My bro showing off his ride.
The box of the meat we had last night. It translates to "cow meat."
My brother and I getting ready for dinner.
My brother and his girlfriend.
Cold coffee in a cup... and it's good!
Tasty lemon soda.
Melon soda gummies. Awesomely good. Still haven't had melon soda yet though.
Pizza-man.
Inside the "pizza-man".
A view from my seat.
Wik.
Me.
At a rest stop.
Negitoro Onigiri. (Tuna riceball)
Inside a tuna riceball.
Lots of mountains on the drive from Tokyo to Kyoto.
The second rest area.
A healthy fruit and vegetable drink.
Mechanical roadside flag waver. They were everywhere.
These signs denote the grade of the road. Our car did not have the parachute as described on the sign.
Nintendo's HQ in Kyoto.
Along the Kamogawa in Kyoto.
Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto.
A fierce lion.
A loaf of gyoza filling before it becomes gyoza.
A street in the Gion.
Out at the English Pub, where the cheapest beer is Japanese and they play American Top 40 music.
A view of Kyoto station from our hotel room.
The golden pavilion (Kinkakuji).
I'm ringing the bell.
Trying to blend in with the locals.
The rock garden at Ryoanji Temple. Very relaxing.
Meditating at Ryoanji Temple. Well not really, we just look like it.
Vending machines ARE everywhere in Japan. These are near a temple.
Walking between temples in Kyoto.
A typical road in Kyoto.
A small railway in Kyoto.
A small train on the small railway in Kyoto.
My lunch in Arashiyama, an area famous for tofu.
Crushing sesame seeds for my lunch.
Where we all had a wonderful tofu lunch.
The grounds of Tenryu-ji
A view from Tenryu-ji
More blending with the locals. These photos are from my brother's girlfriend's camera so they are a bit out of order (but all from Aug 25)
A supervisor telling a worker how to do the proper job of raking the rocks.
My brother reliving his days as the Karate Kid.
Along a very long bridge over a river.
We rented bikes from a location near Kyoto Station.
We've got our bikes, we're ready for the day of bike riding to temples and shrines in Kyoto.
Our first stop on the bike trip, on a street leading to Ginkakuji Temple
Photo inside the grounds of the Ginkakuji Temple.
A sand sculpture in Ginkakuji Temple.
Another sand sculpture in Ginkakuji Temple.
According to the brochure, the hedges of Ginkakuji Temple are "magnificent".
A small shrine along our bike trip back against the woods and mountains.
A footprint in the rock.
A gate to the temple where we had lunch. Cars (and our bikes) do drive through it.
Stop for a photo...
...and turn the other way for another one.
Washing my hands before entering the temple grounds.
There is nothing better than a statue of a man, and his loyal rabbit.
Our hostess led us to our table...
...but not before taking a photo of us.
Our first course, including fish, cheese, tofu, and eventually a large bee moved in on it and we let the staff take it over.
Dessert?
Relaxing in Osaka...
...waiting for our luggage.
A view from our hotel in Osaka.
A contrasted view of new and old.
Osaka castle
A gate leading to Osaka castle
A view from Osaka castle.
Eating ice cream, as a geisha.
Our hotel room came with a free bottle of sparkling wine, so we had it before headed to the baseball game.
It's about half full at this point....
I spilled a beer on my brother when I almost dropped my camera again...
The fish crackers that came with the beer at Koshien stadium.
Shochu with green ice. Tasted like a Jolly rancher.
The (Tokyo) Giants fans, they were organized and had cheers with trumpets, drums, etc.
Karaoke!
This is the least embarrassing looking photo I can find of karaoke. My eyes seem to be closed in most of the other ones.
Lunch at Iron Chef Chen's
A view from our hotel in Tokyo
A night of drinking in Roppongi
Walking around in Harujuku
There was a festival in Harujuku with lots of dancing kids
A large gate in Harujuku party
We met up with our family friend today when we walked around Harujuku
An advertisement on the back of a bus. I wonder what happens to people who are 101 years old.
A view from my second hotel in Tokyo, the clouds of Tropical Storm Krovanh are starting to roll in...
A view from the Hyatt Regency Tokyo
Playing video games in a "game station"
The deer in Nara really like you if you buy the crackers. As you buy them, the vendor twists the crackers to open them and the deer recognize the popping sound.
All done!
Deer get angry sometimes, I think this sign says.
Todai-ji temple in Nara
The giant Buddha and his friend.
Before the game at Koshien
Do what on the beach? I don't get it.
This is for the Midway folks.
Visited the Subaru showroom in Shinjuku, Tokyo
My wife's car!
Senso-ji in Asakusa
Riding down the Sumida River
Tsukiji fish market from the Sumida River
A view towards the north from
Hamarikyu Garden in Tokyo
The tea house at Hamarikyu Garden in Tokyo
The flower fields at Hamarikyu Garden in Tokyo
Outside the Tokyo Imperial Palace
This product helps you repair melons.
On the train to Nikko
The old Japanese Garden Shoyo-en in Nikko
At Nikko Tosho-gu
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
Closeup of the cutout behind us in the last photo.
Along the Daiya River.
A beautiful bridge, part of the Futarasan Shrine
These anti-littering adds are really funny
This one speaks for itself.
This store photo is for my wife.
A last view of Nikko, after buying bento boxes for dinner at the supermarket.
On the train ride back from Nikko, eating our bento boxes.
