Mutianyu, Great Wall tour

 I've been to the Great Wall about a half dozen times, but this was my first visit to Muitianyu. This section is about 2 miles long, and is famous for its 24 Ming-era guard towers. For about $30, the tour also includes a visit to the Ming Tombs, a jade store, a teahouse, and lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

 Chinese tours often include stops at jade stores, silk shops, etc., in the hope that the tourists will part with some cash.

 Entry area to Mutianyu, very picturesque on a cold winter morning.

 Lifts up to the wall, or you can walk.

 Top 3 photos, up on the wall.

You can walk, take the lift, or tobaggan back down.

 Workers shoveling the restaurant's parking lot. No snow plow here.

 The after-lunch tea stop. We got to try oolong, jasmine, black tea with lychee, and pu'er (my favorite tea).

On the way back to Beijing, we stopped at the Ming Tombs. 13 of the 16 Ming Dynasty emperors have tombs here.

Osaka

Great start, spending the night out at Beijing Airport, with a view of our departure terminal.

 Shinto shrine near Osaka Castle.

 Many restaurants in Japan display plastic replicas of their menu items.

 Fruit in Japan can be very expensive. These cost about $2 per strawberry.

 Pachinko, a cross between slot machines and pinball, is a hugely popular type of gambling in Japan, and there are many addicts.

 Drunk cat at an Osaka bar.

 Osaka's famous Dotonbori district.

 Queuing for octopus balls.

 I spotted Trump in Dotonbori.

Dotonbori ramen stand.

Japan still has the neon green public pay phones. Over two decades ago when I first moved to Japan I used to use one of these at a nearby temple to call around trying to find an English teaching job.

It's about a 2.5 hour ride south from Osaka to Shirahama, a small hot springs town.

Above 2 photos, a Shirahama Shinto shrine.

Beautiful Shirahama.