Mount Takao is a mountain near Tokyo.

Standing 599 metres tall and located within an hour of downtown Tokyo, it is a popular hiking spot, with eight hiking courses and more than 2.5 million annual visitors. The Tama Forest Science Garden is also located at the mountain’s base.

Mount Takao is closely associated with tengu, minor kami from Japanese folklore, and the daitengu Naigubu. A Buddhist temple, Takaosan Yakuōin Yūkiji, is located on the mountain.

Visitors to Mount Takao can choose to start climbing from the base, or take a funicular or ropeway ride halfway up the mountain. The Takao Mountain Railroad operates both of these services. The system nominally has four stations—two each for the funicular and the ropeway. However, the distance between the pairs of stations is only a few dozen meters (at the base of the mountain) and approximately 150 meters (at the top of the services, which are themselves about a 30 minute scenic uphill walk from the top of Mount Takao itself), so they can essentially both be thought of as coming from and going to the same place.

Some visitors to Mount Takao bypass the Takao Mountain Railroad services entirely. Trail 1 from the base of the mountain is a somewhat arduous climb, but it is paved and leads past the top stations of both the ropeway and the funicular on the way to the summit. Trail 6 and the “Inariyama Trail” are unpaved trails that start from the base of the mountain and go all the way to the summit, but they do not pass the ropeway and funicular top stations. Some visitors to Takao ride up the mountain and then walk back down.

One end of the Tōkai Nature Trail is at Mount Takao, at the Takaosan-guchi Station. The other end is at Minoh, near Osaka.

source: wikipedia

The Ueno Zoo  is Japan’s oldest zoo, opening on March 20, 1882. It is a five-minute walk from the Park Exit of Ueno Station, with convenient access from Tokyo’s public-transportation network. The Ueno Zoo Monorail, the first monorail in the country, connects the eastern and western parts of the grounds. In the part 1 is the East side of the zoo.. When the part 2 is the West side of the zoo.

The zoo is in Ueno Park, a large urban park that is home to museums, a small amusement park, and other attractions. The zoo is closed Tuesdays (Monday if Friday is a holiday). It s definitely a place to go to have fun with friends, or with kids!

Itsukushima (厳島) is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay. It is popularly known as Miyajima (宮島), the Shrine Island. The island is one of Hayashi Razan’s (林羅山) Three Views of Japan (日本三景 Nihon Sankei). Itsukushima is part of the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture. The island was the town of Miyajima prior to the 2005 merger with Hatsukaichi.

Itsukushima is famous for the Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to records, the shrine was established in the time of Empress Suiko. The warrior-courtier Taira no Kiyomori gave the shrine its present form. In 1555, Mōri Motonari defeated Sue Harukata at the Battle of Miyajima. Toyotomi Hideyoshi built a large building, the Senjō-kaku, on a hill above the shrine.

The island of Itsukushima, including the waters around it (part of Seto Inland Sea), and are within Setonaikai National Park. This sea is affected by strong tides. At low tide, the bottom of the sea is exposed past the island’s Torii. At high tide, the sea covers all the previously-exposed mud and fills areas underneath the Shrine.

Itsukushima is mountainous and sparsely settled. It does have an elementary school and a middle school. There are no traffic signals.

Frequent ferry services, operated by JR West (JR Miyajima ferry) and by Miyajima Matsudai Tourist Ship, carry traffic between the island and the mainland. The trip takes about ten minutes. There is an hourly express passenger ferry to Hiroshima harbour.

Miyajima’s maple trees are renowned throughout Japan, and blanket the island in crimson in the autumn. Momiji manju, pastries filled with azuki jam or custard, are popular souvenirs, and carry maple-leaf emblems. Many other varieties such as chocolate and cheese are also available. Because the island is seen as sacred, trees may not be cut for lumber. Deer and monkeys roam freely. Deer are thought of as sacred in the native Shinto religion because they are considered messengers of the gods.

A style of wooden spoon used to serve cooked rice, without impairing the taste, is said to have been invented by a monk who lived on the island. This style of spoon is a popular souvenir and there are some outsized examples around the shopping district.

The peak of Mount Misen, at 535 m, is the highest point on the island. Miyajima Ropeway carries visitors to within a 30-minute hike to the top. There are several sites related to the historical Buddhist priest and founder of Shingon Buddhism, Kōbō Daishi (弘法大師^?) (774–835), near the top. The island also contains the Miyajima Natural Botanical Garden (宮島自然植物実験所 Miyajima Shizen Shokubutsu Jikkensho^?) on its north coast.

There are many shrines and temples on the island. It is rural and mountainous, only 12 sq. miles, and has a population of about 2000. There are no cities, only small towns with simple houses and privately-owned shops. The islanders work hard to preserve the forests and respect nature. People often take the ten-minute ferry ride from mainland Japan to pray at Miyajima’s shrines and to marvel at the beauty of its forests.

text source: wikipedia

This video entered the Show me Japan weekly event on Budgettrouble.com! check out the other entries here

J∙Festa is a blogging festival showcasing the best of Japan. Here you will find a regular round-up of inspiring articles, thought-provoking stories and arousing images prompted by the announcement of a Japan-related theme. Best of all, everyone is invited to participate!

