DSC_6017.JPGThe Century Southern Tower hotel lobby, on the 20th floor.
I took a week-long trip to visit a few camera companies for Dolby in Japan. A good time, and productive as well.
DSC_6017.JPG
The Century Southern Tower hotel lobby, on the 20th
floor.
DSC_6012.JPG
The room where I stayed in Tokyo the first fitful night.
DSC_6019.JPG
Shinjuku station, as seen from my hotel window.
DSC_6026a.jpg
Katsumi, Doug, Trevor
My Dolby companions at dinner the first night.
DSC_6203.JPG
This is the train we boarded for Suwa Lake the next
morning -- or one like it.
DSC_6066.JPG
The Japanese mountains are really quite beautiful, and
this was the first time I had seen them.
DSC_6182.JPG
Another view from the train, which explains the blur.
This seems to be a common way to dry hay. Most of
the farm plots we saw were less than a few acres, and
appeared to be maintained largely by hand.
DSC_6100.JPG
The cylinder is an oddly popular shape for buildings,
and we saw many such examples. I have no idea how they
make it practical, and I didn't get inside of one to
check it out.
DSC_6130.JPG
A respectful Buddhist figure, about 30m high, adorning
a town's hillside.
DSC_6134.JPG
OK, this is an odd shot to include in my album, but
the sheer excess of power lines and connections on the
electrical poles was striking, and unlike anything I
have seen in other parts of the world.
DSC_6204.JPG
Hot Spring Bath
Doug checking out a natural hot spring bath located
right in the train station.
DSC_6208.JPG
Along with the unfamiliar, we found many familiar places,
especially in terms of food & coffee outlets. (Sorry,
but that's the best word for them.)
DSC_6216.JPG
Another nerd shot, this one of a compressed natural
gas tank in the trunk of the cab we took from the rail
station. Apparently, most cabs run on CNG as a cost
(and pollution) saving measure.
DSC_6225.JPG
A typical Japanese apartment building. I don't think
they use dryers here, at least not when the weather
is nice. It reminded me a lot of Switzerland in many
respects -- a similarity Doug pointed out early on.
DSC_6226a.jpg
Trevor and Doug with the folks we met from ImageLink,
the company president (M. Uchiyama) and the executive
director of product development (H. Niwa). That's Katsumi
again on the far right.
DSC_6239a.jpg
Most of the vehicles here are decorated in fanciful
images -- the pears are apparently a mark of this area,
and pear trees were found everywhere. The fruit, which
is nearly ripe this time of year, is individually wrapped
in paper to protect from frost.
DSC_6264.JPG
Even the manhole covers get special attention.
DSC_6269.JPG
Trevor spotted this giant moth, which Doug teased to
get it to open its wings for us.
DSC_6282.JPG
Check out the pizzas, a work of art in themselves.
Note the row of dessert pizzas. We opted for Japanese
food, all the same.
DSC_6291.JPG
Searching for a restaurant.
DSC_6296a.jpg
And finding one! Very fancy, and not too expensive
compared to Tokyo. (The cost per person was around
$60 US, if I understand the exchange rates properly.)
DSC_6304.JPG
Doug with Katsumi, with course number 3 or 4. (I lost
count).
DSC_6306.JPG
A night shot of a boat parked aside the canal near our
hotel.
DSC_6313.JPG
My hotel room in Suwa City.
DSC_6316.JPG
For those crazy days...
SuwaCityPano.jpg
Sunrise the next morning as seen from my hotel window.
DSC_6345.JPG
Mt. Fuji
Through the gap in the distant hills, Mount Fuji was
just visible.
SuwaLakeSunrise.tif
The morning moon over Lake Suwa.
DSC_6319.JPG
Some of those individually wrapped pears I mentioned.
DSC_6581.JPG
Some fanciful tourist boats. I didn't notice it at
the time, but perched in the crown on the goosehead
prow is a bird of prey!
DSC_6602.JPG
Another Buddhist sculpture, about 50 meters from shore.
An island reachable only by small boat was some 300
meters out, visible to the left.
SuwaSpire3.tif
A striking (and sometimes blinding) sculpture along
the shore walk.
DSC_6674.JPG
The next day, we traveled back to our original hotel
in Shinjuku, Tokyo. My room is in the third floor from
the top.
DSC_6649.JPG
Like NYC, most people in Tokyo get from place to place
on foot, bicycle, and/or subway.
DSC_6651.JPG
One of the many-storied electronics stores in the downtown
area.
DSC_6655.JPG
A Pachinko Palace, where people spend hours gambling
with little silver balls. The noise is deafening.
DSC_6659.JPG
Doug was quite eager to treat us to "Yakatori," a traditional
skewered chicken cuisine, where every part of the bird
is utilized. ('Even the feathers?' I ask. "No, not
the feathers," says Doug.)
DSC_6660.JPG
However, when we got our menus, we realized we might
as well be ordering feathers, as there wasn't a spot
of English on it, and our translator had left us on
our own for the evening... None of the folks at the
restaurant spoke any English (or French or any other
close-approach language), so we were left with guessing
and pointing. Eventually, we managed to eat something,
though we weren't always sure what it was.
DSC_6661.JPG
A nice interior shot of the restaurant. Note the complete
lack of English, and the waitresses also seemed to be
avoiding us.
DSC_6662.JPG
Food, at last!
DSC_6663.JPG
Doug has his next career all picked out -- he wants
to sell covered scooters with mag wheels in North America.
DSC_6675.JPG
The next morning, I wanted to visit this nearby (large)
park I could see out my window. I was early, apparently
(6am), and no one was about, except for the homeless
I didn't think existed in Japan...
