Japan 2019 (Tokyo, Kyoto)

At the very end of 2019, we spent a week in Japan. We went to Tokyo first, where we saw cool sights and (of course) ate great food. It turns out that one of my dad’s relatives married a Japanese man; we had dinner with them at a conveyor belt sushi place. However, the Japanese in-law wouldn’t let us touch the sushi on the conveyor belts, insisting that it wasn’t fresh enough. He instead ordered some stuff directly from the chef behind the counter. I’m no sushi connoisseur, but it was pretty tasty.

Man in front of bridge Fish market Buildings with cartoon signage
We went to Tokyo attractions like the imperial palace, a fish market (Tsukiji?), and Akihabara. (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

After that, we stayed in Kyoto for a few days, including New Year’s Day. There are plenty of cultural attractions there.

Bamboo forest Gilt Asian temple Outside orange gates
Kyoto attractions: the Arashiyama bamboo forest (featuring yours truly), the Golden Pavilion, and the Fushimi Inari shrine. (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

We encountered some of the serene Zen scenes that Japan is known for:

Asian wooden building Stone path through grass Lines drawn in gravel before gate
Some peaceful places in Japan. (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

But it’s also known for several very crowded places:

Crowded urban street Crowded road to shrine
Crowds at Takeshita Street in Tokyo and the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto. (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

Anyway, no blog post about Japan would be complete without some pictures of food, so here you go:

Man cooking pancake People eating seafood
The author “skillfully” preparing okonomiyaki (a sort of Japanese pancake) and eating seafood. (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

Just to round out this post, here are some more pictures of me that were taken in Japan. This is my personal website, after all!

Portrait of Asian man with golden building in background Inside orange gates Man sitting in traditional Japanese building
Honestly, that first photo has some “profile picture” potential. (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

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