JAPAN

I dig japan.

Hello Kids.

For a period of 3 months, I went on a JAPANESE adventure. THANK YOU BANK OF MOM AND DAD.

Anyway. I saw a lot of JAPAN for the 3 months I was there, and have brought back lots of pictures. Among the Highlights were my stay at the OISHI SEIMAIZO in AKUNE (the awesomest place in the world!) (I'm 1/2 Japanese, by the way. San-sei, to be technical. my grandparents are both from the city of AKUNE in KAGOSHIMA-KEN, speakin' KAGOSHIMA-BEN, soundin KAGOSHIMA-HEN... I stayed with my mom's Cousin, Oishi Tetsuro, and his family at the seimaizo!); My Iaido Training with Esaka Sensei in Tokyo; My participation in the FUSHIMI INARI MATSURI in Kyoto; My stay with Aki-kun at J-hoppers Kyoto; Hanging out with my cuz RIRI and her friends; and all of the other random adventures I've gone on!

Photos are not all that available; and I've got 8 rolls of film still being developped to be later on scanned and put up. Anyway. Some of my kyoto adventures are on this page, as well as pictures from the Esaka Dojo in Tokyo. The Matsuri pix are all on a separate page. see below for a link.

Here are The photos, Sorted by Adventure

The Fushimi Inari Matsuri

The first gallery of scanned pictures (roughly, my first month)

Ri-Ri's pictures from our adventures together

Ri-Ri's old Web Magazine... it's not going anymore cuz it was a term project... but man. this page puts the funk in defunkt.

Gekishashin! Ri-Ri's photography group! they're hella sweet. and Yukawa-san is cool.

or you can go back

"Schwatch!"

KAME! I am a turtle. My house is on my back.

KASA! WHEN IT IS WET, IT'S SO THAT I AM DRY. I'M A KASA SAMURAI.

J-HOPPER'S Kyoto-des Me and Aki-san in the lobby of my favorite Guest house!

Sakura Sakura at daikakuji. I visited it with Aki-san on his first day off. EVER.

Then we went to this cool shinto shrine in kameoka, famous for their spring water! Two priestesses practice their ritual dances.

SAKURA the picture doesn't do the event justice. Japan in the spring is an echelon of beauty unto itself.

Reina Me and Reina are best buddies. Went on CRAZY adventures together. well. not the craziest. but still...
Benten-sama One Day in Kyoto I decide to go on a walk to see the shrines of the 7 lucky gods! Aki-san gets me to bring his digital camera. I take pictures of every place I go! It was a far walk... like 25 km. over a mountain and back and then down to the end of Kyoto. This is Benzaiten-sama. She is the only female god among the 7.
Gion An alley in Gion... the old entertainment section of Kyoto. It still has Geisha and Maiko in it. they wander around.

Yebisu! it's the Yebisu Shrine!
SHINTO PRIESTS I was a few hundred yen short (like..500) to buy some omiyage, so the Yebisu Priests gave me what probably ammounts to a "hakujin" discount. I'll take it. THANKS GUYS! I took their picture. lower right in it is all my money in the world.
Haka This is the graveyard bordering Kyomizudera. it's HUGE. a tourist once asked me if japanese people are burried upright.

I went through a tunnel. Just like in "spirited away". the only difference is...uhhh... I am... not... otaku?
bamboo after the tunnel I took a shortcut (rhymes with "started making my own path") through bamboo. yummy.
sakura I miss japan.
bishamon-do This is the base of the Bishamon Shrine. kirei, des ne?!?!

Bishamon-do
Bishamon-do
Bishamon-do

Bishamon-do
Bishamon-do

HOTEI-SAMA So, I climbes back over the mountain, right?! and go down the face of Shogun-zuga. and finally get to (Yebisu's buddy) Hotei's Shrine. and it's closed. all the rest of the shrines were closed after that, but I still walked up to their gates!

finally there it took a long time.
FUSHIMI INARI This is the entrance to the Fushimi INARI shrine, dedicated to INARI-SAMA. The Orange Torii (archway) extend from the base of the path, all the way to the top of the mountain. Fushimi inari is ancient, indeed.
foxies Inari-Sama Uses Foxes as his messangers. Spirit foxes are very crafty and clever indeed, but sometimes... not to be trusted. maybe too clever and magic for the regular folk's good.
Fushimi inari Fushimi Inari is by far my favorite shrine in all of japan.
Fushimi Inari

Fushimi Inari all the way to the top!

