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Tagata Jinja has a twin festival at Ooagata Jinja around the same time.
Our Email
michael@michaelpam.com
Mel and Heath - (in Japan )
Melinda (my sister) and Heath (My Brother in-law) visited us over Easter 2007. It was good to see them as they visited us at 100 miles an hour. They shopped, gawked at, tasted and tried everything that they could find.
This is their trip page
Kyoto.Trip
Text by Heath and Mel
Vending machines are everywhere! We loved them - it was our opportunity to try out lots of Japanese drinks, including beer.
Lunch at Yoshinoya - this is how fast food should be. We were in and out in 15 minutes, the only downside being the waitress shrilling every order to the kitchen staff. Surprisingly, the windows stayed intact.
On the Path of Philosophy in Koyoto. By lucky coincidence, we were there during the peak of cherry blossom season, which was stunning. The only downside was the crowds.
Nazen-ji Temple, which contains the Leaping Tiger garden and was constructed in the 1600s. You can just make out the people on the second story in this picture.
In the gardens of Nijo-jo Castle. Nijo-jo Castle was built in 1603 and contains the famous Nightingale Floor, which squeaks when anyone walks on it to alert guards of a potential intruder.
Fish on a stick - get 'em while they're hot!
Kyoto market food sampling!
Radishes preserved in Miso at the Kyoto Market.
Kiyomisu-deru Temple
Blossom time is always busy, but so stunning it was totally worth the crowds.
This is only part of the Akebono meal we had in Kyoto - the bowls just kept coming, and boy was it delicious!
Michael attempted to photograph the incoming Shinkansen bullet train, however the guard blew his whistle before a better shot could be obtained.
Nagoya.Trip
Asahi beer comes in a size to fit anyone!
Toki Premium Outlet Mall - and with genuine bargains, we bought everything that wasn't nailed down.
Heath's favourite dining establishment.
Tokyo.Trip
One of the traditions of riding the Shinkansen bullet train - enjoying a Bento Box purchased on the station platform. How's this for a hearty breakfast!
Shinjuku - Tokyo's answer to Las Vegas. Pachinko, strip joints and acres of neon.
At the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Nerd alert - during the 1980s the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo was valued at more than the entire state of California.
This team of senior citizens were each given a broom, and set about sweeping the paths of the Imperial Palace Gardens. We presumed it was some kind of voluntary community service.
The East Garden of the Imperarial Palace.
The Akibahara district, which is famous for discount electronics shops.
Tsumago and Magome
Text by MichaelOn Friday we did a day trip into the mountains to see the old villages of Magome and Tsumago. The villages are about and hour and a half out of Nagoya by car into the maountains. The two towns are quite pretty and only about 10km apart.
Magome
This was Pam and my first trip to Magome. So we had fun browsing the shops
The sakura were beautiful but the street was very steep
very steep
A stuffed tanuki at the side of the road.
Being surrounded by the mountains is pretty spectacular. Hard to get in a photo though.
Tsumago
I like Tsumago. It is quiet and pretty. A japanese tour guide from a bus tour had a chat to us at one stage and questioned us to why we had come to such an unknown spot. But it is worth it.
Hi Melinda
Jizu statues