Dan Japan

NY

2008-12-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

I am in New York.
This is the bank apartment where I am staying...

This is the office where I work:
Some sightseeing on top of the Rockefeller Center...
...or on campus of Columbia University.
Gallery opening with artists!
And a trip to Boston/Cambridge, Massachusetts for Thanksgiving (lots of turkey).

Meeting friends from High School: Emily in New York
Sathya on campus of Harvard University
Chiaki for Japanese food in Porter Exchange, Cambridge, Mass
Amanda at Starbucks!

Last days in Japan

2007-03-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

It is end of March, and I am already back in Germany. These are my last days in Japan:
The night before my last day for the internship at the UNCRD, we went to eat duck ramen (very tasty).

Then, I did my farewell party in Kyoto with lots of friends, first at the beerhall "Muenchen",

and later until 7.30 in the morning in my place, where we drank all the Shochu and Sake that was left.
Finally, my cousin Arisa and Mami took me to the airport where we met Nakaya-San, a friend from university. It was very windy.

Thank you everyone, it was a wonderful year in Japan and I hope to come back very soon to see you again! 大変お世話になりました。Sayonara-----

Plum trees at Kitano Tenmangu

2007-03-03T23:26:00.000-08:00

Today was a nice spring day, so I went with my friends Sho and Sakura to Kitano Tenmangu to see some plum trees.

They also served plum tee and plum crackers.

Mie prefectural office

2007-03-03T07:01:00.000-08:00

I went on a field visit to Mie prefecture.
They let us visit the assembly hall. I was chairman for a minute.

In the Japanese administration, people do not have much room. There are about 100 people in each room and one table is shared by 10 people.

But they are really conscious about trash separation.

Ohara

2007-03-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

Some weeks ago, I went to Ohara, a beautiful rural village only 30 minutes by bus from my home away.

Some nice Jizo-Buddhas relaxing in the famous Sanzen-In temple.

Kobe/Osaka

2007-03-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I went to Kobe and Osaka with In-Sook.
This is the harbour area in Kobe:

After the earthquake in 1995, Kobe looked like this:

Birds in Kobe seem to be very disciplined:

The, we went for Osaka`s nightlife. The Dotonbori area is very crowded:

We found a nice Izakaya.

They have all kinds of raw seafood. Very tasty.

Getting around...

2007-01-28T00:09:00.000-08:00

Since In-Sook came, we have been to various places.
First, my cousin Arisa and my cousin`s cousin Mami came to Kyoto. We went to Arashiyama...

...and Gion.

Then, another day we walked through Higashi-yama:

And on another one we hiked up Daimonji-yama.

Guess who came?

2007-01-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

After New year`s, my father and Ken came to Kyoto. The picture is at Ryaon-Ji (really).

And then... In-Sook came!

We were invited to Nagoya for the 30th wedding anniversary of my parents.

Some young people showing the fun-sign...

My winter break

2007-01-27T23:45:00.000-08:00

It is already late January, so I decided to update this blog.
First, for Chrismas my brother came...

And we had a nice dinner with the Japanese family.

Then my father came...

And he, Ken and I went to Shikoku for a sacred pilgrimage to visit some of the 88 temples there.

The Coca-cola bear was there, too.

Then, for New years Eve, we got together at my grandma`s house again.

Shinji in Kyoto

2006-11-27T06:25:00.000-08:00

Shinji, a Japanese friend from Munich came to visit me. We went to the night light-up at Kiyomizu-Dera.

We also met my friend Shizuka, a half-Japanese half-German girl from Berlin who is spending a year at Kyoto University.

Momiji- Japanese maple

2006-11-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

Now is the best time to enjoy the Momiji (japanese maple) and its nice colors. I went out with Kenji to get some nice pictures. First we went to a night light-up at Jisso-In 実相院, a Zen temple.

The next day, we walked along the philosopher`s path 哲学の道.

The mecca for Momiji-lovers is Eikan-Do 永観堂。

The golden pavillion at Kinkaku-Ji is also very nice in the fall time.
金閣寺。

Michael and Fritz in Kyoto

2006-10-16T03:40:00.000-07:00

Michael, an American friend I know from Korea, and Fritz, a high-school friend from Germany came to visit me last week.

Karaoke is always fun.

After Mike left, we met Naru, Fritz` friend from High-school.

A nice illumination of Kodai-ji at night.

