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Kamoshika- Japanese Wild Deer

2011-06-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

A protected species, and a rare sight even in rural Japan. I spotted this one near the rice field that I planted this year.

Supporting by Eating

2011-06-15T04:44:00.000-07:00

This was my dinner yesterday. The signs in Japanese say:

"Vegetables from Fukushima"
"Support for places affected by the earthquake"

The food was good. Not sure if foreign media like CNN are aware of these efforts. But better if they don't; most of the time they make up stories that are sensational. And to them, there is no value to anything that does not involve death and destruction.

Exhibits at Washington Convention Centre

2011-05-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

These were taken with my phone.

Tsutsuji Flowers from Nezu Shrine, Tokyo

2011-05-29T00:18:00.000-07:00

Driving to the exclusion zone around the Fukushima Dai Ichi Nuclear Plant

2011-04-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHWvbisFg0I&feature=player_embedded

The driver goes until he is 1.5km away from the plant, and can see it.

I feel sad about the pets and farm animals, too.

Rebuilding

2011-03-28T15:39:00.000-07:00

Reconstruction after the quake is happening fast, although most international media are hell bent on reporting only the bad stuff. This is part of the North East Expressway, as restored by 17th March, just 6 days after the quake.

How Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System Works

2011-03-28T02:09:00.000-07:00

The following article from Technology Review is pretty good, if you want to learn more:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/26505/?p1=A5

FAQ Regarding Nuclear Safety Concerns

2011-03-25T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a detailed set of questions and answers for those who are concerned. These are from World Health Organization, not from retired nuclear plant manages as quoted by most mass media :-p

http://www.who.int/hac/crises/jpn/faqs/en/index8.html

24 March 2011: Update

2011-03-24T22:46:00.003-07:00

Here is the update for today:

Good News:
========

* The workers at the Nuclear plant confirmed that the steel containment vessel around the core containing nuclear fuel on reactor no. 3 is in tact. So, only one out of the four reactors with problems is not suspected to have a damaged contaiment vessel.

* Temperature measurements from inside reactors (other than one) are now available. One reactors has a higher temperature than desired, but is stable (not heating up further). Additional sea water will be pumped in today to cool it.

* People who have young children are buying bottled water, but there is the attitude of "leave for the others, too!". The metropolitan government is distributing bottled water to families with infants, starting from today.

* Radiation levels South of the nuclear plant (towards Tokyo) have reduced gradually over the past couple of days.

* There is no increase of radiation levels near the plant.

Bad news:
======

* Two of the workers got injured in an electricity-related accident while testing power connections at reactor no. 3 (they are being treated by a doctor who was flown to the place, and the injuries are not serious)

* Black smoke started coming out from one of the reactors, and this prevented the test run of its cooling pumps scheduled to yesterday's afternoon. Anyway, the smoke has since subsided and they will get back to work on it ASAP.

Panic News (if that is the right title):
======================

* 25 embassies in Tokyo are moving South to Osaka, Kobe and Nagoya. 14 of them are from Africa. It is evident that they have been influenced by a bigger country to do so, the usual petty diplomatics :-p

* The detected level of radiation in Tokyo's water is 190 Bk/kg, less than the Japanese standard for long term consumption (300 Bk/kg). Now we can scare the Europeans who believe in panic news, by saying "the limit for Europe is 500 Bk/kg, you might already be drinking more radioactive water!"

In unrelated news: A crow was making some noise in my balcony last morning. I went out to check and found out that she was trying to take a cloth-hanger made of wire. Must be building a nest. If she tries to do that at the apartment of a CNN reporter, we might see headlines such as "Severe Building Material Shortage in Tokyo" :-p

23 March 2011: Update

2011-03-24T22:46:00.001-07:00

The day started with a small quake, but we are prepared for and used to this now. Things are improving slowly, in all fronts.

The government says they will not slow down spending on reconstruction because of worries about national debt or balancing the budget. So far we haven't seen party politics being a bother.

Power supply to all reactors has been restored. We have to appreciate this a lot, because that was done by about 50 people who were taking turns to work a few minutes and then get washed and cleaned before the next turn. Having power means we now have more accurate data from sensors in the plant. Later, cooling pumps can be started reducing the risk of further damage.

I will later write about how the foreign students reacted to the earthquake and related incidents.

21sr March: What Other Foreign Students Say

2011-03-24T22:45:00.001-07:00

Some articles by other foreign students and workers here:

About "Panic in Tokyo"
http://udon.stacken.kth.se/~goran/nopanic.en.html

Brian Berry, an exchange student in our univeristy, wrote a nice article titled "Don’t let the Fukushima Nuclear crisis divide us."

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/home.php?sk=group_177355305643452&view=doc&id=179049485474034

The article is about growing tensions between foreign friends who had different opinions about what is better to do; leave Japan and be safe, or stay in Japan. In case you cannot link to the article, I post the concluding paragraph.

"In conclusion I only ask this; don't "turn on" your friends, neighbors, and family just because you might place your bets at a different table regarding the nuclear crisis. Each person is in an entirely different situation which will result in varying opportunities that dictate their response. Chastising them for their personal choices is extremely counterproductive, especially during one of the greatest disasters Japan has faced. Support them, offer help when you can, don't condemn, alienate, and abandon them. The most important matter here isn't whether you can boastfully say, "I told you so!" having guessed the end result of this nuclear crisis, but instead whether this crisis can be handled as soon as possible to allow minimal pollution and individual harm, so that everyone can further focus on helping those in the stricken disaster areas in the Tohoku. Finally, please donate, give blood, and volunteer if able."

About how Yakuza, Japanese underworld groups, have been helping (I cannot confirm or reject any of the claims here, though. I never had a chance to even talk to one).
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-03-18/japanese-yakuza-aid-earthquake-relief-efforts/

Finally, a radiation dose chart that reveals that even married life comes with some radiation :o)

21st March: My Message to Friends

2011-03-24T22:44:00.001-07:00

Hi All,

Thanks a lot for the messages and wishes! I am happy that I can at least give you some information from Tokyo (far from Sendai and Fukushima, but we have to wait a bit more before any volunteering).

Today, Tokyo had rain for the first time after the quake. Some people were scared about rain bringing radiation. I think this did not happen to Tokyo because the winds were from the South for the last couple of days and rains start when the direction is about to change. But some of the troubled areas are having both snow and rain. This makes life hard for them, staying in places without proper insulation and heating. Relief workers are preparing/building emergency shelters just outside the troubled areas, and moving people into them.

With roads being cleared gradually, many places are getting improved supplies of food, water, clothing, baby diapers etc. Several town offices in Tokyo metropolitan region have organized donation and delivery of these things, and people are helping.

One problem Tokyo has is the power cuts and other measures for saving electricity. This is done to prevent sudden blackouts, caused by too much demand when some power plants are not running. With all the rescue work etc, it is better to try our best to prevent them.

Only 50-80% of the usually scheduled trains are operating. Most workplaces have arranged for flex-time work and work-from-home, and some people use bicycles (not uncommon here). The illuminations and big displays in most shopping districts are off.

