Kansai Trip During the 2011 3/11 Disaster

More than two years have passed since the devastating earthquake and tsunami disaster (3/11 Disaster) that hit the Tohoku area in northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011 and during that time, I was an international student studying in graduate school in Hiroshima on the opposite side of where the disaster hit in Japan. While going through my files, I discovered some photos I had not yet posted and those were the ones taken while I was traveling in the Kansai region during that time.

In the beginning of 2011, my mom made travel plans to visit me during the Japanese university academic calendar spring vacation (from February to the end of March) and we started off by visiting the Kansai (Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto) region.

So what was it like to be in Japan during the 3/11 Disaster in the Kansai region in western Japan? Surprisingly normal.

The Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社) that we visited in Kyoto on March 12, 2011.

Biking in Kyoto in January

On the 5th and last day of my trip to the Kansai area during the school winter vacations in 2012, on January 4, 2012, I decided to explore the "local areas of Kyoto" by renting a bicycle and biking around Kyoto.

I had been to Kyoto many times in the past and I always thought that it was the perfect city to explore by bicycle because it is mostly flat and the city streets are laid out in a grid-like pattern meaning that it would be hard to get lost unlike in other cities of Japan like Tokyo for example.

It started out with perfect weather, but as I would experience in later visits to Kyoto during the same month, the weather in Kyoto in January is really unpredictable...

My primary interest in biking in Kyoto was to explore the urban areas and local neighbourhoods and only by bike can you explore less touristy areas like this one. The Toji Temple (東寺) area south of Kyoto station.

The City of Uji (宇治) and Fushimi (伏見) in Kyoto Prefecture

On the 4th day of my trip to Kansai during the winter school vacations in 2012, on January 3, 2012, I went to the city of Uji (宇治) and Fushimi (伏見) which is just south of the city of Kyoto.

Kyoto is one of my favourite cities to visit in Japan because a lot of the nice traditional city atmosphere of "old Japan" still remains, unlike most other cities in Japan. Because I had basically visited most of the attractions in Kyoto at least once, I wanted to find another area near Kyoto that I had not been to before. After looking at some tourist guides, the city of Uji and Fushimi looked like an interesting place to visit.

In Uji, the main attraction is the Byodoin Temple (平等院) which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto".

Kyoto Arashiyama (嵐山)

The Arashiyama (嵐山) district is one of the most popular areas of Kyoto. It is located in the western end of Kyoto and looks spectacular in the spring when the cherry blossoms bloom or when the leaves change colour in the fall.

Unfortunately, during the 2 times that I visited Arashiyama, I missed both the optimum seasons to visit because of school commitments. The following is a complication of photos that I took during my visits in September 2010 and December 2011.

One of the main attractions in Arashiyama is this bamboo forest.

Kyoto Station

Updated: Google Map added for post "Going to Kyoto and Nintendo HQ" and all thumbnails are clickable to reveal full HD image

Why am I posting pictures of Kyoto Station...its because before I went to Kyoto before, I read of how big and impressive it looked and I couldn't find any *good* images, other than a few crappy thumbnails.

Its also interesting because of its gigantic scale and the way its built. Also I think its one of the very few completely new stations in Japan (most stations in Japan are pretty dilapidated, especially in Tokyo...). Although the station building is "new" (10 years old), the platforms I found to be pretty lousy, typical blacktop (pavement) flooring that you see in 90% of the stations in Japan.

Also one should note that Kyoto's actual downtown is not right outside of the station, it is maybe a 10-15 ride by taxi away. Other than the shops connected to the station, outside there seems to be nothing but pachinko parlors.

Below is a description from Wikipedia:

Kyoto Station (京都駅) is the most important transportation hub in Kyoto, Japan. It has Japan's second-largest train station building (after Nagoya Station) and is one of the country's largest buildings, incorporating a shopping mall, hotel, movie theater, Isetan department store, and several local government facilities under one 15-story roof.

The first Kyoto Station opened for service by decree of Emperor Meiji on February 5, 1877. It was replaced by a newer, Renaissance-inspired facility in 1914, which featured a broad square leading from the station to Shichijo Avenue. Before and during World War II, the square was often used by imperial motorcades when Emperor Showa traveled between Kyoto and Tokyo: the image of Kyoto Station with its giant Rising Sun flags became a well-known image of the imperial era. This station burned to the ground in 1950 and was replaced by a more utilitarian concrete facility in 1952.

The current Kyoto Station opened in 1997, commemorating Kyoto's 1,200th anniversary. It is 70 meters high and 470 meters from east to west, with a total floor area of 238,000 square meters. Architecturally, it exhibits many characteristics of futurism, with a slightly irregular cubic facade of plate glass over a steel frame. The architect was Hiroshi Hara.

Kyoto, one of the least modern cities in Japan by virtue of its many cultural heritage sites, was largely reluctant to accept such an ambitious structure in the mid-1990s: The station's completion began a wave of new high-rise developments in the city that culminated with the 20-story Kyocera Building. For this, there are opinions criticizing the station design for taking part in breaking down the traditional cityscape.

Aside from the main building on the north side of the station, the Hachijō-guchi building on the south side was built to house Tōkaidō Shinkansen which started operation in 1964. The underground facilities of the station, including the shopping mall Porta beneath the station square, was constructed when the subway opened in 1981.

(Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Useful Links for visiting Kyoto with regards to transportation:

Kyoto City Transportation

Layout of the Building:







From the outside and vicinity:

Visiting Toyota's Main Factory and Kyoto At Night

(Updated: June 1, 2013 with high resolution photos and new descriptions)

On March 29, 2006, I went to Nagoya with the purpose of visiting Toyota's main factory in Toyota city which is located in the suburbs of Nagoya.

From Nagoya it took 1 hour to get to Toyota city where Toyota's headquarters were located.

Sign indicating the South Gate of the Toyota factory.

Kyoto - Nintendo, Kiyomizu Temple, Gion

(Updated: October 7, 2007 with Google Map; June 4, 2013 with high resolution photos and new descriptions)

On December 27, 2005, I went to Kyoto from Nagoya. Going to Kyoto took about 2 hours by local train, it involved going up a mountain pass. When it was going up the mountain pass, it was snowing hard so it looked really nice. I had to transfer trains at some station in the mountainous area. At the station there was a lot of snow and fresh snow too.

I arrived at Kyoto at around 9 am or 10 am, and I only had 2 places that I wanted to visit, the Nijo Castle (二条城) and the Kiyomizu Temple (清水寺). I wanted to visit these 2 places because the first time I came here in 2004 I had already seen to other stuff. Once again, the Nijo Castle was closed, last year when my family and I came to Kyoto, we went to Nijo Castle late and it was closed and we came back on another day after doing sightseeing elsewhere and we were late and it was closed so this is the 3rd time I came and it was closed. The Kiyomizu Temple was open but since I had all day I wanted to “visit” Nintendo headquarters. I asked the tourist information where it was and it was only 2 subway stops away from the train station.

The following map shows the places that I visited on this day in Kyoto.