I love sushi. It’s so delicious. So, when a local Hanaya Yohei restaurant closed, I was happy to find out that it was being replaced by Hamazushi, which is owned by the same company. Hamazushi is a kaitenzushi (or conveyor belt sushi) restaurant. They are very cheap, only 105 yen each. We often eat at Sushiro, but Hamazushi is closer to the station, so easy to go to on our way home if we walk. It’s opening next month! I can’t wait!
Mmmm, sushi.
Filed under Food, Fujisawa, Japan, Kanagawa, Uncategorized
On October 12, we visited Akibadai Cultural and Athletics Centre, which is located west of Shonandai Station in Fujisawa. This facility has a couple of gymnasiums and a couple of pools, as well as a park, a soccer field, and cultural centre. The main building has very interesting architecture which I thought I’d share.
The side of the main gymnasium.
The north end of the main gymnasium.
The north end from a different angle.
Swimming pool entrance.
West side of the building, including the main hall area.
This is the south gymnasium.
The east side of the south gymnasium.
From the southeast corner of the building, the main gymnasium dominates in this picture.
This is the main park area.
Steps up to the second floor near the main entrance.
More park!
The south gymnasium from the main steps.
This isn’t the building, but this shows a walking route from Akibadai to Keio University and back. I want to walk this route.
This is the main hall from the second floor. Notice the rock climbing wall?
The inside of the main gymnasium.
Stadium lighting at the soccer field.
I’ve been quite surprised by the architecture at the cultural centres around Shonandai. The Shonandai Cultural Centre with the children’s science museum is also quite interesting, which I will eventually post about.
Comments are always welcome!
In Japan, you can always see buildings being constructed. Big or small, they have something in common. They’re enshrouded by a fabric, most likely to prevent falling objects leaving the construction site, as well as keep the construction workers safe from the elements, such as wind. Because of this, we can never see the building under construction. It’s always under wraps. This is different than Canada, as we can always see the building frame and the walls going up. Below is a picture I took of a new apartment building under construction in Shonandai.
I believe this building will have 11 floors.
On a side note, this was my 400th blog post!
Filed under Fujisawa, Japan, Kanagawa, Picture of the Week
Typhoon number 4, or Guchol, hit Japan a few hours ago as a tropical storm. It was earlier a super typhoon that passed by the Philippines. While it wasn’t a direct hit to the Kanto region, it did dump a lot of rain here. Last September, I got stuck at work during a typhoon, as the trains weren’t running. This time, the train was running. During my ride home, the train had to stop at one station before continuing on on an elevated rail. While the train was several metres above the ground, the wind shook the train and even caused the windows to flex inward. I couldn’t believe it. I finally reached Shonandai, but was faced with a problem. The line for the bus was incredibly long. There were no taxis and a long line to take one. I took shelter in one of the train station entrances while waiting for the bus to come. That’s when I took this picture.
This picture doesn’t do the typhoon justice. It was incredibly windy with very heavy rain.
I was able to get on the second bus, which ended up being so full that many more people waiting in line couldn’t get on. It’s difficult to stand on a bus that full. I had no way of moving. When it reached my bus stop, I had to push my way through all the people in front of me. Some seemed quite annoyed, but there was someone behind me also pushing. I quickly ran to my apartment, where I assessed the damage. My legs, shoes and bag were soaked. I took out anything important from my bag and hung my pants up to dry. Not sure what to do about my shoes. They won’t be dry enough by the time I go to work tomorrow.
This typhoon is quite unusual. It was a very powerful typhoon, but what was unusual was the timing. It’s only June, and we’ve already had our first typhoon. Unbelievably, there’s a second typhoon headed toward Japan, and we’ll get wet again on Friday.
Filed under Fujisawa, Japan, Kanagawa, Picture of the Week, Weather
This is the first set of Instagram pictures I’ll be posting. Each week, I’ll post 10 photos, starting with my oldest ones. These ones are from May 24th-25th, 2011. What I’d like you to do is leave a comment stating which photo you like the most and which you like the least, and please give a reason. Thanks!
1. Izumino station from the train (Izumi-ku, Yokohama)
2. Finally sunny again in Yokohama (Nishi-ku, Yokohama)
3. You must run through the exit!
4. Blurry train arrives at the station. (Asahi-ku, Yokohama)
5. Odakyu Shonandai station (Fujisawa, Kanagawa)
6. Food's all gone! (Big Boy)
7. Ecoる Coca-Cola (Fujisawa, Kanagawa)
8. Going up to the train. (Fujisawa, Kanagawa)
9. Lots of lines in Machida. (Machida, Tokyo)
10. Nakamise (Machida, Tokyo)
Once you’ve decided the best and worst photo, please leave a comment!
Shonandai Station has a very large underground passageway that connects both sides of the station building and 3 train lines. There are many white columns that make this an interesting place for photographs.
Filed under Fujisawa, Japan, Kanagawa, Picture of the Week