There is a minor shortage of the supply of diesel, as I found out from a friend attached to a volunteer organization distributing food in the region. About 70% of the oil refineries are working at normal capacity. With more buses and trucks covering the absence of trains, and priority to provide fuel for relief work, a shortage in supply for ordinary vehicles seems normal.

I haven't heard anybody in Tokyo complain, we know what the victims went through and what the evacuees are going through. we in Tokyo have been the lucky ones.

As for the nuclear plant, water in a cooling tank of one reactor started boiling. Having enough water in these tanks is very important, so the fire department, self defense forces and a building contractor are working on hosing extra water.

Reconnecting electrical supply to the last two plants is in progress. It takes a long time to fully test the connections and start electrical cooling pumps, but there is no way to rush it. Everyone's eagerly waiting for this.

Later, I will add a few other links to better-written and thought-provoking articles by fellow foreign students.

20 March 2011: Radiation in Food

2011-03-24T22:42:00.001-07:00

The last update for the day, about the "radiation in food" issue.

Because food stuff can accumulate radiation and internal radiation from food and drinks is easier to absorb, there has been strict checking on food items. Yesterday, for the first time, higher-than-normal levels of radiation were detected in some milk and spinach produces in places South of the nuclear plant.

Having the numbers available is a good thing. Both the ministry and a an environment expert (Dr. Masayuki Kubo) contacted by the media confirmed that the number are too small to cause any harm. But the ministry said they will keep checking the food and will not release anything for sale if they have levels beyond normal.

since the reporter kept trying to get some numbers for people to be scared of, and kept asking if how much of contaminated food is safe, Dr. Kubo replied "If they give me this food, I will thank them and have them." "Different people eat different food in different amounts, and not all of them will have the same radiation level. There is no easy-to-remember number that I can give. It is easier to remember that these levels are not worth worrying about."

A health ministry official later added that eating one kilogram of spinach every day for one year is required for any problem at the current levels.

Anyway, the good thing is that people are aware of the risk of contaminated food and all food is being checked. I was small when there was hysteria in Sri Lanka about "Chernobyl Milk Powder."

At the nuclear plant, they activated the pressure gauges of two reactors and got them to be stable. The staff have to both spray water on the things to cool them and connect electricity to them. Unfortunately water and electricity don't go together well, so things are slow. But we have got the best and the bravest people there, I trust them.

20 March 2011: Food Shortage? Not in Tokyo!

2011-03-24T22:41:00.003-07:00

On Friday, my mom called to ask if I have food to eat in Tokyo. Those who wanted free air tickets to go back to Sri Lanka created a story :-(.

The real situation was that some people tried to stock things around 12-13 March and supermarket shelves started emptying. But this was controlled well with government requesting people not to buy and stock. Supermarkets promptly put limits on selling rice. Usual for Japan, people complied.

I personally went to several stores from 4 supermarket chains yesterday, before writing on Facebook that food supplies in Western Tokyo are back to normal. And my friends confirm the same for the rest.

The expressway to Sendai and the airport that you saw on TV (being flooded) are now open for transport by relief workers. Food supplies to the troubled areas are improving.

some evacuees were brought to suburbs in Tokyo so that they could be treated better without carrying all the supplies there. People are donating money to support these efforts.

20 March 2011: Useful links

2011-03-24T22:40:00.001-07:00

About wind patterns in the area:
http://www.zamg.ac.at/docs/aktuell/20110318_Japan_1300_engl.pdf

Summary: there is no radioactive dispersion in harmful levels, in to other countries.

The efforts for cooling the plants are continuing. They are slow, because the staff have to take turns every few minutes. The situation has improved slightly after helicopters and fire trucks were used to put water in to reactors. Daily updates are here:

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/index.php

They are trying to provide power to a set of electrical cooling pumps (that ran on battery for some time and then stopped). This should complete by tomorrow. Let's hope for the best!

What is Going on at the Nuclear Plant?

2011-03-24T00:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a great, lighthearted, but in-context explanation of what is going on.

We should never lose our sense of humor, even at crisis times.

19th March 2011: The Craze for Salt

2011-03-24T00:09:00.000-07:00

People in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were "panic buying" salt. These places are so far that any radiation from Japan will diminish way before reaching them. This is another product of irresponsible reporting by mass media.

Anyway, why salt?

The salt thing began with some couch experts saying "taking additional Iodine can prevent radiation from affecting your Thyroid Gland (so that it won't store radioactive Iodine)." I don't think this is something an ordinary person can manage.

Iodine -> Iodized salt -> salt -> by all salt you can buy

My Chinese friends calling home have a hard time convincing their parents not to panic. Given the wind patterns, mountains and distances, any chance of other countries being affected is near zero.

18th March 2011: Wall of Shame

2011-03-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

Most news broadcasters are spreading lies and rumors, instead of looking for the truth and reporting in a balanced way. "Hot News" is the norm it seems.

Here is a "Wall of Shame" compiled by someone here who is trying hard to keep people both sane and informed.

http://jpquake.wikispaces.com/Journalist+Wall+of+Shame

Cross Section of a Nuclear Reactor Similar to Those in Fukushima Daiichi, Japan

2011-03-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

This diagram will help you better understand what I (and many others) talk/blog about.

March 17th: Map from Fox News

2011-03-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

Fox News showed this map of nuclear power plants in Japan. Among other names you will not a long and weird place name: "Shibuya Eggman".

Shibuya is a fashion and entertainment shopping district in Tokyo. "Eggman" is a night club there. While this was laughable, it was also a good way to summarize the professionalism of mainstream news and media companies covering the earthquake :o)

March 17th: Updating my Friends

2011-03-22T23:14:00.001-07:00

Dear All,

I am sure you are getting all sorts of news on the post-earthquake situation. Herewith find what I experience here and gather from Japanese media, and a few international students who major in nuclear engineering and earthquake studies who also try to keep fellow student informed but not panicked.

First, about the evacuees. Roads are damaged pretty bad, so there is a big problem in getting food and other supplies to the people in evacuation centers. Most places are still risky for ordinary people to remove debris. Japanese self defense forces and some foreign troops are at work. People use Twitter to tell others which places need which things, and in some places that worked. But in other places, contacting people is a problem.

Now to the nuclear reactors. Initially there seemed to be problems in two nuclear plants in the earthquake-hit area, but now it has been found that one is safe. The other one shut down properly with the earthquake, but the cooling mechanisms failed due to the Tsunami. What you hear in the news are the results of overheating happening in 4 of the 6 reactors in the plant, and what people are doing to control them.

At this moment, the situation is borderline. About 50 professionals remain on site despite all the radiation and heat, trying to put sea water in to these reactors to cool them down. Some amount of radiation will keep leaking until they are cooled down to a lower temperature. There is a chance that they get hotter, in which case there will be more damage to the reactors and stronger leaking of radiation. They are trying to repair the powered cooling systems today, I hope they will succeed. The situation can go either way depending on the result.

The international media coverage has been appalling. CNN asked around from foreigners in Tokyo and posted an article about the ground situation. Headings like "Radiation Soars in Japan" started appearing even before the numbers exceeded the radiation in a dental X-ray. Many foreigners got in panic mode and are leaving Japan, or at least moving down south. At our university, we have a discussion group that analyzes news reports and tell the foreign students what to believe.

