Gouka Seishi » Photography

Manchester

keith morrell — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:03:36 +0000

Manchester is a city based North West, England. The city is most famous for the football teams Manchester United and Manchester City around the World, but it has many places to go shop too. I wouldn’t usually post about Manchester, as it is so close to where I live, but I was told about the view over the city you could see.

Their is a bar at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester called Cloud 23 where you can see this view over Manchester, I recommend going the next time you visit as the atmosphere is nice and the view’s aren’t too bad either.

View over Manchester:

Whitby 2010

keith morrell — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 11:59:40 +0000

I went to Whitby this June, a seaside town on the Yorkshire coast.

Usually Whitby is pretty nice on a warm day, but on the day I chose to go it was so windy. I love Whitby, so if you have a chance to go and it is a good day, go! Whitby is pretty famous for being the place from which Captain Cook sailed and for Dracula too.

You can read more about Whitby here and here.

My girlfriend discovered how windy Whitby can be :

Fish ‘N’ Chips (Fish and Chips):

We went to this small fish and chip restaurant, was a pretty nice place and a good price.

Whitby Abbey:

Whitby Harbour:

Some pretty cool shops:

Hayaku: A Time Lapse Journey Through Japan

keith morrell — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:45:16 +0000

A great time lapse video by Brad Kremer called “Hayaku: A Time Lapse Journey Through Japan”. A brilliant video taken with a Canon 5DMKII in many locations around Japan in the summer of 2009. Some of the location include Tokyo, Matsuyama, Imabari, Nagano, Gifu, and Ishizushisan.

So beautiful.

Hayaku: A Time Lapse Journey Through Japan from Brad Kremer on Vimeo.

via Snow Magazine

A few days in Japan (Video)

keith morrell — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:40:59 +0000

A super fast video of Japan, the music is mental, but Japan still looks awesome. I miss them vending machines, they make life so much easier!

A few days in japan from Charlesque on Vimeo.

Original by Charlesque

17 Nights in Japan

keith morrell — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:38:32 +0000

A 17 Day Diary of my trip to Japan, from Tokyo – Koriyama. My experiences of Japan, and how much I wish I was right back there now!

(Click on the images below to view the diary posts ).

Day 17: The Flight From Tokyo – Manchester

keith morrell — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 14:52:11 +0000

Leaving Tokyo on my 17th day was so bad , I left the hotel at 7am in the morning and caught the shuttle bus from my hotel in Ikebukuro to Narita Airport. My hotel in Tokyo was amazing, the staff we’re so helpful at the Tokyo Metropolitan Hotel.

I got to Narita Airport for 9am and had two hours to waste till my flight. I settled for something from McDonalds for my breakfast, and this time it was easier to order! I wanted something Japanese but I didn’t have enough yen to buy anything.

Cloudy dull clouds behind Swiss Air A340 plane I caught back.

We took off at 11am on the way back to England, with one short stop in Zurich, Switzerland.

The view out of my window.

30 Minutes into the flight the cabin crew came round with drinks and I got a vodka and coke . The food then came round about 30 minutes late and I got more vodka and coke + a Japanese noodle dish which was so nice .

The flight from Tokyo – Zurich didn’t seem to take so long, I had the seat next to me free so I managed to stretch my legs out for once! I watched three films too, which we’re: Where The Wild Things Are, The Fantastic Mr Fox & Ninja Assassin + Tom & Jerry .

I landed back in Switzerland 1 hour and 40 minutes early, I was so tired at this point and I had to wait for the next flight back to Manchester, England at 5pm in Switzerland.

The plane next to myn in Zurich, it was around 19°C in Switzerland after I cold start in Tokyo I thought Manchester would be nice and warm too!

The view from my window

I landed back in England for around 6:30pm, met my parents and as soon as I stepped outside Manchester Airport it was cold and raining. What a welcome back to England!

I really wish I can go back to Tokyo and Japan, I miss it so much!

Day 16: Odaiba and Shibuya, Statue of Nihon!

keith morrell — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:39:06 +0000

Day 16, my final full day in Tokyo/Japan .

I headed to Shibuya to meet up with Kaori ♥ a nice girl I met at the party in Harajuku earlier on my holiday. I got to Shibuya a bit early and decided to go for a wonder around a few shops and got lost in one too! I managed to get out of the shop I was in and make my way towards Hachiko (the dog statue, as I called it).

Me and Kaori spent some time around Shibuya before she took me to Odaiba which I had been to once before, but not during the day.

Tokyo Harbour

The view over Tokyo Harbour was so beautiful, I love Odaiba as the views around Odaiba are so nice and it’s so modern.

A small Statue of Liberty in Odaiba (I named it the Statue of Nihon).

Fuji Tv

Whilst walking around Odaiba I saw this Stussy poster so I had to go into the mall to try find it and also check out some of the other shops.

I managed to buy the only descent t shirt I could find whilst in Tokyo, which said “Tokyo” on it from the Stussy store

We then headed for something quick to drink at Starbucks , I had a Sakura Frapuccino which was out for the season in Japan meaning “Cherry Blossom”.

By the time we had left the mall area it was dark outside. The view of Tokyo Harbour at night is amazing with the Rainbow Bridge and all of the lights litting up over Tokyo, it is something I’m glad I was able to see.

