This is a collection of letters-with-pictures I sent to friends while I was on my last vacation to Japan.  I've collected them all and put them here for convenient browsing.

Here's a clothing style that's been around for at least a couple of years in Japan -- "Loose Socks." Those socks would reach the girl's shoulders if she didn't have them properly bunched up as you see them here.
 

Believe it or not, this shot was a two second exposure. I guessed (correctly) that anyone waiting for the train would hold still for two seconds...

Okay, I like creative uses of language, and delight in spelling errors (even my own!) Having said that, I wonder if there is a place just for beveraging?

I like this one. Another candid photo. I like the combination of the traditional (the proper summer Yukata) with the modern (fashionable glasses and the latest cellphone with all the bells and whistles.)  Taken in the lobby of the Sagami-Oono Odakyu train station.

They're EVERYWHERE! Little scooters darting in & out of traffic. I was trying to get the 'speed' effect in this shot (four other shots didn't come out...)

I was trying to 'get lost' near the base, when I found a forest park. Very nice, with paths running up, down and around a little valley. There were signs everywhere that basically said to stay on the paths and don't go tramping through the underbrush. It was a ten-minute walk, though, from here to where I took the picture of the motorscooter (previous photo.) BTW, "Do not adjust your set..." I was deliberately trying to underexpose the foreground. That's what it looked like in there.

It always amazes me that when you take a picture, the picture never looks exactly like what you saw when you were standing right there. There's always something changed or different or missing from the picture. This picture appears lighter than what I saw when taking it (of course, I was using a 2-second exposure to get the picture.) So I used Photoshop to try to 'bend' the light values to approximate what I was seeing. The picture you see is still off, but a little closer.

A poster for a tennis school, using the 'Beautiful Boy' (Bi-Shonen) style of drawing. This poster was at all the stations up and down the Odakyu train line...
 

A mom and her daughter watch the animated clock (think: "It's A Small World" at Disneyland.)
 

Okay, these stickers are like a dog license. Either there's one dog for several years or several dogs all at once. I don't know...
 

A view of Enoshima island from "The Miami Beach of Japan". By the way, "Enoshima Island" is kind of redundant, as 'shima' means 'island'.

On the far side of Enoshima, fishing nuts...
 

Did I tell you they have lots of steps all over the island? But for about $3, you could ride several escalators to the top.
 

Hanging out at Machida, trying to take candid pictures of people. The photo that got away -- one person had fluorescent red hair, the other had fluorescent gold...
 

Two young ladies playing with Whinny-the-Pooh finger puppets. The orange blur is Tigger.
 

A shopping street in Sobudai-Mae. The orange awning says "Fish".
 

I'm not sure if this shop sells only fruit or both fruit and vegetables. But I liked the look in the early evening, with the warm shop lights contrasting against the cool early evening overcast sky.
 

This is scary. The malls here look like the malls in America. Even the model Pagoda could be found at an American mall. Who's copying who?
 

Everywhere I explore, I find these islands of thick trees, bamboo and plants -- right in the middle of seemingly overcrowded residential areas. These aren't really parks, but areas that are just left undeveloped. Imagine doing that in the US...
 

Told ya the sidewalks here are green... This is the front door to my 'hotel.'


The 'hotel' I'm staying in is really an old barracks building. But it has these bathtubs, that (except for me) are going unused, or are used only as a shower. It's not quite perfect, though. The hot water in the building is -- maybe -- 100-degrees-F, and should be about 105-F for a proper bath.

Found this guy standing in front of the west entrance to Shinjuku Train Station(s). He just stands there in this traditional pose. Once in a while he rings the bell. He also (vigorously) rings the bell when someone puts an offering in the bowl.

Here is what the area around Shinjuku station looks like on a Saturday night:

Was it just a typical Saturday night, or a holiday weekend, or something else I wasn't aware of?
BTW, the Tower Records is in the BIG building with the TV screen, on floors 7~10.

Of course, you have to have your youth who are 'just hanging around'...

The End (for now...)