I started from the Monzennaka-cho (門前仲町) area.
The entrance to the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine.
Tokyo Walks 2011 - Monzennaka-cho, Nihonbashi
On a very hot day on Aug. 17, 2011, I did some "urban walking" from the "shitamachi" (下町) (old traditional) areas of Tokyo to the business centre of Tokyo in Nihonbashi.
I started from the Monzennaka-cho (門前仲町) area.
The entrance to the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine.
I started from the Monzennaka-cho (門前仲町) area.
The entrance to the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine.
Tokyo Walks 2011 - Tokyo Sky Tree
On August 16, 2011, a very hot and humid day, I ventured out to see the Tokyo Sky Tree site. The Tokyo Sky Tree is the "New" Tokyo Tower and the purpose for its construction is for the digital television broadcasting. It is scheduled to open next year in 2012 with a height of 634 meters. I heard that they were going to charge people 3000 yen per person to visit the tower! (That's insanely expensive)
Tokyo Sky Tree and the Asahi Beer Buildings as seen from Asakusa.
Tokyo Sky Tree and the Asahi Beer Buildings as seen from Asakusa.
Visiting Windsor Castle
On Nov. 9, 2009, after one day in London we took the train from Paddington Station and the whole journey took about 40 minutes. We had to take an intercity train to Slough and then change for a local train to Windsor. Our purpose of coming to Windsor was to visit Windsor Castle.
Intercity train at Slough Station. Whats interesting is that fast intercity trains regularly passed through this station at high speeds, maybe 120+ km/h, which I don't think is quite safe...
Intercity train at Slough Station. Whats interesting is that fast intercity trains regularly passed through this station at high speeds, maybe 120+ km/h, which I don't think is quite safe...
London: Remembrance Day Parade
Almost 2 years after my trip to London, I am finally making a blog post.
On November 2009, while I was still employed at my previous company, I took one week off to visit London with my mom, taking advantage of the Remembrance Day holiday. Because of this, I used 4 vacation days into a 9 day holiday (5 weekdays, 4 days on the weekend). We took a British Airways flight+hotel package and it was quite cheap, around $1500 for one person.
The flight departed from Vancouver on November 6, 2009 at 8:45 pm and arrived at London at 1:55 pm.
The post shows our activities from November 8-9, 2009.
Approaching London's Heathrow airport.
On November 2009, while I was still employed at my previous company, I took one week off to visit London with my mom, taking advantage of the Remembrance Day holiday. Because of this, I used 4 vacation days into a 9 day holiday (5 weekdays, 4 days on the weekend). We took a British Airways flight+hotel package and it was quite cheap, around $1500 for one person.
The flight departed from Vancouver on November 6, 2009 at 8:45 pm and arrived at London at 1:55 pm.
The post shows our activities from November 8-9, 2009.
Approaching London's Heathrow airport.
Mazda Headquarters and Factory
Last Friday on July 9, 2010, we went on our last field trip as part of the Intensive Japanese Language Program to the Mazda factory in Hiroshima city. After visiting this factory, I would have visited the factories of every single major automobile manufacturer with the exception of Honda. I previously visited the Toyota factory near Nagoya and the Nissan factory near Tokyo in 2005-2006.
The following map shows how large the complex is. The green marker shows where the head office building is located. The red marker shows the bridge that connects the factory lands on both sides of the river. According to the tour guide, it is the longest privately built and owned bridge in the world. It doesn't even show up on the regular Google maps and only shows up in the satellite view. The blue marker shows where the main assembly line is located.
View Mazda Hiroshima in a larger map
The following map shows how large the complex is. The green marker shows where the head office building is located. The red marker shows the bridge that connects the factory lands on both sides of the river. According to the tour guide, it is the longest privately built and owned bridge in the world. It doesn't even show up on the regular Google maps and only shows up in the satellite view. The blue marker shows where the main assembly line is located.
View Mazda Hiroshima in a larger map
Iwakuni Base Friendship Day
On May 5, 2010 I went to the Iwakuni United States Marines Corps Air Station's yearly open house known as "Iwakuni Friendship Day". Iwanuki Friendship Day is held every year on the fifth of May and the main attraction of the open house is the air show that they hold.
The military base is located in Iwakuni, Japan and is one of the many American military bases scattered around the islands of Japan. Incidentally this is the second American base that I have visited in Japan, the first being the Yokosuka Navy base near Tokyo way back in 2005.
Iwanuki is located roughly 1 hour by train from Hiroshima city and 1 hour and 30 minutes from Higashi-Hiroshima (where I live now).
The event was quite popular and all the trains headed to Iwanuki were jam-packed.
The military base is located in Iwakuni, Japan and is one of the many American military bases scattered around the islands of Japan. Incidentally this is the second American base that I have visited in Japan, the first being the Yokosuka Navy base near Tokyo way back in 2005.
Iwanuki is located roughly 1 hour by train from Hiroshima city and 1 hour and 30 minutes from Higashi-Hiroshima (where I live now).
The event was quite popular and all the trains headed to Iwanuki were jam-packed.
Hiroshima Flower Festival
On May 3, 2010 during the "Golden Week" holidays in Japan, I went to Hiroshima city to check out the Hiroshima Flower Festival.
