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A short holiday in Japan

April 22 - May 3, 2003

In April Wim joined Jie for experiments at SPring-8, a synchrotron facility near Osaka. We took the opportunity to visit our friends Richard and Monica in Yokosuka, near Tokyo, and take a short holiday in Japan. We first stayed with Richard and Monica for a while, and from their place visited Tokyo, Hakone, and Kamakura. We finally spent two days in Nikko.

Tokyo

Satoshi Inaba's wedding party (lots of ex-Carnegie people), Asakusa, a boat trip on the Sumida-gawa, and the Imperial Palace.


    Monica, Richard, Holger, Jie, and I, waiting for the train at JR Keikyu Taura.
    Shinagawa station

    The happy Inaba-couple
    Carnegie goes Tokyo. Front to back: Satoshi Nakano, Satoshi Inaba, Jie, Fraukje, Holger, Sebastien, Wim, Monica, and Richard.

    At dinner after the party: Richard, Satoshi, Peter, Barbara, and Monica.
    A battlefield?

    Flowers in Asakusa
    Five-storied pagoda

    Asking the gods what's in store
    Nakamise-dori (street), tourist shops and lots of people

    Asahi breweries headquarters. What's that on top??
    From the boat on Sumida-gawa (river)

    Nakamise-dori by night
    The Imperial Palace

    A mystery guest (or the emperor himself?) arriving at the palace
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Hakone

A volcanic park south of Tokyo, with (hazy) views of Mt. Fuji.


    Paper lanterns at a buddhist shrine
    Ashino-ko (lake), with Mt. Fuji in the background (if you look closely...)

    Sulfuric fumes and hot springs
    Black shell of eggs boiled in the hot springs

    Ordering dinner was a bit of a challenge. We were lucky they had plastic samples of the dishes next to the entrance - a big help :-)
    And we managed to get what we wanted!
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Kamakura

Kamakura was Japan's capital for a while in the 12th century, and was then more or less forgotten. A rich collection of well-preserved, mostly zen-buddhist shrines and temples is the result.


    The gate of Jochi-ji (temple)
    Guarding a small shrine at the far end of Kencho-ji

    Three buddhas at Tokei-ji (I think)
    Also Tokei-ji

    Orchid
    Lots of good-luck charms at Tsugugaoka Hachiman-gu

    Casks of sake: offerings to appease the gods
    The Daibutsu (Great Buddha) of Kamakura
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Nikko

We took a train out to Nikko, about 100 kms north of Tokyo. Nikko is an important Buddhist center and has a host of richly decorated shrines. We spent the afternoon looking at those. The next day we took a bus into the nearby national park, and hiked from the Ryuzu-daki-falls to Yumoto Onsen. Then we went back to Nikko to pick up our luggage, and on to Tokyo Narita Airport where we stayed in a hotel. The next day, after a harty noodle soup breafast, we flew back home.


    Yomei-mon (gate)
    See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

    The garden of Rinno-ji
    A little well for washing before prayer

    We hiked accros Senjo-ga-hara marshland, with a wonderful volcanic landscape in the background

    A long line of small granite shrines, lining the road to a small temple at Yumoto-Onsen
    Reflections in rice fields, from the train back to Tokyo
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On to the next page: May 2003, Hikes in the Bernese Alps with Marc.

Back to the last page: March and April 2003, fieldtrip in Ivrea and spring in Bern.
Back to Wim's page.
Back to Fraukje's page.


Last modified 26th August, 2003