I'm a day late and I plead BookExpo overload. But I'm very happy to start off June with the name of the winner of the Japan Momento Giveaway. Pepe Le Monkee chose the winner and it's Paula Kaye at Smidgens, Snippets & Bits. Paula, I hope you enjoy these momentos of Japan.
I am always pleased when I receive a request from a reader to feature photographs from a place I've visited. I thought I might have overdone showing my pictures of Japan and Korea, but my friend Pat asked for pictures of Osaka, and I am happy to oblige. I had the pleasure of meeting Pat on our trip, but because of flight mishaps she missed our day in Osaka.
Our tour began in Osaka, a major financial and commercial city in Japan. Only one day was scheduled there -- not enough time to do justice to all that the city offered and it seemed we literally raced through it. The first stop was the sixteenth century Osaka Castle, an important site in Japanese history.
Osaka Castle
I am always pleased when I receive a request from a reader to feature photographs from a place I've visited. I thought I might have overdone showing my pictures of Japan and Korea, but my friend Pat asked for pictures of Osaka, and I am happy to oblige. I had the pleasure of meeting Pat on our trip, but because of flight mishaps she missed our day in Osaka.
Our tour began in Osaka, a major financial and commercial city in Japan. Only one day was scheduled there -- not enough time to do justice to all that the city offered and it seemed we literally raced through it. The first stop was the sixteenth century Osaka Castle, an important site in Japanese history.
I know this photo has very little to do with Japanese history, but I had never seen a cat in a carrier touring historic sites anywhere. History-loving cat and friend were happy to pose for a picture at the Osaka Castle.
A view of the Castle from the Osaka Museum of History
10,000 yen is equal to $80.00 US
I love visiting grocery stores when I travel and I was eager to see the treasures in Japan. Department store basements have groceries, which are very, very nice and my first stop in Osaka was visiting the department store next to my hotel. I planned to buy dinner and explore, and I had a great time doing both. One of the things that caught my attention was the display of fruit. Japan is a physically small country that has little arable land, and fruit is mostly imported and expensive. These melons were in the gourmet section and packaged for gift giving, and yes, the least expensive is $80.00 USD. I have a new appreciation for the bounty of our grocery stores. and I doubt if I will ever complain about fruit prices again.
The weather has taken some wild twists and turns here in New York. Yesterday it was humid and summery with thunderstorms and today was in the fifties, and it was definitely jacket weather. I promised myself that once winter was over I would not complain about the weather, but I was tempted. It was chilly and I wanted spring.
As ever thanks for visiting and take good care.
