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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Visitors Out: 747 |
| Total Visitors Out: 747 |
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| hanami bird 桜と鳥 (shinjuku gyoen, tokyko) |
| 2008-04-20 00:00:00 |
it wasn't the bird that made me look up at this image initially-- it was the hundreds of cherry petals floating down as snow in the breeze that made me close my eyes, lift my head and enjoy their velvety softness against my forehead and cheeks. this was actually my first time to experience such a sensation; in the movies and TV commercials they always have these moments where the sakura fall as snow, blanketing everything-- and before this weekend, i had thought such was merely a kind of legend.
when i opened my eyes i saw this bird seeming to hungrily lap at the cherry nectar. i imagined myself as a bird; had i wings, where would i have them take me?...
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| sakura and maples 紅葉と桜 (ueno park, tokyo) |
| 2008-04-19 00:00:00 |
i found this scene and considered it pretty amazing: fall leaves and spring flowers, all at the same time. granted, the leaves weren't strutting their crimson glory-- but in black and white, it does look like two seasons at once....
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| art and nature 自然と芸実 (shinjuku gyoen, tokyo) |
| 2008-04-18 00:00:00 |
as an amateur photographer, i do consider myself to be a bit of an artist. nevertheless, i try to photograph the world as it appears to me-- and as such, the only editing i tend to do via photoshop is to balance the tones and colors after i scan.
however, just as some photographers may use photoshop to selectively retouch a scene, i was reminded by this chap that painting was the original way of selectively editing things. i find it intriguing as to how and why painters select a particular subject to place onto their canvas; it's interesting, too, that some choose to capture the quieter elements of the scene rather than the bustle....
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| kids and sakura 子供と桜 (shinjuku gyoen, tokyo) |
| 2008-04-17 00:00:00 |
as i was walking through shinjuki-gyoen i came across this pair of friends enjoying the reflection of cherry blossoms dancing in the pond. something in this scene really touched me, and i began welling with tears-- sometimes when i am witness to moments such as these, i feel as though i should have similar memories within my childhood, of growing up under the cherry blossoms and of chasing my friends around the park, laughing as we tag one another-- alas, i haven't such memories, as i had been born a continent away....
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| sakura petals 桜 |
| 2008-04-16 00:00:00 |
this is perhaps one of my finest photos this year: a collection of cherry blossoms that flocked together nicely on a fountain's surface....
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| temple roof and blossoms 寺と桜 (ueno, tokyo) |
| 2008-04-15 00:00:00 |
well-- at first glance, this particular shot seemed to have some major problems for me: the blossoms were perfectly exposed but the temple doors and wall were way, way underexposed. and then, for whatever reason it dawned on me: that's what had struck me about this particular shot in the first place: the blossoms had seemed so brilliant as to be on fire, emitting a brilliance that dimmed everything around....
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| lizard and blossom トカゲと花びら (ueno, tokyo) |
| 2008-04-14 00:00:00 |
while walking around ueno near the national museums, i came across this petal-- one of many that was lying on a rock wall. as i leaned in to take a photo, i suddenly saw a tiny nose appear from the shadows of the wall's inner recesses. waiting patiently i stayed until his nose was slightly more visible so that i could take this shot. (i really wish that i had had a flash or reflector with me that day-- it taught me one important lesson in photography: always bring a little more equipment than you think you will need, when wandering about.)...
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| magnolias もくれん (yoyogi park, tokyo) |
| 2008-04-13 00:00:00 |
ah, that intoxicating scent of magnolias-- there is something about that delectable aroma that makes me think it captures the very essence of love: sweet and seductive to the point that i want to breathe it in forever; an aroma that i drink more than inhale.
while wandering through the various temple gardens with my friend Meg this weekend i decided to start photographing a few of the more unique flowers that i've seen (and drunken) whilst living in japan-- i reckon this will take a bit to compile, but hope to share with you as soon as i can!...
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| birds of a feather (小石川後楽園, tokyo) |
| 2008-04-11 00:00:00 |
...chirp together!
i was trying to take a photo of the sakura blossoms (4.07.08) when i noticed a flock of these chickadee-looking folks happily chirping about...
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| asakusa cat shrine 今戸神社 |
| 2008-04-10 00:00:00 |
a couple prays at a temple for good luck (especially for good fortune in love life) at imado-jinjya (今戸神社) in asakusa.
(actually, i really liked this image because it seems a "mirror" in a way, with one cat waving to the human couple, almost beckoning to them; makes me kind of want to wave back.)...
