Yokohama Year End Round About

This is a collection of pictures I took while I was out wondering about in Yokohama over the last couple of weeks.

One thing I like about Yokohama is the people. They get out and enjoy their city.

Most of the people I meet are smiling.

Another nice thing about this city is that there are many open spaces for people to walk about and not feel all closed in by a concrete jungle.

Even the dogs are happy here.

Public transportation is clean, safe, user friendly and punctual. What more could one ask for?

Even shopping for the daily necessities can be a fun adventure.

Standing on the corner waiting for the light to change.  

The streets are an integral part of the community.

Yamashita park is an ideal place to visit. A person can walk, run, sit, stand, or do all of the above.

There's plenty of room for everyone.

Rivers crisscross the city and become natural borders for separating the different cultural districts.

The sidewalks are nice and wide - a pedestrian's paradise.

Panoramic vistas are abundant.

And, there is always a rose available somewhere for a person to stop and smell.

Give me a home where the bicycles roam, and the beer flows freely all night!

The streets are a natural canvas for an artist to paint a picture of people living together in peaceful harmony.

I can sum up Yokohama in one short sentence: This is a good city!

Thanks for stopping by!
Mike

Christmas in Izu 2014

This year it was Christmas on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The first stop on our little Christmas adventure was the port town of Shimoda.

It was a beautiful day for walking around.

Some say that the salt air of a seaside resort town is good for ones health. I think this mail box might disagree with that concept.

December 25th and the leaves on this cherry tree are still hanging on.

After departing Shimoda we started working our way up the west coast of the Izu peninsula and that's when the wind started picking up. The west coast is more scenic in a rocky jagged coastline sort of way.

Next stop on our agenda was the sleepy little town of  Kumomi. This was originally a whaling village but now they cater to sport divers and hot spring resort lovers.

Someone is making convenient use of a roadside guardrail to dry out their daikon radishes.

Fishing boats hauled out of the water in the foreground.

Wind barriers erected on the beach for the winter.

A free hot spring bath with a waterfront view.  This is living!

As we work our way further up the west coast I see Mt Fuji poking out of the clouds.

The roads on the west coast wind around the hill sides giving us breath taking vista views at every turn.

Our first view of the town of Matsuzaki. This is where we'll be spending the night. The building on the beach is the hotel where we'll be staying.

A view of the Sun setting from our hotel room.

The high winds had subsided by next morning so we went out for a stroll around the town.

A corner store that sold a bit of everything.

Nice and quiet around here.

A typical style of the old structures in Matsuzaki town.

After checking out of our hotel we continued to work our way up the west coast to the town of Heda.

In Heda the view of Mt Fuji was better.

Waterfront entrance to a local shrine.

Move over Godzilla, there's a new monster in town.

Ok, it's a float for children to play on in the summer when the beach is open.

One last shot of a beautiful tree on the beach and then it's time to head for home.

Thanks for stopping by!
Mike