Travel Diary Page
Home Page

About Page

Photo Page

What's New Page

Contact Page

Favorite Links

Slide Show

Old Diary Page 

Diary Page 2003 Page

My Travel Diary Page

Introduction
Welcome to the Travel Page. Here is where I try to document my travels. So far…I have traveled to: Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka, Shizuoka Prefecture (Kannami? And Hamamatsu), Nagano (Matsumoto), Tochigi (Nikko), Chiba, Ishikawa Prefecture (Kanazawa), Nagasaki (Huis Ten Bosch resort), and of course, Tokyo and Kanagawa. I have also traveled to South Korea (Seoul), and I intend to travel to more places in the future! Let me try to remember my travels and document them here. (I had lost my original writings from my last homepage’s travel diary page! Dammit!!)

Tokyo and Kanagawa
Well…These 2 prefectures (similar to ‘state’ in the United States) are very close to each other. I also know a lot about these two prefectures, because I live in one, and often go to the other. One thing I must comment about Tokyo. If you enjoy the night-life, crowded trains, places that smell like garbage, or the big city life, Tokyo is the place to go! I used to always go to Shibuya (the young person’s hangout) and Shinjuku (shopping paradise). Be a little wary of both places though…as there are some places that are a bit ‘kowai’ (scary). I never had a problem, but either way, just take care. There are a lot of important cultural places I would recommend going to. Asakusa (a very nice shrine is located here! I went to this shrine for Hatsumode (beginning of the year ceremony. We go to the shrine, and pray for our wishes, then afterwards, we get a omikuji, which is a fortune card.)), Akihabara (computer geek paradise! Tons and Tons of computer, electronic, and related stuff! For a cheap price too!!), Odaiba (a really cool place to go on a date! Very beautiful, and next to the bay! They even have a small ‘statue of liberty.’), Imperial Palace (where the Japanese royalty reside), and all of the cool museums! As for Kanagawa, I really like living here! There are also many places to visit. In Kamakura, this place was once the capital (more like the center of activity) of Japan (as was Kyoto). There are many monuments in Kamakura! Also, you have my place of residence, Yokohama! I love Yokohama! The sister city of Yokohama is San Diego, California, which is my hometown! There is so much to do in Yokohama! We have Chinatown (my all time favorite place to hang out in Yokohama!), Motomachi (shopping area next to Chinatown), Sakuragaichou (The tallest building in all of Japan is located here. The name of the building is called ‘Landmark Tower), Minato Mirai (recently developed area. Thought to be the next commercial zone in Yokohama), AND…the World Cup was held in Yokohama Stadium! For all you non-soccer fans, the World Cup is the biggest, most exciting, and longest Championship series I have ever scene! I was never a soccer fan, but after watching a couple of soccer games, I became hooked on Soccer! Anyways…Kanagawa is the place to be!!
   Chiba
Chiba…..well if you ever come to Japan, this will be the first place you will visit, if you fly to Narita airport. Narita airport is in Chiba (even though we would think that we are flying into Tokyo), and the area is very nice. Very green, very beautiful, very rural. There are many farms and agricultural areas around the airport. Tokyo Disneyland is located in Chiba (even though we call it ‘Tokyo’ Disneyland), and I have been here a couple of times. It is rather small, compared to California (Anaheim) Disneyland, but it is interesting. Next to Tokyo Disneyland is Disney Sea, and this place I would recommend! (if you are going with your significant other). There are also some really nice beaches in Chiba, but I have not been there, yet. Chiba is a nice place to relax.

Shizuoka
I have only visited a couple of places in Shizuoka, but here is some information of the places I have visited.
Kannami
Kannami was the first place I visited, when I went to Shizuoka. I spent a couple of days at this place, and I even celebrated my birthday party in Kannami! Kannami is a typical farming village, with lots of space to grow things. I was fortunate enough to go to Kannami during the hanabi (fireworks festival), so we saw some fireworks. I experienced my first onsen in Kannami! It was a lot of fun!
Hamamatsu
Hamamatsu…well, if you live close to the train station, the place is like a regular city. The farther away from the station, the more it looks like a rural, farmland area. Hamamatsu is the place where they have their annual kite flying festival, and it is the place to be! All of the kites ‘battle’ and it is rather hectic! But exciting! Good place to visit!

Add your link here

Nagano - Matsumoto
Matsumoto, a city in Nagano, is a very vibrant city. In the city, there is Matsumoto-jo, or castle, which is a very nice place to visit. It is surrounded by a moat, and from the inside of the castle looking out, you can see a very nice view of the city. Other than that, Matsumoto was an okay city to visit. Not much to do, but at least the castle was fun!

Add your link here

Tochigi - Nikko
Nikko…actually a very nice place to visit! They have a famous area in Nikko…with many famous monuments, shrines, and other things! Also a famous waterfall is located in Nikko! The name is Kegon Falls. This is a very famous waterfall. It is said that many people committed suicide by falling to their death at this place. What a bad way to remember a nice place! Oh well…I strongly recommend going to Nikko!


Ishikawa Prefecture - Kanazawa
Kanazawa…wow I really love this place! They have really good seafood, good places to visit, and even a good tourist transportation system here! I stayed at Kanazawa Miyako hotel, and it was very luxurious! There is a famous building in Kanazawa, called (English name) Ninja dera. This is a house with a bunch of secret passageways, and hiding places. During feudal times, they needed a way to hide or escape safely, in the event of attack. So there are many trick passages, and places where people can escape. Although the building looks as if it is only 3 stories, it is actually more than that! Too bad I couldn’t take any pictures of this place (it was forbidden!!) There is also a famous park, that is beautiful during winter season. It wasn’t snowing when I went to Kanazawa, so I couldn’t truly see how beautiful it was supposed to be, but it was still fun. I definitely will go and visit this place again!!


Haustenbaus - Nagasaki
Okay, I flew over to Nagasaki to visit Haustenbaus with Eun Mi. Unfortunately, I could go anywhere else (like really tour the city) so I was a bit sad. Haustenbaus is basically a re-creation of a European style. It is basically an amusement park with European decor. The one thing I liked was the food! Chanpon(?)....yummy! Definitely has Chinese influence and is very tasty! We went to Nagasaki during Christmas time so the theme was Christmas. It was a fun time and next time I return, I would like to visit the rest of Nagasaki!