閣（西町）一谷嫩軍記（いちのたにふたばぐんき）73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Tanabata decoration made of plastic PET bottles.73 views
|
|
Chuo-dori boulevard in Nihonbashi 日本橋 中央通り73 views
|
|
Monument marking Tokyo's fish market during the Edo Period before it was destroyed by the 1923 earthquake and moved to Tsukiji in 1935.73 views
|
|
There were 12 races this day, and before each race the horses were paraded around the paddock for all to see.73 views
|
|
On the right is the paddock. (More paddock photos later.)73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
View of Ikaho from Machi-no-Eki, an exhibition room and ropeway station. Ikaho's first Hawaiian Festival was held here.73 views
|
|
View of Ikaho from Mt. Uenoyama.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Kondo Hall carvings73 views
|
|
On the right of the Kancho-do is the three-story pagoda (Sanju-no-to). It was moved from Fushimi Castle in Kyoto in 1601 by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Important Cultural Property. 三重塔73 views
|
|
Nagahama Castle73 views
|
|
Niagara Falls, a crowd pleaser.73 views
|
|
Meanwhile, they had a good number of fireworks-shooting torches.73 views
|
|
Next, they had some great fireworks in the sky and everybody watched.73 views
|
|
Inside the former primary school.73 views
|
|
About the former primary school. This is only part of the school buildings that existed.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Mt. Ibuki and the entire shinkansen whizzing by.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
The Hokule'a visited Yokohama from Hawaii in 2007.73 views
|
|
On the first day, the dancing is held from 6 pm to 9 pm. (Opening ceremony at 5:30 pm.) On the second day, it is from 6 pm to 8:40 pm.73 views
|
|
三鷹飛粋連73 views
|
|
Kokubunji-ren from Kokubunji. 国分寺連（国分寺）73 views
|
|
Kokubunji-ren from Kokubunji. 国分寺連（国分寺）73 views
|
|
The 32nd Kita-Urawa Awa Odori was held on Sept. 5, 2009 from 6 pm to 9 pm. About 11 awa odori dance troupes participated. Most of them from Saitama.73 views
|
|
A school marching band starts off the festivities.73 views
|
|
Another one marches on.73 views
|
|
Lots of local children in Kita-Urawa Aho-ren. 北浦和阿呆連73 views
|
|
|
73 views
|
|
Statue of Mogami Yoshiaki who was the daimyo lord of Yamagata in the late 16th century and early 17th century. Statue constructed in 1977. 最上義光73 views
|
|
View of Ninomaru Higashi Otemon Gate's bridge.73 views
|
|
In 1971, it became the museum that it is today. Free admission. Enter the building in the back. Open 9 am to 4:30 pm. Closed in late Dec. and early Jan.73 views
|
|
Prizes to be awarded.73 views
|
|
After the ring-entering ceremony, the men remained on the ring and performed the sumo odori dance accompanied by sumo jinku singing.73 views
|
|
Pregame entertainment by the Hannaryz cheerleaders.73 views
|
|
Bobby Nash #33 goes for 3 points.73 views
|
|
Joho Masashi #31 and Iwasa Jun #5 were former teammates with Tokyo Apache. 73 views
|
|
Fujiwara Takamichi for a free throw.73 views
|
|
Wara73 views
|
|
Looks like the cheerleader uniforms can be called "hannari." Although I prefer shorts or skirts on cheerleaders.73 views
|
|
Iwasa Jun wants the ball from Fujiwara.73 views
|
|
Reda73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Inside Kishiwada Castle tower is a modern museum.73 views
|
|
Inside the former bank building in Imazu. A nice place to rest. Exhibition panels explain about Vories.73 views
|
|
Minakuchi Christian Church73 views
|
|
Looking toward Nyotai from Miyukigahara.73 views
|
|
Around the cable car station below the mountain, the fall leaves were very nice.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Sign says, "Keep our town beautiful."73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
As this runner indicates, it was a freezing-cold day. It rained all morning and we even had slushy snow at one point. But it wasn't so windy nor stormy. 73 views
|
|
Mac user?73 views
|
|
Katsuura has a scenic coastline. This is the Pacific Ocean.73 views
|
|
Squirrel made of old man's beard lichen.73 views
|
|
Fireworks. (In Japanese, fireworks are literally called "fire flowers" or hanabi.73 views
|
|
Show's orchid queen was Yonekura Kyoko, an actress.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Atami Sun Beach is popular in summer.73 views
