Picking up the story of our most recent visit to the KidZania in Kobe, Japan, after some appliance repair and a bit of firefighting, it was time to make the doughnuts. Except it wasn't doughnuts on today's menu, it was melon bread (a very sweet bread that looks vaguely like a half of cantaloupe).

All the pictures inside were taken through the shop windows under less than ideal conditions, but what they lack from a technical point of view they make up for it in my totally unbiased mind in cuteness.

I'm sort of fond of mills for some reason, [...]

After Anthony's stint in Appliance repair at our most recent visit to the most-excellent KidZania in Kobe, Japan, it was time to get busy putting out some fires.

Unlike the joyful high-five at the previous job the one here was mechanical. The girl doing the job was just that, going through the motions to do a job. Too bad... if she had the right attitude, both she and the kids would get so much more out of it.

Still, Anthony enjoyed it almost as much as the job he did next...

Continued here...

It's been months since I last wrote about our New Year trip to Toyama Prefecture, several hours' drive north from Kyoto. It was a pleasantly photogenic trip, yielding nice shots such as "Bridge Over Icy Water”, "Deceptively Clear: Snow-Covered Mountains in Exquisite Detail”, and "Snowy Mountains”, as well as visits to historic Shirakawago Village and Gokayama Village during a blizzard.

The story had ended with "Snowy New-Year Trip: Start of Day Three" and the start of a long walk that Anthony and I took, so that's where this post picks up....

You can see from the slope on either side [...]

On our trip to KidZania in Kobe, Japan last month, which included stints working on a train and hosting a radio show, he also took time to learn appliance repair. Already five years ago he was an expert on vacuum cleaners, so it's only natural that's what he worked on here.

Continued here...

A few more pictures from our trip to Sunainosato in Shiga, Japan, in April. I can't decide whether I like a pure B&W view, or one with subdued colors...

It was the day of the doggy funeral, so I'm sure it was emotionally taxing on Anthony, but he seemed to hold up fine.

What was satisfying for Anthony were the ample opportunities for fun that the grounds offered...

Continued here...