Yokohama’s Minato Mirai 21 and Chinatown
To finish up my blog post series from my 2-week Japan trip last February 2012, here’s about my quick visit to the famous Yokohama’s Minato Mirai 21 and Chinatown.
Minato Mirai 21 is a seaside urban area in central Yokohama whose name means “harbor of the future”. It has many large high-rises, including Japan’s tallest building, the Landmark Tower. Until the 1980s the area was a large shipyard, but the shipyard moved and development began for a new city center.
Source: Minato Mirai 21
Getting Lost in Tokyo
I was in Japan last February for the Bridge Systems Engineer (PHBR-BSE) Training and just after my quick Kyoto Day Tour, I went to explore the busy district of Tokyo on Sunday alone. It was my first time to go around without a map. That’s the only weekend we had and usually we go out during the evening after our training hours.
Starting with my journey in Tokyo, I first wanted to see the beautiful Tokyo Station, but unfortunately it’s under construction.
And just less than a kilometer walk from the Tokyo Station, you can see the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Palace Grounds in Tokyo is wider compared to the Imperial Palace Kyoto. Read more…
Kyoto Day Tour: Fushimi-Inari Shrine
The final stop of my One-day Pass Kyoto Tour was at Fushimi-Inari Shrine which is located in southern Kyoto. Fushimi-Inari Shrine famous for its thousands of torri gates of different sizes, which also makes it an important Shinto shrine. The rows of orange gates are so beautiful in the eyes.
Since it is located in a mountain area, it’s a great place also to do hiking. According to a friend, it takes around 2-3hrs to reach the summit and back. We were not able to reach the summit because it was getting dark and I need to back to Kyoto Station to catch the 7PM Shinkansen train back to Yokohama.
It’s a nice place to meditate or just walk if you have the patience and enjoy the nature. Click to read more about Fushimi-Inari Shrine.
Kyoto Day Tour: Kiyomizu-dera
Kiyomizudera or the Pure Water Temple is one of the famous temple in Japan and obviously a well visited tourist attraction when in Kyoto. It is also one of the many UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan. From the main road, we had a long walk going to the main temple but never got tired because of the beautiful scenes around. It’s winter and the cherry blossom trees are bare.
The main hall which is made of wood serves as a stage wherein people can view the cherry blossoms during Spring and Autumn (read more).
Kyoto Day Tour: The Heian Shrine
Continuing with my Kyoto Adventure post, here’s about The Heian Shrine. This was our third stop after visiting Kinkaku-ji and Imperial Palace Grounds in Kyoto. Heian is actually the former name of Kyoto.
From the outside, there’s a giant Torii Gate which welcomes you to the shrine which is just straight ahead. After few steps, you can now see the shrine proper as shown below. With the traditional architecture of the buildings, you will surely feel the old Kyoto. Read more…
Hi! I am Jerome Locson from Zamboanga City, Philippines. I am programmer, web developer and designer, technopreneur, and blogger. I blog about technology, foods and my travel. Thank you for visiting!
