“Seihoku no Kaze” is a good restaurant with a nice view on the Waseda University campus. I was there at night and the windows were wet with rain so I went back the next day to take this photo.

A few things to note about this pic…
The direction is east and basically follows the Tozai Line. You can pretty much see the above ground view of the next few stations from Waseda like Kagurazaka, Iidabashi, Kudanshita, Takebashi, and Otemachi.
To the left, in the far distance, you can see the mostly complete Tokyo Sky Tree.
To the right of the Tokyo Sky Tree (but still on the left side of the picture), you can see part of the Tokyo Dome and rides at Tokyo Dome City.

Posted on August 19th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: sky tree, Tokyo, waseda university. Comments: 1

As mentioned yesterday, we lucked out and happened to catch an unexpected fireworks display. Our original plan for the day was to hang out on the beach near Enoshima, head in to Kamakura to see the Daibutsu (as the kids had yet to see him), and then head back to Enoshima for the sunset. We stuck with the original plan but hoped to get back to Kamakura in time for the fireworks. We didn’t have enough time to get back so we ended up watching the show from Enoshima. The view wasn’t bad and there were no crowds, but the show would have been far more spectacular from Kamakura.

Posted on August 18th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: enoshima, fireworks, kamakura, night photography. Comments Off on Kamakura Fireworks from Enoshima

While visiting Kamakura last month we were surprised to see the above poster for a fireworks show (hanabi taikai or 花火大会) on the very day we happened to be there.

So while enjoying a froat (float) we planned our evening. 😉

Check back tomorrow for a photo of the fireworks in action.

Posted on August 17th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: engrish, kamakura, signs. Comments: 1

Life doesn’t get much better than a stroll through the rice paddies of Shirakawago on a sunny morning after a downpour the night before.

Posted on August 16th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: buildings, rice paddy, shirakawago, thatch roof. Comments Off on Shirakawago (白川郷)

As mentioned a while back, we were able to make it to Ishikawa Ken (石川県) to visit Ryan’s homestay family. Actually, this turned into a second, mini-homestay for Ellie too as both kids stayed with Ojiichan.

Ojiichan took us on a wonderful drive all over the Noto Peninsula (能登半島). One of the many things we saw on that drive was Senmaida (or thousand rice paddies) which flow into the ocean, an amazing sight. During the summer the paddies are encircled in lights, but we didn’t stay around for the evening to see that spectacle.

Posted on August 14th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: ishikawa, noto hanto. Comments Off on Terraced Rice Paddies on the Sea of Japan (Senmaida 千枚田)