Aquarium of the Bay – Pier 39 – San Francisco

Today’s photo comes from our trip to San Francisco this past November.

Speaking of trips… I booked my flights to Japan and Korea this morning for this summer. Strangely, it was cheaper to layover several days in Japan each way than to just book a round-trip ticket to Korea. Also, staying in Japan each way will break up what would have been two, 34+ hour one-way trips into something more realistic. I was trying various airports and days and found that if I flew to Fukuoka (through Tokyo) it was about $1,000 cheaper than just flying to Tokyo. This makes no sense, but I guess airline ticket pricing doesn’t make much sense. The super cheap fare to Fukuoka was only available for one day. I thought, oh well, I’ll just get off in Tokyo even though I also have a ticket to Fukuoka. But I’ve never been to Fukuoka so I’ll go to Kyushu for a change. On my way back from Korea I’ll get to spend a day or more in Tokyo.

So, for those of you who have been to Fukuoka, what should I see and do between Fukuoka and Osaka? I’ll have about four days. I have been to Himeji, but other than Himeji this part of Japan is all new to me.

Posted on February 22nd, 2013 under Japan, Korea, Other. Tags: kyushu, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, Nikon D600, san francisco, Travel. Comments Off on Aquarium of the Bay

I have mentioned before how late autumn hits the Tokyo area. I’m used to fall colors in October. They don’t begin in Tokyo until November and don’t reach their peak until very late in the month or even early December.

I took today’s photo near the Imperial Palace (皇居) in January!

Posted on February 21st, 2013 under Japan. Tags: autumn, japanese maple, Tokyo, 紅葉. Comments Off on Fall colors in January?

Do Not Feed the Pigeons!

Near yesterday’s photo was this sign.

Your Japanese vocabulary words for the day:
hato (ハト) = pigeon
fungai (フン害) = feces problem

Posted on February 19th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: asakusa, japanese language, signs. Comments Off on Do Not Feed The Pigeons!

Asakusa’s Sensoji – Tokyo, Japan – statue Tenryu in the Kaminarimon and a pigeon

Typically, Buddhist temples in Japan have a couple of scary-looking statues at the entrance such as the Nio. In the famous gate, kaminarimon (雷門), in Asakusa there are four statues instead of the usual two. This one of Tenryu is anything but scary, or at least that’s what the pigeons think.

Posted on February 18th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: asakusa, buddhist, Tokyo. Comments Off on Asakusa’s kaminarimon

SFMOMA
Super Nova
Japanese Manga
Takashi Murakami

I didn’t have my wide-angle lens with me when we went to San Francisco this past Thanksgiving so the photo above doesn’t really show just how large this painting is. The actual painting, only part of it shown here, is over 34 feet in length (and almost 10 feet tall).

Posted on February 17th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: anime, Japanese Manga, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, Nikon D600, san francisco. Comments Off on Takashi Murakami’s “Super Nova” at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art