Quiz time

Ok, been a while since a sign of the week, so here are three really useful signs – you need to identify the city or cities where I found them… I wonder what was visible through the temporary window too…

Moshi Moshi

After Korea, I headed to Tokyo flying into Haneda (the old airport that’s a little closer to the city) before heading back from Narita the next day. I stayed at one of the numerous Hyatts, this one in Shinjuku, not the most grand since they are super expensive in Tokyo. It’s a little weird – they clearly spent a lot of energy and probably money on the stained glass and chandeliers…

and glass elevators looking first down the foyer and then out to the world at large…

but the rest is somewhat drab – the brown brick continues outside…

Shinjuku is a busy place like most of Tokyo …

… though seems to be home to many of the skyscrapers as well as the Tokyo government. The latter are especially generous in letting visitors observe the city from 200 meters up, free of charge. The cocoon shaped building is an education facility which is kind of appropriate if you think about it.

Spot Mt Fuji? it’s there, really, look hard! It’s pretty amazing how flat the area seems to be for the most part when you consider Japan is the result of massive plate shifts.

The base of the towers also has tourist information though I wonder if the gift shop has Lucasfilm’s approval for these…

The outside of the building is interesting too, I liked these ‘parasols’ which on closer inspection seem to be radio antenna.

And of course, you’ll find some art…

Behind the government complex is the Shinjuku Chuo park – Chuo seems to have the same symbol as Zhong in Chinese so I guess it' means center or middle too. The park is home to a water feature, turtles (that I thought were bronze at first given their lack of movement) and some tropical plant life – it certainly rains a lot in Tokyo and it’s pretty warm most of the year.

Oh Bear!

I’m used to wildlife in my own back yard, and I mean literally. I have a few fruit trees that have suffered the consequences of a visit from a black bear, though usually it’s late in the year as they get ready to hibernate through winter. So I was a little surprised to see a cub (yes, the momma is way bigger) wandering around mid summer and going after any food that might be in the compost.

Of course, there’s also the less destructive kind like the black tails that seem to like eating the weeds…