And finally more of those luminous lanterns.

In the background my current university QUT and the famous Brisbane Citycat catamaran river ferries.

The Buddahs were very bright and colourful and seemed to be enjoying the attention.

There was a rock band there, which seemed a bit incongruous but the young people did not seem to mind.

Today they celebrated Buddah's Birthday on the Southbank of the Brisbane river with food and decorations from many Asian countries. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining through the lanterns.

To eat it you use a wooden fork with a hand lashed handle and a perfect laquered spoon. The means sometimes surpass the ends.

The simple beauty of Japanese cusine. This is a single tomato marinated in white wine. The bowl is hand made resting on a beautiful indigo cloth. How wonderful.

Bamboo in the hills above Odawara castle, this lot had almost engulfed an old house where nobody lives any longer.

Cherry blossoms can also look good in black and white. These were at the Nakain in Kawagoe north of Tokyo.

Back in Australia the camera shy ginger cat who lives over the road finally let his guard down. He did not stay around to see the result.

I think he got a good photo.

"Now if you just stand a bit to the left I can get you and the moat and the cherry trees in the frame."

"The wind is too strong.If you could just hold that branch still please, so I can get a photo on my mobile."

The monkey certainly captivated this young fan's attention.

The perfoming monkey at Yasukuni Jinja must have had his largest crowd for the year thanks to the cherry trees.

Then I saw the sign!!

They looked so hungry so I gave them some of my lunch.

This old chap not only looked like a film director but he had all the gear as well. Just how close you can get to cherry blossoms was being explored when I took this.

How many millions of digital images were taken last week in Japan?

Up close the blossoms still look good.

Just last week in Tokyo, the cherry trees were at their maximum. My red jumper was not approved by all the locals.

Ohanami Tokyo 2005. There is another way to view the blossoms and also avoid the crowds.

Ohanami Tokyo 2005. Some clever people sit and enjoy the cherry trees, while most others are compelled to keep walking.

Ohanami Tokyo 2005. When the weather on the weekend is perfect and the cherry blossoms are at their peak the life of a Cherry Blossom Policeman is not an easy one.

Ohanami Tokyo 2005. Perhaps her husband also bought her icecandy years ago?