...and she's back!

[rkold]

For those curious, I am alive and mostly well and back from Japan! My flight got in yesterday morning without a hitch and unlike my flight in October there were enough booths open in Customs so I didn't have to wait for 30 minutes, and was actually outside with my suitcases within 15-20 minutes.

Japan was lovely and I still owe a Basara report. I took a lot fewer pictures this trip since I spent more time in Tokyo and the first week or so was incredibly incredibly cold and rainy which is not particularly conducive to picture taking.

But for now...



Betsuin Temple in Tokyo






My table, I think this was the same building the GinoSuza event from 08 was in


Me and Aya-san and Toko-san


Me and Toko-san and becroberts


Me and Aya-san (another Aya-san, I think Aya==Jennifer in Japan >>; )


And another Aya-san with her Suzaku, whose name I forget. I just remember they are from Osaka.


Gino and Suzaku... and while you can't see it in the picture the best part was an Emperor Lelouch was directing Gino on what to do XD;;;;;;


Suzakus! And I was amazed, this was the first event I ever saw Blue!cat Suzaku costumes for other than the time when I went as Suzaku in the blue!cat suit!


The hotel jougetsu and I stayed in when we were in Hakone.


Yunessun in the snow


ume in Osaka


Wedding Bells Love Hotel... uhhhhh


Hotel Loire, I actually saw people come out of this one >>;


So Lelouch... and it did not help that this love hotel was called "The Emperor"






Isshin Temple in Osaka (also where the Tokugawa camp was set up during the Siege of Osaka-jo


Cats


Sanada's grave










Most awesome love hotel name ever!


Himeji-jo before the new restoration project scaffolding covers the front






as you can see the restoration has already begun...




Toji in Kyoto








Ume at Tenshi no Sato




me and becroberts at the DevaDevaCafe.


Fuji-san


Gokayama












Ogimachi, the biggest and most visited gassho zukuri village in the Hida Region.




























Takayama






The view from my hotel




Snow sculptures in Hirayu onsen










More of Takayama


Oh Lego!people and your thoughtless tendencies...


Tokyo Tower at night


Enjoy!

Comments

[reynardine.livejournal.com]

Welcome back! Fox pictures! Ume blossoms! Yay!!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And sorry about the mark up issue, the pictures have all now been fixed! :D

[twotone]

Welcome back! Glad to see you had a terrific (if chilly!) time!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I have soooooo much tea for you. I will try to get it out tomorrow. :)

I have a bunch of packages to get out tomorrow, but I'm still trying to adjust and I'm feeling a little under the weather.

It seems like Lupicia nearly constantly has some sort of LE, either a regular release in a fancy tin or an actual LE. The tins are too cute. >>;

[sephyelysian.livejournal.com]

You really do take some of the most amazing photos. Welcome home and it looks like you enjoyed your trip!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Come on AIM at some point... I sort of have something to tell you. >>;

I really liked the gassho zukuri though it scared me so much to climb up and down the stairs lol

[rkold.livejournal.com]

*blush*

Thank you! I've been trying very hard to improve my photography skills and I feel like I have a long way to go sometimes. >>;

And yes, I tend to enjoy my trips to Japan. :D

[rkold.livejournal.com]

*blush* thanks! I was trying some new hair care products to help with the curls and I think it helped a lot. That and I'm trying to eat better and get in shape.

I love some of the signs you find in Japan. lol

[summer-queen.livejournal.com]

Welcome back! Your pics definitely make me want to go to Takayama ... but in spring!

[paleonaturist.livejournal.com]

Japan, as always, charms and makes me smile.

You brought me Japan in photos.

You made me smile, you charmer, you!

Arigatou.

~Bruce

[jusrecht.livejournal.com]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH ♥

/is overwhelmed by the pretty PRETTY pictures *A*

[spazzygirl19.livejournal.com]

Welcome home!

Great pictures! Glad you dressed warmly and got to do lots of onsen!

[winter]

Looks like extra fun (and extra snow as well) :) I envy you the ume blossom photographing opportunity.

[cc-lemon.livejournal.com]

Absolutely gorgeous shots as always. I love seeing these photos of your trips!

[chocolate_chip.livejournal.com]

Glad you made it back safely! <3

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Actually, the snow wasn't so bad! It was surprisingly warm and mostly the snow was by the sides of the roads/paths so it was scenic without being difficult. I wore my penny loafers the whole time. :D

Takayama itself I was sort of ehhh on, but I loved Gokayama and Ogimachi and my trip to Hirayu onsen.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Oh I did! Sadly those I could not take pictures of. The ones in my hotel in Takayama were stupendous. It was seriously as nice as some of the places you pay for.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I could make you smile, Bruce. I really hope you get to make your own trip there at some point.

I try really hard to travel throughout to Japan to give more people a sense of the country outside of the Tokyo and Kyoto. I'm hoping to go back to Ueda and to go to Matsumoto at some point.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed! Now I just need to write up my Basara event report before I forget everything lol

Usually I take around 1000 pictures in Japan, but this time it was far fewer because of the weather being so cold.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Yes, though I was still a bit cold during the first 2/3 of the trip lol The worst was actually my seiyuu event where I was waiting right near the shore where the wind was coming off strong.

