Justin Schultzが投稿しました
Went to Rikugien Gardens over the weekend!
The weather was really nice and the flowers were beautiful.
I was hoping to see the yukitsuri, but unfortunately they'd already been taken down.
We bought some bikes recently so we decided to ride them to the park.
It's been really nice to get a bit of a leg workout in instead of riding trains all the time.
It was only about 25-30 minutes too and we were able to avoid all of the packed trains and get some fresh air.
I was pretty happy that we got to see the popular view from the top of the hill 3rd photo.
I've seen many photos of it before and finally was able to see it for myself.
I never knew that the park had turtles in the pond either, so that was pretty cool to see.
There were a bunch swimming all over the pond, sitting on rocks, etc.
We managed to spot a crane as well, but it was in a spot were we couldn't really take a good photo of it so I decided to pass and just admire it without a photo.
We stopped for a short break at one of the small cafes inside the park and got a quick snack.
I'm not a fan of manju, but my girlfriend likes them so she got a coffee and one sakura manju.
She seemed to like it, but decided to take off the flower from the top as she didn't want to eat the petals.
The melon soda float was nice too.
Definitely a nice place to visit and hoping to visit again in the fall to see the leaves after they've changed color.
Justin Schultzが投稿しました
今週末に再び行田に戻ることにしました。
前回行ったときはとても楽しかったので、今年の春に桜をチェックしたいと思いました。いくつかの本当に素敵な場所を訪れることができました。
本来は駅前にあるレンタサイクルを使いたかったのですが、お昼過ぎに着き、残念ながら全員連れて行かれてしまいました。
幸いなことに、後で少し寒くなったので、実際にうまくいきました。
幸運なことに、駅を通って市内の主要場所まで45分ごとに転がる本当に便利な観光バスがありました。
行田城の桜を覗いてみたところ、花手水花手水、水に浮かぶ花の鉢がありました。街中でこれらのいくつかを見ることができ、それは素晴らしかったです。
彼らはまた、城の周りのいくつかのエリアに伝統的な傘を展示していて、本当にきれいでした。
行田城の後、桜の美しい景色を眺めることができる滝玉古墳を訪れました。
サギの群れも飛び回っていましたが、どれもあまり良い写真を撮ることができませんでした。
おかげさまで桜とメインマウンドの素晴らしい写真が撮れて、とても楽しい時間を過ごせました。
水城公園にも立ち寄り、周辺には屋台がいくつかありましたが、すべてが閉まりそうになったときにそこに着いたので、いくつかのベンダーしか見ることができませんでした。
しかし、私たちは本当においしいレモネードとラテを手に入れることができました。どちらも本当に美味しかったです。
意外にも園内にはコスプレイヤーがたくさんいました。
20〜30人くらいの人が橋や桜を使ってコスプレをしているのを見たと思います。
駅に戻る途中、バスに乗っている間にこの川を見たので、駅に着いてから少し後戻りし徒歩約5分、川沿いの桜の素晴らしい景色を楽しむことができました。
意外と、そこにも人はほとんどいませんでした。
全体的に本当に素晴らしい時間でした!
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Justin Schultzが投稿しました
Just some more photos to wrap up our trip to Nikko.
I took a bunch of photos of different monuments and buildings that seemed important or had lavish decorations.
I can't make out what the writing on the monument says but I can at least make out the kanji for heart 心.
I also liked the golden palanquins inside the the building in the forth photo, although I'm not sure if they were used at some point or are simply for decoration.
The other photos are from Futarasan Chugushi Shrine 二荒山中宮祠神社 located in front of Lake Chuzenji.
Unfortunately we didn't have time to go inside the shrine but I was at least able to take some nice photos of the torii gate.
Apparently it has a kagura hall as well and the entrance to Mt. Nantai is located inside the shrine as well.
And finally, just an assortment of food that I haven't posted yet.
All of it tasted great.
It was definitely a trip I'm never going to forget!
Justin Schultzが投稿しました
Some more photos from our trip to Nikko.
There were so many awesome monuments, landmarks, and buildings that it'd be impossible to fit it all into one post.
I was so glad that I had my mobile battery with me because I was taking so many photos that I was just burning through my battery lol.
I really liked how the incense burner looked and I tried looking up how old it was but I wasn't able to find anything about it, only the one in front of Tokugawa Ieyasu's burial site.
I would have liked to use the chozuya as well, but unfortunately it was closed off due to covid.
I also liked seeing the sake barrels as well as they always brighten up shrines.
The "Ippon Toro" lantern was interesting as well.
I'd never heard of Empress Tofukumon'in before either, so it gave me some interesting things to read about Japan's Edo Period.
Apparently she helped rebuild prominent temple in Kyoto and collected art and pottery from famous artisans of the time and even those of the past.
Some buildings I'd have to look at a map to know their names but there was definitely no shortage of decorations.
Unfortunately we weren't able to take photos inside some of the main buildings, but a few of them had ceiling paintings done by famous painters.
Many of them were birds, and I'm not an expert, but I think they were mostly cranes and they were all really beautiful.
Justin Schultzが投稿しました
Continuing on from yesterday's post...
