Daimonji Bon-Fire, Kyoto

Daimonji is one of the iconic festivals of Kyoto, Japan. It is the culmination of the O-Bon festival on August 16th, in which five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city. It signifies the moment when the spirits of deceased family members, who are said to visit this world during O-Bon, are believed to be returning to the spirit world—thus the name Okuribi (送り火) (roughly, "send-off fire").

The origins of the festival are obscure, but it is believed to be ancient. Specific families have the hereditary duty of organizing all the logistics of the bonfires, and they spend many hours annually providing volunteer labor to maintain this tradition.

Snow & Daisen

Daisen is a volcanic mountain located in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. It has an elevation of 1,729 metres. This mountain is the highest in the Chūgoku region, and the most important volcano on the Daisen volcanic belt. The Daisen volcanic belt is a part of Southwest Honshū volcanic arc, where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting under the Amurian Plate. Daisen is a complex volcano, made by repeated volcanic activity over thousands of years. Eruptions in this area started 1.8 million years ago and resulted in Old Daisen some 500,000 years ago. The Daisen of today, New Daisen, resulted from a second group of eruptions which started 50,000 years ago and ended 10,000 years ago in the caldera of Old Daisen. 50,000 years ago, this mountain had a plinian eruption from which volcanic ash can be found as far away as the Tohoku Region of Japan. This mountain is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan, and also one of the Chūgoku 100 mountains.

Kurobe Dam

The Kurobe Dam or Kuroyon Dam, is a variable-radius arch dam on the Kurobe River in Toyama Prefecture on the island of Honshū, Japan. It supports the 335 MW Kurobe No. 4 Hydropower Plant and is owned by Kansai Electric Power Company. At 186 metres (610 ft) high, it is the tallest dam in Japan. It was constructed between 1956 and 1963 at a cost of ¥51.3 billion yen. The project was a difficult engineering feat for the rapidly growing post-World War II Japan, and claimed the lives of 171 people.

The Kurobe Dam is a 492 m (1,614 ft) long and 186 m (610 ft) high variable-radius (dome) arch dam. The dam is 39.7 m (130 ft) wide at its base, 8.1 m (27 ft) wide at its crest and contains 1,582,845 m3 (2,070,283 cu yd) of concrete. The dam is flanked and supported by two "wing" dams; the one on the left bank is 69 m (226 ft) long and the right is 56 m (184 ft). The dam withholds a reservoir with a capacity of 199,285,175 m3 (260,655,168 cu yd) of which 148,843,000 m3 (194,679,000 cu yd) is live (active or "useful") storage. The reservoir also has a catchment area of 188.5 km2 (72.8 sq mi) and surface area of 3.49 km2 (1.35 sq mi). The dam's spillway is located on its crest and contains 10 11.5 m (38 ft) wide uncontrolled openings with a maximum discharge capacity of 906 m3/s (32,000 cu ft/s). Three other openings exist in the dam's orifice which consist of 1.5 m (4.9 ft) diameter pipes, two of which can discharge a maximum of 88 m3/s (3,100 cu ft/s) each and the third 44 m3/s (1,600 cu ft/s). The dam's crest elevation is 1,454 m (4,770 ft) above sea level while the reservoir's normal operating level is 1,448 m (4,751 ft) and low level is considered 1,338 m (4,390 ft). The dam's power station, Kurobe No. 4, is located underground and contains four generators which are powered by Pelton turbines for a total installed capacity of 335 MW and average annual generation of 1 billion kWh. The power station is 22 m (72 ft) wide, 33 m (108 ft) high and 117 m (384 ft) long. The penstock serving water to the power station is 10,909.6 m (35,793 ft) long and utilizes a maximum effective hydraulic head of 545.5 m (1,790 ft) while transferring a maximum of 72 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s) to the turbines. The plant's surge chamber is 145.6 m (478 ft) long and 5 m (16 ft) high.

Sugi on the island of Yakushima

Cryptomeria is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae; it includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica (syn.: Cupressus japonica L.f.). It is endemic to Japan, where it is known as Sugi (Japanese: 杉). The tree is often called Japanese Cedar in English, though the tree is not related to the cedars (Cedrus). In Darjeeling district and Sikkim in India, where it is one of the most widely growing trees, Cryptomeria japonica is called Dhuppi and is favoured for its light wood, extensively used in house building. It is a very large evergreen tree, reaching up to 70 m (230 ft) tall and 4 m (13 ft) trunk diameter, with red-brown bark which peels in vertical strips. The leaves are arranged spirally, needle-like, 0.5–1 cm (0.20–0.39 in) long; and the seed cones globular, 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) diameter with about 20–40 scales. It is superficially similar to the related Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), from which it can be differentiated by the longer leaves (under 0.5 cm in the Giant Sequoia) and smaller cones (4–6 cm in the Giant Sequoia), and the harder bark on the trunk (thick, soft and spongy in Giant Sequoia). Sugi (and Hinoki) pollen is a major cause of hay fever in Japan.

