Snapshots: 2016 summer in Europe

Here are snapshots taken in five European countries -- the U.K. Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary -- in July and August in 2016. It was about a month after Brexit –- the U.K.’s decision to leave EU.


EU and UK

28 EU flags in Brussels  
  -- When will it become 27?

At a bookshop in Bloomsbury, London

  -- Disputes continue over Europe

Flags in front of Financial Times 
  -- Company flag and EU flag, no Union Jack (late July, 2016)

Border control @ St. Pancras Station, London
  -- for Eurostar trains

Terrorism, migration and national security

Guards at Brussels South Station
  -- It became the scene of everyday, everywhere

Brussels International Airport
  -- the road to departure floor

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek in Brussels
  -- Many migrants here

Budapest East station

  -- A handwritten board: “Europe, your humanity is lost”

Presidential Palace in Warsaw

  -- Flags of Poland, EU and NATO

European integration

UK café in Warsaw

  -- No borders for companies

Prices in Euro and forint in Budapest
  -- around Euro zone

ATM for Euro and zloty in Warsaw
  -- exchange commission is low

Bike sharing in Budapest
  -- rapidly spreading throughout Europe

Common value, common culture

Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) in Prague
  --Prague spring, Velvet Revolution

Hungarian Parliament in Budapest  -- Hungarian Revolution of 1956 

Franz Kafka's birthplace in Prague-- Good cafe restaurant

Copernicus statue in Warsaw
  -- The Copernican theory was released in the 16th century

  

Visit also
Budapest: August 2016
Prague: August 2016
Warsaw: July-August 2016
Brussels: July 2016
London (after Brexit): July 2016

Tokaido Walk Book： August 30, 2015

A book on my Tokaido Walk was published today.

The title is “Let’s walk Tokaido, watch Japan’s local areas, and talk about the country”.

「東海道を歩こう　地域を見よう　日本を語ろう」

It is written in Japanese language.

The book includes:

- About 200 photos of Tokaido (about 500 kilometers from Tokyo to Kyoto)

- Essays on Japanese history, culture and society observed in Tokaido

- Information on 53 shukuba stations

The book is available for purchase at Amazon and other online bookshops.

The 2nd photo is with a belly band.

Statues in Tokyo

There are many statues to remember in Tokyo. I took some pictures of them during my Tokyo Walk.

The statue of Saigo Takamori in the Ueno Park and of Chuken Hachiko in front of Shibuya Station are probably the most famous statues in Tokyo. I am sure that most Japanese know them.

Others include:

>>The Heroes:

Oyama Iwao: an army general in the Meiji era. The statue is in Kitanomaru, north of the Imperial Palace.

Wake no Kiyomaro: a politician who showed his royalty to the Emperor in the Nara era (8th century). The statue stands in the north-eastern corner of the Imperial Palace.

>>Japanese culture’s big characters:

Godzilla: a monster (and hero). The statue is in Hibiya. The shape is different from that designed in the Hollywood cinema.

>>Popular figures among prople:

Moai: in fromt of Shibuya Station.

Funny English Expression in Japan

You may find funny English expressions when you walk around in Japan.

Examples include:

Flesh Juice (not fresh juice) -- in a menu of a coffee shop
Our city is fruity (not fruit-rich city)

In this blog, there may be many “funny” English expressions (in addition to simple grammatical errors). Please do not be angry and enjoy them when you find them. They must be typical mistakes made by a Japanese (^^)

I am trying to take laughter-evoking pictures in the streets in Tokyo. It is yet successful. Instead, I show some examples I found in the web.

http://www.eigotown.com/bikkuri/popup3.html

http://www.eigotown.com/bikkuri/popup2005_1.html

http://www.eigotown.com/bikkuri/popup2005_3.html