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| 猫達 feline friends |
| 2008-04-09 00:00:00 |
about a week ago, i came across this pair of cats-- and was so happy to have had my camera with me! i'm not quite sure what they feel for one another-- whether the one on the right is thankful for his friend, or whether he's kind of annoyed by the attention he's getting! what does everyone think?...
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| 小石川後楽園である桜 Sakura at Korakuen Park |
| 2008-04-07 00:00:00 |
okay, so this image is a bit of a teaser...
this photo was actually taken about a week ago, but as i needed some time to get negatives back from the photo shop, it's taken a wee bit to upload! the cherry blossoms have come early this year, and surprisingly, are nearly over with. this past weekend I went out and took quite a few photos of hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties, flowers and the like-- so i'll be offering my insights in a few days' time, when i get all the negatives together!...
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| shinagawa temple torii gate |
| 2008-04-06 00:00:00 |
居然な品川鳥居
quiet little place near kitashinagawa station; this temple lies on one of the tokyo temple pilgrimage walking trails that roughly follow the line of the old edo highway (the old, old road connecting Edo (current Tokyo) with Kyoto).
two nifty things i'd found out.
first: Tokyo's kanji (Japanese representation) is: 東京(都). kyoto's kanji is 京都(府). a long time ago, someone told me that the reason tokyo's kanji and kyoto's look alike has to do with history-- with tokyo's becoming the capital of japan. you see, the kanji "東" means "east"-- so, with a little simplification, "tokyo city" roughly means "eastern kyoto".
second,this gate structure marks the entrance to a shinto shrine; the shape is also quite symbolic. consider the kanji 天, which means "heaven"-- apparently, the shape of the torii gate is meant to be the same as that kanji; that is, when you pass through the tori...
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| shinagawa temple and highrise 品川の寺マンション |
| 2008-04-05 00:00:00 |
...now, adjacent the graveyard (previous day) lay another temple that i felt represented "modern japan" in many ways. in yesterday's post, i had to really consider the angle through which i was taking the shot, to avoid having the city of tokyo within the same frame. in this shot, however, i wanted to show the very reality of tokyo: everything is close together; all space is precious. behind this ancient temple is an apartment building still under construction; sometimes i wonder what the residents will think of living so close to the temple-- will they be able to smell the incense on the morning breeze? will they awaken with the sound of this bell being rung?...
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| shinagawa graveyard--品川の墓地 |
| 2008-04-04 00:00:00 |
i found this particular location to be quite vibrant with a spiritual energy-- though it's a place for the dead, i think the living can still find a sense of inner peace. perhaps that's one reason we have graveyards in the first place--not only for the souls of the departed, but to serve as a vital link between generations, and help the living recall where they came from....
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| asakusa jizou statue |
| 2008-04-03 00:00:00 |
浅草寺へ
ah, yes; i return once again to my love of the jizou statues-- this particular one is at the eastern side of Senso-ji temple's gate, in asakusa...
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| ginza monk |
| 2008-04-02 00:00:00 |
銀座で歩いているお坊さん
also joining the bustle of Ginza on weekends is a Buddhist monk, asking for donations. often, monks will walk toe-to-toe down a sidewalk, chanting softly and ringing a bell every few paces-- sometimes it's only through watching their stride that i realize how fast everyone else moves...
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| ginza crowd |
| 2008-04-01 00:00:00 |
銀座の道で歩いている様々
on a given weekend afternoon, the police close off some of the side streets to traffic, and pedestrians just walk about everywhere! some shops set up a few tables and chairs outside so that people can have a seat and relax; it really gives a nice energy to an otherwise crowded area...
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| ueno park monument |
| 2008-03-31 00:00:00 |
上野公園でこの不思議な建物が有りました。
i've seen this rather unusual structure in Ueno Park (near toshogu shrine) quite a few times before, but for whatever reason it really stood out today-- the way the light struck its surface made me it was some kind of relic, something ancient and taken for granted-- and nearly forgotten. on the inside of the structure is a buddha statue and quite a few candles, but as they are in a near-hermetical environment, with the sole light being from the flickering candles-- such really lends to the mysterious atmosphere.
on the outside of the structure is a kind of insignia in the shape of a ship's wheel; i have seen this insignia on a few other structures that i ascribe with a religion; i reckon it's that of a buddhist sect-- can anyone clarify? :)...
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| ueno toshogu pagoda |
| 2008-03-30 00:00:00 |
Ueno park has one of the most interesting collection of ancient Japanese gravemarkers (shown foreground right); these lanterns, I'm told, double as the markers for departed guardians of the temple.
apparently, these grounds are also one of Tokyo's haunted areas, and it's said that at the tori gate near the entrance to this temple, a cold wind always blows.
i and some of my friends went to investigate this phenomenon, Ghost Hunters style-- and discovered that a) we couldn't get any EVPs from the voice recorders we used; b) the reason there's a cold wind blowing is because all the air is funneled down a narrow corridor created by the lanterns and fences, straight to where the entrance is. we went out on a dark summer's night and not once did we feel a creepy vibe or anything. still, the temple is pretty great to have a look at-- especially in hanami season!...
