Moment of zen
My random desktop image today of Mt. Fuji takes my mind back to the day I took this photo. A wonderful sensation…
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Archive for Japan
Tokyo from the Sumitomo Building
Back in the 1980s, when I first lived in Japan, the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building was the building to go to the top of if you wanted a great view of the city. There was no Sunshine City, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, Mori Tower, or Ebisu Garden Place Tower at the time. The two times I revisited the Sumitomo Building on our most recent adventures in Japan the observation deck was empty. It’s still a great place to view the city (although with the other high rise buildings that have since been built some views are more obstructed than they were 20+ years ago), and you can avoid the crowds at the other places here. Also, there are several floors of relatively inexpensive restaurants at the top with fabulous window seats.
Japanese garden…
…but not in Japan.
We do an annual Easter brunch and Easter egg hunt at a friend’s house in Ashland, Oregon. We missed last year’s festivities because we were in Japan. This year we were there, but it felt kind of like we were back in Japan since their house is surrounded by Japanese gardens.
Modern Japanese Shoes
I never tire of looking at what Japanese people put on their feet. I suppose that could be the case in any big city. However, it seems like Tokyo has more than its fair share of unusual shoe styles.
Today’s photos, below, come from Joypolis on Odaiba in Tokyo. This couple was on a date. She waited for him at the Claw Machine Game while he went to buy some tokens to play. I’ll narrate what is going through her head, based on her foot language, for you.
“Finally, he’s back. I really want him to win me one of those prizes.”
“He’s going to win it for me!!!!”
“This could take a while. Time to settle in.”
Japanese fan dance
Last night I went to the annual SOU International Show. Takumi, from Waseda University, performed a traditional Japanese fan dance. He wanted to perform a ping pong demonstration but couldn’t find anyone who could return any of the balls he hit.
Suica Smart Card
I took photos of my kids’ Suica passes because I knew they would lose them and was hoping the picture would get me a replacement. Amazingly enough, they never lost them, although they did leave them at home and had to purchase train tickets once they got to the station on several occasions.
This pass allowed them to go from Takadanobaba to Tamachi and back as many times as they wanted. They could also get off or on at any station between those two stations on the west side of the Yamanote Line (including Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, Meguro, Shinagawa, etc.)
This pass was Ryan’s. If you can read Japanese, you can see his name and age personalized on the bottom in the middle. The cost was about $400 for six months, which was the regular price for an adult. For kids 12 and under and those going to “qualified schools” (TIS wasn’t one of them) the price is much less.
You can also use a Suica card in many stores and vending machines if you put some extra yen on it.