Oideyasu! Please take off your shoes.
For the first time, Gregory flipped over unassisted onto his stomach in his crib tonight at bedtime.
Amanohashidate on the Japan Sea coast in northern Kyoto Prefecture is known as one of the three most beautiful views in Japan. I've also been to Miyajima in Hiroshima, but I've never been to Matsushima, a group of pine-studded islands in Sendai. Steadfast windswept trees jutting into the sea like the cherry in this picture and the pines of Matsushima are a common Japanese poetic allusion, and you will notice that pines in the gardens of Japanese houses are often pruned and tied to bamboo poles in an effort to guide them into stretching horizonatally to mimic a coastal tree leaning into the wind.
This view is from the Tango Peninsula (western) side of the bay. From here you are supposed to stand on a small platform, back to the sandbar, bend over and view it with your head between your legs, which is supposed to make it look like a bridge to heaven (the meaning of the kanji in the name). I think I rather preferred the views around the peninsula
Under the Sea
My brother-in-law, Toru Matsumoto (website), and his wife Akiyo have just published a book of color underwater photography around Tanegashima Island, where they live. Tanegashima is a small island off the southern tip of Kyushu (Kagoshima Prefecture) well known for scuba diving and surfing. Also, it's the launch base for Japan's space agency
He hadn't told us anything about it, so it was a big surprise the other day when Mama pulled it out of an envelope. It's only available now at a bookstore on the island and by email order frm Toru himself.
