Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
This past week I got to go to Tokyo again for a school related expo. My professor and some of my classmates all visited my favorite spicy ramen store, Kikanbo Spicy Ramen, in Tokyo, and my professor took this picture with his 360 degree camera before we ate.
The last few weeks have been busy for me. Recently I finished a semester of classes at the university, and began working. Since I took a trip to Minamiaizu with my girlfriend a few weeks ago, I haven't got to do any traveling. In this post I have some pictures that I took but didn't get to post before
The cat pictured above and below was one that lived at a hostel in Osaka. Every day this cat would hang out in front of the hotel.
This is a picture of one of the bushes on campus. For the first part of my time in Aizu I thought that it was just an ordinary bush. This week the bushes bloomed and were very pretty.
These are two meals I had recently. The picture above is a set meal from the school cafeteria, and the dish below is a black sesame ramen dish.
Everything has become more green since I last posted pictures of Aizu. The picture above is of some rice fields near my campus. The picture below is not from Japan, it was sent to me by my family. Pictured are my father and the dog.
Lastly, these are some pictures from an imported foods store. Snyders pretzels and Doritos are both things I haven't had in a long time.
One time in Tokyo I went to a small cat cafe. For about $6 I was able to sit in a room with a bunch of cats for an hour. The cats were nice, but many of them seemed only interested in sleeping.
I was a little disappointed with the cafe, but afterwards I had a very good tempura lunch.
A few weeks ago I took a weekend trip to a city south of Aizu with my girlfriend. We took a special sightseeing train, and got to sit in a train car with tatami seats. Pictured above is the train, and below is the interior of the train car we rode in.
The route that the train took was very pretty. We passed through several tunnels, and over many bridges.
Occasionally during the trip the train would stop in the middle of bridges so we could look outside. The line went through the mountains and over pretty rivers.
The train would also stop at some of the stations for a short time, and let the passengers get out and walk around. Above is a picture of one of the platforms. Below is a picture of a public bath attached to one of the stations. Here passengers can put their legs into the hot water while they wait for their train.
Me and my girlfriend only took the train to Minamiaizu, but it is possible to ride further south all the way to Tokyo. In Minamiaizu we went to a bakery, a museum, and a small shrine. There were many more things to see, so I hope go to back again.
Around the middle of April the cherry blossoms bloomed in Aizu. Tsuruga Castle is a popular destination for Hanami, so one weekend me and my girlfriend had a picnic here.
The castle grounds were very crowded. Many people brought picnics, and there were many little shops and stands selling different foods.
We walked around the castle grounds and we found a part of the castle wall with fewer people. This part of the castle was quieter and more relaxed.
At the end of my semester break from school, I traveled to Hiroshima with my cousin. There were a lot of interesting things in the city. Pictured above and below are is the Atomic Bomb Dome. This building was near the center of the explosion from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Because of its location, the force of the explosion left it standing, so today it is a memorial to the people killed by the bomb.
Nearby the dome there were books with pictures and news clippings in different languages, as well as some volunteers and many tourists like myself.
Hiroshima has a lot of different things to see. There is a Peace Memorial Museum and a large garden with many statues and monuments. Pictured above and below is the rebuilt Hiroshima Castle.
From the top of the castle I could see many cherry blossoms.
Near the castle there was a small trail. Along the trail some people had stopped to have picnics. In Japan there is an activity called Hanami, literally flower viewing. Hanami today usually is a picnic or party under the cherry blossoms.
At the end of my time at the castle I saw a couple posing for photographs beneath the castle.
When me and my cousin visited Hiroshima, we took one day to go to the city of Miyajima on the island of Itsukushima. There is a famous Torii, a ceremonial gate that usually marks the entrance to a shrine, here that we photographed, as well as many deer, and some hiking trails.
The torii is part of the temple pictured above. At high tide the torii and the temple are surrounded by water. We visited at low tide, so it was possible to walk around on foot and see the torri up close. Pictured below are a number of people with cameras preparing to take pictures of the sunset over the torii.
We stayed on the island and watched the sunset, then saw the torii when it was illuminated during the night.
The city also has many deer. Above I am holding a bottle of special Ramune from the island in front of a deer for a picture. Below is a video of a deer following my cousin around and looking for food.
Finally, at the end of the day and back in Hiroshima I had okonomiyaki for dinner again.
