* * * Always authentic, NEVER a forward, and Bcc * * *
Hi all!
I hope you are well and happy.
I am back from Japan my friends! It was an unforgettable trip.
I am looking forward to share my experience with you in detail. For now, enjoy some pictures taken by me.
Isn’t she adorable? When they are young they are so cute. When they reach middle school age it is another story.
Japan’s capital was a fishing village then it grew to become a monster city of 30 million. This is Northern Tokyo.
This is Southern Tokyo. The pictures are taken from the Tokyo tower. Tokyo is not as dense as NYC but it expands for as far as you can see.
Here is another view of Tokyo and in the middle you can see Tokyo Tower which is modeled after the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
This incredible 5-story pagoda is located in Central Tokyo. Popularly known as Asakusa Kannon this is Tokyo’s most sacred and spectacular temple.
Cemetery: Death in Buddhism is defined as the gradual separation of body and mind. As this separation is a gradual process, death is not a point in time, like in Western thought, but it describes a period during which this separation occurs.
Look at these buttocks! I had to get up at 5 am to watch these creatures practicing wrestling. Sumo wrestlers have a very low life expectancy due to obesity.
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium: Second largest aquarium in the world.
I was mesmerized! I could not get my eyes away from all these creatures. Aquarium after aquarium I spent hours looking at fish and oysters.
Here I am in Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. Japanese consume 75% of the global tuna catch and they eat 80% of it raw.
There are environmental consequences too when over fishing. I like octopus in Greece grilled with oregano and served with olive oil dressing and lemon.
What the hell is that? Don’t ask me. I would make a soup out of it, what do you think?
Are you a sushi eater? Then you know what that is. It is safe to assume that during this trip I had plenty of sushi. Sushi breakfast, sushi lunch and sushi dinner with tempura interruptions and weird sea weed salads.I have to tell you though, after eating sushi and Asian food for three weeks, I could not wait for the time for a T-bone steak with mashed potatoes and corn.
Tokyo bridges are delish! This is from our reception dinner in San Francisco at the Japanese Consul’s residence.
This dish was prepared for dinner by the family I stayed for an overnight in Okinawa. Very friendly and generous people. They spoke English and we had a wonderful opportunity to exchange political and philosophical views.
This is Japanese style donuts. It takes about three days to digest one.
This is silly me in Japanese drag. I had to celebrate Halloween after all. Look a the defibrillator to the right of the picture (άσχετο).
SOUPER DOOPER - At 3,776 meters Mt. Fuji is Japan’s highest peak. During the summer months one can relatively easily hike up to the volcano’s rim.
Majestic!
Wedding a la Japan: This is the bride’s sister. Her name is Haruna Mitsimoto (she is very mean and jealous of her sister’s good looking husband). The guy to the left is her brother Taiga.
Groom’s family (left to right): Sakura (mom, she is the best sushi roller in Tokyo), Souta (the groom, he works for Sony), Shouta (groom’s brother, he works as a janitor for Mitsubishi), Miyu (groom’s sister, obedient wife herself), Rin (youngest sister, fashion designer wanna-be), Aoi (ugly sister), Nanami (auntie, she is a Panasonic secretary).
OMB (Oh My Buddha) here they are going down the alley. Don’t you adore that fabulous red umbrella? Let’s hope it is not going to get windy now.
Isn’t she special? She looks like a character straight from Star Wars. Now I see where George Lucas gets his ideas.
This is me in Okinawa (birth place of Karate) attempting to communicate with the locals. In Japan people don’t speak English that well. In the end we tried smoke signals.
Let’s not forget that the trip’s purpose was educational. It is financed by the Japanese government in order to strengthen the already excellent diplomatic, economic, and social relationship between the USA and Japan. These are middle school students.
Due to China's Tang Dynasty opening of doors to the Japanese, the Japanese musical development and style somewhat resembles that of the Chinese music. Here is an elementary school student in Okinawa practicing a local version of the shamisen instrument.
Kindergarteners engaged in after school athletic activities. Notice that they are all skinny. Childhood obesity is not a problem in Japan yet.
High school girls eager to say hello and introduce themselves in English. The second girl from the left seems SO happy to pose.
High school boys, more reserved, introducing themselves. Notice that some of them are wearing a mask. In Japan when someone is sick it is a cultural norm that wears a mask in order to protect others from getting sick.
This is elementary school art work. The kids used paper clay to make shisas. A shisa is a lion originally from China that wards off evil spirits and was initially placed at the entrances to castles, temples, imperial mausoleums and communities.
PS. Important: By no means I am trying to play down or insult Japanese culture through my captions.
I am only having fun expressing silly thoughts. The Western world has certainly a lot to learn from Japan.
THE END
ps by PHILOS
O φίλος μου ο Αντώνης ζει και εργάζεται στην Αμερική.
Το παραπάνω κείμενο είναι το email, με το οποίο ενημέρωσε τους φίλους του σε όλο τον κόσμο - γιατί ο Αντώνης είναι μακράν ο πιο κοσμογυρισμένος φίλος μου - για τις εντυπώσεις του από το ταξίδι του στην Ιαπωνία.
Εγραψε απλά, καθαρά, με το δικό του ιδιαίτερο τρόπο, μιλώντας για μικρά και μεγάλα θέματα που ίσως ενδιαφέρουν περισσοτερο από τα διάφορα αξιοθέατα που μπορεί να δει κάποιος επισκεπτόμενος μια ξένη χώρα.
Ο Αντώνης αν είχε blog, είμαι σίγουρος ότι θα είχε ένα πολύ πετυχημένο blog. Γιατί γράφει τις σκέψεις του τόσο απλά και κατανοητά κάτω σα να απευθύνεται σους μαθητές του. Και δεν κρύβεται, ούτε ωραιοποιεί, και δεν διστάζει να πει τα πράματα όπως τα λέμε και μεις στις μεταξύ μας κουβέντες.
Προς το παρόν τον παρακάλεσα να δημοσιεύσω αυτό του κείμενο εδώ και δέχθηκε χωρίς ενδοιασμό και δεύτερη κουβέντα και τον ευχαριστώ πολύ για αυτό. Ήθελα να μοιραστώ αυτό το κείμενο και με άλλους. Να δώσω ένα άλλο δείγμα γραφής. Που μου αρέσει πραγματικά.
Και που ξέρεις...μήπως και τον πείσω να μοιραστεί και άλλες ταξιδιωτικές του εμπειρίες μαζί μας, είτε απο εδω είτε από το δικό του Blog!
