Tag Archives: nemuro

2011 Japan Trip: Photo albums by day

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Senso-Ji Temple in Asakusa

Here are complete day-by-day photo albums of our trip to Japan on Facebook (you don’t need a Facebook account to see them, but you’ll need to log in to Facebook to share or post a comment). Many of the photos (like the food shots, for instance) will be included in individual blog posts.

DAY 1 – Flight to Japan, arrive in Sapporo | DAY 2 – Sapporo | DAY 3 – Arrive by train in Nemuro | DAY 4 – Nemuro | DAY 5 – Nemuro: Akan National Park, Ainu Village | DAY 6 – Leave Nemuro, Arrive Tokyo | DAY 7 – Tokyo: Meiji Jingu, Shinjuku, Shinagawa | DAY 8 – Tokyo: Asakusa, Shinagawa | DAY 9 – Harajuku, Shibuya, Asakusa (Sky Tree), Shinagawa | DAY 10 – Shinkansen to Hiroshima | DAY 11 – Hiroshima: Peace Memorial Park, Miyajima | DAY 12 – Kyoto: Kiyomizudera | DAY 13 – Bus Tours of Kyoto, Nara | DAY 14: Depart Kyoto, arrive Osaka’s Kansai Airport

34 short videos of our 2011 trip to Japan

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I recently returned from a fantastic trip to Japan, with my wife Erin Yoshimura and my mom. We flew first to Sapporo in the northern island of Hokkaido, where one of my uncles lives, and then traveled to Nemuro, my mom’s hometown on the easternmost tip of Hokkaido, where another uncle lives. Then we flew down to Tokyo for a few days, then Hiroshima, then Kyoto before flying home from Osaka’s Kansai Airport. It was grueling at times — two weeks is a long trip, especially with your mom! — but I really had a great time and it’s given me a lot to think about… and write about.

I’m still sorting out notes from the trip and organizing the zillions of photos. But I did finally finish editing and titling the many videos I shot with my Lumix LX5 camera. Here are 34 short videos with brief descriptions. Feel free to graze through them, or watch them all (they’re on my YouTube channel).

NOTE: I’ve signed up to include ads on some of my videos, including these ones of Japan. If you feel inclined to click on the ads that show up, I get a little bit of coin in return. If you want to get rid of them, just click the “x” in the upper right of each banner ad.

As I write blog posts, I’ll also embed these videos within them. So think of these vids as previews of some of the topics I’ll be covering.
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Notes from Japan

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Post / Gil Asakawa
Real sushi, from the source: a bento box at a sushi restaurant in Sapporo.

I’m in the middle of a two-week trip to Japan, and it’s been a fascinating visit.

I was born here in Tokyo (an Army brat — my dad, a Nisei from Hawaii, was stationed here and met my mom during the Korean war) and moved to the states when I was 8. But as an adult, I’ve only been in Japan twice — in 1994 and 1995. This time it’s for a family trip, and I’m traveling with my mom.

Here are some observations: Continue reading →