X-Git-Url: https://codewiz.org/gitweb?a=blobdiff_plain;f=blog%2F2009%2FApril;h=f69544b6e023afc0cf99e8ffaeff13b8ddc156a7;hb=cb22007879aa427f8e298ec857e517cebe6a56e2;hp=6a962ba92d6477d2e7a5e62108facb5d8bbdbbff;hpb=a9459a1e98fdbc717aa411eae078a45358742593;p=wiki.git diff --git a/blog/2009/April b/blog/2009/April index 6a962ba..f69544b 100644 --- a/blog/2009/April +++ b/blog/2009/April @@ -1,12 +1,43 @@ == Bernie's brain backup of April 2009 == -=== April 21th - x264 === +=== April 21th ==== + +==== Great temples everywhere ==== + +Yesterday was rainy, but it didn't stop us from biking around and visiting quite a lot of stuff: + + * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Ninnaji|Ninnaji temple]]; + * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Ryoanji|Ryoanji temple]], with its puzzling rock zen garden; + * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Kinkakuji|Kinkakuji temple]] (aka golden temple); + * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/NijojoCastle|Nijojo castle]], which is actually two castles for the price of one; + * a quick tour of the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/KyotoDowntown|Kyoto downtown]]; + * the [[http://www.kyotomm.com/international/english/|International Manga Museum]] was closed already. Grrr.... + +{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Kinkakuji/00012.jpg|the golden temple of Kinkakuji|maxwidth=800}} + +==== x264 goodness ==== I re-encoded all videos from MJPEG, the crappy native format of my Canon camera, to x264 (aka MPEG4). Firefox 3.1/3.5 still doesn't grok it with the ##video## tag, but I didn't have a [[http://theora.org/|Theora]] encoder installed. -=== April 20th - Shinkansen tour === +=== April 20th === + +==== Best hostel ever ==== + +The [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/UtanoHostel|Utano hostel]] in Kyoto would rival many +five star hotels I've seen. Sorry I couldn't take any photos in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen | Onsen]]. + +{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/UtanoHostel/00005.jpg|the hostel provides a traditional goan too|maxwidth=800}} + +==== Impressive station ==== + +The [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/ShinKyoto|Kyoto station]] is an impressive modern building, +worth a visit by itself. + +{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/ShinKyoto/00015.jpg|Anime characters by Osamu Tezuka|maxwidth=640}} + +==== Shinkansen tour ==== In a jounery report, the details of transportation are usually left out as uninteresting. Except if one takes the fastest train in the world! We took the @@ -18,15 +49,16 @@ riding on a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/700_Series_Shinkansen|700-series]] tr The ticket cost a whopping 11240 yen per person, and I'm not even getting a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Express_999|machine body]] with it! ;-) -{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00006.jpg|Shinkansen|maxwidth=800}} - See [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen|the the photos]] and don't miss the -[[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00009-x264.avi|passing-by]] and the +[[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00009-x264.avi|pass-through]] and the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00011-x264.avi|on-board]] videos. +{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00006.jpg|Shinkansen|maxwidth=800}} + + === April 19th - Hakone day 2 === -{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone2/FujiSanBernieSan.jpg|The Fuji-san (left) with Bernie-san (right)|maxwidth=1024}} +{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone/FujiSanBernieSan.jpg|The Fuji-san (left) with Bernie-san (right)|maxwidth=1024}} We took the suggested touristic itinerary around the Hakone mountains which employs all sorts of transportation means: bus, cable train, rope way, cruise boat and bus again. @@ -36,16 +68,17 @@ view of the Fuji-san, the ancient cedar avenue, the old post, the detached palac beautiful [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto_shrine|shinto jinja shrine]] of with its [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii|torii]] diving in the lake. -Of course, I took plenty of [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone2|photos of the Hakone trip]]. +Of course, I took plenty of [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone/Trip|photos of the Hakone trip]]. === April 18th - Hakone === -{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone/00008.jpg|Our japanese style room at the Senkyoro YH|maxwidth=1024}} +{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone/Hostel/00008.jpg|Our japanese style room at the Senkyoro YH|maxwidth=1024}} We arrived in a small town near [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone,_Kanagawa|Hakone]]. I'll publish photos later. **Update**: [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone|photos of the hostel]] are now available. + === April 17th - Ghibli museum in Mitaka, Ginza === {{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/GhibliMuseum/00005.jpg|Robot from the ancient city of Laputa|maxwidth=800}}