SOFTWARE, JAPAN, SELF-ACTUALIZATION AND

Ok, last part of this tour and we still have lots to see.

Here is gate 5 on our way into the castle. When we get close we can see the gate is called the fifth-water gate (actually the kanji say water-five-gate):

After a little more walking we come across the sixth gate:

After we make our […]

On to part two of the Himeji castle tour (see the previous post for more photos and background information).

One of the interior courtyards, if you can call it that. More of a transition area, that didn’t appear to serve much of a purpose other than provide an extra layer of walls and doors.

Speaking of […]

This past weekend we traveled to the southern part of Japan’s main island to see some famous sites. One of the most famous (and my favorite) was Himeji Castle.
Himeji castle was originally built in 1346, but has since underwent several expansions and modifications (the last major modification was in 1618). Quoting from Wikipedia: […]

Last week I took this photo and forgot to show it. So, feast your eyes on this bowl of seafood-curry udon.
Udon is wheat noodle, and this particular bowl is in a Japanese curry based soup with seafood (shrimp, squid, fish) and vegetables (potato, carrot, onion). Very tasty.

And here is another photo that […]

Christmas is approaching. Are you prepared for a Kentucky Christmas?
In Japan, KFC is called “Kentucky” instead of “Kentucky Fried Chicken” or even just the acronym “KFC”. Every Christmas they are open and they do a special sale on box meals. A few different sets to choose from, have a look:

A few weekends ago I visited a nearby university to enjoy a culture day celebration. In their library they featured a few old manuscripts showing how Japanese writing changed over the centuries.
Kanji, the chinese characters that Japan imported for their own use, are the oldest form of writing system used. This manuscript is […]

When you visit Japan and want to try a tasty Japanese style snack, I have to highly recommend taiyaki.

Taiyaki is a fish shaped grilled treat that is sure to please the tastebuds with traditional Japanese flavors. Taiyaki is usually only found with anco (a sweet bean paste) inside, but you can also find them […]

The weekend is here already, and that is just another benefit of living in the future (sorry my American friends, you have at least 8 more hours to go).
Since returning from our wedding ceremony and celebration in the US, we’ve been pretty busy around here on the weekends. Meeting and sharing our photos with […]

Ok, I’ll finally confess. This is perhaps the most popular tool for learning Japanese, but I’ve been very reluctant to actually use it.
I didn’t ever think I would, and why not? Perhaps I thought I had outgrown it, but I was wrong.
Yes, yes I am talking about those…
They are very popular […]

This past weekend we went to Kamakura, one of Japan’s original capital cities before Tokyo. Kamakura is a pretty famous place, with ocean views, lofty mountains, old temples and shrines, and a rich history. One area is pretty famous for having the largest number of samurai (~900) all commit seppuku (self-disembowelment) simultaneously in […]