Diplomats are in usual business, stroking heads while cutting throats. some embassies issue requests for expats to go back to home countries, where the requests include statements like "Japan's incompetence in handling the crisis....." :-p

How you can help: I will later post a few options for donations. Not for the nuclear stuff, but for supporting the people who are evacuated. I will join a volunteer group once we are allowed to go and help.

11th March 2011 - the Quake

2011-03-22T07:31:00.001-07:00

A strong earthquake took place around north Eastern Japan in the afternoon of March 11th. The first round of damage came from shaking, but most of Tokyo was ready for a big one so there was less damage from this.

20 to 30 minutes after the quake, a Tsunami hit the Pacific ocean coast. Many people managed to get to safe places. Most of the vehicles you see on videos, floating on water, were empty. However, most of the deaths occurred due to this. At one point 20,000 people were missing, now the numbers are around 10,000.

All phone networks (voice) were congested for at least 16 hours. Emails and Twitter helped a lot to find that our loved ones were safe.

Electricity and water got cut off in many places. Train services stopped for safety reasons, even when there was power. Buses and taxis were full. Most people spent the night at their offices that were also shaking every half an hour or so. I spent the entire night looking for people :o(

Tokyo got almost back to normal in the next couple of days. Train services resumed one by one. Fires were put out. We got home and cleared up the mess there (all furniture at my place either fell down or moved, but that is no damage compared to the other places).

There was a food shortage with highways closed and trains not working, but I still did not see panic buying. We have been in power saving mode, I am online only a couple of hours a day (down from 16 hours earlier). People are cooperating with requests to not overstock food, or overuse electricity.

As for personal experience, it was not as scary because I was in Tokyo. Another thing; What you see on a small TV screen or a few square meters of newspaper happened in a very large area. No single person went through all of that.

Now we have two problems. Providing support to evacuees and dealing with the nuclear reactors. More on them in my next post.

Flowers in Ashikaga Flower Park

2010-10-11T02:41:00.000-07:00

Tang Dance Performance

2010-07-10T04:06:00.000-07:00

A photo from a dance performance in Xian, China.

Akashi Kaikyou Bridge

2008-03-26T01:27:00.000-07:00

Akashi Kaikyou Bridge (明石海峡大橋), is the World's longest suspension bridge. Located near Kobe, Japan, it is almost 4 km long. The bridge connets Awaji island to the main island Honshu of Japan.

Unfortunately, the sky was cloudy and the air was not clear when I reached the bridge. Anyway, here are some photos.

Blog on Photography

2008-03-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

I have started a separate blog with tips for taking better photos. Have a look at

http://fotolessons.blogspot.com

when you have time.

Winter in Matsudai, Niigata

2008-03-08T00:07:00.000-08:00

Matsudai in Niigata prefecture is the place that receives the heaviest snowfall in Japan (some say in the world, too). I was there last month, during a 4-day volunteer camp for removing snow from roadways to older people's houses.

Just a few photos, which I took during small breaks.

Autumn in Kyoto

2007-11-26T00:21:00.001-08:00

2007-06-29T18:14:00.001-07:00

Deer in Nara

2007-06-29T18:12:00.001-07:00

Around Mount Fuji

2007-01-24T21:48:00.000-08:00

Herewith find a few photos taken while travelling halfway around Mt. Fuji. Await detailed posts, after I finish my thesis defense next week. :o)

Rainbow Bridge

2007-01-03T00:24:00.000-08:00

The Rainbow Bridge in Odaiba, Tokyo Bay Area. The color of lighting changes depending on the time of the year. For the New Year, it was lit with actual rainbow colors.

Tokyo Tower and the replica of the statue of liberty are also in the photos.

Christmas Lights in Tokyo

2006-12-29T01:42:00.000-08:00

A few random photos of christmas lights this year.

Near Tokyo station building (the building in the background)

By the side of Marunouchi Building, near Tokyo station

Behind Tokyo post office

So much for today. More photos and video clips later.

Illuminations - Ueno Park

2006-12-25T01:31:00.000-08:00

Illuminations of various types are common sights in the Christmas and New Year season. I found these few at Ueno Park, a few kilometers from Tokyo Station.

Rikugien Gardens

2006-12-08T01:34:00.000-08:00

Rikugien is one of the best traditional Japanese gardens in Tokyo. Created in 1702, it has been the private property of several distinguished families before it was donated to the City of Tokyo by the family of the founder of Mitsubishi. The garden is only 20 minutes from Tokyo station, by train (near JR Komagome station, to be specific).

The garden has a nice pond, many sakura trees, and several teahouses. They say the garden is designed to have beautiful views in all four seasons. I went there to see the autumn leaves last week, so these photos show what the garden looks like in autumn.

Some of the leaves (hope you will not be mad at me for having a third post with them)

A visitor in Kimono

Since this was the peak season for the colored leaves, there was a 'light-up' of autumn leaves. During a light-up, selected portions of the park and the colored leaves are lit to create a colorful display, which attracts hundreds of people.

I did not know about the light-up, and therefore did not have the tripod with me. It needed all the tricks I know to get a few reasonable photos (one of the photos below was taken with the camera on the top of my head :-p). However, a light-up is much nicer than what can be captured using a still camera.

These bamboo shades provided lighting to the footpaths. I used them as tripods :-p

I called my host father, Iguchi-san, to tell him that I am in Rikugien, seeing the light-up. Here is the rest of the conversation:

Iguchi-san: "Great place! Who else are with you?"

Me: "Oh, I came by myself"

Iguchi-san: "What a waste! But I guess you can still enjoy."

I think you got the message. :o)

Autumn in Tokyo University

2006-11-30T23:19:00.000-08:00

While the temple gardens turn red due to the maple leaves, our university turns yellow during the autumn, due to the large number of ginko trees.

More photos of some other colored and fallen leaves

Autumn Leaves

2006-11-21T20:12:00.000-08:00

Maple leaves have turned red, and people are going places to see them. I will just post a few photos for now.

There are hundreds of places in Japan for seeing colored leaves. Depending on where you are, it is possible to select where to go. For me, I like the Higashiyama (Eastern Mountains) region of Kyoto.

Sorry about the short post this time, mainly because I am writing my thesis :-p. More about Autumn leaves in my next post.

Shichi-Go-San (seven-five-three)

2006-11-16T16:31:00.000-08:00

Shichi-go-san is a Japanese festival for praying for the healthy growth of young children. Girls attend the festival at the ages 3 and 7, boys at the ages of 5 and 7. The festival is held on the 15th of November every year. However, most people celebrate it on the nearest weekend since it is not a national holiday.

On the festival day, the kids come to a shinto shrine accompanied by family members, dressed in kimono. However, a few children dress in western style.

The priests take the children and the family members in to the shrine and conduct prayers, usually 2-3 families at a time. A praying session takes about 30 minutes.

Chitose-ame (candy for longevity) are given to the kids by both the parents and the shrine. At this particular shrine, they got ballons too.

Every kid climbs on to the "big stage", after the prayers.

They take loads of photos with family members. Later, each of the kids goes for a studio photo with the costume and candy.

