Trip to Japan - lots of pics

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pythonmum

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We are back from 2 1/2 weeks in Japan and it was very interesting. Many thanks to Chris1 - best herp sitter in the world. Here are some of my favourite shots.

Japan is a crowded place, and nowhere more so than Tokyo. Here you see an intersection in Shinbuyu:
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and a popular teen shopping street in Harajuku (Takeshita dori)
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Despite the crowds (or perhaps because of them), Japanese people are very polite, harmonious and helpful to others. The parents we saw were all very loving and attentive to their children. Even the dogs get treated like children, with at least 50% of the ones we saw wearing clothing...
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It seemed to be a good idea;), so we got outfits for the rottie and fluffdog :lol::
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Kindness to animals is extended to deer on Miyajima island and in Nara. The deer are incredibly tame and even go window shopping in Miyajima:shock::

However, if you feed them (in Nara), they can get a little too rambunctious, as this sign points out.
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The subway is extensive and confusing at first:
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but everywhere you could find an English-language map and announcements were also in English. Our favourites were the awesome bullet train trips (Shinkansen).
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The Japanese cities were all well set up for the blind, with grooved tiles both inside and outside in public places:
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They also have some very high tech toilets that have heated seats (very nice after a freezing visit to yet another temple), spray for front or back, flushing sound for those with shy bladders and a "powerful deodorizer" button. This control panel even told the time! Yes, I know I'm a weirdo for taking photos in the public toilets:rolleyes:.
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Some of the English business names were rather interesting:
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This video series (3 seasons available) is actually about 2 bunnies and a bear fighting terrorists!
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We saw many beautiful places, including Kyoto's golden palace
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The floating tori gates at the Miyajima shrine
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and the sobering reminders of nuclear weapons at Hiroshima
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It was a great trip and hard to leave behind such amazing people who watch 3D TV and still wear traditional kimonos for nice occasions:
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Some great pics there what Incredible people the japenese are the country was virtualy flattened during ww11 and they became the most industrius nation on earth
 
I would look so out of place in Japan! I would look like a giant in that mall :lol: . I'm really hoping to go in the near future though. Amazing place, amazing people, amazing culture. Where else did you go outside of the places listed above? Ps. It looks like your dogs need training in how to release their zanpuktos ;)
 
Hehe love the rottie and fluff-dog outfits! And the sign about deer attacks.. lol!

The grooved tiles- I honestly never knew what they were for, before! I thought they were for traction,
are they really for the blind?! (I know, I probably should already have known lol)

Looks like a great trip, thanks for sharing :D
 
haha, Sacha and Fang look adorable in their outfits!!!

and i knew you'd take a pic of the toilet, lol,....!! :p

love those places built over the water,....i can feel the serenity from here!!! :p

interesting that they make all announcements in english too,..is that purely four the tourists?

glad u had fun, more than happy to look after ur well behaved snakes anytime! :)



The grooved tiles- I honestly never knew what they were for, before! I thought they were for traction,
are they really for the blind?! (I know, I probably should already have known lol)

glad im not the only one!!
 
Love the pet outfits, they look like little samurai guardians, or the master and his padawan learner.
 
Hey everyone - thanks for the comments.

Craig - the padawan is the rottie and the master is the fluffdog. The rottie porked up at the kennel, so is now on short rations, lot of veg and two walks per day to help her lose the holiday weight. When she is back in shape, they can begin kata training.

Wookie - your height wouldn't be as odd as the fact that you are not Japanese. There are some tall people (unlike Vietnam), but it is a racially homogeneous society. One thing that really stands out is anyone fat. We saw no really obese people (besides my parents who were travelling with us). A tour guide said that this is because they get squeezed thin packing onto the trains.

I experienced this firsthand when the train line I was on stopped due to "passenger injury" and we all had to switch to another line across the platform. When the train pulled up, it was full and I thought I had no chance by the time I was a metre away from the door. Then the people at the back of the crowd went into action and I popped onto the train! We were packed so tight that no one needed to hold onto the straps. Getting out again was like being in some sort of rugby scrum, except with polite "excuse me's" along the way.

Chris - I think the English announcements are for all travellers, because most westerners speak a little English. Our English-language tours were like a UN meeting, with people from many different countries represented, including Russia, Mexico, Guatemala, and even some fellow Aussies!

A warning to all with body art - tatoos are a sign of yakuza and some places prohibit anyone with tats. We saw signs to this effect at Universal Studios in Osaka and at an onsen (hot springs/ pubic bath) in Tokyo. You might hide them in your winter clothes at Universal Studios, but you can't hide anything at the onsen ;).

Kitah - they weren't kidding about attack deer! No one feeds the deer on Miyajima, so they are calm. However, at Nara they sell deer cookies which the deer REALLY like. My husband bought some and was immediately mobbed. A buck tried to headbutt him in the groin. It is a good thing the deer keepers cut off the bucks' horns! He was dancing around and carrying on like a girl. I had a good laugh and took photos.
 
Yes, it is under Chit Chat. Perhaps atothej09 linked to the thread without looking at the section...
 
Some of those places are beautiful. And I wanna watch CAT S#IT ONE!
My son translated the Japanese blurb for me. It said something like "they are cute, but they are tough!" the main character are two cute bunnies and a bear.
 
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We just got back from Japan too. Mrs Happy took photos of the toilets too Pythonmum (but of the Japanese toilets - my son thought they looked like jetskis). I was amazed at how helpful everyone was. One guy, after seeing us trying to work out where we were, walked us a couple of blocks from the train station to our motel (and he even dragged one of our suitcases as well).
 
We just got back from Japan too. Mrs Happy took photos of the toilets too Pythonmum (but of the Japanese toilets - my son thought they looked like jetskis). I was amazed at how helpful everyone was. One guy, after seeing us trying to work out where we were, walked us a couple of blocks from the train station to our motel (and he even dragged one of our suitcases as well).
We had similar experiences with the people. They were really lovely. However, the Japanese toilets never made me think of jet skis!
 
We had similar experiences with the people. They were really lovely. However, the Japanese toilets never made me think of jet skis!

Vroooom, Vroooom.
 

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