Travel

Hanami in Akashi

Posted by Lora Maroney on April 16, 2012
Posted in: Japan, Main Menu, Travel. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment

I’ve been doing a lot of writing (260,000 words since NaNoWriMo 2011 ended!) and absolutely no blog posting (as you may have noticed), so to make up for that, have some photos! :)

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Hanami in Akashi, a set on Flickr.

Hanami means ‘cherry blossom viewing’ in Japan, and it’s one of the best times of year. Japanese people come off as very solemn and serious to foreigners, and in a lot of ways that’s true — but if you ever want to see the other side, you only need to walk around Japan during hanami season. These ‘serious’ people set out tarps on the ground under the cherry trees, and then drink, eat, sleep, laugh, and play the day away. It’s a great way to ring in the nice weather after a long winter.

Happy spring, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Posted by Lora Maroney on December 25, 2011
Posted in: Main Menu, Travel. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment

It’s Christmas in Taiwan, which means … absolutely nothing, really, other than shopping and chocolates and a chance to get lucky for those in couples (if only for the night). Back home in Japan they’re eating fluffy strawberry cakes.

I’m still getting over the head cold OF DOOM and haven’t written anything, but that’ll get rectified. Today was spent walking around Taipei, unsuccessfully searching for a stylish jacket that would accommodate my not-insubstantial upper-rib area, then doing requisite touristy things like Taipei 101 and the Taipei Memorial Hall.

It still hasn’t actually felt like Christmas any of the times I’ve been in Asia, but that’s okay. I Skype my family twice (once in the morning my time, Christmas Eve theirs, to open my gifts, then once in the evening for me, morning for them, for the reverse), we chat, and then we go shopping or hang out without worrying about Christmas crowds. (Which is not as exciting as it sounds, as the crowds in both Japan and Taiwan on normal days are pretty much like Christmas crowds back in Canada…)

It seems like 2011 wasn’t a good year for a lot of people, but, um, it was for me, so I was pretty happy today — even with the head cold OF DOOM that I don’t think I’ve managed to escape since I was 7, despite spending various Christmases in every climate imaginable. Alas.

Anyway, it’s late, and I’m sleepy, so I hope everyone has a good day, whether you’re doing anything special for it or not.

What more appropriate for Taiwan than an outmoded reference from a Japanese animation?

Merry Christmas from Taiwan!

Photos of the Day: Illumination at Arashiyama

Posted by Lora Maroney on December 18, 2011
Posted in: Japan, Main Menu, Photo of the Day, Travel. Tagged: , , , . Leave a Comment
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Kyoto: Arashiyama, a set on Flickr.

Arashiyama, in Kyoto, is a 5km (or thereabouts) stretch in the mountains, filled with gardens, groves, and temples. In fall, it’s absolutely breathtaking with all the autumn leaves; in springtime, it’s a similar thing with all the blossoms.

This time of year, the area has what Japan calls a “light-up”, which means lanterns and coloured spotlights are set up throughout the various walking trails so that people can visit at night. Things usually close around 4 or 5pm in Kyoto, so this is a real treat.

The best part was, by far, the bamboo grove. These photos aren’t touched up or artificially coloured in any way; the blue and green is what you see in real life. It’s ridiculously eerie, especially when the wind blows through the leaves at the top. If you’re ever in Kyoto, I highly recommend it.

Daily Writing, Day 15th (and a picture!)

Posted by Lora Maroney on December 16, 2011
Posted in: Daily Progress, Japan, Main Menu, Travel, Writing. Tagged: , , , . 1 comment

Big news for today: I finally finished the Temeraire fanfic! Okay, well, that’s big news for me, anyway, as when I agreed to write this for the bestest for Christmas, I had no idea it would end up being 34,000 words long. That’s got to be some kind of record.

Part of me is proud, part of me thinks this is ridiculous

Anyway, I finished that on the train on my way to work, and then I did a bit more writing in a couple of other things, but I didn’t do too much because after work, I went here:

Is this real life? Movies have trained us that bamboo means ALIEN PLANET

I took loads of pictures that I’ll put up on Flickr when I’m not exhausted, but suffice to say, I knew I wasn’t going to be writing at Arashiyama in Kyoto, so I got it done ahead of time. I also did some editing on paper (11 pages), and read a bunch more! Oh, and I got 4 Christmas cards from my students. Today was a good day! \o/

Everything I wrote today was on some form of public transportation

Today’s Statistics:

Words Written: 1,566

Hours: ~3/4

Most Productive Universe: Edward & Drake (orphan side story)

No-context snippet: He thought about explaining all the things that had led up to it — exhaustion, confusion, a million new people and new things to learn, and oh, his whole world turning upside down — but his mother always taught him that making excuses, even if they were true ones, just meant your apology didn’t count.

Related articles

Photo of the Day: Jorogumo Spider

Posted by Lora Maroney on December 13, 2011
Posted in: Japan, Photo of the Day, Travel. Tagged: , , , , . 4 comments

So one of the most common spiders in Japan is this lovely beauty:

The size of your palm (legs included)

This is a ジョログモ (jorogumo) spider. In Japanese mythology, the Jorogumo is a kind of demon who eats unwary humans. Usually the jorogumo takes the shape of a beautiful woman to seduce men, whom she then traps in her web and eats at her leisure, but sometimes they don’t bother and just start chomping away. There were literally hundreds of these in the forest I walked through; had I realised exactly what I was looking at, I probably would not have gotten so close in an attempt to get a picture.

I Love Japan! Photo Post

Posted by Lora Maroney on December 9, 2011
Posted in: Japan, Main Menu, Travel. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 comments

Hey, it’s my 100th post, and a little after 1 year of starting this blog. By social media standards, I’m a total failure — I don’t pull in 1000+ visitors a day, so I should just pack it in, but y’know what? I’ve actually met friends through this blog, and I like it. So there.

I was planning to do a continuation of the “Fantasy Writers: Stop Raping Your Women!” post, but I thought that was kind of morbid for the ol’ 100, so instead, have a gallery of pictures I’ve taken in Japan since getting here. The weird, the wonderful, the beautiful, it’s all here. Have fun! :)

Photo of the Day: Autumn Leaves

Posted by Lora Maroney on November 14, 2011
Posted in: Japan, Photo of the Day. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

I’m tired, I have the remnants of a migraine, and I dropped my phone, which now looks like this, so here’s a picture of me and some leaves. Despite the phone thing, today was a good day. Just trying to wrangle out a few words on NaNoWriMo before I collapse.

Photo of the Day: Akashi Straits Bridge

Posted by Lora Maroney on October 28, 2011
Posted in: Japan, Photo of the Day. Tagged: , , , . Leave a Comment

The Akashi Straits Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the WOOOOOORLD. Between Awaji Island and the mainland. It’s not actually part of Akashi, but they won the naming contest, so now everyone thinks it’s there rather than in poor, forgotten Maiko. Not a bad move on Akashi’s part.

Photo of the Day: Suburban Sunset

Posted by Lora Maroney on October 24, 2011
Posted in: Japan, Photo of the Day. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment

Lots of photos of Japan (mine included) focus on the natural beauty, but the truth is, Japan is an industrial nation, and a lot of the populated areas can look like cities anywhere else in the world. That doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful.

Sunset over the home centre near my apartment, next to where I go to the gym.