By.Anders8/23
By.Anders
During the summer of 2010 I joined Kanda Lab for two months on a joint JSPS/NSF fellowship.This was my first trip to Japan, and although I have traveled in Europe and Africa and the South Pacific, none of my travel experiences could have prepared me for life in Japan. Culture and society in Japan are unique and certainly very different from America. Never the less, I have had some great experiences and found that everyone here has been very friendly and welcoming. Some of the highlights of my trip have included excursions to the many different neighborhoods in Tokyo, spending time with my friends in Hayama, a visit to Kyoto and enjoying many parties with the members of Kanda Lab.
Trips in and around Tokyo
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Playing my first game of pachinko on a visit to Shibuya with |
A very cool bamboo giraffe at the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art |
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Nightlights and nightlife in Shinjuku |
University of California,
Los Angeles, Shinjuku campus. |
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Tsukiji Fish Market at 5:30 AM! |
Delicious tako in Tsukiji Fish Market |
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Hanabi (fireworks) in Yokohama bay. |
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Deep sea fishing on my friend’s boat “Moon Fish”. We caught these ones at about 150m! They look strange because they have very large eyes. |
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Wakeboarding behind the “Moon
Fish”. |
Kids smash a Japanese piñata (a watermelon) at a barbeque party. |
Holiday
in Kyoto
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Deer in Nara, kawaiiiiii |
Lanterns in Nara |
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A nice temple in Nara with many brass lanterns. |
The guard at the entrance of a shrine in Kyoto. |
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My favorite thing about Kyoto is the beautiful Zen gardens, they are very peaceful. |
Another Zen garden… |
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And another. |
I have really enjoyed my trip to Japan and working in Kanda Lab, everyone here is very friendly and made me feel welcome. I hope I can come back to Japan again in the future! But I also hope that some of my new friends in Japan will come to visit me in San Diego.