Lanterns at Kasuga shrine by Paul Mannix

Nara (奈良市, Nara-shi) is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture. Eight temples, shrines and ruins in Nara, specifically Tōdai-ji, Saidai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Shrine, Gangō-ji, Yakushi-ji, Tōshōdai-ji and Heijō Palace Remains, together with Kasugayama Primeval Forest, collectively form “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Overshadowed by its more famous neighbor Kyoto, Nara is omitted from many a time-pressed tourist’s itinerary. However, Nara is home to many important scenic and historical sites, and today preserves its main sights much more attractively than Kyoto within Nara Park and neighborhoods like Naramachi.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hakone Onsen by avlxyz

Hakone (箱根町, Hakone-machi?) is a town in Japan, in Kanagawa Prefecture, in Ashigarashimo District. Located on the eastern foot of Hakone Pass.  As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 13,679 and a density of 147 persons per km². The total area is 92.82 km². The Ashigara Checkpoint at Hakone-juku on the historical Tōkaidō marks the beginning of Japan’s Kantō region. Since the Edo period, Ashigara Checkpoint has been renamed Hakone Checkpoint.

The annual Hakone Ekiden at the New Year runs from Tokyo to Hakone and back over two days, partly in commemoration of the Tōkaidō road. Like its close neighbors Odawara and Mishima, Hakone has many onsen (hot spring) resort areas (ja:箱根温泉).

Read the rest of this entry »

Tokyo Photo gallery

Marunouchi	Tokyo Station	Shin Marunouchi	Nissay Building	Meiji Yasuda Building
Mitsui Building	Mitsukoshi	Wako Store	Wako Store	Christian Dior Store

Read the rest of this entry »

Nikko Japan by freakland

Nikkō (日光市, Nikkō-shi?, literally sunlight) is a city located in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Located approximately 140 km north of Tokyo and approximately 35 km west of Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi, it is a popular destination for Japanese and international tourists, housing the mausoleum of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (Nikkō Tōshō-gū) and that of his grandson Iemitsu (Iemitsu-byō Taiyū-in), as well as the Futarasan Shrine, which dates to the year 767. There are also many famous hot springs (onsen) in the area. Elevations range from 200 to 2,000 m. The mountains west of the main city are part of Nikkō National Park and contain some of the country’s most spectacular waterfalls and scenic trails.

As of January 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 92,181.

History

Shōdō Shōnin (勝道上人, Shōdō Shōnin?) established the temple of Rinnō-ji in 766, followed by the temple of Chūzen-ji in 784. The village of Nikkō developed around these temples. The shrine of Nikkō Tōshō-gū was completed in 1617 and became a major draw of visitors to the area during the Edo period. A number of new roads were built during this time to provide easier access to Nikkō from surrounding regions. Nikkō Tōshō-gū, Futarasan Shrine and Rinnō-ji now form a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During the Meiji period Nikkō developed as a mountain resort, and became particularly popular among foreign visitors to Japan. The Japanese National Railways began service to Nikkō in 1890 with the Nikkō Line, followed by Tobu Railway in 1929 with its Nikkō Line.

Nikkō was incorporated as a town in 1889, part of Kamitsuga District. It was upgraded to city status in 1954 after merging with the neighboring village of Okorogawa. On March 20, 2006, the city of Nikkō merged with the city of Imaichi and the municipalities of Ashio, Fujihara, and Kuriyama to create what is officially the new city of Nikkō. The new city hall is located at the former Imaichi City Hall: the former Nikkō City Hall is now known as Nikkō City Hall-Nikkō Satellite Office.

Read the rest of this entry »

Manhattan New York by midweekpost

Manhattan (coterminous with New York County) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. With a 2007 population of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles (59.47 km²), it is the most densely populated county in the United States at 70,595 residents per square mile (27,267/km²). It is also one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, with a 2005 personal per capita income above $100,000. The borough consists of Manhattan Island, Roosevelt Island, Randalls Island, almost one-tenth of Ellis Island the above-water portion of Liberty Island, several much smaller islands, and a small section on the mainland of New York State adjacent to the Bronx.