A few random photos. More photos at my niece's blog

These photos were taken at Hie shrine in Akasaka, Tokyo. Any large shrine will have quite a few children coming in, if you are in Japan during the week that includes the 15th of November.

Santa Barbara Court House

2006-11-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Located in downtown Santa Barbara, The County Court House is known as one of the most beautiful buildings in the USA. While still functioning as a court, it allows sightseers to visit the most of the premises.

The court house has been built in 1929 based on the Spanish-Moorish architecture. The tiled walls and floors, and the ceilings with patterns, are quite colorful.

Visitors can go to the top of "El Mirador", the clock tower of the building. Although only 85 feet tall, the tower gives a nice view of the city, due to its location between the coastline and the mountain ranges.

The mural room is not so well lit, but just enough to enjoy the murals.

These curtains are really old

The old-styled furniture

A few random photos

La Arcada, Santa Barbara

2006-11-02T00:07:00.000-08:00

La Arcada is a nice courtyard located by State Street, the main street of Santa Barbara. It houses several art galleries and famous restaurants, and is famous for its life-like bronze statues.

La Arcada was constructed in 1926, and preserves the old architecture despite new shops and galleries being added. The place is quite colorful with the flags, tiled pavement, and shop windows.

Some of the statues

The Mozart Trio

Random Photos from Santa Barbara

2006-10-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

I just Returned after spending a week attending a conference in Santa Barbara, CA. The busy schedule did not allow me to post anything, though I did some sightseeing. I will post some random photos for now, leaving detailed posts for a later time.

Many of my friends wanted to take photos with this piece of art by the side of the State Street. It is said that the artist claims the letter here to be a 'W'. Hmm, I am not so sure... :-p

Kurama Fire Festival

2006-10-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

Kurama is a village located on a mountain valley North of Kyoto, and can be reached by train in about 30 minutes. However, owing to its location, Kurama is about 5 degrees colder than Kyoto city at night.

The train to Kurama, with seats facing the windows for viewing autumn leaves

The station

Kurama is famous for the fire festival, held annually on the 22nd October. These photos were taken in 2002 and 2003.

The fire festival starts at about 6:00pm and goes on until about 11:00pm (however, it is best to go early and find a good place to see the processsion from, and to return to the station by 10:30 pm to avoid long queues). During the festival, torches are lit and carried around the village in procession, to guide the gods who are believed to tour the region during this time. The roads, too, are illuminated with fires.

Even if it involves fire, Japanese children play their part as usual for festivals.

The elders wear half-shirts and loin clothes. The large torches can be as tall as 4 meters, and seem quite heavy.

Other things carried around during the festival include protable shrines and ornaments from the nearby shrines.

During the festival, the residents of Kurama display their antique possessions in front of their houses.

The festival ends at the entrance to Yuki Jinja Shrine, where most of the torches are mounted and left to burn. However, there are a few other places for mounting torches.

Some random photos.

I recommend the festival as a must see, if you happen to be around Kyoto on this date (well, so does Lonely Planet Japan :-p).

If visited on a different day, Kurama still offers a lot more to enjoy. Nice landscape, hiking trails, shrines and temples, and onsens (natural hot springs).

The Cookie (Senbei) Bakery

2006-10-17T01:31:00.000-07:00

Having decided to walk back to the railway station, I turned to a small road by one of the canals. There was a small shop selling Senbei (a type of biscuits; some vendors label them as 'Senbei Cookies'). I decided to have a look, as it was time to buy something for my friends back in Tokyo.

As common for many small souvenir shops in Japan, there was nobody to be seen in the shop. I inquired if anybody is inside, and an old lady came in from the back door. "Please come in, have a look!", she said in Japanese. I responded, and she was happy that I could talk in Japanese (according to her, Yanagawa does not get so many foriegn tourists). After she found out that I am a student, I was treated more like a kid.

"Today is a hot day. Please have some tea!", she said, passing me some cold tea. Then she explained to me the types of senbei they make, and insisted that I try at least one of each type. "You are a student, you dont have to buy. Just eat some!".

Suddenly, she remembered something. "You should try an oven-fresh one too. Please come in!"she said, and I entered the small bakery behind the shop.

After having a couple of senbei, I took a few photos showing how they are made.

Pouring the mixture into a mould. There are moulds with different shapes, so several types of senbei can be made at the same time.

After rotating one round, the cookies are ready for branding (which is done manually).

This type of senbei are pressed to give them a curved shape.

One of the finished cookies. This bears the symbol of Yanagawa, a boat cruising along a canal lined by willows.

We had a nice chat, which they combined with a short break, before coming out. They said they close shop and go on a short tour in some other country, every year. I sure did buy some senbei (which were much cheaper than in the shops near the station), but still received some for free. "These are for you, we know that you are buying those for the friends!"

The senbei were good. The experience, better. :o)

After the Boat Tour

2006-10-13T00:23:00.000-07:00

The boat tour is one way, and is about 2.5 km along the road from the starting point. Since the boatman had a bit of time before heading back, I started a chat with him.

He told me that Yanagawa is famous for two more things. One, the delicious steamed eel dishes (a bit expensive, but worth the price). The other, is the weird-shaped fish and other seafood caught in this area. He took me into a nearby fish stall, and showed a few types.

I dont have many photos of them, since they were not all that photogenic and I was running out of space on my memory cards. But I think these few gave you an idea. From what I heard and tried, most of these things taste much, much better than they look. :o)

This wine shop is really old.

The main shopping street

The usual means of getting back to Yanagawa station is taxi. However, I decided to walk along the narrow roads by the canals and find my way to the station. This turned out great, as it enabled me to visit the "Cookie Factory", which I will write about in my next post.

More Photos from Yanagawa

2006-10-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

It seems that the videos have much lower quality after uploading. So, I am posting a few photos that I took during the boat tour.

We are supposed to pay 100 yen for renting a hat. However, I got one for free. :o)

There were many statues like this one, by the river bank.

One of the smaller-scale tour operators. Might be worth a try, if you are interesting in a tour off the beaten path.

A few random photos down the canals

Yanagawa Canal Boat Tour (Kawa Kudari)

2006-10-07T05:48:00.000-07:00

Yanagawa is located to the south of Fukuoka, about an hour and a half by train. The small town is famous for its canal system, which has a total length of about 450 km. The main tourist attraction of Yanagawa is the boat tour along these canals.

There are six tour operators conducting boat tours along the canals. However, the most popular one is located on the railway station building itself, and therefore is easy to locate. There is a free shuttle service from the station to the boat terminal.

The term "Yanagawa" means willow river. Most of the canals are lined up with willow trees.

The start of the journey

The canals had been built around the ancient castle and other building, so there were many buildings, monuments and shrines near the river bank. The boatment explained these to us, although I could not capture all of it with my Japanese.

They say the boat tour is at its bets during autumn, with all the colored leaves. One bad thing about combining travel with conferences is that I cannot select when to go :o(. But still, the town office and residents make sure that there are some flowers to be seen from the banks all year round.

There were many houses by the canal at the starting point. However, the surroundings becomes more natural as we proceed.

A traditional fishing trap.

Some bridges are quite narrow, just enough for the boat to pass through.

