Japan - 4

Hi, This will be a brief post as once again the port,  Korsakov on Sakhalin Island, was not very interesting photographically. The island was wrested from Russia in the Russo Japanese war of 1905 and returned to Russia after World War II.

Korsakov was the only port during both cruises we had to access using tenders.  From there we took a bus to Yuzhno.

Our first stop was at this small, wooden Russian Orthodox church.  Only external photos were possible as we could not go inside.

On the way to our next stop we passed this colorful apartment block.

This park, called the Square of Glory, honored the Russian military of World War II (above and two below).

This statue represents Mother Russia.

A little boy was having a good time climbing on a tank.

From the park we headed to the Sakhalin Regional Museum.

Our final stop was a small shopping mall where there were a number of jewelry stores specializing in watches and

a grocery store (above and  two below).

Here too there is an extensive display of liquor.

Thanks for looking.

Japan - 3

Hi, After a day at sea Diamond Princess reached our first port of call; Kushiro on the island of Hokaido.

On exiting the ship I noticed the ships reflection in a huge puddle.

Our first stop was the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park.  The park is devoted to plants and there really wasn't much to see there.

Next up was Akan International Crane Centre.

During the winter food is set out for the birds and there is flock in residence.  During the summer only a couple of birds in cages were present.

Our final stop was at a typical Japanese grocery.  The shopping center also had a McDonalds.

The displays are very different than in the U.S.

Fruit is very carefully packaged although not all was done to this degree.

This section was devoted to painkillers and

this one to fireworks.

Two young girls were enjoying playing on exercise machines.

A variety of liquors were offered.

The next day was at sea which provided an opportunity to look around the ship and take some photos (above and three below).

This is one of the bridge wings taken from our balcony.

Some sun coming in at a rakish angle combined with the ship's wake to produce this photo.

Thanks for looking.

Railfanning 1/22/2016

Hi, I spent yesterday afternoon taking these photos at Gaithersburg, MD with friend Ira Silverman. Between CSX and MARC it was reasonably busy.

Shortly after our arrival the early afternoon MARC train for Brunswick pulled into Gaithersburg.  When I heard the train call a signal about a mile away I set up for the shot with my wide angle to short tele zoom but could not find the focusing square.  I quickly realized the battery was low so I hurried back to the car and put a spare battery into my grip.  It too was low so I grabbed the camera with my tele zoom and was able to grab this photo.

Next up was Q130.  By this time I had put my third battery into the camera with the wide angle to short tele zoom and it was fine.

By now the snow was really picking up so to protect my cameras we moved to the parking structure diagonally across the street from the station.  Here we photographed the empty garbage train returning from Dickerson, MD,

Q261 (abpve and below),

an eastbound auto rack train, and

two more commuter trains (above and six below).

We were going to stay for the westbound Capitol Limited but learned it was cancelled.  Way to go Amtrak.

Thanks for looking.

Japan - 2

Hi, We spent only 1/2 day touring in Yokohama as we boarded the ship during the afternoon and the weather was steamy.

These views (above and below) were taken from the restaurant on the top floor of the building.

The Diamond Princess on which we would be sailing already was docked.

After breakfast our group headed for the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of History in Yokohama.  As we approached the museum we encountered this small electric city car at its charging station.

Here are two of the items we found in the museum (above and below).

After the museum it was on to the subway for the trip to the Raman Museum.

It really was not a museum as much as it was about 10 Raman Noodle fast food restaurants.

Orders were placed and paid for at kiosks outside each restaurant.

The food really was quite good, as was the Japanese beer.

Manhole covers are quite ornate in Japan.

Docked nearby was this pre World War II ocean liner.  Only later in the cruise did I learn that at least part of the ship actually was a museum that could be visited for a very nominal fee.

Thanks for looking.