3. - And those who can already read well in Japanese, you can learn about an interesting legend on this board about how the name of this province came about. Iwate (iwa = rock, te = hand), hence Iwate.

4. - I rarely went on excursions alone, but on this trip, in Nort-Eastern Japan in Akita perfecture, I was alone. The kanji characters revealed that there will be a waterfall 3.2 kilometers away and the mountain peak is 8.7 kilometers away.

5. - Those who are already familiar with 50-100 kanjis can recognize the kanji characters, "日" and "目" on the picture. Based on this – and of course with the help of the pictures – it is quite easy to understand that the illustration is showing the four-day life pattern of a lotus flower :)

6. - The lotus flower – this picture was taken in one of the parks at Anjō city near Okazaki and is one of my favourite pictures.

7. - In an intercity bus. It is not unusual that only Japanese is written on the sign of the train station or bus stop. This bus was in the resting area when I took this photo. The digital clock shows the current time and the time beneath it shows the time when the bus will continue with the journey.

8. - On the railway station at the check-in gates, which we call it, "kaisatsuguchi" in Japanese. This word is familiar to all of my students, who have passed the first few lessons of our yellow coursebook :)

9. - "Ekiben" = eki + bentō. Eki = railway station, bentō = common name for the meal that is not eaten at home. We don’t really see many people eating it on the JR (Japan Railway) lines, but it is common on the shinkanzen.

10. - One of my favourite signs. The kanji shown on the bottle is the kanji character for "sake", the most famous Japanese alcoholic drink.

11. - Despite that Japan is an island country and that Okazaki is not too far from the sea, I did not go too often to the beach. This image was taken there though :)

12. - And another seaside picture: One of the most beautiful and most famous coastlines of North-Eastern Japan is Sanriku-kaigan. This beautiful coastline lies not too far to the north of Fukushima and Sendai, which were hit by the tsunami in March 2011.

13. - For both my German and Japanese specialization studies, I wrote about the Japanese short verses called the, "Haiku". Perhaps Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694), who travelled through Japan several times, is the greatest figure of the classic Haiku. This place was the one of the stops during his journeys. The board and the memorial building are evidences of this. What a great experience to visit this place.

14. - In North-Eastern Japan, in the ethnographic museum of Tōno city. Tōno is famous for its many legends which have passed on till today. The lady in this picture is a story-teller who told the legends in a local dialect which was difficult not only for me, but many Japanese as well who could understand only fragments of it…

15. - "He" is Kappa, the "water child" or "water monster", a famous figure of the Japanese folklore. Sometimes he helps people and other times he eviscerate and devour them. It was quite an experience to meet him :)

16. - This pic was taken in Sendai, one of the cities that was most affected by the tsunami (tidal wave) in the summer of 2008. This cosy place is located near the castle and  is famous for the "Japanese firefly", the hotaru, which swarms here. The swarming for that year happened just when I was there.

17. - Kyoto was the capital of Japan many centuries ago. Traditional Japanese houses can still be seen in this part of the town.

18. - A detail of the market in Kyoto.

19. - This oracle rock of love is located near to one of the most famous temples in Kyoto, the Kiyomizu tera. It is said that if a person can walk towards the rock from a few meters away with his eyes closed will be lucky in love. But if he can’t, it means that he has to wait for a long time for the right one to come.

20. - I always like going to the forest. These several hundred years old pine trees are an impressive and spectacular sight.

21. - Kumano kodo – this wonderful pilgrimage in Wakayama prefecture is a World Heritage site.

22. - This picture was taken during our trip to Kumano kodo.

23. - This picture also shows the trip to Kumano Kodo.

24. - Kumano kodo. You can also watch a video on this trip at the bottom of this page (Nr. 54.)

25. - Further on Kumano kodo. The picture shows the "Mizubashō" (Lysichiton camtschatcense) flower, but it was not blooming at the time of our visit though. I have chosen this picture for my website too because the song, Natsu no omoide (see music section) which we performed with our choir. The song tells the memories of a trip to such a place.

26. - The trip with my Japanese, Singapore and Hungaian friends.

27. - "The force is with us" :)

28. - The "peak" of the trip – group photo at a lookout point.

29. - Ōtaki keikoku – one of my favourite places for visiting near Okazaki.

30. - Details of a Japanese-styled garden.

31. - The water flows into the bamboo tube and when the bamboo tube is full, it tilts to the left causing the water to flow out. It then falls back to the right and the cycle starts all over again.

32. - Bamboo grove close to the ground.

33. - The great Buddha in Nara.

34. - The temple is guarded by warrior protectors like this one.

35. - With Sachiyo san in front of an aquarium in Osaka. According to statistics, the number of aquariums per person in Japan is the highest in the world. I visited only two, here, once in Osaka and twice in Nagoya.

36. - An inhabitant of the aquarium. When I went to the aquariums with Japanese people, they would point to a sea animal and commented not its beauty but about how delicious it looked!

37. - Penguins in the aquarium. The video filmed in this aquarium be viewed at the bottom of this page (Nr. 55).

38. - Thousands of origami cranes – the symbol of peace, which is also the meaning of the two kanjis. This picture was taken in the memorial park in Hiroshima, which is built near the site where the atomic bomb exploded.

39. - Hiroshima. The explosion took place righ above the building in this photo.

40. - Miyajima, or – more commonly known as – Itsukushima. The gate in this picture is erected in the sea and can be reached only during low tides. This area is a world heritage site and while this gate is located near the shore and remains visible throughout, there are several other landmarks which are totally submerged during high tide.

41. - This picture was taken in Takamatsu, on the island of Shikoku. Takamatsu = tall pine tree. Even the city’s name explains the city’s sights made up of the beautiful pine trees.

42. - This picture was also taken at one of the parks in Takamatsu.

43. - This picture was taken in Kobe where I went on a trip in early April 2008 together with Sylvia, a dear friend of mine. The clock stopped at the timing when the destructive earthquake hit Kobe early in the morning on 17th January 1995.

44. - Memorial plaque of the earthquake in Kobe.

45. - Classic picture: The castle of Himeji with cherry blossom trees. The castle lives true to its name as a World Heritage site.

46. - This picture was taken from the train near Takayama in early december 2007. It was just beginning to snow in the higher parts of the mountains.

47. - Takayama, a famous city in central Japan, slightly west from Nagano. It is famous because Takayama is one of the few places where traditional Japanese streets can still be seen.

48. - That, or "he" is another famous sight of Takayama: the Saru bobo. You will probably buy an Omiyage (souvenir) that portrays him when you go to Takayama. If you have not figure out what it is, it is a monkey! :)

49. - The Japanese describe that as "ryōte ni hana", which means a flower in each hand :) This picture was taken in Gifu with Viki chan and Reiko chan.

50. - This picture captures the unforgettable trip to Gifu too.

51. - This board is also one of my favourites :)

52. - No, we didn’t go to a mine :) This picture was taken in Hikone, on the yard of the Bridgestone factory. I wasn’t really there for a trip but for a few weeks of "baito" ["baito" means part time job], where I earned some extra money from translation and interpretation.

53. - This table is located in Nagoya, in front of the BIHO Foreign Language Academy’s entrance. I taught German and Hungarian language here in BIHO.

54. - The trip to Kumano kodo, with Jini, Shiyu chan, Enriko and a few other friends of mine. Unfortunately the weather was rainy but it did not affect our good mood.

55. - This video was filmed at the aquarium in Nagoya. For anyone who goes to Nagoya, I recommend this place for a visit- it is a great program to last a whole day.