O.K. I`ll start of with a "cutie". This little girl had never seen anyone from the west before & couldn`t believe her eyes :-
Ken.
Ken.
by Chiana » 27 Jan 2009 06:09 pmAwww, isn't she sweet, great photo Ken.As Kat said ,,,, you should write a book .
You`re our version of Alan Whicker, go for it Ken
You`re our version of Alan Whicker, go for it Ken
by Ken » 28 Jan 2009 10:08 pmThanks Chiana. Must give it more thought.
The two most dominant religions of the far east are Shinto & Buddhism
One of the most beautiful islands I`ve ever visited is the pacific island of Miyajima .
Its sometimes referred to as Shinto island as its home to one of the biggest Shinto shrines in the far east.
At the approach to the island is a magnificent gate :-
Ken.
The two most dominant religions of the far east are Shinto & Buddhism
One of the most beautiful islands I`ve ever visited is the pacific island of Miyajima .
Its sometimes referred to as Shinto island as its home to one of the biggest Shinto shrines in the far east.
At the approach to the island is a magnificent gate :-
Ken.
by Ken » 29 Jan 2009 12:36 pmThe shrine itself is built on stilts over the water. It covers quite an area--when I took this the tide was out :-
The interior was stunning :-
Ken.
The interior was stunning :-
Ken.
by Ken » 30 Jan 2009 06:39 pmThe Shinto monks support themselves and their shrine by the manufacture of Saki. Although in simple terms its rice wine, in fact its much more complex than that. There can be as many varieties of Saki both in type and quality as there are of normal wine.
Here`s just a few of them being matured in special casks :-
Ken.
Here`s just a few of them being matured in special casks :-
Ken.
by Ken » 03 Feb 2009 06:41 pmThis part of the shrine is called the Heiden or Hall of Offerings:-
Its where wishes/prayers are made.That`s what all those beige coloured cards hanging in rows towards the left are.
Ken.
Its where wishes/prayers are made.That`s what all those beige coloured cards hanging in rows towards the left are.
Ken.
by Ken » 04 Feb 2009 05:35 pmThe Shinto priests must feed the local animals with ice-cream because the moment one of us appeared with an ice-cream ,they appeared out of the trees & wouldn`t go away until they`d had some & the ice-cream was finished :-
Ken.
Ken.
Last edited by Ken on 09 Feb 2009 07:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
by Ken » 07 Feb 2009 05:24 pmAnd on that note we leave Miyajima & move on.
There was nothing but trees & dense growth on banks of the Taedong River a few years ago. Now there are developements everywhere :-
The day I took that it was so humid that my shirt was permanently soaked.
No chance of any houses here though. At this point the river changed its course evry time it rained :-
Ken.
Coal was so scarce and expensive in this area , it was sold by the kg in shops :-
There was nothing but trees & dense growth on banks of the Taedong River a few years ago. Now there are developements everywhere :-
The day I took that it was so humid that my shirt was permanently soaked.
No chance of any houses here though. At this point the river changed its course evry time it rained :-
Ken.
Coal was so scarce and expensive in this area , it was sold by the kg in shops :-
Last edited by Ken on 09 Feb 2009 07:43 pm, edited 3 times in total.
by Ken » 07 Feb 2009 11:16 pmAnd on again we go. After a long hard journey to Kyoto , Ken calls it a day --- only to find that his hotel has no beer (just some sort of strange tea) and his bed has no legs! 
Ken.
Ken.
by Ken » 08 Feb 2009 12:00 amMny of the most beautiful shrines and temples in the world can be found at Kyoto:-
Ken.
Ken.
by Ken » 10 Feb 2009 09:48 amFrom the outside the Budhist temples are not as colourful as the Shinto shrines but they are just as impressive in their size and majesty :-
Ken.
Ken.
by Ken » 10 Feb 2009 07:58 pmMany are set in beautiful locations :-
--- and I couldn`t resist taking this one nearby :-
If you could enlarge it ,you`d see that the "English" translation in the bottom half of the white notice reads :-
"WHEN CROSSING BE CAREFUL OF THE FOOTING INFICIENTLY.
UNDERSTAND BEFOREHAND BECAUSE THE RESPONSIBILITY CAN NOT BE ASSURED ABOUT THE ACCIDENT IN CASE AND SO ON."
Ken.
--- and I couldn`t resist taking this one nearby :-
If you could enlarge it ,you`d see that the "English" translation in the bottom half of the white notice reads :-
"WHEN CROSSING BE CAREFUL OF THE FOOTING INFICIENTLY.
UNDERSTAND BEFOREHAND BECAUSE THE RESPONSIBILITY CAN NOT BE ASSURED ABOUT THE ACCIDENT IN CASE AND SO ON."
Ken.
by Kattaddorra » 11 Feb 2009 11:45 amWonderful photos Ken, what an incredible journey ! Thank you so much for sharing your travels with us.
Katt
Katt
by Ken » 12 Feb 2009 11:17 pmThanks Katt & Giddion.
And now we leave Kyoto & head west ------ at speed :-
------- about 200 mph to be precise ! The Shinkansen ,as they call the bullet train, is incredibly smooth.
It seemed unreal when the waiter appeared through the carriage,dressed in waistcoat & tails and pushing an ornate trolley on which was a magnificent silver tea urn and serving tea and biscuits on expensive china.
Ken.
And now we leave Kyoto & head west ------ at speed :-
------- about 200 mph to be precise ! The Shinkansen ,as they call the bullet train, is incredibly smooth.
