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Japan22
  • Rudy Mikšánek
  • Rudy Mikšánek

Japan22

Un’avventura di 365 giorni di Rudy Leggi altro
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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore
    Chuo Shopping Arcade
    Ryotoku-jiAlola Vulpix and Alola Ninetales

    Wakkanai (pt 2)

    13 agosto 2022, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Aug. 13th: Back in Wakkanai. Had some ramen and gyoza at a local restaurant, typical counter seating (but also with a tatami room in the back), Japanese baseball game on TV, smoky atmosphere. Then took a nice stroll to Ryotoku-ji, which was all lit up with lanterns, and then through Chuo Shopping Arcade and back. The shopping arcade is interesting since it’s mostly completely abandoned for the past two years. It’s currently lined with tens (or possibly hundreds) of thousands of paper cranes.

    Aug. 14th: Visiting a few last-minute spots around Wakkanai. The northernmost end of the JR line, the Pokémon manhole cover (“Pokefuta”), Wakkanai Karafuto Museum, and Fukuko Market. It sounds like a lot, but even with stopping for coffee, it’s been maybe an hour and a half.

    I actually highly recommend the Karafuto Museum. It’s a beautiful serene space with incredible photographs documenting the history of Japan up to the 50th parallel; on the first floor, there are replica old-style shopfronts and displays of antiques, vintage toys, and posters (Godzilla v. Mothra, anyone?).    Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore
    Painting by Sesshū Tōyō, a Zen-Shu priest (c. 1420 – 26 Aug 1506)Don't let the hawks eat your food. And please remember this is a "no smorking" area

    Amanohashidate

    27 agosto 2022, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    A beautiful sandbar/land bridge that is #2 of the Three Views of Japan, which, according to Wikipedia, is “the canonical list of Japan's three most celebrated scenic sights, attributed to 1643 and scholar Hayashi Gahō.” I did walk across the entire 3.6-km length. Unfortunately, I did not see Kaisen Bridge in action (the middle section up and turns to let boats pass in/out of Miyazu Bay). The chairlift up to the viewpoint (and amusement park) was awesome.

    Anastasha and I also saw the floating torii at Miyajima a few years ago, which is #3 on the list. #1 is Matsushima, a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture. Perhaps the subject of a future trip?    Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore

    Ine no Funaya

    27 agosto 2022, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Ins is a small fishing village in the Tango Peninsula (“Kyoto by the sea”). Here you will find about 230 charming boathouses (funaya)—a designated Group of Historic Buildings—that sit right along the water (helping to make Ine one of “The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan”).Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore

    Hōkan-ji and Kiyomizu-dera

    28 agosto 2022, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Hōkan-ji is a super popular spot for photographers. I’ve been here a view times but never able to get a shot without any people. But trust me, there were at least 15 people behind relatively close behind me. And some with some rather ridiculous tripods and camera setups.

    Next day, Kiyomizu-dera: I’ve seen at night before, but oddly enough I haven’t actually visited despite it being one of the [many] iconic spots in Kyoto. Unfortunately all I took was this one blurry photo that you can’t even really see the wooden scaffolding from.

    Oh, and there was a Pokéfuta sort of near here (well not really, it in Maruyama Park by Yasaka Shrine). I got matcha ice cream and watched a heron-egret thing eat a dragonfly.    Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore

    Konchi-in Temple

    28 agosto 2022, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Apparently there’s an amazing eight-windowed tea room here, and a fun half-door you crawl through to get in? But it costs extra to see that and I wasn’t sure when that part is open. The Zen garden was really nice though, especially later once the simmering sun went back behind some clouds.Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore

    Keage Incline and Suirokaku Water Bridge

    28 agosto 2022, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    According to Google Maps, “this raised bridge aqueduct from the 1890s had a series of arches & transports water from Lake Biwa.” It’s located near Nanzen-ji, and if you explore the area (and read random reviews left for nearby landmarks), you’ll find that you can hike along the old canal to the first commercial hydroelectric plant in Japan, which is apparently visited by tanooki at night.Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore

    Ayanoteruhaotsuri

    7 settembre 2022, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Aya Teruha Suspension Bridge. Super high, nice views, blah blah blah. On the other side, I saw a sign warning of “land leeches” and now that’s all I want to know about. I guess they’re an invasive species?? Sorry I didn’t take a picture of the smiling cartoon leech on the sign :(Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore
    Do you think the other rocks make fun of this one for being so weird?

