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In Japan, July 18th is Ocean Day but in Kobe Port we like to make a long weekend of party down in the harborland. The day before, Sunday was the Kobe Samba Fest. In Kobe we love the sama and especially all the beautiful samba girls with their bright costumes.

Aiko Rock singing "Lady Marmalade" at the Wynterland, Kobe City, 2011.

On Mar. 11, 2011, at 2:46 (JST) Japan was struck by a record breaking 9.0 mega earthquake. The fifth most powerful in the world. The energy released was equal to 6,000 times the Hiroshima atomic bomb. It caused wide scale destruction in the NE of the country. Following the initial quake there were several powerful aftershocks. Since Mar. 11, there have been more than 1,000 powerful aftershocks.The quake created a record breaking very powerful tsunami, in a very short period following the quake with waves reaching up to 30m or about 125 ft. Also caused wide scale destruction.Kesennuma, in Miyagi Prefecture, very badly hit by the earthquake which also caused large oil and gas main fires then it was struck by the tsunami, hell on earth.This video shows the tsunami hitting Kesennuma. First part is shot from a building in the port area. The second part was shot from the Coast Guard building also in the port area. video was about one hour in length but I increased the speed to 4x.

Maiko is a seaside area of Kobe City, Japan. A great place to visit to relax, paint, photography or fishing. Wonderful sunsets. The location of the world's longest suspension bridge.

Yesterday was a Japanese National Holiday for "Ocean Day" to celebrate the sea. There were many parties and events in Kobe City, some I visited including live performance in the harborland. I like this teenage girl dancing group.

Ocean Day, is a Japanese National Holiday to celebrate the sea. In Kobe City we love the sea, the beach and making a party which we don' t need an excuse to make.

A Japanese friend Aiko works for a company. In her free time she attends singing lessons organized by Shimamura Music School. Each year the school makes a live concert for the students. This is one of the performance by my friend Aiko, at Wynterland Live, Kobe City.

Last night I visited a local Japanese shrine fest. I love taiko drums they are so powerful and the energy of the drummers too. A taiko drum is made from a single section of carved out tree so each drum is unique in sound.

"Kobe Matsuri," Festival was born as an innovative civic participation in 1971. The origins of the festival date back 77 years, to the year 1933 but the modern form dates from 1971. Matsuri is a religious festival but the Kobe version has become much more than that, although religious shrines and temples still participate, today there's a wide range of cultural activities including marching bands, dance groups, especially the samba. Children of all ages are encouraged to take part. This year 2010, is the 40th Kobe street fest with the central aim to have fun, an occasion for visitors to enjoy the restored city and for participating citizens to express their creativity.

In Kobe Port we are fortunate to be squeezed between mountains and sea. Park areas of any city are important aspects for the citizens to lead a healthy life. In Kobe Port there are may park areas but my favorite is the harborland, which is a short distance from my art studio. There is an extensive waterfront and a very large park called Meriken Park. I enjoy to walk around sucking in a dose of fresh air and negative ions. Today, I took an extensive walk.Kobe is a port city full of cosmopolitan air and charm. It sits along a long narrow strip of land neatly sandwiched between sea and mountains. The oceanfront Meriken Park houses Port Tower, the city's symbol, and Maritime Museum.

Plein Aire is simply, painting outdoors in the full glory of the nature

A beautiful castle inside and out with many small interesting points here and there. Take your time to explore and enjoy it. Don't miss the various yagura and gates in a rush to get to the main donjon. With the reconstructed lord's palace and the original gardens on teh grounds of this castle, in some ways it demonstrates what a castle was really like even more so than Himeji Castle.

Himeji Castle is also a very popular location for both the painter and the photographer but over the next five years or so there could be some "scenic disturbances" as the castle undergoes much needed repairs which will be the first since the Showa no Daishuri (Showa Great Repairs) project conducted from 1956 to 1964.The work isn't scheduled to begin until the spring of 2011 and will take until 2014 to complete but the company carrying out the work is already on site to investigate how they will make the repairs and also deal with millions of visitors.The castle is designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, which makes it so popular with the tourists.Another castle worth a visit, and one which I've painted many times is Matsumoto Castle located in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture.The Japanese love to give titles to important event, so this will be called 'Heisei Great Repairs'. Heisei is the current age under the present Emperor.

Japan is a country which each year experiences many types of disasters including typhoons. Last Oct., we experienced the most powerful typhoon which ripped it's way across the country.The morning after I got out with my camera because it's an incredible time to view the nature.The river and waterfalls are gushing, the lakes are full and the sky is always amazing. It's like all the energy released by the typhoon is turned into something wonderful.

This area of Kobe City Japan called "HAT" was previously part of the working port area but was destroyed in the 1995 earthquake which killed 6000+ people and destroyed 100,000+ buildings.After the quake, the area was redeveloped and is now a very pleasant place to live, work or visit. There are two museums, Earthquake Museum and the Hyogo Prefecture Art Museum designed by the famous architect Tadao Ando. There are open spaces and parks. This short video is shot from the art museum.