Autumn Scenes from Shinjuku Gyoen
November 16, 2008
This past Saturday was supposed to be my 7th summiting of Takigo-yama, but unfortunate events with the Chuo Line lead to the nixing of that, but on the positive side led to a very good autumn afternoon in Shinjuku Gyoen. It was unbelievably Aya’s first ever time to this famous Tokyo park! I of course have been 20+ times as it’s within walking distance to my apartment.
Senjogahara Moor in Tochigi Prefecture Japan
November 9, 2008
As Aya and I drove along a country road after leaving Nikko, to my left a vast expanse opened up, and from very first sight I was dazzled and drawn to Senjogahara Moor in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. This moor was not a scheduled stop on our trip, but thankfully I pulled over so we could pause and get a better look at this most unusual landscape for Japan.
CYCLE MODE international 2008 Tokyo, Japan
November 9, 2008
Thanks to a tip from a student semi-interested in cycling, Aya and I were able to spend a very exciting Saturday afternoon surrounded by all things bikes at CYCLE MODE international 2008 at the expansive Makuhari Messe exhibit space. This even was better than I expected, and I ended up feeling totally stoked after having demo-ridden three very expensive bikes on the road and mountain biking mini-tracks the event organizers had setup.
Down on the farm in Yamanashi Japan
October 24, 2008
After a hard day of hiking up Akadake, Aya and I spent a very beautiful day at a public/university run farm in Yamanashi Prefecture. It was recommended to us by the staff of the mountain hut we stayed at the night before and the farm was far better than we could have imagined. I’ve never been to any place like it in Japan before. Aya immediately said it felt like New Zealand, and I agreed, as this place had rolling green hills surrounded by mountains and sheep in the pasture.
Summitting Akadake in Yatsugatake Nagano Japan
October 16, 2008
I have a new favorite prefecture in Japan. It’s Nagano. My favorite prefecture used to be Yamanashi, but the nature in Nagano feels deeper. The forests feel older in Nagano, the air seems clearer, and the peace is more established. The mountains are larger, and the sky spans wide over all—deep blue during the day, pink tinged at dusk, and deep black spotted with stars at night. This is the setting in which Aya and I undertook a 9-hour hike up to the 2899m summit of Akadake.
Genny’s Post-Wedding Party for JB and Anna
October 5, 2008
First, congratulations to JB and Anna who got married on September 06, 2008 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts (one of my favorite places in the world). Second, thanks to Genny and the rest of the Foote Family for once again opening their home to us. Eleven of us plus the Foote Family got together on a beautiful October Saturday afternoon at the Zama Housing Complex in Kanagawa, Japan to have a post-wedding-reception (I believe that was the moniker?) party for JB and Anna. Things kicked off with a little baseball playoffs watching, then some backyard sports, and then the big surprise of a “make-your-own-pizza” lunch.
Shizen Kyoikuen Park in Meguro, Japan
September 29, 2008
Though it took two trips to finally make it to Shizen Kyoikuen Park actual, in Meguro, Tokyo, Japan, it was well worth the effort as it is a unique Tokyo park/garden experience. The full name of the park translated into English is the mouthful, “The Institute for Nature Study National Science Museum Tokyo” as it says on the English brochure handed to me at the entrance. Ever since I was a little boy, I have been totally into getting up close and intimate with forests, so I was stoked to soon discover upon entering the park, that this wasn’t the usual pond and pagoda setup of traditional Japanese gardens, but rather a 100-year old forest with long paths—a forest too large to seemingly still exist in Tokyo.
Skimboarding 2008 Session #07 - Hiratsuka
September 11, 2008
It had been quite some time since Aya and I went to a Shonan beach for a proper skimboarding session, and I can’t really that this session at Hiratsuka was that proper. It barely ranked enough to get session #07 designation. There were absolutely no waves at first, and virtually no skimmable surface at all. Still, a group of 5 young j-skimmers were grinding it out the whole time, but it mostly looked like they just enjoyed falling. Things got a bit better at the last minute.
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