Snow!

We woke up on Thursday morning to a winter wonderland. It is colder out where we live than in Tokyo and overnight we had a significant snowfall.











Even fairly dreary parts of our area look wonderful under snow with the early morning sunshine.

Something Fishy

Odawara Port has a bustling wholesale fish market.


All around are smaller retail shops and restaurants.

The owners' kids seem to have been decorating this particular shop for them.

We had a truly delicious meal there. Soup pickles, grilled fish, rice and salad all for about $12.

Odawara Castle

Odawara is an interesting seaside town about 1/2 an hour South West of Tokyo on the bullet train.
It has a most splendid castle and grounds with moats and beautiful gardens.









 It was a great strategic importance being a good port and on the approaches to Tokyo. The various clans that owned it were very powerful and rich due to their good agricultural practices and husbandry of their land.







We visited on a beautiful sunny late winter's day and were able to see some of the very first cherry blossoms in flower along with a lot of plum blossoms.

Next to the castle is the beautiful Ni No Miya shrine.

Temple guest house and restaurant

Patterns

There are some lovely patterns and textures all around, for a few years now I've been photographing patterns in Japan as I come across them. Here are some examples.

Temple in Mashiko

Dowager's roof in Kanegawa

Fuel for a pottery kiln in Kyushu

Shoe market in Korea

Fish market in Pusan

Charring, for fire-proofing, warehouse in Kurashiki

Sumo flags  in Tokyo

Leeks in Nagano

Walnuts in Tochigi

 

Retaining wall in Tochigi

Paper cranes in Gunma

Tatami mat flooring in our house

Irises in Gunma

Fuel for kiln in Mashiko

Bark at Mitsumine temple

Rice in Saitama

The antique  radio stall in Urawa
























Anti-tsunami blocks, Myagi

Religious plaque, Tochigi

Wishes at a temple, Shimane

Rice in Nagano

Roof in Kuratsu

Temple fence in Kanagawa

Little Buddhas in Kanagawa

Perismmons in Tochigi

Old door in Chigasaki

Paper cranes