|
|
Ferry73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Ray Schafer dunks one and thrills the crowd.73 views
|
|
There are about 190 cherry trees along this road.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Model of Tokyo Skytree inside the Tokyo Sky Tree Info Plaza.73 views
|
|
Meanwhile, the old Tokyo Tower will lose broadcast customers and see a great drop in income.73 views
|
|
Many of the mikoshi are for children. The mikoshi come from smaller shrines in the area related to Hyozu Taisha.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
|
|
Haiden Hall of Sakata Shinmeigu Shrine. 坂田神明宮73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
The main thoroughfare lined with gingko trees which turn color in autumn.73 views
|
|
Girls' shower room has pink curtains.73 views
|
|
Michigan boat at Otsu Port. I would call this boat suited for spring and fall. The open-air design can make it too hot or too cold if you don't opt to pay extra to relax in the air-conditioned rooms.73 views
|
|
Seta-no-Karahashi Bridge had four bamboo poles indicating where the mikoshi (portable shrine) boats will pass under. These photos were taken on Aug. 17, 2010, a very hot day. MAP73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Other boats follow. They all proceeded to the shrine's Otabisho near the Nango sluice on Seta River. A Shinto ceremony would be performed there before they returned back to Seta Karahashi Bridge at 8 pm.73 views
|
|
Entrance to Rakujuen Garden, a short walk from Mishima Station's South Exit. Across the street is the Mishima Tourist Info Office where you can pick up pamphlets and ask for directions.73 views
|
|
Pelican Fountain.73 views
|
|
Keep off the grass. This is actually a German-style sunken garden.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Crane water fountain at Kumogata Pond in Hibiya Park. This is Japan's third oldest water fountain sculpture.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
One corner of Hibiya Park is occupied by the Hibiya Kokaido, an outdoor concert venue. 日比谷公会堂73 views
|
|
After you exit Honmachi arcade, you see Masumida Shrine across the street.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Stall selling charms.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Beyond Hakuunbashi Bridge, the moat goes to Kawara Roof Tile Museum and the moat boat dock. The cherry trees also stop, but there a few more on the far end of the most.73 views
|
|
But there was another torch to be set afire. This one was to be the climax. They would light this torch while it is still leaning sideways, then they gradually make it vertical as it burns.73 views
|
|
Nemonogatari-no-Sato (Bedtime Story Town) momument. 寝物語の里73 views
|
|
Hiroshige's woodblock print of Moriyama-juku (68th post town on the Nakasendo) from his Kisokaido series. Tea houses in spring.73 views
|
|
June 11, 2011 (Day 8): Rowing from Moriyama to Otsu (Seta River). Shiga Prefecture is one of Japan's 47 prefectures. A prefecture is similar to a US state like California, Texas, etc.73 views
|
|
Rowers casting off at Seta Rowing Club.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Arriving at the boat landing for the Scenic Water Channel boat ride (Suigo Meguri) in Omi-Hachiman.73 views
|
|
About the temple's sumo connection.73 views
|
|
Tokaido Road: Otsu73 views
|
|
Malasada shop at Hirakata Koen Station. Didn't have time to check it out, but it looked more like a doughnut shop.73 views
|
|
It was a gourmet battle, so we could vote for our favorite B-class food by throwing away the wooden chopsticks in the these trash bins for each food booth. They weighed these bags of chopsticks and the heaviest won the battle.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Walking along the quiet street in Yumoto Spa.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Camellia73 views
|
|
Cherry trees along the Dankazura path to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Bridge over Genpei Pond in a Japanese garden full of cherry blossoms.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Petrified rocks73 views
|
|
Nitenmon Gate at Myohonji temple, Kamakura.73 views
|
|
Soshido Hall at Myohonji temple, Kamakura. 祖師堂73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Yarimizu stream feeding water to the pond.73 views
