You
all might be interested to know that Mike, a new co-worker
of mine that just moved to Japan, has started his own
blog. Check it out to get another gaijins fresh perspective
on things Japanese.
Japan
Years (Mikes Blog)
--
The new Casio digital camera worked
out well on my trip to Takayama. I didn't end up taking
nearly as much video as originally planned, but from
what I did take I have assembled a 5 minute 16 second
movie. The file is 13.7 MB, so please be kind to my
monthly bandwidth cap and download it to your hard drive
if you plan on viewing it more than once.
Takayama
video 5:16, 13.7 MB
--
I can't believe how many good photos
I was able to take in Takayama and Shirakawa. My percentage
of "keepers
" is quite a bit higher than usual. I'm not sure
how much of this is due to my new camera, or the fact
that I was exploring somewhere totally new to me, or
just that Takayama is a really beautiful place. Very
similar to Kyoto in how photogenic it is. Similar yes,
but a little bit different as well.
Takayama feels a lot more... authentic.
Which is not to say that the sights
found in Kyoto are in any way less impressive. Not by
a long shot. But where Kyoto is a top tourism spot in
Japan, and knows it, Takayama comes off as a lot less
austentasious.
In many ways it feels a lot like the
place where I grew up in Northern Michigan. (Which is
even more out in the boondocks than Takayama, if you
can believe that)
The people up in the mountains of
Gifu prefecture are also quite a bit more curious about
gaijin than the more jaded citizens of Japans larger
cities such as Kyoto or Tokyo. I got a lot more inquisitive
looks and friendly greetings on the street in Gifu Prefecture
than any other place I have been in Japan. Either that,
or maybe it was just my dashing new haircut... :)
Comment 25
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