Asakusa

Asakusa, Tokyo.


...the text on the banner is reversed. It must have blown around in the wind - or else I just took a picture of the back side of it.

Osaka Skyline

Any guesses where this was taken from?


(Answer: the top of Osaka Castle)

Kobe

Building, ads, and park...taken near the train station in Sannomiya, Kobe.

Old vs New

A couple of days ago I posted a picture of Osaka Castle at night. Here's one from the day.


It's a close-up view. You can really only see the edge of the bottom of the corner of the castle walls...

I took this last winter, with Brian's camera. I liked the contrast between the old stone walls of the castle and the skyscraper in the background. And the tree. Trees are always good.

Kyoto

The riverside in Kyoto...isn't it pretty?


Also - I made a mistake in yesterday's post! (Oh noes!)
A cookie for anyone who figures out what it was...

Harbor

I hereby declare this "cool older pictures week"...'cause I have a cold and don't want to go out and take more pictures. And also because I have quite a few cool pictures that I could post.

Today - a harbor on Awaji Island, across from Kobe, which you can see in the distance.


Taken last summer on a trip with my school's photo club.

Sunset

Yesterday we had thunderstorms, off and on, all day (today, too, actually). But last night, around 6 or 7 PM, the sky cleared above my apartment and the sunset shone on the clouds that had been raining on us all day, and it was so pretty I stood there staring at the clouds for a few minutes. Then I got my camera and took pictures. And then stood there for a few more.


(The clouds were a prettier pink in real life ^^)

Let's go shopping!

If there was a neat shopping center like this nearby, wouldn't you want to go?

Triangles

Apologies for yesterday...I was at school really late, then I had errands to run and I got home late, and I just didn't remember about uploading a picture...oops.

In penance, I bring you three views of Triangle Park in Shinsaibashi, Osaka.




(You might recognize the bunny/boy statue in the last shot from Saturday ^_~ )

Triangle Park

This is Triangle Park in Shinsaibashi, Osaka...complete with graffitied boy-looking-at-bunnies statue.

Shrine Vending

...the best of both worlds?

Pretty Building!

...this picture may or may not be from Akihabara in Tokyo. I'd prefer not to say.


(Okay...so I keep forgetting my camera at school. I brought it in to take a class picture, then stuck it inside the podium to keep it safe afterwards. Unfortunately, it's a little too safe, since even I don't notice it in there. So I'm posting a few older pictures for now, until I get a chance to take some new ones.)

In the city

I was shopping at a local department store today...climbing the stairs to the third floor, I looked out the window and this is what I saw:


For a small-town girl like me, seeing city extending as far as I can see is pretty impressive. I don't usually notice it - down on the ground you can't really see very far, and from my apartment the view is pretty much limited to the other apartment buildings and the parking lot (and I'm only on the second floor, anyway). But every once in a while it catches my eye, and I realize just how big the city I live in must be.

Kitty Building

This is part of Umeda in Osaka...the building with the kitty on top is the Namco arcade.


I love Japan :) Where else in the world would I be able to find a building in a major downtown area with a giant kitty on top?

100 Pictures!

According to my photo file, this is picture number 100! In honor of my expansion into three digit territory, I dug through my old pictures and found one of my favorites.

This picture of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto was taken last summer. Kiyomizu-dera is one of the most famous temples in all of Japan. You can see part of the city of Kyoto in the background.

Bonus: click on the picture for an extra-large, desktop-background-sized image!

*I should note that my post number is only at 86, but I've put up pictures for more than one day in several posts, so the actual picture count is at 100. (That number doesn't count bonus photos or close-ups that I've posted.)
Maybe I'll do something fun for my 100th post, too.

Keep your eyes open

This is a liquor store near the local train station. The building has some amusing characters painted upon it.


Here's a closer view.

Big Step

Last Shinsaibashi picture for now...this is Big Step, the shopping area from whence the previous two pictures were taken. Complete with futuristic capsule elevators (you can see them on the left).

The other side

Shinsaibashi, looking down the same street as in the last post, in the opposite direction.


I wonder - are these pictures interesting to someone who has never been to Shinsaibashi? (I hope so.)

Shinsaibashi

And...we're back in Osaka! It's only 3 weeks into May, and I've already finished with my Golden Week pictures!
(Although if I run out new pics to post, I reserve the right to show more of the Ghibli Museum ^_~ )


This is part of Amemura (short for America Mura, or America Village) in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. This is where all the cool kids hang out. Aside from all the used clothing/Levi's stores (and perhaps the "cool" image), it seems to have very little to do with America.

Akiba (2)

There was a big crowd gathered here...for something involving video game with the big sign, I imagine.

Someone may also have been fliming for a TV show/movie. My friend said she saw people with cameras, and soon after this was taken, a large portion of the crowd dispersed (mostly the crowd on the right side, out of my picture...they were covering a good part of the huge 4-lane road) as if, perhaps, they'd just finished watching the filming?

So if anyone sees a scene resembling this in a movie or something, let me know!