Monday, June 19, 2006

The Giant Japan Photo Post of DOOOOOM!
And here it is! I posted a handful of these on my deviantArt, but only the really pretty ones. XD Here's all of my Japan photos, plus some that I stole from my friends because I was out of pictures and cameras there are incredibly expensive. Yes, I had to use disposable cameras because Mom didn't let me take the good one; she thought she was "saving me from myself" or something. Ugh. I wouldn't have forgotten it!

Anyway, that explains the quality of some of the pictures, but not too many, thankfully. I hope you enjoy them!

Riding the Keisei Line. This is the train we took from Narita Airport to Ueno Station.
Tania and Lisa on the train.
Riding the Yamanote Line. From left to right: me, Lynn, Alex, Lisa, and Tania.
First look at Tokyo. This is Minowa, where our hostel was located.
Second first look at Tokyo. More of Minowa.
Occupado. The sign that hung on the bathroom in our hostel, since there was no lock. Alex stole it. XD
View from the hotel room, 4:15 AM. Which should explain the lighting, hehe.
No shoes, please! This sign was in our hostel room. They had adorable little house slippers that we had to kill a cockroach with.
The room. Yes, those are triple bunks! The top one visible in the picture was mine; it was right under the vent, which occasionally talked to me. Because of the weird, speech-like noises, we dubbed it, "The Phantom of the Hostel."
Magazines, plus my finger. They sold manga in 7-11's, how cool is that?
Minowa, highway view.
They have the strangest posters.
The first shrine of many. One of the shrines in Minowa.
Another shrine, across the street. I thought of Yuuko's shop when I saw it. *dork*
Shibuya. Where everything is expensive! Shibuya is a district in Tokyo, home to the uber-expensive shopping mall Shibuya 109. We found an awesome bookstore there, Mandarake... so cheap!
Dessert stand. Tres decadent. I want to eat it all.
More Shibuya.
Loligoth girls, part one.
And part two. We saw so many people on this bridge outside Harajuku station... including my friend Theresa. I barely see her HERE! XD
People crossing outside Harajuku Station.
Takeshita-dori. A street in Harajuku dedicated to more clothing stores, crepe stands, and knicknack stores than you've ever seen.
Harajuku. This picture was taken from Jonathan's, a restaurant we ate at quite a few times.
Misako-san and Yukiko-san, our guides around Harajuku. Misako-san did an exchange program at my school when I was in 10th grade, and Tania became pen pals with Yukiko-san. They're enormously sweet, polite girls, and I heart them. ¢¾
A condom store in Harajuku. ... yeah, you heard me. And yes, I did go in. What. XD
Alex, singing kareoke. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I want to go again sometime really soon, I loved it. They even score you on your performance! Our highest score was actually on "Tsuki no Curse," the Loveless opening. XD
Cemetary. A place in Ueno, Tokyo, that we saw walking to the post office.
Another Ueno shrine.
Heaven on Earth. Seven floors of goodness. I spent so much there it's not even funny.
El Inn Kyoto. What's with the random Spanish? My first Kyoto picture of many.
Decorated headstones. Wonder what those are for? Taken in a rural area in Kyoto.
More headstones.
A canal in Kyoto. Taken while we were walking around looking for that five story pagoda. Tell me, how exactly do you lose a FIVE STORY PAGODA. XD
Kyoto apartments. Can I live there please.
The Kamo River. Taken while crossing a bridge on the way to Gion. We ran into this lady with a dog, and while the dog was jumping over us, she was squeaking, "Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai!" It was adorable.
Another random shrine!
Interior shot of the shrine.
Gion Shrine 1. The first shrine we went to in Gion! This one was closed, even though I saw shoes inside. How mysterious.
Gion Shrine 1: Side View.
Gion Shrine 1: Headstone.
Gion Shrine 1: Garden.
Gion Shrine 1: Gate.
Gion Shrine 1: Memorial.
Gion Shrine 2. I loved this place! The grounds were absolutely huge, and were on some pretty tall hills. There was a gift shop here, too, with a really awesome monk that spoke great English. I ended up having a conversation with him (he'd stayed in San Francisco before), and I bought two charms from him: good health and happiness, and safe travel. There was an adjacent gift shop with weirder things (like Kondou and Hijikata origami paper), and that played a kareoke-esque version of "Killing Me Softly." Oh dear.
Gion Shrine 2: Buddha.
Gion Shrine 2: Libery Bell? No, not really. XD I assume you ring it for various ceremonies. But still, I got confused.
Gion Shrine 2: Balcony.
Gion Shrine 2: Donations. I tried taking ten steps back and throwing the coin in. I failed. XD When you do put the coin in, you get a stick of incense. Sadly, I had no matches.
Gion Shrine 2: Stairs. Japan is made of stairs. I'm not even exaggerating. XD My legs are in awesome shape now.
Gion Shrine 2: View of the cemetary. That is a big ass hill right there.
Gion Shrine 2: Brook.
Gion Shrine 2: Lilypads.
Gion Shrine 2: Benevolence. Yes, I do like Buddhas.
Gion Shrine 2: Toori, with Lisa and Tania.
Himeji Castle. Osaka was a bit poorly executed (and I didn't get to meet up with , grrr), but the castle was a nice bit of history for our vacation. TOKUGAWA!
A closer view of the castle.
The shrine at the top of Himeji Castle. That place has killer stairs. x__x I thought I was going to fall and die.
Laputa. The Ghibli Museum is awesome! It takes me back to my childhood... even though I didn't watch Miyazaki movies when I was a kid. XD But still, it makes you feel all nostalgic and teary-eyed and like a kid again.
The famous Tokyo Tower. At least we didn't lose this one. XD We did, however, have the requsite Apocalyptic Battle, in which Lisa discovered I was a man. ... shutup.
A closer view of Tokyo Tower.
The view from Tokyo Tower. You really can see everything... it's beautiful.
Miko. A priestess at the Meiji Shrine!
Votive tablets. You write a wish on it, and hang it on that cart. Tania's is visible in the picture... I hid mine. ^_~
A wedding procession at the Meiji Shrine. Isn't the bride so pretty? T_T
Me in the dress I bought in Harajuku. I've finally gotten the hang of putting it on! Yay! This really cute shopgirl helped me get into it, and flattered me with an, "Aaaaaa, kawaii desu yo!"

Peace out, y'all. <3
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