Coffee Shop Days

Behind the counter at the family coffee shop. She made menus, advertising and cups and plates for this place. Memories!

Over the River

Some of the bridges in Kyoto are old fashioned and, perhaps for some, a little scary. We found this bridge by accident while exploring the back streets of Kyoto. It did not really make our route any shorter but it was interesting.

Under the Tracks

There is a lot of renovation activity under the tracks in Motomachi. That means that most of the shops are closed. The shutters of this shop have an interesting paint job.

Ferry to Shodoshima

This is on the ferry to Shodoshima... a power spot for Yuko.

Water Palace

We went to the Water Palace in Yogjakarta on New Year's Eve. It is a bit rundown but still an interesting detour.

Tioman Island

This island off the coast of Malaysia has very beautiful beaches and scuba diving. We went there for the beaches, not the scuba diving. The food was nothing to write home about but the overall feeling of Tioman was very laid back.

Ming ming ming

On dates in the month with a three in them (3rd, 13th, 23rd), Ming Ming Gyoza shops have special priced gyoza. We often forget about this deal but on this day, we got the special!

Shodoshima Stairs

Walking downstairs to the beach.

A Walk Past an Open Door

This is in the old Foreign Residence area in Kobe where there are many trendy shops beckoning customers to enter and spend some hard earned cash.

A Mostly Abandoned Playground

I used to live up the slope in Kitano in an area that was the home of the first zoo in Kobe. I found it hard to believe that this small place used to house animals and always held that information with a sprinkling of skepticism. But old photos of the area proved that this was, indeed, the location of the former zoo. It had but converted into a playground for children and goes mostly unused. Yuko is speeding past some tires meant to be climbed.

Hoden Shrine

We went to Hoden shrine which is just outside of Kobe. The shrine is famous for being built on a rock that looks like it is floating on water. This is Yuko jumping over some Hoden puddle... flying!

Inside a Hotel in Malacca

We stayed in Malacca, Malaysia for 2 days and saw a few of the sights in between rain storms. Here she is zipping past a large wooden mandala.

HAT Kobe

Here she is.... running through the corridors of the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art in Kobe, Japan.

Busan Biennale

walking by one of the exhibits at the bi-annual art show in Busan, Korea.

Motokotown

Under the tracks in Motokotown. The whole area is slowly being transformed... revitalized.  But now, it is mostly empty

Ikuta Shrine

This is at Ikuta Shrine in central Kobe, Japan.  There is a local festival at the shrine that coincides with the Kobe Fireworks event on the first Saturday in August.

Sagawa Museum

At Sagawa Museum on Lake Biwa. It's a long trip to this museum. Is it worth the trip?