DSC_6693.JPG
I went through a highly variable neighborhood, but no
matter where I went, a vending machine dispensing a
variety of beverages wasn't more than 50 feet away.
DSC_6724.JPG
I discovered that the park had to be entered through
a toll gate, which didn't open until 9am, so I gave
up and went back to the hotel to meet the others for
breakfast. Afterwards, we walked to our meeting with
Olympus Cameras, and spotted this imposing government
building on the way.
DSC_6725.JPG
The meeting with Olympus went well, so we treated ourselves
to sushi for lunch. This was my request, as I hadn't
managed to eat any sushi all week.
DSC_6726.JPG
This wasn't only my portion -- we split it three ways.
We barely got through it, but it was delicious!
DSC_6741.JPG
Here are Katsumi and Doug outside the restaurant. Trevor
headed for the airport after breakfast, as he wasn't
involved in the Olympus meeting.
DSC_6744.JPG
Biking in high-heeled boots. Notice how the pedestrians
clear a path...
DSC_6752.JPG
The very notion of a van that you can nearly hide behind
a tree fascinates Americans like me who are used to
vans and SUVs that get their own zip code.
DSC_6746.JPG
The Japanese take their gardening seriously.
DSC_6758.JPG
Since our afternoon meeting with Nikon got canceled
due to circumstances beyond our (or their) control,
I went back in search of an entrance to the park, and
found it.
TokyoPark1.jpg
A high dynamic-range view overlooking the park.
DSC_6790.JPG
From what I understood of the plaque explaining it,
this is a replica of a wedding house dedicated to some
famous person (or couple), whose name and significance
escape me now.
TokyoWeddingHouse2.jpg
A view from inside the wedding house. I took several
pictures of this, because it was the nicest part of
the park I saw. The rest was pretty bland -- not quite
what I expected of a Japanese botanical garden, which
is how the park was billed.
DSC_6799.JPG
A heavy intervention case -- the gardeners here are
more like modern surgeons, it seems.
DSC_6820.JPG
That evening, my friend Noriko came to fetch Doug and
me to the main temple in Asakusa, which was about 30
minutes away by subway (still in Tokyo). On the way
to the station, I snapped this photo of one of the many
exported food shops we see here. Halloween is another
export -- I don't know if it's catching on at all, especially
given the general lack of sweets. (I spend quite a
bit of my time hunting down chocolate, which is very
elusive in these parts.) Sardine Snickers, anyone?
DSC_6818.JPG
One of the less-crowded subway cars we rode in.
DSC_6895.JPG
I thought this sign, tiled into the sidewalk near the
subway, was pretty cute.
DSC_6890.JPG
This is a friendly-looking guardian at one side of the
main entrance to the temple grounds.
DSC_6892.JPG
A less-friendly looking guardian.
DSC_6844.JPG
Here's a good view of the Sensoji Temple. Obviously,
we missed daylight, but the place was pretty well-lit.
DSC_6849.JPG
Another nice view of one of the pagodas they had off
to the side of the main temple. We didn't go inside
anywhere, but Doug & Noriko put some coins in the proper
place and made a little prayer for our prosperity.
DSC_6853.JPG
This is the fountain where you are supposed to wash
after (or is it before?) going into the temple.
DSC_6856.JPG
The dragon spigots were shut off at this hour, but a
friendly passer-by took the time to explain to me (in
English) what the fountain was all about.
DSC_6872.JPG
As you will find in nearly every religious spot around
the world, there were more souvenir shops than you shake
a bamboo pole at.
DSC_6887.JPG
We stopped into a little tea house just before closing
to have some fruit and green tea. That's my friend
Noriko on the right, a freelance technical author I've
known for about 5 years, who lives in Tokyo.
DSC_6904.JPG
A typical sight on the subway escalator.
DSC_6900.JPG
The Tokyo subway goes everywhere, and everyone uses
the system, but I would hate to go it alone...
DSC_6901.JPG
Not that loneliness is really an option during rush
hour.
DSC_6909.JPG
Noriko arranged a little dinner for us, and invited
a number of friends to introduce. That number turned
out to be 16, if I count the business cards I gathered
correctly. I felt very honored (and a bit overwhelmed).
DSC_6911.JPG
The food was a traditional stew favored by sumo wrestlers,
called Chanko-Nabe, which is a kind of chicken-vegetable
dish. It was delicious. (Be sure to check out the
menu: www.chankoya.com.)
DSC_6919.JPG
A typical Tokyo street scene, on our walk back to the
hotel.
DSC_6921.JPG
The sidewalk and street cleaners doing a characteristically
thorough job.
DSC_6957.JPG
The next day, Noriko helped me find the way by train
to the shopping district in Harajuku, where she used
to live.
DSC_6923.JPG
Shopping seems to be the national pastime, and the Saturday
streets were crowded.
DSC_6926.JPG
A few of the stores employed hawkers to get passing
shoppers' attention. This crier attracted attention
in multiple ways.
Harajuku1.jpg
A costume store.
DSC_6954.JPG
This was the only place Noriko & I found that actually
had Japanese works, so I went in to find something nice
for Eliz. I had done my shopping for the kids earlier.
DSC_6956.JPG
Afterwards, we went to one of Noriko's favorite lunch
spots, where I could choose dishes from the counter
rather than the Japanese menu. The food was very tasty.
DSC_6960.JPG
In front of our hotel was a suprisingly popular and
large doughnut shop, with a line wrapping outside.
Scary.
Page created Oct 20 2008 3:38:15p