It was early December of 2011 and I was new to Japan . I took a stroll to the nearby Chikusa park and was awestruck by the clear blue sky and colorful trees.
Today’s clear blue sky reminded me of those days in Nagoya. I felt an urge to look at those pics and memories came flooding back. Here are some of my favorite pictures of autumn colors at Chikusa park, Nagoya, clicked with our then new DSLR.
It was New Year’s day 2017. We had planned to meet our friends for lunch at Odaiba. We started early to visit a temple at Tsukiji. I came across this temple on the internet and I’ve wanted to visit it for a long time. New Year’s Day was perfect!
Tsukiji Hongwanji temple is a Buddhist temple very close to the famous Tsukiji market. It’s exterior is made of stone unlike other Buddhist temples in Japan. The stone exterior is based on ancient Indian architecture.
People lining up in front of Tsukiji Hongwanji temple on New Year’s day
Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple
The interior is just like any other Buddhist temple in Japan. I’ve seen the crowd in shrines and temples on New Year’s Day. But this temple was not very crowded. We waited for just about 5 minutes to get inside.
Interior of Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple
諦 (tai) means to see it attentively, or to see it as it is. It is a translation of the Sanskrit word, Satya for truth. How rich we can be at mind and heart by seeing ourselves, others, objects and events: everything as it is! I’d like to take this point of view to my heart at this very beginning of the new year. – Yugen Yasunaga the Director-general, Tsukiji-hongwanji
Card of January [ Calligraphy for the New Year ] – 諦
Finally, my favorite click!
When I first saw the image of Alan Kurdi, I couldn’t sleep that day. I didn’t have the strength to see it again. I’m a mother of a toddler boy almost the same age as Alan Kurdi. I just can’t imagine his final moments. Even as I’m writing this, I feel a lump in my throat. I hate war!! I hate it!!
When I first saw these two cartoons from Charlie Hebdo, I really didn’t know what they actually meant. Still I didn’t feel good to see the little one there again.
Cartoon 1:
Title: The proof that Europe is Christian
“Christians walk on water… Muslim kids sink.”
Cartoon 2:
Title: So close to his goal
“Two Menus Of Children For The Price Of One”. (The clown looks similar to McDonald’s Ronald)
Source: The Indian Express
Later I read this:
Maajid Nawaz, founder of the think-tank Quilliam defended the magazine’s cartoon: “Taste is always in the eye of the beholder. But these cartoons are a damning indictment on our anti-refugee sentiment,” he wrote on Facebook. “The McDonald’s image is a searing critique of heartless European consumerism in the face of one of the worst human tragedies of our times.
“The image about Christians walking on water while Muslims drown is (so obviously) critiquing hypocritical European Christian “love”.
Source: www.independent.co.uk
But the latest cartoon is totally insensitive and in very bad taste. This has nothing positive in it. It was based on the recent Cologne Sexual assaults. The moment I read the translated text, I started hating it. Why do you want to put the innocent child there?
“What would have happened to little Alan if he grew up?” “A groper of women in Germany.”
Source: cnn
There are lot of articles telling Charlie Hebdo didn’t mean it and people like me are oversensitive and are unable to grasp the satire. Whatever! I don’t like Charlie Hebdo!!
March, 2012: That was my first winter in Japan. I was desperately waiting for spring. It was then I saw this plum blossom at a local park. I felt so relived and happy when people told me that spring is just around the corner.
Plum Blossom -Tsurumai Park, Nagoya
This is Japanese Camellia (Camellia japonica). I instantly fell in love with this amazing flower. The symmetry of petals is just perfect. It slightly resembles a rose and so it’s called the “Rose of winter”.
Japanese Camellia – Atsuta Jingu, Nagoya
These are the photos taken during our trip to Tokyo in Dec 2011. It was my first trip to Tokyo but for GK it wasn’t. GK was living in Tokyo for 7 long years before moving to Nagoya.
That was the first time I saw Mt.Fuji and just couldn’t take my eyes off.
