Kyoto Morning Run

I had a nice cool run in Kyoto on Wednesday morning.  From my hotel by Nijo Castle, ran up north towards Kinkaku-ji and back.

Looking at Nijo Castle from my hotel room.  The main entrance is under repair.

One of the hoardings of the castle.

A side entrance of the castle.

Along the way, saw old buildings.

Senbon Enma-Do Temple.

Daimonji on a hill.

A school displays a mosaic picture of Daimonji.

A map of the area by Kinkakuji.  The Daimonji is depicted at top right corner.

The entrance to Kinkakuji.

Hirano Shrine.

The running route of my run.  The big green rectangular area on the right is the Imperial Palace.  The start and finish points (red and green spots) are by Nijo Castle.

Kirinjishi Half Marathon

I participated in Kirinjishi Run in Shin-Onsencho, yesterday.  The town is located about 3 hours drive from Osaka on the Sea of Japan side of Hyogo Prefecture.

This was already the 28th annual race of this town and total of some 3,000 runners participated.

The opening ceremony was held at the local elementary school.

The start of the 3K - mostly children.

Walking to the starting point of our race - Half Marathon.

The route of the run recorded with my Garmin watch.

The award ceremony for the top finishers of women runners.

The dance of Kirinjishi, mystical animals at the closing ceremony.

The entrance to the shotengai in front of Hamasaka Station.

The weather was clear and the temperature went up about 28 degrees Celsius - very hot!

Interesting Things

The summer is approaching - cherry blossoms are long gone, but we have many other joys in Tokyo this time of the year.

A cute visitor to our yard - a turtle dove.

Dandelion seeds in a park near by.

In Ginza, a big construction is going on.

A hard working Takkyubin delivery man.

The underground walkway of Ginza.

Two black birds are cormorants and a white heron at Zenpukuji Park.

Urn orchid flowers on a roadside close from my home.

Something had happened to this Kitty.

Burlingame and Milllbrae Trail Runs

I stayed by San Francisco International Airport last week.  I could put in a run in Burlingame and Millbrae.

First morning, I had a beautiful run along the San Francisco Bay Trail.

The trail in front of my hotel.

I did run some on natural beach.

I saw many airplanes landing at SFO.

An Merchant Marine memorial at Coyote Point Park.

Coyote Point Marina - San Mateo Bridge in the distance.

I saw eroding shores - alarming.

Second morning, I went west up the hill in Millbrae.

I-280 at the top of the hill.

The entrance of the trail.

San Andreas Lake.

The dam lake was built in 1864.

Saw a herd of deer.

I saw many runners.

Trail was fantastic.

Back at the city - California is facing a serious drought.

Beautiful Runs in Boston and Cambridge

I visited the city of the famous marathon last week.  My schedule was very busy during the day, but I managed to run around Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

A nice little carousel by my hotel by the Long Wharf.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

Street Performers.

A statue of an angel at Boston Common.

A wedding party by the statue of George Washington.

 Cherry blossom - almost one month behind Tokyo!

Squirrels and ducks.

 Boston Tea Party Museum.

 Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge.

A pedestrian bridge over busy roads towards Charles River.

Looking towards MIT from the south side of Charles River.

Beautiful pink flowers on Charles River Esplanade.

Many runners in this town.

Locks on the bridge on Massachusetts Ave. over a freeway.

Magnolia flowers were beautiful.

Boston Marathon Posters.

A swan boat on the pond in the Common.

A beautiful tree in the park.

Japan Festival was going on at the Common.

A big dinosaur figure by the planetarium.

Longfellow Bridge is under repair.

Underneath the bridge - looks very bad.

Looking towards the downtown from the norther shore of Charles River.

The trail by Memorial Drive on Cambridge side of the river.

Cherry Blossom.

Boats on Charles River seen from Harvard Bridge.

Magnolias.

Willow Trees by the pond of the Common.

Statues of a family of ducks.

 Statue of Joseph Hooker.

These runs were my sightseeing.