View from Tokyo Water Bus (水上バス) in Sumida River

One of the nice things about traveling around Tokyo is you don’t have to have a plan. You can go pretty much anywhere and still find your way home since a train station is not beyond walking distance no matter where you end up. Such was the case on this day when we were in Asakusa. Rather than ride the subway back home, we got on the water bus in Asakusa, rode to Hinode Pier, walked to Tamachi Station, and rode the Yamanote Line back to Takadanobaba from there. The kids had train passes from Tamachi to Takadanobaba to go to school so it didn’t cost them anything for that stretch of the journey. Today’s photo is from the Sumida River.

Posted on April 22nd, 2013 under Japan. Tags: sumida, Tokyo. Comments Off on Sumida River Cruise

My random desktop image of the day is a photo I did not take. Ryan took this when he was being toured around by Maki San. Does anyone know where this is? The location is probably within 100 kilometers of Kanazawa if that helps.

Posted on April 19th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, pagoda. Comments Off on Japanese Pagoda

Tokyo’s 両国国技館

I would really like to photograph some sumo this summer. This is especially true now that I have “fast glass” that I know how to use. Alas, I will be in Japan during June and August, two of sumo’s off months so this adventure will have to wait until a future year.

Posted on April 18th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: sumo, Tokyo. Comments: 1

Gyudon (牛丼) is one of my favorite Japanese dishes. Sure it’s cheap Japanese fast food, but I still love it. I tried this bowl in the Los Angeles area as you can’t find Japanese style beef bowls anywhere near my normal neck of the woods in Southern Oregon. It wasn’t quite the same as the many I have consumed in Japan. Maybe it was the styrofoam bowl? Perhaps that was part of it, but something still seemed a bit off in the recipe.

I’m looking forward to consuming the real thing in Japan this summer as well as many bowls of bulgogi (불고기) in Korea.

Posted on April 13th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: food, los angeles, Nikon 35mm f/1.8 lens, nikon d7000. Comments: 2

Yanaka garage

Space is at a premium in Tokyo. Today’s photo features someone’s garage in Yanaka that is just an inch or so too small for the owner’s car to completely squeeze in.

Posted on April 11th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: Tokyo, yanaka. Comments Off on Tokyo tight spaces