Shinagawa, a hub station for Shinkansen (bullet train) and so on.

Truth be told, I went back to my hometown Nagoya yesterday. I spent only one night and turned back to Tokyo today. I got off shinkansen, or bullet train at Shinagawa station which is located near Tokyo station.

Since Tokyo station is a bit far from cities such as Shinjuku and Shibuya, many people set foot on Tokyo from here (Although Sinagawa and Tokyo station are less than 10minutes by Shinkansen).

Shinkansen, which connects across this country is very fast, smooth, and punctual. Although I want to travel with it when I go back to Nagoya, it's two or three times more expensive than travel from Tokyo to Nagoya by bus. I mean, it's about 10,000 yen, or around $120 for non-reserved seat by shinkansen.

It runs along with Mt. Fuji. It's lucky if you can see the top of it. Usually it's covered by cloud. I'm a traveler who goes back and forth between Nagoya and Tokyo, more than 10 times for round trip a year, however, I can see the top of Mt. Fuji once or twice in one year.

A Sushi restaurant in Tokyo.

Getting through a hard time for couple of days, I finally recovered. I'm sorry for making you worry.
Mid yesterday I visited a sushi restaurant with my boss and my wife for lunch. One of my friend runs this restaurant and we go there together every so often.

There are mainly two kinds of sushi restaurants here in Japan. One is kaiten-sushi, or known as sushi boats, and another one is traditional one. I took latter one this time; sushi chef makes it one by one, face to face.

Many foreigners imagine sushi as cut raw fish on the rice which tastes sour served with small portion. However, there are other ways of making sushi. One of them is "chirashi sushi", above the picture. It's one-bowl-dishes which is along with a variety of fish on the rice.

We ate miso (soy bean paste) soup. Great, I can't cook such taste in my home =)

He is my friend, actually we live along with the same station! :)

We ate all of sushi. It was 3000 yen or about $40 for each person.
If it wouldn't help you to recover by having great sushi, what else would it makes you feel better? ;)

Depressed...

With tremendous busyness and some chores which I'm not comfortable with, I'm totally exhausted right now. For all those who gave comments and sent E-mails for me, please, please let me take some time to send back. I'm always looking forward to you to visit/give comments for this tiny blog. Thank you very much for that, I'm sure  I will recover within a day or two. Sorry for my inadequacy...

Traveling abroad for me.

It's always not easy to travel abroad, especially developing countries. I like traveling those countries not because it's cheap to travel, but because it's full of amazing, freshness, and nostalgia.

"not easy" I said, due to difficulty of prediction. In my country Japan, everything is accurate. Sometimes so accurate that I got tired or can't catch up with. I always need to be hurry to do anything. However, when I travel there, I must be flexible. The word "flexible" doesn't mean loose in that time.

I think to myself that I am a hurry person like many other Japanese; I can't wait in the restaurants, I can't wait for my friends when we meet. But I want to be a man who can spend my time to be relaxed, don't force others to rush.

As I continue to travel, I come to realize I became more tolerant person than before. I always remember the day I was on the way back to Amman, capital in Jordan by bus. The guidebook said it was suppose to be 3.5 hours to get there.

But on the way, it suddenly stopped. The driver said it's engine failure and doesn't seem to recover soon. Over 30 passengers got off and started hitch hiking in the middle of nowhere. Some caught a car, but many of us ended up staying in over 40 degrees there for more than 7 or 8 hours to get another bus. It was 12 hours trip.

One important thing to travel like this way is simple; enjoy everything happens to you.

I also remember one story. I planned to travel from Syria to Iran by railway in 2006. One day before riding on it, I got sick so I couldn't do it.  That train departs every one week. That means, I need must stay Syria one more week. I thought it's the worst thing ever happens to me. But, thanks to staying, I could recover and travel everywhere in Syria.

By the way, in the time when I was crazed with traveling, I really didn't like my country. Japan is so rounded that there seems no chance for me to coming out.

It was, however, my only misunderstanding. Whether I could come out or not is depending on me, not depending on the country I live.

After realizing this fact, I became to be able to enjoy my country as well as developing countries. And I think it's time to fit in here in Japan, and I'm sure I can do it so naturally.

Well, I never, ever stop traveling. But hope to enjoy both my country and other countries ;)

I was suppose to post about a food which I cooked last weekend.... Well that's for the next time :)

Gyu-don.

Gyu-don, or rice with beef, is a kind of symbol of cheap foods in Japan. It's quite simple; rice, beef, onion, and seasonings like soy sauce, alcohol and so forth. You can find Gyu-don restaurants anywhere in this country, it cost only 280 yen, about $3.5. Sometimes cheaper than you buy ingredients and cook!!

I put kimchi, a popular Korean spicy food on it in this time :) You can top anything you want. If you look at gyu-don restaurants, they serve it with variety topping; cheese, sliced green onions, raw egg and so on.

Oh, I cooked with pork instead of beef at that time, I almost forgot to say :)

Old and new Tokyo station.

This red brick building which once again symbolize Tokyo station just opened this October. It was burned in the WW2 (I check it out on the web site, though I don't know whether it completely collapse or not), but this time they rebuilt it.

Yes, it's restoration, not old thing. However, I really like the style that people at least try to build old fashioned things ;)

Me, and me ;)

Are you ready...?

Well....

Jump ;)

In the warm, nice weather on the beach of a small island :D

A short trip in Kyoto, part2.

After I visited some places in Kyoto, I rode on a bus and went to Ginkakuji-temple. In Kyoto, there are numerous famous temples, and thousands of others. This temple is of of them.

Japanese tend to love some kind of low-key things. One reason might because it fits in the nature. Japanese traditionally live with the nature, try not destroy it as much as possible.

It's the garden of this temple. I don't know why, but there are many same style of gardens in Kyoto. I don't see this kind of style except Kyoto; looks like sands are waving and make it unique design.

They said it mixes salt in the sands so that they protect from winds and rains to collapse.

This window symbolizes a candle. Does this look like it, does it?

I received it when I paid admission fee ;)
(It was 500 yen, or about $7)

Like any other traditional Japanese gardens, it also has a small pond. Some people through coins in it. I don't know well why do it, but maybe they through with their praying; good health, longevity.

I like lichen, really...

You can climb a hill on the back of this temple. The view was good, you can hear leaves of trees singing.

Leaving from Ginkakuji-temple, I took a short walk and

arrived at Honenji-temple.

This temple was tremendously nice and beautiful. It's not popular though, you can be relaxed with silence.

Despite it's located just 10 minutes walk from Ginkakuji-temple, a famous one, I only found a few people there.

This temple also has a small pond. Those ponds always make me feel relief, if they are not beautiful then what it's like to be beautiful ?

Well, it seems to be time for lunch !

It's ochazukke ! Or rice with tea ! That time it was gorgeous. they served rice, many kinds of vegetables, eggs, and miso soup ! No need to say what taste it was ;)

Well, well, well...

It's always my great pleasure to come back to my hometown. Not like other cities, I can take some rest without thinking anything and shooting some pictures (that's my routine work, though...). Well, tomorrow I am going to visit a tiny island near Nagoya. Have a nice weekend for all of people who read this small blog :)