Day 69/70

Visiting familiar people and places in Okazaki, my home for a semester.

Day 68

Bikes everywhere in Tokyo, even filling the park!

Day 67

Buildings reflected on a building!

Day 65/66

From one big city on the river to another. Goodbye Bangkok, hello again Tokyo!

Day 64

This isn't a flooded neighborhood, it's a canal neighborhood filled with rickety houses on stilts, small canals off of the main one, and lots of little boats!

Day 63

Simple and beautiful bouquets of lotus buds at the flower market in Bangkok.

Day 62

Seemingly endless views of the stunning Buddhas, ruins, and temples in Ayuthaya.

Day 61

Cooking, selling stuff, and napping at the Daemon Saduak floating market. All happening in boats!

Day 60

Tourist and babies...both highly unqualified to be riding on an elephant's neck with nothing to grab but the little hairs on its head!

Day 58/59

The spectacular view from the deck of our "floating raft house" in Khao Sok National Park!

Day 57

An amazing day floating around the islands near Phuket. Caves, lagoons, colorful boats, and beautiful rock formations!

Day 56

Colorful storehouses in Old Town Phuket and bright shiny temple nearby.

Day 55

A Buddha sitting by the beach on the Andaman Sea.

Day 53/54

Taking a little side trip from Japan to Thailand!

Day 52

Flashy brands get flashy buildings in Tokyo!

Day 51

A full day of travel, from the tsunami coast to Tokyo. Bus, train, train, train, shinkansen (the most colorful one yet!), train.

Day 50

Fireworks, balloons, music, and dancing with the locals at the Minamisanriku Summer Festival after a long day of "sightseeing" in the area devastated by the tsunami.

Day 49

Spent the afternoon with some seniors making lanterns in Minamisanriku in preparation for a festival next week. Activities like this give seniors affected by the tsunami a chance to make a little bit of money to work towards new homes, businesses, etc.

Day 48

People looking through water-stained photos recovered from the tsunami rubble, searching for their own lost photos.

Day 47

  Sea urchin and abalone caught in the morning and eaten at lunch!

Day 46

"Temporary" living. Homes, shops, and businesses have relocated into temporary structures since being destroyed by the tsunami and earthquake - a step on the path to rebuilding.

Day 45

What used to be the town of Onagawa before the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. In the foreground is a 3 story building knocked on its side. The area is being cleaned up and filled so that houses and businesses can be rebuilt at a level 5-10 meters above the existing grade in hopes of escaping the next tsunami.

Day 43

A day spent in the muggy, rainy hot springs town of Beppu.

Day 42

Looking out over the city and the castle grounds from the top of Kumamoto-jo.

Day 41

Starting a crazy descent down Taka-dake Mountain to the valley below with the tops of the clouds visible in front of us and steamy plumes of sulfur blowing at us from the nearby volcano.

Day 40

Surrounded by the beautiful scenery, temples, and shrines on Miyajima Island is the cheesiest tourist attraction of all - the world's largest rice scoop!