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Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge |
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This is the longest suspension bridge in the World. We passed it on our train ride to Himeji Castle. |
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The Bridge from Space... |
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didn't know my camera was that good. :) |
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In front of Himeji Castle |
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Field Trip |
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They were so adorable! |
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Medallions... |
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or coins placed on the edges of the building, each one represented a ruler and would be replaced when a new ruler came to power. |
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At the top... |
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there was an offereing table, you could pray, ring the bell and voila... ummm (yeah, I don't know what would happen) |
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The Stamp |
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The Japanese like to stamp their info booklets with a stamp from the place they visited. |
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Gargoyles... |
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Close-up of castle gargoyle -- an imaginary tiger-headed fish, called kinshachi (金鯱); this motif is used as a talisman for fire prevention.
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Watch out... |
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it's a Samurai! |
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Oh, wait... |
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it's only a movie set! |
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Japanese soft serve |
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also very yummy! |
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Japanese military recruitment |
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Pet? |
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She was selling this thing as a pet for children... uh... no thanks! |
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Pay with your cell phone... |
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really, you could pay for you vending machine purchase with your cell phone? Not sure how it works, but leave it to the Japanese to find a way to automate something. Pretty cool! |
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Plastic food! |
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I don't understand this very strange phenomenon. Many restuarants would have all of their menu items displayed, like so, in plastic. You could just point to the yummy plastic display to indicate what you would like to eat. |
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Our very own Karaoke room... |
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How are YOU... |
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paying for retirement? Dave was awesome! |
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