A beautiful Sunday, beaming golden sun rays, close to heaven with the pristine surrounds of manicured gardens and nature. Peaceful water features of various kinds, range of routes depending on your taste/mood of the moment. Tranquil instrumental music playing out in the gardens, creating the most relaxing atmosphere - our parents would LOVE it here! For the young at heart, there is also the great train ride encircling the park...kids catered for as much as the...

Quoted directly from Asia News: Japan heatwave kills 3, hospitalizes 2,500 AFP | Jul 9, 2013 TOKYO: Sweltering temperatures and scorching sunshine have killed three people and sent more than 2,500 to hospital across Japan in a week, the government said on Tuesday.The mercury hit 39.1 degree Celsius (102.4 Fahrenheit) in Yamanashi in the centre of the country today, while dozens of other spots recorded temperatures of 35 Celsius or more.A total of 2,594 people ...

We dread these guys, more than ever before. The mosquitoes here seem to be little ninja-versions of the variety back home, which were loud, slow, and easily killed or avoided. The local "tiger" or "forest day" mosquito, Aedes albopictus seems to be smaller, but faster, stealthier and in general just harder to kill. Once you get one into you house it seems like the only way to kill it is to offer yourself as a sacrifice and wait for the eventual sting. Many a ...

June; July; August in Japan are a season all on their own; yet colloquially called summer. June was pleasant with frequent rain to cool the hot and humid days. Then July stepped up the thermometer, humidity and far less rain has fallen...thus leaving us hot and sweaty (unless you find an airconditioner to remain under all day) August is still on its way. I do wonder how we will go from this heat to snow in a few months. Surely the vast change in temperature ...

Airborne Trains #in-flight This may look like a standard train, but in fact it is the new maglev train, which is air borne, using powerful electromagnets. Maglev is short for magnetic levitation, which means that these trains will float over a guide way using the basic principles of magnets to replace the old steel wheel and track trains. Maglev trains do not have an engine to pull typical train cars along steel tracks. The magnetic field created by...