Jan's Picture Galleries
 

2005 Roundup
A brief summary of the year can be read in my Christmas letter. Time passes too quickly, but I said the same thing last year. If I could do it all again, I would have stayed in university until turning 48. Then, I could probably survive on unemployment benefits for a few years before retiring. In Norway, that would be possible.

 

November 3-14, 2005, United States
While unfortunately mainly work related, I spent about 10 days in November visiting New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Honestly speaking, I enjoy going to the United States, but I enjoy leaving even more.

September 11, 2005, Yamanashi
The weather forecast was not bad, but the day turned out to be one of limitless supplies of rain and clouds.  If you have not tried climbing a mountain on such a day, the following should help quell any ambition to do so.

CNN Center

Mount Kinpu

 

First Half Of 2005, Various Japan Locations
Yuka and I did some traveling around Japan during the first half of 2005, and we were finally able to visit the World Expo in Nagoya.  We also stopped by Kamakura and Tama Zoo in Tokyo.

July 8-11, 2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Lilian is one of my first friends to get married, and I was excited to be invited to her wedding in Kuala Lumpur.  In addition to attending her and Willy's wedding ceremony, Yuka and I did some shopping and sightseeing.

Nagoya Expo

Wedding Malaysia

May 7-9, 2005, Seoul, South-Korea
This was my second trip to South-Korea, though I am embarrassed to say that I have never been outside of Seoul.  The main purpose of the trip was to visit Panmunjom, which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.  Anyway, we ate lots of kimchi.

 April 10, 2005, Tokyo
I went to visit my old Sophia University dormitory in Yotsuya, and was surprised to see that it had closed down and would soon be demolished.  Since it had been discussed for over a decade, I was not particularly surprised, but it is sad to see a place of many good memories disappear.

Seoul

Sophia Dormitory

 January 29-30, 2005, Hakone
The area around Mount Fuji is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country with both Japanese and foreign visitors.  Since the area is situated not far from Tokyo, I have visited many times to enjoy the fresh air and nice views.

 March 19-21, 2005, Tateyama in Chiba
March is the high season for strawberry picking and blooming tulips in Chiba Prefecture.  Yuka and I drove down to check it out, and I even got to wear a cool yellow helmet and lick a pole.

Hakone & Mount Fuji

Teteyama Chiba