pics from Hiroshima

pictures from a hiroshima JET v.3

Welcome to my slightly improved website! I changed the layout of the galleries to include thumbnails and make the whole thing look just a little more attractive. In the future I hope to do something more interesting/dynamic with this space, but for the time being I'm just going to stick with pictures, like before.

If you have any questions or comments about any of the pictures, or if you want me to post more pictures of something in particular, then by all means leave me a message online or send me an email.

the pictures:

Note: You can click on each image to see the full-size original. Due to the limitations of my old camera, some images won't look so hot when blown up to full size...low-light shots, for example. But the original images are all there if you want them, and some of them look pretty good. Some of the newer galleries contain pictures taken with my new camera, which takes much higher quality photos, so check them out if you can stand the load time!

	Botanical Gardens (new 05/2008) A trip to the Hiroshima Botanical Gardens, in Itsukaichi City, with Kana. Beautiful sakura and other flowers aplenty!


Field trip...to the past!! (new 05/2008) Like last year, I went along with the third-year students on their spring field trip to Miroku no Sato, a small amusement park in the eastern part of the prefecture. I skipped the rides this year, and followed a group of girls around the "old-timey Japan town" area. It turned out to be way more fun than the rides were!	Hanami in Iwakuni (new 05/2008) I went with a small group of JETs to do some hanami (sakura viewing) in Iwakuni, in the area around the famous Kintaikyou Bridge. The skies were a little gray, but the sakura were in perfectly full bloom.

Onomichi by the sea~ (new 05/2008) At the end of March, I went on a day trip with my Japanese friends to Onomichi, a small city on the coast a few hours east of here. Beautiful sights, fun times, you know the drill. The tremendously famous Onomichi ramen was a huge disappointment, by the way.	Shukkeien (new 05/2008) Shukkeien is a traditional Japanese garden in downtown Hiroshima, and was one of the few major tourist attractions in Hiroshima that I had yet to visit. So, Kana and I checked it out a couple months ago. It's nice, but kind of pales in comparison to some of the gardens you'll find in and around Kyoto.

Nagoya (03/2008) I took my girlfriend to Nagoya, one of my favorite cities in Japan/the world, for an extremely enjoyable weekend. We wined, dined, drank, partied, explored, shopped, and had one hell of a great weekend.	Graduation 2008 (03/2008) Graduation 2008 came and went with much emotion, as many of my closest friends among the students walked out of the school gate, never to be seen again. This year, I attended both the regular graduation and the part-time school graduation, making for twice the emotional wallop.

Class Match (03/2008) A bunch of fun pictures from the girls' volleyball matches at the 2008 Spring Class Match.	Pre-Spring grab bag (03/2008) Another miscellaneous batch of photos...this one including pictures of friends, wintry things, and the announcement of entrance exam results at my high school.

Smorgasbord! (02/2008) A smattering of things; a veritable hodgepodge of sites and experiences from the last few months! Included: a school Halloween party, some badly needed pictures of my Japanese and foreign friends (and of my teachers too), karaoke, a famous fuzzy green guy...and, yes, one picture of my girlfriend (though not a very good one). Dig in!	My New Home, Through the Seasons (02/2008) Last October I moved to a new apartment in the Western suburbs of Hiroshima, located just a hop away from the world-famous island of Miyajima. Here are some shots of my new neighborhood, and the beautiful surrounding area, through various seasons.

I'm friends with the band. (02/2008) I've gotten pretty heavily into the local music scene in Hiroshima, and here are some pictures of my favorites. Many of these people have become good friends of mine, and I'm proud to be able to enjoy their music and share in their success!	Fall Colors (02/2008) Pictures from two trips to see some fall foliage. First was the Sandankyou gorge in the northern part of the prefecture, which was beautiful, and then came a hop over to Miyajima and its Momiji Park, which was stunning.

Kannon Sports Festival '07 This year's sports festival (taiikusai) was even more enjoyable than last year, because I know the students so much better. I was unfortunately sick with pneumonia at the time and couldn't participate in the big relay race, but I managed to muster the energy to enter the folk dance with some of my favorite third-year girls.	Kure, Saijo, & Alice Garden A few things in this batch...first, a trip to nearby Kure with some students from Akifuchu High School and a few fellow ALTs. Our destination was the Yamato Museum, dedicated to the enormous battleship that Japan produced during WWII. Next up are just a few shots from this year's sake festival in the town of Saijo. Finally, a very surprising discovery I made at Alice Garden downtown!

Hiroshima All Over Again Pictures I took in and around Hiroshima during my sister's stay here, including some nice shots around Miyajima at sunset, some taken at school with my sister, and various scenery from Mt. Misen on Miyajima and the tiny island of Ennoshima.	Iwakuni Iwakuni, located an hour outside Hiroshima in Yamaguchi Prefecture, is a cute little town that is home to one of Japan's three most famous bridges, and lots of other cool things to find.

Nagasaki Nagasaki is an interesting city, packed with a lot of things to see for its size. It was especially interesting for me to see their versions of the Peace Memorial Parks and Museums. In a lot of ways, the city was kind of like a miniature Hiroshima (with a stronger Western influence). Check it out!	Himeji Himeji Castle is Japan's most famous, and now that I've finally seen it I understand why. It is a marvelously beautiful piece of architecture, and I would rank it towards the top of all the famous sights I have seen in Japan.

Takayama This is a small, beautiful town in the mountains near Nagano with a lot of well-preserved history, and we were lucky enough to have a special stay at an old-fashioned retreat house built by a Buddhist temple. More details inside. A truly extraordinary experience!	Tokyo Like all my previous visits to Tokyo, this one was at the end of a trip when I was in no mood to thoroughly explore such a sprawling metropolis. I saw a few more sights and places I hadn't seen before, but I look forward to really giving this city the proper chance it deserves someday...when I can afford it.