A cleaner at Meiji Jingu Shrine

This photo was taken at Meiji Jingu Shrine. A cleaner is sweeping to collect leaves, being very good at handling with the bamboo broom. Bamboo brooms are best to collect leaves on the tiny gravels.

By the way, another man wear quite unique clothes....

Cherry blossoms in bloom, at Kamiyacho, in Tokyo

parties under sakura trees, at Nihonbashi

Spring has come!! at Chidorigafuchi, near Imperial Palace, in Tokyo

Pearl in Spring, at show window of MIKIMOTO, at Ginza

This photo is the show case of MIKIMOTO, a Japanese pearl company. (I don't know whether it is known worldwide, but very famous in Japan.) By the way, when I see the show case, I find that the beauty of sakura goes well with the modest beauty of pearl.

Well, excuse me for being a little romantic! Personally I prefer pearl's shining to diamond's brilliance. Diamond, I suppose, can make all women more beautiful but wearing pearls can bring out their inner beauty. So pearls can fit some women well....

To be honest with you, I might prefer pearl only because they are more reasonable than diamond, as a man....

The value of land, at Ginza

Yesterday official land prices all over Japan were released. The highest ranking of all lands for commercial purpose is just where I was to take this photo, Yamano-gakki-mae at Ginza 4-chome, in Tokyo. The land was valued at about 39,000,000 JPY, or 390,000 USD, per just only one square meters.

Sakura, cherry blossoms, at Yotsuya

Yesterday the Meteorological Agency announced that cherry blossoms had started to open in Tokyo, as well as other cities such as Shizuoka, Kumamoto, Nagoya. And the opening pleasantly shows the coming of spring. We are totally crazy about the blossoms and often go somewhere to see them, often with some drinks. The blossoms have been alive at most for two weeks. Their ephemeral beauty and rather sickly pastel color of light pink. This is why we are fascinated by Sakura. Have a nice Sunday!!

So many lights in an office building, near Tokyo Station

Traditional firefighters, Hikeshi, at Nihonbashi

Excuse me for poor quality!! I took the photo when I went to the office in the morning and came across traditional firefighters, called 'Hikeshi' in Japanese. In those days, Tokyo had tons of fires mainly because houses and buildings used to stand very close each other and they used to be made of wooden. So many firefighters used to keep their towns from fires. But now such traditional style of firefighters are replaced with the modern ones and I hardly come across them.

Their style is very traditional but seems to like Starbucks coffee!!

Mr. Yen!

This is the main building of BOJ, Bank of Japan, the central bank of Japan, taken from the office where I work at. When I took this, it was about to rain, but now the Japanese economy is on the verge of coming down heavily.

Today the president of BOJ, Mr.Fukui, has retired due to the expiration of his term, but his post is not replaced by anybody!! This is first time ever since World War II.

It is the Diet that designate who should sit on the chair of BOJ's president, but it cannot because the ruling party, LDP, and leading opposition party, the Democrats, don't agree about it at all and never give an inch each other. The vacant chair, unfortunately, will have an effect on the go-down of Japanese economy, in some degree.

Oops, it starts to rain and I don't know when it stops raining and the sun rises again....

PS. By the way, when you see the building from above, you might notice that the ridge line of the roof read the Japanese letter of Yen(円), the Japanese currency.

Someone entering into a soba noodle restaurant

Powdered dried bonito, adding the savour to Japanese cuisine, at Tsukiji in Tokyo

Old and new part4, in front of Hamarikyu Garden

Starbucks shake hands with Tsutaya, the biggest rental video chain in Japan

Colours women beautiful!!

Yes, full of colours in the streets make us feel that spring is coming...

Old and new part3

Old and new, near Tokyo Station

A hint of spring, part2: Plum branches with comdos and Tokyo Tower

New subway line, F!

The new subway line, F line, will be open on 14th June. F means Fuku-toshin line, vice center line, and the line will be running through major shopping areas, like Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. I know stations in such areas are very complicated and very easy for travelers to get lost. The new line will make the areas easier to access each other but, on the other hands, make the stations more labyrinth.

A bird on the handrail

A hint of spring

Hamarikyu Garden

An evening in Tokyo

Theme Day, "Graffiti"

More than140 Daily Photo sites are participating in the 1st March theme, "Theme day : Graffiti", please use the links to below to visit them.

Due to time zone differences and other factors, the theme photo may not be displayed until later if you are viewing early in the day.

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