There are shops and restaurants along the banks, selling crushed ice, ice cream, and drinks. We stopped by one, to buy "Kaki Gori" (crushed ice).

Towards the latter half of the journey, the boatman sang a couple of songs. He singing was great, but I cannot guarantee that all boatmen sing :-p.

The tour took about an hour and a half, and was a great, relaxing experience.

My Camera

2006-10-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

I bought my digital camera on the 4th of October 2002, exactly 4 years ago. I thought of posting about it today. Quite a few people actually asked "what kind of camera are you using?", and many more were happy with the photos. So, I think it is somewhat useful to write a post.

Two months after coming to Japan, I had enough savings to buy a digital camera. After a small study of camera reviews, I decided to buy a 2.1 Mega pixel camera with a good lens having more than 3X optical zoom. Although 3.4 Mega pixel cameras were already in the market, my budget was small and I knew that I will not be printing so many photos.

So, I bought this Olympus CAMEDIA C700 Ultra Zoom. Its menu was only in Japanese (my Japanese was pretty bad at that time) , but there was a 25% discount on it.

(sorry, this photo was taken with a webcam. I have no other camera with me)

The camera has a 10X zoom lens with high diameter, which allows me to take good photos at dusk (it sure is a bit bulky, but the photo quality is worth the trouble of carrying it). Everything other than distance of focus can be manually controlled, if neessary (I just use automatic modes most of the time).

I have taken thousands of photos during these 4 years; most of them terrible :-p. However, I learnt a lot by using it and managed to get some good photos, a few of which you have seen on this blog. Won the third prize in a small photo contest + exhibition for this photo.

Other than for two burnt pixels, the camera is doing fine after 4 years of extensive use. I am quite used to this camera and kind of know how not to take bad photos with it. Later someday I will buy a more professional camera like Canon EOS Digital, but I guess it needs a while for a student to save the money needed.

Ajippa - the Kids' Room

2006-10-03T07:36:00.000-07:00

Located to the right of the main lobby, Ajippa is designed as a playing space for kids. However, adults too can learn a lot there. Instead of looking at the items in a showcase of the museum, the place gives the children gives an opportunity to play with those and learn something too.

There are toys from a number of countries. There are some musical instruments too.

The instructors explain how to play the games or use the toys and instruments, and let the children try themselves.

There were some other activities such as drawing, making decorations etc.

A random photo

A group performance with some instruments. It was lots of fun seeing them learning to play!

Kyushu National Museum

2006-10-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Japan has only 4 national museums. Ueno (Tokyo), Kyoto, Nara, and Kyushu. The Kyushu National Museum is located in Dazaifu, on the other side of the hill near Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine. So, I visited the museum after visiting the shrine.

The museum was opened in October 2005. Unlike the other three museums that are housed in old-fashiond buildings, this museum has a building designed quite differently. The architecture aims to be easy towards the environment. The glass walls and air circulation systems are designed to maintain a temperature close to 25 Celsius, with the minimum use of heating/cooling during all seasons. Rainwater falling on the roof is collected, filtered and used for non-drinking purposes.

A video clip showing the building and the surroundings

The main entrance to the building is at the other side of the mountain, from where an escalator and a travelator takes you into the building

Now, some photos from the main lobby. These boats are from the pacific islands.

Musical instruments from Indonesia

These kids gathered here before seeing the museum and had a briefing.

As usual for a museum, taking photos is not allowed in many places. So, I will outline the content. The museum has lots of exhibits from the Jomon period, the time of stone weapons. Then the exhibition moves on to what was brought to Japan from the neighboring countries.

The museum employs volunteers daily, to explain things to the visitors. The volunteer who guided me even delayed his lunch, so that he could accompany me until I cover the museum. What I have posted here is mostly what I learnt from him.

This is a photo of the entrance to Ajippa, the kids' corner. I will cover it in my next post.

Video Clip - Dazaifu Shrine

2006-10-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

This video was taken inside the garden of the shrine. You can see the shrine, the walls around the garden and the shrine gate.

Sightseeing in Kyushu - Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine

2006-09-24T06:37:00.000-07:00

Dazaifu is a small city about 30 minutes by train from Fukuoka. However, it has been the administrative center of Kyushu for about 400 years until the 12th Century A.D. It was built in 903 A.D. and dedicated to the spirit of the poet Sugawara Michizane, who was later deified as the god of literature and calligraphy (Tenman Tenjin).

The entrance to the shrine is lined up with souvenir shops.

Taikobashi (the drum bridge) with two humps separated by a flat middle. The three sections correspond to the past, present and future, in the order you pass them when entering the shrine.

The pond and the buildings are quite nice.

The gate to the main building of the shrine

The main building

The shrine has several statues of the ox, believed to have carried the coffin of Michizane. This one is believed to have healing powers. These kids are touching various parts of the ox's body, wishing for healing of ailments of corresponding parts in their own bodies. Of course, the horns are not likely to serve any purpose in this case. :o)

This bird, known as "Uso", is believed to drive bad luck away and bring goodluck. Wooden replicas of Uso are popular souvenirs of Dazaifu.

A couple of random photos

You will find that the shop owners in Dazaifu are extremely friendly. They take their time to talk with the visitors, even the small kids who are the least likely to buy souvenirs. Even if you dont know any Japanese, some simple English and a few hand gestures will be enough for a good conversation and travel tips.

Dazaifu is said to look best during late winter (end of February to mid March) when the plum trees (around 6000) bloom. June must be nice too, with the Iris bloom in the ponds and the fresh green leaves. Hopefully I will get a chance to visit again to see these.

English home page of the official Dazaifu Tenmangu website

Need Travel Advice

2006-09-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

I will be in Santa Barbara for about a week from the 23rd of next month, for a conference. Well, I will have a bit of time for sightseeing :o). Any recommendations?

Yatai - Mobile Food Stalls

2006-09-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

Fukuoka is the largest city in Kyuushu. It took me only about two and a half hours to reach Fukuoka from Himeji by Bullet train. The city is best known for the mobile, open-air food stalls named "yatai", where I had my dinner.

Yatai are foodstalls made in the form of hand carts. The vendors bring them to the Naka river bank at dusk, and keep them open until about 2:00a.m. Many visitors have two dinners, one early and one very late, so that they can try more food during the limited time they have. :o)

The foodstalls 'have a break' during the daytime, like this.

The most popular food are: Hakata ramen (soup noodles in pork bone soup) yaki-tori (grilled chicken) and mizutaki (steampot meal with lots of chicken). You can order beer and sake (Japanese rice wine) too.

The river bank offers a pleasant view, which brings additional value. You can find a few yatai in places other than the river bank, too.

Random photo: Stone lantern against a neon signboard

I learnt that Yatai used to be there in other cities too, but disappeared due to problems with parking and traffic. You can still find vans converted to yatai in some cities, often starting to sell food at about 9:00 p.m. The association of yatai owners in Fukuoka keeps things going, by working closely with the city office. One of the owners told me that there are around 200 yatai in Fukuoka city.

Yatai is a must visit if you visit Fukuoka. The food is cheap, and delicious, with a different taste from the same food sold elsewhere. Depending on your choice, you can either sit among unknown persons and join a conversation, or find a less crowded yatai and eat leisurely.

