Saturday, May 23, 2009

Yokohama












This huge ferris wheel looks small from so high in Landmark Tower. The clock on the ferris wheel is supposed to be one of the largest in the world.











The bottom few floors of Landmark Tower are a shopping mall. It seemed very American to us with lots of American stores.











This was an interesting metal sculpture--no idea what it's about.













These escalators had two going down and one going up and they spanned 3 floors. Notice Snoopy going for a jog along-side.
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Yokohama
















This is the Landmark Tower in Yokohama. It has the fastest elevator in Japan with one of the highest observation floors in Japan.











The view of the bay from the top of Landmark Tower











Looking north towards Tokyo, you can faintly see the downtown Tokyo skyline.











This is the city of Yokohama. Even though it's very crowded, they always make room for parks.
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Yokohama












Jim and Pat by the Yokohama bay with the city skyline in the background











This is a mosaic of the bay as it looked back in 1869. This year they are celebrating 140 years since being the first port of Japan to open to foreign ships.











Lots of people were strolling along the elevated walkway from the bay to the downtown area.












Jim in front of a sailing vessel.
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Yokohama Roses




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Roses in Yokohama












Pat & Sister Hill getting ready to enjoy all the beautiful roses in a Yokohama park along the bay.










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Yokohama China Town
















Sister Hill and Pat ready to go through one of the main gates in Yokohama's China Town.











One of the crowded shopping areas. Lots to look at and enjoy!











This was the biggest of the gates we saw.











Some of the detail on the gate.
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Sunday, May 3, 2009

The people in Kyoto












This family was walking along the street in Gion











These ladies were all dressed in their kimonos with sun umbrellas for a nice day in the city.















We saw a real geisha with her companion. Isn't she incredible?!!












We are with our tour guide for the last day in Kyoto--our very own Haruki Ogawa (used to be Elder Ogawa). We loved spending the day with him as he showed us around.
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Buildings in the city of Kyoto
















The modern--











The European style















This had Spanish influence











These traditional Japanese buildings are in the oldest part of Kyoto called Gion.
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Where we stayed--The Hotel Monterey Kyoto
















This is the hotel where we stayed











A picture of the entrance











This chapel was inside the hotel--to be used for weddings.












This was our gorgeous foyer with chandelier.
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The Kiyomizu Buddhist Temple











This line of people are waiting to fill a cup of water from one of there fountains. You could choose the one for good health, good wealth, or good wisdom. Which would you choose?











This smaller buddha was nevertheless quite impressive.











Notice the latticework of wood supporting the temple buildings.











This view shows the rock wall supporting another part of the temple complex.
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