Zao Fox Village, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan - (Part 2 - Foxes!)

July 12, 2016  •  2 Comments
...Continued from my previous entry. I arrived shortly after opening so there were very few other people wandering around on a windy and overcast morning. The arrival was by design as I could not wait any longer to see them and I wanted to beat the crowed. The weather was cold and unfortunate but not unexpected in early Spring on the side of a mou...
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Zao Fox Village, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan - (Part 1 - background and journey)

July 11, 2016  •  Leave a Comment
Sorry it has been so very long since I updated this blog. I wish I had an excuse like a won the lottery and have been traveling the world but no turns out I was just lazy about it... I traveled to Japan again in April of this year and one of the main things on my itinerary was visiting Zao Fox Village. I happened across a video of the place and it...
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Tokyo Japan (Day 11 Part 3) - Ueno (上野)!

March 14, 2015  •  Leave a Comment
Ueno is such an interesting area of Tokyo to explore. Since my zoo visit did no work out I decided to walk around and see what the area had to offer. I headed to Ameyokocho which is a busy market street near Ueno park and Ueno station. Ameyokocho had a really lively feel. It was full of tourists and locals alike all mingling together searching o...
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Tokyo Japan (Day 11 Part 2) - Ueno (上野) - Ueno Park

March 07, 2015  •  Leave a Comment
As it was still early Still I was kind of amazed at how many people already were walking around the park. I could imagine how busy it could be later in the day when everything was opened. There are tons of museums and places of interest along the way but I was determined to see the Panda's before the big crowds started to show up. Along the way...
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Tokyo Japan (Day 11 Part 1) - Ueno (上野) - Ueno Park

February 28, 2015  •  Leave a Comment
My plan for Ueno was to visit the Zoo and meet the Pandas after that I planned to walk around the Ameyoko (アメ横) shopping district for a while get some lunch maybe. Well I got off to a good start. Ueno was a very short train ride from the hotel and the atmosphere near the station was lively even early in the morning. I made my way to Ueno park wh...
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Odawara to Tokyo Japan (Day 10 Part 4) - Chiyoda Ward (千代田), Tokyo, Japan

February 21, 2015  •  1 Comment
After enjoying some Starbucks coffee at the Odawara train station I hopped onto a Shinkansen train from Odawara to Tokyo. The Shinkansen train made a huge difference in the time it took to get back to Tokyo compared to the slow moving local train. It was so smooth and before I knew it I was back in Tokyo. I would not have changed anything though....
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Odawara - Japan (Day 10 Part 3) Hotoku-Ninomiya-jinja (報徳二宮神社)

February 14, 2015  •  Leave a Comment
Despite being increasingly hungry once I am in photo mode I just can't stop myself. I noticed a Shrine next to the castle and had to check it out. It was called Hotoku-Ninomiya-jinja. It was very lively as it was close to Shichi-Go-San (七五三), which means "Seven-Five-Three" a Japanese right of passage so to speak for children who are age 7, 5 and 3...
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Tokyo - Japan (Day 10 Part 2) Odawara Castle (小田原城)

February 07, 2015  •  Leave a Comment
After my early morning adventure visiting the maneki-neko statues it was time for my long train ride to Odawara. I could have taken the Shinkansen but I decided to take a local train and I am glad I did. There was hardly anyone on the train and it was peaceful riding the train out in the countryside. It really makes you appreciate the beauty of the...
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Tokyo - Japan (Day 10 Part 1) Setagaya, Tokyo and Gotoku-ji

February 04, 2015  •  Leave a Comment
After a great night's sleep it was amazing to wake up with a view of Tokyo and the Rainbow bridge. I felt completely refreshed and ready to roll. I had a list of wanted I wanted to do but weather was a factor so I kind of changed the order of events a little. With a greater chance of rain in Tokyo and a little less chance in Odawara I decided it wa...
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Tokyo - Japan (Day 9 Part 3) Prince Park Hotel and Shiba Park

December 27, 2014  •  Leave a Comment
From the world trade center I walked to my hotel. I studied the maps pretty well the night before and I could see Tokyo Tower so I knew I was headed in the right direction. The area had a good mix of stores and office buildings. There were not as many places to eat along the way as I had suspected. I think compared to San Francisco or NY it seemed...
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Tokyo - Japan (Day 9 Part 2) Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden and World Trade Center

December 20, 2014  •  Leave a Comment
It is interesting that both Hama Rikyo and Kyu-Shiba Rikyu are so close together and both are great examples of classic traditional Japanese landscape gardens. Kyu-Shiba Rikyu is on a much smaller scale than Hama-Rikyu but it is still a beautiful little oasis in During the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 all the buildings in the garden were destroy...
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Tokyo - Japan (Day 9 Part 2) Hamarikyu Garden

December 13, 2014  •  Leave a Comment
Hamarikyu Gardens (浜離宮恩賜庭園) looked much smaller on the map than what it was up close and personal. It is a brief walk from the Shiodome station maybe about 5-10 minutes. After paying a small entry fee I busted out my trusty D-600 and took my first left turn. There were some people but it was far from crowded. I remember a family with a young mothe...
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