If there’s one thing that Japan is famous for it’s Mount Fuji¹, which, despite its name, is actually a volcano. That meant that it had to be on the itinerary when on my first trip to Japan.

In order to get the best view I went to Kawaguchiko, which sits between Kawaguchiko lake to its north and Fuji-san to its south. When I first arrived I couldn’t see the mountain as it was covered in mist. I quickly found the lake instead.

Tokyo really is a city of contrasts. Is it the high-tech, bustling, Bladerunner-esque landscape you see on TV? Absolutely. However not all of the districts are quite as frenetic as Ginza or Shibuya. If you look hard there are also back-waters of serenity in some of the temples.

Straight off the plane I decided to lean more towards the quiet side and went to the Imperial Palace. I went straight for the canonical picture of the palace, Nijubashi Bridge.

At the beginning of October I visited Japan for the first time. I landed in Tokyo, travelled out to Mount Fuji and then west to Nagano Prefecture, finally heading back to Tokyo via Kyoto and Nara. It was a lot to try to pack in to two weeks but it worked out pretty well all things considered.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be documenting in words and pictures my trip, focusing mainly on the locations but with odd entry about the things that seemed constant throughout my time there.

My first ideas when I first heard that this weeks PhotoFriday theme was “Architecture” was New York. I flirted with other places and ideas — such as the Eiffel Tower and a couple of shots from Vienna — but I kept coming back to the sky-scrapers and bridges of Manhattan. In the end I picked this one because it has Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building.

I’m not sure if this is close or abstract enough to count as a “Macro Shot,” which is this weeks PhotoFriday challenge, but I thought that it was close enough to be a contender. It’s a picture of the dead hard disk from my MacBook.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Unforgettable.” I’m entry number 198.

People are still laying flowers and postcards near where John Lennon died nearly thirty years after his death, so I think this qualifies as being “Unforgettable,” which is this weeks PhotoFriday challenge.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Reflect.” I’m entry number 257.

• Aerial views of New York – Neat pictures of Manhattan (and bits of New Jersey).
• Wallace and Gromit to appear on Christmas stamps – For once: Christmas stamps that I approve of.
• My First Week with the iPhone – I always assumed that a touch device like the iPhone would be pretty much useless for blind users. It’s good to be wrong.

• Protest The Pope – My images from todays “Protest the Pope” march and rally in London.
• Introducing: Yummy 2.5 – New version of Yummy, my iOS Delicious.com client, is now available on the App Store. Now includes iPad support, works better on iOS4 and has experimental pinboard.in support.

In fact I’m not completely happy with this image, at least for the theme of “Reflect,” which is this weeks PhotoFriday challenge. It’s a reflection but I’m not completely sure that it means “reflect.” But I couldn’t find one (or think of one to take) that would be more appropriate, so here it is. It was taken earlier this year in New York — it’s a reflection of the Chrysler Building in the building across the road from it.

“Daybreak,” this weeks PhotoFriday, is a tricky challenge for me. I’m much more likely to be around at sunset than at day break. What can I say? I’m just not a morning person. But I will concede that getting up early, or at least not sleeping well, was worth it to see sunrise over the Himalayas.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Round.” I’m entry number 229.