A helpful travel guide for anyone planning on visiting Hakone Japan. Includes tips on taking the train, Hakone Ropeway, cable car, and sights to see.
Hakone is located less than 100km from Tokyo and is a popular day trip or weekend destination. Most people visiting Hakone take the Hakone Circle Route, which goes around the area in a circle using five different modes of transportation, train, cablecar, ropeway, boat, and bus. If you’re visiting Tokyo, I’d highly recommend at least a day trip to Hakone. The scenery is beautiful, and just riding the transportation is fun too!
If you’re staying in Tokyo near Shinjuku station, the best value is to buy the Odakyu Hakone Free Pass for 5000 Yen. The free pass covers all of the transportation from Shinkjuku to Hakone, and all of the cablecars/ropeways in Hakone as well.
This video travel guide highlights the Temples and Shrines of Nikko in Japan.
The shrines and temples in the Nikko area are a Unesco world heritage site, and is one of the most popular day trips for tourists in Tokyo. The shrines and temples of Nikko, together with their natural surroundings, have for centuries been a sacred site known for its architectural and decorative masterpieces. They are closely associated with the history of the Tokugawa Shoguns. This video shows the main attractions in Nikko which are the Futarasan-jinja shrine, the Tôshôgu shrine, and the Rinnô-ji temple.
In this video we take a tour of some of the most spectacular Cherry Blossoms in the Tohoku region of Japan (near Sendai).
In this Cherry Blossom video I discuss the Japanese tradition of Sakura Matsuri. Sakura Matsuri translates to “Cherry Blossom Festivals.” In Japan there is often a “street fair” that is setup in the area in which the cherry blossoms boom. The Sakura Matsuri is most popular at night for eating, and of course drinking. Another popular tradition in Japan during the time of Cherry Blossoms is “Hanami.” Hanami translates to “flower viewing”, but is often a picnic under the Cherry Blossom trees. In the video I also show some of the traditional food eaten during Cherry Blossom season including yakitori and takoyaki.
Posted 8 months, 1 week ago at 4:27 pm. Add a comment
The Giant Ferris Wheel in the Palette Town shopping Center in Odaiba, Tokyo Japan was the world’s tallest ferris wheel when it was built in 1999. Standing at 340 feet tall, it was surpassed by the London Eye in 2000. In this video I take a ride on the Ferris Wheel. Check out the video:
This unique thing about this ferris wheel is that it has 4 “clear” gondolas. The entire gondola is made of clear plastic, so passengers can see straight down below the feet. I really cool experience, provided you aren’t afraid of heights. The ride takes 16 minutes, and costs 900 yen.
Posted 1 year, 7 months ago at 9:05 pm. Add a comment
I think this post somehow disappeared when I was upgrading to the latest version of wordpress, so here goes again.
I’ve re-encoded a group of my older videos for web viewing, the first of which is a trip that the wifey (or then pre-wifey) and I took to Japan in 2005. We visited Osaka, Kyoto, Hakone, and Tokyo.
Ikebukuro Gyoza Stadium in the Namjatown is a portion of the theme park dedicated to Gyoza (potstickers) from all around Japan. Namjatown is in the Sunshine City shopping center in Tokyo, and is well worth a visit for the gyoza lover! In this video I visit Gyoza Stadium, and sample a few different gyoza stands. Which gyoza is out the best? Watch the video to find out!
15 minute walk from Ikebukuro Station
Hours: Daily 10:00 to 22:00 (entry until 21:00)
Admission: 300 yen (Namjatown)
Located inside the Namjatown in the Ikebukuro Sunshine City complex, the Ikebukuro Gyoza Stadium features various gyoza dishes by famous restaurants from across Japan. The theme is Tokyo of the 1950s.
Posted 1 year, 9 months ago at 9:07 pm. Add a comment
Yamadera, literally “Mountain Temple”, is a temple in Yamagata Japan that requires climbing a staircase of over 1100 steps to reach the top! Checkout the video to see the climb, and the Ryūshaku-ji Temple (立石寺) at the top!
