Business in Hawaii

I've been waiting a week to post my pictures from Hawaii. I was in Waikiki on "business" and took these shots on my downtime.

The view from my 33rd floor balcony at the Marriott Beach Resort & Spa. Diamond Head and Waikiki beach.



This is the view from the other side. I took these from the elevator lobby.



I took the recommendation of this elevator advertisement and had sushi for lunch.


After discovering I had left my running shoes at home, I looked up this shoe store on Google and walked over to buy a new pair. It was so worth it, as I had a great 2 hour run along the coast, past Diamond Head.


I had a nice walk along the beach in the afternoon. These are some of the sights that day.

I like to take pictures of people posing for other people. I don't know why.


Old couple taking in some sun.


I couldn't believe my luck when I came across this back smile mid-walk on the beach. I nervously fumbled for my camera, praying nothing would ruin my shot. As you can see below, my prayers were answered. The best "Say no to crack" shot I've ever seen, let alone taken. After careful consideration, I settled on the following caption:

"Noticing the lack of pockets, I couldn't help but wonder where he keeps his wallet."



And then the sun sank into the ocean.

Imperial Palace & Ginza

On the last day of sightseeing, we took a train & subway out to the Tokyo central.




If I remember correctly, this is the capitol building.


We found a wealth of photo opportunities around the Imperial Palace:






















Japanese are very good about not littering, but not above making use of a handy bicycle basket parked on the street.


Ginza's main drag where you can find the most expensive name brand shops.


This one with Lamborghini parked out front.


I really liked this building, which is made entirely of glass blocks.

New Year's Day, Hatchioji, Shabu Shabu

New Year's Day begins with a special breakfast meal together with the family.


Many special foods and dishes are served especially for this meal--I had some difficulty with a few of them.








On the 2nd, we went walking around Hachioji. We passed this drum performance taking place.


Many people were lined up to pay their respects at shrines and temples like this one.


New Year's sales were everywhere. Derek picked himself up a couple new sweaters.


I did my fair share of shopping as well. Here I am taking a load off outside a store.


Killed some time on McDonald's internet before dinner. This is the view of the street below.


Derek, Shintaro, and I went to an all-you-can-eat Shabu Shabu restaurant. Meats and vegetables are placed in the boiling pot on the table, then fished out with chop sticks and dipped into various sauces. Good times.


Waiting for our train home.