Manhattan is a major commercial, financial, and cultural center of the United States and the world. Most major radio, television, and telecommunications companies in the United States are based here, as well as many news, magazine, book, and other media publishers. Manhattan has many famous landmarks, tourist attractions, museums, and universities. It is also home to the headquarters of the United Nations. Manhattan has the largest central business district in the United States, is the site of both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, and is the home to the largest number of corporate headquarters in the nation. It is indisputably the center of New York City and the New York metropolitan region, holding the seat of city government, and the largest fraction of employment, business, and recreational activities.

The name Manhattan derives from the word Manna-hata, as written in the 1609 logbook of Robert Juet, an officer on Henry Hudson’s yacht Halve Maen (Half Moon). A 1610 map depicts the name Manahata twice, on both the west and east sides of the Mauritius River (later named the Hudson River). The word “Manhattan” has been translated as “island of many hills” from the Lenape language. The Encyclopedia of New York City offers other derivations, including from the Munsee dialect of Lenape: manahachtanienk (”place of general inebriation”), manahatouh (”place where timber is procured for bows and arrows”), or menatay (”island”).

Read the rest of this entry »

Central Park New York by esparta

Central Park is a large public, urban park (843 acres, 3.41 km², 1.32 mi²; a rectangle 2.6 statute miles by 0.5 statute mile, or 4.1 km × 830 m) in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, almost 4/5 of the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park and just over 1/3 of the size of London’s Richmond Park. With about twenty-five million visitors annually, Central Park is the most visited city park in the United States and its appearance in many movies and television shows has made it famous.

The park is maintained by the Central Park Conservancy, a private, not-for-profit organization that manages the park under a contract with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in which the president of the Conservancy is ex officio Administrator of Central Park.

Central Park is bordered on the north by West 110th Street, on the south by West 59th Street, on the west by Eighth Avenue. Along the park’s borders however, these are known as Central Park North, Central Park South, and Central Park West respectively. Fifth Avenue retains its name along the eastern border of the park. Most of the areas immediately adjacent to the park are known for impressive buildings and valuable real estate.

The park was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and architect Calvert Vaux, who went on to collaborate on Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Central Park has been a National Historic Landmark since 1963.

Read the rest of this entry »

Statue of Liberty by jeffpearce

Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, ☎ ”+1 866” 782 8834 (within USA) or ”+1 212” 269 5755 (international). 8:30am-5:15pm (hours adjusted seasonally). Take the ferry from Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan or from Liberty State Park in New Jersey (see Statue Cruises Ferry below). Be prepared for airport like security screening with similar restrictions (no food or open liquids, no knives, etc.) before boarding the boat. No entry ticket is required to visit the island. After closure since 9/11 (2001), the Statue pedestal reopened to visitors in 2004. A free, timed ticket is required for entry to the statue pedestal. Tickets are limited in number and can be obtained on the day from the ferry company or in advance (for $1.75) by calling the ticket office on the phone number above (8am-7pm) or online.

Signs on the Island state that you should obtain your tickets 1 week in advance to guarantee that you will be able to enter the pedestal. The Promenade Tour (which requires a second security check) consists of a tour through the monument lobby and museum (20-30 minutes) and then outside to the promenade and Fort Wood. The Observatory Tour additionally includes a trip in the elevator to the pedestal observation deck (not up into the statue itself). Security checks are rigorous so travel as light as possible. Backpacks and other large bags are not permitted on the tours but can be stored in lockers for a fee.

On busy days there may be long waits. If leaving from Manhattan, you may need to arrive at Battery Park 2 hours before your timed tour to allow for security screening and ferry travel. Best to arrive at Battery Park early in the morning. From the Manhattan ferry the Statue of Liberty will be located on the right side of the boat. Admission to the Island is free – but you need to pay for the ferry. Ferry Fees Audio tour $6.

Liberty Enlightening the World (French: La liberté éclairant le monde), commonly known as the Statue of Liberty (French: Statue de la Liberté), was presented to the United States by the people of France in 1886. Standing on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, it welcomes visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans.The copper-clad statue, dedicated on October 28, 1886, commemorates the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence and is a gesture of friendship from France to the United States. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi sculpted the statue and obtained a U.S. patent for its structure.Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) engineered the internal structure. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for the choice of copper in the statue’s construction and adoption of the repoussé technique, where a malleable metal is hammered on the reverse side.

