Snowfall Song

 Spring is almost here. I'm taking one last look back at winter with my song "Snowfall":

Winter Walks

 We're in the middle of winter and it has become rather cold, but the sky is bright and the sun is warm. Twice during the last few weeks we've gone for walks in the large park not far from our apartment to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.

Autumn Walks

Earlier this fall, we went on several walks to enjoy the autumn colors.

At one of the parks where we like to take walks, we had seen a sign that says it's possible to see Mount Fuji when the weather conditions are right. We had great luck, and saw it for the first time around sunset.

 

Merry Christmas 2020

 I haven't posted for a long time - it seems like I do most of my blogging on Facebook now. But for anyone that still checks in with this blog and isn't on Facebook, here's a link to my video Christmas card:

Merry Christmas

Louvre in Japan

Recently, we visited the National Art Center in Tokyo to see an exhibit of works borrowed from the Louvre. The theme was the history of portraiture, and included a wide variety of styles and mediums from ancient through modern times. In the hall outside the exhibit, they had a clever photo frame where you could put your face into a frame to become one of the pieces of art. I'm also including a picture of some of the postcards that we bought at the museum shop.

Golden Week 2018

The first week in May is Golden Week in Japan. (For Wikipedia's explanation, click the link.) In past years, we've taken longer trips, but this year was more relaxed. One of the days, we went to a nearby town in the countryside and visited one of my favorite local restaurants (Brazilian food- BBQ, yum!), the uniquely styled train station next door, and a large nature park with walking paths and gardens.

Whenever we visit Mōka City,
this restaurant is my first choice for lunch.

Creative architecture for a train station that operates antique steam locomotives.

There's a museum next to the station.

Even the clock is themed.

A small exhibit of prints inside the
station included this one of... uh...

Despite this sign's "be careful of squirrels" message, in eleven years I've never seen a wild squirrel in Japan.

The roses in the garden had just started blooming.

No squirrels, but we did see many birds including dozens of herons.

Sunset Rainbow

We've lived in this apartment on the sixth floor for a few years now, and sometimes I take the view for granted. Even though the view is mostly just a typical part of town, in the evening the golden light of the sunset striking the buildings can be beautiful. A few days ago, the sunset was combined with a rainbow to make it even more spectacular. If you look at the right side of the photo, you can see part of a second rainbow near the ground.

Eclipse & Family Reunion August 2017

I'm hoping to start posting on this blog more often again. Sharing photos of last summer's family reunion and eclipse viewing party seems like a good place to start. The eclipse was indescribably spectacular, but unfortunately, due to the limitations of my camera, the photos of the event itself are not so great, so I'll post mostly photos of our activities and interactions. First, the group shot:

Fun and games and food:

This photo is actually from the "pre-party" at Jane's house.

Getting ready and the main event:

Until we meet again:

Shimoda Trip Part One - Kawazu Loop Bridge

At the end of December, we took a short trip to Shimoda at the end of the Izu Peninsula. We had originally planned to take the train, but realized that it would actually be cheaper to drive and pay the highway tolls. The drive through Tokyo wasn't much fun, but the area south of Mount Fuji was very beautiful (Nozomi had to tell me to watch the road, not the view, a couple of times).

We followed the highway down the peninsula as it wound through the mountains and I wished that we had started earlier in the day so we could have enjoyed the scenery more before it got dark. I was using Google maps on my phone for navigation, and as we started to head down out of the mountains, I saw a very strange thing on the map display: it showed the road making a complete circle. Because it was dark, I couldn't see far ahead; I thought that maybe Google maps had some kind of error. We approached the big circle on the map, and then I saw the big circle in the road.

What do you do when the road needs to descend from a mountain very quickly, but there isn't enough space? You build a circular bridge. It was rather eerie in the darkness, but very interesting to experience. We didn't have time to stop and take pictures, so I'm including some photos I found on the Internet.

From...who?

A few weeks ago, Nozomi & I returned home in the evening and saw this note on the door. I had been expecting a package from my mother, so the notice wasn't surprising. When Nozomi saw it, she laughed a bit, and then helped me read it. At the end of the blank spaces after "addressee" and "sender" there is a character that's a polite word for "Miss/Mr./Mrs." Apparently, the postman didn't want to copy full names onto the notice, so it literally says that I am "Mr. Robert" and my mother is "Mrs. foreign country".
Well, it made us laugh...

(We picked the package up at the post office later-thanks again for the fruitcake and gifts, Mom!)

America Trip 2013 Part Eight - Santa Cruz Beach

The contrast between mountains and ocean is almost always striking, and the change when travelling from the Redwood park to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is too.

We enjoyed a great time relaxing on the beach, walking along the ocean, playing more kubb, riding the famous Big Dipper roller coaster, and playing classic video games.

That looks like the end of another wonderful visit with family and friends ... see you all next time!