China trip: Beijing

2006-09-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

I also went to Beijing for 3 days to visit my brother Ken. Masa from Vienna and Basti from Cologne also came there. It was a lot of fun to meet these friends in China!
We had a tasty Peking duck.

The imperial summer palace... a nice place

The great wall... Masa takes one brick of it home

Mao says hi at the Tiananmen-square 天安門

The forbidden city... 故宮

Grilled shark and other animals to eat 焼きザメ

China trip: South of Shanghai

2006-09-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

4 days on the road: Shao Xing 紹興

Visit to a shoe factory in Wenzhou 温州

And a trip to rural China 中国山村

Sea cruise in Hangzhou 抗州

Suzhou 蘇州, Venice in China, or is it Suzhou in Italy?!

China trip: Shanghai

2006-09-19T04:05:00.000-07:00

I went to China for 2 weeks. 10 days were with a university excursion to Shanghai and surroundings. It was an exchange program with Pudong university (復旦大学).
We stayed at a hotel at Pudong university.

The university sign↑ was written by the notorious Mao Ze Dong 毛沢東...

The bund: Shanghai`s modern district on one side...

...and colonial European buildings on the other.

With Kyoto and Pudong university students

The Nanjing Road　南京道路

Miniature Shanghai: A lot of buildings...

Jiading district　嘉定区

Confucius temple 孔子廟

The Yuyuen Garden 豫園

Colorful bikers

Tea market

Nice chinese food

Maya in Kyoto

2006-08-28T04:33:00.000-07:00

My friend Maya came to visit Kyoto with her friend Catherine. We walked around Kyoto.

The famous Kiyomizu temple.

Kyoto food.

With Catherine`s friends at Nanzen-Ji temple.

Kodaiji temple.

Nebuta festival in Aomori

2006-08-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of the tour!

Travel impressions 7

2006-08-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

Old Japanese Flair in Gyon, Kyoto

Night view, Peace Park and Dejima`s samurai in Nagasaki

Good bye German friends

2006-08-13T05:25:00.000-07:00

Today David, Martin and Kyo went back to Germany. It was a really nice time and we had lots of fun!

Travel impressions 6

2006-08-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

A big Tengu in Beppu.

A lot of Gyouza in Utunomiya.

Enjoying the temples in Nikko.

Good beer at the house of Kyo`s relatives in Niigata.

Bikes and water drops in Biei.

Peace Park and a lot of cables in Nagasaki.

Beppu.

Travel impressions 5

2006-08-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

Capsule

Island in Matsushima.

Nebuta festival in Aomori.

Water drops and flowers in Biei.

Beach in Niigata.

Tokyo shopping

2006-08-09T23:34:00.000-07:00

Travel impressions 4

2006-08-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

Capsule hotels.

Karaoke.

Fireworks at the Harbour festival in Hakodate, Hokkaido.

Japanese bar in Utunomiya.

Travel impressions 3

2006-08-09T23:16:00.000-07:00

Meeting Mami in Fukuoka.

Nice temples in Nikko.

Explosion in the sky in Harajuku, Tokyo

One of Japan`s three top views in Matsushima.

Travel impressions 2

2006-08-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

Meeting Kyo`s cousin in Sapporo, Hokkaido.

Travel impressions

2006-08-09T23:02:00.000-07:00

Mountains and European style scenery in Biei, Hokkaido

Flowing torii in Miyajima

Hot springs in Beppu

Meeting Eiji and eating Gyoza in Utunomiya

2006-08-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

Utunomiya is famous for Gyouza. We met my friend Eiji and ate more than 120 Gyouza all together. There is even a Gyouza statue in Utunomiya.

Kyo`s relatives in Niigata

2006-08-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

We visited Kyo`s relatives in Niigata. They were really nice and served us a very nice dinner. Thank you very much!

Sumo in Nagoya

2006-07-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

We went to Nagoya and watched the Sumo tournament.

The three are really happy.

The Germans are here!

2006-07-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my friends David, Kyo und Martin from Cologne arrived. We turned my room into a sleeping hall.

Japanese style celebration

2006-07-18T01:36:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my grandmother`s 77th birthday (big in Japan), Tiger`s first birthday and my 24th birthday all at once. We rented a Japanese style room with Japanese style waitresses.

There was Japanese style aesthetic food.

All three little birthday kids were really happy. It was a nice celebration!

