Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Hello UYD,

I just got back from a wonderful nine day family vacation in Japan. I visited Kyoto, Takayama and Tokyo. The whole trip was amazing (best vacation ever - meeting some family for the first time, fresh sushi for a $1 a plate, feeding snow monkeys in Nagano, Kyoto monthly swap meet, boat rides, trains ride with bento, monorails, bamboo forest, tea house, ginza apple store, taxi, 4:30 a.m. trip to the Japanese fish market - with live auction, Kenzo Tange's circle building, and japanese food, food, and more food). My favorite was the mountain town of Takayama because we stayed at Hiranoya Ryokan, had a traditional kaiseki dinner (in our room), and spent a nice morning in the furo. Takayama also had this cool rabbit shop called Usagiya (http://www.usagiya.jp/syoukai/aisatu.html) Truly charming. Here's an image of my daughters and me in front of the Kyoto Station:



Okay, sorry about jabbing on about my vacation . . . now to the point of this post:

The interesting thing I notice most young people were playing games on their cell phones when taking the train. My last trip to Japan (10 years ago) most people were reading manga, books or sleeping. But this time, I saw just a handfull of people reading manga during my trip (including three days of riding trains in Toyko). I wonder if cell phones are affecting the manga industry of Japan?

Still I could get (and did) a copy of "weekly jump" (about 460 pages) for about $2.50 US. Too bad I can't read Japanese.

Peace,

maka

Wha! thats so adorable! I like that spot ^_^ And they got Kimba in there too! <---Loves that White Lion! Im glad you had a lot of fun! ^_^ *Wishes a lot she could go to Japan too*

Great photo.

I'm sure portable games have taken a lot of chunk of business from the manga market. Commuters would buy one of those phone book-sized volumes at the train station, then toss them into the recycling bin when they reach their destination.

I saw a lot of cartoon characters used as mascots and logos when we were in Japan. In Kyoto, Tezuka Productions hired a tour bus that licenses Kimba as their logo.

I heard there was a lot of snow this year--even in Tokyo. I'm glad you had a wonderful time. I had wanted to go to the Tokyo fish market, but did not have the time. Hopefully, next trip.

Awesome photo! That sign behind you has all of Osamu Tezuka's most fantastic characters!

Did I mention that Kyoto station is also the place where The Phoenix Clock, designed by Tezuka, rests?

Cool. Glad you had a great time there .

Sounds like a great trip!
I would love to get to see the Kyoto area. It's fun to hear about the places you enjoyed seeing, so if I ever get a chance to go visit myself, I'll keep them in mind.
Are you going to post a few pictures anywhere we can see them?

I just got back from visiting the Tokyo area. I had such a great time I would be very willing to back again someday.

Leonardo-san wrote:
Are you going to post a few pictures anywhere we can see them?

Hello UYD,

Probably not. Cheryl took close to 500 Digital pictures. Lots of bicycles and bridges. Most of the rest are of family, food, transportation or random buildings that have no historical value. So interesting to us, but probably not most.

I missed the snow in Tokyo this year (But experienced snow in Takayama).

Here's a picture of a small section of the auction area of the Tokyo fish market. A lot of these fish are shipped from around the world EVERYDAY so Japanese can enjoy fresh fish. Some of these fish are over 600 pounds and can go for $1000s upon $1000s. The buyers dig into the tail of the fish and they understand the oil and the taste, color, etc. to judge the quality of the fish. Then the auction begins with a bell, like the NY stock exchange , and ~20 bidders go to work. It was amazing to see so many fish so big and realize that less than 24 hours before these fish were on the East Coast of USA.



And here I am enjoying some of that fresh fish:



My own little Kyoto Tower.

Here's a picture of the Nijojo Castle Door. It was built with "Nightinggale Floors" as the security system. When you walk on them, it did sound like birds. (Trivia Question: Which issue of UY was a floor like that featured?)



Thanks to all for the UYD who said they are glad we had a great trip. You all are a great community of friendly fans.

Peace,

maka