Promenade on a beautiful day

Promenade - A leisurely walk, one taken as a social activity in a public place.

What a great idea, turn an everyday walk-about into a social event. Get out of the house and swim in the mainstream of life. Enjoy the sights and sounds of people and places that surround you. Don't just walk to get from "A" to "B", walk at a leisurely pace in public places and soak in the atmosphere of society. Let's go!

I'm liking what I see already.

When you pass by people don't forget to smile, maybe even nod your head and exchange a greeting.

It's always good to dress up a little for a Promenade.

Maybe this idea isn't for everyone, but that's OK; we're all good friends on a beautiful sunny day.

Couples make the ideal promenaders.

This is what one could call inexpensive social interaction; in other words, a cheap date. You call your girl friend and say something like "hey sweetheart, let's go out" and she could reply "where too?" and he could respond "promenade".  Next thing you know the two are out walking, talking, smiling, laughing; it's great!

Sometimes it's good to pause a moment and let the world swirl around you.

A beer runner! Like Gunga Din ferrying water to the troops this young man is delivering cold beer to the front line of social interaction.

I think Gunga Din is going to be very busy today.

Meanwhile, it looks like a cruise ship has moored at the Yokohama International Terminal. Let us saunter over there for a closer look.

Water jets are coming around the bend.

With sauntering in progress I see I'm not the only guy out here taking pictures.

Man! this is a big ship!

The topside of the Yokohama International Passenger Terminal (better known locally as "Osanbashi")  is a great place for strolling about.

There's a nice view of the Yokohama Bay Bridge from there too!

Yamashita Park - where the fashionably elite meet for a  leisurely walk, or as might be said "to stretch ones legs".

Me and my shadow.

When out meandering about it is absolutely OK to take a break, and Yokohama Park is a good place to do it.

Is she practicing a little crowd control? Or, perhaps she's saying "no way" to the whole "cheap date" concept.

While ambling through the Bashamichi district I noticed these Halloween candies on display in the window of a confectioners store.

As usual my feet lead me to the back streets of the Noge entertainment district.

Looking is free - that's the beauty of promenading about.

I think it's catching on!

On such a nice day the customers would rather enjoy their drinks outside.

Speaking of drinks, I've been walking all day and I need a drink. Permission granted!

By the time I've extracted myself from the drinking establishment twilight has  engaged the back streets giving the place a mystical atmosphere.

The lanterns light the way as the sun slowly sets.

Night life!

 Even KFC looks like the place to be at night. Just kidding!

Since I prefer to take my walks during the day I think I'll call it a day and head home.

All pictures taken with Panasonic GX7 and GX1 cameras with various prime lens.

Thanks for stopping by!
Mike

I've Been to the Mountain - and Kofu City too!

Yes, I've been to the Mountain, Mt. Fuji that is, and now I know the meaning of life. But, who cares about the meaning of life, I'd rather talk about the weekend. We decided to go to Yamanashi prefecture for the weekend and buy some grapes. We left early in the morning and traveled via the Mt. Fuji 5 lakes area on the way there.

First stop was Lake Kawaguchi. Even though the weather wasn't the best it was still beautiful.

Grey skies can be off set by the newly blooming cosmos.

In fact if it wasn't for the cosmos flowers I'd have had a difficult time finding a way to make these shots interesting.

I don't know what this flower is but it didn't stop me from taking a picture of it.

Somebody was out for some early morning fishing.

There is one sure way to spoil a picture.

After visiting a hot spring for a couple hours for some rest and relaxation we checked into our hotel and then went for a walk around Kofu city. We've been to Kofu before and it's a wonderful city, however this time we stumbled into the part of the town that is in a state of decline.

Christians to the rescue! I was a bit surprised to see this little church.

Emi is ready! To bad she's about 5 hours to early.

More businesses that are out of business

This entertainment street is quite depressing. I'm sure it's seen better days.

Day two and we're back on the road visiting more of the lakes around Mt. Fuji. This is Lake Shoji, the smallest of the 5 lakes.

And, there's more cosmos in bloom here too!

There was quite a bit of activity around Lake Shoji.

One last shot before we moved on.

Next up is Lake Motosu. By now the clouds were starting to move in around Mt. Fuji so we didn't linger very long.

As our final sightseeing destination of the day we visited Shiraito waterfall. This is a beautiful waterfall but it has always been and continues to be a challenge for me to photograph. I just can't seem to capture the sense of wonderment I feel when I'm looking at it. I guess that's a good excuse for us to visit again in the future.

Back on the road and it's time to start the long drive home.

One last shot of the day. This is one of our favorite restaurants. The food is reasonably priced, tastes great and the service is top notch. Whenever we're in this part of Japan we always eat here even if it means having to eat lunch late in the day; which was the case today.

All pictures taken with a Sigma SD1 Merrill camera and  Sigma lenses:  30mm and 10~20mm zoom.

Thanks for stopping by!
Mike