On the second and final day of our trip we woke up and ate a light breakfast followed by some udon and soba at a nice little restaurant on the way to the Kirifuri Highlands 霧降高原.
We were originally planning on hiking up to the observation deck around 880 meters up the mountain, but it proved to be a little farther than we thought it would be an had to stop at around 650 meters as there was a massive staircase to reach the observation deck and not everyone in the group was up for the challenge lol.
Not having the proper gear didn't help much either.
Most people had on snow shoes and they could easily trek through the snow but wearing just boots or tennis shoes we were a bit under-equipped and decided it'd be better not to overdo it.
We got to see some really amazing views and talk to an 85-year-old man who told us what gear we should buy if we're planning on hiking in the snow, about how the dam located on the mountains across from us rises and falls during the day/night, and how this was his ~60th time climbing the mountain but the woman he came with has done it more than 300 times.
She had to turn back early that day, but those are some impressive numbers!
After enjoying the outdoors we headed over to Nikko Edomura/Edo Wonderland 日光江戸村 and had a blast exploring the theme park.
We arrived at about 2pm so we got a nice discount on our all-day passes.
Walking around we got to see all of the different buildings that gave the theme park its Edo-Period-feel.
We also got to see the oiran procession 花魁道中 which was really awesome as well.
It seemed like they tried to make it as accurate as possible too.
The way the courtesan walked was in the traditional figure eight style which, from what I've read, is not easily done, so I assume that this is a sort of special type of profession as she was doing it to my untrained eye perfectly.
One funny thing was that the girls in red in front of the courtesan had to slouch somewhat because they were too tall and the theme park obviously can't employ children to play the role like they would have traditionally.
We also got some temporary "tattoos."
They got some cute Nyan-mage tattoos and I got a Shinsengumi tattoo lol.
After that we watched a really awesome performance inside of the ninja theater, but we weren't allowed to film or take photos so I don't have anything to post unfortunately.
It was really cool seeing the ninja actors jumping off of rooves and fighting though.
On top of that we also tried out the ninja maze where I was unfortunately the last one to make it out as I got unlucky and hit a dead end at the last part of the maze.
This was a really fun experience as there were a lot of hidden and revolving doors that you had to find to escape the maze.
We also did the shuriken experience and I managed to get 3/5 but I gave one of my shuriken to my girlfriend in the hopes that she would stick one in the target but unfortunately she wasn't able to lol.
I guess I was technically 3/4 because of that.
Overall the whole trip was a blast and we got to make some awesome memories out in Tochigi.
I definitely recommend it as a travel destination!
Justin Schultzが投稿しました
Took a trip out to Nikko, Tochigi over the three day weekend and had an incredible time.
The purpose of the trip was to celebrate my girlfriend's sister's college graduation so we wanted to make it as memorable as possible.
I don't have enough room to fit this into one post so I'll post the rest throughout the week.
We started out from Tokyo and had lunch somewhere Nikko Toshogu Shrine.
I'm not sure if Yuba is a local specialty but it seemed like literally every single restaurant in the area was selling it so I'm assuming that was the case.
It was my first time trying it and it was pretty interesting I guess you could say.
It tasted alright with the soy sauce and radish but I think I prefer normal tofu instead. Either way it was a nice experience.
After eating we headed out to Nikko Toshogu Shrine nearby and man was it amazing.
Everything was so lavishly decorated that I couldn't stop taking photos.
The pagoda was incredibly beautiful as well and the snow covering the Nikko area made everything even more beautiful.
I was lucky enough to get a really nice shot of the corridor full of lanterns while no one was walking through the area as well.
I also took a photo of the torii gate at the top of the steps as it had a very strong presence and signaled the end of the long journey up the steps to reach the inner shrine.
Unfortunately the main gate was undergoing repairs so it was completely covered in tarp and surrounded by staging so I wasn't able to get a photo of it, but I did get some really cool shots of the main shrine.
I tried as hard as I could to get some good photos of the grave of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and while I think the photo of the gate isn't bad, I think I'd need a better camera to get a good shot of the crane and his tomb.
That being said it was still really awesome to see.
After checking out the shrine we headed out to Kegon Falls and I managed to get some really nice videos and some decent photos as well.
I can't post the videos or I would.
It was really awesome seeing the icicles surrounding the waterfall and all of the frozen scenery as well.
Even just taking the lift down to the waterfall was an experience.
After we left the waterfall observation deck and went back up the elevator we got some suiton 水団, flour dumplings in soup and shared it between the three of us as a light snack before dinner later that evening.
We also visited Lake Chuzenji and admired the scenery there for a bit as well.
We didn't spend a ton of time here so this photo was the best I could do.
I like that I was able to get the sign in the shot though so I can't complain.
After enjoying the view of the lake we headed to our hotel and ate dinner and had some wine.
The place we stayed at was called "Lamb Chop" ペンション・ラムチャップ日光.
The food was great and service provided by the the owners was top notch, so I definitely recommend checking it out if you're looking for a place to stay in the area.
After dinner we headed back to our room and I was so exhausted I fell asleep almost instantly.
