has the countdown begun?

i have been told the cherry blossoms may be blooming early this year in the Kansai area.  today or tomorrow, for sure by monday, i will check on my flight.  now i think it is time for a walk to the beach.  i am still looking for two movies.  i think there is video/dvd rental store near the beach that specializes in foreign films. one of the movies i want to see again is the German film called Kirschbluten-Hanami (Cherry Blossoms in English).  and the other is the Japanese movie Okuribito (Departures in English) which i think won the Academy Award for best foreign film this year.

                            cherry blossom memories

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last walk on the last day of February

because it was there

perhaps i will see Nara next month or in April.  this photo was from about 5 or 6 years ago (pre-digital camera for me so this photo is a scanned image).  i think i went from Tokyo to Osaka to Nara to Okayama to Kurashiki and then back to Saitama... too many memories ago.

here is another "sakura" song.  this is the band i stood in line for 3 hours to hear in Tokushima. their name is Ikimono-gakari.  and if you remember the story i was in the front row of the concert and my photo was in the local newspaper the next day... i kind of stood out.  i love the singer's voice.  

Renai shashin 恋愛写真 and postcards too

i decided not to go outside today until i organize a little more.  clean up my place a little more. one thing lead to another and i am back at my computer going thru my iTunes account and found this video. it is the theme song to one of my favorite movies, "Tada, Kimi o Aishiteru".  this song is by Ai Otsuka called Renai Shashin which means "photographs of love".  

i found this postcard while going thru some shoeboxes labeled "stuff from Japan 08"

this was from the charming craft shop in Kyoto which i came across by chance while looking for some temple or shrine or garden or just wandering the backstreets.  i also found some Christmas ornaments i bought there but forgot to give away... maybe next year unless i misplace them again.  i will try to find some photos that the owner and his wife allowed me take inside the shop.  (can anyone read the name of the shop which is on the gold seal to the right of the postcard?)

it is time consuming (luckily i have a lot of time) but fun going thru "stuff".  i found this photo before my nap. i was looking for it recently as my "oldest" friend was celebrating her _ _ th birthday.

the photo says i was 8 years old which makes this photo  _ _ years old.  can you find me?  my friend Peggy is in the first row in the red dress.

ok, what was in this box of old photos  . . .

first assignment from my first and only photography class.  it was fun learning how to use a dark room.  good times... taking a photo, developing the film and printing your own photographs.

 last photo                                                 Michelle

one more time, one more chance

i listened to this song a few times today... on the way to the gym, at the gym and on the way home again.  here are some of my favorite lyrics (translated) from the song:  "if my wish was to come true, i would be at your side right now... i am always searching for you... if a miracle were to happen, i would show you the new me and say the words i never said before, "i love you"... if we could repeat this life, i would want nothing else then to be by your side because... nothing else matters... "

  

Yamazaki Masayoshi 山崎まさよし

more images from yesterday' walk from Torrance to Redondo Beach to Hermosa Beach to Manhattan Beach with a detour up to the Redondo Beach Library and finally to Target before catching the bus back home.

looks like a nice day for a long walk in new shoes

but first, a stroll down memory lane . . .

 Kyoto   京都

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just a few photos from my long walk before going to bed.