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| SUMO! | SUMO! | SUMO! |
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| SUMO! | SUMO! | Okay, so I like sumo! Some feel it is an acquired taste; it really grew on me. |
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| The Atami waterline at night. | Atami City -- Night fishing on a pier with lit bobbers. | A gold-leaf covered tea house in the MOA museum in Atami. |
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| Ever wonder where The Coffee Milk came from? This Tokyo JR station ad explains it all... | If you can make it out in the picture, there is a barker in front of the"Honky Tonk Ladies" bar dressed in an American football uniform, standing as stoically as any Buckingham Palace guard. | Tsukemono -- the pickled vegetables are made in these vats. |
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| The idea here is that when you come speeding around the corner and see this guy, you are so surprised that you slow down. I slowed down to a stop so as not to miss this exciting photo op! | Someone (no, not I) thought he needed enhancement in the way of a bit of facial hair and some lipstick. | My wife Natsu with the same fellow. I have only seen three of these guys in my somewhat extensive travels in Japan; they seem to only survive in remote areas. |
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| This temple, Todaiji, is located in Nara, which is striking distance from Kobe. It houses a huge Buddha. | Japan, being 80% mountain and 20% plain, has many waterfalls cascading down those mountains. This is just one. | You see a photo like this (from Lake Motosu), and start thinking about climbing Mt Fuji -- after all, late July/early August is peak climbing season... |
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| ...and you think, "Like the natives, I'll climb overnight and see the sunrise from the peak..." | "...and stand on the roof of Japan! After all, The Japanese have a saying: 'A wise person climbs Mt. Fuji once, but only a fool climbs more than once.'" | Well, keep in mind two things: 1) This is what the climbers look like on the top -- oblivious to the fact that it is below freezing and that they are lying on jagged rocks the size of grapefruits; and 2) The OTHER Japanese saying: "Mt. Fuji is for looking at, not climbing." |
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