Starry starry night in Umea

I've always been fascinated by the sky spinning around the Polar Star.
Beautiful, isn't it?

People in Umea

Sweden is considered to be a very safe country, but it really seems that this girl wanted to be sure that nobody would have been able to ride on her bike without her to know ;-)

Umea, Sweden

Nearby the hotel...

University of Ramen - ラーメン大学

I wonder if there is any open position, there. ^_^

Kusatsu (草津)

Kusatsu (草津), in Gunma prefecture (群馬県), has been selected by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment as one of the top 100 scenic spot of peculiar smell (かおり風景100選).


Yubatake (湯畑), the "field of hot water," gushes some 5,000 liters every minute. It is not only the largest hot springs source at Kusatsu (草津), but boasts the highest output of thermal Onsen water anywhere in Japan. The water arrives piping hot from the boiling bowels of the earth, and is cooled through a chain of seven traditional wooden buckets before being sent on to the ryokans of Kusatsu.

Strange but true, no fish inside this pond. I wonder why? ^_^

water mill

First case: everything looks normal.


Second case: the building is spinning, while the weel looks still.
Interesting, isn't it?

The leaning house of Tokyo

It seems that after all Pisa is not the only place in the world to have a leaning building.

JAF

It was a long day, but finally I got my Japanese driving license (運転免許) ^_^

Cicala - 蝉（セミ）

The sign that Summer has finally come ^_^

Update: By the way, I didn't know that some 蝉 have a very long life cycle, e.g. the Magicicada goes through a 17- or occasionally 13-year life cycle. These long life cycles (usually on prime numbers) are an attempt to stop the predators to fall into the same life cycle (a cicada with 15-year life cycle, for example, can be an easy prey of any predator with 3- or 5- year life cycle).
Interesting, isnt'it?

Splish Splash!

Life savers

Life savers in Shimoda.

Playing on the beach

with a ball...


...with a smaller ball...


...with the sand...


...or even with a fresbee. ^_^

Wall of water

Surfing in Shimoda, Izu peninsula（下田、伊豆半島）。


Kind of interesting walls of water, aren't they? ^_^

Tough'n'cute

Definitely my favourite picture ^_^

Little problem

It seems that the waves have small, little fingers, capable of unlacing a bikini ^_^

Young model