Participating in a blog carnival is a good way to get your blog noticed by others. Submitting articles also helps to improve your link popularity by building backlinks as well as sending direct traffic to your site.

This is my entry for the July 2011 Blog Carnival!

Iwatayama Monkey Park (Japanese: 嵐山モンキーパーク, Arashiyama Monkī Pāku) is a commercial park located in Arashiyama in Kyoto, Japan. The park is on Mt Arashiyama, on the same side of the Oi River as the train station. It is inhabited by a troop of over 170 Japanese macaque monkeys. The animals are wild but can be fed food purchased at the site.
more on wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwatayama_Monkey_Park

Oi River

Iwatayama Monkey Park - chiiizu!

Iwatayama Monkey Park - view

Iwatayama Monkey Park - view

Iwatayama Monkey Park

Iwatayama Monkey Park

Iwatayama Monkey Park

bridge over Oi River

This post in my entry for the Show me Japan Vol1 Issue 25 ! on Budgettrouble,com! check out others entries here

Shōkoku-ji (相国寺), formally identified as Mannen-zan Shōkoku Shōten Zenji (萬年相国承天禅寺), is a Buddhist temple in northern Kyoto, founded in 1382 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Shōkoku-ji was founded in the middle Heian period. Initial construction of the central temple structures was begun in 1383, and the entire temple complex was initially dedicated in 1392. In the eighth month of the third year of Meitoku, Yoshimitsu organized a great banquet attended by all the great officers of the Imperial court and the military leaders of that time. The pomp and ceremony of the affair was said to have equaled an Imperial event.

The entire temple complex was destroyed by fire in 1394; but reconstruction financed by Yoshimitsu followed soon after. This process of damage and rebuilding has been repeated many times over the centuries, notably during the Onin War.

After the Muromachi period, Shōkoku-ji was supported by several national leaders such as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, his son Toyotomi Hideyori, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, all of whom helped finance the temple’s various reconstruction projects.

• Hideyori financed the 1605 reconstruction of the Hatto (Dharma Hall); and this structure, designated as an Important Cultural Property, is presently the oldest building of its type in Japan.
• Ieyasu donated the Sanmon (Mountain Gate) in 1609.
• Emperor Go-Mizunoo donated an imperial palace building to serve as the Kaisando (Founder’s Hall).

Other buildings were reconstructed during this period, but, with the notable exception of the 17th century hatto, the temple complex was largely devastated during the conflagration of 1788

Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines.

Since in early Japan Inari was seen as the patron of business, each of the Torii is donated by a Japanese business. First and foremost though, Inari is the god of rice.

Merchants and manufacturers worship Inari for wealth. Donated torii lining footpaths are part of the scenic view.

This popular shrine is said to have as many as 32,000 sub-shrines (bunsha (分社)) throughout Japan.

More on wikipedia

This video has entered the Show me Japan volume 1 issue 24 held on Budgettrouble.com  don’t hesitate to check the others entries here

Hanami in Yoyogi park on Sunday April 10th 2011 ! A beautiful day for a hanami.. the park was packed! So much people had the same idea to celebrate the cherry blossom on that day..
After so much stress due to earthquake ( oh shaking while I m writing this! ) and nuclear problem, having fun with friends in Yoyogi was really nice!

If you wonder what Hanami is, lets check what Wikipedia can tell us:

Hanami (花見, lit. “flower viewing”) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, “flower” in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms or ume blossoms. From the end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan, and around the first of February on the island of Okinawa. The blossom forecast (桜前線, sakurazensen, literally cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week or two. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night.

 

*** I have enter this video to the Show Me Japan Vol.1 issue 21 , this week held by ichigolove’s blog, Go check the other entries about Japan.

Blizzard on Tokyo on the night of Valentine’s day! never seen so much snow in Tokyo since I m living here!

This is my entry for the  Show Me Japan Vol.1 Issue 14 from Budget trouble..

 

How to get there?

WHICH TRAIN?

Tokyu denentoshi line (25min from shibuya station on the express line)

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View on Fuji san from a house in the five lake region.

The Fuji Five Lake (Fujigoko) region lies at the northern base of Mount Fuji about 1000 meters above sea level around the lakes Kawaguchiko, Saiko, Yamanakako, Shojiko and Motosuko. It is one of the best places to view Mount Fuji from a close distance and a good base for climbing the mountain.

Fujigoko is known as a lake resort area, where hiking, camping, fishing and snow sports are among the popular outdoor activities that can be enjoyed. There are also plenty of hot springs and museums found in the area, along with Fuji Q Highlands, one of Japan’s most popular amusement parks, featuring the Fujiyama and Eejanaika roller coasters.

Among the lakes, Lake Kawaguchiko is the easiest to access and offers the most things to see and do for the average foreign traveler. The four other lakes are less developed than Lake Kawaguchiko and are not as easy to access by public transportation.

Show me Japan Vol 1 issue 4:

As we approach the week­end, that means issue 4 of “Show Me Japan”, the new photo event by budgettrouble.com where peo­ple from all over Japan sub­mit pics show­ing off what­ever cor­ner of the coun­try they are in. This post  is my entry for this week (dec 10-12  2010) — go check out some of the other ones.

Wifey trying to catch Fujisan ^_^