For The Love of Travel

My favorite places, photos and stories

June 24, 2014
by Lids
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Tokyo

japan 115I don’t think I have seen as many people catching a few zzz’s on public transport as in Tokyo….probably because of all the shopping opportunities.!! japan 124And the fish market @ 4am is the place to be….watch out for the forklifts that whiz around with the heavy tuna carcasses! japan 114Takeshita Dori’s narrow pedestrians-only (thankfully!) length is lined with uber-trendy clothes shops interspersed with the kind of refreshment stops likely to appeal to its mainly teenage market. This is a great place to come, and in particular on a Sunday, if you want to see Tokyo’s youth at play.  Also, a visit to Yoyogi park on Sunday, when its filled with people out for a stroll, or picnicing under the trees, or sword fencing, or practising other sports. Not to mention, a group of friends that meet up there to provide impromptu drumming concerts and throngs of youngsters who set up mics and electric guitars and perform near the park’s main entrance. (This park is also filled with stunningly beautiful cherry blossom in spring).
Between the entrance to Yoyogi Park and Harajuku Station there is a little bridge which on Sundays becomes a popular spot for Cos-play. Cos play is some weird Japanese thing which results in young Japanese school girls dressing up bizarrely as anything from French maids to Pokemon characters and posing for photos with passers-by. Fascinating, but strange.

June 5, 2014
by Lids
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Kyoto

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japan 107After a full-some day of temple visiting, it’s great to hit a matcha café and sample a refreshing sweet, colourful and textural combination made from agar agar jelly; sweet red bean paste and green tea ice-cream.

In spite of the many western influences on Japan, the Japanese wedding has maintained most of the Japanese traditions. The bride and groom usually wear Japanese wedding kimono. The bride wears a white wedding kimono called “uchikake” with a white headdress. The headdress is big and bulky and is said to hide the bride’s “horns” as a symbol of submission. The groom’s kimono is usually black and has his family’s symbol embroidered on it in white.

The Philosopher’s Walk is a pedestrian path that follows a canal in Kyoto, between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji. The route is so-named because the influential 20th-century Japanese philosopher and Kyoto University professor Nishida Kitaro, is thought to have used it for daily meditation. It passes a number of temples and shrines such as Hōnen-in, Ōtoyo Shrine, and Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji. It takes about 30 minutes to complete the walk, although many people spend more time visiting the sights along the way.

Kōdaiji is an outstanding temple in Kyoto’s Higashiyama District. It was established in 1606 in memory of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Japan’s greatest historical figures, by his wife Nene. Its main buildings feature richly decorated interiors and are surrounded by beautiful Zen gardens.

Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) is a Zen temple along Kyoto’s eastern mountains (previously the site of a shogun’s retirement villa), with a beautiful moss garden and a unique dry sand garden.

The Gion District comes alive in the evening with crazy amateur paparazzi rushing around the laneways trying to “spot a geisha” and take a photo at any cost….most visitors, thank goodness, ask for permission, and usually receive a slight incline of the head as an okay.

Geirangerfjord

June 4, 2014 by Lids | 0 comments

Geiranger valley, NorwayImage7The area’s unique natural surroundings were created during the last ice age, when glaciers carved out deep fjords and shaped the high mountains. Here, the fjords are around 600 – 700 metres deep and the peaks reach up to 2,000 metres above sea level. The deep blue UNESCO-protected Geirangerfjord is surrounded by majestic, snow-covered mountain peaks, wild waterfalls and lush, green vegetation. It’s a part of the Reinheimen National Park, reserved to protect wild reindeer. Dalsnibba (1,500 metres above sea level) and Flydalsjuvet are among the absolute favourite attractions in the area.