Shinjuku Oktoberfest

Shinjuku Oktoberfest 2012

Beer Vending Machine

This vending machine near my apartment sells beer. You have to insert your driving license to prove your age.

Lucky I just renewed mine, eh?

Japanese Driving License Renewal

I had to renew my Japanese driving license in August last year.

Unlike in the UK and Germany, where driving licenses either don’t expire or expire after a long time, Japanese licenses expire every couple of years and have to be renewed.

To renew the license I had to submit an application at the local police station, and then a few weeks later attend an information session where they showed a few videos about road safety.

The whole thing took most of the morning…

Monkey Island

Sarushima – “Monkey Island” in English.

There are no monkeys.

Fujiko F. Fujio Museum

A few pictures from the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum. Not many because photography is only permitted in a few places.

Meiji Jingu in the Rain

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 15,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 3 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Kirin ICE+BEER

I can’t help but think that this is a completely inappropriate way to drink beer.

Chicken Nanban Roll

Chicken Nanban roll at Sushi Meijin in Fukuoka.

Sōmen with ice

Noodles cooked in hot water as usual, and then served chilled with ice. Nice to eat for lunch on a hot day.

Making mochi

Making mochi at a local festival earlier this year.

A few more pictures, including one of the finished product, here.

Fukuoka Sunset

Sunset over Fukuoka, taken from the Sky Wheel at the marina.

Local temples and shrines

There are a number of small temples and shrines within walking distance of my apartment. Earlier this year I went round taking photos of them all.

Temples and shrines near Shin-Kawasaki and Kashimada

Tokyo View with Sky Tree in HDR

I’m still alive; just not finding much time to upload photos to Flickr and write blog posts.

Here’s an HDR shot that I took late last year from the top of an apartment building in Edogawa, looking towards the Tokyo Sky Tree.

Goodbeer Faucets

Goodbeer Faucets in Shibuya. 40 real ales on tap.