Fushimi Inari

J-hoppers I am on the j-hoppers brochure! top right, that's me!

Esaka Dojo Here is a picture taken of the Esaka Dojo, the day I started lessons with them. That's me lower left. Sakura-san, my liaison and instructor is one person away from me (in black) in the upper row. Esaka Sensei is in the middle of the bottom row (3rd from me, in black). Esaka Sensei is 10th Dan, and the japanese word for his level of mastery translates as "Eater of Clouds".

Esaka sensei After Class, everyone goes out to eat. yum yum. Esaka Sensei is very wise and kind. I'm glad I had a chance to train in his dojo.

aki-kun wow. all that waiting, and the result was a high resolution pik of aki-san's face. Man. Aki-san Sure likes taking pictures of his face close up!

KAME!	I am a turtle. My house is on my back.
KASA!	WHEN IT IS WET, IT'S SO THAT I AM DRY. I'M A KASA SAMURAI.

J-HOPPER'S Kyoto-des	Me and Aki-san in the lobby of my favorite Guest house!
Sakura	Sakura at daikakuji. I visited it with Aki-san on his first day off. EVER.


	Then we went to this cool shinto shrine in kameoka, famous for their spring water! Two priestesses practice their ritual dances.


SAKURA	the picture doesn't do the event justice. Japan in the spring is an echelon of beauty unto itself.

Reina	Me and Reina are best buddies. Went on CRAZY adventures together. well. not the craziest. but still...
Benten-sama	One Day in Kyoto I decide to go on a walk to see the shrines of the 7 lucky gods! Aki-san gets me to bring his digital camera. I take pictures of every place I go! It was a far walk... like 25 km. over a mountain and back and then down to the end of Kyoto. This is Benzaiten-sama. She is the only female god among the 7.
Gion	An alley in Gion... the old entertainment section of Kyoto. It still has Geisha and Maiko in it. they wander around.
Yebisu!	it's the Yebisu Shrine!
SHINTO PRIESTS	I was a few hundred yen short (like..500) to buy some omiyage, so the Yebisu Priests gave me what probably ammounts to a "hakujin" discount. I'll take it. THANKS GUYS! I took their picture. lower right in it is all my money in the world.
Haka	This is the graveyard bordering Kyomizudera. it's HUGE. a tourist once asked me if japanese people are burried upright.
	I went through a tunnel. Just like in "spirited away". the only difference is...uhhh... I am... not... otaku?
bamboo	after the tunnel I took a shortcut (rhymes with "started making my own path") through bamboo. yummy.
sakura	I miss japan.
bishamon-do	This is the base of the Bishamon Shrine. kirei, des ne?!?!
Bishamon-do
Bishamon-do
Bishamon-do
Bishamon-do
Bishamon-do
HOTEI-SAMA	So, I climbes back over the mountain, right?! and go down the face of Shogun-zuga. and finally get to (Yebisu's buddy) Hotei's Shrine. and it's closed. all the rest of the shrines were closed after that, but I still walked up to their gates!


finally there	it took a long time.
FUSHIMI INARI	This is the entrance to the Fushimi INARI shrine, dedicated to INARI-SAMA. The Orange Torii (archway) extend from the base of the path, all the way to the top of the mountain. Fushimi inari is ancient, indeed.
foxies	Inari-Sama Uses Foxes as his messangers. Spirit foxes are very crafty and clever indeed, but sometimes... not to be trusted. maybe too clever and magic for the regular folk's good.
Fushimi inari	Fushimi Inari is by far my favorite shrine in all of japan.
Fushimi Inari