2011-04-30

Godzilla Park!

Why am I just learning about this now? I'm fairly certain that had I known of its existence, I'd be very successful as a tour guide there now. I went pubbing on Thursday (9pm-5am) and as I am wont to do, at one stop (Title) the patrons and I had a Godzilla chat. One of the guys is from 横須賀 Yokosuka which is apparently the birthplace of the Big G. It happens to be the home of The Perry Landing Park (ペリー上陸記念公園) which marks the place where U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry landed from his squadron of "black ships", forcing the Tokugawa Shogunate to sign a treaty of peace and friendship with the United States, thus opening the country to the world after 250 years of isolation. It also lays claim to Kurihama Flower World or Kurihama Hana-no-Kuni (くりはま花の国). This park is renowned for its 1 million blooming poppies from Mid-May to Mid-June, and beautiful cosmos flowers from September-mid October. It also has a nice herb garden and children's play area with a large Godzilla slide. This native of Yokosuka states that it is no coincidence that Godzilla arises from that town and he suggests that Godzilla is naught but Perry in Kaiju clothing.

He showed me a map of the area which I photographed and here are a few pics of this very prestigious locale. Definitely on my "to go" list!





Oh yeah, I also went to Ernies and chatted up some of the locals.
Including my Mai.

2011-04-27

Topsy Turvy.

I'm in the process of tidying up and figuring out what stuff should be donated to the kiddies in the shelters, what should be kept and what's to be tossed.

Before I make my decision, here are some photos of the general state of disarray my apartment has undergone. I spent a long time before the quake putting my figures in plastic display cases in order to minimize the gathering dust. Here are the only relatively unscathed cases.











Here are the remnants of the scathed cases which were scattered all over my floor. Atomu, Batman, Steamboy, Universal Monsters and Harryhausen, Dinosaurs, Alien, Terminator, Godzilla, Simpsons,
etc.









Curiously some of my walls must be sturdier than others. These were the only two unaffected areas.









Apart from a smattering of toys on the walls, all of these had tumbled. Surprisingly, not all of them toppled during the first quake, it took place a month later when the most damage occurred throughout the city.




Tomorrow I hope to have made my decision, "should it stay, or should it go?"

2011-04-25

#1800.

This is the 1800th post I've done (though I probably could have had a 1900th if I'd posted regularly over the last month, my bad.) Before I go any further, here is a link to a Podcast that DJ Mokugohan has created about the little adventures we experienced last month. I found it to be thoroughly depressing and uplifting at the same time.



Since I don't have much to add, here are a few pictures of my bus trip from Tokyo to Sendai I snapped at 5am last week in all their high-speed blurry goodness. I particularly like the pic I took in the loo: "Let's use a restroom beautifully. Please lock a door. Because restroom shakes, please be caught by the handrail."



Happy Eastre everyone! (Warning: Furries at the 1 minute mark.)

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