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| inari at ueno |
| 2008-03-28 00:00:00 |
located nearby the hachimangu temple in ueno park is smaller shrine-- one of the more famous inari shrines (that, as i understand it, pay homage to foxes) that dot the tokyo area. a sakura petal had fallen on this fox's brow and i thought it would make such a great shot. unfortunately, i didn't take the difference in contrast into consideration when i snapped the shutter; as a result the petal kinda got washed out. oh well; something to retake when the cherry blossoms come in force!...
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| ravens at the shore |
| 2008-03-27 00:00:00 |
watch most any Japanese anime, drama or movie and you'll eventually come across a scene where ravens fly across the screen. just as with western culture, the japanese have attributed crows and ravens with death and "darkness" of the soul. ravens are quite literally everywhere in japan, and their presence seems to scare off all of the other birds-- here, three ravens perch beside the kamakura shoreline; the minute they flew into the area, all the aural commotion caused by the seagulls was completely silenced.
crows are such a big problem in japan that some areas have even set up special task forces to deal with them. one of the more interesting recent developments is the speculation that ravens may be fairly intelligent creatures with the ability to recognize individual people. but more on this topic later....
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| seaweed drying |
| 2008-03-26 00:00:00 |
japan has an amazing aquaculture industry that seems prevalent everywhere you look. here, where one of kamakura's most popular beaches would be packed out in summer, in winter it's packed with clothespins hanging seaweed out to dry for the local markets....
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| 隣の寺 (my neighbor, temple) |
| 2008-03-25 00:00:00 |
perhaps one of the first books that people read when they come to Japan (or when they're deciding whether to come!) is Dave Berry's commentary on this society. his observations are quite keen-- and i think that his book has one of the most amazing descriptions of how buildings are arranged in japan: that there is no arrangement per se.
as a result, we can see unique pairings of structures-- and such isn't limited to tokyo, either: in Kamakura, across from gokurakuji temple lies another smaller temple, shown here. for some reason, this pair really typifies how kamakura feels: both ancient and new.
photo location
35°18'34.11"N
139°31'45.23"E...
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| wandering around kamakura |
| 2008-03-24 00:00:00 |
ah, walking along the lazy back streets of western kamakura... never know what you might find...
like, for example, at approximately:
35°18'53.21"N
139°31'47.94"E
tucked just slightly back into the wooded area, is one of the tens of caves around the kamakura area. though i haven't explored the cave quite yet (when i found it i hadn't any of the appropriate equipment), i reckon i wll return there again sometime-- hopefully before it starts getting too hot and the insects start waking up again!
photo location
35°18'34.11"N
139°31'45.23"E...
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| kamakura hiking trail |
| 2008-03-23 00:00:00 |
静かし、自然でリラークスが出来るし、鎌倉でハイキングに行くのは大好き。浅草からちょっと遠いんだけどーー（泣） さぁ、しょがね。。
いつかに、湘南とか鎌倉に住みたい。毎日、寝る前に、波の音を聞きたい。。
(...continuing from yesterday's post.)
further along the hiking trail in Kamakura, i came across a fellow trekker; as he nodded to me and walked over the rise, i decided to snap a quick shot at the lowest shutter speed i'd dared, to try and blur his stride a bit. something as i consider the scene, there was something else alive in the environment; something about being within the trees and walking along their beautiful roots was so peaceful and inspiring.
approx location:
35°19'51.15"N
139°32'42.41"E...
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| sakura and asakusa home |
| 2008-03-21 00:00:00 |
this will be my 5th sakura season; when i type that, i truly cannot believe that i have been living in japan for this long. sometimes it seems that this has been a really long journey; and at other times, it seems as though i have never quite left "home". i know it will sound strange, but part of me feels as though japan has always been a part of me-. when i was in elementary school, one of my classmates' fathers came here on a business trip; when he went back to the states, he stopped in for a "show and tell" day-- showing us some of his photos and talking of his experience here. i do not recall exactly what he had to say on this country; i do, however, remember that he had given us each a 1Y coin.
that single coin opened my eyes to the possibility of crossing an ocean and eventually making it here; the more that i read on japanese culture, and the more that i i talked about life here-- was the more that i realized that a very essential part of me was longing...
