Skyscrapers across the tracks from the Shinagawa Prince Hotel (品川プリンスホテル) with a shinkansen pulling into Shinagawa Station

When Ryan came back from his school field trip to Cambodia, his bus from the airport dropped everyone off at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. I went a bit early to welcome him back, even though the skies weren’t very interesting, to see what the views would be like from the top of the Shinagawa Prince Hotel’s 39 floors.

A bullet train is about to enter the Shinagawa Station in today’s photo. You can also see the buildings for the headquarters of Canon MJ (customer service I think) and Mitsubishi Construction. Tokyo Bay is in the distance (although easily reachable on foot from here).

Posted on October 17th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: buildings, Tokyo, trains. Comments: 1

Ashinagazo in Hida Takayama, Japan

Yesterday’s companion is this snappy fellow. These two are supposed to appear when it is raining or the weather is otherwise turning for the worse. I believe it. Rain fell on us most of the time we were in Takayama. Of course, it was rainy season at the time, but I’m sure the rain had more to do with the presence of these two giants.

Posted on October 16th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: takayama. Comments: 1

The long armed statue on Kajibashi Bridge in Hida Takayama - 飛騨高山の鍛冶橋の手長像

This long-arm, giant fellow is a character in some Japanese folktales. He has a companion who I will show you tomorrow.

You can find this statue in the lovely, historical town of Hida Takayama.

Posted on October 15th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: takayama. Comments Off on Takayama’s long arm statue (Tenagazo or 手長像)

Takeda Shingen approaches Takeda Jinja in Kofu, Japan

When taking pictures in Japan, it is helpful to be 6′ 4″. The next best thing is to have a dad who will put you on his shoulders for the same effect. I went with the first option, but the kid in the Oshkosh jacket in this image went with the latter.

I took today’s photo in April of 2010 in Kofu at Takeda Jinja (武田神社).

Posted on October 14th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: kofu, people, shinto, torii. Comments Off on Shingen Ko Matsuri (信玄公祭り)

Ellie on the swing ride at Yomiuri Land (よみうりランド)

In posting this photo I looked up the name of the swing ride at Yomiuri Land. Turns out the name is Wave Swinger (ウェーブスウィンガー) which is a bit of a pun I suppose since Ellie is waving while swinging.

Posted on October 12th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: amusement parks, ellie, yomiuriland. Comments Off on Yomiuri Land’s Wave Swinger