(no subject)
The reason I`ve found time to write now is that I planned on going back to Tokyo for a few days, before coming back to Kyoto and then going to Osaka/Kobe. But since I can`t get accommodation in Tokyo for today, I`m just sitting at the hostel, having extended my stay here for at least another five days.
I plan to go back to Tokyo sometime though, to see the friends I`ve made in Japan that are now in Tokyo, or living there. And I also look forward to visiting Azusa, whom I got to know when she was an exchange student in Oslo.
Well, anyway. After settling in to my Ryokan and basically just walking around in Tokyo for a few days, I decided to buy the D200 camera at half the price from back home, used, but in perfect order. It was a good investment. I`ve taken over 1400 pictures so far, and they are amazing quality, even if the motives aren`t as good as the UiO resident pro-am photographer Morten`s are. I`ve been turning Japanese in that aspect. I think sometimes that I look like those groups of 50+ Japanese people you see in the Frogner park in the summer, taking pictures of everything.
But after staying at the Ryokan for 4 nights, I moved to Yoyogi YH next to the Meiji-jingu, one of the most fantastic parks I`ve seen in a big city! If you get the chance, and are ever in Tokyo, This should be number one on your list of things to see. And the Shrine itself is also magnificent. I was there on Tanabata-day, when the two lovers trapped on either side of the milky-way are united one day a year. And during those 2 hours, there were no less that 4 weddings. Congratulations to the couples(!), but I still feel sorry for the priest who had to do all of the ceremonies. I got some fun pictures of the priest, the shrine maidens, the brides, and the processions, and it was a wonderful sight...
after walking around all day, I decided that since it was Saturday, I should go to Harajuku and take some pictures for Inger and Cat. Holy crap were there strangely dressed people. I saw two adult women wearing giant pink bunny costumes, as well as a guy/girl with over 6 colors in her/his hair. And there was a guy singing "I Will Always Love You" better than most professional versions I`ve heard, backed by his friend in the chorus. And the "free hugs"-people were just awesome, so of course I have quite a few pictures of them as well.
At this point I`ve been walking constantly for 7 hours, so I decide to go home to the YH, and my freezing room (the air-con was cold, more cold or most cold air, and even with it on, my room was in shade, so I needed a sleeping-bag to get some good rest, which I figured out after a few days.) There I met Chiaki, a Kyoto resident who was there for a job interview, in the long process of `Job-Hunting`. We talked a lot that evening, and had fun, and agreed that when I came to Kyoto, we had to meet up for Gion Matsuri (sadly we didn`t, but I hung out with her all of yesterday, and had a lot of fun. More about that later).
After that evening, I got to know a lot of people at the YH including Kei-Kei from Hong Kong, Jory from New Zealand and `Fez` from Canada and Korea. WE had lots of trips to various places including Ueno Zoo, Senso-ji in Asakusa, Akihabara (to visit Yodobashi Kamera and the bookstore above) and various other places that we happened to pass along.
enough for now. I`ll try to make an update again soon, although I can`t promise anything.
I plan to go back to Tokyo sometime though, to see the friends I`ve made in Japan that are now in Tokyo, or living there. And I also look forward to visiting Azusa, whom I got to know when she was an exchange student in Oslo.
Well, anyway. After settling in to my Ryokan and basically just walking around in Tokyo for a few days, I decided to buy the D200 camera at half the price from back home, used, but in perfect order. It was a good investment. I`ve taken over 1400 pictures so far, and they are amazing quality, even if the motives aren`t as good as the UiO resident pro-am photographer Morten`s are. I`ve been turning Japanese in that aspect. I think sometimes that I look like those groups of 50+ Japanese people you see in the Frogner park in the summer, taking pictures of everything.
But after staying at the Ryokan for 4 nights, I moved to Yoyogi YH next to the Meiji-jingu, one of the most fantastic parks I`ve seen in a big city! If you get the chance, and are ever in Tokyo, This should be number one on your list of things to see. And the Shrine itself is also magnificent. I was there on Tanabata-day, when the two lovers trapped on either side of the milky-way are united one day a year. And during those 2 hours, there were no less that 4 weddings. Congratulations to the couples(!), but I still feel sorry for the priest who had to do all of the ceremonies. I got some fun pictures of the priest, the shrine maidens, the brides, and the processions, and it was a wonderful sight...
after walking around all day, I decided that since it was Saturday, I should go to Harajuku and take some pictures for Inger and Cat. Holy crap were there strangely dressed people. I saw two adult women wearing giant pink bunny costumes, as well as a guy/girl with over 6 colors in her/his hair. And there was a guy singing "I Will Always Love You" better than most professional versions I`ve heard, backed by his friend in the chorus. And the "free hugs"-people were just awesome, so of course I have quite a few pictures of them as well.
At this point I`ve been walking constantly for 7 hours, so I decide to go home to the YH, and my freezing room (the air-con was cold, more cold or most cold air, and even with it on, my room was in shade, so I needed a sleeping-bag to get some good rest, which I figured out after a few days.) There I met Chiaki, a Kyoto resident who was there for a job interview, in the long process of `Job-Hunting`. We talked a lot that evening, and had fun, and agreed that when I came to Kyoto, we had to meet up for Gion Matsuri (sadly we didn`t, but I hung out with her all of yesterday, and had a lot of fun. More about that later).
After that evening, I got to know a lot of people at the YH including Kei-Kei from Hong Kong, Jory from New Zealand and `Fez` from Canada and Korea. WE had lots of trips to various places including Ueno Zoo, Senso-ji in Asakusa, Akihabara (to visit Yodobashi Kamera and the bookstore above) and various other places that we happened to pass along.
enough for now. I`ll try to make an update again soon, although I can`t promise anything.