Reflecting on Sapporo

The "Akarenga" in Downtown Sapporo

Stellar Place Mall and Sapporo JR Station

For the first week of my three week adventure, the city of Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan was my "homebase."  The first thing that struck me about the city is how young its history was in comparison to other places I have visited.  It lacked those architectural elements that we have long associated with Japan--tea houses, temples, shrines.  They exist, but they do not serve the prominent role that they do in, say, Kyoto.  Instead, buildings like the Old Hokkaido Government Building (ok "akarenga" named for its red bricks) built in 1888 compete with the ultra modern city space.  

The terrifying "Jungle Crow"! Akarenga is surrounded by two gorgeous lily ponds filled with ducks and lotus... They are also filled with another animal... JUNGLE CROWS!  These things are MASSIVE.  Compared to the normal crows around here (about 29-40cm) these things can get to about 59cm.  Aside from sheer size, they are extremely aggressive as well.  Apparently, they are larger in Hokkaido than anywhere else in Japan! (Go figure...)  You can tell them from normal crows immediately by their large bill.

Aside from seeing historic buildings and running from evil "karasu" (crows), Sapporo's nightlife was quite surprising.  After having lived in Tokyo, it is hard to imagine that anything could compare to Tokyo's Ikebukuro or Shibuya after dark, but Sapporo's Susukino could compete with the best of them.  I had my fill of sushi, karaoke, and I tried a dish unique to the area called "jingiskan" (Genghis Khan) which was a hot plate on which you cooked leeks, onions, and thin slices of raw lamb, dipping them into a sauce with heavy garlic.  It was delicious (but I am pretty sure I smelled like garlic for the next few days!)  Next post we will travel to Noboribetsu!

The lights in Susukino! Can you spot the Sapporo Beer sign?

Sights of So Cal

Believe it or not, all of these photographs are from the last week!  Two of my friends from college came out to visit me here in California and we did a whirlwind adventure through "SoCal" from Los Angeles to San Diego, hitting all the beaches in between.  It was a lot of fun, and although I am sad to see my friends head back east ward, I have to admit that sitting in my quiet apartment feels quite nice!  I had no idea how much I had tired my body out and it feels amazing to sit and do nothing!

I recently bought a new camera for my upcoming trip to Japan, so this week was a true test for my new baby: Nikon D3100.  I had no idea how powerful a DSLR camera could be and I have been oogling my own photographs for a couple of hours now!  I uploaded a ton of them into my gallery and I'll be trying to keep it updated as a travel about.  Enjoy the photographs!

Wordless Wednesday #13

It has been absolutely forever since I have done a Wordless Wednesday, and this one is certainly belated at that, but I took some new photos of my kitty that I just had to share.  Look at those baby blues!  School/Work has been just about unbearable, but how can I stay upset when this little angel is waiting for me to come home every day?

Wordless Wednesday #6

I woke up this morning to the pitter-patter of rain drops that are oh-so-rare in Sunny So Cal.  Since I have moved to California, the rain is one thing I dearly miss.  While my students all agonized over the weather, I couldn't help but smile and appreciate the beauty of the thundering clouds.  Although the rain seems to have stopped, the sky is still that rare shade of overcast grey.  

The sky was the same shade when I took this photograph of an Ume in 2006 in Fuchu, Japan...

Wordless Wednesday #2

Origami by ~iomaSaty on deviantART

Feeling a little bit whimsical today...  I think iomaSaty says it best in this photograph!  More WW?