Manga Library in Tokyo

Manga (漫画?) are comics created in Japan, or by Japanese creators in the Japanese language, conforming to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century. They have a long, complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art.
In Japan, people of all ages read manga. The medium includes works in a broad range of genres: action-adventure, romance, sports and games, historical drama, comedy, science fiction and fantasy, mystery, horror, sexuality, and business/commerce, among others.The term manga (kanji: 漫画; hiragana: まんが; katakana: マンガ; is a Japanese word referring both to comics and cartooning. “Manga” as a term used outside Japan refers specifically to comics originally published in Japan. However, manga-influenced comics, among original works, exist in other parts of the world, particularly in Taiwan (“manhua”), South Korea (“manhwa”),[14] and China, notably Hong Kong (“manhua”).In France, “la nouvelle manga” has developed as a form of bande dessinée comics drawn in styles influenced by Japanese manga. In the United States, people refer to what they perceive as manga-styled comics as Amerimanga, world manga, or original English-language manga (OEL manga). Still, the original term “manga” is primarily used in English-speaking countries solely to describe comics of Japanese origin.

Japan: Yokohama

Yokohama (横浜市 Yokohama-shi) ( listen (help·info)) is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area.
Yokohama’s population of 3.7 million makes it Japan’s largest incorporated city.

NYC Yellow Cabs

Yellow cabs in Manhattan, New York

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States: a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving from abroad.
The statue was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War; since 1933 it has been maintained by the National Park Service. The statue was closed for renovation for much of 1938. In the early 1980s, it was found to have deteriorated to such an extent that a major restoration was required. While the statue was closed from 1984 to 1986, the torch and a large part of the internal structure were replaced. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, it was closed for reasons of safety and security; the pedestal reopened in 2004 and the statue in 2009, with limits on the number of visitors allowed to ascend to the crown. The statue, including the pedestal and base, is closed until October 28, 2012, so that a secondary staircase and other safety features can be installed; Liberty Island remains open. Public access to the balcony surrounding the torch has been barred for safety reasons since 1916.

Nebbia a Trieste

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy’s border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city. Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste and throughout history it has been influenced by its location at the crossroads of Germanic, Latin and Slavic cultures. In 2009, it had a population of about 205,000 and it is the capital of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trieste province. Trieste was one of the oldest parts of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1382 until 1918. In the 19th century, it was the most important port of one of the Great Powers of Europe. As a prosperous seaport in the Mediterranean region, Trieste became the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (after Vienna, Budapest, and Prague). In the fin-de-siecle period, it emerged as an important hub for literature and music. However, the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Trieste’s union to Italy after World War I led to some decline of its “Mittel-European” cultural and commercial importance. Enjoying an economic revival during the 1930s and throughout the Cold War, Trieste was an important spot in the struggle between the Eastern and Western blocs. Today, the city is in one of the richest regions of Italy, and has been a great centre for shipping, through its port (Port of Trieste), shipbuilding and financial services.

Tokyo Skytree

Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリー Tōkyō Sukaitsurī?) is a broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010[2] and reached its full height of 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) in March 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world, displacing the Canton Tower,[3][4] and the second tallest structure in the world after Burj Khalifa (829.84 m/2,723 ft). The base of the tower has a structure similar to a tripod; from a height of about 350 m (1,150 ft) and above, the tower’s structure is cylindrical to offer panoramic views of the river and the city. There are observatories at 350 m (1,150 ft), with a capacity of up to 2000 people, and 450 m (1,480 ft), with a capacity of 900 people.[8] The upper observatory features a spiral, glass-covered skywalk in which visitors ascend the last 5 meters to the highest point at the upper platform. A section of glass flooring gives visitors a direct downward view of the streets below. TOKYO SKYTREE is designed in an original color, “SKYTREE White”, representing harmony with the surrounding scenery, its name and the design concept: “The creation of city scenery transcending time: A fusion of traditional Japanese beauty and neo-futuristic design”.
Led by Tobu Railway and a group of six terrestrial broadcasters headed by NHK, the tower project forms the centrepiece of a large commercial development equidistant from Tokyo Skytree and Oshiage train stations, 7 km (4.3 mi) north-east of Tokyo station. One of its main purposes is to relay television and radio broadcast signals; Tokyo’s current facility, Tokyo Tower with a height of 333 m (1,093 ft), no longer gives complete digital terrestrial television broadcasting coverage because it is surrounded by many high-rise buildings. The project was completed on 29 February 2012, with the tower opening to the public on 22 May 2012. The decision on the figure “634” for the height was based on the concept of choosing a figure that would be easy for everyone to remember with the world’s tallest tower that has also become a symbol of the area. The sound of the number “634” when read in old Japanese numbers is “mu-sa-shi”, which reminds Japanese people of Musashi

Tokyo – Akihabara: Maid Café Girls

Maid cafés (メイドカフェ Meido kafe) are a subcategory of cosplay restaurants found predominantly in Japan. In these cafés, waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants, and treat customers as masters (and mistresses) in a private home, rather than as café patrons. The first permanent maid café, Cure Maid Café, was established in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan in March 2001,[2] but maid cafés are becoming increasingly popular. The maid costume varies from café to café, but most are based upon the costume of French maids, often composed of a dress, a petticoat, a pinafore, a matching hair accessory (such as a frill or a bow), and stockings. Sometimes, employees wear rabbit or cat ears with their outfits to add more appeal. Waitresses in maid cafés are often chosen on the basis of their appearance; most are young, attractive and innocent-looking women.

Tokyo: Tsukiji fish market

The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market (東京都中央卸売市場 Tōkyō-to Chūō Oroshiuri Shijō?), commonly known as the Tsukiji Market (築地市場 Tsukiji shijō?), is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors. The market is located near the Tsukijishijō Station on the Toei Ōedo Line and Tsukiji Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. There are two distinct sections of the market as a whole. The “inner market” (jōnai-shijō) is the licensed wholesale market, where the auctions and most of the processing of the fish take place, and where licensed wholesale dealers (approximately 900 of them) operate small stalls. The “outer market” (jōgai-shijō) is a mixture of wholesale and retail shops that sell Japanese kitchen tools, restaurant supplies, groceries, and seafood, and many restaurants, especially sushi restaurants. Most of the shops in the outer market close by the early afternoon, and in the inner market even earlier.

Lindos on the island of Rhodes

Lindos (in Greek: Λίνδος) is an archaeological site, a town and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal unit. It lies on the east coast of the island. It is about 55 km south of the town of Rhodes and its fine beaches make it a popular tourist and holiday destination. Lindos is situated in a large bay and faces the fishing village and small resort of Haraki.

Un’ora d’aria nel Carcere di Udine

Le foto sono state realizzate in occasione della visita pastorale di monsignor Mazzocato alla casa circondariale di via Spalato.  (Udine)