Index of Japan Pictures

[Pictures] [Travelogue] [Useful bits] [Conclusions]

	JPEG 834x552x16M [72 KB] This time around, my trip begins from Osaka. A few kilometers south, in Kobe, I look at the new buildings of glittering glass and metal which have replaced the destruction of the big quake of 1995.
	JPEG 834x552x16M [89 KB] Have the aliens landed? Not really. This futuristic shape belongs to a new boat propelled by a magneto-something engine.
	JPEG 834x546x16M [46 KB] And speaking of technology. As I hitch-hike a lift from a young fellow, I marvel at the remote controls in his van. One is for the home-entertainment center in the back of the van, complete with movie screen.
	JPEG 834x546x16M [49 KB] One of the most famous japanese gardens, Okayama-ken.
	JPEG 834x552x16M [47 KB] Another view of Okayama-ken. And in case you are wondering, yes I am crazy about japanese gardens. Be prepared for more later.
	JPEG 828x540x16M [51 KB] A little diversion to the north. Tiny Eno-shima island is a favorite trip for young people in love. Here is where they promise to lock their hearts to each other for eternity. I did not inquire whether locksmiths are available around the corner.
	JPEG 822x552x16M [45 KB] The area along Kamakura, prone to tsunami like most of the west coast of Japan, reminds passers-by that an earthquake does not come alone.
	JPEG 834x534x16M [65 KB] In addition to a famous Big Buddha statue, Kamakura has several temples and shrines. Zeniarai Benten was my favorite, although in the New Year season it was too full of people intent in washing their money.
	JPEG 834x534x16M [34 KB] Finally Fukuoka, gateway to Kyushu island and the south. On a rainy winter day, Ohori-koen is a peaceful retreat.
	JPEG 828x540x16M [25 KB] In the harbour, I am tempted by the ferry that would take me to South Korea overnight on a side trip. But time is scarce, and I have to pass.
	JPEG 828x540x16M [54 KB] An elaborate choice for the final ride.
	JPEG 540x822x16M [42 KB] If you like japanese craze for modern architecture and shopping malls combined in one, try Canal City.
	JPEG 834x540x16M [48 KB] Nagasaki is one of my favorite cities in Japan. Spread over hills around the harbour...
	JPEG 546x834x16M [57 KB] ... one often needs good legs to reach the destination.
	JPEG 552x834x16M [39 KB] This monument marks the place which was the epicentre of the atomic bomb (which actually exploded some hundreds of meters in the air, for maximum destruction). A visit to the atomic museum is extremely instructive, and absolutely unforgettable. You come out wondering about a thing or two in this world.
	JPEG 834x540x16M [55 KB] As promised, more japanese gardens. This one is Suizenji-koen, and is the pride of Kumamoto city.
	JPEG 834x540x16M [40 KB] Some japanese gardens are supposed to recreate scenes from the real life in miniature. As you can easily guess, here we are looking at Fuji-yama.
	JPEG 840x540x16M [48 KB] In the middle of Kyushu, the caldera of the Aso volcano is an impressive sight.
	JPEG 858x570x16M [56 KB] It is sufficient to walk a short distance away from the groups of tourists, to find lunar landscapes and imagine other worlds.
	JPEG 846x564x16M [103 KB] Across to the other side of Kyushu, the beaches of Ao-shima island are a reminder that we are not too far away from the tropics.
	JPEG 846x564x16M [91 KB] In Naha, my ferry to the southernmost islands of Okinawa prefecture is delayed due to rough seas. I don't mind too much, I always find something to do!
	JPEG 846x564x16M [64 KB] The port in the relatively remote Miyako-jima sees few tourists, and even less westerners. From here, it's several more hours to Ishigaki, the southernmost city in Japan.
	JPEG 792x570x16M [93 KB] A mere half-hour by ferry from Ishigaki, in Taketomi island all worries, fast-pace and winter cold of Osaka and Tokyo are a distant memory. There are no cars. The buffalo carts are for tourists only, and they wouldn't be bad if not for the drivers who play the same piece of music over and over.
	JPEG 792x558x16M [69 KB] Iriomote island is a kind of japanese last frontier. A few people living along the coast of this large island, but the interior is thick with tropical vegetation (same latitude as Taiwan), and largely unexplored.
	JPEG 570x846x16M [125 KB] A view over the combination of jungle and coral reefs from atop a waterfall.
	JPEG 786x558x16M [113 KB] Pineapple plantations: also this is Japan!
	JPEG 840x558x16M [56 KB] A quick dip in the crystal-clear waters: it may well be close to the tropics, but in January it's still too cold for me!
	JPEG 840x558x16M [65 KB] Japanese are the longest-living people in the world, and Okinawa women are the record-holders in Japan. This lady in Taketomi island is close to 100. She was very curious of a foreigner.
	JPEG 828x552x16M [87 KB] End of my trip. As my plane approaches the siberian coast, the ice over the sea reminds me that it is January. The tropical islands of southern Japan are very far now.

