Abekawa Fireworks

Went to a fireworks show in Shizuoka, on the Abe River (Kawa). They really go all out here, they went for 2 hours and were so pretty. The whole atmosphere was just amazing. Food everywhere and masses of people walking through the city to get to the river. Girls dressed in kimonos shuffling and kids carrying balloons. I just wish that I had a better camera to capture it all.

Golden Week in Miyajima

We left home on Friday morning at like 7.42am on a bus to Shizuoka Station to catch the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima. Arrived at Hiroshima at about 12.40pm and then had to catch the train to Miyajima-Guchi and then the ferry to Miyajima, an island.

Miyajima

Miyajima is known for its Torii Gate, one of the most popular places in Japan to photograph. It's a big orange gate in the water. Even if you don't know what it is, you have probably seen it.

We walked out to the gate through the water the whole time trying not to get my skirt wet but also trying not to show too much....turns out if we waited about another hour we could've walked out to it on the sand, but our way was much more fun. We started posing because we realised we would've been in at least 50 other people's photos...all the better I think.

We had great weather and watched the sun setting over the Torii Gate, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Our hotel was a room with two mattresses on the floor and no shower, but the owner was very sweet and brought us green tea. The weird thing about our hotel is that it had a curfew, we had to be inside by 10pm. It seems the whole island had a curfew, everything shut at about 7pm. I choose to believe something magical was happening on the island of Miyajima after 10 that we weren't allowed to see..something to do with all the deers that wander around.

To top off the no shower thing, there was only a Japanese style toilet...I have done the squatting thing, I'm over it..I want the western style toilet! I was so sleepy in the morning, it's easier to just take off your pants when you're in that state, especially with the whole near miss incident a few days before...I was playing it safe!

So after that we decided to cancel the second night and stay in Hiroshima...

The day we left Miyajima though was great, we went on this rope way, and we saw the coast and the islands, mountains, and when you get to the top there are cute monkeys everywhere, so it was all worth it. Everything about the island is just beautiful!

Cherry Blossom Festival

This was my first trip into the city. It was a fantastic atmosphere with people all around the city and inside Sumpu Castle. There was entertainment, food and of course the main attraction, lots of cherry blossom (sakura) trees.

My home: Asabata

Asabata is the name of the place I am living, what will be my home for the next year. I am still exploring it but I love it so far.

G is for Gypsum Lake

Inneston, Innes National Park, Yorke Peninsula.

L is for lamps

These lamps were on display at Old Tailem Town. I just loved the colours and shapes.

A is for Anchor

This is my first post in my alphabet of photos. I take a lot of photos of random things so you may see an odd one here and there that doesn't really fit into any other category. The aim is to have at least one photo for each letter of the alphabet, so now I am always on the lookout.

This is the anchor from the ship Ethel, which was sailing to Semaphore, South Australia from South Africa. It crashed January 2nd 1904, near Cape Spencer on the Yorke Peninsula (South Australia), where the anchor is found today.