On the bus home

Ski trip was a big success! Really exciting to be up in the mountains
here, unique and SNOWY.

This bus we're on is very Japanese: short seat pitch (distance between
seats) and ash trays (which thankfully nobody in our group is using).

Stars of this show

Through the woods

We have a piper down!

Such a nice day for skiing!

The monkeys...

I am totally going to rock the key.

Sweet Potato Truck

If we are lucky, on the weekends, we hear the music of the sweet potato truck driving through the neighborhood.

The Case of the Abandoned Beer

While walking to the train station last week, my brother noticed an unopened beer can sitting on a low wall. I took the opportunity to explain how Japanese people generally don't touch things that don't belong to them. For example, there's a rusty, partially dismantled bicycle on the a nearby street corner that's been there for over a month, with no sign of it disappearing. A broken bike not going anywhere is one thing, after all, who would want that? On the other hand, I would expect a full, unopened can of beer to be quite the hot commodity. It's been there for over 5 days at this point! I'm very curious to see how long it will last.

Can you guess...

...what the specialty of this restaurant is?

Year of the Snake

All the New Years items available for sale in the shrines and temples
include this year's zodiac mascot, the snake.

Kinkaku-ji - 'Gold Temple'

That's ice in the water. It's cold here!

'They're running three wide...'

Shinkansen tracks at Tokyo Station. The two on the left are 700 Series
(lights in the middle under the cockpit), while the one on the right
is an updated N700. (Lights on the lower sides of the nose)

Akihabara after dark

It was COLD outside. Even the girls promoting the 'host clubs' were
bundled up. The electronics stores are all so crowded, it's almost as
if shopping online doesn't exist here.

Mt. Fuji in passing

The buildings aren't really slanted, it's just the train is moving so
fast it highlights the rolling shutter on the iPhone camera.

Crowded Shinkansen

Standing room only on the Nozomi Super Express this morning.

Heiwa Park

Happy New Year from Atsuta Shrine