a long walk and sports day

the yoshino boys in blue! go team!
ha! they look all innocent now, but you haven't seen them in class!
very serious, like a samuri
the winning school (which i'll be practicing with)
pretty diversion for water
these flowers are everywhere. the leaves make me think that they're part of the carrot family.
lovely sky, yes?
yes, the sign says that the green, murky water is bad, i think that i'll believe them... FOR NOW!!!
not the usual buddha. three faces and many arms, i wonder what/who it is?

drinking with protective glasses

at the fuji grand, this was the sign in the food court.

so here's the birthday boy with his special protective glasses. kam with the protective glasses
some drunk people: kiet, lou, me, and ash.
i need protection too!
kiet, kiki, and dani.
a little washed out, but ange needed the glasses. then there's eric upside down in the back.

when we were ready to go last night, here's eric and lou barring the door.

band party and fall festival

the one on the right is last chair clarinet, and she's hilarious because she always looks scared about everything, even taking a picture.

little chefs hard at work.
very steep stairs to get to this shrine. whew!
some offerings.
little kid with a toy pistol.ah-ha. women arn't usually allowed to do this sort of thing! take that sexism!
cute huh? all of their fathers are part of the team, so i guess it's extra insentive not to tip it over.
wide view of the palanquin.

week vacation part three

these is where i splashed around.
one end of a vine bridge.
this was fun, you get in and pull yourself across.
the onsen we stayed at (this is not the cabin obviously)
vine bridge.

week vacation part two

really nice buddhas up in the mountains.
very pretty, yes?
here's brendan, a little too tall at times. :)
this is the bridge in the arashiyama (sp) area. this japanese guy just happened to be admiring the river.
a sleeping guy! it made me smile.

week vacation part one

this bear has BALLS!
over a thousand little buddhas at this temple used to mark graves.
very nice wall screen
here i am at the golden pavillion. far too many people, and not that cool, but it's one of THE places to go apparently. fine: been there, done that.
i love finding little out of the way temples that are empty and lovely with their attention to nature and not gaudiness. this was one of those.

biking and other things

this a machine that sucks the water out of the paper.
here's lou adding some color
one of the displays. the paper is so beautiful.
the paper factory.
it's a man-kite!

and under this is the elementary enkai (i love the order that my computer decides that pictures should be in, which has nothing to do with the order i picked)
this is the view in the town that has the paper factory.

this is a love hotel. it's a place that japanese couples go to have sex. in a country of small quarters, thin walls, and living with your grandparents and kids; these hotels are a useful aspect of society. and also hilarious to see this little castle!
there's some diagreement over this animal. is it a bear or a racoon? well it's a boy, that's for certain!
and aparently, i have a store and it's international?