新聞

Great vending machine. Reminded me of an ATM here a few years ago which had the option to press "English" for English instructions.

When you hit the  "English" button it took you to a screen that said, "Sorry, this service is not provided in English".



This one though is a newspaper vending machine. It's great that they've gone to the bother of translating the 新聞 kanji for newspaper into English, but all the newspapers are written in Japanese. No English papers at all.


Shouldn't moan though, should probably look at it as a good start!

7AM

Tassj and Dale, Japan'd Right UP: Pre-snow, Post-Kabukicho, Outside Berg in Shinjuku. Think they'll be back...

i-Land

A nostalgic walk around i-Land Tower in Shinjuku on Friday night.

49 Sunsets

I've always liked the moment when that last flash of sun finally sinks out of view below the horizon. I was also looking for something to hang on the wall above the sofa opposite Jenny's clouds so a couple of weeks ago, I took a bunch of photos of the mountains opposite as the sun did just that, then cropped, printed, cut, mounted, framed and hung them. 

Think I should really replace those four bulldog clips on the sides but overall, pretty happy with it.

Santa Cruz

It's not often work trips work out so well, but the flight ticket rules on my last trip to San Francisco meant I had to stay an extra night after all the others had left. I took the chance to bail back down Highway 1 to Santa Cruz.

One of many empty peaks on the drive down from San Francisco.

 I wish they all could be...

Grinding Pacific barrels on the left, and The Gower countryside on the right.

Thursday morning, no-one out .

Rock-Rock-Rockaway Beach. One Two Three Four!

 more empty waves...

and more...

Scott's Creek. At last some surfers!

View from the deck of Mr Tim's excellent cabin up on the hill looking out to the ocean. Top digs, cheers mate! In Winter, the fog comes right in just above the height of the valley floor making it look like a lake below.

Cup of tea old chap?

Well I suppose the tree was there first.

Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz. Pretty mellow but incredibly long righthander...

Jack O'Neill's house overlooking Pleasure Point. Having owned a few O'Neill wetsuits over the years, thought I should knock the door and ask for 2 or 3 seconds on the balcony sucking in the view that helped him pay for it.

Good spot for a sundown beer.

  

Steamer Lane, just further round from Pleasure Point. The kelp round here extends a couple of hundred yards offshore and keeps the waves glassy-as.

SL, looking a bit DY.

Early morning bottom turn.

Aim Robot

Noticed this in the shop across the road. The Robot Cleaner, or Aim Robot.

Don't know what they were thinking with the sales pitch. They basically grubbed up a room with some green dust or mold or slime, hard to tell exactly what from the photos, then let this robot do it's robot thing about the place for 50 minutes to clean up. The four photos show some more detail.

They're basically saying this thing can make a 7 sq.m room really clean in about 50 minutes and here are the four pics blown up.

I think there should have been a fifth...

"You too could own a home like this!"
Yes please, I'll take two!

I'll stick with the Grizzly Bear "I feel quite comfortable in Massage CUSHION".

Progress?

Back in Manly over Christmas, I saw this "artist's impression" outside one of the old buildings opposite the wharf. Admirable to try and protect the old architecture but this just looks horrific. The top of the picture is the actual remains of the old facade shown in the top left of the graphic. Maybe it's a colour thing?

BCM

BEACH COMBING MAG is a free Japanese language surf guide you can pick up in surf shops here with lots of good info and a savage looking “wetsuit index” for Hokkaido.

3mm steamers for the dog-days of summer and dry suits from December to May.

From the boys at Sapporo Surf Mag, here's a snap from the balmy days of last September’s typhoon swell that’d keep you going.

Suits you

The 80s are back at Dripping Wet in Manly.

Colours

or not



Australia

A few snaps from a top trip back to Sydney and The South Coast.
Stinking hot & bloody cold, city & country, beer & wine, cockatoos & possums, downpours & heat-hazes, traffic jams & empty roads, crowded waves & no-one out, family & friends... and of course Quentin & Roger.

His Duke-ness

Does my bum look big in this? Harbour Bridge 4 Pines stylee

Heading to...

 The Rocks...

for a bev in, among others, The Glenmore...

 ...and the Fields of Athenry in The Mercantile

 with a guy halfway up the mast

 Storm's a-comin

 Club 57C - Cheers Lunger!

 South Coast

 Even Souther

Doesn't look anything like a camel

Think I'll stop now