A disaster prevention drill for nursury school kids, January 13, 2017 

 

This is part of a disaster prevention drill held at a park in our neighbourhood, northern Yokohama. This photo shows kids trying out ultra-thin aluminum blankets and also

aluminum-coated thin "mattresses", which are used at evacuation centers. Local volunteers

in charge of the evacuation center have prepared and carried out this drill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arranging flowers for a local community house, March 5, 2017

 

Local volunteers participated in arranging flowers in wooden baskets. This community

house was opened in the latter part of 2015, after years of requests by locals to the municipality office. It's now a popular place for local residents who take part in various activities.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking after school children on their way to the school, March 6, 2017

 

Every morning, regardless of weather, volunteers in our neighborhood look after school children.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring has come with yellow rape blossoms, March 13, 2017

 

This photo showing a waterwheel in the background was taken in the Jike countryside, northern Yokohama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Izu Peninsula, a destination for hot springs, April 24/25, 2017

 

The photo shows a souvenir shop with a traditional exterior located at Shuzen-ji,

a well-known hot spring resort, which is around 120 km south west of downtown Tokyo.

Izu Peninsula sticks out into the Pacific Ocean and forms a part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu national park.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Golden week", in Center Minami (south), northern Yokohama, May 1, 2017

 

What's golden week? It is so called because there are a number of national holidays

from the end of April to the begining of May. It's like this: April 29 is the birthday of

the late Showa Emperor, May 3 happens to be Constitution Day and May 5 is Children's

Day. If you were lucky enough, you could have had a nine day-holiday in 2017 including Saturday and Sunday, by taking a few extra days off for yourself.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yakushiike park, Machida, Metropolitan Tokyo, May 5, 2017

 

The photo shows an old farm house relocated to there, and white azaleas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ginza, a fashionable shopping area in Tokyo, June 3, 2017

 

Perhaps Ginza is the most expensive shopping area in downtown Tokyo. 

Ginza was once under the sea and was reclaimed in the early 17th Century, during the Tokugawa shogunate, as a place for minting silver coins: from which the name of Ginza

was derived.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Satoyama Gardens, Yokohama, June 2, 2017

 

A beautiful garden was made specifically for a flower and greenery festival called "Garden Yokohama 2017". It was closed when the festival ended in June, 2017, but will reopen on

a permanent basis next spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nichiren (1222-1282), a Buddhist reformer in the Kamakura period, July 1,

2017

 

Ryukou-ji is a Buddhist temple in the Enoshima area, a tourist attraction some 40 km

south-west of downtown Tokyo. During the Kamakura period (from the late 12th Century

to the middle of the 14th Century), the site of the temple was used as an execution

ground and it was here that Nichiren, a Buddhist reformer, was to be beheaded because

of his vehement criticism of incumbent Buddhist factions that were closely tied to the Kamakura rulers. Luckily, at the last moment, Nichiren's death sentence was commuted

to banishment to an island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A night boat tour of a heavy industrial area in Kawasaki, August 15, 2017

 

A night boat tour has become a popular tour that appeals to people for its brightly lit

factories, an unexpected "beauty." We rode in a boat with no roof capable of taking 40

or so passengers. The tour started from a berth close to Haneda airport, then crossed the Tama River while watching jet airliners making their final approaches. Our boat was

small enough to navigate the canals one after another, allowing us to come closer to

the big factories.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rice harvesting in the Jike countryside, northern Yokohama, September 26,

2017

 

Jike has become a farmland that seeks a harmony between farming and urbanization.

Many people visit Jike: joggers, people walking their dogs, taking photos, drawing

sketches, watching birds, participating in fauna and flora observations among other

activities. There is an information center and a restaurant. Visitors are also attracted

by Jike's small art galleries and studios for artists, mostly making handmade furniture

and porcelain. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kamakura, the old capital of Japan, September 30, 2017

 

Kamakura, which is located some 50 km south west of downtown Tokyo, was the

capital of Japan from the late 12^th Century to the middle of the 14^th Century. It is

a favorite tourist destination because it retains its rich cultural heritage. Many

visitors go there all year round; famous Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are

always crowded. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kanagawa prefectural government office, November 4, 2017

 

Located in downtown Yokohama, this building was completed in 1928, five years after

the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake damaged the previous office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Footpaths in Kohoku New Town, northern Yokohama, November 12, 2017

 

There are numerous footpaths stretching in many directions and connecting parks one after another. These footpaths are said to be around 15 km in total length.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colorful autumn leaves in Center Minami (south) area, northern Yokohama, November 13, 2017

 

Center Minami is one of the centers in Kohoku New Town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minato Mirai district, Yokohama, December 2, 2017

 

Minato Mirai literally means "a port of the future" and faces the port of Yokohama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nippon Maru, a decommissioned sailing ship, in Minato Mirai, December 3, 2017

 

Nippon Maru with a displacement of 2,278 tons was built in 1930 for training sailors.

It carried 196 personnel including its crew and trainees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minato Mirai, December 3, 2017

 

Along this pedestrian street, which runs from Minato Mirai to Yokohama station, a number

of big companies have their head offices located.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kohoku New Town, northern Yokohama, December 5, 2017

 

One of the footpaths surrounded by beautiful trees. Soon, all those colorful leaves will

fall bracing for a cold winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiroshima, December 17, 2017

 

In the background is the atomic bomb dome, a world heritage site. On August 15, 1945

an atomic bomb was dropped and exploded over a hospital, which was about 200 m

behind the dome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, December 17, 2017

 

President Barack Obama visited Hiroshima on May 27, 2016 and left this message at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum: "We have known the agony of war. Let us find

the courage, together, to spread peace, and pursue a world without nuclear weapons."