a fuzzy pic, but here are some sibs practicing baseball, which the folks in Fukuoka love.

bride on her wedding day in Fukuoka, Japan

walker in Fukuoka, wearing mask; despite lots of bicycle use, pollution and pollen result in lots of masks.

performer at a local fair in Fukuoka behind the City Hall

we saw lots of characters like this one while in Japan – very entertaining and fun to watch

requests for prayers at the Buddhist temple in Shimizu, Japan

At Kamakura (outside Tokyo) we saw the Great Buddha, and young ladies in traditional dress who joined others worshipping before Buddha

a monk at Kamakura lights incense before the Great Buddha

more young ladies in traditional dress at Kamakura

the traditional dress calls for lovely flowers in the hair

the Great Buddha himself, at Kamakura, Japan

a screen we saw at the Neputa Village, in Otaru, Japan. This is a village of traditional woodworkers, silk and embroidery artists, makers of parade floats, lacquer
wood artisans and others

the Japanese make beautiful lanterns and this one we enjoyed at a Sake brewery in Otaru, Japan

we visited another Buddhist temple (this one is Aomori, Japan), and we saw that the statues were wearing red, as a symbol of joy

In Aomori we saw the Hirosako Castle, which housed the powerful Shogunate for many years (leader of the Samurai class); weeping cherry trees were just about to bloom near the castle. We also saw lots of wooden bridges over moats surrounding the castle – easier to burn them if invaders were approaching!

a banner for the Shizuoka Prefecture Museum of Art, where we saw Japanese impressionist paintings, lovely screens and wood blocks, and a very extensive collection of Rodin sculptures

2 Thinkers

Rodin’s Gates of Hell

another Rodin – totally resonates with how we feel sometimes!

Burghers of Calais – another view