[Pictures] [Travelogue] [Useful bits] [Conclusions]

I visited in December 1999/January 2000. I managed to catch a flu just as I was leaving home. When I landed some 15 hours later in Osaka, I was hot with fever, and had to take refuge in one of those ugly, tiny, expensive business hotels which are such a special feature of Japan. I was left with a bad cough for two weeks, which somehow spoiled my time in Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya, Okayama, Kurashiki, and Kamakura. All this travelling on Honshu (including a quick 3 days in Seattle in between, but that' another story!) was done by train. It was the time between Christmas and early January: the whole country is on the move, and I was fascinated expecially on the trains to see all the various characters.
As soon as I landed in Fukuoka, my cough began to go. I don't know whether it was the dozen of pills in unknown and mysterious packages that I had been swallowing for days, or whether it was the excitment of being on Kyushu finally. Anyway, from there on my health grew better and better, and my spirits improved proportionally. I can't recall every day here, but I want to mention that every day was like a whole trip. I was changing places every 1-2 days, always sleeping in youth hostel (just about the only thing I could afford on a 30+ days trip in Japan!). Nagasaki and Miyazaki are the places I enjoyed most on Kyushu.
The Ryukyu islands, from Okinawa down to Iriomote, are a world apart. Even Okinawa seems so far to the north when you look at it from Iriomote. It's strange to say that there is a feeling of living with pioneers in a new frontier, when you think that it's Japan. But so it is. In winter there are large numbers of people from Tokyo and Sapporo (no wonder) which you might call the japanese equivalent of north-americans snowbirds. I remember talking to two young students, taking the ferry every day from tiny Iriomote to Ishigaki to go to school. How different was their life from that of the boys and girls in Osaka or Tokyo!
Naha on the contrary left me quite unimpressed, although I must say that I didn't spend more than 24 hours in total there so my judgement might be far from complete. The influence of cheap american trends is quite evident. More distant areas of Okinawa should be different, but unfortunately time was not enough!

[Pictures] [Travelogue] [Useful bits] [Conclusions]

Please visit my main Japan page for general information and more links about the country. Here are a few additional links:

And here are a few additional maps about the areas mentioned in this page:

Very detailed (and large) map of north-western portion of Kyushu, including Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Aso-san. (JPG 1700x1443x16M [805 KB]).
Relief map of Okinawa (JPG 1052x1228x16M [220 KB]).
Map of Ishigaki island (in japanese). (Gif 466x349x256 [42 KB]).
I found this one quite funny, but serious at the same time: Ishigaki lavatory map . You never know... (but there is actually much more inside).

[Pictures] [Travelogue] [Useful bits] [Conclusions]

This page was created using a photo camera, a scanner, some freeware, and lots of patience. Click here for a list of details and acknowledgments.

Created by A. Richichi, last modified: 24-Jul-01. Here is my homepage. If you want to know more details (such as places to stay, to eat, to avoid, and other travel tips) send me an e-mail, but first make sure to remove nospam_ from the address. If you liked this page, wouldn't you send me a postcard from the place where you live? Thanks!