It seemed unreal when the waiter appeared through the carriage,dressed in waistcoat & tails and pushing an ornate trolley on which was a magnificent silver tea urn and serving tea and biscuits on expensive china.
Ken.
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by Ken » 13 Feb 2009 02:33 pmAnd on now to Hiroshima. The city was flatted in 1945 by the atom bomb dropped by the Americans :-
(Photo courtesy of the Hiroshima Memorial Museum).
Ken.
(Photo courtesy of the Hiroshima Memorial Museum).
Ken.
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by Ken » 13 Feb 2009 05:55 pmBut not all.
Remarkably one of the few buildings to remain standing after the atom bomb was right under the epicentre of the blast.This and the area around has been left untouched.
Here are a couple of pics I took :-
Ken.
Remarkably one of the few buildings to remain standing after the atom bomb was right under the epicentre of the blast.This and the area around has been left untouched.
Here are a couple of pics I took :-
Ken.
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by Ken » 16 Feb 2009 11:32 amThe developed part of Hiroshima is quite colourful at night with a variety of pretty lanterns all over the place :-
Even the drinking fountain was quite ornate :-
Ken.
Even the drinking fountain was quite ornate :-
Ken.
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by Ken » 19 Feb 2009 08:11 pmThe Japanese are still very chauvenist & most women who have been divorced or abandoned find that they have very little entitlement.
Many of these are very educated people speaking good English & yet they have no choice but to fend for themselves by any means possible.
Many we spoke to were selling packets of rice in the streets.They save enough for a sack full & then split it into hundreds of packets.If they do well they can sometimes buy equipment & move into something more lucrative.
This was one such lady :-
She`d graduated from rice selling to buying and playing some cheap instrument to saving up for & playing this more sophisticated one.
Ken.
Many of these are very educated people speaking good English & yet they have no choice but to fend for themselves by any means possible.
Many we spoke to were selling packets of rice in the streets.They save enough for a sack full & then split it into hundreds of packets.If they do well they can sometimes buy equipment & move into something more lucrative.
This was one such lady :-
She`d graduated from rice selling to buying and playing some cheap instrument to saving up for & playing this more sophisticated one.
Ken.
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by Ken » 20 Feb 2009 12:41 pmAnd now back on the bullet train to head east. Next stop Mount Fuji.Ken.
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by Ken » 20 Feb 2009 04:37 pmIts difficult to get a decent shot of Mount Fuji due to the circle of mist which usually shrouds it,
Its very strange up there. One minute ,when there`s clear blue skies & sunshine , its scorching. The next , when the mist surrounds, its freezing !
Ken.
Its very strange up there. One minute ,when there`s clear blue skies & sunshine , its scorching. The next , when the mist surrounds, its freezing !
Ken.
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by Kattaddorra » 23 Feb 2009 12:12 pmJust what I was going to say Willylad, keep 'em coming Ken, your travels are wonderful for us stay at homes to 'share'
Katt
Katt
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by Ken » 27 Feb 2009 11:40 amAnd now off on our travels again --- this time by water. This is Lake Ashi.
Its a very long stretch of water which is actually a volcano crater. The volcano is still quite active with small eruptions both bubbling up from the lake and also spewing forth from the surrounding shores(pics of these later) :-
The beautiful ornate building on the left features on some of the Japanese coins.
Ken.
Its a very long stretch of water which is actually a volcano crater. The volcano is still quite active with small eruptions both bubbling up from the lake and also spewing forth from the surrounding shores(pics of these later) :-
The beautiful ornate building on the left features on some of the Japanese coins.
Ken.
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by WillyLad » 21 Mar 2009 10:56 amMichelle wrote:Another excellent tour ........ & very informative.
Michelle
Agree.
Any more though? None for 8 days.Hope this one`s not finished.
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by Ken » 24 Mar 2009 05:58 pmNope -- a few more to go yet. In fact Tokyo has so many variations & places of interest , you could spend 6 months here & still not see half of them.
Because of the vulnerabilty to earth quakes , Tokyo is built outwards rather than upwards & there are very few skyscrapers.
Here`s one & showing their own Eiffel Tower in the background :-
Ken.
Because of the vulnerabilty to earth quakes , Tokyo is built outwards rather than upwards & there are very few skyscrapers.
Here`s one & showing their own Eiffel Tower in the background :-
Ken.
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by Ken » 28 Mar 2009 09:32 pmWith Tokyo being so well spread out , contrary to popular belief its fairly quiet apart from rush hour & I go jogging through the streets with less conjestion than Redcar High street.
There`s even large areas that are quite wild & in which you can easily get lost :-
In fact -- I did !
Ken.
There`s even large areas that are quite wild & in which you can easily get lost :-
In fact -- I did !
Ken.
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Re: Ken`s Postcard
by Ken » 03 Apr 2009 01:28 pmThere`s also lots of water and turtles seem to be everywhere :-
Ken.
Ken.
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Re: Ken`s Postcard
by Ken » 10 Apr 2009 07:03 pmThe scourge of many of Japan`s still water areas is the dreaded giant hogweed. It needs constant weeding.Once it gets out of hand its almost impossible to control as this lake in the centre of Tokyo shows :-
Ken.
Ken.
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Re: Ken`s Postcard
by Ken » 10 May 2009 12:13 pmAnd finally ------- I`ll finish with another cutie. At a chocolate sculpture competition,this little girl couldn`t resist doing a bit of car maintenance when she thought no-one was looking :-
She was just about to open the bonnet & eat the spark plugs !
She was just about to open the bonnet & eat the spark plugs !
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