Osaka Station Area

I took a nice walk this morning around Osaka Station.

The station is getting a facelift, including this big roof.

The north side of the station - they call it Kita Yard and its re-development is at full force. There are many cranes.

Here are workers reporting to the construction site.

Helmets of the workers seen through an enclosure wall.

Freight cars were leaving the station.

Sparrows don't care about the construction or trains.

Kobe Port Island visit

I stayed over night in at a hotel in Kobe Port Island.

Here are views from Kobe Portopia Hotel.

Looking south towards Kobe Airport. The elevated railroad is the Port Island Line, or "Portliner".

Container cranes of the port.

The city skylights seen from Kobe Island Kita-koen Park.

Kobe Bridge - 319 m long double-deck arch bridge that was built in 1970.

Hottest Summertime Blues

This year, Japan's experiencing the hottest summer since the Weather Bureau started taking records 113 years ago (that's 1897!).

In August, 28,269 people were taken to hospitals in ambulances for heatstrokes. Since the end of May, the number is approaching 50,000!

In the land where people cherish taking care of plants, many of them didn't make it.

Roadside bushes by my office.

This planter bush is a goner.

Planters in Inokashira Park.

My neighbor's planter.

Our cosmos flowers.