Posts Tagged ‘Travel’

Sunday Shopping in Ginza, Tokyo

Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Sunday Shopping in Ginza, Tokyo

Every Sunday Tokyo shuts down the main street in Ginza (a prefecture of Tokyo) to allow the masses to go shopping in this high-end shopping district.  The streets are lined with designer shops from around the world.  You name it, it’s here.  Consider this the equivalent of New York’s 5th Avenue, or Toronto’s Yorkville, but on a much, much larger scale.

This particular Sunday was warm for December, which I suspect drew a lot of people out to take advantage of the nice weather.  However, Tokyo is so populous that this could be the norm here and just as many would be out on a cloudy winter day too.  But I don’t see too many shopping bags, so maybe it’s the weather… :)

Tokyo International Forum

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
Tokyo International Forum

The Tokyo International Forum is a unique building in Tokyo that houses conference rooms, concert halls and exhibitions. The building’s cavernous atrium is highlighted by the interesting steel structure at the top, a wall of windows on one side, and a wooden wall on the other.

The building is truly huge. Standing at the bottom, one is impressed at the height and size of the place, as well as the open feeling it provides. Standing on the steel and glass catwalk that ramps its way to the very top of the building, it’s hard not to feel a bit (or a lot) of vertigo. Railings are made of glass, and there is nothing between you and the floor. I’ll confess that I didn’t actually make it to the very top. Hanging over the side of the railing to get the perfect shot (coming in a future post) left me feeling a little wishful for terra firma.

Bell House at Seokguram Temple

Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Bell House at Seokguram Temple

Such an ornate structure to hold a bell… The locals sit in the parking lot and sell souvenirs and local produce to the tourists.

Roof Detail at Seokguram Temple

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Roof Detail at Seokguram Temple

One of the major temples in the Gyeongju region is Seokguram where a large statue of Buddha is carved from a single piece of stone. Photography is prohibited inside the temple, but the intricate roof details shown here were quite interesting.  I just love all the colour they put into everything!  The attention to detail is incredible and I can only imagine how much effort they must have put in to construct these temples, and even modern structures.

Ancient Korean Observatory

Monday, January 18th, 2010
Ancient Korean Observatory

This ancient Korean observatory is apparently the oldest in Eastern Asia. I’m not entirely sure why they needed to build a massive stone structure to sit approximately ten to fifteen feet off the ground (couldn’t they make a treehouse of sorts and save a lot of effort?) but they did.