    Udo Shrine

    10 settembre 2022, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Shrine in a cave! Throw an undama clay ball into the masugata on Kameoshi rock to make a wish—men must throw with their left hands (how unfair!). I’m not really sure what all those words mean, I’m just pulling info from the Nichinan city website. Anyway, it was a beautiful cave and the rocky shoreline has some great features.Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore
    Across from the Family MartParked at the Family Mart and ran across Haze-ohashi Bridge for this view

    Sobo-Katamuki-Okue Biosphere Reserve

    11 settembre 2022, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Designated by UNESCO in 2017, the Sobo-Katamuki-Okue Biosphere Reserve protects a number of rare species (Japanese serow, Sobo salamander, giant Japanese beech) while locals continue to harvest natural resources sustainably: terraced rice, timber (some for bamboo work), shiitake mushrooms, and star anise. The granite-faced Mount Okue (Wakuzuka) is perhaps the most breathtaking peak in the region. Unfortunately, it’s a 10-hr roundtrip hike that, even in good weather, would be quite challenging. Hopefully I’ll return to make the hike some day.

    This picture is of Gokase River in the transition zone (which lies outside the buffer area and core protected zone). It was *not* an easy shot to take from the highway (the only walkway on Tenma Bridge is on the north side).    Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore
    1

    Devil’s Washboard (Aoshima)

    11 settembre 2022, Giappone ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Aoshima is surrounded by wave-like rocks that arose through the natural erosion of alternating bands of “sand rock and mud rock” after forming 24 to 2 million years ago and being inclined and uplifted from the ocean floor. (I am not a geologist, so I don’t really know for sure.)

    Caught in a downpour but still an incredible sight. Actually really glad I made the 3-hr drive not once *but twice* because the first time I came at high tide and couldn’t see anything.    Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore

    Kisarazu/Kazuma Beach Clam Digging Place

    4 novembre 2022, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    City with views of Mt. Fuji and an economy based on fishing, agriculture, and industry and connected to Kawasaki and Yokohama via the Aqua Line tunnel-bridge across Tokyo Bay. I also walked across Nakanoshimao Bridge. Windy. Nice views.

    Sunset pictures are really messed up from Penguins’s compression algorithm. I’ve had issues with this in the past but never this bad. The photo with the actual sun setting is also on my Facebook (looks a lot better there).    Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore
    I prefer the older train cars, but this shot is missing the yellow Chūō-Sōbu LineI guess an old photo of the bridge I was on from 1946

    Hijiribashi

    5 novembre 2022, Giappone ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Hijiri Bridge spans the Kanda River and overlooks Ochanomizu Station with Akihabara/Electric Town in the background. This is a very popular photo spot since it catches the intersection of the Marunouchi Line (Metro) and the Chūō and Chūō-Sōbu Lines (JR East). I spent about an hour and a half on the bridge and saw all three lines cross simultaneously a couple times. It does take some patience, though.Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore
    Asparagus domes
    The actual asparagusRoadway over asparagus (I don't even like asparagus, the road is way more interesting to me)Farm cats!Strawberries are much better, yay!Hydroponic green onionsHydroponicsView from the farmer's marketMore vegetables, with frolicking childrenStorage shed (not for cows)

    Itoshima Agriculture

    23 novembre 2022, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Half-day bus tour organized by Agricolab Itoshima to visit small farms in the area and meet the farmers. I saw asparagus, strawberries, green onion, more vegetables (radish, cabbage, etc.), and cows (“meat vegetables”). Since the tour was entirely in Japanese, I didn’t really learn much, but there were lots of nice vegetables to stare at for 40 minutes at a time.Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore
    Fukuoka Tower is that pointy pink-and-blue one in the skyline, just so ya know
    Still the pointy pink-and-blue one, but from a different angle (don't let that confuse you!)