Mt. Fuji and Tea Fields

Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 m (12,388 ft). Along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku, it is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains". An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji is just west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers.

On this card you may see tea fields at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

Hiroshima: Remember the history

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It became the first city in history destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15am on August 6, 1945, near the end of World War II. Hiroshima gained municipality status on April 1, 1889, and on April 1, 1980, became a designated city. The city's current mayor is Tadatoshi Akiba.

During World War II, the Second Army and Chugoku Regional Army were headquartered in Hiroshima, and the Army Marine Headquarters was located at Ujina port. The city also had large depots of military supplies, and was a key center for shipping. The bombing of Tokyo and other cities in Japan during World War II caused widespread destruction and hundreds of thousands of deaths, nearly all civilians. For example, Toyama, an urban area of 128,000, was nearly fully destroyed, and incendiary attacks on Tokyo are credited with claiming 90,000 lives. There were no such air raids in Hiroshima. However, the threat was certainly there and to protect against potential firebombings in Hiroshima, students (between 11–14 years) were mobilized to demolish houses and create firebreaks. On Monday, August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM, the nuclear bomb 'Little Boy' was dropped on Hiroshma by an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, directly killing an estimated 80,000 people. By the end of the year, injury and radiation brought total casualties to 90,000-140,000. Approximately 69% of the city's buildings were completely destroyed, and about 7% severely damaged. Research about the effects of the attack was restricted during the occupation of Japan, and information censored until the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951, restoring control to the Japanese.

Hirosaki Castle

Hirosaki Castle is a hirayama-style Japanese castle constructed in 1611. It was the seat of the Tsugaru clan, a 47,000 koku tozama daimyō clan who ruled over Hirosaki Domain, Mutsu Province, in what is now central Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Hirosaki Castle measures 612 meters east-west and 947 meters north-south. Its grounds are divided into six concentric baileys, which were formerly walled and separated by moats. It is unusual in that its Edo period donjon and most of its outline remains intact. Noted historian and author Shiba Ryōtarō praised it as one of the "Seven Famous Castles of Japan" in his travel essay series Kaidō wo Yuku.

The current donjon of the castle was completed in 1811. It is a three-story building with three roofs, and a height of 14.4 meters. The design is smaller than early Edo-period varieties of donjons, and it was built on a corner of the inner bailey on the site of a yagura, rather than the stone base of the original donjon. The small size was partly due to the restricted finances of the domain towards the end of the Edo period, but its location and design were also intended to alleviate concerns which might be raised by the Tokugawa shogunate should a larger structure be built. At present, it is a separate standing structure; however, prior to 1896 it had an attached gatehouse. The donjon is surrounded by three surviving yagura from the Edo period, on its second bailey, and five surviving gates in the walls of its second and third baileys. All of these structures, including the donjon itself, are National Important Cultural Properties.

The surrounding Hirosaki Park around the castle grounds is one of Japan's most famous cherry blossom spots. Over a million people enjoy the park's 2600 trees during the sakura matsuri when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, usually during the Japanese Golden Week holidays in the end of April and beginning of May

Hachimanbori Canal in Spring

Ōmihachiman is a city located in Shiga, Japan.The city was founded on March 31, 1954.

"Ōmihachiman" means "Hachiman in Ōmi". This is caused when Hachiman Town (the forerunner of this city) became a city, there was the city of Yahata in Fukuoka Prefecture. In Japanese, "Hachiman" and "Yahata" are written by same kanji. To avoid being confused, "Ōmi" was added. Hachiman is the Shinto god of war. Ironically, from the western point of view, his symbol is the dove.

American architect William Merrent Vories spent most of his productive life here.

FDC from Japan: Year of the Tiger

Just after 9 days of the New Year Issue's releasing, Japan Post issued another sheet on 20.November.2009 to welcome the coming Chinese Year of the Tiger.

In this sheet there are 10 stamps, whose face value is 800 Yen totally.

I got this FDC by the end of November, which was in a good condition.

FDC from Japan: 2010 New Year Issue

On 11.November.2009 Japan Post issued a set of 4 stamps on 2010 New Year. A friend of my friend's was so kind that he sent me this self-made FDC from Aichi.

On the cover you may see other 2 definitives and the four stamps. Very beautiful, isn't it?

Mt.Kaerazu, Japan

Mt.Fuji

Hiroshima, Japan

This card shows the Memorial Hall of Peace in Horishma, Japan. The Hall was founded by the Japanese national government to mourn the a-bomb victims in 2002.

Tokyo, Japan

The sender from Japan can write good Chinese!

Japan

Nagoya, Japan

Plane, Japan

Shirayama, Japan

My second postcard from Japan~~

Tokyo, Japan

My first postcard from Japan.It's so lovely that I enjoy it quite a lot!