japan
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Dear gods…
We were at the Shinobazu-no-ike Bentendo Buddhist temple in Ueno Park when yet again, we were confronted with the seeming contradiction of tourism and religion. You can’t take a photo of the shrine interior, but inside, you’re welcome to choose and buy from a plethora of trinkets that promise everything from passing your exams successfully… Continue reading
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Suddenly, it’s back to Auckland in 41 hours
Our last full day. So we did the expected and went up the Tokyo Tower. Did you now that the Auckland Sky Tower stands at 328 to 360 meters tall while the Tokyo Tower stands at 333 meters? And yet, to our eyes, there’s so much more expansive views over Tokyo. Mt. Fuji was being… Continue reading
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In the city
I hate tours.I hate to be directed, told where to go, what to do and to be spoon-fed information which for the most part, I could have learned by myself. Sure, we put in tons of notes gathered from everywhere but the moment we landed, that was inexplicably thrown out the window. We were led… Continue reading
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A day out
During Japan’s bubble economy- and I’ll be paraphrasing some random blog post here– Atami was once a popular destination for corporate retreats, sparking a construction boom of large hotels, ryokan and apartment blocks along its coastline. These developments make the seaside town appear much bigger than its population of around 31,000 suggests. However, when Japan’s… Continue reading
