Tea house in northern Taiwan – inspiration for Miyazaki’s famous “Spirited Away” animation.
Northern shore of Taiwan
First class lunch on a Hello Kitty themed airplane
Royal chambers in Kumamoto’s Castle
Ninja
Make way for royalty
Elegance
This mango is worth over $40!!!
One of my favorite onsen in Kurokawa onsen village.
Waterfall in Aso
Dolphin migration in Amakuza
One of Aso’s craters
Mom’s first (and last?) nomihodai
Friends from around the world
Fallen petals
Walk in the park
Bento lunch
Ahhh sakura time
Cherry blossoms close up
By the castle
A bride on her photo shoot
Plum blossoms in spring
“The sleeping Buddha” – a small mountain range in Aso
Sculpted greenery
Rustic warm-up
Ahhhhh onsen
Warm up spot
Eating my cooked egg while warming my feet ; )
Eggs cooking in hot, sulfur water
You can stand up in this onsen
So relaxing! This one had a giant waterfall through those slat windows
On the way to Kurakawa
Plum blossom viewing in Hitoyoshi
Finally – spring!
March graduation
Miniatures displayed for Doll Festival
Eel on the left, eel guts in the chopsticks on the right
Doll Festival in Yanagawa
Yanagawa City
Doll festival mobiles
Eel in Yanagawa
Many women dress up in traditional garb for the Doll Festival
A couple of the cutest dolls at the doll fest
Kumamoto bike race – warm-up lap
European area of Kobe
Women only carts to ward off the perverts
View over Kobe
The heart of Osaka
Pericura photo booths
Fashionable parents
Over the river in Osaka
Cosplay
Homage to lives lost in Nagasaki atomic bombing
Ground Zero – where Nagasaki was bombed
Fish Lanterns
Lanterns by night, lining the walkway overhead
Dragon parade
Year of the Dragon
Nagasaki nightscape
Lanterns by day
Acrobatics
Fried whale snacks
Good luck for the new year = Severed pig heads
From atop an elephant. Jeez they have big heads.
Lad(ie)s of Thailand
Temple in Chiang Mai
Dancers at the temple
Muay Thai fight
Burmese craftswoman
Woman from the “longneck” tribe of Burma.
Golden Thai temple
Monks doing thier thing
So beautiful, it makes you wanna be Buddhist
Sunset off of Phi Phi
Loving Life
Shrine to the King – ubiquitous in Thailand. Speaking ill of the King is illegial so watch it!
This man was jackhammering without shoes on at 12am in Bankok. Wow.
My new favorite – Jack Fruit
Purdy persimmons
Taking in the post-Thanksgiving leaves and sunshine
Japan’s autumn
The leaves have finally turned
A local Ueki woman performing tea ceremony in her immaculate tea house
View from inside the tea house
Drying persimmons
Fall leaves at the tea house
Love you Laura!
Fukuoka pagoda
Fukuoka is known for it’s street food. Seating included!!! (p.s. Nick has a beard ; p )
The mean streets of Fukuoka
Salt is thrown to purify the area.
Big stomps drive out evil spirits.
Judges convene to discuss close calls.
Many countries are represented and the homeland is honored on $5-6k silk wraps adorned with gold.
Contestents show their stuff. There are about 800 wrestlers who will compete this year.
All kinds of spectators come to enjoy the show.
An effigy of a Shinto shine tops the fighting area.
Players grapple to topple one another or to put the other opponent out of the ring.
The view from the Mt. Aso area
This is my backyard. I told you I was living remotley!!
Fastest train…EVER!
My Shinkansen lunch : )
A beautiful Kyobento meal served in it’s own little drawer.
“Tori” arches strectch all across the Fushimi Inara Shrine
Kinkakuji or “The Golden Pavillion”
Mochi balls or “dango” – a local treat.
Ornate graves leading up to a temple
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Crowd control at the Drunken Horse Festival
Drunken Horse
A meal with friends by the ocean. I love all of the different types of food you get to eat in one meal. They’re usually full of flavors, vitamins and freshness.
New friends! This is at the nomehodai. That’s right, Japan has a word for “all-you-can-drink-party” since it happens so frequently.
Tasty tasty ramen : )
An all you can drink party with a little innocent Japanese television hanging out in the background.
Recycling happens just once a week in Ueki and the whole town trickles into the City Hall parking lot to put their recycling into a shocking plethora of different categories.
the new pics are fantastic!!! 🙂 thought of you (before seeing these pics) as i was admiring the tripped-out japanese maple tree, all blinged-up by the rising sun. i encountered it while walking the dog (that i am taking care of til dec1 in bayside) on thanksgiving morning … *big hugs again*
the new pics are fantastic!!! 🙂 thought of you (before seeing these pics) as i was admiring the tripped-out japanese maple tree, all blinged-up by the rising sun. i encountered it while walking the dog (that i am taking care of til dec1 in bayside) on thanksgiving morning … *big hugs again*