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On the weekend, my husband and I made a rare visit to ATC on one the man-made islands linked to Osaka. ATC stands for The Asia and Pacific Trade Center and it was built during a time when Japan was flush with money and had dreams of a booming economic future. For many years it was full of interesting shops and restaurants and was a popular date destination. When we lived in closer we often visited ATC since it was one of the few places in Osaka where you could enjoy the ocean waterfront. Sadly, much has changed since then. We were struck by how empty the place was - both of shops and restaurants, and of people. The waterfront is still beautiful but on that evening there was hardly a soul around - only a few people on their way to the ferry terminal next door. Photo 1: Heading to ATC via the walkway from the Hyatt Hotel at dusk. Photo 2: Part of the ATC waterfront area looking towards the overnight ferry to Kyushu.  
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Next to my workplace is a lovely park with a pond and a small court where the locals play tennis or do outdoor exercises. I rarely have the chance to visit it but I always look at it wistfully through the bus window as we pass by. Today, as I left to return home, the sun was golden and so I decided that today was the day! Surely I could find 20 minutes in my schedule to go and enjoy the park. And so I did. This was what was waiting for me... (If you look carefully, you can see someone walking along the path. Hope that gives you some sense of scale.) (I didn't have my camera with me so took a chance with my mini iPad. Pretty happy with the results.)  On a cold, windy morning this week we visited a local park to enjoy the fall colours. There are various paths throughout the park but the route we took was called "Maple Valley". It did not disappoint! As we walked along we enjoyed comparing the varying stages of the maple trees. Several had already lost all of their leaves while a few others were only just starting to change. However, the majority were in glorious yellows and reds. Ah, so beautiful in the morning sun! (Both of these were taken in "Maple Valley". )   We've been enjoying temperatures that hovered around 20C• but the winter winds have finally arrived! Today the high is 13°C and it looks like more of the same ahead. Oh, that wind is strong and cold! And yet, I still have flowers blooming in my garden! YES! There are just a few purple toadlilies in bloom at the moment. Their season is coming to an end. However, a white and yellow one I bought this year is still blooming away. They are quite small compared to the others and, at first, I wasn't sure if I was going to have any luck. Looks like they really are "late bloomers"! (^.~)  While we were driving through Osaka, my husband noticed this sign and pointed it out to me. I had a good laugh - I'm a coffee lover, after all! He then rolled down the window and I managed to get this shot before the light changed. Someone has a sense of humour!  |
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I'm a photographer based in Osaka, Japan. I like to share.
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