Posted 1 year, 10 months ago at 6:29 pm. Add a comment
In the city of Utsunomiya in Japan, they are crazy about gyoza! Inside and outside the train station are many restaurants that specialize in gyoza (potstickers). There’s even a gyoza statue! This video highlights “gyoza street” inside the train station, and two of the restaurants outside of the station.
Posted 1 year, 11 months ago at 7:19 pm. Add a comment
The Miharu Takizakura (三春瀧桜) in Japan is a cherry blossom tree that is estimated to be over 1,000 years old. Perhaps even 1500 years old. It’s an amazing sight, with an equally amazing amount of tourists who come to see it. This is truly a sight to be seen! Considered one of the three best cherry trees in Japan! It is located near Fukushima in Japan… a couple hours from Tokyo.
Posted 1 year, 11 months ago at 7:39 pm. Add a comment
Matsushima (松島) is a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. There are some 260 tiny islands (shima) covered in pines (matsu) – and is ranked as one of the Three Views of Japan. This video shows the views from the boat tour of Matsushima Bay, and also highlights three of the Islands that are accessible on foot. Matsushima is accessible via a 20 minute train ride from Sendai.
Posted 1 year, 11 months ago at 3:00 pm. Add a comment
In April, Tanya and I went to Japan to check out the Cherry Blossoms. One of our first stops was the Shiogama Shrine 鹽竈神社 . Shiogama (塩釜) is located about 20 minutes via train from Sendai in the Miyagi Prefecture– and about 2 hours from Tokyo. We visited during April, which is Cherry Blossom season. We also had a tasty snack of odongo at the shrine which were some chewy rice cake things seasoned with red bean, soy sauce, and sesame.
The Meiji Shrine is right next to the Harajuku station in Tokyo Japan. The Meiji Shrine is quite an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, and has over 100,000 trees on the shrine grounds.
Posted 2 years, 1 month ago at 6:42 pm. Add a comment
Yokosuka is a Navy town in Japan about 45 miles south of Tokyo. Yokosuka is home to both Japanese and US Navy bases. But I think Yoskosuka is most famous for “The Honch” — or the pedestrian street full of bars .
Posted 2 years, 1 month ago at 4:01 pm. Add a comment
The Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo Japan is the world’s largest wholesale fish market. The video takes you on a whirlwind tour of the Marine Products section, where the fish is sold. Also included is a final shot of the restaurant section at Tsukiji.
Posted 2 years, 1 month ago at 6:38 pm. 2 comments
In the Daiba mall on Odaiba is a section known as “Little Hong Kong”. Two floors of the mall have been decked out to resemble 1960′s Hong Kong. Pretty neat.
Posted 2 years, 1 month ago at 5:01 pm. Add a comment
The Odaiba neighborhood in Tokyo is a series of man-made islands in Tokyo Bay. As one of the more recently developed areas, Odaiba is home to some of the more modern buildings in Tokyo, including the famous FujiFilm building. Odaiba is also home to Tokyo’s only beach.
Posted 2 years, 1 month ago at 6:09 pm. Add a comment
Shibuya is a popular meeting and hangout spot for the 20-something crowd in Tokyo. Being such a busy place, people need a meeting spot before heading out to the bars — and that meeting spot is at the Hachiko statue outside the train station. After the bars, folks also need a place to spend the night when all the trains stop running, and what better place than a love hotel with that “special” someone?
Posted 2 years, 2 months ago at 12:23 pm. Add a comment
Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo Japan is the world’s busiest intersection. The intersection is directly in front of the Shibuya train station, and has a 4-way pedestrian crossing that is a sight that needs to be seen to truly be appreciated. Every couple of minutes when the walk light comes on, chaos ensues in the intersection.
Posted 2 years, 2 months ago at 4:53 pm. Add a comment
Today is a rainy miserable day here in Washington DC — so a great day to edit video! Here is a video from my trip to Japan last December… looking at the neighborhood of Harajuku in Tokyo.
Posted 2 years, 2 months ago at 4:17 pm. Add a comment
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