Japan

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Picture of Sakura and Moss Pink from wikipedia: 

 

Cherry Blossom Season

in Japan is a special time to visit the Land of the Rising Sun:

 

My impressions of Japan are of a wonderful vibrant country.

  I visited a long time ago in the nineteen eighties but the memories of this visit

are vivid still in my memory.

  I loved a little tea house on top of a hill at the old town of Kyoto,

which used to be the old capital of the country.

The people were friendly and helpful, sometimes wishing to improve their

English by sparking up a friendship and being communicative.  Other times,

it was difficult as there were only a few signposts in English at major train stations.

Also, sometimes, when trying to order a meal in a restaurant!  Perhaps this has changed now with more English translations available.  Some Americans also helped with giving directions.

Yokohama was fascinating and I loved the colourful designs, imagery, and uniqueness

about the place which seemed so different.  The coloured clothing of turned up jeans

and different atmosphere of the port town.   Japan also seemed to be a go ahead place with the

many pinball machines and people playing them in malls

and new technology of computer games and gadgets

readily available.

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The gardens at the palace at Tokyo from wikipedia:

 

On the day which I visited the palace in Tokyo,

there was a conference and a visiting P.M.   I wandered around the gardens with their beauty and sense of beauty and peace in a busy city.

 

  There was also an old castle which I visited with sqeaky floor boards.  This was deliberate as in

another age the squeaky floor boards could act as a warning for the emperor.

Travelling by train at night was also fascinating as the reflecting neon signs and lights turned

the countryside into a magical wonder of colour.

 

  When I was young I was given a childrens' book of children dressed in national dress of so many

countries of the world, and yet for some unknown reason, the dress of the children of the eastern

countries including Japan, China, Thailand, fascinated me and appealed.

I did not visit Kagoshima, as at the time there was due to be a typhoon and I had visited

on a cruise.  As it was, I visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe and Yokohama and enjoyed visiting

these places.  Another time, another day, I thought perhaps I would visit Japan again. 

Hopefully, Japan will recover from these recent disasters of an earthquake and tsunami.