I first learned about the festival from the teachers but I also heard that it is not very interesting so I decided to see for myself what the festival was about.
The first float I saw was this one. I have no idea what a wax "Barac Obama" and a Abraham Lincoln float have to do with the so-called "Flower Festival" but this is the float for the "Fukuyama Car and Clock Museum"...
I first learned about the festival from the teachers but I also heard that it is not very interesting so I decided to see for myself what the festival was about.
The first float I saw was this one. I have no idea what a wax "Barac Obama" and a Abraham Lincoln float have to do with the so-called "Flower Festival" but this is the float for the "Fukuyama Car and Clock Museum"...
Higashi-Hiroshima Walking Tour/Stamp Rally
On April 28, 2010 I participated in a walking tour of historical sites in Higashi-Hiroshima. That is the town where the university I am attending is located.
Since there is usually nothing to do on the weekends here except studying or biking to some strip mall, I decided to sign up for the tour. Because the sign up information was posted in the dormitory for international students, I thought it would just be a small group. Little did I know how organized the tour was.
The entire tour was organized by the Saijo Rotary club and it seemed like all their club members and their families participated.
All the international students were driven to the starting point in a park via a rented taxi van.
I made a Google map to determine the distance walked that day. It turns out we walked 6 miles or 9.6 kilometers that day
View Higashi-Hiroshima Walking Tour in a larger map
Since there is usually nothing to do on the weekends here except studying or biking to some strip mall, I decided to sign up for the tour. Because the sign up information was posted in the dormitory for international students, I thought it would just be a small group. Little did I know how organized the tour was.
The entire tour was organized by the Saijo Rotary club and it seemed like all their club members and their families participated.
All the international students were driven to the starting point in a park via a rented taxi van.
I made a Google map to determine the distance walked that day. It turns out we walked 6 miles or 9.6 kilometers that day
View Higashi-Hiroshima Walking Tour in a larger map
Hiroshima City Field Trip
On April 23, 2010, the all the students of in the Intensive Japanese Language program for Japanese Government Scholarship recipients went on a field trip to Hiroshima city.
Because Hiroshima University is located in Higashi-Hiroshima (literally East Hiroshima), we had to take a 40 minute train ride into the city.
We started by going to the Hiroshima Museum of Traditional Industries but because there wasn't anything interesting to take pictures of, combined with the fact that I was holding a bag containing my lunch, I didn't take any pictures of that museum.
After that we went to the grounds of Hiroshima Castle to have lunch. With my lunch disposed of, my hands were finally free to take some pictures.
Entering Hiroshima Castle, like everything else in the city, the original one was totally destroyed by the atomic bomb so this is a reconstruction. It only looks old from the outside, the inside is totally modern.
Because Hiroshima University is located in Higashi-Hiroshima (literally East Hiroshima), we had to take a 40 minute train ride into the city.
We started by going to the Hiroshima Museum of Traditional Industries but because there wasn't anything interesting to take pictures of, combined with the fact that I was holding a bag containing my lunch, I didn't take any pictures of that museum.
After that we went to the grounds of Hiroshima Castle to have lunch. With my lunch disposed of, my hands were finally free to take some pictures.
Entering Hiroshima Castle, like everything else in the city, the original one was totally destroyed by the atomic bomb so this is a reconstruction. It only looks old from the outside, the inside is totally modern.
Hiroshima University and Surroundings
This April I started school again after almost 3 years in the workforce at Hiroshima University in Japan. The school isn't actually in Hiroshima city, but rather in a rural suburb of Hiroshima called Higashi-Hiroshima. It is 30-40 minutes away from Hiroshima city by train.
I received the Japanese Government Monbukagakusho Scholarship for graduate studies in Transport Planning and Engineering after an application process that lasted for one year. All scholarship recipients spend the first 6 months in Japan on Japanese language training. After that we will enter our respective graduate schools. I will be entering the Transportation Planning Lab in the Graduate School of International Development and Cooperation at Hiroshima University because the faculty operates completely in English.
All international students who first come to Hiroshima University stay at the International House, a dormitory for international students. According to the guidelines, international students are only allowed to stay there for a maximum period of 6 months after which time they are required to find another dormitory or private housing. I will probably move to another dormitory as there are 3 other dormitories in the Hiroshima area.
The view from my room. All rooms are one person private rooms. The other building is designated for families of visiting researchers or professors.
I received the Japanese Government Monbukagakusho Scholarship for graduate studies in Transport Planning and Engineering after an application process that lasted for one year. All scholarship recipients spend the first 6 months in Japan on Japanese language training. After that we will enter our respective graduate schools. I will be entering the Transportation Planning Lab in the Graduate School of International Development and Cooperation at Hiroshima University because the faculty operates completely in English.
All international students who first come to Hiroshima University stay at the International House, a dormitory for international students. According to the guidelines, international students are only allowed to stay there for a maximum period of 6 months after which time they are required to find another dormitory or private housing. I will probably move to another dormitory as there are 3 other dormitories in the Hiroshima area.
The view from my room. All rooms are one person private rooms. The other building is designated for families of visiting researchers or professors.