Flowing Noodles for Birthday

2006-07-18T01:27:00.000-07:00

The day before my birthday, we went to rural Japan to get flowing noodles. They flow in the canals and you just pick them up and eat them. yummy

The restaurant was close to a big waterfall. We went there and absorbed its positive energy.

At night, we gathered at my uncle`s place and celebrated our friend Daisuke`s and my birthday.

With Mami and Kenji at the University

2006-06-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

Kenji came to Kyoto to watch the German soccer game together. Mami was in Kyoto today with a friend, so we met up. I showed them around Kyoto University. We took a picture in front of the Clock tower and the tree.

The tree is the symbol of the University.

Zen temples

2006-05-28T01:41:00.000-07:00

This time, I went with the university club to 2 Zen temples in Northwest Kyoto. The first one is Touji-In 等持院, the family temple of the 15 Ashikaga　足利 shoguns (14 and 15th century). Takauji Ahikaga　足利尊氏:

The temple and its Zen garden:

Afterwards, went to Ryoan-Ji 竜安寺、with its famous stone garden. A classic.

And after that we went eating and drinking.

A lot of gates in Fushimi Inari Taisha

2006-05-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

I went with the university club to Fushimi Inari Taisha, a famous Shinto Shrine with a lot of torii (gates).

After that, we ate grilled sparrow (little bird). Strange taste.

Storm Mountain

2006-05-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Last week I went with the university club to Arashiyama ("Storm Mountain"), a district in Western Kyoto. We went to Joujakko-Ji, Gio-Ji and Tenryu-Ji. Here are some pics of Joujakko-Ji.

Walking Kyoto

2006-05-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

I joined a university club that visits temples and shrines in Kyoto. A few weeks ago, we went to Umemiya Taisha, a shinto shrine with a nice garden.

The week before, we went to Chion-In, which supposively has the biggest temple gate in the world.

Last night in Cologne before going to Japan, March 2006

2006-05-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

Ein bisschen spaet, aber besser als nie!

Tiger`s day

2006-05-07T06:51:00.000-07:00

May 5th is the day to celebrate children in Japan. Tiger was king for a day. The puppets are almost 30 years old!

The Nozaki clan got together for lunch at the Hotel Nagoya Castle with a superb view at (guess what?) Nagoya castle.

Tiger`s parents Joji and Akko are very satisfied.

Asuka`s Birthday

2006-05-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

May 6th was my cousin Asuka`s birthday. She wanted to get San-Nagji (Korean raw octopus). It was still moving while we ate it. Yummy

Afterwards, we went to a bar and then ended up at Cheetah, our favorite bar in Nagoya.

Getting Baby Bamboos at Seto

2006-05-07T06:17:00.000-07:00

May 3rd to 5th are holidays in Japan, so it is called the Golden Week. We went to Seto, close to Nagoya, to get some Baby Bamboos.

My cousin Arisa, my aunt Chizuru-San and my cousins` cousin Mami are proudly showing what we got:

Baby Bamboos are tasty. We had a nice BBQ.

No more pics to post for a while

2006-04-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

please stay calm and visit again sometime later

Night Hanami with Kenji at Nijo-Jo

2006-04-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

Kenji, a friend from the Japanese school in Bonn, came to Kyoto, so we went for some night-hanami with Yumi at the famous Nijo-castle.

Thomas in Kyoto

2006-04-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

Thomas, a friend of In-Sook from Bamberg, was travelling through Japan and came to Kyoto 2 weeks ago. We went out for some Hanami with Yumi, a former exchange student to Munich. We went to Ginkaku-Ji, a famous temple.

Goripon in Nagoya

2006-04-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

I met Miyoshi (called Goripon) in Nagoya a few weeks ago. He is a Japanese high-school friend from Nagoya and also a singer and songwriter! Watch out for his CDs. Funny picture.

Marcel in Nagoya

2006-04-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

Marcel came to visit me in Nagoya last weekend. He is a half-Japanese friend from Vieanna (a good friend of my brother Ken). We had a lot of fun with my cousins and friends.

Tiger in Tokyo

2006-04-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

Tiger is my cousin Joji`s son. I went to see my cousin in Tokyo in March. And also the royal palace there.

Hanami in Tokyo with Helge, March

2006-04-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

Helge is a friend from Munich and a JAPANOLOGIE student.

My room in Kyoto

2006-04-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome

2006-04-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

Hi, welcome to the Dan Japan Blog. You will find no long texts, but some pics. Of Japan and some people.