Finally back home after a two-and-a-half week journey through Japan, specifically the Kansai region of Japan.
That being said, I can not just relax, I have so much to show! Just as a reference, this is what I came back with.
I only left with the black suitcase and backpack for reference. :P
Well, time to get unpacked!
Another Sunday, another trip, this time it is off to Osaka I go!
*yawn*
So, I am delighted to see that all the pictures I posted made it onto my website this morning. Sapporo was really a Winter Wonderland during the Sapporo Snow Festival. While there was not snow on every bit of ground, it was interesting to see the piles of snow one meter tall along the roadside.
I was able to see so much on that trip! Odori Park, Sapporo Tower, Sapporo Clock Tower, Susukino, Sapporo Factory, and the Zepp Sapporo Concert Hall! I really got my money’s worth!
I might as well say a few tidbits of each place while I am at it. Odori Park was the location of the Sapporo Snow Festival that was the reason why I went. This park is 1.5 kilometers long, terminates at the Sapporo Tower on its eastern end and Sapporo City Archive Museum on its western end. You could label Odori Park as Sapporo’s beltline, splitting Sapporo into northern and southern half. Sapporo Tower is Sapporo’s television broadcasting tower. In almost every large city in Japan, you can usually find a soaring tower near the center of the city that is run by Japan’s television broadcasters to give everyone in the city area a clear signal. Sapporo Tower reminds me strongly of Tokyo Tower, structured similarly to the Eiffel Tower but red in color.
The Sapporo Clock Tower is Sapporo’s oldest building, and is the symbol of Sapporo. It is a strictly Western style building that used to be a part of drill hall of the Sapporo Agricultural College, now Hokkaido University. The people of Sapporo lovingly call this clock tower Tokeidai, and it still works today! Susukino is another must-go destination for anyone visiting Sapporo. The largest entertainment district north of Tokyo in Japan, Susukino is the home field for many Japanese beers. Though it is not really a location of my taste, I was treated to Susukino’s Ice Festival, which is done in parallel with the Sapporo Snow Festival.
Finally, I ended my trip with a concert at Zepp Sapporo. While it is just another concert hall in Japan, I went to a special concert. I went to see Hatsune Miku, a digital idol. TL; DR, Hatsune Miku is a Vocaloid, an artificial voice synthesis program distributed by Yamaha. She has a large following all around the world, selling out concerts wherever she performs. How does a digital program perform live you ask? Quite simply with a “hologram”, but not an actual hologram, the technology used is a highly transparent plate specially designed to transmit light that is projected onto it from the back. However you understand the technology, Hatsune Miku truly appeared to be on stage, dancing and singing in perfect sync with the backup performers.
Well, I am still trying to work on getting my Akita onsen trip photos out, but I am running out of time before my trip off to the Kansai area tomorrow. I will be able to see Osaka, Okayama, Hiroshima, Himeji, Kobe, Nara, and Kyoto during this trip, so I am so excited I am not even certain what to pack! Hopefully I will be able to post photos and short writings as I go
Another weekend, another trip! This time, I am headed to the snowy area of central Akita, the home of many of Japan's famous onsen!!!
I am heading there by Shinkansen. One aspect I often enjoy in riding the Shinkansen is all of the legroom! If any of you come to Japan, you must ride the Shinkansen at least once!
Just wanted to post a funny pic to show that I am set to head off!
The last time I flew out of Japan, I caught a terrible case of food poisoning. Vomited three times on that 14 hour plane ride. I can say that was the longest flight of my life! With that experience, I always try to ensure I have a sick bag ready at hand in case of an emergency.
Sapporo, I am coming for you!!!
Hi all!
So, I know I have been quiet for quite a while, and all I can say was that I was quite busy. Anyway, I am at Sendai Airport right now and waiting to fly off to Sapporo!!! One thing that surprised me about this experience at an airport in Japan was that not a single individual asked to see my ID. This has me feeling mixed as I come from a culture where travel usually includes a full body scan and running your ID through a database courtesy of the TSA. People really trust that you do not steal in Japan.
Anywho, going to leave you with a picture of the departure terminal. I can't wait to see all the snow!!!!!!!
あけましておめでとうございます！今年もよろしくお願いします！
Happy New Year to all of my friends and family wherever you are on this planet at the moment! I have been enjoying the beginning of a new year and have so much that I will be posting in the coming months to come.
I spent my New Year’s with family down in Yaita, Tochigi Prefecture. I was happy to see my uncle and his family healthy and happy. I explored so much of the area with my family this past week, going to the local shrine in the area to ring in midnight and heading over to Nikko to see all of its world famous temples. I was also able to meet up with a family friend of my mother’s, Yuko, whom my mother taught English to around some 23 or so years ago! How much time has passed!
Well, I will be able to talk about everything more as I get pictures of them posted and use them to better remember everywhere I went and saw. As for the New Year, I am excited to start it quite busy! This Sunday I will be taking part in 成人式 (Seijin Shiki), otherwise known as Japan’s coming of age ceremony. The age of adulthood in Japan is 20 years of age, most likely later than most countries around the world, and I am excited to be able to take part in this important ceremony of my heritage to mark my growth and “hard” work over the past years.
As for after 成人式, I will be finishing up my first term in Japan in the beginning of February and immediately head off to Sapporo for the Sapporo Snow Festival (札幌雪まつり). I am so excited to attend this famous and largest snow festival in the world and will be sure to get lots of pictures and hopefully make a stop at an onsen in the area. I also won some tickets to see the Snow Miku concert in Sapporo while I am there! I am quite a fan of Vocaloids and really enjoy Snow Miku! I will have to make sure to buy tons of souvenirs!
After that, I will have to make a quick trip back home to Sendai to make a presentation of my research at Tohoku University, and then I will be off exploring as much of Japan as I can. My goals include Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nara, Fukuoka, and Mount Fuji. A few of my friends also have some other places they want to go to, so I am thinking I will join! I am hoping to enjoy a magical month and a half when I am out of class here in Japan to see as much of Japan as possible! Maybe even make a short trip to next door neighbor South Korea? (I probably do not have the money for that!)
Whelp, that is pretty much everything I need to check in with everyone for the New Year! Pictures will make it online somehow (as for an important customer, I will be posting my home trip first before getting back to everything I have missed). I will be so busy for the next month and a half at least, so sorry if you all do not hear from me! I will be too busy enjoying myself! またね！
So, I will post a New Year's post in a couple hours, but in the meantime, I just want to post my dessert for dinner at Cafe Gusto, a Japanese family style restaurant whose menu I am absolutely addicted to!
Quickly checking in as I head on over to my uncle's house for the New Year! I am getting to Yaita, where my uncle lives, from Sendai by the Yamabiko Shinkansen, which operates at a brilliant 150 miles per hour! All of this while being smooth enough to let me enjoy a bento!!! Traveling is quite easy in Japan! (once you know how to utilize the Shinkansen and Japanese travel agencies!)
I hope everyone is able to have a relaxing time winding down the clocks on 2014! I will be enjoying the New Year with my Uncle and family in Yaita in Tochigi Prefecture!
Well, I am busy getting packed and sleeping, so I will leave you with a picture I took today while getting some last minute items for this trip! This is me at the Sendai Illumination, highlighting the trees lining the beautiful Jozendori!