The onsen were amazing and I definitely enjoyed them. ♥

[rkold.livejournal.com]

The ume not only were fun to photograph but smelled amazing. I almost went to Mito but between feeling a bit under the weather and the fact it is just not the same with ee970 I just couldn't. I really love ume though and I'm glad I got a chance to experience it again. I think when I buy my next house I will have to look into growing some. >>;;

Have you been to Takayama yet?

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I can share them with you! :D I hope you get to go back on your own trip in the future. It's really really wonderful getting to travel around Japan.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Me too! *hugs* The flight was a little ehhhh but they tend to me and luckily I am back now on solid ground.

I'm so glad I got to see you 2x! I only feel bad I forgot to take more people pictures, my goal for GW. BTW will you be going to Tokyo or no? I'm jealous that the rest of y'alls will get to go to Doll Show, but I can't as it is the big day for SCC for me. >>;

[winter]

No, we're going to be in Takayama during our November trip :) I can't wait.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Personally, I found Takayama itself sort of boring, it is mostly shopping in interesting period building, similar to those found in other preserved Edo-era areas. But I loved the Gassho Zukuri. I ended up paying to do a tour after spending hours stuck in Osorezan, and I'm glad I did as otherwise trying to coordinate the buses to Gokayama is a huge challenge and I sort of liked Gokayama the best. The price might even be pretty similar to what it would have been to do everything a la carte. Of course if you're staying in Ogimachi that changes everything.

I'd also highly recommend the trip to Hirayu onsen if you like onsen at all. It felt worlds away.

[chocolate_chip.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about GW yet, but if I do go, I'd probably go to SCC rather than Doll Show.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I think most of the things you like are Day 2 of SCC though, I'm not sure.

I just know day 1 was the day that was easy for me since it is Basara and Geass >>;;

[twotone]

Oh, thank you!

And yes, Lupicia seems to have a constant stream of LEs. I think part of it is their attempt to make teas that suit the seasons as they come and go... and part of it is because Japan does love its seasonal LEs!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I have to say the dark chocolate and raspberry/pasisonfruit Kit Kats were impressively good. Lots of people who normally don't like Kit Kats (like me) loved them.

Just as I left there were special boxed releases of Peach Melba de-caf, BonBon and Cookie as well as a special version of Mimosa and a bunch of the sakuras. That was true of the V-day teas, most of them were regular release it was just special cute tins. But I think the New Years tea and the other one I got were LEs I was trying to ask lol

BTW in the future I am always happy to get you Lupicia teas. I now know where a ton of the branches are and they're all easy to find. Plus I have a point card now :D

Fun photos!

[ginarolo.livejournal.com]

Japan is beautiful. You captured the beauty of winter snow and spring blossoms. And I love that your photos have a sense of humor as well.

Re: Fun photos!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I try to have a sense of humor sometimes XD; Oddly enough the days I was surrounded by deep snow in the Hida Region were much warmer than when I was taking ume pictures in Osaka and Kyoto. By the time I left the temperature had really warmed up but I really wanted to be home.

[stardustasylum.livejournal.com]

The Gokayama pictures are really beautiful! And Hotel Broccoli?? Perfect!

Glad to hear you're home safe and sound and it looks like you had a wonderful time! *hugs* And I seriously owe you an email!

[mec]

It's nice to see what you were up to when we weren't together - I love those snow sculptures! I'll be stealing a few of these for myself, and there are a couple I must email to you, as well. ^_^

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you like the pictures! :D I'm really glad I took the tour as I think otherwise I never would have made it to Gokayama and it was definitely one of the best parts of the trip.

*hugs* When you have time, I know you're super busy. Just please do keep an eye out for the package, I am sure it will get to you before you know it.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

the snow sculptures were pretty amazing, I'm sure they don't compare to Sapporo's snow festival, but Hirayu was a lot less crowded and had an amazing onsen XD;;

Let me know if you want larger dpi versions of any of the pictures. I tend to compress and resize everything for the web.

And yeah for pictures! :D

[kosquarepelli.livejournal.com]

I got your postcard! :D (Which was terribly cute.) Great photos, but I especially love the ones of the Hida region -- it looks so cozy (even/especially with the snow). They really make me want to visit. Glad you got home OK!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I think it looks particularly cozy in the Winter too (and scenic) which is why I made sure to visit then. I had once asked Jenn for things to do in Japan in January and she had recommended a trip to the Hida Region, and since I'd never been there before... it was a good choice.

I have to write up a full report on my Basara event which was just awe inspiring.

[kellyhime.livejournal.com]

Looks like another fantastic trip! We really want to visit some gassho zukuri villages someday -- although maybe when there's a little less snow.^^

Thank you so much for the postcard! What a nice surprise to find Japan in my mailbox.^_^

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Actually the snow really wasn't that bad, it was more scenic than an issue, probably because the temperatures greatly improved through out Japan that week. It's easy to get to Ogimachi by bus from Takayama, however without a car getting to Gokayama which I liked more is a challenge.

Yeah, I worked hard to get out postcards to everyone on my list. It helped I had no internet in Takayama XD;

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Could you please get me your mailing addy. Kennis saved my bottle of perfume you sent me ♥ (which thank you very much in regards to!) but I don't have your addy and I got your something in Japan. :D