I am originally from NYC, currently living in Tokyo Japan. I am a 2nd yr PhD student at The University of Tokyo. I'm studying Electronic Engineering and I have always loved the outdoors. I was a girl scout for 9 years. I've only been geocaching since September 2003, when a friend of mine in Rochester, NY convinced me it would be a great way to spend some free time. I was in the US on my between semesters break. Before I left to come back to Tokyo I ordered my own GPS. That same month I got another friend of mine into this hobby, he had already been using his GPS for driving and I got him to go to Central Park with me and find a couple of caches. One we found was called TONY and we had our picture included in a Time Out New York Magazine article on geocaching.

In Japan I have found 5 traditional caches, 1 virtual cache, and 1 event cache. I have also looked unsuccessfully for a couple more. My favorite cache was the Hanami (or cherry blossom) event cache. The first thing that makes geocaching in Tokyo so great is the contact with people from all over the world. Inside a traditional cache you can find coins from all over the world and in the logs people's impressions of the places or things they have seen. Hanami is a very traditional Japanese event and to have it paired with what I consider a predominantly Western hobby was GREAT! Everyone followed the coordinates to Ueno Park, a great place to visit, and we shared food, drink, and lots of conversation. I met Japanese Geocachers, other American Geocachers, and a Canadian Geocacher and his family. There were also travel bugs from the US, UK, Australia, Finland, and Japan; and one had just come from Antarctica. Since I have been studying Japanese for almost 4 years I was able to communicate well with the Japanese Geocachers, but the common language was English. The best thing about the cache event, for me, was meeting another new Geocacher; she and I recently went geocaching together here in Tokyo. Previously all but one of my finds here had been alone.

Of the other caches I have found, most have been in parks. Tokyo isn't known for its green space and I have really loved seeing places that I might not have otherwise seen. One was in a park near Shinjuku station, which I would say is the largest and most crowded station in Tokyo. This "Concrete Canyon Cache" was great; I wandered out of the station and made my way to this park nestled between towering buildings. It was only a virtual cache but I stayed and walked through the park because it was so lovely. One cache I recently attempted unsuccessfully was in Kyoto Japan. It was at a shrine dedicated to the Fox Guardian. This shrine was not listed as a must see in my guidebooks, but I was determined to go to find the cache. This location was simply amazing. I got a view of the city of Kyoto from the side of a mountain that was breathtaking. I took pictures just after sunset and made a promise to tell all my friends (non-Geocachers) to go and see this shrine.

Even though there aren't very many caches in Japan, less than 100 I believe, I bet the ones we have are all wonderful places to see. I have wanted to start my own, but since I will be leaving Tokyo in September 2005 I didn't think I should.

I love this hobby and appreciate it for helping to make my life in Tokyo and the world a little more exciting.