May 13th, 2007 by admin Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
As I have been reading through a Japan travel guide, I have come across a number of places and things that I would like to see and do while in Japan. I thought I might start collecting those places here, as a way to keep track of all of my Japan dreams before I go. Without further ado. . .
Ramen Alley – located in Hokkaido. Ramen Alley is a collection of about a dozen tiny noodle joints. Supposedly wonderful and delightful.
Odori Park – located in Sapporo. The winter snow festival, February, is supposedly amazing. The snow sculptures are not to be missed.
Fuji-san – west of Tokyo. I want to climb it. I want to climb it in the dark with a flashlight. I want to sit on top of Fuji-san and watch the sunrise.
Onsen – lots of places. Hot springs which are located many places throughout the country due to the volcanic activity on the islands. Public baths are a large part of Japanese culture and tradition. I want to participate in this tradition and enjoy the relaxation that comes from soaking my body in a steaming hot bath. Once I get over my self-conscious, afraid to be naked around others hang-up.
Daibutsu (Great Buddha) – One of the two largest pre-modern bronze Buddhas. To be honest, I’m not really sure why I want to see this. Probably because I want a picture of me and a 37 foot tall Buddha.
Sumo Stadium – Something so traditional and distinctly Japanese. I feel as though I would be amiss if I didn’t go see a sumo match before we left.
Hanami (Flower viewing) – A fabulous picnic with sushi, beer and sake while sitting beneath the infamous cherry blossoms. Sounds lovely!
Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market – The wholesale fish market that handles nearly all fish for the entire Tokyo area. The booths around the market are said to have some of the freshest sushi around.
Kabuki-za Theater – Kabuki is a tradition Japanese theater style. The acting is all done by men. Similar to sumo, this is just something I want to experience. Performances at this theater in particular have commentaries available in English, so I should be able to understand at least a little of what is going on.
Tagata-jinja Shrine – located in Aichi-ken. One of 40 remaining phallic shrines in Japan.
Ooagata-jinja Shrine – located in Aichi-ken. The more demure female counterpart to the Tagata-jinja Shrine.
Skiing – located many different places. But places such as Gas-san sound especially fun and exciting. Gas-san gets near 25 feet of snow each year. So much snow that downhill skiing here doesn’t begin until late April and continues through July.
Yama-dera Temple – located in northern Honshu. One of the most celebrated historical and religious sites in tohoku. The temple comprises of about 40 buildings on peaks and cliffsides with more than 1,100 stone steps up. There are spectacular views of the valley below from some of the outcropings.
Gokusui-no-en – located in Northern Honshu. This is the floating poetry festival. Contestants float cups of sake down the garden’s stream. the goal is to compose a poem before your cup reaches the end of the stream.
Lake Tazawa-ko – located in Northern Honshu. The deepest lake in Japan.
Mount Osore-zan – located in Northern Honshu. The english translation for this mountain is Mount Dread. Some people say that this is one of the most haunted places on Earth.
Meiji-mura Village – located in Aichi-Ken. This is the old building graveyard. More than 60 important early Western-style building have been moved and rebuilt to spend the rest of their lives. One of the buildings at this site is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Tokyo Imperial Hotel lobby. The village can be toured by antique streetcars and a steam railroad.
This list is a work in progress. As I come up with more places I find that seem interesting, I will add them here. Then, once we are there we can start checking out all the spots on our list.
