Nagatoro （長瀞）

Nagatoro (長瀞) is a nice and relaxing place in Saitama prefecture (埼玉県), located at the north of Chichibu City (秩父市). The name Nagatoro is composed by two ideograms: 長（なが）, which means "long", and 瀞（とろ）, which indicates a "pool in the river". The meaning of the second ideogram, in particular, can be easily understood by seeing that it is composed by water (水, often indicated as 氵in compounds) and quiet (静).


And in fact the river was really calm and quiet. Nice, isn't it?

Rainbow bridge

The Rainbow Bridge (レインボーブリッジ) as seen from Shinagawa.

the Chinese way to beach

There seems to be a common denominator to the asian way to the beach: the umbrella. (see also what's going on in Japan)

Well, someone prefers the Italian way ;-)

Starry night in sanya

Well, the sky was not so starry, after all. But I like the picture :-)

Sanya

Sanya (Simplified: 三亚; Traditional: 三亞) is the southernmost city in Hainan (海南) province, China. It is commonly known as "the Chinese Hawaii", and in fact there was a very pleasant weather.

Moulin Rouge

Le Moulin Rouge is a traditional cabaret, built in 1889 by Joseph Oller. It is situated in the red-light district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, near Montmartre, in Paris.


The main feature of an evening at the Moulin Rouge is the nightly performance. The Moulin Rouge is famous internationally as the 'spiritual home' of the traditional French Can-Can, which is still performed there today. Whilst the dance of the can-can had existed for many years as a respectable, working-class party dance, it was in the early days of the Moulin Rouge when courtesans first adapted the dance to entertain the male clientele. It was usually performed individually, with the courtesan moving in an increasingly energetic and provocative way in an attempt to seduce a potential client.

Arc de Triomphe & Tour Eiffel

Puppet Show in the metro

One of the big differences of the French metro compared to the Japanese one is the presence of artists who jump into a car, perform for a couple of minutes, and then move on. Most of them are musicians, playing the accordion or similar instruments. From time to time, however, there is something different, like in the picture below.



The puppet here was singing and dancing on the sound of Speedy Gonzales.

Light up at Rikugien

六義園 (Rikugien) is a Tokyo metropolitan park in the Bunkyo area. The park was built in 1695 by Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa by permission of the fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, and completed in 1702. In 1938 it was donated to the Tokyo City government.
During 紅葉 (autumn colors), the park is open also at night and lit up. Wonderful, isn't it?