|
|
Site of the temple bell or befry.73 views
|
|
About the Jizo Bosatsu statue.73 views
|
|
Jogyodo Hall, Motsuji temple, Hiraizumi.73 views
|
|
About Jogyodo Hall.73 views
|
|
Jogyodo Hall worships Amida Buddha.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Bust of novelist Tayama Katai.73 views
|
|
About the old castle site.73 views
|
|
Path to Geku. 第一鳥居口参道73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
JMSDF Kure Museum is open 9 am to 5 pm (enter by 4:30 pm). Closed Tue. (open if a national holiday and closed on the Wed. instead). Free admission. Rudder and propeller of the Akishio submarine.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Captain's quarters. Outfitted with some communications gear at his bedside.73 views
|
|
Pilot seats.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
First they use long poles to prop up the giant kite.73 views
|
|
This is the last flight of several that day.73 views
|
|
My video of shot on May 5, 2013 of kids visiting the kite museum and pasting wishing stickers.73 views
|
|
Across the moat from Hikone Castle is Umoregi-no-ya, a reclusive house where Lord Ii Naosuke lived and trained in various arts from age 17 to 32. 埋木舎73 views
|
|
Old word processors73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Entertainment stage at the main plaza.73 views
|
|
Hula dancers at Kumagaya Uchiwa Matsuri Festival.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Sugatani hot spring is famous for being a favorite of Ichi, the sister of feudal lord Oda Nobunaga and wife of Lord Azai Nagamasa in the 16th century. She lived in nearby Odani Castle.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Cherry blossom that blooms in Oct.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Path to Tayasu Gate (for Budokan) is lined with many cherries.73 views
|
|
Tayasu Gate73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Walk a little further to see more cherry blossoms along the Chidorigafuchi Moat.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Going through Niomon Gate which has a large paper lantern.73 views
|
|
The East Wing sells talismans.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Kameido Umeyashiki has a few shops and eateries and some entertainment during the wisteria festival.73 views
|
|
Power tiller73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
The only remaining original building of Okayama Castle.73 views
|
|
Fake food are popular souvenirs.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Kumamon73 views
|
|
Restaurant signs of all kinds73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Hakkei-tei73 views
|
|
About Rakurakuen Palace.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Ikaho Onsen is a well-known hot spring resort in Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture. It is on hilly terrain, near mountains, making it cooler than Tokyo in summer.73 views
|
|
Shigaraki Fire Festival: Burned hot and high. It got quite hot even at this distance. I thought my camera would melt.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
My video of 2016 Koenji Awa Odori (56 troupes) 第60回高円寺阿波おどり 56連の総集編 73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
After I paid the admission and went in, there was a rack of pamphlets about the castle in various languages. As usual, I picked up the English and Japanese versions. 73 viewsThen this Japanese lady suddenly came up to me and said in English, "Hello, are you going to visit the castle?" I said, "Yes." She offered to be my volunteer guide. I told her that I could understand Japanese, but would be glad to have a guide anyway. So she guided me through the new palace and the castle tower for about 90 min. She serves as a volunteer guide once a week. I have to give my thumbs up to her and her volunteer group for being so hospitable to foreign visitors.
|
|
This American guy named Chris O'Neill is a member of Aichi's ninja troupe named "Tokugawa Ieyasu and Hattori Hanzo Ninja Squad" to promote tourism in the prefecture. 73 viewsThey perform at Nagoya Castle and elsewhere. He was selected from 200 applicants from 40 countries. I ran into him when while exiting the castle. Too bad I didn't catch their show. He was very friendly. He's very good at doing these ninja stunts.
