Very nice backlit shot, Barbara!

Yes, Japan also has plenty of beautiful sites and sights. I haven't climbed Mount Fuji, but spend quite a bit of time in Japan, on working assignments in the 60's-70's and then again on business in the subsequent decades till the early 2000's. While we lived for 5 years in HK, we used to go skiing in the Japanese Alps near Nagano, once in Kijima-daira and quite a few times in Nozawa-onsen. Actually we loved Nozawa-onsen so much, that we left our skis in the cellar at the little ryokan we stayed in and each year when we showed up, they were still there. When we finally left HK, we weren't able to retrieve the skis, so they must have been there for ages before they finally disposed of them - it was beautiful in these little Japanese villages up in the mountains (and especially with their "onsen" - natural hotspring baths)!

Thank you Hereford, for your kind comment, glad you enjoyed the view of this harbor and some of its boats.

Thanks Vince, glad you like these pictures - sometimes even a shot of an advertising poster can bring the ambience across. Have a great lunch! Joe

Thank you Barbara, yes, you can get into color overload fast in this place - but that's what keeps driving me!

Thanks Chief for relating your good memories of this interesting place. Yes, I felt totally safe there as well (and that also holds true for the number of Japanese cities I visited and worked in, also in Korea). In Hong Kong actually, my fondest experiences are going on hikes in the hills of Kowloon (say the Tai Mo Shan, Lion Rock or Kowloon Peak mountain areas), HK Island (particularly down in Shek-O) or some of the other islands. You can actually be in near solitude on these hill paths. We lived on Tai Hang Road, just above the Happy Valley race course, and in about 10 minutes from our flat, we could be on one of these long paths in the hills where you would expect to see maybe 3-4 other people during an hour, an absolute delight. I will be showing some of these outlying locations starting in about a weeks time.

Thank you Rowedean, yes, #10 shows the old and new together, I took that shot out of the window of a restaurant as we were having lunch, I liked the way the two boats contrasted and blended together. Glad that my shots bring some warmer feelings into your snowy landscape - but remember, in the heat of the summer we just might dream of these winter scenes!

Thank you very much Jim, your erstwhile colony has plenty of interesting places and carries great stimulus!

Thank you Rowedean, yes, I packed a lot of diversity into this one post, this is sort of like being in Hong Kong, where your senses go into overdrive from all the visual and other impacts. Glad to hear that you liked this set.

Thank you Dick, glad to hear that you enjoyed this potpourri set!

Thank you Blair, yes Hong Kong definitely is a fantastic place to visit, shopping can be very exciting and so is eating, but what I also like are the smaller, out of the way much less known places, which I will start presenting in about a week or so.

Thank you Elliott for your kind comment, glad to hear that you like the photos. That barbecue pork dish is one of my favorites, Susan prepares it often when doing a full multi-course Chinese meal, and it is always one of the highlights.

Thank you Bill for the thumb!

Thank you Elliott, glad you liked them.