Japan Toy Museum

2006-09-18T05:19:00.000-07:00

The Japan Toy Museum is located about 10 km northeast of Himeji city. This is not a favorite tourist spot, but I decided to have look as I used to teach kids back in my country.

The museum is dedicated for old-fashioned toys from various countries, although there is a section for new toys as well. The museum possesses about 80,ooo toys from 140 countries.

The usual visitors are children accompanied by their grandparents, so the receptionist was a bit curious about my visit. A brief self introduction (that I am a traveling student insterested in toys and kids :o)) resulted in a personally guided tour by the director of the museum, Mr. Shigeyoshi Inoue.

Inoue-san is a kind and nice person. He explained to me how he built the museum starting from his personal toy collection, and many other things.

After I finished seeing the toys, Inoue-san had a few presents waiting for me: two books written by him about toys, and two Japanese dolls (one of which belonged to a very old collection).

Sorry for the lack of close-up photos; flashes are not allowed inside the museum. Please visit the official web site for more details. If you are interested in toys, this place is definitely worth a visit.

Finally, one guideline for traveling in Japan. Travel off the beaten track, and talk to people!

Himeji Castle

2006-09-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Himeji castle is one of the oldest and the most famous castles in Japan. It takes about 40 minutes to go from Kobe to Himeji by train.

The castle has been built about 700 years ago. However, the keep (the central part of the castle) has been rebuilt about 400 years ago.

The garden of the castle is separated into a number of sections, using gates and walls with peeping holes.

Entrance to the "suicide quarter"

Stone coffins used for building the foundation of the castle, due to the lack of stones.

The keep

Inside of the keep

Small entrances to hideouts for soldiers, in case the castle was captured

Views from the top of the castle. The fish-like structure on the roof is called "Shachi" (dolphin).

Unlike some oher castles which have been converted to exhibition halls, Himeji still preserves its military features. Therefore, many of the samurai-movies are filmed here.

Minatogawa Shrine - Kobe

2006-09-13T03:48:00.000-07:00

These photos were taken at Minatogawa shrine, Kobe at about 9:00 a.m.

The main gate of the shrine premises

Some images from inside.

There were very few visitors; the priests and assistants were busy sweeping the garden.

Torii gates are donated by those who wish for good fortune, and who are successful in business and want to be grateful to gods.

Meirken Park

2006-09-08T05:48:00.000-07:00

A few photos from Meirken Park, a waterfront park near Kobe port. Having arrived at Kobe in the morning by night bus from Tokyo, it was a good place to have breakfast and a small break.

The port tower and the maritime museum

Some seacrafts, both old and modern

Old warehouses, converted to restaurants

A section of the waterfront preserved to show the damage after the great earthquake in 1995

Old drawbridge

Ferry rides around Kobe start from the boat quay located here. With a ferris wheel and an entertainment center, Meirken Park is a popular attraction among both locals and tourists.

More Travel

2006-09-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Now I am in Kyuushu, 1200 km South West of Tokyo, attending a conference (and sightseeing :-p). Will be uploading photos in two days, once I return!

Chindonya - Advertising Band

2006-09-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

A Chindonya is a group of Japanese street musicians who earn money by advertising shops and special events. The musicians, dressed in traditional costumes, carry advertising banners along the streets while playing their musical instruments.

Originated in Western Japan about150 years ago, they are now a very rare sight. At present, only about 30 Chindonya groups remain in Japan. A Chindonya group had been invited to "Moriya Festa", the festival referred to in the previous post. That was lucky! :o)

The musicians

The name "Chindonya" refer to the sounds made by this instrument ("Chin" from the cymbals and "Don" from the drum).

Advertising banners

If you are in Japan and have chance to see Chindonya, don't miss the opportunity to see this very old means of advertising.

Some non-traditional stuff

2006-08-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

There was a festival in Moriya, a nearby town, to mark the first anniversary of the commisioning of the new railway line through the area. In addition to the traditional music and dances, there were lots of more modern performances. Herewith find a few photos.

This dance followed a couple of songs by a group of kids. You can see them watching the dancers.

Young dancers of "Moriya Batton Club"

I liked this Marimba and Vibraphone performance.

The Battle of Mobile Suits. These are characters of the cartoon series "Gundam". Japanese kids are crazy for them. Well, I should say not only kids, and not only Japanese :o).

So much for modern stuff, for a change :o). I kept the more traditional stuff for the next post.

Nebuta

2006-08-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

Nebuta are huge lanterns made of paper pulp, in the shape of various characters. In Nebuta festival in Aomori, Northern Japan, about 50 lanterns are carried on floats along the streets. The festival is held every year during the first week of August.

Aomori is more about 1000 km away from Tokyo. For the benefit of those who cannot go that far to see them, some cities bring them down and add them to the city festivals. These photos were taken in Tsukuba, about 60 km to the North of Tokyo. About 5 lanterns are brought from Aomori for the parade of Tsukuba Festival , held in late August every year.

First, the smaller ones made by people in Tsukuba.

Now the bigger ones from Aomori. I am not sure how these were brought, they occupy three lanes of traffic.

The floats have wheels, but are dragged along by people. This one is being tilted towards the crowd, to make it more fun :o). Quite overwhelming when you are close to one.

I had just seen the Nebuta festivel in Aomori on TV and was thinking of going there next year. So I was more than happy when I was told about the festival by Iguchi-san, who even took me there and found a good place to watch them!

Japanese Summer Dresses

2006-08-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

People wearing Yukata (Traditional summer dress) is a common sight in Japanese summer festivals. Made of cotton, yukata is cooling and comfortable to wear in summer.

Yukata is different from kimonos; kimonos are made of silk, thicker due to inner lining, and are more detailed. However, both Yukata and Kimono are accmpnanied by wooden sandals and traditional-styled handbags.

Children and youth wear bright colors, while older people usually wear dark blue and white patterns. Occasionally, we can see characters like Hello Kitty or Mickey Mouse, on young women's or children's yukata.

A few random photos

You can see some other summer garments in these photos.

Japanese youth hostels and most of the hotels provide a Yukata for use after bathing. However, these are light colored and have a thin belt.

Being much cheaper and comfortable than a kimono, Yukata is a popular souvenir among foriegn tourists.

Host Families

2006-08-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

Most of the foriegn students in Japan have had a Japanese host family during some part of their stay. As for those who receive Japanese geovernment scholarships, many of them are assigned a host family when they reach Japan. For others, they can find a host family through their universities, town offices or other volunteer organizations.

The host family provide temporary accomodation to the student if necessary, and help him/her with the formalities. Most of the families keep in touch even after the students are able to manage things by themselves. They care a lot; some of my friends receive too much care. :-p

As for me, I was introduced to my host family by the International Liaisons Office of my university. Mr. and Mrs. Iguchi (whom I refer to as Iguchi-san and Keiko-san in my posts) are professional photographers. Iguchi-san, now retired, was a director at Mitsui Corporation, Japan.

Iguchi-san and Keiko-san treat me like a son. In our first conversation, Iguchi-san told me
"If there are things you like to do, or places you like to go, please let us know!"