Tokyo & the Rainbow Bridge

Myself and Kaori ♥

We had to leave Odaiba around 8pm and head back to Shibuya to meet some more friends I met at the party in Harajuku. We met up with David and Mai and the first went to was a place full of photobooths which Japanese girls supposively love (purikura). The photobooth was pretty cool, well different to anything over in England. When all photo’s are taken and developed it sort of photoshops the picture, tt’s really strange, but cool too as my eyes on the pictures came out looking fake.

We then went for a meal at a place called “The Lock Up” a themed restaurant. it was so awesome inside, it’s based on a dungeon and your greeted after walking through a spooky entrance by a girl wearing some explorer outfit. Your taken to a cell and monsters come round and scare the girls, it’s massive!

The meal at the end:

(From right to left (Me, Mai, David & Kaori)

The menu was themed too, the drink’s came in test tubes and beakers and the food menu had Russian Roulette with Takoyaki (Octopus balls, but one has tobasco sauce in it).

A beef dish we had:

Before the end my friends bought me a leaving gift and a cake, I was so surprised.

The cake :

The Gift I was bought

It’s a cute dog like thing which comes out of a green pea pod (mame in Japanese). You can see a better example of it here on TokyoLuv if you scroll down.

After the meal I left Mai and David and headed to Shinjuku with Kaori before I had to leave to go back to my hotel .

Day 15: Kamakura

keith morrell — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:33:18 +0000

On my 15th day as I lost my JR PASS I decided to go to Kamakura which is about an hour below Tokyo by train.

The best thing to get to Kamakura is the Kamakura Enoshima Free Kippu which costs around 1600 JPY which allows you to catch a train to Kamakura and any train around Kamakura.

When I got to Kamakura I was pretty lost, but I heard some American voices and round the corner came two nice girls (one American and one who is Swedish) and a group of American’s. I asked them if they knew where the Giant Buddha of Kamakura was and they explained they were heading their too so they let me tag along with them which was ace .

We caught a train and we didn’t have to walk far to see the Buddha.

The Giant Buddha of Kamakura

Me, Ashley and Luvan.

Sakura near the Buddha

We left the giant Buddha and headed as a group around the souvenir shops and found a nice little restaurant to have something to eat…

My lunch: Rice, fried tofu, pickles, chicken, vegetable tempura.

After the meal we found the Hase Temple in Kamakura which is so beautiful.

Blossom

Jizo Bosatsu

Bamboo

View over Kamakura

After seeing the Hase Temple I had to leave Luvan, Ashley and her family in Kamakura to go back to Tokyo to meet Kumiko.

I met Kumiko at Hamamatsucho Station, Tokyo and she took me to a Sake bar.

I tried 6 different types of Sake, and it tastes so weird.

I professional Sake taster was next to me and a Japanese man who knew some English started asking me how I liked Sake. I think he was surprised I was trying Sake and he gave me a snack which is had with Sake as a souvenir.

The snack is basically dried sardines in a spicy powder, I said thank you and gave it to Kumiko for her dad .

We then went for food and I had the following:

Tuna & Squid Sushi

Stir Fry Beef

Fried chicken

A beef dish

And I also had wontons and pizza , yum I loved how mixed Japanese food was.

After the meal I left Kumiko, she was so nice and cool for showing me random places in Tokyo and putting up with my bad Japanese!

Kumiko

Day 14: Akihabara – Part Two

keith morrell — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:45:56 +0000

After spending the morning in Roppongi I went to Akihabara. Akihabara was a lot smaller then first expected, I was expecting loads of electronics but Akihabara didn’t disapoint with the amount of manga/anime and neon signs!

I also didn’t see any of the famous maid’s till nearer the end of my day, I saw them but they looked so young which was a little scary in a way with what they were wearing. They were probably older then me, but I can’t tell the difference in age in Japan! Apart from really old and really young .

I wanted to experience a maid cafe, but didn’t in the end. I couldn’t work out where to go !

Views of Akihabara

I loved the illustrations on the top of this sign.

Taito Station

Toys in just one Akihabara shop

My 14th day was so eventful, I loved Akihabara best though.

Day 14: Roppongi, Cops – Part One

keith morrell — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:24:17 +0000

On my 14th Day I headed to Roppongi, I didn’t really want to go here at first as it’s mainly known as an area for gaijin (foreigner) and I wanted to experience the culture of Japan more.

To get to Roppongi I caught the JR Yamanote line from Ikebukuro to Yurakucho and then caught the Hibiya Metro Line to Roppongi :0).

When I got to Roppongi to find Roppongi Hills was pretty easy as it is well sign posted, so I headed towards Roppongi Hills and on my way I got stopped my three police officers (one female and two male).

I either looked really shifty or it may have been the fact I had my full tattoo showing, but the female officer was so polite and nice and I my bag was searched and I was also searched before I was able to get on my way to Roppongi Hills.

Roppongi Hills Tower

Spider

Tokyo Tower from Roppongi

View from Roppongi

After viewing the beautiful views over Tokyo on a sunny day I decided to try Ramen for the first time, it’s so hard to eat and slurp like the locals do. When I ate it I kept doing spaghetti kisses!

After seing Roppongi from the tower I had a walk around Roppongi Hills before heading to Akihabari.

Gouka Seishi » Photography

Manchester

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