Ikiiki-kan in Toyama City

Ikiiki-kan in Toyama City, a building near Toyama Station that triples as a mall, city hall, and museum.

 

Envelopes with illustrations that are a playful interpretation of people's last names. For example, the second-to-left envelope on the top row is for the last name Sato. The kanji for Sato is generally 佐藤, but it has the same sound as sugar, 砂糖. Hence, the spoonful of sugar.

These pencil cases were made of paper. Beautiful, but perhaps not long-lasting.

 

The festival section had traditional drums that you could actually play.

A museum of medicine, which Toyama is traditionally known for. 

 

Medicines were being sold in old-school packaging.

 

A form of paper balloon.

 

In the section for food souvenirs. I wanted these but they were not for sale.

 

Special taiyaki, a wedding gift bag staple.

 

Inside the Greenhouse

A visit to the Koishikawa Botanical Gardens is not complete without a stop at the greenhouse.

 

Ochna atropurpurea, otherwise known as Mickey Mouse bush. It just looks like a creepy bug to me!

Saurauia pendula blume.

Lapageria rosea.

Thunia marshalliana.

This plant is apparently part of the pineapple family.

Utricularia sandersonii .

Koishikawa Botanical Gardens in June

It seems like every time I visit this garden, there is something new to appreciate. 

 

A yellow banana flower.

I visited over a month ago, when the hydrangeas were in full bloom.

An apple tree grown from a sapling of the tree that Newton used to discover gravity.

These will not turn into apples.

These purple blossoms must be awfully sweet. I remember a black butterfly hovering near the same bush the year before.

Pomegranate.

The Siberian irises were in full bloom.

Blue dragonfly.

I stuck my camera into a drain pipe after I saw a toad go into one and shot randomly. Turns out, there were two!

Boat Ride around Lake Annecy

You can take boat rides around Lake Annecy, starting at around 15 euros for an hour. It's a great way to see the more exclusive areas surrounding the lake.

The Imperial hotel and casino, and beach.

A nice house around Sevrier.

A group of young people, simply chilling in the middle of the lake. This was around 8:30 pm.

The area of Duingt. This is the château de Château vieux or château de Ruphy, a fortress that was built in the Middle Ages. Quite understandably, it has been registered as a historical monument. It used to be located on its own island, but was moved to this location to allow for car access.  

I'd never seen an actual turret before.

Col de la forclaz (I think) in Switzerland.

A church most likely.

I wish I knew all the names of the beautiful places I saw. I tried matching them up on a map, but it was surprisingly impossible.

You'd think an isolated little building like this would be easy to find on a map.

Les Dents de lanton. Look at that small building in the foreground! This is also an area for sky parachuting.

L'Auberge du Père Bise, an inn and restaurant located in the Talloires that has been around for over a century.