Thursday, December 6, 2007

Osaka Shibu

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Coming very soon. . .

Snow monkeys!
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Osaka Castle




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Beautiful Day in Osaka

The fall leaves and the cool clear weather made for a beautiful day in Osaka. Fede posed for the local artists and for me without fail. We went to Osaka Castle.


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Osaka

You might consider it a warning sign if you answer "yes".
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Nagasaki Dive

On our last night in Nagasaki we stopped into this little dive bar for a snack and a glass of sake. This picture captures the entire place; there was only room for 7 people. Notice the unusual ashtrays and the generous over-the-rim pour in my glass without a drop spilled. We had pickles, cold fishcake, and some delicious little fatty pork pastries that another patron brought in to share. The music was old New Orleans jazz. A very memorable and convivial place.
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Nagasaki - Glover Garden

There was a beautiful park with some interesting period Western architecture from the the 1860's. The park overlooks Nagasaki Harbor, and like every other culturally significant place we've visited in Japan, it was over-run with students on fieldtrips.
The garden is home to the Ringer House (built 1865 for Frederick Ringer) and Alt House (built for William Alt). The Glover House, Ringer House and Alt House played host to Pierre Loti who made Nagasaki his base for a novel which inspired Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly.
Fede is standing next to a statue of her fellow Italian in the second to last picture.


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