I Stopped At...

2016/11/03     "The dullness around fails to hide its Full Glory ." Nishizawa Gorge is located in the very west of Yamanashi, close to the boundaries of Saitama and Nagano. Arakawa River flows through Chichibu mountains creating the Nishizawa Gorge. It is a hiking course of 4 hour walking along the river through muddy trails in the woods watching the river falling , flowing and gushing towards the city. Along the way we come across bridges and waterfalls. Too bad I could not capture any of the bridges but managed to capture the waterfalls which will be posted under a different post. .   It was November and the mid Autumn.  The water level was low and bearably cold. Here is Arakawa river flowing down the rocky steps through the stones. We walk up the river trail while the river flows in the opposite direction. The trails are narrow, and muddy at some parts. Some parts are safe guarded by metal chains and some parts are not. A little missed ste...

2008/03/08 I visited this place in my first long trip in Japan. It was a memorial trip with all the Japanese learnign students of our university took part in. This temple below is called Kinkakuji with the meaning golden pagoda. The origin of the name is, as you can see, the golden plated temples. This is a very famous tourist spot in Kyoto. This site is photographed for its beauty and a famous landscape picture in calendars and so on. We, the students, were sitting for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 2 in the end of the year. So our Japnese teacher wanted us to write  a pledge for the God of academy. Below are the wooden plates with our names written on it . Well, as a result of this and good hard work of ours, as far as I remember we all passed the level 2 in the year 2008!!! All Rights Reserved.

2008/8/7 Hiroshima is famous for its own okonomiyaki. O-konomiyaki written お好み焼き in Japanese is a dish made of flour coated with sauce and mayonnaise. o-konaomiyaki can be translated in to [fry as you please]. I  am not sure what makes a normal o-konomiyaki being different from Hiroshima o-konomiyaki, except for all the vast amount of veggies and ham added to it.  I captured Hiroshima o-kinnomiyaki being made at the Hiroshima station. All Rights Reserved.

2016/11/03 Nishizawa Gorge is a hiking course with several beautiful waterfalls created when Arakawa River flow towards the city. This post is about the several waterfall we came across. while hiking the trails along the river. all of them were captured through my phone and I apologize for the low quality. Here is a link(Japanese) to the hiking course and it indicates all the waterfalls along the trail. And below are how they actually looked like on November 3rd 2016. Link: http://www.yamanashishi-kankou.com/sozai/asobu/nature/nishizawa002.pdf ★Ookubo-no-taki 大久保の滝 (Ookuboo Waterfall) ★Sanjuu-no-taki 三重の滝（Sanju Waterfall） From Below ★Sanjuu-no-taki 三重の滝（Sanju Waterfall）  From Top ★SakanaDome-no-Taki 魚止滝　（SakanaDome Waterfall） ★　Jinmendou 人面洞 （Jinmendou） ★　Riyugami-no-taki 竜神の滝（Riyugami　Waterfall） ★Botaifuchi  母胎淵 (Botaifuchi) ★ Nanatsugama-godan-no-taki   七ツ釜五段の滝 ( Nanatsugama-godan-Waterfa...

2019/05/26 Umihotaru is the service area in the Aqua Line expressway. It is located in the middle of the Tokyo bay, along the expressway connecting Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures. It is a famous spot to watch the sunrise and sunset. Below are some captures of the sunset I witnessed at Umihotaru. Special thanks to Buddhika Samarakoon for being a part of the journey. All Rights Reserved.

2014/08/10 Blue Pond or Blue Lake is not a spot to miss if you are in Hokkaido. This pond was formed very recently when the flow of Biei river was interrupted by a blockade. The blockade was built in 1989 to stop any future hazards caused by lava or magma emitted by volcano eruptions around the area, flowing down the river to the villages. The reason for the color of the pond is yet to be known. Most of the scientists believe that it is due to the AlOH (Aluminium Hydroxide) in the water reflecting the sunlight. The Beauty of the pond does not lie only in the color of it. Trees like larch and birch have rooted in the middle of the pond adding a beautiful scenery. These photographs are not the best shots of Blue Pond but this what i captured through my lens. Thank you Amilendra, Danuka, Pasanga, Patali, Mahesh and Hasani for the unforgettable memories. All Rights Reserved.

2014/08/10 Furano is a famous area for its beautiful flower fields in the summer. Hokkaido it self is famous for the yards and yards of blue lavender fields across the country. We decided to make a stop at one of the most famous lavender farms in Hokkaido, Farm Tomita. There was not much to say about it but a lot to see. Thank you Amilendra, Danuka, Pasanga, Patali, Mahesh and Hasani for the beautiful time together. All Rights Reserved.

2016/11/3 It is the Autumn here in Japan and this time it was Nishizawa Gorge was the "Koyo" spot. It was perfect timing, I  guess, to visit Nishizawa Gorge for Koyo. But in some parts the leaves had already fallen while same were still Green. But I still believe it was still perfect timing :) Maple leaves were yellow when we reached there. And some were of course red. But unfortunately, we could not glimpse a perfectly synchronized colors  Walking for about 1.5 kilo meters along the trail we come across this Autumn Leave Tunnel. The leaves were yellow some were red. Perfect blending. The trees were perfectly shaded at some spots.  The spots varied according to its access to sunlight. The trees at the mountain tops were perfectly shaded while the trees at the bottom were already dried up. Still the Autumn colors are not dull not in the least, Here are some moments along the hiking trails with waterfalls among autumn colors. It was ...

On a rainy day, we went on a hike to see the seven waterfalls called nana-daru　in Kawazu.　The river was full with water in mid summer beautifully green. http://www.nanadaru.com/ The main waterfall called Oodaru cannot be views by noraml viewers. The waterfall property is now owned by a hotpsring  motel and only the motel customers can enjoy the oodaru. the rest of the seven waterfalls are captured below. ■Kamadaru Kama means basin and the waterfall name is basin- waterfall. ■Ebi daru Ebi means prawn and the waterfall name is prawn- waterfall.Sorry No pictures. A little way down the lane near Kanidaru, you can capture the stream flowing down through stones beautifully creating thousands of tiny waterfalls. ■Hebidaru Hebi means snake and the waterfall name is snake- waterfall. ■Shokeidaru This is the main attraction along the hike. There is a statue of a man ad woman resting by the waterfall. The photo was pin...