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August 02, 2005
Japan Trip Part 2
OK, so I have been quite remiss in my publishing of these pictures. Thanks to everyone who asked for them. Here is the rest of our trip to Tokyo in July.
Anna enjoying a pastry snack...
Downtown at night...
This is the prefecture we stayed in.
Roppongi really comes alive at night. It's the epicenter for westerners at night.
We visited several parks while in Tokyo. There are a couple unusual things we noticed.
1. People do not eat lunch in the park. We tried once and found we were the only ones, even though there were hundreds of other people there at lunch time. Most people were just there to be outside. When we walked away though, there were numerous cars parked along the edge of the park. People chose to sit in their cars (with the A/C running) and eat their lunch.
2. There is a very small (visible) homeless population in Tokyo or the surrounding prefectures. However, in this park, we found a group of blue tarps and tents. They looked semi-permanent. From what we understand, this is a tolerated compromise to a small problem in a country where space is at a premium. Here's what they look like:
More pictures of the park and museums:
Here are a few shots of a shrine. There are many shrines of varying intricacy. Fascinating to look through, even if you have no idea what the writing says....
Another highlight of our time in Tokyo was the shopping experience, and experience it is. This is a typical street side market. Notice the train line overhead. The public transportation is the best we've ever seen. Fast, affordable, ubiquitous and best of all....always on time. :-)
I'll finish this installment of the trip here. There will be a third chapter soon though..... :-)
--Jim
Posted by jim at August 2, 2005 10:30 AM