Sunday in Shinkoiwa

Choosing a random station again that is halfway between West Tokyo and Chiba to meet, Lisa and I found ourselves in the quaint town of Shinkoiwa. There were plenty of shops around and within the station that were all within walking distance. Across the street was a long shoutengai, and further away from the station were small curvy streets lined with little shops and many houses.

We found the river after walking down a few unknown residential streets and strolled by it, stopping and taking pictures whenever a certain location or light caught our eye.

 

It was a crisp afternoon, but the sunlight made it a pleasant winter day. The nice golden glow played to our advantage.

It was fun using the stair rails as a frame! (the blurred part) Must experiment more with this idea.

Credit to Lisa for the pictures of me

It was so nice to take it slow on a Sunday afternoon. Many thanks again to Lisa for an enjoyable, relaxing Sunday in Shinkoiwa, for being such a lovely and natural model, and for all the photography tips!

Random kitty.

恋しい京都

After a little over two years, I found myself back in the beautiful city of Kyoto again. It was only for two days, but it was nice taking a trip down memory lane.

I studied abroad in Kyoto in the spring, so it was interesting seeing the same sites in the winter.
The first day Cy and I arrived was nice and sunny. We stayed at Khaosan Hostel, which was conveniently located in Teramachi, right in the downtown area of Kyoto. Our first stop--Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. 

 

 On the path to the temple

Beautiful green moss

 

  Taken from inside the tea house near the exit

 

 

 


At night, we walked around the Gion district and down Pontocho. Rows of traditional wooden shops and buildings lined the dim-lit streets.

The next day was gloomy and rainy, which was not very conducive to traveling, but we still head off to Arashiyama. It's definitely a place to visit in the spring and fall because of the sakura and momiji, but the winter scenery wasn't too bad.

 

In the evening, we visited the Fushimi Inari Shrine, which was not very well-lit. It was difficult to take pictures in the rows of torii.

 After dinner with a friend from my study abroad days, Cy and I head back to Kanto by night bus. Kyoto is not the liveliest place, but all the natural and cultural beauty make it such a lovely city.

It's so strange to revisit a place you once called home. Walking down the same streets, visiting the apartment you used to live in, seeing the same sites again, meeting with friends you made from that place...

When I thought of all the great memories that I made in Kyoto, I felt the bittersweet pain from realizing that they were moments that I could never relive again. Nostalgia is such a curious feeling.

Osaka Love

Bright, playful, colorful, gritty, and packed with good food--It felt great to be back in Osaka! 

After two days of snow in Hokkaido, Cy and I flew south to Kansai and arrived in the evening. First stop that night--the lively Namba for some sightseeing and food.

The streets of Dotonbori burst with bright lights, flashy and colorful store signs, and whacky store displays. Heavily made-up ladies of the night scouting and soliciting groups of drunk businessmen, puffy-haired hosts, thugs, and all sorts of interesting characters wandered the streets.

piggy butt

 
 We filled our stomachs that night with okonomiyaki and takoyaki. Osaka okonomiyaki ftw!

I unfortunately got stomach flu the next day (I wonder if it was the food..), but still following our itinerary, we went to Osaka's famous shrine, Sumiyoshi-taisha. We were greeted with cold, morning rain and gray skies.

 

 After that, we were off to the Osaka Aquarium. The place was littered with hyper kids, families, and couples.
Wherever we went, we heard the same comments over and over again.

"Kawaii!"
"Sugee!"
"Kimochiwarui!"

Is that really all people can say about the things they see?

"Whatchu lookin' at?"

shiny piranha

Flowing like a dream

After another visit to Namba at night, we relaxed back at the hostel and watched some Japanese celebrity prank show on TV.

Despite getting stomach flu, Osaka treated me well. What an amusing city!