Been On Vacation in the U.S.

Sorry about the lack of posts in the last couple of days. I have been on vacation! I went to Seattle and then New York. I am now back in Seattle to spend a few more days with family before returning to Nagoya. I have lots of photographs that I would like to share with you from New York! For some reason I don`t have a lot of photos from Seattle. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I grew up here for 16 years so it`s hard to see things in a different light. I will try harder with the few remaining days that I have.

I have plenty of photographs to share as always and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them! Here are a few of the things that I saw while I was in New York!

 Bethesda Fountain in Central Park

The Mall in Central Park

 Mini sailboats in Conservatory Lake.

 Views of Manhattan from Central Park.

 The well known Alice in Wonderland statue.

Finding a good shady place to rest is a must in Central Park or anywhere in Manhattan.

 The wonderful Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Later these steps were FILLED with people relaxing and eating or drinking items they bought from these street side vendors.

Mom: "Is that soup?"
Me: "No"
Mom: "Is it ramen?
Me: "Nope"
Mom: "There`s no way that's coffee."
Me: "Oh, but it is"

FYI: I did the smart thing and ordered the small version.....at least I thought it was smart until I saw that it was pretty much the same size as the large. The only difference was that my cup had a handle. Ha! Amazingly enough the boyfriend finished his cup of coffee and I had to leave about half of mine, AND this was after he finished off a ham and bacon sandwich.....this was all about an hour and a half after we ate lunch!! Boys really are different from girls.

Oktoberfest....in Nagoya....in July: Nagoya, Japan

So, in July I went to Oktoberfest. Don't worry I think it's weird to be going to Oktoberfest in July too. But, then again beer is delicious in summer!

There were two areas of the park that was set up for Oktoberfest. You are free to roam between the two, but come early to get a table. Also, make sure you check both sides to see which one you like better. One side is more livelier than the other.

What happens is you pay about 1,000 yen for the glass deposit (which you get back at the end when you return the glass). Every time you buy a beer they give you a new one if the glass is different. So, if you like one of the glasses save that for last so you can take it home! Otherwise, it doesn't matter and you return it to get 1,000 yen back. (It is a little expensive to drink here, but the beer is good and how often do you drink German beer on tap, unless you are in Germany).

 

 

My first beer of the night! (okay, I only drank two, but this is a lot for me! About 500ml per glass!)

Other people enjoying the Oktoberfest beer garden atmosphere. (FYI, this is the calmer side. The livelier side has people dancing in a line and singing songs they don't know).

No, I didn't drink all three. The other two were my friends beers. The pink one was really sweet almost like a cocktail....Are there sweet beers?

My second and last beer of the night. The flavor made me think of bread and it was darker than I am used to, but I still liked it. My favorite though was the first one I drank.


If you have a chance next year, you should go! The atmosphere is very fun and there is one place where you can get a sampler of beers!

Horai Shrine and a Tiny Hand Held Fan

We made it to Horaiji!

At the temple before reaching Horaiji I bought this souvenir. They had a tiny handheld fan for each month. I bought one for February since my birthday is in February.

This side is my favorite of the fan. It's very simple with a little green bird.

Our drive home.

The Temple Before Horai Shrine: Shinshiro, Japan

Deserted: Shinshiro, Japan

Serene Stone Pathway: Shinshiro, Japan

This area was no longer accessible. The bridge had fallen down, but you could see where the stone path led up to the former bridge. We saw a window leading to a chamber underground, but again no access without a bridge. It would have been interesting to go inside.

In this picture you can see the stone path that led to the bridge that I mentioned in the first photo (the thicker stone steps leading to the right). Now, the pathway leads to a little ravine with a  river flowing through it. The bridge must had fallen down a long time ago judging from the overgrowth of plants and vines.

A resting place that no one seems to stop at anymore. The pathway was almost invisible from the plants.

The roof you see in this photo is the security station (that isn't open). I guess there used to be a big need for a security station, so if something happened you reported it here. Must not be enough people visiting the area to need people at the security station.

Where I started to ask, "Are we almost there?".

The Biggest Tree in the Woods?: Shinshiro, Japan

No end in sight

I keep walking further away, but the tree does not get any smaller.