My time in Japan
 

I just thought I'd post the link to the pictures I've scanned into my computer of my 2 years in Japan. I have hundreds more pictures, and I posting more as time goes by, trying to honor requests if people you have any (just tell me what you'd like to see more of, such as regular city streets and buildings, festivals, specific places like Koya-san, Wakayama, Nikko, Miyajima, Nagasaki, the Japan Alps, Takayama, etc)

Enjoy!

Tommiskey/My Japan - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Very cool! Thanks... (Those date stamps are very "late 90s" aren't they?)

LOL, yeah, that was cutting edge technology for the time! :)

I bought a nice new camera ($200) just before I left for Japan, knowing I'd want a lot of pictures of my life there to send home to friends and family. But I'd never had much experience taking photos before, so a decent percentage of the shots ended up ruined by camera shake, too dark, too bright, etc. Today there are digital cameras where you can see the shot you just took and erase it if it's no good to try again, but back then I had just rolls of film and hopes and prayers that the shot came out ok. I took multiple shots of some important pictures to be sure I got one that was good (still didn't always work out!). But in all, I have well over 700 photos filling 4 albums of my 2 years in Japan... so many fond memories...

Disposable cameras were new then...I have a ton of pics, too (not quite that many) but we were more careful about how we took a picture 10+ years ago. That paper picture will feel very nostalgic in not too many years.

Wow! I loved the pic you had up, especially the ones that you had labeled as "Koya-san 3". Everything just looks so beautiful. Looks like a tropical paradise...without the tropical characteristics, if that makes any sense. My mother already threatened me, saying that I ever get into JET *Knocks on wood while crossing fingers* and go to Japan, I better take loads of pictures to send back if I ever get the opportunity to travel outside of wherever I'm placed. lol

I can't wait for you to upload more photos, and I know the curse of being a terrible picture taker. Thank goodness for Digital Cameras now that adjusts itself automatically where lighting is concerned.

Thanks! Please say if there's anything specific you'd like to see, as I have so many pictures.

Here are 2 new sets I just put up: Nagasaki...



...and Kiyomizudera Temple in Kyoto.

These look really nice too, the Nagasaki pics especially, but, for some reason, I know I'd have a terrible time visiting Nagasaki or Hiroshima. I just get an overwhelming feeling of grief, fear, and depression just thinking about those places. I know that probably sounds strange coming from someone who has no real connection to these places (or Japan in general). To be honest, I stil don't understand why I have such feelings. My mother used to joke whenever I'd go on about Japan as a child, that maybe I was Japanese in a past life or something, which would be ironic.

Anyway, off of that subject, I can't wait for more. Did you do any visiting in Northern Japan? Like say...Hokkaido?

Nagasaki is completely rebuilt, including many historical buildings that were rebuild exactly as they originally appeared, and same with Hiroshima except the 1 "A-bomb dome" which they left as a reminder. But I know what you mean... I was on my trip at Christmas time trying to take my mind off spending my 1st Christmas alone in my life, I was looking for fun things, not depressing ones. So while I visited the Peace Park in each city, I did not go to the A-bomb museums. As a history major in university with a specialty in WW2, I did my Honor's Thesis on the bombings, so I was not a stranger to what pictures and images I'd see there. I just wasn't in the mood to see them 2 days before Christmas on a trip to cheer myself up.

I never made it to Hokkaido or anywhere north of Nikko (2 hours north of Tokyo). I'm not a fan of snow and extreme cold, having grown up in California. :) Thematically, the closest I have is when I went hiking in the Japan Alps, which are actually in central Honshu. I'll post some of those pictures next.

These pictures are absolutely beautiful! ^_^
This only increases my want to go to Japan even more! Ha.

Here are some pictures of the Japan Alps. The trail alternated between a gravel path and the raised planks you can see in a couple of the shots. The path followed the river and crossed many small steams.