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| man and leafbare trees |
| 2008-03-17 00:00:00 |
why is it that when you are a kid, you just cant wait to grow old-- and that when you are old, you keep trying to stay young?
i realized the other day that i have hit one of those milestone years in my life-- when i am between old and young, and have to choose which i want to be. i have decided that i wish to age-- that i wish to be like the men on benches who can look out at the world and see it through wise eyes, and who realize that sometimes doing the simple little things, like feeding pigeons, can bring us so much joy...
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| stairs and pigeons |
| 2008-03-16 00:00:00 |
for some reason, i just loved this scene--right along the banks of the sumida river, near st. luke's international hospital. i thought the pigeons were lined up so perfectly-- all of them were kind of looking at me as if to say, "snap the picture already!!!"...
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| cat in aoyama graveyard |
| 2008-03-15 00:00:00 |
cats seem to love wandering around the cemetery as well; for some reason i can seriously imagine that the cats are the caretakers of the cemetery at night-- comforting the souls of the departed and making sure their souls sleep soundly...
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| aoyama cemetery and roppongi hills |
| 2008-03-14 00:00:00 |
i think it's only when you come to certain clearings in the graveyard that you can look out and realize that you are in the middle of a vibrant city...
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| aoyama cemetery |
| 2008-03-13 00:00:00 |
aoyama cemetery is one of the more interesting places in tokyo-- though it's located almost in the very middle of Tokyo, it still manages to be a very quiet and solemn place to visit....
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| coming of age day, tokyo, 2008 |
| 2008-03-04 23:00:00 |
(4:4)
I'm not quite sure why, but I think this
photo is so expressive of Japanese patience.
When the Japanese reach age 20, they are considered adults; they can
finally legally have a beer, drive, and enjoy all of the other
benefits of adulthood. Often, to signify this rite of passage, women
will dress in these kinds of elaborate kimono, head to a ceremony at
the local town hall, and then head off to the pub or to karaoke with
their friends.
Older people, and men in particular, love this holiday as it lets them
exercise their photography skills. Female photographers will often
approach these kimono-clad women and ask for their permission to take
a photo; afterwards they have a bit of a chat. Male photographers, on
the other hand, seem to feel assume the role of director for one day,
and seem to just walk up to random women and start posing them for a
photo. Odd, I thought; but it's a funny thing to watch...
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| omikuji prayers |
| 2008-02-29 23:00:00 |
directions:
1- insert 100Y coin into slot at base of drawers;
2- shake canister filled with sticks;
3- when "ready", tip canister on end and take stick;
4- match stick number with tray number;
5- read your fortune...
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| ueno sakura |
| 2008-02-25 23:00:00 |
when the sakura season gets more into swing, i will be uploading many more photos; but i wanted to add one sooner rather than later!...
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| sacred rock (kawazu, izu, japan) |
| 2008-02-16 23:00:00 |
something that strikes me as being pretty amazing: many of the rocks in japan have their own history, name and spirit; often, when traveling to ancient places, i can find a rock with special kanji characters marked on its surface, or a small weathered placard explaining the history of the stone or boulder....
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| waterfall and rocks (kawazu, izu, japan) |
| 2008-02-15 23:00:00 |
when tracing one of the rivers up to the foothills marking its source, i encountered the locally famous seven waterfalls of Kawazu (one of which is shown here). the geology of the area is amazing; now, it has been a while since i've taken a geology course, but the area seems to be surrounded by these amazing basalt columns that, over the ages, have been uplifted and warped into these beautiful flowing lines that mirror the surrounding water....
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| onsen maigic (kawazu, izu, japan) |
| 2008-02-14 23:00:00 |
Kawazu, Izu.
I believe I have always a fascination with water. Living in Japan has
brought out in me an increased intrigue in this most hypnotic element,
particularly in terms of how to combine it with trees and other flora:
ways of weaving it into the tapestry of a garden.
Hiking up in the hills of Kawazu, tracing back to the source of one if
the larger rivers in the area, I found a series of lovely waterfalls.
Now, it should be noted that as the entire area is geothermally
active, the water pouring out from various crevasses and streams was
not always cold-- in some areas steam was being released in such
voluminous amounts that it would appear as though the very earth was
giving birth to the clouds above.
After a while, we came to a giant onsen lodge built along the side of
the cliff; it had an amazing maze of pipes running to different rooms
and areas, some quite new and some that seem as though they had been
built into the very foundation of this ancient structure. It was quite
ob...
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| snowy trees (atami, japan) |
| 2008-02-13 23:00:00 |
later that day, snowflakes the size of Y500 coins started falling from the sky. as the cold wind started picking up, it drove the snow in such a frenzy that it looked almost as though the air itself started changing, transforming into an element more closely resembling the ocean than anything else...
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