A small glimpse into the life and adventures of Brady and the Yukster

Monday, December 19, 2005

Fuji-san at dusk




This is a shot of Mt. Fuji from our balcony at dusk as the sun lit the sky with a reddish glow. Since we moved to our new flat near the ocean, we have been blessed with wonderful views of Fuji every morning. Autumn and winter are really the only times that one can catch a glimps of the lonely giant dominating the landscape. The humidity in the spring and summer reduce visibility considerably and Fuji-san cannot be seen.

When I first came to Japan, I thought that I would only need to look towards the east, and the magestic peak would be hovering in the distance at all times. But one quickly learns that seeing Fuji-san is a rare treat, as Japan is blanketed by a haze of humidity for most of the year. On the few occasions that the mountain does show itself in the clear blue sky, people stop in their track upon seeing it and marvel in its breath-taking beauty.
BRADY
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Odawara castle




Here is a picture of me standing in front of Odawara castle in late November. I've heard of the name of the castle since I was little, but I'd never really seen it till the day I visited there last month with Brady. Haven't seen too many Japanese castles, but I thoght it was a quite modest smallish castle. It was burnt down a couple of times during battles by fire so it kept having to be rebuilt over the years until it reached it's present form. the inside of the four story castle is like an exhibition hall now. They show all the old stuff related to the castle and battles the castle had gone through such as swords, armour and arrows. It was kinda scary imagining thoses things were actually used in the batlles and possibly coverded with blood then.

The view from the top balcony of the castle was great! We could see beautiful layers of mountains and the sea. It was only about a 25 munite train ride from our local station. It's amazing how the place made me feel as if we traveled far to reach the old historical city surounded by rich nature. Surrounded by beautiful view is a busy motor road with many of modern buldings along side. Probablly the view of the sea was pretty much the same to the one the Shogun of the castle appreciated in the past. It was intersting wondering how he would react if he timetraveled to the present to see the modern developed and busy site around his castle.

Around the castle is a large park where we found a little zoo with a poor lonely elephant, monkeys and other little animals. It is a funny combination... the castle and the zoo, the latter being absolutely unneccessary to be there but we enjoyed walking around the park breathing in the fresh air filled with the beautifully coloured yellow, orange and red leaves on trees there and checking out the rather bored looking quiet animals.

All in all it was an interesting day out!

Yuki Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Tokyo Tower




Once a week I get up ridiculously early and take the train into the center of Tokyo to teach a Business English to a group of young professionals. What makes it all worth it is that the class is located on the 47th floor of the Mori Tower in the newly constructed business and shopping "mini-city" called Roppongi Hills. At 9:00am I am finished my class and I can remain on the 47th floor in the cafe / lounge and take in the stunning pannoramic views of Tokyo. If the weather is fine, you can see Tokyo spreading out into other adjoining cities for hundreds of miles in all directions. Today was one such day. On one side, a snow covered Mt. Fuji could be seen resting calmly in the distance. One the other the exciting developments of Tokyo and all the uncountable number of skyscrapers of all shapes and sizes.

I snapped this picture of Tokyo Tower, which is the highlight of the Tokyo cityscape. At 333meters, it is 13meters taller than it's older brother the Eiffel Tower, and a little more flamboyant with it's bold red body and white stripes. When I first saw it I couldn't help thinking that it was a rip-off of the Eiffel Tower, and thus only an immitator. However the big red giant has grown on me and I now look forward to gatching a glimpse of it every chance I get.
BRADY Posted by Picasa

Monday, December 12, 2005

Check out this big fella!!

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Here is a picture or the Amida Buddha in the Kotokuin Temple in Kamakura. The statue was originally cast in bronze in 1252 and was originally housed in a temple, but this was washed away by a tsunami in 1498. Since then the big guy has stood out in the open air.

It is a sight to behold as you round the courner and suddenly see this big medatative giant nestled in amongst the trees and hills surrounding it. The most supprising thing is that for a mere 20yen (that's about 20 cents Canadian) you can go in through a small door and enter the hollow huddha statue. In this way, one can become "one with the Buddha" without isolating one'self to a cave in Nepal for 20 years of meditation. That is the best thing...possible the only thing I have droped 20 yen on so far.

Autumn Ignites




Autumn is by far the best season in Japan. Each day is full of sunshine and bright blue skies. The trees bust into an explosion of color. Although it starts to get cool, it can stay nice until well into December,giving the trees a chance to exhibit their firey brilliance. Here is one photo from last week when we fisited the Daibutsu (giant bronze Buddha statue) and the accompanying garden in Kamakura. Walking through the dark afternoon shadows, this tree appeared like the light at the end of a dark tunnel as we turned the corner and it greeted us with it's yellowy fire. Posted by Picasa

Hellloo



Hello and welcome to our site. Here you can find a glimpse into the lives of Brady and Yuki and some of the modest adventures that we embark on. Please feel free to look around.....there isn't much here yet, but we hope to add stories and pictures regularly. So without further adoooo.... Here's the Yukster!!!!!

Hellooo there! Thank you for checking out our blog! We are very much enjoying our life together here in Japan. It would be really nice if we could share the things that we've found and enjoyed with you by us writing and showing photoes of those moments in here. Posted by Picasa