And that was the end of day 1! I'll post day two tomorrow since this post is getting quite long now!
Justin Schultzが投稿しました
週末に八王子に行き、その地域を探索しました。武蔵皇陵大正天皇と昭和天皇の埋葬地をチェックしたり、「ごん助」と呼ばれるレストランで素晴らしい料理を食べたりすることができました。
武蔵御霊廟は本当に素晴らしく、森の中の広い砂利道のある明治神宮をたくさん思い出させましたが、この森は自然であり、人工ではないと感じています。
また、古墳は本当に伝統的で、古墳時代の古墳を思い出させました。
レストランの権助はとても素晴らしかったです。
いろんなコースメニューがあって、イノシシ肉も初めて食べました笑。
私は長い間狩猟肉を食べていなかったので、もう一度試してみて、実際の石炭でいろりいろりだと思いますで調理するのは本当にクールでした。戻ってこの地域をもっと探索するのが待ちきれません。
高尾山を登って、この地域が提供する他のすべてを見てみたいです。美しい街
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Justin Schultzが投稿しました
休日に目黒の小さなレストラン「目黒フラット」に行き、一緒に本当に素敵なランチを食べました。雰囲気が良く、とても多文化のようでした。壁には他の言語の新聞どの言語かはわかりませんが、少なくともラテン語ベースでしたやさまざまな国のワインのポスターがあり、メニューも面白かったです。私の記憶が正しければ、ジャークチキンはジャマイカの特産品で、これまで試す機会がありませんでしたが、この場所で提供されていたので注文することにしました。本当に美味しくて、付属のサラダはさっぱりしていました。にんじんのピクルスと一緒に横にはスプーン一杯のマッシュポテトもあり、パンも食べ放題!私はパンが大好きなので、それはプラスでした。私のガールフレンドは盛り合わせの盛り合わせを注文し、真ん中のクリームはパンと本当によく合いました、それで私たちはそれを食べるために別の無料のバスケットを手に入れました笑。
ちなみに、カメラに向かってポーズをとっているように見えますが、実はお店の雰囲気を眺めているだけです笑。とにかくいい場所なので、目黒を訪れたり、何かしたいことを探している人はチェックしてみてください。駅から徒歩~5分くらいのところです。夜のメニューも違うかもしれないと思いますが、それは確かではありません。
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Justin Schultzが投稿しました
Some more photos from the Shinagawa Aquarium since I wasn't able to post them all yesterday.
I have a lot of pictures of jellyfish but it's so hard to take good photos of them, and it's the same for fish as well.
A lot of them are just too small and so the photos came out blurry.
Anyways, these are some of the better ones I was able to take.
I really liked how the iguana was just chillin on the branch and warming himself up with the UV lamp. I haven't seen an iguana in a long time.
I was happy I was able to take some decent photos of the sharks as well. I'm not exactly sure what types of sharks they are but they're still really cool to see. The smaller one seemed like he was tired and when I first passed him and he was sleeping in the back of the tank but when I came by again he was at the front moving around slowly.
I was pretty happy with the stingray photo as well, and I'm not sure what the long stingray-looking animal was, but it was interesting. It might not be a type of stingray at all, I'm not sure because it was my first time seeing it, but it kind of looked similar I thought besides the tail area.
Penguins are always cool too. I like the emperor penguins. Their hair always reminds me of Boris Johnson's😂
Then just a couple pictures from the dolphin show area. I got a nice melon soda float and then there's a picture of a dolphin listening to his trainer's instructions lol. Thought it was cute
Justin Schultzが投稿しました
先週末、初めて品川水族館に行ってきました。
その日はガールフレンドの妹の誕生日だったので、レストランを予約し、事前に水族館のチケットを購入しました。
グリル&バーAW55で食事をしましたが、食べ放題のサラダバー、さまざまな種類のフレーバーウォーターが入ったドリンクバー、そしてスープもありました。どれも本当に美味しくて、ボロネーゼパスタが本当に好きでしたが、サラダもスープも美味しかったです。
食べた後、私たちは水族館に行きました、そしてそれは本当に素晴らしかったです、私はクラゲを見るのが好きでしたいつものようにしかしイルカショーも本当に素晴らしかったです。私たちは実際に午後のショーと夜のショーを見るのに十分な時間滞在しましたが、どちらもテーマが異なります。
その上、私たちは意図せずに結婚式😂に参加することになりました。それはまったく予想外でした、彼らはそれを祝うためにイルカと一緒に特別なショーさえしました。それは見るのがかなりの光景でした。
水族館を楽しんだ後、夕食を取りに行くと、パンデミックのせいか、残念ながら廃業しているこの壁の穴の焼肉レストランを見つけました。
幸いなことに、飲み物はすべて100円でした...3人で25種類の飲み物を注文し、通常600円のビールを100円で注文し、その後、さまざまな肉を注文して、メニューのさまざまな種類の飲み物をすべて飲みました笑。
私はすべてを試していました。梅酒、サワー、ビール..レストランを出る途中で少し酔っていましたが、午後11時頃にケーキを食べて夜を終えました!
全体として、それは完全な爆発でした。
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