Mt.Fuji, Japan
We went to Minato Mirai in the evening. I loved the full moon that day. This photo is one of my favourite.
Minato Mirai, Yokohama
I remember GK took these two photos. The Minato Mirai skyline and Rainbow bridge in Odaiba.
Minato Mirai Skyline, Yokohama
Rainbow Bridge
Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo
Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo
Finally, a picture of Hachiko at the Shibuya station exit.
Hachiko, Shibuya
This is a video of a moth drinking nectar from the flowers in our garden.The plant is Jasminum polyanthum (Pink Jasmine). We shot this video last spring. Gk spotted the moth and we recorded it immediately with the iPhone 5s we had at that instant. This is something I can’t forget because it was a day before we moved to Tokyo. Now waiting for this year’s bloom. I am seeing some pink buds already 🙂
Place: Nagoya, Japan
Date: April 30, 2015
I took a stroll on the Nihonbashi bridge after watching a TV programme which explained the history behind this bridge. The centre of the bridge is the Zero milestone/ Kilometre zero for Tokyo i.e the distance to other cities from Tokyo is measured from this point. It was interesting to know that the area around the bridge is named after the bridge.
Nihonbashi
日本橋(Nihombashi/Nihonbashi) –>日本 (Nihon)- Japan, 橋 (Hashi)- Bridge.
The first Nihonbashi Bridge was made of wood and was completed in 1603
Nihonbashi 2015
Zero Milestone in Japan
Nihonbashi Bridge was built in 1603 and designated by the Edo Shogunate government as the starting point of five major roads in Japan. The present Nihonbashi Bridge built in the Renaissance style in 1911, is a double-arched bridge made of stone. The calligraphy engraving “Nihonbashi” on the plaques on each of the four newel posts is based on the work of Yoshinobu Tokugawa, the last Shogun. In 1972, the original “Zero Milestone of Tokyo City”, formerly located in the middle of Nihonbashi Bridge was transferred to this square for preservation and replaced by a memorial plaque. The characters “Zero Milestone of Japan” on the plaque were taken from the writing of the then Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Eisaku Sato.
Both “Zero Milestone of Tokyo City” and Nihonbashi Bridge, which celebrated its eighty-eighth anniversary in 1999, are designated important cultural assets of Japan.
Nihonbashi Bridge built in the Renaissance style in 1911, is a double arched bridge made of stone
Lion at Nihonbashi Bridge
Kirin ( a mythical creature) at the Nihonbashi Bridge
The engraving “Nihonbashi” in Hiragana and Kanji
The original “Zero Milestone of Tokyo City”, formerly located in the middle of Nihonbashi Bridge was transferred to this square for preservation
Zero Milestone of Tokyo City
The memorial plaque in the middle of Nihonbashi Bridge
The highway built above definitely spoils the beauty of this stone bridge and also the river below. It’s now dark with no sunlight. This highway was built hastily before the 1964 Summer Olympic games. It is said that, before the construction of the expressway, the Mt.Fuji was clearly visible from the bridge. There is a petition from a number of people for the removal of the highway.
The first Mitsukoshi department store
The first Mitsukoshi store was started near Nihonbashi bridge. It was founded by the Mitsui family in 1673 and was formerly known as Echigoya.
Here are some interesting pictures of Nihonbashi:
Nihonbashi 1911
Nihonbashi 1933
Nihonbashi after 1945 bombing
Taar taar up pa..!
Taar taar up pa..!
(Star.. Star..! Up there! )
My LO was pointing upwards to the (imaginary) star. He loves the rhyme “Twinkle Twinkle little star” and the line “Up above the world so high” is his favourite.
“up pa… up pa..”
We had bought him a pack of radium stars for his room ceiling and it was lying idle in the shelf. I thought its high time to decorate his room with those stars. He was super excited and kept telling “taar taar” all the time until I finished.
It was getting dark outside. I pulled the curtains and closed the door. I felt a gush of happiness when I saw the stars above. It was stunning. My LO who was shouting suddenly lowered his voice to a whisper. He sat down and started admiring its beauty and I was moved.
