Tokyo, Japan  東京

Tokyo has more than 20 million vending machines

Tokyo suburbs

Brian and Kashio drinking cheap Japanese biru at the soba mill, Tokyo — December 13, 2003

Loyal sword-enthusist, Imperial Palace, Tokyo — December 23, 2003

Imperial family, Imperial Palace, Tokyo — December 23, 2003

Awaiting the Emporor on his birthday (tenno no tanjobi), Imperial Palace, Tokyo — December 23, 2003

The knife shop and its proud owner, Kappabashi Street, Tokyo, Japan — December 20, 2003

The Knife Shrine, Kappabashi Street, Tokyo, Japan — December 20, 2003

I spend a lot of time on these JR Line trains, Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan — December 18, 2003

Outer reaches of JR Chuo line, Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan — December 18, 2003

Yasukuni Jinja torii, (Shinto shrine), commemorates Japan’s war dead, Tokyo, Japan — December 22, 2003

This shrine was built in 1869 and honors the over 2.5 million Japanese that lost lives during recent conflict and war. Asian governments (most notably China and Korea) get upset when the Japanese Prime Ministers visits this shrine because some of those honored here took part in gruesome invasions of East Asia in the early part of the twentieth century. On the other hand, visiting this shrine is a political duty of the Japanese Prime Minister and not doing would alienate domestic popularity. It seems a no-win situation. Several days after I left Japan and was in China, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the shine and stirred international attention.

WWII zero fighter plane, Yushukan Museum, Yasakuni Jinja, Tokyo, Japan — December 22, 2003

In Japan, even the person-hole covers are nice, Tokyo somewhere — December 18, 2003