I was hiding from Frances....

in our little game. So I slipped into the wardrobe, and on the other side, I found this.
Surely there is a lamppost around somewhere.

A benefit of being The Fun Couple

Still enjoying our honeymoon after an interruption of about 29 years, one of the things Spousal Unit and I delight in is being able to just decide to get in the car and go. On this occasion, we made a surprise visit to Memphis to watch Nephew #3 (red) play in a soccer tournament. In this shot, he goes for a block.

Osaka-jo : Osaka Castle

Looking down upon the Osaka-jo park and one of the moats around the castle.
Fancy roofing and bracing. Incredible workmanship.

Some Hollywood types enjoy the view of Osaka from the castle keep.

After a good climb up the keep around the museum inside and back down, some feet need a break.

In Osaka-jo park, a magician/juggler enlists a Japanese boy to help with the show.


Here is a moat that has been partially filled.


Young as in old. New as in cold.



A lot of Japanese history was made around this castle. The castle covers about 50 acres or more. The white building is the castle keep, which is more or less a tower built on top of the castle. Osaka-jo was built starting in 1583 on the site of a shrine near the confluence of two rivers into a major castle by the man who first united Japan, about the same time Sir Walter Raleigh returned from America to Queen Elizabeth I's court. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi died, his son lost the castle after several seiges and battles to the man who would become the first Shogun of Japan, Ieyasu Tokugawa. Hideyoshi also killed and persecuted Christians severely. Hideyoshi's son and wife committed suicide on the castle grounds when the Tokugawa forces stormed the castle walls and defeat was imminent.


One of the small shrines around the castle grounds. Definitely something you wouldn't see in Huntsville. Ok, well, maybe you wouldn't see it in Madison. Or perhaps at my house.

M'thew and Punkin pose before the keep.

Precious and Mr. Pie pose as well.
After a full day of castle touring, one of Osaka's treats await us. We had all been keeping our eye out for a yakisoba stand, and here we found one. The yakisoba wasn't the best, however. Like the song says: "ate it anyway". You know the rest....

Princess and the Parrot at Osaka-jo

Princess and Precious were entering Osaka-jo castle grounds when a Japanese man offered to put his parrot on Princess' shoulder. "For Free, no money", he said. More startled than agreeing, she said "yes".

Just your average day with a bottle of CC Lemon and a parrot on your shoulder.


The castle keep at Osaka-jo.

We are not perfectible .... at least Here

time to call her Ma'am again

Call Me Senator from RightChange on Vimeo.

Miyajima Up on Mt. Misen

The journey up to the top of Mt. Misen started at the bottom. It was going to be quite a climb.


Japan has a lot of carp. Just as Hiroshima has the carp as their symbol, Miyajima has its share of them, too.
There were a number of beautiful bridges and waterfalls.
Ashley Wilkes' Daddy kneels so that the beauty of the brook can be captured in the background.

.
After a fair amount of climbing, Ashley Wilkes' parents decided to ride the ropeway to the top of the lesser mountain, so the group split up, with the youth group taking the more vigorous route.
Out in the Seto Inland Sea, a naval destroyer prowls. We couldn't tell which Navy it belonged to.


From the lesser peak, Shishi-iwa, a good view of Hiroshima can be had. This looks back toward the center of Hiroshima and back to the castle where these mountain islands can be seen in the distance.
The seaweed culturing platforms can be seen in the Inland Sea.
Ashley Wilkes' Momma observes from the Shishi-iwa observatory.
The Seto Inland Sea is dotted with thousands of beautiful beaches. This particular island has a pretty & tiny little beach, and if you click on the picture, you may be able to see some tunnels carved into the cliffs. I wonder if the tunnels were military structures.

While the youth group was climbing the vigorous path, we took foot to trail from the lesser peak to the Mt. Misen peak, which was about 100 m higher and roughly a kilometer away.
This picture doesn't give the full impression of the steepness of the climb.

At the top, we saw some greedy and just a little bit rude deer.
The group enjoys some snacks and drinks while I look down from the little observation platform at the top.
No peak is complete without an antenna, and no antenna is complete without a bird.
The Shishi-iwa observatory on the lesser peak from the greater peak.
If you click on this picture, you can see what the destroyer was playing games with, perhaps Marco Polo? Look in the sea where the vegetation meets the bottom of the rock face.





Ryan holds up the gate so we can all leave.


As the youth group takes the vigorous route back down the mountain, the older crew winds through the lesser taken path through some beautiful settings.

Yes, more of that Tori. As the tide recedes and the sun goes down, the locals grab their grocery bags and snatch up some shellfish and the tourists walk out to the now exposed Tori.
Well, we couldn't leave Miyajima without yet one more Tori shot, and with both peaks of Mt. Misen in the background.

At the end of the day, this Samurai had more energy than I did. Miyajima was well worth the effort, and a very beautiful site.