nihon-ji

this is now another one of my favorite places in japan. there is a ferry that leaves from the port about 20 minutes from my house that takes you across tokyo bay to chiba. and for some reason i really like ferries. they're right up there with trains for me.

anyway, once you get across, you take a cable car up to the top of the mountain where you can see my town and mt. fuji on a clear day. then, you can hike all over where there are huge buddhas (way bigger than in nara and kamakura) and tons of small statues, which are actually kinda freaky, but whatever. it was a super pretty place and had a lot of stairs but they were worth it for the view.

yokohama

lindsey and i went to my favorite restaurant in the red brick warehouses. you get to sit on a bed and have all you can eat bread for about 10 dollars. then we rode the giant ferris wheel that doubles as a huge clock, played the taiko game in the arcade, and then headed over to chinatown. after that, a trip to yamashita park ended the day. i love yokohama!









a little something for you madi...

kamakura

lindsey and i decided to walk the trail that leads up to the daibutsu. along it we encountered mt. fuji and my favorite shrine, where people wash their money to bless it to increase their wealth, and a lot of gorgeous views.

new year's eve

we started off the night with eating udon and japanese cotton candy before we headed down to the festivities.
there was a thing by the base with fireworks and a rock band to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of yokosuka. it was a fun night, minus the fact that i was given false information and we spent 45 minutes roaming the seedy area by the base before i found where we needed to be.


then, in sticking with tradition, we stopped by the temple on the way home for the first visit to the temple of the new year. i actually hadn't been to the temple by my house yet so i was so happy to finally see it b/c it is gorgeous.

the west tokyo tour

for lindsey's first day, i took her to my favorite place in western tokyo. we went to harajuku and ate crepes and then to meiji shrine. we also went to shibuya and ran around, and to shinjuku to check out the buildings and stopped to check out the view at the park hyatt.



butt-biting bug!!