HONG-KONG - APRIL 1983

UNDER BRITISH RULE...




"KOWLOON - In front of the Regent and New World Hotels, with a view to Hong-Kong Island. The Peninsula tower, with the world famous views from its toilets at the top floor restaurant and bar, was not there yet. It came to life in 1994 only..."


"STAR FERRY - Crossing Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui to Central"


"CENTRAL - Star ferry arrival at Central"




"ABERDEEN JUMBO - Shrimps' dinner and further entertainment..."


"NEW WORLD HOTEL - Inner court"





"THE TIGER BALM GARDENS, created in 1935, are also known as Aw Boon Haw Gardens, from the name of its creator, who made his fortune from the sale of a curative balm. They cover three hectares of land, in the midst of high-rise apartments at the edge of Causeway Bay, with a somehow surrealistic conglomeration of animals, pagodas, and many other objects. Some call it a kind of Chinese Disneyland..."



"VIEWS of the harbour and the city from Victoria Peak"


"REPULSE BAY was by that time basically a well-to-do residential areawith a relaxed resort-like atmosphere"




"ABERDEEN HARBOUR by day. The hundreds of people living on fishing junks make a curious mix with people living in the modern high-rise buildings of the nearby hillsides"


"CONNAUGHT ROAD - Home to the Mandarin Oriental, and many other interesting places..."

JAPAN COUNTRYSIDE - MARCH 1983

KAMAKURA, HAKONE...

While I was discussing the first syndicated loan made to a Portuguese public entreprise with the leader Bank - Mitsubishi -, Guida was tourist travelling somewhere around Tokyo. So these are the photos of the places she went to and that I didn't visit...


"DAIBUTSU - The Great Buddha of Kamakura - a bronze statue located on the grounds of the Kotokuin Temple - heights 13.35 meters and is the second largest Buddha statue in Japan (the largest being the one at Todaiji Temple in Nara). Cast in 1252 and originally located inside a temple hall, it became an open air statue when a tsunami in the end of the 15th century washed the temple buildings away"


"ENOSHIMA ISLAND is a small island at the mouth of Katase-gawa River. when the weather is fine, which was not the case, Mount Fuji can be seen to the right hand side of the photo, behind the Enoshima Oashi Bridge"



"LAKE ASHI, HAKONE is perhaps the most famous National Park and resort area in Japan and is situated amid the volcanic mountains and deep green forests of Mt. Fuji’s Five Lakes region. Lake Ashi was formed in the caldera of Mount Hakone after the volcano's last eruption 3000 years ago. It offers the best views of the Mount Fuji , but not when the clouds cover everything"


"LAKE ASHI - A slow and scenic way of approaching Lake Ashi from Odawara is taking the Hakone Tozan Railway to Gora, followed by a cablecar and ropeway ride to Togendai at the northern end of the lake. From Togendai one can continue by sightseeing boat to Hakonemachi"


"TORII AND MOUNT FUJI - The Fuji should be seen just behind the trees, to the left of the Torii. Unfortunately, the clouds covered everything, but it can be seen at the Net


"HAKONE is home to numerous craft shops and a photogenic red Torii"


"OWAKUDANI VALLEY, a volcanic area where sulphurous fumes arise, as one walk around small bubbling pools of mud, is one of the sightseeing highlights of Hakone"

SHOGUN LAND - PART II - MARCH 1983

IMPERIAL TOKYO

Prior to 1868, Tokyo was known as Edo. A small castle town in the 16th century, Edo became Japan's political center in 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyasu established his feudal government there. A few decades later, Edo had grown into one of the world's most populous cities. With the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the emperor and capital were moved from Kyoto to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo ("Eastern Capital")!


"SHINJUKU - Yodobashi Camera - Need to go back to buy another camera..."


"MITSUI - View from the top"


"IMPERIAL PALACE - The residence of Japan's Imperial Family (Kokyo) is located on the former site of Edo Castle, a large park area surrounded by moats and massive stone walls in the center of Tokyo"



"IMPERIAL GARDENS - The Imperial Palace East Gardens (Kokyo Higashi Gyoen) are a part of the inner palace area and are open to the public"


"IMPERIAL PALACE - Meganebashi Bridge: two bridges that form the entrance to the inner palace grounds"


"AVENUE in front of the Imperial Palace"


"THE NATIONAL DIET BUILDING, located in Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, is home to Japan's House of Representatives and House of Councillors. As well as passing laws, the Diet is formally responsible for selecting the Prime Minister"


"ASAKUSA is a temple town, which flourished during the Edo period (1603-1868). The atmosphere of old Japan attracts many tourists throughout the year"


"ASAKUSA - All the existing buildings date from after World War II. The PAGODE was built in 1973"


"ASAKUSA - Kaminari-mon Gate with the famous red lantern"


"ASAKUSA - Main Hall"


"TOKYO - Street scene. Some minutes later an amazing scene occured: hundreds of employees all dressed in blue trousers and white shirts crossed the street from one buildinding to enter the building in front. It was lunch time..."


"HIBYIA PARK - The Imperial Hotel building can be seen at the back of the photo"



"HIBYIA PARK"




"AKASAKA - With Mutsumi"


"HOTEL OKURA - TRIO with Mutsumi"


"HOTEL OKURA - One of the best Hotels in the world. By the time of this Group photo it was ranked # 2 behind the Oriental in Bangkok and ahead of the Mandarin Oriental in Hong-Kong"


"HOTEL OKURA - Room 706"