K's House, Ito City in Izu

Last week Emi and I had the pleasure of spending the night at "K's House" Backpackers Hostel.
K's House is over 100 years old and is registered as a cultural heritage. It is only a couple blocks from the ocean (east coast of Izu Peninsula) and overlooks the Matsukawa river.

K's House (riverside view)

Entrance

Emi explores the different floors.

Our room

Entrance to another room

Party room

Observation tower

After checking in we went for a nice walk along the Matsukawa river where I encountered a couple of the local inhabitants.

Tough looking bird

K's house doesn't serve meals so we had dinner at a local restaurant near the Ito train station

Food and service were both excellent

We walked along the river on our return to K's

K's looks very inviting at night

Outside looking in

The staff working the front desk great us with smiles

Next morning we made coffee in the communal kitchen and enjoyed it in the lounge area

Kitchen

Lounge

There is also free Internet access in the lounge too

We could have cooked our own breakfast in the kitchen but instead we walked to a family restaurant that is only a block away and enjoyed a nice hot meal there.

In conclusion, K's House is neat, clean, cozy, the staff are friendly and the interior and exterior is awesome. Also, the room rates are cheap! We had a great stay.

All the best,
Mike

Yamashita Park

There's some kind of magic in Yamashita Park; everyone is happy! When I was there yesterday I sure felt the magic while taking these photos.

Time to feed the seagulls.

Nothing up my sleeve! It's magic!

This little guy is ready to call it a day.

Thanks for looking!
Mike

Kurihama After Work

Yesterday after work I decided to go to Kurihama and see what there was to see. After a short train ride from the Yokosuka Chuo train station i arrived and walked over to the canal that leads to the bay. As it was late in the day, many fishing boats had returned from the sea and were moored safely in the canal.

This time of year it gets dark quickly

The Keikyu bus races by, and I am almost at the beach.

Kurihama (beach)

A restaurant and a fishing tackle shop, business is slow this time of day.

On the way back to the train station I passed by a small barber shop.

Shopping street near the station.

Back at the station and I'll be on board the 17:40 express!

Thanks for stopping by.
Mike

The Grey & Gold of Yokohama

Images from last Sunday's walk about: First the grey.

The sky was grey; it was cold too!

A grey bridge

Grey street, grey jacket as well.

And now, the gold!
The streets of Yokohama are lined with gold... gold colored leaves that is.

Of course there are other colors to be scene , such as the beautiful pastel colors of the roses in the Yamashita park rose garden.

And, there's the chestnut brown hair color of these 2 young ladies taking pictures in China Town.

And lastly, the red color of the Keikyu Train at Hinodecho station. I'll be boarding the next one.

While the sky was grey and the air was cold it was still a nice day to be out and about.

All the best,
Mike

Big Band Night in Omori City

Last Saturday night Emi and I went to Omori City (near Tokyo) to enjoy a night of Big Band music, drinks and food with family and friends. If you weren't there, here's what you missed!

Great vocal singers.

Trumpet man, blow your horn!

New York, New York

I think Emi's brother is having a good time.

And, so is his wife.

The band leader tells us about the next song.

Kiyoko Yamamoto belts out a tune.

Volare, oh oh...  E contare, oh oh oh oh


Hey, that's our friend Sagi-san!

Near the end of the night some high school kids took the stage with a few of the pros and played extremely well; in fact I thought they were as good as the headliners.

It was a great night for all in attendance!

All the best,
Mike