Day in Tokyo

On Sunday night, I left from Kyoto to Tokyo by night bus. The bus was called the "Dramatic Star," and I rode it for 8 hours.

The first sight I saw in Tokyo was the Tokyo central post. Just imagine all of that mail.

Here is a shot of a Tokyo train. This one was not crowded as others.

We took the train to Tokyo Tower.

Here we are on our way up the Tokyo Tower elevator.

Here is a few of the city from Tokyo tower.

The black building is a modern Buddhist temple.

Here is a wide shot from the tower.

Here is another wide shot.

This guy was cleaning the windows when I got his attention for a picture.

In the background of this wide shot, there is Mt. Fuji.

Here is an ancient temple in Tokyo. I would go there later.

After leaving Tokyo Tower, we found this small creek in the middle of the city.

Here is a picture of the tower from that ancient temple.

The temple had these little statues with what I believe are offerings.

Here is me posing next to statue one.

Statue two.

Statue three.

Statue four.

Here is what the inside of the temple looked like.

Here is a scene from the ceremony inside the temple.

Here is what I believe is the only Wendy's in Japan.

Here is just a random shot of Shinjuku.

Here is a shot of business men eating noodles on the street.

Here is the Domino's delivery guy. Pizza is very expensive in Japan.

Here is a movie poster for Lassie (or Rasshii).

Here's the Boss. It is a type of coffee.

This is from a random souvenir shop. The "Pee" I believe is for peach.

Here is a field outside the Imperial Palace. On another nearby field there were very many bums sleeping. There were no bums here because of this sign.

Here is me imitating a bum.

Here is the Imperial Palace, it was closed the day I went. Lazy emperor.

This guy was standing guard. He refused to pay attention to me.

I really tried to get his attention.

Here is a statue of a samurai outside the palace.

Here is an explanation of how to use a Japanese toilet. This is from a bathroom outside the palace, so you that think they would have had paper towels.

Here is Eric drinking a special Dr. Pepper can.

Here is me trying to get a free souvenir.

Here is me in an off-road wheelchair. Line up, ladies.

Here is me with two Japanese girls. Apparently, some like to dress up.

Here is me with a statue of Godzilla.

Godzilla burger!

Here a shot from a clothes store in Tokyo. Even though their clothes looked like old American clothes, they were still unbelievably expensive.

Yes, I got to see the Japanese Center for Hair Dressing and Beauty Education. It looked official.

Here is me at a sushi restaurant.

Here is my very inexpensive but comfortable hostile.

I returned from Tokyo by bullet train. It only took 3 hours.

Kobe at Night

Recently, Kobe held what I believe is called the "illuminarium" in which they lit up part of the city. This is a pathway that was lit up.


Here is inside the path.

Here is a close-up of the lights.

The path led to this circular gazebo-type lighted building.

Inside the gazebo was this lighted dome. Inside the dome was a fountain that people donate to for the Kobe earthquake victims.

Here is a wide-shot of the gazebo.

Here is a wide-shot of the opposite side of the gazebo.

Beyond the gazebo area was a lighted cross area.

Here is me in front of the crosses, looking tough.

Here is the Kobe beef that I ate. Most delicious. The sign says "Stake: medium rare."

Here is some random street art.

Here is a Kobe man-hole cover.

Here is the entrance to a Kobe China-town.

Here is a shot of a Chinese lantern over the street.

Here is a back-alley at which I ate. The sign pointing downward to the garbage says "toilet."

Here is a little gazebo that says Nan-King, the Chinese town that this particular China-town is modeled after.


Here is me next to a dragon statue.

Here is me and Chinese dragon number 2.

Here are some authentic Chinese goods.

Here are some more authentic Chinese goods. I don't think they're copyrighted.

Church in Japan

After asking my host family about Japanese churches, the Furusawas brought me to this church in Higashiyama.

It was the William A. Eckel Memorial Church built in 1979. I heard that a missionary from South Dakota usually comes on Fridays to discuss Christianity.


Here is a shot of the inside.


I soon found out that the Church is Protestant, and I had to break the news to them that I am Catholic. They were very nice about it.

Here are the only statues (figurines) that I could find. Their faces were Western. I asked about other Christian statues in Japan, and they said that they too have Western faces.

Here is their Christmas tree.

Making Mochi

Around new years, the Japanese will eat mochi for good luck. This past weekend, the Furusawas took me to a Mochi-Making at a local elementary school. Here is my host mother with the rice that will become the mochi.

Here is the propane-powered oven that cooks the rice until it is ready to be pounded.

Here is me and some of the Mochi-Makers waiting for the rice to cook. Extremely comfortable.

Here is the one of the hammers they use to pound the mochi into a soft and sticky pulp.

Usually two people pound the mochi simultaneously in rhythm, but here is just one man. The woman would occasionally add water during the up-swing. In this picture, it looks like he is about to hit her.

Here is a video of some dual-mochi-pounding.



Here is the Mochi after pounding. It is still very hot.

Here is a video of the Mochi removal.

I think this is brown sugar or some other kind of spice that they put on the mochi.

Here is my host mother and I testing some of the finished product, still warm.

Afterward, I played around with the kids. Someone got kicked in the head shortly after this photo was taken.