2007 Japan

Introduction

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For this blog:

Please do read through this blog for our narrative and the related photos.

Sometimes there is a link in a post at the end of the discussion about a place. These are slide shows containing more photos about that place. They open in a new window.

More (category) Albums: Photos, not in the blog, that fit a certain
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Art and Architecture
Flowers and Gardens
Markets and Shops
Scenery
Temples, Shrines, Castles

Flickr: Our Photostream

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Highlights of the trip:

Koyasan overnight stay in Buddist temple and the cemetery
Kyoto festival
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, particularly the Children's Peace Memorial
Osaga festival
Tokyo Fish Market
48 Waterfalls
The "floating" Torii gate
Buddhist temples and shrines

Tue - Wed, Jul 10 - 11: Flying to Tokyo

The three of us, Mary, Paul, and Josh, are flying to Tokyo. Seems we took no pictures on the plane or out the windows. Oh well.

Thu, Jul 12: Tokyo

First day out sightseeing in Tokyo. Went to the fish market - you could smell it in the subway as soon as we got off the train. It's huge, lots off activity even though we were fairly late.

Every type of seafood imaginable seemed to be available.

Including very very small shrimp.

The big fish being filleted is a tuna.

And you had to avoid being run over by the little carts that were running around.

But they did have traffic control, which helped a bit.

Click to see more photos from the fish market.

Then it was off to see Hama-rikyu Gardens.

A street near the park.

the Tokyo National Museum,

Ueno park, and

Toshogu Shrine. The shrine is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate that ruled Japan for 250 years until 1868.

The copper lanterns are for the Toshogu Shrine. They are not used for illumination, but for purification and sacred fires during religious ceremonies.