The statue is of a robed woman holding a torch, and is made of a sheeting of pure copper, hung on a framework of steel (originally puddled iron) with the exception of the flame of the torch, which is coated in gold leaf (originally made of copper and later altered to hold glass panes.) It stands atop a rectangular stonework pedestal with a foundation in the shape of an irregular eleven-pointed star. The statue is 151 ft (46 m) tall, but with the pedestal and foundation, it is 305 ft (93 m) tall.

Read the rest of this entry »

Greenwich Village New York by sethw

Greenwich Village (pronounced /ˌgrɛnɪtʃ ˈvɪlɪdʒ/), often simply called the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern) Manhattan in New York City named seemingly after Greenwich, London, England. However, it was called Noortwijck or Greenwijck by the Dutch founders before the British takeover, so Greenwich is probably a mispronunciation of the older name. A large majority of this district is home to upper middle class families. Greenwich Village was historically noted as the internationally reputed bohemian capital, and the birthplace of the Beat Movement. Ironically, what provided the initial attractive character of the community eventually contributed to its gentrification and excessive commercialization.

Location

The neighborhood is bounded by Broadway on the east, the Hudson River on the west, Houston Street on the south, and 14th Street on the north. The neighborhoods surrounding it are the East Village to the east, SoHo to the south, and Chelsea to the north. The East Village was formerly considered part of the Lower East Side and never associated with Greenwich Village. The West Village is the part of Greenwich Village west of 6th Avenue.

Greenwich Village was better known as Washington Square – based on the major landmark Washington Square Park or Empire Ward in the 19th century.

It should be noted that Encyclopedia Britannica’s 1956 article on “New York (City)” (subheading “Greenwich Village”) states that the southern border of the Village is Spring Street. But currently, according to Landmark Preservation maps of New York City, the Village’s erratic borders go no farther south than 4th Street or St. Luke’s Place, and no farther east than Washington Square East or University Place. Consequently, the newer historic districts of SoHo and NoHo encroach on the Village’s historic borders.

Read the rest of this entry »

Chinatown New York by sayheypatrick

The Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan — (Chinese: 紐約華埠) a borough of New York City — is an ethnic enclave with a large population of Chinese immigrants, similar to Chinatown districts in other American cities. It is the second most populous Chinatown in the Western Hemisphere (after San Francisco’s Chinatown), and third in area size (San Francisco, Vancouver).

Location

Until the 1970s, the traditional borders of Chinatown were:

* Canal Street in the North (bordering Little Italy)
* The Bowery in the East (bordering the Lower East Side)
* Worth Street in the South
* Baxter Street in the West

Read the rest of this entry »

The iconic scene of King Kong battling an airplane on top of the Empire State Building.

Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Avenue (Fifth Avenue at 34th Street), ☎ +1-212-736-3100. Hours: Daily: 8:00 - 24:00 with summer hours normally being extended.. Once again the tallest building in New York, since the destruction of the World Trade Center Twin Towers on 11 September 2001. Between its completion in 1930 and the building of the Twin Towers, the New York icon also held the record as the tallest building in the world. Admission: Adults: $16.00, Youth (12 - 17): $14.00, Children (6 - 11): $10.00, Seniors (62+) or Military with ID: $14.00, Military in uniform or toddlers (Under 5): Free; 102nd floor Observatory tickets are only sold at the Observatory ticket office, located on the 2nd floor of the building, which cost an additional $14.00 to regular tickets.

The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Its name is derived from the nickname for the state of New York. It stood as the world’s tallest building for more than forty years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center’s North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building again became the tallest building in New York City and New York State.

The Empire State Building has been named by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. The building and its street floor interior are designated landmarks of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and confirmed by the New York City Board of Estimate. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. In 2007, it was ranked number one on the List of America’s Favorite Architecture according to the AIA. The building is owned and managed by W&H Properties.

Read the rest of this entry »