I left him there and checked out the sky. It was a clear, no moon night with stars. I switched off all the lights and took him out to the balcony. It was dark and I pointed the real stars to him. He was still whispering “taar”. We both sat there for a while and I was lost in thought.
My childhood memories came flooding back. Those unwarranted power cuts, lying flat on the terrace gazing at the stars with my brother, pointing out all the constellations we knew and the quiet time we got. No worries except for the next day’s homework or the class test. The memory of Hale-Bopp and the enthusiasm we had in learning about planets, comets and meteorites is just awesome.
I wondered when was the last time I quietly admired nature and got immersed in its beauty. I grew up in Hosur, which is known for its pleasant climate. I remember those rainy days when I used to sit on a divan near the window with a book. Reading the book while listening to the subtle sound of raindrops outside is such a great feeling that can’t be expressed in words. I remember reading the novel, “His Name Was Not Listed” by Boris Vassilyev on one such beautiful rainy day. It’s still close to my heart.
As we grow older, the commitments and responsibilities are so overwhelming that we fail/forget/miss to look at nature through a child’s eyes. Childhood days are always the best. We need to create an environment where our children get an opportunity to experience and admire nature.
Still sitting in the dark, I found my LO sitting quiet. I wondered if he fell asleep. To my surprise, he smiled at me. It was a calm and serene smile.
** LO – My Little One – My baby
Lulled by the sea waves we had a peaceful sleep at the resort. We woke up to the sound of chirping birds and sunlight streaming through the blinds and wished ourselves a Happy Anniversary. 🙂
We decided to celebrate our anniversary wearing our traditional dress, Saree and Dhoti (In our mother tongue, Telugu, its called Cheera and Pancha) 🙂 Kiyotaka San and Yoriko San joined us in our celebration. Our traditional dress took them by surprise. 🙂
First Wedding Anniversary
Yoriko San suggested us few main tourist spots. We decided to visit Ikema island, Underwater Observatory, Kurima island and Cape Higashi Hennazaki.
Source: http://eng.tourland.co.jp
The Ikema Bridge connecting Miyakojima with Ikemajima is 1425m in length and was opened in 1992.
Ikema Bridge
Beautiful sea in shades of blue
Ikema beach
Cape Higashi Hennazaki is located on the easternmost tip of Miyako Island. It is approximately 2 km long, flanked by the East China Sea in the North and the Pacific Ocean in the south. There is a light house located at the tip of the cape.
Road leading to the tip of Miyako Island – Cape Higashi Hennazaki
The Light house at Cape Higashi Hennazaki
Cape Higashi Hennazaki
Kurima bridge is 1,690 meter in length and was completed in 1995. The view of sea from Kurima bridge is spectacular similar to the Ikema bridge.
Kurima Bridge – A view from Kurima island
The Irabu bridge is under construction and is scheduled to be completed in 2014. It will be 3500m long and a major tourist attraction. We didn’t get a chance to go to Irabu Island but we were able to click this pic from Kurima island.
Irabu Bridge
The Emerald Sea at Ingya Marine Garden Park
We drove across the whole island. Agriculture, Fishery and Tourism are the major industries in Miyako. Sugarcane fields were found everywhere. A major portion of Sugarcane products of Okinawa is from Miyako.
Sugarcane field
Dragon Fruit
Farming
After a drive across the island, we planned to spend sometime in the beach near the resort. While Ganesh went snorkeling, I collected few colorful shells and corals. The next day we started back to Nagoya.
It’s a splendid and breathtaking place one has to visit. 🙂 And next to come is my post on Battle of Okinawa.
The photo frame I made using the shells collected at the Miyako beach
Sep 1, 2012
Nagoya
It was 7:00 AM and we were rushing to catch a taxi. I had no clue where we were heading to.. We finally got a taxi. Ganesh directed the driver to go to Chikusa station. That gave me an impression that we were going to take the Shinkansen since it’s our usual route. He answered all my questions with a “Shhhhh…… “
K: Where are we going…?
G: “Shhh… Suspense… “
K: By train..? By car..?