Spending time with a Japanese host family is one of the best ways to learn Japanese culture and Japanese language. For me, I have more benefits: being photographers, they help me to improve my photography; they take me or provide information to visit places and events that are not so well known (such the horse races in my previous post); above all, I have a family here, who care.

Bon Odori - Some Video Clips

2006-08-15T22:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the poor quality and short duration of the video clips. My digicam can record only 15 seconds of video at a time.

This dance, before sunset, is more modern.

One of the drummers

Dancing

Bon Odori

2006-08-14T03:58:00.000-07:00

Japanese people visit their hometowns and pay respect to the graves of their ancestors during the Bon (also known as O-bon ) holidays in mid August. It is believed that the spirits of the ancestors return during these days.

Bon Odori (Bon Dance) is one of the main events during these holidays. The dance is intended to express peoples gratitude towards the spirits of their ancestors and welcome them. These photos are from the Bon Odori event in Edogawadai, the small town where I live.

In Bon Odori, people dance on and around a multi-level wooden stage called "Yagura".

Taiko, the Japanese drums, are played on the uppermost level. The other levels are for dancers.

The songs, music and the style of dancing varies according to the region.

After the first few songs, everybody is invited to join. Simpler songs are played for children.

There were some modern inclusions too. Some Spanish songs and dances, and "Bahamamama" by BoneyM. :o)

The songs are repeated a number of times, and the dances may not appear all that nice once everybody join. However, the drummers are usually very talented. See the photo below, the arms are quite blurred due to fast motion.

With the traditional music, dances that everybody can join, people dressed in traditional dresses, and the food and toy stalls, Bon Odori has a really festive atmosphere.

Conference Travel - Auckland

2006-08-12T03:45:00.000-07:00

Conference are good opportunities for graduate students for travel. For my university, the earliest we can reach a conference venue is the day before the start of the conference.
We have to start returning on the day following the last day of the conference. With some preparation, this is good enough for sightseeing and souvenir shopping :o).

These photos are from Auckland, New Zealand, where I attended my first international conference outside of Japan 2 years ago. The dates were from the 7th to the 14th of August, around the same time of the year as now.

Auckland is known as the "City of Sails", because of these boats.

I stayed in Auckland City Youth Hostel. New Zealand has undreds of youth hostels; much cheaper than hotels, and much more fun as you get to know more people and places.

Even though it was winter, the grass stayed green. In Japan, the grass turns into straw.

I climbed Mount Eden, which is an inactive volcano. The crater is about 50 m deep.

The city was nice with a few old buildings, and some modern architecture around the city tower.

A couple of old buildings

Auckland Museum

City tower and the sky scrapers

Fire and water together

Tanabata - Public Wishes, and Secrets

2006-08-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

Tanabata festival ius held either on the 7th of July or the 7th of August, depending on the area.

People write their wishes on small pieces of colored paper called Tanzaku, and hang them on bamboo trees put up in public places. Often, decorative lanterns too are hung on the trees. The bamboo and decorations are either burnt or sent floating on a river, after the festival.

Some of the wishes I could read (with my little knowledge of Japanese) were:

"To be able to eat delicious food that cannot be eaten everyday"

"I love Ryuu-chan - Minami " (Minami is the person who wrote the wish)

"I want my kids to study well"

"I wish to meet a better person than my boyfriend!"

"To have an enjoyable life without quarrel"

Most of the wishers write their given name too. However, it is unlikely that the writer can be recognized using only what is written in Tanzaku.

It seems tat tanabata provides a way to tell your wishes to the world. I think it is one way to have a public secret too, for those who feel like having one.

Fireworks (Hanabi)

2006-08-06T05:32:00.000-07:00

Fireworks festivals are held throughout Japan in August, co-sponsored by the local governement and shop-owners. According to My host father, these festivals had been introduced more as an economy-moving event, and became highly popular.

Yesterday, I went to see the annual fireworks (Hanabi) festival of Matsudo city, a not-so-large city in Chiba prefecture.　8,000 fireworks are launched here within about 90 minutes. I went with two other foriegn students of my university; Hanabi is much more fun when there is a group.

The people start gathering to the locations earlier, so that they can secure a good place to see and enjoy the fireworks. For the famous ones, the places get fairly crowded as early as 2pm (the start time is usually around 7:00pm). The traffic police does an excellent job in managing both pedestrians and traffic. Some of the streets are closed for vehicles to facilitate quick movement of the crowd.

The festival was held near the Edo Gawa river. We managed to find a relatively good place somewhere along the river bank.

Taking photos of hanabi is not easy, due to their speed, and randomness of firing. I tried a few things that I learnt in the only photography lecture that I have taken part, and took as many photos as I can. Some of the good ones are here. I am happy with the photos as I have only a 2.1 Megapixel digital camera.

These were taken with about 1 second exposure. Yes, I had to carry a tripod. :o)

But these two were taken with handheld camera

There were two children in the family sitting next to us. It was fun to hear them arguing what each of the fireworks resembled. There were butterflies, flowers, waterfalls, hearts, a smiley face, and even a mouse! :-p

This was one of the flowers

I uploaded a video clip to Youtube and posted below.

Common type of fireworks for the ending. You can see the reflection on river water, too.

Dear Deer!

2006-08-03T01:54:00.000-07:00

Nara is famous as the oldest capital of Japan, with lots of temples and sightseeing spots. However, one of the most interesting attractions in Nara is its free-roaming deer.

The Nara park, spanning an area of about 8 square kilometers from close to the railway stations upto the peak of Mount Wakauksa, is a sanctuary for deer. Hundreds of deer can be seen around here.

At first sight, you will find the deer quite friendly, calm, and easy to take photos with. However, the situation changes completely once you try to give them some food. You can buy deer biscuits from vendors everywhere in the park, to feed them (see the stand with an umbrella, in the photo above). Unless your photo-taking friend is well prepared, you will find that the biscuits are gone before you have a decent photo :-p.

Find a place with only a few deer, preferrably fawns, if you want to feed them slowly and take a photo. It is very difficult to feed the smaller ones, as the bigger ones will grab your food.

They have great skills in recognizing food, so it is difficult to fool them showing something else. However, one of them did try to eat my jacket since I was slow in feeding them. :o)

Since the deer tend to fight with each other and damge trees when the antlers are fully grown, they are cut annually. This is done in a ceremony conducted by the Kasuga shrines of the Nara city, during the first week of October. You can get to see some rodeo action here.

The stadium for the antler-cutting ceremony

Action

Sawing the antlers off

The antlers are shown to the crowd after sawing

Toudaiji Temple - Nara, Japan

2006-07-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

The Toudaiji (Eastern Great Temple) was built in 734 AD. The temple is famous for the largest wooden building on earth, and the giant Buddha statue housed in the building.

The temple is located about 1.5 km from Kintetsu-Nara station and 2 km from JR Nara station. A pleasant walk with lots of trees, and small souvenir shops.

The main entrance to the temple complex

There is a student discount for the entrance ticket, and it is valid for foriegners too (it is a good idea to travel with your student ID, you can get discounts in many places including some restaurants).