    Fukuoka Tower

    29 novembre 2022, Giappone ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Oyamazumijinjaato Park and Atago Shrine have great views of Fukuoka Tower, which, right now, has special snowflake lights for Christmas. While the hill is mostly surrounded by quiet residential streets (making for a really peaceful walk in the rain!), it’s also close to the famed Meinohama Driving School (okay maybe not famous but I hear ads for it all the time on the bus). It was fun to walk by at night, even in the rain there were a few cars and motorbikes running through the sprawling practice course (with a few attendants standing in the rain, conducting the classroom traffic under their translucent umbrellas).Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore
    Orangutan in a blanket!
    Japanese black bear?Endangered Tsushima leopard catRhinos doing rhino stuffShorcut to the tapirs that don't seem to be here anymoreOld tapir habitat, no longer occupiedBy Monkey Mountain1Hey look I work at the zoo now

    Fukuoka City Zoo

    4 dicembre 2022, Giappone ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    At ¥600 a ticket, the Fukuoka City Zoo is an inexpensive way to spend a few hours. Set in a hilly, forested area of the city, it features a diversity of animals including giraffe, monkeys, etc. There are also rarer animals including bearcats and endangered Tsushima leopard cats. Maybe the most unique were the Asian small-claw otters, some of which like to grab onto a handing rope with their mouth and just… spin. Without stopping. For minutes on end, over and over. While some of the animal habitats are quite old (and too small), most of the critters seemed to be in high spirits—except for maybe the monkeys, which are smarter, I suppose. Anyway, I’d rate this a pretty good zoo overall.Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore
    First views, old stuffOld stuff, now up closeWoah we're extra close nowOpe, gotcha, we're zoomed back out"Battleship island"Mitsubishi stuff, seen from Nagasaki BayStuff adjacent to Mitsubishi stuffPamplet, tickets, etc.

    Gunkanjima

    26 febbraio 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    Hashima Island is an abandoned mining colony on a small, narrow island built up with towering sea walls and apartment blocks (hence the nickname “battleship island” [Gunkanjima]). The original island was only about 1/3 of its current size, which is why you’ll often hear it called an “artificial” island. Anyway, after operating for about 100 years, the coal mine was closed in 1974 (as energy demand switched to oil), and the buildings were left to crumble.

    In 2009, the entry ban was lifted and tourism began. You can walk a short, fixed route to observe the history and witness the forces of nature. The boat only lands ~60% of the time, or less, since the island faces the open sea and the dock is… not ideal. I felt a bit disconcerted since all the schoolkids were wearing lifejackets, but I think they’re required to regardless.

    The site is an important example of the Meiji-era industrial revolution in Japan, when coal, iron, and steel fueled shipbuilding, and was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015 (nominated in 2008). However, there’s a lot of controversy since many of the miners were brought from Korea and China and forced to work.    Leggi altro

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  • Rudy MikšánekJapan22Viaggiatore

    Nagasaki

    26 febbraio 2023, Giappone ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    A few days in Nagasaki. Started out by visiting Sanno Shrine and the One-Legged Torii Gate that was miraculously left standing after the bombing. Continued along some back roads until I reached the memorial park at the hypocenter, marked by a black monument. There is also a beautiful sculpture marking the 50th anniversary. Finally I visited the Shiritsu Shiroyama Elementary School, part of which was preserved and turned into a museum.

    For lunch, I got delicious soba with and on the walk back I saw a funny sign about not feeding the street cats. Afterwards, I visited Urakami Cathedral to see the remains of the bell tower that was sheared off and the Bombed Mary. Then I went to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, which was very different from the museum in Hiroshima (not as modern and different focus).

    The next day I saw Gunkanjima (different footprint) and later for dinner, I had really amazing tonkatsu at the Katsushika restaurant. Then I wandered around the Dutch slope area as it got dark.

    On my last day, I explore the Ryoma street area, and there were great views from the hill there. Finally, I went to the other side of the city, taking the ropeway up Mount Inasa for one of the “three major night views of Japan” (and one of the top-rated night views in the entire world). At the viewing observatory, you can also get coffee and burritos (or, alternatively, you can dine at their fancy restaurant).    Leggi altro

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