I have to compliment Aichi for forming such a PR troupe and including an amusing foreigner to boot. I'm sure they are getting their money's worth in terms of goodwill and good impressions on tourists.
|
|
This photo was taken in July 2016 showing the main entrance (called "Kuruma Yose" 車寄 reserved for the castle lord and other VIPs) of the magnificent reconstructed Honmaru Goten Palace.73 viewsAbove the entrance is an architectural feature called "karahafu" which is a hump-shaped gable commonly seen on important buildings such as castles, temples, and palaces.
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Would you believe that there are plans to reconstruct this main castle tower too? Using traditional materials and methods. Gonna cost untold billions. 73 viewsIf Nagoya pulls this off, it would bring many more tourists to the city and boost Nagoya Castle's status. A worthwhile longterm investment.
|
|
Southwest corner turret. Also called the Hitsujisaru Turret, it has the same size and construction as the southeast corner turret. During 2010–2014, it was dismantled and repaired. 西南隅櫓73 views
|
|
About the Aomatsuba Incident.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
The float pullers enter the shrine grounds for a short prayer.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Entrance to the special exhibition room.73 views
|
|
Bon Dance Panel 7 - Iwakuni Ondo, a Case Study73 viewsOf the many bon dance songs used in Hawai’i, there are songs that remained while others disappeared over the years as the times changed. What were the factors that caused the songs to remain or disappear?
Iwakuni Ondo is one of the three bon dance music genres that remain in Hawai’i. It is performed live with the singer on the yagura tower holding up an umbrella and singing a song having seven-and-five syllables. Many of the songs expressed the passionate emotions of the Japanese people. The songs included Japanese historical episodes and war stories such as Nikudan Sanyushi (Three Human Bullets 肉弾三勇士, about three heroic Japanese soldiers who sacrificed themselves while blowing up enemy lines in Shanghai in 1932) or Sakuma Taii Monogatari (Sakuma Teicho 佐久間艇長 or 佐久間大尉物語 about Tsutomu Sakuma, the brave commander who died when his submarine that sank off Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1910). Such songs are still popular in Hawai’i today and the yonsei and gosei have learned the story even if they don't understand Japanese. A taiko drummer at the bottom of the yagura accompanies the singer and sets the beat. The dancers dance clockwise, spinning their arms elegantly.
Most immigrants from Yamaguchi Prefecture came from specific regions so they had a strong hometown affinity among themselves. From the early 1900s, they formed hometown associations according to their village or town. These associations were later unified by the Yamaguchi Prefecture Kenjinkai Association formed in 1926. To reinforce their hometown unity, they held picnics, movie screenings, concerts, stage performances, and bon dances.
After the war, new Iwakuni Ondo songs were created. They were about Hawai’i. One song called "Nisei Soldiers" (ああ第442部隊) was about the 442nd RCT composed by Mune Ozaki to memorialize them. This song was often sung during the nisei's heyday in Hawai’i.
Panel photos: Top is James Kunichika singing Iwakuni Ondo on the yagura at a bon dance in 2001. Bottom photo is dancers dancing to the Iwakuni Ondo at a bon dance.
|
|
Sodegaura Bus Terminal, bus stop 5.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
YouTube video of us singing Lake Biwa Rowing Song at Imazu Port. 5 min.73 views
|
|
Asahi Shimbun article (April 17, 2017) about our Lake Biwa Rowing Song mini concert held in Imazu on April 16, 2017. 73 views
|
|
Oguchi Taro exhibit.73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
Sign reads, "Izumo Taisha" (出雲大社). The shrine's officially named "Izumo Oyashiro" written with the same kanji.73 viewsIzumo Taisha worships Okuninushi (大国主大神), the Shinto god of marriage and Kotoamatsukami, the very first Shinto gods born in heaven even before Japan was created.
|
|
Closest train station to Izumo Taisha Shrine is Izumo Taisha-mae Station on the Ichibata Taisha Line. There are also buses running from Izumo-shi Station. 出雲大社前駅73 views
|
|
Sign says we are not to walk along center path in order to protect the roots of the pine trees. I'm also told that this center path is reserved for the gods visiting the shrine..73 views
|
|
73 views
|
|
| 71459 files on 284 page(s) |
 |
|
145 | |
|
|
