K.C.'s Garage

My second temple visit in Kyoto was Kinkaku-ji, "The Golden Pavilion." Kinkaku-ji is the informal name of Rukuon-ji Temple, but even the bus stop and tour guides have it marked as Kinkaku-ji. The pavilion at Kinkaku-ji is covered in actual gold leaf, making it quite a sight. The pavilion was burned down several times in its history, most recently in 1950 by a mentally disturbed monk. It was getting close to sunset, and the intermittent cloudiness had now turned to dark overcast and a fairly steady drizzle. This, combined with the "no tripods" rule, made photography difficult... but I managed. 1 Kinkaku-ji was a lot more serene than Kiyomizu. The pavilion is set in the woods, surrounded by a tranquil pond with small islands decorated with small rocks and trees. The darkening sky and gentle rain made it a suitably relaxing setting. Flickr link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/phreakmonkey/sets/72157655003660846

On Thursday I took a bullet train (Shinkansen) to Kyoto. The train-ride itself was fun, as it's not often that I get to travel at 180 mph on rails. The route takes you through mountain tunnels and past the breathtaking Mount Fuji. I would have snapped a photo but given the speed of the train and nearby obstacles (telephone poles, wires, stations &etc) whipping by I never really had a clear shot. After dropping off my stuff at the hotel in Kyoto, it was off by bus to the first temple I wanted to see: Kiyomizu-dera. Kiyomizu-dera was founded in 788, but the current structures were rebuilt in 1633 after a fire. The temple consists of several structures and is named for a waterfall that runs through it. Kiyomizu-dera is built high up on a hill overlooking the entirety of Kyoto. The scenery was breathtaking. Flickr set: https://www.flickr.com/photos/phreakmonkey/sets/72157655006816216

After wandering around Akihabara a second time, I decided to also spend a second evening in Shinjuku - this time with my camera. Lugging a DSLR camera and tripod around in Shinjuku provided the distinct advantage of warding off the strip-club barkers. (After all, no strip club is going to let in someone with a camera and tripod.) Shinjuku has been called the Times Square of Tokyo. It is similar, with the bright lights, the restaurants and clubs, and the constant hustle of tourists and locals alike wandering about. That being stated- Shinjuku is huge , even in comparison to Times Square itself. Flickr set: https://www.flickr.com/photos/phreakmonkey/sets/72157655007379886

Anyone familiar with Tokyo will find that title amusing - as Ginza and Harajuku are both shopping districts, but they are as far apart culturally as they are geographically (on opposite sides of Tokyo.) Nonetheless, I happened by both on this day. Hey - I had an unlimited 1-day rail pass so why not? Ginza is the Fifth Avenue of Tokyo, with such high-end shoping as Hermes, and Dolce & Gabbana, etc. The Sony HQ building is there, with a showroom I had to see. (It had a 100" flat-panel television!!) I went into D&G, and they treated me like royalty - offering me a seat and rushing to/from racks to pick out clothes for me to look at! And they didn't even seem offended when I didn't buy anything, offering me the same enthusiastic smiles and bows as when I came in. I also ran across a Japanese local with a very nice Canon DSLR camera and huge image-stabilizing (IS) telephoto lens practicing his Paparazzi technique. He was literally perched at the end of a blo...

Along the Sumida river near Tokyo Bay lies the district of Tsukiji, home of the largest fish market in the world. The Tsukiji fish market handles over 2,000 tons of seafood daily. I've been told you have to get there around 6:30am to see the wholesale tuna auctions. I was fighting jet-lag and exhaustion from over-exuberant sightseeing, so I didn't make it there until close to 8am. As such, I missed most of the auction action, but did have fun exploring the surrounding markets. Some of the warehouse-alley streets had tiny restaurants nestled within them. I picked a small back-alley sushi place based on the pictures of the food, the price, and the fact that it was nearly full of Japanese people who all looked happy to be there. :) Thankfully, the menus had pictures on them. I chose a sushi-assortment and added a couple of extra pieces at the end that I really liked through a series of pointing and gestures to/from the sushi chef behind the bar. The sushi was amazing ...

Akihabara, or Akiba for short, is the well known electronics shopping district of Tokyo. Akiba's streets are lined with computer stores, electronics stores, DVD & music stores, and comic book stores. It's truly a geek's paradise. Where else can you find vendors putting milk crate "discount bins" on the sidewalk with such treasures as USB hard drives and AGP video cards? The pictures below are actually from two trips to Akiba, I went back in search of Playstation 3 "Dualshock 3" controllers for some friends.

After visiting Asakusa, I walked to Ueno to see Ueno Park. Ueno Park is a very expansive park containing a zoo, multiple museums, and shrines and temples. I wasn't in the mood to wander through museums or a zoo, but the idea of seeing the park itself appealed to me. Even on a Monday the park was alive with visitors and even some musicians.

Northeast Tokyo holds the ward of Asakusa. This area has many temples and religious sites, the most famous being the Sensō-ji Temple, which was build in 645 AD and is Tokyo's oldest temple. While wandering up the Akasuka shopping area towards the Sensō-ji Temple I was able to sample lots of interesting local treats, including some really neat little pastries that were like half-cookie, half-donut. An older man was operating a large machine producing these treats, which appeared to be wildly popular with the visitors to the area. They were quite good warm and fresh off the machine. The Sensō-ji Temple itself is magnificent. It is surrounded in ritual and you get the feeling instantly that the huge souvenir market is an integral part of the temple. Just outside the steps of the temple sits a huge cauldron with incense burning. Visitors pause by the incense and waft the smoke onto themselves before heading up towards the temple. After visiting the temple I wandered thro...