Kobe Docks

Fishermen and a cargo crane at the industrial seaside dock near Harborland (神戸ハーバーランド) in Kobe.

Fire Brigade

Last shots from the disaster-preparedness drill; this was a demonstration by the fire brigade setting up hoses in three different locations on the school yard surrounding one of their water disbursement trucks and another small controlled fire. They then all released water straight up and as the water showered down the flames were extinguished.

Old Factory

Abandoned factory near the docks in Hyogo.

Tempozan Ferris Wheel

Located in Ōsaka at Tempozan Harbor Village, near the Kaiyukan Aquarium, this wheel is the 5th largest in the world; with a height of 112.5 meters and a diameter of 100 meters. Tempozan Ferris Wheel opened to the public on July 12, 1997 and features colored lights that provide a weather forecast for the next day: orange lights indicate a sunny day, green lights a cloudy day and blue lights indicate rain.

Okinawa Black Sugar

Okinawa is known for its black sugar, and traditionally the cane is ground by one of these fellows pushing a long pole attached to the devices below where the cane is placed and ground.

Time to Get Wet

While, in general, digital clocks may be more common compared to their analogue cousins - this one is a delightful liquid variation. This clock displays the liquid like flow of time using controlled fountains of water. This clock is located in full public view just outside the impressive gate to the Kamazawa JR train station. Also, it is more than just a clock - the adjustable valving that forms the clock's numeric digits is also used to spell out text messages in both Japanese and English (as in the photograph).

EcoCute エコキュート

The EcoCute company is originally known for its energy efficient electric heat pump that uses heat extracted from the air to heat water and deliver it for domestic, industrial and commercial use. The technology offers a means of energy conservation and reduces the emission of greenhouse gas and now the company has made a move to produce electric cars. The name is a clever play on words, 'Eco' is a contraction of Ecology and/or Economical and 'Cute' (pronounced ki-u-to) also means (給湯 kyūtō) literally "supply hot water." Does it have to be this cute, well no, but how else are we suppose to take the electric car revolution seriously? So watch for this dolphin thingy coming to a rearview mirror near you- likely no time soon.

Driving That Train . . .

I don't believe that I am alone in thinking that Japan is the home of many technological innovations and that many of its city dwelling populous live in one of the most, if not the most, technologically advanced societies. While in some cases this is true it is not a complete picture of Japan as some of the infrastructure and technologies in regular use are somewhat antiquated. As you can see no over-engineering is present on the trains, no robot drivers or computers here, the trains are kept running on a meticulous schedule by humans holding low-tech laminated timetables.