The hall of the great Buddha

Look for the sign saying "No tripods", for the location this photograph was taken from. This is considered for the best place to take a photo of the hall, if you are an amateur photographer.

The Big Buddha

With no tripods allowed, it might be a good idea to hold your camera against a pillar to keep it steady while taking photos inside the hall. Use of flash, though permitted, does not help much with a 15m statue.

Some other statues inside the hall

Just behind the left shoulder of the statue, you will find a wooden pillar with a hole. This hole is the size of a nostril of the statue, and it is considered lucky to pass through it. If you are a child or are on the slim side, this is not difficult. However, there can be long lines during school holidays. :o)

Near the entrance to the hall, there is a statue of the priest "Pindola Bharadwaja". It is believed to have healing power. Touching part of the statue and then the same part of one's body is supposed to heal any ailments present there.

Nara is a small city with lots of sightseeing spots. I will cover more places in later posts.

Something About Studies

2006-07-28T04:28:00.000-07:00

This will be boring to most of you, but I told you that I am a student. Let me elaborate a bit. :o)

Currently, I am a PhD student in the University of Tokyo, Japan. I thought of posting a few photos from my university, though they might not be as interesting as the festival stuff.

The red gate

Yasuda auditorium

Walk way to the sports complex

Sanshiro pond

Road with trees

A PhD in Japan is much better compared with the situation pictured in PhD Comics :-p. One can complete a PhD in 3 years, 90% of the time (the others usually take an extra semester). The situation with funding is generally quite good (that explains why I get to travel a lot). The coursework requirements are not so high, leaving enough time for research and enjoying life. Japan is a safe and nice place, with lots of kind and helpful people. You need to learn the language, but it is not hard once you are here.

As for me, I am in the 3rd year of my PhD. I had my pre-defense yesterday, where I presented the current status of my research to a panel of professors. They were happy with the work, and gave me the green light to start writing the thesis. Now I can relax a bit and enjoy the summer vacation, before I do.

So much for my studies. If anyone is interested in more details about graduate studies in Japan, I will tell you what I know.

Kids on Horseback

2006-07-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

There were about 25 kids among the 498 samurais (knights) who took part in the festival this year. I am just posting a photo of the youngest of them. See more photos of the cute young nights of Souma, on Singithi's Blog.

Souma Nomaoi - Horse Festival of Soma

2006-07-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

The Souma Nomaoi is held on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of July every year, in Minami Souma City of Fukushima prefecture, Japan. The festival started 1033 years ago, when the founder of Souma clan captured, trained and offered some wild horses to the three shrines of Souma (Odaka shrine, Oota shrine and Nakamura shrine). While the knights participated the event during the old days, their descendents (still referred to as knights during the festival) take care of the horses and take part in the festival at present. Women and children too have become knights since recently, making the festival more interesting.

On the first day, the knights (about 500 in number) gather at the three shrines, and start the ceremony with prayers and toast. The knights are clad in body armours that the clans have been using for generations. Only those worn by ladies and small children are new, and it is not uncommon to see a child wearing an oversized body armour, as the event is seen as an opportunity to wear it.

The first round of races held in the track in Minami Souma in the afternoon of the first day. Only about 120 of the knights take part in races. One or two women might be included there. Ten knights participate in each round, consisting of a single lap of 1000 meters.

At 9:30 a.m. of the second day, all the knights gather near Ogawa bridge in the north of Minami Souma city, and and head off on horseback towards the altar in front of the race track in Minami Souma to be received by a descendent of the Commander in chief of the clan. With 500 knights and many others, the procession is colorful and magnificient. The flags they carry are family symbols.

The knights are quite nice and patiently pose for photos, taken by both professionals and amateurs.

　
　

However, not all horses are friendly and calm all the time. To be honest, I was a bit overwhelmed having so many around me.

Another round of races takes place after the procession. The helmets are taken off during races since they are quite heavy and dangerous if dropped during the race.

After a small break at the end of the races, the knights gather on the green surrounded by the race track. Fireworks with flags called Goshinki are shot to the sky, 4 at a time. The kinghts start off in pursuit of the flags, kind of an unarmed fight.

The ones who manage to win possession of the flags gallop up the hill to the altar to receive awards.

On the third day, a number of horses are released in to an open area, and captured by groups of knights to be offered to the shrines. With no wild horses roaming around nowadays, I guess this is a good replacement that is enjoyed by a large number of spectators.

I managed to find out about the event and go there on the second day, thanks to my foster parents here. The details posted here are what I learnt from them and managed to read (I am still not that good in reading Japanese). The photos, of course, were taken by me. :-p

Minami Souma City Website has some more information about the festival, though only in Japanese. For English, check Japan Atlas and similar pages.

Some of the crowd who were there, despite heavy rain

As for other festivals I have already been to, I will try to post about them in advance so that it is useful for those of you who are already in Japan.

Summer vacation has come. If there is any nice festival going around Tokyo or Chiba, please drop a message as a comment. :o)

Moriya Matsuri - A Town Festival

2006-07-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

There are two types of festivals in Japan. The first is the religious and cultural festivals. Most of these are famous, and big. The other, town festivals, are much smaller but much more fun in a way.

Town festivals are organized by town offices and senior residences, to foter goodwill among residents and give the people (especially children and the old people) a chance to enjoy without traveling far. Most of these festivals are held in late July, when the schools are closed for summer vacation.

Today, I attended the town festival in Moriya, a small town about 60km North of Tokyo. I was invited by my Japanese foster parents who live there. I will use the photos and events from there to outline a Japanese town festival.

The stage and free (yes, FREEEEEEEE!) sake

Food stalls

The food stalls sell a lot of fast food, including yaki s0ba (grilled Japanese noodles), Sausages, and yaki-tori (grilled chicken on a stick). Children go for cotton candy and kakigori (shaved ice with flavored syrup). Well..., not only children :o)

Games and competitions

There are games that anyone can take part. And that goes for visotors and foriegners, too. I too participated in the "Grand Golf Tournament", and won a tissue box as a prize :-p.

Target shooting, and shopping for insect-shaped toys are two other popular activities for the kids.

Karaoke competition is more popular among the aged. They insisted that I sing, but I could not find in the song collection a Japanese song that I remember the melody. Too bad :o(

There was a parade and a ballet performance by the children in the town. Not bad, given that many of the kids tried it for the first time. An amateur photographer with a digital camera (with a long shutter lag) cannot show you much.

Well, so much for today. I will cover the Bon-odori dances and fireworks when I attend the next festival :o). Hope you enjoyed the photos.

If you are in Japan in summer, take a bit of time to drop by any small town festival if there is one around. A good way to meet lots of friendly people, take part in some fun and games, and find out about cool sightseeing spots too!

Mitama Matsuri, Tokyo

2006-07-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

The Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo celebrates the Mitama Matsuri (literally Soul Festival) in mid July every year.

The objective of holding the festival is to commemorate and worship the war dead enshrined here. The shrine is decorated with about 30,000 lanterns with their names (unfortuantely I could not stay there until they are lit). The festival includes performances of kendou (Japanese fencing), traditional dances, and songs too.

The lanterns

Kendou - one of the participants is a foriegn student

Dancers from Okinawa