I visited Ogawayama in the fall last year. The place is absolutely massive with a lifetime of rock climbing littered throughout the alpine valley. The rock here tends to be big with numerous tall formations that afford many fun multi-pitch rock climbs. The first day we did a monster route that is … Read More
Tenkara Fly Fishing, Off Piste Skiing, and Nihon Kawanezumi This week started out with one last ski tour before the end of the ’15/’16 season. I went to Norikura Kogen, which is a 3026 meter tall mountain in the Northern Japanese Alps. This week was Golden Week – the most popular holiday in Japan. Consequently, … Read More
It’s that time of the year where the cherry blossoms bloom creating a cloudscape of pink, white, and red that smothers a landscape that only a few short weeks prior was barren and grey. The advent of warm days and pleasant evenings bring the people out in droves, all of whom are grateful … Read More
The Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido occurs every year, usually during the first two weeks of February. This past week we ventured up to Sapporo to take in the sites and squeeze in a day of skiing too. Day 1 There are three Sapporo Snow Festival sites: Odori, Susukino, and Tsudome. The … Read More
When I was a kid, no more than 10 or 11, I took a class on architecture. I really enjoyed the class and remember traipsing about the small town USA community of Redlands, California identifying homes of varying styles of architecture. The neighborhoods were a veritable melting pot of building styles spanning many decades of … Read More
Japan Photobuckets I & II (random musings below) Water Cuisine Temples & Shrines Flora & Fauna Note: Godzilla first made landfall on mainland Japan in 1954 at Kannonzaki Cape on Miura Peninsula. His first footprints have been forever immortalized (in 1/10th scale) near a small sandy beach frequented by … Read More
Aokigahara (青木ヶ原) is a relatively small forest on the northwest flank of Mount Fuji. It is more commonly known as the Suicide Forest because it is frequently used by those seeking to end their lives. Knowing this it is hard not to feel a little tingle trickle down your spine as you … Read More
Fujigoko (富士五湖), or Fuji Five Lakes in English, is a Japanese national treasure of exquisite and unbelievable beauty. My two favorite lakes are Motosu and Shōji. They are my favorite because the shorelines have not been overrun by hotels, shops, and parking lots like Kawaguchiko, Saiko, and Yamanakako lakes. The fall … Read More
The Tokyo Fish Market is a must see destination for anyone visiting Tokyo. It is located in the special ward of Chuo, and is also known as the Tsukiji Market. Once you enter into the labyrinth of alleys, tunnels, and throngs of people that make up the Tsukiji Market you are greeted … Read More
To the southwest of Tokyo lies Izu Peninsula – it’s a fairly small peninsula, with its widest point being roughly 35 km (~22 miles) across. It is renowned for the crystal clear ocean water and is a very popular place to scuba dive and snorkel. It is also very mountainous (Mt. Amagi (天城山) … Read More