Photo of the Day

Tomorrow is the big day. It's my last full day in Japan before I move back to America. So this is your second to last Japanese Photo of the Day...until I get back to the states and rediscover some gems I can't help but share.

Today you are getting a final dose of Hachijo-jima. These are pictures I've taken around the island. It's sort of my final tribute. I hope you like it.

At our summer teacher's barbecue, everyone pitched in to help make a big batch of yakisoba. Nom nom nom.

Near "firefly river" is this huge torii gate that guards the entrance to one of Hachijo's shrines.

The incomparable Nanbara Coast

And, of course, a boat. At an intersection. Of course.

There is a garden full of birds of paradise near my house. When I used to go jogging, it was the thing that greeted me at the end of my run.

Hachijo's third volcano, the illustrious Hachijo Ko-jima:

I can't believe I've never mentioned Hachijo's famous glow-in-the-dark mushrooms. For a short period during the rainy season, patches of green phosphorescent mushrooms sprout in the forests up on Mt. Mihara.

My favorite shot of Hachijo Fuji! I was coming home on the overnight ferry, and woke up in time to see this amazing view of the island. It was the calmest I have ever seen the water. The ocean was like glass.

Guess which mailbox belongs to the foreigner.

These gorgeous hibiscus blossoms bloom everywhere in Hachijo. Bushes full of them line the main streets. Hibiscus tea and jam are sold at the store. And last year we even had a big hibiscus festival. I never get tired of seeing them.

One final shot of Hachijo Fuji. This time from Nanbara.

Me too, Doraemon. Me too.