G: Shhh…. (smile) Looks at his iphone (tensed smile).
One thing for sure… We were running late. We took the JR line from Chikusa, went to Kanayama and there… I saw him inquiring about the train to Chubu Centrair Int’l airport. OMG..!!! To the airport…???? I was going mad, very anxious to know where we were heading to… But I couldn’t pester him a lot because he was restless. The train arrived. We got into it. Little relaxed..
The next day, we were going to step into our second year of marriage. Yup..! Our First Wedding Anniversary…!!! 🙂
Our Marriage – Sep 2, 2011
I was lost in thoughts. Suddenly, I heard him talking to himself looking at his iphone, “We need to check-in atleast 20 min before departure.. I think we can manage”. We reached the airport at 7:50 AM, ran towards the airline counter and checked-in our baggage.
All I knew was we were late. Run Run Run…….!!
K: Where are we going..? (gasping for air) When is the flight..?
G: 8:20
I tried to look at the display but it was useless.
Boarded the flight, SKY551… Naha..? Where is Naha..?
Okinawa..?? Wowwww…. OKINAWA ..!!
Looking at each other we began to laugh. Relaxed and happy. This was a surprise from my husband for our First Wedding Anniversary 🙂
It was a 1.5 hour flight to Naha. At the Naha airport while I was looking at the pamphlets for details of the top tourist places in Okinawa, I was surprised to hear Ganesh asking the person at the counter to keep the luggage until 1:00. What..??? Where are we going again…? Ahhhh……….. He kept me guessing… Again…!!!
He told me that we were going to spend only few hours in this city of Naha, Okinawa. As Okinawa is the southern most part of Japan, I just couldn’t guess what the next place we were going to visit was. It was indeed thrilling. We took a monorail and got off in a station which was very close to the famous shopping street, the Kokusaidori.
Kokusaidori – The shopping street @ Naha, Okinawa
We bought a hat and Okinawian style beach dress. We were very happy to find sugarcane juice. It’s been longtime.. we used to eat lot of sugarcane back in India.
Ganesh told me that it was time to get back to the airport. We took the monorail back to the airport. Late…!!!
Realized we were running late again. Reached the airport at 1:15 PM, checked in our baggage. It might have been perfect if we had proceeded directly to the gate after check-in. But my dearest husband wanted to have a look at the Armani and Coach sunglasses at the duty free shops. Unlike our last flight, I had some time to check the flight info and the destination. It was a place called Miyako. Before I could browse some details about the place, as expected, we heard an announcement calling out my name. “Kiiiruuthaanaa” (Keerthana)..
Run Run Run………………….!!!
Ganesh couldn’t control his laughter. Second time in the day, we ran helter skelter to catch the flight. 🙂
Nagoya, Naha, Miyakojima
We landed at Miyako airport. Kiyotaka San and Yoriko San of Pai Base Resort came to pick us up at the airport. It was a 20 minute drive to the resort. Yoriko San briefed us about the tourist spots in Miyakojima. Ganesh and I were amazed at the island’s close resemblance to India. The sugarcane fields, the flat roofed independent houses, tractors and cows in the fields reminded us of the drive to our village in India.
Okinawa is around 1500 km from Tokyo. It has a tropical climate unlike the rest of Japan. We were able to see Sugarcane, mangoes, guava, papaya and many other tropical fruits and vegetables. Felt like I was in India… 🙂 Miyako Island belongs to the Okinawa prefecture and is about 290km southwest of Naha city. It has a population of around 55,000.
Naha and Miyakojima
Our cottage was facing the beach. It had a very beautiful view of the sunset.
Cottage and the Sea behind
It was a pleasant evening and Ganesh just couldn’t resist diving into the sea. He snorkeled and I enjoyed the beautiful sunset. It was also a full moon day. We took the car and went downtown to have our dinner. The city was almost shut down except for few restaurants.
The next day we celebrated our First wedding anniversary and went around Miyakojima. Nature at its best @ Miyakojima in the next post. 🙂
Life...!!! It goes on... 